The Shire vs Moria with a twist.

[Oswin]

Before Moria was overrun, you and you family get to partake in a feast. Hobbit cuisine and ale or dwarf cuisine and ale.

Who do you pick?

[Sharpandpointies]

Depends on the options.

I imagine a lot of dwarf side dishes consist of mushrooms and other fungi. But Hobbits have huge gardens.

.....

If the dwarfs do have no-animal-products mushroom/fungi dishes, I'll go with that because I'm 100% sure it will be stuff I've never had before. If not, I guess Hobbits.

[Beadle]

One involves higher ceilings but potentially fatal falls to my death. The other is cramped quarters but very safe.

I’ll live with a few neck cramps.

Of course if the venue is neutral… then I don’t care.

[Sharpandpointies]

That's a good point. I would LOVE to see the Dwarrowdelf during the height of its glory.

[Oswin]

Im watching the extended cut of lotr for the first time, and it seems sam is a major foodie( and the other hobbits to, aside from frodo ) so im sure they have some excellent dishes! And Gimli looks like someone who enjoys from good food to

Assume the venue is safe hehe, and when it comes to the view im sure i will like the shire more.

[Little_Mac]

One involves higher ceilings but potentially fatal falls to my death. The other is cramped quarters but very safe.

I’ll live with a few neck cramps.

Of course if the venue is neutral… then I don’t care.

At the beginning of the LOTR, Biblo had a great party when they rented party tents and Gandalf was able to attend it. Hence, I'm not certain about the cramped quarter. I seem to remember that the Hobbits had a culture of hosting parties and constantly having people over. The foodie culture was definitely there. I need to reread the beginning of that book.

The Dwarves always seems to be a giant banquet hall, where you get the same food as royalty. It might be a bit more common, but more joyful and fun.

I probably go with the Dwarves. The political byplay in Biblo's farewell party was quite something else. I want fun, (though if Gandalf is doing fireworks, I reserve the right to change my mind).

[Captain Smith]

Whom has the best of the funny weed in the pipe?

[Sharpandpointies]

Whom has the best of the funny weed in the pipe?

I see you're going with the Shire, then.

[Captain Smith]

They probably make the best cookies. Wonder if that Elf travel bread would work? Might be an export opportunity for Elrond and Galadriel.

[Sharpandpointies]

They probably make the best cookies. Wonder if that Elf travel bread would work? Might be an export opportunity for Elrond and Galadriel.

Galadriel only, really - Lembas is something she learned from Melian (a Maia), and she and her people were the only ones I know of who held the secret in the Third Age. Certainly if Elrond and the elves of Rivendell had known it they would have sent the Fellowship out with some.

Sounds like it tasted awesome, though.

[Oswin]

Galadriel only, really - Lembas is something she learned from Melian (a Maia), and she and her people were the only ones I know of who held the secret in the Third Age. Certainly if Elrond and the elves of Rivendell had known it they would have sent the Fellowship out with some.

Sounds like it tasted awesome, though.

I thought Sam was'nt terribly impressed by it? in the movies anyway. Sounded like its only good for ration food when traveling, since 1 bite was enough to fill a grown man's stomach.

[Sharpandpointies]

I thought Sam was'nt terribly impressed by it? in the movies anyway.

In the books, Sam complained only after he and Frodo were basically eating Lembas for week and nothing but. He then says: "This waybread keeps you on your legs in a wonderful way, thought it doesn't satisfy the innards properly." Ie, it doesn't fill him up. But later, when they make a stew and 'allow themselves' a little bit of their precious waybread as a dessert, it seems like 'a feast', as Tolkien puts it.

Sounded like its only good for ration food when traveling, since 1 bite was enough to fill a grown man's stomach.

It was meant to be travelling food, but Elves have a thing where they make everything better. Lembas is actually made from special - like, VERY special - corn that was brought from the Undying Lands, grown by the Valar Yavanna. The recipe for the cakes themselves was passed on to Galadriel by her mentor, Melian, one of the strongest and wisest of the Maiar. The business about 'one bite is enough to fill a grown man's stomach' is a Jackson invention so he could basically make a joke where the hobbits eat a ton of it without effort. It's not in the books. Instead, we get this:

The food was mostly in the form of every thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream. Gimli took up one of the cakes and looked at it with a doubtful eye.
'Cram,' he said under his breath, as he broke off a crisp corner and nibbled at it. His expression quickly changed, and he ate all the rest of the cake with relish.
'No more, no more!' cried the Elves laughing. 'You have eaten enough already for a long day's march!'
'I thought it was only a kind of cram, such as the Dale-men make for journey's in the wild,' said the Dwarf.
'So it is,' they answered. 'But we call it lembas or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant than cram, by all accounts.'
'Indeed it is,' said Gimli. 'Why it is better than the honey-cakes of the Beornings, and that is great praise, for the Beornings are the best bakers that I know of; but they are none too willing to deal out their cakes to travellers in these days. You are kindly hosts!'
'All the same, we bid you spare the food,' they said. 'Eat little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveller on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith.'
- The Fellowship of the Ring, Farewell to Lórien.

Note that in the books, Gimli isn't an idiot - he's a poet, a scholar, and quite travelled. When he compares these things as better than the honey-cakes of the Beornings, he's not just throwing that out there. In The Hobbit, there's a note about Beorn's honey-cakes, how they're good for travelling and also good to eat (even if they make people a little thirsty), and that's from Bilbo's point of view as a Hobbit.

So, Lembas is pretty darned good if it's considered better than something made by the best bakers that Gimli know, and it gets him to scarf down an entire cake after a nibble. ^_^