Could a restaurant be so appealing, so irresistable, that you'd wait a year to get a reservation?

This one apparently is: Talula's Table in rural Pennsylvania, has been called the most difficult reservation to get in the country. Talula's is about an hour outside of Philly, has only one large farm table that seats 12, and is run by a husband and wife team. There's a store that sells cakes, pies, soups, and over 150 different kinds of cheeses (the co-owner spent her life studying cheeses).

But the real treat appears to be the restaurant. The eight-course tasting menu, which features fresh and primarily local ingredients, is the same every day for about 5-6 weeks, and then changes depending on what's in season.

The day that one NPR reporter visited, the menu was as follows: egg custard; mushroom risotto; hand-rolled rigatoni with snails; pampano roasted with a mango-saffron broth; pork osso bucco; lamb; blue-raisin chutney semolina; and for dessert - deep breath - a coffee-infused bavarian creme with bittersweet and white chocolate over a piece of buttery shortbread, covered in a blood orange jelly.

And for the record? If you want a reservation, call them tomorrow starting at 7 a.m. The first person to call that day gets the next reservation a year from now, and the process repeats itself the next day, and the next, and the next...

If you're not going to be ordering in your Thanksgiving meal, it might be a good idea to have a reliable resource on hand to give you ideas and guide you through some classic recipes. The Thanksgiving Table is entirely dedicated to the one holiday meal, though if you like the recipes, there is no reason not to enjoy them during the rest of the year, as well. Besides, the book provides ample direction for preparing some of the menu items in advance, as well as including a number of "shortcuts," so there is really no excuse not to cook.

The chapters are divided up into soups, turkey, vegetarian entrees, stuffing and biscuits, side dishes and desserts. The recipes range from traditional dishes, like Classic Roast Turkey, to the less conventional, like Barbecued Turkey and Hickory-baked Stuffed Tofu. Non-turkey recipes include Italian Sausage, Mushroom and Sage Stuffing and Sautéed Green Beans with Shallot Crisps. Timetables and menu guides are provided to help keep you organized as you work. There is also a chapter dedicated to using leftovers in ways that are more creative than just turkey sandwiches, such as Turkey Pot Pie and Turkey Enchiladas.

It's a common scene in the movies. The family leaves the kitchen or dining room unguarded, distracted by some meaningful event, such as a proposal, death, natural disaster or mental breakdown - whatever constitutes "meaningful" in the movies these days - and returns to find most of dinner missing and Fido licking his chops on the floor.

Unless you have a big dog with quick reflexes, it's more likely that your pup or your cat will snag a bite or two of food than a whole meal. And just about everyone who has owned an animal has caught them red-pawed at one time or another. Now, that's not my kitten in the picture and I probably would have shooed him away before thinking to snap a photo, but that is an extremely cute shot that brings up the question of what "people foods" do your pets tend to go for when they have the chance?

Personally, I've had a cat that would go for macaroni and cheese if I wasn't looking and neighbor whose dog would watch for unguarded egg dishes (making brunch a tricky meal to enjoy).

I'll be keeping a closer eye out the next time I make waffles, just in case.

[image via cute overload]

An alternative lifestyle deserves alternative dinnerware and the Piercing Collection of dinnerware certainly qualifies. Not only do the pieces feature black-and-white tattoo-inspired designs, but the cups and bowls are actually pierced with small metal rings. The overall look is edgy and getting dishes with tattoos or piercings is certainly easier (and probably cheaper) than doing either to your own body. The dishes were designed by Barbara Schmidt, are made in Germany and are dishwasher safe.

Only the mugs and bowls seem to be available right now and both are sold separately. You can buy several and make a matching set, or just use one mug at the office to surprise your coworkers. Just make sure there's a good coffee machine wherever you intended to use the mug because, due to the piercing, it cannot be put into the microwave.

Have you ever grabbed a musty garlic clove, or had a green bell pepper ooze through your fingers when you pull it of the bag? Everyone has had an avocado or potato go past its prime. I find it ideal to shop according to the seasons. Once you get your bounty home, what are good rules of thumb to keep fresh and ready as long as possible? I came across the following cute Periodic Table of Produce in Simple Life magazine. It's a novel, practical approach. I even tore my copies out for future reference, but thought that you might like to take a look at them here first. I scanned them in and the full table is after the jump. The images are big, so you may have to be patient for the few seconds it takes for the images to load.

You walk into a restaurant and, instead of the expected array of seating, there are only a handful of tables surrounding one large, central table that seats 20. The host smiles and directs you to seats between a couple reading the newspaper and a small group that is having a lively discussion. A few of the other diners seem to be keeping to themselves and a few more are drawing new people into their chatter. Generally, the food is not shared, but the space is.

