Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with foodie

What food has the same texture as oil pastels?

bunglin jones — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 11:13:26 -0800

Someone I know has told me that the texture of high quality oil pastels (unctuous, creamy(?)) sparks something of a desire to EAT them. They are quite rational and sensible and don't want to *actually* eat their oil pastels, but want to know if there's any genuine foodstuff that has a similar texture and (potential) mouth-feel. I can't think of a single thing. Can anyone help?

Kitchen gadget excellence

orange and yellow — Sun, 25 Oct 2020 15:21:05 -0800

What is your favourite kitchen tool or accessory? My partner is a great cook who spent a few years in restaurant kitchens, and I'd like to buy him some special, high-quality kitchen stuff for Christmas.

Things he already has and is happy with:

- excellent, expensive knives and the right tools to sharpen them with
- pots and pans, including cast iron
- cutting boards
- all the appliances, including a Vitamix
- a Peugeot pepper mill
- a pizza stone
- high quality pizza cutter and rolling pin

I'm looking for things that aren't necessarily fancy or unique, but a bit beyond basic, REALLY useful and high quality. For example, a couple years ago I bought him a fish turner (recommended by mefi!) and he gets tons of use out of it. This year I'm considering a bench scraper for moving things from cutting board to frying pan. More ideas like that would be appreciated. Let me know what you love to cook with!

Barcelona restaurant recommendations

briank — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 06:41:47 -0800

My wife and I are going to Barcelona in early March. We've got the sightseeing stuff well in hand, but would like some restaurant recommendations, especially for at least one higher-end place. I am sure we will get our fill of tapas, paella, and other typical Spanish/Catalonian stuff for tourists, so I want to know what are some of the better places in the city for fine dining. Doesn't have to be El Bulli level, but we do want at least one memorable dining experience. I am a VERY adventurous eater (my wife less so, but usually game to try things).

Potluck: farm community edition

functionequalsform — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 07:54:29 -0800

A neighboring farm does a “First Friday Potluck,” and I’m finally attending this week. Yay! I also work on a farm and am excited to get more into the community. But what dish to bring? Okay, so: I’m a fairly good cook and have access to damn fine ingredients from the farm I work at—pork/bacon/sausage, chicken, eggs, lamb, and beef, along with all the summer veggies you’d expect. For cheese or anything else, my landlord owns a farm produce shop. I’ve also gotten into foraging, and have wild spinach, mint, wood sorrel, and maybe oyster mushrooms on hand. So I’m covered there.

My first inclination was to make something spectacular, as the meetup is for foodies and farmers, but I don’t want to come across as Too Thirsty for Making New Friends, y’know? So, now I’m thinking something simple (or deceivingly simple), well-made, a little creative, with good ingredients, and that represents my farm’s produce well. (Yes, I’m totally overthinking this, for sure!)

So, yeah—I can get amazing ingredients. I have the time and gumption to make something fun and a bit time consuming. I guess this is a “paradox of choice” kind of question.

The only constraint is the usual potluck one—that the dish has to travel well. Another idea I had was a simple/easy mini chicken-wrapped-in-bacon-with-goat-cheese-and-fresh-herbs-on-toothpicks situation, but I can see them getting all congeal-y and greasy and gross when cold.

What say y'all?

Make it easy while I'm in the Big Easy!

keep it tight — Sun, 25 Mar 2018 14:21:44 -0800

The girlfriend and I are getting ready to go to New Orleans next week for the first time. We are not big partiers but would call ourselves foodies. What spots so we make sure we hit keeping away from the touristy stuff? Outside of great restaurants, what else are must sees in New Orleans? Thanks in advance

Explain Napa Valley to me

CrazyLemonade — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 10:24:36 -0800

I've been thinking about where to go for my 10th anniversary and thought that Napa Valley might be the perfect place. I know next to nothing about it other than WINE. Can you help me get started with what I need to know for a great weekend trip? I'm thinking of flying to Sacramento or San Francisco on a Wednesday and driving to Napa. Returning on Sunday. So that gives us three full days. We like SPAs and good food and nice scenery. This will probably happen in May.
I don't know about what the good hotels are (we have a comfortable budget), or where to eat, drink or see. Did the recent fires/rain in California affect the area? Is three days enough to enjoy?

Meal plans with more diverse recipes

divabat — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 22:50:38 -0800

Seeking meal plan sites that will help with the whole "here's your recipes for the week plus a shopping list" thing - but with options that's more than just Northern Hemisphere White People Food. I'm trying to get back into cooking for myself (I live alone) and feel like meal plans would be helpful as they help take some of the analysis paralysis out of shopping. I'm going to be test-driving some sites out (after reading some AskMefi threads) but what I've noticed is that they mostly seem to have very White-Western-centric recipes, such as a good amount of roast-meat-and-three-veg.

