synaesthesia

It's pretty obvious that there are two levels of sushi here, which I don't think is totally uncommon. The more popular items are pre-cut, such as the specials and the pieces that go into the maki. Then there are the items they fly in from Japan. The better, pricier, less popular items are treated with far more care than the others. Yes, some of the robata items are cooked sous vide. The machine is on the left rear counter when you come in through the doors. Says vacuum on it. You can see them slicing open sous vide bags. I just don't understand how items that appear to be long marinated do not really taste that way, which is kind of a disappointment.

Yes they do. I have a hard time resisting their chip and dips.

Stopped by with a bunch of friends on Saturday night for a post mud run dinner. We got two orders of Peking duck, which many others have mentioned is very good. The chef carves all the ducks table side, which is pretty impressive and talks to all the guests. They have a surprisingly high percentage of senior citizens as guests, but they are probably all regulars. We also ordered steamed dumplings, which were amazingly juicy almost like soup dumplings. Beef chow fun and fried halibut were okay. The halibut was heavily battered, a bit underseasoned, and cut up into pieces before frying like slightly large chicken nuggets. Our serve was a bit strange when we asked for fried bananas for dessert, denying us because the kitchen was too busy. This makes me wonder if their fried bananas are actually the caramelized kind and not just batter-dipped. But now we might never find out.

My sister made flaxseed cornbread. I've never tried the recipe myself. Just another idea might be to grind them up like sesame seeds into a paste sorta like tahini and add it to hummus? I feel like most variations are sweet, when it would very well in savory. I just bought an electric sesame seed grinder for this use amongst other spice grind purposes. I imagine you might have something like that from Japan?

The experience I had with Turtle Mountain is that the coconut is slightly in the background, but it also contributes to a slightly less thick texture. The chocolate one I tried is a little on the weaker end since there isn't the milk component to bolster it.

A bannoffee pie? Dear Sir, Please call it by its proper name. It's a proper British portmanteau!

I know you're from further north. We used to get chickens from Richardson Farms all the time when I was growing up. http://www.richardsonfarms.net/

Does your office not have a microwave? Fruit tart? Dunno if that fits into your other baked items you've done before. Those are delicious cold with a vanilla custard, and if you make a special crust like graham crackers, oreos or something. If you do a quiche... you could do candied bacon as a topping.

"The Passenger is hosting a Fallout Brunch this Sunday in anticipation of the area being cordoned off for the nuclear summit being held Monday and Tuesday. Starting at 2 p.m., they will have the usual brunch along with "nuclear drink specials, appropriately attired bartenders" and '80s music."

Wow that's awesome. I don't know what else is in the program, but it might not hurt to do a sort of "interval" training or circuit with some jumping jacks or running in place between exercises. From what I understand the combination is supposed to be pretty effective.

Scooter let me sample his burger from Againn. The small bite I had, had some really excellent beefy flavor. Obviously no one can make a call on a single bite, but it might be worth exploring.

I got a chance to try some of the snacks she prepared at a soft opening of Sidebar [DCist related article look]. The Chicago dog was fantastic, and her tamales are also amazing. The tamales were not too grainy, and the chicken was very moist. Even simple ideas such as flavored potato chips, and the truffled popcorn were great. She also did a very cool tortilla chip made from black rice topped with a little salsa. Housemade bread also fantastic. Lots to look forward to from Diana Davila, I think.

I don't know Jason personally, but I get the sense that if the lady have been nice and explained... Perhaps if she had said, nicely... I have three children, and I can't just buy two boxes because the third child will be upset if he/she doesn't get one, could I please have a third box I'm guessing he probably would have made an exception. But it sounds like she came out on the offensive. As for owners complaining... I can't see how it hurts this individual to be complained about. Maybe it will help teach other people to stop being such jerks. Lord knows there are enough in this city. ERGH.

Because people are stoopid. =D

A visit to Don Pollo over the weekend leads me to believe the chicken is just as good as or better than the Crisp N' Juicy locations I've visited (Rockville, Wheaton, and Tenley). The seasonings are fantastic, and there's also a little bit of charred flavor as well. And up until this point I never really understood the attraction of yucca fries over regular fries, but the ones at Don Pollo are really crisp, but incredibly creamy on the inside in a very different way. Also worth trying are the black beans with jalapeno, tomato, and corn. I don't think the mayo-like sauce can quite match that of Crisp N' Juicy, but their green sauce delivers a good bit of heat that I prefer to El Pollo Rico.

