lizzie

My daughter's girl scout troop (based in north Arlington) is looking for someone to teach a fun cooking class (one time, and while date is flexible, preferably on a Friday afternoon, 4-6ish since that is standard meeting time). The girls are all in 8th grade and have done a lot of baking (generally for Arlington Food Assistance Center or a similar group) but less cooking. We are thinking a course on easy appetizers or Thai or a similar cuisine. Many of the parents could do this, but we thought it would be more fun to bring in someone who is in the business. We can provide a commercial kitchen (church) or travel to another location. We can also provide all ingredients/supplies, but unfortunately only a small honorarium for the instructor.

Ichiban is also our "local" favorite for sushi and (especially) udon. We are big fans of the various tempura rolls as well. The staff is always friendly, carryout orders are always correct, and the price is reasonable. My kids just wish they could fix the front door.

I am not surprised - after my much earlier posting, we had a meal there a year or so ago that was too awful for words. Nearly all of our food was cold or off-tasting, service had a serious attitude, and the bill was really high.

Not sure about an internet source for what are you seeking, but you might want to try a few juniper berries with that dish.

Which could be a reason we liked it so much - we too were quite bored with our local mom and pop place in Arlington. That said, generally if we are getting Chinese take out, we are looking for what is essentially comfort food - dishes with which we are at least somewhat familiar. On a school night when we get take-out, my kids are not looking for any surprises - just something satisfying for dinner. The veggie choices at Chen's are a big plus. There are more really bad Chinese carryouts than there are decent ones, at least in our local area, and in our experience from the one visit, we were all happy with the quality of the food from Chen's.

I have been driving past Chen's Gourmet, on MacArthur Blvd, almost daily for about 14 years. I finally ordered take-out yesterday, as my "whasian" family (as my kids call it, mingling "white asian") always celebrates the new year with a take-out feast. Putting aside the fact that i relied on an ancient version of their menu I found online on another website and ended up spending way more than I thought, it was very good Chinese and the portions are more than generous (they offer regular and large sizes). We had 3 veggie dishes - General Tso's " vegi chicken" - a bit sweet, but my daugher almost refused to eat it because she thought it was really chicken; sesame tofu - was supposed to be sesame chicken but a welcome mistake and about our favorite dish. We also had sweet and sour (orange) tofu, beef and broccoli, steamed dumplings, angel hair noodles with curry (singapore noodles?),shrimp fried rice and pineapple fried rice. We were not disappointed with any of the dishes. We will be eating Chinese all week, but it was a pleasant surprise on a fun day. I will definitely order from them again - especially given the sizeable vegetarian menu they offer. Note however that this is exclusively a take-out business, not a sit-down restaurant.

I consider this one of the great restaurant mysteries of Washington. A colleague recently moved from NYC to join our agency, located near L'enfant Plaza, and the second day at lunch said, "let's go get ramen." We are still laughing/crying, 4 months later. I just do not get it.

North Arlington is big - where specifically? If you are way north, it may be worth it to drive to McLean for Ichiban (casual, also highly recommend the Udon soup) or Tachibana (more formal).

Does anyone have a favorite recipe for baklava? I am tired of paying such high prices for tiny pieces that either leave me wanting more but not wanting to pay the price, or are often disappointing. A woman used to sell baklava at the farmers market at the Department of Transportation, but the market is closed and I do not recall her name. Hers was worth every penny.

My family enjoyed a wonderful meal at Central on Christmas Eve. Not sure how we missed this restaurant before. This was one meal that reached $200 (no alcohol) for which we really believed it was worth every penny. We had simple appetizers, mixed green salad and the pate plate. These were fine - the pate was mild, but very fresh, but next time we will definitely order the gougeres - my daughter recently had these in Amsterdam and loved them; we just missed them on the menu. For entrees we had the scallops, which my daughter devoured (a cute older Asian lady sitting behind us, who could not have weighed more than 80 pounds, also had the dish and took several photos of it before eating everything on the plate); two had steak a poivre - my daughter's was perfectly cooked, my husband's was somewhat overcooked, although we did not mention it so no room for complaint. I had the lamb shank with polenta - this was divine - an almost embarassingly huge piece of tender lamb over perfectly cooked polenta. The sides also did not disappoint - the brussel sprouts may be my new favorite side dish. Although my kids would have preferred more traditional homemade mayo (closer to the Dutch type), the fries were crispy. The desserts were also fabulous - the banana split was huge and the three ice cream choices were great (loved those little chocolate beads on the chocolate ice cream with the chocolate syrup...). This has to be one of the great bargains in the city, at only $10. Easily enough for the whole family. The chocolate lava cake was exactly as one hopes - and for my chocolate loving child was near nirvana. We are looking forward to lunch hopefully next week to try the soups (is the french onion as good as Bistro Bis?) and the lobster and tuna burgers. Central has new fans.

