I just hate Dane Cook and the Steeers, so I wanted to put them in there...nothing to do with D@L really. Just beacuse it's passe doesn't mean I still can't hate them.

Well, I've certainly been nasty about the Steelers on this blog, so I counted it. :-) EL

Anything French qualifies. Remember when our Gallic confreres were persona non grata and restaurants were featuring Freedom Fries? Those poor people at French's Mustard must have been having hives. Now, at least, we can enjoy French Toast without being suspected of treason.

1) It's not so much beating a dead horse, as it is tenderizing. At least around here.

2) Dane Cook is worthy of ire at every opportunity, in every venue.

3) People actually hate goat cheese? Must search!

post-script: Horse carpaccio at a Shinagawa izakaya -- try it sometime!

May is National Salsa month.

8. Asiago

Fontina is the new asiago

By the way, what the heck is fontina anyway? Yeah, its cheese, but why is it so special? The Butterkase looks tastier anyway, I think I'll try it on my next trip to the store.

And I hate the steelers too.

All you Steeler haters are just jealous. The Black and Gold is the class of the NFL.

But we all know its anybody's game, any given Sunday. So save your energy to root for your team.

Swerve alert. I just learned that in honor of Johns Hopkins school colors of sable (that's black when it get dressed up) and old gold, the Hopkins Club serves a special sundae of chocolate ice cream and butterscotch sauce. Has anyone ever tried it?

The Steelers may be a good football team; however, how can anyone take seriously a city that views french fries as a sandwich filling as opposed to a side dish?

Dahlink wrote about "sable and old gold"... does the Lacrosse team know that?? I seem to recall them looking more like (ahem!) Blue Jays!

RoCK,
Amen to that. Pittsburgh is probably a cardiologist's heaven - a steady supply of patients.

On that note, NW Florida isn't far behind.

The lacrosse team would never be allowed in the Hopkins Club.

Team colors are not graduation colors.

Trust me, you would never want to eat there. When I last visited there it was a disgusting example of Old Maryland plantation style atmosphere. I found it repugnant and frankly racist. Plus the food was pathetic. It was basically cafeteria food on individual plates.

It's a sad relic of times gone by but because it's a private club, no one cares or knows.

Dhalink-
Yes, I've had that sundae. It's not that special. Any Baskin Robbins or Maggie Moo's can make you a sundae with both hot fudge and butterscoth sauces. And you'd get a better selection of ice creams.

Owl Meat Gravy-
Yeah, I see what you mean. I'd hate think of Hopkins as intentionally racist, but there is a definite air of Times Gone By around there. The best things I can say about it are that the library looks amazing decorated for Christmas, and the strolling musicians knew "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus".

Having never been to the Hopkins Club, I'll admit that I can't judge it; however, I'm leary of claims of racism. The place touts itself as being ideal for Bar Mitvahs after all.

Is the place very traditional? It appears so, but does that make it racist?

What I do like about the place is their dress code, which states that flip flops and other extremely casual attire will not be permitted.

We are not members of the Hopkins Club, but I have attended various special occasion receptions there, and the club can do those very well. I actually think the food is much better than it was in Owl's day. The staff does its job very well and very graciously.

But Owl is right about team colors not necessarily being the official school colors.

I think events are different at the Hopkins Club. I was at a wedding reception there and don't remember anything odd. When I went to dinner there I did feel odd, when realized that the servers were all older black women. It had a certain antebellum air that made me uncomfortable. The service was deferential to the point that the women seemed more like servants than servers.

And now I can't get Foghorn Leghorn's voice out of my, I say, I say, I can't get his voice out of my head. Great.

Owlie, did you think that maybe the servers were older black women because it is a decent job with benefits? The staff has probably been there for years.

Perhaps the service is deferential, and in this egalitarian culture of ours many are uncomfortable with that, but doesn't that create a more formal atmosphere. Should the Hopkins Club be like Friday's whereby the server comes over and says: I'm Heather and I'll be taking care of you guys. Can I start you off with some poppers?"

Finally, the Hopkins Club admits students and alumni from Goucher. I don't know how elite the club can be if it is doing that. (Before anyone gets upset I'm joking, my wife went to Goucher.)

Finally, the Hopkins Club admits students and alumni from Goucher.

