i'll jump into the fray whilst eating lunch and comment on bittman's browned rice story
i had a philippino roommate when i first moved to the city, and she always did this, burning the rice on the bottom of the pot on purpose
she made me try it and i feel in love immediately!
it give such a nice, sweet, nutty flavor to the rice
one of the things we used to do was make a miso broth or a garlic/ginger/chili/lemon broth and then dip the browned rice into it
SO good, so unbelievably good!
while our friendship did not last, i treasure all the unique cooking experiences she and i had together, this one being just the tip of the culindary ice cube

I like baked rice, then you get browned bits all along the sides of the casserole dish.