goldenticket

I hope I can explain this adequately, and I hope others with more authority will jump in with additional (or more correct) info. This was the general thinking behind the lottery system (as opposed to first come, first served): (and I quote DonRocks - see the 2941 Waterfall Room dinner thread) "It doesn't seem fair that people who can't be on the computer as this message is posted are shut out of the dinner, so everyone who gets their PMs to HillValley by tomorrow, Friday, at 5 PM will receive an equal chance to attend. If we somehow go over 40 people by then (I can't imagine we will, but you never know), then we'll have to institute a lottery system for fairness." Basically, not everyone is able to be online when these things are announced so the lottery system was instituted to keep it fair and give everyone who is interested an equal chance to attend. It is up to individuals who may have been selected for recent events to decide if they want to sit one out, but that is certainly not expected or required. Hope this makes sense. I think the system is a very good one since there are no paid staff to organize or keep track of who's gone to what and who should get priority next time, etc.... And, as has been said before, there are plenty of informal events, happy hours, 'on a whim', picnics, $20 Tuesdays, Korean dinners , that are open to everyone.

Hillvalley - I was sorry to hear I missed you (according to sources) Creature of habit that I am, it was risotto again today... perhaps the world's most perfect food...(yes, maybe you bought into that Chiquita banana campaign, but sorry, I have news for you!) Piping hot, perfectly creamy and, dare I say, toothsome As a first course, I was torn between the bacon, egg, and cheese salad and the olive oil poached tuna. I opted for the tuna. It was a new preparation - the thinnest slices of rare tuna resting on a thin coating of the "chef's" pesto topped by shallots and shaved parm. [eta: I forgot about the dandelion greens circling the plate...] Delish and such a treat to taste fresh basil at this time of year. One of the best places I know to while away a few hours...and leave happy after doing it. No need to say again what an amazing bargain the lickety-split lunch is...if you haven't been, go....now...what are you waiting for?!

The current list for the Korean dinner is below. PLEASE check and see if your name is on it. I think there may be some people who have expressed interest but aren't able to make it on the scheduled date (Tuesday, February 21, 7:00 PM). If you are one of them, or if you think you should be on the list and you're not, please send me (goldenticket) a PM so I can update the list. Once that is done, then I can determine if we need a lottery or not (so far it looks like we can accommodate everyone). I'll post an updated list by noon tomorrow. Next, we can start figuring out carpool arrangements 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)

It's a very short walk - no more than 10 minutes (at the very most) depending on the traffic lights. If it's cold, you can take the KC shuttle to the Foggy Bottom Metro and walk over from there - don't know that this will save you very much walking. You can do the same on the way back to the car. They run every 10-15 minutes and are usually waiting at the Metro and KC . You can't miss them - burgundy mini-buses with Kennedy Center written on the side.

I had posole - inspired by the discussion of it around here - nice and spicy and filling! Lots of hominy, roasted poblanos, tomatillos, etc. Washed down with a cold beer and accompanied by some warm tortillas to wipe out the bowl [thanks to zoramargolis for sharing the basics of the recipe!] Next, I'm going to make a foray into the world of Meyer lemons (sorbet perhaps) - again, inspired by you guys - you're such great motivators!

'Tis... and I intend to partake of it tomorrow afternoon! I went a few weeks back and enjoyed the risotto and a lovely pheasant terrine salad. Mmmm....risotto... we'll have to see if I try something new tomorrow! (or stick with the tried and true)

Anyone been to Blue Point recently? I've been once for drinks/apps and that was pre-Balducci's. It's just one of those (many) Alexandria places that I don't have any great desire to check out. I have friends who love it... Anyone around here have experience (good, bad, or otherwise) dining there?

Yes they do - it is on the left as you come off Route 1 onto Monroe. There is a big sign on the building and you have to down the steps to get into the bakery. Parking is on the side of the building on the side street (which name escapes me at the moment)

Yowza....why am I picturing this: ETA - To stay on topic... I am guilty of using Guajillo only as a lounge while waiting for Ray's, and didn't experience very good service. However, a friend from New Mexico tried it and was very impressed with the mole dishes - said the flavors were good and has been back multiple times.

Crazeegirl mentioned the Naengmyun sari and asking for them to go with the Bulgogi broth... So, do you put them into the liquid that is in the "trough" around the grill? Just wondering what the protocol is for getting them into the broth. Also, I ordered bibimbap at a restaurant in NYC and it was served with a raw egg on top of it, to be stirred into the hot rice/veg, etc. where it cooked from the heat of the dish. At Han Sung Oak last week, bibimbap came with a fried egg on top and I don't think it had cooked itself on top...were they just "Americanizing" the dish for me - what is traditional? I preferred the first way myself.

I just tried and got as far as browsing recipes, but couldn't actually get into the full recipes from the list. Looks like you have to sign up for the "2 free issues" deal to get access. Weight Watchers web page has some recipes (again you have to subscribe to access the whole archive) and I think they also have a free e-newsletter you can sign up for that includes recipes.

Not on a school night!!!

I would be interested in joining the crowd. Parking not's great may be able to find some street parking in the area, and maybe given the time of day/week it will be more available. The Metro is a short walk.

Hmmm, did our list of oldest restaurants get updated since last Friday - or did I just goof and read the Nora/Prime Rib dates wrong? I had everything but those 2 and the last question right... oh well - it was a fun distraction from work last Friday and I learned some DC dining history in the process!

