zoramargolis

Another good place you should try in that area is the Burmese restaurant on Lee Hwy, just inside the Beltway.

Is that Myanmar? I love their ginger salad. Any other dishes to recommend?

My boyfriend's garden is overflowing with peppers right now. Like, over 100 different types. 

How does he keep them from cross-pollinating? I used to grow a big veggie garden in my backyard when I lived in Santa Monica. One year I planted bell peppers, mild New Mexico chiles, and jalapenos. I ended up with spicy bell peppers and spicy chiles. And spicy jalapenos, too.

The Silver Queen corn had the occasional chalky blue kernel in it, thanks to the blue corn, even though I planted them as far apart as I could.

Any guesses as to who takes over Kliman's desk at City Paper? 

If City Paper is as smart and edgy as they seem to want to be, they'll offer the job to Joe Heflin.

A cousin of my husband's was coming to town for an annual meeting of Orthopedic Surgeons. About two weeks in advance, she asked me to make reservations on a particular night during the meeting, in a good restaurant of my choice. I called at least ten high-end places before I was able to get a table. At each place I called, I was told that there was a convention in town, which was why there were no tables available. I did finally get a reservation at Corduroy, and we had an excellent meal there--it was packed to the walls, mid-week. But the experience was instructive: when 10,000 or more affluent people gather in this town, they don't have any trouble at all finding the many fine restaurants we have here.

Check out this very interesting article in the NY Times by Amanda Hesser. You may need to register, if you aren't already. (It's free.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/magazine...html?oref=login

Starland Cafe on MacArthur Blvd. has half-priced burgers on Wednesday night.

I wasn't eager to meet him, as I found his writing to be bombastic, self-aggrandizing, and chock full of hyperbole and definitives instead of opinions.

I envisioned him to be a cranky curmudgeon so obsessed with food that he probably had the depth of a sheet of paper.

In fact, he was an exceedingly likable gentleman. Elegant, wordly, and a most entertaining raconteur. He wasn't a blowhard or braggard, but a very nice man, with an equally lovely wife, whose presence was, dare I say, fun.

I've read the sniping between some on the other boards and Joe, sometimes with a good degree of amusement and sometimes with a good deal of outrage. His writing is very forceful and strong, and he probably is too agressive when his opinions are challenged in cyber space.

But having met him once, and only once, I would be happy to sidle up to Joe H at a bar and spend of few hours drinking wine, talking food, and a whole lot of other stuff. And I bet most here would too.

After reading Joe's posts on Chowhound for about a year, I also found him to be opinionated, bombastic and hyperbolic. That's just what made me eager to meet him. I had a food-obsessed, opinionated friend named Joe many years ago in Los Angeles, and I missed him. So, one day I e-mailed Joe Heflin and invited him to come to my house for dinner, "sight-unseen." That was the beginning of a great friendship, and we have shared many meals together--at each other's homes and in restaurants, with other Chowhounders who have become a rather freeform group of fellow food-enthusiasts.

As the post above accurately describes, Joe is different in person than he is when he is writing on-line and responding to challengers. He is personable, friendly and generous to a fault. He tells everyone who gets to know him, about growing up poor in Silver Spring, with a single mother who supported the family by working as a waitress. He is now quite a successful man, but knowing that about him helps to illuminate the roots of his sensitivity. For some people, strong opinions and emotions in others are difficult to tolerate. Me? I appreciate passion, even if I disagree with the content being expressed. I don't share all of Joe's likes and dislikes, and I am not blinded by friendship to his difficulties. There is no question, though, that he energises and enlivens the local food community. As I've told him many times, he is "the straw that stirs the drink." I hope Joe can find a home here, so that he can continue to write about his passions.

Growing up on Cape Cod has left me a penchant for this sublime snack. I say snack, because I usually finish eating a normal roll in 4 or 5 bites as my wife stares agog calculating the ludicrous price-per-bite figure of the endeavour  .

There are two schools of thought regarding the lobster roll:

1) The "unspoilt" school. I would say as you travel up the coast of New England, this preperation kicks into full gear at Red's Eats (a shack in Wiscasset that's become a media darling). Here, a generous portion of lobster is served on the traditional "New England Style" hot-dog roll (the sides of the roll are not crust - for easy grilling*) with a side of butter. There is no dressing for the lobster, this is a purist's dream.

2) The "salad" school. Essentially, most establishments prepare lobster rolls in this fashion. A mayo-based dressing is applied to the lobster and it is often mixed with various fillers (celery etc). I've never seen a roll south of New England that doesn't fall into this category.

My preference falls somewhere between the two. Filler is sin, but a roll can be dressed in a manner that compliments - not overwhelms - the taste of the lobster.

...

* Can anybody tell me where I can purchase these buns around here???

