I think one of the reasons this blog has been so successful is that disagreement is allowed. While I don't like ad hominum attacks, they happen sometimes. Letting them be posted both reminds folks of what is beyond the pale and allows other readers to decide who is credible and who isn't. It also reminds us that we have to be adults here, and take responsibility for our own actions. Mother EL isn't going to clean up after our messes.

(I'm afraid that I often seem to attract attacks. I hope that if I'm taunting folks or something that someone will clue me in. Like everyone, I cross the line sometimes. I do have strong opinions, and think others should be able to, too, even if that opinion is that I'm a horrible, nasty, negative, most unnice person.)

... I might be the Owl Man to boost ratings?

≠

Can someone fill me in on the "weird dog park thing"?

There's no way that hieroglyphics boy is the Owl.

Additionally, I don't think I'm being overly defensive but I didn't note where Jill was savagely attacked, especially by any regulars. Also, as we've noted, the Jack's Bistro thing became something of a punchline but there were reasons for that too. It was funny. People really need to lighten up a little bit.

Lissa, I do not believe you are inviting attacks. I think you (as all of us) live in a country that still has a constitution giving us the right of free speech. (I could go off on a rant here about other issues, but I'll leave that alone!) You surely are entitled as is everyone to speak your mind.

Re: Jill. All I'm asking is that you remember that friends of hers might see it differently. EL

I don't think people were being unfair to csmertycha or rpb or any of Jack's shills. Jack's may be, as you pointed out, a good little restaurant. But the way to generate good buzz is to *be* a good little restaurant, not to send people out posting fake reviews. People are rightly annoyed by that, and some are less likely to patronize a place that acts dishonestly. The sarcasm was not towards Jack's as a restaurant, but against the manipulative behavior of the shills.

Whatever negativity is directed at that behavior is richly deserved, IMO. It's essentially lying to your potential customers, and it's not harmless. If I can't trust what a restaurant posts on the internet, how can I trust what comes out of the kitchen? If they're not going to promote themselves ethically, why should I think they will behave when it comes to what they serve?

This place is addictive. We just returned from 6 weeks in SE Asia and I thought I had conquered my dependency, but, no, one of the first things I did was play "catch up" on D@L [right after reading the obituaries].

Like PCB Rob, I'm an ex-pat Baltimorean living in Flori-duh. Like many other participants, I am not a frequent contributor. Like many others, I miss a lot of the inside jokes. Sometimes it's like reading a foreign newspaper. But I keep coming back for the by-play and the food. I frequently forward the Top Ten to our daughter who still lives downtown.

While the comments here are not often "adolescent," the behavior is. That is not meant as an insult nor is it aimed at anyone in particular. Rather, it is a reminder that the group needs direction and limits. When I was a young teacher with more hair and fewer necks, I was working with a class of ninth graders who were struggling through Julius Caesar. [Certainly ninth graders are as adolescent as they come.] To illustrate the need for government, I left them alone in the classroom for three days so they could form their own "government;" I stood outside the door in case mayhem erupted. After the third day, one of the students came to get me, saying, "We need help. We can't agree on anything." Like The Sandbox, they needed direction [not directions] and limits.

Mistress Elizabeth has tried to set some limits on behavior here, but some have stretched the limits while others have ignored them. Visitors see the normally orderly operation of the "class" out of context, like an oberserver who stays for only a few minutes and thinks he/she can evaluate the lesson properly.

To carry this analogy to extremes -- While most of the class stays on the topic, there are those of us who seem to be passing notes in the back of the room. For example, how often have some of us strayed from food to music? As a teacher, I don't always understand the notes that are being passed, but I love to intercept and read them

I might be the Owl Man to boost ratings

And, there seem to be, a couple of posters who would like us to believe that they are Bird.

The odd thing is that I think I’m understanding the responses ∑8>0 is posting. Most of them anyway.

Can someone fill me in on the "weird dog park thing"?

Me, too!

