foodstuff

Two totally random stories on food caught my eye in today's New York Times. The first is about a man in Tennessee who has successfully grown Périgord truffles. I'm sure the story is chock full of his ingenuity, bravery, etc., but the important thing is that we might be able to get truffles more easily. Mmmmm. Truffles.

The second food story was a restaurant review of a steakhouse. Apparently, if you believe the writer, the steaks are top-notch. But what makes it required reading is the location of the restaurant, which is in the Penthouse Executive Club. That's 'Penthouse' as in Penthouse magazine, a girlie magazine. The author's response to his surroundings was wonderful.

We were strangers to such pulchritudinous territory, less susceptible to the scenery than other men might be, more aroused by the side dishes than the sideshow: underdressed, overexposed young women in the vestibule, by the coat check, at the top of the red-carpeted stairs up to the restaurant, on the stage that many of the restaurant’s tables overlook.

You know, despite my love for food and excellent cuisine, I have never been able to make myself pony up the cash for a meal that involves truffles. Looks like the nearby future might have truffles in a flavour that truly interests me...affordable.

You know, they're not that terribly expensive if you cook the food yourself. Perhaps the same cost as a bottle of wine. The trick, of course, is finding them (and then being brave enough to cook with them).

I have to blush in embarrassment to admit that I love the buffalo wings at Hooters. The hooters themselves aren't bad but seriously--I love the food.

The wegman's near us has truffles, but they're something ridiculous like 200$ an ounce, and i have frequently seen what looks like a fuzzy mold growing on them. On a side note (or another admission), I've never been to a hooters, much less an establishment that has actual nudity in it. I've never much seen the attraction of such places. Of course, maybe that is because i've never been, but i can't imagine it being that entertaining.

I have heard from multiple sources that hooters has good food. It was fairly fun to watch them try to open a new restaurant in Kalamazoo a few years back - protests and all!

As the resident food professional in our household, I thought I should weigh in on the truffles debate. When David bought truffles as a birthday present for me one year, he got them preserved in a jar with brine. I'm sure they weren't as good as their fresh cousins, but, since we'd never had truffles before, we weren't to know. The thing is that the container we bought contained three tiny truffles, but it was enough to have three different truffle meals. The $200 an ounce price begins to seem more reasonable when you realize that you don't need more than a single truffle to create a masterpiece. That said, I highly recommend starting with the cheaper versions packed in brine in order to see what the fuss is about.

...and then there's truffle oil...

I've never cooked with truffles, but they are yummy... perhaps I will give it a go sometime in the near future. That said, I would LOVE to try Hooters, too!! I have a t-shirt someone gave me that, sadly, I can'n't fill, BUT I'm still intrigued.