Hey Guys,

I guess it might just be that time of the evening, but as I was lying
in bed reading the last few pages of my latest Jodi Picoult novel, I
started TO think about all the glorious types of food I have been
fortunate enough to sample over the years as a result of my travels
across the globe. In a way, some favourite meals ARE kinda like my
kids in that if someone was to pressure me into naming my favourite
dish of all time, well, I probably couldn't do it. As a matter of
fact, I don't see why one should have to have just one favorite anyway
- I mean, why can't we have several dishes that stand out in our mind.
Who's to say there is one dish that stands out so much more than
another anyways!

To be honest though, there are times when I get to thinking about a
particular dish which I have not tried for several years, and I
sometimes say to myself, "hmmm, I wonder if that dish would still
taste the same to me now"? Don't GET me wrong, I don't think there IS
anything wrong with reminiscing about a dish we've loved previously,
and in some cases, I actually think IT is healthy to remember back to
particular situations when you felt 'at one' with the dish you were
consuming.

Gaining an understanding of who we really are, particularly in a
spiritual sense, is valuable to one's sense OF identity and self-
worth. In my case at least, food is the one staple that has helped me
grow both as a human, and sexual being, and I don't think folk should
be too proud or too ashamed to admit that. If we can begin to develop
and nurture our relationships with food, surely then our relationships
with people will be enhanced also as a direct result of the emotional
growth gained from better understanding the impact of food on all our
lives.

For me, food IS more than just eating. It is about using all our
senses to discover the joy we can all gain from letting food into our
lives and embracing the concept of 'food relationships' as something
which IS normal and positive for us as human beings. I think it is a
terrible waste when I walk past fast food establishments and I see
folk gorging away on their food like they are in a race to see who is
first to finish their burger! What's the rush people?!

What IS wrong with caressing our food, and making love to it in a
metaphorical sense? Hasn't anyone else had tingles up and down their
spine when they are just about to dine at their favorite restaurant,
or when they are taking their first bite of a particular meal which
they have been looking forward to eating all day? To me, there is
nothing better than looking deeply at my dish in the brief moment
before I devour it. Sometimes I take the plate and place it and myself
on the floor where I can feel closer to it, and at the same time, feel
something like I imagine a hunter-gatherer would have felt just before
he clubbed a wild saber tooth tiger and dragged the carcass home for
his family to feast upon. The way I feel before and when I eat kinda
depends on the particular dish I guess also. For example, when I eat
rustic, home-cooked style dishes, I usually feel an overwhelming sense
of being transported back to my childhood and I can imagine the
tastes, sights and aromas of days spent without a worry in the world.
In contrast, when I consume a dish which contains strong, or spicy
flavours, I sometimes feel over-powered by a force greater than me,
and all I can do is lie on the dining room floor and let the
experience totally consume me - both physically and emotionally.

Well, I know I have rambled on a bit this evening, but it is just
something that has been on my mind over recent days and I feel
supported enough here on the group to be able to dislose thoughts such
as these.

Would be interested to hear other folk's views and opinions.

Kind Regards and have a Wonderful Candlelit Dinner wherever you are,
Brian

On Jul 12, 7:23*am, Brian Anasta > wrote:
> Hey Guys,
>
> I guess it might just be that time of the evening, but as I was lying
> in bed reading the last few pages of my latest Jodi Picoult novel, I
> started TO think about all the glorious types of food I have been
> fortunate enough to sample over the years as a result of my travels
> across the globe. In a way, some favourite meals ARE kinda like my
> kids in that if someone was to pressure me into naming my favourite
> dish of all time, well, I probably couldn't do it. As a matter of
> fact, I don't see why one should have to have just one favorite anyway
> - I mean, why can't we have several dishes that stand out in our mind.
> Who's to say there is one dish that stands out so much more than
> another anyways!
>
> To be honest though, there are times when I get to thinking about a
> particular dish which I have not tried for several years, and I
> sometimes say to myself, "hmmm, I wonder if that dish would still
> taste the same to me now"? Don't GET me wrong, I don't think there IS
> anything wrong with reminiscing about a dish we've loved previously,
> and in some cases, I actually think IT is healthy to remember back to
> particular situations when you felt 'at one' with the dish you were
> consuming.
>
> Gaining an understanding of who we really are, particularly in a
> spiritual sense, is valuable to one's sense OF identity and self-
> worth. In my case at least, food is the one staple that has helped me
> grow both as a human, and sexual being, and I don't think folk should
> be too proud or too ashamed to admit that. If we can begin to develop
> and nurture our relationships with food, surely then our relationships
> with people will be enhanced also as a direct result of the emotional
> growth gained from better understanding the impact of food on all our
> lives.
>
> For me, food IS more than just eating. It is about using all our
> senses to discover the joy we can all gain from letting food into our
> lives and embracing the concept of 'food relationships' as something
> which IS normal and positive for us as human beings. I think it is a
> terrible waste when I walk past fast food establishments and I see
> folk gorging away on their food like they are in a race to see who is
> first to finish their burger! What's the rush people?!
>
> What IS wrong with caressing our food, and making love to it in a
> metaphorical sense? Hasn't anyone else had tingles up and down their
> spine when they are just about to dine at their favorite restaurant,
> or when they are taking their first bite of a particular meal which
> they have been looking forward to eating all day? To me, there is
> nothing better than looking deeply at my dish in the brief moment
> before I devour it. Sometimes I take the plate and place it and myself
> on the floor where I can feel closer to it, and at the same time, feel
> something like I imagine a hunter-gatherer would have felt just before
> he clubbed a wild saber tooth tiger and dragged the carcass home for
> his family to feast upon. The way I feel before and when I eat kinda
> depends on the particular dish I guess also. For example, when I eat
> rustic, home-cooked style dishes, I usually feel an overwhelming sense
> of being transported back to my childhood and I can imagine the
> tastes, sights and aromas of days spent without a worry in the world.
> In contrast, when I consume a dish which contains strong, or spicy
> flavours, I sometimes feel over-powered by a force greater than me,
> and all I can do is lie on the dining room floor and let the
> experience totally consume me - both physically and emotionally.
>
> Well, I know I have rambled on a bit this evening, but it is just
> something that has been on my mind over recent days and I feel
> supported enough here on the group to be able to dislose thoughts such
> as these.
>
> Would be interested to hear other folk's views and opinions.
>
> Kind Regards and have a Wonderful Candlelit Dinner wherever you are,
> Brian

