goldenticket

<urp>

I'm just hoping no one in the office notices the truffles on my breath....

Chef - any chance of disclosing the full ingredient list/recipe for that lovely, light-as-air quenelle in the soup? (or was it foie imperial that you called it...)

(sure beats the heck out of the carryout from Olive Garden all my coworkers had for lunch - suckers! )

I don't think you'll be disappointed - this recipe has been a real crowd-pleaser! And the leftovers (whether in sandwiches or just eaten cold out of the fridge) are definitely an added bonus.

I haven't really dried/rinsed the tenderloin before making this, but it shouldn't hurt. You slather the tenderloins in olive oil and that makes the coating stick.

Enjoy! and let us know how it turns out

These are some of my favorites from my days as a student in Boston, so they're a little lower-end...but they're still around 15 years later, so that may be an indicator of how good they are....

For cheap and good, and IMHO, the best falafel ever, check out

Rami's at Coolidge Corner (C Line on the T)

324 Harvard St

Brookline 02446

Also, the Daily Catch on Hanover Street in the North End has very good, fresh, simply prepared seafood (cash only) and from their website looks like they now have a location just a few doors down from Rami's at 441 Harvard St. They are well-known for their fried calamari. And if you hit the North End location you can pop across the street to Caffe Vittoria for a cappucino or espresso, or head to Mike's Bakery for all kinds of Italian cookies and pastries.

On a more recent visit, we really enjoyed the Indian cuisine at Tanjore near Harvard Square (18 Eliot St). They have a menu that covers the North, South, Eastern and Central and Eastern regions. My +1, who is picky about his Indian food, having grown up in London, thought it was very, very good. Don't recall specific dishes, but they were all delicious, the service was good, and the setting was warm and comfortable.

Someone else mentioned ice cream - I always liked Steve's (location in Faneuil Hall) where they do mix-ins. I've found it kind of funny that there are all these new places like Cold Stone and Maggie Moo's that are doing now (and I think, presenting as something new) what was going on up in Boston 20 years ago.

A reminder - the Dim Sundays group makes its first excursion to NoVa on Sunday, 19 February. We will meet at China Garden in Rosslyn at 1pm.

Please post in this thread by 10am Sunday morning if you're planning to attend - I plan to get to the restaurant around 12:45 to put us on the table list, and will need an approximate number of diners by then.

Look for a very short woman wearing a bright orange hat.

(And hey, I love pears!)

Happy Birthday Pear-i!

I'm still planning to be there - thanks!

I assume everyone's all paid up since Hillvalley didn't have to post anyone's name

Now for transportation logistics....

If you need a ride, please send me a PM. Currently, there should be rides for 5-6 people from the Braddock Road Metro. I also have had offers to pick up/drop off people at Ballston and Pentagon City.

So, let me know and we'll get things organized so everyone has a way to get to this sure-to-be-fun AND exciting event!

I just read an article about a couple of different stores where you can go in and make "family-friendly" dishes designed to be frozen and cooked when you need them. Some of the selling points are that they are "home-made", cheaper than restaurant meals, and fresh because you assemble them yourself (or you can pick them up pre-made). Costs range from around $160 for 8 dishes to ~$200 for 12 dishes.

The chains I read about are Super Shopper, Get Cooking, and Let's Dish!. It looks like there are at least two Let's Dish locations already open in the area (Ashburn and Leesburg) and another one is coming soon. The Let's Dish website shows an Alexandria location coming in the spring. I believe it will be in the old Whole Foods location at Little River Turnpike and Braddock Road.

Has anyone tried these places? What do you think about this concept?

Personally, I can't imagine doing it, but I don't have kids, I like to cook, and I have the time to do it on a regular basis. I suppose if you have a family and multiple schedules to juggle, it might be pretty nice to have a selection of 8-12 different dishes ready to be pulled out of the freezer. And knowing exactly what went into them would be nice, as opposed to a pre-packaged, processed, frozen something-or-other or carry-out.

We were served pieces of fish coated in an eggy, salty batter (which seemed fried, not roasted to me).   Not bad, exactly, but not great either.

That's the right dish and I had exactly the same reaction as you did! It certainly didn't meet my expectations of "roasted fish" (fried? where's the skin and bones?). I did think it was good but wasn't quite sure about all the raves I had read here. When I ordered it, it came coated with that crystal cumin spice that seems to cause that "anesthetic effect" - did yours have that?

Well, I didn't get any suggestions from anyone and have done very little dining out, but I'll report on the two meals I have had while here in the Twin Cities.

I had a very nice lunch in the Uptown area (near Hennepin and Lake) at a small Tibetan restaurant called Tibet's Corner. I tried the Sha Tak - spicy sliced beef with soft Tibetan steamed bread. The curry-like sauce was very nice, many layers of flavor that ended with a nice kick of spicy heat. The beef was tender and there were sauteed thinly sliced onions and green pepper, along with ginger, cumin, coriander, chili... The dish was served with a spiral of the steamed bread, perfect to tear off a strip and grab a piece or two of the beef.

