goldenticket

I happened to be in Mediterranean Bakery yesterday and didn't see it there. I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for, but didn't see it on the shelves and an employee wasn't familiar with it.

Impromptu stir fry of (mostly) farmers market veggies (zucchini, Mexican zucchini, red pepper, English peas, onion, garlic scape), ginger, garlic, and fried tofu. Finished with some soy sauce and sesame oils (spicy and regular). It was my first attempt at frying tofu and I was very pleased with the results. Once again, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" app comes through! ETA: Fresh, sweet strawberries from Kuhn's for dessert

Seoul Food is the one truck I head to quite regularly when they are parked in the Courthouse area. I'm partial to the tofu and kimchi bowl, but haven't been disappointed by anything I've ordered from them. Seasonal specials are always interesting; the SSA (Shiitake, Sprout, & Avocado Bowl) and various curries have all been tasty options. All of their food is made with care and is (relatively) healthy and clean. Anna also makes lovely sweets - carrot cake was yesterday's treat (I didn't order it, but have in the past). They opened their restaurant in Wheaton last week (June 3). Coverage here and here from Kensington and Wheaton Patch websites. Twitter seems to be the best source of information for hours - their schedule has varied over the last week. I wish them great success in their latest venture, but am happy that they're keeping the truck on the road!

What timing! Kuhn's e-newsletter just included a link to a (previously published) story on the controlled atmosphere storage of their apples. They definitely are my favorite place to get apples of all varieties any time of year!

New sign hanging showing Flat Iron coming soon. Apparently a revamp by the current owners.

Looks like the next occupant of the former Tiffany Tavern space will be a French Bistro from the owner of Bistro Lepic.

C&T has English peas today at the Clarendon Market, $2/lb. Baraja had them at Crystal City yesterday. The strawberries I picked up from Kuhn's (also at Crystal City) may have cost more than any other vendor's but they were some of the sweetest ones I've had in recent memory.

I've been there (Pelon's Baja Grill)

There is a ton of free (after 4pm) underground public parking just below the market. The garage entrance is on the north side of 18th St., halfway between Crystal Dr and Bell St.Turn left after going through the ticket gate and head to the back wall; the elevator right there will take you up to the lobby that opens out to where the market is located. The parking IS tight for the vendors. And here's a market layout that shows which vendors are where They all had signs when I was there (except maybe Barajas, and they never seem to have a sign).

Three Way Farms had English peas (and sugar snaps) at the Del Ray market the Saturday before last.

The Crystal City market has been open for about a month now, still on Tuesdays, but in a different location than past years. They set up just across the Metro, at the corner of 18th and Bell. Most (if not quite all) of the vendors from last year are there. The market is less spread out, so it's a little easier and faster to shop. Looking forward to stopping by today to pick up some eggs from Coulter's, fruit and veggies from Kuhn's, Barajas, and whatever else looks good on this beautiful afternoon.

And if you do give your hours, make sure they're correct and not some future expectation of hours! Azur, I'm talking to you. It's incredibly frustrating to have taken the time to double-check on the website that a place is open, find this information: Hours Lunch M-F 11:30a-3p Bar M-F 3p-5p Dinner M-Th 5p-10:30p F-Sa 5p-11p Sun closed And then show up to be told they're closed on Monday. Even more frustrating when your time is limited due to a theatre/event start time. Found this on Twitter (this morning): Azur restaurant DC ‏@AzurDC 2 Jun Reminder: we're closed for service tnight&Mon. Open on Tues, with our LUNCH service staring at 11.30am on Wed! Visit out website for details Great that they're on Twitter, but that doesn't really do any good for non-followers/non-Twitter users. Just another plea to keep your information updated, correct, and available on all of the outlets that potential diners might look to for that information.

Just FYI - this market is closed/non-existent, as I learned yesterday afternoon. As an alternative....keep walking a block or two, and you can take advantage of the Old Town Whole Foods Winesday event. $5 the first time, $4 after that (if you bring your glass back), will get you 5 wine tastings with paired hors d'oeuvre size food tastings. For about a glass and a half of wine and a reasonably filling amount of food, it's not a bad deal. 5-7pm every Wednesday. (not it's not a farmers market... but there's wine!)