Sorry, Eve and Carey, I had to wait till I had a moment. And thanks for asking. I didn't mean to be obscure. It was just so weird I thought everyone would know what I was talking about. Here's the link. It's toward the end of the comments. EL

I think Lissa comes in for negative comments because she is very free with her criticism of nearly everything on here, from correcting EL about the Indian women wearing saris, to her Sturgeon's law that 90% of everything is crap. Lissa also comments more than most people, so her name pops up more frequently.

OK, here's the perfect example. Should I kill this one out? (I hate the anonymous part.) I've said Lissa is no longer fair game, and I certainly don't mind being corrected. I learned something and didn't see it as criticism. But Lissa says she thinks the back and forth is important. EL

Oh, Bucky, now I'm afraid for you!

bra1nchild, what were you doing in SE Asia for that length of time?

I second Jon Parker's observations about dealing with the shills. For example, earlier today, somebody posted an apparent shill rave about the duck fat fries at Victoria Gastro Pub (an establishment which had preceded Jack's Bistro as the butt of jokey comments, owing to the pretentiousness of its name). Why do I think it was a shill? The poster claimed to be replying to the top 10 fries list, but instead posted to the "Why your comment didn't get published" topic, which had been inactive for 2-1/2 months. This might have been an indication of inept posting, except that the poster managed to include a working hyperlink to the VGP website. I'm doing my best to ignore the shill, which is why I'm venting here, but I don't know whether others in the Sandbox will take the bait and give underserved attention both to the shill and to what (for all we know) may be the shill's PR client.

Your point about snarks is well-taken, but don't forget they seem to come equally from inside as well as "out". And the "anonymous" comment above appears reasonable...nothing snarky about it (except maybe the anonymous tag).

I think Lissa comes in for negative comments because ...

↑↑↑Lissa, →♀!

a couple of posters who would like us to believe that they are Bird.

♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ≠ ∑8>{

I think I’m understanding the responses ∑8>0 is posting

{ → )

Like The Sandbox, they needed direction [not directions] and limits.
↓ ↓ ↓ ­¬♥

↓ ↓ ↓ █ of sand!

how often have some of us strayed from food to music?

→ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♫ ! ☺

Joyce W. √
Lissa √
Jon Parker √

hmpstd, I took note of the same thing and just skipped it hoping it would go away from lack of interest.

OldPhil, I don't agree that the comments of "anonymous" are reasonable. I think a reasonable person lets others speak about whatever they want to (and as often as they wish) without being "flamed". Also, why post under "anonymous" if you have a point to make.

Time for me to pipe up again, its been a while. I was a regular poster during the early days. Like Bra1nchild and PCB Rob, I'm an ex-pat Baltimorean, but I have lots of friends and family in the area and return for visits frequently. I stopped visiting the blog as often because of the snarkers and the attitude that if you aren't living in Baltimore, you're not welcome to play. I hope that changes. But, free speech must live on.

I'm amused by the anonymous comment, because it is anonymous. Sure, publish it, and folks can decide if I'm always critical and nasty or not. Doesn't bother me. It reflects on the poster, not on me.

I thought that Σ8> was using maths symbols, but I think I was wrong. He, she, machine or it is certainly being interesting. And, thank you.

I'm not getting the hate for the topic drift. I think it is one of the main charms here, that we might drift from fries to GWAR to theology to ice cream. As Kozol would remind us, life is not a bunch if separate and discrete subjects.

azgal, U→♀!

Σ( ∞ play ) = ☺

... that we might drift from fries to GWAR to theology to ice cream. As Kozol would remind us, ...

∞ ♥

Eve --
We took a 32-day cruise from Seattle [Japan, Shanghai, Vietnam, Thailand] to Singapore; spent a few days there; and then met our son, DIL and grandsons for a week in Cambodia. It was the latest in a never-ending series of "trips of a lifetime" [at least I hope it is never-ending]. Next up is a 7-week cruise from FLL to the Ukraine and back in March. Maybe I can go cold turkey [not a holiday reference, but it really is better the next day with mayo on a sandwich].

hmpstd, one would hope that people would ignore the shilling, but I'm not sure that would happen. It's not always up front.

