mojoman

I've been a blood sucking leach on this board for quite some time so I'm giving back a little today with my multple posts---boring day at work too. We were in Vegas about 6 weeks ago. My recollections: Bouchon (the bakery stand...not the full on resto): Excellent pastries, good coffee, very reasonably priced RM Seafood: I had wanted to try the upstairs. However that had closed a couple of days before we arrived (dang recession). The downstairs, quite frankly, was no better than a McCormick and Schmick L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon: We had the menu decouverte. We also got very lucky because Joel Robuchon was acutally in the house. I chatted with him a little bit (since I could recognize him from his Iron Chef appearances). He seemed nice but I could also see how he could be a real hard ass. The food was superb and it was great fun. The seating area surrounds the kitchen so you get to see all the action. The regular exec chef, Steve Benjamin also came out and interacted with us. A great night! We had some other meals but I don't remember them so well...it was a 2 or 3 night trip. ETA: I forgot we had lunch at Mesa Grill. The food was good but not as great as that fat ass Karine Bakoum would have you think when she judges his food. We decided to make a binary decision about buying one of his cookbooks based on the deliciousness of our meal. We did not buy one.

I've eaten at the 14th Street and Shirlington locations multiple times and both are consistent with regard to the slow service. The waitstaff are very pleasant...just don't be in a hurry. The food is mediocre at best. I've eaten from the breakfast and lunch menus and nothing is executed well and frankly, I don't much like eating there any more. I think the draw is the vibe of the place and the fact that it's kinda European in feel...you can sit for as long as you like...no one is pushing you out.

I work with a Jamaican. He recommended the gizzada. I found it to be a hard, tough pastry shell filled with sweet, dense coconut. Meh. My chicken curry was OK but nothing to get excited about.

La Ferme is a 10 minute walk from our house and we've been a couple of times. Old school French at Chevy Chase prices. Older clientele. OK for taking your grandma out for her birthday or a Mothers Day but one can do far better for the buck.

We've had the gelato there, a few sandwiches, and the crabcakes. There is not a wide variety of gelato flavors and it is most definitely not made daily. It is served on the cold side. Overall, not recommended compared to the new place near Redwood (I forget the name). The crabcakes are not recommended.

Yet another one we have tried a couple of times. The setting is very decent with both indoor and outdoor seating areas. The menu focuses on pizza, some Italian dishes, and some sandwiches. Overall the food quality is hit or miss and I recommend the pizza over the rest of the food. That being said, the pizza at Arucola cannot carry the jock of both Comet and 2 Amys that are reasonably close.

We moved into this neighborhood and have been checking out the local joints. Senor Pepper is a Mexican place on the East side of CT. The decor is standard Americanized Mexican as is the menu. The margarita was good, if not distinguished and, IIRC, they had a wide selection of tequilas if that floats your boat. I had the beef tacos, the lady the fajitas. I was surprised that the tacos were made of shredded beef, not ground. They had a nice flavor and were pleasantly greasy. The fajitas were also decent although the pico de gallo was awefully bland.

My fiance and I moved to CCMD, just north and east of the circle. We have been trying the close-in restaurants. Parthenon is a Greek restaurant on the west side of CT. We've been a couple of times. I'm not very observant about decor but it looks dated to me. The clientele is mainly over 60 years old. With regard to the food, with the exception of the flaming saganaki, we find it very mediocre. We've had the full course menu and a la carte. The cold appetizers are passable with the best dishes being a stewed eggplant. The pastitio and moussaka were bland, dry, and terrible. I had a chicken pasta dish that tasted much like Stouffers. It has a full bar (part of the establishment is a cocktail lounge) and some interesting Greek wines if that's how you roll.

Thanks Sthitch and squiddc for your quick answers. I wish CousCous were open later since the other ones are out of the price range now (we just got back from Vegas). So, we'll go home to my kitchen...I'm thinking about picking up the fixings for some burgers and fries...should be a quick, late dinner.

We're going to a free showing of the Lion Emperor at the Japan Information and Cultural Center 1155 21st Street, NW Since my knowledge of the geography of the District is limited to the Penn Quarter and Georgetown areas and which metro stop to get out, can anyone recommend a decent (hopefully inexpensive) restaurant near this place? Thanks.

