perrik

Reminder: the next Dim Sunday is 21 January (next Sunday) at noon. Lucky Three 5900 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22041 It's in a small strip mall at the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Glen Forest Drive, about 1/2 mile west of Columbia Pike. As of yet, we don't have reservations, not that they remembered my reservation last time!

Odd, I wound up at that site a couple weeks ago too, for reasons I cannot recall.I don't know of any ramen-only places in the area, but you can get quite respectable ramen at Temari Cafe in Rockville (on Rt 355 south of Wintergreen, north of A&J Restaurant) and the Daruma grocery store in downtown Bethesda. Wagamama's ramen menu - in fact, its entire menu - has a distinct lack of pork. Bah.

Bummer, Daniel. To make up for it, why don't you pick the date for the next Maryland Dim Sunday? Asparagus & char sui at New Fortune sounds like a magnificent idea... So far we have nine possible attendees for Lucky Three. The big tables can hold about ten people if they like each other moderately well, so if we get more interest we'll have to split up the group and get organized about passing dishes between tables. Directions to Lucky Three from the previous outing. It's at 5900 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church.

I've got a headache, upset stomach, and really sore feet thanks to the Dupont Metro escalator going on strike at rush hour. I've got to spend all of tomorrow morning working with someone I'd rather avoid, since she labors under the delusion that I'm a robotic pack mule rather than a human. Why did this combination of ickiness lure me back to dr.com? Oh, yeah. Dumplings. Dumplings solve all problems. It's been a while since we had a Dim Sunday, and it's about darned time for another one. How about a NoVa meeting in mid-January? We've done Mark's Duck House, Fortune (Falls Church), China Garden, and Lucky Three. I'm interested in trying Fortune again, because I still suspect we hit it on a bad day. However, Lucky Three seemed to be the general favorite out of the NoVa options. Did we miss any NoVa dim sum places other than the Reston Fortune, which no one seems enthusiastic about trying anyway? Any Sunday in January is fine for me although the 14th is less good than the others; all Saturdays are also acceptable if the critical mass desires it. So, anyone have any preferred dates and/or preferred restaurants? I'll toss the first suggestion into the ring - Sunday 21 January @ Lucky Three, noon. Mmm, I could do with a glass of their warm soy milk... (this thread ought to be shuffled over to the Events & Gatherings forum, if any mods have time to work a little elfin magic)

HECOTB? Sounds like a James Bond villain's evil organization. Count me in. (I'm temporarily avoiding all foodie sites, but of course I kept the e-mail subscription for this topic!)

During the preview dinner, for a fleeting moment I seriously considered killing you and everyone else at our table so I could have those crab fritters all to myself. They were that good. Maybe they're too dangerous to be on the menu...

Hey, I didn't mean any slander on the children! I know from experience that Daniel and Scott's kids are wonderfully behaved, and I have happily shared tables with them before. I'd hoped the kids would be able to sit together (our group was too large for a single table) so they wouldn't be stuck listening to boring adult talk. Next time we'll make sure that the tables are more evenly populated with adults, and that we trade dishes back and forth more. The alternative is limiting our group size to one that can fit at a single table - this is the first time we've had such a large group.

I forgot to grab spareribs for our table! That was a major oversight. Things we tried that the kids' table didn't included fried banana and shrimp rolls, triangular pastries filled with sweet BBQ pork, and scallop dumplings. My absolute favorite was the water chestnut jelly, which was lightly sweet with a wonderful crunch from the chunks of water chestnut. BBQ pork was on par with New Fortune's, as one would assume. Alas, I must agree with Dean about those fabled clams in black bean sauce. I think the sauce was thickened too quickly and heavily - there was a definite flavor of uncooked cornstarch that was unpleasant. The two tables shared the same plate of clams, so maybe we just got a subpar batch. The warm soy milk was lightly sweet and not too beany. I should have tackled the cart lady again for a second glass. I had no idea that was cuttlefish until Daniel brought the platter to our table. It looked like slices of Japanese fish cake - pale with deep pink edges. The dessert selection looked pretty standard, so Hollywood East On The Boulevard continues as the clear winner in that respect. I think this was the best dim sum we had in NoVa. Of course, we need to try Fortune and Mark's Duck House again just to verify this.

Yes Dean, that counts! Sorry you had to miss out, Stephen. No worries, because we'll be hitting Lucky Three again come autumm. It's a keeper. We had originally settled on New Fortune as the next MontCo outing, but that would be a bit repetitive as LT and NF share ownership and recipes. So by popular demand, we're headed back to Hollywood East On The Boulevard. The date is still to be determined - late August seems likely. Our next NoVa outing will be at Fortune in Falls Church, sometime in September. We also kicked around the idea of an October Dim Sunday outing to Chinatown... New York City's Chinatown. Stay tuned as we try to figure out the logistics.

Reminder... We're meeting at Lucky Three this Sunday at noon. I reserved two 8-tops under the name "Rockwell". Come hungry!

That's right - it's the third restaurant to occupy that spot, taking over from Fortune which took over from Maxim. Or was it the other way around? There was a sweets shop in the strip mall, but I was too full of salt & pepper shrimp to waddle over and investigate it.

