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  1. Past hour
  2. Wow, that aspic looks so worthwhile. Nice to see it on the menu. As always, while the pizzas are great one could (and does) make a nice meal of the non-pizza items when at 2 Amys...
  3. We've now been a few times to Compliments Only, and have been very impressed each time. The marquee sandwich is the Crunchy Boi, a turkey (or other meat) sub topped with Utz Chips, shredded lettuce, a good amount of mayo, and an oil/vinegar combo. It's exactly the sandwich you want when you are hungry--but it's definitely one for eating right away. Other sandwiches have been just as good, including a very solid meatball sub and their take on the Thanksgiving sandwich--the "Big Dipper" (served with turkey jus, thus the name). The people are friendly, there are some nice tables, a good selection of chips, and what else do you need? This place is a winner.
  4. We tried Bearcat, a new restaurant in West Ashley/Avondale, outside of 'downtown' Charleston, and came away impressed. It's a nice spot, with a nice outdoor seating area and an indoor bar with some hightops (and some low tables as well). The bar menu has a small and (to me) annoyingly-named collection of cocktails. My "Wolves in the Throne Room" was a nicely balanced bourbon-based drink. The dining room is really nice--nothing overly sleek, just comfortable. We started with the dumplings--the only holdover, our server told us, from the original menu--and the smoked maitake mushroom. The dumplings were really nice, but wow, that mushroom was amazing. Beautiful, thoughtful, and deeply flavorful. For mains we got the cobia--a nice piece of fish, perfectly prepared--and the Carolina crab rice, a hearty bowl topped with hollandaise and some sliced hot peppers. It was the only dish of the night where we thought we might be able to replicate it at home--where our cooking techniques might have been sufficient--but it was still significantly elevated compared to what we would likely ever be able to do. We split a bottle from Kivelstadt Cellars--a tannin-y but surprisingly easy-to-drink syrah, and finished with a banana tart. We would (and will) happily return.
  5. Today
  6. Singapore Somewhat delirious after flying 18 hrs and driving almost 4 hrs home from Newark. Singapore classics that aren't really that exciting: Hainan Chicken (Tian Tian), Soya Chicken (Hawker Chan in their store and at their stall in Chinatown complex), Pork Noodle (i.e., current 1 star holder Hill St. Tai Hwa), Fish Head Curry (Banana Leaf), Nasi Lemak fried chicken. I tried the most acclaimed places and just don't get the hype. Singapore classics that I think are tasty: Tulang Merah (Deen Tiga Rasa at Golden Mile, choose the beef bones), Bah ku Teh (Song Fa), Murtabak (Zam Zam), Chili Crab (Long Beach) Lol....my favorite laksa is still in Urban Hawker in NYC (but I tried 2 in Singapore, the real Sungei Rd and a place in Maxwell called Trishaw Sungei Rd, which had a Bib Gourmand designation). I will not dissuade anyone from trying out the classics so I suggest you sign up for Monster Day Tour's food tour. $70 Singaporean with visits to 3 hawker centers in Chinatown, tasting some of the most acclaimed foods. Alternatively, download the Michelin app and just hit up all the ones in hawker centers. We stayed around Robertson Quay (not the most exciting neighborhood for food). I prefer Chinatown to Little India or Kampong Gelam in terms of hawker centers and proximity to other sights.
  7. Yesterday
  8. Local food vlogger Vablonsky recently visited Mi La Cay to review their Maryland Chicken dish: https://www.sourceofthespring.com/silver-spring-news/2818980/vablonsky-explores-mi-la-cay-a-deep-dive-into-marylands-most-unique-fried-chicken/
  9. Last week
  10. Two dinner parties, two nights in a row. Friday was a Pea Salad with Spinach Mint Pesto Pistachio and creme fraiche from Apricot Lane farm (Sancerre), Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with carrots and asparagus (Stone Tower Hogback Mountain from NoVA), and a Citrus-sented Barsac Sabayon over fresh berries (Pineau des Cherantes). The first two I make quite often and are hits ever time. The Sabayon was new - next time I'd cut the sugar, but the sweetness was offset well by the berries. I inverted the ratio of berries to cream that is shown in the recipe picture linked. Saturday started with cocktails and Foie Gras Macarons from the Eleven Madison Park cookbook. Excellent flavors but the macarons became soggy within minutes of touching the foie mousse. Winter Citrus Salad with Pistachio and Castelvetrano Olives (Erbaluce) sounded like such an odd combination was but knock-out good. Braised Pork with Prunes and Citrus (git link) (Tenuta Terre Nere Etna Rosso - a fantastic pairing) was easily the best dish I've made in months. Finished with chilled port and melon, which I commonly serve after a heavy meal and when I run out of capacity to cook and entertain. A fair amount of trying new recipes went into the planning for this meal, but I was thrilled to get two new recipes to add to the permanent roster. On the menu for tonight - take out!
