DanielK

Just a reminder to one and all that this Sunday is the 3rd meeting of the DR.com Montgomery County dim sum comparo. Sunday's meeting is at New Fortune, in Gaithersburg. New Fortune is on Rockville Pike (Rte. 355) just a block north of Shady Grove Rd. and I-370. So, just two questions: 1) Who's coming? 2) What time should we meet? We've met at 1pm the last two times; should we do 1pm again?

Manouche also has a nearly photographic memory. Most of his audience is late-nite GW students pouring out of bars and parties. If you went to his cart more than a few times, he'd remember your name and exactly how you liked your dog. I was downtown, years ago, a couple of years AFTER I had graduated from GW, and he still remembered me and my toppings...

Aren't Nathan's fries ALWAYS soggy?

I'm going to be at the convention center this coming week. I understand that the whole waterfront area has been redeveloped in the past years, and that it's a pretty hopping scene. Which, I guess, probably means 20 chain restaurants with hour-long waits for mediocre food. Anyone know anything differently? I will be carless, so it has to either be walkable from the convention center area, or a short cab ride away. Company pays, but this is not an unlimited expense account; no more than $50-$75/person after tax/tip. Thanks!

Ben Nevis 1) Fly to Scotland for vacation. 2) Drive to Fort William, on the south side of Loch Ness. Remember to stay on wrong side of road. 3) Find distillery that allows children on tour. Read children riot act about behaving on tour. 4) Take tour, breathing in heavenly aromas. End up in tasting room, and hear that 10-year highland malt just won "Best of Scotland". 5) Purchase bottle for ridiculously low price. 6) Place in suitcase, so 2 more bottles can be purchased at duty-free. 7) Fly home, remember to revert to proper side of road. 8) Bring bottle to picnic to share, become hero.

Vanilla Applesauce Peel, core, and slice apples (we have a gizmo that does this). The smaller you chop, the smoother the final sauce will be. We like it kinda chunky. Place in heavy stockpot Add water until level is 1/2 to 3/4 of way covering apples. Do not completely cover apples. Bring water to simmer. Add sugar and vanilla to taste - you can keep adding and tasting through cooking cycle. Cook for about 20 minutes, until desired consistency is reached. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Chill and serve

Ate here tonight after a tasting at Cheesetique. I can't say that I completely understand the fuss. I agree with the previous comments about the chips and salsa. The chips seemed a bit soggy, and the salsa nothing to write home about. The fish tacos were good, but not great. The fish was very good, and the breading started crispy, but they were not served hot enough. So the ICE COLD slaw and toppings quickly made a cold, soggy mess of the taco. I also thought the ratio of stuff-to-fish was a bit high. And I've been in Baja before, and had just-off-the-boat fish tacos. Not to compare TP to Baja, but my wife opined that when we get stuck at Cheesecake Factory (not by choice), THEIR fish tacos are better than TP's. The duck was very very tasty, not dry at all, and wonderfully seasoned. However, that was only after picking off most of the very strong pickled onions, which completely overwhelmed the duck. The tacos al pastor were a disaster, because the pork was very very dry, and the taco had been sitting under the heat lamp long enough to make the tortilla brittle. Total for 5 tacos and 2 iced teas with tax and tip: $30. We find ourselves at El Tapatio or La Sirenita in Little Mexico about once a month on the way to DC United games. I usually pay about $30 for dinner for us AND the kids, which includes 6 tacos, a table full of rice and beans, and 4 drinks. And I think that the food there is much better than at TP.

There were a couple of different deep fried things that we had that I didn't see in your list, and the enoki mushrooms. We also got some la mein noodles, though I'm pretty sure my 8-year-old son ate most of the plate himself! I think the ingredients in the congee were preserved pork and mushrooms. As Perri said, very very superior to Good Fortune. We were there at 1pm, and there was definitely no shortage of quality, fresh dishes coming out of the kitchen. I thought they also had a great way of dealing with the flow coming out of the kitchen. They had not just slow-moving carts circling around, but servers carrying trays that moved small amounts of different selections around quite quickly. Standouts to me included the very rich and hearty congee, the pan-fried cheong fun (which I've never seen before), the siu mei (you could taste all of the ingredients, which was a huge contrast to the insipid offering from GF), and the BBQ pork cheong fun. I wanted to like the spring rolls wrapped in rice noodles, but it had sat out 2 minutes too long by the time I grabbed a piece, and the crispiness of the spring roll was mostly gone. Disappointments to me included the abalone (bland), beef balls (likewise), and beef tendon, although that one may just be personal preference. When I order them at Joe's or Tony Lin's they're quite spicy, and there was no heat to be found on the tendons here, until I added chili paste myself. Overall, this was very good dim sum, and I'm looking forward to seeing how my current personal yardstick, New Fortune, stands up in 2 weeks time.