The Original Pancake House in Falls Church has them on the menu as Potato Pancakes.

The owners of Kanlaya recently opened Asian Spice, on H Street on the corner just past Matchbox. It has an ok-size bar area and lots of small rooms throughout, so it may be a good option.

Doe anyone use a Cuisinart coffee maker - we have tired off Senseo and the french press is not our best morning option, so I am considering a drip machine. I am open to either a simple brew machine or one that grinds and brews. Other brands/particular machines anyone favors?

Two comments: 1. Bravo to Michael Landrum for undertaking this new venture. I wish him the best of luck. It really is no one else's business whether he turns a profit or not - his efforts in moving in to this neighborhood should command all of our respect and support, and beyond that, critics should keep quiet. 2. The Lerner family has long been major supporters of local charities, including (from their website): Food and Friends; Shady Grove Adventist Hospital; Hadley's Park; the Scleroderma Foundation of Greater Washington; YouthAids; Junior Achievement of the Greater Washington Area; the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School; the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington; and Imagination Stage, and are founding members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Would people have preferred no baseball team or one with owners that had not already shown a lifelong committment to making Washignton D.C. a better place?

We use an electric hot plate when we have more than one pot of fondue. Just watch the temperature and it should be fine. My recipe is for a classic cheese fondue, and is from a restaurant somewhere in/near Zermatt - family and friends have used this since the early 70's. 1 lb. swiss cheese, grated (gruyere, emmental, whatever - my mom uses basic supermarket swiss, since they live in the middle of nowhere and until not that long ago, gruyere was foreign) 1/8 tsp garlic powder (again, this is from the 70's - some people prefer to rub the inside of the pot with garlic cloves) 2 tbsp. flour 1 tsp. salt ground black pepper 1-1/2 cups white wine (I tend toward Alsace wines - you want it dry) healthy splash of cognac (or kirsch) Heat wine. Mix cheese, garlic powder, flour, salt, pepper. Add these to wine when near a boil. stir until melted and consistency is smooth. Finish with the cognac or kirsch. A grating of nutmeg can also be added. In addition to bread, we always have broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, pears, and apples. For the chocolate, the better the chocolate, the better the fondue. I guess on the cream to chocolate proportion - lots of recipes on line. You can add almost any kind of liquor for flavor. If you have lots of good things to dip - pound cake, angel food cake, marshmallows, strawberries, kiwi (awesome with chocolate) bananas, and clementines, you can get away with a lot on the chocolate side. My kids make it with chocolate chips or wilbur buds, and half and half, for an afterschool snack sometimes.

We tried to like Wasabi to Go at the Lyon Village location - we went a number of times (more than 5 or 6) and tried sushi and most of the prepared to order items from the menu. Although it was never bad, we just were never that impressed. We have frequented Ichiban, in McLean, for many years, and it continues to be our favorite "local" sushi/udon place.

