saf

We had Christmas eve dinner here again. 6 of us, and again, just so good. This year, Christmas eve was ala carte menu. I should have written down what folks had, but it was all raved about, and the antelope made me happy again. And love that chestnut puree! Service was amazing, even when 3 were late because one of them cannot park, and she was driving. They were far more patient with us than they needed to be. 

And a big shout out to the amazing sommelier!

Had dinner here on Monday - 4 of us. The Christmas guest had seen an Uyghur place while driving with another friend in VA, and wondered about it. So we took her. A variety of apps including little meat and veg pies and spring rolls. Tasty. We then all had various varieties of noodles, and were pleased with them - the noodles more than the toppings, although the boy REALLY loved the shrimp on his.

Tried the chocolate baklava. Glad we did. Wouldn't do it again. Dolan cake - that we would all do again.

They did not seem to have any booze, so we drank chay, a spiced tea, and that was good.

We were there yesterday afternoon with a HUGE Sargent fan (one of our Christmas guests). She was in heaven. We, the more casual Sargent fans, also enjoyed it greatly.

Where have you been Sarah? Well, cooking, but also dealing with so much crazy! 

So let's just hop back in with Christmas dinner! We had pork tenderloin marinated in soy sauce, bourbon, and brown sugar, with a mustard and egg cream sauce, mini twice baked potatoes, broccoli/cauliflower salad, moroccan carrots, and parker hose rolls.

Apps were cheese, pate, sausage, gougeres, spiced nuts, and other small snacky things.

Dessert was a yule log, eggnog ice cream, candy cane ice cream. Second dessert was cookies and eggnog.

10 people, and so much fun!

Tonight was black bean and smoked sausage soup from the freezer, with corn muffins, and of course, salad. Later there will be leftover Christmas cookies and ice cream for dessert. (One of our Christmas guests is still here - so much fun to have her here. But it means I have to up my dinner game a bit!)

On 11/17/2022 at 7:55 AM, reedm said:

I have a meater Plus -- it works great, and is meant to be left in the food while cooking. (I use it for beef, chicken, etc.) It connects directly to the app on your cell phone.

Thermopens serve a different purpose, and work extremely well. 

Thermoworks makes one like that - bought it for the boy for Christmas a few years ago, and he has been very pleased with it. It's called "Smoke." Also bought him the thing to connect it to the phone app.

So. Not so many fancy meals yet - lots of music that kept us distracted until late.

We have reservations for Bayona later tonight though, after some more music, and are planning to hit the bar at Herbsaint late afternoon or early evening tomorrow before heading to more music. Had lunch at Dooky Chase yesterday. First time, and it was good. Although I note that if you put evil coconut into your bread pudding, it should come with a warning.  Oh and we had a nice brunch at ruby slipper cafe. And snacks at Coops. And of course a few beignet stops.

There’s never enough time. 

8 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

I tried A Litteri and found it wanting.  Should I even both with Mangialardo's?  I guess if I was gonna be down there, I might as well try it.

I would try it - I like them both, but the sandwiches are not the same.

On 10/23/2022 at 1:44 PM, frogprince said:

What are y’all looking at food wise?

Well, that's the problem. So many options, so little time. He will eat anything at all. I don't do seafood. (or cilantro) He LOVES seafood. I do not love Japanese food. When we travel, we always aim for things that are hard to get here, or simply excellent examples of what they are. We also look for a mix in price and formality - can't afford upscale every meal. Also, we enjoy dives!

The best meal I think I have ever had was a birthday dinner several years back at Topolobampo in Chicago. The boy was shocked at how good it was. He occasionally tells me that he thought it would be good, but didn't realize it would be the best ever. I was just overjoyed at how good it was. (Not cheap though - but soooo good.) 

And of course, many beignets will be consumed.

38 minutes ago, Katya4me said:

tonight's Roti John sandwiches. 

