foodandreason

Thank you very much for the suggestions. I think at the moment we are leaning towards the idea of renting an interesting space and then finding a caterer as well. Apparently the National Zoo has a pavilion that they'll rent out; and then maybe BBQ from Rocklands, which apparently can do that site. The suggestion of New Fortune, however, is very interesting, as that would be much closer to our conference site. That is something which may be worth exploring. Thanks much!

A colleague of mine is organizing a conference to be held next summer in Gaithersburg, MD. This conference usually has a dinner one night. Apparently the culinary expectations are rather high; the previous conference organizers have managed to put together something with decent food (it's recently been held mostly in Europe). Here are the constraints: 400 to 500 people Between $40 and $100 per head Located near Gaithersburg or DC (traveling downtown could be fun; traveling to somewhere out in Virginia, probably not so appreciated) Seating arrangements which are not inconsistent with a keynote being given Good food Any ideas? The ever-popular Smoky Glen Farms has been suggested, but it isn't exactly good food.

The most exciting thing about Potenza, and something I hadn't heard yet, was this, from the same Capital Spice post: "The bakery is being overseen by Mark Furstenberg, the creator of Breadline and one of Washington’s most celebrated traditional bakers. Furstenberg’s breads will be available for retail sale in a space reminiscent of a little Italian cafe. Also for sale in this space will be Italian-style gelato, coffee and espresso." The bakery is supposed to open March 30.

I last ate at Malaysia Kopitiam somewhat over a year ago, but still remember the meal. My partner and I started with some curry puffs. Unexceptional and rather soggy. My patner had a beef rendang. I suppose it was rendang because that's what he ordered, though the sauce seemed more like packet brown gravy. And though the beef was cooked through, the center was quite cool and its texture suggested that it had been reheated from freezing. I had the nyonya chicken. It was lumps of gristle and fat in a lemongrass soap sauce. Alas, we didn't have time to find something edible before we were supposed to go to a school event of mine--which led to us finding our way to the event in sullen silence, walking to the door, and then walking away in search of food. I don't really like being so harsh--especially as I have a hankering to love any restaurant with a quote like this on their website: I'm glad to see that others seem to have had vastly better times there. But our experience really wasn't satisfactory.

I had a typically enjoyable dinner at Dino last night. We split a very tasty affetati misti. My partner had the intense and rich wild boar pasta and several ombras of wine. I was somewhat disappointed by my Sardi ai Funghi e Prosciutto, small shell pasta in a cream sauce with cubes of prosciutto. The prosciutto, it seemed (and hopefully in my assessment of how this happened I'm not completely off base), had been cooked in the sauce, because it was tough and close to flavorless, except at the very center. The prosciutto should have been discarded after that use and some fresh prosciutto added in. Alas, it probably would have been a better dish without the prosciutto chunks left in, but it was nonetheless quite a good dish. [As Mr. Rockwell has asked, I will note that this was a regular meal, not a Restaurant Week meal.]

I thought I may as well note some of my experiences at the Jaleo in Penn Quarter. I eat there fairly often, so this is not an exhaustive catalog of what I have tried and found good, but merely a list of some of my favorites and some things that are to be avoided. Food Dátiles con tocino como hace todo el mundo. I expected something completely different from the menu description of these fritters--perhaps a chopped paste of dates and bacon. I was very pleasantly surprised. The datiles are pieces of bacon wrapped around dates, dunked in some sort of batter, and then fried. The soft sweetness of the dates, the chewy savoriness of the bacon, and the outer crispness make a tremendous combination. The arroz y setas con queso Murcia is a warm and comforting sort-of-risotto with woodsy mushrooms covered by a sharp slice of cheese. It was significantly better when it was made with Idiazabal cheese, but remains very enjoyable. Thick matchsticks of Manchego cheese and tart apples are tossed together with some olive oil for the manzanas con Manchego, a glorious combination of the different tartnesses of the cheese and apples with luxuriant oiliness. The ensaladilla rusa is a concotion of potatoes, tuna, and egg, chopped up and bound together, topped with slick preserved tomatoes. I could eat this every day for lunch, really I could. Pollo al ajillo con salsa verde. What I get when I have a hankering for green sauce and the Grill at Galileo isn't open. The pieces of chicken aren't always, however, cut with lack of inedible tissue in mind. The tortilla de patatas tastes weakly of potatoes. It's so bland as to be positively offensive. It's plainness is of sufficient potency that, eaten with other items, it blanded them. To be avoided. Desserts. As whenever I go to Jaleo, I order far too much food, I rarely have gotten to the desserts. I have, nonetheless, managed to try the flan and the rice pudding. I thought that the flan didn't seem slippery enough or to have the right almost-jellyish feel, nor much depth of custard flavor. The accompaniments had a far-too-jarring taste of bitter orange. I was quite sad, as I am by and large a great fan of Steve Klc's work at Zaytinya. The version at Guajillo was vastly superior when I last tried it. The arroz con leche, in contrast, is creamy and rich, topped with espuma and crunchy bits of something or another sweet and caramelly. It is, however, presented very impractically in a tall glass with an enormous spoon. This means that it is just about impossible to preserve any espuma to eat any with the lower bits of rice pudding. It also means that one must turn the glass upside down to get out the last bits of pudding. Other little details. Jaleo has commendably dark-crusted bread. Less commendable is the bread's tendency toward some slight staleness, probably because of pre-cutting. The pickled onions are dainty and carry a slight switch-blade of tartness. The cappucino seems to be competently made, but with disgustingly stale beans or, possibly, pre-ground coffee. (If you want coffee, the Starbucks across the street is vastly superior.) Service. Never much better than somewhat distant. Usually not much worse, though sometimes much much worse. Today, for instance: My waiter greeted me, once he had come to my table after a period more than a little excessive for a not-too-busy weekday lunch, by saying "Yes?" He avoided me as much as possible throughout the rest of the meal, assiduously looking away as he came near my table. I had to stand up and wave to him to catch his eye to order dessert. His gracious farewell as he gave me my check was "See ya." His attitude was brusque and surly throughout. By and large things are much better, but you will likely not feel particularly well-served.