Being an avid fan of these cooking shows (we had to try Farrah Olivia after Chef Morou's appearance on NIC), does anyone know (besides having an event catered) how we could try Carla's food?

Super stupid question. I've had the opportunity to try ashed cheese on cheese carts but always refrained. Question #1: For cheeses with an ash layer, do you eat the ash? Question #2: If yes, is the ash gritty? TIA

Thanks Daniel. I'll check it out.

Hello fellow Rockwellians, I haven't posted in awhile. Given the price of fuel and the fact that my fiance and I are saving up for a place together, I haven't been doing much eating out and what we've been doing hasn't been remarkable. I saw "A Cooks Tour" where he was in Manhattan (TIVO'ed) and he ate smoked sturgeon and Nova lox and eggs at Barney Greengrass. Is smoked sturgeon available in our area, especially MoCo? Can anyone suggest an alternative? Smoked whitefish? TIA

Campari tomatoes don't compare to a good, local summer tomato but are the only consistent ones when it's not tomato weather.

I cooked dinner. "French wonton" (brie and raspberry in wonton wrappers, deep fried). Sour cream "three ways" (in a smoked salmon/cucumber/shallot "salad," with brown sugar on a sauteed apple slice, with horseradish) served with reibekuchen Shrimp/asparagus/orange/arugula salad with tangerine gastrique Boeuf Bourguinion with garlic potato puree Vanilla panna cotta with orange supremes and an ginger-orange reduction Cakelove cupcakes

It was interesting to read about this. I was always curious how fat some of these serious eaters are.

A drink and aranchini at PS7. Then Zengo. We really like Zengo at the price point.

My fiance is returning home tonight after a week on the Left Coast. I'm making some late night snacks. Open faced rib-eye sandwiches (toasted ficelle, Boursin, steak, lightly pickled onions) "Komi" dates Ratatouille/feta on Ak-Mak crackers Brie/raspberry preserve won tons Blood orange confit w/ slivered almonds and whipped cream

does it stink up your house when you make it?

No one has said durian yet?

Cinnamonny, pumpkin spice baked goods. Bread. Chocolatey things.

I have been to about 4-5 of their classes and I really enjoy them. The demos are great; I always learn something that improves my skills and you get to eat a nice (albeit small) meal afterwards. Francois Dionot kicks ass. He's funny, opinionated, and knowledgable. I've taken one participation class, something like their intermediate cooking skills class. I wasn't thrilled but it was through no fault of LAC. The problem, as I saw it, was that we self-identified as "intermediate." Some of the class was really at the beginner stage. This affected me because how it works is that we broke into groups and each student cooked one dish. None of the dishes were difficult but some of the results were less than delicious. I saw sauces that were not properly reduced, proteins over and undercooked, etc. That being said, I think my problem was course selection. I self-identify as an intermediate to advanced home cook and I am strongest in those general cooking skills that they taught...saute, some sauce making, etc. The next demo class I will take will be something at which I have very little skill (candy making, sushi, certain ethnic).

I'm Japanese (American) so I can say (write) this. Lots of Japanese food stinks. Also, I have a crappy apartment "exhaust" that just barely moves the air over the stove and recirculates it. I had a cryovacced hamachi from Catalina so I thought I'd do it as sashimi. I bought all the fixings (real wasabi (dehydrated)), daikon, etc. I must say I was somewhat disappointed with the hamachi. Catalina is supposed to sell very good "sushi-grade" stuff but this was a little fishy smelling. I ate some anyway but with a sense of trepidation. Nothing happened. I marinated the rest of the fish in my teriyaki and cooked it in my grillpan. Stinkay. I added to the miasma when I made daikon oroshi (grated daikon) which, quite honestly, smells like a SBD. I also cooked up some miso soup and made sushi rice. Now we add rice vinegar and miso the the greenish cloud in my apartment. At some point, after most of this was made, I had to go out. When I came back, I was blown away by the smell. Being that I can get Japanese food as good as this in a resturant, I am loathe to cook it again without being able to open all the windows for a good length of time. Are there any stinky foods that you will not or avoid cooking?

We love, love, love Komi too. And we have always had great service there so I totally believe that they handled these a$$holes well. Regarding the incident you witnessed, FWIW, I don't think trying to raise the spirits of the servers following some jerkwad customer behavior is your job. I only think you should communicate with your server about your experience with them.