hillvalley

For a moment I thought Al had returned... Thanks for the visit to what was."Well adjusted foodie." Wonder what babka had been drinking.

Just outside the bakery in Silver Spring is a Jewish market that has a bakery. I'm pretty sure it's Kosher Mart. Same shopping center as Max's.

You'll never think of it again now that we've got Hank's on the Hill. That's the only go to in that neighborhood now.

Assuming I eat everything that I have cooked in the last 24 hours this week for lunch I'll have: Cream of Basil soup (without cream) Stewed tomatoes and okra Buratta with cherry roma tomatoes, basil and black truffle oil Left over squash blossoms stuffed with herbed goat cheese simmered in homemade tomato sauce Salsa inspired gaspacho Squash blossom and gouda goat cheese pasta Eight ball squash stuffed with tomato and piava

To Danny Boyle for including Evelyn Glennie and The Kaos Signing Choir in the London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony without making it a big deal.

I hit the squash blossom jackpot last week at the Petworth Farmers Market. Three containers of 12-16 big, fluffy blossoms in each container for $10. They were so fresh that there were still bees buzzing around inside the containers. The blossoms were females, some with zucchinis already growing. The flavor was more delicate than I prefer but at that price we ate enough to make us quite happy.

Does anyone know where I can get unsprayed, edible rose petals?

Yesterday after work I was half way there before I realized I had no place to go. For many of us it was our Cheers. JC had your drink ready when you walked in the door. I've talked with a couple of people who were also regulars and it seems to be the lack of warning of closure that is the hardest part.

I got a bit nostalgic when I read the email; we had a good run over there.

Big Ole Bump Some not to be missed places in Kauai: Best Shaved Ice: Hee Fat General Store in Ka'Paa They were the only shaved ice place I found where they used real fruit syrup. Their ice was the fluffiest I had on the island. Best Burger: North Shore General Store in the Princeville Center. They use beef from the Princeville ranch up the road. It was one of the best burgers I have ever had. Other places worth seeking out: Infigo-The chef does a "Chef's challenge" for appetizer and main. You pick the protein, he creates a dish for you. I was the only one in the restaurant at the time (I was there at 6 on a Monday; by the time I left the place was filling up.) so the chef and I went back and forth over what type of fish to use. We settled on opa and a lobster claw. The opa was perfectly cooked with a macadamia nut crust, served with the most tender shitake stem I have ever eaten. This was topped with a wasabi crusted lobster claw. This dish could have come out of Chef Ruta's kitchen. When the annual best thing you ate thread starts in December this will be on it for me. The Feral Pig-Great bar and great banana macadamia nut pancakes in Lijue Hamura's Saimin-Stand-Five minutes from the airport in Lihue and one of the few places still open if you land at night. This isn't fancy ramen with a broth that has simmered for week. It's simple saimin served in a minimalist setting. Cash only Tortilla Republic-Excellent salsa in the salsa trio and the ceviche was some of the best raw fish I had in Kauai. In Poipu Not Worth the Hype: Kintaro's Sushi-This place received great reviews for mediocre, food court sushi. Bubba's Burgers is okay but North Shore is much better. Lobster Warning: Check where the lobster is from. Apparently there is a cottage industry on one of the big islands where they raise "Maine" lobster. I had it twice, once at Infigo's where it was amazing and once as poke where it was fine but not worth the price or stomach space.

I'm barely getting any, maybe two or three You ended up on some unlucky lists.

To the Class of 2012

Some of the best picnics have been those with low attendance. A smaller atmosphere can be more welcoming.The first picnic, back on eGullet, had less than a dozen attendees and will always be one of my favorite.

I don't get a lunch hour to go out to lunch with my job so when I have a work day off I like to take advantage of lunch time deals. My two main stays are LIckety Split at Restaurant Eve and the lunch menu, especially when they have ramen, at Sushi Taro. There has to be more to add to this list. What are they?

Thank you restaurant goddesses, thank you.

Fishnet

I've seen stores like this in a number of places including Asheville, NC. The set up is always the same with unusual oils and vinegars as well as good quality olive oils. The truffle oil I have bought was as good and not out as expensive as other truffle oils I have had in the past.

Cut them some slack. They are figuring out how to serve quality product at cheap prices. Looks like they still haven't figured it out. The prices are still below what you would find in DC.

Across the street from 2Amys is a new juice bar/market owned and run by the Hawthorne sisters. The draw for me are the smoothies and chia seed pudding. Smoothies are made from real fruit, not sugared purées. My favorites are the Green Goddess and Paradise Island with greens thrown in. A large is $6.50, which is cheap considering the quality of ingredients. The pudding reminds me of an Asian dessert rather than what we think of pudding. They also have sandwiches, coffee, and tea. Come. Drink. Be happy while drinking your greens.

The meal was comparable to Little Serow in the variety of nontraditional dishes and the knowledge about the food presented. The chilli mackerel, pork, and the sweet potato custard topped with fried shallots were my favorite. The meal differed from Little Serow in that in the final cooking preparations Zora pointed out that the women were relaxing around the table with fantastic G&Ts while the men were in the kitchen cooking.

Good food, sort of healthy, and not too expensive were the requests for the evening. The fried artichoke (my favorite version in the city), porchetta, the previously mentioned favas, burratta, orange creamsicle ice cream, and a couple of glasses of wine were perfect. Running into friends in the parking lot made it even better.

You can get leaf lard and duck eggs and venison sausage and numerous pork belly preparations and vanilla soda from scratch and smoked, head on shrimp Go. Soon. This prices aren't crazy. The neighborhood is fine. There is a lot of street parking and the place is next to a fire station. They use local products whenever possible. The next time you feel like going for a drive come check out this part of DC. Moroni Brothers is a few blocks south; make a kick ass eating day out of it. The owners are living the dream.

Three Little Pigs, the new charcuterie store on Georgia Ave, carries it. They have leaf lard from Evensong Farm in their display case today.

Where can I find really local honey. I figure honey from the White House garden is not an option so I'm looking for honey made by DC bees. Bees who are enjoying the pollen I suffer from. Bees who can help me. I usually get my honey from Toigo but they're too far away.

To Sarah Wysocki for telling her story.