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Took the grandkids to Pacci's Saturday night. Was a crazy scene with lots of people wandering around in "accident victim" get ups. Halloween, I guess. Anyway the pizza was excellent - lightly charred, chewy crust, not underdone at all. I love the "Verace," with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil. Perfect! Service was very engaging.

Tried out the Happy Hour Wine Tasting (5-7 Fridays, $10) last night at Grapeseed. We had 3 red wines from Italy, an Aglianico, a Chianti, and a Dolcetto, each one accompanied by a bite of food to complement the wine. In this case it was: a lovely slice of barely seared tuna with a wisp of sweetish sauce, a cube of raw cow's milk cheese and a spoonfull of mushroom ragout in a delectable sauce. We did not stay on for dinner but the experience was lovely - speedy, gracious service and nice food and wine pairings. The restaurant wasn't full, but humming pleasantly. Odd coincidence department: The man overseeing the tasting (Jeff Tams ?) was sitting next to us at the bar at Gallileo III last week, where we chatted with him and got to check out the dishes he was trying before we ordered.

Check out this web site for ideas: http://www.bkafka.com/. Look in her recipes for the Risotto with Almonds that discusses cooking the risotto part way and continuing later. She also champions cooking risotto in the microwave and includes several recipes for that - including a video of her making it. I have a microwave cookbook that has a simple modification of Barbara Kafka's recipe which has you to cook the the rice, oil and onion mixture first, then stir in the liquid, cover and cook for 18 minutes unattended. Stir, add Parmesan and serve. I'll send it to you if you like.

My husband and i went for dinner last night and unfortunately I have to echo much of what Naxos reported above about their Saturday night experience. We arrived a few minutes early for our 8:15 reservation and were told with apologies that our table was not yet ready. We moved to the bar and ordered glasses of wine and enjoyed the opportunity to chat with Chris and study the menu. I really didn't want more than one pre-dinner drink so eventually we moved away and waited on the banquette near the door. We finally were seated at 9:10 and then waited another 10 minutes for our waiter to take our order. Once again, there was a private party going on upstairs and the wait staff seemed harried. When we were brought the wrong wine (other than the one we'd ordered and seemingly challenged about that by the waiter), my husband began to get irritated which cast a pall over the evening. Luckily our first courses of Capesante and Carne Cruda arrived and were delicious. Those were followed by Budino for me and Raviolini del Plin for my husband. This was the highlight of the meal for him. Things went a bit awry then when we were next served our main courses. I had the Rombo which I liked a lot although the Caponitina green olive sauce is almost too strong for the fish. My husband loves Branzino but felt this rendition was over-cooked. At this point, with more apologies, they realized they'd skipped ahead and not served our other starter courses, which were brought in due course. I liked my Agnolotti but my husband's Risotto with Gorgonzola was only lukewarm and overpowered by the cheese. Desserts - Torta di Cioccolatta and Gianduja Semi Freddo - were outstanding. I do appreciate the fact that this restaurant is still in its opening days and we were taking advantage of a very generous special offer. But, we came away mostly unhappy with the experience. Probably the suggestions to get an early reservation time, or wait a while for the wrinkles to be ironed out, are good ones.

Yikes! We'll be coming from Portugal(whose cheeses are not well known in the US, but are fantastic) and going on to Italy and staying on a goat farm, so I look forward to making many cheese comparisons. We always carry along large zip lock bags and bring lots of cheese home with us.

We will be spending one night in Toulouse in early November and are trying to decide on a restaurant for a pleasant (not blow-out) meal. Any suggestions?

Friends hosted a rehearsal dinner at La Tomate about 10 years ago. They have a somewhat separate upstairs space and the food was fine as I recall. A possibility.

I had the same Lamb Salad special last night - so tasty! For a main course I got the BigEye Tuna with Sushi Rice, and that too was simply delicious. My husband had lots of crab - Crab Blinz with Chayote Slaw, as an appetizer, and Crispy Soft Shell Crab for his main course. Loved it all. Beyond the fabulous food, I was struck again about what a lovely restaurant space this is. It's just so calm and inviting!

Thanks, you all, for the good suggestions.

We're thinking of visiting DIA in Beacon, NY on the Hudson, sometime next week. I'm wondering whether anyone has ideas about a pleasant place to have dinner in the area? Could also include Fishkill.

http://www.cafedebangkokme.com/ If you like Thai food, this place, the Cafe de Bangkok (despite the name and unpromising look from the outside) is surprisingly good. We have eaten lunch here several times and find the food authentic and tasty. It is right on the river at the south end of Hallowell.

We've had breakfast several times at the Brusnwick Diner -101 Pleasant St, Brunswick, ME 04011. They have all the diner breakfast standards, convivial atmosphere, tasty food. They are located on Route 1 just south of mid-town.

