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We went to Alias Vint Hill last night for a special occasion. We sat at the Chef's Counter and were curious so one of us got the vegetarian menu while the other ordered the regular menu. We also decided to try the cheese course. Neither of us are real wine drinkers, so skipped the wine pairing. For drinks, he got the Tequila Honey and I tried the mocktail, Cherry Lane and both were very good. We did arrive early, as requested and enjoyed a glass of champagne and 2 starters before the first course listed on the menu. The first was a small disk (I think plantain) with I believe 6 layers on it: a sweet and spicy sauce (aji amarillo and something else), something else and for the regular menu, a slice of skipjack tuna on top while the other had I believe cured vegetables and then curls of green onion and a drizzle of sauce on it. We shared everything throughout the meal and both of these were very good. The tuna was more substantial but I liked the combination of flavors on the vegetarian version. The next was another nibble in small scoop shapes, waygu beef in the one, and I'm blanking on the vegetarian version's topping. For each course, they brought out the silverware for that dish and then cleared it along with the plate before the next dish came out and this was a nice touch. The first course was the same for both menus: Potato & Leek Soup with Garlic Bread Crumble, Buttermilk Sorbet, the difference being that the regular menu included a topping of Osetra Caviar instead of Scallions. We did ask for the caviar on both bowls because it looked great and glad I did. The contrast between the hot soup and the sorbet was perfect, along with the garlic crunch. Next out was their version of Parker House rolls with soft salted butter. My husband took his first bite and made happy noises. There were 2 for each person and absolutely wonderful. After this was the second item on the menu: Roasted Turbot, stuffed with Scallops and Tarragon, with Dandelion Puree, and Sunflower Sikil Pak or Wild Ramp & Potato Tortellini with Sauteed Mushrooms, Leek Beurre Blanc for the vegetarian menu. The fish was very good but I think I have to give the nod to the tortellini for this course. After that was the Whiffletree Farms Chicken with Turnip Cream, Basil Scallion Trapanese and Grilled Wild Morels or Sweet Potato Pave with Turnip Cream, Basil Scallion Trapanese and Aged Gouda Mornay. The chicken was everything chicken should be and rarely is: flavorful, moist and tender. It was so enjoyable and the sauces just added to that. The Pave was made with Peruvian purple sweet potatoes and was visually very attractive. The Gouda Mornay and the Turnip Cream were excellent accompaniments. The fourth course from the menu was Grilled Iberico Pork "Pluma" with Fabada Astariana, Spicy Wild Ramp, Red Pepper Adobo Puree, and Grilled Fiddlehead Ferns or Grilled Blonde Morels stuffed with Roasted Date Mole, on Sweet & Sour Chili Agrodolce, and Pickled Shallot. My husband is not normally a fan of pork, but he said if I can make it taste like that, he'd enjoy eating it. This was a first time for both of us having ramps and fiddlehead ferns. Loved the bite from the ramps and the fiddleheads are very visually appealing. The morels were good but I think the mole may have been too intense of a flavor contrast for that dish. For this course, the knives provided had the name ALIAS on the blade and it was subtle but a great touch. Before the final menu course, there was one last extra course. It was a sunchoke puree with cacao nibs, nuts and a scoop of a sorbet on top. It was cool, sweet and savory and unexpectedly delicious. Bringing the menus full circle, the final item for both was Tres Leche Cake with Black Pepper Chantilly, Strawberry Sorbet, Strawberry and Rhubarb. The black pepper provided the perfect contrast to the cake and fruit flavors. For the Cheese plate, there were 4 cheeses, a Housemade Onion Jam and Housemade Crackers. The cheeses included a mild Bleu cheese, a brie, a Swiss cheese and one more hard cheese that I'm blanking on. I shared the Bleu with my husband but he preferred the cake for his final course. I enjoyed both options. After this final course, everyone was presented with a to-go box of 4 cinnamon rolls to take home and enjoy, perhaps for breakfast. This was the perfect conclusion to the meal. If you are looking at restaurants with a prix fixe menu, I would definitely recommend Alias and we enjoyed sitting at the counter and seeing the assembly throughout the meal.

