DaRiv18

I just received The Cook’s Book which is edited by Jill Norman. This is the 648 page original release, not the concise edition. There is a 12 page section entitled Foams, authored exclusively by Ferran Adrià. This looks promising!

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Of course, I find the comprehensive free guide after my purchase.  This looks awesome.

"Texture: A Hydrocolloid Recipe Collection" by Martin Lersch on blog.khymos.org 

Richard Blais “Try this at Home” was a lead that really didn’t turn out. Of the three recipes in the book, his Cheese Wizard seems to be the one I’d most likely try. 

Warm 2 cups heavy cream and 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese over medium low heat. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Refridgerate mixture until cold. Whisk the cream thoroughly to loosen it, then put in siphon  charge with two charges.  Let canister sit for 5 minutes, then shake vigorously before dispensing.

I have a isi Whip that I really haven’t played with that much. Made a couple cocktail foams. I would like to get a book that explores the full range of this thing, with recipes, but the online reviews of books that focus on this appliance have poor reviews. Alternatively, I don’t want to blindly shell out $100+ for Modernist Cuisine that I may rarely open. 

Any (good) experience with books out there?

Do they provide a discount for cash here, too?  

Ekiben was really good. Taiwanese curry fried chicken and a killer order of broccoli tempura. Easy on the dinner wallet. 

Also, sushi rolls are $5 from 5-7pm, Mondays and Wednesdays. For now.  Cheap way to see if the rice is any better. 

EDIT:  it’s actually half price sushi rolls, so more like $7-8. 

We had a snack at the bar. No comments on drinks, as I am drying out for a spell. $16 Hangar steak was really really good. Clear soup ($5) was amazing, made with seasonal veggies and some sort of smoky seaweed. And I had some sashimi, two generous slices per order:  $7 scallops, $5 salmon, $5 big eye tuna, and $5 hamachi. All were very nice, and priced like a bargain. 

Space is quiet but looks like it could throw down, upstairs is a nice rooftop dining area and cocktail lounge. Towards the back on the main level is probably th most civilized area, with tables and bar seats around the food prep and grill. 

Edit: main criticism I have of this place is a lack of legit veggies. No seaweed salads, etc etc. 

Made a 24 hour detour to stop in Izakaya Wa to say hello.  Located in a part of Houston that was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey, apparently it had closed for several months.  Thankfully, it is reopened, and I am so envious that I cannot go more often.  The place was packed, inside and out, young and old, etc.  The food is more interesting than the drink IMO, but the prices are reasonable to this DMVer. 

Kubokawa-san is no longer behind the sushi bar (it can be physically grueling, and is when you are a perfectionist like he is) but oversees all things food.  It's funny that it bills itself as a tapas spot, but yes, there are many sharable plates.  I went for some seared sashimi, fried vegetables, kinpira, and some special grilled smelt.  It is a bright, cheery, friendly spot and I can't imagine you could "order wrong" here. 

So, a week or so ago we went and saw their DOC designation was revoked. Serenity now!  

Didn’t stop us from ordering their killer vegetable pizza. 

The website says Bread is now available for sale starting at 8am. 

I am a fan of this place, and look forward to exploring more. Their bread is definitely an acquired taste, but damn, the Einkorn loaf I got was really distinctive. 

Taco Bamba!  

When people talk about sneaking in Starbucks because the coffee there sucks . . . The coffee there must suck!

is serving lousy coffee (does it come with free refills?) a way to discourage squatters?  

On 7/30/2015 at 10:08 AM, Tweaked said:

Now with a location in Tenleytown:  corner of Wisconsin and Albermarle, across from the Metro station (formerly that bad Asian fusion hot pot place).  I'm sure it will do very well on this corner. 

And . . . closed.  Sign says to visit them in Foggy Bottom, their only location now.

On 1/4/2018 at 1:06 PM, DonRocks said:

Terasol has closed.

Jan 23, 2018 - "A Tribute to Terasol ...." by Stephen Samuels and Joanna Pratt on foresthillsconnection.com

" Over the last 14 months we all have had to deal with the hate and ignorance of those who attacked us through calls, texts and life-threatening emails but were humbled to see the outpouring support of our neighborhood. We didn’t close because of their attacks as I would never want to give them the satisfaction. Yes, it was difficult to constantly be attacked for no other reason than hate and ignorance… at Terasol but also in our daily lives. Receiving an email stating you will be hurt in the worst of ways and sooner than you think shakes you. But our team – and we – stayed strong."

I will check Jubilee out. 2 Amy’s can take on non traditional flavor profiles is all. I had a delicious amaro ice cream last month. It is a nimble ice cream program there, they don’t commit to any flavor from what I can tell. 

