Beto

Damn, I work literally 5 minutes from there. It's going on the lunch list.

Ryan Jensen, former Murky alumnus and currently with Counter Culture Coffee will be opening an espresso bar in the space previously occupied by Murky Coffee, which you may recall, was seized in February by the district for nonpayment of taxes. Link to story

I really like the Monocacy Silver and Ash also. The grapevine ash is a wonderful counterpoint to the mild tang. Spread it over good French bread and I'm in heaven!

The Olney Farmers Market will be opening for the '08 season this Sunday, May 4th. We expect almost 30 vendors to be participating this year, not including special guests. Joan Nathan, winner of 2 James Beard awards for the best American cookbook and James Beard nominee for Best National Television Food Show, will be here for a special appearance. Make sure and try some chevre from Cherry Glen Farms. It's the absolute best goat cheese I've ever had. We hope to see you and if you come, stop by our coffee booth and introduce yourself, we'd love to meet some fellow Don Rockwell members! Olney Farmers Market

This is unreal. When I saw this ad on the Onion, I thought that it must've been satire. It's not.

The DC and Arlington store are separate business entities, so unless a judge were to determine that the corporate veil had been pierced, I don't think that the Office of Taxes and Revenue can go after them.

I walked past there yesterday and it looked like some construction work was going on, but it's still in the rough-out stage.

On Sunday, March 30th, the Olney Farmers and Artists Market will be holding a social and fundraising event at the Sandy Spring Friends School. In addition to cooking demonstrations and food vendors sampling their wares, the day's events will also include half-hour talks by food experts such as Bonnie Wolf of NPR's Weekend Edition and author of Talking with My Mouth Full; Renee Catacalos,editor and publisher of Edible Chesapeake and publisher Nycci Nellis the "go-to expert" for Washington and beyond with her hugely popular The List Are You On It. More info can be found at Olney Farmers Market. Hope to see you there!

That combination doesn't make sense to me either. When I was growing up though, fish sticks and Kraft mac & cheese were a great pairing!

The mole at Red Iguana is the best I've ever had in my life.

¡Fue una victoria total!

In my experience, most restaurants don't place an extreme amount of emphasis on their coffee programs. There are exceptions though. Restaurant Eve uses a local roaster (Caffe Pronto) and like everything else they do, they do coffee well. Our coffee is served at Oyamel. If you get a chance to try it there, let me know what you think!

Murky Big Bear Cafe Sova Espresso The above places are all quality joints.

I haven't tried the coffee from it, but I'm working on getting one for a customer of mine (please don't ask me who it is). That $20,000 price tag is, shall I say it... a little exaggerated.

What utter nonsense.

You hit it right on the head. It really depends what it's worth to you. Some people are content with premade, jarred pesto and others would rather make pesto by hand from fresh basil, lemon juice, and olive oil. Drink what you like.

Ja Gal Chi is pretty awesome. Here are a couple of must-see places: Beomeosa Temple - Beautiful temple up in the mountains Taejongdae - Seaside park with magnificent cliffs Gwangalli Beach - Lots of little shops and restaurants on the beachfront There's a large restaurant on the main street that runs in front of the train station that serves nothing but steamed dumplings. They serve thousands and thousands of dumplings a day in the cavernous place. I wish that I knew the name, but if you ask a local, they could probably help you find it. I think that it's in Nampodong and it's fantastic.

Oh dang, I love me some o-daeng! Either on a stick, or in broth, it's perfect for cutting the winter chill. Did you find the street not too far from the train station that specializes in uncured bacon, sam gyup sal? Shop after shop... selling nothing but fatty bacon, ready to slather in soybean paste, wrap in lettuce, and stuff in your face!

Freshness is a huge factor when it comes to coffee flavor. Pretty much after the moment that coffee is roasted, it's a downhill slide. The carbon dioxide begins to escape and the subtle, complex flavors lose their intensity until they become completely dull. The effect is even more pronounced with the high-acid east Africans, such as Kenyans. Stored in the cupboard or on the grocer's shelf, coffee is effectively dead after a month. I recommend that my customers only buy enough coffee for 2 weeks time. Next time you're in the store, look at the expiration dates on bagged coffee. It might just shock you.

Try taking a piece of the mother and throw it into a sterilized jar with your old wine, cut in half with water. Cover the opening with cheesecloth and put it in somewhat warm, dark place. If it starts to evaporate too quickly, experiment with partially covering the jar with a lid. Check on it once a week or so, but don't expect anything dramatic for a while, these things take time.

As far as I know, the only company that exports jamón ibérico de bellotas is Fermin. With many thanks to the efforts of José Andrés, Rogers International imports what many consider the finest ham on the planet. If you want to try it, Jaleo is serving it.

You're not but a few blocks from Puerta del Sol. On the western side at the intersection of Calle Mayor and Calle del Arenal, there's a great little place to get breakfast. I second the recommendation to prowl Cava Alta and Cava Baja for tapas. I love how everyone just sits outside and relaxes and enjoys themselves.

Commercial espresso machines have an anti-siphon valve on them precisely to prevent sucking stuff into the boiler. On a domestic machine, it would be advisable to open up the valve to clear out the steam wand before you cool the machine down.

Jill, you might want to give Custom Woodworks a call. They do quality work.

Did you drink from the corners or the sides of the box? The idea (I've been told) is that it is designed to be shared and each person takes their own corner, for sanitary reasons.