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sandynva

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Everything posted by sandynva

  1. sandynva
    My chart and even some lettuce made it through the winter, which is great, so between that and the minors lettuce which comes up every year we’ve had salads for a couple weeks now which is great. I’ve planted radishes, more lettuce, and pineapple tomatillos, and herbs. Do you things I’m trying are Garnet Amaranth and asparagus peas. We’ll see how those do. I planted ordinary peas, but I’m a little worried about them-I planted them at least 10 days ago, pre-soaked and everything, but there are no sprouts yet.
  2. sandynva
    Is there a thread where people are listing what restaurants are temporarily closed or what restaurants are open for carry out, and if so if there’s a limited menu? Or is this essentially that thread? If so, people near Silver Spring might be interested to know that Methi, El Golfo, and Mandalay are all open and offering takeout, at least as of Sunday, But Hakuna Matata Grill appears to be closed
  3. sandynva
    I don’t remember what the price limit for bib is, but my husband and I usually split the $66 pasta tasting and actually have food left over , and I definitely do not have a dainty appetite. So, $33 per person. Maybe that’s what they are basing it on?
  4. sandynva
    Does anyone have tips for how to make this successfully? My husband and I love it and our repeated attempts to make it have been failures. Usually we end up with pasta coated in slightly cheesy water with small lumps of cheese, or mostly bare pasta with the cheese in a lump at the bottom and/or stuck on the spoon or sides. We've tried just mixing the cheese in to wet pasta and adding water, whisking the cheese and water separately to try to make a sauce, and the method where you sort of make a paste of butter, cheese and pepper and add it to the pasta. what are we doing wrong?
  5. sandynva
    Patisserie Poupon had a stand at the Bethesda farmers' market with these. I got one and it was pretty good--the flavor properly buttery and carmelly, but it would've been nice if the layers and pastry were a bit more crisp.
  6. sandynva
    the location in Bethesda has apparently closed, which is a bummer.
  7. sandynva
    we had some great carryout from there this weekend. because it was our first visit, we played it a bit safe and mostly ordered dishes we know and like at Thip Khao. The crispy rice salad is great. i love this at thip khao too, but the two salads are different. the version here is less herby and coconutty, but more crispy, savory and sour. I'm not sure which version I like better. I'm not sure if the vegan laab we got was mistakenly missing tofu or if it just had a very small amount of tofu, but either way what we recieved was mostly mushrooms with red onions, in a good tangy dressing. the dressing was good but i wished there was more tofu. I prefer Thip Khao's. On the other hand, the Orm was really good, and much better than the version at Thip Khao, which i find too bland. The Orm here has a nice sour flavor and lots of dill. The Mieng Kana Tofu was wonderful, and I believe they do a shrimp version of this as well. The combination of soft fresh broccoli leaf, slippery rice noodles, crispy tofu and a fantastic herbal sauce is so complex in flavor and texture, it's great. Overall the dishes are significantly smaller than at thip khao, but the prices are smaller too. the person taking my order and bringing me my food was very nice and the place was pretty.
  8. sandynva
    Posts like this are why i love this site--because of a review from someone whose palate I trust I went to a place i wouldn't have otherwise and discovered a new gem. I'd been to the dumpling house a couple years ago and been underwhelmed and hadn't been back. Dean's rave got my mouth watering so we went this weekend and are very happy we did and plan to go back again soon. we had the egg and chive bun, wide homemade crystal noodle, and soft tofu with szechuan seasonal and all were great. the broth on the tofu was particularly nice, it was almost like a soup version of mapo tofu. the mushroom and vegetable dumplings had a great texture but i wish the filling had been more flavorful. the chinese potato salad was great--shredded potatoes and carrots in a sour dressing, almost like a pickle, with a hint of chile at the end. we liked this a lot, both on its own merit and because it was a nice palate cleanser or cooler when you'd had too much spice. and who knew raw potato could be so good in salads? the vegetable and tofu skewers were interesting--pressed tofu wrapped around a little bundle of mushrooms and scallions, with a coating of cumin, chile, and maybe garlic. they were good, though not as good as the previously mentioned dishes. The sauce on the dan dan noodles (ordered without meat) was great and more complex than other versions we've had, though the noodles were a bit too soft for our taste.if you could put this sauce on the wide noodles from a & J it would be amazing. the final thing we had was ordered off a picture on the wall, it was yam noodles with sour sauce or something like that. it was wonderful--squares of yam jelly (very similar to the clear noodles, but smaller and fatter) in a sour soup with cilantro and peanuts. service was very nice and friendly too. the only thing i'd add is that the kitchen got two of our orders a bit wrong--the dumplings were supposed to be pan fried but weren't and the first time the dan dan noodles came, they had meat, which we'd asked them to omit. but everything else was great, and even the things we liked least were very good.