  11. Dinner tonight was chicken zucchini meatballs in a red curry sauce. I got 1.5 instead of 1 lb of ground chicken so just scaled the recipe up accordingly and added some bread crumbs since I had some leftover. I'm not a fan of frying meatballs so I did them in the oven, 20 minutes at 400*F. Got the rice started then started the sauce. I had a can of coconut milk and some leftover heavy cream and used that combination instead of 1.5 cans. Came together well and super easy. The breadcrumbs were leftover from last night's dinner, which I think is my absolute favorite version of a fried tofu sandwich. I did 12 slices from the tofu block instead of 18, but those were still very thin. Really liked the taste of the breading and fried up very well. I had a chipotle garlic spread that I used for my condiment, topped with some pickle slices and lettuce. We had for 3 meals actually, and one time I did a tahini artichoke dip instead of the garlic spread and that worked well too.
  12. For those heading to NYC this spring/summer. Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing "The eighty-first edition of the Whitney Biennial—the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States—features seventy-one artists and collectives grappling with many of today’s most pressing issues. This Biennial is like being inside a “dissonant chorus,’ as participating artist Ligia Lewis described it, a provocative yet intimate experience of distinct and disparate voices that collectively probe the cracks and fissures of the unfolding moment. The exhibition’s subtitle, Even Better Than the Real Thing, acknowledges that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is complicating our understanding of what is real, and rhetoric around gender and authenticity is being used politically and legally to perpetuate transphobia and restrict bodily autonomy. These developments are part of a long history of deeming people of marginalized race, gender, and ability as subhuman—less than real. In making this exhibition, we committed to amplifying the voices of artists who are confronting these legacies, and to providing a space where difficult ideas can be engaged and considered. This Biennial is a gathering of artists who explore the permeability of the relationships between mind and body, the fluidity of identity, and the growing precariousness of the natural and constructed worlds around us. Whether through subversive humor, expressive abstraction, or non-Western forms of cosmological thinking, to name but a few of their methods, these artists demonstrate that there are pathways to be found, strategies of coping and healing to be discovered, and ways to come together even in a fractured time."
  13. For the textile fans: Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction "This transformative exhibition explores how abstract art and woven textiles have intertwined over the past hundred years. In the 20th century, textiles have often been considered lesser—as applied art, women’s work, or domestic craft. Woven Histories challenges the hierarchies that often separate textiles from fine arts. Putting into dialogue some 160 works by more than 50 creators from across generations and continents, the exhibition explores the contributions of weaving and related techniques to abstraction, modernism’s preeminent art form. See a variety of textile techniques including weaving, knitting, netting, knotting, and felting. Understand the wide-ranging reasons artists from Anni Albers to Rosemarie Trockel and Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians/Cherokee Nation) have engaged with this art form. Some seek to effect social change, others to address political issues. Engaging with textiles as subject, material, and technique, others revitalize abstraction’s formal conventions or critique its patriarchal history and gendered identity. Explore this overlooked thread of art history that centers new voices: creators once marginalized for their gender, race, or class."
