A bit before the pandemic I was excited to have a new cocktail bar in my neighborhood. Until they had to get a recipe book out to look up the Manhattan that they put on their menu, then garnished with olives instead of cherries. I never went back, and the place soon rebranded as a nightclub. Cocktails were clearly not…

For the past 13+ years I have lived in Belgium and France, where tankless water heaters are the rule for city apartments. They provide hot water not just for showers and dish-washing, but also for the radiators that heat the entire apartment. They also don’t take up valuable floor space, since they can be mounted high…

It’s rare that I’m drinking somewhere that puts salt on the table, so I might find this one a bit difficult to implement. What I do is simply tilt my glass slightly, leaving most of its weight on the coaster, just before I pick it up. The bottom of the glass breaks free and the coaster stays on the table.

Earlier today I saw a thread on Reddit where somebody asked readers to name a food you find disgusting that everybody else raves about, or something like that. For better or for worse, I will eat just about anything, so I couldn’t think of anything.

Any thoughts on how this might work with regular old buttermilk? In my neck of the woods, that’s a lot easier to find than buttermilk powder, I often have it in my fridge, and I think this sounds delicious.

With you on the steak. You can melt it in a pan if you want, but I usually just put a pat directly on the steak and let it melt while the steak rests. If I’m feeling fancy I mash herbs into it ahead of time (the butter, not the steak).

Do you know how “federally backed” is defined in this case? For example, the moratorium on interest and payments applies to federal loans that are also owned by the federal government. I have a FFELP loan that would eligible if it were owned by the US Department of Education, but mine is held by a private bank and I…

Silver would probably work better for this purpose than stainless steel, actually. It is well known that silver reacts with sulfur compounds (unlike stainless steel, as noted in another comment), and the tarnish that develops over time on silver is composed of silver sulfide.

I’m not an OCD person, but when I’m cooking I wash my hands a lot. That seems to do it for me. I never notice any lingering garlic or onion smells on my hands, even minutes after handling them. Seems to do the job for chilis, too, though I do try to avoid touching my eyes for at least a half-hour or so.

My wife uses a flip phone. She’s also bringing home more money than she used to. Should I ask Siri to find me a lawyer?

The downside being that you really scrape up your face.

your potato experience is valid

Of course, if she had worn thrifted clothes they’d be saying, “Can you believe she went to a photoshoot dressed like that?” and “Look America, AOC’s socialist agenda is to make everybody dress like a hobo!” I’m glad she’s owning it instead of trying to play their games.

I submit that kitchen tweezers are by far the superior method for removing egg shell bits from anything.

Yes, that, and when it’s a “mandatory” tip added by the vendor, I’m skeptical that it’s actually going to staff.

I physically have a hard time shaking an all-booze beverage

I’ve always enjoyed vermouth, but I’ve only recently discovered the joys of Really Good vermouth, and that is making me warm up to the martini again. I definitely prefer the 3:1 version because I like to taste the vermouth. And I have kind of a small, um, watch.

In my experience, it’s most common with ATMs run by foreign exchange companies like Travelex, in airports, and with convenience store ATMs, but I have occasionally run across it with banks — usually small ones, but I’ve definitely seen it at an HSBC airport ATM. And of course, you have to be withdrawing money on a…

The ATM will work the way you’re used to, with one notable difference: After you choose “withdrawal,” a prompt will provide you with two options.

Huh, good to know. I knew it was named for the neighborhood, but the one time I had it in a bar it was made with green, and when I wanted to make one at home I immediately trusted the first hit on Google because it was liquor.com and they’re usually reliable -- but they call for green, and indeed when I look beyond…