I've just returned from lunch at Lucky Three. The roasted meats that I tried weren't quite at the same level as New Fortune's char sui platter, but nevertheless we'll need to grab some when the cart rolls around. Marylanders, here's the easy way to reach Lucky Three. Take the Beltway to Rt 7/Leesburg Pike and exit towards Falls Church/Annandale. At the seven mile mark, you'll hit the chaos known as Seven Corners; stay on Rt 7 and continue for two more miles. Keep an eye on the lefthand side of the road. You'll see Shell and Liberty gas stations on the left. Just past the Liberty you'll see a sign for Charleston Alexander Jewelers. And just past that is a tall sign for a shopping center; Lucky Three is the business advertised on the top. Turn left into the shopping center. The cross street is Glen Forest Drive/Charles Street, where there's a handy traffic light; you can access the shopping center from Glen Forest Drive. I reserved two 8-top tables for Sunday at noon under the name Rockwell. So far we have 11 adults and 3 children confirmed. If you'd like to attend, please send me a definite yes via PM before Friday afternoon so I can expand the reservation if necessary.

Today's handy tip: When it's warm and humid but you've turned off the air conditioning for the day because darn it, you really wanted some fresh air in the house after all this rotten weather... well, that's not a good time to pipe buttercream. In fact, it's a lousy time to even make buttercream. Sigh. I should have made a glazed pound cake instead.

I hope so, too! You know the diners are unimpressed when they spend most of the meal discussing where to go for better food.

I agree with Barbara, the oat-flour ratio could be causing the problem. The recipes I have call for ratios that aren't so lopsided (like 4 cups of oats and 3 cups of flour, or a 1:1 ratio). Hope you saved that Oatmeal Crumble - it would make a wicked topping for an apple crisp! Meanwhile, I made the Brown Edge Cookies from the KAF Cookie Companion. They brought back memories of Nabisco's late lamented Brown Edge Wafers, softer but with the same delicate touch of sweetness and vanilla. I've got to bake something tonight to feed the hungry journalists, but haven't decided what. Maybe a couple pound cakes - one blueberry lemon, one cinnamon? They've been asking for chocolate, but the hunks of Ghirardelli semisweet in the pantry just aren't calling out to me yet. What to do, what to do...

Reminder time, folks! Date: Sunday, 30 July Time: noon Location: Lucky Three, 5900 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church I plan to make a test run there this week, and will post directions with landmarks for those unfamiliar with the wilds of Falls Church. Please either post here or PM me (by 10am Sunday) if you still plan to attend so we know how large a table to grab - and more important, how many orders of clams in black bean sauce we'll need. Newcomers: All previous outings have come in under $20 per person, so bring cash but don't worry about bringing a lot of it! The date for New Fortune is still unsettled, stay tuned.

The game looks better higher up, too. When we attended the pre-season exhibition game against the Orioles, my husband missed more than a full inning waiting in a concession line. The quality of the food was acceptable (basic ballpark food), but that wait was not. How speedy is service now?

Is the Silver Spring FreshFarm market always so small? There were fewer than a dozen vendors this morning, and not much variety. I was in search of fruits and herbs, and there wasn't much to browse through. I brought hom a pint of raspberries, some lovely little apricots, and a bouquet of zinnias. Is there a better market in MontCo? I used to hit the one at NIH, back when I worked there, but haven't been since they relocated.

There's the USDA market in Beltsville (near Rt 1 south of Costco) Thursdays from 10am to 2pm. If you're willing to Metro it, Freshfarm's Penn Quarter market is also on Thursdays (3-7pm). I'm planning to hit the Beltsville market tomorrow if it's not storming outside.

Has anyone here tried the Laurel market or the USDA one in Beltsville? Both are open Thursdays 10am-2pm.

Now I know how the people in 19th century England felt, buzzing with mad anticipation for the next installment of David Copperfield or Vanity Fair. What will happen next? Will Little Nell die? Will Amelia ever grow a brain? Will Rocks turn the tables on the manager and slice her as thinly as geoduck sashimi?

Neither of them could make Rachael Ray palatable. I adore Alton, but count me as another one who can't get all of his recipes to work out right. I've had the most success with Jamie Oliver's recipes, but I couldn't stand watching his shows (which were seemingly edited by gerbils mainlining espresso).

More props for Il Pizzico - what a crappy location, though, and I wish they'd find a better space with more parking. You wouldn't expect such delicate pasta to exist next to a muffler shop. No love yet for Momo Taro Sushi on Rt 355 south of Shady Grove? Call me crazy, but I've always been fond of Cameron's Seafood, which is near Carribean Feast/Cuban Corner. Their steamed crabs aren't always the best, but are cheap and available every day for carryout. They do consistently good steamed spiced shrimp, and the spiced shrimp platter is a very generous serving. My former co-workers loved the various fried fish platters, which I also see flying out the door at my local Cameron's in Silver Spring. They have a coupon in most editions of the Washington Post food section. And as long as you're in the area, there's Taste of Saigon for upscale Vietmanese. It's hard to find, as it's in the bottom floor of an office building and doesn't face the street. (the Tysons location is only slightly easier to find) So can we expect you at the August Dim Sunday @ New Fortune?

I assume you mean the second season. I've only seen the first four episodes of it (Momma Cherri, La Lanterna, La Riviera, and D-Place). Are the other four even worse? D-Place was freaking sad indeed. At least Momma Cherri is still thriving.

I borrowed the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion from the library - yeah, it's a keeper. On Sunday I made shortbread cookies. On Monday most of those cookies became the base of a pan of cheesecake bars (plain batter with strawberry preserves as a topping). Photo is in my blog, of course, not that it's terribly exciting. I managed to avoid eating any by having my husband take them to work. (okay, I ate the bits left on the knife after each slice, shhhh) One of the editors also brought in baked goods, so if tomorrow's Express reads like it was edited by sugar-crazed ferrets it's not entirely my fault.