We went to town on this feast of Chinese chili crabs, as you can see. I ate them till my nose burned, my lips swelled, and parts of my face went numb. Little chili bits were scattered everywhere, and we were left with a mountain of wadded napkins beside a mountain of wadded wet wipes. My hands were coated in red chili flakes. It was fantastic.

Except for one problem. I was wearing contact lenses. How was I going to get them out? I'd washed my hands 8 times and the skin under my fingernails was still burning with chili oil. No way I was going to stick them in my eyeballs.

So I poured a bowl of milk and soaked my fingers in it. Fifteen minutes later, I was able to take the contacts out, burn-free.

Anybody else have any solutions to capsicum hands?

These good-looking lads are members of the Birmingham cathedral choir in Birmingham, England.

The church building is itself a mere lad as these things go in Europe, having been built between 1709 and 1715.

In truth, I can't tell you why everyone looks so happy in this picture, unless it's because they've just returned to choir practice after a nip or two of a particularly plummy St-Emilion at one of the cathedral's new wine bars.

Or maybe just at the thought of doing so. The bars haven't actually been built yet, but according to this story on the website of the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper, the diocese is seriously considering the idea as a way to generate cash for the upkeep of the building and to fund evangelistic efforts.

Mum was right. The Lord will provide.

(Erik Jacobs for the Boston Globe)

Legal Sea Foods is hosting an oyster tasting and tutorial Sept. 13 in Charles Square.

There will be a raw bar with several different varieties of oysters from around the country, plus an assortment of sauces. Legal culinary director Dave Welch will teach attendees how to shuck the bivalves and discuss the flavor profiles of different kinds. In addition to being served on the half shell, oysters will be baked, pickled, and more; there will also be wine pairings.

The event is from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and costs $35 per person. It takes place at 20 University Road, Cambridge. Reservations required; call 617-491-9400.

The website LiveScience today posts the results of a study that shows thinking makes us overeat.

Researchers got some people to lie around and do nothing and other people to summarize a text or complete a series of memory, attention, and vigilance tests. Afterward, they let 'em loose to eat as much as they want.

The people who took the tests ate 253 more calories, or 29.4 percent, more than the slugs. Those who summarized the text ate 203 more calories than the resting group. Says LiveScience: "Blood samples taken before, during, and after revealed that intellectual work causes much bigger fluctuations in glucose levels than rest periods, perhaps owing to the stress of thinking."

Phew, I'm stressed after writing this blog entry. Time for a snack.

An incoherent good morning to all.

I can barely speak in the wee hours (and my wee hours constitute anytime before 9), but I can obsess about coffee. Which reminds me to tell you that Barismo, a brand new roaster in Arlington, is inviting the public in for a tasting on Saturday.

The folks behind this venture are extremely passionate about their coffee. Though it will be largely wholesale, they'll be offering some beans and equipment retail, too.

Saturday's tasting is from 2 to 4 p.m. "No fees, No RSVP, a few rounds of cuppings, lots of chatter," according to their website.

It's at 169 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington.

You'll find it here.

Next chat is Sept. 17 at noon.

Lots of time and not much to do in rural Vermont. Read and read more. No TV, no Internet, no radio, we didn't bring enough movies. We did walk five miles a day over a rugged hilly route, which meant we could sample the recipes I tested for "The Boston Globe Cookbook."

These are simple baking powder biscuits that we ate hot one morning with local eggs. To reheat a biscuit, sprinkle it with water and pop it in a hot oven for a few minutes. As the water evaporates, the biscuit turns crisp again.

Breakfast pie, which is made with eggs, local ham, freshly dug yellow potatoes, and cheese. It has no crust, so bakes quickly. Have a wedge for breakfast, lunch, or supper (or midday, after a grueling hilly walk).

Pumpkin pie, with a homemade crust and lots of spices mixed into the pumpkin. I'm jumping the gun on fall.

Blueberry cake, which looks spectacular. I wasn't thrilled with the texture. Great taste. I'll make it again quickly while there are still some berries in the markets.

Date-nut bars, which I'll also make again. Wonderful chewy texture, but not date-y enough. If the supermarket wasn't a 20-minute drive away (not that far, as the crow flies, but considering the twists and turns in the road, a hefty drive), I would have dashed out for more dates and nuts.

Chocolate cookies, which are messy to roll in your hands, then in confectioners' sugar, but worth every chocolate smear.

