Seanchai

Forgot to mention I add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper at the end as well as frequently sauteeing chopped T's chicken Italian sausage first for a little frond before starting with the oil and garlic. I like the pepperflakes and breadcrumbs suggestions. I will go downstairs and try right now!

I make a very simple pasta dish using pasta, lightly sauteed split cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil and grated hard cheese. While it's a crowd pleaser between the wife, 2 little boys and Bridie the dog, I'm thinking it needs ... something. What is that something that will, uh, kick it up a ... no, can't even type it. Ideas?

Hey, all you can ask for is service with a smile. He sounds like a real problem-solver!

On my last visit to Philly I had the roast pork with sharp provolone and greens at DiNic's. Without equivocation I can say it was the best sandwich I've had in the last 5 years. Cheesteak with the Wiz? (stifling gag reflex)

Sure, come see us in Charlottesville. No one else will be here this fall

Roast tri trip? I obtained flank strip-looking tri tips from Harris Teeter and I'm thinking I need to marinate and grill on high heat. Are there alternate/better ways to cook this trendy cut of meat?

At an unnamed Irish pub here in town that I worked at off and on for four years, they knocked down a storage shed next to the pub that had been home to hundreds (and I mean HUNDREDS) of rats. After closing we would sit at the bar enjoying our shift drink(s) and hear the "lads" sprinting back and forth in the heating ducts over our head. After the exterminator finally came, sealed the place and gassed them, we had groggy, dying rats appearing in unexpected places at unexpected times. One unfortunate evening, a customer had just finished complaining about a ketchupy thumbprint on the edge of her plate when the rotted ceiling tile directly above the table crumbled and two listless rats fell on the table. Kind of placed the thumbprint in the proper perspective.

As someone living in the heart of central VA wine country for the past 11 years, that is a very apt observation. 10 years ago nearly all wineries down here had the nothing but the usual suspects: Chard, Cab Sav and Merlot with pretty mediocre results. Led the way at least in part by Horton, Cab Franc and Viognier are varietals that are recognized to do particularly well in VA and more and more wineries are hopping on the bandwagon. Dennis Horton is the mad scientist throwing vines in the ground and seeing what sticks. Plus, the wine-making skill of the various wineries is improving to the point where you're starting to have less of the wild variability in taste from year to year and are having a more consistently good (not great) product. Now if we can do something about the prices ...

Eric Asimov of the NY Times? Don't know if he qualifies as major ...

OK, so I purchased one of those premade polenta rolls that resembles the packaging of a Jimmy Dean sausage. It's been sitting in my fridge for a month now as I'm not quite sure how I should use it. Do I slice it into thin rounds and sit roasted pork on it with accompanying au jus? Do I treat it like a rice base in a stir-fry? Do I let it harden, cut out coin-sized slices and use as slugs in a soda machine? Is it worth any bother? Please help with any and all suggestions.

The little bar room in the lower level has a great atmosphere and is a fun place for late night drinks.

Off a trip this past June, I can recommend the following low to midddle brow places: Dinic's in the Reading Terminal Market - The roast park with sharp provolone and greens was the best sandwich I've had in the last 5 years. Sloppy and wonderful. Radicchio Cafe - Italian BYOB north of Old City - had a wonderful scallops with grilled radicchio appetizer there for lunch; everything we had was wonderful. Eulogy tavern and Monk's - Two great Belgian taverns with many variations of steamed mussels with frites. Cool places to grab a drink along with tasty bites included Cantina El Caballito and Royal Tavern in south Philly, Tria near Rittenhouse Square and Standard Tap in Northern Liberties.

Old Milwaukee was the go-to beer in central NY in the mid 80s. While it was swill and it was cheap, drinking it allowed us to sneer at the rubes imbibing Milwaukee's Be(a)st. Mickey's Big Mouth just plain scared us. When you were drinking classy, it was St. Pauli's Girl (strictly because the accompanying picture of the comely beer maiden) or Heineken.

I always enjoyed the late night/early morning vibe at B&E's back in the day, more than the various Tastee Diners and the Au Pied du Chon in Georgetown. Rather than just late night hipsters or drunk college kids, there was always a real cross-section of humanity at Bob and Edith's. You'd have the late bar/restaurant crews, military guys, hookers, etc. and you always seemed to run into random people you hadn't seen in years. That's a fun place, glad to hear it's still going strong.

As I inferred, things got blurry after a while Thanks for the correction. Another trend I noticed in Philly was a big emphasis on Belgian beers. Aside from Eulogy and Monk's who specialized, nearly every half-way decent pub/tavern had a nice selection on tap. While at Eulogy I had to indulge in the obligatory pot of mussels. Never had been an aficionado before, Hopleaf in Chicago got me started on that kick.

On a recent trip to Philly it was brought forcibly to my attention by a number of persuasive bartenders that there are number of great breweries making quality product in PA. Troeg's, Harpoon, Sly Fox, Victory are some off the top of my head that I really enjoyed. Gotta say, the tastiest beer I've had lately is one that I was introduced to in Chicago, Three Floyds Alpha King. I think the brewery is over the border from Chicago in Indiana, but excellent stuff.

Rappahannock Cellars literally just down the road from Oasis is much, MUCH better. Alas, while the people there are warm and welcoming with a lovely tasting room, the wines are pretty pricey.

Treznor makes a good point about tempering expectations for the VA wines. They are definitely best enjoyed on site, but finding tasty ones that are also good values is kind of tricky. My local wine shop owner used to be a wine wholesaler and he always bemoans the fact that most VA wineries don't put wines at the full range of price points. He can't stock many VA wines because they simply won't move off his shelf at that price point ($15-$30). Horton Cellars is an exception to this rule, putting out a number of wines every year under $15. The problem is, for many of the wineries it doesn't seem to matter. Come late fall, many of the more popular wineries around Charlottesville (White Hall, King Family, Veritas to name a few) have sold out of the most recent vintages. It remains to be seen whether the VA wine industry is happy just being a regional tourist destination or whther they have more ambitions to make a name in the wine world.

There is definitely a geographical gravitational pull at work here. When I lived in Adams Morgan, I didn't have a car and almost never left the District. When I moved to Arlington, I was commuting via car within Arlington and going into DC, much less Maryland, was way too much of a hassle except for special occasions. Living out in central VA now, I commute monthly for 90 minutes each way just to get to Trader Joe's, so I like to think my food/drink priorities have changed for the better

Anybody ever try the 1999 Virgin Hills out of Australia? My wine guy here in Charlottesville put me on this Bordeaux blend. I'm a wine novice trying to educate my palate on a public educator's budget. While I'm not above trolling the cheapo bargain non-Shaw wine choices at Trader Joe's, any recs for tasty reds retailing under $15 (espcially Italian) would be greatly appreciated.

I use a version of the Tomatillo-Braised Pork Loin outlined in Bayless' Salsas That Cook. I highly recommend this book (as well as the rest of his books), all of the recipes I've tried from there have been great. I tend to make a big batch of his roasted tomatillo salsa (roasted tomatillos, white onion, garlic and serranos with water, cilantro and salt/sugar added later), use some and freeze the rest. The tomatillo salsa shows little ill effect from the freezing, although his roasted tomato/jalopeno salsa tends to separate. I must say, the roasted tomato jalopeno salsa is my go-to party salsa as everyone loves it.