PollyG

We just ate there fort the first time last week; it's beyond our usual food boundaries, but we had a show at the nearby Jammin Java. We had a pork with sliced hot pepper dish that was eye-opening, and the home-style tofu, which was lightly fried and had an interesting contrast of textures between the chewy outside and silken middle.

As far as you know, do they supply to any of the places that have hanging displays of roast duck, sides of pig, etc.? We've been on a roast pig kick for a bit and are working our way through most of the NoVa places that sell it. So far, Cho Chu Saigon in one of the Eden Center's interior corners is our favorite. We haven't made it to Mark's for the pig yet.

If you know someone who can read Chinese, I have a feeling that Serenity in Vienna may well belong on the listing of good Chinese places in the region. The Chinese menu has no English translations, but the dishes we ordered from the regular menu (mostly a selection indicating that they cater to an American lunch crowd for the majority of their revenue) suggest that there's a talented chef in the kitchen. Their web site touts Taiwanese dishes. Web site: http://serenitychinese.com/ And if you do go, and it's good, your duty to the rest of us is to post a menu translation!

Years after Don's original post, it seems we had much the same as the fall seasonal menu he described. The price is now up to $60. still a stunning bargain for what it is. We, too, felt that the persimmon and tofu dish was a "miss." The persimmon was under-ripe and the tofu just didn't work with it. The ingredients stunner was the fatty tuna, which was melting in our mouths. The spouse ordered it as his "supplement" to the sashimi dish. It was really a replacement as he didn't get the regular tuna and other two fish (white tuna and flounder, I believe) that I got. He's such a good sport that he shared his fatty tuna in exchange for pieces of my other sashimi. The fresh mackerel piece we got with the sushi course was also amazingly good, and the first time I've had fresh mackerel since Dad sliced it for us on the deep-sea fishing boat off the coast of LA back in the late 70's. Every other sushi presentation of mackerel has marinated it first. The presentation on the syruped chestnut was precious; it was encased in a shrimp and fish paste and studded with little noodles, then fried so it resembled a chestnut peering out of its prickly outer shell. I preferred my salted grilled salmon to his grilled tenderloin, but both were very good dishes. It isn't cheap, but Makoto is a bargain for what it delivers. I'd happily dine three times at Makoto rather than once at the Inn at Little Washington.

I was the instigator of Chowhound DC's 2005 Thai Smackdown, an extremely unscientific attempt to identify our region's best Thai places. We started with a poll asking people to identify their favorite Thai places and went with the top four. In addition to Thai Square and Bangkok 54, Ruan Thai in Wheaton fared very well. Rabieng was a mixed bag for us. The appetizers were significantly better than the entrees. Go for street food type items there to eat well. I had a disappointing lunch at Bangkok 54 within the past few months and I no longer think it rivals Thai Square. If you go to Thai Square, be sure to have something fried--they know their frying. The greens with fried pork are an eye-opening lesson in contrasts; it just isn't possible that the pork bits could stay so crispy against the soft, moist greens. And while the menu on the whole is more reminiscent of Thai-fusion than traditional Thai, the Yum Eggplant appetizer at Neisha in Tysons Corner is the best eggplant dish I've had, anywhere. It's smokey grilled, skinned Japanese/Chinese eggplant in a light spicy marinade, over lettuce with a pair of shrimp.

If you want a prolific producer, get Matt's Wild Cherry from DeBaggio's. Mine started producing in the second week of July and have been going like gangbusters ever since. This is a weedy, gangly plant that likes to spread its tendrils as much as you'll allow it. I've had it go 10 feet or so from the roots, supported by a hedge. The fruits are about 1/2 the size of a standard grape tomato but intensely flavored. It will also volunteer, but volunteers sprout and fruit a good month and a half later than the ones DeBaggio's starts. On a typical day in August-September, we have at least 10 ripe tomatoes from a single plant. I believe it is often closer to 20. It's hard to tell exactly how many because my 7 year-old harvests them and most go into her mouth. The two of us usually snag a couple of them in the morning on our way to the bus stop and then she cleans the plant out after school. DeBaggio's has a huge selection of heirloom varieties. We have limited space and can plant only 3 plants each year. Matt's Wild Cherry is always part of our list because it is so reliable; we've had mixed success with other varieties. I think that is in large part due to our neglect.

