Mrs. B

Beautiful fresh sardines at the Glover Park Whole Foods. I need help though. I foolishly told the fishmonger I didn't need him to clean them. If anyone has any tips about how to clean the creatures I would be most appreciative. I've never gutted a fish before.

Wow, some of you people have really close minds. Why jump all over this place before it opens!

Snark?

My mind isn't closed, my jaw is dropped, have you taken a close look at the window both above and below and taken it all in together with the website?

The target is too easy to resist. It's just silly.

The web site sorta reminds me of the J. Peterman catalog.

The window has a cunningly placed riding crop. Just the thing to whip the waitstaff into shape.

" He wants a name that would conjure a feeling or even a memory of a period in the not-so-distant past when traditions were sacred and a courtly code of conduct governed etiquette and worldly interactions.

A quintessential representation is the fox chase in an idyllic countryside replete with English gentlemen costumed in scarlet piques and tweeds with their hounds. "

I'm speechless except to complain that they stole my favorite prostprandial word which I most recently used after consuming the Bouchee a la Reine at Cafe du Parc last Sunday - "replete."

You should have said something.

If you found yourself in this circumstance, how would you have presented it to your (presumably very busy) server? And then how long of a wait would you be willing to sustain before the complaint became the tipping point that might have sent the meal into a death sprial. This sounds like an unlikely scenario at Citronelle, but at Central where things are paced differently, thing may be different.

And Mark I can I can see you saying a number of things under your breath. You are still my favorite Joplin playah eveh.

PS wet salad even with great lardon =

A New Food Section

I enjoyed Hagedorn's article on the birthday dinner in the "chef on call" series, I'm insanely envious of those kids. (I was a little put off by their description in the paper but when I saw them in the video I found them to be quite likeable) The new cocktail coverage shows promise, I haven't had a chance to read cover - to - cover but I think I like the new look. I am really looking forward to giving the recipe finder a spin because there are a number of recipes that I have noticed and actually a few I set aside and promptly lost that I hope to rediscover. We shall see.

The Oyster Pan Roast recipe in the Oyster Bar in Grand Central NYC cookbook works really well. But I'm a sucker for anything with oysters and cream and heinz chili sauce.

Happy Birthday Charles, you really are getting better.

Bummer about the corn dog.

(ETA: What constitutes a good corn dog? Isn't badness their very essence?)

Best corndog (or three) I ever had was in Tennessee at the Bonnaroo Music Festival couple years back. The dog itself was pretty generic but not not the rubbery skinny nasty gray thing one is sometimes served. What set this treat apart was the coating. Fried crispy brown on the outside, the inside was fluffy (almost spongey but that doesn't sound very appetizing). The joy came in biting through the crunchy fried goodness into the just this side of sweet corny inside and finally getting to the salty meaty nibble in the middle. Best damn corn dog I ever did have... or maybe it was just something in the air

Back on topic, this thing they call a corn dog at M'Dawg, that thing I didn't like and Waitman described it correctly. I couldn't taste the corn in the crust and I couldn't taste the dog because the crust was too much. I removed all the offensive outer part and consumed the remaining meat on a stick with relish.

Whole Foods makes an exception to their lobster ban in Portland Maine. The best part is their device for dispatching the poor critters.CrustaStun

Nibble of Touluse Sausage that Waitman is grinding up for a cassoulet he's planning to make on President's Day weekend. Very tasty. I'm not bragging or anything. I would be bragging if I made it right?

No kidding! That is amazing. So comprehensive. Thank you.

Thanks mktye and everyone associated with this undertaking.

Tabard Inn? I don't know your budget but they can arrange a private area for groups as small as 10 (I think).

I prefer a Beefeater Dry Gin Martini - up with a twist.

This is my gin of choice as well but Hendricks when I can get it/afford it runs a close second. I really didn't care for the Junipero, the flavor seemed muddled but maybe it was just me

I really despise Tanqueray in a g&t and will resort drinking vodka if that is the only other choice. I think Tanqueray is way too sweet.

There's something very chilling to me about this sentence. (knocking on wood here) I was mugged once, in the 70s, and I would not dismiss two such experiences as if they were no big deal. Maybe that's not what you meant.