Pepperidge Farms makes a version, called "top sliced" and they can be found in supermarkets which carry the Pepperidge Farm line of products.

Trader Joe's sells a whole wheat version as its hot dog buns.

I've known about this place for years, but I have always made my own masa or brought fresh masa back from California when I went to visit family. My cousin Peter Helfrich wanted to learn how to make tamales, and we planned an ambitious campaign--to make about twelve dozen tamales, four different kinds. So we needed more masa than I could make in my Cuisinart. Peter called and spoke with the owner of Moctec, Victor Vargas, who agreed to sell us as much as we wanted and took our order.

We drove out on the Beltway and followed some fairly complicated Mapquest directions to find the place--it's at least five miles away from the restaurants in Little Mexico. In any case, we found it--a rather non-descript industrial building. The address is 3601 West St. Hyattsville, MD 20785 and the telephone number is 301-386-9090. They don't have any sort of retail sales capacity, one just enters a large office area. One of the clerical workers found our order and went to find Senor Vargas, so we could speak with him. It was a long wait, so we wandered down the hall and went through a door into the plant. Most of the workers were gone for lunch, and the equipment was not operating. But it looked well-worn and had been patched up here and there with improvised repair materials. Senor Vargas found us--he was a very pleasant, friendly man, pleased to tell us his story and show us around. There were five or six massive rectangular vats on wheels, full of still-warm nixtamal, the corn after it has been parboiled with lime. The corn is fed through a washer, which removes the gelatinous hulls by tumbling it through a spray of water. It goes through a big hose from there into the massive grinder, and is then fed into wide rollers with cutters that stamp out tortillas, which are baked or cut further and fried to make chips.

According to Senor Vargas, his is the only factory on the East Coast still making tortillas from whole corn. Everyone else uses masa harina. He said that due to the influence of the corporation that owns Maseca, the biggest brand in Mexico, that a law was passed in Mexico that commercial tortilla factories must use masa harina, not whole corn. I find this difficult to believe, but this clearly needs more research. As a result of current generations having grown accustomed to eating tortillas made from Maseca, there is less demand for fresh masa. It is less labor intensive to use corn flour, which only needs to be reconstituted with water. But this is shocking-- it's as if a law were passed in Italy mandating that all polenta sold must be instant, or that all risotto rice be turned into Minute Rice.

Victor Vargas is a Texan, who came to Washington in the mid-seventies, to work for the federal government. There were few Mexicans here at the time, and no Mexican food or products. The growth of his business in recent years has been dramatic. And somewhat overwhelming, judging by the somewhat chaotic appearance of the office and the factory.

I asked him what his favorite local Mexican restaurant is, and he said Oyamel, which buys its fresh masa from him. When we asked for his opinion of the best local Little Mexico place, so we could go there for lunch, he said that the only place he can recommend is Taqueria Tres Reyes. That the other places (like La Serenita) aren't very good (!!!)

He didn't have any fresh tortillas available to sell us, unfortunately. We bought our masa --$6 per five pound bag-- and followed his directions to get to Kenilworth Avenue and found TTR. Much more inviting than Taqueria El Charrito Caminante--it has tables and chairs. A limited menu with no platters or beans. Just tacos, tortas and soup. Peter and I both had tacos de puerco al pastor and barbacoa de chivo. The other choices were beef or chicken. The serving of meat was generous. The pork was very good--but didn't have pineapple,which I am accustomed to having in an al pastor-style dish. The goat was a bit greasy, which didn't stop us from polishing it all off. We had a rack of four salsas on the table, which were home-made, thick and spicy--two red and two different green salsas. A very good deal for $2.25 per taco.

The tamales turned out delicious-- we had four teen-aged girls to help with assembly. Four kinds: vegetarian with huitlacoche, oyster and shitake mushroom; traditional-style pork and chayote with red chile adobo; modern-style duck, shitake mushroom and papaya with mole verde; and a dessert tamale with cajeta (goat-milk dulce de leche), dates, figs and orange.

Further distinctions: cultured vs. what? Uncivilized? Unenlightened? Cultured butter is made from, essentially, creme fraiche. Think of it as yogurt made with 100% heavy cream that is then churned into butter. The good French butters are all cultured. Vermont Butter and Cheese Company makes the best domestic cultured butter (which has a little bit of salt in it). It's very fresh-tasting and the flavor is deep and complex. The price takes your breath away. So I buy Trader Joe's Organic Unsalted Cultured Butter--there is no salted version. Or Plugra, European-style, also unsalted. I prefer unsalted, and my husband and daughter sprinkle salt on theirs. On a couple of occasions, I have made my own cultured butter, using heavy cream from the farmer's market and a spoonful of Total yogurt as a starter. After it thickened up, I churned it in my Kitchenaid mixer

Don't you work for BlackSalt? Maybe you should have informed us on the board that the restaurant got one as Dean did so there would have been no misunderstanding. I appreciate Dean taking the time to inform us of the progression on Dino.

