crackers

I am betting on 2.5 stars, myself.

2.5 stars it is.

Lollipops are all over the news. This past weekend, the Wall Street Journal featured a really fun article about restaurants offering their patrons lollipops- sweet and savory as treats. (with a nice shout out to Komi)

You've sailed through your fava bean ravioli with lamb's tongue and mint. The roasted pork shoulder with morcilla (blood sausage) and crispy trotter barely fazed you. Maybe the dash of balsamic vinegar on the strawberry shortcake made you a bit dizzy. But the most awesome touch -- the sucker punch you might call it -- at smart Komi in Washington, D.C., is the lollipops (think sour orange and salted lemon) the chef sends out with the check.... Fine-dining fads inevitably die off. But for now, the lollipop rides high, while the foams of yesteryear have lost their airy oomph.... Many restaurateurs are serving savory "lollipops" on sticks, some of them standing up in midair.

On the new menu were tempura lobster lollipops with a tomato/tarragon aioli, and one-bite rosemary lamb chops with a pomegranate sauce....The U.S. House of Representatives had just adopted new ethics guidelines that make a table setting a hallmark of impropriety at certain events. Says Gerstel: "They were concerned that members of Congress would not attend because of worries about breaking the rules."

Dino will be offering Restaurant Week for the entire month of August. Our full menu will be available with about 3-4 items with an upcharge.

is there a function somewhere on this website that allows me to block an entire thread or anything with any mention of "restaurant week"?

Here are the Winter, 2007 thread, and the Summer, 2006 thread in case you are looking for suggestions or reminders.

The restaurant must be a member of the Washington DC Convention & Tourism Corporation and/or the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington in order to participate. The restaurants have until this Friday to sign up to participate.

Did anybody else stop by for drinks at the bar Friday to check it out? There was a whole lot of singing going on in the restaurant upstairs. And for at least the next couple of Friday evenings, "A Little Night of Music" is featuring soprano Diane Able and guest tenors Paul McIlvane or Joseph Haughton in a selection of arias and showtunes to accompany a special four-course dinner prepared by Chef Wabeck ($60 plus drinks, tax and tips).

The website doesn't have the new menu up yet, but you can reserve on-line through it.

New Restaurant of the Year: Rasika

Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year: CityZen

Informal Dining Restaurant of the Year: Tallula Restaurant

Chef of the Year: Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve

Restaurant Employee of the Year: Dave Vorhees, waiter, 2941 Restaurant

Pastry Chef of the Year: Huw Griffiths, Tabard Inn

Wine and Beverage Program of the Year: Restaurant Eve

Restaurant Manager of the Year: Ellen Kassoff Gray, Equinox

Rising Culinary Star of the Year: Nathan Beauchamp, 1789 Restaurant

Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year: Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar

Hottest Bar Scene of the Year: Zaytinya

Power Spot of the Year: Georgia Brown's

People's Favorite: Lebanese Taverna

We get along very well except for one issue, food. He prefers pizza, burgers, fried foods -- not to mention the sausage, bacon, whole milk, real butter, eggs and full-fat cheese -- and his idea of vegetables are potatoes and corn, with the very occasional Caesar salad.

Annapolis Seafood Market (three branches - Annapolis, Edgewater and Severna Park) has live jumbos for $4.99-$5.99 each, depending on the day. Perfection on a plate.

Hell if I know where to post this one...it's a small town between Harrisburg and Scranton on I-81 called Frackville, PA. Yeah, Frackville. Exit 124 B. Don't forget that.

The only reason I don't trade in my mom-mobile for a shiny new Mercedes SLK is because she has such a great nose for genuine home cooking, Central PA style. The SLKs - probably not so much. And she steered me straight to the parking lot of the Dutch Kitchen. Amazing. Homemade soup of the day was lentil, "bleenies" - two huge fresh potato pancakes hot out of the pan ($1.95!), and a terrific house-made chicken pot pie. The baked fresh pork sausage looked tempting too. I asked about the pierogies and was told sheepishly that they were made elsewhere. After all that, there was no room for a slice of that good looking lemon meringue pie sitting in the pie case. Bottomless cup of Joe: $.89.

That will get you at least to Binghamton without even thinking about a stop at KFC.

There were so many deee-licious contributions to the Spring '07 Picnic. Once again, let's compile them here.

