bettyjoan

For our new year's eve dinner with friends (before going out), I made scallop and sweet pea risotto and then beef tenderloin with cherry-black pepper sauce. Lots of butter before the resolutions kicked in.

We'll be in Amsterdam for about 3.5 days in March - arriving on a Wednesday PM and then leaving on Sunday AM. Thoughts on where to eat/drink? We are big beer people, but we'd also be interested in learning more about genever. As for food, we are pretty adventurous (though I don't think my husband is going to warm to the herring that seems so popular), and we try to do a mix of fine dining and casual spots. Any advice would be much appreciated! Also interested in any not-to-miss sights/activities and places to stay - though, much like I mentioned in the Paris thread, we are trying to stick to SPG and/or Hilton. Thanks!

After 8 months of traveling basically every week, hubby is cashing in some of his miles and points so we can spend a week together in Europe. We'll be flying into Paris and spending 2.5-3 days there (we'll get there around lunchtime on a Sunday and then we'll head to our next destination on Wednesday afternoon). I haven't been to Paris since 1998, and Jason has never been. Neither of us speak French, though I am going to try to learn a bit in the next two months. Any recommendations regarding not-to-miss food, both upscale and otherwise, would be much appreciated. Also, any thoughts on hotels would be great as well - though we are trying to stick to SPG and/or Hilton properties, as that is where Jason has some points for free nights. Can't wait to hear peoples' thoughts! I'm also obviously going to pore over this thread for a bit...lots of wisdom!

Used leftover saffron-butternut squash risotto to make arancini. I love fresh risotto, but some days, the fried rice balls that come later are the best part!

Made the vanilla basil shorties from the Washington Post cookie issue, and they were a resounding hit at my office holiday luncheon. Nice that you can make the dough and filling ahead of time; I just need to invest in a better icing-spreader device. Also made the orange-chocolate-pine nut cookies, but they were not nearly as good. Flavor was okay, but they stuck like crazy to the parchment paper and the pine nuts didn't offset the sweetness enough for me.

I just made this banana cake with Nutella and cream cheese icing, and HOLY COW is it good. I love the banana + Nutella flavor combo, and it's an impressive-looking dessert that is really quite easy. Score! Also working on some cookies from this year's Washington Post collection - more to come!

Made this baked pasta with roasted red pepper sauce, from Serious Eats. Definitely a winner! It was a smidge labor-intensive, but I guess you could always skip a step by buying pre-roasted peppers. Hopefully it will reheat reasonably well, even though it is a cream sauce...

I second this - the curry is absolutely delicious. Hubby and I sat at the (downstairs) bar last night for a long-overdue date, and another highlight was finally getting to eat the lychee-sausage salad. Previously, I had been steered away from the dish entirely due to my peanut allergy, but bartender Mike said that it was still really good without peanuts. I agree - I was so happy to finally get to taste the magic! Service was great, and my only complaints this visit were 1) the penne alla vodka was way too sweet, and 2) there was nothing on the wine list, by the glass or by the bottle, that fell into the dry/mineral realm that I love. They usually have at least one selection in my preferred wheelhouse, but Mike said that there was an error in ordering and he was quite embarrassed about it. A very small problem in the overall scheme of things.

For me, the "will not eat" list (peanuts, due to allergy, and any blue/exceptionally stinky cheese, due to I don't like eating things that taste like feet smell) is smaller than the "prefer not to eat" list. I wouldn't be sad if I never again ate olives, raisins, licorice, cottage cheese, or veal, but I don't make a big production about substituting or eliminating them when it is difficult to do so. I will say, I got really mad at my Michelin-starred chefly brother-in-law this year at Thanksgiving - his stuffing is always one of my favorite parts of the meal, but this year he decided to add raisins FOR NO GOOD REASON (well, none that I could discern, anyway). He basically said, "I bet you'll still eat it," and I did, but I also made sure to show him the pile of the nasty little dried fruit bits that I picked out of it. :-)

AND they are apparently shopping Freddie Freeman. I am not speaking to the Braves right now.

Empire State South would be a good bet in Midtown. If you wanted to go a bit farther to Buckhead, I'd opt for Tomo. Also, Gunshow is not THAT far from where One Eared Stag is. Be sure to report back!

How far north?

I dunno...I didn't go to Bennigan's often, but in its heyday, it's where I had one of the best Monte Christo sandwiches ever.

