mhberk

As soon as I saw the title, I thought of Zaytinya. I see several have already beaten me to it! Mrs mhberk and I have a friend that's around that age and when she comes home from college, she DEMANDS that we take her there.

I would also recommend Zaytinya for dinner and then walk up a block (towards the Verizon Center (is that what it's called now?)) and hit IndieBleu for dessert. It makes for a great 1 - 2 combination!

No split pea soup is complete without a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche on top of each serving

Funny you mention this article. I tried the Cook's Illustrated pan roasting method just last night on some leg quarters and breasts. While I didn't use a Palena-inspired brine or anything, the crispiness and texture seemed very nearly Ruta-esque. The pan sauce recipes in that article work great, btw. And the oven fry recipe ain't bad either.

What kind of oil did you use and how much did that contribute to the flavor of the skin?

I think I'm ready to give this another try

Ray's Rehashed:

Two fried eggs and Dave's Hot Sauce on top of NY Strip cut into small cubes (reheated in a very hot pan so they stayed medium) on top of a potato pancake.

Wow! Well I guess hillvalley scores a 10 out of 10 from me in originality for use of the secret ingredient!

Mrs mhberk and I had a wonderful evening! We live in Howard County and we don't really have any friends or family that appreciate food the way we do. So it was nice to be in an environment where we could discuss our joy of food and area restaurants and not be looked at as "a little off". We had great time with jm chen and her +1 discussing the different restaurants and dishes we ate there. We also got some great tips on spots in Adams Morgan!

In thinking about this one I have to agree.  I liked the flavors, but it was a little dry.  Either a lighter, battered crust or something different with the bread cup maybe?

I would have to agree. Overall, the meal was a success. My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint at all) was that the strong salty flavor of the pancetta AND the strong lemon flavor from the lemon tarter sauce stood out too much and took away from the clam. I would've liked to enjoy the flavor of the clam a little more, but I only really tasted the supporting ingredients. (God, I just re-read this. Do I sound like a judge on Iron Chef or what?)

BTW, who's had success with reheating the steak? And what did you do to reheat it? I haven't done it yet, but I was thinking about taking it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temp for about 20 minutes. During that time I am going to either pre-heat the oven as high as it goes or put the broiler on. I was going to either bake it for 7-10 minutes or broil it for a few minutes on each side. I'm hoping that this method will heat the outside of the steak while maintaining its medium rare interior.

How are you guys doing it? (and please save your microwave stories )

This place is still around? I used to date a girl in Cockeysville in '95 and we would go there all the time. I thought it was great! Haven't been in that area in a few years, but I think I might have to go back and see if it's like I remember it.

The new waiting list:

62 mhberk (2) 5:30

Woo-Hoo!

Has anyone here been shafted on every single lottery?  If so, then please PM me and I'll do something

Does it count if this was our first lottery?

Last time I was there, I heard the waiter mention that they pan roast it before they put it in the oven. I think that that makes sense. I'm going to try it that way next time.

Quick dinner at Palena tonight.  Second one this week...a friend is in town.  Transcript follows:

Us:  We'll have the "steak and eggs, please"

Waiter: Any appetizers?

Us: No thanks.

Waiter:  Would you like to share a salad?

Us:  No, we're fine.

Waiter:  Any wine?

Us:  No.

---during the meal---

Waiter:  Can I get you any wine or beverage?

---

Does this seem right?  It was totally obnoxious.  Sometimes I want 4 dishes from the Cafe, sometimes I want one.  Just let it go.  In contrast to lunch at Corduroy, where Ferhat gave insanely kind service with a free ice cream at the end...

GKS,

The only great service I've ever had at Palena were from Scott and Jerome. You HAVE to request either of them to have an enjoyable evening with the service. I've been going there for years and these two are the only servers that I would recommend!

Some of my favorites are:

How to Cook Everything: Bittman Takes on...

Master Class at Johnson and Wales

Chefs A'Field

Great Chefs of the World

America's Best Chefs

In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs

OK, went to Palena last night for a late meal on the cafe side and I must say that the service (that I usually compain about) is becoming consistanly better! The last two servers I've had (Scott and Jerome) were both VERY professional and REALLY knew their food!

So now, until further notice, I am singing the praises of Palena once again.

My kitchen is REALLY starting to run out of cabinet space! Between all my pots, pans, and small appliances, there really isn't much room for anything else.

Where can I get a reasonably priced (<$400) pot rack? I'm looking for one that hangs from the ceiling that is either oval or rectangle.

Thanks in advance!

Joe - Did you get to sit in the visitor's box? If so, who else did he have up there?

