echallstrom

Nevermind, I found it (listed as tomato sauce and pasta-making) here.

I would also like to see the results form the canned tomato taste test.

I agree fully with this recommendation. I was so pleasantly surprised when I first tried this (at Red Rocks, I think). The Brooklyn Lager is most definitely not insipid or lightweight. Also, Samuel Smith's Pure Brewed Lager (and the organic lager) are very good.

My comparison of Great Wall and Joe's can be found here. You know, I ordered from Great Wall last night and the ma po did not seem as hot as usual. The ma la wantons were also not as hot as usual, but they were so tasty. They seem to consistently have more flavor than the ma po tofu.

Palena may have the best bread of any restaurant in DC that I have tasted, so far. Dino also has great bread. I have not been to Restaurant Eve, but Cmmp's description is enough to get me to finally get my arse down there.

Sorry this has taken so long to put up. But last Friday I made it to Joe's Noodle House, so I thought I would report back on my thoughts comparing Joe's and Great Wall. First off, we started with spicy sweet and sour cabbage (and my girlfriend had the wonton soup). We also had the dumpling in red hot sauce. We ordered three main dishes: bean curd Szechuan style with pork, Szechuan spicy and dry beef, and the salty and crispy shrimp. This meal is pretty comparable to a typical meal we would order at Great Wall. In particular, my two favorite dishes at great wall are the Ma Po Tofu and the Ma La Wantons. The short and sweet observations are as follows: First, Joe's has more character and it is delightful to eat there. The same can't quite be said for Great Wall, although they have made improvements. Second, Joe's has a much more extensive menu, with a much more extensive selection of "authentic" Szechuan dishes. Great Wall is great, but its authentic Szechuan menu is only about 9 dishes long. The rest of the dishes are simply not comparable. for instance, Joe's Szechuan spicy and dry beef is a completely different dish that Great Wall's Szechuan style beef. Joe's version of this dish is a dry, crispy, and thoroughly hot! dish. Great Wall's version is hot by American standards, but mostly resembles a sweet and sour or orange peel beef that has similar thin beef strips. That would be my primary advice for those of you ordering from Great Wall -- stick to the traditional ma po / ma la portion of the menu. Third, I think the levels of hotness are comparable. At least on the main "ma po" or numbing and spicy dishes. Both generally blow my mind and I love it. They give me indigestion. There may be a little difference (my sleep was more fitful following my meal at Joe's then it has ever been following Great Wall), but I don't think I could say that Joe's was significantly hotter than Great Wall on the authentic Szechuan dishes. Finally, Joe's has greater depth of flavor and texture. I think there was much, much more going on in Joe's Szechuan tofu than Great Wall's ma po tofu. There was certainly more flavor in the dumplings / wonton's at Joe's than at Great Wall. As noted above, the Szechuan spicy dry beef was not only hotter and less sugary at Joe's, but was nuanced with lots of different flavors caked onto the dry, almost jerky-like beef strips. The sweet and spicy cabbage was a nice contrast to the spicy and numbing dishes (and I think that the vinegar in the pickled cabbage takes on a much more pleasant and slightly sweet flavor when your mouth has been numbed by Szechuan peppercorns). Finally, the salty (and garlicy) shrimp were simple and fantastic. Shells on and perfectly, lightly breaded / coated with a crispy salty sauce and full of amazing garlic and sea salt flavor. So there you have it. The bottom line is that I live about 15 blocks from Great Wall, they deliver to my apartment, and I don't have a car. So I'm not going to abandon my favorite day-to-day Szechuan restaurant any time soon. And Great Wall is great. But on those days when we have access to a vehicle or maybe when friends are in town, I think a special trip to Joe's will be in order. I'm really looking forward to the beef noodle soup Szechuan style at Joe's. And I'm recommitting myself to trying the rest of the traditional menu at Great Wall, including the ma la cold noodle and the eggplant in szechuan garlic sauce. I can, however, vouch for the double cooked pork at Great Wall. Wonderful and fatty, but you can't order it every time. I'm intrigued by Hong Kong Palace after reading the rest of these posts. Now I have another place to try!

I absolutely love Great Wall. I was turned on to it (i.e., made aware that it existed) by a friend who has spent several years in China and mentioned in passing that Great Wall was the most authentic Szechuan food in the DC area. The question I want to ask, and I'm not sure whether to post it here or on the Joe's Noodle House board, is whether JNH is better than Great Wall. I'm not sure if I mean "more authentic" better or just plain old tastes better, but I have yet to find a comparison of the two, and I think I have scanned both JNH and Great Wall threads. Well, tonight I'm taking my first trip to JNH, and hopefully I will be able to report back. But I have a feeling some of you have been to both, so I'd like to get your reactions and comparison of the new Joe's (after loosing their chef to Peking Cheers) and the new Great Wall (after losing their bulletproof glass).

I'm Eric and I've checked out the dr.com board occasionally for a while, but recently I have started reading it more regularly. I don't work in the food industry. Like many DC residents, I work for the government. I've been in the District for about 6 years. I used to live in Shaw, where my primary food options were Ben's Chili Bowl and Manny and Oldga's. I've been pleasantly surprised and excited by the increasing number of food options in the District. I've also lived in Dupont area. I presently live in Columbia Heights. Coming from the Great Plains, I used to be a food heathen, knowing very little about food. I still know very little, but I have a good time. I'm mostly self-taught, with the help of a few of staple cookbooks, the Internet, the rise of food-oriented television, and some helpful friends. I originally indulged my love of food by going out to eat, but more recently have focused on improving my amateur cooking skills at home. I really like meat and wish there was a little more northern European fare in the District. I would have attended either or both of the previously mentioned events. My favorite restaurant in DC is Komi. I also really liked Cityzen, but can't afford to go that often. I think that I am most satisfied with "country style" restaurants....Dino, La Chaumiere, Blue Duck, Vidalia, etc. The one place I've never been, but feel that I should go soon is Palena. There are a few more like Minbar, Hook, and Blacksalt that are on my must try soon list. I love having so many options. If I could pose a question to the board....what is the single most essential / most used / most loved / most important piece of kitchen equipment that you have in your home?

I've always been satisfied with Jyoti. Service is slow and unattentive most of the time, but you simply can't go wrong their for the price. And they deliver. Their paneer mater is very good.

We ate here a month or two back. Like one of the previous posters, we had a larger party (8) and we were seated right away. We received excellent service. We were seated upstairs with several larger parties, so I can't speak to the crowding downstairs. Our food was also fantastic (I had the cassoulet). La Chaumiere is frequently referred to as a hidden gem, although I feel like everyone knows about it. It was my first time there, and I will most certainly be back. It was the best relaxed French meal I've had in the City.