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Art and Soul executive chef Danny Chavez will be opening Lime & Cilantro in Silver Spring: https://www.sourceofthespring.com/silver-spring-news/2821823/farewell-crown-fried-chicken-hello-lime-cilantro-new-restaurant/

Lunch today was this very tasty Spicy Japchae. I had fried tofu and extra mushrooms, so I skipped including the fish cakes. I might add a few more noodles next time but I enjoyed this twist in the traditional recipe.

I spent about four days last week in Miami and had a few dinners out. Dinner at Doya in Wynwood was probably the food highlight of the week, with a nice Mediterranean/tapas menu. Nothing really stood out more than another, but the dips (including a great beet root hummus) were all very nice. Service was efficient, and the space is large and very nice. The bar cabinet was about two stories tall and very interestingly-stocked, at least for Miami. Dinner at Log (also in Wynwood) was fine, nothing overly special. Again, the space was cool. The steak tartare was very good, and the ribeye was a well-prepared medium rare. They were a bit weird with how they handled wine; the bottle didn't sit on the table or in a tableside bucket, but rather at the bar. The weird part was that they brought wine refills in mini-carafes, whether it was the red or the white wines that we had. We saw them pouring from the bottles, so it wasn't a bait-and-switch (and honestly, we hadn't ordered especially expensive wines). Not sure what that was about... Dinner Chotto Matte was also really good, a Peruvian/Japanese fusion restaurant. The space is really something, with the massive (and I mean, really massive) entrance door the size of a wall. The inside is very cool, and the retractable roof gives you something cool to look at. Service was fine, as was the food. This is a cool restaurant that wears its hipness on its sleeve (or its wall, I guess). Breakfast at San' Gines in Miami Beach was a great option; we got there early and sat out at a sidewalk table. My cappuccino (and then, later, a second cortadito) were both delicious and the coffee highlight of the week. I only did an almond croissant, but it was very good, even in the Miami humidity that was developing. The sandwiches also looked (and, I heard secondhand, were) very good. It was humming when we left, with quite a line between it and its next door neighbor, an Italian deli counterpart called Rosetta Bakery.

Thanks for the distinction, Ericandblueboy. Helps to temper expectations on an overall experience. Been thinking of trying it.

I didn’t know the history of the place, thanks Bookluvingbabe.

We have those too sometimes. That's when I realize why restaurants add that curly parsley garnish to plates (or used to; it seems not to be so common any more). I try to find any reasonable green herb to mince and sprinkle over the plate. If I have any, sometimes I'll halve a cherry tomato or two to set alongside the beige food. Last night was actually rather beige, come to think of it . I fried up some mushroom and sauerkraut pierogies I'd bought at Stachowski's a couple months ago and had stashed in the freezer. We had them with caramelized onions and sauteed enoki and sliced button mushrooms. This used a lot of butter all around. I balanced things somewhat with braised rainbow chard and green curly kale to accompany.

He winked at life, a joyful enthusiast who wanted the best for us all. May he find that, and more, on the other side.

Thursday night was an unusually beige meal for us. I got home late and was staring in the fridge at options. I grabbed the remaining bacon and started frying it while I cut up a remaining defrosted chicken breast. I also saw a packet of chicken flavor seitan that was near it's expiration date, so tore that up as well. Took the bacon out of the skillet and tossed the chicken in to cook. Once it was mostly done, I added the seitan and a handful of matchstick carrots. I made some Parmesan couscous for the starch and called it done. Worked out well but probably should have added some more veggies. Friday night was this Chili Crunch Tofu & Spinach dish. It was supposed to include rice noodles but I ended up doubling it and didn't have enough noodles for that, so made Korean black rice instead. I also should have pressed the tofu more than I did as it has too much moisture to crisp up like it was supposed to do. Ignoring that though, the sauce was good and it used up all of the spinach, which was a goal. I do have 1/2 a can of coconut milk sitting in the fridge to use for something. Last month, this recipe for Chicken & Carrot Kade Paan caught my eye and we made it for dinner last night. The bag of rolls I found was a 36 count, not 18, so this recipe got doubled. I skipped the egg wash, and we were fine with that. No chili tomato sauce here but rummaging around I decided to do a mayo based sauce instead. I went fusion instead of closer to authentic. Mayo with some aji amarillo paste, basil paste, S & P and that was good for us. We are 4 each and put the remainder in the fridge for future meals. I liked them but I really need to work on getting more filling inside, I'm terrible at that and the finished rolls did seem a bit more hollow than they should have been.

It's a pop-up for the time being. I'm sure when he has his own place and his staffed trained, it will be a legit 1 star place. I still don't know why Maydan gets a star and is one of the most sought after restaurants in DC. At Nakazawa, his movements are serene, not slapping things together as fast as he can.