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.

Really surprised there hasn't been more engagement on this, as I was at Uchi's new stand on Friday in the Square (he took over the one that Cashion's had for what seemed like a couple weeks) and it was buzzing at the 5:30 seating. The dinner version of his omakase has 15 courses, about 5 of which were non-sushi, and it is $100pp, but worth every penny IMO. The quality of the fish and the creativity of Uchi really shine through in this expanded menu, which he does at 2 seatings at 5:30 and 7:30 as he continues to wait for his restaurant to be complete right across the way in the Square. I'll look forward to getting this several more times again going into the summer as I'm sure the price of this will go way up when he gets into that space.

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.

Went there tonight … Michelin-star-quality sushi in the middle of a food court! Complete with a bad musician in the background, and free parking in the garage (you have to use the K Street entrance after 5PM). $100 for this omakase is a steal. Listen to DPop - he’s right.

We had a great time in Japan - visited Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. We enjoyed some good food but also kind of messed up by not planning much. Most of the food was very good but it is was rarely excellent. Here is my advice (mostly based on what I didn't do): 1. Go with people who want to eat the same things as you. Many places in Japan specialize in only a few types of dishes - sushi, tempura, katsu, yakiniku (korean BBQ), ramen, etc. If you have picky eaters and want to accommodate them you'll miss out on these specialized places. I never made it to a real sushi restaurant because my crew wasn't willing to eat nigiri - they usually eat maki rolls which are not that popular in Japan. 2. Have someone like a hotel concierge make reservations for you several days in advance. Many restaurants even not too fancy ones require reservations (often through phone calls in Japanese or use of Japanese language apps) or a long wait. We thought we'd just stroll in and that pretty much never worked at better places so we ended up at more casual or random places. The waits are often long because the places are tiny and so they fill up quick. Also many places will be booked completely for reservations. 3. Insist and plead. One night we showed up at a mostly empty larger restaurant early for dinner and asked for a table. They hemmed and hawed and finally sat us at one of the only high top tables with stool with no backs. We were really tired from walking all day. I kindly begged to be moved to a table with chair backs and they said ok, but we could only stay for 1 hour because they had reservations coming. That was no issue for us and I'm so happy we were more comfortable. Another time, my kids really just wanted some plain rice and that seem to confuse the staff at first request but when I pointed out it was for the kids, they complied quickly and cranky kids became happy kids. 4. Ask for help in the proper way to eat the food. We went to a yakiniku place randomly one night and got lots of confused signals at first. They didn't know if they could seat us, then said yes and then sat us in a room alone whereas we heard lots of other people in another part of the restaurant. We didn't realize we were supposed to order through a QR code menu till we asked. We didn't know how to properly use the stove till we asked. Another time it is was a small thing - I was given a sleeve of small pieces of nori seaweed and a small flat plate. Until I asked I didn't know I was supposed to pour soy sauce on the plate, dip my seaweed it in and then wrap the seaweed around some rice for a much tastier bite than eating them separately. 5. Kaiseki meal - don't go to a ryokan for a kaiseki meal with picky eaters or at least try to adjust the menu. The ryokan gratefully adjusted the menu to avoid shellfish and pork, which we don't eat, but then only gave us lots of fish - not any meat and limited tofu even, so it was a bit of a bust for the others. (I ate great). We ended up eating a lot of yakitori - some really good at hole in the wall places (the one behind the Osaka W is great) and food halls and some not so great. Look up a guide on how to order the parts of chicken you want to eat. I really enjoyed the chicken meatballs (and they cook quicker usually too). You don't have to go to a dedicated sushi place to get lots of great sashimi. Lots of izakayas and other places have it and it is generally great. Like a lot of the food it is also very seasonal - spring is the time for sea bream so we had a lot of that. Ramen - since we don't eat pork, we never got it. It is very hard to find fish or chicken broth based ramen (although it seemed vegan was more popular). There are places but again advance research was needed. Udon/Soba - really good at lots of places. The Yuba (tofu skin) noodle soup place across from Tenryu-Ji shrine (near the bamboo forest) in Arashiyama was excellent. Eat the specialty of the house. On the way to Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto there is a place making lots of inari. Get the inari - either as sushi stuffed with rice or in soup, skip the bland maki rolls. Hotel buffets are great for breakfast. We stayed at the W Osaka and Westin Tokyo and they both had huge spreads of western and Japanese foods (as well as some chinese too). DO eat Japanese breakfast - fish and soup may not be normal for western palates but they are great. Onigiri - the conbini have pretty good but if you can get fresh made it is even better. One of my favorite parts of the Westin Tokyo's buffet was the made to order onigiri. Lawson's conbini fried chicken - it is chicken nuggets but lots of different flavors and really makes everyone happy for a quick and super cheap snack. Viral foods - the 10 Yen Cheese pancake IS very good. The custard version not so much. The hard sugar coated strawberries are good for a couple of bites and then not so much. Cremia extra milky soft serve - I didn't like it. It was too creamy and would suggest sticking to regular ice cream which is readily available. Mochi - if you like it, it is available it lots of varieties and wonderful. Lots of places sell it traditional style with red bean filling (give it a try, it is excellent), or chocolate or custard (also good but a bit too sweet for me), and yes great also topped with a strawberry. If you are there in spring time try the special sakura mochi wrapped with a pickled leaf. I liked the Osaka/Kansai version better than the Tokyo/Kanto version but both were good. One great one was a sakura croissant filled with mochi and red bean that was at the W Osaka buffet. Pickles - Japanese pickles are mild and great. I loved having a variety to eat with my breakfast at the buffets. Izakayas are great options to find a wide variety of foods from noodles, sashimi, tofu dishes, etc. One of the best dishes we had was called "drool tofu" (this was both the English and Japanese name) which was soft tofu with a non-spicy chili crisp like topping. Pizza - Japan has great neapolitan style pizza - we had in a few times and felt like we were back in Italy. We even went to one that was Neapolitan certified in Osaka. They do have some unusual topping varieties like corn, fish roe, etc. but also always had margheritas and quattro formaggio (usually with a side of honey to drizzle on). Bagels - they have really good bagels at dedicated shops. Again with normal and unusual fillings. It seems like they prefer to fill them vs. having a schmear to spread on. Mochi donuts available in conbini and better and cheaper than in the US.

