@MaxEntropy The use of acronyms without defining them at first mention is the opposite of inclusivity. For newcomers to a forum such as ours or for people who are not in the “inner circle,” for non-native speakers, for folks who aren’t savvy about the more widely used acronyms (eg, WTF), the widespread use of acronyms can pose barriers to participation. As a medical writer, this is a cardinal rule I follow on a near-daily basis.
Hilariously, one former Toronto Chowhound thought WTF was Where to Find, an alternative to In Search Of.
They were staring posts like this
WTF: A Great Greek Salad
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Which is why no doubt all of us are immensely grateful to @GretchenS for taking the time to collect most all of those that are being used as shorthand by so many of our active members 
I thought she’d requested for it to be saved as a sticky to boot, which would make it very easy to find and explore… not just for non-native speakers such as myself, of course, but also new members to our forum —similar to a glossary one might find in the scientific publications you touched on.
She truly did a tremendous service to our forum with her fairly comprehensive list, so thanks for highlighting that as well.
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This has really given me cause for introspection. I’m as guilty as anyone, using SO_1 for “Signficant Other” and SO_2 for “Spring Onion”.
I tried to imagine the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, Kennedy’s inaugural address, or King’s “I have a dream” speech written using acronyms. For all that acronyms deliver for expediency, they seem to take away by trivializing.
I need to reconsider whether my time is so valuable that I can’t spell out “Spring Onion”. Or whether acronyms help or hinder comprehension by the reader. Perhaps there are more convincing arguments for acronyms that I’m missing? Right now I’m mainly seeing the negative connotations.
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How serendipitous that just today, in one of my Facebook food groups, where I’d used the exact same acronym that threw you for a l00p earlier this week, an older member commented the following:
“Soup looks great but you’ve got my old brain wondering this morning. What is TPSTO ? Your abbreviations are one of my brain exercises but having a tizzy with this one.”
So, apparently some folks use them as brain exercises to stay sharp. Some people (like me) like to play with language — or simply don’t have the patience (also me) to spell out the exact same phrase every GDMF time they use it.
As for your middle paragraph… this is a food forum, not a collective of historically important speech writers 
Thankfully, we can all choose to use or not use them.
Except you’re referencing a 250+ year time difference. How people spoke and wrote in the 1700s to the 1970s is different than they do now with texting/online-speak. There are acronyms from years ago that people use regularly now without any issue:
PDQ
SOS
POTUS
AWOL
NATO
CD-ROM
NAACP
AAA
KISS
NCAA
IOU
ATM
PIN
OMG
SCUBA
RADAR
LASER
So it’s just a matter of time before many acronyms either become actual words used in English (i.e., the last three) or just become so commonplace that people understand what you mean. ETA: It’s been said many times - English is an evolving language. Acronyms are just part of it. 
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I wholeheartedly agree.
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FWIW, my offer for Berlin recommendations still stands
Unfortunately we only have a week left in Germany and commitments in Frankfurt this weekend.
Nächstes Mal!
Well, we encountered our first clunker, a place without enough redeeming features to recommend. Our friend from Berlin who was our walking guide in Berlin a few weekends ago traveled to Frankfurt to take in Tristan und Isolde this weekend (his dedication to Wagner is admirable but incompehensible to us – he recently sat through the live stream of Tristan und Isolde from the Met). On a recommendation from his spouse - not an opera fan, hence she is in Holland for the weekend with friends - we went to CRESCO. Located in the Hotel Motel One Frankfurt-Römer (not the Motel One next to the Hauptbahnhof). A modern room, high ceilings and walls of glass, a central bar that is the main focus of the room, and an assortment of tables with chairs and colorful banquettes. We booked an early reservation, 6pm, and there were only a couple of other tables occupied. My Significant Other prefers banquettes, but despite there being an abundance of options the host declined to seat us at a preffered option that was set for 4, as we were only 3 persons. Needless to say this got things off on the wrong foot, especially when the host seated a pair at the four top shortly before we finished.
