Tweaked

Sietsema counters http://voices.washingtonpost.com/goingoutg...to_maestro.html

I have been underwhelmed by the beer selection at Calvert Woodley, other than the large bottles of Sam Smith and various Belgiums at the front, the cooler case in the back is about as exciting as Safeway or Giant. Thus, I was pleasently surprised by the beer selection at the generic looking Van Ness Liquors, a store front in the Bank of America building in Van Ness. Excellent selection of Dog Fish product (probably 7 or 8 different styles from their line, including Midas, Fort and World Wide Stout), 5 or 6 from the Bells line, a number of belgiums, Tetleys and Dale's Pale Ale in cans. Lots more other tasty stuff. These guys definitely seem like they care about their beer! So make it CW for wine and liquor and Van Ness Liquors for beer.

Nice little plug for Canales Deli and Eastern Market...if you're into the iberico http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/y...can-get-for-20/

crap-o-la. especially when ordered in mass for an office luncheon. blek.

I didn't notice them and the upstairs was standing room only with the DCU supporters. But then again I wasn't really looking for pool tables or shuffleboard so they could have been in a corner somewhere.

Swung over to Molly Malone's Saturday afternoon for the DC United game. It is now the official bar for the Barra Brava supporters group. They did a really nice job with the upstairs, opened up the entire space, skylights, lots of wood. etc. Downstairs is much the same just dressed up. So basically think of it as Finn MacCools with a facelift. The beer list is nothing special, the usual array of mainstream imports, Guiness, Smithwicks, Harp, Carlsburg etc. along with a smattering of mainstream micros, Magic Hat, Dog Fish etc. The menu is what you would expect from an American bar with an Irish name (fish&chips etc. etc.) with a smattering of "upscale bar food" (lobster quesadilla, sliders) plus soups, salads. The buffalo wings were medicore at best (although they were slammed with several hundred DC Unted fans) I'm sure they will do well on the Hill with the locals, the marines, and the pre/post sporting event crowd.

My understanding from the conversation is that the landlord(s) along the Boulevard are seeking ridiculously high rents. Certainly more than what Janet was prepared to pay.

Not sure of the exact new location, Janet just said down to westfield shopping center. and I'm not so familiar with that area.

Closing at its current location in the next month or two...relocating to Westfield shopping center down the street...landlord issues.

Currently being pimped out on the Kimpton Hotels e-mail promotion list...join us for dinner and enjoy a complimentary dessert with this e-mail exclusive. I feel so special.

Looking for something new and exciting last night, the gf and I cruised the grain aisle at Giant (that's how we roll)...we settled on a cardboard box of quinoa mixed with wild rice from one of those do-gooder looking organic companies. Ditching the sodium laden "spice pouch," we sauteed together some red onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms, mixed in some chopped dates and toasted pecans...mixed that into the cooked quinoa/wild rice along with a squeeze of lemon. Viva La Quinoa!

went to a wedding in Scottsdale over the weekend so everything was out of my control... Friday night's pre-party was at Frank & Lupe's in deserted Old Town Scottsdale (6:30pm on a Friday night nothing but tumbleweeds!). A crowd of 20 of us took over the outdoor back patio, fun place for a group outting, my recollections are a little foggy but the food seemed mediocre at best...the mini tacos were fine to snack on, the cheese quesadilla was cheesey and satisfying, the guac dip platter uninspiring, the carne asada tacos terrible. http://www.frankandlupes.com/

So this means we should buy it by the keg?

I've had decent results form Mr. Chen's...the product used at least seems to be of better quality then your run of the mill American-ized Chinese take out. The wonton soup is decent Chicken Singapore Angel Hair Rice Noodles (Curry Style) also solid The Peking Duck rolls not so much I don't love the place but it takes care of those hung over Chinese food cravings!

Completely different birds.

I have recently been enjoying the fried chicken at Good Thyme Food Court (M Street between 19th and 20th, next to the McDonalds, same block as Vidalia). Now this is steam table fried chicken sitting under a heater lamp, but generally it is plump and moist (I've only sampled the legs, thighs and wings, not the breast pieces), crunchy coating, rarely overly greasy but enough so that you have that fried chicken scent on your fingers all afternoon. For fried chicken coming out of a korean run, food weighed by the pound, salad bar joint...not bad at all. At the check out counter next to all the plastic cutlery they have a large squeeze bottle of vinegary hot sauce...adds a nice kick.

There's always the classic Julia Child's Cooking with Master Chefs episode featuring Jean-Louis Palladin roasting duck suspended in his wood burning fireplace.