Not represented: Indian pudding. My o my. An acquired taste, but if you have it, what a wonderful confection. (For transplants, Indian pudding is a New England classic made with molasses, cornmeal, and sugar, baked in a long slow oven.)

And on the savory side, a nice quiche Lorraine, with a flaky crust and rich custard; a white bean and olive spread; a delicate and smoky eggplant puree, also called "poor man's caviar."

Did I mention the grass-fed lamb raised on a neighboring farm or the free-range chicken? We ate well!

This is Al Scheps of Al Ducci's Italian Pantry in Manchester Center, Vt.

This is his soulmate and partner, Nancy Diaferio, who owns the store with him. Al comes from Fair Lawn, N.J., Nancy from Corono, Queens, and they know Italian food. Which is all to explain why the best sausages in New England are in this little town in the southwest corner of Vermont (where, by the way, the outlet shopping is pretty fabulous).

The assistant sausagemaker pulls the spicy ground pork mixture through the casing, and forms links.

Look at Al's hands and you'll see he's tucking sausages into small bags and twisting them shut. Here's a close-up.

When he gets to 10 pounds, he stops, puts them in a large shopping bag, and hands them -- to us! We buy 10 pounds whenever we go to Al Ducci's, tuck them in the freezer, and eat them little by little all winter.

That night, we cooked the sausages and served them with crusty multigrain bread (made by Al), and a mozzarella and tomato salad (Al also makes the mozzarella). If you could die from enjoying something too much, we would have.

Last week's vacation in rural Vermont came with spectacular weather. We ate at least one meal a day outside. Here is a typical breakfast: soft-cooked local eggs, fruits, yogurt, etc. Cooking eggs so the whites are just firm and the yolks still runny is perfect for very fresh eggs.

Soft-cooked eggs
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Lower in the eggs and set the timer for 5 minutes exactly. Lift out the eggs and transfer to a bowl of cold water. With the back of a spoon, gently tap the eggs to crack them all over. Handling the eggs carefully, peel off the shells. You should have a whole egg with a soft center. Slide the egg into a bowl. Serve with toast. Sheryl Julian

Turn your back for one second and something interesting happens.

We were on vacation far from Internet connections, radio, and TV last week when a rumor reached us via a gossipy cheesemaker that Wine Spectator - the publication wine savants love to hate -- was the victim of a delicious little sting. Our co-conspirator on the Dishing blog, restaurant critic Devra First, offered her take on the fiasco here -- but we can hardly resist putting in our two moldy corks' worth.

As most readers know, the Spectator gives awards that purport to acknowledge exceptional restaurant wine lists. Many of us have long suspected these awards of being little more than perpetual-motion revenue generators for the magazine. Some of the places where we have seen its Award of Excellence prominently displayed are the sort of restaurants where after one look at the wine list you order a beer.

In any case, the public got a peek behind the Wizard's curtain when wine writer Robin Goldstein created a fictitious Milan restaurant (he called it Osteria L’Intrepido) and submitted its wine list for a WS award - along with the required check for $250.

As Goldstein puts it on his blog (which is also the website of the non-existent restaurant), The main wine list that I submitted was a perfectly decent selection from around Italy that met the magazine’s basic criteria (about 250 wines, including whites, reds, and sparkling wines–some of which scored well in WS). However, Osteria L’Intrepido’s high-priced “reserve wine list” was largely chosen from among some of the lowest-scoring Italian wines in Wine Spectator over the past few decades.

It's pretty hilarious to read what the Spectator itself had to say about some of the wines on Goldstein's reserve list -- the one they gave an Award of Excellence to -- including, that's right, "smells like bug spray."

As Devra notes, Robin Goldstein is the author of a new book, The Wine Trials.

... you find yourself drinking bacon vodka.

Jake's Dixie Roadhouse in Waltham has infused the booze with the meat. Check out the color of the stuff. My arteries are clogging just looking at it.

Is bacon vodka a good idea? Probably not, but what the heck. They're turning it into cocktails with names such as the Bloody Pig, the Baconator Martini, and Bacon - My Greasy Lover.

Drink up, and have a good long weekend.

220 Moody St., Waltham, 781-894-4BBQ.

This is Sofra, the new bakery and cafe from Oleana-ites Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick. It's located on Belmont Street in Cambridge, right after the intersection with Mt. Auburn Street, almost in Watertown.

