xcanuck

So far we have the following: xcanuck EricOx ferment everything (maybe) jm chen (maybe later) agm Mrs B (maybe) Monique DC DanielK (maybe) Heather (maybe) bioesq (maybe) JPW cucas87 jparrott Looking like seven definites and six maybes. Should be alot of fun. See y'all there in about an hour!!

Boudin rouge? BOUDIN ROUGE????? All I can say is everyone better get there early because I will be monopolizing that part of the charcuterie. Boudin noir is one of my absolute favorite meals of all time, and I've never experienced boudin rouge. Look forward to seeing everyone there. This is one hell of a way to end the week.

Grabbed dinner there last night and was informed that they are now open on Tuesdays for dinner. So it's Tues-Sat for dinner only. Once they open for lunch, my descent into the caloric abyss will be complete. BTW - the e. coli scare has elimated all but one of the spinach side dishes. The desert menu looks completely revamped. Peach charlotte has been replace by apple charlotte. There's a cheesecake with brandied cherries (which I had last night - I want to be embalmed in those cherries). Strawberry shortcake. The aforementioned floats. Chocolate layer cake. No more milk and cookies, chocolate trifle, and a couple of others I don't remember. But no need for alarm - the sublime key lime pie is still there. But overall, change is good!

I’m getting sick and tired of all of those dr.com “regulars” having all of the fun; what with all their happy hours at places like Firefly and Corduroy. As somewhat of a “newbie,” I kept asking myself "self, maybe they really don't bite - why don't you go?" But self did not go because self didn't want to feel like an outsider looking in. So then I says to my self, “self, why don’t I try to organize a happy hour specially for newbies and lurkers where everyone will feel equally uncomfortable because no one would know one another.” So, here goes. I declare a happy hour at Restaurant Kolumbia for tomorrow evening (Friday, September 22) at about 5:30. It’s at 1801 K Street, so it should be fairly convenient for those who work in the downtown area and it’s close to the Farragut West Metro. The chef is a guy named Jamie Stachowski and he has agreed to do some special things for us. Who else is in? Oh yeah, and “regulars” are welcome too (we don’t bite).

I developed a dislike for Flay when he used to do the show where his friends would hang out with him and help him cook. He always brought on these bimbos to help him out. Don't get me wrong - I'm a big fan of the T&A (witness my inability to turn the channel when Giada is on) - but for some reason it really bugged me with Flay. Maybe it made him "schmarmier" than he already is. But the man does make amazing sauces. I enjoy BBQ U - has anyone actually gone there?? I admit that I'd love to go there one day (hello wifey?? are you reading??). I've gotten most of my grilling technique from watching Good Eats and am looking to expand, especially with the smoker. Have you tried watching Licensed to Grill? Rob Rainford does some pretty diverse stuff. I wish he's cook more with charcoal. I think charcoal demands a completely different grilling style.

One of my dad's best recipes is an Indian veggie dish called "labra" (some called it panch phoron torkari, which literally translates into 'five spice vegetable). You simply cook all sorts of veggies with panch phoron (seeds of cumin, nigella, mustard, fenugreek, and fennel) and a some water. But what makes it special are the addition of "dal boris". These are little dried lentil duimplings that take forever to make, but store easily. A few times a year, my dad makes literally hundreds of these little boris and sends them to me so I can make truly authentic Bengali labra. What a difference it makes!! These things break down in the simmering liquid and provide a depth of flavour that's hard to describe. Of all the gifts my dad has ever given me, these are the best. I'll take these over an iPod any day!!

My wife and I will be there. It'll be my first DR event. Take it easy on the newbie! I'll definitely bring a pot of chili and maybe grill up some skirt steak to make my wife's favorite steak salad. And, of course, some good Canadian beer. How late do these events generally go? I've got tix to something at the 930 but that shouldn't start before...err...930.

