ustreetguy

A Hangar One Kaffir Lime and soda to kick off the next 24 hours ....

Whoa - that's quite the blast from the past. I remember eating them frozen right out of the box! No heating it up in the microwave for me!

It's a friend's birthday celebration tonight so the plan is dinner and then either the Bob Mould show or a bit of salaciousness at one of the *ahem* southeast clubs.

Bob Mould!

Count me in! This'll be a first time for me at the TP.

*groan*

I sit here at my laptop with bruises and scrapes on my arms from disassembling a fraction of the gutters from one of the greenhouses this past Saturday. Now I'm not even going to attempt to put into words what so many people from the prior weekend have expressed so eloquently. All I can say is it was a true pleasure to meet the Rockwellian "crew" and the ever so gracious hosts from this past Saturday, and that I strongly encourage those who may be teetering on the fence to give up a day and go out there to volunteer. You'll be glad that you did.

Sorry Don if this is verturing off into "off topic" territory. Now remember that Tom reviewed Sonoma just a couple weeks ago and gave it 2 stars. These three restaurants all serve similar foods (i.e. cheese plates, meat plates, pastas, a few mains, many wines by the glass). I guess in his opionion Sonoma is just a little bit better. Personally I've never been to Sonoma so I can't compare, but that certainly won't stop me from enjoying the dishes I love at either Dino or Al Crostino.

It really amazes me that this place isn't busier. I decided to stop by on my drive home from work and found myself the only person in there at 6:45. Only one other person came in to pick up a carryout order as I was there. I have to admit it was a little unnerving being stared at while I ate (the staff didn't really have anything to do, and I guess they were just trying to gauge my reactions), but it in no way detracted from the food.I had the eel kamameshi which was warm and comforting as people have noted earlier and a few extra pieces of nigiri sushi. How can anyone pass up these prices? $1.75 for uni is just a complete steal. The mackerel had a nice texture with just the right amount of oiliness that you come to expect from that fish, and the hamachi glistened and tasted fresh and clean. There may be places that actually have better pieces of fish, but for the value, this places rises above the rest.

The Purple Haze is definitely my favorite of the cheeses - a wonderful texture with a a subtle but delicious flavor.

Aren't they always conducting celebrity interviews over lunch at Chateau Marmont or as bookluvingbabe suggested, on the patio at Ivy? Make sure it's the middle of the week though.

Great suggestion! Now I'll really be able to enjoy the wine pairings without worrying about having to leave my car.

I was in the middle of reading the transcript when I got to a post that included someone's e-mail address. All of a sudden, the "Live Discussions" home page loaded up. I wonder if they took the transcript offline temporarily to remove the address.

My list would have to include the following (in no particular order): 1) New York - obviously 2) San Francisco and the surrounding area - was just there in August and had some of the best food I've had in a long time. The place spans the range from James Beard winner Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe and the award winning Gary Danko to great hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Chinatown to tasty chilaquiles from a stand at the farmers market at the Embarcadero. Not far away are of course the legendary French Laundry in Yountville and Chez Panisse in Berkeley. 3) Tokyo - aside from the obvious Japanese cuisine (sushi, teppanyaki, shabu-shabu, yakitori, tempura, etc.), Tokyo has wonderful Korean and Chinese restaurants as well as great Indian and French places. Hung over? Head down to the fish market to one of the ramen noodle stands for a comforting breakfast! Get out of town for a day and visit a ryokan for one of the most unusual and beautiful meals you'll ever have (see my post in the Japan section of this forum). 4) Sydney - wonderful seafood and a chance to try kangaroo, crocodile, wombat, as well as outstanding Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants.

Yup - I metroed down from Bethesda. Got there at 1:45 and they were completely sold out of everything. They did let me walk into the restaurant to check it out though. Nice looking space.

So it's Monday night, and I'm starving. A walk to some of my favorite restaurants in the neighborhood leads to disappointment as I realize they are closed for the day. After passing by the food establishments of 17th Street, I finally decide to turn onto P Street to give the somewhat maligned Merkado Kitchen a shot. Skipping over the specialty drinks which people here have complained as too sweet, I order the Grilled Squid Stuffed w/ Crabmeat & Shrimp in Coconut Curry appetizer and the Cuban Pork Shank w/ Sweet Plantain & Ajo Yukon Mash. The ample sized squid burst at the seams, oozing the crabmeat and shrimp filling onto the plate. The shrimp and crab filling was creamy and had nice heat to it, mixing well with the coconut curry on the plate. The chunks of shrimp were tender to the bite. I thought, "Wow. People are really being hard on this place." That is until I actually got to the squid. Looking at the squid, I thought it probably could've used some carmelization in a pan before being put in the oven, but that's just a personal preference since I generally don't like my seafood looking like the color of rubber bands. Unfortunately the taste and texture (should squid be that chewy?) also reminded me of rubber bands. I squeezed out the remainder of the filling and left the squid on the plate. The Cuban Pork Shank comes out and my first thought is that giant slab of meat seen in the title sequence of a Flintstones cartoon. The thing is enormous! The shank is accompanied by a smooth and tasty potato and plantain mash and some raw watercress which adds nothing to the dish except for some texture. The first bite of the pork reveals a fall from the bone piece of meat that kind of lacks in flavor. If the rest of the meat tasted that way, I would've been better off. How do I put this delicately? If B.O. had a flavor, this would be it. I don't know if I had an old piece of meat or if something went awry in the cooking process, but there was definitely something off about that meat. Disappointed with the experience, I skip dessert there for a brown sugar and cinnamon cone at Sweet Licks. To be fair, if someone can recommend a dish worth going for, I may go back. But for now, I'm not really inclined to.

