DonRocks

As far as I’m aware, Kismet Modern Indian in Old Town is the finest Indian restaurant in the DC area right now, and perhaps ever. (Based on a single carry out order, its sibling Karma is right there by its side).

The breads, the raita, and some of the dishes are the best Indian food I’ve had on this side of the Atlantic. It’s on a very short list of regular go-to’s, and tonight was probably my tenth time ordering from them.

Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to even compare it to in the DC area. It’s very expensive, but the quality is in the dishes. Kismet also has a workable wine and beer list.

There have been a few dishes I haven’t loved, but there has been nothing I thought wasn’t honorable. I feel like I’m dining at a Michelin one-star restaurant in London.

Cheers,
Rocks

I just got this message from DIShGo:

Happy birthday to your Mom and Dad! ❤️ 🥂 

My parents were BOTH born on May 5, 1923 - 100 years ago today!

13 hours ago, arlingtonkabob said:

Don - I see this letter you refer to was from 2021. However, wishing you lots of success and happiness on your future endeavors

Thanks! But that wasn’t a paid “job”; I was asked to be a judge, and I spent way, WAY too much time doing it for nothing in return, but I have a clear conscience that I performed my duties ethically and with integrity (I know other judges who don’t). Honestly, it was pretty small potatoes, but I wanted to let people here know anyway.

Is there a better restaurant in the DC area right now? 
 

The Organic Butcher, busy (and expensive) as ever, seems like it’s bursting at the seams each time I walk in (which is fairly often). 

Bethesda residents will be pleased that they’re opening a second location, May 6, in the former Le Vieux Logis space, on the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Auburn Avenue. Remember this?
  

It’s such a pleasure to enjoy a high level restaurant that:

* includes all service charges in their menu prices

* DOES NOT have a “Tip” line on the credit card bill

I recently went to a high-level restaurant that had the first, but also presented the diner with a blank tip line on the credit card bill (in case your service was so good, you might feel compelled to leave more than 23%, or whatever the going rate is).

Thank you, 2 Amys. Now, please get some comfy bar chairs!

A whole, bone-in lamb shoulder (ten pounds!) cooked for eight hours, with potatoes, onions, and carrots. Served with 2019 René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie “Ampodium.”

Hello everyone,

I just want you to know that as of Nov 15, 2021, I resigned as a James Beard judge.

My first year as a judge was the 2004-2005 awards season, and I’d been an active judge for 17 years - I caused several “earthquakes” during that time (which I can now discuss), but my first was nominating Mark Furstenburg for “Best Chef - Mid-Atlantic” that same year, for his work at Breadline (yes, Tweaked, it was me). 🙂

I have absolutely no idea how many people knew I was a judge, but I probably told less than five people.

Here’s my letter of resignation (with names redacted):

——————————

Dear [x] (and [y]),

After having had the honor to serve as a James Beard Awards judge since the 2004-2005 award season, I believe it's a good time for me to proactively offer to step down and be replaced.

With JBA's new emphasis on diversity and inclusivity, I'm hopeful that someone else can have the same opportunities that I've been able to enjoy. I don't "need" to step down per se, but it's important to me that others have a chance, especially if there are a fixed number of judges.

If this offer helps out JBA in any way, please take it and run with it.

Kind regards,
Don Rockwell

4 hours ago, gnatharobed said:

P.S. Our cucumbers are not jarred

Just thinking of (often great jarred) Kimchi, and the wholesale neighborhood you’re in … how do you keep the quality so high, given that you’re not an ultra-high volume restaurant?!

I’m impressed.

We went to the Annandale A&J a couple weeks ago, and it was just the same as it was the last time (ten years ago?)

*Bean Curd with Thousand Year Szechuan Egg ($8.40) could have scared off my dining companion, but at my urging, it didn’t, and we both loved it - every bite was gone.

*Cucumber Salad in Hot Garlic Sauce $5.45) brought everything together. This was almost certainly jarred, but so what? The cucumbers were snappier than if they’d been in the ground that day.

*Shredded Pork and Szechuan Radish Noodle Soup ($13.45) was the equal of the Shredded Pork and Mustard Green Noodle Soup ($13.45), both requested with thick noodles (and taken home for lunch). The latter benefitted from a little soy sauce to wake it up a bit.

