cgarden

A word to the wise -- call before driving all the way across town for brunch! We showed up at 1 on Sunday (brunch is usually served until 2:30), and were told unceremoniously that they were closing early, so we couldn't be fed. We ended up having to go to Tabard Inn to get our doughnut fix.

More on the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership that the original article mentioned. Apparently gray squirrels, originally brought to England as pets, are rapidly displacing red squirrels. The guy who runs the RSPP sounds a little bonkers, but if he's going to go around whacking squirrels on the head anyway, then certainly better to eat them than not.

Nope!

Link.

Two friends and I had a tasty dinner at Bebo on Saturday. I started with the beet/tomato/arugula salad, which was probably the low-point of the meal - the salad tasted alright, but at about $10.00, it seemed pretty small and not really "worth it." Also, as has been noted upthread, the very soft cheese that came with it did not stand up to the other flavors, and didn't bring much to the party. On to the pizza - I had the onion and gorgonzola pizza, which I really enjoyed. The outer edges were very crisp and nicely charred (the crust at the center of the pizza was quite soft, but I don't think it could have been otherwise, given the toppings on the pizza - anyway, I liked the contrast). My co-diners had the pork shoulder calzone and the basic tomato/cheese pizza, and both disappeared very quickly. A word on service -- we had no problems at all -- water glasses were refilled several times throughout the meal; the waiter came over a few times to ask, in a very concerned tone of voice, whether everything was alright; and when the bus-person/runner initially brought over the wrong salad, the waiter was at the table in about two seconds flat to fix the problem. Overall, I can definitely see us returning for pizza.

We got cauliflower yesterday, which has always been among my least-favorite vegetables - does anyone have any ideas for ways to disguise it? I suppose incorporating it in curry is always a safe bet...

While in line, you have to be prepared to say what kind of tortilla you want, and whether you want cheese. The "small" burrito comes without any rice, which can get messy to eat, especially if you opt for black beans. The complaint that I've heard is that there isn't any meat available, but (not caring about that factor) I like this place, especially since lunch options around McPherson Square are fairly limited.

I've never tried Mixtec, so I'm no help in the comparison department.

On Monday, I made a recipe I found online from realsimple: Glazed Tofu with Bok Choi. I was pretty pleased with the results - you cook the bok choi with garlic (I used garlic scape as well) and veggie stock, and then separately sear the tofu with soy, fish sauce, brown sugar, more garlic (and scape!), and sesame oil, then combine. The recipe calls for 2 head of bok choi, but clearly was not contemplating the enormous heads that we've been getting in our CSA. One was more than enough.

Anybody tried the patio since it opened?

We went on the first night it opened (I think last Tuesday). Owen had the patio special (2 mini hot dogs that come with chips and a Brooklyn lager all for, I think, $10.00), and I had a glass of wine and the tuna sliders, and we shared the mushroom spring rolls. Owen seemed to think the dogs were a little greasy, but the price was definitely right. The tuna sliders were excellent, and the mushroom spring rolls were fine, but not all that different-tasting from a regular spring roll at a decent Chinese place. The service was extremely accomodating - when we showed up, there wasn't an open table on the patio, so the waitstaff brought one out from inside. I think we'd go back - it had kind of a "something for everyone" vibe.

I managed to put the Kohlrabi bulb to use this weekend - julienned it (even on the mandoline, this was hard work - the bulb is nearly rock-hard) along with an apple, mixed in some dried cranberries, and topped with a lemon/mustard vinagrette. I was pretty pleased with the result. I'm going to attempt to do something with the greens tonight (from what I've heard, they can be treated like chard, so I think I'm just going to cook them down in a pan with chili flakes and garlic). Still lots to use before this week's pickup on Tuesday, though!

What the heck is this stuff: scape; sorrel; kohlrabi? And what the fuck am I suppose to do with it.

I'm in the same position - my fridge is full of choi, I've stuffed everything that fell into the "green, leafy" category into a large tupperware container, and I have very little idea where to go from here (particularly because I don't think all of the green leafy veggies are supposed to be eaten raw in a salad, but there's no hope of separating them, much less identifying them). I've heard scape goes well in omelettes, though.

Had a very nice burger and order of onion rings at EatBar last night after getting trounced on the tennis courts.

We were there too last night (in fact, I think that, based on your order, that we overlapped - those onion rings looked good). We were sort of all over the map in terms of what we ordered - I tried the tuna/citrus salad (a bit undersalted), the asparagus (tasty), a risotto fritter (made of a fairly sweet corn risotto, and comes with a very good remoulade), and some cheese (one was a nice creamy humboldt fog; the other was some sort of mild-tasting, floppy, gouda-like cheese that wasn't really our favorite). Also a nice glass of the wine of the day, a riesling. Anyway, I can definitely see coming back here (but will have to be more careful to avoid falling into the tapas/small plate trap of going in for a snack and a glass of wine, then ordering one of everything).

