Your item on the Lonely Planet food-related guidebooks (“Traveling Fancy,” March 29) was definitely of interest–my wife and I like to travel and have found most usual guidebooks to be of limited utility when it comes to eating in a foreign country.
Are you familiar with the Eat Smart series? It also is oriented toward travelers and goes into detail about the foods of various countries. I’ve seen the Mexico and Turkey editions, and “Eat Smart in Turkey” was particularly useful on our first trip to that country. There are also versions for Indonesia, Brazil and Poland; see www.ginkgopress.com. The authors, Joan Peterson and her husband, David, are from Madison, Wisconsin.
Travel-related items in the Good Eating section are always of interest, and more would be welcome.
— Dick Lunde, Park Ridge
SURVEY SAYS . . . WHAT?
Just read the results of your “Good Eating survey” (March 29) as reported by Kristin Eddy. Who did you target with this survey?!! Ninety one percent actually cook a balanced dinner daily? Forty-four percent “never” eat in a fast food restaurant? And more than 50 percent eat out only once or twice a month?!! You have got to be kidding!
Methinks that the target audience for your survey was from some as yet undiscovered planet where women don’t work, read cookbooks religiously, are all a size 8 and have 2.5 perfect children!
The real world eats fast food, takeout or in a restaurant more than half of the time at the least, and eats prepared foods, not necessarily nutritionally balanced, at least half of the remaining half of the time! We work, juggle kids, sports and activities, have spouses that travel on the job (or we do) and can’t even fathom the Donna Reed lifestyle your article portrays. Even the mothers of us Baby Boomers couldn’t live up to this image!
Just a suggestion…redo that survey but try to focus on a realistic sample of the general population! Last comment/question: Do the answers fit the lifestyles of the majority of your staff? I doubt it. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!!
Sincerely, A restaurant aficionado!
— Robbie Ryan via e-mail
RECIPE FAN
I had to let you know that the “Good Eating” section has done it again. All of the recipes I have tried are wonderful. The last one was the roasted garlic-stuffed chicken breasts with tomato caper sauce. It is a winner and the next one I am going to be serving for dinner guests.
Whoever researches the recipes is doing an excellent job. The ingredients are readily available, the instructions very clear and best of all, they are all great tasting. I also like the nutrition information, because I want to make nutritious, low-fat, delicious meals and the Tribune always comes through.
Some of my other favorites are Daniel J’s penne with chicken, smoked mozzarella, dried tomatoes and spinach, and a real winner is the hoisin sesame salmon.
Again–thanks for the great food section please don’t stop.
— Judy Monaco,
Glendale Heights
———–
Want to send a letter to Good Eating? The information box on page 2 of this section contains our mailing and e-mail addresses.