I'm Asian (raised in multiple Asian cultures' worth of cuisine), and also a foodie in general, which means I tend to go for stuff that many consider "exotic" just because they have a flavour. I do like stereotypically Western food on occasion, I'll just go a little mad if that's the only stuff I eat for some time. Also, living in Australia, it's not really the season for fall or winter food right now - not that I particularly care about matching food to the season (for example I prefer hot drinks no matter the temperature) but it could make some difference with ingredient availability.

I'm well aware that there are a thousand and one recipe blogs for food from around the world; I just need some help figuring out ways to consolidate those recipes into a workable shopping list without wasting too much food. So whether it's a site like Fresh20 that has a more diverse range of recipes, or a blogger from Country X that's worked out how to do this - anything goes!

(Bonus points if they have recipes catered to the solo person who doesn't necessarily have a ton of fancy equipment)

Spain Foodie Tour 2017

Karaage — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 15:04:40 -0800

Your must eats in Barcelona, San Sebastian, Seville, and Granada. Tell me them. Extra bonus points if you can recommend a good tour where we can see a Jamon Iberico (farm to table) production. Mrs. Karaage and little Karaage and I are visiting Spain for 10 days in September. We. Are. Foodies. and want to hear all your places that are must visits, particular dishes that were memorable, all price ranges, from fast food to michelin stars.

It'd be nice if they're family friendly and receptive to a 10 month old, but arrangements can be made if not.

A few days each in Barcelona, San Sebastian, Seville, and Granada - a cursory googling told me that trips from seville can be had to see the Jamon Iberico production, which we would love to see if you can recommend a specific tour company worth a call. Cheese production would also be lovely.

When in Boston eat the Lobstah Roll?

AnneShirley — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 14:30:41 -0800

Over the course of the summer I have a couple fairly long lay overs in Boston. My intention is to use this time to explore the Freedom Trail and the MFA (over the course of several trips). I would also like to try out a couple of lobster rolls during these adventures. I'd love to get some suggestions for the best bang for my buck AND the best lobster rolls in these areas? Thanks!! If there is some other food related thing that I need to do...I'd also be interested in that, especially if it isn't too far out of my path because I likely will be mostly on foot.

What should I put in a vegan food gift basket?

lgyre — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 08:15:44 -0800

Recipients are kind of foodies and items will probably be purchased at Whole Foods. Also, they drink...so I won't be including alcohol, but related food items (or other small gifty items) are ok.

Feed me, Seymour!

Sara C. — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 22:37:42 -0800

Help me come up with creative catering ideas for my upcoming wedding! It's a backyard wedding with roughly 40 guests in the Los Angeles area, in early spring.

The original plan was to get a nearby ramen place that we both really like. Their menu and Yelp listing say that they cater, and I think there's even a sign in the restaurant that says something like "ask us about catering!" But when I called to talk to the manager about catering our event, she sounded pessimistic about it. I decided not to push it because I don't want to work with a vendor who can't do what we want. So now we are going back to the drawing board on food, and we need to cast a wide net in case we meet with similar hesitance.

We'd prefer food that reflects Southern California's cuisine and mix of cultures, or if we have to expand from there, food that reflects *our* mix of cultures. (I'm Cajun/southern, he's African-American and Chinese-American and hails from the Pacific Northwest.)

We don't want generic wedding catering or cliche cheap-and-cheerful options like red-sauce Italian or barbecue.

We are potentially into the idea of a food truck, but the In-N-Out truck doesn't do fries, and there's another wedding in our social circle a few weeks before ours that has already booked the Kogi truck. Tacos aren't off the table, but we would want either the best damn tacos in Los Angeles or something a little upscale.

We are open to either restaurants or catering companies -- or even private chefs that can do big parties at a reasonable cost -- and are looking to spend $20-30/person on food costs but have some wiggle room (especially for delivery, rentals, service or other non-food items).

Dinner in Omaha, NE

CheesesOfBrazil — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 13:08:11 -0800

Seeking optimal dining options in Omaha, at $20 or less a plate, within a 20 minute drive of the Old Market. Further parameters follow: One of us has dietary restrictions: no meat, no poultry (fish is OK), and an egg sensitivity—meaning cake is out, quiche is RIGHT out, but, like, *a* cookie is usually OK.

The other has dietary preferences: nothing overly vegetable-dominated. Pork, beef, potatoes, pasta, rice, sushi, cheese, cheese, cheese, etc.

