I should have, basil dishes are my favorites at Thai restaurants. Though really, if it's good Thai almost everything will be tasty. The only caveat is to work your way up the hotness scale, because Thai cooks do not play around with the spices when someone orders "hot."

I suspect that if they had been there before the azithromycin allergy (when everything tasted like black pepper) I would have been happy with 3s and 4s. Nowadays I ask for everything at a 2. And you are very right about everything being tasty. We made a point of trying something new each time we went in there for at least the first ten visits. My impression of the food there is "awesome", "more awesome", and "most awesome". Daniel and I make a point of ordering different dishes so we can share and don't have to have too much of the "but if I get this awesome dish, I can't have that awesome dish" regret. However, something short-circuited on Sunday and I had to eat All The Basil.

Consuela, I hope your sore pooch isn't in too much pain.

My problem (if you can call it a "problem," which -- SPOILER -- it isn't) with Thai restaurants is that so many of them also serve sushi now, and I will never, ever, in a gazillion years, order something else if sushi is a choice. So I miss out on a lot of good Thai.

The best Thai place in town is carryout-only, and resembles a shack (I seriously don't know how the board of health hasn't shut them down), but the food is incredible. (Okay, I image googled, and not totally like a shack: [link] but it still looks sketchy as hell.)

I'm still sort of weird about textures and smells to this day, but of course, not being four anymore, what constitutes feeling or smelling "funny" is way different than it used to be.

(I think it was at a Japanese place, the kind that specializes in Japanese bar snacks.)

Alembic, a bar on Haight Street, serves jerk spiced duck hearts. They are super delicious though, like some unimaginably tender BBQ.

Those were good hearts.

All best thoughts to your mom, Callaluna.

And I'm sorry about TNG's hips, Suela.

I will trade all my basil for all your sage.

I make Luna try most things we are eating, even if she has tried it before and didn't like it. But there are some foods she simply does not like, never has liked, and probably never will like. I still make her try those every now and then in case her tastes have changed, but in the meantime, when I make pizza she gets to eat something else (yeah, my kid hates pizza!). 90% of the time she is expected to eat what we do, and if she doesn't like it, too bad. But she seriously goes through phases where she eats so little I worry she'll vanish, so during those times I may serve her the zucchini casserole and pasta we're having, but also add some avocado, some plain cheese, maybe a hard boiled egg to her plate. That way she doesn't get a special meal, but she still takes in a few calories. The other thing I do is keep things separate for her, because she doesn't like stuff mixed and hates sauces. So if we're having stir fry, she is still going to get chicken and vegetables and rice, but hers will be saved out before the sauce is poured in and the vegetables, rice, and chicken will be separate on the plate. Begging my child to eat is another one of those parenting things I said I would never do that is now a staple. Because seriously, whoever said "they will eat when they are hungry" has never encountered the little bundle of stubborn that is my child.

Because seriously, whoever said "they will eat when they are hungry" has never encountered the little bundle of stubborn that is my child.

I begin to think that that person has in fact never met an actual human child.

My one god-daughter is a teenager and really super picky. She only seems to want to eat chips, plain pasta, and chicken wings. I hope she gets over it, because her mom and dad are both really good cooks.

My godson really liked to eat, but now that he is on ADD meds, he doesn't have much of an appetite. He does make fun of his mom and I because, according to him, everything we like (pasta, curries, soups) looks like cat food! WHich I guess curry sort of does, but it is yummy.

My problem (if you can call it a "problem," which -- SPOILER -- it isn't)

My problem is that although I like everything, the Pad Thai at the one restaurant here is possibly the single best thing I have ever eaten. Since I only get to go about once per year, because there is only the one Thai restaurant, it is totally on the other side of the city from me, and I do not drive, I never get the urge to try anything else, even though I KNOW I like it.

Because seriously, whoever said "they will eat when they are hungry" has never encountered the little bundle of stubborn that is my child.

I try to tell this to my mother about her cats (she has been known to cook and shred chicken for cats), but she says the same thing.