So, aside from Patrick McGoohan sightings, there are some really interesting threads on Chowhounds. Not the ones about the Frenchier-than-me anal retentive types (anyway, you CANNOT be Frenchier than me, even though I am half Spanish), but the ones where everyones pitches in and at the end you are none the wiser. Very entertaining and helpful for urgent procrastination.
Case in point: this one. The original poster really got me hungry, especially since I almost never make it to the SGV (too far away). But after reading this one, I still don't know: a) how to pronounce xiao long bao and b) I still don't understand why the soup dumplings at Luscious Dumplings are not XLB. I mean, for all we know, they may be the owner/chef's take on XLB, no?
If you were to ask me whether the moules frites at la Dijonnaise are the real deal, I could tell you: not a 100% my regional take on it because they add cream to the broth, but they are pretty darn good. If I was a purist, I could even tell you they don't make moules frites in Dijon, it's too far from the sea.I don't care if they are not what I'd make at home, as they are a reasonable approximation of it. So, are the soup dumpling at Luscious Dumplings XLB or not? I don't know, and I don't care, but I'd love to try them! These pictures are food porn for sure.
But the thread that drove me absolutely nuts is this one. It is probably the most useless and most fascinating discussion ever. But at the end we are left without knowing what this woman did!
Did she write to Miss Manners to solve her problem?
Did she called the guy's wife?
Did her husband had a man-to-man discussion with the gars lourd?
Or did the guest arrive with his unwanted dish, got humiliated beyond belief and gunned down everyone in the party, thus explaining the absence of resolution?
I mean, it's obvious what she had to do. Smile, be gracious, accept the humble-not-so-humble-after-all offerings, serve them along the rest of her menu and thanks the poor guy's wife. And feel sympathy for the woman married to such a moron. Gee. No need to rouse a zillion procrastinators to find a solution. But leaving us without an answer is so graceless and ill-mannered! I am dying to know what happened!
PS: I stole the pictures from an innumerable series of images tagged "xia long bao" on Google. But I don't know whether they are XIB or not. Ooooo, ignorance you will make me lose sleep tonight...
Posts
