Genevieve

When the staff gets busy, they really get slammed and don't have time to be chatty, but I'm always found them nice. Off-peak, I've had really nice conversations with Moe (who I think is either the owner or the manager). We've been going there (not as often as we should) for the past 15 years. They have a catering menu as well - we had them cater a huge post-bar mitzvah brunch at our house (not on-site, but worked out the catering with them a couple months before and picked up the food that morning). Besides bagels and cream cheese, they provided platters of whitefish salad, lox, cold cuts and cheese, salad (they have a choice of many, I really like their "fruit and nut" one), pickles (they have great pickles - I always get them), and rugelach. We've done pick-up of smaller amounts from them for smaller get-togethers - just place a pre-order the day before (at an off-peak hour -- it's harder to get them on the phone at peak times) and arrange a pick-up time.

Recent recommendations, wonderful! Thanks so much, Marty. I will investigate all of these. Some great-sounding options and I love having a wide variety (finer dining, more casual, tapas, breakfast/lunch, ice cream).

Thanks so much, Don!!!!

Yes, we are absolutely going - we went there 20 years ago and loved it, and can't wait to see all the progress (pix I've seen look fairly different). It's my husband's #1 favorite thing in Barcelona (maybe in any city). I want to revisit all the other Gaudi sights as well (and our teen hasn't seen any of them), as well as any we missed last time. I'm trying to find info on whether there's some kind of city pass or Gaudi pass or anything where I should be buying tickets to multiple sights in advance. Then I need to figure out what is closed on Good Friday and/or Maundy Thursday (Friday is a holiday throughout Spain; Thursday is a holiday someplaces in Spain, but not, I think, Barcelona).

El Xampanyet sounds good! We may have gone there nearly 20 years ago when we were last in Barcelona. Hojo Santa will be closed, as will that whole group, sadly. I have had the olives here at Jaleo, and liked them. Good Friday tons of things will be closed, but it looks like enough will be open for the two of us who aren't fasting then to get some good meals on our last day there.

Heading there (for the first time) in a couple weeks for Valentine's Day Observed (the day before - we're not fans of Valentine's Day prix fixe menus), and excited to try it. Will make sure to save room for that Riso dessert w/the butterscotch cream!

Thank you, Don - breakfast at ABaC sounds like a terrific idea! I don't want to do a set menu dinner b/c everyone in our family has something they can't eat and so we do better a la carte, but the breakfasts sound lovely and like a great way to experience the place. We're staying in an apartment (hotels with two beds to fit three people being harder to find and more expensive, and an apartment allowing us to bring back some food from the markets, though I don't expect we'll cook, but having a fridge and a sink will be great) near Casa Mila (near Diagonal subway stop).

I've found the Index in this forum to be very helpful when researching trips, but it seems to be gone or moved.

Looking for good food recommendations in Barcelona (not prix fixe, and not in the far outskirts) from anyone who has a recommendation from the last couple years. One thing we want is a molecular gastronomy-influenced place (not everything there has to be, as long as something is), where we can order a la carte and not a tasting menu. Disfrutar looks like you can only order a set menu - if I'm wrong about that, please tell me. ABaC is set menu only, but 10s has tapas that 'follow the philosophy' of Jordi Cruz, so I'm interested in that. I was excited to go to the El Barri restaurants, Tickets or Bodega 1900, but sadly they are all closed when we're there (unfortunately, spring break from school means it's Holy Week in Spain, but our tickets are already booked so we're definitely going then). El cellar Can Roca is closed that week (and is in Girona, & may have been above our price point and/or too late to book), but Roca Moo in Barcelona is open then and has an a la carte menu. Has anyone been there? Edit: I see that bettyjoan went there in 2012 and liked it very much - excellent! From the recommendations above, I definitely will plan to go to Mercat san Antoni for tapas, and El Xampanyet by the Picasso museum. I am hoping that sights are not closed during Holy Week (I expect many will be on Good Friday, but hope not the rest of the week beforehand) .....would like to take the teen to Tibidabo, and every Gaudi site, and the Picasso Museum, and other places. Any other recommendations would be very welcome!I know there's more up above but they're several years old, though I'll look into those places for sure. We'd only go to a molecular gastronomy place once, I think, so we'd have lots of other meals. Will do some tapas (I will check out the NPR link posted above), some regular restaurants, will not want to travel out of the city for meals. Will be exploring lots of the Gaudi sites, so anything near Parc Guell would be great to know. We can't drink, so don't need to know which places have good wine/cava. Thank you!

Here's Marjorie showing how to make the milk bread, part one (I couldn't find part two): "Homemade Milk Bread Part One" on msn.com

I get: base: arugula and black lentils spreads: red pepper hummus and tzatiki small pita on the side (they ask when I get the spreads if I want that) protein: grilled chicken and/or roasted vegetables (cauliflower/butternut squash/carrots/brussels sprouts) toppings: tomato & cucumber salad, a little feta, a little kalamata olives, mint, lemon wedge dressing: tahini

I'd probably call it healthy and vegetarian, and feel like it might be more useful for people looking for such places to have it listed that way in the guide. But I see how it could go either way. The person before us tried to tip the person at the counter, and she said no, thank you but no tipping, and something about how they have a good deal with MOM's.

They didn't have sesame seeds on the top, but otherwise looked like that! Yes, roast pork inside. I don't know if it was more like a weekend day - federal holidays are usually when we go to dim sum (tradition w/these friends going back two decades, though nowadays it ends up being once a year or so). The place was not packed - it was emptier than I expected, but probably fuller than a standard Monday at 10:30.

