Drive-by Critic

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/opinion/the-myth-of-sustainable-meat.html?_r=1&hp NYT editorial skewers the sacred cow. Even Salatin gets the myth-buster treatment. Turns out he's feeding his critters tons of imported soy and corn. By: James E. McWilliams is the author of “Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly.”

So the book is sitting in my Kindle but for those who would like a preview, there is an article in this month's Atlantic Monthly (May 2012). It lists Tyler Cowen's six rules for dining out. The first: "In the fanciest restaurants, order what sounds least appetizing" has me baffled. What is least appetizing is a very individual thing. For instance, I hate prime rib. It is going to be the least appetizing thing on a menu for me, but most people love it. His logic is also contorted. He says that at a fancy restaurant, the menu is well thought-out and so an item won't be there unless there is a good reason for it. He offers roast chicken as an example - with the apparent reason being that it is a familiar item that they know people will order. But then the chef won't have much incentive to do much other than offer the tried-and-true. He implies that the chef is more likely to lavish creativity on less popular items. I am eager to hear from the chefs on this board to know if this is true. If the item is unpopular, wouldn't it disappear from a well-thought out menu? Rule 2: Beware the beautiful, laughing women. This one makes sense to me. Is the place about food or is it just a see-and-be-seen place frequented by women who don't actually eat. DC seems to have few of these; I suspect it is a big problem in NY and LA. In fact, NY reviews often note the presence of D-list women and their presence seems to correlate strongly with meh restaurants (which is auto-correlated with restaurants opened by Sam Talbot). Rule 3: Get out of the city and into the strip mall. A Cowen standard. The ethnic variant of "crummy but good." Rule 4: Admit what you don't know. How to get good food gen from other people. Interestingly enough, he talks about how to google, but not about how to find local food boards. Or even Chowhound. Rule 5: Exploit restaurant workers. Find places run by family members. They receive relatively little pay and so the restaurant can offer good food buys. Rule 6: Prefer Vietnamese to Thai. He says that Thai has become too sweet, due to the Thai owners wanting to please American customers. Whereas Vietnamese is not as popular and requires the eater to assemble a dish by adding a lot of unfamiliar sauces and condiments at the table, so the food quality remains high. My husband spent some time in Thailand, eating with the local guide and his friends. He loves hot food, but they had to give him toned-down versions of what they were eating and it still singed his taste buds. So I am guessing that Thai food had to be Americanized by reduction of heat. I can't speak to the sweetness issue. In the DC area, I think people get most of the sauces and condiments. Cilantro, mung bean sprouts, lime, onion, rooster sauce, hoisin, and the like - hardly exotic around here. Outside major urban areas - probably a bit less familiar. He is writing for a national audience, so this seems like a fair observation. Exception - chose Thai restaurants attached to motels, because they are likely run by the Thai owners of the hotels. Corollary - choose Pakistani over Indian. ** We had the best Thai meal of our lives at a tiny little storefront in Kearney, Nebraska. The place is called Wild Rice and it is just a few blocks from the highway interchange. They rated the heat 1-5 and 3 was painful. We ate there three nights in a row.

Rocks wrote: Reading this review hurt me because it's such a well-written review. I felt the same way. I've always enjoyed his food writing and his food picks, and even though it pains me to say it, because I virtually never agree with a word of it, his occasional columns for the NYT. I call it Krauthammer Syndrome. Look at it this way - it must be one hell of a book to inspire such a creative review. My favorite line (yes, I noticed you changed the title of the thread) was this: "Reading Mr. Cowen is like pushing a shopping cart through Whole Foods with Rush Limbaugh." I think for the purposes of deciding if you want to read the book, the most important thing to note is the comparison to Trillin. Not always favorably, but to be in the same class is still pretty good. When I read a review of a restaurant, I don't want to know that the food is yummy. I want it to be interesting. Sounds like this book is interesting and I will probably read it.

NYT review of Tyler Cowen's new book, "An Economist Gets Lunch." The review is fun to read, but apparently, the book is not.

You not only need a reservation, but you generally need to make the res 4 weeks out. That's as far out as they will take a reservation. Maybe in the dead of winter you can wait a bit, but in the spring, it can be hard to get a reservation.

Actually, for both soy and corn, an very large amount goes into non-food applications, including (for soy): adhesives, various forms of plastics and resins, and anti-corrosion agents. And crayons. For you kids who eat your crayons, look for the soy-based brands. For corn - you name it. Although it is true that by percentage most of the corn and soy goes into animal feed, there is still a huge amount of human consumption. The largest human use of soy in the U.S. is soybean oil (83% of the oil produced). Human food consumption of soy has increased dramatically and not just in the form of tofu. The data I am finding says that 85% of the crop is crushed into meal and 98% of the meal is used for livestock feed, but that six percent of the crop is used for human food. That most of it goes for animal feed doesn't negate the fact that the demand for soy for human consumption requires some 4.3 million acres.

