Pat

I just came across this obituary for Bobby Van. (The actor of the same name died in 1980.) This one is more extensive.

We used these folks for cabinets and granite countertops when we redid our kitchen. We were quite pleased with them. (We dealt with Darren.)ETA: They're in Arlington.

I made the recipe I describe here for the Spring 2007 picnic. I like the Roasted Beet Farrotto recipe from The Babbo Cookbook. I was hoping to make that again in a few days. It doesn't look like it's up online anywhere, but I didn't look too rigorously. I also recall there being something strange in the directions that I concluded was an error. It's not too complicated a recipe. I could probably summarize it pretty easily if I pull out the book. There are a couple of other recipes I've made, but I don't seem to have kept terribly good track of them because I can't figure out what they were . (I was on a farro kick late last year/early this year.)

Luigi's at 19th and L? I've been there with groups but not in any recent time frame. Not great but not bad.You might be able to do Olives for lunch (1600 K). Restaurant K. I see someone already gave the web site for that. McCormick and Schmick would be another possibility. Old standby and a bit of a trip: Old Ebbitt.

I love lamb. I don't make it that often anymore.this and this are two of my favorite recipes for lamb.

I feel like I should be able to answer this, since most of my family is buried in Conshohocken , but I don't get up to that area much anymore. You're right by the blue route there, so the whole Main Line is pretty well available, depending on how far you want to drive. Unfortunately, I can't think of any place along there to recommend, or, rather, the two places I can think of are in Paoli and Rosemont, and I haven't been to either in years. Gullifty's appears to have had a complete makeover. It used to be a fern bar back in the day, but it was just fine for what it was. I've been to Basil more recently, but it's still long enough that I can't give an unqualified recommendation that I would have given a few years ago. They may be too far out of your driving range, but I guess you can tell by mapping the addresses. They're not Mexican/Italian either. The last time I was in that area (for a burial...) we ate lunch at the Marriott in Conshohocken. They had a decent buffet. I got something a la carte that was ok. I didn't really figure that's what you were interested in, but when I checked the web site for that Marriott, they listed other nearby restaurants as well

Beef barley vegetable soup Green salad with vinaigrette Cornmeal-breaded fried haddock over rice pilaf

Batali's Babbo recipe calls for Barolo (but, Buford, in his book says that the restaurant really used a cheaper Merlot). When I made that recipe, I used a nebbiolo.To change the immediate subject, I cooked short ribs last night...for my mother's beef vegetable barley soup. We'll have it for dinner tonight. I don't imagine you're looking for this for your Christmas party, but since I just made it, I'll write it out. She (and her mother) always used short ribs for the beef. I don't have amounts anymore and just wing it, but, you put enough water to cover the short ribs by a couple of inches in a pot and bring to a boil with a couple of bay leaves and salt and pepper. Then add a big (28 oz.?) can of whole tomatoes and a 14-15 oz. can of beef of beef broth. Simmer, uncovered, for a couple of hours until the meat is tender and the liquid has reduced. Smash up the tomatoes along the way. Pull the ribs out, cut the meat into pieces and return to the pot. Add some barley and cook another 45 minutes. Add a couple of peeled, chopped potatoes and cook another half hour. Adjust seasoning and add frozen mixed vegetables and cook until everything is done. This is best made a day ahead and refrigerated, so it's easier to pull out the fat. It also freezes well. (Given that most recipes I see for making short ribs call for red wine, I've considered adding that to the soup, but my mother never cooked with wine, so I'd rather leave as is. YMMV. Ditto on the frozen vegetables )

The Kielbasa Factory Polish & European Deli and Grocery website advertises quite a number of products and servicesbut I don't see any boxers.

I've made leg of lamb for Christmas dinner (though I got comments telling me it was an odd choice ). Roast lamb makes a good winter meal. I serve it with roasted potatoes and carrots, along with a salad and some bread or rolls.

I only seem to run into my neighbors when I'm at Costco, none of whom are huge power players . I bought a pack of chanterelles shortly after you first mentioned their availability there, but my next trip back they did not look so great and I passed. The ones I bought were pretty good and certainly better than anything else I could get at that price. I thought the mushrooms at the old Pinecrest/Landmark WF location were pretty good, and there was an employee there who was a huge mushroom enthusiast. He used to get me to try new mushrooms and give suggestions on preparation. He was supposed to move over to the new Old Town store when that one closed, but I never saw him again. He had described a great new mushroom section that was to be in the new store, and I haven't found it to be a whole lot better most of the time than at the old Pinecrest store. I still have not found chanterelles at the Old Town store this year. Will be checking again tomorrow.