Phone call with my Brother-in-Law from some years back: "Polly, you know a lot about food. How are you supposed to eat a 1000 year-old egg?" "I'm not sure, let me grab one of my Chinese cookbooks and see what it says." "Does it say what you should do about the black stuff on the outside?" "You mean the covering of ash and lye on the outside of the shell?" "Oh, that's why my mouth burned when I bit into it." *sounds of muffled snickering from my end* "Maybe you should have called me before trying to eat it." We ordered a plate of raw, marinated crab in-shell at a now-defunct Korean restaurant in Falls Church, dressed in full business suits. That was a bit of a challenge to eat, and probably one of the few times we should have listened as the waitress tried to talk us out of the order. It tasted great, but the mess wasn't worth it. We weren't able to try dog in Korea. The chowpup was with us and would have rioted. We also never saw the fried silk worm larvae in Korea, though we didn't get much exposure to street food.

I had Sollongtang in Seoul this summer. Our group's volunteer driver selected the place, and it was clearly the specialty of the house. But I kept thinking to myself, "Gamasot's is much better." It's one of our many Korean gems.

We've created a partial solution to the "lost in the depths" problem that plagues chest freezers. We have half a dozen Trader Joe's reusable bags in the freezer, each with a landscaping flag poking out, labeling the contents by type of food. (Seafood, pork, chicken, etc.) That way we can just pull out the right bag and then root through it for the item we're seeking. If there are no small children in your house, the energy efficiency of a chest freezer may outweigh the floorspace, safety, and access concerns.

The same Korean markets have an extensive selection of dried seaweeds. They also have a smaller, more expensive selection of "wet" seaweeds in the cases near the kim chi. I just sprinkle shredded nori over mine before serving. Not all of the pokes we had in Hawaii had a lot of seaweed. Mostly we make a perilla-intensive poke, wrapped in perilla leaves for serving, to take advantage of our very healthy perilla/shiso plant in late summer. Just remember not to decorate your serving platter with too much Hawaiian kitsch. You don't want it to turn into a hokey poke.

I have purchased both at Super-H and at the Grand Mart in Sterling in recent years. It's been long enough since I purchased from Lotte that I would not make any representation as to their current practices. I always check dates prior to purchasing; fish from both sources has been fine. I tend to go with the salmon because the tuna is too lean for my preference. I've also used the frozen tuna steaks from Wegmans that are listed as sushi-grade, but I use that only in a poke, where it is marinated with other ingredients. I would not use that as a stand-alone sushi or sashimi as I don't find the taste clean enough. The deep freeze makes it safe for raw consumption vis-a-vis parasites, but it just doesn't meet my standards. All these stores have prepared eel in the freezer case as well. I can't personally vouch for the quality because I'm not an eel fan, but my husband and daughter seem very happy with the results.

In the Virginia 'burbs, Super-H, H-mart, Lotte, and Grand Mart all have tuna, salmon, salmon roe and flying fish roe specifically packaged for sushi in their "fresh" fish cases. Super-H and the Grand Mart on Route 7 in Sterling also carry fresh uni most of the time. I believe all of them have additional sushi-grade seafood in the freezer case, in particular sweet shrimp and squid. Sushi-grade squid rolled up with perilla leaves and sliced like a roll is a wonderful summer treat. I'd like to thank the sushi chefs at the now-defunct Genji in Falls Church for introducing me to that pleasure.