First pink slime, now antibiotic-laden beef, poultry, and pork is on its way out. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/health/fda-is-ordered-to-restrict-use-of-antibiotics-in-livestock.html?ref=us

Murray Lender: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/business/murray-lender-dies-at-81-gave-all-america-a-taste-of-bagels.html?hpw

No, of course not! The answer is "they chased Don Rockwell and tried to make a meal out of him."

Once upon a time, the midwest United States was blanketed by an incredible ecosystem known as prairie. Both tallgrass prairie and short grass prairie. Less than 4% of the 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains, much of it in small, isolated patches that have little value for wildlife. Not surprisingly, the animals that depended on prairie habitat are in steep decline. Grassland birds in North America have experienced, as compared to other groups, the steepest and most consistent declines. From a bird's point of view, the midwest is essentially a corn-soy desert. What is the ethical justification for eating corn and soy?

How much meat? Any meat? What about eating meat from cattle that has been fed on the best grass available? Not even "finished" on corn but fed grass until the day he perished of old age, having spent his happy days roaming freely about an enormous pasture? Or are we talking about Michael Pollan's Steer #534 (http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/power-steer/) which, at six months of age, was sent to a feedlot where he was forced to stand all day, knee-deep in excrement and stuffed with corn and antibiotics? Are we talking about cattle raised in grass-rich environments at sustainable stocking rates or are we talking about cattle raised in the arid southwest where they destroy the vegetation and the waterways? Or are we talking about eating the meat of an endangered species? Are we talking about once a month? Once a year? Every day? The ethics of the situation revolve around the way the animal is raised and the damage to the environment. Your question is too broad and simplistic to be answered, unless the answer is "never have any impact whatsoever." In which case the answer is "it is unethical to have been born."

Don't laugh. OK, go ahead and laugh. But we had three very good meals in the restaurant in the lobby of the Courtyard by Marriott, at the northern end of Friendship Heights (across from Saks). The menu is mostly simple, comfort food, but everything was well-prepared. We ate there because my elderly mother was visiting and she can't handle our stairs (thank goodness). The Reuben was absolutely terrific and all three of us thought the fries were among the best we'd ever had. Right now, I see only a turkey reuben on the menu. This was a regular (corned beef) reuben. They were hot, crisp, and not a bit of excess oil. Someone there really knows how to fry. The french fries were fantastic. They stayed crisp even as they cooled. It was a comfortable setting, fairly quiet, and because it was not busy, we were able to sit and talk as long as we liked. I can't recall what we ate for the other dinner (the third meal was breakfast; it was fine) but I do remember saying that it was really much better than one would expect for a hotel restaurant and that we all really enjoyed it.

Let me say this without embellishment: The bagels are not good. Heather wrote (of the Silver Spring location): They may or may not be authentic NYC-style bagels, but they meet my three criteria: chewy exterior, correct ratio of inside to crust, and salt on the everything. Which seems like the right criteria to me. The bagels we bought today (one each of egg, marble rye, and, for the shagitz who has been known to put grape jelly on his bagel, cinnamon raisin and honey wheat which I would not even include in the taste-testing) were flabby inside and out. No crustiness, no chewiness. Just big blobby, mushy, doughy things with an enormous amount of inside to crust.

Answer: I'm from New Jersey. It was neither gratuitous nor a crack. It was a literary device to suggest that the closest the bagels at Goldbergs come to NY is Exit 7A. Maybe I should have said Delaware. I don't pretend to be PJ O'Rourke, much less Rocks, when it comes to pithiness. But I do know bagels, and Goldberg's are not good bagels. Based on the consistency, I'm guessing that they rely on dough softeners, which is what causes bagels to have this doughy, mushy texture.

Heartbreaking. Waiting all this time, schlepping all the way out to Rockville, and what do we get? New Jersey bagels at best. Sorry to perpetuate this NY-has-better-food-than-DC thing, but sometimes it is true. Certainly it is true as to bagels. There is nothing New York about these bagels. These bagels are to NY bagels what the Metro is to the New York City subway system - both trains, but only the latter can actually get you everywhere you need to go. For a flat $2.25, all day, all night. With express trains and dual tracks. The real deal unlike our pretend mass transit that costs a fortune, has limited coverage... As soon as we walked in, I had a sinking feeling. It looked like every other bagel shop in Rockville. One line for everybody, both those ordering bagels and those ordering food. It looked run-down and depressing. They had chocolate-chip bagels. A shonda. And sure enough, the bagels were meh at best. Flabby, soft, no crustiness, no chewiness. Very little flavor. Not even as good as Bethesda Bagels. Sad.

I didn't expect anything. High-quality pie seems to be the newest kid on the block, so not much to compare it to. I did a little stroll through google and found this place in mid-town Manhattan - http://www.littlepie...om/Default.aspx - where rents are no doubt at least as high as they are in Georgetown.Their 10-inch pies go for $30, so slightly better deal because it is a little larger pie and you don't have to return the pie plate to get to that price. Two Little Red Hens up in Yorkville (Upper East Side of Manhattan, also high-rent district) is said to be phenomenal but their online menu does not have prices. Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn - supposedly the best in NYC - the pies range from $32 - $38 for nine-inch pies. So if NYC and G'town rents are on par, then I guess Pie Sisters is not out of line.

