captcourt

Friends over last night, hadn't cooked for them before, so +1 and I decided to go all out, meaning four courses rather than three. Roasted red pepper soup with polenta croutons from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (go-to recipe, as no one has ever disliked it) Salad of chopped fennel with farmer's market arugula and a honey-lemon dressing Rib roast with the English Prime Rib rub from The Spice House Garlic mashed potatoes Vanilla souffle with raspberry sauce Various beverages, including ginger vodka cocktails with a little lime juice and actual grated ginger Bottle of Saintsbury pinot noir Friends left happy, we collapsed into food coma.

Last night: larb gai (made by my +1, using the recipe from True Thai, it was better than the many times I've made the same recipe, so it appears I have something to learn) tucked into Boston lettuce leaves pad thai, with a better - i.e., slightly more sour - sauce than the one I made last time and imaginary cranberry bread pudding, which we were going to make but ran out of steam after making the Thai food. I think we'll make that tonight.

Having spent my childhood in New York City in the 1970s, I'm not convinced these areas meet the definition of "blight." And I happily patronize the Caribbean Grill for their Cuban sandwich over some of the places in Clarendon any day. ::clambering down off soapbox and waiting for Don to delete::

Laura, best wishes for getting out of the pit soon. Hang in there. My +1 and I went to the Crystal City location on Sunday night with a friend. I won't go into the entire meal, but the date and bacon fritters were absolutely spectacular, at least to my taste - crunchy and salty on the outside, sweet and nearly creamy-soft on the inside. We ended up ordering another plate, which came out exactly the same. The shrimp with garlic came with plenty of yummy golden garlic slivers. One plate that was just okay was the piece of monkfish. Cooked fine, just not terribly exciting, and I can't even remember what the sauce was... The cava sangria was tasty as always. An abomination of sangria, perhaps, but the Licor 43 in there is really nice.

Thanks, Waitman. I saw your post after the game, so here's my recap, and I'll include some stuff related to your post. I didn't eat before going to the game. While not a culinary revelation, I've eaten far worse, at games and otherwise. I got garlic fries (the only ones I've had since going to a game in SF back in the late 90s) and frankly, they were pretty decent. The fries held up much better than other, non-garlic fries in other parks, staying relatively firm until the end. (Just leave that comment alone, okay?) The garlic could have been more, um, garlic-y, but all in all, definitely not bad for ballpark food, and $5 for a big plate. It should have been dinner, but I went hiking in the Rockies, so I felt justified in eating more than I should have. There are a couple of stands serving "regional-style" dogs. New York, Chicago, Denver, and some other-style dogs that I don't remember - Tuscon, maybe? The Denver dog had cheese, jalapenos, and green chili sauce on it. Given that Denver is a hotbed of the real thing, I couldn't, in good conscience, get that. Instead, I got the Chicago dog. I went to Hot Doug's in Chicago back in August, and though the Coors Field dog didn't rival that, it was more than edible, and I'd recommend it over the Rockie dog, with limp-looking peppers and who knows what else. The Chicago dog came with a serviceable, crispy dill pickle spear, sport peppers (!) that gave some heat, celery salt, and in the main flaw of the evening, squirts of Gulden's. Was it Hot Doug's? Good god, no. Was it good for Coors Field? Absolutely. The dog itself had some pop, so combined with the other plusses, it rated a "very good" for ballpark food. The microbrew stand you mentioned (section 137) was the only one with Fat Tire, which I had had at the place where I was staying for a couple of nights. The problem was that the stand ALSO did mixed drinks, and while friendly, the people looked to be about 102 and took forever on the drinks. I didn't have the patience to wait in line so I got a Blue Moon from one of the other stands, she said shamefully. Better than any basic Coors product. There were other micros available in bottles at the section 137 stand, but I can't recall which ones since I wandered away exasperated. Like at RFK, there are a few stands serving beer with body/color/flavor, but also like RFK, there aren't many outside of a couple of stands near the expensive seats. [Note to baseball fans - I got one ticket behind the plate, 19 rows back, for $42 plus service charges. If you're in Denver...go to the game!!!! You can't beat that experience for that price.] All of my impressions were formed BEFORE Brad Hawpe hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to put the Rockies ahead for good after a wild back-and-forth game. It was a great time. For dinner tonight, I went to Zolo Grill in Boulder. Wild boar quesadilla (tasty, lots of boar, about equal in flavor to Dino's wild boar pasta but clearly a different genre), and the duck tacos, one of which is now in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow, very tasty, with a pineapple/mango habanero salsa that kicked butt. Drink quibble: my "Zolotini" (basically tequila, lime, and another citrus liquor I don't remember) came with a small glass and a shaker. The whole drink didn't fit in the glass, which meant the drink sat in the shaker, ice and all, until I finished it. Which then meant the last pour was at least 1/2 melted ice. On the plus side, I was a solo diner, without other means of entertainment, and didn't feel like they treated me any differently - without a huge crowd, the manager got me a table outside - a 4-top - on a beautiful night, so it was very pleasant. That's all I got for now. Thanks again, Waitman. Hope this helps next time you're back out in this vicinity during baseball season.