Seder menu this year is similar to past years with some twists: Chicken Marbella - always a winner Brisket - I modified a recipe from Jake Cohen's I Could Nosh for Jew-mami Brisket (as in umami) - I left out the mushrooms since I'm the only one in my house who likes them, skipped the red wine vinegar, doubled the soy sauce instead and made it yesterday a day a head. I liked the crushed tomatoes instead of diced, it really has a nice thick gravy vs. being too watery/evaporated. Charoset this year - I continue to try new stuff. Ashkenazi - tried and true. I had a funny interaction with the very kind woman who runs the Kuhns Orchard Cleveland Park farmer's market stand when I explained what ashkenazi charoset was (apples, walnuts, cinnamon and a bit of sweet wine) and asked for her apple varietal recommendations. I think I really through her for a loop but she suggested a mix. We'll see if people notice the gold rush and crimson crisp as different. We were lucky to travel to Italy and Japan since last passover so I made charoset inspired by those trips. Italian one is a recipe from Portico, Roman-Jewish cookbook I got recently. It has Apple, banana, orange, dates, figs, almond, hazelnuts, and walnuts, sweet wine and cinnamon and is more of a spread than chunky. For Japan, I created my own recipe inspired by popular Japanese ingredients - Asian apple/pears (Nashi in Japanese), sesame seeds, dried cherries (cherry blossom reference even though they aren't actual cherry producing trees), crystalized ginger with Japanese plum wine. It is more floral that others, but I think I like it. Hopefully others will too. Maror/bitter herbs/horseradish - I continued to use the great carrot citrus horseradish recipe from the Gefilte Manifesto which is now a family tradition after making it for many years. It comes out bright orange. Gefilte fish - i again made my own using the Gefilte Manifesto quenelle recipe but with 2 TB of added matzo meal. I had hoped to use halibut again for the fish which has turned out great the past several years. However, 5 different grocery stores and no halibut. Whole foods had only a small amount at a high price. So this year it is 2/3 scarlet snapper and 1/3 flounder from Giant. It turned out a bit pinkish instead of the usual all white. Hopefully everyone enjoys. Asparagus with hazelnut dukkah from Israeli Soul cookbook. Green salad Hardboiled eggs - chopped with salt water for a kind of chunky soup - my wife's family tradition. Chicken soup with matzo balls Matzo farfel - my wife's family recipe to make chunks of egg cooked farfel (matzo chunks) that act like a crouton. Good with soup or even as a snack by the handful when you would normally eat crackers or pretzels but can't during the holiday. Charred zucchini with cherry tomatos and mint from the Israeli Soul cookbook. Dessert is a variety of store bought stuff - fruit gel slices, chocolate lollipops, peppermint patties, but hopefully we'll find time to make homemade coconut macaroos and maybe these soft almond cookies we made last year which were great. Homemade pickles

