lion

18 hours ago, slitton said:

Can anyone recommend another supermarket that is on par with Balducci's or better (in DC or the Maryland suburbs)? I've been going to Balducci's for years, but am looking for some alternatives, ideally a market with a good butcher.

 

Organic Butcher of McLean. 

Also Balducci's stopped using a cheaper kind of salmon and is back to the higher quality one. 

Wow that's a total surprise! Trickling Springs has been our ice cream and milk for many years. They've only been growing the past five years, it doesn't make sense from a business point of view. Must be a behind the scenes issue with the owners. 

Very sad to lose a local business that we use all the time. 

The Sushi Geek has a great write up and visual for Madai. I've always wanted to try the seasonal sea bream, Sakura-dai but haven't able to swing it since it's so rare. Also a lot of Japanese sea bream sold in the states usually is something else. 

13 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Northern Chinese brunch (like A&J) now served 10-3:30 on weekends.

Also $10 buffet Monday—Friday.

People who like tacos, try the Beijing sauteed pork - pork strips stir fried in a slightly sweet and tangy sauce which you wrap with Peking duck wrapper (although they really do look like flour tortillas in this case).

Thanks for the update on weekend brunch. Have you been and if so what is the selection?

16 hours ago, leleboo said:

(Of course they ate the dino nuggets. Who wouldn't?)

I have to resist buying those Wegman's family pack size of chicken nuggets, just too tempting to warm up an entire plate in the microwave and munch them all!

We go 2-4 times a year usually for lunch as it's a good place for my wife and I to have a mid day 'date'. The food quality is similar to when it opened, it's always enjoyable but lacks a certain sophistication. 

However the atmosphere is pleasant and a welcome addition to enjoying a meal in a non chain venue. Additionally, sitting outdoors on the patio can feel slightly transportive as the lake and breeze let you feel like you are someplace else.

The prices are slightly higher than the value of the food but taken as a whole, commiserate with the overall experience. 

I also have an evening party to attend so starting earlier works for me as well. 

This one from Babish who I've never watched before seems interesting. Binging with Babish: Bao from Pixar's Bao. 

Wow! For a certain period of my life that was the go to late night dining place in DC. Everyone that I took there always enjoyed it!

Great! What time frame are we aiming for and what can I bring?

Ferran Adriá's The Family Meal is a really good cookbook for novice cooks. When it first came out gave a copy to my niece who at the time was in junior high school, and several copies to friends as presents. 

The last cookbook that I bought and liked was "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking" by Samin Nosrat. 

I would also recommend  the Bon Appetit You Tube Channel; particularly Carla Music's keeping up with a professional chef. The recipes are quick and show the differences between not knowing what to do and have years of experience. That helps with learning what to aim for. 

In terms of internet recipes, I like the solid body of work from The Kitchn, they also some cooking videos. 

10/5th or 19th work for me as well. 

This sounds interesting! Please let me know the dates, if possible would like to attend. 

8 hours ago, DonRocks said:

We're getting little regional Indian restaurants (see another Indian must-try Bib Gourmand, the Pupatella-like Indigo, where I had an extensive (and very satisfying) dinner a few nights ago).

If I'm going to eat Indian out of the house, still would recommend Indigo.  As more regional places do pop up, I am wondering if we'll see more non-Indians becoming fans of that cuisine perhaps like people do of Szeuchan Chinese. 

August definitely has taken on the idea of a long slow march in terms of what to make for our 5 year old.  Need to mix it up more!

Counter space and my wife have been limiting my kitchen gadget purchases, as a consequence may have over indulged buying my son a new lunch box (Planetbox) and bag for kindergarten. 

Haven’t been recently but enjoyed our visits for the first few years after they opened up. 

Good luck in Baltimore!

On 7/20/2019 at 12:51 AM, Joe H said:

This is the most difficult reservation in America and worth the effort.  We have been twice since they opened (including two weeks ago) and have two more upcoming reservations-one night next month and one in January of next year.

This is my favorite restaurant in the U.S. in part because of the extraordinary ambience, incredible presentation of John and Diane and having now sampled 15+ dishes the honest belief that the overall experience rivals The Inn which is only five miles away.  But we prefer Three Blacksmiths.

On the website you will see instructions for how to make your on line reservation.  Generally they open up 205 days in advance and after you log in at exactly 10:00 AM you will have two, perhaps three minutes to reserve.  At 10:02 or 10:03 the 16 seats will be gone.