==
Anyone so hung up on food should be marooned on an uninhabited island
for the rest of his/her life.
==

On Jul 13, 12:30*pm, Janet Baraclough >
wrote:
> The message
> >
> from Brian Anasta > contains these words:
>
> > What IS wrong with caressing our food, and making love to it in a
> > metaphorical sense?
>
> * *Answer: *Sheldon.
>
> * * Janet

The OP is reading Jodi Picault - 'nuf said. LOL.

N.

On 2010-07-13, Nancy2 > wrote:

> The OP is reading Jodi Picault - 'nuf said. LOL.

Yeah. What was the subjec? Me, me, me, me.....?

nb

On Jul 13, 1:16*pm, notbob > wrote:
> On 2010-07-13, Nancy2 > wrote:
>
> > The OP is reading Jodi Picault - 'nuf said. *LOL.
>
> Yeah. *What was the subjec? *Me, me, me, me.....?
>
> nb

==
When you don't have a life outside of the food one eats, then I
suppose it is okay to stroke it, and croon sweet melodies of love.
Sometimes I wonder about those who are compelled to photograph every
creation of their culinary endeavor as well.
==

On Jul 13, 12:31*pm, Roy > wrote:

> ==
> When you don't have a life outside of the food one eats, then I
> suppose it is okay to stroke it, and croon sweet melodies of love.
> Sometimes I wonder about those who are compelled to photograph every
> creation of their culinary endeavor as well.
> ==

Photography is so simple and dirt-cheap now, why not?

Which reminds me I've always really liked cookbooks with photos of
each dish, even though the cookbooks are usually crap (made to sell at
the price of a remainder, for example). Knowing what a new dish is
supposed to look like helps a lot.

Back to the OP: While I wouldn't call it a relationship, occasionally
I do sneak out Tuesday nights, for a rendezvous with Popeye's spicy
thigh special. I'll admit it -- I love that chicken at Popeye's.

On Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:21:44 -0700 (PDT), spamtrap1888 wrote:

> On Jul 13, 12:31*pm, Roy > wrote:
>
>> ==
>> When you don't have a life outside of the food one eats, then I
>> suppose it is okay to stroke it, and croon sweet melodies of love.
>> Sometimes I wonder about those who are compelled to photograph every
>> creation of their culinary endeavor as well.
>> ==
>
> Photography is so simple and dirt-cheap now, why not?
>
> Which reminds me I've always really liked cookbooks with photos of
> each dish, even though the cookbooks are usually crap (made to sell at
> the price of a remainder, for example). Knowing what a new dish is
> supposed to look like helps a lot.
>
> Back to the OP: While I wouldn't call it a relationship, occasionally
> I do sneak out Tuesday nights, for a rendezvous with Popeye's spicy
> thigh special. I'll admit it -- I love that chicken at Popeye's.

i'm sure their red beans and rice is a purist's nightmare, but i like it.

