zoramargolis

Somehow, the idea of a custom-made very sharp blade finding a place in your heart sounds sorta-cidal, Don...

Lebanese Butcher and Halalco, both in Falls Church, break down whole animals on-site, so they are also a possibility.

Have you checked with Pam the Butcher at Wagshal's?

Not only traffic, but parking. Many of the trendy new places are located in neighborhoods where finding a parking place is very dicey.

pan-roasted duck breast with pomegranate molasses freekeh pilaf with mint/cilantro/ parsley, topped with goatmilk labneh/lemon/garlic and pine nuts (Ottolenghi recipe) haricots verts with green garlic 2012 Sean Minor pinot noir

Gee, I'd love to go to Rose's Luxury. My +1, however, categorically refuses to go anywhere that a wait is involved. This severely limits my options, unless I want to go out to eat alone. Once, when he was out of town, I managed to get into Toki Underground with only a 45 minute wait. I never did get into Little Serow under similar circumstances. Twice. A two-hour wait was more than I could deal with on 17th Street by myself -- heading home and coming back would mean another long search for a parking place. Gah! So, we go to places that take reservations, or more often to places that aren't that popular, since going out is often an impulsive, last minute decision.

last night: spring-y frittata: asparagus, green garlic, leek, nettles, goat gouda, cave-aged cheddar, young pecorino, and reggiano parmesan baguette toast vanilla i.c. with dulce de leche 2013 Balbo Crios rosé

Well, here's the rub. If I have to pay $5 a dozen for eggs anyway, I'll buy from a different vendor--one who is more scrupulously organic and scientific about pasturing their hens. And the guy who used to charge me $4.50 has lost me, and perhaps others as a customer. And if he is hauling home eggs that he couldn't sell, he's not a brilliant businessman for charging more.

I stand corrected regarding the price of your rhubarb. I could be wrong, but I believe that it is $1 a pound more than it was last year. Of course, I believe that farmers should make a decent living, which is why I have shopped at farmers' markets weekly, or more often, since the early 1980's, when I lived in Santa Monica, CA. Dupont Circle is an interesting case, since prices there are quite a bit higher than markets further out in the 'burbs, which is mostly a reflection of the relative affluence of the shoppers who come there. And prices seem to rise together within the market--there are few outliers. It would be healthy if prices were a reflection of actual costs to bring that item to market -- rhubarb being an example of a perennial crop like asparagus, which involve less annual cost, once established, than crops that need to be seeded, transplanted, thinned, etc. etc. every year. Another example--the eggs I was buying for $4.50 a dozen from one particular vendor for a very long time suddenly were $5, because that is what everyone else who sells eggs was charging. And as much as I am happy to see the farmers at Dupont do well and prosper, I hope that Gardener's Gourmet had to take a whole lot of rhubarb back home with them, because no one was willing to pay $8 a pound for stalks with leaves still attached. I'll be interested to see the price next week.

spring seafood pasta: nettles, green garlic, scallions, parsley, scallops, shrimp and squid with de cecco farfalle, shrimp stock, white wine and creme fraiche.

New Morning Farm has (certified organic) rhubarb for sale, for $6 a pound. I thought that price was shocking, until I saw that Gardener's Gourmet was selling theirs (non-organic) for $7.99 a pound WITH THE LEAVES STILL ON. This is just shocking to me, having grown rhubarb when I lived in Vermont. Rhubarb is so easy to grow--it is a perennial. Once a plant is established, it comes up on its own and all the farmer needs to do is chop off stalks and REMOVE THE LEAVES, which are toxic due to high levels of oxalic acid.

Pat-- David Lebovitz will be at the Dupont Market this coming Sunday from 11-1. If you come and bring your book, you can get it signed. I loved his memoir, Living the Sweet Life in Paris, so I am tempted to buy this cookbook. I have so many French cookbooks, though...

Clearly, this "quick cooking" bulgur is meant to be cooked, not merely soaked. Probably, the bulgur you have used before is par-cooked and dried, like instant cous-cous, and so merely needs to be soaked. ("French" couscous, on the other hand, has to be steamed in multiple steps, and isn't meant just to be soaked in hot water.) Use this bulgur for a pilaf, and get another kind for tabbouleh. Or cook and chill this one--the tabbouleh will have a different, softer texture.

If your California friends are looking for a somewhat upscale Mexican meal, take them to Oyamel. If they want very good pan-Latin food in a trendy place, take them to Del Campo. If they want to go to a casual taqueria, take them to Taco Bamba near Tyson's Corner. I'm from L.A. and Taco Bamba is the best Mexican food I have found in this area. But, as Laura B has said above it's a VERY casual, eat from paper receptacles at a counter kind of place. BTW the same guy, Victor Albisu owns both Del Campo and Taco Bamba.