That was great!!

Joe, you noted recently that you were in the audience for the rematch taping.  You indicated you can't discuss results, and I completely understand.  Can you talk about the experience of attending? 

I would like to know as well!

I remember the last time I was at Restaurant Eve, Todd told me that they use Blue Point (actually, I can't remember the name but I DO remember the word "Blue" in the brand). Can one of the chefs on this site verify this name and/or share their experience?

Well, Mrs mhberk and I attended the class on Saturday morning and had a GREAT time! We arrived at 10:30 and were offered muffins, coffee, tea, and still and sparkling water. After Chef Donna came in to explain what we could expect, we all lined up next to our cutting boards on the counter. I can see where some would consider it an advantage to line up right in front of Chef Donna, but personally, I think that every location had a great view of what was going on. Roberto was open to questions and very candid the whole time! At one point, I interrupted him to clarify one of the steps of one of the recipes or the theory of why he did something some way and after he answered it, he announced to the class that if any of us have questions, we shouldn’t worry about interrupting him. He wanted us to ask question and “that’s what (we’re) here for”.

I won’t go into detail about what we made, but I will say that it seemed like almost everyone (at least everyone that I saw) was a beginner. There were a few that were more advanced, but he was very patient with all of us and explained in very basic terms how to cut and sauté our ingredients. He showed us clues as to what to look for before we proceed with the next step of the recipe or before we add something else to the sauté pan. I was even able to ask more advanced questions as to why he would do something one way as opposed to another way and he had no problem answering them. He was also very open about his rematch and how he performed against Morrimoto and told me how he rated the other Iron Chefs.

Before we went on Saturday, I printed out this thread (as well as DCFoodie’s blog about the class) and showed it to Mrs mhberk so that she would know what to expect. After reading it, she said “he sounds mean!”. Just to clarify his attitude, he was very playful with his attitude the whole time. He would yell things like “Don’t bring me no raw onions!” or “keep those onions in the middle of the pan! Don’t bring me no black onions!” or “Don’t piss me OFF!!”. After each comment, you could hear the laughter from the whole class. The energy and dynamics of his presence made for a fantastic environment. He kept us excited and interested. When any of had a question, there was always one of his helpers around to answer it if Roberto was with someone else.

Once we were done with our 5 recipes (after making one at a time), we all sat down for a white table cloth meal. We sat down to wine, water and a few baskets of bread. As we sat there, our meal was served, one course at a time. There was even a white chocolate mousse for dessert. He had a very professional staff which consisted of plenty of help in the kitchen and a server that kept our glasses full and served us our food. All in all, we had a great time and thought it was an excellent gift to ourselves.

Here is Chef Donna explaining the two different pastas that will be used

Mrs mhberk preping her Frittata di Spaghetti

Mrs mhberk making her Frittata di Spaghetti

Chef Donna showing us how to cut the Zucchini

Everyone holding the pasta that Roberto just rolled out in the KitchenAid

Mrs mhberk cutting the pasta on the chitarra

Mrs mhberk using the spaghetti press (actually, we don't know what this thing was called, but it pressed out the spaghetti)

I just caught this on DCFoodies site. I this it: clicky

Ardeo - that was what was so weird.  If it were Bardeo, I wouldn't have batted an eye.

Well, I would GLADLY take Outkast playing at Ardeo over what I have to choose from here in Columbia!

Thanks for sharing your great experience ctay! After reading it, it inspired me to sign up for a class. The one that was most appealing to me was the "Let's Make Spaghetti Sauce, But Not Meatballs". So I signed up a few weeks ago, but there was a long waiting list (I was told that this was one of the more popular classes being offered.

Well, I got a call today letting me know that there were two spots that opened up and asked if I still wanted them. Of course I took them! So, it looks like my wife and I will finally get a chance to experience this!

Here's what we're going over:

FRITTATA DI SPAGHETTI

SPAGHETTI ALLA CHITARRA WITH ZUCCHINI

BIGOLI IN SALSA

CALAMARI SAUCE

LEMON PASTA SAUCE

It looks like blood oranges are in season

You know, Houston's was the first place that popped into my mind when you started this thread. The only reason I didn't mention it was because they don't take reservation and I know that that's a bummer when you're with friends. I'm glad things worked out for you!

No, sorry- my last name (well, maiden name- but haven't officially changed it yet) is Buckingham (the husband's is Hamilton, hence the screenname).

gotcha

Not to worry, MY birthday is in March...

OK, make me proud!

I used to know a girl that went to OMHS who graduated in 1988 with the last name of Hamilton. Any relation?