Just got two emails: My morning class for tomorrow: cancelled. The Grill: open. Yes! (I'd been reduced to getting the chicken at Jaleo for some green sauce goodness.)

Well, whether that's true or not, it seems to me that what she said was either very stupid or very rude. Firing seems somewhat excessive; stern admonishment more than warranted. In any event, I'm much less likely to go to Charleston because of that comment.

I'll definitely add my voice to those who enjoy Sala Thai. I really like P Street location (I've found the Cleveland Park location to be a bit bland). My favorite is the tom kha gai, which packs an incredible sharp, tangy, and rich wallop. It doesn't look like much: just some chicken in milky broth, sometimes with some parsley or such on top. It's practically cuisine d'essence. On the whole, though, I haven't been too impressed by their noodles or rice dishes. Sala Thai is probably the best value in cheap food in the area.

I went to this place a couple of months ago, around when they first opened. The service was as bad as everyone has said. (E.g., to get someone to give me my check I had to go up to the gaggle of staff by the bar.) I happened to stop by today as I had to visit the library at GU. I walked in. And someone actually came up to me to seat me. I sat down. And someone came by my table within two minutes. I ordered. And I got my pastry and coffee in about six or seven minutes. The service worked. (Maybe, though, they just thought I was really ugly and wanted to get me out of there.) Not so much the chocolatenfondant (or something like that--I'm terrible with German), which I thought was a bit too sweet and bland, though very pretty.

It was unsweetened. Sadly for those who like sweet tea (though I don't), they don't follow the better practice of providing a simple syrup for sweetening (as does, I think, Firefly).

I stopped by Mark and Orlando's for lunch the other day. I had gazpacho and a chicken sandwich, along with some iced tea (which was strong and fragrant with mint). The meal started off with some toasted bread and assorted spreads. All were delicious. One, which my server said was onion, was indescribably delicious. I couldn't quite place the flavors--perhaps this is the substance that entropy was told is apple butter?--though that doesn't seem quite right from my memory of it. It seemed almost like cinnamon walnut cream cheese. The gazpacho was well-balanced, with nice texture--just the right amount of bread--but, ultimately, rather dull. A good gazpacho needs to have, I think, just the right balance of sweetness and bitterness/savoriness; this gazpacho, though, was a bit one-dimensional along the bitterness axis. Somewhat odd was that it was served just as a puree: no finely diced garnishes on the side or even mixed in. To eat a large bowl of pureed bread and tomatoes with nothing else for texture makes one feel like an infant. (This would perhaps be okay for a small cup of soup--but for a big bowl, it's not so pleasant.) The chicken sandwich was served with red onions on a toasted roll with sesame seeds. The chicken breast was perfectly grilled: tender inside, nicely browned outside. It was very nicely complemented by a tangy mayonaise (with just a bit of mustard mixed in, perhaps?). The sandwich came with french fries, which were thickly cut, salty, soft, and crispy. Despite any nit-picking, I really enjoyed my meal. The service was very able. Particularly notable was the restaurant's attention to little things (the mint tea, the perfectly cooked chicken, the quartet of spreads). I will say, though, that the gazpacho may be a sign of substantial problems in dish design; moreover, the dishes I tried may not be reliable indicators for the more complex/substantial items. I would, however, rather go here for a sandwich and some iced tea for lunch than to, say, the nearby 21P. [Edited to add final two sentences.]