Finally made it to Jeni's.  It is excellent ice cream, and that is all you really need to know.  Dolcezza, 2 Amy's, Trickling Springs, Pitango -- very different styles. 

Getting a scoop at the 14th Street location really beats my experience of buying a $8 pint at Whole Foods, which had some freezer burn and had a totally different texture.  Ditto for Dolcezza and Trickling Springs, at times. 

But for ice cream in DC, instead of trying to rank them on quality, it's more style.  I would create the traditional-experimental spectrum as Trickling Springs, Pitango, Jeni's, 2 Amy's, Dolcezza

That hard boiled egg on the sandwich looks really good, lately I've been getting the grey yolk at a number of places, all four dishes look terrific!

The litmus test for distractingly great food is whether it would make JoeH moan.

"A signature dish of a Great restaurant is one which literally causes your mouth to open, to uncontrollably exclaim "Wow" when it is served. To deeply inhale its enthralling effluvia, to moan after savoring its first taste, to breathe heavily and evenly after swallowing the first orgasmic bite. "Vanilla roasted Maine lobster with Jonny cakes and a Chardonnay butter sauce" is such a dish. Live lobster is roasted and shelled then the lobster meat is sautéed with chardonnay butter, lobster stock is added and then reduced down with caramelized sugar. All of this is plated on top of several Rhode Island Jonny Cake discs with the sauce drizzled around and over. Simply, a Great dish worth of The Inn nearby or The Fat Duck, the three Michelin star and one of England's two best restaurants near the home of Sue Maragos, Frank's wife and partner who together open Foti's. Sue moved here five years ago from her home near the Cotswolds, apprenticed at The Inn and now with her husband has moved onto a national stage much sooner than either of them may have anticipated."

On 5/5/2018 at 7:06 AM, Marty L. said:

And -- deliberately -- *very* loud

This wasn't my experience at all, it was very relaxed.  Are you talking about the music or the clientele?

8 hours ago, funkyfood said:

They don't do anything experimental or groundbreaking ala Columbia Room, but you're also paying much less than you do for a drink at Columbia Room, and there's none of the pretense. 

I've been to the Morris three times, always alone, and I can expect a decent cocktail there each time.  They got the classics down, it is a cheerful locale, and I would rather meet a friend there and catch up than geek out alone on the drinks.  Their experiments there, that I have witnessed, are pretty remedial and are more recipe-chasing than it is exploring a certain style or developing a process.  My impression.  It is also on a challenging block where all neighbors are having a hard time driving traffic their way, so hopefully that gets taken care of sooner than later.  Once the Apply flagship arrives, and that office across the street gets filled, maybe they will be cooking with gas.  But, for now, they are a bit too expensive on the happy hour side and not really distinctive enough for the exclusive set.  They should aim for the latter.

Bev's (EcoFriendly) $12 breakfast there is a steal, if you don't factor in the medical consequences.  An egg fried in pig fat.  Biscuit and gravy.  Heirloom grits.  Shredded pork.  And a slice of bacon.  I can't remember everything on it.  It was seasoned aggressively and absolutely delicious.  A southern breakfast for sure.

I went this past Saturday like at 6:30ish by myself, it wasn't empty, but I did not see people really waiting for tables, either.  The dining area is hard to evaluate from the bar area . . . there are chest-high walls that separate the two spaces.  Not sure if it was busy or not.  It had a very relaxed vibe there. 

I really enjoyed my dinner here.  "Entrees" are $13-18 each, but the suggestion is three entrees.  I probably should have ordered a noodle dish, because I've had sweetgreen bowls that left me fuller than the three plates I ate:  the seared maitake (the celery root fritter almost stole the show), the wood roasted carrot, and the smoked chioggia beets.  Veggies just don't fill ma belly! That said, every dish was terrific.  Not sure if the beets or the maitake won the night for me, a toss-up.  Cocktails were very, very good.  People-watching there was interesting to me:  a really cool crowd, diverse as to race and age, no obnoxious tables, mostly it looked like friends at the bar.  Service at the bar was gracious, informed, and friendly. 

[Even though the address is 600 H Street NE, there are about 8 businesses with that same address, including Whole Foods.  I think FR is Suite 7 or something . . . main point, it is located much closer to 7th and H than it is 6th and H.]

https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/chef-jacques-pepin-youtube-omelette

this video captures my angst of 2009!

Stopped by today, it was closed. A chalkboard inside was titled Temporary Hours, but everything under that heading had been erased. 

Edit: maybe it is closed on Sundays now. I don’t recall that before.