Ericandblueboy

Why not be safe and book the chef’s omakase at Sushi Taro?  Nakazawa is even better but you probably don’t want to patronize a place in the Trump hotel.

On Wednesday, I went to Zuppardi's.  Ordered a fresh clam (they also make canned clam) pizza, half with mozz and half w/o.  I can taste the brininess of the fresh clam juice, the crust is slightly crunchy on the bottom but soft on top.  The mozz is light, so there's not much difference on both sides.  I think this is the best clam pizza.  Modern Apizza is slightly behind.

On Friday, I went to Frank Pepe in Hartford.  It's not clear if the clams are fresh or not - they tasted very chewy.  The crust is very crispy.  No cheese - no option to have cheese as far as I know.  I can't say I enjoyed it at all.  

I also went to the Mystic Aquarium (small but they have Beluga whales), Mystic Seaport Museum (recreated fishing village that's pretty interesting), walked the entire Cliff Walk in Newport (ate at White Horse Tavern - food's so so), and visited the Wadsworth in Hartford.

Steve and I went to check out the $75 5 course tasting menu last night.  I would say the portions are quite generous and many dishes were quite salty, but overall well worth the money.

Bisque Homard - classic bisque of Atlantic lobster with cognac & cream.  Delicious but definitely quite salty.

Boudin Blanc a la Périgourdine - Guinea Hen, foie gras, black truffle, butternut squash mousseline.  A very smooth sausage - I couldn't tell that it had Guinea Hen, foie gras or black truffle.

Flétan en Croute de Poireaux - slow-cooked leek-crusted Halibut, in a sauce Chablis.  I loved the leeks, and I thought the fish was fine but Steve complained that the fish wasn't flakey.  Yes the fish wasn't flakey so texturally it wasn't perfect.  

Canard Muscovy en Deux Façons -roasted breast of Muscovy duck, crispy duck leg 'cigarillo', braised turnips, griotte-Armagnac gastrique.  The cigarillo (looks like tiny springs rolls) were very salty but the duck breast was nicely cooked (medium rare).  I didn't finish the dish because I was getting full.

Nougat Glacé - frozen parfait of white chocolate, caramelized pistachio, candied orange zest.  

Going on a clam pizza tasting next week.  Will hit up Zuppardi's and Frank Pepe.  Any recs for food in Mystic CT, Newport RI, or Nowalk CT?

I'm on the 5th season of Downton Abbey.  Didn't realize people drop dead almost at the rate of Game of Thrones.  Love this shit.

Quote

 

You arrive at your hotel by car and leave it with the valet. Do you tip the valet attendant?
Yes

Correct! You should absolutely tip your valet attendant, preferably when you hand them your keys. This is a great example of gratuity to ensure proper service — you want the valet on your side. Swann recommends tipping valet drivers $3 and up.

“Tip them in the beginning and they’ll always look after you,” Pundole says. “The more you look after them, the more they look after you.”

 

So do you tip when you pick up your car?  I use to only tip when I pick up my car.  When I was in college (30 years ago) and worked as a valet, I was generally tipped when people picked up their cars.

Quote

 

Some hints for finding good food in unfamiliar environs:

1) Restaurants named for actual people tend to be worth checking out
2) Seek out anything unusual on the menu, like a hamburger on an Afghan menu or a Peruvian dish on an American list. There's usually a story (and deliciousness) behind it.
3) For suggestions from locals, try wine shops, book stores, antique shops and beauty salons.
4) A parking lot with lots of local license plates can be promising.
5) Know the right question to ask. "What's the best restaurant?" often leads to something fancy. "Where would you eat if you'd been away a year?" tends to garner more personal spots.

 

1) No clue.  I can't remember the last time I ate at a restaurant actually bearing a person's name.  Izakaya Seki is named after the chef - the only one I recall.

2) I would never order anything that sticks out like a sore thumb, in fact, I'd avoid that restaurant altogether.   

3) Never occurred to me to ask random people about food suggestions.  Most people aren't foodies and will give shit recco.

4) You probably end up at a chain restaurant.

5) But that doesn't mean it'll appeal to you.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shumai
 

Answer in link.

I switched to Sling and found some new shows on Tastemade and So Yummy!

One of my favorite shows is Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam.  Really detailed exploration of Vietnamese cuisine with recipes on the website.

A show I don't like so much is Food Ranger - Trevor James.  He started as a YouTuber, has limited vocabulary, stuffs too much food into his mouth, and makes annoying exaggerated expressions.  He does explore interesting street food but I can't stand to watch him.   

A funny food related YouTube show is Uncle Roger.  He makes fun of other people's cooking.

