Banadir is a place I've been wanting to try for quite awhile, but I could never seem to work out someone to go with me in pre-LTH days. Most places, I would go by myself, but I got into a long conversation with a Somali cab driver and learned that it's considered very odd and practically tragic for a person to eat alone in Somali culture. If you are alone it is because you have no friends or family at all and you are regarded with great pity.

I finally got around to trying Barwaqo Kabab and was very very happy I did. The name is a bit misleading. As I suspected, this isn't a kabab/sandwich joint, though that may be available occasionally. Instead, in true Somali fashion, a daily smattering of stewed meat dishes is available as well as exquisitely spiced rice and some vegetable stews on the side.

Like the Google Map, this page offers a comprehensive list of all currently operating and awarded LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurants/Resources. This thread breaks them out by cuisine.

The event in New England is called a sugar on snow party, and the soft candy is traditionally served with yeast-risen donuts, sour dill pickles, and coffee. The pickles and coffee serve to counter the intense sweetness of the candy.

In order to gain popularity in the U.S. culinary landscape, Besa says chefs of Filipino food must first establish the cuisine’s defining flavor and entrée. The flavor is pre-colonial: sourness. Filipinos have maintained their indigenous palate over centuries of invaders by using vinegar and lime-like calamansi as daily souring agents for everything from fish to noodles.

First of all, forgive me for saying this, but turkey, even when done the best it can be, is just not that good. I'm not saying you should replace your holiday turkey with lobes of foie gras or porterhouse steaks, but I'd just like everyone to be honest and lower the bar a little. Admitting that what you’re really attempting is to channel all the glory of American history and elevate a humble, relatively bland beast to the heights of culinary excellence is the first step towards sanity.

When you think about Thanksgiving and you think about various elements of the Thanksgiving meal, it seems like you're just waiting through the big meal to get to the pie. I really believe this, which is why I always fantasized about an all-pie Thanksgiving.