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smithhemb

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Everything posted by smithhemb

  1. smithhemb
    Saturday dinner near Adams Morgan. One vegetarian, one person who is recovering from surgery and needs bland/healthy/low sodium, four foodies, and one person who probably doesn't care. Request for Adams Morgan came from a Bostonian who hasn't been to DC in quite awhile (I suspect). So he might be thinking A-M circa 1990. Or maybe that's where he found an Air BnB. My guess is that the four out-of-towners all like to drink, though maybe post-op guy is out of commission on that front. Any ideas re where to go?
  2. smithhemb
    Turns out I'm not the only one who had the problem with the plastic door handle/faceplate breaking. Bumped into this picture on the Bosch website while looking at models with built in water softeners. What it's showing is how the plastic piece that sits on top (here broken off, inverted, reoriented, and placed on the counter top) cracks and separates from the metal door. The newer models replaced the buttons on the right with a touch sensitive flat panel and I can find a model with what appears to be a metal handle (attached to the front rather than the top of the door). So I guess I can avoid that problem in the next machine. Racks look better designed too. So maybe I'll give Bosch another try. We have loved the quiet and the cleaning has been slow but acceptable. No reliability issues until now.
  3. smithhemb
    Good to know! Part of Miele's built to last for 20 years pitch was their appliances were designed so repairs could be done cheaply and easily. Much less appealing if that's not true in practice!
  4. smithhemb
    Thanks. And, yes, I do think calcification is at the root of the current problem -- machine is not draining properly and neither chemical nor mechanical means have solved that. My plumber recently mentioned that our (D.C.) water supply seems to brutalize the rubber parts of our toilets -- not just hardness but apparently some sand/grit. I think we'll address this with a whole house filter. Also I see calcification near the gasket around the dishwasher door. So this time around I'm looking at dishwasher that have water softening mechanisms. My husband hates rinse aid (can always taste and/or smell it, so I don't have that line of defense!) . ((fwiw, the plumber and I had the conversation about water quality in the context of discussing a tankless heater and he said you need extraordinarily fine filters for those -- he's pro tankless and has one at home but suggested both a whole house filter and one specifically for the tankless unit.)) All that said, the reason that this is a replace rather than repair moment is that the plastic piece that functions as a door handle and a panel surrounding the hidden controls snapped (during ordinary use). Can't tell if it was a poor material choice on their part or a bad installation (latch is a little sticky, dishwasher itself isn't as securely anchored as it might be) or what -- it's not like I use superhuman strength to open the door!
  5. smithhemb
    My Bosch dishwasher (same model as KMangos, I think) just died at the age of 5 years and 1 month. This is the third dishwasher in 20 years. Bosch replaced a KitchenAid which replaced a GE the builder installed. Each successive machine lasted less time than the previous. We're a small family, I'm the only one who runs the dishwasher, and I'm not hard on things. So I wonder what's up. I'm tempted by Miele, because of the built for 20 years philosophy. The racks seem intelligently designed and maybe the water softening feature will help. Any bad experience with maintenance/repair?
  6. smithhemb
    Supposed to open "mid-December."
  7. smithhemb
    In the bathroom they play a tape that teaches you cheesy pickup lines in French. "Excuse me, can you please give me directions -- to your heart."
  8. smithhemb
    But they seem to have gotten rid of Cool Hand Cuke (formerly a regular and our fave) as well as SOD (aka sandwich of the day).
  9. smithhemb
    Cool Hand Cuke is one of the best veggie sandwiches around! Brisket and pulled pork sandwiches are also tasty, but only offered as sandwich of the day -- not part of the standard menu. Tomato soup is good, but I still miss Cowgirl Creamery's version. Limited menu but it varies from day to day, with the full week's schedule posted on Tuesday (they're closed Monday) -- so choose your day accordingly. Takeaway dinner stuff is available starting at 3 pm. My husband really likes the chicken pot pie. And their watermelon, blackberry, feta and mint salad has become a summertime stapl for us. Best when you're not in a hurry -- though if you are, calling the order in before you go can be a big time-saver.
  10. smithhemb
    Thanks all! In the end, it looks easier to just make 'em myself. Not enough time to sample. Although I might just bet on the Tiffany MacIsaac Pumpkin Chai!
  11. smithhemb
    Thanksgiving dinner for 20 at a friend's house. I'm tasked with providing dessert. Foreign visitors, so should include traditional pies (apple and pumpkin were both mentioned). I'm torn between baking and outsourcing. Outsourcing would win if I could find great pies. Little Red Fox's Apple is pretty good (although I'll admit I miss the warm ooze of pie juice on the crust that you get with homemade), but I haven't found a satisfactory pumpkin pie. Maybe my tastes are idiosyncratic -- the one I make has heavy cream mixed with the pumpkin purée, features cardamom, and has enough pecans on top to banish the thought of baby food. Any advice re where to find something like this -- and/or any other great Thanksgiving pies? (While picking up an anniversary cake from Tout de Sweet, I saw he was making pumpkin tarts for the holidays. Anyone sampled those?)