As are Oceanaire and Tosca!

Count me and Mrs. DanielK in for the post-cheese dining!

I prefer 1pm, because it means I don't have to cut out of Sunday school early, but I will go with the group consensus. Thought it sounded like, at least for this week, 1pm remains acceptable for everyone.

Two stars from Tom. I thought I saw a couple of posts about this place a few weeks ago in other topics, but can't seem to find them. Sounds like a definite stop the next time I'm at the AFI - anyone else been yet?

A report on WTOP-AM this afternoon said that Morou will soon be taping an episode of Iron Chef America that will air in January.

Just popping this thread back to the top! Date: Sunday, October 9 Location: Hollywood East on the Boulevard, 2621 University Blvd W Time: ??? Still sounds like we're on the fence between 11:30am and 1pm. If you're planning on attending, please post here, and register your preference. I'm in either way, but I prefer 1pm.

Anybody up for lunch in Montgomery County tomorrow? I have the day off, and should be free from services and ready for lunch by 12:30 or 1. I'm craving Chinese food (Joe's, Bob's, A&J, China Bistro, etc.), but I'll go with a consensus. Anything Gaithersburg to Bethesda is easily reachable. Who's in?

A strategically placed $20 makes you instant best friends with the maitre'd at Joe's.

Joe's Stone Crabs, of course! Though stone crab season doesn't actually open until October 15th...

What we had wasn't a freshness or selection problem. It was a taste problem. Dishes that I order at other dim sum places (at 1pm) were simply short on taste. So many things were very bland. Regarding Hollywood East, I can make it there by 11:30 if I leave with the kids at the break from Hebrew school; I can't get there until 12:30 if I stay until the end. Either way, count me in, plus 1-3 more depending on whether Ms. DanielK and the two junior DanielKs join.

I mostly agree. Steamed dishes were all ok, but nothing to take note of. The fried dishes were noticeably better. It wasn't a question of time or location in the restaurant. Everything was clearly freshly prepared, and hot (if supposed to be hot.) Selection was somewhat limited - I saw no pan-fried items, no BBQ, no chicken or duck feet, etc. I took a couple of pictures, one of the table and one of the group, that didn't come out so well. I'll try again in two weeks, and we'll get some pictures into the thread.

My wife has decided to make applesauce with the half-bushel we got at the farm. Anyone have an especially great recipe they want to share?

Please, do come! As noted on the picnic thread, we are both a very shy and very welcoming group. We'll probably congregate at the front of the restaurant for 5 minutes to gather a critical mass. So look for the other shy, confused-looking non-Asians standing by the door. Then we'll tell the hostess that "we're with the Rocks group, and expecting around 8-10 people". Then everyone else can just look for the only confused-looking non-Asian group sitting in the restaurant.

Done! Dropping the boy off at a laser tag birthday party, but I will have the 5-year-old daughter with me. Just get her a few orders of sesame balls, and you won't hear a peep out of her the whole time.

No offense meant by this, but YUCK. Nothing worse than cold dim sum. For future weeks, I can make arrangements to be there at noon if that's the time everyone wants. This weekend, I just can't get the logistics down - too many kids going to too many places at the same time. If you guys settle on noon, I'll just catch the next one. Though I think that noon is the height of service, and it will be far easier to get a large table at either 11 or 1. Someone just pick a time!

Not being privy to who PMed hillvalley, but are we still on for Sunday at 1p? Do we have a critical mass?

Hebrew School for my kids runs until noon. So I'd have to cut out early, and have my wife take the kids home, or I can't get there until 12:30 or 1.