Kyoto; Tokyo Sorry I couldn't provide an answer before you left, but for future travelers to Japan, here are some of the more memorable dining experiences I had in the country. One was KUNUGI, a teppanyaki restaurant at the Miyako hotel in Kyoto (y'know, the one where the senior Bush vomited all over Prime Minister Koizumi). It's been four years since I've been there, but it's a prix fixe menu where the utmost care is taken in the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Dishes from my time there(which numbered about 8-10) included Kobe and Ohmi beef (so tender that you can cut it with the side of your fork!), the freshest of sashimi (many were ones I didn't even recognize), a whole lobster killed and grilled right in front of your eyes (the chef actually apologized to us that the original preparation called for prawns and asked us if lobster would be an acceptable substitution!), crisp fresh vegetables in a ponzu sauce, among many others that I can't remember. If in Japan, it is a must to spend one night in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn where you go to let yourself relax and unwind usually in a hot spring or at least a large wooden hot tub. Just be prepared to stay there the entire time. The hosts would feel as if they weren't doing their job if you feel the need to leave. At the HIIRAGIYA ryokan in Kyoto, a kaiseki dinner which is a traditional multi-course meal (again about 12-15 dishes) usually highlighting specialties of a region (included in the price of the stay) is served. The dishes are all stunning, presented on beautiful porcelain ceramics and serving trays. Each dish that comes out is a pure work of art - almost too beautiful to eat. As usual in Japan, there is a strong emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients. It's difficult to describe the dishes since some of the ingredients were just too foreign for me to identify, but seafood plays a prominent role in most of the dishes and the unusual flavors of each dish I had pleased and excited my tastebuds. Dinner is finished off with a simple citrus sorbet - a perfect light ending to such a large meal. Breakfast (again included in the price of the stay) is a choice of a western breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast or a traditional Japanese breakfast of rice porridge, pickled vegetables, dried fish and a soup of fermented tofu skins (I thought it was delicious - my companion I think was longing for an Egg McMuffin at that point). One last word of advice - especially for people visiting Tokyo. It is essential that you learn to identify the different symbols of the Japanese hiragana alphabet (if you are not with a fluent speaker) if you want to try the less touristy places for shabu-shabu, yakitori, tempura, etc. In Tokyo, restaurants are not always on the ground floor of high-rise buildings and signage is not always in English. The sheer number of neon signs on the sides of buildings can be overwhelming. Some of the better restaurants I have been directed to did not have an English name. I would ask that the name of the restaurant be written down, the address of the building the restaurant was in, and the floor it was on if they knew. Once on the floor, I would go from restaurant to restaurant comparing the symbols on the paper to the symbols above the door. For less adventurous diners, spending your time at the top of the Park Hyatt Tokyo is a great place to have a drink and to have a decent meal.

What great reads in the Post today! Having people wait at the bar is a common practice and one that I am accustomed to, so it doesn't really bother me that much. Nobody is forcing you to order a drink while you are waiting. As for getting a round of free drinks for having to wait, I have only had this happen to me once at Tony's in St. Louis when my parents took me there for my college graduation 10 years ago. As some of you already noted, this is a very rare practice.

Right now I prefer the roasted peaches with caramel sauce and thyme. It's a really simple dessert when you think about it, but the peaches are nicely sweet and tender. The caramel sauce is so good I want to lick up every drop. And the savory note of the fresh thyme leaves makes you stand up and take notice. It's a wonderful summer combination.

Komi - only since it's the only one of the three restaurants that you've listed that doesn't have a bar to sit at, i.e. you can always enjoy Firefly or Palena by yourself if your wife doesn't go out with you to dinner that often. But you really can't lose with any of the three.

Heading to San Francisco next weekend for a friend's b-day. Dinners are already set at the Cortez [Purchased by Ron Silberstein in 2008, Closed Aug 10, 2009], at the Hotel Adagio and at Lemongrass. Can anyone recommend anything I need to order at these places? I'll also have Sunday evening to myself so is there a not miss restaurant open on Sunday night for someone who just plans on ordering at the bar?

My ex-roommate and I used to order from there when it first opened. The vegetables that came with the dishes used to be bright and crisp, but the place quickly went downhill. The peking duck rolls started arriving with wilted brown shredded lettuce, the celery and carrots in the incorrectly named "Sichuan Beef" were lifeless and limp (and where was the heat?), and the broccoli would often come overcooked and drenched in sauce. I think the hype over this place comes from the name. If it's "organic" then it must be good! Unfortunately, even organic ingredients can't save this place. If you find yourself absolutely having to order from here, the Singapore Angel Hair Rice Noodles with pork is probably one of your better bets.

I believe she is referring to the faux-ravioli where the "pasta" is actually thinly shaved jicama with avocado as the filling. It's been on their brunch dim sum menu (only $3.95!) for quite sometime.

I had quite the chuckle at that. All Japanese restauranteurs should be up in arms.

Why is it I can only think of those drop-in-boiling water frozen dinners my mom used to buy from Swanson's or Dinty Moore? Is there a difference?