shogun

Oh yeah....I don't go to Fairfield for Super Duper Weenie or Pepe's (only once, but I'd go back) nearly as often as I used to. Driving 15 minutes each way for a hot dog just seems insane. And these are awesome hot dogs.

For all I know, when Borat says 'Sexy time', he's referring to having 'Grand Buffet'. Grand Buffet is 'sexy time'.

Editors note: How's THAT for a reference that'll be dated in a decade or so. Making us all look bad on archive.org. "When JJ said 'Dyn-o-mite!' he was definitely referring to the Duck a L'orange with mange tout and arugula salad with raspberry vinaigrette at Chez Pierre. That duck is dyn-o-MITE!. " --Seen on a Community Memory terminal circa 1976. I'm sorry, really sorry. 'Grand Buffet' rocks, though. We now return you to 'studying for 4:00 product knowledge exam' already in progress.

Finals. Fastest six weeks ever.

New England Brewing Company, mayhaps? They are available in NoVa and are quite tasty. The Elm City Lager is nice and delicate.

That was my first (and so far, only) brewery tour! Some 'Norwalk Day' probably in the early 90s when they still brewed in Norwalk. Now the building is a 'brewpub' that doesn't even brew their own anymore (Have to keep that huge kettle though! Make people think we do!), though they did until fairly recently....know I was there at least once of age. Wow, reading an article, they were sold and shut down August 2001...must have been what remained of their last brew by the time I turned 21!

I was in a hurry getting miniburger toppings done for The Picnic Before The Last (or maybe the one before), so I was racing around and kicked with bare foot a Sun disk array I had inexplicably sitting on the floor in the kitchen, breaking one, and possibly two toes. Was really uncomfortable all day.

I've gotten off pretty light in the kitchen so far. My second order of business at Corduroy (First was totally nailing some pineapple tarts ) was slicing a finger open. Wet zucchini are slippery! Nothing more than a nick after that. Here's hoping that streak continues for a bit.

Cool old Post article about the Jack Rose, a classic cocktail made with Applejack. Anybody seen this stuff around?

The liquor store by the Mariott on M Street (And...what...20th? Has it been that long? E-ball Mariott) had it the last time I was in there. They had at least two grades of the stuff: Cheap or expensive, IIRC, but not the one in the middle.

If you're like everyone else and enjoyed Big Night, you should catch it this weekend at AFI SIlver in Silver Spring. Then you can get all hungry and go to someone's house and eat a bunch of pasta and shit.

Have Big Night waiting in my mailbox. Maybe watch this weekend.

I nominate Tampopo, [edit for: nevermind, I misspelled it in my search of the thread Cook&Bottle Washer beat me to the punch months ago]

It's the comedic tale of two Japanese truck drivers trying to turn a roadside ramen shop into the best in Japan. There are little side stories, too: A Yakuza and his mistress and what they do with various foodstuffs, a hobo feast, and some executives and office workers dining at an upscale French restaurant, maybe a love story thrown in there somewhere. Fun movie!

Sauce composed of tomato, anchovy, peperoncino, black olives, and capers. That's how you tart up a steak.

Not even after the Jerusalem artichokes?

Not even then...those were always during the week, and immediately before I had to go home. Wouldn't have been time. Drink of choice when I got home was either Gatorade or Ovaltine, oddly enough. Besides, Jerusalem Artichokes have the particular advantage of being tasty. Why it's worth all the hassle. No, this was a direct reaction to having to sit through a mandatory 3-hour alcohol education seminar. Incidentally, I don't have to do the second half, which is kind of nice.

Currently enjoying a Geary's London Porter

God bless those Baking and Pastry Arts kids.

What on earth does he mean when he calls the martini ?

To 'us', the Martini is gin and vermouth (..or vodka...I guess...). To 'the world' it's the thing that James Bond likes 'Shaken, not stirred', and may or may not contain chocolate, espresso, or sour apple (definitely no gin, though. Gin is 'icky'). Same principle with beer. Everybody drinks beer, but how many of the world at large actually know what it is.

If you never hear from me again, I died of complications from Grand Buffet.

That phrase "session beers" is new one for me. Does it only apply to English beers? Alcohol between 3 - 4%?
I like the general definition " a beer which can be consumed for several hours, and then still be able to go back to work!"
True definition?

We used to try and judge what we could drink, and still go back and grind out a few lines of COBOL code
--- we didn't have a special phrase to describe these potables, though (sorry, ancient history reference).

That pretty much covers it. Something you can stand to sit and drink for a while, without getting unsociably drunk. Think the target ABV is less than 5%. Also, there's still plenty of money in COBOL!

BeerAdvocate.com article on session beer (might require login)

Saranac "Caramel Porter". Warm. Finishing off the mandatory online alcohol education course (approximate time to complete: Three hours) was just so aggravating, I had to drink out of sheer spite. Very tasty...the caramel is well apparent but balanced. Not sure I've ever had a beer out of spite.

I've learned something about human nature today. I've learned that people seem hesitant to accept unsolicited gifts of cooked shellfish from some random guy in a dorm.

ETA: Oh yeah, guess who drew Jose Andres for his 'Intro to Gastronomy' group project?

They found that drinking an average of six cups of coffee a day was associated with increased total cholesterol and LDL, the harmful type of cholesterol. Nearly all of the rise in cholesterol was linked to unfiltered coffee.

Do they mean six ACTUAL cups of coffee (Say like 'large' cup or 'medium' cup), or six wussy six-ounce 'servings' you use to measure out how much coffee you need, a laughable system based surely on some mid-19th century supersitition about the devil, or perhaps war rationing?

"Congratulations! Now that that's out of the way, you already owe us $10,000, half of which was due last month!" --The Culinary Institute of America

If your computer isn't already F'ed up enough.The USB Absinthe Spoon

I love how the Internet works sometimes. The guy who makes those is a friend of mine. Was there for the conception and birth of the thing!

I've seen it at the Brick in the last year or two but haven't checked for it lately. Birreria Paradiso might have it: they had the Hitachino White on tap for a while if memory serves.

It's at the Brick presently, and I don't think it's at BP.

Thanks to everybody who came out Friday! Was great seeing everybody again, and I had a great time. Sure know how to welcome somebody back!

Yeah, around about 5.

Reminder since I might not be online between now and then:

Happy hour at Corduroy at 5:00!

I intend to observe the Year of the Pig by enjoying it in as many forms as possible, and often. This should go better than Year of the Rat did. Blech.

--Matt

If we still have untravelable ice on Friday I'll shoot myself.

Here's hoping tomorrow isn't so bad for driving, either. Not sure how much better Amtrak would be with the weather, but the decision to drive down with my friends instead might come back to bite me.

Watch this space! I've got a lot of ground to cover the next few days!

A twist.

Yes yes, very droll.

I'm partial to the 'Santa Barbra Olive Co. pimento-stuffed martini olive'. Very tasty.

Friday. Happy Hour. Corduroy.