If it's in early June, we'll be away. but if it's mid-to-late June I would love to go to Rose's Luxury. I've been wanting to go, but J. won't go places where a long wait is likely.

Moderator moderating here. We appreciate everyone's passion, opinions and expertise. Let's please make an extra effort to communicate respect for one another's contributions, which doesn't mean that we can't disagree. Merely agree to disagree agreeably, please. Flames do their best work when cooking food, which is our primary concern. Even heat and caution prevents burning on stoves and in discussions. I'll refrain from extending the metaphor further. Carry on!

last night: king salmon, cedar-planked over charcoal, served with dill-scallion butter and lemon charcoal roasted asparagus leftover green basmati rice strawberries with homemade cultured buttermilk biscuits and sweetened vanilla creme fraiche 2013 Sierra Cantabria rosé

I don't have a Bamix, but reading your post Linda, I'm thinking that a stainless steel container would work best. Then you wouldn't have to worry about glass breaking,

If you come to the Dupont Circle farmers' market on Sunday mornings, look for Next Step Produce in the upper level of the market. Heinz Thomet grows and sells wheat berries, oats, barley and rice. And last year he got a grain mill so that he can make and sell flour. It's not cheap, but if you want really fresh and local, he's the go-to. The other option is to mill your own grain. KitchenAid sells a grain mill attachment for their mixer, and Vitamix sells a dry jar for their blender that I have used to mill flour from whole grains. And there are hand powered grain mills, as well.

Yeah, we found that ratio was way off. We cut back on the orange liqueur and added a lot more prosecco. Really delicious drink. We had it again tonight. along with Humboldt Fog and Taleggio, leftover artichoke tapenade, olives, cukes and Stachowski Genoa salami. charcoal-roasted, applewood smoked, quick-brined chicken thighs with ZQ sauce spice rubbed grilled hanger steak mixed green salad with lemon vinaigrette spring green rice: Tilda basmati (yes it's back!) mixed with green garlic, green onion, dandelion greens, spinach, Italian parsley, asparagus and feta almond cake made with part almond flour, olive oil and roasted almond oil, orange zest, topped with poached green figs (they were bought frozen and the cake was soaked with reduced syrup that the figs were poached in--spiced with orange zest, black cardamom, star anise, vanilla bean sweetened, vanilla scented whipped cream 2011 Bogle phantom 2012 Clos Robert cabernet

last night: impromptu dinner party starting with City of Light cocktails, which were superb--it's going to be my go-to summer drink. Very light and refreshing, not too sweet. with drinks, we had artichoke tapenade roasted mushrooms stuffed with pimenton, P'tit Basque and homemade preserved meyer lemon cucumbers with za'atar marcona almonds homemade cultured butter Pedro Pan's homemade bread charcoal grilled, spice rubbed ribeyes with chimichurri (Suzanne Goin's recipe, with cherry tomatoes) over sauteed roasted pepper strips and haricots verts with olive oil,lemon and garlic on arugula apricot frangipane tart with B&J's vanilla ice cream and Peet's espressos 2011 El Felino malbec tonight: salad with mache, mixed lettuces, misc. crunchy veg, avocado, feta, pinenuts, lemon vinaigrette de cecco bowtie pasta with fresh shrimp in garlic cream a 2013 rosé

It appears that he had become the paranoid object of a man with a delusional psychiatric disorder. He's lucky that the attack only involved pepper spray and not a more serious weapon.

panko-crusted skate with green garlic remoulade haricots verts sauteed with roasted red pepper, garlic and lemon leftover mujaddara fresh pineapple 2011 Licia albarií±o

savory greens and mushroom pancakes* with lime butter re-heated smoke-grilled lamb chops** a bottle of rosé *taking Ottolenghi's recipe for spinach pancakes in Plenty as a starting point, I used a mix of spinach, young kale, green garlic, and dandelion greens and crimini mushroom duxelles in the pancakes, substituting homemade cultured buttermilk for the sweet milk in the original recipe. **a large number of lamb chops purchased at Costco were grilled a few days ago, more than we could eat at the time, and I purposely undercooked some of them so that they would be pink inside when re-heated.

charcoal-grilled, applewood smoked lamb loin chops mint and green garlic in labneh mujaddarah (basmati rice, green lentils, caramelized onions) grilled red peppers 2012 Yaso toro