Rieux

How about moving to Mount Pleasant!!!

The Castelluccio lentil recipe is fantastic. I had to sub Puy, but this is a go-to easy dinner/take to work lunch for me. The quality of the Gorgonzola you use is really important in this dish...

Wow. No posts since 2008? Am I the only Mt. Pleasanter to post here? There are only a couple of weeks left, but I really think this is one of the best neighborhood markets in the city. Big enogh that they have what you need, small enough that it is not a zoo, live music, and amazing steamed pork buns!

Cook's Illustrated's Basic Beef Chili with Kidney beans. It was good, but needed a little more spice for my taste. A little touch of BBQ sauce I bought at the Grey market on Saturday did the trick. Yum.

I try to always use them in Spanish and Portuguese, two languages which I speak. It's important, for example in words like ano vs. año (look that one up!) or for the variations on el papa, la papa, el papá.

Last night I made the Ratattouille. It took me longer than I thought it would, but that was my fault -- I should have added the time it takes to cut all those veggies to the cooking time in my head. I skipped the zuchinni because I forgot to buy it. Still, this was really lovely -- deep in flavor, hearty, healthy, and soul-satisfying for fall. The addition of the butternut squash to the traditional ratattouille adds a nice nutty flavor. This was an easy (once the veggies were cut) meal, and one I would make again.

I have to recommend my housekeeper, Mari Dabs, 301-775-8786. Mari is from Peru originally, and now lives in Maryland. She is a US Citizen, so no worries for those who have security clearances, etc, and she also speaks English well. Mari worked for my uncle at the Ambassador's residence in Peru 20 years ago, and she was so good he helped her come to the US. I have known her since I was in high school, and she cleans for me, my family, and many of my friends. I trust her completely, and have nothing but great things to say about her work. She also charges reasonable prices. If you need a housekeeper I cannot recommend her enough. Greg Watson

Anna, I made that eggplant/soba dish too, and I made similar additions. I used rice vinegar mixed with a little apple cider vinegar, and shot the eggplant with a few dribs of thai chili oil. It made a difference in the flavor level. Sadly, I have been traveling a lot lately and have not had time to cook, but I am looking forward to some fall recipes on my return!

I did a cleanse last month, and it was amazing. I am definitely not a new-agey person, but I found Marnie's cleanse through a friend. It helped me get off some bad habits, learn some new ones, and get back on track... http://becominghealth.com/ I did the pura vida cleanse remotely through the phone/internet and it was great. She gave us menus, daily tips, a care package, and support through phone calls. Highly recommended, and, now that I have the materials I can replicate it whenever I want. I lost 11 pounds in 2 weeks, digestion got better, lost sluggishness, etc.

I got mine pre-washed and separated in the prepared fruit section of the P st Whole Foods -- near where the over-priced cut up pineapple and carrots are.

I travel to El Salvador quite a bit, and work with a lot of Salvadorans. The general consensus at work is that the best are at Ercelias in Mount Pleasant, and at a place whose name I can't recall at the corner of 11th and N NW.

An update: I've gone back and made the lentils with Gorganzola and the paella several more times. Yum. I also tried out a new recipe for roasted eggplant with buttermilk sauce and pomegranate seeds (which apparently is on the cover of the US version -- I have the UK version). It was easy, and, again, great. Eggplant roasted with olive oil and thyme, covered with a buttermilk/greek yoghurt sauce, sprinkled with pomegranate. Reminded me of great eggplant I had at some ottoman restaurants in Istabul. Definitely a keeper...

I live in the neighborhood and love Radius, but I have to agree that my last couple of meals were disappointing. For example, last week my partner, my friend, and I went. The wine, service, and my friend's special papardelle were all great, but my spaghetti and meatballs, and my partner's portion, were almost inedibly salty. I have eaten this dish here many times, and it has never been like this in the past. This won't stop me from going to Radius, as it is the best option in the neighborhood, and I still love it, but it might give me pause on ordering the spaghetti and meatballs again.

lperry - not to feed the addiction, but I love using it during farmer's market season. If I find the one main ingredient at the market I love coming home and flipping through the book to decide what I want to make!

I was not around when the whole Peter Chang phenomenon was happening in DC, but from reading this forum for the past several years, the New Yorker, and various other articles, I have been interested in trying Chang's food for myself. Finally, I have the chance. My partner is at a federal training course in Charlottesville and I am going to go down there for the weekend. I have already made him swear to schedule a lunch or dinner at wherever we can try the Chang dishes. So, here is my question. Where do we go? Is China Grill still the place with the authentic Chang experience? If so, what do we order? I am not picky, really, but don't like organ meats, tripe, tendon, etc. and can't eat shrimp. (I know, that makes me sound picky, doesn't it). I love dumplings, spicy things like schezuan beef, ma po tofu, etc, and most anything that is not too sweet. Also, are his restaurants still madhouses? Do we have to go early, or for lunch? Thanks for any advice!!!!!