Just got back from lunch - had the asparagus (very tasty) and the tuna burger. My tuna burger experience was slightly marred by the presence of mayonnaise (which I had asked for on the side - I just don't generally like mayo on anything). I think, though, that I'd order something else next time - not that the tuna burger wasn't good, but it wasn't as "new and different" as I'd hoped. I also had the kitkat for dessert, which lived up to expectations.

Does anyone know of a bar near the convention center that can hold about 20 people for a Friday afternoon happy hour? It would be right around 5 pm in late June. I've been to the Old Dominion located at the convention center, and the bar area isn't really all that big. I would prefer to avoid RFD. Any thoughts?

You might consider Ella's Wood-Fired Pizza - my former employer had a going away party for some departing employers there last year, and it worked out pretty well. There was a fairly big bar area that was empty except for us (though I don't think our function was on a Friday), and the restaurant provided free pizza (they'd put out a couple of pies at a time and then make more, in different kinds, as we went through it). The pizza was not the best I've ever had, but you can't beat free. There very well could have been drink specials too.

I saw at least 3 other tables of Rockweilers

We were one of those groups - we ate at the bar and Owen had the bacon and chopped steak. He really loved the bacon (it did smell fantastic) and the gravy on the chopped steak. I had the scallop appetizer with a side of mac and cheese (one note about the mac and cheese, which is very good - it used to be available with blue cheese, and now that option isn't listed - if it's possible to ask for blue cheese, I'd highly recommend it as it gives the dish a nice tang). We brought home about two more meals' worth of leftovers.

What is the salmon with lentils like (beyond the obvious)? I'm heading to Central for lunch on Tuesday, and will be ordering something seafood-oriented.

a small pitcher of simple syrup

So that's what that was. I poured my iced tea, wondered about the little pitcher alongside it, but then forgot about it and never asked (since I dislike sweetened iced tea, I wouldn't have used it even if I had identified it). I won't take up extra space by reiterating Gnatharobed's comments in detail (the upshot: Friday lunch very tasty, only 'miss' was the shrimp croquettes), but will just add that the service was excellent and our waiter was very knowledgeable - particularly impressive considering it was the first week. Also, it's definitely possible to have lunch on the (relative) cheap - we easily would have had enough to eat if we'd shared just the mussels and salad (which would left the bill at well under $20 each).

Sorry; trying again - link

Bill Clinton and Rachel Ray are now "partners in the fight against childhood obesity"

Does anybody know how the $32 Prix Fixe works? Is it a separate menu, or are you simply allowed to order off the full menu?

You can order a subset of the regular menu, though the menu available online does not denote which dishes are available. I do remember that when I went last week, the scallop appetizer was not available on the prix fixe menu.

Stinking Bishop

That has been tried.

Here's a link to a similar non-profit venture in Boston that I saw on the Food Network recently.

I have actually wondered the same thing and it would make sense if there was a lot of sauce/liquid. Anyone want to try it?

I've successfully done this - I make a sauce with canned crushed tomatoes as the base, so it turns out relatively thin (and thickens some during the cooking process) and use lots of it (in particular, I make sure that the top layer of pasta is thorougly covered in sauce) as well as adding some extra water (maybe a cup, less if there isn't enough room) to the dish before putting it in the oven. It probably takes longer to cook, but the results are good.

I went last week for my first Zen bar experience. As one of my friends said, "This was the first meal that has actually lived up to the hype." Every bite, from the first bite of a mushroom amuse to the last of the creme fraiche mousse was divine.

I had the tuna tartare appetizers with couscous and a passionfruit sauce. The star though was my monkfish with braised golden potatoes, artichokes and olives in a lobster broth. Simple yet elegant. A week later I can still taste the background hints of lobster that accompanied each bite.

For dessert I had the cheese plate. Nicely done, lived up to what you would expect from a Citizen cheese plate. I'm told the pear tarte was great, and it must have been because I wasn't offered a bite. All I got was the left over creme fraiche mousse, which was unbelievable.

Worth every penny and every bit of hype.

I went toward the end of January and also had the tuna tartare and monkfish. First, I could have eaten an entire plate of the mushroom amuse - I scraped what white truffle sauce I could up off the plate with my fork, and came very close licking up the rest.

The tuna tartare was very good, though it has tropical flavors (passionfruit sauce, I believe) that seemed a bit out of place in the middle of winter. (For his first course, Owen had the rabbit boudin, which he raved about - his favorite course of the evening). I agree with Hillvalley's assesment of the Monkfish.

I had the pear tart for dessert - I don't usually particularly like pears, but this was fantastic. It had a shortbread-type crust that I particularly liked. The best way to describe it is probably as a cross between a pear tart and a cookie.

On the way out, the member of staff who retrieved our coats asked how we heard about the bar menu, and we 'fessed up to having read about it here - the staff person made a funny comment about how he had heard of DR before, but he didn't understand how people with jobs had time to read about food on the internet.

BTW, I walked by the place on 18th Street this afternoon and it looks like they are getting ready to open. Stay tuned.

The word from the folks at the Falafelshop is Monday, but then again, they were the same folks who told us "January 15."