Pat

I thought it improved when Reichl took over, but it's starting to drop off again. I don't know what it says about me, but I've always preferred Bon Appetit. I subscribe to both. ("Always," in that case, is about the same time frame you're talking about.)

Usually we're going somewhere on the west side of the side of the circle, where parking seems to me to be worse, and I don't think it's ever taken half an hour. My lucky husband is the one who parks and walks, but I don't think it's ever taken that long near Dupont to park and walk back.

Meet you at Café Neuo .

That looks gorgeous. Where did you find the aji peppers? Mail order, or can you find them locally? I'd like to expand my Peruvian repertoire beyond causa .

I would drop the birthday celebrant and at least some of the other participants off in front of/near the restaurant and then park the car. They can meet up with the 5th person there and then wait for the driver. (I don't know if Komi seats incomplete parties.) When we went to Komi, we found street parking, but I don't remember how far away it was. Then reverse the process at the end of the meal. That's what we do when we have my in-laws out for dinner with us, and they're both fairly mobile. (My FIL is 88.)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/03/business/pets.php The FDA has begun testing human foods containing wheat gluten. I posted this link in the pet food thread yesterday. Del Monte acknowledged that their tainted pet food used food grade wheat gluten (i.e., fit for human consumption).

Morgan Winery Cotes du Crow's Grenache/Syrah Blend 2005 Yesterday I needed a red wine to use for my lamb recipe for last night's dinner and asked the WF wine clerk (what's the right word? ) for a suggestion that would also be interesting to drink. I've found that this man usually suggests wines that suit me. I had actually asked for something similar in composition and price to the Edmunds St. John Rocks and Gravel, which they don't have any more. I'd gotten a few bottles of it when Jake suggested it in some thread here, and I enjoyed it. Whether the power of suggestion or not, I did sense some similarity, primarily in that the wine seemed sharper at first but then really mellowed. The fruit also seemed similar in taste. I'm still working on trying to identify appropriate descriptive words. Plum, maybe?

I made an Ethiopian meal again last night, only this time fewer dishes and a smaller quantity of food. If I gauged this correctly, I should have just about the right amount of injera left to match the quantity of leftover food . Yegomen Kitfo (collards with spiced cottage cheese) Yebeg Alicha (mild lamb stew with onions and green peppers) Yetakelt Wat (spicy mixed vegetable stew)

The contaminated wheat gluten was food grade, meaning that it could have made it into the human food supply; it can't be ruled out. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-goldst...ld_b_44743.html [should this be in the news forum?]

I'm in, for whatever day, but that game sounds great. The Phillies are my team. Most of the Nats games I've been to the past 2 years have been Phillies games. I'll see if my husband wants to play hooky from work.

. I am too. I found some at the Old Town WF today, $1.49/lb.

Every dinner has its story, or something like that . I went to make dinner last night and saw several ingredients I really needed to turn into something quickly before they got even with me by going bad. plum tomatoes button mushrooms random garlic cloves starting to get green inside the remaining half of a huge onion an open container half-and-half from early March an open container of chicken broth a very expired egg that was still sitting in a bowl I had put it in long ago when I was going to use it for something else a package of corn grits that had started to split open in the freezer one Pillsbury premade pie crust* So...I made a polenta pie: premade pie crust in the bottom of a glass baking dish; crust filled about 1/3 - 1/2 way with polenta made with chicken broth and finished with half-and-half; then a layer of sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and garlic with a premixed Penzey's herb mix (basil, oregano, garlic, and thyme); topped with grated romano cheese. It came out really well. The refrigerator is getting emptied out enough that it might get cleaned sometime soon *remaining from last fall when I had apples that were starting to rot and wanted to make a quick pie without making crust. The package was dated December something.

If you're going to be headed to the Mall, Bistro Bis has a good brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. It's on Capitol Hill, near the East end of the Mall. If you're too far away or don't want to walk there, Union Station metro is nearby. The main web site says that Easter Sunday brunch hours are 11-3, which is slightly different than the regular brunch hours. You should probably call if you want to try that. For Sunday, I'd suggest a reservation. They have a regular breakfast as well.

Oh, wow. I missed that article when it ran. Good luck to Phyllis.

Thanks. I'll be at WF tomorrow. I'll take a look for them.

Is this a good time of year to find Meyer lemons around here? I've seen them occasionally in the past but have not noticed any recently and don't know when the best time is to look for them.I have a Meyer Lemon Eclair recipe I'd like to try.

I usually go to that greengrocer stand and have for years, but I've noticed lately that some of the prices seem oddly skewed. Several weeks ago, I went through a phase where I kept running out of onions. Since it's nearby and quick, a couple of times I stopped there to get onions. Good god, they were expensive! The second time, my husband was with me. He was amazed at the price for a couple of onions too.

