Biscuit Girl

Apologies for the double post...but this is a new question.

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, and I was wondering if anyone has ever tried the samgyetang at Gamasot. I'm pretty sure I saw it on their menu, but I didn't know if a place specializing in seollangtang was any good at the ultimate chicken soup.

I had the seollangtang or as I called it last night, Korean Penicillin. And yes, I feel better today

Thanks for the heads up on the article. I was able to find the full text of it on my library's databases. Printing it out right now.

We will be traveling to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and a few other areas of the country) and Singapore the end of Feb/beginning of March. Does anyone have any restaurant or must try food suggestions?

Last month we stayed in San Diego for a couple of days before our cruise down the Mexican coast. Our favorite restaurant for dinner by far was Café Sevilla. EXCELLENT FOOD! Jim wrote about it on my blog. Another great place was Royal Thai which he also mentions in the same post. Both are located in the Gaslamp District.

Lunch at Tin Fish proved disappointing. We stopped there only because it was next to our hotel and we'd spent the morning walking all over the place. The trolley we took back to the hotel stops in front of Tin Fish which is why we gave it a try. Just about everything was fried and flavor was hit and miss. The one thing I laughed about was see a pigeon with a gimpy leg use the handicapped ramp to climb up to the outdoor patio. No stairs for this fine feathered friend.

For breakfast on the morning of the cruise we ate at an Irish Pub called Dublin Square. It had a wonderful feel to it and the food was good and plentiful. It did seem odd to us East Coasters to see guys drinking beer and watching NFL games at 9 AM.

Any suggestions on where to have Christmas Brunch?

Maybe not quite brunch, but we've gone to Mark's Duck House every Christmas Day for their dim sum. (That is when we stay up here instead of driving to TN to see family). The place is a madhouse and it's cool to watch the parade of whole roasted pigs being picked up. Instead of an apple in their mouths, the restaurant places a sprig of poinsettia.

You know winter is coming when you spot a three pack of Mallowmars.

You misunderstand. It's telling the restaurant staff and chef "I'm a blogger, you'll be sorry!" That I put in the same category with claiming to be a close friend of Tom Sietsema when you are unhappy with your experience, hoping that the invocation of a name will make them fear you and meet demands they would otherwise not meet. Though if you're leaving anyway and do that, I wonder what purpose that has other than threatening.

Being a blogger is okay. You should not take offense at that comment.

Threatening a restaurant with ones "blogging" powers is not okay. As a matter of fact it is unfathomably tacky and not to be tolerated. [assuming all is as was reported by Bebo]

I guess I meant this comment to be partly in jest and partly serious. No blogger I know of would have acted the way she did. I was mearly teasing Jim (who's my husband) about being offended since he knows I'm serious about my blog.

Anyone who uses the "I'm a blogger, you'll be sorry!" line immediately loses 10 credibility points.

I always try to give a fair review when I post about a restaurant. Once, and only once, did I give a fairly negative review on a place but I still included the few positives that we had and tried to make the post as fair as possible.

To lump looneys like her into the same group of food bloggers I know in the area (including me) is wrong.

(I think you owe me an apology.....or a nice dinner out )

I think this post on Chowhound might be the aformentioned threat come to fruition.

From the Chowhund post: "After some step by step coaching and some patience we were given our drinks." This woman orders a martini, presumably by simply saying martini when asked what she wanted, then gets annoyed when it isn't made to her liking is one thing. But to then 'coach' the bartender? Puh-leeeze. If you are that particular about the way you want a drink, tell the bartended when you order.

I think she's just a person who always looks for a reason to gripe. Why?

1. She never mentioned that she specifically requested a table but says in her post that it shouldn't take 35 minutes to get served in an almost empty restaurant. Hello? You wanted a booth, all were in use. You could have sat at a table as soon as you walked in.

2. The whole martini thing (see above).

3. She never mentions that she had the chance to talk to Chef Donna to say why she was upset. To do that would have meant she'd have nothing to bitch about later. And that's exactly what she wanted to do, bitch for the sake of bitching. If they had stayed for a meal, then guaranteed she'd have found something wrong the food and would have bitched about it instead.

Does anyone know anything about the restaurant called Tin Fish?

This is all you need to know.

We are fortunate enough to have several great places in the area. In addition to Thai Square, the place Jim and I over all others is Rabieng. We love the place. I know others on this board may disagree with me but of all the Thai places we've tried (including Thai Square and Bangkok 54), Rabieng is the one we always come back to. It serves more of a country style Thai food, has items on it's menu we haven't seen anywhere else and has a cozier feel to it than the others. And they've recently updated their weekend Thai Dim Sum menu. There are several new items that we've enjoyed like the oysters and the crunchy chicken lettuce cups.

I was there with the Joe H group, and thank you Joe for setting it up. I cannot add much that hasn't been already said. The only thing I would add is that I liked the crust on the batch of pizzas we ordered for ourselves, which had a little more brown and char on them than the pizzas that the chef was making special for us, the smoked mozzarella and the brilliantly topped blue cheese-black olive-onion-hot pepper pizza.

I've written, deleted, and re-written this next section a dozen times. I don't want to come off as a knee-jerk Roberto Donna/Bebo defender, but I want to give an accurate portrayal of the food and service we've had there. I've eaten there close to 20 times now probably. At least three of those times were in the dining room. We've not had any service problems. We did have a new bartender once who was still learning, but did a good job. We had a table of 12 (including children) with multiple separate checks, and the waiter couldn't have been nicer. We also have had the pizza several times, and the crust has been between good and excellent each time. We've always enjoyed our appetizers, pastas, and entrees. Come, enjoy, you'll like it.

