V.H.

Haven't a clue, but I'm bravely willing to test it. Which Grand Mart are we talking about?

The one at the corner of Duke Street/Little River Turnpike and N. Beauregard in Alexandria. It's right off of the Little River Turnpike exit of 395 and across from TemptAsian. I saw it as a large cryovac'd piece and I can't remember if they also had smaller pieces that were tray wrapped.

The last couple of times I've been at Grand Mart I've seen a cut of meat labeled "hanging tender." I think the price is something like a ridiculously low $1.99/lb. Has anyone purchased it and prepared it? Do you think it's really hanger steak or some other cut that has been mislabeled?

Just this minute, I bit into, and chewed, a previously undetected jalapeno pepper on a shredded pork sandwich from Banh Mi DC Sandwich in Falls Church.

Clicking on "Add Reply," and then heading straight for the Deer Park water cooler,

Rocks.

kong lay uck

phonetic spelling of "no hot peppers"

First real meal cooked in the new house. Marinated beef short ribs in korean rib seasoning and cooked in cast iron skillet, eaten with jasmine rice and some panchan picked up at the Grand Mart.

Still in disbelief that I have an electric range and was able to actually cook a meal on it since previous attempts in my youth were spectacular failures.

With our recent move, the Italian Store in Arlington is now our local deli. Bought some ham, soppresata, and proscuitto last night to pack for lunch sandwiches. I chose the proscuitto San Danielle which I've never purchased or eaten before and it was wonderful! Soft, meltingly fatty, great flavor. Awesome paired with a fresh crusty baguette from Banh Mi So 1 in Eden Center.

My in-laws moved 3 or 4 years ago after being in the same house for over 25 years. She had a bottle of paprika that cost 19 cents that I threw out. Against her will, I also threw away 3 boxes of Shake and Bake for pork that were at least 15 years old. There was much evidence that my husband lived through a childhood rife with bad tasting food.

At the risk of sounding sad and pathetic, here goes...

Chicken Tikka Masala takeout in front of the computer in my hotel room in San Diego

Finishing it off with the free bottle of water and chocolate chip cookie they gave me when I checked in yesterday

Wishing I was brave enough to go have dinner at the bar by myself at a nice restaurant but there is no Palena here

http://www.surlatable.com/common/products/...fm?PRRFNBR=9277

Tuesday Morning in Bailey's Crossroads currently has some of these in a deep red color for $120.

Any thoughts on the value and/or tastiness of these dinners?

This was discussed on one of my mommy boards and the point was made by a couple of folks that the ingredients are sourced from Sysco and that the recipes tend to cater to the tastes of the general public and therefore might not be as spicy or interesting as foodies might like.

Thanks for posting the descriptions and pictures! I walked in this past Tuesday just as your group was getting started but unfortunately had to take my lunch back to the office for a lunch meeting.

I think for it to become truly trite, a dish must start appearing at inappropriate restaurants. When Cheesecake Factory starts advertising a charcuterie platter I'll officially add it to the trite food list.

As a side note -- if the meat is created/aged in house it cannot be trite. If Sysco provides it, it is automatically trite.

Tritely yours.

JPW

they do have mini-burgers....

ROADSIDE SLIDERS

Bite-sized Burgers on Mini-Buns Served with

Grilled Onions, Pickles and Ketchup

In many cultures it is bad luck to give knives as a wedding present, and I know the tradition, superstition, or whatever you want to call it has kept me from gifting them!

When I got married 7 years ago, I was a poor grad student marrying another poor grad student. I registered for a set of moderately priced Henckels at Hecht's. Fortunately, one of my mother-in-law's best friends is a foodie and she convinced a few other ladies to chip in and get me my very wonderful set of Wustof knives.

As someone who was a kid in the 80's, I remember going crabbing with my folks down in Solomon's Island. We'd usually catch very little because my dad wouldn't pay the fee to crab off the dock. It was okay though, because we'd always pick up a bushel of crabs for anywhere between $35-50 and a huge paper sack of mussels for $5 We'd pick up peaches at a farm stand on the way back home and us three kids would sit in the back of the van on the floor eating until we were a big sticky blob. Once home, my dad would steam the mussels and we would dip them in a salt, black pepper, and lime juice mixture. While we grazed on mussels, he would steam the crabs. My mom would be on the kitchen floor with her Chinese cleaver, cutting raw crabs into quarters for her really excellent stir fry with ginger, scallions and crab roe. Each of us kids would eat at least half a dozen crabs, usually closer to a dozen. My brother, at the age of 7, could outpick my uncle who had the misfortune of only getting to eat crabs once a year. After we were done, we'd run around the yard for an hour before coming back in to have stir-fried crabs with a big bowl of white rice. We repeated this about once every three weeks.

For me, this is my absolute fondest childhood memory. It makes me sad that my little peanut won't be able to experience the same thing.

I picked up my first Le Creuset that way and then started kicking myself for not buying more while it was on such deep discount. Then, magically, they sent me coupons for more.

Last Christmas they were handing out coupons in the store for 35% off your whole purchase. I got a 7 1/2 qt bouillabaisse pot for about $100. Also kicking myself for not getting a couple of other pieces.