*Thousand Layer Pancake ($5.45) was the only other thing (with the thousand year egg tofu) that we felt compelled to finish.

A great, late lunch, with leftovers for the next day - some things never change, thank goodness.

7 hours ago, Rhone1998 said:

Don, curious if you paired a wine from their list with the gnocchi? I would be at a loss to make a good match especially as I really don’t know Italian wines. 

Hmm … you’re testing my memory here. I know we had a glass of Prosecco to start with (don’t ignore the grissini), but I’m also sure I didn’t pair any wines with any dishes - we had a bottle of white, and I think it was a Soave (don’t hold me to this), and it carried us to the end.

We also returned on Jan 3, and had some first-rate dishes including some memorable octopus and a whole branzino that was fileted tableside. I remember the wine list here as being really well done and fairly priced - I would trust the florid descriptions for the wines.

BTW, that isn’t something floating in my wine glass; it’s the tip of a grissino at the other end! And that swirl bread (which you can also see) is evil.

43 minutes ago, anhdeluxe said:

The rule still applies: if you see duck on a menu, order it! 

Do you mean at 2941, or anywhere? I'd say that about quail in general, but I've had some pretty bad duck in my day at various places (not 2941).

“Forrest Gump” is the most underrated overrated movie in Hollywood history.

“New Additions to Michelin Guide Washington, DC 2023” on guide.Michelin.com

3 hours ago, will_5198 said:

Terry Black's is where I would recommend most non-Texan visitors go to experience Central Texas-style barbecue

…

Anyone that has never had Texas barbecue can go to Terry Black's and understand what it is after eating there, without waiting in an obscene line or making a Canterbury-esque pilgrimage.

May I safely assume you prefer Franklin’s?

The line was just too much - outside and down the street for an entire block! A 20-30 person line inside of Terry Black’s will get you to the counter in 5-7 minutes.

But you’re right: I feel like I understand Texas barbecue after having been to Terry Black’s - that’s a good way to put it.

On 6/24/2016 at 9:21 AM, DonRocks said:

When you're driving up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, on the way to Baltimore-Washington International (Thurgood Marshall) Airport, the answer will be on your right when you pass Laurel:

193 countries are members of the United Nations.

2 countries are observers of the United Nations (Vatican City and Palestine).

1 country, Taiwan, is recognized by 21 UN members and 1 UN observer.

1 country, Kosovo, is recognized by 108 UN members and Taiwan.

And that equals 197. In reality, there is no exact answer to this question, but this is a good approximate number - you could even say "around 200" and you'd be pretty close to being accurate, which is about as good as your answer can possibly be.

Today’s UN vote: 141 countries call on Russia to leave Ukraine.

10 hours ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

Looks delicious. Brasserie Beck?

7 hours ago, naxos said:

Et Voila! ?

5 hours ago, JimCo said:

Brabo?

My apologies - I didn’t realize this had gone into a new page!

Naxos got it - Et Voila! It was.

Everything was clean and everything was at least good. The only thing I’d have done differently was integrate the beet salad more (the grapefruit was on the side per our request), and maybe rethink the mayonnaise (?) in the Steak Tartare (if it wasn’t mayonnaise I have no idea what it was, but it did save me from needing any with my own excellent frites). Those mussels were in a cream of leak / potato sauce that was reportedly delicious.

Where was dinner tonight?

It has been a looong time since I’ve seen this thread.

My first thought after reading DHagedorn’s pretty incredible opening post was that attempting to change human behavior on a mass scale is largely futile.

Bob, a buddy of mine from high school came over the other week, and we compared all-time teams.

We both agreed on Magic and Michael in the back court, but I argued for James, Chamberlain, and Russell (moved to PF), while he made a very strong case for Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, and Olajuwon (moved to PF). 

His two arguments that I had no good answer for: 1) LeBron brings nothing unique to the table, and 2) nobody would beat his (Bob’s) team.

I hadn’t seen him in 40 years! But he was voted Best Athlete of our class, and was the #2 scorer on our basketball team - this man knows sports.

(Couldn’t beat me in tennis though 😉, although he did play #1 doubles with the 1979 first-team all-Met QB … that was some serious athleticism at work. Whoa, I just realized that during our junior year, we had *two* first-team all-Met QBs on our tennis team, Andy (1977) and John (1979)). 

