Beto

Oh wow. I just got back from being off the grid for a week to see such a nice post. Thanks for the effusive praise!

It's true, I do believe that great coffee starts with great beans that have been grown and processed with an emphasis towards quality over production yield. If anyone wants to discuss coffee or has questions about anything coffee-related, I'm all ears!

Blue cat has a great flavor, not muddy at all since it's not a bottom-feeder like other catfish species.

I hereby nominate myself as the Spanish Classifieds Forum admin. (I can't wait to add the position to my resume)

It's probably the best Indian food I've ever had. To echo your comments, the service is also outstanding. The gentleman who works the door always makes you feel as if you're his favorite customer. As to the new location, he shared some photos of the new place and it looks like they've pulled out all the stops.

We have two boys, 4 & 6 years old. Dutch Wonderland is perfect for kids that age.

• It's a small park - you can literally walk across it in 5 minutes
• Lines are very short
• It's nestled in the trees, so sun overexposure isn't a problem
• The rides are perfect for the ages you have
• Parking couldn't be easier (and it's free, unless you pay for unnecessary "VIP" parking)

We usually make it a day trip, but we stayed once at Eden Resort in Lancaster and it was wonderful. They have a really nice kiddy pool area. http://www.edenresort.com/ We bought a Groupon and got the room for a very good price.

Although we didn't eat there due to our schedule, Rice & Noodles is supposed to be phenomenal. It was opened by a family from New Orleans who was displaced by Katrina and set up shop in Lancaster.

I can't speak highly of the food in the park. After a couple of disappointing experiences, we now pack a picnic lunch and eat in the pavilion right outside.

I have 1 ticket for the first person to send me a pm for the Charity Off The Hook event tonight in Georgetown at Tony and Joe's Seafood - tonight at 6pm.

Charity Off The Hook

I'll be stepping away from the computer for awhile, so don't sweat it if I don't respond immediately.

Please only respond if you can make it. I'll need your email address to send to you the ticket.

Send me a PM and then post here that you sent it so everyone else can see.

Believe me, having been born and raised down there, I know all about fried baloney. Still never liked it.

Fried Spam is good eatin' though.

You think that's bad? In Tennessee, I've seen them advertising fried bologna velveeta biscuits.

A writer and I are working on a magazine story about traceability in the seafood industry, specifically, what the public can do to know what they're buying.

If you want to guarantee that your crabs are from the Chesapeake, go to restaurants that are members of the "True Blue" program.

Fantastic write-up I'm gonna have to get over there and dive in.

We have a Fagor and love it. It works with induction too, which saved me from a broken heart when we got a new stove.

I think it's time.

I'm ready to drop some major coinage on an espresso machine.

Or maybe, I should get something else.

My Cuisinart Grind-and-Brew is fine for what it does, but it's awful for what it doesn't.

I want to pull some bad-assed expresso (yes, that's the French spelling, so don't correct me) shots. And scald me some lactose-free milk in the process.

How much maintenance cleaning is involved in owning a top-notch machine?

I like Americanos because they give me adequate "volume" without pumping up the caffeine until I'm sprinting up-and-down stairs singing the Chiquita Banana song.

They're going to be calling me Barrista Barney before long.

Okay:

1) Any advice? I'm starting from zero, and need to acquire as much information as possible.

2) Should I split this topic up, and if so, what's the logical way to do it?

Where the hell is Nick Cho?

Don, what type of budget are you looking at? If you're looking to spend around $1K, the Rancilio Silvia/Rocky combo can't be beat. Like it's been said before, the grinder is just as critical in the chain as is the espresso machine. I've had a Rocky in daily use for over 10 years and it is still going strong.

Maintenance-wise, a simple backflush after use will be sufficient. Use bottled water and I would recommend descaling it every 6 months or so with this stuff. I've rebuilt a few machines and more often than not, the reason that they needed repair was for lack of regular descaling.

Coffeegeek is a great authority for coffee and espresso-related gadgetry. Both the Behmor home roaster and the ROK espresso maker get high marks.

I've been following the website for years and they've never steered me wrong.

Tom Siestma isn't a fan either. 1/2 star. Yikes. 

I've been anxiously awaiting the return of Artifact Coffee. Here's a blog post I wrote about the place back in '07. http://southernskiescoffee.blogspot.com/2007/04/artifact-coffee.html

That's grilled heart, baby. Peruvian grilled heart on a skewer. Don't let the organ meat scare you off. Heart looks like cut-up steak. You get a strong beef flavor. You get a little more chew than you'd get from filet, but way more flavor. Chick'n Pollo puts a minor char on the meat.

The first time that I ate antichuchos was as a high school exchange student. My vocabulary didn't match my appetite. After my host father asked which appetizer I liked best, I said the beef. He asked if I knew what it was. I didn't. Everyone chuckled. He asked if I knew what "corazon" meant. I didn't. Everyone chuckled again. He tried a few more words. Then he finally put his fist on his chest and went "thump, thump, thump."

Occasionally, I pick up dinner there on the way home. They sound great. I'll have to get an order of those next time.

I have it on good authority that they are going to get massively busy soon. Get over there now before you have to fight the crowds.

(Please don't ask why, cause I can't say.)

Now that's transparency. Bravo!

For breakfast, I can recommend any one of the Nikko's Cafeterias. Decent food at decent prices. Make sure and get the chicheme drink. It's similar to Mexican horchata, only made with rice.

You might want to consider Thai Aroma. Every time that I've eaten at there, it's been consistently good. They don't seem to suffer from the same affliction of low spice levels and over-sweetness which has affected lots of Thai restaurants where I've eaten.

The last time I ate there was about 8 months ago, and it was good then.

Hey all,

I'm a Washingtonian venturing to your neck of the woods for a date this coming Saturday. I'm looking for a small sushi or contemporary American spot in Baltimore. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Woodberry Kitchen isn't too hidden, but it'd be a fun place to take a date and you'd probably win some points for taking him/her there.

Thanks for all the responses. For my first purchase of beans here in the district, and because I was sorta heading in that general direction, I stopped at SOVA, at 1359 H St. NE. I was delighted to find freshly roasted Stumptown beans (at least 4 varieties which had been roasted 3 days earlier) and had a nice converstion with the owner, whom I believe is Frank.

Says that they're the first place in DC to carry Stumptown beans, and plans on getting in freshly roasted beans on a weekly basis. Also in stock was at least one variety of Intellegentsia.

I'm sure that everyone knows this, even though I didn't - but driving on H St. is a bit like driving on the unpaved Baja. Lots of fun and excitement.

Frank Hankins, the owner of Sova, is good people and has a real dedication to quality.

Why don't you write or give me a call? I'm a micro-roaster located in Finksburg, MD and roast only after I received the order. A couple of my coffees were favorably reviewed in the Washington Post.

My company is tiny, nowhere near as large as Counter Culture or Intelligentsia, but on quality, I believe that we're every bit as good.

-Jeff

Are you sure they're not open yet?

Because if they're not, they have some 'splainin' to do ... click.

Either that's a placeholder, or it's the most upscale Peruvian chicken place I've ever seen! And look, they're farm-to-table too!

We're committed to bringing fresh seasonal dishes to our customers. The produce, meat and dairy products featured here are procured from local farmers' markets and trusted vendors only.

I used to have a Kenwood stereo when I was a teenager. I listened to a lot of Pink Floyd on that thing. Short of cooking things that need lots of stirring such as risotto or grits, I fail to see much practical use for a mixer that also cooks.