Previous picnic compilations are: Fall, 2005; Spring, 2006; and Fall, 2006

Here are some that we'd love to get recipes for, and I am sure there were others:

Home Brew

ferment everything

mdt

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Anna Blume: concentrated syrup

Other:

Jacques Gastreaux: ---> [evil] Martian Pig Slop from Hell

sparkycom: Rosemary Gin Fizz

Appetizers, Salads and Condiments

cucas87: ---> mojito salad (modified from last time?)

ferment everything: ---> homemade gouda

Grover: Inari sushi

mushman: Greek cucumber salad

Pat: farro salad with tomatoes and herbs

pidgey: curry lentil salad

Scott Johnston: deviled eggs (curry and plain)

SquidsDC: spicy cole slaw

StephenB: ---> deviled eggs with caviar

ZoraMargolis: mulberry, Queen Anne cherry, and crabapple-mint preserves

Meat and Main Courses

AGM: lamb

bbq4me: ribs

ICD: Cuban picadillo

Ilaine: grandmother's fried chicken

Jacques Gastreaux: ---> smoked pork butt

legant: ribs

squidsDC: marinated chicken pieces

Thistle: NC style Boston butt

Vegetable Dishes

Anna Blume: escarole pie with pine nuts

melgold: pasta fritatta with veggies and cheese

Scott Johnston: roasted vegetable tort

synaesthesia's: jap chae

ZoraMargolis: fava bean mousse

Baked Goods and Desserts

Barbara: Michel Richard's chocolate mousse dome cake

cjsaddler / txaggie: mini hot pepper jelly and cream cheese biscuits.

Crackpot Gourmet: strawberry and pineapple crepes

mktye: sweet and savory focaccias, sourdough and rye breads, blondies

Pat: cheesecake, creme de menthe brownies

Paula: cupcakes, cookies

sparkycom: gougeres

Thistle: poundcake

Tweaked: madelines

txaggie/cjsaddler: cookies

Bacon-tasting

ferment everything: homemade smoked

Besides "Tom's First Bite," any early reports?

Tom says:

It's true: John Wabeck, who recently left Firefly after more than five years, has gone back to familiar turf. Here's the scoop: Three weeks ago, the chef met with his former

boss, Umbi Singh, who asked him if he'd like to cook at New Heights again. Monday was Wabeck's first day in the kitchen there.

"This happened quickly," the chef told me this morning. Wabeck says he was drawn to the position by an open-ended menu concept and the

reality that he can spend his time cooking rather than "on conference calls," as he did when he worked with Kimpton. The chef plans to roll

out a new menu by the end of next week. (Walk, don't run, he pleads for a little time to settle in.)

Good luck John! Let us know when you're ready for the first dr.com happy hour!

I brought the Neopol's bacon (The "Baltimoron" bacon) and was very skeptical because it looked to be 98% fat. Well, it held its own surprisingly well. I wouldn't want a plate full of it though. The Niman bacon was super salty and chewy. FermentEverything's was a real winner!

And everything tasted better with that maple syrup - yum!

Here are some of my picnic Photos. Hopefully Scott Johnston will have more because there were a lot of dishes that I missed. As you will see, Peanut looked particularly fetching this year sporting a chocolate Van Dyke!

By my count 75-80 of us were at this year's picnic having a wonderful time. The rain and mist kept us closer to the pavilion than at previous picnics. Some kids did get in some soccer, and there was a lot happy splashing about with rubber boots on.

The weather gave us more of a chance to mingle. And there were more new faces than I remember at previous picnics - and one not-so-new member who made his first-ever appearance.

The food and drink contributions were spectacular - the bar has once again been raised.

Thank you all for all for making this year's spring picnic so great - and for your donations toward the picnic site rental and the lamb.

Let's do this again in the Fall, ok? [And did someone mention roast kid?]

Where are the pictures?

Does that mean that others should be precooking their bacon also?

Can that be set up under cover?

Made my first strawberry-Grand Marnier ice cream of the season yesterday. I served it alongside strawberry shortcakes (with creme from a can- sorry Zora). The strawberries are really good this year!

I now officially rescind my approval of TJ's apricots. The Apache variety was no longer there when I went back on thursday, and the two varieties they are selling now (Earlicot and Organic) are much more typical of the apricots we usually get on the East Coast. Definitely lacking in flavor, texture and juiciness.

We will be there RAIN OR SHINE. I will bring plastic tarping if we need to cover things up temporarily, but I think we'll put the food tables in the center of the pavilion for maximum protection. If you have a portable awning/canopy thing, consider bringing it. See you tomorrow!

p.s. no tug of war - nobody stepped up to captain either team. But I'll still be bringing eggs for the egg toss.

We're going to Dim Sum Go Go this time, but if somebody would like to take the lead in organizing another trip to NY, to go to HSF (46 Bowery), or some other favorite, by all means please let us know. I'd love for this to be a semi-regular trek.

The batch we had last night arrived quite hot, and were so addicting that we ignored our entrees for several minutes while noshing on the fries.

The lamb rillettes that come in a small ramekin as part of the charcuterie plate are probably my favorite item on the menu. While I was waiting for dinner one night, a nice bartender brought me out a ramekin by itself, bless his heart. It would make a fantastic stand-alone appetizer.