Subj : moving or not To : Nancy Backus From : Barry Martin Date : Wed Oct 30 2019 09:50:00 Hi Nancy! NB>> We had a nice sit-down Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood at NB>> one time... the father was the chef, his mother watched the NB>> littlest ones, his wife was the hostess/waitress etc... as the NB>> little girls got old enough, they helped with the bussing tables, NB>> and the seating of customers... they moved on to (I think) NYC, and NB>> sold the place (and I think the recipes, too) to an Hispanic couple.. NB>> never was the same after that, and we stopped going there... BM> I'm not trying to be stereotypical but the thought of a BM> Spanish or Mexican family running a Chineese restaurant doesn't quite BM> work. Even following the recipes as written there are techniques and BM> 'unwrittens' one would not be aware of. "A pinch of salt" -- a little BM> between thumb and forefinger or more between the thumb and two BM> fingers? NB> It could have worked, but as you say, chances were good that it NB> wouldn't have.... they might have had the recipes, but didn't NB> really understand the subtleties of Chinese cooking... ;) But I NB> have a Chinese friend that can cook just about any ethnic NB> cuisine, including Mexican/Spanish or even French, Italian or NB> Greek.... :) Right. "Roll into a tube" doesn't say anything about how tightly, how long the tube is, etc. Quite sure the Hispanic couple watched the Chinese couple prepare the food, but the inevitable forgetting/mis- remembering of details: dough too thick for the amount of food and the flavour is off, or the dough shell has to be cooked longer and that means the stuffing is overcooked, etc. As for your friend, some people just have the knack. We watch Martha Stewart on Saturday noon because nothing else on at that time -- she has the occasional comment of adding a little water if needed because of the weather conditions -- sojust how does one know if the dough needs more water? Looked the same to me before. (One can't feel on TV.) BM> As for the "not the same", when we ate out more often and so a BM> higher repeat rate at specific restaurants we could tell when there was BM> a different chef in the kitchen from the usual as the meal didn't taste BM> quite the same. NB> And sometimes that can be bad, other times good.... and sometimes NB> just different.... ;) Right. Maybe we prefer what other customers don't. We tend not to be overly picky: a medium wil be accepted when ordered medium rare; if well done that will be rejected (and don't recall the last time that error occurred). NB>> Our current favorite Japanese place is owned by the chef (he makes NB>> just about everything from scratch, from sushi to soups to dressings NB>> to appetizers to entrees to desserts), his wife helps in the kitchen, NB>> is the hostess/waitress etc, and keeps the books... their oldest son, NB>> now in college, is doing some of the help in the kitchen and some of NB>> the bussing and serving and seating... the younger two boys are just NB>> there, doing their homework and such.... :) BM> Depending on how young the two boys might help at certain times - BM> thinking "do you homework for 45 minutes and then help clean for 15", BM> (You'd probably notice that schedule!) Or perhaps they helped when BM> the restaurant was closed. NB> Before things got as busy as they are now, the middle boy would NB> sit at one of the tables, and happily read a book... ;) The NB> youngest is still pretty young.... I think they now are doing NB> their schoolwork and such in the kitchen where they are out of NB> sight... or possibly are at their grandparents more.... Possibly, as long as the grandparents aren't in the back helping to cook! BM> BM> (What a topic to follow restaurants!) NB> That's the way messages evolve.... or devolve.... BM>>> avoid too much liquid milk: found I could have with cereal provided BM>>> not too much (so approaching moisten the cereal in the bowl) and the BM>>> cereal piece was the last item eaten as opposed to spooning milk. NB>>> Very odd... and quite a shame.... like my apple allergy... BM>> Well AFAICT your apple allergy is worse. Simple to avoid a glass of BM>> milk or milk in cereal (order oatmeal!) but from earlier discussions BM>> apples show up everywhere in food and drinks. NB>> Well, that is true... more effort to avoid apples than to avoid milk... NB>> but as an avid milk drinker, I'd find that hard to take, too... ;0 BM> If you had that taste I had you'd avoid! NB> Maybe... or figure out some way to cover it up... ;) Well I also covered up a bit: I needed milk to do some cooking so had a quart of milk in the refrigerator; would periodically try to see if got rid of that nasty aftertaste; found if I didn't pour too much into my cereal so was still relatively dry (not soggy) and the last bite or two was cereal and not a spoonful of milk the taste was covered up. BM>>> Fortunately non-liquid milk was fine: I could eat cheese, sour cream, BM>>> cottage cheese, yogurt with out any ill-taste. NB>>> That was a good thing, at least... :) BM>> Yes. I'll admit to never being a 'milk drinker' where one pours BM>> oneself a nice cold refreshing glass of milk -- iced water was my BM>> preference even as a kid. OTOH could chow down on cheese, cottage BM>> cheese, sour cream, etc. (Yogurt really wasn't a thing back then - BM>> definitely a new favourite.) NB>> I enjoy milk in all its forms... :) And we generally have it NB>> with our meals at home... At restaurants, it's almost impossible NB>> to find whole milk offered, so we go for something else there... BM> Yes, if you were regular regulars they might buy a quart of milk just BM> for you two. Now that you mention it I don't recall seeing milk even BM> listed in the beverage section of a lunch or dinner menu. NB> It generally is there, but most likely 2% or less.... at least at NB> most American-type restaurants, such as diners, or at the chain NB> restaurants... I'll try to remember, though when we eat out we generally don't do beverages other than water (with lemon), though sometimes something 'exotic' which already have a hankerin' for and so order without referring to that section of the menu. NB>>> And some seem to be quite good at it, as well... ;) My strong NB>>> point is in seeing good ones to grab... BM>> I'm still waiting to see one from my collection! ...Oh. NB>> Ah, did I have one of yours on that message... ;) I often try NB>> not to use taglines on messages to the person I snagged them NB>> from... but it does happen from time to time... ;) BM> 99% of my taglines have been snagged from others or extracted from BM> various sources so if you gave me one of 'my' taglines it probably BM> originated elsewhere. NB> Like most of mine... :) Right. I found the trouble with snagging that great tagline was everyone else has snagged it too, so not such a great catch. NB>> ... Law of Basic Economics: you can only spend it once. BM> Though in "advanced Economics" they talk about how the $1 a tourist BM> spends becomes $5 (or whatever amount) because the tourist gives the BM> $1 to the first vendor/shopkeeper, that person spends the $1 at Shop BM> #2, that one spends at Shop #3.... NB> Ah, but still the first person can only spend it once.... :) True. I'm more concerned with what I have and can spend than what everyone else can. NB> ... A classic is a book that is praised but not read It looks good on the shelf! ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... Old country formula for getting rich: Spend < make! --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .