edenman

Braised oxtail. Real simple: browned in the oven for a half-hour then submerged in a bottle of pinot noir, a 1/4 cup sherry vin, and 3 c chicken stock. 1 tsp each dry thyme and oregano. Smells amazing in here right now.

A coworker is touting the quality of Vace's pizza, saying it's the best slice in the city. Having never been, and not seeing a thread for it here, I ask for your opinions. There's also a Bethesda location. http://www.vaceitaliandeli.com/ 3315 Connecticutt Avenue (202) 363-1999 (Cleveland Park) 4705 Miller Avenue (301) 654-6367 (Bethesda)

What cut do people generally use for their base pork meat in sausage? I just read this post and the guy talks about using Ham Steak...I made a sausage once with ham but didn't augment with enough fat, and the result was dry and crumbly. I tend to use shoulder when making sausage. Anybody else use ham with good results?

Redundant?

And a happy day it is, indeed. ETA: De Dolle Stille Nacht on tap is a wonderful thing. This year it's fermented with apples and weighs in at 12%. Somehow still balanced. Delicious.

I use a mix of apple and cherry when I smoke bacon. I'm using the little cold-smoker unit (too lazy to go find the link) that takes pellets, so I just order those online.

So true.

In fact, we are all like Jonah in the belly of the Rock-whale. Can someone put the Jonas brothers in the belly of a whale?

5 days in SF/Napa. Day 1: SF Day 2: SF, then up to St. Helena in the afternoon. Wine tasting at Sullivan (didn't hit that many wineries but this was the clear favorite) and Hall, both of which had Cab, Merlot, and iirc, Chardonnay. Dinner at Bouchon started with a "just ok" dry gin cocktail with mint. Apps were Salmon Rillettes and Páté de Campagne, both of which were really well done (the butter layer on the salmon was a perfect contrast, and the use of chicken liver in the campagne meant it was a much smoother, more refined liver undertone). Mains were Sous Vide Pork Shoulder and Boudin Noir, again both stellar. Service at the bar was standoffish, but all of the food was spot-on. Split a bottle of dry red from the Rhone with dinner, then an Aventinus with cheese course. Finished the night shooting some pool at Bilco's and had a Moylan's Hopsickle and what they call a "Bob Reeve's Special" (3/4 Blind Pig IPA and 1/4 Old Rasputin). Day 3: The whole point of this trip was to visit my friend who is working at The French Laundry, and this was the day I'd be having dinner there. Sadly, he had to work a morning shift, so I had most of this day to myself, but couldn't indulge too much in food/booze since I wanted to save room/liver for dinner. Drove down from Yountville to Napa and checked out the Fatted Calf Charcuterie where I picked up some Páté and Salumi for snacking over the next couple days. Light lunch at Hog's Island Oyster Co: three Kusshi and three Kumamoto, a side of collard greens and a simple salad with cara cara oranges. Spent the rest of the day napping and reading Under Pressure (the new-ish Keller book on sous vide cooking). Dinner at The French Laundry lived up to the hype in every way. I wont go through the entire menu, but the highlights for me were the Cod Milt fritters, the sous vide Calotte beef, and, above all, the corned veal tongue with tuscan lentils, black trumpet mushrooms, and brussels sprouts. Incredible, earth-shattering stuff. I brought in a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin La Roja, which was ably paired with our cheese course (Tomme De L'Ariege was the cheese, served with green grapes, watercress, endives, and black truffles). We did a bunch of half-bottles to pair with the rest of dinner, all suggested by our Sommelier, Anani. Just an amazing experience. Afterwards, had a couple beers at the local dive bar, Panchas. Day 4: Split a Reuben and picked up a baguette at Della Fattoria bakery in Petaluma, then headed up to the Russian River brewpub, where we sampled the Perdition (a dark belgian), Sanctification (a 100% brettanomyces beer, incredible), Dead Leaf Green (an english pale), and Happy Hops (a "hopped up" blonde). Great beers. Drove up to Healdsburg but found Bear Republic closed for renovations, so we instead stopped into a local dive bar, B&B, where the best beer on offer was a Sierra Nevada Pale. Headed back down to Petaluma to hit Lagunitas, with a quick lunch stop at In & Out for a Double-Double, animal-style. Tour at Lagunitas was good, tasted the Pils, New Dogtown Pale (a big kick up in hop aroma from the previous version. great), IPA, Maximus, and Hairy Eyeball. Dinner at Ad Hoc completed the three-night cycle of Thomas Keller Yountsville restaurants. Family-style fixed menu included a salad with San Danielle proscuitto with a glass of sparkling white, main of Veal Parm with dried capers with Blue Apron beer, a good cheese course and a stellar buttermilk panna cotta. After all this, time to head in to SF. Day 5: Back to Napa, tour of Chandon, the sparkling producer. Terrible, useless tour, and wines that I couldn't get excited about at all. Lunch afterwards at Bottega was a great way to reverse the way the day was trending. Between the two of us, burrata with artichokes, salumi plate, short ribs, gnocchi. The burrata and short ribs were both great, the rest just pretty good. Terrible beer list, but we split part of a bottle of Italian Red and my buddy took the rest home. Drop him off, and back to SF. It was a good week.

5 days in SF/Napa. Day 1: breakfast at Swan Oyster Depot of six Kumamoto oysters and six cherry neck clams. Walked up and saw the view from Coit tower. Light lunch at Yank Sing To Go. I didn't read the the comments above closely enough...the takeout was ok, but clearly I should've spent the time and gotten sit-down dim sum. 1 steamed pork bun, 1 potsticker, 1 siu mye (also spelled shaomai, among others). Started the beer afternoon at 21st Amendment, with their 563 Imperial Stout (nicely balanced at 7.8%, on nitro) and a Brew Free or Die IPA (sticky cascade hops, quintessential west-coast IPA). Met up with a friend at Hotel Utah, a cool little dive bar, and had a Speakeasy White Lightning (simple american wheat). Followed with wine tasting at Press Club, an swanky multi-winery tasting facility. Large, underground, interesting. Tried wines from Montelena Estate, a Riesling, a Zin, a couple Cabs, and a Cab Franc. Takeout burgers from a mediocre joint out in Oakland, and that was that. Day 2: lunch at Zuni Cafe before leaving SF. Mini-sandwiches of preserved tuna, hard-boiled egg, capers, pickled veg and two Olympia and two Kumamoto oysters with a dry-ish Italian white wine whose varietal escapes me. Burger with house pickles with a Granache/Syrah blend. The first course(s) vastly overshadowed the greasy, slightly overcooked burger. Out to Berkley, where stops at Jupiter and Triple Rock brewpubs yielded two very nice IPAs (18 barrel and IPAX, respectively). Bought some big bottles at Ledger Liquors, lots of Port Brewing, some Russian River, weird Anderson Valley stuff, etc. Good beer shop. Then off to Napa. Day 3: Napa. Day 4: Napa. Drove down after dinner to SF, and hit Monk's Kettle, a new-ish beer bar in the Mission neighborhood. Lots of good taps, with a mostly Belgian focus, but unfortunately super-crowded. Had a Port Hop 15, the most over-the-top hoppy beer of the trip, just incredible aromatic, sticky, citric. Might need a little age to settle it down a bit, but still delicious. Walked over to the Haight to Toronado, which proved once again that it is the best place to drink beer in the US. It's a bit dive-y, cash only, and doesn't serve food. The bartenders can be more than a bit surly. These things somehow make it even more dear to me, and the beer list is just stupidly good. They were coming off a Stout festival and thus still had several of those great beers on draught in addition to the wide range of west-coast, Belgian, and German stuff. I had a 13oz Deschutes Abyss for $4.50. 'Nuff said. Day 5: Back to Napa, then back to SF. Beers at Thirsty Bear brewpub, a curious bar that has 9 house beers, a stellar liquor selection, and an extensive tapas menu for food. Only in SF. Enjoyed their IPA, and to a lesser extent, a Sweet Baby Jesus (Buffalo Trace bourbon, Averna Amaro, Maple Syrup, Meyer Lemon....great flavors, but the barkeep didn't strain too well and the drink had big chunks of ice floating on top). Walked over to the Bourbon and Branch speakeasy, where showing up just after 6pm (on a Friday, nonetheless) meant we were able to score two barstools. Being prime-time on a Friday probably didn't help our bartender's demeanor and openness, but the drinks were still delicious. A Rye Fizz, Bols Genever Old-Fashioned, and a Rolls Royce (Perfect Martini w/a bit of Benedictine). Trekked back out to Oakland to hit the Trappist, a great little neighborhood Belgian beer bar. I stuck with the west-coast beers, enjoying the hell out of a Drake's Denogginizer and a Lost Abbey Serpents Stout. Fin.

Ah nice, thanks for the link. My paper takeout menu doesn't have the authentic section at all.

I don't see belly specifically mentioned on the menu. Is it the "Roast Pork with Chinese Vegetables"?

best.first.post.ever

Click 1017 7th St NW (Warehouse Cafe) (202) 783-3933 Every Thursday, 6 p.m.-12 a.m.

Nice. My wind-down drink for the night just happens to be a Manhattan. CAF, and using Wild Turkey Rye since I've got very little experience with it. 1:1, with dashes of whiskey barrel bitters and a dash of orange bitters as well. Not sure the double-edged bitters approach works, or maybe it's something in the Turkey, but I'm not super happy with this one. It's good, but could be better.

Save water: drink beer.

Um, sorry, but no. I love the list at GM's, but it doesn't hold a candle to Brasserie Beck in the beer list department. Food might be better, though

Take-out lunch: big portion of fried catfish in thin strips (lost a little crunch on the way back to the office, but still tasty) with sweet pepper tartare sauce. The aforementioned super-buttery biscuits. A confused bleu cheese coleslaw. Overall, still a nice splurge ($14 after tax) if it weren't for that slaw.

Dinner for 8 Homemade Pate de Campagne (pork, pork liver, pistachio garnish, interior garnish of braised pork tongue), cornichons, homemade mustard Salad: arugula, homemade duck confit, cippolini onions, sherry vinaigrette, poached egg yolk Roast Chicken (brined, pistachio butter underneath skin), shaved brussels sprouts, duck fat fries Little ramekins of foie gras, jelly of brandied sour cherry juice and framboise beer Lemon bars (brought by a guest) Lots of work, but so fun to put together. I must've re-printed my prep list like 5 times as the week went on and the menu/steps evolved. The yolk on the salad didn't really work: the arugula blend I got from WholeFoods wasn't that structurally sound, so the yolk just slipped down to the bottom of the salad instead of being broken over the top like I've seen it done at restaurants. The rest turned out pretty well, nice mild liver flavor on the pate, chicken was pretty tasty, and the fries came out perfectly on the second fry at ~370. Only regret is that I was too busy to take pictures.

Go to NYC. Although there are places making belgian fries in DC (Beck, Belga, Granville Moore's), none of them compares to that place.

To me it just sounded like somebody who was really miffed by a long wait and let that mood carry on through the entire meal.

Anybody been to Paradigm at Neomi's Grill? The chef's blog is a real interesting read...lots of fun molecular gastronomy stuff.

I believe the target is now March, but I'm not promising anything

Another glassware giveaway event, this time with 4 Amurrica/Obama themed beers: Wolaver's Organic Pat Leavy's All-American Ale - I'm pumped to try this: the first organic beer made with American-grown organic hops (most organic hops are grown in NZ) Kona Pipeline Porter - Obama is from Hawaii! Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - Nothing more American than extreme beers, and this reigns supreme as the extremest. Avery Ale to the Chief - A "Presidential Pale Ale" that drinks like a Double IPA.

If anybody sees Spezial around, I'd be interested to hear. I prefer it to the Schlenkerla, but last time I saw it this side of the pond was at least three years ago. Kitsock says it's imported, though, so presumably it's around somewhere. P.S. the Harpoon rauch was nasty. I usually dig those 100-barrel series beers, but the last few I've tried have been off. The Leviathan, on the other hand...