Heather

That's an issue for me, too. My cash is limited, so I've had to think about what's important and make choices in what I buy and what I'm willing to settle for when dining out. I came to the conclusion that animal welfare is more important to me than organic vegetables. Humanely raised, if possible. Fed a natural diet. No gestation crates. Elevation Burger makes better choices, for me, than Five Guys, BGR, or other fast casual burger places. It means eating less meat, and going out less, but I feel better knowing that I'm not supporting a terrible industry. (It's also meant giving up on Asian restaurants, but that's another topic) Yeah, no. I have a weakened immune system. A burger at Bourbon Steak is in a different category than Elevation. No comparison. Although, paying $19 for a damned cheeseburger is surely a sign that the end times for our civilization are near.

I don't like medium rare burgers. I prefer to have more of the fat melted. BGR frequently tastes like old grill char. The last two times I've been to the Bethesda location I ended up with an upset stomach for the rest of the day. They get no more chances. I haven't had soggy fries at Elevation, so I can't speak to that.

I hadn't tried Elevation until very recently, but so far it has edged out BGR and Five Guys in the fast hamburger category. The meat tastes good, the toppings are relatively fresh, and the shoestring fries have been well executed. Cheddar, pepper relish, and their Elevation Sauce is my preferred combo. The milkshakes are forgettable; I prefer to get a Wild Bill's Sarsaparilla instead.

The site has been terribly slow on mobile since yesterday, with a black "loading" dialog box that doesn't disappear when the screen finally changes.

They are $150-180, frozen, from D'Artagnan. Geese are a specialty item, and expensive pretty much everywhere. I've bought them from Whole Foods, but it was a special order IIRC

Beef vegetable soup with egg noodles Buttermilk cat's head biscuits with white cheddar and dill

The lamb recipe was from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything, and as is usual with his recipes, the ease of assembly was accompanied by a lack of developed flavor. He does not call for browning the lamb before braising so it would most likely be one-dimensional, but I like to try a recipe as-written sometimes before tinkering with it.

Lamb stew with parsnips, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and dill Soda bread Green salad Clementines No dessert. I had enough sweets in December to last until March.

It's that time again. Bayou Bakery is taking orders. http://www.bayoubakeryva.com/ (P.S. to mods, there are at least three king cake threads in the Shopping and Cooking section)

I know where Charles was attempting to come from, *and* understand what Don is saying. I'm extremely reluctant to take shots at the "ill-informed, ignorant" masses, because not everyone uninterested in the latest fad is ignorant. My dad is a very successful man, with two masters degrees. He eats lunch or dinner out nearly every day for business. His ideal is a place that takes reservations, has a wide range of entrees, recognizable food (the "I love steak" mentioned above - great movie BTW), and service that won't be an embarrassment. He would no more drive in town and wait outside for an hour to have a meal at Little Serow -- although he loves Thai food and is the person who introduced me to it -- than he would try to flap his arms and fly to the moon. Some people are content to eat, not "dine," and very much prize something reasonably tasty and predictable. And when he wants a place to take all of his kids and grandkids out to eat, he almost always takes us to Maggianos. They can handle a table for 12 with ease, always take reservations, and have something to please everyone right down to my 18-month-old niece. His birthday is next week, and no doubt we will all be eating at Maggianos to celebrate, "loathsome" as it is. I am much less likely to patronize Chef Geoff's not because of the boring food, but because of the interview Zora mentioned. I am less and less enthralled with the way the industry works, with its exploitation of undocumented workers, long hours, low wages, and lack of health care or benefits. I would love to see a notation next to every place in the dining guide rating an establishment on how it treats its staff, so that I can truly evaluate whether it should get my patronage.

We had a show at the H St Playhouse tonight & stopped by Biergarten Haus. I had decent schnitzel, but the accompanying rotkohl was not as good as mine, and the spatzle was heavy. Our service was great, and we loved the atmosphere and music. Not worth a special trip, but if it was closer to home I could see spending a lot of time on the patio listening to polka music.