They were steaks. I would expect the skin to stay on but no scales. I couldn't believe this guy was able to look me straight in the eye and say that people want the scales left on. And he's the store manager. *sigh*

I am SO jealous of that kind of experience. I used to be able to do something similar when I lived in Toronto and I miss that so much. That whole European food shopping experience is one reason we are likely to move to Montreal soon. As for WF produce - not only are the prices criminal, but the quality is atrocious. We go to the SS WF and I rarely find produce that is comparable to Giant, let along the farmers markets. Something things have been consistently bad - garlic and shallots especially. I usually have to throw away about half of what I buy. And the corn this season has been awful! Even Giant had better local corn. We kept getting crap grown in Florida that probably spent a week in shipping. The only reason I shop at WF now is for their meat and occassionally for bread. Han Au Rheum is my favorite place for produce and whole fish. The fact they don't tell you where the fish comes from is annoying but their selection is second to none. And while I'm harping on SS stores, I refuse to shop anymore at Upstream. I bought some salmon steaks (over $50 worth) and got them home, only to discover (just before cooking time) that they had left the scales on the steaks. I called them immediately and the manager tried to tell me that EVERYONE sells salmon steaks with the scales on. Then he went on to say that EVERYONE eats salmon with the scales on. I haven't been back there since.

Calling Dr. McGee.... I admit that I, too, am confused as to whether or not oils in marinades prevent any kind of flavour penetration. But does olive oil add much in terms of flavour to the meat? Absolutely - especially on the grill. One of our favorite summer dishes is to marinade skirt steak in olive oil, garlic, lime juice, gr cumin, gr coriander, br sugar, cayenne, etc and grill it over direct, VERY high heat (I've often used the Alton Brown trick of putting it directly on natural hardwood charcoal to great effect - don't try this with Kingsford, which has lime in it and will leave ash on your steak). I really think the oil makes for a tastier sear on the steak. Maybe it just facilitates heat transfer better, resulting in a better sear. By the way, Cleveland Park....if you want to do lamb leg with bone in, would you be interested in an Indian preparation? It doesn't have the same presentation value as some of the other suggestions, but it's damn tasty!

This is what one online resource says say for lamb: 131-rare 135-medium rare 141- medium 150 -medium well 161-well-done

Good question - how do you want the leg itself prepared? Boneless? Whole leg? Half leg? The way I usually do it starts with a boneless, butterflied leg of lamb. I make a paste out of herbs (rosemary is my favorite), mustard, olive oil, garlic, maybe crushed toasted pine nuts,...whatever looks fresh and yummy. And then i cut a few small shallow slashes into the inside of the leg and rub the paste into it. Tie the leg up with butcher's twine so that you've got a nice compact roast. I fire up the grill (ours is a weber performer, hence charcoal fueled but can easily be done on gas) and build up a two zone fire. One side banked with a full starter of charcoal, the otherside with just a drip pan. On gas, just fire up one (or two) burners and leave the other off. Sear the leg for about 10-15 mins per side over direct heat and then move to indirect heat until done to about 125F (I like my lamb on the rare side). Of course, let it rest 15 mins before slicing! I've tried experimenting with smoking agents, too. I've soaked fresh rosemary and thrown that on the grill. Smoked rosemary smells incredibly like.......pot. The lamb is too strong to really accept anything that subtle. Stronger wood smokes like mesquite conflicted with the lamb taste (IMHO). So I've stayed away from any strong smoke flavours. One twist is to sear the meat in a super hot pan before it goes on the grill. Then I like to deglaze with port and build a nice pan sauce from that. The lamb doesn't really need it so your mileage may vary. My absolute favorite method is a Bengali preparation called Kosha Mangsho. It's my mom's recipe and it's not really hot but extremely flavourful. Of course, trying to get a recipe out of my mom is like pulling teeth. It's been ten years and I still can't get it to taste the way hers does, no matter how many times I watch her. I'm convinced she's putting in something when I'm not looking!! Probe thermometer is the way to go. I find it so hard to cook large cuts of meat where the size varies from one cut to the next. Lamb legs aren't like steaks where you can basically poke at it and tell from feel it if it's done. I use a Polder - I've gone through a few but I find them indispensible.

