European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Not liked food is hidden in lots of dishes by Karen Macneil new York times would like the Caesar salad hold  no other comment from customers with the possible exception of is there liver inthe foie gras sends chefs into grander fits of secret glee. For anchovies one of the least liked foods in America Are used in restaurants All the time although customers Aren t usually aware of it. Judy Rogers chef of the popular Zuni cafe in san Francisco who describes herself As the Queen of anchovies said she puts them in everything from stuffed artichokes to pasta to pork loin roasts. I Haven t figured out How to put them in desserts yet she said. I Tell our waiters Don t Tell customers they la panic " Rogers said anchovies give depth fullness and body to Many dishes. Anchovies work in a mysterious blending and heightening Way she said. In ancient roman texts anchovies Are always mentioned in  Lydia Bastianich chef and owner of Felidia in Manhattan said chemically anchovies seem to sensitize the taste  Bastianich who uses anchovies in pastas certain mean dishes and appetizers said they accent the flavors of the foods surrounding them. Leslee Reis chef and owner of cafe Provencal in suburban Chicago said i never write the word Anchovy on the menu but i use them by the  just Why the Anchovy so beloved around the Mediterranean in Asia and in South americans culinary anathema in the United states is not Clear. My guess is that the first anchovies americans encounter is when they re 10 years old and they unsuspecting by bite into pizza and get a Mouthful of old Salty Muddy cheap canned anchovies said Tom Maresca. He is co author of the just published la Tavo a Italiana William Morrow which includes several recipes using anchovies such As a Mozzarella torte and an Herb baked Rabbit in Anchovy sauce. Joyce Goldstein chef and owner of Square one in san Francisco concurred. People have one bad experience with cheap canned anchovies then they re afraid of them for  Goldstein said that she too sneaks anchovies into dishes whenever possible and watches the customers turn Green when i Tell them there s an Anchovy in the dish they just  she and other chefs say anchovies unusual flavor gives them inspiration for Many dishes but fresh ones Are difficult to come by. Fresh anchovies Aren t expensive in California but i have to make special arrangements with a Fisherman to get them Rogers said. About 150 species of Anchovy eng Raulis Encura Nicolus exist. They Are clustered in Large schools mainly in the Mediterranean and off the coasts of California Peru Japan South Africa new zealand and the South coast of Australia said Gary Nelson head of the ichthyology department of the american museum of natural history in new York. But despite their abundance anchovies spoil rapidly said Richard lord information service director of the Fulton fish Market at the South Street seaport in Manhattan. Anchovies Are extremely fragile and have soft flesh he said. When an Anchovy Dies Active enzymes in its digestive system begin to Liquefy. In time these enzymes along with bacterial activity will spoil the  lord said the Fulton fish Market regularly has Small quantities of fresh anchovies from Europe California Argentina and Brazil. Italian portuguese and greek fish Market owners snap them up he said. Fresh anchovies taste infinitely better than  if fresh anchovies Are not available Salt packed canned anchovies offer an alternative to the Oil packed anchovies most people know. Salt packed whole anchovies Are much meatier and More delicious than Anchovy fillets packed in Oil said Georgine Cavaiola owner of Rist Orante Georgine Carmella in the Little Italy Section of Manhattan. Cavaiola uses Only Salt packed anchovies which she de salts by running under water and repack in fresh High Quality Olive Oil. When they re at their Best anchovies should be a silent ingredient she said. You should t be Able to easily isolate its flavor from the rest of the flavors in the dish but it builds the complexity of the  Erma Bombeck Erma Bombeck is on vacation. In her absence the Best of Bombeck will run. This column originally appeared in May 1973. When Mike was 3, he wanted a Sandbox and his father said there goes the Yard. Well have kids Over Here Day and night and they la throw Sand into the flowerbeds and cats will make a mess in it and it la kill the grass for  and Mike s Mother said it la come  when Mike was 5, he wanted a Jungle gym set with swings that would take his breath away and bars to take him to the Summit and his father said Good grief i be seen those things in backyards and do you know what they look like mud holes in a pasture. Kids digging their gym shoes in the ground. It la kill the  and Mike s Mother said it la come  Between breaths when daddy was blowing up the plastic swimming Pool he warned you know what they re going to do to this place they re going to condemn it and use it for a missile site. I Hope you know what you re doing. They la track water everywhere and have a million water fights and you won t be Able to take out the garbage without stepping in mud up to your neck. When we take this Down Well have the Only Brown Lawn on the  it la come Back said Mike s Mother. When Mike was 12, he volunteered his Yard for a Camhout. As they hoisted the tents and drove in the spikes his father stood at the window and observed Why Don t i just put the grass seed out in Cereal bowls for the Birds and save myself the trouble of spreading it around you know for a fact that those tents and All those big feet Are going to trample Down every single Blade of grass Don t you Don t bother to answer. I know what you re going to say. It la comeback.1" the basketball hoop on the Side of the garage attracted More crowds than the olympics. And a Small Patch of Lawn that started out with a Barren spot the size of a garbage can lid soon grew to encompass the entire Side Yard. Just when it looked like the new seed might take Root the Winter came and the sled runners beat it into ridges. Mike s father Shook his head and said i never asked for much in this life Only a Patch of  and his wife smiled and said it la come  the Lawn this fall was Beautiful. It was Green and alive and rolled out like a sponge carpet along the drive where gym shoes had trod. Along the garage where bicycles used to fall. And around the flowerbeds where Little boys used to dig with iced Tea spoons. But Mike s father never saw it. He anxiously looked beyond the Yard and asked with a catch in his voice he will come Back won t he c 1988 Erma Bombeck Page 16 the stars and stripes monday August 15,1988