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.

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

I continue to think the lounge is the best way to enjoy Le Bernardin. It's rarely crowded, especially early in the evening, the service is more friendly and prompt, and you have the choice of a la carte or you can also do the full tasting menu. Last Saturday evening brought Tuna with Foie Gras Brioche ($54 and pictured in the post above) and Lobster Rolls ($54). Portioning was generous, with 4 mini lobster rolls presented with truffle butter. Fabulous wine service - in and out in an hour for <$200. Then across the street to Aldo Sohm for a bottle and charcuterie.

I think Boston's got some great Chinese food. We had some delicious dumplings, baos, stinky tofu, sticky rice wrapped in intestine, and greens at Taiwan Cafe in Chinatown. We also had some delicious dim sum at Dynasty, also in Chinatown. Dynasty opens early (9 am). Tried some acclaimed seafood. Neptune Oyster had the best fried Ipswich clams I ever had (just great breading and nicely salted). The kids loved their clam chowder. I thought the Acadian redfish and chips were pretty good as well. Unfortunately their Monday night special of lobster spaghetti was not good at all. The lobster was way overcooked. The spaghetti sauce was just your typical marinara (unlike Joe Beef in Montreal, where the sauce was made with lobster stock). The scallop crudo was also fishy. The Daily Catch at the North End doesn't take reservation or credit card, but a few blocks away is a branch (Waterfront) that takes reservation and credit card. We had clams Siciliano, shrimp scampi, fritto misto and Vongole Neapolitan linguine. Their clam linguine is chopped clams while the Vongole Neapolitan has clams in shells. They didn't purge the clams so they were sandy. The other foods were good but nothing special. Le's Vietnamese around Harvard is decent. There looks to be some good food around Harvard but parking is a pain. We stayed at the Harborside Inn. The room was quite big with adjustable temperature. The fridge worked but there were no coffee/tea maker. The location is great though, right next to Quincy Market. We parked a couple of blocks away at 21 Well St. It's valet only but with in and out privileges. Found the parking on Spot Hero. Quincy Market looks more like a mall food court than a food hall. Nearby Boston Public Market isn't much better. The Isabella Gardner Museum is amazing if you like sumptuously decorated palazzos.

Last night was fish-centered. I made small pumpernickel canapes topped with cream cheese, smoked salmon, red onion and dill. I forgot capers. We also had a baked halibut fillet with lemon and tarragon and a mix of buttered peas and carrots with dill. The plates were very bright-looking.