As Jim's better half , I too wanted to say we had a wonderful time Saturday night. We had great company and ate some really good pizza. I was the only one who didn't get a pizza as a entree. I opted to have a salad followed by the Meatballs. Although I did enjoy the shared pizzas as well as a piece swiped from Jim's plate.

The smoked mozzarella pizza blew me away. I'm not a big fan of smoked foods but this could convert me. The cheese wasn't an in your face flavor. It was a subtle "here I am" way that, in my opinon, added to the flavor youget from the woodburning oven. The chef's choice pie was bright and flavorful and a combination I would have never thought of. Jim and I both thought we'd need to experiment at home to see if we could replicate it. I think it was gorganzola cheese, onions, olives, buffalo mozarella and tomato sauce.

As for the difference in the crusts, I'd venture to say that it could very well be due to the temperature of the oven. I bake a lot of bread and know that even a small change in the temperature or even humidity can affect dough while baking. The two shared pies both had a slightly chewier crust. I know the last pie was made at the tail end a bunch of other orders so it's quite possible the oven had cooled a little when ours went in. Now the pies that were ordered by the others as their entree had a crisper and thinner crust and were damn near perfect. Perhaps the oven had been unused for a short time and was much hotter when these went in. That's the only thing I can think of as the same person using the same dough and ingredients made all the pizzas.

Either way, we enjoyed them all.

Yes, I really would like to try a local place. In my recent search, I found a place called Bali Hai. Supposed to have great views but wondered if the food was any good. Has anyone been there?

Thanks again to everyone who gave me names. I included the ones that we have in our library sysytem (and want to get the ones we don't )

You can look at the list here.

Goodbye Howie - he was fun to watch, even if he was annoying at times. If his fate wasn't sealed when he didn't present anything in the quickfire, it was a done deal when he offered himself up during the judges' panel! The text on the DirecTV guide (which was clearly not for last night's episode) made it look like they might be going on a cruise...at least in a few episodes - it referenced an episode called "Chef Overboard", talked about the remaining 3 contestants and a buffet challenge!?

I've never been a big fan of anthony's. Are you going to have a car?

May I ask why you aren't a fan of Anthony's?

We'll be in San Diego in November for one day before we leave on a cruise. We're staying in the Gaslamp area near Petco Field. I've seen some good reports on a fish place called Anthony's and it's close to where we are staying. Are there any other good local places for fish (price range: cheap to moderate). I'd also be interested if anyone has a rec for a good mexican place (same price range).

The sangria, while good, had too much liquor in it for my taste.

Thanks everyone! I added several of the books you suggested and have some of the soon-to-be published ones waiting in the wings. If the library system orders them, I'll add them to the list as well.

My old list is still up for those who want to see it, hopefully the new one will be added in a week or two. I'll repost when it is.

I don't see why Bebo is being savaged for this either - I think anyone could go in, ask for Roberto, and say "can I have the smoked mozzerella pizza Joe Heflin raves about?"

I talk about RJ Cooper going off-menu all the time, and he'll do it for anyone who asks - what's wrong with this? Yeah, okay, you have to read the food boards to know about it... so?

When they first took the Broccoli Rabe off the regular menu, we asked if it were still available and were told yes. Now that it's a regular on the daily specials, one may not need to ask. But if it isn't, then it's as simple as opening your mouth and asking.

Re: the overly critical posts on Bebo.

We are not friends of Roberto but eat there at least once a month and overall our experiences at Bebo have for the most part been positive. Have we had spotty service, yes but only a few times. It happens. Have we had bad or inproperly prepared dishes, no. They've forgotten a dish once and were extremely appologetic about it. Bebo isn't perfect but neither is any other place.

And for those who have bitched about soggy pizza or overly salty food, etc ....how many have sent it back, talked to a manager or even mentioned it to Roberto when he's out on the floor? If you didn't do anything then you have no place to complain here. You should do that while the food is on your table. If you have and were still not satisfied, then you probably have good reason to be unhappy and ceratinly should say something here but I don't think a majority of the complaints placed on this board are justified. Should we always post happy things on this board, no. It's a great place for open discussion but when it becomes a bashing fest, then things have crossed the line. I've been reading and posting here for a while and I have never seen such a negative bunch when it comes to Bebo and Chef Donna. If Bebo were as bad as some on these boards make it out to be, then it would no longer be open.

I will now step down from my soapbox. (and brace myself for the responses)

Thanks everyone!

Roberto Donna (love the hairdo)

I don't know if this fits, but there was an L'Auberge Chez Francois cookbook. It's pretty old in comparison, but prolly still a goodie. My parents have one.

Great suggestion! I looked in our system but unfortunately we only have one copy. But....I did find another one written by Jacques Haeringer and we have plenty of copies so I'll add it to my list. It's called Two For Tonight: pure romance from L'Auberge Chez Francois.

Thanks!

Hi all.

I need your assistance. For those who don't know me, I work as a librarian in Fairfax County. Several of us librarians are responsible for keeping parts of our systems webpage up to date. My section is under our "Good Reading" area and my topic is Cookbooks. No surprise to some.

I always try to add something new to this list and thought this time I should include cookbooks that have been written by DC's own talented chefs. I have several names so far but did not want to exclude anyone.

And here is where I need your help. Does anyone know of a chef that I have left off this list?

Here is who I have so far:

Michel Richard

Fabio Trabocchi

Bob Kinkead

Jose Andres

Patrick O’Connell

Who am I missing?

I can't seem to see this. However, Rustico and its Beersicles was mentioned on Stephanie Miller's radio show yesterday.

Try this link instead. Scroll about halfway down the page to get to the link for the video.