Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Food

Chicago Restaurants for Cheap Locavores

Juliet Banana — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:48:33 -0800

What are the outstanding Chicago restaurants specializing in seasonal & local food and/or charcuterie for the broke-ass epicure? I'm planning a special birthday dinner at the end of the month. I'd like to spend $30-$40 for two people before drinks and a tip, so while I'm not going to settle for a Vienna Beef, I'm not exactly ready to book reservations at Alinea. There's a MILLION restaurants that fit this description, and I have been torturing myself reading menus (housemade pheasant sausage! sweet potato agnolotti! almond milk-braised rabbit leg!) but I keep finding new restaurants I'm missing.

I do read LTHForum, but find the existing threads difficult to narrow down to this request.

BYOB or a booze selection that leans more toward cocktails and beers than super pricey wines are a huge plus. This is a fancy meal for me, but I know these restaurants are usually more chalkboard-and-communal-table than dress code-and-sommelier; atmosphere isn't as important as food.

My current favorite restaurant in Chicago is Chilam Balam, and I've been looking at Blackbird, Avec, Lula Cafe, and Frontera Grill. Right now I'm leaning toward eating at The Bristol and then heading down to the Map Room for after-dinner drinks, but I welcome suggestions.

Cookies!

cellar — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:10:51 -0800

Pepperidge Farm used to sell Brownie Chocolate Nut cookies. It has been years since I have been able to find them. They were on the crispy side and had a very nice chocolately nutty taste. Anyone know of a similar recipe for cookies like those.

Vegetarian Little Smokies, or Something Along Those Lines

aabbbiee — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:54:35 -0800

Need suggestions for a vegetarian appetizer similar to Little Smokies- more details inside. I am looking for a vegetarian appetizer equivalent to Little Smokies (tiny sausages swimming in BBQ sauce served from a Crock-Pot) to serve on New Year's Eve. We are doing a spread of snack foods. I would like to provide a protein-focused comfort-food-style appetizer.

We will have plenty of dip (including hummus, bean salsa, and probably something with avocado) with chips and vegetables, cheese, crackers, cookies & sugary foods, and carbohydrates in general. The food will sit out for a few hours around midnight, so it shouldn't need a lot of last-minute preparation or heating other than a Crock-Pot (if necessary). This is a group of Midwesterners who would not be up for something terribly fancy. I would really like to do vegetarian Little Smokies, or something along those lines. A heavy, junky, salty/savory vegetarian snack with protein as a main component.

I am a marginal but determined vegetarian (formerly vegan) cook and I can obtain a few specialty vegetarian items, but not many (I live in a Midwestern college town). Tofu, seitan, gluten are all welcome as I love that stuff.

Suggestions, please! And any idea of how to make vegetarian Little Smokies would be great. (I'm not sure that cut-up vegetarian hot dogs would last for long soaked in BBQ sauce. But if you've done it, please let me know.)

Breakfast: My best friend. My worst enemy.

Vorteks — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:31:35 -0800

What low-GI, high-protein, portable food can I cook on Sunday night and then reheat for breakfast Mon-Fri? To improve my health and diet, I need to be better about eating a good breakfast regularly. Lots of diet/exercise books and blogs recommend things like steel-cut oats, scrambled eggs, etc. The problem is... I hate getting up early, and will basically not do anything that adds any time to my morning routine, even 5 minutes. Even finding the time to eat a bowl of cheerios is difficult because I invariably wait until the last second that I could possibly get up and still get to work on time, then leap out of bed, get ready as fast as I can, and run out the door.

So, to combat this, what I thought would be nice is to create something ahead of time (the night before, or ideally Sunday night for the whole week), then refrigerate and brown-bag it. That way I could get up, grab my brown bag from the fridge as I run out the door, and then reheat (or whatever) the food at work and eat at my desk. I feel that if I could do this, I would be able to stick to a good breakfast routine.

