Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

My impression is that sometimes you get a crappy table when dining with a friend and sometimes you get a good one. Seriously. My friend and I often meet at our neighborhood Italian, they almost always try to seat us in the back and we always ask for a better table. Not sure if sexism is at play here. Women generally are good tippers, I"m a better tipper than my husband, so it's probably one more stereotype that's hard to shake. Women who were waitresses are the best tippers.

Yeah, why blame Gore?

Burgers are the hummers of food, sure, but harder to resist than a Hummer, IMHO. Beefalo is a decent substitute but the same problem, I fear. Ostrich burgers?

Smoking them over a grill with mesquite chips after marinating 24 hours with rub of paprika, chili powder, cumin, kosher salt and pepper.

Homemade mayo is heaven. Hellman's is just a habitual staple. I have no problem giving it up b/c there are some decent fat-free versions out there but I can sympathize with those who consider it a treat. Doesn't Wylie Dufresne have a fried version? Obviously he wouldn't bother if there were no mayonnaise fans out there.

Did anyone get a rare burger? Sometimes a restaurant makes a decision not to serve rare burgers because of health concerns. Not to be a bummer but 90% of our meat supposedly contains e.coli. You should've asked the waiter or sent it back. If it's a policy not to serve a medium rare burger, they should tell you. You'd be surprised how many establishments won't serve medium rare burgers these days!

I have been to Babbo for birthdays, Daniel and Cafe Boulud. You might be able to get into Cafe Boulud or ask for cancellations. I don't know the restaurants you mentioned, but tell us which cuisine you enjoy, that would help. Red Cat is supposed to be good too, and Oceana just got an excellent review in the Times, it is a neglected, delicious restaurant, so you might have luck there. Also Aquagrill is great too, if you enjoy seafood.

Everyone post their selections! We're trying Nobu Next Door, Cafe Boulud and Eleven Madison Park.

chocolate souffle

If I ever make or drink eggnog, it'll be this one.

My favorite is Black Hound in the East Village.

Cupcakes: Two Little Red Hens

I'm with you, Ed...sure one can get on their high horse that it's not practical, but the basic fact is No Farms, No Food. Unless we want all our food to be flown in from who knows where and grown who knows how, we need to be supporting our local organic farms and farmers by buying their produce. An organic farm share is the way to go if you're lucky enough to live in an area with such a farm, if not then buying from a green market.

I have to add Lucky Charms to the list. Is that cereal still around? I can't believe any of that stuff like Fruit Loops still sells. Can't imagine any parent who would give it to their kid these days!