DonRocks

22 pounds to go.

145 pounds by Memorial Day Weekend!

13 pounds to go.

19 pounds to go.

22 pounds to go.

18 pounds to go.

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18 pounds to go

20 pounds to go.

Koji Terano mentioned that one of his favorite places to dine was Blue Ocean in Fairfax, so I’ve been intrigued about trying a full dinner there ever since, it’s owned by two Japanese gentlemen, a Mr. Kato and a Mr. Fukuyama, with Kato generally working the sushi station and Fukuyama preparing the hot foods, ask for the Japanese-only chalkboard, which is both inexpensive and impressive, with small plates in the $4-7 range and larger plates $12-14. Everything is here from broiled fish to cow tongue, and the only way to know is to ask, two amuse-gueules arrived, and while the bamboo shoots were quite good, the other one was a bit more troubling, it was some type of unknown stuffed dumpling, the outer layer perhaps consisting of potatoes and corn meal, but the stuffing was, to my horror, a dead ringer for canned corned beef, the courses began arriving and they were impressive, a whole aji (jackfish), cut up in front of us by Mr. Kato and then sent back into the kitchen for Mr. Fukuyama to prepare, five minutes later an artful plate of sashimi was presented, with the tail portion of the aji crisped and fried, a magnificent presentation of this simple fish, certain courses were better than others, for example, a fried kalamari was almost surely purchased frozen and pre-breaded, but even though it was a holiday, the sushi itself was quite good, the tako and toro were fresh, and even the uni - a dangerous choice on a Sunday evening - was sweet and custardy, if you come to Blue Ocean, be sure and ask for the Japanese menu and indicate to the staff you’re an adventurous diner, and you’ll be well-rewarded for your efforts, the secret is out about the $45 three-course deal at CityZen Lounge, the exact same dishes they’re serving in the main dining room, but with a limited selection and no Parker House rolls, I’ve eaten at CityZen enough now where I think I’ve begun to tap into the soul of Eric Ziebold’s complex, multi-faceted cooking, and I find him at his most fascinating when he’s not afraid to exercise his superior intellect, even though I may not always understand what he’s trying to reach for, it’s easy to love shoat belly with salt, butter, and chives, but more of a challenge to open up your mind to a toro T-bone or veal liver sashimi, ultimately it’s this type of whacko cliff-hanging wizardry that will vault Ziebold to the pinnacle where he belongs, there are two Persian options in downtown McLean, Moby Dick and AMOO’S KABOB, and not surprisingly there is some overlap in the menus, while Moby’s offers down-home Persian dishes only during lunch, Amoo’s serves them all day long, a Ghaymeh ($7.50) is an interesting stew of split peas and beef cubes served in a tomato sauce with saffron and dried lime, accented by a few fresh-cut fried potatoes, it’s a better option than the Baghali Polo ($8.50) a dish of fava beans and rice with a ton of dill, topped with a chicken kabob, Moby’s version is far superior because they use bone-in slow-baked chicken, and add the all-important tah-digh (the crusty layer of rice scraped from the bottom of the pot), Amoo’s also uses purchased bread rather than freshly baked nan, perhaps the strong point of Amoo’s is their Joojeh Kabob with Bone ($11.95), a flavorful whole young Cornish hen, cut into eight pieces and served with rice and tomatoes, Amoo’s is not as good as Moby’s, but it isn’t bad either, I’m convinced people avoid traveling to Black Market Bistro because they think Garrett Park is a province in Burkina Faso, but it’s right in between Connecticut Avenue and Rockville Pike, not far from the beltway, a cup of Butternut Squash Soup ($4) was pleasant if bland, basically pureed squash served with a few thinly sliced almonds, a special of Seafood Stew ($25) wasn’t terrible, but the broth was thin and did not taste long-cooked, the seafood seemed to be thrown on top as an afterthought, and while the mussels, shrimp, and squid were fresh, the cubes of salmon and tuna were catastrophic, dried out, tough, and cooked beyond recognition, I honestly thought (and hoped) that the tuna was chorizo when I saw it, but no, it was just grayish-brown tuna, hoping that the meal would be saved by the desserts, I ordered a Caramel Apple Crisp ($8.00) which turned out to be a large ramekin, top-heated before service, and covered with a dollop of pretty good ice cream, the “crisp” was ridden with oats, so much so that the entire dish tasted like a bowl of excessively sweet, thick, dense apple-oatmeal gruel, I took about four bites and could eat no more, everyone knows Brendan Cox of Circle Bistro is a great fish cook (and an avid fisherman, by the way), but it’s important to remember that Cox came from Equinox, and before that Galileo, and it naturally follows that his pasta dishes are some of the best anywhere, a Pappardelle with Duck Ragout ($9) is on both the bar menu and the dining room menu as an appetizer, and is one of the best pasta courses you’ll find anywhere, the ribbons of pappardelle wrapping themselves around chunks of long-cooked duck ragout like a python (yes I know that was lame but I'm writing this on New Year’s Day and I’m tired), this dish is so good that you’ll stare at it in wonderment after the first bite, in a state of joyous disbelief that you get to eat an entire bowl for such a low price, a master of charcuterie, terrines, and foie gras, Cox also offers a Beef Tartare ($9) that's as good as you’ll find anywhere in town, he has recently taken charge of making his own desserts (with a little help from Heather Chittum), and they are excellent and well-worth ordering, Cox fully deserves his own restaurant, but for now, just be thankful that you can enjoy such fabulous cooking in such a casual, inexpensive setting as Circle Bistro, D’Acqua just opened in the old Signatures space on 8th and Pennsylvania, a collaboration between restaurateur Francesco Ricchi and chef Enzo Febbraro who comes from Filomena, an early visit showed promise, but also a very expensive restaurant, Assaggi di Carpacci ($18), a carpaccio of scallop, halibut, salmon, and tuna, was smacking fresh and clean, ice cold, and drowning in olive oil with salt, pepper, and scallions, this worked out to about $1 per bite, as each portion was about four small bites worth, I’ll let you decide if it was worth the price, Ossobuco d’Agnello ($23) was, according to the menu, a “slow-cooked” lamb shank with tomato, celery and onion, so how slow-cooked was it? I overheard Francesco Ricchi telling someone that it was “cooked for 90 minutes,” nevertheless, it was quite good and I’d order it again, Rapini All’Aglio ($6) was a tired little plate of sautéed broccoli rabe, and since everything is a la carte (the lamb shank needed a vegetable), all of a sudden that inexpensive $23 entree rocketed up to $29, add some potato and now it’s $35, Gelati e Sorbetti ($8) was a housemade trio of hazelnut gelato, strawberry (in December?) sorbet, and lemon sorbet, served in a homemade almond tulip, it was okay but nothing I’d rush back for, the biggest draw here may be the most expensive one, an assortment of whole fish sitting on ice and priced by the pound (hovering in the $40-per-pound range) for the diner to select and have cooked in any of several styles, Christmas dinner at Corduroy (you didn't really think I'd stay in, did you?) was everything I hoped it could be and more, Tom Power was fully in the holiday spirit, serving a Roast Goose with Foie Gras Sauce and Root Vegetable Mash as part of his $45, three-course menu, if you’ve never tried roast goose, it’s a dark meat like duck, only gamier, not as dark as venison but perhaps even more striking in flavor, it was a fascinating dish that went brilliantly with the foie gras sauce, I stole some of my mom’s cranberry sauce which came with what she called “the best turkey I’ve ever eaten in my life,” a roast free-range bird with sausage stuffing, giblet gravy, root-vegetable mash, green beans, (pilfered) cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes, it was a complex composition, and was so good it was off the charts, usually these notes are for “Sunday through Saturday only,” but I’ll also include my New Year’s Eve dinner here, as I made another visit to Corduroy and started off with my second bowl of the week of Power’s incredible Parsnip Soup with Tarragon ($7), a soup of amazing depth and complexity, and the perfect lead-in to my final dish of the year, a Cheeseburger and French Fries ($11), happily scarfed down with a double-decanted bottle of 1970 Ducru-Beaucaillou, how was your week.

