squidsdc

For me, it is akin to when TS downgrades a restaurant for the interior decor yet the food is outstanding.  Standing in lline is a "part" of the whole experience, and a restaurant that chooses that as their model should not earn 4 stars from TS, based on his history of reviewing restaurants, IMHO.

Last weekend: Restaurant August, Willa Jean's (coffee and dessert), Cochon and Mothers. Oh, almost forgot...Cafe du Monde.

I'd wait at least a month for menu turnover before assessing. 

Ha! I didn't know he ended up here-do you know when he started? We ate there earlier this month and had a delightful meal for my BIL's bday. Great service, too. I can't recall if I ordered the baba ghannouj or the roasted eggplant, but it was truly smokey deliciousioness. I had an (altered for allergies) roasted whole branzino that was fileted at the table. A for effort, even if there were a few pin bones left behind. I do wish that he had left the detritis though, as it looked like there was still some good meat left on the bones. I think others ordered a lamb burger, falafel, charred artichokes, and perhaps some more mezze. The pita bread was great too, and the article mentions he's been playing around with the recipe. While I can't recall everything that we ordered, we were well taken care of and will definitely be back. I won't wait for additions to the menu, as that will just be icing on the cake!

Look for hotels in the Central Business District next to French Quarters.  From there you can easily walk to French Quarters.  Garden District is a cab/trolley ride away from the best restaurants, which are mostly in CBD/FQ.

Thanks! I was able to find a place in the CBD for under $200/night with a kitchenette. Right near August Restaurant...

My coworker noticed the truck and had a sample, and he said it was really good. So I walked by on my lunch and tasted a sample of the cake with pecans, and he also gave me a taste of the ice cream with carrot cake and pecan. It took all my will power to walk away. (And not order both!)

I was impressed that the cake was not oily as some carrot cakes tend to be and mentioned it to him. He said it is his mother's recipe, and he cuts the oil with butter. (Yes, I could taste the butter.) And the ice cream tasted like a Steve's mix-in; a bit of nostalgia for those of you who remember that shop. He mixes the cupcake in to the ice cream, which I could tell was a premium vanilla. Good stuff. Though I hope he doesn't come by too often or might not be able to hold out...

Where can one find recs for a place to stay that won't break the bank?! Heading to NOLA for a wedding reception on Columbus Day weekend. Party at Pharmacy Museum Friday night, so if not nearby, I'll need to be able to find a cab. Is the Garden District doable?

I much prefer sucralose anyway!

We went to Lotus Cafe a long time ago and it was just okay then, no better than any others in the area and Pho 75 was tops at that time. But we just had the opportunity to try out a fairly new restaurant in Wheaton on Wednesday, and I had the best Pho I have had in a long time. The broth was incredibly beef-y and flavorful. Check it out and let me know if you agree, Thomas P. (Summer rolls were tasty as well)

Cam Ranh Bay Pho and Grill

It's located in half the building that used to house Good Fortune, on Univ. Blvd. (The other half is a Chinese restaurant.)

And the next phase...protestors want the Trump name removed from the building. From WaPo:

"Protesters and city officials gathered Thursday across the street from the future Trump International Hotel in Washington, calling on federal officials to remove Trump's name from the building.

"We understand that there are legal formalities," said D.C. shadow Sen. Paul Strauss (D), who wrote a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell calling for the removal of the name, which appears in large capital letters on the building. "But they have the legal ability to change what's displayed on federal land."

(please ignore-post somehow got placed in the wrong thread!)

I have been spatula searching for years! But I wanted one that would also work in a non-stick pan, for eggs. It had to have a thin edge for flipping eggs and scraping fond, and a small and short enough handle to accommodate a small hand. Plus, not be too wide as to be unwieldy.

I am happy to say I found one - though I can't tell you who makes it. I found it at Home Goods just a few months ago. I'll check when I get home to see if there is a brand name, but sometimes the cheaper ones are the most rigid and fill the bill.

ETA: It's a Rubbermaid!

Sorry to hear you lost power, Ilaine.

It was great to see all who came out! Thanks to Ilaine for stepping up to take the lead, and to DanielK for ride sharing!

Can't wait to try out the Thai Chai Snickerdoodles, and am anxiously awaiting the recipe for the North Carolina pulled pork...

Well the electricity flickered a bit but stayed on long enough for me to finish my broccoli pesto pasta salad. Most likely the +1 will not come, which means wonders did cease. LOL. Which also means I'll be driving by myself. Seems like such a waste--is there anyone who needs a ride that I might pick up en route? (I'm coming from Silver Spring)

It is looking like we may be able to make it (wonders never cease!) Will update when plans for father's day are firmed up next week.

