CrescentFresh

After years of eating Bumblebee of the Sea, I stumbled across a tin of this Spanish tuna at Whole Foods yesterday. First time I ever had an imported can and the taste difference was astounding. Great texture -- not mealy, wonderful flavor - not too fishy or bland. Probably had a lot to do with the great Spanish olive oil it was packed in. Mixed it up with some olives, tomato, chopped egg, garlic, lemon juice and some fresh herbs from my garden. Great stuff. Not cheap, though. Whole Foods had it on sale. Normally $10 for the 8.81 oz (250g) large tin I bought, but now was only $6.

At least one that knows how to whip up a good ventworm nut!

Wasn't aware of this excellent article. Thanks for posting it.

Way back when the Washington Post Food Section didn't suck, oh, let's say August 4, 2004, they devoted almost an entire section to Riverdale's "Little Mexico." Walter Nicholls article mentioned La Sirenita, saying: "More than 40 entrees are individually pictured in the colorful dining room festooned with filigree paper pennants. Highlights include the shrimp cocktail, tacos of chicken, beef or goat, chicken quesadillas, and flan or fresh berries and cream for dessert. Mexican beer available." Additionally, in the article text it said: It was one of several places on this strip just above Bladensburg. Other restaurants mentioned include: Alamo, El Bucanas Cafe, El Tapatio, Pollo Fiesta, Taco Rico and Taqueria Tres Reyes. Additionally, the article belted out a listing of bakeries and markets, ingredients to look for, taco trucks and more along this one mile stretch of road. I don't know the area, and wouldn't be that good at organizing it (but would help), but I for sure would be all over an upcoming one-mile walking tour/tacofest with other Rockwellians (Rockwellers? Rockwellites?) The article has a map flagging all the highlights. We can walk around wearing fanny packs and sombreros like we just got off the plane in Cancun. Well, maybe not that. Would anyone else be interested in trekking through there?

Another Two-Star joint from Tom. Trailblazing steak dinners, huh? That's worth a go.

Question: Does anyone know where chef Jay Jenc went? Comment: Bluebird is a KICKASS beer! From the Lake District in England. Won the overall grand prize at the Great British Beer Festival a number of years ago. Bottle-conditioned is found occasionally in our area, but I don't think I've seen it on draft. I know it's possible to get this cask-conditioned in the US, having had it myself in Albany, NY. If they can get it in Albany, there's no reason why they can't get it here.

Hmmmm. And just a few short blocks from Taqueria. Does anyone know anything about bringing bottles to Taqueria? That is, in case any of us are thinking of perhaps going there sometime soon.

More thoughts in today's Post. With a nod to BdC.

I don't know if the washpost.com advertising boxes are user specific or not, but I find the one on Tom's chat today rather interesting....both for the subject of a dining chat....not to mention the ventworm front..... Advertising Links What's this? Quality Live Blackworms - Sale Qualty farm bred blackworms, (not tubifex) shipped right to your door, wholesale prices. Parasite-free. www.riverwonders.com The Living & Raw Food Diet Learn from the definitive raw food book and Dvds. Eat decadent food to lose weight, look younger, and feel great, naturally. Raw vegan and vegetarian recipes, supplements, food, appliances. www.alissacohen.com Live Crickets, Mealworms, & Superworms Healthy live insects for reptile food (and fishing bait). Since 1952 Ghann's has produced Clean crickets (no pesky beetles, worms, spiders like other growers). Low prices, fast shipping. www.ghann.com

A forum on Thursday: http://www.grahamwone.com/smoke/

If we send a light diversionary force in the door and to the left, over by the meat fridge, we may be able to distract them long enough for an overpowering frontal assault on the main cheese display.

This is all still happening, right? I don't want to show up and have to eat all the cheese samples myself.

I did the same thing. Must be some kind of curse or something.

We can work out the where and when details later. In the meantime, what do I need to bring???!!!!

I think the District Chophouse does fairly well when it comes to above average burgers and above average beer. In fact, I think they probably make the best beers in town. And it's right on the yellow and green lines.

I just finished cranking out the rest of the dough that I brought home last night. mdt and mktye rock. thank you. The last time I had that much fun at a white powder party was about 1985. I particularly would like to thank the person who really made it all possible -- mdt's grandma.

