xcanuck

Did anyone ever get around to ordering some caul fat? Stachowski sometimes wraps his terrines in bacon. Any thoughts on why caul fat is preferable to bacon?

Sadly, Kirsten's Cafe is now closed. I went by this afternoon to get a cup of coffee and was disappointed to see that it had closed. No reason was given. Their other restaurant (Red Dog Cafe) is still open. It's a shame to lose such a good local source for pastries, coffee, etc.

We were in Munich earlier this fall (during Oktoberfest, natch). I was hesitant about going to the Hoffbrauehaus, as I had heard it was far too touristy and tacky. I'm glad we went. Even though it WAS touristy and tacky, it was the communal tables that made all the difference. I was there with my wife and a female friend of ours. Two young Bavarian women (in rather spectacularly architected dirndls, rawr!!) joined us. This attracted The Dirty Old Man Brigade. And there we were - over a dozen people in various states of drunkeness and with limited communication abilities. We all had an amazing time. I'm not really advocating communal tables as the only seating option in a fine dining establishment. But there is a time and place for them. And what is a bar, if not a communal table?

Forest Glen Metro station is a healthy 10 min walk away. Or a 45 minute crawl (in my case).

Another evening venture out to Ray's the Classics in SS for a most excellent burger and watch a little hockey. Probably around 8pm, if anyone's interested. ETA: Ooops. RtC is closed on Mondays.

Believe it or not, Balducci's carries them, and at a reasonable price of only $8/lb. Beats the hell out of NY Strip at $17/lb.

Look at you, Mr. Moneybags I bought some a few weeks back from WF in SS for anywhere from $1 to $1.40 each (the latter were some delicious Wellfleets). I was particularly thankful because my order with Rappahannock River got FUBAR'd - they sent him only 50 oysters instead of the 100 I had originally asked for. I called WF and they had 50 all ready for me when I got there. *phew* Saved my dinner party. If you want a really big sack of oysters, you can get locally farmed one from Annapolis Seafood Market. We ordered some for a party last spring and got sacks of about 100 for about $0.75 per oyster.

Yeah - good luck on that email thing. I emailed him a week ago and am still waiting for a response. I was really hoping for some tete de veau and duck prosciutto for the holidays. Oh, well...

I was there last night. Is there anything new...........since when? Nothing new since the last time I was there (which was about a month ago). There IS a TV above the bar now and Elliott has ensured that the most premium sports channels are available. No sound (thankfully) but I'll be dropping in more often to watch Caps games and have a most excellent burger.

FWIW, I tried the chicken curry a second time. It didn't come with the wings or plantains but appeared to be freshly made and was much much much better than the first time. So it appears to be a bit of a crap shoot - are you getting freshly made food, or heated up leftovers. In the case of the rice and beans, it makes a huge difference. As Don mentioned, it's all in bad need of some good scotch bonnet sauce. Thankfully (for us), our trip last week resulted in a more Marie Sharps in the pantry, which will tide us over!

Last minute, I know....but anyone for the bar at RtC tonite? FBOW, they've installed a TV in the bar area so I'm sure the Caps game will be on tonite.

Started the day with a quick breakfast of fried jack stuffed with beans and cheese. Thanksgiving lunch was chicken breast in Mayan spices, curried potatoes, and fresh conch ceviche (conch had been killed literally minutes before). Thanksgiving dinner was fresh caught red snapper, grilled with lime and garlic with an order of white rice and stew beans on the side. Plenty of Marie Sharps to kick the heat up, and more than a few Belikins to bring the heat back down. Immodium for dessert Plenty to be thankful for, that's for sure!

I don't know if anyone has seen the recent Washingtonian issue and sorry if this is old news...but there was a short side bar about being able to order Jamie's charcuterie direct from him. For example, you could order the pastrami for just over $7/lb (a deal, IMHO). There's no website with the details but they did supply an email address: stachowski@gmail.com. Man, Jamie's tete de veau and seafood terrine could make my Christmas party go over the top!! I'll email him and see about posting the details.

I wonder if those are similar to the jarred summer truffles we picked up in Germany a few weeks ago. I tried them in something simple, like mashed potatoes. Tasted like clods of dirt and smelled like....nothing at all. Disappointing. But, baccalao, on the other hand....mmmmmmm.....that is wonderful stuff. All the usual stuff like stew and fritters. My dad used to make fish curries with salt cod until my mom put her foot down, on account of the house smelling for days afterwards. Anyone know if A&H has a reasonable steady supply of fresh sardines? WF gets the Portugese and Spanish ones, but only periodically during the spring/summer. I noticed some from the Dominican Republic at Super H but the quality wasn't the same.

