KeithA

Growing up Mom did most of the cooking, but it was only so-so. On the weekends, Dad won me over to cooking with his skills making omelets and grilling. Before college, each of them taught me a few things. However, my real culinary advetures begain in college where my dorm had a kitchen but no meal plan. So I quickly learned to make a few dishes, picking up recipes from upperclassmen. This haphazard way explains how I learned the "correct" way to know if spaghetti was done was to throw it against a wall and see if it sticks. My skills got better as I started watching the food network and mimicing what I'd seen. Post-college and plus wife, I really got into cooking as I finally had my own place. Now, I pick up recipes from cookbooks, Cooking Light magazine, Food Network, epicurious and try out my own creations (some of which turn out well I've also begun to learn some old family recipes from my wife who learned most of her skills watching her grandmother.

To each their own I guess. I was going to suggest that in addition to the regular optional condiments that one should be able to ask for extra onion/peper mix or extra green sauce.Last time I went I got the chicken and wished I had some extra something. So today I had the chicken with BBQ sauce, which I didn't particulary like and wished I had more onions/peppers and green sauce. Maybe I'll remember to ask next time, if there is a next time before the restaurant packs up for Crystal City. Also, I thought today's bread was still good, but liked the old bread better.

I can't speak about Restaurant.com, but Entertainment Rewards is a good program. I used to buy a book and get back the cost with one buy one/get one free meal at some of the restaurants in the "elegant dining section" like Tragara or Frascati in Bethesda. They used to have other semi-expensive places too. However, I haven't bought a book in a few years since the kids selling them as a fundraiser stopped coming around.

Tomorrow for lunch will be my first time to Vidalia. Any recommendations on what dishes should not be missed?

My first visit to Zaytinya was during lunch on Tuesday this week and its was wonderful. The space is very pretty and the booths are comfy - they even gave us big pillows (to nap on??). Anyways enough about decor, here's my take on the food. There were 4 of us and we ordered way too much. When the waiter said 2-3 mezze a person, we ordered 12 and then added a few extra. Unless your ravenous, I'd recommend 1-2 person depending on which you order (some are larger and more filling than others). Here is what we got: 1. Hummus - it was ok - good, but nothing special. It comes with some nice olive oil in the center. (portion size - medium). 2. Htipi (roasted red peppers and feta) - this was a big hit. The peppers are diced and mixed with oil and seasonings and lots of crumbled feta. Recommended. (portion size - large). 3. Falafel with tahini (sesame) sauce - I was not a big fan. There are 4 or 5 bite size balls. Again like most of the dishes, nothing was really bad, just nothing special. (portion size - small) 4. Kokol...(it is a long, Greek name) - cheese patties with shredded zucchini and caper yogurt sauce. Very good. These are 4 small circles of heaven that melt in your mouth. (portion size - medium) 5.Spanakopita (feta and spinach in phyllo) - this was only ok in comparison to the other dishes. It is served as one long cylinder that you cut yourself to share. This dish is heavier than most of the others. (portion size - medium) 6.Havuc Koftesi (carrot, pinenut, and apricot fritters with psitachio sauce) - very good. 4 bite size pieces. I thought they were good and fun because they were unusual. The sauce complements the fritters very nicely. Recommended.. (portion size - small) 7. Puff Boregi - despite the interesting sounding menu description of puff pasty with a mix of cheeses and tomato puree. This is just pizza and tasty like a boring pizza. I'd pass on this one next time. (portion size - medium). 8. Horiatiki Salad - very good. A nice blend of chopped veggies, olives and small bits of feta cheese. (portion size - medium). 9. Tabouleh - so-so. This was the least popular dish at the table. It was bland and too heavy on the parsely with too small amounts of other ingredients to balance it out. (portion size - medium) 10. Sea Scallop with yogurt dill sauce - these were 2 large plump pieces. Pretty good, but I only had a bite as this was the last dish to come out because according to the waiter ("they were just so large it was taking really long to cook"). Strange comment as they were big, but not huge. The sauce was mild and let the seafood shine, so if you like scallops, you won't be disappointed. If you are expected something middle eastern-exotic, you might be let down. (portion size - medium). 11. Kalamari - This is the one dish I skipped, but they were greaseless, fried rings and the others thought they were very good. (portion size - large). 12. Chicken Muhammarah - 4 small bite size pieces of chicken kebab. This was great, mostly due to its tasty walnut and roasted pepper sauce. It is paired nicely with a tiny sweet, cooked onion. Highly recommend. (portion size - small) 13. Kibbeh (beef and wheat fritters) - there are 4 cone-like shaped pieces that resemble falafel, but have beef in them and when you bite into them you find the pine nuts and raisins. Really good, if a bit dry. However, they come with tangy labneh (thick yogurt sauce) that makes you hope your dining companions don't mind you taking seconds. (portion size - medium) 14. Hunkar Begendi - wondeful braised lamb shank that is falls apart as you scoop it up. The lamb with lots of flavorful juices sits on top of a heavy eggplant puree that tastes like a special version of mashed potatos. Very good dish and very filling. (portion size - large). We also had ordered a mix of olives that were very good and came with a little bowl of olive oil which we weren't sure what to do with except dip our bread in (seemed strange to dip olives in it). Still yummy though. The pita bread is good too and is similar to Lebanese Taverna (puffed up). I'm partial to the flatter thicker kind of pita, but the bread was piping hot and tasty great with the mezze and with the small dish of olive oil and balsmic vinegar (the good syrupy kind). This feast was topped off with a dark, cider-like peach juice that was refreshing and went well with the vegetarian and seafood dishes.

