Q: I grew up in New York City during the 1950s and ’60s. Once a month, my father would take us out for Chinese food. My favorites were shrimp with lobster sauce and lobster Cantonese. There are many, many Chinese restaurants around the Atlanta area, but I haven’t been able to find any that prepare food Cantonese style like I grew up with. Can you help me locate any that serves Cantonese food? I would like to enjoy it again. Thanks. — Harvey Flamholtz, Lawrenceville
A: Well, Harvey, I can’t guarantee that anyone has Cantonese food exactly like what you enjoyed way back when, but I think that I can satisfy your yen for Cantonese. Canton House, 4825 Buford Highway, Chamblee, 770-936-9030, offers a generous dim sum menu as well as a long list of Cantonese favorites, including shrimp with lobster sauce.
Q: A friend who lives in California has asked me to help her find Rex brand jelly. Her mom used it as a filling for jelly cakes, and she cannot locate it in California. She hopes that I can find it for her here in Georgia. Can you help? Thank you. — Joyce Harris, Villa Rica
A: Before the public ever got wind of it, Rex jelly began as a product for commercial bakeries and institutions, used as a filling in cakes and pastries. A lot of folks knew it only as the glossy red goo, of indeterminate flavor, that oozed out of jelly donuts. Rex jelly contained neither fruit nor fruit juice, according to a former employee of Bestfoods, which made the jelly under its former name, Corn Products Company. Eventually, Rex jelly became available to the general public and was sold in large pails. Rex jelly came about in the early 1900s, and production stopped in 1970. While the commercial Rex jelly of yesteryear isn’t available, there is a version sold at Mama J’s Cabin, which is located in Tennessee. You can order jars of Amish Rex jelly for $4.95 through www.mamajscabin.com.
Q: I’m looking for two items, Medicated Vaseline and S.T.37, which does wonders for mouth pain and sore throats. Medicated Vaseline heals dry and chapped lips. I would be grateful to be able to buy at least one of these items, if not both. Thanks. — Kim Belt, email
A: I found both items at Miller’s Rexall Drugs, 87 Broad St., Atlanta, 404-523-8481 — sort of. Pond’s stopped producing Medicated Vaseline, also called Carbolated Vaseline, in the 1970s. However, there is a substitute. J.R. Watkins makes Petro-carbo medicated first aid salve; a 4.37-ounce tin sells for $15.99. S.T. 37 is an old-time mouth solution that comes in an 8-ounce bottle and costs $14.99 at Miller’s.
Q: Nearly all kitchen and bathroom sinks have drawer-looking cabinet pieces in front of them. However, there are gadgets one can purchase to attach to the inside of those pieces to transform them into small drawers. I own two, but cannot remember where I purchased them. Can you help? — Mary Kitchen, email
A: The clever hidden storage spaces won’t be hard for you to find. Rev-a-Shelf makes these tip-out drawers. I found them in stock in several Lowe’s, including the store at 4950 Peachtree Indrustrial Blvd, Chamblee, 770-220-0513. If you need a lot of these, the Edgewood store seems to have more in stock than other locations. Each one-tier plastic pull-out cabinet basket is priced at $17.97.
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