I think you could be looking at $75-$100, depending on how many ribs you get (how much you allot per person) and where you buy the roast. I haven't priced one in a long time, and when I did, I gave up on the idea of making one . You might need a double roast for 10 people, unless they're not big eaters and/or you have a lot of other food.My mother used to like to make this for special occasions, but it was so expensive, she couldn't pay for it out of the food allowance my father gave her. (This was 40+ years ago.) So, my grandfather who lived with us (her father-in-law) would slip her the cash to buy the crown roast. I always associate the crown roast of pork with my grandfather (who died when I was 3) for this reason. That was one of the old stories I remember, along with the time she was carrying a lot of grocery bags in and dropped and broke a bottle of whiskey my dad had wanted. Her FIL, a teetotaler, gave her the money to go buy another bottle.

The restaurant that was there before it served the same type of food. There seemed to be continuity when it changed name and, I guess, ownership. It's getting to me now that I can't remember the name of the old place.

What was the name before it was Banana Cafe? Actually, I think it might have gone through two name changes before becoming Banana Cafe. There was an earlier incarnation I really liked, and it was pretty good when it first became Banana Cafe. I recall them having Cuban and other Latin food that was pretty impressive.The best Tex-Mex I ever had on the Hill was at Zapatas, upstairs at Mr. Henry's. I loved the food there.

Broccoli in spicy peanut sauce over long fusilli

I usually like their cheese enchiladas, (or I used to) but I've stopped going back after a couple of experiences with the environment not being conducive to a pleasant meal. I've never tried the plantain quesadillas, but given that the last couple of times I was there I was by myself because my husband doesn't like to go there at all, it's doubtful that I'll stop by to try them. (I was the holdout who kept insisting on going back, but after the last couple of visits ...) ETA: I've always liked their chips. The salsa's a little too thin for me, but I also think that's pretty good.

There is an upstairs area, so it's not as small as it might seem. It's not terribly big, though. I believe the liquor license application I saw said that it would also have an outdoor patio. (ETA: It's probably about the same size inside as the Cosi next door.)

It (being Tortilla Cafe) is open in the evenings, but I'm not sure until how late. I stop in there sometimes to pick up pupusas to take home for dinner. Their pickled cabbage condiment is excellent and I sometimes just buy some of that. (You can do this if you ask. I'm blanking on what it's called after having just learned the name after reading the Post article on pupuserias recently.) There isn't a huge amount of seating inside, but there are several tables. In warmer/good weather, there are also tables outside. I'll check the closing time and update. (I just found an old carryout menu that says it's open until 7 PM, but I'll double check.) (Don, you're making me dizzy )

This is closer to the Capitol than to the Market, but there is an upscale burger place going in at 3rd and PA Ave, SE (Good Stuff Eatery, 303 PA Ave, SE). Signs announcing the liquor license application/hearing are up in the windows. There's a small blurb here. The same page mentions the upcoming opening of Cafe 8 Mediterranean Eatery on Barracks Row.

Last night: green salad with vinaigrette baked chicken breasts rice pilaf steamed broccoli with sesame hot pepper oil This was the first Thanksgiving in the many years I've been going to my husband's family Thanksgivings that there was no rice pilaf, so I made some last night to go with our chicken. Maybe I'll volunteer to make it next year to ensure there is some. (When we got back home and I commented to my husband that I noticed one traditional food was not present at the meal--a rather large spread--he knew immediately which dish I was referring to. There's always pilaf at Thanksgiving.)

homemade white chocolate ice cream with heath bar pieces

Green Salad Cream of Mushroom Soup (cremini and dried shiitake; leeks; shallots; garlic) Marvelous Market Jewish Rye with butter and ham

chili I'm supposed to be heating for dinner

For Thanksgiving, I bring the breads. Very rarely do we spend a Thanksgiving at home, so I haven't made a Thanksgiving meal in years. (I used to do a pretty complete one the weekend before and have some friends over, but that got to be too much in addition to baking for Thanksgiving Day.) I've got a batch of (part whole wheat) no-knead bread still proofing/rising and am soaking the saffron in milk for saffron bread (which will have golden raisins and dried cranberries). In addition to those two, I'm making a pan of cornbread. I had also thought about making biscuits, but I'm not sure if I'll get to those. I would like to try Heather's recipe, though. I had a certain lineup of breads I used to take pretty much every year. I changed that up last year and am changing again this year. I made the no-knead bread last year, but the other selections are different. I took a vanilla cornbread one year that proved to be pretty popular, but I'm using a different recipe this time.

My mother always used cornstarch to make gravy, never flour. On second thought, the ground nuts would probably clump up. Not such a good suggesion . Arrowroot should also work, I would think.