xcanuck

Include my thanks, too! I had a great time. The food was wonderful, the education priceless, and the company delightful. I'm eagerly awaiting a chance to subject Lisa to my newfound skills

This week is bad for me (out of town) but I'm free next week Wed-Fri.

I'm still in for Peking Cheers. Of course, this means that I'm going to have to stay at work until 7pm. No sense in going home all the way to SS only to drive back a few minutes later. I stopped in there for a take out lunch on Friday and ordered the Fried Silver Anchovy Rice. I've seen the dried anchovies in Asian markets before and there are several different sizes. They used the absolute smallest ones I've ever seen - about 1/4" in length. To be honest, they didn't add as much flavour as I hoped for. Also, the rice seemed burned. I think they rushed the order, or didn't stir it frequently enough. But some of the rice was barely cooked while other bits were burned. The guy taking my phone order didn't understand what I was asking for so it had to be cooked after I arrived to pick it up. Maybe the rush to get the order out caused the poor cooking. I'm hoping for much better tonite. I just hope someone will join me in ordering the "interesting" stuff. I'm dying to try things like the spicy shredded port tripe, beef tendon w hot sauce, and spicy chicken gizzards. DanielK - is the tea smoked duck (half) for 9.95 the one you've been recommending? Is that something you need to order in advance?

My top 5? 1. My dad's lamb curry. Rich, fragrant, with the meat falling apart and loaded with marrow-laden leg bones. 2. Anything ever cooked by my grandmother. No one has ever cooked better. 3. My bbq'd skirt steak salad. Soaked for a few hours in a spicy, lime drenched marinade, then cooked directly on natural hardwood charcoal. The steak is seared to the point of almost charred but still rare and juicy on the inside. Combined with fresh veggies, it makes for the perfect summer meal. And chased, of course, by lots of ice cold Sleeman ale. 4. The hot and sour soup from Chinatown in Toronto. For some reason, the H&S in the Toronto Chinatown is completely different from anywhere else I've had it. It's a deep red, thick soup with shrimp, roasted pork, and large chunks of shitaki mushrooms. Yue Tung on Dundas St has the best I've ever had. 5. Baby back ribs. I braise 'em in the oven, finish 'em on the grill with mesquite smoke, and reduce the braising liquid to create my own bbq sauce. Washed down with an icy bucket of Upper Canada Lager. Not to brag...but fuck yeah!! Note that home cooked beats the pants off restaurant food in the long run.

Not quite the same...but we're going on a bike tour through Burgundy. It's an opportunity to drink and drive, without the massive repercussions. Anyhow, the same tour company also offers "gastronomic tours" in France, with the emphasis on eating and learning to make the foods. The company we're going through is called Discover France. You might want to check them out.

Twist my arm.Ouch. OK, OK. We'll be there after hitting the gym.

I finally got to Dino's last night some other board members and had a fantastic dinner. Why oh why have I been so remiss in not checking this place out earlier (oh yeah....it's on the OTHER side of the Red Line!). But I've learned my lesson - it's worth the extra 10 minutes on the subway to have my taste buds pampered and spoiled. The evening started off with the possibly the best martini I've ever had (very classic style and made with Cadenhead's Old Raj gin). We nibbled on flame raisins, pickles, and olives while chatting and enjoying our drink (jpschust - I can totally see why you love the bar there so much). We moved to our table where Dean recommended the La Giaretta Valpolicella "I Quadretti" 2003 to go with our assortment of starters: prosciutto, salumi, and assorted cheeses (my favorites being the bufala and the Guffanti Erborinati di Valpusteria, the latter drizzled with honey). The entrees were no less delicious. I had the braised beef short ribs which were served on top a decadent three cheese polenta. The meat was rich and succulent and the polenta was cheesy and creamy. The two were almost too much for me, especially after our starters. I had some of my wife's wild boar pasta, which was also very tasty (but perhaps a little dry - I think I came out on the better end of the deal!). I finished my meal with Very Old Balsamic over vanilla gelato. No idea how old "Very Old" is but it made my eyes roll back. Sweet, dark, and syrupy....oh, wow. Thanks again to Dean and Kay for a great dinner. We will definitely be back very soon and with friends in tow.

Blake - very well said. It's like the old cliche about "working to live vs living to work". Very few of us have the kind of jobs where that contemplation is moot. I like my job as much as I can and, for the most part, I don't dread going into the office in the morning. But when I leave work, I truly leave it. No checking email throughout the evening, no overtime (if I can avoid it), etc. The rest of my day (and night) is spent doing the things that I hope truly define me. Right now, that seems to focus on being a glutton and a drunkard, but hopefully that will change as I mature

I've often wondered - what is the point of a grill pan, other than grill marks? It's not like you're actually "grilling". I can see some benefit of not having your food wallow in fat (though some see that as a positive!). Anyhow, to your question, I'd probably stick with cast iron. Bigger is better, especially if you're going to cook larger portions. Larger cast iron pans take forever to heat up, but they hold the heat well and your food will cook evenly. And it's a hell of alot cheaper. Easy to clean, too!

Or...one could go to RTC and pay $19 for the hanger steak, $3.50 for a cup of lentil soup, and $5 for dessert. Explain again why I would pay $30 for ANY of those other places (except maybe Ceviche - need to give that place another try).