Example: there's a Baltimore food blogger who's been posting rave reviews of the new Abby Burger Bistro all over the net. They aren't obvious shills unless you know that her husband is a salesman for one of Abbey's major meat suppliers. But nothing in her reviews gives any indication that she's not objective.

I've been to Abbey and it was pretty darned good. I liked the place a lot. And I won't say that the restaurant asked for or condones this -- I have no evidence of that at all, and wouldn't urge people to avoid it based on her unethical behavior. I wouldn't even know this if Abbey didn't print their suppliers on the menu.

So there's a loss of trust there. I won't bother with her blog or her reviews on other sites because I have no idea when she has hidden motives. Her credibility is gone for good.

I have no problem if people are open and above board when they have an interest ("sure, the GM is my sister in law but it's still the best..."). It's the deception that annoys me.

azgal, I haven't noticed that folks not living here aren't welcome. Please, if I ever do that to you or anyone else, let me know.

I would think, and hope, that this would be a great place for ex-pats to get a taste of home. I wish there were someplace like this for my hometown.

I'm not getting the hate for the topic drift. I think it is one of the main charms here, that we might drift from fries to GWAR to theology to ice cream. As Kozol would remind us, life is not a bunch if separate and discrete subjects.

Completely agree. Also, for the most part, this is a MUCH more mature audience than probably 90% of the blogs, etc that I've seen, and definitely more intelligent. I love that there is such a broad base of knowledge and interests, and that people I have likely never met have interesting and genuinely informative things to say to one another. The back-and-forth IS a good thing!

If people find our relatively genteel discussions, debates, and corrections to be too harsh and choose to cease viewing/contributing, that's fine. Those with excessively thin skin should probably avoid the internets [sic] anyway.

Topic Drift: What's not to love?

Community Development Theory
Octopus Bourbon
Dilution of Intellectualism
T.S. Eliot
Family Parking Spaces
Separation of Church and State
Cat Fur Clothing
Middle English
Employee Health Benefits
Mead

Does Σ8>) come with a translator?

azgal, I feel pretty welcome here and perhaps you should visit and comment more often. The Sandbox and its Topic Drift are some of this blog's best features. The best being EL's topics, which gets the commentary flowing.

azgal -- I should think that the example of Bucky, who hails from The Big Rectangular State (Colorado), who stumbled into D@L from the Sun's reality show blog, and who apparently has no other links to Maryland, would be proof enough that out-of-towners are welcome in the Sandbox.

I'm not even sure what the benefit of anonymous post is. After all, we all use screen names. It is not as if the phone book will give you names and addresses for Owl Meat Gravy or Robert of Cross Keys.

On another note, I think what makes this blog interesting is the diversity of opinions expressed. Much has been written about how people are opting to live and interact only with similar people. Liberals only know other and talk to other liberals. Conservatives do the same. The same is true with other groups as fundamentalist Christians aren't interacting with Scientologists or Mayonnaise people have no contact with Miracle Whippers.

Fortunately, here we have an interesting mix of ideas and perspectives. Look around at the other blogs, including most of the Sun blogs, and you will not find the kind of intellectual discourse and debate that is found on the food blog.

Jon -- whether or not Abbey condones the blogger's behavior, it's Abbey that will suffer the adverse consequences once people acquire the perception that the blogger is a shill. I'd agree that disclosure is the best policy in this regard, as with the PR rep for Morton's who makes no secret of that fact when she posts to D@L. (Contrast her with another D@L poster who identified herself as the PR flack for Sotto Sopra -- but who had no qualms about "reviewing" her client in that other Baltimore once-daily but now-biweekly paper, as I had noted.)

"they seek him here
they seek him there
the Frenchies seek him everywhere
is he in heaven
or is he in hell
that damned elusive ...."

hmpstd, my hat is off to you for that Sotto Sopra catch. Sadly, most people aren't that aware or observant. I'd be interested to know if it's the Examiner's policy to let PR flacks review restaurants. Whatever you think about the Sun (I have mixed emotions) I at least have some level of confidence that they adhere to journalistic ethics (plus the editor doesn't try to shoot his neighbors).

