Peter Luger given a -0- stars review by NY Times..........(can't say I blame them)

Certainly I am. Back in the old Chowhound days, I could get quite irate on its UK board over stereotypical comments about British food by visitors who had never ventured outside of London’s central touristy area. I know I should have brushed them off as obtuse remarks from ignorant people who knew no better but I really did find it hard to let such remarks pass unchallenged.

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I seem to recall a discussion about UK vs Great Britain and maybe England that you participated in. I learned a lot from that discussion.

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I can’t recall a specific discussion but I do have a tendency to get a bit peeved when folk refer to England when they actually mean the whole country. It’s as though someone kept referring to Texas when they meant the USA.

I hope the discussion you recall didnt get into the overly pedantic about how, say, the Isle of Man or Guernsey fit into the description. Clue - they sort of do and they don’t.

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Not overly. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Ya left out Jersey! Or as its called around here, Joisee.

I recall back in the pre-GFC days lots of my co-workers who were UK citizens set up various Jersey trusts into which much of their compensation was paid to minimize taxes. Unfortunately if you are a US citizen working overseas, none of that works and instead you have to hire lots of tax experts just to do your basic taxes.

A few of my German relatives who visited us in Canada after the wall came down boiled Canada down to one thing, something they found in the interior of BC, in Alberta, in Saskatchewan and in Ontario.

One thing that America also claims as its own.

Apple pie.

That’s what they asked for. Coffee and apple pie. When one of the same relatives visited 2 more times, in 2000 and in 2009, that was his request. Apple pie.

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Interesting! FWIW, I don’t too many apples are grown in California, at least commercially.
I do like Gravensteins!
I don’t recall eating much apple pie, except maybe one from McDonald’s. Didn’t they have apple pie?

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Apples,in CA. Sebastapol , Forestville Highway 80 has or used to have a couple of roadside stands selling apple pies.

FWIW, Vacaville used to be a walnut growing center.

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And they are back! We have a new commercial orchard nearby, and I heard the grower was in Japan.

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Have you wondered why there is a Nut Tree area?

My family farmed walnuts North of Highway 80, maybe you live in the area?

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You mean the iconic restaurant/landing strip?
Or something else?
I assume the latter.

Former, When I was in college, my flying lessons were often from San Jose to Vacaville.

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No, I don’t wonder. Maybe I did at some point, but I’ve lived here for more than 30 years! We used to hang out at the Nut Tree all the time. The restaurant, the airplane museum, the pumpkin patch.

Did you live here?

There were orchards everywhere, and that’s what I find interesting. Interesting climates, interesting history, and I try to take advantage of the micoclimate by growing stonefruit.

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They just wanted to try every version when it was on a menu. They were mostly visiting small towns and relatives, and apple pie or apple crumble is a go-to for many Canadians. Where they live in Germany, a rustic apple kuchen with a cake base would be the main apple dessert they were familiar with, rather than a pie with a filling. Strudel- which is more closely related to apple pie- seems more popular a little further south of where they live, and in the Alps.

What is interesting, is they took their tradition, of coffee and cake at 4 pm every day at home, and continued to do coffee and cake at 4 pm while they travelled across Canada. When they stayed with me for 3 or 4 days, I made a point of keeping their meal times, and having pie available at 4 pm.

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Have you been to Ikeda’s?

Do you remember the Milk Stand?

Over 30 years, do you remember when the power would go out?, your development probably caused that. The Dixon station used to be a small building, it is now a 3-5 acres site.

Do you remember the old days in Vacaville, before the outlets?

Is funky a better descriptive?

I know the Milk Farm, but not the Milk Stand. Drove by a gazillion times but don’t recall going in. And yes; I’ve been to Ikeda’s in Davis. I go to Pedricks way more often.

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One indelible travel memory was a ferry from Crete to Athens which we needed to take because of one of the habitual Greek air strikes. We found at last minute that our flight was cancelled and dashed to the port and literally jumped onto the fully booked and packed ferry. Finally found one seat which the 4 of us shared during the 12 hour voyage.
But the time was well spent as we watched locale board with whole carcasses they were taking to mainland relatives, huge picnic baskets of food, blankets and cushions and jammies for kids who changed before cuddling into their impromptu nests.
But it was the fresh meat still hoofed that made it so real.

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I know of Pedricks as a produce stand? I did not know it was connected to Ikedas Pies.

A cousin farmed sudan grass for Japanese beef in the area, shipped the product to Japan from Woodland. I lived on the property for 4 years in the off season due to vandalism and theft.