Went back to Pisco last weekend with my wife. It was nice to see it so busy on a Saturday night. Bar was packed and most tables filled. Happy we made a reservation a few days before. They have a happy hour special that lasts 4pm-7pm everyday so that was likely a draw too. We were really drawn to the Pisco flight of 3 different ones so even though that was one of the few non-HH cocktails, we went for it and really had fun trying the different types - traditional with lime, passion fruit (sweet and smooth - I'm a sucker for passion fruit too), and chicha morada (it is a dark reddish-purple, traditional made from corn, it was somewhat sweet but unique, my least favorite). We had the Nikkei (japanese) ceviche to start with is an ample portion for 2, and probably would have been fine as a small starter for 4. The portions of everything appeared to be large. So good for sharing. The ceviche was nice big chunks of fresh tuna, with shredded onions, chopped cucumber and avocado with a big piece of wonton like cracker and a soy based savory sauce. Similar to a tuna poke without rice. We enjoyed. For mains, my wife had the excellent Lomo Saltado that enjoyed on my last visit. Next time we'll probably share and the size was good she didn't mind me stealing fries - the sauce is so tasty. I got the lamb shank which was pretty good but I'd probably go for something else next time. Nicely cooked, with a rich brown stew like sauce that they cover the whole plate in. Not the best presentation because I almost didn't see the peas and carrots covered in sauce or the rice (& maybe potato) under the shank. It does have a nice contrast though as piled on top of the shank are shredded onions in aji marinade. Overall we really enjoyed the food, nice to be in a lively place for a date night, and the service was very good too. The menu is really big too with a bit for everyone but especially good if you like seafood. We were stuffed and skipped dessert.

Spent a few days based in North Beach and thought I'd give a few impressions of places in that area: Locura Marina - Fun, casual Peruvian place. Tried aji di gallena and steak from the dinner specials menu. The steak was very flavorful and cooked perfectly. Aji di gallena's egg was a little overcooked but the creamy chicken sauce was very satisfying. Also appreciate a kids menu that is not dumbed down in any way, just smaller portions Nahuen - Small deli/grocery store with some good empanadas behind the counter, many with some variation of ham and or cheese, I also liked the spinach. We went a couple of times. Cachito Coffee and Bakery - Very casual, neighborhood coffee joint with good espresso drinks, fresh orange juice (the boxes of oranges are visibly stacked behind the counter next to the juicer) and some enjoyable savory pastries. Would recommend. Sazon Cubano - Some good renditions of milanesa, beans and rice, and a generous portion of some kind of grilled white fish. The outdoor "cafe" part of the restaurant seemed like a good scene as well and would be perfect for catching the ocean breeze on a nice night. Manolo - Sort of a cafeteria-styled Argentinian place, we only tried the churros behind the counter, which were big, cheap and a perfect walking dessert. Was pretty packed out on an early Thursday night. Generally quieter, much less scene-y part of Miami Beach, but still lots of interesting things going on.

Dinner last night was these spicy salmon rice cups. I didn't plan ahead, so ended up cooking the rice while working on the salmon. The spice blend called for made no sense to me, so I went with a tablespoon of Penzey's sate seasoning instead with a sprinkle of paprika for color. Made the sauce and cut up the avocado while the cups baked. We had 3 cups each and happy with the seasoning choice. I added a bit of last night's salad to my plate for some veggies.

Dinner was this crunchy salad. Forgot to defrost chicken but we had some super firm tofu and grilling cheese in the fridge, so marinated those instead. For the salad, we went with chopped cashews and pistachios instead of peanuts. Really tasty and happy with all the substitutions. Also happy that if it's providing crunch and the flavor is overwhelmed, hubby is onboard with raw cabbage in a salad.

Y Noodles 1109 W Broad Street Falls Church, VA 22046 571-888-3568 On recommendation, tried out the small restaurant for take out recently. Very impressive favors for Sichuan/Chongqing style cuisine, (from my limited experience of never visiting China). Most of the tables were occupied during our visit and they had a healthy influx of take out orders.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

RIP, I always enjoyed his posts, his passion was reflected in his writing.