I'm going to continue to give Abbey the benefit of the doubt here. I did like the place, the food was good, our waitress was obviously proud of both the quality of the food and the beer selection, and i've given them some not-unconditional love over on the Chowhound board. It's a good place. I'd like to think that they're above that.

Jon Parker, it wouldn't surprise me if the Examiner let PR flacks review restaurants. That's the same paper that let a reporter write a story about a home on the market. The article described all the property's wonderful features (as these stories usually do). Only problem was the home seller turned out to be the publisher of the Examiner, which detail was conveniently omitted from the story. Laura Vozella wrote about it in her column of March 17, 2007.

Can someone fill me in on the "weird dog park thing"?

Me, too!

Sorry, Eve and Carey, I had to wait till I had a moment. And thanks for asking. I didn't mean to be obscure. It was just so weird I thought everyone would know what I was talking about. Here's the link. It's toward the end of the comments. EL

Sorry EL I missed that one.

Anyone who knows me knows I spend more time at Canton Dog Park than my own house. So I was curious.

I hope they go through with Patterson mainly to take the heat off of Canton DP. It can get insane (30+ dogs in a fenced area less than 1/8 of a city block with about 3 owners who actually know how to/will control their dog).

I attended the city's meetings about dog parks and threw in my $.02 sense when it came to "off leash hours with no fencing" at Patterson Park. At first I thought they were joking, but when I realized they were serious I gave them no less than 10 reasons why it wouldn't work.

Please note that I completely respect everyone's stand on the issue of dog parks and dogs in general. Mine stays on leash, at my side when out in public and only sniffs those that approach him, not vice versa.

oh shoot.....was that a topic drift?!

Jon -- all I did was to google the name of the poster in question to see if she really was the PR rep for Sotto Sopra, as she claimed. That search turned up her, ahem, "review" of SS in the Examiner, and her own blog confirmed that she had been engaged by the other paper (in fact, I think that was her first "review" for them). Contrary to what that famous New Yorker cartoon indicates, on the Internet, everybody can know (or find out) if you're a dog, or, at least, if you're acting in a piggish manner.

In regards to the Examiner, there is some distinction between the Baltimore Examiner newspaper and examiner.com. I know the two are linked, but they are somehow seperate.

Now, I know that some of the people who write on examiner.com are PR people; however, my wife, who writes a restaurant blog on that site, is a free lance writer who has written food and travel articles for a host of different outlets. For those interested, you can go to the Huntington WV Herald-Dispatch site to read her travel articles.

Posted by: Σ8>) the Logical Positivist progression Help! All of this is tempting to make this recovering logical positivist backslide! (Did you hear David Plotz' Wittgenstein quote on the Slate Political Gabfest last week too??)

"I see now what begins as a dream can end as a nightmare. Some causes can become warped and twisted, like some men"

Sandbox wonders now
What to do about snarkers
We should all ignore

There's also another well-known food blogger in Baltimore who gets tons of products, food, etc. from purveyors, and rave reviews them without any disclaimer that they were comped to her. It does leave a bad taste in one's mouth, so to speak.

Turkey duty done for now, OMG is Tractatus cage match with himself, ah now i can blog again.

on the Internet, everybody can know (or find out) if you're a dog, or, at least, if you're acting in a piggish manner.

Mixed metaphors and speciesism! Good day sir!

"I see now what begins as a dream can end as a nightmare. Some causes can become warped and twisted, like some men"
That's the Scarlett Pimpernel

Attribute your quotes silly people. What's up with the SP references? Was that a TV show or something? I thought the original quote was Mighty Mouse, what do I know.

Dog people can be out of their minds sometimes.

Did you hear David Plotz' Wittgenstein quote on the Slate Political Gabfest last week too??

