crackers

This discussion reminds me of the time a couple of years ago that I stopped for dinner at the Elk Cove Inn on the Mendocino coast. As I was parking, I noticed a Sysco truck parked close to the back entrance. Talking to the proprietress about it, she just laughed. She pointed out (as if I didn't know) that it is at least three hours up a winding coastal highway or over mountain roads from the nearest big city with wholesalers. Did I realize that no restaurant in those parts could afford the time or gas to drive all over the place gathering up the pristine local ingredients on a daily or weekly basis? Heck, Ft. Bragg was enough of a schlepp up the coast as it was to get some of the fish. In other words "get real!" But here's what their website and menu say:

[last night's Mandu dinner discussion moved to Mandu thread]

Orbs are objects with a spherical shape. Chef Monis made his taramosalata, (a Greek dip traditionally consisting of tarama, salted and cured cod roe, blended with other delicious ingredients and a binder), by forming the mixture into orbs and deep frying them until they were delicately crispy on the outside and hot and moist on the inside. Each orb was approximately the size of a large hen egg, (which is not orbed, but rather an oblate spheroid).

Last night, being Valentine's Day, Komi had a full house. Taking porcupine's sage advice, I went with three "enthusiastic" friends – a double date. All the other tables were occupied by couples, making for a serene and calm house, giving the staff plenty of room and time to execute their flawless service, and allowing Chef Monis to flex his creative genius. Of course, the couples were all sitting intimately close; conversing in very low voices, faces lit softly by candles, red roses glowing on each table. Us? To say we weren't taking ourselves, or the weight of the occasion as seriously as were others in the room, would be accurate. To say this was one of the best meals I've ever had, also would be accurate. We were presented with a lovely tasting menu, befitting the occasion. We started with mezzethakia of: fresh olives – large, bright green juicy and pleasantly mild; scallop tartare with a panna cotta of sunchoke, a hidden quail egg oozing through when cut down the middle, topped with caviar; taramosalata - deep fried orbs, perfectly prepared; salt cod with black truffle on toast; a stunning grilled octopus dish with house-made mortadella and persimmons; lobster panzanella with pig's trotters; crispy oxtail gyros; the signature warm dates filled with marscarpone, drizzled with olive oil and topped with a generous sprinkle of fleur de sel; and finally foie gras baklava. We shared all the plates around the table, so that nobody got to hoard a dish just because it was put down in front of them. To start we enjoyed generous flutes of champagne, and then chose a Macedonian wine recommended by Anna Koeckeritz, Komi's maitresse d' –an Alpha 'Estate' Unique Cepage, 2004. That was the first course. Our waitress and the other capable staff followed with the next four courses in the same manner as the first – quietly, gracefully and skillfully (Derek, you will be so pleased!) I won't go into detail about each course, as most of the dishes (five pastas, three mains and four or five desserts) are featured in some variation on the chef's tasting menus. I would highlight the testa and foie gras agnolotti in broth, macaronia stin kithara with tripe and charred greens, the venison mousakka, and spit roasted kid, as spectacular favorites (accompanied by more Macedonian wine and a Porter Creek Pinot Noir, 2003.) Also the crêpe with crème fraiche dessert and the blood orange gratiné with olive oil gelato. I came away feeling that Chef Monis and his staff deserve every accolade they have received recently. [and a huge thank you to all of them for being so tolerant of our raising the noise level above the other hushed temple voices.] We finished with house-made lollipops, heading out into the night feeling like a bunch of big kids, albeit protected from the biting cold wind in fur coats and inoculated by the warmth of the wine.

I've been to Restaurant Eve for one of their "special nights" and I can assure you, there was nothing dumbed down about the menu. Nor did they offer less for the money. Quite the contrary. Now, why don't we hear from somebody who actually ate at the Bistro last night before we continue making wild assumptions about the quality of the food or the service? And what makes you think they over-book? Eve had reservations for every table. That obviated the need to over-book, and they had a waiting list 30-deep to dip into should an opening arise. The fact that they had such a deep waiting list should indicate why they wanted solid assurance from those who had reservations that they would show up. Because they don't want to?

Isn't it nice of the boss call before you've even rolled out of bed, to tell you not to risk life and limb to come to work? I should argue? Two-hour lickity-split lunch at Restaurant Eve. Off to a very nice start indeed. Now it's nap time.

I do catch him that way a lot. But it's better than catching him in more compromising positions.