I ask the question because I was watching Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam.  In the second episode, he makes pork meatballs and he calls it xiu mai.

https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/vietnamese-pork-meatballs-banh-mi-xiu-mai?cid=inbody:episode-guide--luke-nguyens-railway-vietnam

Xiumai, pronounced shu mai means meatball in Vietnamese?  

The weather was almost perfect on Friday so I made reservation to eat outdoors at Del Mar.  Steve and I ordered 6 tapas, and they were brought out 3 at a time.  

First up, TARTAR DE BUEY $30 Black Angus Beef Tartare, Truffle Dressing, Quail Egg, Australian Black Truffle, Toasted Mollete Bread.  Tasty, especially with all the truffle and truffle dressing.

Next, TXANGURRO $29 Jumbo Lump Crab-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, Sea Urchin Sauce.  Something was a little fishy, not sure if it was the crab or the sauce.  Lovely fish plate though.

Third, ANDALUSIAN GAMBAS AL AJILLO $22 Pink Key West Shrimp, Garlic, Arból Chile, Parsley.  Deveined and perfectly cooked, definitely a classic.

Second tranche, CALAMARES A LA BRASA $24 Grilled Wild Calamari, Mallorcan Marinade, Lemon, Squid Ink Sauce.  Very tender and well seasoned, tasted a bit lemony. 

HUEVO CON CERDO Y SIDRA $19 Glazed Chancellor’s Rock Pork Belly, Chanterelle, Summer Zucchini, Salsa Verde, Poached Duck Egg.  That pork was delicious.  Reminds me a bit of Chinese food though (red braised with a bit of sugar).  

Finally, CROQUETAS DE JAMÓN Y TRUFA $17 Creamy Fritters Filled with Jamón Ibérico, Alioli, Australian Black Truffle.  Very good but I probably should have ate the jamon separately so I can savor that flavor.

Just signed up for Paramount + Essential.  None of their other programming interests me.  Just cancel after the last group stage game and sign up again in February for knock-outs?

I'm confused with this:

Quote

New: 10x points on Chase Dining
Explore new dining possibilities and earn 10x total points on Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards when you make prepaid restaurant reservations, order takeout or join our virtual cooking events.

The reservations are powered by Tock.  You pay for a reservation but you're then refunded when you eat there.  You get to keep the points?  For example, if I put down a $50 deposit for a reservation, I get 500 points even though my deposit is later refunded?

My brother and SIL were in town and they've never been to the Wharf so I made reservation at Moon Rabbit.  It was also the DC jazz festival.  So the area was quite crowded but luckily it wasn't ridiculously hot.

The tables were all properly spaced and they opened the glass walls so the entire place felt really well aired.

We asked to try all 4 snacks:

Fillet of Fish - Panko fried turmeric catfish, iceberg, smoked dill tartar.  I thought this would be like Cha Ca La Vong but it turned out to be more like Mickey's D Filet-O-Fish.  It was indeed a fish sandwich, with dill tartar sauce.  It was a good fish sandwich, but nothing special.  Neither the turmeric nor the dill was especially prevalent.

Banh Mi Pate - Five spice chicken liver mousse, chili cherry jam, brioche.  This only showed up on our bill, not on our table.  It was removed from the bill after I notified our server.

Xiumai - Lemongrass pork meatballs, black pepper tomato sauce, peanut satay powder.  I never got to try these as the kids were like starving urchins.  I was told they were good.  Why were they called xiumai?  I dunno.

Chaotom - Sugar Cane Shrimp, Thai basil & garlic butter muoi ot xanh sua dac, lime.  This I tried and enjoyed.  

We asked for 2 entrees and a veggie (which arrived late and not pictured).

Ga Chien - Fried chicken, chili maple fish sauce, pickled carrots, fried garlic.  This has the flavor and texture of Korean fried chicken with a banchan of bean sprouts.  Tasty - yes, but not special.

Lemongrass Pork Blade - Scallion pancake, gem lettuce, bouquet garni.  This dish continues to evolve.  It was a whole steak at Emilie's.  @Bart had it sliced.  Now it's cut into even smaller pieces, with both scallion pancakes and lettuce.  We all loved this dish - so I got very little of it.  Of the 3 sauces, most were pretty spicy but I love eating all the herbs.  The best part of eating Vietnamese food, IMO.

The veggie was Ca Tim Xao - Twice cooked eggplant, sunflower miso satay candied pumpkin seeds, Thai basil.  Nothing special.

We also ordered 2 desserts, the flan I tasted - very good. 

We were just there on Friday.  The place isn't crammed but there are tables placed back-to-back.  The food is excellent but prices have gone up.  Snow pea shoot was $23 and Mongolian beef was $22.  Dried fried cauliflower was still delicious.  Much better that Peter Chang Arlington which we visited a few weeks ago.

ETA:  looking back, prices were always high...

