crackers

Yes. Upthread, starting --->here.Same song, same verse, different party.

If you are planning to attend the picnic, please let us know! Either in an online post or in a PM to me let us know, and approximately how many people you are bringing (eg. +.5, +1, +2) and I will do a running head count. And if you already know what you will bring to eat and drink (or even as little as a tentative category), cucas87 will be helping keep all of that straight. More about that from her shortly. So far we have: agm +1 (or +2?) Barbara clayrae crackers +1 cucas87 DameEdna Escoffier ferment everything +2 Gubeen Heather +3 hm212 Ilaine (+3?) Jacques Gastreaux jm chen +1 JPW +2 legant melgold mhberk +1 mktye+1 ol_ironstomach Pat +1 Raisa +5 Scott Johntson StephenB synaesthesia thistle +3 Tripewriter tweaked Walrus Zoramargolis

Let the games begin!!! We have somebody working on a bacon tasting! (Yes finally some pork products at a picnic. About time too.) I will let him chime in when he's ready. Feel free to make other suggestions, but if you do, be prepared to be the one to do the organizing. We will have our first semi-annual Don Rockwell is a Rockstar Tug-of War, mid-afternoon after people have had sufficient time to eat and lubricate. It will pit the left bankers (Virginia) and right bankers (DC and MD) against each other. Twenty people max per team – ten men, ten women, and each team will be allowed to select one person on the other side to boot off the team. I'm looking for team captains to step forward for this pitched battle and assemble teams and name them. No experience necessary. Winning team gets taunting rights and any prize(s) that people want to contribute. And we plan to conclude before dark with an egg toss for all comers. If enough kids are there, a special kids egg toss will take place along side the so-called adults. So pick a partner and start practicing. If it's raining we will move the venue to the inside of 2 Amys. I will be keeping a running head count, cucas87 will keep track of what people are bringing to eat and drink, and Goldenticket will be making up people name tags and food name tags. Thank you cucas87 and Goldenticket! So what are you bringing? I was going to bring a bucket of wings and a six pack, but I think somebody else beat me to that one. So I will bring a bucket of wings and a twelve pack.

Moet & Chandon White Star, and Titan IPA. Endicott, NY doesn't have a world class selection, but these didn't suck. Good with steamed clams and spiedies.

Andy Nelson's in Cockeysville MD has catered several office parties I've attended and done an outstanding job. Here is one example per person: For Pick up: $10.95 For Delivery: $11.95 Full Serve: $17.95 Mobile Pit: $20.95 •Pulled Pork BBQ •Smokehouse Dixie Chicken•Carolina Slaw Salad•Redskin Potato Salad•Andy’s Famous BBQ Beans•Fresh Kaiser Rolls

Our gathering tonight is being postponed until we can find a date that works better.

I was there last night for dinner. My ribs were also falling off the bone. Correction - had already fallen off the bone. I prefer to have a bit of a tug to get to the bone. I liked the sauce, but the underlying meat I found to be bland and dry. Service was pleasant but inexperienced. I had asked the waitress whether I could sub the vegetable of the day for the french fries. She said sure, and the plate came with a nice pile of young green beans. When the check arrived there was a $2 surcharge. No big deal, but I suggested that she should tell people up front. She said it was on the menu. It is most definitely not on the menu. An amusing glitch occured when my dining companion ordered a Hop Devil ale. She brought out a glass of red wine and placed it in on the table. When asked (with amusement) whether this was the Red Devil ale, she assured us it was! I chalk this up to plain inexperience. Overall it was a pleasant meal, but I can't say I'd be in a hurry to return.

A big thanks to Jamie and Carolyn and their staff for hosting our 2nd anniversary party last night, and to Amit for the planning. It was a nice big gathering of new, not-so-new and not-at-all-new Rockheads. The kielbasa and saucisson at the bar were spectacular and those of us who stayed for dinner had a very nice time too.

When the bottle is the right temperature, her dress disappears. When you drink the entire bottle in three gulps, the same thing happens to you. This one looks disturbingly familiar

Is anyone coming besides me, or am I going to be sitting there mumbling to myself?