We also tried the Lang Sha Momo (steamed dumpling). They looked similiar to Chinese steamed dumplings (crescent shaped), but the meat filling tasted a bit different, perhaps there were a few more aromatics in the mixture. They were served in a bamboo steamer and came with spicy and mild sauces to dip them in. We observed other tables with a different variety of momo - they were round, more like shu mai. The service was pleasant, the setting was cozy and there were several Tibetans at neigboring tables, so I assume the food was authentic (minus the yak meat that the menu said was normally used in the momo).

This meal was preceded by a visit to the neighboring Penzey's Spices store - what a great shop! I just happened on it and had a great time checking out their offerings, which included a variety of spice mixtures.

Brunch today was at Jax Cafe which is an old-school institution of sorts, located in northeast Minneapolis - lots of dark wood and maroon walls. It was your standard brunch with the cold station including a variety of salads (Caesar, chicken, spinach, Asian beef, pasta....), fruit, cheese, shrimp cocktail and oysters (not so good, not loosened from the shell and lacking in -good- flavor), a hot station of bacon, sausage, egg strata, waffles, french toast, carved ham and steamship round, chicken, salmon, potatoes, veg, omelet station, and a table loaded with desserts.

It was a family gathering so it was a good place for that, we weren't rushed, there was a good variety to choose from and it wasn't too loud, even with the piano player in the background. A cute (and kitschy) touch is personally engraved matchbooks for each table - in our case with birthday wishes. There is a very interesting stained glass window in one of the bars that features Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (this is becoming an unintentional theme after my visit to the Old King Cole bar in NYC - anyone know of any other bars with fairy tale-themed artwork?). Not somewhere I would choose on my own, but it was a nice place with decent food and a comfortable setting.

I think I've hit every local grocery store chain - Rainbo, Cub, Byerly's and Lund's (the latter two are now part of the same company), and a Whole Foods. You could pretty much make a meal out of the seemingly omninpresent sample stations at Byerly's and Lund's stores. There are always all kinds of things to try - cheeses, Califonia rolls, fruit, a mixed salad with gorgonzola, candied walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette, brownies.... They also make THE best wild rice soup I've had. The Whole Foods was very nice (included a Jamba Juice) and was on par with the new one in Old Town, with regional differences such as a very limited mushroom selection and several Minnesota-made cheeses.

Anyway, when our Tuesday night group was there a couple of weeks ago, Chef Chang was in top form and came out at the end to take a bow.

I'm very sad to hear that things may have taken a turn for the worse at Temptasian. I've been jonesin' for those spicy and sour baby wontons since the DR.com dinner!

I did notice during our dinner that the photos and medals were no longer on the wall and had been replaced by something along the lines of 'hotel art sale landscape' - wondered what that meant... hope Chef Change can be tracked down!

The Sunnyside chickens (eggs available at the DuPont market) are exposed to sunlight too if you are looking for some free-roaming chicken eggs.  How much are they are WF?

The chicken eggs are 3 for $1.00 or 4 for $1.00, depending on what kind they are. I bought some Amish eggs from Ohio the other day, but they had a variety of breeds - barred rock is the only one I can recall. They beat the heck out of the ones I was getting from my CSA egg share last summer...

I was VERY excited to find that they have duck eggs. They are a real treat (as may be surmised by their inclusion on this year's Saveur 100 List). A farmer at the Courthouse market turned me on to them last year. His description was that the "white cooked up nice, not crispy like tinfoil like chicken eggs" and the yolks were like custard - he was right and they are GOOD! 2 for$1.00.

As noted above, the emu eggs are the most beautiful teal blue...and about $20 bucks a pop. Wikipedia says an ostrich egg can make an omelet for 10 people....

Quite fun to "gather" your eggs in the little baskets provided - and they put them in regular cartons when you check out.

I have fond memories from the 'blizzard of '96'

After a day or two being cooped up in our apartment in Rosslyn (if it hadn't been Elvis week on TBS I don't know what we would have done...) my roommate and I decide to venture across the Key Bridge bound for our old haunt (at the time) - Garrett's. It was a long, cold, windy walk across that bridge and we thought about turning back a few times. We made it finally and it was a great evening - warm and cozy, good company - everyone was happy to be out, and cold beers. Good times... (even better was the fact that our favorite bartender drove us home in his 4 wheel drive!)

A few years back, on the rare snow day, I trekked with a couple friends from my end of Alexandria down to Southside 815 and had a similar experience.

The bar at Bilbo Baggins was probably the most recent place we stopped by on a snowy evening (apologies to Mr. Frost). The hours flew by with several glasses of wine, jolly neighbors doing the same thing we were, and a fire in the fireplace.

