mame11

Leleboo... please tell me HT isn't open during this storm! That's crazy. Though it's nice they have been restocked... No snow cream for me but I did make these pretzels. Had too many... they might not have looked like pretzels but they sure tasted good. I used cinnamon sugar as the topping... took some to neighbors. Not sure how good they'd be cold. Tonight (if I'm hungry) it's fried rice... Hope everybody is doing as well as can be expected when snow is flying in all directions. It's really like a hurricane.

Snow cream?

Sigh, I have neither sour cream nor quick rising yeast. Thanks though... I've got Beard on Bread and used it for years when I made bread but don't recall such long first rises...

sick.of.snow. Could really use an easy bread making recipe, not Lahey's no knead bread because (a) I like to knead and ( I don't have a heavy cast iron pan. Ideally the bread will be free form... Thanks in advance! P.S. I have whole wheat flour, bread flour, white flour and yeast at my disposal...

It gave us quite a show. But now we are ready for it to go. Please, there is no need for an encore. or it gave us quite a show now it just needs to go!

Just took some provisions to a 90 year old. The HT in Adams Morgan is stripped. You can find things but not a lot, and not of everything. There was no milk, and very little soy milk. Tons of butter type products but no butter. They were out of things you would not expect like frozen spinach. They were running really low on sugar and flour. They were restocking so who knows, maybe they have received shipments of milk, butter and eggs. But I am not so sure they did. p.s. a cobb salad sounds good!

Chocolate biscotti and butter cookies to deliver to friends during the post-snowpocalypse recovery.

MKTYE makes great crackers and has posted her recipes on dr.com. Mark Bittman has some really easy recipes. My baking today is going to be pretzels and biscotti. But first I must clean.

ha ha! totally agree. I had a yummy black bean/mushroom/spinach/onion concoction that you could use in a burrito or serve over rice. I used it for nachos. I did not have any avocado but did use yummy sharp cheddar. Cutie tangerines Brownies in the oven now.

When I was in Atlanta I had some delicious chocolates from a bean to bar producer called Cacao Atlanta. I appreciated the owners enthusiasm for her product as well as its quality. It's all made in small batches, from bean to final product, so it's incredibly fresh.

I am about to throw on some black beans to soak as I have a hankering for one of my comfort foods (black beans, spinach & rice) and am making my first attempt at baking bread in almost 20 years! I looked through loads of recipes and settled on the one I used to make almost every Friday back in my senior year of college: James Beard's Challah. I don't expect it to turn out but I'm giving it a shot. I started my grocery shopping at the HT in Adams Morgan yesterday. The crowd grew as I walked through the aisles. When I discovered they were out of yeast (?) I abandoned my goods and ran down to WF on P St.

So, I called the store yesterday after posting here. They asked me to bring the salad back which was a bit unrealistic since I was no longer in walking distance but I did put it in the refrigerator with plans to take it back last night. The snow intervened and I decided to "eat" my losses. well, lo and behold, I received an email offering me $5 off a purchase to thank me for making my purchase yesterday. Well, I responded with my account of the salad and how gross it turned out to be. I just found out that (1) they credited my card back for the purchase and (2) they are going to forward my complaint on to the district manager. Here's hoping that they up the quality of the salads in the future. (it could have been great... if it wasn't so bad).

The first time I made cheese straws, I forgot the flour. I ended up with a tray of melted cheese and butter. Right now, biscotti. But the oven wasn't at the right temp so i upped it. It's not calibrated and went up 50 degrees higher than it should have. hoping I haven't lost the batch.

AARGH. May have my $11 back? walking by the newly opened version on 14th I was lured in with a sign that said $3 small salad/$3 small pizza Mon-Wed. When I entered I saw enticing salads in the cold case and noticed they have my favorite salad on their menu, a cobb. I ordered it even though it cost $2.75 more for chicken. It wasn't until I got home that I discovered just how jipped I had been. Let's see.... the 1/4 avocado is brown and bruised. The egg tastes funky. The bacon is fine but it's literally two tablespoons if that. There were 6 grape tomatoes that were past their prime, about 2 tbsp of blue cheese and half a grilled boneless chicken breast. But enough romaine lettuce to feed a small army. As I approached my final destination a neighbor noticed the salad, looking all pretty in the clear bag. By this time I had determined how much a waste of money the salad was. I showed her. She said "at least you know now, and so do I." And now you the dr.com community does too. But it sucks that I could have gotten a fabulous sandwich at Cork Market for less than this waste of food. ETA: After a few more bites I noticed it wasn't just the avocado that was brown, but the lettuce too. Seriously? Quality control anybody.

maybe like JTR, the she was really a he! and the server was really just trying to cure the victims of their alcoholism. (impressed you brought JTR into this conversation_..... )

I never made it back out for ramen while in Atlanta, and did learn of a few places closer than Suwanee, to get authentic ramen. I guess when I go to New York in a few weeks, I'll try to get ramen. In the meantime, I appreciate the obsessiveness illustrated in this article: One Noodle at a Time in Tokyo

Oh dear... DR, I don't need any other service in DC for restaurant information or advice. This forum is amazingly accurate and trustworthy. It is a great resource because the information provided is concrete and thorough. Plus, people post multiple times so if there is a flamer who has no track record their opinion is easy to ignore, and negative reviews are welcome but are expected to be thorough. That's what I like about UrbanSpoon when I travel.

