Barbara

Back in the late 1980's (1988, 89?) I went to Galileo and we were offered a white truffle shaving on any number of dishes for a $15 upcharge. We passed (since we weren't paying). That's also the only time I ate there and had a distinctly mediocre meal. Somehow, I don't believe the truffles would have made any of it particularly better.

Recipe, please?

Just saw this in the Style section of today's WaPo. As far as I'm concerned, it's the last word--and no spoiler alerts, either: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mark-kelly-gives-an-astronauts-view-of-gravity/2013/10/11/2b4e5e6c-3286-11e3-9c68-1cf643210300_story.html

The was the first 3D movie I've ever seen and the person with us said that its use was nicely understated. I had read the review in the New Yorker, so was already aware of some of the quibbles about "reality." Still, I watched it with the knowledge that previous iconic films (the whole Star Wars series, along with the Star Trek series--not to mention all those super heroes) didn't engender the kind of "Could THAT Happen?" questions that this one surely will. Nevertheless, I had a lot of questions when the movie was over. It isn't a spoiler alert to say that the entire movie is focused on the astronauts on the Shuttle. I kept wanting to see how the Houston people were reacting to any of it--but that wasn't the movie that was made. At least we were also spared any shots of TV newspeople trying to report on something they couldn't know anything about. That was a blessing. STILL, Gravity gets major, major points for having a scrappy girl (OK, so she's 50) as the protagonist. It's a given that Sandra Bullock will be nominated for every acting prize out there.

Yeah, we noticed that.

Those of you planning on going to the Uptown to see "Gravity" (and, yes, you certainly should see it--even if Sci-Fi movies aren't your cup of tea) and then popping into Medium Rare for a meal, might want to reconsider. While the 4:45 showing this afternoon was hardly packed, it seems that everybody else in the theater had the same idea we did. By the time we got there at 6:35 or so, there was an hour wait. We went to Spices, instead. Too bad, because it would have the first time any of the three of us had eaten at MR. We'll try again some other time.

This is similar to what my Mother called "quesedillas." Only, you put a tortilla in a skillet, add jack cheese and a canned, whole green pepper on top. Flip half the tortilla over the other half and cook til the cheese melts. A little garlic salt was usually added. Haven't made one of those in more years than I can remember.

I made fried okra this summer for a cocktail party because I found a whole slew of the very small, tender pods at the Farmers Market. I left them whole (with the tops on as handles), and battered and pan-fried them. Not at all slimy.

I vote for rescheduling.

Catharine should understand that she will have to post her address here, for all to see--as well as dealing with complete strangers in her home. However, if she's willing, I would suggest that she hire some help (for clean-up and such) and that we should all contribute to fund that (since we won't be contributing to the Park Service).

Whoops. Check #6 on this list: http://rs.nvrpa.org/confirmations/shelter_all.pdf Ilaine; if this ban applies to us, you probably ought to just cancel.

It would seem that there are only two choices here: 1) cancel, or 2) move it to Pohick Bay. It depends on how hard it would be to get there from DC for me to make an attendance decision. Also there needs to be a drop-dead date for making your decision. BTW: I would point out that, even if the gov was reopened by Friday, it is unlikely that Ft. Hunt would be in any condition for us--especially the bathrooms.

Seki-san: You've learned the very first lesson of "hospitality." There are unreasonable people out there who won't be satisfied until/unless you bother your other customers in their favor. Some people can't/won't be satisfied, no matter what you do. I imagine that even if this party were allowed to be seated as they wished, they would have found something to complain about. Just be glad that most people aren't like this and write it off to "entitled twits"--which they are.

If I were a government worker on furlough, I wouldn't be spending a single dime that I didn't have to. Face it, eating in a restaurant of any kind is a luxury that most of take for granted. Until you dare not. Besides, there are a lot of empty offices downtown at this particular moment. Anybody whose livelihood depends on the government, however seemingly remote, is suffering along with everybody else.

Yup. I do this, too, just to make sure that nobody can write something on that line--and to let everybody in the restaurant know that I didn't stiff anybody. Mainly I try to tip in cash because, if you put the tip on a credit card, the credit card company gets a percentage of the tip. Screw that.

This is one of the reasons why I always try to tip in cash.

Yeah, but you're forgetting the part at the end where she "replated" her Mom's pierogis--so they would look nicer. What a Bitch!

To Mr. Squidsdc. Who knew he was an excellent wood-worker in his spare time? (Other than Squids herself, of course).

