At least the day ended with ice cream and love:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/blog/2008/07/of_mint_chocolate_kitkat_bar_i.html#comment-2599606

I'm with Lissa. The whole board looks delicious and interesting. And it seems clear to me that the dish holds pate. Anonymous Foodie wants "food styling," which is usually food that is not prepared for consumption but is glazed, sprayed and gelled to a fare-thee-well. Andre Chung's beautifully executed photo is of actual food for actual people and I would actually like to have some of that right now.

Speaking of PhotoShop - when are we going to find out about that crazy happy banana thing?

For what it's worth, I think the charcuterie looks very tasty. I'm not sure exactly where Clementine's is (north of Cold Spring/Moravia?), but I have every intention of visiting soon.

In another post, someone mentioned Edelweiss Bakery. For those who didn't know, Mr. Paul died after a relatively short illness, and his family chose to close the bakery. Many of us miss it, and him, a lot.

That certainly is chilling. A critique of photography is legitimate as is a critique of an endorsed product.

I wish. Believe me, it's going to take a lot more than that to chill this crew. That wasn't chilling. You haven't seen me be chilling yet. EL

I'm not at all sure why RevEd would think I'm being held prisoner by Elizabeth, but I'm alive and well.

Internet access has been spotty while at sea.

There have to be days when you wonder -- why in heaven's name did I start this whole blog thing? Between photo critics, spice mavins and accusations of friendly favoritism, you must sometimes suspect that there are less nerve-wracking ways to spend your time. Bungee jumping off tall buildings? Being embedded undercover with a Taliban sleeper cell? Trying to out-munch Joey Chestnut at a hot dog eating contest? Fortunately, you've managed to keep your sense of humor. For which those of us who scamper in the sandbox are grateful.

Hee hee, yesterday was pretty over the top.

On Clementine, we've been there twice, and both times we were told they were out of ketchup (they allegedly make their own). The second time, I went across the street to CVS & bought a $2 bottle (on sale!) and plopped it down on the table. It was probably incredibly gauche of me, but home fries without ketchup just won't cut it.

The food was, by the way, delicious.

Mr. Laurent, you can no longer be the voice of resaon if your voice is silent. Could you be Hal Laurent, Pirate for now? That would be fun. And if you are, I have a good joke for you.

Good point Bourbon Girl. Thanks for asking about my crazy happy banana thing. He has a bunch of friends. I will go to their home and take some news photos of them today. We don't photoshop here in crazy happy banana land.

Gimme a break! All the professional food photographs in the Sun are styled and staged. Do you think that lovely effect of the shadow of "Restaurant" just happened to be there? The lighting, the placement of food and setting is all arranged. Chez G is creating a straw man. Yes, it's an interesting photo, but it is not a natural photo; that's why they send a professional photographer to do it.

All photography is artifice; there is no such thing as a natural photo. Plus it steals your soul. Is it a good or bad photo? That's debatable. I don't care. I do care that debate should be allowed. Photography is subjective. Competitions are held, awards given, even for news photography (Pulitzer?), so the quality of something subjective is worthy of discussion. I'm just saying, don't cut off open discussion. Karl Popper would be disappointed, even if Heisenberg does monkey with any human photography.

As for yesterday Ms. Large, well, sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. :)

Funny. I don't notice anyone cutting off open discussion. EL

Nameless Foodie was "repelled" by the photo and thought the food looked "disgusting." He/she wanted better "food styling." Food styling is usually done by a food stylist in the manner I described. What we have here is a professional photo of what the kitchen turned out, which is--I hope--what we get whenever the paper sends a photographer to a restaurant. I don't want to see fake food--I want to see what the kitchen actually presents.

Of course the photographer set up the shoot. Of course he took advantage of the shadow lettering, and that is part of the art. My point was simply that this particular presentation looks good just as it is and doesn't need the tweezer-and-goo treatment of a food stylist. The reverend's argument doesn't really have much to do with what I said.

Dottie,
I believe Clementine's is in the heart of Hamilton just north of St. Dominic's Church, near the Lakeins jewelry store.

Semantics Chez G. I've never been to one of your fancy food stylists, I always take my food down to the local food barber/tooth puller. I'm old school like that.

Without a little photo barbering, blogs would have pictures like this:
http://morewally.com/cs/photos/mobile_code_camp/images/750/425x319.aspx

Oh, right, they do.

Right Reverend Ed, please come over to Midnight Sun and check out Pure Aqua. They are in desperate need of some ministering of your skewed type.

One of those pesky anonymous people said:
Mr. Laurent, you can no longer be the voice of resaon (sic) if your voice is silent. Could you be Hal Laurent, Pirate for now?

If I'm silent, why are you responding to me? :-)

I've often wondered why pirates are considered to be amusing. They're really not very nice people. I blame Disney.

I'm hailing you Hal. I assume you are running silent.

Get Disney out of your mind, it's cancer. American cancer.

So a pirate goes into a bar and the bartender says, "Hey, Pirate, why do you have a steering wheel attached to your crotch?"

And he says, "Arrrrrgh, it drives me nuts!"