I think most of Consumer Reports' recommended ovens do have convection in just one of the ovens. Are you looking at two ovens in different locations, and not a double oven? I attached the double-oven ratings, and Consumers does have a single oven ratings list as well. Whirlpool has one that is the top recommended, and $800 more than the Maytag without convection, but the difference in price between the two Maytags is $1k.  You'd have to look at the other options to see what else is different as the difference may be for a more reliable or better cleaning options and not just due to the convection feature. Plus you may come up on a sale that offers a better deal one way or the other...

Ratings Selector.pdf

Thanks for the input, lekkerwijn.

I'm looking at the budget and looking at possible trade-offs to free up some bucks for one thing or another.  So, I'm going with electric double wall ovens (non-negotiable for me), but do I really really want convection?  That adds about $1k to the oven cost, so is it worth it?  I think I want it but I've never had it.

Any convection oven owners out there that can offer any insight?

How do you use your oven-do you do any baking? Mostly roasting, broiling? We never had convection previously either, but Mr. S wanted it and I find I do like it, but also did fine without it before. I am also surprised it adds that much to the cost! For 1k I don't know that we would go for it either. What brand oven are you considering?

I haven't had the chance to post prior, but did do a search to see if there was a thread started yet. As there wasn't one I lost my opportunity to post at the time I had it, so thanks for getting the thread started!

We dined here on Thurs evening to celebrate my father's birthday. I was pleased with the service and how well taken care of we were. We were off to the side so weren't in the "mix" of any activity, which was actually nice. Only downside was the cold air blowing directly down on the table. Oh, and I do think $8 for bottle of cider is rather steep. I'd pay that for a pint downtown. Guess now that cider is becoming more popular, prices are escalating. Or maybe I'm just out of the loop, which is more likely.

As to the food, all thoroughly enjoyed their plates even though we did not have a variety of dishes. My father and I had the softshells (off menu and if they are being served you'd be wise to get these) and Mr. S, my sister and neice all had the brick chicken. My mom had the tuna salad, which was prepared exactly to her liking. No complaints, and that is not an easy feat!  The brick chicken was a very large serving and a bargain at $22.

Several of us chose the asparagus as a side with was pertectly prepared. Not overdone, not underdone, and very sweet. Two of us had the fish tacos and I do highly recommend these. Think of a perfectly fried piece of cod (as in fish & chips) inside a soft corn tortilla with delicious topping. Mine was altered for my allergies but was delicious even without the slaw and avocado lime ranch dressing.

And while we were really too full for dessert, we decided to share for the occasion. We ordered the same chocolate peanut dessert as skipkendall and the ice cream cookie sandwich. A gratis dish was brought for my father which was appreciated and unexpected. A light cake with meringue and berries, and was just perfect for his taste. The chocolate peanut dessert was said to be delicious and is described on the menu as a "Dark Chocolate & Roasted Peanut Semifreddo, Chocolate Peanut Crumble, Roasted Peanut Ice Cream." Though I could not partake, I was more than happy with mine. Skip-if you had the olive oil cake, I think you had what they describe as Boston Cream Pie. I'm tuned in to that since it is one of my favorite desserts, yet I couldn't order it due to the non-traditional olive oil in the cake. While I was heartbroken at first, I was certainly not sorry I got to try the ice cream cooke sandwich.It was actually two-chocolate fudge cookies with caramel chocolate pecan ice cream. This was so good that I didn't even want to share!

To Beau Biden. Too young. RIP.

Just saw it a TJ's as well and almost bought it-will definitely give it a try. Thx for the rec Zora!

Thanks all. The recipe called for a few other items that we would need to seek out, so we're going with a different recipe. I'll keep it in mind for the next time!

Yes, Mr. S remembered working for Pasquale. We'll have to take a trip out there!

Where does one find barley malt syrup? I don't believe I've ever heard of it before.

Kosta often has it at the Greek Deli. I'm not sure if he has it all the time, though.

Here is "some" perspective on how long its been.  In the earlier '80's, the commercial RE brokerage firm I was with worked on many projects with the family/corporate entity that owned Konterra .  I worked on some of the different "things" they owned, etc.   There were development boards for Konterra in their offices.   That was the early 80's.  That is a long time ago.

OTH.  Around that time and/or a wee bit later I worked on some other projects also in Md.  While Konterra is "inching" along....there is NOTHING on these other sites.  NADA.  NIL.

Of course if this were some parts of Va, where development has been more crazed....those plans from the 80's would have high rises, Starbucks, CheeseCake Factories' and maybe a great independent operator or two.  

I surmise that is because the ICC has been in contention for many many years. Konterra was meant to springboard off that project, which almost did not come to fruition. I believe the Purple line may also be a part of the equation, and that still is being "fought" over to this day.  One never knows which projects will go through quickly and which ones get caught up in the wheel of politics...

Michael Harr has already taken it over and was just featured on "Will You Eat There" on Fox 5 this week, even though the name change is still to come.