Yes!

OH - I forgot to mention that for that culinary extravaganza - we came in at a whopping $16, and that was with tax and a nice tip INCLUDED! I think we all agreed that the absence of alcohol from the menu was a big contributor - but still, that was a LOT of food for relatively little $$. cucas87 - you're right we did have the pork, I'll add it to the list - must have forgotten last night. Korean on a Monday sounds like fun too

Just trying to head it off at the pass anyone got any problems with that should see mdt and me Hillvalley puts in a LOT of work on these events that people don't see or know about (Don too!) Even if we can't all go to every event (for whatever reason) there will be more and there are plenty of informal gatherings too! So thanks again for making these great opportunities available - we are very lucky to have someone who gives so much time and energy to make these (very) special events possible.

I was working on it - check the post again - and I do hope others will chime in as I'm curious to hear thoughts from the Temptasian first-timers.

Our $20 Tuesday (on a Thursday) was a lot of fun and with 10 people we got to sample a good number of dishes. They were: Sliced Pork w/Garlic Sauce Beef Jerky with Hot Sauce Fried Ground Fish Roll w/Cilantro Baby Wontons w/Chili Oil Sauce Spicy and Sour Baby Wontons Dan Dan Noodles Steamed Dumplings Fried Dumplings Ma Po Bean Curd Roasted Fish w/Green Onions Shredded Pork with Ferny Vegetable Tong Po Roast Pork w/Pine Nuts (and YES - there were pine nuts ) Sauteed Greens....I didn't catch the Chinese name - perhaps it was the Chinese Watercress mentioned in earlier posts? Chen Tsang Spicy Beef (aka Chinese Sloppy Joes) I think that's all of them. It doesn't look quite so big in words as it did all over the table There wasn't much left when we were through. Old favorites were good as always - ground fish rolls and Baby Wontons (though the ones in chili oil did literally leave some members of our party gasping for air ) Having been a few times, I do think they may have held back on the heat on a few dishes - everything was still delicious, but the sliced pork was the only item that had the anesthesia effect. I was happy to finally try the Tong Po Pork and the Chen Tsang Beef. The pork was scrumptious and tender and the beef had a good flavor and was a fun dish to make and eat with the steamed buns to fill with beef. A new favorite was the Beef Jerky with Hot Sauce. Again, the heat I expected wasn't there, but the flavor was wonderful - anise perhaps, and the meat was tender and very flavorful. Hopefully we'll hear from some others with their thoughts on the meal - I had a great time! Thanks to all who were a part of the evening!

[seems like now is a good time to bump this up...] THANK YOU Hillvalley - for EVERYTHING you do - both for all of us here at DR.com and for the others you do so much for in your 'real life'! Our little community wouldn't the same without you (And nobody better give her any crap about the random selection process for the Maestro dinner or any of the other events As has been discussed - at great length - it's the most fair way to do it when there are more people than there are slots - at least without getting into a very complicated recordkeeping system that would be totally UNFAIR to ask one person to keep up with) Back to our regularly scheduled program - THANKS AGAIN - your efforts are much appreciated!

Final (?) list of attendees for tonight: jmchen StephenB cucas87 Shogun Ustreetguy goldenticket Escoffier (+1) Tweaked mktye See you all there!

I'm a little late to the party here, but this is a quick, simple, and easy recipe (yes, it's a Rachael Ray 30 minute meal, but a good one) for Cuban Spiced Pork Tenderloin. I've made this many times for many different people and always get raves about it. (never made the accompanying rice) It's perfect for those skinny, 2-in-a-pack tenderloins, and makes for great leftovers (Cuban sandwiches....). It's also been the only use for the Montreal steak seasoning in the jumbo Costco-size container that found its way into my cabinets after a family visit....

I will call them tomorrow and request one of the large round tables (we might have to spill over to a neighboring table if the group gets much bigger). The more peeps, the more dishes we can try! ETA - I have called and and told them to expect a [DonRockwell] Dozen of us. Rez is under jackie for those arriving early...should be one of the round tables. See you all there!

Will do - so far we've got: Banco jmchen StephenB cucas87 Shogun Ustreetguy Walrus Tripewriter goldenticket Escoffier (+1) Tweaked 7:30pm at Temptasian on Thursday (1/26)

My first complaint about the new WF is the nearly inedible "low-fat"* guacamole I picked up on Friday. It tasted liked someone had dumped a jar of cumin into it (and I'm talking about into the little 8 oz. container I bought). To their credit, I was offered a refund or an exchange when I took it back yesterday. (the fact that the customer service rep blurted out "was it nasty?" almost before I explained my problem made me wonder if I wasn't the first to return it) I still wanted some guac so took a chance on another container with a different expiration date, thinking it would be from a different batch. It was better, more so after I doctored it with some lemon juice, but on the spicy side. I guess the lesson learned is to make my own guacamole, esp. at nearly $5 a pop for their inconsistent, mass-produced stuff! * Low-fat = peas in the mix - not noticeable except for the occasional pea skin (?) hull? I also made a stop at the Giant a little further up Duke St. and it was DEAD - unusual for a Sun. evening. Wonder if WF was the cause? (Noticed that poblanos were $1 cheaper per pound than at WF...)