Just had a very pleasant dinner at Praline Bistro this evening. Needing an escape from the kitchen, my husband and I went over for a quiet dinner out. We chose to eat inside (although there is an option of eating on a more casual roof-top patio). I started with a beet salad with toasted hazelnuts and blue cheese and my husband had a pretty classic onion soup. We had specials for main courses - for me, a perfectly cooked piece of cod, with a diced mushroom garnish on a bed of leeks and for my husband, sauteed soft shelled crab almondine. Both were excellent. Our server was professional and friendly. We were served good chewy French bread and butter along with our wine before our orders arrived. This is a really nice, kind of out-of-the-way place to have dinner!

This sounds like fun, and a delicious wine to start with! I would like to participate.

A friend has asked me to recommend a place to eat dinner in College Park - or thereabouts. I'm at a loss. Is there anything?

I too was looking for some several years ago and found it at Cleveland Park Wine & Liquors. You might try there.

Ate here last night with 5 other people. I like the pizzas (which is all we had as we were a bit pressed for time). The crust is tasty and folds over nicely with just the right amount of char on the bottom and edges. The menu divides them into red and white. I had a white with cherry tomatoes and house-made mozzarella and thought it was great. My husband had a red with sausage and liked it but wished that the toppings reached closer to the edge. He also ordered an octopus salad but it was unavailable. Our server said they had been so busy over the weekend that they had run out. I guess lots of things are still evolving. The wine list is brief but there will be more to come. Same also with draft beer (none yet). The decor is nice - sort of Euro/warehouse/modern. The room is long and fairly narrow with a nice bar and more seating in the back. There's also a small enclosed patio with more seating outside. That was closed last night due to the rainy weather but looked pleasant. There is a large county parking garage on the small street (Mayor Lane) that runs directly behind the restaurant which is very convenient. You can enter the lane from Sligo Ave. They also will be serving espresso and pastries in the morning.

So, I was over on Georgia Avenue this morning where there's a newsstand,where my husband was picking up the Racing Form to handicap the Derby, when I spotted this place called Pacci's Neapolitan Pizzeria - http://paccispizzeria.com/ - opening today. I had to run in and check it out, and there was the wood-burning oven and the pizzaiolo from Naples. I had a brief chat with the owner who assured me that this would be the real thing. They're making fresh mozzerella - and hopefully this will be vera pizza Napolitana. We were going out of town for the weekend, but I hope to check it out on Monday. Looks so promising!

Sorry, no. We spend the summer in South Bristol and never seem to make it that far north.

Primo in Rockland is very good - dinner only, must reserve in advance, expensive. Damariscotta has a couple of pleasant places to eat - Newcastle Publick House and the Damariscotta River Grill. Both have good food and pleasant atmosphere and are not expensive. Francine Bistro gets good press but I've never been there. The Hannaford supermarket on business US 1 just north of Damariscotta is a great grocery if you'll have cooking facilities. The best ice cream in midcoast Maine is just up the road from them - Round Top. Be sure to stop there for a memorable treat!

Stopped by here today on the way back from an outing to Brighton Dam to see the azalea garden. The grandchildren were hungry so we picked up 8 saltenas . We ate there which is a good thing because the saltenas are quite juicy and would be messy to eat in the car. You hold them in your hand and eat them from the smaller end - drizzle a little of their hot sauce in - and you've got a tasty lunch. The young man at the register was so friendly and helpful, and the saltenas were were really tasty. A good place to know about!

Had a marvelous dinner with another couple at Creme Cafe last night. On Fridays, they have a Latin jazz combo entertaining, which we enjoyed, but it does make it quite noisy. After we ordered, we were served good crusty bread with a spicy bean (I think) puree. We couldn't resist getting 2 orders of the Crabmeat Hush Puppies with Chipotle Remoulade. These are fantastic - crunchy and light, and the remoulade is a great accompaniment. The servings are more than plentiful. (One would have been ample for all of us - in order to leave room for the main courses to come!) Which were: Diver scallops with shaved buttered Brussels sprouts, tomato compote, citrus reduction; Shrimp and grits with andouille sausage, shallots, sherry and creamy grits; Creme's Meat and potatoes, Boneless beef short ribs with garlic green beans and potato gratin; and Maryland jumbo lump crab cakes with caramelized onions, English peas, and stone mustard cream. I had the scallops which were beautifully cooked and very tasty. I did have some small tastes of my companions' food too. My husband had the crab cakes, which he enjoyed - they're full of lump crab and little filler. The little taste of grits I had was unbelievably creamy and the beef was falling-apart-tender and loaded with flavor. We were going to the theater, so didn't have time to try dessert , and no space left in our stomachs for it either. Our server was excellent, the setting is attractive and comfortable, all in all a very enjoyable dining experience!

Rodman's D.C. has a lot of proseccos on sale for the next week and a half.

Check in the Bethesda Farm Women's Market. I have gotten farm-raised chickens there on Saturdays but there is a stand - Mullinix Meats, Phone: 301-652-2291 - that might also have them on Wednesdays. You could call or stop by tomorrow. (They are open Wednesdays and Saturdays and maybe Fridays too.)

Since you're going to be mixing it with other ingredients, go with Cristalino, and shop around as it is often on sale. And of course some shops give a discount for case purchases.