No, what was it? I've never heard anyone is real life mention Wittgenstein. OMG is always quoting something about a ladder that you climb and throw away.

I think this blog sometimes pushes the limit when it comes to exposing shills, but i tink that a good thing. We function life the Daily Show does for news. So much news is really propaganda - they so frequently point out. And here (sorry a little sleepy) we need to root out the propaganda and expose to our harsh light of ridicule to protect the genuine. I don't think you were being too harsh, because you are probably only exposing a fraction of the offenders. But public ridicule of the creeps might dissuade others from trying to dishonestly take our money.

Here's an example of how the Examiner was a pathetic unprincipled piece of dog park soil. A year ago or so the Examiner had an editorial with a byline about how downtown liquor licenses should allow more live entertainment. The specific case he was pushing was for Velleggia's. Odd. Then he reported showed up at a liquor board hearing five days later to testify for Velleggia's in their second bid to have live entertainment. Testified after writing the well-timed article.

Later someone figured out that he was a cabaret piano bar type guy who Velleggia's wanted to hire to BE the live entertainment. Isn't that a nifty circle of conflicts of interest? I'm repeating what was already written here, but that shows how pouncing on these sort of people is an important job, which the Sun seems less likely to do these days.

What blows my mind is how very bad at this game these PR people are. I wish restaurant owners and staff and even their PR people would openly participate in the blog more. I think we are have respect for people that say, I work at PJ Pootertoots and the Cap'n Crunch-coated chicken fried weasel really is good. Instead they post bombastic blanket statements which are terrible for press releases, like:
Finally Linthicum has a world class Cambodian restaurant -- The Grilling Fields. With the finest selection of Cambodian beers in the tri-state area we kill blow you away with their lunch specials too. Try our Pol Pot Stickers -- they are to die for!

I'm back! Now if I can keep OMG stuffed with turkey and red wine, I can grab some of his territory. Thrash away in your linguo-epistomo-neurosis my pigeon scaring friend, VDP is back in action. Until Monday at least.

Pigtown, who is the well-known food blogger? Or perhaps someone else could inform us. And how can I get in on this corruption?

Wittgenstein? What? I looked up some quotes. He's kind of cool.

-------------------------

A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes.

Never stay up on the barren heights of cleverness, but come down into the green valleys of silliness.

I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves.

If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.

Language is a part of our organism and no less complicated than it.

Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language.
[Shout out to Mr. McIntyre]

Philosophy is not a theory but an activity.

The common behavior of mankind is the system of reference by means of which we interpret an unknown language.

The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for.
[uh oh, that means owl meat's mind has been erased!]

What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.
--------------------------------------------------------

So maybe owl meat has PTSD and is doing a Mr. Kurtz on us. ("the horror, the horror...")

why not?

we kill shills for fun
pollute our pond of knowledge
and swim with fishes

Every professional field lay seeded with freebie temptation! Physicians get gifts from pharmacutical companies, Golfers get gifts from sponsers, Bloggers get gifts from product companies. Is any of it legit?

Voodoo Pork's comment on inept PR people brought back memories of working for a division of Hearst newspapers many years ago, writing a television column. One day, we received a press release about a new TV series that began "Two of the greatest musical geniuses in history were born on the same date -- Beethooven and Liberace." I was so offended that I barred the agency from even contacting us for a month. Odd thing is that years later, I took a job with the same PR firm.

Finally Linthicum has a world class Cambodian restaurant -- The Grilling Fields. With the finest selection of Cambodian beers in the tri-state area we kill blow you away with their lunch specials too. Try our Pol Pot Stickers -- they are to die for!

Gods! That is amazingly horrifying and hilarious at the same time. Well played, VDP.

Joyce, all we library staff get are free pens. If you go to the big conferences, you might score a few free paperbacks. Not everyone is rolling in the swag.

I don't blame folks for taking the gifts (although I have theological issues with that, my theology doesn't bind other people, of course), I do blame them when they don't disclose.