Well, and there's this: "Tasting Menus and Molecular Gastronomy are too often the domain of charlatans"

I would also prefer to select a bottle or two of wine (unless dining solo ) and see how it drinks over time, than be presented with a dozen different "tastes." YMMV, but that way leads to palate fatigue and intoxication. Good point, Don. I have lesser issues with prix fixe menus, which tend to be a manageable 3-4 courses. It's the mandatory 30-course degustation that sends me running for the hills.

Brilliant. I couldn't agree more with this: I'm on the record here on more than one thread as disliking tasting menus -- *especially* mandatory tasting menus.The trend towards lack of dining choices has driven my disillusionment with the DC dining scene, even more than a lack of money or time.

I've got very little time to cook these days, and I keep pulling out my crock pot thinking there must be something it's good for. Every soup, stew, or pot roast comes out exactly as Banco describes: steamed, with muddled flavors. Large pieces of meat suffer from what I call the "pot roast paradox," where meat cooked slowly in liquid ends up dry and flavorless. Browning and deglazing adds flavor, but adding food prep to our already hectic mornings is not appealing. Sometimes I can cook things ahead of time, but my weekends are often as busy as weekdays. I'm interested to hear about some succesful slow-cooker recipes, before the crock pot goes to a yard sale.

2012 taught me that the most delicious food in the world tastes like ashes without the right people to enjoy it with. The brunch at my house on August 5th was the highlight of my year, despite the flubbed quiche and corked Burgundy, because it was the last time I got to cook for Stephanie.

Member #25 here. People change. Lives and circumstances change. It's inevitable in online communities that people will fall away and be replaced by others. Facebook doesn't replace a site like this, but my friends and family are there and we can share music, funny stories, pictures of kids, etc. I get to read about more of their lives than their last restaurant meal. This started as a community site, and transformed into something more informational, a "database," that I don't have a lot to contribute to anymore. My life was completely turned upside-down 5 years ago. I don't have time as a single working parent with sole custody to cook, and don't have the time or money to frequent the kind of places that readers are interested in. No one really wants to read about my umpteeth school fundraising visit to California Tortilla, or about the ordinary meals I throw together. I still read, but don't often have anything to say.

This is good news: Jeff Black opening in Takoma Park.

It's odd, though, because an excess of sodium affects the way yeast works. Bread is ratios.

FroZenYo seems to be popping up everywhere, like mushrooms. I always wonder how clean the machines are at all of these places.

A shoe salesperson works hard for years and saves the money to open a shop of her own. That store does well, so she opens another location. It does good business, she's able to open more stores. The stores stock the brands that people like, the atmosphere is welcoming, the service is consistent, and before too long she owns a regional chain employing dozens of people. The chain is large enough that it can offer good wages, management training, and benefits to workers. The chain owner, after busting her ass for years, is able to work less, enjoy family, take vacations, etc. Later on, the regional chain is taken national, or perhaps bought by another chain, and the owner is able to retire while still young enough to enjoy it. This is the American dream, right? Except for restaurants.

Zora, I make that cake at Christmas too. It's a great recipe. Our sauerbraten went in the marinade yesterday. Tomorrow night we will be having roast beef, yorkshire pudding, and other assorted treats at my brother's house, so no cooking on Christmas eve for me. I'm still sorting out Christmas breakfast. Might be homemade coffeecake

Roasted turkey breast Rolls Haricots vert with butter and lemon Spinach Rockefeller The spinach is something my mom used to make: chopped spinach, onions, butter, bread crumbs, eggs, cream, herbs, grated parmesan, salt & pepper, mixed and scooped onto halved tomatoes and then baked. It's a Ladies Home Journal bastardization of the Oysters Rockefeller topping.

Roasted little potatoes, green beans dressed with lemon juice & olive oil, and leftover Honeybaked ham with ginger/cranberry sauce. That ham is like crack, but after eating ham for three days straight, I'm ready to chuck it in the freezer.

I wasn't sure where to put this, so it's going here. Guy Fieri Menu Item Generator: http://rvcc2.raritanval.edu/~tmcc3535/guy.html