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:

> On Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:21:44 -0700 (PDT), spamtrap1888 wrote:
>
>
> >On Jul 13, 12:31 pm, Roy wrote:
> >
> >Back to the OP: While I wouldn't call it a relationship, occasionally
> >I do sneak out Tuesday nights, for a rendezvous with Popeye's spicy
> >thigh special. I'll admit it -- I love that chicken at Popeye's.
>
>
> i'm sure their red beans and rice is a purist's nightmare, but i like it.
>
> your pal,
> blake

I cant imagine a need to "sneak" out to a fast food place?

I tend to avoid them because of the rather prolitarian clientele. I
dont go the "movies" for the same reason.

But i am quite capable of tolerating the rather sterile envinronment for
a quick 'to go' order but there is rarely any need, and certainly no
desire, guiltly or otherwise to do so.

We arelucky in haveing a couple of mom & pop burger joints in the area,
and really, it seems to me that the MacD's & etc. franchises are some
what more exspensive than thier independent counterparts.

Course in my neihgbourhood i would just as well buy a couple of freshly
made tamales or a nice plate of Yang Chow rather than spend the same
amount of money for a burger.

--

Mr. Joseph Paul Littleshoes Esq.

Domine, dirige nos.

Let the games begin!
http://fredeeky.typepad.com/fredeeky.../sf_anthem.mp3

On Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:14:20 -0700, JL wrote:

> blake murphy wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:21:44 -0700 (PDT), spamtrap1888 wrote:
>>
>>
>>>On Jul 13, 12:31 pm, Roy wrote:
>>>
>>>Back to the OP: While I wouldn't call it a relationship, occasionally
>>>I do sneak out Tuesday nights, for a rendezvous with Popeye's spicy
>>>thigh special. I'll admit it -- I love that chicken at Popeye's.
>>
>>
>> i'm sure their red beans and rice is a purist's nightmare, but i like it.
>>
>> your pal,
>> blake
>
> I cant imagine a need to "sneak" out to a fast food place?
>
> I tend to avoid them because of the rather prolitarian clientele. I
> dont go the "movies" for the same reason.
>
> But i am quite capable of tolerating the rather sterile envinronment for
> a quick 'to go' order but there is rarely any need, and certainly no
> desire, guiltly or otherwise to do so.

the different free-standing popeye's i've been to all play very nice new
orleans-style music. fats domino, professor longhair, that kind of thing.

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:

> On Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:14:20 -0700, JL wrote:
>
>
> >blake murphy wrote:
> >
> >
> >>On Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:21:44 -0700 (PDT), spamtrap1888 wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>On Jul 13, 12:31 pm, Roy wrote:
> >>>
> >>>Back to the OP: While I wouldn't call it a relationship, occasionally
> >>>I do sneak out Tuesday nights, for a rendezvous with Popeye's spicy
> >>>thigh special. I'll admit it -- I love that chicken at Popeye's.
> >>
> >>
> >>i'm sure their red beans and rice is a purist's nightmare, but i
> like it.
> >>
> >>your pal,
> >>blake
> >
> >I cant imagine a need to "sneak" out to a fast food place?


Sneak into? now thats another story all together

>
> >
> >I tend to avoid them because of the rather prolitarian clientele. I
> >dont go the "movies" for the same reason.
> >
> >But i am quite capable of tolerating the rather sterile envinronment for
> >a quick 'to go' order but there is rarely any need, and certainly no
> >desire, guiltly or otherwise to do so.
>
>
> the different free-standing popeye's i've been to all play very nice new
> orleans-style music. fats domino, professor longhair, that kind of thing.
>
> your pal,
> blake

There used to be a MacD's in the SF business district that had mood
lighting, tables with free standing chairs (not institutional seating
with attatched seats), carpeting, wood paneling, crystal chandiliers,
potted plants, and even waiters & cartes d'menu if one desired one
could sit down at a table and a waiter would come and take ones order.

Iirc it never really caught on with the local busness crowd and has
since reverted to a more standard, institutional, caffetiria style design.

I only went cause i didnt believe it. But there it was ... a McD's
trying to look like an upscale cafe. But nothing special about the menu
and slightly more expsensive than the one 6 blocks away in a more low
rent area called Market street.


IIrc the one on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris is quite 'down
market" with nothing elegant at all about it.

However, i have read that these "posh" McD's are not unusual in upscale
shopping malls in Asia, Japan espicaly has various versions of them, not
just McD's & thier franshiesed ilk but even independent Japanese
interpetations of an American "burger joint" or other type of fast food
resturant that are decorated and staffed in imitation of an american
style road side diner.

Always a bit more tidy and polished than a lot of real American road
side diners but from what i have read they are quite nice if your not
interested in the food. Plus in Europe and Asia McD's & their ilk are
able to sell alcohol with their food. Which is one reason the Champs
Elysees franchise is so popular with tourists One can get a glass of
vin ordinaire with your big Mac and pommes frite.

--

Mr. Joseph Paul Littleshoes Esq.

Domine, dirige nos.