I didn't think students were allowed in, not that many would want to go there. We called it the Faculty Club. I'm damned sure thye don't let employees in.

It was just a weird vibe.

I used to love having lunch at the Faculty Club at Harvard B School. They had lobster in the summer and you just had to sign for your meal. I don't know to what magical land the bills went to, because I never paid one. It was a magical place with free lobster and blue blazers. RoCK would love it – not a liberal in sight.

What was the staff like at the H to the B Club? Who knows. I call that lobster blindness.

Oh, Owlie--you just reminded me of the one time we had lunch at the Harvard B School. We walked in right behind John Kenneth Galbraith (who was immensely tall).

Anyone can join the Hopkins Club if you are willing to pay the annual dues, I think. It is no longer called the Faculty Club. And I believe RoCK is quite right that the jobs are coveted and go to people with longevity. No one messes with Miss Rachel!

I am surprised no one has mentioned the sorbet that is served as a palate cleanser between courses. The story I have heard is that someone left money in his will to ensure that this tradition continued.

My worst memory of the club: we had just driven cross country in July with a U-Haul containing all our earthly belongings. The chairman of my husband's department met us and took us to dinner at the Faculty Club (as it was then called). I was in grubby jeans with my hair tied back and everyone else had just stepped out of a Breck Girl ad. I would have gladly assumed invisibility, but no one batted an eyelash.

Now I don't only associate with like minded people. In fact I share my home with a liberal and someone who is an odd amalgamation of a reactionary, a communist, a nihilist and a hedonist. I am course talking about my wife and Mr. Jefferson.

I think I may have used this joke before; however, it is a holiday weekend so reruns should be expected.

Now that RoCK has returned us to politics, I should confess that when I first read this post my mind automatically read "GW" as "Dubya." Only belatedly did I realize that Golden West was meant.

Guess what came in the mail today? An invitation for my wife to join the Hopkins Club.

Wait, RoCK, isn't your wife the ranting leftist in the family? Why on earth would the Hopkins Club want her? She make more than you?

Oh Lissa, or should I say Sue Hopper. you do not understand Hopkins.

No, the Hopkins club invite was sent out to all Goucher alumni. Now, most Goucher alums are raging leftists, but I guess the club is willing to overlook that.

I've been to a dinner at the HC as a guest, and didn't find anything odd about it. Assuming the existence of racism based on a similarity you see among the waitstaff is reckless and takes us a step in the wrong direction. We shouldn't be so quick to judge. I always think of EMo Philips when folks bring up racism. The quote goes something like... why hate someone because of their race when there are so many real reasons to hate others? That said, the food was a definitely "meh" on the "ew" to "Oh!" scale.

I have been to the Hopkins Club twice as someone's guest and was surprised to find what I would also call an antebellum feel--though my thought was an Old Virginia country club rather than a Maryland plantation. Racism didn't come to mind, but it did feel odd to be in a place with such fusty old decor and be served by an entirely black waitstaff. The smells coming from the buffet food discouraged me from even looking. The menu choices are old standbys--nothing interesting.

The plates are piled with scooped mounds of coleslaw and whatever they can find to completely cover the plate (this was lunch). A lemon wedge was in a fussy get-up of green fabric. I don't remember the last time I saw a plate that looked like this. A crabcake I had was very good, but everything else was strictly cafeteria food. Maybe some of the servers have indeed been there forever, but none of the servers waiting on our two groups exhibited any professionalism.

I don't understand why people want to join. Why not save the yearly fee and do your outside entertaining at good restaurants?

On the note of Hopkins Club recruiting from goucher:

It's my understanding that in ye olden days (before both schools went coed), Goucher served as something of a dating mill for the Hopkins boys.

I've had the occasion to happen upon one or two of the functions the Hopkins trustees throws, particularly the ones that invite the spouses that get dragged along while their menfolk are busy with business -- a notable fraction refer to themselves and each other as 'Goucher girls'.

Goucher was/is the sister school for Hopkins.

hating hate will never be passe. 8)

The not-really-a-joke joke was that girls went to Goucher to get their M.R.S. And many many did.

Ah, the day first at Hopkins, I met Helena at a freshman mixer. A lithe beauty who majored in dance therapy at Goucher.