Maybe I'm just easy to please, or maybe my expectations were low at the start, but I've always enjoyed my breakfasts at Ted's (never been for any other meal). The food is reliable, they handle special requests well, and they are kid-friendly. We don't go there often, especially when it's just me and the husband, but it definitely serves a purpose - and I guess I've never really thought of Ted's as presenting itself as something special?

This week I am drinking to my brother-in-law, David Barzelay, whose restaurant, Lazy Bear, earned a Michelin star in its first year of eligibility. So proud!

Unfortunately, after two recent visits, I can't recommend Impala anymore. I don't think Anselmo works there any longer, and service at the bar seems to range from passable to terrible. But perhaps most disappointingly, the food just doesn't seem to have the same care and love behind it as it once did. The tortillas for the tacos are still the best in town, but the fillings - and we've had everything from lengua to pork belly to chicken to carne asada - are very "meh" in terms of flavor and seasoning. It's a real shame, but I guess I'm on the hunt for a new go-to Tex-Mex joint...

This is a contentious issue, clearly, but the part that has always puzzled me is how certain gun owners (not all of them, by any stretch - not even sure it is a majority, though it is a vocal group) equate "gun control" with "they're going to take my gun." That's part of why I don't necessarily think we should be considering a Constitutional amendment - there are plenty of broader Constitutional principles that we legislate/regulate in order to make sense of the details. If the Brady Bill isn't working anymore because times and situations have changed, then let's come up with something else. The lack of funding for gun studies is also galling to me. I think this article is very telling, even though it's a few years old - bottom line, the legislator who inserted the rider (which prohibited CDC research funding being used to "advocate or promote" gun control) now believes that we SHOULD study why gun violence in this country has reached the pitch that it has. I think the comparison to traffic fatalities is very apt.

Broke out the slow cooker for the first time in months, to make saffron chicken with apricots (recipe here). The recipe called to me because I had most of the ingredients already - appealing to my laziness is a good way to go these days, since I am mostly cooking for one. Glad to have leftovers of this dish, though - it was surprisingly good, with tender chicken and a sweet-and-spicy "sauce" of tomatoes, onions, and apricots. With some quick Israeli couscous, it was the perfect weeknight dinner.

Jason suggested Garrison for date night last night, since he tried it solo when I was in California (just after it opened). We sat at the bar, and Jessica was wonderful. We ordered all three of the top-of-menu treats (gougeres, Parker House rolls, and olives), which I thought were a steal for $15. The gougeres in particular were really excellent, but the salty and buttery rolls were also the perfect carby bites to enjoy with drinks. Speaking of, the Siamese Fireback (tequila, cilantro, lime, chili) was frickin' GREAT - incredibly smooth and balanced. The only (minor) bummer about the early part of our meal was that it took a really long time for the food to arrive. I knew the gougeres were made to order, so they'd take at least 10-12 minutes, but we waited far longer than that, to the point that Jessica started fussing at her manager because everyone around us had been served in the meantime. We told her it really wasn't a big deal - we were enjoying drinks and each other's company - but it was nice that she noticed and was doing her best to rectify the problem. I asked Jessica for a wine recommendation, telling her that I wanted a white wine by the glass that had a lot of minerality. I wasn't sure where she was going to lead me, since there were a couple of options on the menu that might have fit the bill. However, I was shocked when she offered a Basque white for $9 a glass - and I was even more shocked when it was delicious and exactly what I was looking for. I don't know a ton about wine, but I know what I like, and I really liked this. For dinner, we split the squash blossoms and the duck. The squash blossoms were my least favorite part of the meal, which is not to say they were bad (they were not), but they just didn't stand out like the other dishes. Jason's comment was that it could have been anything under the fried batter. The romesco sauce, however, was very good. And the duck? WOW. Perfectly cooked, impeccably seasoned, and absolutely delicious. But, again, it took a really long time for our food to get to us - Jessica apologized and we told her it was no big deal, but clearly there are some pacing issues that need to be worked out. We weren't bothered by it, but others might have been. We weren't going to order dessert, but then the chocolate terrine just arrived - a gift from Jessica for all of the food delays. It had a great texture, and it was very tasty and well-executed (if somewhat predictable). I should also note that Jessica refilled my wine gratis once or twice while we were waiting for our dinner. We certainly didn't need the freebies, but it was really nice to see problems being handled proactively. Garrison is pricy, but I really enjoyed it - I can see us going back for future date nights. In all of the mediocrity of 8th Street SE, it's nice to have a gem.