Murphy's also meets the walkable (from my house), cold beer, and hot fireplace criteria.

ETA - I like Jacques' thinking - Eve is a new addition since the last big snow and certainly one that I would gravitate toward - thanks for the reminder...

The people listed above need to send me an email from the email address connected to your paypal account to the email address you received in the PM I just sent.  Sorry that's a convoluted sentence but it is early in the morning.  If I do not hear from you by Friday at noon I will assume that you are not joining us for the dinner. 

Thanks!

Just a reminder - if you're on the list above and you haven't sent Hillvalley an email yet, be sure to do it this morning!

Keep an eye out for the Paypal invoices over the weekend and please be sure to pay them promptly!

(consider it an early birthday present for Hillvalley - I'm sure she'll appreciate anything we can do to make this easy on her)

Details on carpooling will be worked out mid-to-late next week - watch this space

Has Cafe Marianna officially closed?

Not as far as I know - their website is still up and running. All I've heard are rumors, nothing substaniated as of yet. Maybe Capitol Icebox can let us know if Marianna is still open...

That's 2 brew pubs in the area to bite the dust recently.  The place on King Street in Old Town Alexandria also recenly closed. 

Yes, but rumors are that it (Founders) is going to be moving to the north end of Old Town to the space now occupied by Cafe Marianna, and presumably the adjoining antique/gift shop.

While it's not going to be a brewpub, I think a lot of us in the area have high hopes for Rustico, which looks like it will have a great beer selection....

[Minneapolis / St. Paul]

I'm heading out this weekend for a belated birthday visit with my grandmother (just turned 101 and is still sharp as a tack - she's amazing!) - but would like to have a good meal or two out while I'm there. Anyone have any suggestions? I'll be on the west side of town, in Burnsville, but Minneapolis AND St. Paul suggestions are welcome.

Thanks....

A place to go near Delray if you crave deep-fried seafood and only deep-fried seafood.

I haven't been there in years, but I would say that's neither true nor fair ...here's a link to their menu - where you will see descriptions of broiled, sauteed, etc, seafood. It doesn't list their specials which, as I recall, are frequently grilled or broiled and smothered with etouffee or a crayfish tail hollandaise or similar sauce. I've never had fried fish there, although it is on the menu, but there are LOTS of other options. The food is rich, with an emphasis on Creole and Cajun, and the service is (or at least used to be) good.

RT's (in Arlandria on Mt. Vernon Ave) is part of the same family at The Wharf and The Warehouse restaurants, both found on lower King Street.

Daily Candy today featured this chocolatier. Appears that their only product is 'animal print' chocolate bars - never had 'em, but they look fun.

I've mentioned this before on another similar thread, but here goes again..... Boulevard Woodgrill has a large room (subterranean) that I think would accomodate that many people for a stand-up event. Metro accessible (Clarendon Orange line) and free parking one block away. Not sure about their apps, etc. , been a while since I was there, but did do a holiday party there a year ago and the service was good and space was comfortable.

Yeah, the crab cake special this month is a pretty good deal.  I had it at the Chevy Chase location and found the cakes to be quite good.  And the accompanying corn and tomato saute is very fresh and sweet.

Due to last minute planning and a desire to head down to the Chinatown area, the new Clyde's was the only option with a reservation available at the desired time. As others have said, for me, Clyde's serves more as a place to take the out-of-towners than a regular choice. I was curious about the new location and now I know.... I think I'll stick to my local branch at Mark Center. The sheer size of the place is quite impressive, as are all the details of design and decoration. However, the volume (550 seated at one time) takes a toll on the very consistent service I've come to expect from a Clyde's (any Clyde's). To be fair, I think the service problems we experienced were largely due to a young and inexperienced server who was overwhelmed, but that's when I expect the managers to step in and that really didn't happen, other than trying to smooth ruffled feathers.

Long story short, a bottle of wine and a beer were ordered as the entrees were dropped. Nearly 20 minutes passed before the waitress returned with the beer, wine glasses, and the news that they were out of that particular bottle, did we want to try X, which was very nice. Well... NO, we wanted the wine with dinner and we were about done with dinner (I think everyone but me had cleaned their plate completely)....the manager eventually came over and took some blame because she had been trying to locate the bottle in the back, as the bar was out of it. Free desserts were offered, but that wasn't really the point - a little information a lot more quickly would have made a big difference. There was also a bit longer delay between courses than you might normally expect; again, probably a function of the size of the place.

Now for the food:

The crab cake special mentioned above is back on for February (2 crab cakes for $16.95 with accompaniments) - of course that corn and tomato saute is nowhere to be seen. Instead there was sauteed spinach and "Tom's Potatoes". 2 of our party ordered and enjoyed the crab cakes. A dozen oysters were ordered from the selection of 7 varieties and were at the high level of quality you'd expect from Clyde's/Old Ebbitt oysters.