My husband is from Amsterdam and we spend quite a bit of time there. We mostly stay and eat at the houses of friends/family, but these are some of the places we like. Kop van Jut, Leidsekruisstraat 24 (just off Leidseplein) - traditional Dutch - don't let the location keep you away as it is not a place frequented by tourists (although it should be); the name has a fascinating story behind it. Van Dobben, a great sandwich shop that has a full range of small sandwiches, just off Rembrandtplein, at Korte Reguliersdwarsstraat 5. I also recommend going to the Albert Cuyp market in de Pijp - lots of cheese, seafood, fresh stroopwaffles, and on the sidestreets some decent carry-out places. For poffertjes, pannekoeken and uitsmijters (traditional dutch egg dish), we like the Carousel, near the Heineken Hoek, but lots of places that serve these dishes. Most people go to the Pancake Bakery, near the Anne Frank Huis, which is ok, but nearly always packed. My mother-in-law, who sadly passed away recently, lived in de Pijp so we ate at a lot of small neighborhood places - she was Indonesian, and we generally ate or got carry-out at Indonesian or Surinamese places in that area. For steak, we like Gauchos - again, in a really touristy area (Damstraat), but good service and the meals have been consistently good.

I drive by Le Mistral, on Old Dominion Drive, several days a week around 5:30. Almost every time there is staff in front of the restaurant in waiters' jackets or kitchen aprons, smoking. I find this so unappetizing, that I have never even entered the restaurant. You would think they could at least go behind the building.

I spent a week in Denver (actually, a week at the Western Development federal government training center in Aurora, just outside Denver) and made it to Rioja (on Larimer St.) for dinner. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone traveling there. My starter was a sugar snap pea soup - light on the cream and a very fresh taste. For an entree I had the grilled Colorado lamb over a lentil viniagrette, with goat cheese ravioli and braised greens. The lamb and lentils were delicious, but the ravioli ( a single large piece) held the freshest and smoothest goat cheese I have had. Absolutely perfect. The dessert was also excellent - orange risotto brandy cannoli - it was one of those times when I did not want dessert, but it sounded intriguing, so I ordered it and thought I would have a bite or two, but finished the whole thing in record time. This was one of the best desserts I have had in a long time- the risotto/pudding like center was not too heavy and the passion fruit sauce was a great complement to it. On the other hand, I do not recommend the cafeteria-like buffet at the Red Lion hotel that is the government's only food offering for its training classes - three meals a day. You can endure breakfast (although the poached eggs were like none I had ever seen before), and with a strong imagination, lunch is passable. But, you will not want to enter the place for a 3rd meal each day. If you go, make use of the hotel's generous offerings of shuttle service to local places or the proximity of the train station to downtown Denver. Consider yourself warned.

We had an excellent late dinner at Et Voila tonight - our choices were basic bistro fare - steamed mussels in a garlic cream sauce for me and a green salad and hanger steak for my husband. The mussels were small and tender, and the cream sauce was not too heavy and was loaded with garlic. French fries were crispy and appeared to have been double fried. The salad had a light vinaigrette and came with garlic toast and goat cheese. The hanger steak was perfectly cooked to medium, with fingerling potatoes on the side. Bottled water and coffee brought the tab to $60. Service was friendly and the space, although small, is quite pretty. We had only disappointing meals at the restaurant that was in this spot previously. We are glad to have this new addition to the neighborhood and definitely will be back.

Peacock Grand on K Street

Westmoreland Farms had sour cherries on Saturday (June 7) at the Arlington Courthouse farmer's market. We also use the paper clip method to pit cherries - very easy and does not add to the kitchen gadget drawer clutter.

They have those in Amsterdam as well, on the Leidseplein - my daughters find it one of the most disgusting inventions ever.Another arduous journey, closer to home - the stairwell at Perry's from the roof down to the bathrooms, particularly after a few drinks. There is a reason for the railings.

I have not ever had a reason to disparage J. Paul's. I think in general the food was better in the past - they were really one of the first restaurants to have sweet potato fries, and have had one of the best french toast dishes around. It has always been an easy place to hang out and in our over 20 years of the occasional breakfast and dinner there, I do not recall poor service. I don't think when it opened it was ever intended to be a tourist trap - but by virtue of its location and the popularity of Georgetown, it is hard for any of those restaurants that serve burgers and other staples, to not become popular with a mass audience. I don't think it is a good as Old Glory (which has the same ownership), but is better than Mr. Smith's and Johnny Rockets. The raw bar is a big plus as well.

Not personal experience, but my daughter goes to school near Z Burger and said a lot of kids went yesterday for the opening, waited 45 minutes for the burgers and are not anxious to return. It will be important to make that high school and AU crowd happy to survive around there.