Went to the Naked Lunch restaurant on Saturday, in the bottom floor of the new Mom's Organic Market in Courthouse (on Lee Highway). Enjoyed my lunch thoroughly. They don't seem to have a separate website (though they're a separate restaurant that I think only operates in MOM's - there's one in Rockville and Merrifield, maybe others). I can't find their menu online, so I'll try to remember to take a picture of the takeout menu I brought home. Some of the items are described in the yelp reviews. It's a tiny, tiny place - one two-top table, four barstools (with backs and padded, yay) at a little counter, and that's it. Good for take-out, if it's too full to eat in. Service (ordering at the counter) was a little slow, though it could be because they don't have their routine down yet. Service was also very friendly and accommodating. Everything was vegetarian, and I believe they can make most or all of the dishes vegan. Mostly it's fast-casual steamed or roasted veggies, on top of grains, with tasty sauces. They have set items (I was looking at the Lin Bowl and the Moler Bowl, but ended up with roasted cauliflower steak over spinach, brown rice, mushrooms, and a couple other things I think, with a zingy chimmichurri sauce/dressing). They'll substitute anything, it seems like, or just add things (I had asked about another dish that included sweet potato, and when I ended up with the cauliflower, she asked if I would like sweet potato on it too - yes please). And you can create your own combo if you prefer that to the bowls on the menu. Mine was very tasty and filling. I asked for light dressing, and she gave me extra on the side because she said she'd gone very light - I appreciated that. Delicious dressing, and it complemented the veggies very very well. My husband had the Sushi Bowl, which included tofu, rice, avocado, and some other things, and a gingery sauce that I liked very much (I'd order that dish another time if I wanted a change from the cauliflower). They have lots of fresh juices (all the combos had vegetables, which I'm not a fan of in juice form, so I didn't try them, but I wouldn't be surprised if I could get it without), kombuchas, bottled drinks in the refrigerated section, and a black bean burger as well as the various bowls. I'll definitely go back.

It's been making me very happy to see cauliflower in various guises on so many menus. I'm not a fan of beets, kale, or brussels sprouts, so the food trends of recent years mean that I drop several possibilities from many menus. But I love roasted cauliflower. Therefore the article about the shortage was a bummer! Those other trendy vegetables didn't seem to lead to shortages, did they? but no one was making "rice" and "mashed potatoes" out of them in addition to cooking them as veggies.

That's very useful info since my son doesn't eat pork. Thanks!

At Mark's yesterday, the dim sum was tasty and the group was happy with it. My son had a small order of duck and didn't love the amount of meat on it (not that much on the bones, he said), but he didn't eat the drumstick, which might have been meatier. We particularly liked a scallop dim sum (in a wrapper thicker than har gow, maybe closer to a shiu mai wrapper though not shaped like that). They had abalone also but we didn't get that. There was a nice sort of triangular fried or baked one with pork inside that was good and unusual (for me) - it flaked a little like pastry, so I think it was baked and maybe then had an egg-wash to make it shiny. The turnip cakes were good but I would have preferred them to be served hotter. True of a few of the things we had, though we had a big group and a lot of food, so it's possible some things may have been on the lazy susan for a while before I got them. Carts kept rolling by and I think things were fresh though I'm no expert. The bok choy wasn't as good as I've had elsewhere - a little overcooked maybe (but not much, the large end still crunched). They tended to put things on our table while they were asking, instead of pointing and asking if we wanted them, and while I said no to a few things and they took them off the table, we did end up with more than we finished (I've never left a har gow behind before [can you say "a har gow," or is it plural?], and they were great but I was stuffed). But we didn't end up with anything we had said no to, and I think it's just that this style of serving led to me to overestimate more than if I'd only pointed to things we wanted (which I did some of as well). They were responsive when we asked if certain things were being served (har gow, duck, sesame balls, pineapple buns) and when I considered the broccoli, they asked about bok choy and I said yes, so they were good at responding to customers and suggesting some things. Someone walked by while we were talking about duck, in fact, and he stopped and said, "Duck? You want duck?", so I was pleased with the waitstaff's responsiveness. We made a reservation b/c we had one person who couldn't stand and wait (though we probably wouldn't have needed to on a Monday). Not all dim sum places take reservations (the last time I checked), so this was a plus for us. Overall it was good and I'd go back, but I think next time we'll try Hong Kong Pearl if folks will do that.

I would be interested to try Maketto's some time.

(The Post review from 2014 said the weekend is the time to go to Hong Kong Pearl, but that the dim sum on weekdays/nights wasn't good. If we were going on the weekend instead of Monday, I might have chosen it.)

China Garden doesn't do dim sum on Monday, and the group asked for Mark's Duck House, which they remember fondly and which takes reservations (an important factor I hadn't thought of - some in the group can't wait in line). So Mark's it is, for this time.

Going in NoVa on Monday. Mark's Duck House, Hong Kong Pearl, or Fortune? I read the threads on them, but there aren't any posts from the last couple years. Thanks! Edit: or China Garden in Rosslyn? That's actually much closer to us, and the more recent reviews seem to like it all right. MD is not an option, neither is going as far as Annandale.

If all navels are clones, why are some more tart (and preferable to me), and others more bland? I suppose it comes down to environmental factors? (cue Trading Places brothers arguing about heredity vs. environment)

Does anyone know if they have plans to open for lunch at some point, or will it be dinner only?

Please post where you'll be in Charlotte once the news is public. We have family there and are there a couple of times a year.

Since I went the first time a couple months ago, I've been back three more times. Such a delicious lunch! I love the black lentils and would eat them year-round (I think they're a fall/winter addition, but they'd be great to keep). I've been getting the roasted veggies on the side so I can pick out the brussels sprouts, and they're a great option. The only problem I have with the downtown (Verizon Center) one is that the line is too long, so I have to go really late (or early, I guess) for lunch if I don't want a giant line. But that's just a measure of its success. The servers move the line along well.