I'm headed to Coors Field tonight to see the Dodgers and the Rockies - at least one team is still in the wild card race. Is there anything particularly tasty that I should look for at the park? And any way to avoid Coors beer products? (I realize the latter request is a long shot.)

My +1 took me to dinner here tonight as a little celebration. We split a starter was roasted slices of corn from Sunnyside with garlic and slices of lime. It was sweet, it was slightly charred, it was awesome. We each probably could have eaten several plates of this and been happy. We then split the gnocchi with trumpet mushrooms in cream sauce, and a medium siracusa pie. The sauce for the gnocchi was a bit thinner than we had expected, but the flavors melded surprisingly well - no watery-ness at all - and the pizza was stellar, with the peperoncini adding a nice bite to the pork sausage and red onion. Nicely blistered thin crust. For dessert, the +1 got the roasted peaches that Don got - nothing further to add to his kudos. I got the caffe viennese, with the same gelato as with the peaches, espresso, whipped cream, and dutch cocoa powder to cut the sweetness a bit. Good, not transforming, but good. Service was terrific. Not a cheap eat, given that we got 2 drinks, a beer and a glass of prosecco. But it fit the occasion perfectly.

grilled polyface chicken - completely awesome with just salt and pepper grilled zucchini and yellow squash cucumber and onion salad with fennel fronds (no dill in the house)

I believe Sichuan Pavilion has been closed for quite some time. If you want Asian, head to Nooshi on 19th (next to the Greek Deli), which is better than Cafe Asia - though I do eat at CA from time to time because it's closer.

I hope it's not too late...was in Sydney last year and bills was as good then as when I went in 2000. Definitely go for breakfast, and be prepared for a wait whether it's a weekend or a weekday. Also, if you want really great Thai, Prasit's is an excellent local place. (I know you can get great Thai here in DC, too, but if you're just looking for a good cheap meal, it's a good choice.) Seating is extremely limited. At Rockpool, the food was good, but there was a foulup in my reservation time and though we did get to eat, I can't say that their staff treated me particularly well (even though I had had an email exchange with the manager well in advance of the reservation). Nor did they acknowledge a problem when I emailed them the next day. I wish I had had time to go to Billy Kwong! Please let us know how it was, if you do go.

Both of you have my sympathies - I had to be on a clear liquid diet a couple of months ago after getting a tooth out, and I can't say there were a lot of enjoyable things about it. Broth, broth, broth. Beef broth (I used canned, but frankly, I was grateful just to be able to have that), heated up with a clove of garlic that I had partially smashed. You could simmer some onion and/or herbs in it too, and then either just eat around it or strain. I don't know if this is cheating, but I did okay with it. Soymilk (I drank chocolate) really helped fill me up. I think that is cheating, but I reasoned that it is not dairy, which is in large part what I was supposed to avoid, so as not to upset my stomach. YMMV. Good luck - to both of you.

You're right, of course - I guess I was thinking of the creeping gentrification over there, rather than the stadium development. I've been getting the Italian Store subs for years, but I find that recently the quality has a direct correlation with the person making my sub. Sometimes, I haven't gotten enough dressing (and I really like that vinegary bite), or I don't get enough hot/sweet peppers, or I get too much lettuce. That being said, these are minor quibbles - I still go, and I still like them. They used to have a guy working there who always looked completely stoned and would pile every single item about a foot high on the sub! I miss him. I also like Litteri's subs, especially the variety of ingredients you can get on them. The Italian Store is 5 minutes or less from my house, though, so they generally win out when I need a quick bite to eat.

