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Ericandblueboy

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Everything posted by Ericandblueboy

  1. Ericandblueboy
    The decision isn't up to you or me. The decision is up to the restaurant owners, and they usually decide in favor of who's patronizing their restaurants. Restaurants serve "food for people" that can afford the food. Louis Vuitton couldn't care less how many humans window shop their stores, they only care about those who actually make purchases. How many people will refuse to dine at a restaurant because they can't sit on a dog-free patio vs. dog-owners who won't eat unless their dogs are allowed to sit nearby?
  2. Ericandblueboy
    I'm using utensils used by other people at a restaurant and I'm not grossed out. Last time I checked, I can't get herpes from my dog but I can get it from another human. I would kiss my dog but I wouldn't kiss many people who live in DC. It goes the other way too. My dog is my dog, don't come pester me about what kind it is and whether you can pet it. It certainly isn't going to lick anyone it doesn't know. Your small child probably has serious issues - get a shrink. Hint, it probably has something to do with the parenting skills. I'm not sure how keeping my dogs at home is doing them a favor. They need exercise and socialization - apparently something these humans don't understand.
  3. Ericandblueboy
    I resisted reading this thread because I haven't seen the New Orleans episode - vacationing has its downside. I will watch the show when I get home though. It's pretty clear to me the nom nom folks can't really cook but are otherwise very resourceful. This isn't a show about cooking, but about starting a food business with no worries about repeat customer. If nom nom wins, people will confuse those two concepts and flock to their truck after the show.
  4. Ericandblueboy
    Went to the Anchor Bar last night as we're spending the week in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. At the border crossing, we said we're only going to Buffalo for dinner and the guard replied "you've discovered the secret!" We did the wings, beef on a weck, some stuffed shells and a basket of fried veggies. The wings were very crispy - which is the style I like. They're not huge juicy wings that some restaurants serve. The beef on a weck was flavorful without soggying up the buns - again, something I enjoyed in a sandwich. The Chicago style Italian beef is dipped which makes the buns soggy, the whole thing messy, and generally unappetizing to see. Nothing else on the menu really looked great to someone who's watching his cholesterol count. We barely ate the fried veggies and my wife and her mom ate about half the shells. A pint of Gennesee cream ale is only $3, and Guinness for only $5. In contrast, the Romano Macaroni Grill in the Fallsview Hilton charges $8.5 each for Tetley's and Kronenbourg. If it wasn't 30+ minutes of driving each way, I'd eat in Buffalo the remainder of the week. Double Deck tours do a quick tour of major attractions in Niagara Falls - journey behind the falls, aerocar, and maid of the mist for about $60 per person. Clifton Hill is for kids. The safari and the bird kingdom are only for avid animal fans with too much time to spend in Niagara Falls. Fallsview casino doesn't offer free drinks.
  5. Ericandblueboy
    Star & Shamrock $40 for $20 from Living Social
  6. Ericandblueboy
    More like the Apprentice than Top Chef
  7. Ericandblueboy
    After you lose the really annoying contestant (the ragin' cajun), the show turned out to be pretty entertaining. The nom nom team seems head and shoulders about their competitors when it comes to marketing, location scouting, and improvising. The Frenchies continue to pull frogs legs and escargots out of their asses. The panini team keeps relying on Priceline's name your own price strategy - which I believe is patented. The burger team kinda just sucks.
  8. Ericandblueboy
    There are a few very talented contestants but many duds as well, and it seems like the show can't get rid of them fast enough. Double elimination on the last episode and another double elimination on the next episode. Instead of just Gordo being mean, we now have his tag-team partner Joe Bastianch. It's mildly entertaining.
  9. Ericandblueboy
    Many times I've gone to G'town on weekends and only managed to stare at the fabulous kitchen/bath fixtures through glass windows in Cady's Alley. Why aren't stores like Anne Sacks and Waterworks open on weekends? Is it because the working stiff can't afford their products? Anyway, I took yesterday afternoon off so we can check out tubs, sinks, faucets, tiles, etc. that aren't available at your local Home Depot. Afterwards, we had a very early diner at Kafe Leopold. I do like the space at Kafe Leopold - very modern and clean. We started with the olivenpissaladiere (olive, onion & manchego cheese tart), fish platter (cubed salmon, strips of smoked salmon, & smoked trout), and 3 tea sandwiches consisting of chicken salad, tomato basil & mozz., and gruyere with truffle butter. My entree was the branzino fillet and my wife had the steak salad. Everything was good but nothing was particularly exciting. I would definitely get the olive/onion tart again and the tomato basil & mozz tea sandwich. I prefer my branzino with head, tail & skin. The fillets, while nicely cooked, weren't very moist. The smoked fishes weren't very flavorful (had to use creme fraiche to kick it up a notch). I didn't try the steak but the dogs devoured the leftovers heartily. The service definitely wasn't an issue.