The first time that you find yourself in a restaurant with a large communal table, your initial reaction might be something like mild shock because we are all so used to being seated at our own tables and not interacting with anyone other than members of our own party and the servers. Some people find it to be uncomfortable, eating a meal while seated with strangers, while others enjoy the experience.

This is a cute table. It has a retro-futuristic look to it - like something that they might have had on the Jetsons. The unusual feature is that it holds a six-pack of beer in the center, making it the ideal table for beer drinkers (though you could certainly put other bottles in the holders). The Beertable, described by the designer simply as "beer+table=beertable" seems to still be in the design stage, and not in actual production, so this seems like the perfect time to gather some commentary on it.

Do you like it or hate it? And more importantly, would you buy it if it were released?

I could easily see it in a diner, or used as a buffet table with snacks if a group is getting together to watch a big game. It would be better, perhaps, if it had a cooling unit in it for the beer or soda, but with only six bottles, it's unlikely that they'd last long enough to get warm anyway.

Dinner in the Sky is perhaps the world's most unique dining experience. The way it works is this: You are seated at a round table with up to 22 other people and in the center of the table, there is a workspace where a chef, a waiter and an entertainer work. Once you are strapped in, the entire table is suspended 50 meters in the air with a giant crane. You can also order a second crane that will bring up a band or -- in a rather bizarre suggestion from the company -- "a car that is being presented at the same height as the table." The whole thing can be set up just about anywhere (it is based in Europe) that there is room for it.

The basic package is €7,900, or about $10,000, but there are many additional options, including photographers, which can be secured for an additional fee.

[via The Cool Hunter]

We love salt and pepper shakers of all kinds here - after all, what would food be without seasonings? It would be boring. And while it doesn't hurt to have an interesting set of shakers on the table, there is such a thing as having ones that are too interesting. Creepy, even. These chicken feet salt and pepper shakers let you "shake a leg" in seasoning your food, but they still look like chicken feet and they might be disconcerting to see on the table. They're also $50 per pair, and at that price, I'd rather spend the money on some expensive salt than ceramic feet.

Though it looks like a bucket (ok - the bottom is a bucket), this setup from Eva Solo is a miniature tabletop grill that is styled after the much larger barrel-type hibachi grills. The handle on the base makes it easy to carry around, so it is entirely portable, and the teak base protects your outdoor furniture from the heat. Inside, there is an easy to clean removable compartment to hold charcoal. This little grill would make a romantic and intimate dinner for two barbecue lovers on a hot summer night. Granted, the power of a full-sized grill is hard to resist, but so is the appeal of grilling while sitting side-by-side.

 

 

In home kitchens, cooks have been known to complain about the height of the countertops. If they're too high or too low, you back can hurt after working away for only an hour or two. Imagine, if you will, that you have to work at that uncomfortable counter for hours on end and that will give you a sense of the discomfort that some professional cooks and bakers can feel when they have to work in a kitchen that isn't scaled to suit them.

It is unrealistic to assume that every kitchen can accommodate every chef, or that kitchens must all be custom-built just in case there is both a 5'1" and 6'2" employee working in the same space. The cost would simply be too great. Consequently, kitchens are built to the same standards (33"-36"). Two University of Wisconsin-Stout researchers invented a mobile, adjustable-height kitchen cooktop (with an induction burner) and food prep table that can help make work easier for cooks and still affordable for restaurants. The researchers who invented the cooking table specialize in injury and rehabilitation. They say that the optimal height for a cooking work surface is two inches below the elbow. Working at the correct height can prevent injury and improve efficiency. The tables can range in height from 27"-47," heights that should accommodate 90% of the population. The best part is that the tables adjust automatically at the touch of a button, meaning that the tables remain flat and there is no need to clear off works-in-progress to adjust them.

For now, the patent-pending tables will be aimed at the commercial sector, but there are clearly applications in the private sector, as well.  

[Image Dunn Country News]

With very few exceptions, I have never had a problem getting a reservation at a restaurant that I wanted to eat at. Holidays like Valentine's Day can pose their own problems, of course, but I am speaking of an ordinary night out. If I have not been able to get a reservation, I go somewhere else. If the restaurant is closing when I walk in, I go somewhere else. Some people don't want to go somewhere else, though, and either bribe the hostess or outright lie to get in. They have fake reservations. A fake reservation is what some diners use to get into restaurants that are full or closing, knowing that most restaurants will not question their claim. But here's something they may not know: they're not fooling anyone. The restaurant knows that you're faking.

No matter how much you want to eat at a restaurant, it's not going to be as satisfying if you're faking. Service will be slower because the staff is slammed. The staff will be annoyed that they have to hang around for hours after closing. You'll get annoyed because your waiter is brusque, or not all the specials are available. Try using OpenTable.com to make your reservation based on existing availability. This way you won't have to fake it.