I wish more self-identified PR people participated here. Shilling is awful, but sticking up for your employer in an open and conversational way isn't.

Joyce... i think it's all about the disclosure, or lack of it. That's where the problems arise.

Beethoven and Liberace? Now, there are two names that so do not belong in the same sentence. Not even in the same record collection.

Voodoo Pork & Jen: The line that David Plotz quoted on the Slate Political Gabfest (and let me hasten to add that I am just a fan and not a secret PR person for them!) was in fact the last line of the Tractus Logico-Philosophicus, referenced as comment 7.0. I learned it as "Those things wereof we cannot speak, thereof we must be silent," but the version Plotz quoted was closer to Jen's rendering.

I trired to play the "Philosophy is not a theory but an activity" card as an undergraduate, but was told I had to write the paper anyway.

Beethoven and Liberace? Now, there are two names that so do not belong in the same sentence. Not even in the same record collection.

Well, they did dress alike.

VDP -- my apologies for the reference to "piggish" behavior, which was certainly not intended to be any slight toward you, but, rather, a comment on that PR shill. I shall endeavor to find other animal references for future mixed metaphors.

MD Canon and Jen -- years ago, I had read a similar statement, though phrased with a Scottish accent, something along the lines of: "Ne'er should ye say something, unless ye have something to say; and when ye have said it, be off and done with it!"

MD Canon, I think I would have actually learned some philosophy in college had it been delivered with a Scottish accent. But then I would be quoting Wittgenstein like I was Scotty frm Star Trek: Ye dinna say nought aboot what ye dinna know nothin, ya wee bastard.

N.B.: Star Trek + Thanksgiving = nice swerve

VDP -- my apologies for the reference to "piggish" behavior

It was the mixed metaphor that bothered me. As a pig, I find no offense in piggish. But mixing pigs and dogs, well , that simply isn't done here on the Animal Farm. Everyone knows that dogs are stupid, can't hold a job, and, well, breed like rabbits. Good day sir. I said good day.

Philosophy does sound better with a Scotch accent. Here a cool translator. I can't believe that this is what I'm doing today but it's better than worrying about my husband while he's overseas. Here's thos quotes from above:

http://www.whoohoo.co.uk/main.asp

A serioos an' guid philosophical wark coods be written consistin' entirely ay jokes.

never bide up oan th' barren heights ay cleverness, but come doon intae th' green valleys ay silliness.

i dornt ken wa we ur haur, but aam bonnie sure 'at it isnae in order tae enjoy oorselves.

if fowk ne'er did silly things naethin' intelligent woods ever gie dain.

language is a part ay uir organism an' nae less complicated than it. like everythin' metaphysical th' harmony atween thooght an' reality is tae be foond in th' grammar ay th' leid.

philosophy isnae a theory but an activity.

the common behaviur ay mankin' is th' system ay reference by means ay which we interprit an unknoon leid.

the limits ay mah leid ur th' limits ay mah min'. aw Ah ken is whit Ah hae words fur.

what we cannae spick abit we main pass ower in silence.

VDP...I don't want to name the blogger who takes freebies and writes about them without disclosure, but I'll give you some hints:
* she's not on EL's blogroll
* she's the "only blogger in baltimore who does original recipes"
* she's a she.

Must be this one.

Pigtown, I was clueless from your clues until I realized that I could ask the Google about the content in quotes. It sent me to this site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbgv8PkO9eo

Two things-

1. While I certainly wont shill the restaurant where I work, I do feel okay with defending it or explaining things in a matter of fact way not "ohhh I love the XYZ, its perfect and delicious..... by the way Im the owner".

2. I like the blog topics and all but when I get about 5 comments in and everyones little chats and injokes and topic drift comes out, my eyes glaze over and I realize its not worth it for me trying to figure it out -- which I guess is fine for you all already in the blog, but I would imagine detracts from new posters.