This is such a fun topic. Baseball - I have been a Braves fan since I was 6. We moved to the Atlanta area around that time, and my dad and I would watch the games together. Sometimes we'd even get to go in person, back at the old Fulton County Stadium, even though it was a pretty long trek from the northern suburbs. Also, we lived near (not in) a country club community where a lot of the players lived, so we'd frequently see them in the grocery store or at the gas station. One of my best friends from childhood even went to church with Dale Murphy, so I got to meet him a few times. This was all back in the days when TBS had the big TV deal with the Braves, so you could see their games no matter where you were - which is how my grandmother, a life-long Mets fan, started loving the Braves as well (our trips to in-person games usually coincided with her summer visits from NY). So, even though we've lived 5-6 years in DC, and even though we plan to live here until we retire, I just can't get behind the Nationals. Not only are they a division rival, but my grandmother would just roll over in her grave. Being a Braves fan is such a huge part of who I am, and no matter how much they let me down, they always make me smile and think of family. Football - I started enjoying football when I was in college at the University of Georgia. I stayed in the SEC for law school (University of Tennessee). I root primarily for the Bulldogs, though I'm certainly not upset when the Vols are successful (against other teams besides UGA, of course). I started getting into the NFL when we moved back to Atlanta in 2008; I root for the Falcons (we were season ticketholders), but my fanhood there isn't as fervent as it is with the Braves. If certain things changed with the Washington team (such as ownership), I might be more willing to watch and support. Of course, Fantasy Football keeps me interested in the league as a whole, and there are certain players who I followed in college and who I now keep tabs on in the pros. Hockey - My whole family is from NY, and my dad used to play, so I was raised a NY Rangers fan (and I was also raised on the ice - never played hockey myself, but I can skate far better on hockey skates than figure skates). We tried to keep up with the Thrashers when we lived in ATL, but that was just a losing proposition from day one. When we moved back to DC, we got into the Caps, and now we have season tickets. My dad is, to say the least, very disappointed in me for not following in his Rangers-fan footsteps. But, it makes the rivalry interesting, since he and my husband do some really good trash talking. I love tennis because I used to play (poorly), but I don't really have any huge favorites. I don't like the Olympics overall, but I do like watching certain individual sports, like track and field and swimming. For me, other than the "big" sports like baseball/football/hockey, my level of interest has to do with whether I've participated in the sports myself - I feel like I understand more that way.

We ended up doing our anniversary dinner at Locanda Verde, and it was great. We also had a fantastic lunch at Ippudo. Will write something up for both!

Just got back from Labor Day/anniversary weekend in NYC, and we went to the evening session in Arthur Ashe last night (one of my sports bucket list items) - so we got to see Djokovic and Bautista Agut battle it out for 4 sets. It was really fun to watch - lots of great rallies. While I like Djokovic, I really don't love his racket-smashing temper tantrums (even if the anger is self-directed) - but he was actually pretty funny in the post-match interview. When Brad Gilbert asked him about it, he smiled and said something like, "I don't see any broken rackets, what are you talking about? I think I'd like to go back and check out some of the day sessions and/or matches on smaller courts. But the vibe of the night match really was exciting, and it was so much lovelier to watch in a cool evening breeze as opposed to the sweltering heat and sun. Will be watching the rest on TV...definitely pumped for Federer vs. Isner tonight.

Thanks! Any personal favorites on that list? I know we'll go to Locanda Verde at least one night.

Hubby and I are celebrating our anniversary in NYC next weekend, and we are looking for a spot for a nice dinner on Saturday night. We are staying in Tribeca, so the closer to that neighborhood, the better. The twist is, we really don't care about getting reservations because we always prefer to sit at the bar - so wherever we go needs to have that option (even if we'd have to wait a bit). Thoughts? Thanks!

I got a stemless wine glass, but I honestly couldn't have cared less. Initially, the overall vibe of the place was a little weird to me - when we walked in, it seemed to skew a bit too casual (and maybe "touristy" is an appropriate word here) for the food and prices. But, we received excellent service at the bar, and in the end, I felt like the total experience was very positive. I didn't even realize it was a chain until I came here to write something up after the fact. I commented to my husband as we were leaving that Morini was an interesting counterpoint to Fiola Mare. They're both waterfront Italian restaurants, but they are quite different. I'm glad DC has both.