sheldman

I recently had very good ramen for lunch at Menchanko-Tei 55, 43 W. 55th St. (if you go, it's the street-level door to the right, not the upstairs restaurant to the left). Not swanky, just really good. I had the "black ramen," of which the secret ingredient (if I am understanding correctly) is charred garlic oil. Mmmmm.

At the risk of demonstrating that I am not getting some risque joke - comeback sauce is a Mississippi thing, basically a mixture of mayo and chili sauce and whatnot.

Richard Thompson's "Cul de Sac" is the greatest daily comic strip of our time. (And he lives in our area, and is a nice guy.) I just had to post this link to today's strip, because it is funny and because "P.J. Piehole's" is the greatest name ever, for a faux-rustic-decor chain restaurant.

Yesterday (ordering from Eddie's for the first time in a good while) was down, down, down. Actively bad, like "squeaky undercooked eggplant, old and undercooked broccoli, gloppy tasteless sauces" bad.

At the risk of repeating myself (see above) - a great place. Rather than talking mostly about the food, which was absolutely delicious as ever, I want to praise the vibe - especially since in some quarters online you tend to see people grousing about the vibe they perceive in Citronelle's main dining room. I've never had the slightest problem in the main dining room, but my point here today is that the lounge has always been incredibly welcoming. Tonight I was there in my usual obviously-not-important look, with my partner and our tween son for an early dinner celebrating his birthday. Let's just admit that the three of us were definitely not the cool crowd. The staff at all levels were funny, helpful, warm and gracious. It is an excellent spot for feeling like you are part of DC, having fun and eating good food while observing the Attorney General or whoever the big dog of the evening may be. And the food is so excellent that you don't need me to repeat that part.

Most of you are probably familiar with DC Central Kitchen's valuable, innovative and successful Culinary Job Training Program (link). The program trains unemployed people, including previously incarcerated and homeless people, for jobs in the field. I am asking that you consider making a donation through Kickstarter to the production costs for a documentary that is currently being made about that program. The Kickstarter page is here, and you can see information, a trailer, tax-deductibility information, etc. I believe that if this documentary gets made, it will help DCCK and will also probably inspire other similar efforts elsewhere. I disclose (and also name drop) that one of the directors of the film is a friend of mine, and a friend of many people in DC, Brendan Canty (also well known as a musician and all-around great guy). I am not affiliated with the film in any sense other than that, and other than having kicked in some money through this fundraising effort. I do know that Brendan and his colleague do great film-making work. The Kickstarter deadline is about 48 hours away at this point, and the campaign needs a little boost in order to get to the target point. Please think about it and help out if you can. Thank you.

The hospital at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (a really good medical school and hospital, by the way) offers patients some dishes created by Frank Stitt (James Beard winner etc.). It can be done. Speedy recovery, Mr. Cooper!

Watch out for shiso! A few years ago I had one little plant (one of the green varieties), grown in Aerogarden as part of a mixed herb kit. I put it in the dirt in the backyard. Now it has spread like kudzu all over the yard, and comes back more populous every year. Hard to believe that it is possible to have too much shiso, but every summer I do.

So happy to have this restaurant in the neighborhood that I went back again for the second time this week and it's still great. Deviled ham in a little jar, with crunchy toast, as an appetizer. Cute and tasty. In a way, it's a funny joke - who thought that deviled ham could be good? But it is. Really good scallops with a squash puree and asiany-dressed salad. My son will attest that the "french dip" sandwich, which is not beef but mushroom and white bean puree on good bread with a mushroom "jus", and costs $13 with a big and non-boring salad, is great.

Impossible. Restaurant coverage in this city is now primarily about snotty snarky "controversy" non-stories, like 0.29 for water or who owns a damn meatball place. Grrr. I am in a grumpy mood. Feel free to delete this post if appropriate.

I went to "soft opening" last night - not because I have any connection, but just because we live nearby and were eager to check it out, so we asked and were welcomed. It was great. I don't know how much more I usefully can or should say, because it's so new, and any reviews are therefore practically meaningless in the longterm. The space is nice in what I would call a "high-end rustic" way - e.g., brick walls, the bathroom sink is a galvanized washtub, etc. The staff was really nice to us. And the food was very good, again in a sort of swanky-rustic way (pickled trout and onions, egg with veg hash, etc.). Fairly priced, good to eat, mix of small and large plates, good use of mushrooms in soup and otherwise, lovely salad, great mussels with cider and whatnot, etc. Also notable for dessert, which I thought went a step beyond the expected. Sorghum ice cream with carrot cake crumbles, yum. Totally worth checking out.

