MsDiPesto

To follow up, the other night I obtained a bottle of the Schlenkerla at the Whole Foods in Falls Church. Looking forward to it!

Alas, I discovered on Saturday evening that the Focaccia Loaf with Rosemary is no more. The crew member who kindly checked in back and looked on the computer at my request thanked me for asking her to pursue it, as they were stocking shelves at the time, so she could now remove the label from the shelf and not be continually asked where it was.

And I so enjoyed toasted slices slathered with their jarred bruchetta.

The wine featured in the dinner is Stag's Leap, with a picture of one stag just standing there on the label. The Petite syrah producer, sho still makes great wines under their Berringer ownership, is Stags' Leap, many stags leaping.

OK, that explains that, thanks for the info Dean! I had visited the other one in CA years ago, and it was a standout in my mind all this time. I had no idea that there were two similarly named marques.

I love Stag's Leap Petit Syrah, bet this will be good.

I had a very sweet, romantic date there -- fortunately, it appears, the type of date where all you remember is your dining companion, not the food you ate.

I feel the same, it was fun to spend time there with someone special. Haven't been in ages, but I loved the mismatched silverware, etc.

...add a festive tassle to your pasty.

...so this would be...a pastie for the pasty??

All those items look like an episode of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives".

I always imagine Guy Fieri lying in back of his manager's car, bottle of seltzer cradled on his chest, groaning; "No...I can't do it....I can't face yet another plate of chili, cheese, bacon, egg glop..."

Bush War on Roquefort Raises a Stink in France

Who wants to start a cheese-running black market?

In the back booths of the shadier drinking establishments of border towns, you may notice those individuals who do not draw attention to themselves, yet they carry a certain, um...air...about them...these are the contrebandiers de fromage who ply their craft in the dark of night. Sometimes, after a few rounds of spirits, they may share some of their stories with you. One of them I spoke with related a hair-raising tale of how only a quick spray of Febreeze© saved he and his precious cargo from seizure by the "Velveeteers", the smugglers' mocking nickname for the despised jackbooted agents of the Department of Blandness....

Re: the Merrifield location, I happened to be driving by late one evening when the fire trucks were there, hosing it down.

They're off to a good start if they want to emulate Room 399 at The Scotsman in Edinburgh, when I was there right after they opened the hotel in 2001, they had already gone well beyond the 399 whiskys they started with, and were up to something like 425 even then. Nice touch...a small pitcher of water served so that you could cut the spirit and not burn out your sense of smell/taste right off the bat.

Dang... there was a day when the highest level contaminants were, to my understanding, metabolites of recreational drugs & halucinogens and undigested cocaine. More proof that the free love generation is now the depends nation!

LOL, were that still the case (recreational adjuncts), they might consider a surcharge for the l'eau d'amusement on the bill.

Agreed that it the DC episode was disappointing. The larger than usual portion of social commentary and the choices of establishments was just not a satisfying balance (No Rays? No HK Palace?).

I did like the introductory sequence that showed him getting interrupted/drowned out by the facts of everyday life in DC, though (copters, jets, sirens, urchins).

Thanks for the advice, I'll start looking at Total, even though when I asked once, the staff member had no idea what I was talking about. If they're not a source, I'll check out the places you named.

Thanks again!

Hi, the article in today's (Jan 7, 2009) WAPO Food section on rauchbier reminded me of the one and only sip I had of this smoky brew years ago, and I was wondering if anyone knows of any place in the DC Metro area, especially NoVA that I can find it in bottles?

Thanks in advance, beer sages!

Am I the only one creeped out by those pictures?

I was going to rise to the defense of Mark's "Peking Duck" but it suddenly dawned on me that most places that serve authentic Peking require it to be ordered a day ahead to allow for the requisite blown air drying of the skin,and this is not the case at either Mark's or Peking Gourmet (which could actually be air drying their ducks in anticipation of customers ordering it the next day since that is their House specialty). Despite Mark's name Duck is not really the single specialty -- they have a number of others. I guess the way to view the duck at Mark's that is served with the accompanyments associated with authentic Peking is "duck in the style of Peking."

Can you recommend any in the Northern VA area that have this day-ahead approach?? thanks.

Getting together with some friends at their house, my ex is going to do a (very fresh) venison roast. If it comes out as good as the one did the other night, it will be fantastic.

All I can think of is when you get on an elevator in DC that some twenty something male has been on (think overpowering cologne, splashed on much too heavily) who was carrying an overcooked burger back to his cubicle.

Curses! I read his announcement last night, very late, and forgot about it in the light of day!

I was surprised to see Burrata in the refrigerated case at TJ's recently. So I purchased a container. I'm not sure if I got a bad one, but it was grainy, and nothing like the burrata I've had from other sources. It resembled a mozzarella sack with cottage cheese inside. Once this mozzarella envelope was breached, the stuff inside just disintegrated in the whey/water that it was packaged in. Unappetiizing.

Leftover Rocklands' Pulled Pork BBQ from our office holiday party. I added a bit of the leftover brie after heating.

I had the chicken BBQ earlier this morning, using little slider rolls for both.

Ok, I just made a reservation for 6 people. The lady taking my reservation asked for my CC info which always irks me but I understand they want to make sure their tables are full. Then she e-mails me a "Large Party Confirmation Form" they want me to sign this and fax it back to them in the next 48 hours. How ridiculous is this? Do I really have to fill out a form now every time I want to go out with my friend?

Did you have to get it notarized too? So a party of six requires special planning? Crowd control?

Communal dining? Thanks, but no thanks. OK though if there's a choice between that and the usual independent seating.

So the headline should read: "Former Foodie Phenom Now Just Another Sports Bar"?

Most of the time, it's the technique that needs work, but sometimes, with certain small-producer milks, variations in the cows' diets can effect the protein content which can effect milk foaming quality. Hope that helps!

This observation piqued my interest, as I have always heard that it's easier to produce foam with skim milk. My curiosity led me to this site, which explains why the higher glycerol content in full fat milk can make it more difficult to foam, depending on the milk's freshness.