For a starter, I enjoyed the tuna martini - very nice raw tuna, in a light citrusy sauce with some avocado chunks, and topped with thin strips of what I think was apple or pear. They must have been out of martini glasses as the dish showed up in a soup cup

For my main, I ordered the duck breast which came with a wild rice pilaf and a nice, tart fruit sauce that included cranberries and orange segments, along with some caramelized onions. It was a nice combination with the duck, although perhaps there was a bit too much orange juice in the sauce. The fourth ordered the bacon crusted salmon and was met with some resistance when asking for it to be cooked medium rare (again, this was probably lack of experience/knowledge on the server's part). I didn't hear any strong opions so I assume it was acceptable - though it did look a little overcooked from where I was sitting.

I think it is a great place to stop in on an afternoon while sightseeing or before a game/concert, but won't be on my list of regular places. There are at least 3 bars (maybe more) and a huge private party room and the space is worth seeing, at least for a drink - or maybe for their weekday late-night oyster happy hour!

How about Lite 'n Fair on King Street in Alexandria?  Just noticed while passing by last night that it is "closed for renovation" - anybody ever go there?

Well, unfortunately, it looks like Lite 'n Fair won't be coming up again. It's reopened with a new name (which I've already forgotten) and a big banner announcing "under new management" .

The inside space has been renovated and it looks pretty nondescript with a warm paint color and trendy hanging lamps. The menu is mainly sandwiches and wraps, with perhaps a bit of Mediterranean influence thrown in there. IF I ever make it in (not high on my list), I'll report back on the food.

RIP Lite 'n Fair (sniff sniff)

I second the Kingsbury recommendation! I may be partial since I live just a few blocks away, but Rob does great things with truffles - unusual flavor combinations and garnishes. Popcorn balls are excellent and so are the chocolate-dipped dried fruits.

Might want to get in early for Valentine's Day - they were closed for days at a time right before Christmas filling orders. I was in the other day and it looks like they've responded to the increased volume - the place was busting with pre-packaged items and a whole new area for packaging materials (boxes, ribbons, etc) had been created since my last visit.

The caramels are melt in your mouth divine - and also come in interesting flavors- I just tried the orange clove caramel and it was wonderful!

I am also a fan of Leonidas from a semester spent in Brussels - there's nothing quite like that white chocolate hazelnut buttercream .....mmmmmmmmm!

Personally for the Korean dinner, I'm going to order a bunch of these for people who can't use regular chop sticks.

Fish Sticks?

No need to order any for me - I have a similar item (called beginners chopsticks or some such). They were handed out at the end of a Shirley Fong-Torres Wokwiz "I can't believe I ate my way through Chinatown" tour in San Francisco

Below is the final list (numbers worked out perfectly, so no lottery required - HOORAY!!) for the

7:00 pm.

Tuesday, February 21

Korean Dinner at Han Sung Oak.

Hillvalley will take over on the payment front (again, dinner is $35/person, which includes tax and tip) and will be posting about Paypal details. Please see DonRocks post on the event FAQs for further details on payment, etc.

agm

notQuickDraw

MelGold

rvanrens (+1.5)

mbk

ScottJohnston

DanielK

hillvalley

mdt

shogun

StephenB

cucas87

crackers

principia (+1)

tweaked

UStreetGuy

CrescentFresh

goldenticket (+1)

escoffier

grover

NCPinDC

MeMc (+1)

ScotteeM

Demvtr (+1)

eatingout (+1)

sshorter

Jacques Gastreaux

RaisaB (+1)

Just a reminder - if you're interested in attending the dinner please check the list upthread and make sure your name is on it (or if it is and shouldn't be, let me know ASAP).

Details again are:

Tues. Feb. 21, 7:00 pm at Han Sung Oak, $35/person inc. tax and tip to be paid in advance via Paypal.

Thanks!

I'll be posting the final list for the lottery after noon on Thursday (Feb. 2) with the lottery (if necessary) to take place soon after.

Escoffier and Grover have provided the answer to the question you've all been asking...where are we going for dinner?

Han Sung Oak

6341 Columbia Pike

Falls Church

Here is a Mapquest link.

The menu will include:

* Chap Chae *

* Bul gogi *

* Hae Mool Pa Jun *

* Dolsot Bibim Bap *

* Nakji Bok Geum *

Just to name a few of the dishes! Looks like we're in for about 10 courses (and that's not including the panchan) so come hungry

As the restaurant is not close to a Metro stop, we will be asking for volunteers to pick up the carless at Braddock Road or King St. If you will need a ride, or can offer to drive, please send me a PM so we can make sure we have everyone covered. If you're coming from DC or MD and want to offer transport, please feel free to post it on this thread (Rocks/Hillvalley - let me know if that's not OK).