Sixteen seats three nights a week.  Occasionally they may add an additional two or four seats but the reservations assume 16.

Again, it is worth the effort and extraordinary wait.

Welcome back Joe! Great to read your recommendation and review!

20 hours ago, reedm said:

I just found out I'll be traveling to Tokyo next Friday for business, and I'll be there for about 4 days. This will be my first time there, and I'm looking forward to it. I'll be staying at the ANA Intercontinental, which is in/near the Roppongi area. Do you have any places you'd recommend that are in that area? 

I've been to many places around the world, but Tokyo is just a tad overwhelming! 

Thanks!

Depending upon when you arrive, it's still worthwhile to visit the old Tsukiji Fish Market especially early morning like 7-8am. 

Since this is a business trip, your Japanese colleagues may be interested in going out after work. Izakaya Alleys with 30-40 small pubs, bars and speciality restaurants are a great experience.

Tabelog is a great resource for deciding on high end restaurants. However local places that don't take credit cards will usually have a higher quality experience. 

With the short nature of the work trip, just walking around Roppongi or taking a cab to Ginza 6 area will be visually rewarding experience.

10 hours ago, DonRocks said:

What does this mean, the only NOVA location?

Tysons Corner, i.e. Gallows Road DMV's is the most easily accessible for a majority of Fairfax County. 

I helped my parents switch their Drivers Licenses to Real ID and yes, they had two trips because one of the supporting documents could not be used.

My wife and I need to do it but like others mentioned, it seems to take 2-3 hours these days. 

21 hours ago, smithhemb said:

Anybody here ever done piecemeal kitchen remodeling?  Basically, we have one wall that’s becoming increasingly urgent — fridge and wall oven are on their last legs.  A pantry closet would have to be deconstructed and cabinets replaced.  The wall is a little over 11 feet long and cabinets would be full length (so no counters).  I’m thinking of doing it separately because I don’t want to put money into dying appliances (and can’t install new ones w/o work on cabinetry), but i’m not quite ready for the full remodel and the waiting/disruption that would involve.  So I’m thinking that this is a discrete/manageable project that could potentially be completed quickly (no real plumbing or electrical required since new appliances are same kind/same location as old).

I’m probably only months away from doing the whole kitchen (or rest of the kitchen).  Should I just bite the bullet and do it all at once or is it realistic/relatively unproblematic to take this one piece out of the mix and do it first?  Doing so might skew my cabinet choices (either toward custom or IKEA — had been looking at Poggenpohl but that’s inherently a 12 week wait).  It might also make me think about whether that wall could have different cabinetry than the rest of the kitchen (there’s an aisle between the two parts).

Reactions?  I’ve never done any kind of remodeling before so I could be missing something really basic.  (Flooring is probably a non-issue; hardwood and staying that way.)

I did some upgrades last summer. We added extra lower and upper cabinets while matching fairly close the wood color and granite counter top. Additionally we added back splash all around the counter space. For power, upgraded the smart outlets to add USB connections. Finally, took out the old track lighting and put in a drop down pendent Edison build light.

It took about four weekends of work and since it was piecemeal we were able to keep using the kitchen for the most part. Since we were trying to add to the existing kitchen and it's design, feel like it worked out ok. However if the plan had been to remodel with new design elements would have preferred to do it all at the same time. 

Good luck with your decision and project!

I've asked a couple of time when visiting and they said it was under consideration. Personally, always curious how they are doing in non lunch time hours since on the weekends, it's fairly half filled. 

Ericandblueboy, any signs of Dim Sum on your recent visit?

We put in a Zephyr stainless steel hood as well a couple of years ago. So far it's worked well but haven't had to replace the bulbs. 

Wow going to Dino's in Cleveland Park seemed like a different life time ago. A great host and restaurant!

On 7/3/2019 at 12:18 PM, Marty L. said:

The kids'll love the grilled meats and fried rice and potato puffs at Thip Khao.

Near the mall, I think Teaism and Jaleo remain the best lunch bets.  And Daikaya and Bantam King for *ramen* (and fried chicken at the latter). 

Second, Teaism and Jaleo for nearby places to the mall for kids. Otherwise like going to Union Market downtown for easy access to a multiple of places. Near the Convention Center, Seylou Bakery and SUNdeVICH for sandwiches.