I had 2 cactus paddles in the fridge so decided to make nopales with ground beef for dinner. I've had piquin peppers lingering for a long time so was very happy that this recipe called for them. It's a bit brothy but I really like the broth and it went well over rice. I might serve it with beans next time.

Playing a bit of catch-up here on this past week's cooking. Tuesday: I had some enoki mushrooms so decided to make this wrap recipe. I had 150 grams of mushrooms so divided it into 9 sections and increased the sauce accordingly. I had a package of fried tofu sheets, took out 9 sheets, and rehydrated them in the microwave with some water. I've still got 1/2 a package of the sheets so need to do something else with them. We had it over jasmine rice. Flavor was very good, just have to be aware that some of the mushrooms will want to get caught in your teeth. Wednesday: We had Drunken Udon Noodles. Right on the edge of too much heat but just delicious. We doubled the recipe, bumped up the amount of baby corn and Chinese broccoli and tossed in 2 sheets of thinly cut tofu sheets. Thursday: Addictive sweet potato burritos, we've been making these for years. Great for an easy dinner, fantastic for freezing and having for a future lunch. Friday: Using the leftover rice from Tuesday, made Sambal fried rice with chicken. Didn't have any shrimp paste, so decided to use broad bean sauce instead, not trying to replicate the flavor but thought that might taste good. We also had 1 green bell pepper left over, so included that. This was a bit too spicy for me but tasted very good, just needed to top up my water glass a couple of times. Yesterday was leftovers of the burritos and fried rice.

RIP Bruce. Your posts were always good reads.

A while back I had bought a small boneless leg of lamb at TJ's that I intended for Easter. I was eyeing a recipe from a Greek cookbook* I've had for years and don't think I've ever cooked from. When I went to get started, I realized that the 2 hours I'd set aside were not going to be anywhere near enough time given how slowly the prep would go. Instead, for Easter we had this chicken pasta salad, which was excellent and made a ton of food for leftovers. A couple of days later, I set aside lots of time to make the lamb recipe (Roast Lamb from Rhodes), and...we still ate dinner late 🙃. The recipe struck me as a cross between dolma and kleftiko, as the lamb is first wrapped in lettuce leaves and then in parchment or foil parcels. Thin slices of tomato and onion go on top of the lamb before wrapping. The recipe called for either romaine or red leaf lettuce. I had both and used most of two heads of lettuce. (Each bundle uses 4 or 5 leaves.) Having made dolma and stuffed cabbage in the past, I should have thought to cut the out the thickest part of the stems of the leaves. It was hard to roll the lettuce bundles with those intact. Otherwise this came out well, time issues notwithstanding. After an hour roasting, the foil is cut open and feta is crumbled over the lamb inside for the remaining oven time. We had these with asparagus and garlic naan. There were quite a few leftover, so last night I reheated them in a Staub cocotte. I put a layer of drained and rinsed Great Northern beans on the bottom and nestled in the lamb bundles. I halved several cocktail tomatoes and scattered over the top. Then I poured over some canned tomato juice and white wine over it all and heated until everything was nice and warm and the tomatoes were breaking down. This was a great use of the extras and I think we liked it even more than the original. We served this straight from the pot at the table, accompanied by more garlic naan and a salad. For the salad: The remaining romaine and red lettuces, cucumber, radishes, and tomatoes, with crumbled feta and marcona almonds to top. The dressing was the last of the ranch made for the chicken pasta salad. (I only used about 2/3 of the dressing on the pasta salad.) *The cookbook is Regional Greek Cooking by Dean and Catherine Karayanis.

