crackers

With such a great assortment of wonderful contributions, of the liquid, solid and semi-cheesy kind, we were able to compile them to share with everybody. So, without further ado, here are our 2005 Fall Picnic Recipes. Actual results may vary.

This is going to bring down the wrath of somebody, no doubt, but right now....yawn, this chat is a virtual rip-off of Sietsema's weekly chat. And another thing, since I already ranting, if people are going to write in to complain about service mishaps, can't they be required to submit far enough in advance so Todd and/or Tom can do a little investigating and get the response from all sides before going live with it? That would make a much more interesting read - from complaint to full story to resolution. Sietsema's "Ask Tom" box in the weekly Post magazine already does this sometimes, so it will be another rip-off, but why stop now?

Reminds me of a dinner I had the other night at Pazo, in Baltimore. The room is so dim that the waitress hands you a mini-flashlight to read the menu, from a pocket full of them she carries in her apron. From an Office of Civil Rights website:

Saturday was my first trip back in a few weeks and it was gratifying to see a greenhouse going up at the new farm. It was tools and hardware day on Saturday. We had a lot of power drills going (fighting over the 18v drills and doing re-charging relays.) I heard this evening that the greenhouse was 3/4 under plastic by the end of the day today. We had a tasty pot-luck lunch, with Camille-Beau outdoing herself with a wonderful chicken salad and those "special" brownies, that made the afternoon so much fun despite the brisk wind and drizzle. Thanks to hillvalley for trying to play dispatcher from afar for our game of cell phone tag Suicide Bridge was slammed with a high school homecoming crowd, but it was nice to sit in front of a roaring fire in the upstairs lounge, downing hot cream of crab soup, oysters and cold Heinekens. David Lankford mentioned that a writer for Gourmet magazine has also recently interviewed him for a possible article.

Caboose also makes a rich, dense, sweet and moist bread pudding from their own bread.

Baltoellen and I tried out this new family-run hole in the wall place at the corner of Broadway and Bank yesterday. I believe the family is Egyptian. When BaltoEllen says service is slow, she means it. We were the only people in there. I really liked the falafel themselves, which were flat, half-dollar size disks and very crispy crunchy, while I'm more used to the fluffy round Israeli variety.

You have obviously not been to the perfume counter at Nordstroms recently... Seriously though, here is an interesting article about the price of black truffles.

For anybody wanting to come help out on Saturday, we're planning to retire to Suicide Bridge Restaurant after the end of our toils, for beer and oysters and whatever. If you can make it out to help at the farm, the first round's on me.

What, not early enough?

Lots of foods need to be served at optimal temperatures (think ice cold butter brought to table to spread on cold bread and rolls ). I would no more expect to have a glass of cold red wine plunked down in front of me and be told to please wait while it warms up than I would expect to have the same request about a buttery dessert. If temperature is the only issue, Cakelove and LoveCafe need to figure out a way to keep enough of their product ready to eat. They can always ask "will you be eating this right away or bringing it home?" and select accordingly. But it sounds like some research is already underway, and customers eating the baked goods before they are room temperature may not be the only issue here.

Exactly. One of the Kitchenette commenters eloquently wondered the same thing:"Let me pose a question: just how many people do you know that enter a pastry shop, or any food establishment short of a restaurant where you are ordering an entreé and are willing to sit for 15 minutes waiting for their cupcake to reach room temperature. Good luck. It ain't gonna happen. Do you need to issue a caveat with each cake slice? "You will need to wait to achieve maximum eating pleasure." Please. Hello Dunkin' Donuts."

The Kitchenette blog heard recently from Cakelove, responding to the comments about how dry the Cakelove baked goods are. Apparently if you wait and bring things up to room temperature everything will be just fine. Or so they say. Anybody tried this?

My current favorite dim sum place in Chinatown is Dim Sum Go Go. Dumb name, but great dim sum. The roast duck dumplings are worth the trip alone. And by that I mean the trip to NYC. They don't do carts, everything is made fresh to order, and there's are photos on the menu if you're unsure of what everything is. 5 E. Broadway, on the east side of Chatham Square.

