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Hannah. . . Enjoyed your insightful post. I am a 60ish grandmother who considers myself a professional and mom type (except grandmom) diner. Nothing makes me happier than to have a chat (time permitting) with a young wait person and to hear their hopes and aspirations. My advice always is to live your life a fully as possible so that when you get old you do not look back and say: "I wish I had done and didn't. . ." If possible, I encourage them to travel while young, eat as the locals do and like and respect the people they meet and meet as many as possible.

It puzzles me that your post turned into a vegan/vegetarian and carnivore contest. Eat whatever you want and if you end up in a place, for whatever reason, which doesn't cater to your dietary druthers, cope. Life is just too short for bitching and moaning.

Today, in one of those obnoxious 20 rules to live by is this: "13. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice
person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)"

I wish I may sometime find you, Hannah, with your youthful outlook on dining 'types'.

lunapiercook: Ditto, ditto, ditto.

As a collector of cookbooks for many years, my dislikes are anything artha Stewart or Bobby Flay. My all time favorites chefs are Julia Child and James Beard tho my really best favorites are "Two in the Kitchen" by Joe & Jeanne Anderson published in 1974; "With a Jug of Wine" by Morrison Wood published 1949. I agree with @cibercita that Laura Colwin's two books are wonderful and so sad she died so young. So many good recipes and so little time to cook.

Charm City Cupcake: Food is sorta like yard sales; what is junk to some are treasures to others. In Maryland, we caught our own crabs and steamed with Old Bay is one of the things I miss most. Okra rules. Mayo seems to be a despised condiment to many but I cannot imagine living without it.

In Florida, I cannot get fresh blue crabs but I do pig out on fried mullet and grits. In the upper Gulf, we catch our own tiny scallops and freshly shucked, they are so tasty. Oysters from Apalachicola are soooo good.

Yes, I do think where you live matters. The only things I have never been able to like are turtle steaks and calamari.

To each her/his own. Aren't you glad we don't cook for one another?

Bitter and Wookie: Yes, I remember Miss Nathalie and even met her once at a kitchen and bath convention in Atlanta. She is a Jewish lady who somehow became a Southern Cook with books to prove it. Once the funny guy on 'How to Boil Water' on the Food Network spilled something and made a quip about how his set would look like Dupree's once he was finished. Apparently aside from cooking Southern, she left a messy kitchen.

I would like to add pound cake to specialties from the South. As to soul food, our family in NC regurarly ate creamed rice and fatback for breakfast - or is that just poor Southern?

What great posts from all of the above. YaYa

Oooh lobster. I give the lobster tail to my husband and eat the rest including breaking the body apart and eating with my fingers the morsels within. All with melted butter, of course.

Thank you, Paul for this posting. I just found this site and signed up. I have a spidery handwritten 3x5 card my now 90 year old friend gave me 20 years ago. It follows:

Black Velvets:

As their name implies, they are black and smooth. They must be served cold. Their ingredients, the pitcher in which they are made, and the glasses in which they are served, should be refrigerated overnight.
1 bottle champagne - 2 bottles Guiness Stout.
Pour the champagne slowly into the pitcher first. (If you pour stout first the mixture will foam over).

This lady was one of the first officers to complete WAC training in WWII, she was on the Champs Elysee on V-E day (and has pictures to prove it), she worked for Bill Donovan at OSS the forerunner of CIA. She just turned 90, volunteers 3 days a week in DC and is a real lady.

I love black velvets so much I limit myself to once or twice a year and my husband and I finish the whole recipe and go to bed.

Again, thank you for reminding me of this vintage recipe.