RSTB -- it's unclear, from your comment, whether you are just unwilling to shill the restaurant where you work, or whether you are also unwilling to identify yourself as an employee if you decide to post a defense or explanation of that restaurant. I would have no problem if you posted something along the lines of, "The XYZ won't seat people in a closed section because of the costs involved, and I know this because I work there." However, I would have a problem if you didn't include the italicized words in your post.

If someone on here had a question or a concern about a restaurant, and an employee/owner of that restaurant saw the comment and wished to respond, I believe that would be most welcome if (as hmpstd mentions) the person identified themselves as having a connection with that restaurant.

Jen2 - How much longer will he be gone? We'll count down with you.

I dunno if anyone is reading a few days out, but yeah I agree with what you are saying hmpstd, that its better to make disclosures when necessary. And that shilling is generally bad, and if you really need to shill your restaurant on a blog.. get back in the kitchen ;)

The Most Recent Comments feature on the right side of the main page alerts people when someone has commented on an old entry, so conversations continue even on them. EL

Hey Pigtown-
I am not quite sure why you feel the need to target me, but to leave these frankly baseless comments on someone else's blog about me and the site from which I make my livelihood from is completely unnecessary.

I can't imagine how you think you have any idea what specific "freebies" I get much how I use them on my site. On my recipe blog that some other reader helpfully linked to after you posted your pointed description of it, I rarely if ever include anything I received from companies due to the nature of the blog-original recipes do not lend themselves to product placement. I don't even mention any ingredients by brand name unless they are so specific that I think it might be helpful to my readers to know what they are or where to get them. For example, fire roasted tomatoes are a somewhat unusual ingredient (especially for my more rural or international readers) so I might mention that I bought them at a "natural food store" or that Hunts and Muir Glen are two brands that make them so it is easier for people to find them. Similarly, if I bought an unusual spice or extract at a specific online store I might link to it so they can track it down as well but these are extremely rare occasions. Many times I include some specifics only after I am inundated with emails asking me where they can find a specific ingredient and again, I try to keep the ingredients as generic and easy to find as possible so people will have success recreating my recipes in their own kitchens.

I can't think of the last time I got a "freebie" I was actually able to use in a recipe much less give it a "rave review". Most of the offers of products I get are appliances or packaged food and drink, not raw ingredients I can include in a recipe. Despite what you implied in your comments, I do not post any reviews of any foods or products to that site. Anyone who reads Coconut & Lime on a regular basis would know that- it is just recipes and nothing else.

Next time, I suggest get your facts straight before you drag me into a discussion that has nothing to do with me or what I do. I have built a successful career around Coconut & Lime after many years of very hard work and at great personal expense and I don't appreciate your baseless accusations. I can't imagine why you would think it was appropriate to attack someone's livelihood like that or what you are getting out of it but please, move on.

Also, Ms. Large, I am disappointed that you would allow these commenters drag me and my blog, which is unrelated to this post, into the comments section and into open debate. I do not even post reviews to the site that Pigtown eluded to. The only reason I can think of is that was to demonstrate the sort of snarky behavior people tend to indulge in online when there are seemingly no repercussions for their actions but really, even that I don't think is appropriate. It just seems hurtful and unnecessary.

Rachel...You told a number of us at length about all of the freebies you've always gotten. Even if you use them as ingredients, you should probably disclose this. It's unethical to do otherwise.

Pigtown, I just don't use them as ingredients on Coconut & Lime and I can't imagine how you claim to know what I do receive in the mail. Please move on, this is just malicious and immature on your part.

Oh wow--I go away for a week and look at what I missed.

I did love MD Canon's post: I trired to play the "Philosophy is not a theory but an activity" card as an undergraduate, but was told I had to write the paper anyway. I believe Gertrude Stein told a professor at Hopkins Medical School that she did not feel like taking an exam that day and walked away. In her case, it worked out just fine.

Thanks for all the kind posts encouraging an ex-pat to come and play. I was in Baltimore for Thanksgiving, and while certainly didn't miss the cold, I was reminded of how great the city is (both for its charm and food). I'll play more often - a girl has to have distractions at work!

Absolutely azgal, c'mon in and play!