  12. smithhemb
    Lucky us -- we have close friends in both cities. Which means we've visited both a number of times, but didn't eat out as often as (or where) we would if we were on our own. I second Waitman's stars-have-aligned advice. While you're near the Eiffel Tower, visit the Quai Branly Museum. And don't forget to eat chocolate. If you go to Seattle, see if you can find Tay berries at Pike Place Market. Wow, were they good.
  13. smithhemb
    Thanks! Little Red Fox or 2Amys would be my picks for a foodie friend, but my friends aren't posh!! I'll forward all the rest -- I think she's planning ahead for next week. Re Range -- how recently have you been there Don? I asked because we gave up on them maybe 9 months ago after a series of progressively more underwhelming and expensive meals. They're almost literally around the corner from our house and our first couple of trips (one very soon after opening) were great, so we'd love to throw them back into the rotation if they've re hit their stride or we just got unlucky. With the loss of Dino, Palena, and Indique Heights, nice nights out in the 'hood (broadly defined) have become a thing of the past.
  14. smithhemb
    For a posh Francophile and serious foodie who prefers European cuisine. (Friend of a friend so that's all the info I have). Et Voila and Mari Vanna were all I could come up with. And Mari Vanna was a shot in the dark. Any suggestions? Geo range is Dupont to Friendship Heights, though MacArthur Blvd was seen as in range.
  15. smithhemb
    Mission Accomplished. Found everything I needed for both mole and a pibil-style turkey at the Silver Spring Bestway.
  16. smithhemb
    Banana leaves? Ideally not too far from upper NW DC...
  17. smithhemb
    Nice atmosphere, both inside and out. Excellent white pizzas (Veggie daughter thinks their arugula beats out CS's version. I believe I'll need to eat both versions a few more times before I pass judgment, LOL!). But the tomato sauce is way too sweet IMO. Both desserts we had -- lemon ricotta cake (which I expected to be a cheesecake but was more of a pound cake) and the brownie (served warm IIRC and toward the flourless chocolate cake end of the spectrum) -- were quite good. I wish they'd broaden their beverage menu a bit -- I'm not asking for Coke (I respect where they're coming from wrt sodas), but iced tea would be nice.
  18. smithhemb
    side note for anyone who doesn't drive (or just avoids the Pike): I was surprised and delighted to discover just how close CS is to the Twinbrook Metro station. Confronted with an upholstery errand this summer, I found myself crossing the blazing hot pavement of various parking lots to reach the furniture store in question. What kept me going was that, very near the beginning of the trip, I passed CS and knew there would be a great lunch waiting for me once I was done. And the trip home (to Friendship Heights in my case) seemed much quicker than our usual drive back.
  19. smithhemb
    CLOSED. Without warning or publicity AFAICT. Undated sign in the window said "effective immediately."
  20. smithhemb
    Anybody tried the beef with celery dumplings? They do deliver as far as Friendship Heights. Their dumplings (usually an order of mixed veggie and one of pork and chives for us) remain a treat, but we've struggled to find main dishes we like. Yuxiang pork with broccoli has been the only one we're inclined to re-order thus far.
  21. smithhemb
    Thanks! Better news than I anticipated.
  22. smithhemb
    Our neighborhood listserv says Indique Heights is closing temporarily on July 19th with no reopening date set (yet?). Ominously (well, to me, at least) the info came via Groupon. Any word on what's up and how likely they are to return? My husband will find it hard to imagine a world where Chettinad Chicken isn't a short walk away.
  23. smithhemb
    The Declaration of Independence (which refers first to "the thirteen united States of America" and later to "the united States of America, in General Congress, assembled") pre-dates Paine's reference (which was in The American Crisis #2, published in January of 1777). I guess it could be argued that Paine's version was a proper name and the Declaration's was merely a description. Paine's version was printed as "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and analogized to 'the kingdom of Great Britain" so arguments from capitalization are kind of iffy (and may represent the decision of the printer rather than Paine anyway.) FWIW, in Common Sense (Jan 1776, so pre-Declaration), Paine refers to "the free and independent states of America." The most recent piece I've seen suggests that "United States of America" may have been a term that originated somewhere within the Continental Army officer corps (which would be apt).
  24. smithhemb
    Thanks to you both (and Waitman)!
  25. smithhemb
    Just finished Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (came late to the party, but enjoyed both), and the most recent (in English translation, at least) Jo Nesbo --The Son (not his best, but not bad either). I typically don't read much fiction, but real life (civic activism in DC) got bleak enough that I needed the escape and went on a binge. (Not that executions and murders cheer me up or anything, LOL!) Back to non-fiction shortly -- Dear Abigail (about Abigail Adams's correspondence with her sisters), The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America, and some early-ish writings of Harold Lewis (the consultant who supervised DC's last major zoning overhaul in the late 1950s) are all vying for my attention.
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