Althouse: At the Where's-the-Beets Café...

March 18, 2012

At the Where's-the-Beets Café...

... you can get to the root of things.

55 comments:

ricpic said...: That plate's half-naked!; 3/18/12, 1:03 PM
traditionalguy said...: Add some calamari sushi and that would make one great meal for people who want to lose weight.

Potato roots are my favorite.; 3/18/12, 1:05 PM
Wince said...: Oh my god, did someone mail that to you anonymously?; 3/18/12, 1:07 PM
Chip S. said...: Ceci n'est pas nourriture.; 3/18/12, 1:07 PM
Ann Althouse said...: That was the first of 3 plates, but not my plate. My first plate had various raw tuna things.

The second plate was either prawn or lobster.

The third plate for me was a lamb chop. Someone else got a small steak. Someone else got "bronzini"... a fish stew.

And actually it was a great diet meal, even with a bottle of wine (shared by 3 of the 4 of us).; 3/18/12, 1:08 PM
edutcher said...: Anything with beets and The Blonde will be there.

(why didn't you tell us? we'd have driven...); 3/18/12, 1:11 PM
Chip S. said...: "Bronzini" is a type of fish (aka Mediterranean seabass), not a stew.

I've had it grilled whole at several restaurants, and it's delicious. I wouldn't think of putting it in a stew unless it was on its third day.

Hmm...; 3/18/12, 1:16 PM
Saint Croix said...: Do I have to talk about the food? Cause Whit Stillman's got a new movie! Hooray!; 3/18/12, 1:18 PM
Ann Althouse said...: We thought Bronzini sounded like the flesh of an over tanned human. And this fish was served in a stew form.; 3/18/12, 1:42 PM
pm317 said...: So that powdery stuff is meant to be soil in the living landscape art thing..There is a SF chef who does this kind of thing -- he was featured on Avec Eric.. I forget his name.; 3/18/12, 1:44 PM
KCFleming said...: Edible Chihuly sculpture?; 3/18/12, 1:45 PM
traditionalguy said...: Assuming this is a Cafe cafe and not a restaurant post, then let me report on a really good read by a Swedish mystery author Steig Larrson called The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

No, it is not a book about The Professor. It is about a woman as smart as her, but without her social skills.

IMO it is well written at many levels. Reading it brought out my Nordic genes.; 3/18/12, 1:46 PM
Michael Haz said...: No mention of the Executive Order signed by Oresident Obama yesterday?; 3/18/12, 1:48 PM
Hagar said...: Somebody ate that?; 3/18/12, 1:56 PM
Patrick said...: I love beets. I love them now as much as I loathed them as a kid. Roasted is better.

Traditional Guy - I enjoyed those Stieg Larsson novels, but less so with each one. Too black and white, and the whole "Millenium" magazine was incidental to the story, but took a lot of time. Should have been a separate book. They kept me turning pages, though, no question.; 3/18/12, 2:00 PM
Patrick said...: Another thing about Stieg Larsson - he and his girlfriend thought they were above the convention of marriage. He died suddenly, without a will. She got nothing from his best selling books, or anything else.; 3/18/12, 2:02 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: We eat first with our eyes and appreciate an attractive plate and it does look tasty

But..

Whenever the food is just too twee and so artfully arranged on the plate, you can bet that it is way WAY overpriced.; 3/18/12, 2:10 PM
HT said...: Ok, it could just be me, but the basketball play is really sloppy. The problem is, the guys are too big and there's very little playmaking left inside. The refs are not doing a good job - I've noticed this for years. Also for years it's seemed like to me the players are palming the ball. And, why'd they change the rules to eliminate jump balls. All the things that used to make for an interesting game are gone. There's a lot more travelling that's not called, too. And I thought their uniforms would be getting less baggy, but they're not. Why the modesty? And yet: tattoos. So refreshing to see bare, clean skin. What courage.

Parts of Kentucky vs Iowa State - slop. But then Kentucky redeemed themselves. That had to be some kind of record for consecutive baskets made.

What is the purpose of a long drawn out regular season when you have an over-long tournament at the end of it, a future I fear is awaiting college football/SEC.; 3/18/12, 2:10 PM
edutcher said...: The Blonde has been helping her best bud from her old job take care of her sister, who had a stroke a few weeks ago.

So, I got a call at 20 of 4 from The Blonde (who volunteered to watch sis while her friend had the night shift) this morning saying she needed help changing the bed.