So, finally getting to the point, what can I make ahead of time to eat for breakfast each day? I'm looking for recipes with step-by-step instructions. The ideal recipe will have the following traits:

Can be made at least 1 day, and ideally up to 5 days in advance
Can be prepared in roughly an hour or less
Involves no additional preparation on the day that it's eaten (other than microwaving or other simple things that can be done in an office)
Has a low glycemic index (GI)
Has at least 20% calories from protein (roughly 5g of protein per 100 calories)
Doesn't taste awful
Contains no artificial sweeteners

Does anyone have a good recipe that meets these criteria? I'm hoping to get at least 3-4 so I can make them in a weekly rotation. I have no food allergies, and I enjoy a wide variety of flavors. Other breakfast habit tips are also appreciated. Thanks in advance.

SF food

AceRock — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:22:14 -0800

What to eat in San Francisco/the Bay Area that I can't find in Chicago? Going to be there for a few days. Looking for some great food recs. What does San Francisco do better than Chicago? What is available there that I can't get in the Windy City?

Mostly looking for restaurants, but I'll have access to a kitchen for a few days, so any can't-miss-food-shopping experiences would be cool too.

Thanks!

NYE in Mt. Lassen, or Joe vs. the Volcano 2010

dhn — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:15:30 -0800

How to spend NYE in Redding, CA? More generally, what are great local, non-chain places to eat at in Redding, Mt. Lassen, and the Shasta Lake region? Any nice, "fine dining" options for NYE, or are we looking at just burgers and barbecue and the like? Good food more important than atmosphere, although if there's a suggestion for a nice romantic restaurant, I'm all ears. Also let me know if there's some trail or some sight or some activity we must do in the area. We'll be there from Dec. 29 to January 2nd and staying at a hotel in Redding. Thanks!

How would you make the most of 3.5 days in Patong, Phuket?

gttommy — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:19:07 -0800

How would you make the most of 3.5 days in Patong, Phuket? From what I read there is so many things to do at relatively affordable prices in Patong (scuba diving, bungee jumping, quad biking, horse polo, shooting, kickboxing, island tours, massages, etc, etc!). I would like some recommendations as to which place to go, where to go, when to go, and in what sequence, for 3.5 days.

Who: 4 male adults
Interests: food, outdoors, socialising, nightlife

What would you do?

Many many thanks!

Roast Beast

Miko — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:33:49 -0800

I recently bought a share of a pig from a farmer, and it came wrapped in various cuts. One of the cuts is a large, meaty, bony one called "chine end roast." How should I cook this? My Googling seems to indicate it comes from the back of the pig and includes some of the bones of the spine, and that it's kind of next to the rib roast. Should I cook it like a rib roast? Or maybe a pot roast? Or braised? I'm just not sure what kind of treatment might do this big ol' meaty cut justice. Thanks for any ideas.

Lung-Health Measures

moorooka — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:54:34 -0800

Why doesn't my cannabutter work? Actually it's not mine... it's a friend's.

Anyway, there's lots of recipes out there, but this friend needs some reliable instructions. First time, he just chucked it in the pot, let it simmer, and then poured it into a dish and let it settle in the fridge overnight, leading to the most unexpectedly potent stonage of all time! But when trying to replicate this using the exact same simple procedure, the butter was a dud (I mean, tasted equally shite, but no effect). What happened? Is there a certain temperature that kills the active ingredients, or a certain length of time or what? It can be pretty annoying when you waste a big bagfull like this. Or so I've heard. Any special cannabutter secrets, or directions to fail-safe, idiot-proof recipes, will be appreciated.

Anyone have some vegetarian Tagine recipes?

mizike — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:24:29 -0800

Hi all; so my parents bought be a nice le creuset tagine for xmas, but I'm not quite sure what to use it for as a vegetarian. I'm sure I could make something like ratatouille but I'd really like to try some recipes that are specifically meant for a tagine and am getting the impression that lamb and chicken are going to feature prominantly in most of the recipes I find online. To that end, can anyone recommend some vegetarian tagine cookbooks?

Foodie destinations along Highway 35, Northern Minnesota

nanojath — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:42:08 -0800

Northern Minnesota experts? Searching for good eats - the kind you buy and take home with you, not restaurants - between Two Harbors and Minneapolis. This is the situation: we're taking a little trip to the North shore, returning on the 31st. The night we return we're hosting a low key New Year's Eve gathering at our house. Between getting back people arriving I don't feel like rushing around buying food. My bright idea was to pick stuff up along the way. Got a favorite gourmet shop along the route? Unique regional specialties, quirky ethnic cuisine, etc. are a plus. Help me fill the Christmas Hamper, since Fortnum and Mason won't deliver my first choice!