Terry Black’s - Both the moist brisket (which was really moist) and the sausage were revelatory. The slaw and the green beans were more than good enough, and the bread of course was some type of Wonder Bread imitation. The pickles were mercifully sour to cut the fatty brisket.

This is a Thursday lunch!





The recording quality is awful, but this was a proud moment.

https://www.facebook.com/100074521573193/posts/pfbid0nvQ2pGhpJkbnrcrdh2en63PcqU2eEQY3mZgwLzPswjyMZYw5CagEjqMvCstUyZS1l

On 1/16/2023 at 9:26 AM, Kibbee Nayee said:

The family went to the Chantilly outpost of Habit Burger yesterday, and sadly, it wasn't the California version of this chain. Setting aside the obvious difference in weather, the burger was too salty and the bun was fall-apart flimsy. The sweet potato fries were flaccid, but the tempura green beans were a solid hit. I was disappointed, primarily because this is easily the best hamburger chain on the West Coast, despite the cult-like following for In-n-Out Burger. The East Coast expansion is not up to the standards of the West Coast Habit Burgers, at least not yet. 

Every time I go to Smoking Kow in Alexandria and get out of my car, I see the sign across Duke Street for Frank Pepe Pizza, and roll my eyes. I haven’t been, and am in no rush to go because I keep forgetting it’s there. Last year, I went to the one in Danbury, CT (only a 35-mile drive from New Haven), and that location was merely good, local pizza. (As to why I didn’t complete the drive to New Haven, I was coming south from New Milford, and didn’t want to make a 70-mile detour.)

Cheers,
Rocks

I don’t know how many people will ever use this, but this novel - although written in English by Gurnah - contains numerous terms that may be unfamiliar to the western reader. 
 

I’ve written this little glossary to help explain these words (and also the characters), along with the first page of the book in which they’re referenced. This is for the hardcover edition with the burnt-orange colored cover.

These are not spoilers unless for some perverse reason you read it from start to finish. The final entry is the only one I couldn’t figure out.

—-

ABDALLA (presumably “penis”) 7

ABDULRASAK (Yousuf’s “merchant in Herat”) 108

AFREETS (in Arabian mythology, powerful jinns) 112

AGA KHAN (a British-Indian Imam) 80

AJEMI (a bread from Zanzibar (?)) 104

ALHAMDULILLAHI RABI-L ALAMIN (praise God) 58

AMIN (“Amen” in Swahili)