Tweaked, I really don't know the answer to that. It's very true about the brewery ownership of pubs in England. It's what leads to the term "guest beer," when beers aside from the owner's brews were offered in that location. It's also indeed true that many of these pubs have been acquired by multi-nationals. That's a natural extension for what is happening to a number of the popular beers in the UK. On the one hand, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's given us in the states much more access to British beer. Hell, years ago it used to be that the only one you could find was a bottle of Bass. Now we've got dozens to choose from on tap alone. Not served in the traditional manner, mind you, but I'd take a Boddingtons pub ale over 90% of the other stuff I find on most taps in America. (Cask conditioned Bass, by the way, is extraordinary!) But as I noted earlier, even if a pub is corporate-owned, it's very often family operated. And that makes a big big difference. That, to me, seems much more like what an authentic British pub should be. But the one thing that drives me crazy is, as you note, the music. Why do places here always have to have music, most likely blaring? It doesn't quite encourage conversation. And then everyone has to yell above it making noise levels worse. I don't expect that he'd get rid of the large corporate beers. Let's face it, that's where the bread and butter is. And in a tourist town like this, people are going to want to see something they have comfort with. But I've sent a letter to Rick Bryant from Elephant and Castle to thank him for speaking with me. In it, I note that taking one of the many taps at the DC location and converting it to a local ale could only add value to the restaurant. After all, with all the beer choice they have there, they're not going to lose customers by swapping one tap in such a manner. In fact, they'd likely attract customers looking for such a product. It would also give them a distinct competitive advantage over Fado and Sine, which I think are one and the same. Elephant & Castle as it is now, is no different and just divides the existing market share. Adding a local real ale increases the market share for these concept pubs, and Elephant and Castle would get the entire increase. At least that's how I see it.

I did something recently from Pepin's newest stuff. Get some beefsteak tomatoes (I got them from Toigo at Dupont.), cut off the top and scoop out and reserve the innards. In another bowl, mix together a bunch of stuff that will likely hold for the ride. Pepin uses canned tuna, chopped anchovies, chopped olives and scallions. Stuff that into the tomato cavity. I added other stuff, particularly herbage. Use what you've got, frankly. Crush the tomato innards along with s and p and olive oil. Serve the stuffed tomatoes surrounded by the tomato sauce. When I took this to a friend's house recently, I put the stuffed tomatoes in one container, and the crushed sauce in another. Plated it when I got there. No need to cook anything and it tastes great. edited to add this recipe link: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tsfl041014.phtml

Has anyone tried either the Pedro Pergolas (Valdepeñas) Gran Reserva 1998 or the Marques de Moral (Valdepeñas) Tempranillo Crianza 2000? Arrowine has them on sale at $7.99/bottle and $5.49/bottle by the case only.

Didn't Bourdain write in one of his books about a meal that featured tobacco as an ingredient?

