goldenticket

Hi All-

I'm new to the area and I'm missing the padron and/or shishito peppers I was able to find this time of year at farmer's markets in North Carolina.

These are smallish, green, spicy (to varying degrees) grilling peppers.

I see them on plenty of restaurant menus, but I'm looking for a DC source for home cooking. I've kept an eye out and asked around at the Dupont and Columbia Heights markets without any luck.

Any suggestions?

I was on a similar hunt for padron peppers after a trip to Barcelona. I order them online from La Tienda, who gets them from a family farmer in the US - used to be in the Charlottesville area, not sure if that's still the case.  I have several containers in the fridge from a recent order and they look great.

Shishitos are an odd duck. Some are completely mild, and others (out of the same batch) can be pretty hot. No idea if there's a way to tell which ones will have a kick without taking a bite.

That's the fun part of eating them!

I've used mine exactly for that reason (minimize heat) to roast vegetables, bake, etc. It has a long list of settings (toast, bake, broil, reheat, etc), does all of them well AND is a lot 'cooler' than using the regular oven.

The Old Town Whole Foods currently has Belvoir elderflower soda on sale 2 bottles for $4. Not sure about other locations.

See if you can figure out what those bubbles are made of!

I wonder if they're green apple popping boba? The lemonade was very nice on a hot day. I could smell the BBQ down the block, but wasn't up for it today.

That truck has an identity crisis!

They must have heard you - a post on their FB page yesterday said "Rosslyn the eagle has landed, windows open at 11 30, check out our identity crisis menu alaskan, russian, and vietnamese, I can't make this up"

They're in Courthouse today. At a minimum, I'm going to have to give the bubble strawberry lemonade a try.

The water main replacement in Prince George's County and associated water shutdown is affecting National Harbor. All of the restaurants there will be closed throughout the shut-off.

Zento opened a few weeks ago in the space previously occupied by Burrito Grill (North Washington near the corner of Wythe St).  In addition to the sushi and sashimi menu, they have a variety of teriyaki dishes, ramen, bento boxes, and small plates.

We stopped in last night to check it out and were happy with what we tried.  They have a happy hour from 5-7pm daily, with a selection of discounted beverages, small plates, and roll combo (2 from a list of 6 varieties for $9.95).  The spicy tuna roll and tuna avocado were both very good, with fresh ingredients.  Edamame and seaweed salad are pretty standard fare - no surprises there. We shared a sushi/sashimi combo .  Other than a few pieces of sashimi that were a touch on the cold side (better than too warm), we had no complaints. Pieces were generous, clean, and well-cut/prepared.  Veggie tempura was fresh and hot, with vegetables still fresh and crispy. My only quibble was that it was a touch greasy.

We're looking forward to heading back and trying some other things. The dishes we saw at other tables all looked very nice. Service is friendly and efficient.  Free parking in the two retail lots with entrances on Pendleton and Wythe Streets (if you pull in somewhere you have to take a ticket, that's the wrong entrance).  This has become a decent block to stop for lunch or dinner, with Teaism on one side and Zento on the other.

According to their Facebook page, the Arlington location opened yesterday. Current hours of operation are 11:30am-2pm, and 5:00pm-10:00 pm.

After a particularly gruesome incident involving my finger and the edge of a classic Microplane grater, I really want one of the Elite series graters. Or maybe even the Four-sided box grater.

Looking for Katz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc vinegar. I know I've bought it locally but can't recall where. For that matter, can anyone recommend a store with a wide selection of interesting vinegars?

Not sure about that particular item, but Mediterranean Bakery usually has quite a variety of vinegars (and jams and hot sauces, etc.).

The olive oil boutiques (such as Olio in Old Town or Ah Love Oil and Vinegar in Shirlington/Mosaic Dictrict) have flavored vinegars, though they may be mostly balsamic-based.

We decided to give Royal Thai a try last night and were glad we did. They have a sushi menu that we were curious about. The scallop nigiri and the tuna and avocado roll were both fresh and flavorful, though the rice was a little dry. I'll definitely go back and try more sushi offerings.

For mains, we followed lperry's suggestions and ordered the drunkard's noodles (vegetarian) and the Fiery Basil with chicken - same as the Kaprow but with pieces of chicken rather than the minced version. Both were very good, with nice levels of heat that kind of snuck up, in a good way, over the course of the meal. As lperry mentioned, the ingredients are fresh, generous, and the seasonings are spot on.