AMINA (Khalil’s sister) 204

Ten ANNA (1/16 rupee) coin 4

ASHA (Hamid’s child Yusuf befriended in Olmorog) 107

ASKARIS (soldiers or police officers) 169 

ASLI (“original” in Swahili) 63

ASTAGHFIRULLAH (“I seek God’s forgiveness”) 95

Uncle AZIZ (a seyidd who took Youssef as rehani)  3

BA (short for baba, papa) 24

BACHUS (the truck driver for Yusuf’s journey) 53

BAGAMOYO (Yusuf’s father’s original landing) 14

BAFTA (long, narrow pieces of cotton) 109

BANYANS (Indian merchants in Southern Africa) 74

BATI (a young girl in Marungu, attracted to Yousuf) 167

BIRI (a cheap cigarette) 53

BISMILLAH (an invocation to Allah to begin a thing) 19

BOHRAS (Shia Muslims living in Western India) 74

BORAKH (“Buraq”, winged horse prophet rode) 95

BUIBUI (black cloth worn as a shawl) 36

BWANA (sir) 58

CHATU (a harsh Sultan in Marungu) 141

CHILDREN  (3) (of Hamid and Maimuna) 69

   — (ASHA (11/F), ALI (M), and SUDA (M)) 99

COMORO(s) (island nation of Mozambique) 60

COOLIE (an offensive term for an unskilled laborer) 79

DHOW (1-2 mast sailing ship) 14  as a

DHUL QURNAIN (Iskander, slayer of (Ma(Gog)) 41

DUKA-WALLAH (“shopkeeper”) 80

Two EUROPEANS (at train station) 1

FAZA (sea landing in north of Kenya) 15

GANESH (elephant-headed God of beginnings) 81

GERMANS 7

GOG and MAGOG (two groups of Turks) 83

GUJARATI (from Gujarat state in India) 74

HAKIM (learned person) 38

HAMDANI (Arabic for “much praise) 222

HAMID SULEIMAN (man who owned inland shop) 63

HAMIDI MATANGA (a Swahili trader) 143

HARBANS SINGH (Kalasinga, the town mechanic) 74

HERAT (3rd-largest city in Afghanistan) 105

HIRIZI (arm amulet with a verse from the Koran) 198

HOTEL COOK 5

HUJAMBO BWANA WANGU (“how are you, sir?) 57

HUSSEIN (a store owner from Zanzibar in Olmorog) 82

IBLIS (leader of the devils in Islam) 

IDD (“EID” - a Muslim holiday involving feasting) 17

INDIAN storekeeper and family 6

ISHA (1 of 5 Islamic prayers, in the early evening) 103

JANAB (an Islamic title, “sir”) 53

JENNET AL ADN (“garden of Eden”) 80

JICHO (“the eye” - dhow that took father’s family) 15

JINN (an intelligent spirit of lower rank than an angel)

JINNEYEH (“Jinniyah”, feminine form of “jinn”) 200

JUMA’A (Friday) 39

JUU KWA JUU (“top for top”) 189

KAABA (the center building of Mecca’s mosque) 207

KAFIR (an offensive term for a black African) 75

KAKANYAGA (the boatman to Chatu) 142

KALASINGA (Harbans Singh, the town mechanic) 74

KANIKI (Calico strands tied around the waist) 109

KANYENYE (a divided district of Sofala)

KANZU (whitish robe, tunic) 17

KARIBU (welcome) 58

KASKAS (a tribal land of Turkish people (?) 106

KAWA (Youssef’s (fictional) home village) 5

KHALIL (Youssef’s young caretaker / employer) 21

KHALIL’S SISTER (Also taken by the Seyyid) 203?

KHOIKHOI (S African/Namibian hunter-gatherer) 165

KIFA URONGO (“living death”) 22

KIGONGO (town on return trip) 76

KIJANA MZURI (“beautiful boy”) 52

KIKOI (traditional Swahili cloth) 58

KILIFI (port town in SE Kenya) 46

KILWA (home of father’s first wife, a bit inland) 14

KIMWANA (“darling”, “beloved”) 98

KIPANDE (a type of baseball-like game) 8

KIPUMBU WE (a derogatory term meaning “silly”) 25

KISIMAMAJONGOO (neighborhood errand boy) 36

KISIRANI (bad luck) 49

KISWAHILI (Swahili) 22

KIYAMA (doomsday) 29

LAHODA (captain of a dhow) 14

LAMU (small island in NE Kenya) 63

LUFITA 

LINDI (port in SE Tanzania) 46

MA AJUZA (an old customer, hits on Youssef) 30

MAFIA ISMAND (an island off of mid-Tanzania) 104

MAGENDO (“magic”, contraband in Swahili) 45

MAIMUNA (Hamid Suleiman’s wife) 63

MAKKA (“Mecca”)