  14. New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024 "Visionary artists reimagine the past, present alternate realities, and inspire audiences to create different futures. During the past few years, our world has been transformed by a global pandemic, advocacy for social reform, and political division. How have these extraordinary times inspired artists? Works by the 28 artists featured in New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024 explore these ideas from perspectives that shift across geographies, cultural viewpoints, and time. One of the first major exhibitions to follow NMWA’s reopening after renovation, New Worlds will immerse visitors in the museum’s renewed spaces. It is the seventh and largest installment of the museum’s Women to Watch exhibition series. Presented every three years, Women to Watch is a dynamic collaboration between the museum and its network of outreach committees. The committees participating in New Worlds worked with curators in their regions to create shortlists of artists. From this list, NMWA curators selected the artists and works to exhibit at the museum in 2024. New Worlds features works by Irina Kirchuk (Argentina), Saskia Jordá (Arizona), Aimée Papazian (Arkansas), Nicki Green (Northern California), April Banks (Southern California), Meryl McMaster (Canada), Francisca Rojas Pohlhammer (Chile), Ana María Hernando (Colorado), Randa Maroufi (France), Marianna Dixon Williams (Georgia), Sophia Pompéry (Germany), Mona Cliff (Greater Kansas City Area), Rajyashri Goody (India), Hannan Abu-Hussein (Israel), Irene Fenara (Italy), Ai Hasegawa (Japan), Daniela Rivera (Massachusetts), SHAN Wallace (Mid-Atlantic Region), Alexis McGrigg (Mississippi), Eliza Naranjo Morse (New Mexico), Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya (New York), Migiwa Orimo (Ohio), Graciela Arias (Peru), Marina Vargas (Spain), Arely Morales (Texas), Noémie Goudal (U.K.), Molly Vaughan (Washington), and Sarah Ortegon (Wyoming)."
  15. Purely gringo quesadillas with ground beef and cheddar cheese. I had less than a pound of ground beef that I needed to use and this was simple, quick, and quite fun.
  16. I had made some spicy baked sweet potato wedges for one of the meals I don't seem to have written about. We had them leftover last night, along with rotisserie chicken and smoked salmon dill crostini. The base of each crostini was a thin layer of whipped cream cheese. There was a sauce for the potatoes, a crema with lime juice, and I drizzled a little of that on top of each crostini before serving. We also had some marinated gigande beans alongside the crostini. This was a simple, mostly no-cook meal.
  17. I originally had different plans for the ground turkey I had in the refrigerator, but I mixed up its use by date with the sausage (ugh, but that pasta with sausage was good!). I discovered* this mid-day yesterday and decided it must be cooked immediately. Didn't even wait until dinner time. Once it was browned and broken into small bits, I added a can of tomato sauce, about another can of water, some minced dehydrated onion, chopped celery, and Cajun seasoning (some Penzey's, which was old, and some other, newer from WF). Carrots didn't occur to me or I could have had the trinity. I also added a can of Ro-Tel and a can of drained, rinsed small red beans. At some point I added some torn fresh basil as well. I simmered this for a while and then put it in the fridge until dinner time. It made a nice stewy soup (I guess Rachael Ray calls that a stoup.) We had this with a NY style thin crust pizza from della barba. They've been running $2 off specials on Tuesdays. I've been ordering the plain cheese and then adding toppings at home before putting it in a warm oven to be ready for dinner. Usually I do just pepperoni, but yesterday I sauteed the last of the enoki mushrooms I had and topped the pizza with them, some pre-shredded mozzarella, and whole fresh basil leaves. (I can't recall what recipe I bought the mozzarella for, but I only needed 3/4 of the bag, and one of the problems with pre-shredded cheese is it goes bad fairly quickly. The last 1/4 of that bag seems to be lasting forever.) Anyway, the turkey was salvaged and dinner saved. *I try to keep a current list of fresh provisions I have on hand, so things don't go bad before I remember them. When I was putting something else into the meat drawer, I looked at the turkey date and went, "Huh? The 10th?" Then I checked my list and, indeed, had transposed the dates for the hot Italian sausage and the ground turkey in my mind. I need to remember to look at the list more frequently😞.
  18. That is totally weird. What got me looking at this was this recent article at Eater DC which says it was last updated February 26, 2024. In the blurb about Green Pig it says: Then I checked the Green Pig website and it listed Laurence Cohen as Executive Chef with no mention of Tracy O'Grady or Brian Wolken. Strange.
  19. Remember when I always used to write things like, “Remember this post 20 years from now?” We’re two years away … … and nobody - nobody - has ever called me out on the Rhinoceros misspelling.
  20. Sad news: weygandts will close at the end of April. Long time store manager Warren is moving on and with the leasing up at the end of April, they have decided to close shop.