I'd heard plenty about the various offerings at Central but had not seen a menu until dinner last night. It really is minimalist in its descriptions. When I saw a salad of iceberg lettuce with bleu cheese on the menu, I knew I had to order it. It was wonderful--creamy, crunchy, and delicious. My husband started with the cherry tomato and mozzarella salad and was surprised that the tomatoes seemed cooked. He also said it had "green sauce," which I'm guessing might be some kind of pesto. I didn't get a good look or a taste, as I was too busy tucking into my own salad . He got the rotisserie chicken for an entree, which came with roasted potatoes and some kind of mixed salad greens. He enjoyed it and cleaned his plate but said it had a bit too much oil or something that made it seem greasy. Having planned for weeks to get the lobster burger, I was not disappointed in that selection. Unfortunately, I was too full to finish it (I blame the salad for that ...and the bread...and the fries ). For the price, I really wanted to be able to finish it, but I loved the flavor and textures of the half I ate and didn't see any point in overstuffing myself to the point of misery. Given the cost, I brought the remainder home, even though it doesn't seem like a great candidate for leftovers. I had hoped to try the kit kat for dessert, but there was just no way. I also had to decline the profiteroles . The service was attentive and close to impeccable. It must be hard for the servers to keep track of all of the components and preparation of the various dishes with so little description on the menu to refer to. I had been curious as to what else was in the iceberg-bleu cheese salad, as it generally has more than those two components (e.g., tomato, bacon, onion), so I asked what was in it. The server went through a detailed description of lettuce, crumbled blue cheese, and blue cheese dressing, noting that the lettuce is not served as a wedge but is, rather, chopped. It sounded (and was) delicious, but a couple of forkfuls in--at the tip of the iceberg, as it were--I realized there were flecks of something else in the salad. (Does this actually have bacon or onion bits in it, I wondered?). Ah! Walnuts. As I dug down, the pieces were bigger: lots and and lots of delicious walnuts. I love walnuts and they worked beautifully flavor- and texture-wise in the salad, but that could have been a real unpleasant surprise for somebody. And, no, I didn't say anything. I didn't want to get the server in trouble for a slip that caused no harm. Perhaps the server had described the salad a dozen times already that day, including the nuts. Having seen a similar issue raised in Tom's chat last week (onion tart had bacon), I'd say that for anybody with any issues (religion, allergy, etc.) with any particular ingredients and so little to go from the menu at Central, it pays to be especially careful.

I'm not too sure what the specifics are of different types of plastic bags, but Whole Foods in Alexandria will not give paper bags. They had a sign up for a while explaining why plastic bags were good. The only places I can get paper bags at all of the many places I shop are Trader Joe's and the Clarendon Whole Foods. ETA: Whole Foods does use paper bags to wrap individual bottles--olive oil, wine, etc.--but only has plastic carrying bags.

Thursday night was herb crusted pork loin roast stuffed with prunes and served with Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread (the lighter version of the Bittman recipe, using honey and buttermilk, to which I also added some currants). That bread was a nice accompaniment to the pork I reheated slices of leftover pork loin last night and served them a mushroom sherry-cream sauce. The original roast was a double loin roast, so this made nice thick double boneless pork chops. We also had toasted Parmesan-garlic bread. I've really got to start making vegetables again .

Better yet, keep dried buttermilk on hand. I'm not sure of the shelf life of this. I keep my open cannister in the refrigerator, but I probably should be replacing it at some point.

I don't know Nigella's training, but Giada graduated from the Cordon Bleu.

I enjoyed my lunch at Bebo today (and, for anyone wondering, it takes exactly 25 minutes to walk from the Hayes Street entrance of Pentagon City mall into Bebo.) I sat at the bar and had fine service. It was a gorgeous day and I enjoyed looking out the front windows at the outdoor scene. I loved the fennel salad, which was nice and light, but it differed a bit from the description on the daily specials. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I had intended to get the pork shoulder or meatball panini but decided it would be too filling. I ordered the tuna salad panini instead, which may seem odd in an Italian restaurant, but I got a craving for it when I saw it on the menu. My grandmother often made tuna salad sandwiches for Friday lunch. I think there was a bit too much bread vis-a-vis the filling, but that's probably me. It was a very nice lunch.

I finally made this bread yesterday, the lighter honey version and using buttermilk. I used a pyrex pan instead of nonstick, though, and despite my having greased the pan fairly well (I thought), part of the bottom stuck to the pan . The flavor and texture of the loaf itself were quite acceptable. I added 1/4 cup of currants to the batter and thought that worked well. The bread was good for dinner, served with an herb-crusted pork loin stuffed with prunes.

I haven't been to that in years, but I remember when it was new. That seems to me more like a department store gourmet space (like the downstairs at Marshall Field in Chicago) than an urban market. That might just be me and my memory, though. I remember that area from my childhood--I used to go to the dentist right there and to the corner drugstore soda fountain afterwards. My aunt always took me to shop at Suburban Square. I was fascinated by the changes in the area as I got older. (My grandfather's house--15 E Spring Ave.-- is the oldest house in Ardmore.)