Two hundred tons each? They are definitely weighty, but not two hundred tons each. Actually each one per the restaurant's website, is 100,000 pounds (50 tons) and there are two of them: http://www.havenpizzeria.com/Coal%20Ovens.html This: Anthracite coal, our fuel source, is the cleanest and most environmentally friendly fossil fuel, and is virtually free of smoke and emissions. It burns cleaner than a wood fire or even your backyard gas grill. Our coal is mined from existing mines and does not disturb new areas. Every time we purchase coal from the mine, funds are provided to a Federal Fund to restore the environment under The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Is very cool.

Big thanks to Miss T, the hostess with the mostest at R3d. I planned to have lunch with a business colleague from out of town who happens to love Ray's Hellburger and wanted to try Ray's to the Third. Due to her schedule, we planned to meet at 11:30. I arrived before she did, not having checked the hours before making the plans, to find a sign on the door saying that lunch service started at noon. I poked my head in the door to ask if we could sit and talk until noon, and the very gracious Miss T said that they would be glad to serve us lunch at 11:30. And of course they did and of course it was fantastic. Now admittedly, I would be making a repeat visit anyway, but I have to say that encountering incredibly lovely and helpful staff is the icing on the cake. Miss T - you really made our day. Thanks again for taking such good care of the customers.

Wow. $35 for a nine-inch pie? You get a $5 credit towards your next purchase if you return the glass pie plate. That had better be the best pie on the planet. It had better have high-grade cocaine in the crust. And ground diamonds in the filling. And you have to give 24 hours notice for all orders?

I would like to recommend Patriot Shredding http://www.patriotshredding.com/ (240) 206-6030 to anyone who has any significant amount of shredding of documents that have SSNs or other sensitive info. Due to a death in the family, I had many boxes of old bank records and other materials that needed to be shredded. I had neither the time nor the patience to feed this monster pile of paper through a home shredder (and by the way, those motors burn out very easily!). I also didn't want to go to one of those community shredding events because aside from the fact that there weren't any coming up any time soon, I didn't know if they (a ) did the shredding on-site (a key security issue) (b ) could handle old credit cards, passports, and such (c ) could handle old hard drives Patriot Shredding is based in Rockville but they also cover DC and VA. You can go to their facility on Wilkins Court (near the FDA) or you can have them come to your home. They bring a truck that has a huge shredder and they shred everything while you watch. They show up on time so you don't have to sit around half the day waiting for them. They also donate 5% of all sales to AFF, a non-partisan 501©(3) organization dedicated to promoting the morale, welfare, and quality of life of those within the United States Armed Forces community.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/12/famed_delorenzos_hudson_street.html I grew up in Trenton and spent many hours waiting in line on the sidewalk outside DeLorenzo's, waiting for a booth in the tiny row house. To me, pizza had to be made by a guy in a wife beater who tossed the dough in the air. It wasn't a cliche back then. It was the way it was done. And no fancy schmancy coal-burning ovens, no DOC. Just sublime pies. Not pizzas. Tomato pie. Great crust. Fresh, homemade tomato sauce. And just a light layer of fresh cheese. Went back there a few weeks ago. Dear Husband had been to the new place in Robbinsville many times. I wanted him to see the real deal. Robbinsville is actually way more convenient, there is parking, and rest rooms. The pies are just as great, but the atmosphere....just not there. Like I said - there are restrooms. The old neighborhood - Chambersburg, aka the Burg - is beyond blighted. Trenton has never been able to renew itself, despite many efforts. By the way, if you go to Robbinsville, be prepared to wait. Even at 4:45 on a recent weekday, the place was packed. We got the last two-top and watched the line grow out the door and into the parking lot. The pies are worth the wait.

And woe to those who have to wait for someone at IAD and and can't get past security out to the midfield terminals. Pathetic.

"But then again, only Au Bon Pain can mess up a breakfast sandwich that contains bacon and cheese." I beg to differ. Absolutely nothing is more disgusting and pointless than the pre-fab breakfast sandwiches at Starbucks.

Didn't even know there was a Cosi. Have to walk past Pier B one of these days. Appreciate that tip.

I would personally like to meet the person who signed the contract with Westfield to put those horrible eateries in Concourse B and make them eat the "food" available from these places. (I have no idea what A and C have as I almost always fly AA...bet I'll have to find out pretty soon). You can't even get a decent cuppa Joe or a bagel down there. Yes, the "pizza" place and Fuddrucker's (really?) and Jet Rock Bar and Grill sell fascimiles of these basic food items. Even then, selection is severely limited. Plain "bagels" and maybe whole wheat. But trust me. Starvation would be a much, much better choice. There is a Dunkin Donuts kiosk so you can get a halfway decent cup of coffee. We always take the first flight out, so we would rather not have breakfast at home (at 4 a.m.). But now we pack our own breakfast. In a pinch, CIBO (outside security) has some decent pre-packaged sandwiches.