From what I understand, Restaurant Eve is fully-booked with reservations on V-day. In fact, they have a form to be filled out ahead of time when making a reservation.

Consider the other Cindy Wolff/Tony Foreman restaurant: Petite Louis in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore. It is neither as trendy as Pazo, nor as luxe as Charleston. Juuussst right. My recent dinner there was fine in every way.

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Since this has already jumped the shark, cut a hole in a box. (cleanish version, not SNL) or the "other" one: not so much.

No, parents need to teach and make their children behave when in public. If they can't, they should either not bring the children somewhere inappropriate, or leave the premises when it is apparent they can no longer control them. [And, um...the same goes for unruly adult companions too.] There is a big difference between behavior that is due to childish immaturity (e.g. a toddler dropping a glass on the floor, for which I know of no restaurant that would charge a customer) and deliberate disobedience (a kid smashing an expensive knick-knack on the floor.) And that's all I'm gonna say about kids and restaurants because I find the whole subject utterly boring, and will probably regret having said anything at all.

Busboys and Poets, then stagger up U Street to ogle the very important people who habituate the roof level of Tabaq.

It might help if we knew how many of you there are. Age range? Any real interest in the food, or mainly just drinking? Price range?

This is probably a good time to also remind everybody of the donrockwell.com Events Policy.

For the benefit of those who may not know what (Indian vegetarian) or where (Fairfax, on Lee Hwy US-29, close to I-66) Saravana Palace is, here is a link to the dr.com thread, and the website. This one is easy on the budget and easy on the waistline!

Go Jake! Enjoy your dinner at Maestro (go sooner rather than later, I would advise.) Aren't you glad he wagered a meal at Maestro, and not the above? BTW, has anybody checked the menu at Blue Duck Tavern recently?

If Joel Stein gets a full page article in Time magazine about the ubiquity of poached eggs, and the rise of sous vide poached eggs in particular, can we now declare it trite?

A HUGE thank you to Porcupine and Mr. Porcupine for hosting so many of us in their home this weekend to learn about (or more about) making pasta dough. And Porcupine, in spite of sticking with the "fit for summer" program, nevertheless contributed pasta making ingredients and equipment and some wonderful olives, panna cotta, and a delicious cake that (alas) was not touched by the time I had to leave. Mdt proved, once again, to be a wonderful and very patient teacher for those of us needing remedial lessons. We ended up making a big batch of fresh fettucini and split it into two batches: one with Anna Blume's delicious ragu, and one with Porcupine's equally delicious marinara sauce. (I want both recipes ladies!) We also sampled fresh ravioli stuffed with her sweet potato filling, and her dainty little stuffed cappelletti saved for us from the holidays, and ManekiNeko's home-baked breads. It was a raw, cold January day, but inside we were all warm and fuzzy.

I used Replacements for several years as I filled out my grandmother's old china pattern, paying premiums for both the china and the shipping. Then I switched to eBay and it was like a bonanza, as people emptied out grandma's attic and didn't care how much the items sold for - they just wanted it sold. Unfortunately, Replacements itself is now on eBay, and the bargains seem to be fewer and fewer.

It was a bunch of chopped bacon and shaved parmesean to put on top of my winter squash soup at dinner last night. And later, a long bubble bath with a good book after coming home from the gym.

minor annoyance: not being able to go from one PM to the next without going back to the Inbox. major annoyances: 1. when receiving a "cc" to a PM - not being able to tell who the PM went to as the primary recipient. (A good way to handle this is, when drafting a PM, start out at the top of the PM by stating the person's name, e.g. "Hi Don".) 2. No "Reply All" function.

Shouldn't your body double be the one headed to the gym?

I am reward driven. I need to know there's some kind of reward at the end of all of this.* Yes, losing weight is its own reward; we all know the drill about better health and all of that. I mean the real carrot - (or carat, as the case may be) - the blow out dinner at Maestro, the killer shoes you found on zappos.com, a new le Creuset dutch oven? What, if anything, are you dangling in front of yourself for motivation? I'm planning to reward myself at each 5 lb. mark, with increasing rewards as the pounds roll off. At the beginning it will be some food/drink that I've been avoiding; fun stuff tbd in the middle; and a significant item for my clothes closet when I've reached my eventual goal. Which I will do! *I do not mean to suggest that Don's offer of a meal is not a reward, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will take place at Elevation Burger.

Might make a nice tangy wrap/bun for a big juicy hamburger, if it could hold up to all the juices it would be absorbing.