JLK

I made short ribs using this recipe Sunday. I didn't trim the ribs as much as I needed to, so the glaze needed to be skimmed a few times, but the flavor was good.

Since moving downtown a month ago, I have been suffering from Heritage India - Glover Park withdrawal. Today I broke down and ordered from the Dupont location.

I was pleasantly surprised for the most part. Although the dishes were most definitely not identical to those at Heritage-Glover, they were mostly comparable and for tonight's dinner delivery, it sufficed. The differences were pretty manageable. My paneer makhani wasn't spiced as subtly; its peppery-ness was more of the smack-me-over-the-head variety than the slow burn I have found at Glover. I probably wouldn't order Dupont's seekh kebab again. The lamb was ground too finely so the patties had a mealy texture. But the bread and rice were fine.

Oh, and the delivery guy didn't try to hug me, which is a big plus.

Overall, it went pretty well. I had some technical difficulties with the web site, but the actual order was just what I needed.

You are the Terminator, girl!!!!

I have been wondering what was going on in that space (and on that block really). Kam Fong (?) moved, the CVS says it's undergoing renovations, but there are also "for lease" signs. I started thinking they were going to demolish the block like at Connecticut and K!

Given that I'm car-less for a few days and there's no grocery store within walking distance, I'm trying Peapod's grocery delivery through Giant. My first delivery is tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes.

I saw a commercial for the service and it advertised a promotion code ("TV1") for $20 off.

During a long tumultuous relationship, I used to lose weight (5-10 pounds) every time we fought or broke up for a few weeks. All I had to do was think of him for one second, and I couldn't eat for hours or a day. I lived on cereal and bananas during the times when I could tolerate food. Somehow, when we finally broke up, I gained weight. Right about now, I'd be thrilled to lose my appetite.

Good point.

Although we DC area dwellers do a good enough job at swarming places we love. This weekend has been a crowded mess everywhere I went with Restaurant Week and all.

Lame suggestions of Old Ebbitt, Zaytinya, and Ben's Chili Bowl (again).

Last night, a friend and I were looking for a good, but budget-friendly dinner. I'm facing my first mortgage payment and buying a new car (eek, all at the same time) and she's a freelancer who is doing lots of home improvement at the moment. Adding to the list of "needs" is the fact that my friend's a somewhat picky vegetarian who does not eat fish.

We both like Zaytinya so off we went only to find, upon arriving at 8:30, that the place was at least 3x as packed as either of us had ever seen. We put in our names thinking we'd try to wait the 90 minutes quoted for a table, and then decamped to Proof which is my favorite, but not the favorite of my wallet's given that I like to order three courses and a cheese plate plus wine! I get greedy here.

Suffice to say, we stayed at Proof, dining in the front lounge booth. We snacked on lots of good stuff including my favorite, the wagyu sashimi, but also trying the white tuna crudo. It's funny learning new things and trying new tastes as I try to shed my own pickiness. Although I still can't imagine ordering cooked food, I can definitely see myself ordering the crudo here again. It was amazing with the flecks of sea salt and foie gras emulsion.

Mark shared some incredible wines with us (thank you!!) which really rounded out the wonderful evening. Chef Karoum is doing great stuff here.

Welcome Tom!

Herbsaint's bar is very welcoming, as are the staff and the food. I enjoyed my dinner there Tuesday night tremendously. Outside, New Orleans was chillier than I had ever experienced and windy too. I sat at the bar near a lamp emanating golden light by which I read my novel between courses, enjoying the music (The Verve on this night) and a bit of quiet time to myself.

The menu features a lot of interesting sounding cocktails, including absenthe, however I stuck with the familiar and ordered a caipirinha from my friendly, but not intrusive, bartender.

There were plenty of things on the menu that appealed to me, however I was most strongly drawn to three of the small plates so I chose two leaving room for dessert. My starter was a delicious beef short rib served atop a crispy potato cake and sauced with a horseradish cream. The rib may have been braised for awhile, but ultimately it was served crispy like the potato cake. I wish the cake had been slightly softer, but all together, the dish was wonderful.

