dlebby

The board is curiously quiet on the topic of Cabo. Spending ten days there in early August. Any restaurant recommendations at all? Anyone? Buehler?

Nava Thai in Wheaton uses it in their Floating Market Soup.

New discount deal in town - www.villagevines.com - $10.00 buys 30% off on the entire check (food and beverage) at a small but growing group of DC area restaurants. No coupon, they make the reservation for you and the discount comes automatically. Membership is free. Tried it in NYC twice this week and it worked flawlessly (including Le Cirque). Not a lot of heavy hitters yet, but a couple of goodies, including Prime Rib, Vidalia, Sou'Wester. Coco Sala, and Bistro Bis.

Old fart (not as old as Master Po or Anthony Burgess) says, "Kung Fu" and "Clockwork Orange"

A year ago, it was noon - 3:00 and 7:00 - 10:30 and back then I'd recommend a reservation. Closed on Sunday. Don't know about now.

I absolutely agree about Manolo. It was the best dinner I had in multiple trips to Panama.

Tuli Kupferberg. Thanks for the memories.

Me, too.

Masala Art has apparently been discovered. And when people are standing three deep at the bar and two deep at the door, it's not a good time to try it for the first time. We were seated immediately (with reservations) and ordered appetizers and entrees. Forty-five minutes later everything arrived at the same time. Whoever was running the FOH asked if we wanted everything at once. We asked if the entrees would be recooked. He responded that they "would be kept warm for us". We took everything at the same time. The appetizers - Aloo Aur Pyaz Ki Bahji (juliennes of potatoes and onions in chickpea batter) and Murgh Tikka Ambi Chaat ( tangy chicken tikka salad) were both served cold ( not room temperature, but cold). Tha Bahji tasted only of the batter and the chicken tikka portion of the salad was found hiding under the lettuce and behind the tomatoes. We ordered three entrees - the Adraki Lamb Chops, Tawa Murgh Khatta Pyaaz, and a half order of the Lassoni Corn palak . All of the saucing was excellent. However, the lamb was fatty and was so buried in the sauce that we couldn't tell how it had been prepared. The Tawa Chicken seemed to be an excellent if standard jalfreesie. The spinach and corn was excellent. Only one of the two breads we ordered arrived, although when we commented on it the second was quickly delivered. Whoever was managing the FOH stopped by to ask how our meal was, but seemed totally uninterested in our response which, as above, mixed both positive and negative comments. Our waiter was profuse in his apologies for the lapses in service and quality. He seemed to be the only one who genuinely cared about our experience. I'll try Masala Art again in the off hours, but as of now there are at least a half dozen Indian restaurants whose food and commitment to customer satisfaction rank far above it.

Arnold Stang

What she said...

Hey, Dean, Got any idea what's up for New Years Eve yet?

Mary Travers of Peter,Paul,and Mary; a significant figure to many of us boomers.

After spending a week on the beach in Connecticut and having the single best pizza of my life (a clam at Pepe's) I returned with a devout wish to experience something close to the epiphany I'd had in New Haven. Unfortunately, the Yalie at Comet didn't do it. The crust was cracker crisp and there wasn't even one clam per slice. I never thought I'd be saying that I miss Carole.

The best of your not very good choices is Arucola, about a block south of the theater on Connecticut. (See the dining guide.)

Wouldn't miss it! +2 with one book.

There is no question but that by the time we got to our entrees last night, things had slowed down a bit and that tables arriving after us were leaving before us. On the other hand, there is an ongoing belief in Jewish (and I suspect all other cultures) that "Nobody makes better [insert favorite food] than my mother." Please don't tell her, but Dean and Ella smacked Mom down last night, not just in one round but in almost every round -- from the liver, the gefilte fish, through the matzo ball to the chicken, and, OMG, the brisket, the tzimmes, and the farfel. I was adopted as a baby and it's possible that Dean is my long-lost biological mother. The difficulties caused by the wayward POS were smoothed by Michael's gracious, if stressed, care.

Ron Silver.

why

Van Morrison - whose first album "Astral Weeks" was released forty years ago, and who will release a new live version on Tuesday. Still on my top five desert island album list.

The Chat continued to promote the contest through the January 6th. edition regardless of the stated November 17th deadline. So if you forget about November, it hasn't been that long. Perhaps a lack of entries? Edited to say: Oops. Didn't see Catherine's answer above. On the other hand, it's interesting that the answer appeared several hours or more after the chat had closed.

Here You go: 1. Komi 2. Citronelle 3. Minibar 4. CityZen 5. Palena and Palena Cafe 6. Restaurant Eve 7. Vidalia 8. Inn at Little Washington 9. Oval Room 10. The Source 11. BLT Steak 12. Kinkead's 13. Central 14. 2941 15. Volt 16. Bourbon Steak 17. Marcel's 18. Rasika 19. Corduroy 20. Farrah Olivia

Umm...weren't we talking about DC or Maryland?

Ta-Da! Dear Valued Customers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Thank you for your continued support on Nava Thai Restaurant. We are now happy to inform you that we have found the new place which is located right next to our old parking lot, and of course only a few steps away from the previous location. Our grand opening date will be January 3rd, 2009. Please visit our website at www.navathai.food.officelive.com for our new hours and further information. Please print out a coupon from the attached file to receive a discount during your next visit to our restaurant. We're looking forward to seeing you again soon, Best Wishes, The Nava Thai Family 11301 Fern Street Wheaton MD 20902 Tel: (240) 430-0495