mdt

In the interest of beer tasting, I visited the Forge Brew Works (http://www.forgebrewworks.com) 2 weekends ago, it's located in an industrial park, on Terminal Rd. I sampled several brews, then picked up a growler of my favorite, the kolsch, to take up to Carlisle, PA to celebrate my DH's graduation from the Army War College this past weekend. He's had a good time up there checking out the microbreweries (& larger, I have a great Yuengling tee shirt, don't snear, Yuengling is my favorite inexpensive local beer). Forge was very nice, still bare bones, but the folks there were very nice, & the beer was good. I just wish they had a wheat beer. I tried the petite saison, kolsch, blonde & roggenbier.

I'm up for sampling other beers, I've been in a pleasant rut, because my favorite beer, Hoegaarden, has been on sale at the class VI, it jumped from $12.99 (a giveaway) to $18.70. So, a good time to sample other beers...

I know I've had a Forge beer somewhere recently, but did not realize that they are less than 10 minutes from my house. I know what I am doing tomorrow afternoon!

Nothing like seasonal out of season Brussels Sprouts... they are a winter item.  Thankfully, the industrial agribusiness complex can make anything seasonal!  

If restaurants can serve tomatoes in January why not Brussels Sprouts in May?

True that, but instead of paying $30+ for parking, I'd rather spend it on something else.

Thanks for the metered parking suggestion, DR. Hopefully those meters are parkmobile enabled.

Um, valet parking when dining at CityZen is something like $11, IIRC.

I'd also note that I think there are 3 benefits that come from stirring that no other method provides:

- precise control of the liquid-rice ratio

- precise control over doneness, getting if off the heat just prior to finish

- evenness of cooking.

Like the omelette, this is a texture thing as much as anything.  To achieve the best, you have to master these elements and stirring seems the best way to reach it.

With my own no-stir recipe, I've had times where the liquid-rice ratio was just off.  It was still edible but not ideal - and I had no clue until I pulled it out.

Mind you I said no need for continuous stirring, not no stirring. You do have to stir here and there.

Continuous stirring will not allow for precise control of the liquid:rice ratio, that is regulated by the amount of liquid added at regular intervals. It will not allow for precise control of over doneness, that is done by taking it off the heat at the right time. It might help with the evenness of cooking. All these items can be watched while stirring and tasting on occasion.

As for the omelette comparison, quite different animals. The stirring of the eggs helps to prevent formation of large curds to get the soft quality that can be desired.

I'm no expert, but I remember John Wabeck making what he called a "French-styled risotto" which was extremely creamy and soft - it was not my preferred style, and I never ordered it a second time.

In Venice (IIRC) they serve their risotto sul onde or "on the waves" and it is a bit more soupy than what is normal.

Continuous stirring is overrated.

My WOTN was the Rivera, but I think it was a little too geeky for most.

BTW2 - Very nice service to a flowing crowd that was ordering random things at random times, moving around at random, left at random times, and paid for random things (I think we got the math right,please let me know if we were off). Props to the bar and kitchen staffs.

I agree on the Rivera, easily the top wine of the night and the two bartenders provided excellent service to us and all the other folks at the bar. The food was very good and I want to return to try more of the dishes. The charred beef tongue was an excellent starter.

Betty -- as for where we were, we had pretty much the entire front part of the bar from 530-930p. Next time just yell Rockwell and someone will turn around. 

Just bubbling this to the top to remind folks...

I'm in - what time?

Around 530p until whenever...in the past folks typically came and went as the evening went on.

As a result of the discussion here, it's time to get the HHs rolling again. Friday May 2nd, show up have a drink (or two or three), something to eat (or not), and socialize.

It has been way too long without these informal gatherings, maybe we can get some of the old gang back together.

I'm never home anymore (full disclosure blah blah blah), but remember when we used to have big ol', sling-bottles-across-the-room wine happy hours at Corduroy in its old Four Points location? While I would still advocate doing that at the current Corduroy location, the list at Red Hen is more than worthy of the same treatment, and plenty edgy. I just wish I could join y'all.

Shit, Ill throw up a Rose happy hour situation for yall.  Let me know.

Seb

Ok, I am going to say Friday May 2nd we get the old Friday HHs rolling again.

Thanks, but we certainly don't need anything special setup...although I do enjoy Rosé...

Decided to drop into Rose's a little before 9p last Saturday night, after a walk around the tidal basin, to see what things looked like. Ordered a cocktail and luckily for us two seats opened up a few minutes after that. Pretty damn lucky, huh? Anyway the food lived up to the hype. Highlights form the various dished we had were the Vietnamese Pate (think pho), Pickle-brined fried chicken (served with a bottle of hot sauce, which was a nice touch), and the Bone marrow hash.

Excellent service and I look forward to getting back and trying more of the dishes.

Man, that's one huge rabbit!

Did anyone else have issues with squirrels eating up all your tomatoes last year? I'm told that they generally don't go after them, but they must've taken 90% of mine. I'm new to gardening and have scaled back on my ambitions from last year, but I still want to go heavy on the tomatoes.

Other than trying to cage them up (the tomatoes, that is), are there other methods of dealing with them short of purchasing firearms? Can I feed them nuts or something away from my plants? Already this year they've chewed their way into a heavy plastic composter, so I'm desperate.

I look forward to picking leaves off my basil plants, slicing up tomatoes, and putting together a Caprese with some fruit from my Mozzarella tree.

Nothing short of fencing my garden in has worked for me.