Their pre-theater menu is amazing. I don't know if it's available at the bar, but before 7:00 pm, for $32 one can choose three courses - a pasta or salad, an entree and a dessert. And the choices come right off the regular menu. They will tell you that the portions are a bit smaller, but they are really ample. I recently had a chance to try out the silken crescents of braised goat and artichoke stuffed ravioli napped with a light fresh tomato sauce, followed by stuffed quail (same size as the regular menu - what are they gonna do, cut off a leg?) with mushrooms and kale in a black truffle sauce and finished up with the above mentioned tomato marmalade tarte with ricotta basil gelatto and basil puree. Washed down with a couple of glasses of Pinot Nero recommended by the knowledgeable waiter, and out the door in time for the show. And yes, Chef Lanfranconi was there, in person, toiling in the kitchen. It's not just the price that's amazing, the service, the wine list, the fresh ingredients, the plating, everything was top-notch.

One Stayman-Winesap apple with a side order of Offenbach's Barbe-Bleue Overture.

That's because Nathan's owns the rights to co-brand Arthur Treacher's. Kenny Rogers Roasters and Miami Subs too. (My favorite co-branding: A&W with KFC - sugar and grease.)

I agree with both of you too. Of course the variety and seasonal availablity of produce in California will far exceed that which is found in this region. However, there are some kinds of produce sourced here that could go toe-to-toe with anything grown in California. Sure, it may take a little trial and error on the part of Chef Ziebold, but the stuff is out there. Nora Pouillon's Restaurant Nora was the first certified organic restaurant in the country and Nora has been sourcing excellent produce for a quarter of a century. As for us mere Joe Consumers, since you are a recent transplant, jdl (and welcome, by the way) this board has a thread on farmers markets, which I hope will be a good starting point for helping you find the great seasonal produce you're looking for around here, without having to drive out into farm country. There are also some good local grocers, but I agree that you sure as heck won't find what you are looking for at the local Giant or Safeway. Have I ever purchased an apricot or a fig in a store around here that tastes anything like what I used to pick off the trees in my backyard in California? No way. Ptoooey. Is there a cob of corn anywhere in California that is better than what I can get here at my local farm stand on any given Saturday morning in August? Show me. To get back on topic: I don't have any complaints about the quality of the ingredients at CityZen - every bite of something new elicited at least a small moan of pleasure - the flavors, from the first bite of sea bass sashimi with chive creme fraiche, to the whallop of lambiness in the t-bone, to the last nibbles from the plate of post-dessert treats, were intense and well-balanced. The one quibble for me is the breads (other than those buttery mini-Parkerhouse rolls) which, while very good, didn't thrill. But that really is a quibble. The Smithsonian Metro stop at 12th and Independence SW is about three easy, well-lit blocks from the restaurant. Hint: if you valet park, the parking will be validated and free (and they'll be able to find your car at the end of the evening). If you're a cheap f*** and decide to self-park, you no getta validation.

let them bitch ... but Cowgirl Creamery is opening shop in Penn Quarter soon too.

I'm probably the 100,000th person to suggest Del Ray Creamery. Not very creative, but they could just use a little white out on their business cards and letterhead.

oh....nevermind...