  9. sandynva
    We we’re disappointed by the subs we got here this weekend. My eggplant Parm, which previously was the standard breaded deep-fried eggplant with slices of cheese and tomato sauce was instead baked or panfried non- breaded slices of eggplant with the shake of grated Parmesan and scant amount of sauce on it, and the whole was squashed w griddle marks, like it had been in a panini press ( though not that flat). Husbands chicken parm was similar with naked chicken instead of eggplant. Anyone else have a similar experience or did we just get unlucky?
  10. sandynva
    Bummer! When I was in the area I would pop by to get the food from the Indian place, which was run by the lovely people who previously ran the much missed Nirvana. I hope they don’t abandon the food business altogether, but rather open a place somewhere else.
  11. sandynva
    yep. My parents are Gujarati, though they grew up in Calcutta, so i know something about Bengali food as well.
  12. sandynva
    We had a really good dinner there a few weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was, and in particular by highly spiced it all was. It's not hotter than most local indian food, but it's like where most chefs would use 1tsp of cumin, this one uses 2, so the flavor of the spices, particularly the cardamom, is distinctly stronger. I was also pleasantly surprised by the price. From the articles and reviews i thought it would be more expensive than it was--our meal was only slightly more expensive than ours at rasika for example.The goat cheese kulcha was so good, i wish we'd gotten another one. the cauliflower dish was great--the texture was perfect (how do they get the stems and core so well cooked without the florets getting mushy?) it was coated with chaat-like spices and served on a very tasty mash of what seemed to be potatoes and cauliflower, with a great green chutney. We also really liked the mushroom pate (how do you make mushrooms that smooth?) though we didn't think the bread it was served on added much. Biryani was great too. even the raitas we had were excellent, though the beet/coconut one was almost like a dessert for me. mint paratha and sundried tomato naan were fine. husband got the lamb kebab, but said that was good, but not special. everything was beautifully plated. While the food was a very pleasant surprise, I'm not sure the decor lives up to the hype. there's nothing wrong with it, but from all the hype i'd expected a bit more. And our server was good initially but then disappeared after the main courses were served--we couldn't flag him down to order more kulcha and getting the check took forever. the food was really great though, I look forward to returning and trying more.
  13. sandynva
    On the tip of a friend who grew up in Kenya we got carryout from there this weekend and were very happy. Neither of us knows anything about East African cuisine but we enjoyed the food we had. The entrees come with two small sides. I had the Katogo (green bananas simmered in a curried onion, tomato, and bell pepper stew) with peanut sauce added, which was very good and different than anything i've ever had. it was coconutty, peanutty, and spiced, but nothing like asian or indian food I've had. and the bananas were far more potato-like than they usually are. we got the masala chips, a large order of fries in a tangy tomatoey sauce with onions and coriander. they were great. Husband had the beef stew, which he said was good, but like a milder goan curry. He liked it but liked the other dishes better. I was a bit surprised at the portion though, it was a pint container, and even that wasn't full, for $17. for sides the rice pilau was nicely spiced, and the spinach was garlicky with some spice and great. the coconut white rice mostly tasted like rice with butter in it. https://www.facebook.com/HakunaMatataGrill/
  14. sandynva
    We ate very well in Richmond. The entrees at Temple ( Laotian) were even better than the ones at Thip Khao, though I think Thip Khao has the better apps. Their sister thai place sabai was also very good. The green peppercorn biscuit at root stock provisions was one of the best biscuits I’ve ever had— great deep flavor and texture. And Sub Rosa bakery was excellent, the best bread I’ve had in a long time.
  15. sandynva
    thanks for the tip on just fruit--i'd never heard of them before and they have so many great varieties including a dwarf i may be able to do on our deck! you mentioned zone 8A--do you think silver spring actually gets this warm? if so, that's encouraging, Ive been holding back on trying things beyond zone 6, but maybe i will try something. one q though--when you say the just fruits trees aren't precocious, do you mean that though they may be bigger they don't seem to fruit earlier than smaller trees from other vendors? or just that persimmons in general take 3-5 years to fruit?
