purplesachi

that's funny. we were there friday night for dinner and the service was not fast at all. in fact, it was kind of on the slower side. but then again, we had a late dinner reservation (9pm) - maybe that had something to do with it?

actually, while dalessandro's is in roxborough, it's actually northWEST philly (and not to be confused with the northeast section of philadelphia). dalessandro's is a small cheesesteak place on henry ave, with a small counter (maybe 8-10 seats) and tables along the window that sometimes people sit at if it's completely chaotic in there. the last several times my cheesesteaks haven't been that great there, so more recently i've been heading directly across the street to chubby's. another cheesesteak joint that is larger (counter and booths) and they are open later (i believe until at least 2am on weeknights, and maybe later on weekends).

just curious...what were the cheesesteak places you've gone to, and which ones did you think were bad?

did anyone else notice that in the quickfire challenge they didn't show (asian) sara n. and her dish? they showed her making it, but then at the end when the pastry chef and padma were walking around tasting, hers was nowhere to be seen.

how funny! politburo and i were there saturday night as well...we got there around 4:30 and also waited a little over an hour (we bought beers they were selling outside and sat in our minivan's tailgate in the parking lot). right before our name was called to be seated, i heard the hostesses telling people it would be a 2 hour wait. ouch!it was $50 for a dozen of large, which was the only size they had. imho, a little bit pricey, but the crabs we got were nice and heavy. i don't understand the mallet - i think it might be the worst tool to use when eating crabs. i barely touched it. (i'd rather have a cracker - like a nut cracker type tool).

i was really into this cookbook over the fall and winter. i've tried the cochinita pibil recipe from here and it's really great (with the addition of the sour orange juice, recommended by zoramargolis ), especially when served whole at a party. i've also tried the braised pork belly and turnips, which was ok (i'd give it a B ), and the lemony chicken with prunes and olives (B+). there is a pork adobo recipe in there that looks a little suspect to me (given the proportions of the vinegar and soy sauce), so i haven't tried that yet. oh, and i love the vietnamese pork riblets recipe (fish sauce is very versatile), B+. i'm planning on trying the braised radish recipe in there soon...

i lived in new brunswick before moving to dc...some of the places that are worth going to (in my opinion): clydz (for martinis) makeda (semi-expensive ethopian) tumulty's (only for the burgers, though - i would pass on rafferty's) kimchi hana (the best korean bbq - in south plainfield, nj) omega diner (on route 1 - for 24 hour diner food with free wi-fi) ale n wich (my favorite dive-ish bar on the corner of hamilton and louis streets)

you know, i'm not really sure either - i've always just heard not to do it, so i don't. perhaps it has something to do with the cheese freezing? the only thing i've read is that "the pesto will keep better without it." maybe someone out there can enlighten us?

legant - the third picture is the purslane, and the last picture is salad greens.

last year since we subscribed to bull run and got a few weeks worth of scapes, i ended up making pesto and freezing it (no cheese added until we actually ate it). it was really nice to have frozen pesto throughout the entire summer to just pull out and eat at our leisure.we picked up our veggies last night also from bull run and i ended up making garlic fried rice and a stir fry of what i had in my fridge, including the bok choi, garlic scapes. i'll prolly do the same tonight with the kohlrabi, though i've never really cooked it before. sorrel...be prepared for lots of it. it has a lemony flavor and i use it in potato soup - just chop it up and throw it in there. purslane...was reading up on it yesterday and i think it's fine to eat raw in salads - it's the succulent that we got yesterday from leigh.

breakfast for dinner last night: fresh filipino longaniza (from the phil-am in jersey city), white rice, fried egg (over easy).

reading this thread kinda makes me wanna ditch an engagement party we're going to in jersey city this weekend. but alas, i cannot - politburo is one of the men of honor and we cannot miss the wii bowling tourney . will there be recipes posted after the fact?

this week (may 21-26) ten penh is celebrating the harvest or "pihayas" festival by having a special filipino 4-course menu ($40): kinilaw (filipino ceviche) chicken adobo ravioli escabeche (fish with sweet and sour sauce on top) leche flan politburo went tonight to see if there should be any fuss. the service was a little off (wine being brought out late, 2nd couse brought out while we hadn't even finished the first course, etc), but the food was pretty darn good. the standout dish was the escabeche. not sure what type of fish it was (grouper or snapper, perhaps), but the fillet was cooked perfectly and served with a sweet and sour sauce accented with julienned ginger, carrots, and red peppers, served atop of white rice. the sauce had the proper amount of heat to it, which i'm not normally accustomed to in this dish, but i was pleasantly surprised. while the chicken adobo ravioli had much promise, i don't think the dish delivered what the chef(s) possibly intended. the chicken adobo was the variety with the coconut milk, and while the adobo was fantastic, i'm not sure the vehicle for carrying the chicken was proper. the ravioli (basically a small rounded wonton wrapper, which is totally fine), would have been a bit better had it been seared or browned on at least one side, to maintain its texture. while i was eating it tonight, i kept thinking to myself that there was really no point to have the ravioli shell, save for presentation for a second course (and to give me the idea of making chicken adobo lumpia..hehe ), especially because it was also served with a bit of white rice. the leche flan was just like my mom makes it - strong hints of lime throughout. it was also served with a (almost bland) casava cake (coconut on top), but it was hard to notice the lack of sugar in the casava cake due to the fact that it was sitting in the caramelized sugar juices of the flan. after talking with our waiter, we were disappointed more people weren't there to sample the special menu. in fact, our waiter said that we were the first to order the special menu, as he hadn't really seen it or know much about it. and, as i looked around the dining room, it was confirmed that people were ordering off the regular menu. we briefly talked to cliff wharton, and he mentioned this might be something they would do again in the future. hopefully more people will take advantage of it, since filipino food has not yet become the new thai food (not that i'm hoping it does)...