That's an amazing amount of excellent information. I've been to Tokyo a handful of times on business, so my food adventures were typically solo. I applaud you for accommodating kids and less than adventurous eaters--that must have been quite the challenge. I almost always ventured out on my own, but on occasion, I ate with some of my colleagues. They were fairly experienced, but we quickly learned to ask how to eat certain dishes--yakiniku being one of them. I didn't see Tonkatsu mentioned--ask around for a good spot. It was always much better than anything I found in the US. Reservations are essential--many Tokyo restaurants "screen" their customers to prevent no-shows, so you can either use Tablelog--a website that charges hefty service fees and requires non-refundable advance payments, or a concierge. I was surprised how many times I was unable to secure a reservation for one person, even when using a concierge (ANA Tokyo hotel), and also how many times some of the better-known hotel restaurants were fully booked. I was only less-than-thrilled a couple of times. Puffer fish is hyped in the US, but while the experience was interesting, it was very expensive, and the flavor of the fish was unremarkable. I also tried a "higher end" hibachi restaurant, and while everything was well executed, it wasn't something I'd do again.

I watched an extremely interesting "behind the scenes" video on Youtube (produced by Eater). Le Bernardin is not inexpensive by any means, but it looks to be worth every penny.

I had some jarred pesto that I needed to use, so last night, I sautéed shrimp, garlic, and baby tomatoes with pesto. Easy and delicious. I also sautéed some yellow squash and zucchini with onion.

Went to an Easter celebration yesterday and planned to bring a side dish or two. I had some leftover wheat berries from cooking a double batch and some canned chickpeas so that was my starting point. I settled on this wheat berry and everything else recipe as it did not look boring at all and turned out really well. While I was shopping for ingredients, I saw some tamarillos and remembered this recipe, so I picked up 3 of those (forgot I needed 4) and had everything else for that recipe. I did realize after I got home that I was out of normal pesto, so I made a bit of a mishmash that worked for the dish. My BIL made delicious beef tenderloin and twice- baked potatoes, so I was glad I had the salads to balance them out. Then we had cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert. 😋

Last night for us was fish, specifically salmon. Hubby picked this spicy salmon bowls recipe and other than removing the skin, was super quick to make. Since there weren't measurements for the spices, I just eyeballed and used Penzey's Bangkok seasoning instead of chili powder in the seasoning mix. We had leftover jasmine rice so I added some vinegar seasoning to it instead of making a batch of sushi rice and that worked. I have a jar of red Caviart that I've had for a while and it's almost empty now. It works well for sushi dishes, but I just saw that they have a lot more options I need to try.

[Thanks-I-Think emoji implied.]

We arrived at Yongkang Beef Noodles at 11:00, which in retrospect was exactly the worst time to get there -- the doors opened at 11, so those queued earlier got in. We (party of five) were eventually seated at 11:30, clearly part of the second wave of seatings at what is probably one of the more popular beef noodle soup spots in Taipei. We had already figured out what we were going to order, but the whole scene seemed chaotic. Eventually, a staff member noticed our hands raised. We got two of the non-spicy beef noodle soups, one spicy with just beef, one spicy with beef and tendon, and a dan dan noodles. They have you grab your own drinks from a fridge on the back wall, and you can get some optional side dishes at a station near the entrance -- we got an eggplant salad, a cucumber salad, and an interesting soybean and egg mix that I didn't love, but I certainly had never had before. Despite being liberally mixed with chilis, the eggplant and the cucumber were not spicy served alone. The spice, brief and bitey, came when you had the chili itself. The soups lived up to the hype and the line, with certain caveats. Our boys raved, saying the soup was the best non-homemade soup they have ever had. (The baseline at the moment is Ramen Nagi, a chain with multiple locations globally, including near our apartment in Manila.) I literally have never seen our seven-year old finish a full serving with the gusto he had in finishing his soup, the non-spicy variety. I was happy with the texture of the noodles, and the broth was definitely full of flavor. But it was not as spicy as I was expecting -- the eight-year old also had a bowl and had no problem. Not a big deal. The bigger deal was the tendon, which I had in my soup. These were BIG chunks of tendon, stewed to be super-tender... and they were just too much. I wish they had been thinly sliced like the tendon in pho back in the U.S. But overall, still a darn fine bowl of soup. With five soups, five sodas, and three apps, we departed NT$1630 lighter, or around $55. The kids left happy and stuffed, and worked off their meal at the nearby Daan Park. Definitely worth a stop if you are in the neighborhood, and are not cowed by the ubiquitous lines that seem to pop up at Taipei's most popular eating locations.

