RWBooneJr

Enjoy this simple recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlK0Xd4c2c

Patricia Heaton. See: http://www.patriciaheatononline.com/pharti...0/aol_chat.html "Question: If you weren't an actress, what would you be doing? Patricia Heaton: Hmmm. Probably a full time mom. At this point, having kids. If I didn't have children, and I was going to have another profession, I would like to go back to school and get a degree in English Literature. Or possibly go to the seminary Theology! But I also take cooking classes occasionally, so I think if I wanted to on work and still have my children, if we were hypothetically speaking, maybe something with food!"

I had a great lunch at PS 7's today: a well executed "wedge" salad with iceberg, pancetta, and a bleu cheese-like dressing; a really outstanding lamb steak with arugula, (more) bleu cheese, and artichokes, and some incredible mini-doughnuts. I was inspired to come in for a proper lunch by a similarly enjoyable experience in their lounge one evening last week, which included some tuna tartare "sliders," a duck confit, brie, and braised potato dish that reminded me of an upscale beef stew, and some solid cocktails and wines offered by the glass. I hope that this place gets the support it deserves. If you haven't been in, you should definitely give it a try.

This is such good news. I have been waiting for a restaurant in DC that serves takoyaki for a very long time.

It's actually May's, a crab house in the industrial part of Frederick, MD (on 355, south of downtown). I've never been, but I have friends that love the place. I prefer to get my crabs somewhere other than "the industrial part of Frederick, MD." Feel free to make jokes about other places in Frederick, MD to get crabs.

My apologies if I missed something, but is it true, as it would seem, that Mr, Rockwell no longer writes the wine column for Washingtonian?

Maybe I state the obvious, but far to many "foodies" put far too much stock in reviews, and I am not particularly moved when they, or restaurateurs, complain about reviews, grandiose expectations of the "restaurant experience" based on these reviews, or perceived slights when these unreasonable expectations are not met. Both contingencies depend on these reviews, and both, obviously, exploit them (hence the topic “review season,” which implies some kind of a “bait and switch,” which, in most other industries, they would call “fraud.”) Restaurants reviews are snapshots. A picture may tell a thousands words, but none of them can ever describe how things taste or how they feel. That is why we depend on the opinions of others. Others like Tom Seitsema of the Washington Post or Todd Kliman of Washingtonian. They have great taste, are great writers, and we are lucky to have them chronicle dining in our city (VERY LUCKY). But their reviews are only guidelines; a far more educated version of a trusted friend giving you a restaurant tip. Restaurant reviews aren't anything more than snapshots of what someone experienced on a handful of occasions, sometimes before a restaurant, which is a crazy, organic, ever-changing thing, settles in or decides what it wants to be. And sometimes, as previously discussed, a favorable review is the result of a veteran restaurateur gaming the system (I'm not heaping criticism on Michael -- I've never been to one of his restaurants due to geographic and practical limitations, but I think I may finally make it to one or both this month -- and I absolutely can't wait) (And Michael, if you want to take me at RTS today -- Saturday -- and tell me I'm an idiot and to shut up, I'm in town and have no plans -- and I will, actually, shut up). Regardless, these days “review season” never ends. The very existence of “DonRockwell.com,” as well as Tom's and Todd's chats/blogs, ensures that restaurants can't rest on their laurels, at least not with the “food literate” (some bad restaurants will do well regardless of how they are received by the food press or self-appointed few that try to keep the press “honest,” but those -- indeed most -- restaurants that rely on word-of-mouth or "buzz" will lose it if they lose the dedicated few). Big brother (or, in this case big reviewer) is always watching. Or maybe little brother (i.e. you and me).

I think Anthony Bourdain did as well, at least to the extent that he extolled the fish's virtue in his over-worshiped, but thoroughly enjoyable memior. Anyway, I'm waiting for bluefish sushi. Like mackerel, only stinkier. I can't wait.

My apologies if it has been suggested here or elsewhere, but I think that "gastrophile" is the appropriate word. It combines "gastro" as in gastronomy (n. The art or science of good eating) and "phile" as in Francophile (n. A person who admires France, its people, or its culture). So the definition of gastrophile would be "A person who admires good eating, the purveyors of good eating, and the culture of good eating." Sounds about right to me.

Oddly, the single best crab-related dish that I had at any restaurant last year was the crab cakes at the Cozy. They were shockingly expensive for the setting -- over $30 for two -- but were huge and packed with fresh, sweet lumps of crab. There is no question that they were made from actual blue crab meat, not the asian swimming crab stuff that even the high-end places are now passing off as the genuine article. Perhaps my experience was exceptional -- I was only there once and everything else I saw, either on the buffet or from the kitchen, looked horrid (right down to the canned green beans that someone mentioned). But the two cakes I got that day were unbelievable. It reminded me of why I used to like crab cakes and why I almost never get them now.