The date: Our wedding anniversary. The place: Eden Center's back hallways. We were looking to try a new place, but as it was our anniversary, we'd agreed that at least a small amount of ambiance was needed. Until we got to Cho Chu Saigon. Our eyes were drawn to the roasted meat case, and we saw the sign for "roast pig." Him: "Fuck ambiance, let's go in." Me: "Yeah!" The roast pig was delicious, with generous chunks of nearly boneless pork seasoned to perfection beneath the crackling skin. The pork skin and turnip dish was a miss---the stewed texture was great for the turnips, but that poor pork skin deserved a deep fryer. Broccoli rabe stir-fried with garlic helped us pretend we were being healthy. Cho Chu Saigon is a Vietnamese Chinese restaurant. Afterwards, we went to the tofu place to indulge in durian bubble drinks and some fresh-from-the-fryer mushroom tofu. Food compatibility isn't the only thing that has kept us married for 21 years, but it sure hasn't hurt.

Try your closest World Market---they often have Zapp's, including the Crawtator.

All the kids fell in love with Lotte brand milkshakes during our recent group trip to Korea. I've been tasked with finding out whether they're available anywhere in the metro area. So far, I've struck out at Grand Mart and Lotte. Has anyone seen these? They'd be in the frozen confections section. Milk Shakes are pretty much a pouch of ice cream, available in many flavors. The pouch has a resealable top, so they're actually very kid friendly and low mess.

You're missing Drei Fonteinen in Beersel (on the Church square, walking distance from the castle, which is practically across from the train station) and Erasmus in Brugges. Drei Fonteinen blends its own lambics and serves them and classic Flemish cuisine. Bottles can be purchased around the corner from their tiny shop. Erasmus is a decent hotel (www.hotelerasmus.com) with a beer-oriented restaurant.

My husband spotted this in the men's room at the M&S in Reston on 7-15-07. I will remember this whenever I wonder why he carries a camera at all times.

The Yarmouth Clam Festival July 20-22 in Yarmouth ME. We won't be making it this year, but have gone on several other occasions over the past 10 years or so. It is drivable from Boston to secure better airfares. This is a nice small town festival with an abundance of food stalls from civic groups, with fairly little overlap from booth to booth. There is also a decent juried craft show and one of the churches has a massive yard sale. The "shore dinner" option (lobster, 1 lb steamer clams, corn on cob) has consistently had the sweetest steamer clams we've had anywhere. Bring your wet naps! For those of you going to Gilroy, if they are still charging extra for mist tent admission, pony up the money. You will be much more comfortable with frequent visits to the mist tent. Gilroy is HOT.

It is pretty early in the year to be getting domestic fresh figs. I have seen baskets of them in season at: Wegmans, Grand Mart, Super H, Giant, and Harris Teeter.

Would this make your pasta non-vegetarian? Gadgets of this type catch me in that fine gap between amusement and fear that I've seen yet more proof of a society too decadent to last much longer. Time to go stock more Trader Joes freeze dried mangos in my imaginary gun-laden cabin in the mountains.

The freeze-dried mango is instantly addictive. I like their other mango products too, but this stuff is like crack, addictive on the first hit. The chowpup offered me her gameboy in exchange for the remainder of the bag, so it's not just me. This is Thai mango, freeze dried with nothing else, in a foil bag. There is a freeze dried pineapple, also from Thailand, and the tubs of freeze dried strawberries, both of which are very good, but not even close to the pure mango goodness. My local store is out of them now but says they will have a fresh batch on the shelves Wednesday morning. I'll be stocking up for our upcoming trips.

A hint on sanitation I picked up from an excellent fellow brewer: Buy the cheapest, neutral-tasting mass market canned beer you can find. Clean a can of it and float it in your buckets while you are sanitizing them. Pull the can out as you rinse, then open the can and do a final rinse with the beer. The canned beer is pasteurized and that final rinse will remove any traces of bleach or iodophor. Glass carboys fit right into plastic milk crates for much safer handling. Oh, and for those of you who enter homebrew contests, a plea: If one of your bottles has exploded or all the bottles from that batch are gushers, please do NOT enter the beer in a contest. We really didn't appreciate the bottle that exploded on its way from the cooler to the table. PollyG BJCP National Judge

You might want to read up on the perils of hot side aeration if you're doing that prior to chilling. If I remember right (and I may not), hot side aeration is pinged as a likely culprit for DMS issues (cooked corn/vegetal aroma).