I had some veggies in the fridge and glass noodles in the pantry so made a bastardized japchae last night. I had no spinach, so skipped that and used fresh shiitake mushrooms instead of fresh. For veggies, I included: 1 zucchini, matchstick carrots, 1 yellow onion, snow peas, 1 orange bell pepper, and 1 jalapeno. I had a package of beef flavored seitan in the fridge, so I sauteed that with a bit of sweet soy sauce and then added it to the bowl. I would have liked to have had greens in it but it helped clean out the fridge and I always like japchae.

To be used as a counterexample in the “Burying the Lede” section of Journalism 101.

quick note to add that it's terrible. went yesterday. How does one cook a tonkatsu broth with no flavor. Sure it looked right and had good mouth feel but no flavor. All of us didn't like it. 4 soup lovers. 10 yr old loved the noodles though. They were not overcooked. Pork was ok. Sea weed salad was as expected. Veggie goyza was mushy. May have been filled with potato.

This, but I'd add that the food is generally quite good - particularly given the price point. A few have even received Michelin stars. Singaporeans take their food very seriously but the whole country eats at the hawker centers - rich poor and in between. Cool experience. If you've seen Crazy Rich Asians, one of the most touristy ones is featured there. Think Tony Bourdain did an episode featuring a couple others.

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.

I can't speak about Daikaya as its been a long time since I was there, but Bantam King continues to be excellent (yeah for the chicken loving, non-pork eaters who get ramen too!) and yes Bantam has its own kitchen in the back of the restaurant. (maybe there is a secret underground tunnel the block or so between it and Daikaya but doubtful).

The Five Guys near my hotel in Seville last week was open until 1 AM on weeknights, 2 AM on weekends. A Granada location appears to be coming soon. The Taco Bell near the center of Seville looked nice from the outside. The pringa and the churrasco at Bodega Santa Cruz were pretty good. Standing at the bar I guess that counts as fast food too.

Last night I made an old stand-by, chili beans and mac casserole. It's from the 9x13 cookbook*, all recipes made in that size pan. In an effort not to make way too much food, lately I've been ending up not making enough to have leftovers around for my husband's lunch, etc. This makes a bountiful amount of food. We had it with a salad of escarole, tomatoes, and lettuce with ranch dressing. *The book is a fairly small paperback and the binding is barely holding on after all these years. I've always found it good to use for pot lucks, etc. These are the ingredients. Technique is pretty straightforward. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, though I did it at a higher temperature for a somewhat shorter time yesterday. It has to cook long enough for the macaroni to cook in the liquid. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 onions -- chopped 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef -- or turkey 1 tablespoon chili powder -- or to taste 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese -- grated 2 28 oz. cans kidney beans -- undrained 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 1 1/2 cups olives -- pitted 3/4 cup elbow macaroni -- uncooked 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese -- grated

Oh man, that sucks! He was too young and vibrant. And I think he just got married semi recently too. His posts and the foods of the Middle East were amazing and could be assembled into a guide on the cuisine. I always wanted to have a Syrian/Lebanese meal with him. RIP

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

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

So sorry to read this. I always learned from his posts.

For some reason I thought this is some small operation but it's not. Same owner as the Izakaya next door, basically catering to the well-to-doers in Arlington. Potstickers are teeny tiny......generally overpriced but some of the dumplings were decent (lamb with carrot was heavy on cumin, soup dumplings were juicy). The best part is they have good dumpling wrappers but the fillings weren't plentiful. I wouldn't go back. There are better dumplings elsewhere. We spent $200 for 2 adults and 2 kids (with a bottle of pinot grigio for just under $40) - shocking amount of money for half decent Chinese food.