We are sort-of foodies, and are willing to take chances on foreign food, but EVERYTHING VERY SPICY ALL THE TIME suits neither of us.

Good wine options a plus. Very noisy environment, or strict dress code, not so much.

Also relevant: we don't know Omaha AT ALL, so if it's anything too tricky to get to, we'd probably just give up.

Gimme that Honey Mustard

AzraelBrown — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 06:59:27 -0800

Easy question, I hope: my wife loves Burger King's honey mustard. You know, the dipping kind that comes in the little square 'tubs' when you get chicken strips. However, we cannot find a comparable flavor at the grocery store. I have to admit we haven't taste-tested every kind yet -- but I'm hoping one of you has. Note: I'm not looking for a homemade recipe, which is what Google returns for me. I'm hoping one of the 'honey mustards' in the mustard section of the grocery store tastes the same so I can just go buy a squirt-bottle of the stuff.

Has anyone run across the same taste in store-bought form, so my wife doesn't have to ration the three she gets when she asks for extra honey-mustard on the rare times we eat at Burger King?

Food Glorious Food

brookeb — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:37:03 -0800

If you wanted to have one really memorable meal in Tokyo and another one in Kyoto where would you go? The diners have no food allergies, one would like vegetarian/pescetarian options. The diners are moderately adventurous.

A great meal could be high-end or could be an amazing hole-in-the wall.

Foodie Restaurant Recommendations in Portland.

This Guy — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 07:04:09 -0800

My husband and I will be heading to Portland this week. We visited a couple years ago and had some amazing food thanks to some recommendations from Portland MeFites. We'd love some updated recommendations for where to eat over the next couple days! In 2011 we traveled to Portland for vacation. (Here's the IRL post I made) Generally when we travel, food and drink are the highlights of our trip. While we were there last, we had some great meals at Le Pigeon, Beaker and Flask, and Pok Pok, along with several others mentioned in the post. I'm sure the dining landscape has changed in the 4+ years since we were there. Help us eat and drink our way through the best of Portland's food scene!

New York food walking tour

Mr. Justice — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 10:35:21 -0800

So I've always wanted to go on Calvin Trillin's walking tour of NYC hole-in-the-wall food in Chinatown, Little Italy, etc. But why should I pay $150 to get his recommendations, when I can get yours for free? Tell me the about your favorite Manhattan ethno-culinary delights! We're visiting in October.

Recommend standout restaurants within a day-trip of Boston.

cribcage — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 10:47:40 -0800

I'm a foodie, and I'd like to plan some short summer day trips. What are the absolute best restaurants within three hours' drive of Boston? When I say best, I'm not necessarily talking about Michelin stars. This is what I mean: 97 reviews rating five stars, which is unusual for a small place in this area. I'm open to anything from upscale tasting menus to little neighborhood joints, but I want standout. I'm looking for places worth a long drive for the exceptional or unique experience.

I'm open to anybody's suggestions and I'll take them all. But I'm looking for the standouts. Not just five stars, but the places everybody rates at five stars.

Thanks in advance!

Thank you gift for New York Foodies

KevCed — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 07:25:58 -0800

What delicious foodstuff can I send to some friends in NYC for putting me up for a few nights last week? I stayed with friends last week when I was in town for a trade show. I want to get them something to say thanks.

Last time I stayed with them I left a few bottles of fancy beer, which was well received. Time didn't work out for me to do the same before I left.

They are a late-20s, early-30s couple. They love good food and good beer. They live within a couple blocks of Washington Square Park. Their household income is far greater than mine, so there is nothing I could get them that they couldn't get themselves.

Do you know a good $amazing_food_item of the $time_period based in NYC? Beer of the month? Artisanal gelato of the week? I would also consider buying something and arranging delivery. Places to go and have unique experiences are also encouraged.

Help an Englishman find a barbeque joint in Austin!

Specklet — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:01:34 -0800

My husband will be in Austin for business next week, and needs suggestions for both barbeque and Tex-Mex. He's not really looking for a polished dining experience; he's looking for seriously excellent grub. Thanks!

Fancy Food and Nakedness in SFO- advice please!

TestamentToGrace — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:11:33 -0800

Where should a foodie, dining alone, eat dinner at in SFO weeknights? And lets talk about the bath houses... I'll be in SFO from Sat-Wed for a conference where I am presenting and need frufru restaurant ideas for Mon and Tuesday evening. I love the city and have been many times, but haven't taken the time to really indulge in some high end restaurants. I am looking for cuisine along the lines of Per Se, French Laundry, Le Cirque, Le Cinq, Guy Savoy, etc. But also a place that I will comfortable dining alone on a weeknight. And of course a place that I actually stand a chance to get a reservation for (I can rely on AMEX Plat concierge to help do my bidding, but if it's really a sold out weeks in advance kind of place, even they might not be able to get me in).