Here's the inside view. There's Sortun behind the counter, diligently tending to something or other. On my first visit recently, she was full of patient instruction: how to foam milk, how to find customers who have disappeared just as their orders come up. She seems like a great boss, generous with her knowledge.

The place is cozy, lined with sunlit benches. You can buy produce from Siena Farms there (it's operated by Sortun's husband), spice blends, and more. But the main attraction is the menu. This is one of those places where you want to try everything: You can choose from hot and cold mezze (green olive and walnut salad; smoky eggplant with pine nuts; warm buttered hummus), stuffed flatbread sandwiches, breakfast items (Lebanese croissant with za'atar; soft-boiled egg with cucumber, tomato, olives, feta, fig, and thick yogurt with honey), and baked goods. As for drinks, there are several intriguingly spiced iced teas; I had an iced coffee that made me very happy. It was so strong it was slightly sludgy, and it was delicious, made with Rao's coffee.

This photo is annoyingly blurry, but I include it because it shows the special grills the stuffed flatbreads are cooked on. They're convex! The sandwiches come in such tempting versions as chickpea, potato, labne (yogurt cheese), and za'atar (a spice blend); sausage with cumin, orange, and olives; and tomatoes with feta and Syrian spices.

This one contains lamb shawarma, tomato confit, tahini, and pomegranate. It was one of the best sandwiches I've had in a long time -- a perfect balance of earthy and bright flavors. Gamy lamb, soft and sweet tomatoes, just amazing.

This fellow is the Maureo, a crisp chocolate sandwich filled with milk jam...

... and this is the Egyptian shortbread.

I already love this place. It's the kind of cafe we need more of -- one that serves really good food and good coffee. Why aren't there more of those, again?

Sofra is at 1 Belmont St., Cambridge, 617-661-3161. Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

It's the Democratic metaphor of this campaign season, says the AP's Ted Anthony. Why? His story is below; it's a good read. Interestingly, though, it doesn't touch much on food and the meaning of eating together. (Do we really do more bill paying and worrying than eating together there these days? Sigh.) To my mind, one reason the kitchen table is a particularly powerful symbol this year is that it draws a direct line to food, and its attendant high prices.

By Ted Anthony
Associated Press

DENVER - The rooms of the modern American household have always crept into campaigns. Politics makes strange bedfellows, for one. The living-room war ended Lyndon Johnson's political career. And everyone keeps saying the economy's headed for the toilet.

Rarely, however, do you hear about a particular part of a particular room over and over -- until this past week. For the Democrats, suddenly it's all about the kitchen and its centerpiece, the kitchen table, which is claiming an extended moment in the spotlight.

In speech after speech, interview after interview, the nation's most powerful Democratic politicians invoked the commonplace kitchen table as the touchstone for modern politics -- the vantage point from which the ordinary American family watches, wonders and worries.

In short, the perfect opening for politicians to invite themselves in.

"Republican mismanagement has really hit home around the kitchen table," Democratic National Committee Treasurer Andrew Tobias said. "At kitchen tables across Ohio and the heartland, mothers and fathers are worried," Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said. And from Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill: "Tonight, families are balancing checkbooks at kitchen tables, trying to stay on budget."

Joe Biden did it, accepting the vice presidential nomination Wednesday night. "I take the train home to Wilmington, sometimes very late. As I look out the window at the homes we pass, I can almost hear what they're talking about at the kitchen table after they put the kids to bed."

The question must be asked: What on Earth is up with the kitchen table?

"It's a wonderful image. It's an image that stays with you because it mirrors reality," says Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat. "In my kitchen, that's where I pay my bills," she says, and in a bad economy "it resonates with a lot of people."

It is a potent metaphor that evokes images of private time, nesting and the process of managing a household -- "the symbol of all things practical and all things comforting," as Cynthia Glozier, a Democratic delegate from Rhinebeck, N.Y., put it.

And consider what's percolating in American households in these troubled times. Bills need to be paid from checking accounts that contain too little money. Families are agonizing about what to do next. Anxiousness is causing a circling of the wagons.

Enter the kitchen. Once used for physical warmth because it contained the fireplace, today it offers metaphoric warmth. It is a place for family members to talk and eat (rather than dine), but guests and strangers are typically received elsewhere.

"You don't invite the stranger into the kitchen unless you really like them. The living room is preserved for that," says Susan Strasser, author of "Never Done: A History of American Housework."

