lizzie

Peking Gourmet is a full service restaurant, but Chen's is carry out only. Neither deliver, and where I live, I think our only delivery option is through whatever the current version is of Takeout Taxi, a premium I never want to pay.

We like Chen's Gourmet on MacArthur Blvd. It is on my way home from work and they have a lot of vegetarian dishes, either with tofu or the fake chicken (I realize that this is probably just another form of a tofu-based something). My daughter always gets the Sesame Tofu and I like eggplant with black bean sauce, although I sometimes ask for different sauces. We do not like the fried noodles that much - not much flavor. The egg drop soup is a bit thick, but it has some corn in it. We also like the tofu and spinach soup. What I appreciate is that you can order small or large sizes for all the entries. Prices have gone up, but for what we get it is ok. If we do not want to cross the river back into DC, we order from Peking Gourmet on Sycamore St/Williamsburg Blvd in Arlington. I really like the kung pao tofu (or chicken). We order it with broccoli instead of green peppers, and if you are getting chicken, you can request all dark or white meat. And on the packets, i only ask for the mustard. What is in the other things??? on tipping, I generally tip a few dollars at Chen's. while Peking Gourmet crosses out the tip line on carry out orders.

Luden's?! My friends' father was the company's vice president. What a wonderful house to visit during the Easter season - chocolate bunnies stacked floor to ceiling. Sorry that i cannot reconnect this post to the Grateful Dead...

I miss American Flatbread.

Brunch today at District Commons, but looking at the other comments it seems the menu is pretty much the same for every meal (trout, veggie pot pie, etc, with some breakfast items). Service was friendly enough, but I never got my Bloody Mary. Also odd was when we requested toast or some type of bread to eat with our eggs, the waiter eventually brought us what looked like a store bought sub roll, very hot on the outside and near frozen on the inside. No other bread was available. For an entree, I had the short ribs with two eggs and grits (menu serves this with sautéed potatoes but they add peppers, which I have a strong aversion to). Anyway,it was ok, the meat was quite tender, but oddly sweet. One child had eggs and the sausage biscuits, which she said were ok, but looked so pale on a white plate. The other had the chowder, which was thankfully without bacon, which she does not eat. She liked that. Not sure I would return. I know people on this board generally do not like Founding Farmers, but for brunch, it has a much better variety and frankly, the food and service have always been better.

Pork for two at Mintwood Place, which is a great deal as it comes with two sides. The pork was perfectly cooked and I just love the brussel sprouts with bacon - a great smoky flavor. The deviled eggs blasted me back to my favorite red beet eggs of my PA Dutch upbringing, but I did not have to beat everyone to the buffet line at the church social/after-funeral gathering//lowkey wedding reception to get them.

I have a 16 year old who has been a pescetarian for 3 years now. She fortunately likes most vegetables, but she has become quite fond of many healthy greens that were not as regular a part of our diet a few years ago. I use spinach, kale and bok choy quite a bit, and she really likes these in sauteed or in soups (I made a 15 minute Rachel Ray shrimp and bok choy soup last night that was quite good (which I hate to admit because I am not a fan of hers), and added soba noodles instead of spaghetti, to up slightly the protein content). We also make a quick tofu, mushroom and spinach soup and superload the spinach. That your daughter eats seafood hopefully steers her away from the carbo loading diets many teen vegetarians rely on. We do eat a lot of fish, but really mix up the preparations, including fish tacos, fish in parchment and many grilled efforts. Also, try options such as the morning star brand black bean burger, by far our favorite veggie-friendly burger, which you can grill while making regular burgers for the rest of the family. I have found that more often than not, I am not making two completely different meals. I actually have also taken much inspiration and many ideas from Zora's postings from when her daughter was a vegetarian.

I just love all of the different nut bars. So perfect with their coffee.

We recently paid $100 to someone to create a vector file for a sports' team. If you get to the point of wanting to pay for this, let me know and i will forward the contact information. Once you have a vector file, you can create stickers, magnets, hats, apparel, huge flags to mark your location at Don Rockwell picnics and other group events, maybe even wrap your car in the logo. Actually, I don't know if you can create a car wrap, but that place below Caribbean Grill could help with that. Anyway, our team logo is just a multicolor logo with the team name. Not sure how it works with a photo or what that cost would be.

I believe I read somewhere the name was chosen because Mintwood Place was where Saied first lived when he moved to Adams Morgan.

No time to invest in a trip outside the city, and even too tired after a glorious day walking for miles and sightseeing on the Mall to trek to Pearl Dive, we made it only as far as Old Ebbitt. My friend enjoyed her crabcake entree and we had great service. Too bad i am not able to eat any raw shellfish because of a medical issue. The half price happy hour is hard to turn down.

This is probably somewhere in one of the forums but I could not find it. A friend visiting from Colorado would love to have crab cakes. In DC or close in VA. Other than Old Ebbitt, Oceanaire or a steak house, any other good crab cakes to recommend?

I had a very nice dinner at Mintwood's opening last night. Started with the Onion and bacon flammekueche and the escargot hushpuppies. While the flammekueche was good, those hushpuppies are amazing. I was with two friends but did not willingly share any of them. Trust me - if you order them, be selfish and make any dining companions get their own. For entrees, we shared the tagliatelle bolognese - delicious (I understand Cedric takes 3 days to cook the sauce and it is absolute comfort food) served over homemade pasta; the dorade with braised fennel and olive - I am generally not a fan of fennel, but the combination of the fish with the crispy skin and the fennel worked for me; and the hanger steak, cooked to a perfect medium rare with crispy fries on the side. We also shared the brussels sprouts and bacon side. We finished with the baked alaska - there was a spiciness to the dessert that we all liked - not your normal baked alaska flavors - actually much better. I liked the option of a dessert that I would never take the time to make at home. FOr an opening, staff did not seem too stressed - service was smooth and food came out in a timely way.