I won't have a car so don't direct me to Napa Valley or anything. Bonus points for an eatery closer to Union Square than not (but this is only a bonus, not a requirement).

Tangential questions- (1) can anyone speak to Archimedes Banya in SFO? I fell in love with authentic turkish hamams in Istanbul- getting naked and being scrubbed down and then washed in a hot steamy room. So relaxing, especially when followed by a massage. Archimedes Banya claims to host such an experience. (2) how about the intersection between most affordable and longest/best Thai massage that's within public transportation or cab distance? Minimum 1.5 or 2 hours as would be in Thailand.

What's happening in the upper echelons of the food world?

Muirwylde — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:50:40 -0800

Help me discover the leading edge restaurants both in the US and internationally that are doing the most exciting things with regard to food, sourcing, plating and presentation as well as highly creative menu development. I am specifically interested in photo-rich sites so I can see, up close and personal, what constitutes the avant-garde in the professional food world at this time. Color, fusion, small plates, farm-to-table, table-to-farm, locavore, locally-sourced, sustainable. I'm familiar with some of the buzzwords in todays foodie world but feel free to add to the list! I would love to see photos; especially photo-rich aggregate sites, that display pictures of the best-of-the best in today's professional food world. Links directly to restaurant sites okay too. Pictures preferred over intellectualizing but an analysis of what's happening would be interesting too.

What sparked my interest recently was some of the food 'Bar Agricole' is doing in San Francisco. I realize that East Coast, West Coast and other areas all have a slightly different look. I would like to see examples from all areas in the US, as well as in Europe, Japan and elsewhere.

Interesting, intelligent, cultural, or culinary activities in NYC

aught — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:08:20 -0800

My partner will be in NYC for the next month for medical treatment, with varying energy levels, and I will be visiting her over the long weekends. Looking for people's favorite diversions that would be appropriate for a non-athletic, museum-interested, grad-school-educated, foodie couple based on the Upper East Side (70th St.) We're 40-somethings who've done a lot of the NY standard stuff in the past, including the big UES museums and MOMA -- although I have to admit a lot of my experience is nearly 20 years ago at this point -- but we're both comfortable using the Metrocard to take subways and buses around town. Partner will probably not be up to walks over 20-30 minutes. Just looking for cool stuff locals might recommend for weekend activities that wouldn't be in travel guides or major web sites or mobbed with typical tourists. Thanks in advance!

Iceland For Foodies?

like_a_friend — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:13:09 -0800

I'm planning a trip to Iceland, probably for May, and a friend has expressed interest in coming along. I'm a bit worried ... because said friend generally likes the following things:

sunlight
heat
beaches
fancy food
fancy booze
fancy hotels

...And since the first 3 are obviously Not in abundance in Reykjavik, early spring, I'm wondering what our odds are for the last three. Personally, I'm dying to visit, and will go solo if need be. But this friend is generally a blast to travel with, so if a convincing argument can be made, I'd like to make it.

I've done some googling, but my unfamiliarity with Icelandic cuisine means I can't really tell how fancy/excellent these menus really are. Personal recommendations would be WAY welcome.

Spice variety is the spice variety of life

cashman — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:34:50 -0800

I need new Seasoning. What should I season eggs with, for breakfast? What should I season eggs with for breakfast besides:

salt
pepper
bayou blast
old bay
lawrys seasoned salt
red pepper flakes

I've already tried those spices. What else new can I sprinkle on eggs (scrambled or fried egg whites) that will make them taste delicious. I am not really looking to make them spicy or add anything like sour cream or liquids, just seasoning or spices.

options when butchering a calf

yesster — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 17:44:22 -0800

My dear friend has purchased a calf and has sourced her butcher. What does she tell her butcher in order to optimize her enjoyment of this bounty, given her culinary preferences? The stats:

It is estimated that the calf will weigh 325 pounds, from which they say she will get about 150 pounds of packaged meats. Locker service has been contracted as well.

The dominant cuisine is Italian. Dishes include osso bucco, vitello tonnato, scallopini, veal marsala. Bone-in meats to be done on the grill are to be preferred over cuts that would optimize stews and roasts.

Also wondering about what part of the beast is required for "escapoles" and what the veal equivalent of a flank steak would be.

She already knows she wants pretty much all of the, um, other things. Tongue, organs, etc. We're taking them, but might want recipes for what to do.

So to summarize: what do we tell the butcher in order for my friend to get the greatest culinary pleasure out of this custom meat order?