Drove over, helped, came back and slept 4 hours. The Blonde got some time off today (she has to go back as her friend works weekend option) and we were talking about it. So, in answer to Ann's post about "first sleep, second sleep", now I know what I'm supposed to be doing between sleeps.; 3/18/12, 2:20 PM
rhhardin said...: Which fork do you use with that.; 3/18/12, 2:49 PM
Kirby Olson said...: Rosie is eating a lot more than roots.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-upm_oTiYPYY/TZWn4_XUQII/AAAAAAAABwE/0kU23Yfvmao/s1600/phpthumb_generated_thumbnailjpg.jpg

She should get a cardboard box and cut out the bottom of it and face a mirror so that she can continue her show. She can be the audience, the writer, the producer and the director, and even cheer herself on. Then she won't have to worry about her show's being cancelled.

People made fun of Rush for being fat, but Rosie is morbidly obese. Not that there's anything wrong with that.; 3/18/12, 2:49 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: ... you can get to the root of things.

I'm trying, but y'all ain't listening.

Maybe you can make me a loan to get the word out,...LOL!; 3/18/12, 2:54 PM
Carnifex said...: Here is a partial list of words that the NSA, DHS, and Echelon, are monitoring for on social networking sites. Basically, if you discuss the weather, or the news, your conversation WILL be monitored.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan Target, Nationalist, Recruitment, Emergency, Hurricane, Tornado, Twister, Tsunami, Earthquake, Tremor, Flood, Storm Crest, Temblor, Extreme weather, Forest fire, Brush fire, Ice, Stranded/Stuck, Help, Hail, Wildfire, Magnitude, Avalanche, Typhoon, Shelter-in-place, Disaster, Snow, Blizzard, Sleet, Mud slide, or Mudslide, Erosion, Power outage, Brown out, Warning, Watch, Lightening, Aid, Relief, Closure, Interstate, Burst, Emergency Broadcast System, Denial of service, Malware, Virus, Trojan, Keylogger, Rootkit, Cain and Abel, Brute forcing, Mysql, Worm, Social media.

I feel safer already.; 3/18/12, 2:58 PM
dhagood said...: when i was in college, beets had more to do with drinking than anything else. to "blow beets" was to get drunk enough that you had to vomit. one then became either a "beet king" or a "beet queen", and this fact was announced to everybody.

one's social standing could be slightly and temporarily raised by blowing beets.

and i've never been able to eat them since.; 3/18/12, 3:07 PM
Wally Kalbacken said...: Berp!; 3/18/12, 3:35 PM
Carnifex said...: @HT

Not to brag but this UK team is special. And yes the game is getting very ugly. Several teams have ended the first half with scores in the teens, let alone twenties. It started with Dean Smith and his 4 corners, and was perfected by Digger Phelps.

I was at a UK-Notre Dame game when I was a lad. His ND squad was totally over matched. His plan was to shorten the game by just holding the ball in the 4 corners(before the shot clock) Even when he got down by double digits they held the ball until they got a layup, or a turnover. The result was that ND wasn't crushed, instead they lost by 8-12 IIRC. Worst game I ever saw, and made me loathe Digger as a coach.

Anyway, teams that are overmatched ALL try to shorten the game. The more possessions the greater the more likely that the talent will excel.

The Big Least is absolutely the worst for ugly games...they look like rugby scrums, not ballgames. I blame their officials. They could clean it up but are afraid to call ALL the fouls, the paying customers don't want to see a free throw contest.; 3/18/12, 3:35 PM
Lyle said...: What a pretentious looking plate of food.; 3/18/12, 3:48 PM
rhhardin said...: Stanley Fish essay via Insty link

I'm baffled by the response.

Fish is right: double standards are fine. They're just the rhetoric of spin in the first place, and are no better or more significant when pointed out.

Which side Fish chooses is the weird thing. Maybe math was hard for him, so perverse consequences never figure in in his policies.; 3/18/12, 3:53 PM
Almost Ali said...: Ricpic,

A reply you may have missed...; 3/18/12, 4:23 PM
HT said...: Thanks, and I see. But but but - there is a shot clock now. So how can the game be shortened? Anyway, yes, it seems to be the lack of fundamental skill that's causing some atrocious play, I don't know. And does anyone run PLAYS anymore. Remember when the point guard would hold up a finger indicating which play it is? Maybe I 'm getting crotchety (ha, I am) but there used to be this very elegant rhythm to the game, and that's me saying that who comes from the southeast, not even the ACC where real b'ball used to be played. Yeah, Ky always dominated, but they were kind of an aberration back then being in the SEC, so much better than everyone else, with a real tradition and respect for the game. I come from much further south than that. But even UAB - man, the games were GREAT back then. Who cares if they weren't going to go anywhere? I loved going to the coliseum to watch those games. They had a great coach, too.; 3/18/12, 4:32 PM
Jaq said...: FYI, I am in France this week, and your blog comes up "althouse.blogspot.fr" and the top post is the one about Maher.

