Rick Azzarano

Happy Thanksgiving to all here. If you're travelling -- be safe. If hosting family and friends, hope everything turns out the way you hoped it would. Also hope there are no horror stories - either food related or otherwise. Thanks again to DonRocks for hosting this playpen and to all the posters (and readers) who make this a lively place to avoid work.

Yes, indeed. Crescentfresh said it a lot better than I could. Happy Birthday!

What about Vermilion?

My wife and I went to Vermilion for a pre-Mother's Day dinner. Had a very good meal. My wife has the pan-fired gnocchi for an appetizer. Light, ricotta gnocchi, served, if I remember correctly, in a broth. She also had the filet mignon, cooked just as she ordered it. The filet came with a balsamic-based sauce that was a little sweet. It complemented the steak just fine. I had the softshell crab appetizer. One softshell in a very light batter (not tempura light, but not overly heavy either). Served with grilled asparagus and lemon-truffle oil. This was delicious. For the main, I had the lamb loin. Cooked just as ordered, a perfect medium rare, but the ends were a little cool (probably from the short wait while my wife's dish was finished). Not a complaint - just an observation. We split an order of the "basil mashed potatoes." These were good, just not very basil-y. Service was just attentive enough - no hovering, but no long waits for anything either. A very enjoyable meal. I'd like to return soon.

(Depending on the price, of course) I'm in.

Depending on cost, I'm in.

Jason, my thanks, too, for bringing this up. I'd be interested.

Did you taste any wines from Oasis Winery? (Disclaimer: Our kids gave us a memebeship in its wine club for a year in lieu of the "usual" mixed case of wines; so far we have received 3 bottles.) We have received 2 Chardonnays and a Cabernet. One of the Chardonnays was way too sweet; the Cabernet was poured down the drain after one sip. It wasn't corked, it was just bad - a pronounced coppery taste that you would get after sucking on pennies. I'm dreading the other 9 bottles that are to come. How do you tell your kids that the present stunk and they should get their money back??

What a wonderful job and presentation. Thank you for this (and for all here who make visiting this site so much fun).

IN the mall, your options are severely limited. I once (in a funk and bored at work) totaled the restaurants in the couple of mile square area around Potomac Mills - there are over 30 restaurants, all but a few of which are chains. There are very few choices. It's why we cook at home. Behind the Popeyes on Smoketown Rd (a little west of the Mall) there is the Taste of Tandoor for Indian. There's also a Filipino deli/store next to the Tandoor. Depending on how far you want to go (but it's back on your way) there are the Dixie Bones barbecue place and Almita's Mexican both on Occoquan Road in Woodbridge. There is the Tiger Thai (I think that's the name) in the same center as the Staples and Comp USA stores, that I've never tried. Also on Smoketown west of the mall, there's the El Paso Mexican.

(At the risk of killing this thread). ChefKevin -- I've read through this thread (and your reply to RaisaB on the foie gras thread), and I have a large conceptual gap: You're cooking times seem awfully short. How does something get "cooked" at 65 degrees C for 30 minutes? It would seem to me that the surface temp of the food might equal to the water temp, but not the inside temp. From other reading on this method, it seems like one of the benefits is the ability to cook something for a long time at the low temperature, and, yet, not "overcook" it. What am I missing?

Yes, indeed, Happy Birthday, Hillvalley. And thanks for all your efforts here. Managing all this truly shows your calendar diva-ninty.

Quote from the article: "Winery officials are hoping to muster support for a bill that would allow them to continue selling to retailers and restaurants. Senate Bill 812 would also allow small out-of-state wineries to sell directly to retailers and restaurants, through in person, on-site deliveries, not shipments via a courier such as FedEx." This seems like a pretty effective restraint on trade too. How many small wineries will babysit a case of wine across country and personally deliver it?

Lobbying effort? Stuff 'em with food rather than cash?

Thanks for the answers. I have been doing some reading (as well as tasting)(mdt, thanks for the link), but hearing from real people is always better. I had laid off wines for 25+ years, so I'm now starting over. More study ahead.

Really dating myself here, but: Seaport Inn in Old Town (a Starbucks now, sigh) Lucky Traveller Steak House (on US 1 south of Alexandria), where you picked your steaks from a meat case

Happy Thanksgiving to all here. May you all have a safe (and delicious) holiday.

So, in honor of our peerless leader's new wine column, I thought that I would start asking some basic questions: I've read in various places that most wines now are produced for "immediate" drinking. How should I know which wines should be "laid down" for relatively long periods of time? Are there some basic "structure" guidelines in pairing wine with food. Like, for example, should you use a "high acid" wine in conjunction with "fatty" foods to cut down the fat feeling in the mouth? Should wines "support" the food or "contrast" it? Thanks.

Congratulations Don. If your columns are 1/5 as well written as your write-up of the Enoteca Vin dinner, it will be quite a ride.

We were able (finally) to go to Eve Saturday for our pre-anniversary dinner. Our reservations were at 7, but we severely misjudged the amount of time it would take to get in from Woodbridge. We arrived about 6:15. I had vaguely hoped we would be steered to the bar to wait, but the table was available immediately. Just an excellent dinner. My wife began with the purple basil cocktail - limon rum-based topped with a basil infused foam. She said it was very light and refreshing, and on any other night, would have led to many more. She also had the beet/goat cheese salad as a starter and the halibut at the main. Gone, all gone. I was able to get a "taste" of her halibut, but since it measured about 5 mm by 4 mm, I wasn't really able to taste it. I had the rillettes of rabbit to start, followed by the special veal chop. Veal chop cooked about 99.95% perfectly - I wish it had a little more crispy bits, but that's just personal preference. Our waiter (sorry, but I didn't get his name) was able to steer us to some wines by the glass that matched perfectly with the menu choices. The training program at Eve must really be effective. The only downside to the experience is the new bruises I have from kicking myself for not going to Eve sooner.

Thanks to hillvalley for organizing this and Jill Cheese Lady for leading an informative, entertaining (and delicious) tasting. How was it? 10 different "uncommon" Italian cheeses ranging from semi-soft and "young" cheeses to the hard, aged cheeses. A couple of examples - (quoting from Jill's handout) Vento d'Estate - "While being aged in a barrel, this cheese is buried under hay, which gives it fragrance andcharacter. Vento d'estate is best known for its fragrance - a combinatin of barrel wood, lilac, pear and straw. The flavor of thissheep;s milk cheese is rich and savory." Had a distinct taste of apples and Jill (who seems to know everything about all kinds of cheese) said to pair this with a "deeply sweet apple." Ubriaco - "'Ubriaco' means 'drunken' in Italian. It is thus named because the young cheese is soaked in merlot and cabernet wine, covered with crushed grape skins left after pressing and then allowed to mature for six to ten months. The cheese has a firm crumbly texture that is fairly wet and thetaste is rich and winey. The arome of this cheese is amazing!" Thanks also to mdt, mktye, Nadya and Jacques Gastreaeux (and hillvalley) and others for making newbies feel welcome.