also, literally down the street from nodding head is su xing house, a vegetarian chinese restaurant that is pretty decent. here's a write up my friend wrote last year for the philly weekly. i was pleasantly surprised that my carnivorous brother liked the food, even though it was all vegetarian.

that's why you gotta leave work a tad early, like politburo and i did, and get there at 5:30 when there's still places to sit at the bar!

we were told the kitchen closes 10:30pm on weekdays and 11 or 11:30pm friday and saturday. you might want to call to double check that.if you are wearing black shirt and good jeans you may be able to get away with it at the bar, but most of the clientele i've seen are a little bit more spiffed up. as i said above, i think the houblon is gone now, replaced by nostradamus, but i think bill has limited kegs of it so it won't last for long. he's also trying (really hard) to get rid of the sam adams keg, but no one seems to be ordering it (duh).edit: i think that mostly everything else that someone mentioned above is still available on tap (except for dekonick is gone with kwak in its place)

the draught beers will change often, bill told us...tonight houblon chouffe was changed to nostradamus (in time for us to sample!)

also stopped by today with a few co-workers. i have to agree that my fish taco was decent, though i dont' believe there was any sauce on mine (but like others, i added the self-serve green medium sauce and it was fine). i also ordered the carnitas taco, but i didn't find the pork to be chewy, but yes, it was oniony. the yuca fries were tasty and not as starchy as i thought they might be. cantelope agua fresca was delicious and reminded me of something my mom makes, only she keeps slivers of cantelope in hers, and we eat it with a spoon (along with drinking it). one comment i have is the overuse of packaging. one taco came in one of those cardboard (and sturdy) old-school mcdonald's big mac flip-top containers. when i was given my order, i received a large brown paper bag with handles (and a pretty nice one at that), with the cardboard containers inside. given it's a take-out place, maybe they might want to just wrap up the tacos in wax paper or something. i felt rather guilty having so many packages and then throwing them away after i was finished. had it not been so windy when i ate outside (across the street at senate park - plenty of benches to go around), i probably would have saved the paper bag for something else, but alas, all my sauces spilled all over the bag when i put them in there. i'd say it's a welcome addition to my lunch options in the area.

where exactly is this place? is it IN johnny's, but in the back? - because that doesn't make any sense to me. i'd like to give it a try for lunch someday...

went again yesterday after a very long work week. fyi: they no longer have De Koninck on tap, but instead have Kwak. They also now have Wittekerke in bottles - as well as the proper Wittekerke glasses (which were found after my beer was poured. doh!). this place is addicting - politburo and i were only going to have one beer and then head home....yeah right. three hours later we finally cut ourselves off and headed straight for the door. (speaking of doors, has anyone noticed that the doors, especially the two front ones, are unbelievably heavy?) the first time we were there we had the moules in white wine. while they were good, they weren't as good as the ones i've had at monk's (in philly). that said though, i would gladly choose beck's any day over monk's - the rude attitudes and unfriendly hipster service at monk's is a complete turn off (plus i vowed never to go there again after the last obnoxiouly rude service i received), which completely contrasts the warm, friendly, "hi-i'm-...-whats-your-name" service we've gotten now, twice, at beck's. one other minor comment is that the order of straight frites is rather large, and that there aren't enough mayos to last the entire bowl of frites. (well, at least for us it didn't.) we'll probably be there monday after work again. hehe

more information about the author and the book. thanks.

My cousin's good friend, Sasha Issenberg is promoting his new book, The Sushi Economy, which I think will be coming out within the next few weeks. He will be coming to Matsutake in Arlington, VA (Ballston Metro) so I thought I'd pass along the information, in case anyone was interested. More information can be found here. "Join NAAAP-DC for a fun and relaxing sushi dinner and presentation of a new book at our first ever book club event. Matsutake restaurant. Author Issa Issenberg will talk about his book, The Sushi Economy: Globalization and The Making of A Modern Delicacy, which examines the rise of the international trade and culture around sushi as a way of understanding globalization, and as professionals, you will find the possibilties exciting. Preview Copies will be available for sale at the event. NAAAP-DC has arranged for this extraordinary dinner and book club experience at a special member price of $25 per person, including soup, salad, sushi, and tea/soda. Alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity are not included. For non-members the price will be $30 plus tax and gratuity. "

agreed. $25 was a steal to taste three different wines paired with 3 appetizers. politburo and i will definitely be back for the next 5 wednesdays (and maybe even a sunday or thursday when the burrata has just been flown in earlier in the day!)

try here.

for the second year in a row, we're going with bull run farm. i believe there are still shares available. politburo and i did a 2-person share and yes, at the end of each week we had a lot of extra vegetables and greens that we couldn't finish. but it forces us to eat healthier and try out new recipes that we wouldn't normally have tried if we didn't have the abundance of the veggies. there is a pick up (i believe) every day of the week at a different location in the metro area. last year it was a few blocks from dupont circle, which was pretty convenient.