1)I have not worked at BlackSalt since May 1st.

2)It never occured to me that it was a big enough deal that Jeff Black bought one, to announce it online.

3)It's nice that Dean has one of these machines--it isn't necessary for his to be the first and/or only restaurant to have one, in order for it to be something to kvell about. I was merely setting the record straight.

Charcoal grilled chicken marinated in lemon, rosemary and roasted garlic

Fresh cranberry beans stewed with aromatic vegetables

New Morning Silver Queen corn off-the-cob, stewed in sweet butter

Charcoal-grilled broccolini, lemon olive oil

Dessert: roasted sweet cherries and fresh figs, drizzled with macadamia oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, marsala wine and lemon zest, served with sweetened creme fraiche

Kir-Yianni Akakies rose

The roasted fruit compote was da bomb--one of the best things I've ever made. Before he tasted it, my husband looked at it and accused me of trying to feed him beets for dessert.

We have finally recieved our hand-cranked vertical prosciutto slicer (as far as we know, we are the first restaurant and the second business in the DC area to get one). "What is THAT?" you ask.

It is the Ferrari of slicers, except it doesn't go fast. The blade is vertical and the prosciutto lies flat on a moving plate. The slicer (the person not the machine) cranks a fly wheel to get the blade moving. The blade itself is curved so the only point of the blade in contact with the meat is the cutting edge itself. This makes for very little heat transfer to the ham, and the point of prosciutto is that it is an uncooked meat. A traditional deli style slicer will heat and slightly cook the prosciutto. The flat position of the meat makes for very even, very thin slices. Again, in a deli slicer, the slices are affected by the weight of the ham pusing down at a 45 degree angle. Hand cranking and the flywheel allow for a slow moving blade and even slicing speed.

While I have always loved our prosciutto, it is much better now that we have the slicer!

The other being Cornucopia, a deli on Woodmont (?) in Bethesda.

They're real purdy.

BlackSalt has had one [a vertical hand-cranked proscuitto slicer] for a while. Not sure whether Cornucopia's preceded it. But Dino's definitely was not the first.

I have never had teleme made in Italy (it's like a ripe brie) and I've never bought it outside of the Bay Area, but it's possible that Trader Joe's might carry it locally. Peluso Cheese in Los Banos, CA still makes teleme, and they have mail order.

Sorry to say that Trader Joe's doesn't sell Teleme--I don't think the production is of sufficient size for a large chain to sell it. I used to get it in L.A. occcasionally--it's not really like brie, since it doesn't have a bloomy rind. It's very mild, more like a rich, soft jack. Last summer when my husband's cousins all gathered in Santa Cruz for a family surf camp week, we did a dinner featuring local products for the benefit of the east coasters. The NY contingent had gotten some peaches at the Ferry Building market, and for dessert I grilled peach halves and served them with Teleme and a Meyer lemon compote.

You might like Saint Nectaire, which is a rich, soft mild cheese from France.

My modest contribution, written in the last five minutes:

To the tune "Rockabye Baby"

Rockwell for eating

and drinking wine

Don't feed us swill

Our dining is fine

(we) sniff out good cheese

and cook with fresh thyme

We make reservations

And post on line

Take a look at today's food section in the Post, page F5. It sounds as if Natalia's Elegant Creations may be exactly what you are looking for. 571-239-0256/ www.nataliaselegantcreations.com.

I live near MacArthur Beverages, and have been shopping there more frequently, now that they take Amex, my credit card of choice. It's easy to browse there, and their inventory is huge--especially France and Italy. Their consultants are very knowledgeable and friendly. The time to shop there is when they have sales. There's almost always a tasting on Saturday afternoon.

Rodman's in Friendship Heights has a very eclectic selection from around the world, and seems to focus primarily on lower-priced wines. How was an $8 pinot noir from Roumania made by a winemaker from Burgundy? Not bad. Lots of stuff from South America, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, even Russia. I just wish it wasn't so cramped--it's a challenge to browse, but I almost always find interesting things there. The two guys who run the wine dept. have been there for years, and are very helpful. They've tasted most of what they sell and can talk about and compare various wines you may be considering.

I also like Paul's, across the street from Rodman's, which has good sales, although their selection is smaller than some other places. They will always match other stores' sale prices, if you can quote them. They have tastings on Friday evenings and have very good mixed case discounts.

Arrowine in Arlington is an occasional stop for me. Doug Rosen is very passionate about wine. If you've seen Mondovino, he's very much in the Neal Rosenthal camp, and hates the "international" style, fruit-forward wines that I happen to like, though he sells them. I like Doug, even though he refers to fruit-bomb Aussie Shirazes as "pancake syrup". They have good e-mail sales. I don't buy much there because they don't take Amex. I love their cheese and deli department.