I am actually looking to buy a rice maker. Does anyone have an opinion as to their favorite brands. I have done some research and it seems like a lot of people enjoy the Zojirushi brand.

That's what we have and have been using it for nearly 7 years now, on average of about 4-5 days a week with the only sign of wear being a little discoloration. It does have the water and rice tick marks on the inside for those without finger creases.

I don't know how frequently you eat rice, but maybe invest in an electric rice cooker? The ones you get at Asian grocery stores will last at least 10-15 years of every day use. The way I was taught to make rice was dump rice in, pour in enough water until it reaches the first crease on my ring finger (as measured from the surface of the rice), and then push the button down on the rice cooker. When I was little I had to use the crease on my middle finger, and I make my husband use his pinky. Always turns out sticky enough for chopsticks.

Dining with a child changes your perspective.  The pacing of service,  detail and accuracy of dish descriptions on the menu, and availability of one or two dishes that aren't too fussy (and yet aren't the @)*$# chicken fingers) become much more important.  The kind of service you get from the restaurant staff can change a lot, too.  Some places bend over backwards to make your kid feel welcome, and they aren't necessarily the ones you'd expect to do so.  For example, Matsuri Sushi and Sake bar in Herndon has a kid's sushi platter (no raw fish) and provides crayons.  It is one of my five year-old's most frequently requested dining destinations.  The same concerns will probably hold true until she is in her mid to late teens.

As the parent of a restaurant friendly child, I find most dining reviews fall a bit short.  I can generally decide, based on the review, whether I'd like to eat there.  But they leave me wondering whether the restaurant is going to be a good place to go as a family.

It seems like it would be difficult to address this in a dining review, because in my very limited (22 months so far) experience as a mother, I've found that people's ideas of family friendly dining vary so greatly. I'm with PollyG in that I look for places with real food that's appropriate for little palates, but an online menu doesn't tell you how warm the reception will be when you come in with your child. Unfortunately, for every restaurant-friendly kid out there, there are more kids and parents who expect to have a kid's menu loaded with deep fried processed food and who will get angry with Tom when he tells them that Majestic Cafe offers child portions of many adult entrees.

I guess I don't have anything to add to the question but I am looking forward to the answer.

I actaully like the fact that most of the dishes are not exactly "authentic" or "traditional", but show the thought that the chef puts into working on variations from the traditional.

Mmmmm, like the grilled lamb chops on their fall/winter menu. It's been a while but they were grilled and then simmered in some sort of delectable sauce. I also loved their salmon roll, which was a deep fried salmon sushi roll but with a huge piece of salmon.

Three coworkers and I went to TemptAsian yesterday for lunch. One of the coworkers doesn't enjoy spicy food, so everything we ordered was mild. We ordered the scallion pancakes and mini-wontons with chicken flavor to start, and split orders of the duck with sweet peas and pork with ferny vegetables for the entree. Having never been to China Star, we were not aware that the scallion pancakes were huge deep fried puffs of heavenly goodness. We only knew that they were being brought out to another table, and that we were getting an order of whatever they were. The dumplings in broth were fantastic, with little chunks of preserved turnip and dried shrimp floating in the broth. The bowl came with 12 dumplings, easy to share for a group and a bargain at $3 somethng. The duck with sweet peas was chunks of duck with sugar snap peas and carrots in a light sauce. The duck seemed like it might have been brined, according to my friend, before being poached. The meat was so flavorful and melt in your mouth tender. The pork with ferny vegetables was slivers of tender pork and dark brown shoots that look like what you get with bibimbap. It had the most amazing earthy flavor.

We're all good eaters and this was a substantial amount of food for the four of us. It was also a total bargain with the bill being about $30 with tax. They have American-Chinese lunch specials in case you go with people would would rather have that.

Two women sitting at a table nearby got up at the end of the meal to introduce themselves to the chef and gush over how much they loved his food at China Star and how happy they are that he's surfaced again. It looked like about half the folks in there were eating from the traditional menu, while the other half were eating from the American-Chinese menu. Food looked good all around.

If you had to pick two or three dishes that really stand out for a first time try, what would you choose?

The meat course was one of the highlights of the evening. I opted for the "study" of lamb. Please forgive my vague recollection of exactly what this "study" involved, but it came in two portions. One was a relatively simple loin (I believe) and the other a far more complex portion of thinly sliced lamb layered over what almost appeared to be some sort of lamb cassoulet (if that is possible). Whatever it was, the latter portion was wonderful; the former good, but not great -- it was enhanced by the lamb au jus with barley (I think) that was served along side.

My husband and I were at Maestro back in April for my 30th birthday and I also ordered the study of lamb. My study was a little different than yours in that it was a lamb loin with the perfect piece of fat that had been seasoned and grilled until crispy and salty on top but still rich and fatty. This was served on a fried ravioli stuffed with lamb confit. It was served with the same au just w/ barley that you had, and also contained mint. I can almost taste it all as I write this. Thanks!

Anyone buy a steak yet? I am thinking I need to stop by there tomorrow afternoon and pick some some steak.

For a small order, do you just stop on by and ask?

My husband is totally going to flip out. Then he's going to have to fight our 22 month old daughter for some steak.