We walk by McGinty's almost every day (we go to the Gold's Gym in the same building). I've only eaten there once (more than enough for me) and my wife's eaten there a few times. She had the boxty and after having chowed down on more than our fair share in Ireland, she was really really down on McGinty's version. Nothing was memorable....we were eating no so much for actual enjoyment, but more to soak up the Guinness. As far as the atmosphere goes, even Ri Ra in Bethesda and Fado in DC come across as more traditional Irish pubs. JPW's assessment of the upstairs feeling like an airport hangar is dead on. The only time upstairs was worthwhile was during the World Cup. The patio is a nice place to hang out in the evening after a movie and people watch. I was holding out so much hope for this place (I don't think it's part of a chain) but I have to admit it disappointed me. Nanny O'Briens in DC is still my favorite Irish pub.

A little late joining in on this thread, but wanted to add my two cents about Madras Palace and then ask a question of the folks here. First - on Madras Palace - I don't think I've ever eaten better Indian food in a restaurant anywhere in the States. My family is Indian, and though we originate from the Bengal area, we're big fans of South Indian food. I work close to Madras Palace and used to live up in G'town. Madras Palace has been a frequent place for lunch and dinner ever since they took over the location from that pizza joint back in the late 90s. I brought my parents to this place and it was the first time my mother has ever been enthusiastic about Indian restaurant food. Usually nothing is good enough for her. High praise, indeed. Second - I usually steer away from Indian restaurants because I'm tired of the same old North Indian cooking. A Passage to India in Bethesda has a menu that seems really interesting, though, because it highlights foods from different regions of India. Has anyone been there and ordered dishes from the Eastern side of India? If so, what was your opinon of them? Did they taste substantially different from the same old, same old chicken tikka, etc?

It sounds like Mr. BLB will be happy to know that Coffee Crisp is now available in the US. We noticed it yesterday in Buffalo And then I find this. http://coffeecrisp.org/ Apparently there are several stores in the VA/MD area that are selling them now. If you don't want to look for them, here's an online place to get candies/chocolate from all over the world. http://www.candyshoppe.ca/shop/idx1.htm The internet really is such a strange place

Lots of people missed out this year. You can check craigslist.com for tickets but there are about a dozen people already clamouring for tickets. There's one guy selling a pair and he will only accept $290. Strange number....and making a tidy profit off it. I'm not going to post the link here - I'm not a big fan of scalping. But you can always go on craigslist and check for yourself.

I just got back from Canada and we stocked up on the individual bite-size bags of Cadbury chocolates. It's been awhile since I had the real UK stuff but there is definitely a difference between the US and Canadian versions. I had "heard" that Canadian chocolate must have a higher percentage of cocoa butter in it. Not sure if that's true but Canadian chocolate definitely has a more velvet-like feel on the tongue and much richer flavour. I've seen websites that import Canadian brands into the States (it's amazing what we'll get homesick for - and it's not just Molsons and Hockey Night in Canada). Some googling might help you find order the good stuff online.

Well, we went to the new and improved Black's last night with another couple. Some comments (sorry for the long book here...) Service - I found it above average. The place was really jammed around 8pm when I arrived and I didn't see a hostess in plain sight. I wandered over to the bar, which was really busy. Took them awhile to find me a clean martini glass but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. Once we were seated, our server was competent, polite, and available but not hovering. Nothing really stood out but, looking back on it, I can't find fault with anything he did. Food - The small dishes were amazing. Someone else had posted that the corn dogs were made of foie gras and blood sausage. Our server informed us it was a boudin blanc made with foie gras and chicken meat. I was all excited about the blood sausage so we passed on it in favour of the anchovies and goat tartlets. These were some of the best anchovies I've had since our trip to Barcelona! Lovely things...I also had the seared foie gras. It was matched with some kind of sweet corn salsa and cheese 'chips' that looked like they had been made on a Silipat. To be honest, the salso and cheese didn't add anything (IMHO) to the foie gras. The foie gras in itself was fine but didn't stand out. Maybe a nice little port reduction on it? Or some small berries on the side? Oh...and the oysters. They tasted SO fresh and of the sea that I didn't put anything on them, except for a slight bit of lemon juice. Worth every penny we paid for them, and then some. The main courses were given above average marks by all diners, except for my wife who raved about the rockfish (not the first time I've heard this comment). My lamb loin was tasty but I think I erred in getting the cabernet demi-glace with it. First of all, I thought - and I could be wrong - that a demi-glace usually has a fairly thick consistency (should coat the back of a spoon) and a rich, deep meat flavour. Well, this demi-glace was as runny as my martini and didn't really taste of anything. That was a disappointment. Thank goodness the lamb stood on it's own merits. Desert - We only had room to share the Blueberry Strudel with the Sweet Corn Ice Cream. I think we should have stuck with just a large serving of the Sweet Corn Ice Cream. The strudel itself was tasty but the ice cream was SO much better that I just kept wanting more and more. I'd LOVE to get the recipe for it (though it appears that truly sweet local corn is now a thing of the past). Drinks - A very reasonable priced wine list and I appreciate the fact that there's a decent selection of wines by the glass. Only two of us were drinking so we ordered by the glass (the Cotes de Rhone). I look forward to coming with a larger group and really looking into the wine list. Overall - not as good as RTC but more to explore and who can say no to oysters. I'm not sure where I stand when it comes to the new decor. It's really nice...but I miss some of the charm of the old place. Regardless, Blacks has clearly set a new standard in Bethesda. Definitely a place to visit again!