MALAI (clotted cream (used in Indian desserts)) 25

MALUUN (cursed / thrown out of society) 25

MANDAZI (fried bread, bofrot, or puff-puff) 19

MANYEMA (a powerful, warlike, Bantu tribe) 73

MAREHEMU (dead) 24

MAREKANI (the United States (?)) 119

MARIMBO (the island conduit to the fierce Chatu) 148

MARUNGU (mountain in Kenya, 140 km from sea) 73

MASHAALLAH (a wonder of God) 47

MASKINI (“very poor” in Swahili) 99

MDACHI (“m” + Dachi ( “German”)) 176

MECHANIC (Indian, trader with Hamid) 71

MFIPO (the chief of the Elders on Chatu’s island) 153

MGANGA (traditional medicine man) 38

MIKOKONI (coastal town in far SE of Kenya) 202

MIRAJ (the night the prophet ascended to Heaven) 95

The MISTRESS (Kisirani?, lives inside the shop) 37

MKALIKALI (town on return trip, N of large river) 176

MKATA (a village in East-central Tanzania) 121

MNYAPARA WA SAFARI (Foreman of the Journey) 34

MOFA (a pancake-like bread) 25

MOGUL (an Indian Muslim from a power group) 80

MOHAMMED (Aziz’s shopkeeper before Khalil) 202

MOHAMMED ABDALLA (the Mnyapara wa Safari) 34

MOHUN SIDHWA (Kilimanjaro train station master) 57

MOMBASA (port city in SE Kenya) 63

MOROGORO (inland city in eastern Tanzania) 110

MPWELI (a town on return trip, close to the coast) 177

MRIMA (name for mainland facing Zanzibar) 46

MTOTO WA SHETANI (“child of the devil”) 183

MTWARA (sea landing in south of Tanzania) 14

MUKKI-YUKKI (Mukki is a village in India) 74

MUKKI (Indian money lender?) 46

MUSLIN (a delicate cotton cloth from Mosul, Iraq) 109

MZEE HAMDANI (the old gardener) 36

MZUNGU (a European government employee) 78

NABI NUH (prophet Noah) 81

NEEMS (Indian iliac, nimtrees, mahogany family) 20

NYIKA (“bush”, “hinterland”) 71

NYUNDO (Mwene’s chief “courtier” on a journey) 118

OLD MEN ON THE TERRACE (3) 32

OLMOROG (government station ½ up mountain) 81

PEMBA (island off Tanzania, N of Zanzibar) 201

PEMBE (the spirit of the island shrine) 147

POMBE (an African beer made from millet) 75

PRIMUS (a small cooker that burns paraffin) 103

QADHI (magistrate in a Sharia court) 242

QASIDAS (odes) 36

RAJAB (seventh month of Islamic calendar) 100

REHANI (a secured loan) 47

silver RUPEE (16 Annas, Yusuf stole from father) 11

RUMI (a 13th-century Persian poet (?)) 103

SAID (Sultan of the Omanis in times past) 130

SALAAM ALAIKAM (“peace unto you”) 77

SARUNI (soap) 40

SEYIDD (a Muslim of high stature) 20

SHAABAN (8th month of the Islamic calendar) 73

SHABAB (youth) 39

SHAMS (“Sham?”, Syria (?)) 104

SHEBE (former old slave of Zulekha (deceased)) 221

SHUKA (a sash worn in parts of Africa) 82

SIKUFANYIENI MASKHARA (“Dead to the world?) 105

SIMBA MWENE (Mohammed Abdalla’s overseer) 109

SIMI (a knife or sword favored by the jKikuyu) 126

SLEEPING PORTER KILLED BY HYENA (124)

SOFALA (formerly the chief port in Mozambique) 130

SUFI (“msufi” - deciduous, flowering tree) 20

SURA (one of 114 “chapters” in the Koran) 95

TAJIRI MKUBWA (rich, big businessman) 5

TAYARI (a city in SE Kenya, cut into ten towns) 130

THIRD STORE (containing contraband) 70

UDI (aloe wood, a perfume from Zanzibar) 37

UNGUJA (largest, most-populated Zanzibar island) 83

USUMBARA HIGHLANDS (north of Kawa) 7

VIBARUA (day laborers for Germans et al)) 6

VIPUSA (“rhino horns”) 189

VUMBA (or FUMBA?) Malina’s childhood town 228

MFIPO (Chatu’s village elder chief on Marungu) 153

WAH (great) 53

WALLAHI (word of oath) 60

WALII (benefactor, guardian) 243

WAUNGWANA (“people of honor”) 99

WANYAMWEZI (Bantu group from Tanzania) 33 

WASHENZI (savages who worship demons) 6

WASOMALI (Somali) 33

WAUNGWANA (a cultured freeborn, or patrician) 20

WITU (coastal-ish town in middle Kenya) 51

WOMAN KILLED BY CROCODILE 122

YALLA (“let’s go”, “come quickly”) 98

“YA SIN” (36th sura in the Koran)

YUSUF 1 

Yusuf’s PARENTS 2

ZANZIBAR (island in north of Tanzania, by Kenya) 14

ZUB (“penis”) 53

ZULEKHA (Aziz’s (first) wife, flirts with Yusef) 217

ZULEKHA’S 1ST HUSBAND 221

ZUMA (some sort of derogatory nickname?) 25

ZUWARDE (I haven’t found the translation) 182