This probably should get moved to another thread - perhaps a "Wine and Champagne Tasting Meals Around Town" thread, but there just seems to be an explosion of these kinds of dinners. L'Auberge Chez Francois is doing a champagne cooking demonstration in early December consisting of: and also 2941 is also hosting a Veuve Fourny champagne dinner - tomorrow night:

After more than a year away, I shared a buffet lunch today with a fellow rockweiller, cjsadler, at Mem Sahib in Baltimore. It is owned by the same people who own the one in Rockville, to which I've never been. When the Baltimore space first opened about three years ago, I was surprised by the high quality of the selections, but despaired that the place wouldn't survive. I dragged everybody from my office who I could convince to try it. After all, it's a white tablecloth place located in a corner of the Lexington Market, in a neighborhood that is somewhat sketchy. OK, really sketchy. And they were charging a whopping $8 for the all-you-can eat buffet. Plus, Indian food is not exactly a common sight in that part of town, it did not have a liquor license and closed at 3:00pm every afternoon. How long could they last? Well, it's still there and looks even better now - with an expanded selection of dishes, and an even lower priced buffet - $7. They also serve dinner now, on nights when the Hippodrome Theater has shows. Smart move. During lunch there is a steady stream of professionals arriving from the nearby University of Maryland campus. At the next table I was delighted to spot the dean of the law school, dining with a couple of law professors, so I did a little grippin' and grinnin' before tucking into lunch. I didn't sample everything (though I tried), but there was a cucumber and bell pepper salad with yogurt, tamarind and cilantro sauces, a hot pickle chutney, samosas and onion rings (not so great) three kinds of bread, including very fresh nan, pilau rice, several vegetarian entrees - chickpea stew, aloo palak spinach, a very good dal tarka - lentil dish, as well as lamb and bhuna chicken curries, and one other dish that may have been bhaigan bhartha: a roasted eggplant in tomato sauce . For dessert there was a saffron rice pudding and some cubes of cantaloupe. Everything I tried was fresh and tasty, although mild. The vegetable pakora and spicier tandoori dishes that were there in the past were gone, but perhaps the selection rotates. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, and someone suggests a trip to Lexington Market, check it out. It's located on the southeast corner (on the right as you stand in the parking lot looking at the market) with an outside entrance only. Also, if there's time, go into the market and score some Berger cookies and Rheb's chocolates for the walk back. I would definitely head there before a show at the Hippodrome.

oh yeah. and Fiddle Faddle too. blech.

Cracker Jack. I don't know if it tasted so good as a kid because of the prize in every box, but that prize just doesn't do it for me anymore, and neither does the cardboard tasting stuff I have to eat to get to the prize (and besides, I'm way too dignified to be shaking a box of Cracker Jack vigorously so the prize, that I don't even want but can't resist getting, will be at the top when I crack the box open.) >tang with grape nuts - ancient family recipe when hiking in the High Sierras. so good.<

It seems that 14th and U Street's revitilization is well underway. Whether it's headed in the right direction with places like Tabaq is open to debate. Tabaq and its ilk are contributing to the soaring real estate prices, and will undoubtedly be driving out the smaller restaurants and other shops in the process. The ones that made it a unique place. (Goodbye Sisterspace, goodbye La Casona). They will be replaced with "hip" places designed by marketing teams. With all the people flooding into the new condos and apartments who want to eat somewhere, most of the new places will get good traffic even if they are mediocre. So what is going to prevent U Street from soon resembling Adams Morgan, or even Georgetown? Starbucks is already there, Quiznos too, why wouldn't Gap and Barnes& Noble follow? Target wants to put up a 180,000 square foot building up the hill on 14th Street. PN Hoffman has been gobbling up a whole lot of property around the U Street Metro and wants to renovate warehouses and turn them into residential space. At 14th and V they're putting in an entire block of condos, with retail space at street level . . . "an urban oasis of condominiums with the neighborhood vibe built right in." At 13th and U another developer (Donatelli & Klein and Gragg & Associates) is developing a 186-unit apartment complex with still more retail space, and underground parking. If people are impressed with the idea of dress code, and think what's going on at Tabaq is "great cuisine" (IMO that is stretching it a lot) and that a roof terrace with a retractable roof is "super cool", then Tabaq will stick around and other places able to afford the high rents will join it. (Personally, after one visit, I don't think I'd cross the street to go to Tabaq again.) Some will survive, some won't, as the neighborhood evolves. In the end, how is this any different than the evolution of Dupont or Adams Morgan?