In the republic's early days, when most houses had only a few rooms, the kitchen was an intimate gathering place. But many of the dominant images of postwar America, with its newfound prosperity, showed families gathering in the living room or den.

Now, though, demographics are shifting again. Many households have two working parents, and the kitchen table -- and its younger sibling, the kitchen island -- have become family meeting places. Some companies have even marketed kitchen-table computers.

"The kitchen table has evolved. It's become multifunctional," says Kristi Hoffman, who teaches about the American family at Roanoke College in Salem, Va. "Many people don't make as formal meals anymore. So the kitchen table becomes a place where a lot does happen."

Because of that, kitchens are getting bigger. In recent years, buyers of new homes have been looking for outsized kitchens and enormous tables for them that can function as both family eating station, workspace and storage area for paperwork or toys.

"If you're not in the kitchen, you're going to miss out," says Erich Gaukel, editor of Renovation Style magazine. "The kitchen itself is really becoming a living room in American homes."

That makes it the perfect terrain for a political battle in a country where the soul of the American family -- and who can lay claim to it -- is one of the parties' most enduring fights.

It was no coincidence that, in 1994, when interest groups wanted to sink the Clinton administration's health-care plan, its notorious "Harry and Louise" video took place at a kitchen table -- as does a new chapter with the same actors that was released earlier this month.

Finally, the kitchen table is an icon of regularness -- common ground we can all share. Well, most of us: Joe Biden hammered that home on his first appearance as Barack Obama's running mate, using the table as a launching pad for salvos against John McCain.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your kitchen table is like mine," Biden said. "You sit there at night ... after you put the kids to bed and you talk, you talk about what you need. You talk about how much you are worried about being able to pay the bills. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's not a worry John McCain has to worry about. It's a pretty hard experience. He'll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at."

McCain scurried to "The Tonight Show" to shoot back. "I spent 5 1/2 years in a prison cell," he said. "I didn't have a house, I didn't have a kitchen table, I didn't have a table, I didn't have a chair."

The search for robust political metaphors is always a race. Parties troll fervently for that one image, that one entry point to get themselves in. And if you can access the kitchen table -- or at least make voters think of you when they're sitting at theirs, the political opportunities are tremendous. Because if you can get that far with voters, make that connection, heck -- you're practically family.

Thank you, Momofuku Ando, on behalf of students and lazy cooks the world over. (Though not necessarily that lazy.)

Wagamama's not-instant chili chicken ramen. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

Here's an amusing musing on the sayings of Ando, who invented the insta-meal. It's by Andy Raskin, author of the forthcoming book "The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life." (I didn't make that up, though I think I liked its original title better.)

He's not the first person to be inspired.

Yes, according to Chowhound and the Herald. Both sources say that Daniel Lanigan of Amherst's Moan and Dove and Northampton's Dirty Truth is taking over the space and opening a beer bar.

The B-Side's whiskey smash: bourbon, orange, lemon, and mint with crushed ice. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

A phone call with a B-Side staffer who declined to reveal his name shed no light on the matter. At this point, he said, it's all rumors, and the staff is getting very upset about all the people calling to ask if their place of employ is closing. Understandable, if coy.

Other inconclusive evidence (read: gossip imparted by a bouncer) points to a closure in the next few months.

The rumors began swirling in June, after writer Andy Crouch mentioned Lanigan's plans to open a Boston beer bar on BeerScribe. He wrote:

"Daniel Lanigan, proprietor of the Moan & Dove of Amherst and the Dirty Truth of Northampton, has long wanted to return to the Boston market and open his own place. A former worker at the under-appreciated Other Side Cafe in Boston’s Copley/Mass. Ave. district, Lanigan loved the location. For a few months, he was in negotiations to either purchase or take over the Other Side Cafe and transform it into his third beer bar. The deal fell through early this Spring and Lanigan wasted no time in looking for a new spot. The rumors report now, entirely unconfirmed by this presently lazy reporter, is that Daniel is in negotiations to open his third bar across the river in Cambridge. While I won’t report the name of the rumored takeover target (because I can’t confirm it and because people would likely riot if they knew, how’s that for a tease?), the spot, if it works out, is centrally located (no pun or hint intended).

"UPDATE: The location is confirmed and a deal is underway. At the request of Lanigan, I’m still deciding whether to post the name of the place. News of the deal is now the worst kept secret in the gossipy world of the Boston foodie scene as it has gotten back to me through four different sources at this point. In any event, you’ll learn the name soon enough."