My brother and SIL came to visit.  I made a reservation at St. Vincent Wine. On their website, it says "We do have a 100% ID check policy at the door, so make sure you and guests don’t forget your government issued IDs."  Never saw it - I just look at the menu to see if I like the food.  For whatever reason, my SIL decided not to bring her purse so she didn't have her ID on her.  They wouldn't let us eat there, even though we're all over 50 except for my kids, but accompanied minors don't need ID.  I asked whose policy was it, and the reply was the owner's policy.  It's not a bar.  They obviously let minors eat there.  So why the strict enforcement of ID for obviously overaged adults?  They said it's for covid tracing.  Well, we're all in the same family so that just sounds like stupid people enforcing stupid rules without any thought process.  Oh, they'll cancel my reservation without penalty!  I can't even believe they said that.  Maybe there's some justification that I haven't thought of....

Just read an article on Wapo purporting provide everything you need to know about taking the auto train.  I thought I would glean some additional insight from the comments.  Here are some top troll comments:

Quote

The worst aspect is ending up in Florida.

Quote

I have taken the auto train when I have gone to Florida.  Works fine.  However, I have no interest in going to Florida ever again.  They will not have my money.

Quote

I agree.  Nothing attracts me to spend in nasty Florida anymore.  

Quote

Until we so spending such a large portion of our budget on the military, nothing will happen
America need their wars to sustain military power

Quote

You volunteered to go to Florida??

Quote

Uh...why would any sane person want to travel to Florida in September 2021 ?!?

The sandwiches used to be $3.5 each - maybe 5 or 6 years ago.  Now it's $6.5.  The price is matched by other banh mi joints (went to Eden Center yesterday for a walk about).  I had a chicken banh mi today with extra meat for $9.50 (tax included).  The pepper in the sandwich is definitely spicy - so they may be using serrano.  The chicken is still tasty, much better than the mystery chicken I had yesterday at Huong Binh Bakery.  The eggrolls used to be around 75 cents and are now $1.7.   I haven't been to Banh Mi DC in a long time so I have no idea when the prices went up.  

Las Gemalas has two separate operations at Union Market, a fast casual counter (taqueria) and a sit-down restaurant.  

According to @Tyler Cowen, "The tacqueria is the best Mexican food this region ever has seen. Real blue corn tortillas, everything else authentic, could be mistaken for excellent real Mexican food in Mexico."

Since Hurricane Ida turned my New Orleans vacation into a working-staycation, I went by on Monday night to check it out.  I noted their website describes the tacos as served "on a pair of heirloom corn tortillas."

I ordered 2 tacos: carnitas ($4.5) and tongue & cheek ($4.75).  First, I only got one tortilla per taco.  A very good tortilla, and had I gotten two, I probably would've discarded one anyway.  Second, the tacos are small (the typical size in Mexico (about 5 inches in diameter) but the same taco in Mexico would've cost 75 cents to a dollar) - very much smaller compared to Taco Bamba.  Third, I love tongue and I didn't see nor taste any tongue in the tongue & cheek taco.  Fourth, the tacos were otherwise pretty tasty (but not necessarily better than all the taquerias in this area).  Heck, better tasting than some of the tacos Steve and I had at Pujol.

4 minutes ago, JimCo said:

😬 Braised ribs at a BBQ joint? I'm pretty anti-regulation, but there oughta be a law...

They may smoke them as well but they sure look and taste braised to me.

Went back to DCity for oxtail on Sunday morning.  I was the first customer, and after placing my order, was told that they were out of oxtail.  They suggested that I try another item on their "secret" blackboard menu - beef short-ribs.  What they didn't tell me is that them ribs were braised, not bbq-ed.  That said, the meat was well seasoned and tender.  

Canceled my trip because my restaurant reservations and tour reservations are being canceled.  Some people are evacuating.

Scheduled to fly to  New Orleans tomorrow.  Do museums close if a hurricane hits?  What about restaurants?  Should I cancel my trip (scheduled to come home on Wednesday)?  @frogprince

Champions League draw.

GROUP A: Manchester City (England), Paris Saint-Germain (France), RB Leipzig (Germany), Club Brugge (Belgium).

GROUP B: Atletico Madrid (Spain), Liverpool (England), FC Porto (Portugal), AC Milan (Italy).

GROUP C Sporting CP (Portugal), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Ajax (Netherlands), Besiktas (Turkey).

GROUP D Inter Milan (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Shakhtar Dontesk (Ukraine), FC Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova).

GROUP E: Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Benfica (Portugal), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine).

GROUP F: Villarreal (Spain), Manchester United (England), Atalanta (Italy), Young Boys (Switzerland).

GROUP G: Lille (France), Sevilla (Spain), FC Salzburg (Austria), Wolfsburg (Germany).

GROUP H: Chelsea (England), Juventus (Italy), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Malmo (Sweden).