Yes, i knew he was the original chef at Jack Rose and had departed there some time ago; and, I also knew he is at the helm at Teddy. One of our party spoke with him directly, earlier in the day. He certainly is turning out some very good food at Teddy. But, if the emphasis stays on the hipster vibe and entertaining the young folk, I'm not sure how much that will matter in the long run. As it is, this isn't a place one would be likely to take the 'rents or ILs--much less entertain clients, IMHO.

Dame Edna and I met another couple here last night. Teddy's advertises itself as a "small plates" kind of place. OK. The place occupies what used to be Sam & Harry's on 19th Street, NW--just above M Street, which made it quite handy for all of us to get to on foot. The GOOD: Most of the food was quite delicious. We ordered several appetizers, all of which were good. I ordered the "Chopped Summer Salad" which was truly delicious: Bacon, watermelon, blue cheese, candied pecans (!), greens, etc. I suspect this won't be on the menu a whole lot longer because of the seasonality of it. The duck confit with potato puree and a balsamic (?) sauce: close to the goodness of Tom Power's version. Highly recommended. Also a real standout was the Halibut, which was served with a citrus gastric that added a touch of sweetness. The pork belly was also fine, but I didn't eat any of the roasted Rockfish--which won raves by the ones who did. Also ordered was a side of green beans with eggplant, which was very good--especially the eggplant. They have a "Rickey" on tap that was quite interesting: Green Hat Gin (!) with a reduction of bourbon--giving the drink a nice, but not cloying, sweetness--topped off by a lime foam with lime zest. Rickeys are supposed to be an air conditioner in a glass, and this one passed that test. There was also a nice selection of beers in the bottle and a few wines by the glass. As usual, I got whatever is bubbly--in this case a nice Spanish cava. There is also a wine by the bottle list, but none of us were in the market for one of those. We shared two desserts: the Brioche Bread Pudding and an Apple Sorbet. Just delicious, but the pudding came in a very hot container, making it difficult to pass around. The ODD: A lovely breadbasket appeared with a selection of things--one biscuit, one brioche roll (?) and a long, flat piece of something that resembled lavash. Problem was: how do you divide up a biscuit into four pieces? We ordered a second basket and it was taken away before we could ask for the remainders to be boxed up. It just seemed an odd selection to serve four people. Also odd was the way the salad was plated. It was piled high on a rectangular plate and, instead of being tossed together, the bacon was all on one side, the watermelon in the middle, and I forget what was on the end. If I had tried to eat the whole thing myself, it would have been very difficult to keep half of it from landing on the table (or in my lap). Since we shared it, it meant trying to scrape some onto a too small plate in a way that everyone got some of everything. Nevertheless, it was very good and I brought the remainder home. The BAD: An order of sauteed greens that was so salty as to render the dish inedible. It was taken away and off the check. Also BAD is the NOISE! Part of the restaurant is the Bully Bar--a long bar with a large TV--which on a Friday night was pretty full. The Dining Room is separate, but not totally. There were glass and wood-framed doors that could mostly keep the rooms separated, but the doors on both ends had to kept open. While not as ridiculously loud as the Jack Rose dining room (which can leave you deaf), it was a relief to get out of there onto the quiet of downtown streets. The BOTTOM LINE: All that food, plus once cocktail, one beer, two glasses of wine, and a generous tip came to about $52 a person. I've paid a lot more for much lesser food, I just wish they could solve the noise problem. Or, at least create a quiet "Geezer's" section for those of us who actually want to hold a conversation with the people we are with.

I'll know by whether Don let's this thread stand or not whether there is interest here in further updates on this project as they occur--and if not, well then, see you soon on K! Well! This is certainly exciting to me, too! Can you tell us just what part of K Street you are talking about? NW? NE? Near the Convention Center? Georgetown? What? ETA: Just notice the City Vista part. Are you going to be next to Ferhat's fish joint???

Boy, can I identify with this article. We eat out so seldom these days, that our regular haunts are far less numerous than Bruni's; the results and effects are just the same. It's like the words in the old "Cheers" theme song: You want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. Too, too true.

That sounds vaguely familiar . . . (Ya know, I could just walk into the place and ask somebody).

Before people get all excited, I'm bringing pumpkin cheeseCAKE.

OK, for anybody interested in the development of restaurants in DC (wherein a menu was created that one could chose from--as opposed to eating whatever the kitchen had prepared at the time), this is a must read: http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Storm-August-Washington-Francis-Forgotten/dp/0385533373/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380069372&sr=1-1&keywords=snow+storm+in+august