xcanuck

BUMP!! See y'all there at 5pm. Any plans for afterwords? I would LOVE a drink (and maybe a kimchi dog) at The Passenger....

For what it's worth, I've made Spaghetti ai Ricci di Mare a couple of times using the uni at Super H Mart. It's not the world's freshest uni but still makes an amazing dish - especially considering it comes together in under 30 minutes and costs under $15 to make.

And at the other end of the spectrum, we have the Oarsman Ale and Third Coast Beer. I'd be greatly appreciative if anyone could let me know if either of these rare specimens are spotted in our environs.

Spawn and I are hitting the bar at RtC today sometime between 5:30 and 6:00pm. I'll be the one holding the bourbon. Oh, wait....that won't help... I'll be the one with food all over his shirt.

For what it's worth, Lisa and I decided to pick up tickets for the Friday night. While it doesn't have the scope of the Oyster Riot, it also doesn't have the cost of the Oyster Riot. The beer list looks better than expected and these days, we're happy for an excuse to get out of the house.

I'm in.

I know I'm late joining this conversation but when I expressed my reluctance to go into Proof or Oyamel wearing a Caps jersey, I was reassured by staff that I was more than welcome. Since then, we've gone into Proof dozens of times and been received warmly.

We're still in! Bringing Lisa and Spawn (assuming the latter will adhere to our schedule instead of his). Dean - you have to come! Haven't seen you in a long time.

Argh - We have to take Dev for a dr's appt at 1pm. It's in Rockville so we were thinking of having an early lunch at either JNH or A&J. But 12:30 is probably too late for us (and Matchbox not kid friendly). Next time...

Can you get decent uni at the usual Asian markets (e.g. SuperH)?

Aw, shucks! Honestly, it's an honour simply to have been asked by Michael, let alone actually work with his people to make this a reality. You couldn't have wiped the grin off my face when we figured out this was really going to happen. The meat itself is obviously gluten free but doubt that the rye bread is. And it's not Montreal style smoked meat so you'll still have to go to Schwartz's for that. Pastrami has been cured in brine, rubbed with spices, smoked and steamed. My understanding is that Montreal smoked meat is not brined but rather rubbed with spices and marinated before smoking and steaming. You'll notice the pastrami has a much deeper colour (coming from the pink curing salt in the brine) than smoked meat.

I was contemplating a dinner at Zentan so thought I'd read up on it's thread here. Rocks...why is it all "bullshit" and "laughable"? I assume there's some a good reason for your contempt for Lee? Any thoughts on the actual food being served here?

In the last year, I've gone from being a simple gin and tonic man to being a complete cocktail hound. I place the blame fully on the shoulders of Adam Bernbach and Jake Parrott. Anyhow, my favorite cocktails are: Manhattan - bourbon, sweet vermouth, and angostura. Classic and classy. Still my "go to" drink after a long day. Corpse Reviver #2 - gin, cointreau, cocchi, lemon juice, absinthe. Especially on a warm evening. Sazerac - rye, simple syrup, peychaud, and absinthe. Mmmmm.... Martinez - gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and angostura.

Do we have (or need) a reservation at lunchtime?

Lisa went to the Fountains of Wayne show last night at the Birchmere. They no longer serve water at the tables (they used to provide pitchers of water). Now you MUST pay $3.50 for a 16oz bottle of water. I believe there is a water fountain somewhere so they don't have to provide free water at the tables. Yeah, there's an establishment that REALLY cares about their customers. Blow me, Birchmere. We won't be going again.

I'm in. 11:30 at Mussel Bar. See you there.

Bump - we still on for Thursday? Still talking about Mussel Bar?

Just one beer? Who the hell drinks Just One Beer?

Wed is out for me, but the rest of the week looks good. For some reason, I'm having a serious jonesing for Indian food. Passage to India, mebbe? I still have yet to try Mussel Bar so that has some appeal, but going at lunch would preclude beer and that would be a shame.

A new menu is now available at RtC, as of last Wed. I'm going from memory here - smokehouse chili, a variety of burgers, new steak cuts (porterhouse and t-bone), pulled pork sandwiches, smoked ribs, and lots of new sides (including fries, sweet potato fries, and onion rings). I'm sure there's a lot more but three nights in a row at the 9:30 Club has addled my brain. The dessert is gone from the bistro special (not a great loss, IMO, as we rarely ate it). IIRC, much of the new stuff has come over from the East River menu. We're very happy to see some of these new additions at our local. RtC just keeps on getting better and better.

You sure it wasn't the GSPOT (General Store and Post Office Tavern)? They did a segment on that on DDD.

Friday is also possible for me. Any suggestions?

Sorry Daniel - while I know the company would be great, the menu at Taylor Gourmet doesn't interest me. Lisa's taking Spawn out for lunch with some friends so I'm going to take the opportunity to enjoy 30 minutes without any spit up in my hair. (I believe rkduggins can relate...).

Surprised there hasn't been discussion of Batali's extravagant new venture - Eataly. I'm going to be in NYC next week and it'll be hard not to give this place a visit. This is so over the top but the success of the one in Venice makes one think this could actually work.

One of the things that make cities like LA and NYC so great is the wide variety of options available through food trucks. Indeed, some of the best food I've had in my travels, have been from street vendors. While we'll never get anything as wonderful as the "hawker stalls" found in Asia, I still appreciate the chance to find unique and freshly prepared food from these trucks. What IS trite is a truck coming along with the 'trend du jour' (e.g. cupcakes). Screw that. But vendors that serve up fresh stir fried noodles, or authentically prepared empanadas are more than welcome. As an aside, I don't mean to infer that it has to be ethnic or particularly "authentic". But I think discerning diners can distinguish between an honest effort and someone trying to make a buck by capitalizing on a fad. I still had very fond memories of the chip wagons in the Ottawa area when I grew up. They sold one thing, and one thing only - the best damn fries I've ever had. The only condiments were ketchup, salt, and (white) vinegar. The latter two were all I needed. Can't wait until this weekend's trip so I can get some more!