Apparently Johnny Brendas got their stuff together for the upstairs live music venue. Local promoters, R5, have been lining up some pretty decent acts to play at JBs. The food there is certainly simpler than the Taps and, as rabbi1969 pointed out, it certainly works. But, to me, it's more of a place to drink and see a band.

I have NEVER found anything like the Standard Tap. The food there is truly fabulous, the beer is excellent, and staff are second to none. I miss that place so much. The fried smelt is a perfect, late night snack. The chicken pot pie has a tender crust with a truly homemade filling. The lamb chops are succulent. Oh, lord...I think I wet myself just THINKING about this place. One thing that elevates the Tap beyond the usual bar (apart from the food, beer, and general atmosphere) are the staff. One night, my wife and I were having dinner with friends and my wife's purse got stolen. The staff was very helpful and understanding (comp'd us on our dinner to help alleviate the pain). Then, the next day, our friends got a call at 7am from someone who said they found my wife's purse. Apparently, the staff put the word out that a purse had been stolen and gave people the salient details. Within hours, their network of locals had found it. It was minus cash and CCs, but house/car keys, DL, etc were all still there. It probably wouldn't have found it's way back to her without the help of the Tap staff. They are simply great people. If any of the Tap staff are reading this, then you know who I am and we miss you guys!

Joe H - thanks for the Hyatt recommendation in Koln. Any other places in Koln that you can recommend? My friend and I will be going there for one night and would love to have some good "home" cooking. Also - does anyone have recommendations for Muenster? Thanks!

The only place where I've had better sushi than Morimoto is at Sushi Nozawa in LA (Mr. Nozawa has the infamous moniker "the Sushi Nazi"). Mr Nozawa made us some raw crab dishes that still make me want to cry. They were that good. It's been about eight months since our last trip to Morimoto and I believe the omakase prices back then were $80, $100, and $120. Have they changed since then?

All the reviews have me drooling. We have reservations for tonite and I can't wait! One question for those in the know about Black's...a friend of mine made reservations for 3 tonite. However, my wife will most likely be 15-20 minutes late. Does Black's have a policy along the lines that everyone in the party has to be present before they will seat us? I don't mind calling the restaurant back and rebooking, but I'm eager to sit down asap and start slurping some oysters even before my better half shows up.

We got a pair of tickets for Friday night but some of our less pro-active friends didn't. So here's a plea for extra tickets. Please ping me if you've got extra tickets for Friday night. Thanks!!

A "me too" post regarding both Pho Hiep Hua and Full Key in Wheaton. Both these places serve up fine fine fine bowls of noodle soup. I'm quite partial to the Hong Kong Noodle Soup at Full Key. I just came back from China and ate at several restaurants in Shanghai, Xian, and Beijing (even had the luck of having a Shanghai native and a Hong Kong native take us to several restaurants). I was quite impressed that the food in China matches up quite nicely with the food at places like Full Key and Oriental East. We, of course, don't get the wide variety of choice that exists in China, but whatever is done here is done quite accurately. Oh, wait....this was a PHO thread. Guess this means the next vacation will have to be to Vietnam so I can compare PHH with the real thing!!