That is interesting about the business overlay issue, it seemed weird that the McD's spot has been vacant for almost 2 years or more. It is a shame because it appears to be one of the largest spaces on the block.About Wheatberry, they have a big sign up saying, Mediterranean Restaurant Coming Soon. Hopefully, it'll be something good.

The Kosher stand is at section 220, but I haven't seen knishes on the menu either last Sunday or last night. Anyone actually had one? Last night I tried Capital Q's beef brisket sandwich at a whopping $9.75 (you have to love ballpark prices ). It was a large and filling sandwich, but not very hot or tasty. If you do get this, I highly recommend lots of barbecue sauce, because the meat by itself is dry and lacks flavor. As I asked before, anyone had the beef at Red Hot and Blue? Hopefully, it is better.

Wednesday and Thursday this week

I was at the game yesterday and there are definitely a lot more concessions open all over the place. I did a lap in the new Terrace Court and saw Cluck U Fried Chicken, some type of crabcake platter, Hard Times Cafe (my bro had a chili dog that he said was big, good and juicy around $7+), Capital Q BBQ (beef brisket and pulled pork) and in the center was a beer stand. I opted to check out the Kosher Sports concession behind Section 220. They had hot dogs, italian sausage, big pretzels, peanuts and bottled beer. Sadly none of the meat is grilled, but the hot dog I had was good, better than the regular Superdog and only 75 cents more ($4.75). Except for the meat products, the rest of the food is the same as you'd get at any of the other stands. I was thinking next time about going to Capital Q for beef brisket. Anyone tried it? How does it compare to Red Hot and Blue's beef?

I was checking out Black's menu on its website and I noticed at the bottom that their is a separate section for Sauces like chimchurri, bernaise, etc. (http://www.blacksbarandkitchen.com/menu_dinr.html) which cost an extra $2-5 each. What is going on - since when does the sauce for a dish cost extra? This seems so strange - most of these sauces does seem like some super specialty item that justify an additional charge. I haven't eaten there yet, but I was curious if anyone has or if anyone might be able to explain this strange practice, which I hope doesn't catch on at other places which already charge $20+ for an entree.

One major difference between regular and kosher meat is that kosher meat is soaked and salted to draw out the blood from the meat (eating blood is forbidden). Some people think this makes the meat taste better as if it was brined. I eat kosher meat (at home) and regular meat (at restaurants) and I personally can't taste much of a difference.I don't know too much about halal meat slaughtering, but according to some, if not most or all, Muslim authorities, kosher meat is treated as halal. So I guess the slaughtering process is similar.

3rd and Meats or is it Eats is still there, but I've never tried it. Also another place I've never tried but looks half decent is Jack's Famous Deli across 3rd street. It really is a food wasteland. I usually walk over to Chinatown.

Here is some more info cribbed from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falafel "Falafel is made from fava beans or chick peas or a combination of the two. The Egyptian variation uses exclusively fava beans, while other variations may only use chick peas. Unlike many other bean patties, in falafel the beans are not cooked prior to use. Instead they are soaked, possibly skinned, then ground with the addition of a small quantity of onion, spices, bicarbonate of soda and deep fried at a high temperature. Sesame seeds may be added to the balls before they are fried; this is particularly common when falafel is served as a dish in its own right rather than as a sandwich filling. Recent culinary trends have seen the triumph of the chickpea falafel over the fava bean falafel. Chickpea falafels are served across the Middle East, and popularized by expatriates of those countries living abroad." And just so you know garbanzo beans are the same thing as chickpeas. The packages just suck. Since falafel is fried, the fresher it is, the better. I recommend Amsterdam Falafel in Adams Morgan for super fresh, classic chickpea falafel with a great fixins bar.

Afghan Grill is a great place. I highly recommend any appetizer or entree with pumpkin in it. The pumpkin is sauteed and tastes delicious with the grilled meats and yogurt sauces. The prices are cheap too for a sit down restaurant.

Sadly, I found out Captain's Table and the Hobbit closed down. The Fractured Prune donuts were dense and delightful though.