I also go to Total in McLean, Magruder's, and Wide World of Wine.

I did one with walnuts recently (and a bit of walnut oil instead of olive oil). Very good.

When encountering pesto, I always have to ask whether it has been made with pine nuts or walnuts, because I am very allergic to walnuts. Since many people share this unfortunate affliction, be sure to let guests know, just in case.

My secret for preventing oxidation/browning, which can happen quickly and looks so unappetizing-- I add some lightly cooked spinach with all the water squeezed out, to the basil, garlic, pinenuts, parmesan cheese and olive oil.

Does anyone know a Really Good Bakery in the DC area? I'm planning a menu for my birthday party, and even though I had baking ambitions to begin with, I'm looking over the menu right now and there's no way in hell I can cook AND bake for 30 ppl AND keep my looks and spirits as a hostess at least serviceable.

So. Need to find a place where I can get desserts worthy of the rest. Will probably be looking for things like coffecake or streusel, not overly creamy or chocolatey. Will also need fancy brunch-y bread assortments for the table, so if I can get both, that'd be very convenient. Please help me out with suggestions, oh you who know better. Thanks a lot.

I like Randolph's in Arlington. It's on Lee Highway, east of Glebe Rd. in the same strip of stores as Arrowine and Crisp and Juicy. Unlike many commercial bakeries, they use only fresh butter in their cakes and pastries.

A French friend of mine swears by Patisserie Poupon on Wisconsin in Upper Georgetown. What I've had was good.

I was chatting with a wine rep from Henry Group a week ago at MacArthur's about rose. He told me that his personal favorite this summer is 2004 Akakies Kir-Yianni from Greece. I found a bottle at Rodman's the next day, now I see it on the sale list at MacA for less than I paid. Anyhoo, I finally opened and drank it today--very nice! Deep pink color, plenty of strawberry-raspberry fruit, but bone dry and with enough acidity to make it a refreshing summer quaff that can hold its own with flavorful food. We drank it with chiles rellenos stuffed with ricotta, manchego and fresh corn in a garlicky salsa de tomate.

Safeway had melons on sale, and the only ones left at the Soviet location were Cassava. So I bought one, and chopped it up this morning.

Not very tasty. What does one do with these things?

Avoid them. It's actually a Casaba melon. Cassava is a starchy tuber. Look for a melon called Sharlyn next time--it's my favorite. They look a little bit like Casabas, but the Sharlyn is intensely aromatic with tender, juicy flesh. But if you have leftovers of the one you have, I suggest turning it into a smoothy, combined with some other, more flavorful fruits.

New Gallup poll says that among those who imbibe, wine has edged out beer as the beverage of choice 39% to 36%

Interesting. Are these new wine drinkers former beer drinkers? Were there more than 25% drinking other alcoholic beverages the last time this kind of survey was done, in other words does this indicate that there are liquor drinkers who have switched to wine? Did they ask what varietal, brand or price level wine these folks were drinking? My guess is the answer would be heavily weighted toward Yellowtail/Two Buck Chuck. Then again I shouldn't be snobbish--wine lovers gotta start somewhere. I used to drink Lancer's, Mateus and Gallo Hearty Burgundy when I first came of drinking age.

I had heard from friends that Super H in Fairfax was a much nicer, better-supplied store than Han An Reum in Merrifield, which is where I have been going. I decided to check out Super H and what I found suprised me. More so, because they are owned by the same company.

The produce department at Super H is superior. No contest there. Better selection, better display, fresher appearance of the produce, and wider aisles, so it's easier to shop. I found fresh cranberry beans, and some very fresh-looking favas, and the selection of fresh herbs was exhilarating.

But I looked in vain for duck legs in the meat department. A few frozen whole ducks only.

And the fish department was not even half the size of the one at HAR. They had no fresh squid, an abbreviated selection of fish, and only four or five different kinds of clams and mussels.

So I stopped at Han An Reum on my way home. And bought a dozen duck legs to make confit. And some beautiful whole fresh squid which became a sort of Tuscan-style improvisation with the cranberry beans. I served the favas with the duck confit.

Now that I've seen how good the produce section is at Super H, I'll probably end up doing the two-stage shopping trip from now on. Gotta love HAR. Since I discovered the fresh duck legs for $1.99 a pound there, we have gotten totally hooked on confit.

I have an old-style gadget that I can use to scrape/shred corn off the cob and it makes instant creamed corn in less than the time it would take to cut the kernels off the cobs. I cooked the corn puree with some sweet butter and a little bit of heavy cream, a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of salt. It was incredible. After dinner, I found one of my dinner guests in the kitchen, using her finger as a spatula to get the last bits left in the saucepan the corn had cooked in.