  10. Ericandblueboy
    No idea since I am married.
  11. Ericandblueboy
    Wapo chat:
  12. Ericandblueboy
    Being vague doesn't help in this situation at all. Not every question deserves an answer so you might as well be specific if you really want opinions that would make sense. Not only does the question matter, the way you phrased it also matters.
  13. Ericandblueboy
    Todd, if you're reading this, I think your response is silly. If a restaurant is only good for what you recommended, then it ain't much of a restaurant (unless you can recommend everything on their menu).
  14. Ericandblueboy
    That would depend on the question. A question only a chef can answer, would that have something to do with his recipe?
  15. Ericandblueboy
    I've never sent a note to any restaurant. What do you hope to receive when you send these notes? (I grew up in another country and there are many things native-born Americans do that I would never think about doing). Nevertheless, I can't think of any circumstance that I would respond to a thank you note.
  16. Ericandblueboy
    Did they expand their menu recently (seems to have more seafood)? I don't recall seeing fried smelt before and I must have them. Unfortunately these could use more frying because when you're eating fish with bones and all, you want the bones to be crunchy and not get caught in your throat. The other miss were the zucchini fritters, which tasted like super minty veggie pancakes. But the other dishes were really good, hummus with meat (thick and creamy, just the way I like them), falafel, shish taouk (so tender and flavorful), and chicken shwarma (4 mini sandwiches seasoned fantastically). I also ordered the anchovies with roasted red peppers but it never came out (oh well, we had plenty of food already). Will have to go back and try the branzino.
  17. Ericandblueboy
    This over $1? And the wait person said go ahead, just leave, don't pay for the beers and I'll explain to management why there's a walk-out because I'm grossly incompetent and can't take their orders within 30 minutes?
  18. Ericandblueboy
    Have any of you ninjas ever been to Ninja Castle?
  19. Ericandblueboy
    I kid my wife about getting the freshest frozen products but it's true. If you buy them and cook them right away at home, you're less likely to have busted baos. Also be sure to lube your steamer (if you're using a metal steamer) or use napa cabbage leaves. Also, pick them up with spoons so you don't lose the juice!
  20. Ericandblueboy
    Went there for lunch today. In my prior experiences, Natta is no better than its Tysons/Vienna Thai neighbors (Tara, Busara, Pilin, Neisha, etc.) and it still isn't. Two simple dishes ($6.99 each lunch portions) Tofu w/ Chili & Basil and Spicy Garden (mixed vegetable stir-fried with chili and basil) came on big plates but with small portions, neither had the full fragrance of basil and tasted as sweet as they were spicy. How small are the portions? I finished both plates easily with half a bowl of rice.
  21. Ericandblueboy
    Took me alot of googling but I'm pretty sure beef tendons have no fat and no cholesterol so spicy sichuan beef tendon was one of our starters last night (enough ma la to make me sweat last night as I finished the leftover with some iced cold beers). The other was Chengdu Zhong's Spring dumpling - these took a little longer to cook as they were made fresh - same mixture of sauce as the spicy wontons, just as tasty, just a little different in shape. We tried the garlic flavor fried flounder in place of cumin fish. These light and crispy flounder fillets were topped with bits of fried garlic (same consistency as the garlic on top of garlic bagels). The garlic simply garnished the dish, not really an integral part of the dish as the name would have suggested. We still prefer the cumin fish. We also ordered fried chicken with dried chili peppers and some sautéed Chinese watercress. The chicken dish can best be described as cumin chicken, as it's seasoned and accompanied by the same mix of peppers and onions as the cumin fish.
  22. Ericandblueboy
    I'm already in the vortex of bad traffic so it can't get any worse. Before Tysons, I lived in G'town, which has even worse traffic. I have to brave the traffic out of necessity but honestly, it's not so bad on weekends. My point is to encourage people to go to those places they really want to try out and not let traffic stop them. OTOH, if I lived in MD, I'm not sure there are really many restaurants in VA worth driving to - better Vietnamese and Korean?
  23. Ericandblueboy
    This vs. This I just don't recall eating chicken swimming in sauce at home.
  24. Ericandblueboy
    The only reaons I don't go to MD more is the lack of great restaurants but they sure have some good ethnic joints. Living around Tysons, it's a 20 minute drive for decent food no matter which direction I go (DC, MD, or other points in VA). 495 from Tysons to Bethesda and Rockville is generally fine on weekends. I've even crossed the Wilson bridge to eat at National Harbor.
  25. Ericandblueboy
    Kelly really surprised me with her ingenuity. Having never done kung pao before, she used the ingredients listed in a store bought kung pao sauce to create her own kung pao sauce. I didn't know they bottle kung pao sauce (since real kung pao is dry).
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