We hit our old stand-by the Sea Shack for a quick lunch of steamed shrimp and hush puppies. They're consistent and not crazy busy at this time of year. We got a side of the broccoli and cheese casserole - very good, with a lemony flavor to the broccoli. A late (seated after 9pm) Mother's Day dinner at The Boathouse (Skull Creek) was a bad idea - they were packed, the wait was long, too many little kids out way too late. The food was meh - boring fish tacos, ceviche, and seared tuna caesar. I prefer it for a mid-afternoon lunch outdoors, sticking with shrimp salad sandwich I mentioned in an earlier post. Hudson's is next door and offers similar views, with potentially fresher/local seafood since they also run a fishing business/market. They have a store a few miles back down Squire Pope Road. Our find on this trip was Dye's Gullah Fixin's, tucked into the Atrium Building on 278 near the Red Roof Inn. The lunch menu on a not-quite-the-season Monday was limited, but we still had some of the best pan fried chicken we've ever had, a delicious shrimp burger, collard greens, speckled butter beans, mac n cheese, and corn bread. All prepared from scratch by Dye and her sister, using no seasoning other than salt, pepper, and cane sugar (per Dye). It was so good we got a carryout order the following evening of more chicken, greens, beans, and corn bread. Dye's is a nice local option to all the chain places up and down the island, and it comes with a side of sassy attitude from Dye if you're lucky enough to get to chat with her. She also offers a lunch buffet a couple days of the week (Tues, Wed, Fri) which includes the chicken and another meat, six sides, salad, and dessert. At $16, it's about twice the price of the Asian buffet across the lobby, but I'd say it's well worth it for home cooking with local produce.

Time again for the Alexandria Seaport Foundation's Wine on the Water - two weeks from today, June 1. Details here; purchase tickets here. As usual, Grape + Bean are the generous sponsors of this year's event. As I wrote above, it's hard to find a better way to spend a spring evening, and the ASF does great work with young people that need a second chance. (maybe a kind moderator can update the thread title to reflect this year's date...thanks)

Papillote is a short walk from the City Market area and was the perfect spot for a late lunch/afternoon snack. The menu includes a nice selection of salads, sandwiches, and other savories, along with daily specials, most of which were sold out when we arrived. We shared the Bouchée a la Reine from the regular menu and the duck fat fries off the specials board. The bouchée was filled with a generous portion of chicken, mushrooms, and other goodies and paired with a small, fresh salad. The presentation of the duck fat fries was quite impressive, despite it being on a paper plate. Four massive "Lincoln Logs", were arranged in a square, drizzled with truffle oil and topped with a flurry of Parmesan. Based on appearances, I'd have been equally happy with Le Parisien sandwich, or the Goat Cheese, Spinach, Roasted Tomato Pie. The baked goods were tempting, especially the almond tea cake, but we were saving room for our dinner at... Local 11 Ten. We arrived a bit early in order to enjoy a drink upstairs. The rooftop lounge at Perch is furnished with low, comfortable couches, and features an interesting cocktail menu. Service was little spotty, but friendly and helpful when they did stop by. Dinner downstairs was very good, with more hits than misses, though everything got an A for effort. We started with the cornbread stuffed quail and a special baby octopus terrine. I preferred the quail, mainly because the terrine was more aspic than anything else. Perfectly cooked scallops, with spring peas and lots of other fresh flavors, edged out the bison hanger steak, which was probably predictably tough. The accompanying polenta and roasted cauliflower were excellent. A shared German chocolate cake for dessert made me happy (my favorite cake) and wasn't overly sweet. A fun setting with a variety of ages, dress, etc. in a converted bank space, complete with an alcove room in front of the vault door. We were lucky to arrive for brunch at Firefly Cafe just between rushes. The food was decent, not great, but the setting - outdoors on a corner across from Troup Square - more than made up for it. If you're looking for a Bloody Mary on Sunday in Savannah, you may as well sleep in - no booze until 12:30 pm. We made due with coffee. The quiche du jour sounded good, if a bit busy - prosciutto, mozzarella, grilled pears, and asparagus. The unfortunate (and unmentioned) inclusion capers pushed it into salty unpleasantness, though the custard was quite light. A different combination of ingredients would have made for a very enjoyable quiche. The banana nut bread French toast sounded interesting, but will have to wait for another visit.

I'm a big fan of Jack's, and the "Breakfast Usual" is my go-to, but I have also enjoyed the corned beef hash which I posted about here, some years back. Not sure if the closed on Sunday comment is still true - that seems to vary depending on the season (as in football, or not).

Lexington, Versailles I just realized I forgot to include my favorite spot (for the experience, not necessarily the food - though I like a good country breakfast): the Keeneland Track Kitchen. Even though there's only racing at Keeneland 30 days out of the year, the track operates every day. Go early, park by the kitchen, walk up through the barns to the track, watch the morning workout, and head back to the Track Kitchen for a hearty,and downright cheap, breakfast. It's a good reason to get your day started early. From there you can head west and see the castle in Versailles (prounounced ver-sails), and then on to Doughdaddy's. (You did know there's a Kentucky Doughnut Trail, didn't you?)