Well, I'm off to Ocean City for our annual summer vacation and I was looking forward to all of those good, but bad for you things I love to sample at the beach. I thought a thread sharing our OC beach favs would be fun as most of the food is shlock, but there are lots of junk food and hidden gems. Here are my favs: Junk Food Dumser's Dairyland - great hot fudge sundaes (multiple locations) Fisher's Popcorn - caramel corn (multiple locations) Candy Kitchen - good fudge (the Starbucks of OC, one on every corner almost) Thrasher's - amazing fries (Boardwalk) Restaurants Captain's Table - great seafood (downtown near Boardwalk) Jimmy's Kitchen - breakfast (north, Fenwick Island) The Hobbit - great lump crabcakes (north in the 90s) Higgins - crab feasts (133rd and a downtown location) Not sure why I've never been before, but I'm looking forward to trying the Fractured Prune's made to order donuts (128th and farther downtown too). What are your favorites? --- Tubby's (Stitch) The Parlour (formerly Fudge Factory) (hm212)

When I used to work near there, it was a go to lunch place. Great fresh ingredients. My favorite was the grilled salmon salad with mango salsa. The smoothies and juices are great too. And who couldn't love a place with giant pictures on the walls of fruit sightseeing and skate boarding in DC.

Well I'll bite, what did they do that was soooo nice?

In a follow up to the seating question, are the Osteria's seats next to the bar area? I ask because I like to avoid smoke when dining and was thinking that might be an issue at Osteria.

The best indicator to see how many individuals are viewing the site each day (not including repeat visits) is unique visitors. To just see how many times anyone (including repeats) opens any page on the site is the views. That being said, I think you are right though that more important is posts per day because actual participation, not just reading posts is what fuels this board by constantly creating new content to read and comment upon. But like someone said earlier, most posts on this site seem to be disproportionately from a group of about 30-50 people.

I keep going back to 2 Amys because the pizza is great, but I also love the specials. On Saturday night, they had a panini with rapini, roasted lamb, and eggplant marmalade. It was very tasty and so different than what I usually eat. My dining companions kept laughing at me as I was dumbfounded by this sandwich. The lamb was a nice big slice almost like fresh roast beef and the rapini was bright, crunchy and slightly bitter. I think what made the combo so unusual to me was the cold marmalade that consisted of cooked and macerated eggplant, some sugar I think (it was sweet) and some hot chili flakes. Overall delicious and different. If you were like me for a long time and only ordered pizza at 2 Amys, I highly recommend branching out to the specials menu.

Great neighborhood foodie experience last night in the cafe. My wife and I sit down and start discussing the menu. I ask her "what do you think x, y, z italian words mean listed in the description for the gnocchi." She says I don't know. The nice diner next to me helpfully chimes in that it is a type of bacon and other housemade cured meat. The diner goes on to say he's had it and it is excellent. We then ordered got our food and oohed and ahhed at how tasty our meal was. But we got to really enjoy this same diner and his wife delight in their dinners. While I didn't get the chicken last night, I could definitely sympathize with the woman's huge green and 5 minute solilquoy on the moist marvel. The best part of the foodie show came when the husband went to the restroom and the waiter brought out the couple's strawberry shortcake which they were going to share. The woman started thanking the waiters for bringing out the dish at just the right moment so she could have it all to herself. She seemed real serious about it too. However, as a nice person she left some for her hubby The final part of this neighborly experience came full circle when on our other side two women were seated and were perusing the menu and my wife's fish sandwich. We then were able to offer our own menu insights from our meal. As for the food, we stuck to the cafe menu. First, split the salad which was good, but not as good as the salads I've had there in the past. Then we had the fry plate which is always good (minus weak fries, much better ones at almost any other restaurant) because of the onion rings, lemons, and my favorite the hush puppy-like swirls. Our mains were the skate fried fish sandwich for the wife. It was tasty but awkward. Big open face sandwich (no top to the bun) slathered with good, but way too much tartar sauce and some lightly fried skate and tempura-like asparagus and onion. On the side was more skate, not fried, bathed in a sweet sauce. It was awkward because while it was supposed to be a sandwich, it was way to messy to eat without utensils. I wasn't too hungry because of a big lunch and so had the cheese plate as my main course. The cheese plate had a nice varied selection and great raisin/nut bread to go with it. A few extra slice of bread would have been better though. Sadly we were too full for desserts.

Chef, but you got rid of the excellent sea scallop, avocado, and watermelon appetizer. The dish was a very nice combo of different flavors and was presented beautifully. That was the best dish when I went about a month or so ago. It is still summer too, watermelons are in season, come on you know you want to bring it back

So after sampling the Grill for the first time (and loving it ) yesterday, I found out I'm being taken to Galileo today for a regular lunch. I haven't been in a long time. Are there any particularly good items on lunch menu that shouldn't be missed? Thanks.

Now that I'm working nearby, I was finally able to try out the Galileo Grill for the first time today. My compliments to the Chef and his busy team. As a non-pork eater, I had the chicken sandwich which like all of the sandwiches is HUGE and thus an awesome bargain at $5. I had the sandwich without any fixins, just the onions, peppers, romaine, and green sauce that comes on all of the sandwiches. I thought it was a great combo - fresh ingredients, hot off the grill, hmm hmm good. Now, I'm curious what is in the green sauce? I also had one of the excellent cannolis. While the sandwich was good and a great deal, the cannoli was amazing. Great flaky cookie and a good combo of plain/pistachio/vanilla?? (let's just say white) cream and chocolate cream with the added touch of chocolate sprinkles. Delicis. I'll defintely be back the next time the grill is open.