  16. sandynva
    has anyone tried growing asian persimmons in the dmv area? if so, what cultivar did you use and how did it turn out? on georgia ave, near where i live, there are a couple people with persimmon trees that are currently laden with fruit. they look gorgeous. i'm so tempted to ring their doorbell and ask what variety they are growing (as it appears to do very well here) but thought i'd try here first before becoming that weird lady......
  17. sandynva
    any pawpaw sightings at local markets yet this year? also, if anyone has tried growing them and has tips about where to purchase trees, varieties that did or did not do well, etc, i'd love to hear them
  18. sandynva
    I had lunch here today and will definitely be back. The dining room is pretty, the food beautifully presented, they have some non-standard things on the menu, and everything I had was good (though the portions could be a bit larger). I went there because they had Kolkata style Jhaal muri (puffed rice, peanuts and various chutneys) which is a fave of mine that i haven't seen in the area. it was served, as it traditionally is, in a small newspaper cone, which i loved. the muri itself wasn't quite Kolkata style, (IMO it had too much date chutney, and not enough mustard oil) but it was very tasty, and i give them credit for having it. the pan fried idli were very good, they had a nice masala on them and came with a very good tomato chutney, though i would've liked them a bit more pan fried. and the okra side i got was very good too--simply prepared with chili and mango powder, but done very well, and there aren't that many places here that make it like this. My friend had the paneer with green chutney and lamb with apricots and liked both. they have some non-standard things on the menu, which was nice to see, like dahi vada, chicken choorma, goat with turnips and more. they also have a 3 course lunch deal for $24 i think. everything was beautifully plated and the service was good. Website
  19. sandynva
    its great to see some goan food here, its not often in restaurants. my goan in-laws are excited and have already purchased tickets!
  20. sandynva
    this sounds wonderful. do you know if they do carryout? thanks!
  21. sandynva
    We had an amazing version of pan con tomate this weekend at Del Mar which reminded me that i really need to learn how to make this at home. their version had a lot of tomato pulp, not just a smear, and a deep garlic flavor though i saw no garlic bits, and used pan cristal. Does anyone have any tips on how to make this? i've read about the method where you cut a tomato in half and rub it on the grilled bread-does that actually work? or is the method where you grate it better, or some other method? what's the best bread to use-ciabatta? and does it matter if you grill, broil, or toast it? thank you!
  22. sandynva
    We got carry out from the Rockville location Friday and it was good as usual However they mentioned that they have slightly revised their menu and have some new seasonal dishes ( photos hopefully attached) and that they have a special deal on the cold appetizers on the new menu-they are buy one get one free through July
  23. sandynva
    I was lucky enough to get a reservation for this weekend. Any advice on must haves? Tia
  24. sandynva
    definitely no microgreens on mine, and i don't think there were any sauces except on one. mine had the cheese and onions. Sauces would've helped a lot, and given them more complex flavor, which was what i was missing.
  25. sandynva
    After hearing so many raves about this place here i was really excited to finally try it by getting some carryout last night from the chinatown location. We tried the mushroom, collard, and asparagus tacos, a quesadilla, the green rice, and the black beans with crema. I know it was carryout and it loses something in translation, and that i didn't have the kale-poblano taco which seems to be the most admired one (bought it but was too full to try), but even with those caveats, i was underwhelmed. the tacos i had seemed to be decent corn tortillas stuffed with ample quantities of very simply prepared vegetables. i appreciate the nice vegetable quantities, and the ingredients seemed to be quality ones. but, for example, the collard taco just seemed like fresh collards cooked with a lot of smoked pimenton and put in a tortilla. and the asparagus was just sauteed asparagus with some slivers of preserved lemon. There's nothing wrong with simply prepared vegetables, but they were just fine. I wanted more flavor, more sauces or spices or something. the texture of the green rice was nice, as was the flavor (though i'd have liked this to be stronger too). the one thing we did like was the black beans with crema--a lot of good flavor here, i'd have been happy if i'd recieved these in a taco. The place was nice and inviting and the servers were very friendly. i am in no rush to go back, and if i do it'll be for the black beans.
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