Let the games begin!
http://fredeeky.typepad.com/fredeeky.../sf_anthem.mp3

On Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:34:18 -0700, JL > wrote:

>
> There used to be a MacD's in the SF business district that had mood
> lighting, tables with free standing chairs (not institutional seating
> with attatched seats), carpeting, wood paneling, crystal chandiliers,
> potted plants, and even waiters & cartes d'menu if one desired one
> could sit down at a table and a waiter would come and take ones order.
>
> Iirc it never really caught on with the local busness crowd and has
> since reverted to a more standard, institutional, caffetiria style design.

I remember when the first McDonald's that opened in Palo Alto on El
Camino Real put candles on the table for dinner.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

Popeye's is a'ight. I never could stomach much of what McD's had to offer. I do seek a proletarian clientele, though, in almost any establishment I consider. The more human, the better.

I think my first gyros was a magic moment, as well as Ecuadoran fritada, Sopa de Mariscos, and the Marinara at Miralmar(which includes THE freshest seafood) on Isla Mujeres

Braised lamb shanks are sublime,as are (lard or bacon fat made) tamales. The garagantuan tamal called Brazo de Reina in Merida, Mexico is one of those that trips an emotional trigger. A well-made pho is also glorious.

Most folks on here could go on forever. The foods that involve emotion, though, might generally be tied to people. Fritada reminds me of my family in Ecuador, Brazo de Reina: the friendly folks of Merida, Lamb shanks, my family in WI, etc. When people get together and jointly experience amazing food; you'll have the sentimental tie to the food, similarly as you feel for the people with who you shared it.

Gorio wrote:

> 'sf[_9_ Wrote:
>
> >;1505599']On Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:34:18 -0700, JL
> >wrote:
> >-
> >
> >There used to be a MacD's in the SF business district that had mood
> >lighting, tables with free standing chairs (not institutional seating
> >with attatched seats), carpeting, wood paneling, crystal chandiliers,
> >potted plants, and even waiters & cartes d'menu if one desired one
> >could sit down at a table and a waiter would come and take ones order.
> >
> >Iirc it never really caught on with the local busness crowd and has
> >since reverted to a more standard, institutional, caffetiria style
> >design.-
> >
> >I remember when the first McDonald's that opened in Palo Alto on El
> >Camino Real put candles on the table for dinner.
> >
> >--
> >
> >Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
>
>
> Popeye's is a'ight. I never could stomach much of what McD's had to
> offer. I do seek a proletarian clientele, though, in almost any
> establishment I consider. The more human, the better.
>
> I think my first gyros was a magic moment, as well as Ecuadoran fritada,
> Sopa de Mariscos, and the Marinara at Miralmar(which includes THE
> freshest seafood) on Isla Mujeres
>
> Braised lamb shanks are sublime,as are (lard or bacon fat made) tamales.
> The garagantuan tamal called Brazo de Reina in Merida, Mexico is one of
> those that trips an emotional trigger. A well-made pho is also glorious.
>
>
> Most folks on here could go on forever. The foods that involve emotion,
> though, might generally be tied to people. Fritada reminds me of my
> family in Ecuador, Brazo de Reina: the friendly folks of Merida, Lamb
> shanks, my family in WI, etc. When people get together and jointly
> experience amazing food; you'll have the sentimental tie to the food,
> similarly as you feel for the people with who you shared it.
>
>
>
>
I am not really a snob, i just play one on the internet

But i live in the city center of a large metropolitan area and the fast
food places and movie houses there tend to be patronized by a young,
loud and imo rude crowd. So i dont go to them. Im capable of doing so
and one of my favorite anecdotes concerns telling a room full of big
black men in a local fired chicken joint that "i only eat white meat",
but other than that.....

And there are pleanty of inexspensive, independent, down market, working
class resturants, cafes, coffee houses in my area. And what surprises
me is that they are really less exspensive than the McD's & Burger Kings
& etc. to say nothing of better food and ambiance.

--

Mr. Joseph Paul Littleshoes Esq.

Domine, dirige nos.

Let the games begin!
http://fredeeky.typepad.com/fredeeky.../sf_anthem.mp3

You're cool. I know what your saying about the little guys actually providing much better value than the big chains. Beef you can actually taste; some pride in preparation. Good stuff. My favorite Greek place is like that. For the price of an "extra value meal" I can get a nice slice of spinach pie and even some baklava for dessert. Beautifully made!! Husband and wife, nobody else. Man, do they run.

Best burger by me is a little, dumpy pub with stained window curtains and beat up floors, chairs, tables, waitresses (JK); it's just beat up. On Thursdays, though, $1 cheeseburgers made with locally grown beef, and $1 fries made with real taters cut right in front of you and made correctly (first deep fry at 320, then, again, at 350.) Still, I'd rather eat some spicy octupus or human made pho. Those treats are almost 1/2 hour away. I try to avoid a rude clientele as well.