Waitman was mugged once I was mugged once. I don't think that's too bad for 25+ years of fine city living. I am grateful to be here to tell about it and don't want it it to happen again but it wouldn't surprise me.

I usually try to have enough to pay my share in cash if I'm going to be in a group but don't usually want to carry more than $250. Oh but really I don't carry it I give it to Waitman to carry. I usually keep throwdown money in a pocket.

I think Odeon does a fine job serving mediocre food to people staying at the Hilton, Courtyard and Churchill Hotels. I actually used to like the garlic bread with gorganzola app.

Clever observers will note that a couple of hocks are snuck into the "before picking" picture. This is because Heather paid attention to the recipe sooner than I did, and noted that the "Pork Trotters with Sauce Gribiche" recipe from Bouchon does not in fact call for trotters, but rather five pounds of hocks. At the market, I was thinking much more about heads than feet, so I wound up with the wrong parts. As it turns out, there is precious little meat on a trotter - the toe-pads probably outweigh all the muscles I could find in there. I ultimately wound up with about half what the recipe told me to expect (8 oz meat instead of 16 oz).

Made the same damn mistake the 1st time I tried this and no fresh hocks were available on Mt. Pleasant Street so I ended up with less than 1/4 of the necessary meat, threw the whole mess out. Picking from actual feet (rather than hocks) is a drag not ever to be repeated in this house. I think the recipe should be renamed.

And you paired this with food? do tell?

Emma and I went to the DC Farmer's Market when it opened and bought two long trotters and three pig heads - total damage $35. They came frozen, so they happily split them for me. Not many seven year old girls would be as into watching a frozen pig head get cut in half with a bandsaw as mine was.

The butcher asked, "Is this for some kind of science project?"

Pictures please?

Did you tell him your evil plan for the half heads?

They too were not able to help me.

I did get a call back from Wagshal's just now, telling me that they can get me cheeks, but only in 60 lb quantities. I said that was considerably more than I need.

I've seen whole heads and half heads available at the DC Farmer's Market b/t NY & FL aves.

Is dining in Boulder an option? I believe I read of an interesting dining scene there (via mongo jones, probably on mouthfulsfood.com).

We lived in Denver for a couple of years and I lost over 20 pounds a while back . Things have changed and I am sure there are new restaurants at which which I should be pleased to spend my hard earned DC dollars . Please don't mention Zengo or any Kevin Taylor restaurants, Jax, Palace Arms or G-d forbid Vesta Dippy. Sushi Den is lovely but we can do that here if I were of the mind. I'm thinking of one of these: Z Cuisine, Mizuna, Rioja, Luca d'Italia which are all new since my departure. Anyone been out West recently and willing to offer some advice?

If my flight out were not so early I would totally dig into a plate of huevos & green chilie. I also think it may be possible that the Chinese down Federal may be better than DC (not hard) so would love any ideas about that for future trips.

My current favorite use for savoy cabbage (and I imagine any variety will do) is to chop (not at all finely) and saute gently, almost "confiting" it in the best olive oil you can get your hands on and give it a very healthy grind of pepper and salt and serve with pork. Very simple and very delicious.

I really enjoyed dinner last evening. My hazelnut agnolotti were quite delicious, though as usual the serving size way exceeded my capacity. I particulary enjoyed the smelts (although I thought they were white anchovies - shows what I know). Feel like a schmuck for not trying San Marco out sooner. I need to pay better attention to recommendation from y'all. My kids would also love this place and it's easy on the pocketbook.

Nice to meet new people as always. What a lovely group. Thanks for pulling this together Barbara.

PS Great Grappa! Cool long stemed glasses too. Could be a challenge under certain circumstances.

So I sort of feel like an idiot, but I need some help here. My wife and I were given an Emile Henry Flame-top fondue set for Christmas, and we can't figure out how to power the thing (it didn't come with instructions). Our old set was fueled with sterno, but we can't figure out how to fit a sterno unit in the little flame adjustor thing. It came with a shallow metal "cup" that is covered with a lid with holes and appears to be stuffed with cotton or something. Is this the fuel? A tea light wouldn't work, would it? How do we get this thing up and running? Thanks!

fondue fuel ?