Sounds like Elmer is pretty inflexible on his foodie words! :) I want good food when I eat, whether making it at home, someone else's home or out. When I go out and know something's good I don't find it inflexible to order that than be disappointed trying something new just for the sake of trying something new. I detest paying for something I didn't like, especially when the likable option was there. Trying different things is good. I would like to know if someone else has tried it and liked it or at least could describe it. Service staff seldom seem to eat the food there at anything more than a diner type place and their canned descriptions don't give much information. I don't like going to eat and leave hungry. I don't think it's asking too much to want good food at a reasonable price. I have a few favorite places. There really isn't a "good" buffet around here anymore but I liked to be able to try some things and if I didn't like it, could get something else. The only one around now is Golden Corral and they're mediocre at best. I know a great mom & pop place and their breakfasts are the best part of their menu. Oh, and "adventurous", well it can be at least adventurous if not downright dangerous to eat at some peoples' places! I'd rather eat at McDonalds than eat my sister-in-law's cooking.

We dine out quite a bit. We are not big fans of the prix fixe-only, top-level Michelin-starred restaurants. There's a couple of them we like, and a few more I want to try. But for the most part we stick to the one-starred or Bib Gourmand type places. Basically moderate to upper-moderate cost restaurants (but note that where we live, "moderate" runs a lot higher than many areas). Very occasionally we are in the mood for a prix fixe only, and in those restaurants a meal usually runs from eight to 20 courses, not including amuse bouches and after-dinner mignardises. So a one- or two-bite plate within that context, actually makes a lot of sense. Like a true Chinese banquet, or a Japanese kaiseki, in a good prix fixe restaurant you aren't hungry at the end of it, but neither do you get that overloaded, uncomfortable feeling you would get from eating too much at the local diner, LOL. At the fine dining level you pay for precision. There is a very real dividing line between the best restaurants and the moderate level restaurants. Much of it has to do with consistency, both in ingredients and labor skill. When we go to mid-level restaurants, the knife skills in the kitchens are often all over the place. Food is unevenly cut, with ingredients in differing sizes (when they're not supposed to be). The sauces, gravies and dressings are not always balanced, and often take quality shortcuts. One of the more popular menu styles has become the multi-category type. It combines the current fashion for small plates/appetizers with a standard menu, like this: http://www.montrio.com/menu/ (Montrio Restaurant, Monterey, CA - chef Tony Baker) One segment the website doesn't show is the dessert menu. Montrio is the only restaurant we know of that has two sizes of desserts available every night. There is a 'regular' list of three desserts, standard sized, changing weekly. Then there is a "Bites" menu, of three different desserts, all half-sized. It's a clever idea that we wish other restaurants would pick up. Sometimes all you want is just a couple of bites of something sweet to finish, not a humongous towering super-sized sugar bomb!

Would like to have the recipe found in this book for basil grits. Thanks so much.

I have the #2 chairs - bought 2 on a whim for our dining room a while back. They're comfortable and durable (although one of the reviews noted that they're top heavy which is accurate.) The web version is pretty true to life in terms of color. Fwiw I think the almost-but-not-quite-matching aspect rules them out for you, esp w/different legs. Also think about the height factor - these are pretty tall chairs! Post a photo of the space and I'm sure people will chime in with recommendations!