This is the route. I don't need advice on buying good food in Minneapolis, I've got that covered. I'll worry about if and when specific shops are open.

I know how to cook--but I still want a blueprint!

bookmammal — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:22:01 -0800

Blueprint artwork for recipes . . . has anyone seen these? Many years ago I saw some poster-type prints that were designed to look like blueprints of how to assemble common foods. I remember one for a taco, one for an ice cream sundae, and I'm sure there were several others. They looked very authentic and were very eyecatching! I'd like to purchase something similar for my kitchen--has anyone seen anything like this online or in an actual store? Googling has not been helpful.

buffet frenzy nostalgia

Jason and Laszlo — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:49:21 -0800

identify this Indian dish: looks like mashed sweet potatoes and tastes sweet. vegetarian. (bonus points for a great recipe).

Recommend a cookbook that features recipes with many different grains and legumes.

gregb1007 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:04:07 -0800

Recommend a cookbook that features recipes with many different grains and legumes. I am looking for a cookbook whose recipes make use of many different grains beyond rice, legumes, and vegetables as well. (Reason: When I buy a grain, I want specific recipes for it instead of referring to rice recipes and using it as a substitute.)

However, to clarify, it doesn't have to be vegetarian since I am not looking to exclude meat from my recipes. But it would be great if the cookbook did have a vegetarian slant to it, focusing more on legumes than on meats. (Example: I'd prefer a recipe that calls for chickpeas rather than for chicken.)

Why did they make me eat fish on Fridays?

tastybrains — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:52:42 -0800

In some religions (at the very least Catholicism), eating fish on Fridays is (or at least was) a requirement and seems to remain a bit of a tradition. I was raised by some strict Catholics, but never understood what the real rule was. Do you have to eat fish, or do you just have to not eat meat? And how exactly is "meat" defined in this situation? This question is one I've wondered for a long time, triggered by my intense dislike of all seafood. Most recently, what triggered this question was the fact that it seems that all corporate cafeterias I know of serve fish every Friday (and stank up the whole place).

As a child, on Fridays during Lent, I was given a lot of shit for refusing to eat fish like everyone else. My question was always "if we can't eat meat, why can't we just order some cheese pizza?!" Really...why? Why is fish the traditional alternative to meat, instead of *real* nonmeat foods like tofu and beans and pasta and the aforementioned cheese pizza?

I also wondered exactly how fish was not meat, but chicken was. I mean, where is the line drawn between meat-dead-animals and non-meat-dead-animals? Is it warm-blooded versus cold-blooded (if so, could I eat amphibians and reptiles on Fridays if I wanted to observe this rule? Are frog legs and alligator fair game?)? Is it land-dwelling versus water-dwelling (if so, could I eat a dolphin or a manatee?)?

What about mealworms? Could I eat those?

All I want for Christmas is...two butt cheeks

bilabial — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:01:56 -0800

Ravenously hungry in the middle of the night, lazy, and bored with my known options. Also: eating plenty in the daylight. Bonus round: I'm poor. I've been adding some physical activity to my life. 10 - 20 minutes of bike riding, 2-4 days a week. I got the brilliant idea that building some upper body strength would improve my confidence, so I went to a rock climbing gym. Which I love. I'll be going back (the confidence? I brought some of it home from the gym! It doesn't even smell bad!).

But. I'm already to small for the regular adult harness. I eat nearly all day long - nuts, fruit, cheese ravioli, ice cream when it's BOGO at Publix. I try to drink juice instead of water (again, I stock up at sales) and I just started making alcoholic drinks with I syrup, limes, and seltzer.

Oatmeal with whole milk for breakfast. Eggs. Plenty of bacon (on sale a lot! I have 2 packs in the freezer!), fruit, and fresh veggies in my diet.

I carry candy bars everywhere when if remember to look for them cheap - bags of Baby Ruth bars were on sale last week.