I think by today’s standards in DC, it’s one-star quality (food only). That said, your “slapping shit together as fast as he can” comment is funny and describes the general scene perfectly (although I’d substitute “sushi” for the word you used). You also touched on one of my three criticisms about the food itself: I had one piece of nigiri explode in my hand because of the rice. I also think the entire meal has a very narrow palate amplitude. Finally, I found the sequence of maguro, chu-toro, and o-toro (really?) to be in descending order of quality. But there’s too much good here (like the $100 price) to be focusing on the bad. I’ve had numerous You’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me one-star meals in DC, and this wasn’t one of them. Still, yours is a legitimate point-of-view shared by another friend of mine who tried it (I never went to Nakazawa, but I’d be crestfallen if I paid $190 for this).

It was really great a few years ago when it was a pop up. I haven’t gotten there since they’ve found their own place.

It's a big step below Nakazawa based on our experience tonight at 5:30. Uchi is slapping shit together as fast as he can and then passing them on to his helpers. The rice is hot and almost mushy. The fish hasn't warmed to room temp. For $100, it's still a bargain based on the ingredients but it's far from a Michelin star experience. Dunno what Rooster and Owl is charging these days but at one point it was $85 for 4 courses and that was most definitely a Michelin star worthy dinner. On a night when his counter isn't full and he's fully prepped, I can see this being Michelin worthy.

I have lots of negative things to say about many of the overpriced, undergood places that are all over NYC these days, but I have not a bad word to say about this place. It is simply a gem.

Will have to try that ⬆️ salad. I've got some leftover rotisserie chicken in the freezer. It reminds me a bit of the chicken ranch pasta salad with avocado and bacon I made from her site recently, and rotisserie chicken worked great. Speaking of her site, we had salmon with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes last night. I combined 2 recipes from Half-Baked Harvest, as she tends to reissue variations on the same essential recipe over time. I included both the cream cheese and pepper flakes from this one and the thyme, dill, green onions, salsa verde, and sun-dried tomatoes from this, so it was spicy. I used heavy cream, lemon juice and zest as well. The last bit of the cream went into the mashed potatoes as did some excess dill and green onion tops. It looked beautiful plated.

Prompted partly by @KeithA, we visited Muchas Gracias last weekend while visiting DC. Really glad we did - had never been in person and head a really nice first outdoor meal of the season. We got two appetizers to share - the aguachile special and the avocado crab salad. The former is a saucier shrimp ceviche with a bit of jalapeno kick. The crab avocado dish was a real delight for someone who has been out of Maryland for a while. Huge chunks of blue crab with avocado and a nice slaw underneath. Not the most beautiful presentation, but all the right flavors and textures together. Would order this again in a heartbeat. For mains, we ordered fish tacos (which came with a smoking hot habanero salsa), enchilada con mole, and a couple orders of quesabirria. The first and last were very good - I might have liked a bit more flavor on the taco other than the salsa. Quesabirria is just a flavor bomb - adored by both that ordered it. The only real disappointment of the meal was the enchiladas - specifically the mole. Mole should have deep, soulful flavors - this one just fell a little flat. Drinks were tasty and overall a very nice experience. Can't wait to return when I move back.

Holy crap that looks good.

Last night on the patio had a delicious soft shell crab in yellow curry sauce special. Don’t miss this dish.

We will have one free night on a Wednesday in early June. Would like a restaurant that is near the center of the old part of town - walking distance from the Moxie hotel if that helps anyone. We will be coming off of many hours of travel., so nothing too fancy or too rambunctious. Thank you!

Dinner tonight was this awesome avocado, bacon, and chicken salad. I added cucumber and carrots because I like those and despite putting it on the grocery list, I forgot to buy feta cheese. We have an assortment of cheeses in the drawer so went with a smoked Gouda and something else. Everything worked really well and I probably could skip the chicken and still really enjoy it.

Godspeed. Will miss his posts.

LIkewise - really sorry to hear this news. We'll miss his thoughts.

Loosely inspired by a recipe from The Times, Sunday's appetizer was fresh burrata surrounded by a spring salad of edamame, fennel, celery and mint, lightly dressed. Served with toasted italian bread, made a delicious and (somewhat) light bruschetta. I would imaging you could do the same with ricotta instead of burrata as well. Shaps Bouzeron Aligote. Desert was the easy and always fabulous Cherry Clafoutis from Eric Ripert's Vegetable Simple. Sparkling Lambrusco (forget the producer). Oh and some mixed grilled meats and vegetables in the middle.

Last night was patty melts, french fries, and salad. I bought ground beef on sale that was 80/20. I usually go somewhat lower fat, so the patties were a bit greasy. I should stick to using that for cooking up ground beef for something where it gets well -drained and use the better stuff for burgers.