York Castle is now serving up Caribbean food. There's no menu, per se, just a handwritten list of dishes that's posted daily. This weekend they were serving up oxtail, curry chicken, and jerk wings (all served with rice and peas). Oxtail was $6.99 and the others were $5.99. I ordered the curry chicken. The portion was pretty small, but not bad considering the price. It was served in a small take out container with about two scoops of rice and beans, and half scoop of curry chicken, and a couple of curry chicken wings. The wings and rice were especially dry and a little bland. The curry chicken itself had decent flavour but didn't have much gravy with it. It could have used some scotch bonnet sauce on the side to kick up the heat a little. It's worth going back there another time to give them another shot. It's not bad, but not good. If you've got the extra 10 minutes to run down the road to Tropicana or Negril, then I'd suggest the latter. I like having an option that is a couple of mins from my house if I'm really craving it.

Fantastic news, you two!! Lisa and I are very happy for both of you. Two of the best people I've had the pleasure to meet through this board

Hi all - would there be a problem with a last minute addition (namely, myself?? I'm flying solo this morning).

The recent favorable review in the WaPo, along with it's inclusion in the fall dining guide, have resulted in the inevitable throngs of people waiting in the parking lot of Nava Thai for a table. While this, in of itself, isn't really a problem, the good folks at Nava Thai need to adjust to the new found attention (as do we patrons). We went on Saturday night but the lineup was well out into the parking lot. We anticipated this and were all ready with out take out orders. We were told it'd be ready in 40 mins. No problem - we live 10 mins away and didn't mind making a return trip for some of their fabulous food. To make a long story short, it ended up being 2 hrs before our take out way ready. Lisa spent over an hour waiting for the food. To their credit, the people working there were very apologetic, gave Lisa a free glass to wine while she waited, discounted the bill 15%, and threw in a few extra dishes. This service glitch isn't going to stop me from going (as a matter of fact, I may return today for lunch) but people should be aware that Nava Thai does not take reservations so get there early or be prepared to wait for a long time. And don't plan on take out on busy evenings unless you order well in advance. ps...needless to say, the food was freaking amazing!

Sorry guys, but I'm in Costa Mesa all of next week. Gastronomic hell.

Depending on day/time, I'm in.

Dean suggested this place during dim sum a few weeks back and commented that the Thai food served at the take out counters was comparable (in quality) to Nava Thai. It's located in the same strip mall as Max's, Full Kee, and Pho Hiep Hoa on University Ave, just east of Georgia. I decided to check it out and picked up six different dishes. There wasn't a menu and it boiled down to me just pointing at different things that looked good. After eating, I think I've sussed out the different dishes. - pumpkin in red curry with beef - spicy pork with mixed vegetables - bitter melon with spare ribs - mixed vegetables in red curry with chicken - fried whole fish - fried salted fish steaks The first four were from the take out counter, while the latter two were from the "deli" counter. My guess is that these fish are pre-fried for later cooking (thus eliminating not only the need to fry the fish yourself, but to ensure your house doesn't stink for the next few days). I ordered them just to try and wouldn't recommend anyone do so to eat on their own. The dishes from the take out counter struck me as being "home cooking" as opposed to the more familiar variety of Thai food that you get in most restaurants. As such, I had no reference point to judge the quality. All I know is that, for $7, you can get two dishes with rice and be completely satisfied. A perfect place to go to when you want fast Thai food. The heat level wasn't too high (I was able to eat everything, including the fresh chilis) but everything had a wonderful flavor. I'm sure the dishes that are offered change from day to day, so more research is required (oh, darn!!). It really struck me as simple food, done well. ps....Dean - please correct me if I mispresented your stance on this place.

Nice discovery, Scott. Maybe a candidate for Bethesda/Rockville Pike lunch get together? I know there's a special one at Bob's next week so maybe the week after that?

Dead animal = bacon sausage. I'll also try to bring a side of collards. Assuming I survive traveling through Europe with two women. Oh, yeah baby!!

Lisa and I will be there. Bring on the tripe!!

We always made a point of grabbing a drink at the bar before sitting down for dinner just so we could get a taste of Chris' exceptional drinks and chat with him a bit. It's always been one of the (many) reasons we enjoy going to Dino. Lisa and I are sorry to see you go, Chris, but we'll come visit you at Enology. Best of luck with the new job!