xcanuck

I get really frustrated by stores that don't have their produce pricing visible. My take on it is that if there's no price, then it's FREE!

Thanks for all the replies. I'll give George's and the Beltway place a try. I'm not looking for name brand stuff. I just want functional stuff. Sheet pans for $6 is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Thanks again!

If I'm correct, tickets go on sale today for the 2006 Oyster Riot. We went last year and had a blast - though I learned a few things. 1. Oysters do a lousy job of soaking up alcohol. Hit the bread and cheese trays to lay down a small base. 2. Whatever you do, don't lay down a base of vodka/tonics. 3. Pace yourself. Good lord, I was full of oysters and completely knackered by 9pm!

Does anyone know of a used restaurant supply store in the DC area that sells to the general public. I'd love to pick up stuff like sheet pans, drying racks, stock pots, and saute pans without paying the Sur La Table prices.

Definitely Canadian That would explain why I played two back-to-back hockey games last night!! On the subject of Michael's scale...I'm not sure what to do. The last time I went, I ordered the filet medium rare and got it to be exactly what I consider to be medium rare. I guess I'll just HAVE to go back and order a third steak (and fourth, and fifth...) to reach a definitive conclusion. One option - instead of asking for rare, med rare, etc - is to just ask them to cook it to a specific internal temperature range. I tried this once at a downtown DC steakhouse and the look of derision from the server made me reluctant to try this again. I guess I could also use the old cook's trick of pointing to the part of my palm to indicate how I want it done but I think that would also be received poorly. On a tangential note about RTC - today's Post has an article about how the plans to open a second Birchmere very close to RTC. Frankly, I'md excited about the possibilty. Have a great dinner before catching a good show. If only the 9:30 Club would move up to SS! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6083003162.html

Dry aging techniques aside....what does everyone think about the cost/benefit ratio for dry aging? I've really enjoyed the dry aged porterhouses and NY strips that I get from WF but I've had to take out a bank loan each time! A recent copy of Cooks Illustrated had a recipe for grilled prime rib. In there, they said "First, we don't recommend spending the extra cash on dry-aging. Given the intense flavours imparted by the grill, any distinguishing nuances were lost." I appreciate the fact that a prime rib is a MUCH larger cut of meat that a standard steak so that, combined with the grilling cooking method, may negate any benefit of dry aging. But do the people here think you could differentiate between dry aged and regular steaks cooked in a standard pan seared/oven finished manner? How about cooked on the grill (which is where 90% of my steaks end up)??

We've been at RTC twice now and have two more reservations already made for the near future. I love this place. It's SO nice that there's an affordable place in SS where I can get a reasonably priced, high quality meal. So far, the NY Strip has been my favorite (though mine was undercooked a tad...I had read elsewhere that others have had this experience - anyone here??). The bone marrow/mushroom is absolutely to die for!! Michael came by our table the first time we were there and I told him how much we both loved it. I could eat that as an appetizer. The key lime pie is killer - too bad it's so good because we haven't gotten around to trying anything else. But other people's descriptions of the Peach Charlotte have my mouth watering so maybe we'll give that a try this weekend. I see this whenever I work out from the window at the Gold's Gym. I think RTC could force me to double the length of my time on the treadmill, least my waistline should expand accordingly. Thanks to Michael for opening up a badly needed quality restaurant in the Silver Spring area.