Bruce Dearborn Walker

Recent Comments

• Supermarket Shell Game: You Pay the Same, They Give You Less (Slashfood)

  Mar 31st 2011 2:44AM The increase in regulations combined with the QE2 money printing is reflected in inflation. But don't worry, tax thralls, the Obama administration will take care of you as long as they need you.

• Snow Cream and Sugar on Snow: Blizzard Food (Slashfood)

  Dec 27th 2010 4:30PM I fondly remember snow ice cream growing up as a child in Colorado. I also remember trying it in Connecticut and tasting coal dust, car exhaust, grit, and tire rubber. Have you tried it lately, or are you living in some part of New England where the snow is still clean?

• How Do I Know If My Beer's Gone Bad? (Slashfood)

  Apr 2nd 2010 6:56PM If you can't tell by the taste whether your beer is good or not--then it really doesn't matter, does it?

• Flavored Coffee Imparts a Bad Flavor (Slashfood)

  Jan 13th 2010 7:09AM Unlike the customers of Charbucks etc, I actually enjoy the taste of coffee. A local company in CT called Wiloughby's buys and roasts their own beans and gets them in the bins immediately after degassing. You can get the coffee made in Lattes etc, but why?

• Hot Mexican Cocoa with Stone-Ground Chocolate (Slashfood)

  Nov 22nd 2009 7:45AM I usually make this with water. It's a different and more chocolate experience. My wife likes it with a shot of half and half, and a half shot of raki or ouzo. The liquorice hit definitely adds flavor, and the alcohol doesn't hurt either.

• Myth Buster: No jail time for uninsured (WalletPop)

  Nov 17th 2009 9:41PM Do we really need our government doing this? How big a government do we really need? How much government can we afford to pay for? Including all the pork and payoffs?
  
  Medical care is too expensive because everybody has their hands in the Dr.'s pockets. Malpractice takes between 25 and 40% of a Dr.'s gross in my state. We need tort reform. Smothering regulations require extra employees, and more regulations and taxes make them more expensive, and harder to fire. And so on.
  
  Tort and tax reform would drop the price of medical care by well over 50%. My Dr told me that he takes home less than 10% of what he takes in, mostly from insurance, taxes and fees. Without insurance and tax regs and paperwork he would only need two employees instead of four.
  
  You can argue with my details and numbers, but you know that this is correct.

• Angostura Bitters Shortage Shakes Up Cocktail World (Slashfood)

  Nov 7th 2009 12:14PM My liquor purveyor says they are unable to get the 4 oz bottles at all, but received a shipment of the 12 oz bottles. I bought one yesterday, and may go in now to buy a couple more. Hopefully that will last until the shortage is over.

• Pitahaya - Feast Your Eyes (Slashfood)

  Oct 17th 2009 6:26PM I found some in a plastic bag at Trader Joe's, thinly sliced and dried. It was mostly tart, and tasted berry red, with very little flavor or sweetness. I won't purchase again.

• When to Save and When to Splurge - The Hungry Bride (Slashfood)

  Aug 28th 2009 11:40PM The dirty secret of Italian olive oil is that much of it is adulterated or counterfeited by organized crime. Even the best and most expensive stuff has on occasion been messed with. I now use Portuguese and Turkish olive oil, which is much less expensive, and frankly, more flavorful.
  
  Trader Joe's pasta has recently won two taste tests--one against 16 other pastas, and one, conducted by me, against Ronzoni, my previous favorite. TJ's just obviously tastes better, and is only a dollar a pound. My general finding is that TJ's is always better quality dollar for dollar.
  
  We have a two independent farm markets nearby, their fruit and vegetables are considerably cheaper and of as good a quality as the grocery chains. One is owned by Koreans, and has a marvelous fish market inside; in general, East Asians will not buy less than top quality fish, I almost always get my fish there or at the local Chinese market.
  
  Ethnic markets are your friends, almost always cheaper and usually fresher, plus you learn about new foods and cultures. No need to buy expensive ethnic cookbooks as recipes are all over the 'net.

• Table for One - Bibimbap Till You Drop (Slashfood)

  Jul 7th 2009 11:57PM A local Korean church set up a really top notch Korean restaurant in my town a few years ago, and this, in a stone pot, was one of the stand outs. Unfortunately, they failed to check their economics. The restaurant was far too nice, and expensive, for this area.
  
  Just because you build it, doesn't mean they will come.