I'm up for Peking Cheers on 1/29. Flying solo that night. I have hockey games on the night of all the other events. Is someone checking my calendar and planning things accordingly?? I'd love to go to Etete with everyone - we tried to get in there on Saturday night before the 9:30 Club show and failed. Dukem was packed, too. Ended up at some other non-descript Ethiopian place and ate non-descript Ethiopian food. Ick. Burped injeera and lamb tibs throughout the first two openers. Double ick.

I, too, went to RK for RW. We took our neighbours after going on and on and on about how great the food was there. I had the veal breast with sweetbreads for my main course, as did one of my neighbours. He liked his alot more than I did - mine seemed to be lined with a fair amount of fat. It could be my ignorance about veal breast (not something I have often) so maybe the fat layer is normal. But the sweetbreads and sauce made up for it. My wife and other neighbour both had the crovina and loved it. Our usual M.O. is to sit at the bar and eat everything on the butcher board until we're in a food coma. The portions for RW were more than fair for the price but I was left wanting more. The more I think about RW, the less I like going out for it. I'd rather pay full price and leave with a full belly.

There is a new addition to the menu that is a hands-down winner and that is the lentil soup with sausage. It's a rich thick lentil soup with lots of merguez sausage. It's got a wonderfully rich lamb taste that comes from simmering so much merguez in the soup. Honestly, I could easily make a meal out of this. A cup is $3 and a bowl is $5. Absolutely perfect for this kind of weather! This MUST stay on the menu!!!! We also tried the new blueberry cobbler. Michael said that it's made with flash-frozen "wild" Maine blueberries. They're much smaller than the usual ones with a nice flavour. I think it needed just a teeny tiny little something to help bring the flavour out....perhaps a bit more fresh ginger? Still a nice addition to the dessert menu. The coconut and chocolate layer cakes are back on the dessert menu, too.

I'm going to give the Les Halles recipe for steak tartare a shot tonite. One question that I've contemplated is whether or not using dry aged beef is safe or even desirable. Any thoughts on it? Ostensibly, one of the reasons why dry aged beef is so tender is that the enzymes have been to work. In other words, the meat has rotted under controlled circumstances. I wonder how this translates in terms of food safety.

I'm in. You guys have any place in mind?I was just at Joe's Noodle House on Tues but wouldn't mind a second visit. There were some items on the menu I was looking forward to trying. Failing that, is there any decent sushi on the Pike? Momo Taro, perhaps? Or instead of sushi, perhaps Pho 75?? Apparently, I've got Asian food on the brain.....

I swear to god....you kill me!! That could the funniest post I've read in a long time!

Good call!! I went to Pho Hiep Hoa in Wheaton for lunch and it really hit the spot. They also have the ngo gai (saw leaf herb) that someone else mentioned. It seemed like the ingredients were scraped from the bottom of the barrel. The basil only had a few scraggly leaves on the stalk, the saw leaf herb looked old and even the meat pieces looked...well....scrappier than usual. Maybe Bourdain's axiom about not eating sushi on a Monday extends to pho as well???? No matter - I was there for the broth and it was perfect!!

I can't say I agree with Hillvalley about the steak tartare. Lisa and I went to Poste before the hockey game last week and ordered the truffled frites and steak tartare along with our drinks. The truffled frites were OK - the ones at Firefly were somewhat better (more/better salt) but the steak tarare was boring and miserly. Where's the kick of the pepper, anchovies, and mustard? The bite of the capers?? The counterpart of the cornichons? There was something vaguely cucumber-ish in our tartare but both of us agreed that it was most likely plain zucchini. And the portion size was about the size of a small Wendy's single burger. That's what we get for $13???? For crying out loud, at Les Halles, I get a meal sized portion (very generous) made table side to my specifications and along with frites for only two dollars more. While the DC Les Halles may have it's shortcomings, there is no better place to go to for steak tartare (that is, until I perfect my own preparation!! ). The one positive comment I'll make is that the service was prompt and friendly. We walked in and were the only ones in jeans. The suit and tie [...] club next to us turned up their noses (stupid pompous f**kers), but our server didn't discriminate. Anyhow, we left hungry and disappointed. And the hockey game sucked. Thank goodness we capped off the evening at Restaurant Kolumbia where we could get some proper food and convivial atmosphere.

Count me in.

Get there early and order the calette (from the special butcher's cut part of the menu). Simply outstanding!!

There used to be a label on it saying that it was vodka but I'm 99.9% sure that it's actually brandy (a polish drink called Sliwowica). The RK staffers on the list can correct me. Lisa and I ended up at RK after the hockey game last night for a quick bite, so I think I'm going to pass on RK tonite. BUT...we will probably be setting up shop at the bar at RTC before going to a movie. *nudge nudge wink wink*. I'm doing my best to take over JPW's bar seat

Some other interesting things about 200 calories....they will take the average person about 20 minutes on the treadmill to burn off 200 calories. And 200 excess calories will result in roughly 1/16-th of a pound of fat. Oh, and a healthy pint of good beer is about 200 calories. Depressing, ain't it?

Lisa and I are going to the Caps game tonite and will hit the bar at Poste beforehand. Anyone interested in joining us?

I'm trying to show solidarity with the dieters. I could stand to lose a few pounds of Christmas gluttony so I'll pass this week.

What about cream based liqueurs like Irish Cream? I keep mine in the fridge mostly because I like it cold but also because it can be months between usage.