Seanchai

My objections are much more on the "dude" level. It isn't like you can have a list of 500 celebrities you're allowed to sleep with and you throw her in at number 498 because your admiration of the claim she's brought home cooking to the non-food obssessed. Man, you only have 5 !!! and you are wasting one on Miss Junk in the Trunk?! To everyone else, I apologize for the frat-boy interlude. Please return to your high-minded conversation.

I was told that there would be no math in this debate ...

Actually, ordering it medium rare seemed to work just fine as well. Very flavorful and not dusty

Great, just what I'm looking for. Thanks!

Anybody know a decent place to grab a beer near 11th and 51 st.? My wife and I are going to a Daily Show taping and wouldn't mind stepping into some place for a good beer before or after the show. As a native NYer who spends most of his time below 34th st., that part of Manhattan is completely foreign to me.

Does anybody have suggestions for what herbs might be suitable for year round indoor herb pots? I've finally gotten my rosemary well established outside and it's having no problems with the mild winter. Nonetheless, I would kill for having an endless supply of fresh flat-leaf parsley, thyme, oregano, maybe even cilantro. Can these be cultivated and maintained indoors?

I don't know about anybody else, but I actually received my free copy of The Nasty Bits yesterday.

There's a store for them? You know, now that you're mentioning it, "assholes" do seem to have flooded the area's roads lately.

Bad news: My local Harris Teeter stores are no longer carrying Three Floyd beers from Indiana (sob!). The Alpha King is my favorite beer over the last 2 years, first tasted at the Hopleaf bar in Chicago. Good news: They have just started carrying the Heavy Seas line of Clipper City beers. Loose Cannon is sitting in my fridge like a coiled snake, ready to strike. Me likey.

Since the December issue is still on the racks here in central VA, I haven't seen the issue yet. Interestingly enough, of the five casual places we visited on our last trip up to DC (PP in Georgetown, 2 Amys, Dino, Jaleo and Bourbon), all were very good but Paradiso was the only one to really wow us.

Really? When we travelled to Philly this summer I found that EG forum very active and informative. Maybe just a hoilday slowdown or has there been a purge there?

A little cookbook that I keep going back to again and again is Rick Bayless' Salsas That Cook. I have his other more comprehensive cookbooks but I keep coming back to Salsas for the simple reasons that everything I try out of that book has turned out great.

Radicchio Cafe in north Old City is a great modern Italian BYOB. Had an excellent lunch there in June of this year, with a focus on the scallops and fresh seafood. Clean. distinct cooking, very enjoyable vibe with a lot of regulars bringing their Tuesday afternoon hooch.

On Christmas Eve we had a bottle of Rogue Santa's Private Reserve ale. Rich, brown and surprisingly hoppy. We left one out for Santa and we discovered he was kind enough to leave the empty in the recycle bin. Gotta be a nice change from all that milk he drank.

Actually, this Saturday I'm heading to the Route 11 factory store in Middleton, VA (just north of the I-81/I-66 junction) to buy a couple of their gift tins.

Bear Republic's Racer 5 India Pale Ale - Hoppy hoppy, joy joy.

With the wife just starting to feel better after 3 days of fever and chills, it was time to put out old school comfort food: garlic studded roast bottom round beef with pan gravy, served with egg noodles and steamed green beans. Maybe you can go home again.

While I thoroughly enjoy wine, beer and the occasional vodka drink, I'm never been a big fan of hard liquor. Whether this was due to the communal shots of Jameson and Irish Mist I took part in while working in one of DC's Irish pubs or because of a very unfortunate college incident involving tequila and squad cars, I can not say. Nevertheless, my friends from the pub have given me numerous bottles of Irish whiskey (just basic Jameson or Bushmills) as holiday gifts over the years and they are just collecting dust in a cabinent. Lately I''ve had the belated brainstorm of trying to cook with it. I'm not looking for recipes here but rather basic ideas about what are some creative (and safe) ways to use the "water of life". What does whiskey pair well with? Can you use it in braising the odd cut of meat, etc.? Is there such a thing as whiskey soup ? Any contributions would be much appreciated.

Lunched on Saturday at the Georgetown location, and while I have a limited sample from which to judge, I have to say that this pizza pimp slaps Two Amys. I had the Atomica while my wife had the Bosco and we loved them both, especially the fantastic crust. Once you add the incredible beer list, it's a hard to beat combo. While I haven't had many of the small plate or dessert options from Two Amys that people rave about, I can't imagine enjoying them more than the special crostini we had at PP with fresh buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto di Parma. This was one of those rare lovely occasions where I came in with moderate expectations and was blown away by the quality.

Coming into DC on one of our rare visits without the we'uns, we decided to head to Dino this past Saturday night. The food was very good (we had the small prosciutto plate, half order of the wild boar pasta and the lasagnette al ragu) with the exception of the polenta with sausage, which was excellent and quite distinctive in taste. However, I do have to give a special shout-out to the hospitality of the floor staff. After placing our food and drink order, we received our wine quickly but the small plates were missing in action for about 15 minutes. Living in a college town, we are sadly used to , shall we say, service lacking in alacrity, so didn't really notice any delay as it was Saturday night anf the joint was jumping. Just as I was about to comment to my wife that the first course seemed a bit slow, the floor manager came over and apologized for the delay, saying there was a mixup in the kitchen. We were somewhat bemused but appreciative of the thought and the rest of the food arrived promptly. Service and good eats proceeded apace until it was time for the bill, when I realized to my astonishment that they had taken both small plates off the bill. Somewhat stunned, we doublechecked with the waiter to see if there was a mistake and he again apologized for the delay and confirmed the final bill. Needless to say, we were very impressed by the graciousness and the hospitality extended and very much look forward to our next visit to Dino.

Be very careful about long term absences from Trader Joe's. Not having been in about 2 1/2 months, I was like a frat boy at an open bar today. Sure I'm ashamed, but I'm also chewing as I type this.

I'm currently munching on Uncle Henry's Extra Dark Handmade Pretzels. Sweet lord, are they tasty.

Article in Salon asks if there is a real difference between a $500 wine and a $25 wine. Link below. Might need to see some ads first

Zocalo teeters on the edge of just being trendy, but consistently digs down to offer serious value at the bar or ther dining table.

I've got a new addition to the rotation: from the October 2006 Food & Wine, the Apple-Riesling Roast Pork. Roast pork loin (instead of tenderloin) with apple/sausage/goat cheese stuffing with apple cider riesling sauce wrapped in applewood smoked bacon (finished on the grill for crisping the bacon). Served with egg noodles and broccoli; standing O from the 5 and 3 year olds as well as wife and mother-in-law!