I entered althouse.blogspot.com/ncr based on a Lubos Motls blogspot blog entry and this post is now the top one.

http://motls.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-prevent-blogspot-and-google.html; 3/18/12, 4:38 PM
Saint Croix said...: Carolina's going to win today.

I got so annoyed with Obama picking UNC to win. And it just so happens North Carolina is critical to his reelection.

Remember when Bush was asked what was on his iPod? And he just named the stuff that was on his iPod.

I got the distinct impression that liberals try to impress us with what is on their iPod.

Music is politicized. Sports are politicized. It's all message, all the time. They run everything through their ideology. They do this to art. They do it to everything. It's highly annoying.

Mitt Romney did not do his brackets. He brushed aside the question.

I'm liking that guy more and more. He's not following the NCAA tournament! I love it.; 3/18/12, 4:45 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Maureen Dowd is on Romney's case now:

And, I think, it's one of my best posts in a long time,...; 3/18/12, 4:58 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: I discovered if you plant a lemon seed it takes a really long time to germinate but if you carefully remove the outer shell of the seed then they germinate faster. But even that can be taken farther because the real germ is underneath another layer.

That seed peeling thing happened every day for a month. You know how you get carried away sometimes until you hear a voice that says stop it already.

I photographed all that and wrote a page. It was food-related because the seeds were coming from lemons for iced tea every day so posted on the food-related blog. No link because, eh, who cares?

The page was updated when the plants grew nicely and I showed that. The thing is, the page gets looked at a lot every single day from all unlikely places repeatedly like people are studying it and I'm over here thinking I hope I don't lead anybody astray because I actually don't know what I'm doing. But I must update the page again because the trees are growing quite well and now they need new tree-worthy pots.; 3/18/12, 5:36 PM
I ♥ Willard said...: Anyway, teams that are overmatched ALL try to shorten the game. The more possessions the greater the more likely that the talent will excel.

Actually this is incorrect, as anyone who understands the strategy behind Nellie Ball and "The System" (Paul Westhead) knows.; 3/18/12, 6:17 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/18/12, 6:20 PM
I ♥ Willard said...: Not to brag but this UK team is special.

Does that mean that the graduation rate for UK basketball will exceed 31%? o_O

It will be cause for celebration when the UK basketball team graduation rate reaches half of the national Division 1 graduation rate.; 3/18/12, 6:21 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: [misspelled angel ↑]

The checkout girl at Whole Foods cheerfully inquired how do I do and I returned the usual platitudinous phrases then thought, no, and said, "I just killed all the fish in one of my tanks."

  If you could have seen the immediate profound and sincere concern on her face. She asked how. I told her. Now a bagger girl joins and she's concerned too. Their brows were knit tightly as if they had just heard terrible personal news and they drilled me on precautionary measures I might have, should have taken. They became so sad so fast and were so concerned so immediately that I was cheered. So I said that. I said, "I am cheered that I could make you two miserable this fine day." The two girls burst out laughing.

  I'm saying the death of my harlequin tetras cheered three people.   

The little school of harlequin tetras is now replaced. The new ones are babies. Only one of the old fish survived. It looked lost, tiny as it is, all alone in the center of a cleared out tank. I wanted to double the original number but I bought all the store had which restored the original school. I Also got 20 neon tetras and they have their own little school. The two schools mix like miniature galaxies. Additionally, I bought two ordinary angel fish to punctuate with their elegant glissades but right now they're cowering in a corner depression. The fish store lady said I can bring them back if they grow up to pair off and become territorial, protective and mean.   

All the plants are ripped out except for remnant bits of four species. One of the species tends to go rampant. Right now the tank looks bare with teeny fish in it and; 3/18/12, 6:28 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: I guess I was going to say; soon enough I'll be cutting the plants back into shapes.; 3/18/12, 6:31 PM
edutcher said...: Sorry about the fish; I know how you feel. I do love tetras, but rasboras are pretty good, too.

PS Milton takes PR with over 50% of the vote, so he gets all 20 delegates, for those keeping score.; 3/18/12, 6:40 PM
Cedarford said...: Romney is piling up a monster margin in Puerto Rico with 82% of the vote.
Another 20 delegates, and a strong message (as in Florida) on which Republican hispanic voters of the Cuban-American, PR constituencies favor. Romney has also taken the hispanic vote over Catholic Santorum in Western states like AZ.