So which one is better - Cuban-style roast pig or Puerto Rican-style roast pig??? [ducking]

Forget the Ferry Building! That's just for folks who can't get to the source. Drive from Sonoma out to the Marin coast and get the oysters right out of the water at Hog Island Oyster Company ---> click here You reserve a picnic table, bring some charcoal and have an oyster roast right there (they'll give you the shucking tools) or take them to a beach at Pt. Reyes and have your picnic there. It's also very near Pt. Reyes Station and the original Cowgirl Creamery. And if you have a chance, think about going to one of the most amazing farmers' markets in the country, the Marin County Farmer's Market at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed San Rafael Civic Center, twice a week ---> click here. Can't really help with cheap accomodation recommendtions - I stay with my family and it doesn't get any cheaper than that.

Nine of us gathered for a $20 Tuesday dinner last night. We hit it at just the right time of the evening - before it completely filled up, and service was very good (which for me, meant that the ice water refills kept up with the heat in the dishes.) We decided as a group on five starter dishes, and then each picked a dish to share. We sampled: Starters: Somtum (julienned green papaya salad) Yum Pla Dook Foo (lacy crisp catfish on green salad) Salad Khaek (green salad with fried tofu triangles) Sun-dried beef (deep fried strips with chili dipping sauce) Sun-dried pork (ditto - from the Specials menu) Mains: Shrimp curry (green) Chicken curry (yellow) Roasted duck curry (red) Crispy honey roasted duck with basil Pork with garlic sauce Crispy squid with basil Chicken Pad Kee Mao (stir fry with fresh chilis and basil, wide noodles) Beef Pad See-Ew (stir fry with wide noodles, Chinese broccoli and sweet soy sauce) Salted Fish Fried Rice Standouts for me were the crispy squid with basil, crispy duck, chicken pad kee mao and sun dried beef. Total cost before drinks and tip was about $16.60 per person. It was a great way to try a lot of different dishes so I'll know what I might want to order again. And it was a fun group too!

No, first he has to try to remember where he left them last night.

dr.com seems to be a source of inspiration for a lot of people in the media. So who's going to register "Piggie Smackdown" with the US Patent and Trademark Office?

Darlin', if you're willing to drive 150 miles in the pouring rain today, then you are welcome to forage all you want! Just be sure to leave them (if you find any) in a basket on the front porch before you leave. Those 24-step propogation instructions were hilarious. I'd probably use 9% rice hulls and 6% soybean meal and screw it all up.

I live in the forest and spotted a morel popping up through the moss underneath an old double tulip poplar this morning. Right next to the driveway. Question: if it's the only one, should I let it stay so the spores will disperse and create more for next year? I've lived there for over two decades and never seen any before.

Looks more like an art school web design project. Form before function.

Thai Square Update: Reservation is for 7 p.m. There are still four seats available. PM me if you're interested, need a ride, need to cancel, or have questions. The 16Y bus from DC will get you very close. Do NOT park in the strip mall parking lot next to the restaurant. In the past, we have been warned that they will tow. crackers mbk catherine mktye + rktye jacques gastreaux gnatharobed capital icebox +1 ustreetguy [your names here!]

Has it been two years already?!? Thanks so much xcanuck for working with Jamie and Carolyn to put this special event together for all of us. I'm in for drinks, traffic permitting, and dinner too.

De rien, mon cheri.

Where artists go, boutiques and trendy restaurants follow. Witness SoHo in the go-go '80s, followed by the rise and fall of the East Village scene and now Chelsea and the meat packing district. In DC in the late 70s-early 80's, Nancy Drysdale, Harry Lunn, Franz Bader, Ramon Osuna, and later Barbara Kornblatt, Jane Haslam and David Adamson all opened up galleries downtown. Alot of them were in the 406 building on 7th Street. Zenith and the Washington Project for the Arts were right nearby. After the 406 Building cohort broke up, most of them moved toward the Dupont Circle area and/or retired/closed. There are still commercial galleries there, just like in Soho, but just like SoHo, there's a lot of schlock, and it can't really be called an art district anymore. Rents are too high for most artists to have space there anymore.

With The Palm, Morton's, Prime Rib, Capital Grille, Charlie Palmer's, Ruth's Chris, BLT Steak, Sam & Harry's, Smith and Wollensky's, Bobby Van's, and The Caucus Room it may be that the downtown hunk-o-beef market is fully um .... saturated.

I'm planning to be there. And of course, how can I resist first stopping in at that wonderful new chocolate shop to get a few Easter basket goodies for the little darlings!?

We have someone and someplace in the on-deck circle for this celebration...stay tuned!