Being a food writer is a great job, possibly the most secure position in journalism these days. Sure, they can outsource film and television writers, cut corners in metro desks and wipe out foreign bureaus to save a buck, but every publication needs some feet on the ground to chronicle the local restaurant scene.

When Melissa Michos bought the Spring Garden Bakery three years ago, she had people like me in mind. “These are the fruitcakes,” she says to a customer in her Greensboro shop. “They have apricots, pecans, pineapple, raisins….” She’s wearing a green elf hat. A sign next to the stack of leaves finishes the list on ingredients for her: cherries, papaya, dates “and lots of brandy.” “We use dried fruit as opposed to candied fruit,” Michos says, “and I think that makes it better. Soaking it in brandy notwithstanding.” Each fruitcake is dense with fruit and nuts, with a sturdy cake binding it all together. They are neither pressed tight like nougat nor glazed with sweetness, and a slice stands pretty well against a cup of coffee.

Moody, the founder of Spice Delight, also delivered five containers of his all-purpose seasoning. With 25 years of experience in the culinary arts, Moody experienced a professional breakthrough in 2001 while working as a banquet chef at the Hawthorne Inn.

So I was pretty excited about dining at the Black Pearl Grille Oyster Bar, which underwent extensive renovations after standing fallow for a year or so, when its previous occupant, Mama Maria's, went the way of the Betamax.

Whether he recognizes me as a food critic or not, the waiter at Turmeric is thrilled to talk about the menu. "India is so big. There are 600 specialties. That is too much for the menu. I must keep it to 60, or the chef, he will complain." Jay regales us about the sub-continent for 15 minutes.

I began this project with full intentions on writing about dessert: cakes, pies, cookies...you know - the sweet stuff. That's what I assumed, anyway, after undertaking to write about Winston- Salem's Midtown Cafe & Dessertery. After all, this place made its bones on homemade desserts and fragrant goodies from the kitchen.

system. And because we're not big on flu shots or over-the counter appeasements, I decided to attack with the most timehonored of home remedies: chicken noodle soup.

Last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its jagged slide towards its bottom. And along with millions of theoretical dollars, the US lost perhaps 200,000 jobs in October. The situation on the ground in the two wars in which we are engaged remains unchanged - which is to say, it's not good.

Its 6 p.m. in Kernersville, suppertime, and the CH Cafeteria is positively jamming. Seriously. I just waited like half an hour in a queue reaching back toward the door, particularly aggravating because I am freakin starving and its hard for me to...

The stock market is crashing; the credit market is knotted up like a 60-car wreck on a superhighway; job losses mount; the dollar continues to weaken. And here I am, sitting next to a sumptuous blonde by candlelight, drinking a martini and eating a $40 steak.