EMPEROR’S GARDEN SZECHWAN

Does anyone but me remember the Szechwan/Hunan cooking craze of the late ’70’s and early ’80’s?

About the time boomers were emerging from their adolescent shells enough to pay attention to the world, a number cookbooks were published on the subject, inspired, in part by the success of Uncle Tai’s Hunan Yuan restaurant in New York City. The original Uncle Tai’s closed long ago, but the restaurant ignited the hot Asian food craze in America, and was responsible (at least for a time) for weaning us off of the bland, cornstarch-ridden, gloppy Cantonese food that had been innundating America for fifty years or so.

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An Italian Lesson At LUPO

The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again. – George Miller

The above cliche is based upon the bad, cheap, fat-laden Italian food that continues to enthrall the American middle class (see Olive Garden, Maggiano’s, Macaroni Grill et al). It’s too bad though, because true Italian food, like Japanese, is about ingredients (or good groceries, as Alan Richman says) more than technique. For pirouettes on the plate, one usually looks to China or France, but for pristine ingredients that shine with only a minor flourish or two, you can’t beat a purist Italian meal prepared by a great chef.

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Facebook Rant

To ELV readers: This was sent to us by good friend “Becky The Bartender.” It comes from a Facebook Forum for bitter (to say the least) waitrons and barkeeps. It’s sorta true and kinda funny and really long, but take it with a huge grain of salt with whatever margarita you’re having.

I WORK IN HOSPITALITY; I hate most people…
This is a group just for bitter BAR and generally all hospitality workers who wish to express their hate for rude customers! If you are sick of any of the following, feel free to join! And if you think of any other hates, add them! I’m sure you will!

—BAR—
*People waving their money at you/throwing it at you in the hope of being served before everybody else who has been waiting longer.

*People who take 15 minutes to remember what they need to order, while 100 other angry people are waiting to be served.

*People who order a round of 20 drinks, then dont have enough cash to pay for them…. then you have to wait for them to get cash out or put it through on credit while the 100 other angry custmers get even more impatient. CREDIT IS A BITCH! it takes too long!

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