Hello all. I joined this forum in preparation for a trip to DC tomorrow. I live in Chicago and participate on www.lthforum.com, and on Chowhound but under even more of a pseudonym. As my husband will be at a conference during the day, I will explore town on my own and likely eat more spontaneous lunches. We have evening reservations at Rasika, Fiola Mare, and barmini, and Sunday brunch at Founding Farmers. While some of our favorite meals have been epic tasting menus (e.g., Alinea, EMP, and every season of Next), we often prefer a la carte experiences, where we don't feel as much like a captive audience and we can keep easier track of everything we eat and courses don't seem to run together as much. We also indulge in ethnic and cheap eats. The only food I can identify I absolutely don't like is bell peppers. Anything else is fair game...including all game. In addition to dining out, we also cook at home quite a bit, and like to challenge ourselves with new techniques and ingredients. My husband proposed by turning our apartment into a surprise, I guess you'd now say pop-up, restaurant called "Chez Amour", complete with printed menus and romantic descriptions of each course and pairing
Although I now work in health care, my first job was at Baskin Robbins, I waited table through grad school, and food has always been a huge part of my family's life. In fourth grade back in the 70s, my class took a field trip to the one Mexican restaurant in Louisville, "Por Que No", I came home and told my family about the lunch, and we went back for dinner that very night. I remember I had cheese enchiladas, and my parents ordered sweet sopapillas with honey as an appetizer. Let's just say Louisville's dining scene and my own experiences have come a long way since then, but it was not my last meal that began with dessert!
Thank you for this forum. Cheers to all!