  21. A solid evening at 2 Amys. Not a ton of specials on the wine bar menu, must be a Monday thing. The hit of the night was the Tongue and Tail Aspic. Also good was the Capicola with tuna spuma and cress. The fava bean crostini was tasty as always. Unfortunately the skin on the pickled mackerel was on the chew side. Chris behind the bar thought that perhaps the membrane between the scales and skin hadn't been properly dealt with.
  22. Earlier
  23. They also have the smaller, shelled garlic shrimp, which I'm not a huge fan of, but my wife really likes. This is still my go-to place, especially now that I have teenager with a big appetite. Like your son, he goes the steak and bulgogi route. I do more hot pot, mainly with the schezwon broth, dumplings, pot stickers, and sliced meats. I also really like the iPad ordering, and try to go just when they open, but the last few times I tried that, they really weren't ready to go. Sauces weren't out, bowls missing, and it took a while to get our first batch of food. Luckily, you can check in online before you go and get on the waiting list. I remeber doing it though google maps, but I'm sure there are other ways.
  24. Last night was an omelette filled with the last of the creamed spinach and mushrooms, baked potato, and toast. Tonight is bucatini with hot Italian sausage, mushrooms, and Rao's caramelized onion marinara. We're also having a big salad and a baguette.
  25. Thus far, I've been to the KPot three times. Once for the very confusing soft-opening, once on "girl-date" with my 10 yr old daughter, and last night with the entire family of four. I went to the location at 7-corners in Virginia; in the same parking lot as Home Depot. FWIW: My first hot pot was in China, in 1999. Such a fantastic and memorable experience done in pantomime. Anyway, hot tips: Get here at 5pm for dinner on Saturday, not later. It got packed. Go hungry. Don't eat too much. Don't accept the ice cream. Start with the bar, it's included. Have fun; make a few dipping sauces. The plates are hiding by your knees. We love this place. My son, 14, who is picky, ate 5 servings of BBQ protein: steak, 2-chicken bulgogi, and two different porks. Husband and I had beef bulgogi and focused more on hot pot. My son also ordered tofu soft and BBQed it in the bulgogi spot. He loved. He also at a lot of Jello. Not sure anything green crossed his lips. HOT Pot: I love that i get to cook my own pot stickers and fish-balls in the both and then get to dip them in sauce. I've had Tom Yum and miso and I like tom yum better. Miso is fine but too bland. Tom Yum is not that spicy but there's a bar full of spice so it's personalize-able. Of the usual stuff we got quail eggs which sort of pop in the mouth. So good. Veggies were very fresh but when you order dumpling like things, only 3 come with an order. I think the meat quality is good and there's a nice variety but find the shrimp hard to deal with. Served shell on, I find grilling them uneven and cooking them in broth makes them difficult to eat. That's my only complaint and I realize it's cultural. In New Orleans we don't eat the shells.
  26. Didn't feel like going out in the rain to go grocery shopping so poked around in the pantry and freezer to come up with dinner. From the pantry, I found a bag of star shaped fideo and a can of Caribbean seasoned black beans. From the freezer, 1/2 lb of freezer burned ground chicken and 3 Italian sausage links. I settled on fideo seco for dinner. Had a can of diced tomatoes, so used those instead of fresh Roma tomatoes and put the onion into the blender for the sauce. I defrosted and cooked the meat separately, then added it at the end. Had some queso fresco in the fridge, so topped with that and served the beans on the side. I've got another bag of the fideo in the pantry still, so I'm keeping this recipe to make again.
  27. Last night was a rather random pizza but tasty. Homemade dough, habanero BBQ sauce, sauteed enoki mushrooms, diced tofu marinated in the BBQ sauce and frozen corn warmed with pesto. Topped with mozzarella and baked at 505*F for 13 minutes. Delicious 😋
  28. I did a brisket this week as well, 3 lbs flat top. I rinsed it and then sprinkled Cajun seasoning on the fat before doing sous vide at 155*F for 26 hours. Seared on cast iron for dinner and served with mashed potatoes. Really good. To answer your question, I'm in complete agreement on The Kitchn. Every once in a while I wander in there and wonder why I did that. It doesn't work for me at all.
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