Lexington I hit three of Ouita Michel's four (five if you count the chef-in-residence gig at Woodford Reserve) establishments during my stay in Lexington. Windy Corner Market is on the eastern outskirts of town, with a beautiful view of the neighboring farms. It was a nice spot for a late, relaxed lunch of pulled pork bbq and a corncake, along with a Kentucky Ale. The market is an upscale country store selling local products and serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I had a lovely Sunday brunch on the porch of the Holly Hill Inn in Midway. Being Sunday, the options were fairly limited, but I think I picked the best of the bunch. The three-course $18 menu was a great value. I enjoyed the Salmagundi, chicken and herbed dumplings, and bread pudding. Service was friendly and helpful and looking out over the lawn full of spring beauties made the meal that much more pleasant. I stopped at the Midway School Bakery for some treats to take home. The corn on the cob cookie and the Woodford oatmeal cookie were both delicious (and quite large). The Bakery is in the former cafeteria of the old school. Spots that were closed but looked good or were recommended include Heirloom and Darlin' Jean's Apple Cobbler Cafe. A Saturday dinner at Coba Cocina, the new hotspot in town, might not have been a great idea on the evening of the Bluegrass Stakes AND the UK Spring Game. The nearly two hour wait may not have been worth, if it hadn't give time to catch up with old friends. The space is huge, and unexpected, given the strip mall location. In addition to the restaurant, there is a large bar on the second level and a bakery/gelateria. The two-story 'world's largest private jellyfish aquarium' feels like Vegas, which was the intention of the owners. (They own 35 Cheddar's franchises and several other restaurants in the Lexington.) It was evident they were still working out opening kinks and there were lengthy gaps between ordering and receiving our food. It was pretty good and quite reasonably priced. Maybe not my first choice on a future visit, but I wouldn't object to giving it another try. I made a stop at Joe Bologna's (mentioned above), mainly for sentimental reasons. It's consistent - not great, but a good spot for a casual meal. A food tour company - Bleu Plate Tours - offers two walking tours of downtown Lexington. Unfortunately, the scheduling didn't work for me on this trip, but they look like they'd be fun and interesting. The owner was quite helpful (via e-mail) in suggesting places to check out during my stay. The website lists her 'picks' in several different categories. The Town Branch and Kentucky Ale brewery/distillery are located a few minutes northwest of downtown and tours are offered daily. The history of the brewery is interesting, given that it is owned by Alltech (an animal nutrition company). There is a connection between the two, believe it or not - more info on their site or during a tour. Lots of good eating and drinking to be done in Lexington and the surrounding area!

I echo the thanks to Pat and thistle for coordinating and getting things set up/taken down! We lucked out with the weather, given the dreariness of the days following the picnic. Great food - all of it - and fun, as always! And thanks also to weezy for bringing out her knife-sharpening gear. She had her work cut out for her with my dull knives, but I certainly appreciated the time she spent when using them last night!

I don't think anyone is preventing or stopping you from doing that, Don. Members from the industry have always been welcome at the picnics, and I don't think there would have been/be any problem with them doing what you've described. Will you be there Sunday so you can tell us a bit more about what you have in mind and how you'll get restaurants/industry folks engaged?

The weather forecast is looking great for Sunday! If you haven't made up your mind to attend the picnic, it's not too late. Everybody's welcome! It's a fun opportunity to meet new people and catch up with old friends. Just bring a favorite dish to share*, a couple bucks to kick in for the site rental fee, and maybe something to drink (beer, wine, water, soda/juice). * it doesn't have to be homemade - cheese, charcuterie, prepared foods, baked good, chips and dip, etc. It all gets eaten

According to this article in the Alexandria Times, the chef will be Pete Kannasute, who is coming over from Sushi Rock.

Thanks! I'll give it a try and report back. (and just realized this should have been in 'recipe 911' - oh well)

I have a question about socca. I made a batch of batter yesterday around 2pm using Bittman's recipe, which calls for it to sit for up to 12 hours. Plans changed, socca didn't get made for dinner. Can I go ahead and use the batter tonight, or should I just chuck it and start over? The only ingredients in it are the chickpea flour, water, salt, pepper, and olive oil. ETA: it's been sitting on the counter, covered by a towel, the entire time.