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thistle

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Everything posted by thistle

  1. Today was my first time trying Cava Mezze Grill in Fairfax & I thought it was delicious. I was also happy that my son didn't want his default lunch, all you can eat sushi from Samurai across from GMU. I got a salad & grain bowl, romaine & black lentils, chicken, tzatziki, crazy feta, tomatoes & cukes, more cukes, olives, feta, & mint (I think she forgot that, I didn't taste any) w/ just a little Greek vinaigrette. Very tasty, & the pink grapefruit soda I had was good, too. & then we had to face the hell that is the Fairfax Costco....
  2. I think I read somewhere more recently that negotiations w/ Southside 815 had fallen through. I was upset, because the idea that someone might turn it into a halfway decent restaurant was something to anticipate.
  3. How about to all the victims of the 9/11 attacks, who left behind family, friends, & an entire nation to mourn their passing? Never forget....
  4. When I was young, my parents moved from Long Island (where they could find all kinds of clams casino, my Dad worked as a fisherman in LI Sound), down to to the backwoods of Sneads Ferry, NC, where we grew clams in our boat slip-a simple pleasure. It was a great place to grow up (even if I didn't think so at the time).
  5. Random observations- lots of IKEA style kitchens, their supermarkets look very similar to ours, but I would freak out if I had to drive on the other side of the road, the contestants swear a lot (& are bleeped out- I find it endearing, because that's how I cook), they eat lots of lamb, & this year's Australia's MC does not have as many interesting contestants as past years- they are mostly young & boring. This refers to MC & MKR, I'm going to guess that Dom, RR's only solo contestant, is going to finish strong, & that the 2 girls (who have no hospitality experience) will only finish, if they've managed to find & keep a chef.
  6. While we're talking old school molluscs, how about clams casino? Anywhere that has them on the menu?
  7. Sounds good, but makes me think of cookies....
  8. Jacques Pepin, James Beard, Julia Child- let's raise a glass to all of them!
  9. I'm going to check prices next time I go shopping, but I don't think I would notice a difference between flours, I don't do a lot of baking. My fallback is King Arthur, because I like their catalog & cookbook.
  10. First of all, is there a better collective term for Australia & New Zealand? I have commented before on my love for the Aussie & Kiwi versions of Masterchef & My Kitchen Rules. I just discovered Restaurant Revolution, available on YouTube, teams do startup restaurants built out of shipping containers, & are judged by a chef (Neil Perry), restaurant reviewer, FOH expert,& branding & media person. So far (5 episodes in), it's pretty entertaining. My daughter says that no one besides me really enjoys competitive cooking shows, maybe that's true, but these shows are the food world equivalent of a fantasy football league. I also love hearing about ingredients I'm not familiar with- kumara (squash?), trevally, Moreton Bay bugs, but I don't understand the obsession w/ beetroot.
  11. I was somewhat redeemed when my son said the other day, " I wish they sold those tomatoes you have in the backyard (Sungolds)"- I may turn him into a gardener eventually.
  12. Too tired for a proper dinner tonight, but chicken broth & pickapeppa added to this mix make an excellent soup, that's all that's needed.
  13. I'm headed down to Sneads Ferry next week & go through Kinston-unfortunately, I'm traveling w/ 2 dogs & they can't handle a pit stop, but it was so nice to hear someone's review of the place, I've wanted to try it, too. & I'm guessing Mother Earth was the beer you had? I'm hoping that I can visit Flytrap Brewing in Wilmington (sans dogs) while I'm down there.
  14. It was great to dine with other enthusiastic eaters (y'all don't mind if I call you that, right?) & revisit a place I haven't been to in awhile. While I'm still unconvinced on duck (a personal quirk), the hot & sour soup & the Szechuan green beans that Matt ordered were my favorites. I was disappointed that the bang-bang shrimp which was described 'w/ a spicy pepper sauce' was kind of nondescript. The ladies waiting on us were very sweet & scolded my daughter for not eating more of her broccoli. Lizzy gets her driver's license today & for her first solo outing, I'm letting her drive herself & a friend to El Paso for lunch. It's only 2 miles away, I'll probably be a little nervous, but I guess I'll have to get used to it. Edited- they went to Wegmans, for sushi, instead.
  15. I am still experimenting w/ my Instant pot, so here is my lazy dinner- chicken breasts, 2 chicken andouille sausage, I/2 onion, 4 small miscellaneous peppers (2 curly red ones, 1 red jalapeí±o, & a small orange one), 6 cloves garlic, a handful of green beans w/ a marinade of kombucha, soy, & fish sauce, a handful of Thai basil & black pepper. It's pretty tasty, but chicken thighs would be better, half the amount of sausage, diced small, 2 or 3 times the green beans, but I plan on making it into a soup tomorrow w/ black eyed peas & more chicken stock (cooking a chicken in a clay pot tomorrow) & probably more veg. Looking forward to Peking Duck tomorrow & we might go to the Workhouse farmer's market afterwards, haven't been there in awhile. Edited- definitely 3x the green beans, these are the sweet/spicy green beans of your dreams, I don't really like peppers, but I think that's what worked here.
  16. Go ahead! If they've already screwed you once, it's not like you're going to get repeat business & most of the time, people are just too tired or jaded to call out people who abuse their trust.
  17. I sort of felt that way about the Flying Dog Dead Rise (Old Bay), not as bad as I thought it might be, but not something you'd want to quaff endlessly, probably best in conjunction w/ a pile of crabs (which I didn't have).
  18. I picked up a 4 pack of Festina Peche this week myself, trying it for the first time, & I thoroughly enjoyed it. I went on a beer shopping trip at Wegmans, & got this, Avery White Rascal, Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin, & Shiner Ruby Redbird. Not a loser in the bunch. I went out for lunch w/ my son on Thursday, for his birthday, to the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Fairfax. We split a crab dip app, he got the special burger of the week- bacon cheddar on a doughnut! bun, & then we both sampled the deep fried bacon wrapped Oreos ( they were a lot better than I thought they would be). I am grateful that bdays come once a year.
  19. I have never lived in LA (just a visit or two), although I love Donald Link's cookbooks, Real Cajun & Down South. I'm from NC, & I remember cooking a 'drunken shrimp creole' from Bob Blumers, " The Surreal Gourmet Entertains" at Thanksgiving, out in Leavenworth, KS for a visiting Polish officer, while we were out there. It was delicious, & spicy, & it made being out in KS worthwhile. I don't like crawfish, either- shrimp all the way, but I'm from Sneads Ferry.
  20. I am a 'plant & forget' gardener- after planting, these guys are lucky to get watered- Sungold is still pumping out more little cherry tomatoes than I can eat, Black Krim are small & not particularly delicious, might make tomato sauce out of them, the other oddballs are putting out a tomato here & there, & lots of peppers...& Thai basil, I put seedlings everywhere. Still getting eggplants, too...
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