Meanwhile, Santorum is up in rural Illinois saying to his Fundie/evangelical "people" that Romney has no problem with Spanish speakers - yet wants English as the official language. "A flip-flop!" Santorum declares. A Romney spokesman says Santorum doesn't understand the difference between insisting English is the official language of government and what people decide to speak in their day to day lives. "Does Santorum really want to meddle in what language is used in family homes?"; 3/18/12, 7:14 PM
paminwi said...: I'm guessing Graze in Madison as the place where this plate was served. The chef is always some kind of James Beard finalist, nominee, whatever for the midwest.

Am I correct?; 3/18/12, 7:46 PM
Christy said...: Congrats on Wisconsin beating Vanderbilt. Broke my heart, but there it is.; 3/18/12, 8:17 PM
Saint Croix said...: $65 I spent on gas today. It just made me mad at Bernanke all over again.

He's got interest rates down to nothing.

And he prints more money (twice!) in a desperate plan to spur the economy.

It's insane. Who thinks printing more money will solve anything? Madness.

And of course it's impossible to stimulate the economy when the real problem is over-regulation.

Yeah, sure, you inflated the dollar. But where's actual economic growth, numbnuts?

We got stagflation. Stagnant growth and crazy inflation.

Idiot!

And of course inflation screws the poor and does nothing to the rich.

Inflation hits the poor, dummy!; 3/18/12, 8:30 PM
LordSomber said...: Aussies call them beetroot and fancy a slice on their hamburgers.; 3/18/12, 8:33 PM
yashu said...: Saint Croix, seconding your hooray! for the advent of a new Whit Stillman movie.; 3/18/12, 8:37 PM
Gretchen said...: My guess for place is Steenbock's... the placemat looks familiar. And the beets look delicious.; 3/18/12, 8:42 PM
edutcher said...: Saint, that's what will cost you-know-who the election.

As the $.60 spike ripples through the economy (and there may be more coming), everything from Trojans to Cheetos will be affected as far as price is concerned.

We're at 8% real inflation now.

Anybody want to start a pool that we'll be at double digit real inflation and U3 unemployment by election day?

And that doesn't even begin to cover all the foreign policy disasters possible between now and then.; 3/18/12, 8:52 PM
Saint Croix said...: Saint Croix, seconding your hooray! for the advent of a new Whit Stillman movie.

I loved his first two movies especially. They are both on the short list of awesome Republican movies.

Metropolitan is his best movie, I think, but Barcelona is amazing because it's so political, and yet brutally funny. Funny and smart. This board would love it, yes?; 3/18/12, 9:23 PM
Saint Croix said...: In 2008, Steven Chu said he wanted our gas prices to be just like Europe.

Europe is paying almost $10 a gallon!; 3/18/12, 9:31 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I'm guessing Graze in Madison as the place where this plate was served. The chef is always some kind of James Beard finalist, nominee, whatever for the midwest."

No. Gretchen is right. It's Steenbock's.

And if it were that chef at Graze, it would have be l'Etoile, not Graze. Graze is a comfort food place, a different attitude.

Steenbock's is fabulous, but not enough people go there because they can't figure out where to park.

Short answer: Lot 20. It's free after 4 pm.; 3/18/12, 9:50 PM
yashu said...: Saint Croix, I'm with you: Metropolitan probably is his best movie; but Barcelona is my personal favorite. Highly recommend it to anyone here who hasn't seen it.

So funny and so true: captures facets of experience (e.g. about what it's like to be an American abroad) that no other movie in all the world has ever conveyed or would ever convey.

I feel such affection for those characters.; 3/18/12, 9:58 PM
yashu said...: Barcelona might make for an interesting double bill with Vicky Christina Barcelona (a movie I liked but don't love).

Two young American women (vs. two young American men) have romantic complications in Barcelona.

VCB isn't (as) political, but it does have an implicit politics (a more conventional politics, the politics we would expect from Woody Allen). Obviously the two movies have very different, almost diametrically opposed takes on the theme of "innocent" Americans abroad among "sophisticated" Europeans, and on the contrast of bourgeois vs. bohemian values.

Very Henry James theme.; 3/18/12, 10:32 PM
Rusty said...: We got stagflation. Stagnant growth and crazy inflation.

Idiot!

Obama is channeling his inner Jimmy Carter

Anybody want to start a pool that we'll be at double digit real inflation and U3 unemployment by election day?

For all the world I hope you're wrong, but it just may be that momentum is carrying us that way.
I hate what our little republic has become.; 3/19/12, 8:20 AM
Triangle Man said...: Short answer: Lot 20. It's free after 4 pm.

...and if lot 20 is full, lot 17 is not a bad walk in nice weather.; 3/19/12, 8:58 AM