I had the Drewno on opening day, which was the only sandwich they had left at noon. The sandwich was good, but it looks like they need to scale up production. They mentioned that they are cooking items to order, which seems kind of crazy to me with the number of folks you are trying to serve.

I thought it was pretty common knowledge he is a jerk and hated on tour, but puts on a nice face for the camera.  Regardless the (presumed fake) injury timeouts over the years DQ him from being a class act.

Interesting. I have never heard anyone even mention Nadal and jerk in the same sentence. Frustrated Federer fans?

If I were a restaurateur and wanted to get the word out about my brunch, I'd invite Bitches Who Brunch in to try it out too. And, because I invited them, I'd expect to foot the bill. My guests are free to write about it or not, like it or not. There's no quid pro quo. Kudos to BWB for disclosing the comp. I like their blog; it's a fun read.

I don't read that blog, but do they actually write negative reviews of places where they are comped or is everything just the normal only good news write up. Would a blogger that truthfully and accurately panned more than a couple places keep getting invited to other places?

I have been to Brabo a couple of times recently and really enjoy the sandwiches which are reasonably priced and come with a small side salad. One thing that that always amazes me is the price of the mussel dishes ($20) and flatbreads ($16). I know mussels are typically overpriced in most places, but this seems a bit high to me.

Anyone have the Bookers 25 yet?  I found the last bottle on the shelf of my local ABC today, and will probably crack it open and start a thread this weekend.  Just curious if anyone else has tried it yet. Thanks for reviving the Whiskey thread, btw, I didn't even know it existed.  Makes for a better place to have bourbon conversations, with the other threads related to particular bottles.

From the press release:

"The original Booker's Bourbon, a cask-strength spirit with a proof that usually ranges from 120 to 130, is normally aged for six to eight years. The special-edition batch is over 10 years old, giving the product some extra characteristics and making it a fitting tribute to an important character in the Bourbon industry."

Saw it in my local ABC, but didn't pull the trigger for the $100. Should I have?

Johnny Monis' advice to me at 2 Amys: it's as good as ever, but you have to order it well-done. I did, and I agreed - it's as good as ever. And certainly, Scott Hager and Debbie Johnson are both as good as ever if you can grab a bar seat.

I've been doing that for years and it does produce a perfect pie.

Had a bottle of this last night and it's really tasty. A bit different than most other IPAs with a more grassy and pines notes along with the normal flavors of citrus.

WF in Fair Lakes has a very good stock of large format bottles.

I am in. +1

A point to ponder:

Our March 23rd dinner at Amoo's is, essentially, a discounted party. The restaurant will receive plenty of PR for hosting it, and dr.com members will be getting one hell of a good deal, at the restaurant's expense.

In the spirit of openness and transparency, I'd like our readers to ask themselves, 'What's the difference between this, and all of these unethical things we've been criticizing?'

Again there is nothing wrong with it, if the poster mentions they were part of the special outing so future folks know how to read things. Also folks should have no issue about posting legitimate negative comments without it turning into the BS of the Dino close out dinner.

The issue is not the fact that folks are getting "something special" it's the fact that they don't disclose it and appear to be doing some unbiased review. If folks don't want to make it look like anything other than a food group dinner they don't have to post anything and therefore no unintended PR.

When is the last time you saw a nagative blurb on a book cover?  Or "I hated it from beginning to end, I was ocunting the seconds till I could leave the critics screening of this stinker of a movie" in an ad?  

Blurbs on book covers are equivalent to blurbs on a restaurant's web page. Reading a review on some blog that does not disclose the fact that the meal they ate was free or part of some promo is not the same thing.

Of course the invitees are not going to criticize a place and lose their future meal ticket, but they can certainly mention it in their write up. Maybe that gets them banned as well.  Either way positive comments that are not from a known source typically need to be taken very skeptically as you have no way of knowing if they are real or some form of PR. And this relates to reviews of anything on the web.

I was going to call Furgetmenot about some training for my dog too, they get very good reviews from people who have used them in the neighborhood for training.  Also Ballston Animal Hospital is where we go to the vet and we have liked them, they don't tend to be pushy or recommend un-needed things.  You don't always get the same doctor unless you request it, but we like all the doctors we have seen.  Welcome to Ballston!  

As I hinted above we used Fur-Get-Me-Not for their levels training and it was excellent. I particularly liked their "Levels Class" model as you buy a subscription to their training program and you can attend any of the appropriate level classes that you want each week. IIRC, they do 2 of each level per week and it's helpful if you need to skip a class or want more training. The levels training also provides you the flexibility to move up as you and your dog progress without being stuck in a set class for x number of weeks.

I passionately believe you should rent a car and get lost.  I also understand riding trains for day trips.  But for me nothing takes the place of pointing a car and the adventure of finding whatever is in front of us.  Italy is one of the best places on earth to do this. 

Everyone visits northern Italy as they stick with the usual cities of Rome, Florence, Sienna, Milan, and Venice.I would recommend spending the time in southern Italy. Get a car in Rome and head east/southeast toward Pescara and visit some great small towns on the way (Sulmona (where confetti was created), L'Aquila, Navelli (known for its saffron), Scanno, Pescocostanzo,...). The drive is easy, absolutely beautiful and you will find great markets and restaurants without having to worry about too much pre-planning.

Cannot vouch for their dog walking, but we have used Fur-Get-Me-Not (http://furgetmenot.com/) for various training and specialty classes for the past 2 years and they are top notch. The owner and lead trainer are very knowledgeable and the business has been around for some years and that stability is good. I would imagine that they run a good dog walking operation as well and think they would warrant a call.