If the rumors are true, it's bad news for fans of the cocktail. The B-Side is one of the best local places to sample concoctions vintage and newly invented. (I had a brief but meaningful relationship with their Sidecar, but had to move on because there were too many other worthy cocktails to sample. And their Bloody Mary got many of my Sundays off to a slow and pleasurable start.) It's good news for beer lovers, however, who otherwise had to trek an entire half-mile farther to find a good beer bar -- the nearby Bukowski Tavern.

OK, OK -- the cocktail crowd does have Green Street less than a mile away. But with No. 9 Park doing away with its cafe menu, if the B-Side closes, the landscape of places to get an excellent cocktail and something to eat without breaking the bank will look quite different.

Of course, Barbara Lynch's Drink is opening soon. The cocktail is dead, long live the cocktail.

Good news for celiacs who love seafood shacks. (Hey, that rhymes.) After yesterday's fried clam rundown, a reader writes in with the information that Woodman's fried clams are gluten-free. This makes sense, as they're battered in finely ground cornmeal, but apparently there is also a dedicated Frialator for gluten-free items. If you ask, they'll fry all your food in the gluten-free fryer.

In today's Route 133 clam-off, I declared Clam Box of Ipswich the winner. I believe they have achieved fried-clam perfection.

Clam Box of Ipswich (Ron Agrella/Boston.com Staff)

Of course, not everyone agrees.

Several people wrote in to recommend Ipswich Clambake Company.

Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, Me., and Park Lunch in Newburyport also got shout-outs.

Someone e-mailed from Astor, Fla., to say there's an Essex 2 prospering there, New England accents, proper fried clams, and all. Someone lamented the defunct White Cap Restaurant of his youth (it was in Ipswich, where Marco Polo is now). Surprisingly, no one mentioned HoJo's.

And others wanted to eat fried clams without burning so much gas. One reader suggested Royal Roast Beef in East Boston and Twin Seafood in Reading. (I'd add Tony's in Quincy and Kelly's in Revere to that list.) Someone else asked for suggestions for South Shore residents. (The aforementioned Tony's and the Hingham Lobster Pound come to mind.)

So, how about you? Where do you find fried-clam perfection?

(AP Photo/Fernando Bustamante)

The world's biggest annual food fight takes place today in Bunol, Spain. Who doesn't feel like pelting people with tomatoes from time to time?

Click here for a photo gallery of the festival.

EVOO continues the Restaurant Week spirit with a special Home Grown menu. It offers three courses for $35, $50 with wine pairings. You have your choice among six appetizers, six main courses, and a homemade dessert.

I'd give you more specifics about what the dishes are, but the menu changes constantly depending on what's in season. The deal is available every night through the late harvest.

EVOO's one of those restaurants that quietly goes about its business, turning out good food that's a good value. I should get there more often. If you should, too, here's your chance.

EVOO, 118 Beacon St., Somerville, 617-661-3866.

I recently went to a tomato tasting, where we sampled many heirloom varieties, some of which were featured in this story.

I'd never been a huge fan of heirloom tomatoes, because quality is just too variable. I'd had one too many mushy, flavorless tomatoes with beautiful skins striped in purple and green. But these tomatoes tasted almost as good as they looked.

Some of them were from Franklin's Grateful Farm, which supplies tomatoes to restaurants such as Craigie Street Bistrot and T.W. Food. (If tomatoes can withstand the scrutiny of chefs Tony Maws and Tim Wiechmann, respectively, they're good enough for me.)

Part of the reason these tomatoes pass muster is that Franklin farmer Tim Garboski favors tomatoes that feature sugar, yes, but also enough acid to practically "blister my lips," he says.

Speaking of T.W. Food, the Cambridge restaurant is hosting its own tomato tasting tomorrow. "A Study of the Tomato" is a seven-course menu for the whole table, available in vegetarian and meat-loving versions.

The menu starts with yellow-tomato gazpacho with coriander-lime sorbet, makes stops at smoked-tomato tarte Tatin with purple brandywines, roasted pork loin with honey and corn and tomato salad (for the meaties), and confit tomato tortellini (for the veggies), and winds up at candied tomato ice cream with peach crisp and aged balsamic. It's $69 per person/$95 with wine pairings.

T.W. Food, 377 Walden St., Cambridge. 617-864-4745.