The menu is Mediterranean, and a few dishes were good. A “baba ganoush” was tasty, but having been pureed to a fine consistency it didn’t resemble any baba ganoush we’ve encountered before. Served with brown bread and a suprisingly decent, fresh pita. Burata was excellent, creamy and served at the proper temperature. Monkfish (Seeteufel) served with roasted parsnips and a lightly sauteed green (translated as “ice herb” - I think might have been purslane) was well executed - perfectly cooked fish in a light cream sauce that reminded me how good monkfish can be. My Significant Other declared the cauliflower soup with shrimp both overly salty and a poor combination of ingredients.
A Pfannebecker chardonnay from Rheinhessen was far from dry, though serviceable.
Here things went downhill again. After our mains were cleared, we were completely forgotten. By this time the room had filled. After nearly 20 minutes trying to signal someone to order coffee and desert we gave up, asking for Die Rechnung when we did manage to flag someone. Another 20 minutes went by before the check appeared, and then only after getting up from the table to speak to our waiter. At the reception, where we had checked our coats, there was no one to be found. We saved ourselves another 20 minutes when we spied the coat rack and helped ourselves.
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Eiskraut or Eisblume. Crystalline Ice Plant. Both Crystalline Ice Plant ( Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) and Purslane are succulents.
I didn’t know purslane (Portulaca oleracea, in the Portuluca family ) was also a succulent!
That’s it. Went beautifully with the monkfish. A bit confusing though, as the “ice plant” that is an invasive species in the dunes on the Monterey Peninsula is something very different.
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Down to just a few days left in our stay in Germany, but we will hit the tape running. This evening we went with two couples who are colleagues of my Significant Other to Amoroso, an Italian restaurant on the plazza adjacent to the Alte Oper. There is a long row of restaurants on the plaza, all rather smart looking. Amoroso is one of the smallest, and closest to the front entrance of the Oper. We arrived to find the tarp-enclosed terrace hosting some sort of event. We were directed to our table at the very rear of a long, narrow room. Nicely decorated and comfortable seating, crisp linen napkins and tablecloths. We were the last of the group to arrive, and spying an Aperol spritz in the hands of one of the early arrivals, and just happening to be wearking my “No spritz, no party” socks, I follwed suit. Someone had the wise idea to ask the waiter to bring us an assortment of apps, and there was not a slacker in the bunch. Vitello tonato, tuna tartare, white asparagus and endive, mashed avacado with shrimp, baby squid, carpaccio with roasted mushrooms. My Significant Other had spaghetti con vongole, which she pronounced perfect, and I had sesame-crusted tuna. Served with a side of roasted potato, carrot, sauteed spinach. I was the lone taker of desert, a pistachio soufflé with vanilla ice cream and berries. I felt absolutley zero guilt devoring it all myself.
They were out of the Badia a Coltibuono Chianti we ordered, but the offered substitute was quite acceptable. A second bottle, a bit of an indulgence in one of Angelo Gaja’s wines was curiosly more tannic than the younger Chianti. It would have benefitted from an hour or so decant. Still, it was delicious.
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Early for white asparagus.
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It’s been showing up at wochenmarkt for more than a week.
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not by much.
Bavarian season is April-ish until June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist.
depending on the weather, end -ish of March is quite possible.
The white asparagus is grown completely under soil. I would think it would be possible and not difficult to grow it in a more forced manner, so it could be available even earlier in the winter.
I have certainly purchased it at markets in Munich in March a few times.
Glad you got some white asparagus in Germany before heading back across the Pond.
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White asparagus that shows up this early is often imported from neighboring countries — just like chanterelles, the season of which starts later in Germany than, say, Poland, or the Czech Republic.
I also find it more aromatic as the season continues. Shame we’re missing all of May this year.
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I’ve really enjoyed this. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it all up.
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