Is anyone else working their way through the wonderful cookbook "Plenty" by Yoatam Ottolenghi? I bought it after visiting a couple of his restaurants during a trip to London some time back. Basically, it is a compendium of all the great vegetarian recipes he has published in the Guardian over the years. The measures, etc. are in U.K. measurements, but I make easy work of them with my OXO kitchen scale. Also, some of the ingredients are called by their British names, but that is something you get used to quickly -- i.e. capsicum = peppers, aubergine = eggplant, rocket = arugula, courgette = zucchini. Each chapter is divied up by type of veggie, and the photos are amazing. I am not a vegetarian, but these recipes have made me eat meat much, much less meat because they are so satisfying. So far we have made: Quiona salad with favas, radishes - WONDERFUL! Stuffed onions - onions simmered in broth, separated into "petals" and stuffed with breadcrumbs and feta (among other things) -- interesting, good, but not great. Vegetable Paella - OK, I lived in Spain and love a good paella. The idea of a vegetable only paella was somewhat horrifying to me. But, man, it was GOOD! Perhaps one of the best things I have eaten in the last 6 months. Castelluccio lentils with oven dried tomatoes and gorgonzola -- Also amazing, nice summer main course, hearty but not greasy. Soba noodles with eggplant and mango -- One of the most refreshing things I have ever eaten. I can't wait to keep cooking 2-3 dishes from this book each week. Which leads to this post -- anyone else have this book and cooking from it? Suggestions on what I should make next (everything in the books looks great, so it's hard to choose!) Anyone want to trade cooking experiences from "Plenty" on this topic??

Rodman's also has HP sauce!

I am on day 9 of a 13 day food cleanse (read: lots of kale, veggies, one day of fasting. No booze, sugar, refined carbs, caffeine.) It's been a good experience, I have lost 10 pounds so far and feel really healthy, clean, non-bloated. BUT, the last two nights, I have had practically erotic dreams about a hell-burger, medium rare, with bleu cheese and onions and a side of onion rings. I think, given this, that I have discovered my "last meal" food, and I cannot wait to get to Ray's on saturday, when this cleanse is over! I just had to share, to get this craving to go away!!!

Thanks all! Looks like I will have to get myself down to the U st. or Dupont markets this weekend!

Two things have conspired to make me fava crazy this year. First, I moved to Mount Pleasant and started eating regularly at Radius, where I have ordered the spring pizza with fava beans at least 4 times since April. Second, after eating at his restaurant in London, I bought the Yotam Ottolenghi cookbook "Plenty". (Side note, the cookbook is fabulous. Vegetarian dishes that this avowed meat eater loves). Many of the amazing salads, etc. involve fava beans. Yesterday I tried the whole foods in friendship heights, but no luck either fresh or frozen. I ended up using frozen lima beans, which were a poor substitute. I have not seen them at the Mt. P farmer's market, probably because it is too late. Anyone know of other sources? Maybe the Bestway? Suggestions on substitutions for salads?

This recipe for Jamaican Oxtail Stew from the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/magazine/06Food-t-001.html My father made it and thought it was so good he photocopied and mailed the recipe to me. I cooked up a batch over the weekend (using beef shank since there were no oxtails at WF) and made the coconut rice recipe in the article as a side. Both were fantastic, although next time I might substitute regular stew meat for the shank which was gristly after a couple of hours of cooking. The smells and flavor were fantastic and I highly recommend this to anyone. Final note -- beware if using a nicely seasoned lodge cast iron dutch oven like I was. The high heat caramelization of the sugar basically bonded with the patina and I have had to scour off my hard-won cast iron seasoning to clean it

I agree that Hosea was an undeserving winner in his season, but I did eat his food once and I actually thought it was very good. I was visiting my sister in Boulder between when his season finished taping and the televised finale and we went to the restaurant where he worked, Jax, because my sister was a regular at the bar there. If I recall right, all three of our entrees were very good, but looking at the menu it was also obvious that he had totally just copied every recipe from the menu for the challenges when he was on the show. He came out and talked to us (since sister was a regular) and seemed to be your typical fratty chef guy, but he was pretty nice. That said, he still totally did not deserve to win his season!

In college we used to love to drink what we called "the happy shot" which was half goldschalger and half baileys. We used to shoot it, and then take a deep lung breath to feel the burn. Looking back, it was really really gross. On the subject of the Old Pal, I love them, and anythign else really bitter (like a Negroni). Any other suggestions for me?

Thanks, Don. I hadn't seen any blog posts on this, and it came to me by word of mouth at work, but it's nice to see this place getting recognized in multiple venues and from multiple sources. (I wouldn't dare to think my little post had anything to do with Kliman's mention). This place just struck a chord with me. As someone who works on small business development in Latin America, I want to see the Uruguayan guys make it.

Lights off, tables and chairs and decor piled up in the middle, no signs of life. Looks closed to me.