Ericandblueboy

TC Casey's Take On Finale and Carla: http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2009/02/26/c...about-top-chef/ P.S. I can't get the link to work. I copied the above from CH.

I suspect they will do more seafood similar in style to Cantonese cooking but with a Vietnamese twist. At that price range, they have to serve lobster, crab, fish, jumbo prawns, clams, etc. I'm interested in what menu they end up proposing.

So the youtiao at Great Wall is better? I usually end up getting pig knuckles at Great Wall. They're really delicious. So there's no reason whatsoever for me to ever go to Oriental Gourmet given that I live out by Tysons and I can get to Great Wall/Peking Village fairly quickly.

Now I'm curious as to the identities of Ray's hit squad.

That's what I thought. Stefan should've kicked Hosea's ass at that point. And then Hosea had the gall to say he grabbed them first.

Hosea got very lucky. Richard Blaise was the only sous chef who seemed genuinely interested in winning and he's by far the most talented among the 3. Hosea also got to pick his protein for the hors d'oeuvres. Did Stefan set aside some foie gras which Hosea subsequently took away?

Carla fails on a consistent basis. She can't get things done on time. She can't overcome obstacles. I can't imagine hiring her and having to rely on her to do anything. Over the course of the competition, she's had some highs but overall, not top chef material. Hosea is consistent but I really have no interest in eating his food though. Stefan - did he overlook Hosea again?! Why do that dessert if it isn't anything special? I enjoy watching Top Chef in general. My only question is, how well would they do if they open a restaurant in DC? Would the best contestant in the history of the show be in the top 20 in DC? I'm pretty sure no one from this season would but I have alot of respect for Richard Blaise and Hung.

The Imperial Autumn Roll is just cha gio wrapped with some rice made latticework. The cha gio itself is delicious, as good as any I've had. The rice thread adds more crunch but not more flavor. I'd just as soon order the cha gio on my next trip. Did anyone see scallops in the seafood salad? I saw the shrimp and calamari but didn't see any scallops. The shrimp and fish were the highlights - very similar to Chinese/Cantonese in style and very well executed. The fish was served with a ginger fish sauce, which made it uniquely Vietnamese. The fish was $40 but it easily served 7 of us (they have different sized fish). I don't think Daniel's pictures did justice to the food (taken from a Blackberry I believe). I believe there will be better pictures that's more representative of moo moo frolicking in the meadow, young prawns mating, rockfish jumping out of the frying pan, etc.

You must go to Cochon.

The way Rock described the oil as fresh made me wonder if the scallion pancake was deep-fried. In addition to Peter Chang, I've had other deep fried scallion pancakes - they're just being lazy. No one's supposed to deep fry pot stickers either but some places do it.

Did they pan fry or deep fry the scallion pancake?

Other than the food court, there aren't really any cheaper and better restaurants in that mall. Actually, Neisha Thai is cheaper and better but it's only accessible from outside the mall.

My wife wasn't hungry on Friday night and all she wanted were chips and dip so we went to La Sandia. The guacamole was mixed at tableside but it wasn't made at tableside. In any case, it was pretty bland, (they don't use garlic or salt). The chips weren't salted either. The chicken tamale was a little hard and not piping hot (likely microwaved). The duck mole enchiladas were tasty to me. I'm not a fan of thick bitter mole and this mole did not taste like chocolate, more like the brown sauces typically found at Tex-Mex joints. My wife did order the tortilla soup which tasted like a bowl of Swanson's broth with a few pieces of shredded chips and chicken thrown in as an afterthought. I know On the Border isn't authentic and doesn't claim to be but at least they serve tasty food, good portions, and at decent prices.

Joe, where's your review? I even looked on CH. A simple yay or nay would suffice.

Given that the online menu has prices, I was surprised to see they had switched to prix fixe format of $55 for 3 courses. $55 for 3 courses, what a bargain! Based on what my wife ordered, she basically got the dessert free. Anyhoo, let's get back in sequence. My wife wore blue jeans (no holes) and a white parka and she was easily the most underdressed person in the restaurant. The white parka wouldn't have been very noticeable but for the fact we had the lovely window table which conveyed the sense that our table must be colder and therefore she must keep the jacket on throughout dinner. As for the dinner itself, we added the Rouge Vif D`Temps Soup as a fourth course for $11 (which happens to be the price on their online menu). They kindly split our soup into two bowls so we can share. It is excellent as others have stated. We couldn't taste the foie gras in there though. For the next course, I had to try the sea urchin pasta. The pasta is served with shredded dry seaweed. I'm assuming the concept is similar to uni (urchin, seaweed, pasta instead of rice). To me the seaweed was overpowering the flavor of the urchin pasta. The pasta itself didn't taste sufficiently of sea urchin - just enough to give my wife the yucky face but not enough to satisfy my urge to eat raw urchin. Caveat: I've never had sea urchin pasta before so what the hell do I know about what it ought to taste like. My wife had a slendid lobster carpaccio. She normally doesn't eat cold seafood, whether raw or cooked but apparently she breaks that rule when the seafood is lobster and the restaurant is Corduroy (she also broke that rule at Komi). My one and only bite was full of flavor and the lobster meltingly soft. Our entrees were venison loin and seared whole dorade served over cold pressed olives (special of the evening). My wife loved the venison and I loved the dorade, which was seared with some garlic. The fish was beautifully cooked and the flavor was magnificent. There is a little work involved eating a whole fish but very much worth the effort. We were very impressed with the restaurant.

I really enjoyed the Faccia Luna at Glover Park. I thought the pizza there was better than at Clarendon. We also tried the place that replaced the Faccia Luna and didn't think the pizza was as good. This all happened years ago, so am I nuts or does anyone else feel the same way?

I'll be wearing a jacket and kkakis. I just need to be able to answer my wife's inevitable question. I'll tell her to wear dark jeans. Women tend get more slack at restaurants.

What is the dress code here? I know my wife's going to ask if she can wear jeans.

I want to come watch the sideshows.

Wagner is basically a nazi but people still listen to the ring cycle.

I'm flexible - anywhere between 11:30 to 12:30 is fine with me.

If Present is open for lunch, I suggest we go to Present on Fat Tuesday.

Is this place open for lunch?

I think I'm good every day next week (prefer Monday thru Wed tho). I'd go try Miu Kee, Peking Village, Jasmine Garden, Pho Cyclo, Four Sisters, A&J, Present, any Korean joint, Luzmilla's, Caraquena, Llajtaymanta, or other suggestions.

How does that break down? How much is the beer, cocktail, and rolls?