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justdesserts

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Cephalopod

Cephalopod (9/123)

  1. just wanted to stick in my two pence about a restaurant named quince. my favourite, EVER. hands down. i wanted fine dining last time i was in san francisco, and after a little legwork it seemed quince was the best option. i was NOT dissappointed. we had an impeccable sparkling red wine at a very reasonable price of 29 dollars and i had three things i wont ever forget; an order of angel soft little pillows of homemade tortellini, stuffed with shredded zucchini and cooked simply in butter, with purple basil. the flavours were delicate, clean. the ingredients were surely grown in heaven and the purple basil really was a genius move, offering just a hint of something different without being overly fussy with an already perfected dish. also, a steamed (i think?? cant quite recall) fiddlehead fern in butter. i would love to be able to find more specialty produce like this. it was like asparagus but more hearty. im not sure what else was done to it, but i remember it being fantastic. and then finally, a simple dish of limas and shitaake mushrooms. nothin fancy, incredibly indulgent on the palate. sadly, the dessert i had wasnt anything special (nectarine upside down cake) i've heard a couple people (pim, included) say the cake is on the dry side there. this was definately my experience. good flavour, but compared to the rest of the meal, it definately paled. adam loved his chocolate mousse cake whatever but i think he was just swooning over the rest of the meal and the great company he had we asked to speak to the sommelier for pairings with our desserts and they said she was on vacation. however, the rumours on bay area chowhound told me that they don't have one at all. im opposed to restaurant white lies of that nature. however, we were directed to the wine-knowledgable manager and she picked very good dessert wines that did, indeed, do quite a sufficient job of complimenting each of our sweets. our waiter was amazing. a very polite and friendly guy. came across as very genuine, always there when we needed him, never there when we didnt. a server with ESP. i love it. he was also very good at bantering back and forth with my witty, smart ass (but sweet and wellmeaning) dining partner. i loved this meal so much that i actually wrote them and asked them for a copy of the menu we had that evening. they happily obliged me. people wonder why i am passionate about the simple, california style cuisine that was started by good old organic fairy godmummy alice waters, and quince is it. theyve taken it above and beyond. thus far, quince is actually my favourite restaurant in the states, in the world. viva quince!
  2. good foie gras also seems to be a bit more memorable. and more expensive. in university, my friends and i used to say "booze before boys" now i suppose it would be more like "food before fornication" literally and figuratively.
  3. "2nd annual dr.com spring picnic/singles gala/boozefest '06" alrite, y'all, i took off work for this little shindig. j.gaustreaux- i jumped on that tshirt train like i was bonnie and clyde runnin from the law, honey. for serious though, thanks for the positive response, you guys, it has made me feel a lot more comfortable with the idea of walking into a sea of strangers. i guess i didnt really have a reason to be so nervous, cuz as we all know.. the love of food bridges many gaps.
  4. is anyone else going by themselves? ive never met anyone from dr.com before and i'm a little nervous about attending alone. i don't want to just sort of be by mahself, off to the side, y'all.
  5. well, it's fun to have a non-foodie (as long as you can coerce them into eating certain things. there has to be a level of openmindedness about them) so that you can really expose them to new things. the man i've been seeing for the past year had an incredibly limited bachelor-styled palate (most dinners were those taquito rolls from 7-11, though he occasionally ate a mediocre piece of seared ahi at the bar when we went out) but it was exciting for me to fix him fresh, locally grown vegetables, introduce him to thai food (!!!), find the best southern style green beans, make him deep fried pierogis (which hed never had before). he also never opposes to trying a restaurant with me and really enjoys fine dining and going out to eat. he's a little bit more wary of the hound-ish dives/gems that i like to frequent, though. he actually will make a point when he sees a new restaurant or goes to a restaurant he likes (for work or with his parents) to inform me and take me there. also, ive gotten him drinking organic milk. thank god. despite his obviously infantile taste buds, we also are able to engage in discussion of the mistreatment and over fishing of the chesapeake and the unfairness and disrespect with which farmers are treated (hes a good southern boy who grew up in white stone, va and his father worked for the small town fishery that was originally over that way) i think watching someone grow epicuriously is rad and playing a part of that - even more so. openness can sometimes make up for the fact that your palate isnt as sharpened or adventurous as your partners.
  6. in the restaurant industry, who knows. sometimes it seems that good spirits, optimism, and hard work are enough. (i.e. alice waters and chez panisse? or more locally, nora) other times, that formula doesn't cut it. of course, that's all very obvious. it seems a lot of restauranteurs pick places that seem a little off kilter when compared to their geographic origin.... and quite a few do succeed. it could offer a fresh "dakotan"(??) outlook on dc dining i'm excited about this restaurant. i'm always excited to see an opportunity for local agriculture to be utlised and supported. hopefully they'll stick with it and find a way to make it all work out. it has the potential to be a great addition to the area dining scene, methinks.
  7. out of the restaurants on that list which would come most highly reccommended considering everything?? (atmosphere, food, comparative value.. etc) thanks in advance
  8. on thursday there's a party for the release of the book grub by anna lappe (her mum wrote diet for a small planet in the 70s) at vegetate restaurant. i'm going and i was wondering if any of the other dr patrons are, even though i know most of what has been said about vegetate on this board is negative. the flier for the grub party/hor douerves thing is here and you can find more information about the book at eat grub also, the flier says that theyre going to have a cash bar. due to the continuous battle with shiloh church though, that didnt happen. whatever.
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