I live alone, so buying bread is not cost effective, especially as even when toasted, previously frozen bread is...ick.
Protein shakes are expensive, the stuff made with powder requires lots of willpower (to be less polite, that shit is nasty) and I really think eating is fun. I don't want my unconceived children to ever see me choking down something I clearly don't enjoy.
Help me improve my lifestyle, not just find a quick fix. Exercise depletes my calories quickly. Before I added the climbing 2 days ago I was down 10 pounds below my comfort level. If I can't stem this tide, I'll have to quit climbing. (also, I got a package deal with a harness that's too big. If I keep going with this I need to sell it and buy one that fits, but I'm not investing until Im pretty sure I can sustain it.)

Metafilter, fatten me up. Delicious beans and rice recipes that feature
lard? Yes please. Websites for reaaly good grocery coupons on junk food I can eat at home? (I like doritoes, and ice cream, but sadly I often prefer more natural choices. Butter is natural though...) I'd like things I can prepare ahead, that might freeze well (or not), some things that require little prep - adding calories to a hot dog? I'm game.

My bloodwork is good, you are not my doctor, and I am not asking for medical advice.i

Vancouver BC restaurant recommendations, please

rabinowitz — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:45:17 -0800

We're going to be in Vancouver BC in late December, and would love your restaurant recommendations. For the most part, we tend to like the same places as those "foodie" folks, especially places that concentrate on local, seasonal ingredients, but we love all good food. Nothing too snooty (Mr. Rabinowitz won't be bringing a jacket and tie), but we're open to (almost) all cuisines and price ranges as long as there's deliciousness involved. We'll be there for several days, and we'd like to experience a range of Vancouver's food offerings-- but we definitely want to have at least one GREAT Chinese meal, as that's one of the few things not available to us at home in Portland.

As to geography, we'll probably be staying at a hotel downtown (any opinions on Sutton Place vs. Fairmont Vancouver vs. Wedgewood, by the way?), but we'll have a car so we figure we can get just about anywhere we need to.

Thanks so much, Metafilter.

Spectacular Japanese Vegetarian Feast!

Cygnet — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:21:47 -0800

My family isn't doing presents this year. Instead, each of us will cook a spectacular feast for the others during the upcoming holiday break. I want to cook a Japanese feast!! Difficulty: must be vegetarian. I'm really really excited about this. I have some experience attempting traditional Japanese food - I've done pickled cabbage, carrots and plums, onigiri, vegetarian soba broth (with kombu), sushi, and hand-made udon noodles. I'm looking for more suggestions of awesome vegetarian Japanese food that will be totally delicious and beautiful to look at.

I'd enjoy trying to make my feast as traditional as possible (I know it's impossible to make it 100% authentic). What makes for a complete Japanese meal? Should I serve green tea with dinner, and if so, what kind? Table decorations? Any other suggestions?

I will have lots of free time to prepare the food, so, short of recipes that take days to ferment or pickle or whatever, I'm up for anything. I have access to a great co-op that sells some Asian vegetables and condiments, but I may not be able to purchase something that's really only grown in Asia - I don't know of any Asian markets in rural VT where my family lives!

Lastly, I know that dashi containing bonito flakes is much-used in Japanese cooking, and no, I will not be using it, or any other product containing fish (or any other meat). Sorry!

train food

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:37:31 -0800

Train ride from Portland to Chicago. In coach. I don't want to buy food on the train. What should my food strategy be? Limitations:
1. Food should be vegetarian (no beef jerky!).
2. As far as I know, there are no microwaves or refrigerators that I can use.
3. Food should be sufficient to sustain me for the entirety of the 46 hour train ride
4. I won't have access to a kitchen or cooking supplies while in Portland.
5. I would like some variety (I've tried just doing fruits&nuts on previous long journeys [though not this long] and it got boring fast.

What delicious things can I bring with me to sustain myself for the entire 46 hour journey?

Long live Ceasar!

Muirwylde — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:33:06 -0800

My salad wants to be dressed to impress. Save my Ceasar salads' soul, Mefites. Ceasar salad is so oOold school. Shake up my Ceasar salad dressing with some truly twisted, exotic, unexpected tastes and ingredients while remaining somewhat true to the modern interpretation consisting of egg, parmesan, olive oil, mayo, mustard, lemon, anchovy, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce. Thats 'modern' Ceasar to me. I know the 'original' was a far cry from this more or less standard list of ingredients in the current modern interpretation. Be wild... be creative! Lets rock Caesars world. I need a Ceasar dressing to impress my girl. Help me out. What unexpected twists can I add to Ceasar dressing to make my seriously foodie girl friend fall in love? (I mean with my salad, of course). With a little luck the sheer brilliance of your input will save my Ceasar and rock her foodie world.