Yesterday...Old San Juan...I was standing on the sun drenched ramparts of El Morro, we had lunch in the courtyard of Hotel El Convento, sangria and cubanos. Today...Washington, DC...it is 60 degrees colder. snow on the ground. sigh. Just back from a long weekend in San Juan and highly recommend visiting. Ocean Park Our first morning we wandered over to Kasalta's for breakfast, long display case filled with pastries, cakes, cheeses, some deli meats, and small selection of prepared food. Menu with sandwiches and breakfast is in spanish but the counter staff was helpful. excellent coffee. Pamela's Caribbean Cuisine Fine dining restaurant located at the Numero Uno Guest House fulfilled every beach front restaurant cliche, in a good way. Tables on the beach, ocean just in front of you, cruise ship lights twinkling on the horizon, cresent moon hanging over Old San Juan. Food is modern caribbean - fresh seafood, fruit-chili salsas and garnishes, squeeze bottle sauces, but the chef doesn't pull any punches, when the menu says spicy it is spicy. Calamari app had the barest of batter and perfectly fried, crispy sardines (3 head-on fish) were excellent, cod special with spicy tiger shrimp sauce was ok cod a little dry, and blackened dorado with mango salsa was very good, caramel ice cream for dessert was also good. This place was expensive (dinner for two ran $180 with tax and tip), but the setting was picture perfect...walked back to our hotel via the beach. http://www.numero1guesthouse.com/index.html Old San Juan We arrived in Old San Juan starving...cluster of tables with umbrellas on the sidewalk, looks nice, lets try. We were at Toro Salao, the tapas outpost of the OOF! Restaurant Group. Skirt steak sandwich ($12) with chorizo, manchego and onions downed with a couple beers made good fuel for some sightseeing. After a couple hours touring, we stumbled across Mirabueno for a glass of sangria (Best. Sangria. Ever)...we instantly fell in love with this place and vowed we would return for dinner. 9:45pm the next night and they were closing shop. The old bartender behind the bar took pity and soon huge plates of serrano ham, manchego cheese, olives, dates, and freshly baked bread drizzled in cheese, olive oil and roasted garlic was spread across the bar. A couple of mojitos later (mint freshly picked from a small mint plant at the bar, limes juiced on the spot) and we were eating A Perfect Meal. http://www.restaurantemirabueno.com/indexeng.html Several sources told us that El Jibarito was the real deal for authentic old school PR food. Mofongo! densely mashed up plantains...weirdly addictive. This is a friendly casual family run joint...and at least worth the visit to try traditional local cuisine. http://www.eljibaritopr.com/ Our last port of call before heading for the airport. Hotel El Convento is the grand hotel of Old San Juan...and a must see for spanish colonial architecture. At the center on the hotel is huge courtyard restaurant and bar area, a perfect spot to shake of the tourist dust and relax over drinks and bite. Lunch of cubano sandwich and a salad of local cheese, grilled onions, avocado and tomatoes with greens. http://www.elconvento.com/index.cfm Other Recommendations Go to Ocean Park Beach. Relax under the palm trees. Buy a couple beers from the roaming cerveza man. The local brew is Medalla Light (yes light) and it is standard crap light beer in a can, but at $2 a can on the beach you quickly develop at taste. Take a tour trip ($50 half day) or drive to El Yunque Rain Forest , approx. 45 minutes outside of San Juan. Hike the La Mina waterfall trial...takes about 90 minutes. Go to Nuyorican for some late night salsa dancing and live music...this place is awesome! Shabby chic, wooden tables and plastic lawn chairs...but the 11 piece band (3 guys on horns, 3 guys on precussion, 3 guys call and response signing, keyboard, bass guitar) was smoking hot. http://www.nuyoricancafepr.com/

A truly terrible show is Giada at Home (sorry Al). I watched one episode last week where she revisited her and Todd's vacation in Paris, from her Giada's Weekend Getaways series, and then created reinterpretations of the dishes they had while in Paris...the show was filled with sickly flashback scenes. It was awful. Maybe they are taking it easy on her during new motherhood.

Has anyone been to Chevy Chase Seafood Market, upper Connecticut Ave, roughly across the street from the American City Diner?

I always enjoyed the calzones at the Claredon location (circa 1996-98).

They certainly don't help England's reputation for bland food, but when done right they are good...esp. with a couple pints.

I'm sure they didn't have any carne adovada pasties on the Mayflower!

So Indian Spice and Appliances never reopened I use to love shopping there, esp. the homemade samosas, snacks, and breads that they kept up front. Anyone know if they relocated?

or do as wiki does: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty The Cornish Pasty is a great Tweaked family tradition. Ma Tweaked uses the time honored beef, swede, potato, onion, salt and pepper method. The several times I have made them I have switched out the beef for some lamb and a little rosemary...my Plymouth based relatives would be aghast, but it makes a might tasty pasty.