Apparently, eating alone and in crowds means very different things – even to famous chefs. NPR had an interesting interview from author Deborah Madison and illustrator Patrick McFarlin of the new book, What We Eat When We Eat Alone. Madison found, through a variety of interviews, that when eating alone, culinary rules go out the window and comfort rules. Unsurprisingly, pasta and eggs are a popular choice. The NPR story page includes a tasy sounding recipe for Johnny-cakes. But there’s some pretty weird stuff too, including an entire chapter devoted to sardines. I guess when you’re eating by yourself you have no one to impress. Nothing wrong with that! You can listen to the interview here.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106281310
We were recently alerted to Ulterior Epicure’s fabulous food photography, which is found on their extensive 
It was kind of a surreal experience – ordering pizza from a drive-in restaurant on a creaky old phone, as the sun set on an eerily quiet stretch of road. When we arrived at 8, the place was teeming with cars, as you can see above. The restaurant seemed to be doing a brisk business with pizza orders, and it being called ‘pizza palace’ we thought we couldn’t go wrong with some pie. We ordered a medium half-cheese, half-pepperoni pie ($10.85). Despite looking primitive, the old phone system attached to a wooden box worked just fine. Pizza Palace makes Sonic look like something truly out of the space age. But that was all part of the experience. 
Restaurant Magnus
On May 31, I walked up to the door of Restaurant Magnus in Madison, hoping to sample some of my favorites from its South American-inspired menu before the restaurant’s dramatic shift the next day (signaled by the Norwegian flag fluttering over the canopy). It was locked. An employee eating outside quickly walked up to me, saying – with a wide smile – that the restaurant was closed to the evening to prepare for their exciting new menu the next day. But all the dishes I wanted were on the old menu, and when Magnus got rid of them on June 1, both L and I were disappointed and frankly a little angry.
The chimichurri was unlike any we had seen: parsley, red wine vinegar, coriander, and honey made for a creamy dip that was nothing short of the perfect appetizer.
For main dishes, we tended to migrate toward the ever-changing tapas menu, but there were some old favorites that kept bringing us back (and Magnus knew it, because they kept putting them on. The Peruvian bay scallop ceviche ($12) was an interesting take on an old classic, with diced scallops placed in a makeshift bowl of cucumber slices, garnished with minced mixed sweet peppers, avocado, and drizzled with mango-habanero (M’s favorite combo) vinaigrette. It was smaller than similarly priced ceviches but the inventiveness was worth 
it.
So we usually don’t review books around here. Probably because we’re so busy reading books for school that the concept of leisure reading falls to the wayside. In any case, 
Inka Heritage
Inka Heritage does all these things, and does them well. The anticuchos are true to the original dish, using the best pieces of beef heart muscle (some other restaurants keep the anticuchos marinade but substitute white meat chicken for the beef hearts, which is not only inauthentic but culinary highway robbery) with a slightly spicy, tangy marinade that works well with the ají on the side. The ceviche too is solid, with the right citrus juice mixtures we’ve come to expect – though the very high onions to fish ratio, as well as the smaller serving size, makes us wonder why the price is higher than what we found at 
We’re not going to lie, we are drawn to nice food 
Sahara Kabob
We should have realized what we were in for when the reviews on Yelp said “humongous portions.” Not heeding their advice and logically thinking two dinner portions would be just enough for two hungry people, we set about making our menu choices. It was a busy night, so we opted for carry-out. The Combo Plate seemed like a good option, with helpings of chicken and kefta (ground beef and lamb) kabob and chicken shawirma served on white rice (my choice over couscous) with small sides of grilled and pickled veggies. Turns out it also comes with a soup – I picked douckua, a thick concoction of meat and barley in yogurt sauce. L went with the vegetarian route, picking the falafel plate (it comes with eight pieces) over couscous with lentil soup on the side. We added in a small appetizer of boorek, meaty egg rolls with chili dipping sauce, and figured we had enough for dinner.
non-American food. When our food came out, we were shocked by how much we were getting. Two completely full take-out boxes, two full bowls of soup, plus the bowl of couscous, the boorek, and a small assortment of complimentary dipping sauces. All for $20. As she wrapped up our order, the server asked if we liked baklava. We gave a hesitant yes, thinking she would push us to buy some, but were surprised when she plopped a free serving right into our bag. At this point, we knew we had ordered way too much food. But was it way too much good food?
tle disappointing, tinged with almost a Ms. Grass-like flavor, but the rest of the meal was a home run. My combo plate was solid all the way around from shawirma to the kabobs, with solid cuts of beef, lamb, and chicken all grilled to perfection. L’s falafel was solid as well, easily compared to other excellent falafels we have had in the past.
The