I guess this doesn't include the times when you were working?

Surely it's muhdawg, no? As in: I came home from work and kicked muhdawg.

Get me your baselines in another few days (no rush) - make sure to take a three-day average so you know which weight you're starting from. I repeat: your screen name will not be associated with the code I give you, unless you want it to be (if you want it to be, just let me know) Cheers, Rocks

I can't make any promises, but let's say I'm going to "lean" towards it. Remember: there's no need to post weights/goals publicly; simply send me a PM, and I'll assign everyone a code. If you want your screen name mentioned as well, let me know, but if I don't hear anything, I'm sticking with anonymity. I have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to present this on the forums, and it should be fun, while at the same time protecting peoples privacy if they wish. Cheers, Rocks.

Speakers on!

I feel like Richard Simmons. Where are all the GUYS?

No, it's more like <<Sans Tralala>>. God I amuse myself endlessly.

To those who think you don't need to take a three-day average: You do. Even if you know your target goal is to lose 14 pounds, you need to be sure what your starting weight is - is it 138, 140, or 141? Your weight today (January 1st) is probably artificially high by a couple of pounds. It makes a difference in reaching that final number, and I'm not going to let you cheat by starting from a salt-inflated baseline. So get me those figures on-or-after January 3rd. Doesn't matter when, as long as it's in the first week or so in January.

Happy New Year Everyone! Cheers! Rocks

Like father, like son,

Seeing as though you're both at Corduroy tonight, why don't you discuss this in person?

Don't think for a minute this hasn't already been considered.

Sure, just send me your goal sometime in the next week. Confidential to the member who just quit smoking: If you make it to Memorial Day, you can come too.

Okay dudes, here are the rules: The goal is to lose 10% of your body weight by Memorial Day Weekend - Friday, May 25th. That's 2% a month, which is both an attainable and meaningful reduction. Between January 1st and January 3rd, take your weight on each day, and take the average of the three days. That will be your baseline weight. (I'm figuring everyone will be a salty blotto on January 1st, and will begin to lose fluids by January 3rd, so the average of the three days is probably something close to a "true" weight). If you're 150 pounds, that's 3 pounds a month for a total of 15 If you're 200 pounds, that's 4 pounds a month for a total of 20 etc. I couldn't care less what you weigh on February 12th or April 6th - you'll have up weeks and down weeks. But if you've lost 10% by Memorial Day, you've maintained the program long enough so that you've probably successfully changed your lifestyle, which is really what you should be shooting for. Email me your 10% figure (which I will keep in confidence), and send me progress reports as time goes by. I'll assign everyone a number and maintain one post per person, keeping track of their progress. And I'll take everyone out to dinner in June who successfully meets their goal. (Nothing major, but I don't mind springing for a small celebration - if 50 people sign up, I reserve the right to modify this!) I guess I'm supposed to say "check with your doctor before embarking on any weightloss program," so I insist that everyone does this under medical supervision. In other words: I ain't responsible if ya keel over! Get me your 10% baseline number sometime during the first week of January, and if you're out of town and don't see this posting for a few days, get them to me when you can. I'll be posting by the number I assign you for your privacy, not by screen name (if you want me to include your screen name so people can "cheer you on," just let me know). Let the games begin. Rocks

Okay, let's do it. I'm in. Details tomorrow - feel free to post ideas...