Seanchai

Fuek Co. is just northeast of the downtown pedestrian mall. It's owned by Patricia Kluge, who also has founded the boutique winery Kluge Estates. And by boutique I mean expect to pay a lot of money for something that is just OK.

Going trick or treating in my neighborhood in Queens, NY in the 1970s was all about taking advantage of a small window of opportunity. We had about an hour and a half to get home from school, change into a "costume" (post age 6, anything for a boy other than dressing in old clothes, rubbing a blackened cork over your face and calling yourself a bum was sneered at and mocked) and collect as much loot as possible before the big kids got home. For those guys, it was more about the trick than the treat, although they weren't above stealing your candy. Armed with intact eggs, egg shells packed with syrup, cans of Barbasol shaving cream modified with aerosol caps so you can shoot it over 30 feet and the always feared cans of Nair hair removal cream, they would turn the streets into a free-for-all zone from 4:30 p.m. on where anyone under the age of 21 was a potential target and grudges were avenged. Basically, it was as close to "wilding" as I ever saw growing up. Oh yes, back to my "happy place": the candy. I was lucky enough to pre-date the fun-size candy era and the fullsize Hershey and Nestle products were much treasured for their trading capital. Other things dropped into trick-or treater bags: loose, unwrapped candy corns, pennies, mass cards (never hit THAT house again), apples (thrown at the big kids to slow down their first attack) and individual pieces of DoubleBubble gum, which you were obligated to jam all into your mouth, no matter how many. Ah, youth.

The LTH forum, Chicago's version of DonRockwell, strongly encourages this practice with a restaurant's initial mention in a thread as well. I think it definitely helps, especially with the new places out in the burbs.

Big time comfort food (acquired southern style): Oven braised Carolina pork shoulder BBQ. Once the BBQ/ vinegar smell kicks in: patience until until it is fully cooked. Got a balsamic/dijon non-mayo cole slaw workin, just have to wait it out from here.

I have to give a shout out to a good friend: P.J. Lavelle working Saturday nights at Murphy's of DC for more than 15 years. He's worked hard to provide a haven for locals at this tourist cash cow.

Wow. As someone who hasn't been on the DC bar/Irish pub circuit since the early 90's, even I remember hearing stories about the legendary Rodney.

When hungover in the dark days of living as a YUFfie (Young Urban Failure) on Euclid St. and then Summit Place in AM, I treated the Trio small pizza with sausage and pepperoni as my jumbo slice. My God, at that time I say we deserved each other. That is to say, we were a mixed blessing .

Busted out Rick Bayless's tomatillo braised pork loin again. Perfect for a chilly night in central VA.

Tri Tip steaks with bulgogi marinade I got off the web. Pretty good, but I wouldn't mind a better bulgogi recipe if anyone has one out there.

Are the great happy hour specials still available on Fridays?

Tonight - Grilled pork tenderloins with applewood-smoked bacon wraps and Granny Smith apple-pork stuffing accompanied by apple cider riesling sauce Roasted red potatoes Steamed broccoli with fresh lime juice Last night - Mussels and chorizo in tomato-basil sauce over linguini with fresh crusty ciabatta to mop up Tomorrow - let the belt out a notch

Yeah, I thought about doing that too but I get tired of the same old, same old

Any news on this front?

Thank you for this info, but I'm still a little confused (please see dimness outlined above). Is reducing, reducing, reducing cooked pumpkin the only way to get that pumpkin flavor I love or am I confusing the flavor with the spices usually added to the pumpkin?

To ask a really stupid question (a specialty of mine), what are you guys using for pumpkin? I bought a small pumpkin (labeled for cooking as opposed to carving) for the pumpkin orzo I made Saturday night. Between hacking my way in, scooping all the seeds and chipping away with the paring knife to get a few scraps, I ended up with just enough stuff that ultimately didn't taste, well, pumpkiny, but rather like squash. Do you folks use the canned pumpkin puree or did I do something particularly dim?

Grilled sesame-ginger chicken breasts Near East rice pilaf Steamed garden green beans Minute Maid limeade After my braised short ribs/pumpkin orzo cooking marathon yesterday, sometimes it's nice to knock out dinner in 25 minutes. Plus, my little boys liked this one better

Beef Bourguignon and just generally cooking/braising with wine Savory dishes involving pumpkin (actually, looking for some suggestions here) Green pork loin chili

How about going to the produce section and letting them pickout what they want for a stir-fry? My boys like the process of deciding what to cook and in what order. Anything using the food processor is also a big hit, although that could be a "guys playing with toys" thing

This show very unexpectedly became a guilty pleasure of mine, although I only caught the last 10 shows of the first season. I noticed the new season of Top Chef is kicking off in late October ... I will resist this time, I WILL.

The mother-in-law makes sure to bring down Uncle Henry's PA Dutch handmade pretzels (regular and extra dark) from Chambersburg, PA whenever she visits. They are available over the web but kind of pricey. Man can not live on Utz and Snyder's alone (and don't even suggest that Roll Gold are "OK". It insults my intelligence and makes me very angry. A day's work is not complete without a Godfather quote ).

Chipotle/cascabel chile glazed roast chicken Rosemary garlic mashed potatoes Sauteed green beans with chopped pine nuts Chery Garcia frozen yogurt Mark West California pinot noir All accompanied by a lovely Giants win that helped digestion immeasurably

While in Philly earlier this summer, I had a chance to visit the renowned Standard Tap in the Northern Liberties neighborhood (website). Great jukebox, relaxed, non-fussy vibe, fresh nicely executed food classics at extremely reasonable prices, local beer. Can anybody nominate what might be the local equivalent of a "gastro-pub" or which place might come closest?

I think that's more the exception, not the rule. If you use Citysearch Philadelphia online, you can tell if a specific BYOB does not take credit cards.

A lot of the more unique food choices in Charlottesville are dinner-only, so your options are a little more limited. On or near the downtown mall, the Shebeen has been mentioned (I'm pretty sure they have a website) and I would recommend that as well, although not as enthusistically as I would in the past. The food can be quite good, but the service and food quality are not as consistent as they once were. Bizou is a solid choice as is Hamilton's for interesting American food. Great takeout BBQ can be had at Jinx's on east Market St. east of downtown in the Woolen Mills neighborhood. The inside is, shall we say, eclectic, and about the size of a very large phone booth. The Blue Bird Cafe on West Main St. between the Corner and downtown, a dining staple for many years in Cville, is open for lunch and does a respectable if not exciting job. Christian's pizza has interesting pizza by the slice as well as calzones and is the local fave. Actually, several nice lunch options can be accessed in the Main Street Market on West Main on the other side of the street from the Blue Bird. There is a great cheese shop called Feast that has a little cafe attached, Seafood at West Main has started doing lunch takeout specials, La Ciboulette is supposed to be quite good and there is a great European style bakery as well (Albemarle Baking Company). Enjoy!

Love all of the suggestions, will file away for next time. Meal got a standing O from the fam and an extra lick from the dog. Like Dan said, it's all about good fresh ingredients and maybe a little something differenrt added in. As always, you guys inspire me to take the next step, thanks.