The service was very pleasant, as was the ambiance. Walls of glass around two sides make the space bright and open; the red walls give warmth. As we were dining on the late side (for that area), the 4-5 tables occupied when we arrived had cleared out before we finished.

Royal Thai is definitely going on the list for carry-out and dining out.

Obviously, the way to avoid this is to peel only what you are going to use right away. It isn't more difficult to peel beets that have been cooked and stored with the peel still on than to peel them immediately after cooking.

Not obvious the first time or I wouldn't have peeled them...

I had intended to use all of them in the salad, but didn't wind up needing them. I'll check them out tonight and see how they taste - I'm guessing they'll still be ok (per Pat's reply).

This might be more of a Kitchen 911 question, but....

I bought some golden beets at the Crystal City market on Tuesday and roasted them that evening. I used a few of them in a (yummy) curried barley salad and put the rest in the fridge. They are peeled and whole and stored in a ziplock bag. This morning I noticed that they are turning black in places. A quick internet search revealed that this just happens to golden beets (something about manganese maybe). Are they still good to eat? I assume they are, but figured somebody out there probably has a definitive answer.

I'm planning to be there - I hate to see KMango go!

couldn't agree with you more DonRocks.

I love the space, its beautifully done with modernistic simplicity while still retaining an ethnic flavor. I always stop for a few minutes at the open kitcken in the rear.

I love pork belly and after reading Bilrus's all thums up post gave it a shot. The pork was so crisp ( dry?) that I had a tough time chewing and the sauce was nothing to write home about and too little at that. Perhaps it was the chef's night off.

My vote goes to Po-Siam in Alexandria ( they do not have pork belly though).

While this ^ is the only mention I could find of Po Siam (and from the Bangkok 54 thread), it will soon be added to the list of closed restaurants, after 25+ years in Arlandria. On a positive note, there is already another locally-owned business lined up for the space: a to-be-named Sri Lankan/Indian restaurant.

We would bypass that and head over to the one on Duke Street because the Bradlee Giant was amongst the worst grocery stores that I have ever visited, it will not be missed - the nearby Safeway is only marginally better and that will soon close for a much needed renovation. I have been to the one in Vienna and liked it, but not enough to make a trip just to shop there. I am really looking forward to another option in the neighborhood.

The Safeway will be closing on July 13. The Mark Center Giant closed the same day as the Bradlee store. There's a real dearth of grocery stores in that part of Alexandria at the moment.

Based on my visits to Fresh Market in Hilton Head, it's a nice store but definitely a higher priced and less 'complete' shopping option than (most) Giant or Safeway stores. Hopefully the Route 1 Harris Teeter will actually reopen in "Fall 2013", as the current signage promises. Maybe the new Old Town HT will be open before that (wishful thinking, no doubt).

I've been hitting the Old Town store's "Winesday" event the last few weeks. Wednesdays, 5-7pm, $5 (the first time, bring your glass back and it's $4), they have five stations set up around the store, each with a food and wine pairing, all centered around a theme of sorts. It's quite the social event and the store can get pretty crowded. The pros bring their own wine glass holder plates

Yesterday's menu featured honey, and included a chilled carrot soup, a heart of palm salad, and a chipotle-honey glazed chicken. Recipes are provided for some of the dishes. One Wednesday a month (the 4th maybe?) features a vegan menu. It's an economical (and close to home) happy hour/dinner option.

Or Me Jana, if you're looking in the Courthouse area (it's a few blocks from Minh's). Plenty of veg-friendly choices in the mezze menu. It's not inexpensive, but service is generally quite good, and they have a very nice patio area. I had lunch there yesterday and really enjoyed the lunch special of spinach and lamb, served with rice.

I grabbed Kuhn's last box of apricots and the last two (for the season?) bunches of asparagus, along with cherries, strawberries (they've been SO sweet), and apples.

Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal discussed the no-tipping policy with Scott Rosenberg on yesterday's program.

I know nothing about this blog and haven't tried the recipe, but this one does look pretty good!

A long-ago coworker made the best strawberry cake and I wish I'd gotten the recipe from her.

Signs out front says Toscana Grill will reopen on Monday, June 24.

I went to the May 24 cupping and hope to get back to another one before too long (darn job...). It was the first cupping I'd been to and I thought it was very interesting and informative.

Still working on my 'slurp'

trahana/tarhana

I already checked that out, but didn't know what kind of packaging or in what section of the store it might be located.

Lekkerwijn, what are you planning to do with it? Make the soup described in the Wiki info?

I saw it at the Old Town Whole Foods last week.

(and aren't you a sweet husband to track it down for your wife )