My family vacationed there a few summers ago. We stayed in a suite at the Hyatt (I think it was a Hyatt but is now called Grand Cayman Beach Suites) the island had not yet fully recovered from the hurricanes and only a few hotels were open. First, know when the cruise ships come in and don't go to the town those days, and if you need a rental car, plan ahead for those same cruise ship days. Second, the piña coladas at the Ritz are outrageously expensive and worth every penny. Third, go on a jet ski/snorkel adventure. For food, a few things: We ate almost every evening meal at the restaurant at the Ritz, Periwinkle, although I do not know if I would call it sheltered - it is covered, but open air. Lots of pastas and other family friendly options and not horribly expensive; they let the kids feed the fish cuttings to the real fish swimming around the dock, and they show family movies on a big outdoor screen. There is also a sushi restaurant at the former Hyatt called Bamboo where we ate two nights, and had amazingly good yellowtail. I would hope there are more restaurants open now. For lunches, we mostly just ate wherever we happened to be, nothing spectacular. A healthy walking distance from our hotel there was a small strip mall type of place, with a decent chicken rotisserie. We also bought food at a local grocery store for sandwiches, snacks, and breakfast each day. The Caymans are no different from the other islands - everything is really expensive.

Does no one have family that brings them good food while in the hospital? When I had my daughters, i enjoyed not only delicious food, but served on lovely plates, etc, all brought in from outside. I know some people will be diet restricted, but anyone can steam/saute/grill some fish and vegetables for a loved one, can't they? I do not know RJ but he has an entire staff that cooks wonderful things and clearly has connections to at least one Baltimore restaurant, given his guest chef schedule. Maybe I am more fortunate in life than i think...

I bit concerned as I am heading to Cedar Rapids for 2 1/2 day business trip (but not the Quaker plant). Others on the trip will not want to make the trek to Iowa City. Guessing there are no new thoughts since May 2011?

http://www.williams-...achio-cake.html

One of my favorites as a child as well, although corn pie ranked much higher (which is also now a favorite of my daughters.)Tomorrow I will be trying the Williams-Sonoma pistachio cake recipe. I am trying to approximate the cake we had at Graffiato, which was for me the best thing I ate there at a recent lunch.

Today on Google Offers, $20 for $40 at Perry's: (hopefully link works) https://www.google.com/offers/home?utm_source=HA&utm_medium=ha_sem_sk&utm_campaign=en-DC&utm_term=%7Bkeyword%7D&_escaped_fragment_=details%2Fd1ec155ab1c977da%2FNFXHZCMQ7YO83UJY

This is funnier every time I read it. But to bring thread back on topic, sometimes Applebee's might be your only option so you do your best to pick carefully. I travel frequently to rural areas for my work, and say one arrives in Galax, VA after the only local restaurants have already closed for the evening, your choices are Applebee's or buying groceries at Walmart, Applebee's wins. Start with a cold beer, since they actually usually get that right and sometimes have decent beer available, and get a burger or fish and chips or something equally simple. Not your best meal ever, but passable. And then toast with your colleagues that we live where we have many more and better options available on a daily basis, and that our towns and industries have not been so battered by imports that many of the restaurants and other small businesses have closed. So, where is the Chili's thread...

My 16 year old daughter and 2 friends dined at Ris on Saturday night. Not only did they enjoy the meal (scallops, steaks, mussels and a salad), my daughter said they were treated quite well, always a concern when sending young ones out to dine solo at nicer places. Final tally $99. Won't that change when they are old enough to drink!

I had two recent meals at Zaytinya. I thought the food was fine both times, especially a cod dish with oranges. The service was only ok - especially for the one lunch, i think we were there for at least two hours (it was a restaurant week lunch, so 3 courses). The biggest disappointment is that the restaurant just looks dated. The chairs and tables are really scratched and worn and the general atmosphere needs something to make you want to be there. Two other recent stops at Jaleo were more disappointing - the menu has not changed. I found the food at Estadio more varied and satisfying. I am (tangentially) in the restaurant business and I understand the desire to keep popular items on the menu, but sometimes you just have to challenge your guests with new dishes and experiences.

Has anyone ever seen goat butter at local farmers markets or shops? I had some at Ma Peche in NYC and loved it, but have not found it around DC (although I have only looked at Courthouse market and whole foods in Clarendon.)

After a very nice time on the deck at Marvin - pre-crowds, we ended up at Estadio since it had no wait at about 9:30. Poste had a 45 minute wait and Pearl Dive was just packed. At Estadio had the kale, mushrooms, sauteed squid, grilled bread and heirloom tomato salad. I enjoyed all the dishes. Not thrilled about use of regular glasses for wine, especially for the cava, but nothing that would ruin an evening.

Had planned on Pearl Dive for dinner tonight but with the recent review, it could be quite busy and is walk-in only. Any other suggestions if the wait is too long? Has anyone eaten lately at Cork Wine Bar? Masa 14? We are having drinks at Marvin but probably not dinner there.