Quick summary of SF: Sushi Sam's (San Mateo) - My second trip here. We sat at the bar and ordered omakase. The most saucing they do is some yuzu and Japanese sea salt, or a little shoyu and wasabi. Had arctic char sushi for the first time, which was wonderful. The sardines are brought in from Japan, and don't have the intense fishiness of North American sardines. The toro is beyond amazing. It is lightly seared, which makes sense. Much like wagyu, you need some cooking to really activate the fats. They will instruct you not to use soy sauce if you try to start. It is interesting that if you are at the bar, and they don't know you that the chefs will watch your reactions and begin to choose according to your reactions. It is worth seeing if you can get an $8 rental car (they exist) to drive the short distance from SFO to San Mateo just to eat at Sam's. 10 pieces of exquisite sushi per person, green tea, and dessert ended up only being about $65 including tip. I'll warn you now. Do not order rolls here. They're sloppily made and do not receive attention from the chef because he does not consider it real sushi, and with the quality of the fish that you're getting you should be tasting fish, and not rice vinegar and sugar. Katana Ya (on Geary near Powell St, Union Square) - Visited for ramen on two nights. The first time I ordered the extra spicy, and enjoyed the broth a great deal and could taste the meatiness. However, I ordered a plain broth on a second late night visit. It was overly salty, and lacked the previous visit's intensity (maybe because it was late at night). However the noodles were still excellent, and the pork slice was wonderful. Other broth options such as miso are available, and you can choose rich over light broth. Ferment_everything and a friend joined me and ordered a version with fried chicken, fried gyoza and pork. It's a good place to stop if you're in the Union Square area and looking for something inexpensive. Kyoya (SoMa, in the Palace Hotel) - The service here was terrible, and the sushi was overpriced and flavorless. Hog Island Oyster Company (Embarcadero) - I always get a combination of oysters to try, and am always satisfied with the variety and quality. My cousin ordered their clam chowder, which was surprisingly light and came loaded with in-shell clams that were cooked on the spot. Some of the best clam chowder (in my limited experience of chowders) that I've had. Delfina - mdt mentioned this pizza place previously. If they have the meatballs on special, they're worth ordering. They're light and flavorful. We ordered a Napoletana pizza with capers, anchovies and olives. Salty, a little spicy, and with a crisp, but chewy crust. Bi-Rite Creamery - Had to go back and get the salted caramel ice cream, which we got alongside the brown sugar ginger. A single portion was more than enough between the two of us. The flavors are delicious, but our choices were perhaps way too sweet. Still... some really good ice cream.

Maybe the Japanese market on U and 17th?

Like the marketing major has been saying all along . And when I wake up, I'm going to blame it on late-night ramen.

Well there's a difference between him personally selling out and the network doing business. It may not be his choice.

He might not be the one getting the money from the Chase, but rather the Travel Channel. There's a vast difference between product placement (of which I am almost 100% sure this situation is without watching), and paying Tony as an endorser. The former is just business; the second would be him selling out. You can't get have a product flashed on a TV show in that manner without shelling out money to the network - that's why all of the products on Rachael Ray's show and many others are generic or have different labels. It's also why a lot of reality show have blurred out t-shirts, they have brand names on them.

Chocolate and regular salty oat cookies from Teaism. Jam or pasta sauce from Copper Pot. Red Apron beef jerky? (that might be more VA). J Chocolatier has some tasty dark chocolate truffles, salted caramel, and absinthe chocolates. If you're willing to extend to NOVA, Michel Patisserie macarons are awesome. Also check out Cork Market to see what they have... there might be some good options there.

Last week they held some kind of tasting for a new menu. So unless they really sprang it as a surprise on them that they were closing, seems unlikely.

BTW. The house-cured sardines are amazing. This just further cemented my love of sardines.

There's a Japanese market above Temari Cafe. I just don't know the name. It's not really much better than the place on U Street, but it might be more convenient for some folks.

Two of us got one of the tables by the bar pretty easily around 6:30pm. I've also gone close to 5:30 on weekdays and had no problems. I've gone in pretty late on Saturdays and had the place practically to myself.