All I can say is that I think (i.e. my opinion) that yelp is the least reliable online service for opinions. Seriously, every time I pick a service or restaurant based solely on Yelp reviews I have been disappointed. It's one of those slap your forehead things (i.e., why did I do that again). Urbanspoon on the other hand is a great resource for restaurants. I haven't found a great resource for service providers (i.e. manicures etc) other than looking at "best of" compilations on websites for local magazines and newspapers (i.e. City Paper, Washingtonian)

A great Italian chef I know taught me a trick many years ago. Freeze individual portions of your dish, whether mac & cheese or soup, in ziploc® freezer bags. Lay the bags flat in the freezer, one on top of the other, to freeze initially. Once frozen the bags may be dispersed throughout the freezer and retrieved as necessary. I learned a very hard lesson this fall... generic and store brand freezer bags are not made of the same material as ziploc bags.

Jen, The nice thing about new york is you can eat incredibly well for very little money. One of David Chang's places is relatively cheap. I think its the ssam bar. Mmmm pork bun with eco friendly pork. Consult time out new york and the new york mag cheap eats issues.

Jen! You are staying in a great foodie location. I heart the lower east side. You are near all or most of David Chang's restaurants. Regardless of the waits momufuko and its siblings are worth it. There are many other good places including Katz's deli and Russ and daughters down there. In nolita there are some great places like la esquana for Mexican. You should try rice to riches while there. I'm reapponding from my blackberry but you should check urbanspoon for more info.

I swear... up and down... when I looked into it at Thanksgiving it was not open and the website was down. Ugh... I would so much more have enjoyed Esca than Bar Americain. (I called the restaurant too...) Regardless, thanks for causing me to do another search.

DanielK, how fun! 1) I echo Blake's suggestion of the Museum of Natural History 2) it's not high brow but it is a treat, Ellen's Stardust Diner. The caliber of the singing is as good as any in New York and it is loads of fun for an evening when you are not going to a show. 3) I would go to Katz Deli on the lower east side. It's a quintessential New York experience and provides a perspective of the city that other activities may not. (plus Russ and Daughters is just up the block...) 4) Take advantage of the 1/2 price ticket booth in Times Square. While one parent waits in line, the other can take the children around the now incredibly family friendly Times Square. 5) I second Otto as the Batali restaurant to choose. I was very sad, however, that my favorite one Esca seems to have closed down. 6) I can't write about New York without suggesting La Bonne Soupe as a pre-theater option. The first time I went I was 12. It's really great food, reasonably priced and a very New York experience because it is so very French. 7) Chinatown for Sunday dim sum would be great fun. I'll defer to others to recommend a place. 8) While most kids would like Serendipity 3 it's not very convenient if you are there just for a weekend. I'd recommend (echoing Blake again) taking a trip down to the Chelsea Market. Jacques Torres just opened an outpost and serves much better hot chocolate than Serendipity 3 (imho). Plus the Chelsea Market offers an absurd amount of choices for dining, casual and fine (if you include the nearby meatpacking district). Also, it is like a fabulous farmers' market. Now... I'm hungry. Keep us posted on your trip! How fun...

Thanks for the reminder GE... I saw on my twitter feed that Bread for the City is collecting reusuable bags to give to their clients. To me, the penalty is a regressive tax on poor people who may not have extra bags available, or may not have a car to leave them in. A more equitable way to implement the rule would have been the way WF does it.... have a bag? save $.05 Just my $.02

Just back from what I think is my first true Ramen experience. I have had the Ramen at Momufuko in New York but had NO idea what the deal with ramen was until I ate at Umaido outside of Atlanta tonight. The spicy ramen was one of the Atlanta Journal's critics top dishes of 2009 so I trekked out the burbs for a taste. Wow. I am seriously in awe. It really cleared my sinuses! Until posting on dr.com I did not realize it is, perhaps, a Korean chain. Oh and now I am glad I haven't made it to Ren's because a bountiful bowl of Ramen at Umaido was $9.00 with great green barley tea. ETA: Okay, I can't stop thinking about the Ramen I had tonight. I have leftovers waiting for me tomorrow and wonder if having them for breakfast would be appropriate. Already planning a return trip to Umaido but am wondering what I'm going to do when I get back to DC. Also, I noticed someone upthread said they don't expect real ramen anymore... what makes ramen real (like I had tonight) Thanks!