I think Litteri has a better, and larger, selection of products if you're not getting a sandwich. Lots of olive oils, little random tinned food items, anchovies, etc. However, the Italian Store has more room to move around in (which is shocking since the place is pretty small) because Litteri crams a million items into their space. On those occasions when I go (and it has been a while, so if stadium development has closed the place down, I apologize for the outdated info), I end up spending way more time in there than I expected - partly because of the selection and partly because you have to maneuver around people to see the shelf you want.

Somehow, the distance from 17th & Penn to 18th & K usually seems like walking to the West Coast, but with the work lull this week, I went over Kolumbia for the bar lunch for the first time today. The turkey sandwich was terrific, as were the frites, but I am mainly posting to tell all of you who work within walking distance, like me, but have not made the journey, for whatever reason - go this week! It was almost completely empty at 12:30, with only two occupied tables in the back and me alone at the bar until two others walked in about halfway through my meal. I was graciously welcomed by the staff despite my no-meetings-today jeans and turtleneck attire, and the sandwich arrived within 10 minutes of ordering. Though I will perhaps leave out the pint of Hook and Ladder next time, as I have had motivational issues at work this afternoon...

Has anyone been to the Dupont location recently? A friend suggested it for dinner tonight and I want to make sure it won't be a sugar-fest. (I'm spoiled by Thai Square.) Thanks!

Or anything from Sushi Kappo Kawasaki.

Hi everyone, Longtime lurker (though not in a sinister way), but I felt I finally had something to add to this board, so decided to post. My +1 and I went to Bebo last night - we got out of work on the early side, and figured we could beat any major crowds. Excitement! Anticipation! Ummm, not quite, since we arrived at 6:30 and the place was already booked with reservations. Thankfully, the old enormous table from Oyamel is being used as a communal table and there was plenty of space to sit. (They seem to definitely try not to crowd people in.) This table gave us a chance to check out our neighbors' food, too - the meatballs smelled AMAZING, the steak was not so visually appealing, though the woman who ordered it seemed to like it very much (who's gonna get steak when there's carbonara! Bucatini! Risotto!). We started out with the lardo/sausage/tartare plate that others have posted about, so not much new to add to that. We really enjoyed the whole thing, including the lardo, despite my general aversion to eating pure fat. Second app was the polenta with cheese and pancetta. I loved the polenta, which was perfect, though I was slightly disappointed with the pancetta - I was expecting maybe something slightly thicker, stronger flavor, I don't know, but it came out as a piece of, well, bacon. Good bacon, of course, but... ::shrug:: Mains - mmmm. +1 got the quatro fromaggio risotto, and at her first bite, her eyes got wide-eyed and faraway. Waving my hand in front of her face did no good. I stuck my fork in her bowl, and...whoa. Creamy, multiple cheese flavors all coming out at different times, slightly tangy...damn. And a huge bowl of it. (Risotto fritters for lunch today, yay!) This is possibly a dish I would ask for my last supper. My main, which was also tasty, was the braised pork ribs with cannellini. Thick, rich tomato sauce, very tender pork, 5 ribs' worth. When it comes out on the plate, it doesn't look like much food, but it was very filling. Not so filling that we couldn't order: Dessert! Panna cotta with berry sauce, split between the 2 of us. Great mouth feel, subtle vanilla, pretty berry sauce. They seem to have a lot of the service kinks worked out. We got out in roughly 2 hours, which included some time at the end drinking coffee, and the only real slip was that we had to remind our server that we had ordered more glasses of wine. Though I have to say, our (young) server was extremely enamored of my +1; I don't think he said more than three words to me! I know many would be offended or annoyed, but we actually both laughed about it most of the night, because he has no shot with her. Plus, he was very cute, friendly, and attentive in between his mad dashes around the large space ("Sorry, I got a little busy" in a heavy Italian accent. Priceless!). At the end, he gave her an air kiss and said, "Good night, signora bella." All in all, it seems like they've done a good job of transporting the Osteria from downtown to a much larger space, with food upgrades and a larger menu. We've already chosen what we're going to order next time. Now, on to finding an avatar...