mdt

Bronxville, NY: You guys did a wonderful job highlighting eateries in New York City. Now where can a tourist get the best eats in Washington DC?

Tom Sietsema: It all depends on what you're looking for. Give me some perimeters.

One perimeter is the ring road around Atlanta.  

Sorry, just feeling goofy today.

I am not so sure that perscription is unfilled...

What is up with the lack of HH spirit? With all the folks here we should be able to get a decent crowd, no?

Just got back from Viet House on Rt. 1 in Alexandria. In the Eden Center the best Pho to get (in my opinioin) is the place next to 4 Sisters that I think goes by the name of Pho Xe Lua.

So do you mind dogs in restaurants or just the obstacle course in getting to the restaurants?

Being more of a normal occurrence in Europe I do tend to notice the canine companions here in the US. As long as they are well behaved I don't have problem with it.

Busboy Jr. was once served a BLT (his absolute favorite meal) with mustard - on untoasted bread.  eeww!

I am almost afraid to ask, but who served that up? Mustard on a BLT?!

Now I am pissed I am at least a a Long Lure Frog Fish. Don what do I have to do? I heard you had some pull here! If you do not upgrade me I will force you to drink my Pickeled Martini!

Careful he might demote you to tadpole!

Unfortunately mine is not really portable, but if someone brings one I will bring some Sunnyside flat irons!

We will have to take Shogun for guidance!

Why? It is so much more fun for the rest of us when he does not take his meds...

I filled out the form so we will see what happens. I think Chef Trautmann might be on the site. Maybe he will chime in...

Rain or shine I guess anything goes, right?

Maybe we should bring some sports gears for   volleyball? rugby? frisbee?—anyone?  It should be fun!

Not sure yet of what to bring either.  We’ll see, as it gets closer.

A DR.com rugby game? That would be interesting !

Not sure what I am going to bring, but it will include some sort of dessert.

Is anyone interested.

That is a joke, right?

Yes!

I can see it now, I have a reservation for 12 with 20 on the waiting list...

I wish we could!  I don't know if this is a great example of your brain influencing your sense of taste and the power of suggestion (after the first person said it tasted like pork, we all tried it and tasted the pork) or if there is some wonderful but strange chemical reaction between steak and grapeseed oil that mimics the taste of being cooked in pork fat.  Besides curiosity about being able to recreate this at home, I'm not sure I care to know.  Anything is possible in the world of illusion and all that.

I am not sure what cut of steak you all had (I will be conducting field research soon), but I pan seard a Sunnyside flat iron with grapeseed oil and tasted only beefy goodness.

Looks like the aging is the key. So Chef Power, how long do you age your steaks?

With images from his previous career

Now we are back to the shrimp talk...

Given the member labeling scheme, we would have to be --

Rock Lobsters

Do we all get matching towels?

Nope. Plastic bibs with a likeness of Rocks!

Welcome Jill!

I think the new place is going to be called Sonoma, but other details fail me right now.

Looks like we all hit the market at different times. I got some flat iron steaks, mesculin, radishes, and some asparagus as well. Those short ribs from Sunnyside look wonderfully meaty, report back on the results.

Stopped into Eve tonight for dinner at the bar and was lucky enough to find a seat as it was crowded at 6pm. Looking for something refreshing to drink while I decided what to eat for dinner Tami suggested that I try the Chateau Du Basty Cru Beaujolais. I was rewarded with a fruity and wonderfully refreshing wine. Since I am pretty ignorant of French wines it was nice to add another to my taste memory bank.

It being a cool and damp evening I was looking for something hearty and comforting and the ox tail ravioli appetizer fit the bill. The wonderfully rich and meaty braised ox tail was enclosed in extremely thin homemade pasta, perfectly sauced, and topped with thinly sliced sautéed leeks.

I chose one of the specials of the night, pan roasted guinea hen, for my main and was not disappointed. The moist sliced breast underneath a crisp skin was set atop slices of guinea hen sausage, morels, and fava beans with a rich sauce made from the hen. I could have eaten a bowl of the sauced favas and morels. While not expecting this to be comfort food the earthy richness fit the damp cool night perfectly and I made sure to get every last bit of sauce with my bread. The glass of a Rhone Blend from Domaine Cascavel that I had went well with this dish.

For dessert I had the banana cream pie that was definitely not an ordinary slice from the local diner. A buttery rich round of ‘crust’ topped with a surprisingly light cream filling and a slightly toasted meringue was placed on top of some caramelized banana slices. Being a dessert nut this was the highlight of the meal for me, although the guinea hen was very tasty.

I confirmed that the new menu will be out next Tuesday and am looking forward to see what will be on the new menu.

I heard a rumor that a couple of the farmers at FreshFarm Market at Dupont expect to have asparagus at this Sunday's market (4/24). It's a producer-only market, as you probably know, so everything they sell is local. (Unlike Eastern Market.)

(Operative words here are 'expect to' -- obviously they can't predict exact timing on these things. If they turn out not to have asparagus this week, blame me, not the farmers, for getting your hopes up. 

I will be checking things out and stocking up on some wonderful steaks from Sunnyside! Mmmm, steaks and asparagus (hopefully)!

They have the internets in South Africa?!? 

The Stretch probably has some super cool WIFI handheld device that he is using to post.

How are things on the flip side of the planet?

Alright, what's the plan.  Mendocino?  Do they have a HH deal?

I was hoping some of the new members would chime in and join us for HH so that we could welcome them in true dr.com fashion.

Unless things change I may forgo the trip into the city and drop by Eve tonight as its just a short drive from the office.

Depending on when you catch the housewares departments at places like Marshalls, TJMaxx, Ross, etc., they can have All-Clad, Calphalon, Anolon, or LeCreuset, as well as occasional one-time-only weirdness like a set of Laguiole steak knives I saw once.

The caveat with these places is, if you don't buy things the second you see them, they WILL be gone the next time. They're also not very good if you're looking for a specific pan in a specific size. But the prices, assuming they actually have what you're looking for, are excellent.

I have gotten a couple of real good deals on le creuset at TJMaxx or the Home Goods store. They are marked as 'imperfect' but the only things I have ever seen wrong is a slight nick on the paint.

I want to stress her caveat of buy as soon as you see it, because it will be gone the next time you visit.

I know its early in the morning, but after the week I have had so far I am already thinking about Happy Hour!

We have a new board, old friends, and a bunch of new faces so lets get something together tonight. Where should we go? Maybe someone new should select the place...

Are they going to post a menu online?

Either date works for me, I will just have to reschedule my art class.