Zingers!? Good Grief!

evilcupcakes — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:49:16 -0800

Does anyone know an actual store where I can buy Dolly Madison (now Hostess) Zingers in the greater Seattle area?? The Peanuts Christmas special always has a Pavlovian effect on me, and now I MUST find some Raspberry Zingers!! Since I want to try and find some in the next few days for the office holiday party (I was told this would elevate me to official "hero" status), I would prefer a brick and mortar store, rather than pay for overnight shipping.

Gourmet Food Catalogs?

KathrynT — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:12:38 -0800

What are some good fancy-pants gourmet food delivery websites? Every year, I'm flooded with catalogs touting amazing-looking gourmet food, delivered, for an arm and a leg. I love to browse these, even though I never order anything. Well, they must have noticed that I never order anything, because this year none of them came! And of course I can't remember what any of them are called.

I've done my Google homework, but all I can seem to find is Dean and Deluca and Baludicci's. These are both fabulous, but I'm sure there were others. I'm talking about the kind of places that will ship you a whole beef Wellington ready to put into the oven, or fancy crab pouf appetizers, or what have you. I feel silly, but apparently drooling over these catalogs and web sites is a big part of what sets the holiday mood for me, and I'm sort of lost without them! What are your favorite catalogs or websites for this sort of ridiculously priced indulgence?

(Dim)something strange is going on.

emelenjr — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:13:27 -0800

This is a should I eat it?* question of sorts. Exactly how is my Chinese take-out place attempting to kill me? Every time I order dumplings from the Chinese place up the street, I like to warm up the little plastic cup of sauce that comes with the order. I take the lid off, and stick the cup in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Invariably, about 10 seconds into it, there's a zzzzzzzzap noise and occasionally a flash. I usually (stupidly?) let the microwave keep cooking until I hear a second zap, and then I take out the warmed sauce.

I know there's nothing metallic in the cup—no metal rim, for example. So what's in the sauce that could be causing the arcing? No other food does this in my microwave.

*I'm eating it.

tasty hot snacks

missmary6 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:16:53 -0800

What are some good, WARM snacks that don't take too much prep? Now that the landscape outside my window is ice and snow, I find myself only wanting to eat heated food. This is fine at dinnertime, and even at lunch (apparently, you can grill any type of sandwich...) but for snacks I find myself wishing I could heat up that apple, or warm up those crackers and hummus. Any WARM snacks that y'all enjoy? I don't mind a bit of prep work, especially if it's something that will keep a little while and can be heated up later.

Food for the road. Not road food.

peachfuzz — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:27:28 -0800

-t and I are driving across the country to see the home folks! We'd like your suggestions on food to take on a road trip. While we'll probably eat a handful of meals in restaurants, we'd like to pack plenty of food, too, and keep gas station/fast food feedings to an absolute minimum. Specifically, we want:

- foods that are mostly portable/not too messy;
- shelf-stable or at least not-too-delicate;
- stuff that could be pulled together for an improvised meal, not just snack stuff;
- maybe ideas for things that can be prepped with just hot water

Ideas we've got already:

- we'll bake a bunch of filled breads (-t makes these amazing loaves filled with savory goodies)
- we'll bake some pound cake or banana bread or some other sturdy dense energy-packing sweet thing
- grab a bunch of good hard cheeses and sausages, olives, hummus, tapenade, etc;
- maybe carry some things that could turn into salads - greens in a tub, cut-up raw veggies, roasted vegetables, nuts, dried fruit, olive oil and lemons
- lots of apples, pears, other sturdy fruit
- an electric kettle, loose tea, dried dashi stock and miso paste for soup, dried rice noodles, instant oatmeal and farina

We have (limited) cooler space, and we're looking at a 3-day drive. All my stuff so far feels snacky - do you have ideas for more meal-like things that travel well and can be eaten cold or at room temp in a pinch? We like things on the not processed end of the spectrum, don't need to eat a lot of meat, and are always willing to spend some time prepping/cooking/generally keeping up with a food situation if it helps us feel like human beings.