As I noted in my initial post, I kinda felt obligated to go into this place if I was going to rant against it so forcefully. I did go, a day or two after my initial post. Sat at the bar and ordered a Fullers ESB from their hand pull. I have to say that I think it's criminal to serve the beer in this manner. It is exactly as TedE notes -- standard Fullers keg beer served in a fancy manner. I tried a pint of the Fullers IPA afterwards, hoping that it might taste different. No luck. In fact, it was worse than the ESB and I sent it back and had them pour a Boddingtons. At least that comes off the nitrogen (I think) and it had a smoother creamier taste. So, everything is as I expected. Until I look at these two guys at a table in the bar talking to each other and overseeing everything that's going on. I think I recognize one of the guys. I tell my companion, "I bet you that the guy over there with the beard is the head dude of Elephant and Castle Incorporated." Sure enough, it was. I recognized him from reviewing the company's annual report the night before! I eventually asked an employee to confirm that this was, indeed, the guy from the corporate office. It was. So I asked if it's possible for me to speak with him. Rick Bryant, President and CEO of Elephant and Castle kindly sat down with me to talk. I gave him a little background on how I recognized him from the annual report and that I was curious about the concept. I made it plain and clear that I am a great fan of quality beer, and that every time I've stepped foot in Great Britain, the A-1 plan had always been to drink beer and hang out in the pubs. (I'd like to think that I've played some small role in the Yorkshire economy). I told him I was concerned that Elephant and Castle is a place that claims to be authentic, but doesn't meet what I consider to be that standard. Bryant explained to me a bit of the background on the company. Straight party line that you can read for yourself on their website. Although he did indicate that he's not a marketing person, and he knows that some of what's done is based on the marketers recommendations. Washington, DC, he says, is their biggest site in terms of square footage. (I vaguely recall he said this property is about 7500 sq. ft. and they normally look for a 5000 sq. ft property.) He says that the most important thing for Elephant and Castle is the food. He says they've learned (and I heard this from brewpub owners 15 years ago in Massachusetts) that having great beer and lousy food will not last. Food has to lead the beer. We then started to talk about beer and the British pub concept. (Although I did not ask where he's from, Bryant's accent is clearly from that side of the pond.) He told me he's a great lover of beer. He's quite proud that Elephant and Castle is able to bring to DC a great selection of beers at an affordable price. (As DonRocks notes, too, in his post). He's proud of their relationship with Fullers. (If I felt like being antagonistic, I'd have challenged him there, but I did not want to go there so I dropped it). We talked about real ales and he rightfully noted that it's next to impossible to ship real ale a great distance. Moving a keg of real Boddington's an hour out of Manchester is sometimes pushing it. And importing real ale from England is possible, but tremendously difficult to do properly. Elephant and Castle is not prepared to undertake that venture. I applaud him for not trying to do something that probably does take the effort of a sole proprieter and not a corporate entity. I did, however, give him a challenge. To me, I explained, the nature of a British pub is the "local" nature. Perhaps what can make DC's Elephant and Castle more authentic than it claims to be, is to bring in some local beers, and not necessarily think it has to be from the UK. I challenged him to bring in kegs of real ale from Dominion and Dogfish Head and serve them on the hand pumps. Serving local beers in their natural state would truly qualify as an authentic British pub gesture in my book. He asked me to describe the beers and how they compare to the generally malty ales found in England and the truly hoppy monsters he now has in the Pacific Northwest (they're based in Vancouver). I concentrated mostly on describing the Dogfish Head, with which I'm more familiar. (Great variety, from Belgian styles to hop monsters he's used to). Well, he didn't rule out the idea. In fact, I believe he would consider it once the existing restaurant gets going for a while according to the corporate plan. He acknowledged that DC has very fanatical and knowledgable beer drinkers and he does want to cater to that. He says we're the opposite of Chicago, where his people on the ground there tell him that Chicagoans don't have great beer savvy like here. (I don't particularly believe that either, though. I think they have a real ale festival in Chicago each year. And Goose Island does one helluva business.) When it all came to a close, he said to give the bar a chance, don't write it off just yet. And I won't. Rick Bryant was truly genuine in his discussion with me and I appreciated his candor and his ability to sit and listen to someone who made it plain and clear that he's got some issues with the place. We exchanged business cards and he said he'd like to hear more thoughts when he next passes through town again. Based on the welcome reception I got from Bryant, I'm going to give Elephant and Castle more of a chance. I'll try the food, but most likely will stick to beer. (Most likely not the Fullers!) I know I'm totally against the whole idea of this corporate pub concept, but I'm willing to go to bat to see if Bryant's company is willing to be the first large-scale pub chain in North America willing to try the idea of serving local real ales in their bars.

A few days ago we were treated to this wonderful story in the Post detailing the lives of some restaurant workers at Merkado. Deservedly, it was on the front page of the paper. To me, it represents the kind of reporting that should be appearing regularly, perhaps weekly in the Food section. That’s not to say it needs to be as long of a story. But it’s a three-dimensional story that painted a great picture of what’s going in not only in the restaurants of our city, but also what’s going on in our city as a whole. In this week’s Food section there was this article that had the potential to provide a well-rounded story that came from a variety of angles. The story had to do with a shortage of organic milk. It could have been a great story on many fronts; health, business, lifestyle, family. But it fell utterly (udderly?) short. Time and again they noted the huge increase in demand for organic milk. But they never answer the huge question of why? They note, "Consumer concerns about health have heightened in recent years -- and perhaps have grown even more this year after the government released its 2005 dietary guidelines." Aside from the fact that there is absolutely no attribution for the statement, what does it mean to say “health concerns have heightened” in recent years?" They weren't a concern five years ago when everyone went low-carb? They weren't a concern ten years ago when everyone was trying to cram oat bran into everything? They weren't a concern thirty years ago when everyone took up jogging? Or are they saying that consumers were concerned before 2000, but we’re REALLY concerned now? I think it’s fascinating that more and more people are knowingly paying double to triple the cost of conventional milk in order to get organic milk, yet no effort was made to determine why. There’s a huge story there, if not on milk itself, then on organics, and local farming, etc. that the Post is totally missing. The last time I recall a good story in the Post Food section was when they did a full look at a Mexican neighborhood in Maryland. It outlined the restaurants and stores, the customers and workers, and had maps so you could try it all out for yourself. Again, I realize space is an issue in terms of how many inches are devoted to a story. But I think this one would have been a hell of a lot more interesting than that long Twinkie story they did some time ago. What do you think?

That doesn't make it any less intriguing......

Probably, but they shouldn't offer an email contact if they're not going to use it, and I'd rather get the info emailed to me so I can forward to others without having to transcribe. I guess laziness rules on my end too! But I'm not running a business.