I was surprised to find that lunch today wasn't crowded - even with the newly online Post review. The CEBLT (fried catfish, egg, really good bacon, l & t) poorboy really is delicious, among the best things I have eaten in a very long time. Every component is cooked perfectly, and they go well together. But I must be a pig, because my thought upon seeing it (and even after finishing it) was "This awesome sandwich would be even more awesome if it were actually the size of a proper poorboy." Compared to what I have found at various places on the Gulf coast, this is about half the size (and about the same price or more). BUT this is not a complaint, more of a wistful thinking, "What if you could get a sandwich this good, but twice as big, and it was warm and sunny outside and you could hear the ocean?" Then I remind myself it is better to be in DC than at the Florabama for many reasons, even if the sandwiches are smaller and it is cold and gray outside.

At the risk of labeling myself "not first class," I will give a plug to Virgin America coach class - perfectly nice sandwiches (which you order from a touch-screen menu, along with drinks, snacks etc.), changing from week to week it seems, for not very much money. Other aspects of the flight experience are good too - reliable wifi, nice staff, etc.

Continuing to talk to myself, for the potential benefit of anyone else who's ever going to Palm Springs, and in hopes that others will tell me things I don't know ... Cheeky's, on N. Palm Canyon is an absolutely great breakfast and lunch place - as you can see from the online menu whenever you click, it is very moderately priced but (how to say this without trendy words) very focused on the best sourcing of ingredients, in delicious homey combinations. Nice to sit outside or inside. Next door to that, apparently owned by the same people, and open at dinnertime when Cheeky's is not, is Birba, mostly salads and pizzas, very good. All outdoor seating, but that works in Palm Springs.

TS wasn't just saying he wouldn't review it during this time - he was telling people, in an off-the-cuff fashion without good explanation, that he thought they should stay away during this time. I think it was a very lousy thing for him to toss out there.

To my recollection, which could be wrong, there is only one grocery store on that far side of the shopping center. There is, or used to be, another grocery store on the near side. But I'm talking about the big, main, can't miss it grocery store on the far side.

I am not sure it was your intent, but it sounds like you are making unwarranted negative moral judgments about Type 2 folks, as part of your frustration with other people's unwarranted negative moral judgments about Type1 folks and their parents.

In case anyone else is interested in this Red Boat fish sauce - It is available at the grocery store in the Eden Center (the grocery store that is all the way at the far side, farthest from Wilson Blvd) - this afternoon it was sitting right at the checkout, where you would otherwise expect to find the Weekly World News or candy.

Next Step now has wheat berries, rye berries, and oats. I have only tried the wheat berries so far, but they were great and I love being able to get them at the market.

Vanilla bean paste is often at Williams Sonoma, though I can't vouch for the reasonableness of the price.

Courtney Saunders is, among other things, a hairstylist (for both men and women) who comes to your house, and is willing to travel in the DC/VA/MD area. She can do all sorts of things from simple kids' cuts to color, perm, and whatnot, to full-scale bridal party stuff. She is also very nice, hardworking and professional. I hereby disclose: * that my wife has become a friend of Courtney's, but I can also say that everyone to whom my wife has recommended Courtney has been very pleased; and * that if you saw me in person you would not think that you should take hairstyle advice from me, but I do have a very good sense of what well-styled hair looks like (I just don't care whether it's on my head). Sam Heldman

Fair enough, but on the other hand I would not have guessed from the name that "Bistro Shrimp Pasta" (which sounds like it could be a reasonable choice) has 2,700 calories, 78 grams of fat, and 900 mg sodium.

True, but the online purchasing is quick (took literally only two days to get mine) and shipping is not exorbitant.

I ordered some of this from the website, in a fit of self-indulgence. Thanks for the tip. It arrived today, which was quick. I tried a taste-comparison test against the bottle of Tiparos in my refrigerator. The Red Boat won handily, but of course I could be subconsciously rationalizing my purchase. It tasted deeper, and less intensely salty, and just better. Again, maybe I am a rube, or a poseur, or just highly suggestible. But it was really good.

At the risk of feeding an obsession (my own, or Don's) - I may (may) have found the key to success. When you are see one of the offending updates (in my case, it's that somebody I know read something in Yahoo news) in the ticker on the upper right - not in the larger "news feed" that takes up most of the left part of the screen, but in the right-side ticker - click on it. Click on it in the ticker. It pops into a slightly larger frame, at the top right of which is a clickable pointy thing that does give me the option to hide everything from this source (Yahoo). I do that, and the words then pop up that are what I want to hear: you won't get stuff from Yahoo in your news feed anymore. Now, whether it actually works out that way is an entirely different question.