Oooh, I have never heard of that. It sounds delicious. Will have to try that!

Tim Carman certainly was not thrilled with it.

Review

I have been planning to get back to New Orleans for far too long now. Plane tickets purchased. Lodging booked. And now, time to plan food. And music. And think about tourist spots to hit.

Herbsaint, because the  boy will NOT miss it when in New Orleans. We have had a recommendation for Atchafalaya - will have to try it. So many other possibilities!

So looking forward to this. We haven't been anywhere except for visiting parents and one weekend at the beach since this all began.

On 10/7/2022 at 5:14 PM, Pool Boy said:

So......I still have yet to get here.In the past, every time I tried to get a reservation, it seemed like any Fri/Sat/Sun option was booked 2 or more months out, so I gave up.

It seems a little easier now - is it still worth going?

I haven't eaten a meal here in a long time. But a friend and I have taken to stopping at the bar on our way home/out after hairdresser day. A drink and gougeres at the bar is always lovely. Still loud, and the bar can get full. 

Tonight - a new recipe for cauliflower soup. It had harissa tomatoes. It was quite good. Also salad!

And Sunday was grill day. There was still corn at the farm market. And he had squash. Also salad. I made cornbread, but it did not come out well. I think I over-mixed it. And RIBS! He's been experimenting with ribs. I love ribs. They came out so well. 

Later, ice cream and brownies.

On 10/5/2022 at 9:27 PM, Ericandblueboy said:

1.  Hitching Post.  Orly?  Fried chicken huh?

I rather love Hitching Post.

8 hours ago, KeithA said:

I went to the Bacchus yesterday for lunch for the first time in probably a decade or more.

Fetteh Bel Djaj - pulled boneless roast chicken breast on top of fried lightly spiced pieces of pita and covered with garlic yogurt. This didn't look so pretty but was very tasty. I would get it again for sure.

 

Huh, I didn't realize that they were the same place that I used to go down by Dupont! And that dish is one of my favorites!

Well, oven went on for a little while tonight. Salad, followed by lemon pasta with roasted artichoke hearts. And it was tasty.

10 hours ago, dcandohio said:

This is the time of year when heating up the kitchen seems unthinkable. 

Same here last night. So, salads, cheese plate, pate, grapes. Good baguette.

Dinner here Saturday - Sambusa were good, service was a little flaky, as they were having technology issues. The Doro Wot recipe seems to have changed. So, not quite as perfect, but still good.

On 7/11/2022 at 10:05 PM, petercarrjones said:

So many great memories here. The last few times I went, things didn't seem the same. Not sure if it was me or them. Maybe I just missed beloved staff who'd moved on to new adventures.

It was them - and yes, I miss so many folks from there.

Pizza night! Peach pizza. Modified the recipe a little - no prosciutto, peach balsamic rather than balsamic reduction. Also, salad. Then ice cream. All good!

On 7/5/2022 at 11:39 AM, Bart said:

This has to be @saf, right?!?!?!

When I saw "Petworth" and a Kinship fan, my first thought was @saf !!!

That was indeed me. (Had my husband been online, he would have said that before I did.)

New quesadilla recipe tonight. Yes, a recipe for quesadillas! Black bean and mushroom quesadillas with avocado crema. (AFI has a member deal - $1 for a year of the LA Times. And they have a GOOD food section!) 

They were really good.

Also salad. Ice cream later.

So where did you go?

On 7/3/2022 at 2:50 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

Zaytinya is a fusion place. Eat there with the same expectation that you might have with an Asian fusion restaurant that serves Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai from the same kitchen. In other words, expect a few good dishes, probably no great dishes, and an occasional dud.

I have found the food consistently good, but yes, it is fusion. 

On 6/9/2022 at 9:13 AM, dcs said:

We sat at the bar there a couple of weeks ago.  Paper menus are back.  All seemed like it was in the before times.

So we went, and it was good, and service was good, and drinks were good, and yay!