My second course was somehow richer than the first! The dish, described as spaghetti with guanciale and poached-fried egg, was a luscious take on pasta carbonara. Like I said, it was rich, but somehow I managed to clean this plate too.

For dessert, I couldn't help but return to the amazing banana brown butter tart I had enjoyed during my only other meal at Herbsaint. It did not disappoint.

The meal definitely raised my cholesterol count, but I enjoyed every minute.

Where did the original chef go?

Like Brian (above), I think we're talking communal tables, not community.

I just had the same experience as Heather. I logged on to pay a parking ticket using my license plate number at the DC DMV's web site under Online Services and sure enough, there was ANOTHER parking ticket, but from August and I had never received it.

Yeah, when I'm in Winston I hear the same thing. We go to the one just outside of downtown before you get to the stadium.

Any CC's will do. If you're where you normally are, I think there's one at Girod and Camp or thereabouts, and one on Poydras (at Magazine, west side?).

If you're toward uptown, Cooter Brown's in the Riverbend may not have coffee, but it's got scads of draft beers. And wifi. And very good oysters and decent po-boys and pub grub.

CC's sounds better for this purpose than Cooter Brown's. I'm not looking for food so much as coffee (no need for beer either, alas), and wifi isn't necessary.

I think I'm flying solo for dinner tonight. The weather is turning bad quickly so my clients are staying close to home. I am deciding between a return to Herbsaint (where I ordered badly during my sole visit) or Cuvee. I walked by August today and wasn't impressed with the menu (it overlaps with the menu at Besh in the casino to a surprising degree and neither dinner at Besh bowled me over).

First, though, I need a nap as I spent the afternoon at the amazing Preservation Hall.

Here I am in New Orleans, looking for a cafe in which I can work. Wifi not a must, just a place with good coffee and a staff tolerant enough to let me sit for an hour or so (two max and I'll spend money during that time). Suggestions?

Interesting how no one ever replies.

Dinner Parties (NY Times Magazine)

More ideas for the Triad.

I had a pretty good burger at Busboys the other night with some really delicious skin-on potato wedges. The food has never been my favorite aspect of this place, but I had to take my opion of Busboys up a few notches toward positive after that meal.

I'll be in NOLA for most of next week, starting on Monday. If anyone else is there and wants to try to meet up, let me know.

Also...a colleague is going there with her husband in March. She wants to know what the most romantic restaurants in the city are. Suggestions?

Welcome, Paul!

Does Heritage Dupont deliver? I know I have spoken out against that location in favor of Heritage Glover Park location, but now that I have moved out of the GP delivery zone, I'm desperate.

I generally agree with Waitman who said that

The good thing about Indian food is that it's one of those cusines where even mediocre restaurants can churn out rather tasty stuff.

 
Tonight, though, I ordered from Mehak and while it wasn't bad, I couldn't help but compare it unfavorably to Heritage GP. The delivery menu is, I find, somewhat limited. No small order sizes of daal of any kind, a pretty basic range of appetizers (and no seekh kebab!). The samosas I resorted to arrived in their own paper bag which was quickly covered with large greasy patches. They tasted pretty good in spite of being rather oily. Whereas I really wanted paneer, I wanted to test Mehak's kitchen with chicken tikka masala, that classic Indian British dish. Specifically, if I ordered white mean only, would it arrive that way? It did.

I finished my dish, but out of hunger not enthusiasm. The gravy was dark orange, headed toward brown, and tasted of a smokey curry blend that I did not care for. Chunks of white meat chicken dotted the sauce along with slices of onion and bell pepper. There was a lot of sauce, but a paltry amount of chicken (with Heritage's dinner portions, I can easily have two full meals). Garlic naan was doughy and stuffed with raw garlic instead of roasted--it tasted good, but STRONG.

Will I order again? Yeah, in a pinch I might. The alternative at this point is to change my commute to make a stop in GP on the way home.