StephenB

My companion for a 12:45 RW lunch at Café Mozu today just dropped out. If anyone wants to sit in for him, let me know asap, or I'll just cancel the reservation at 11:30 (one hour from now).

7:30 on Jan 26 is jake with me. Anybody want a ride from Georgetown?

I'm good for TemptAsian on the 26th.

Well, the Mongo Joneses were a big disappointment. On the basis of pre-publicity, I thought he, at least, would be as spicy as the H-20 at Joe's. But it turns out they are a pleasant, demure couple with excellent manners. Isn't it often the case that people who write scathingly live docilely? As for the meal, one of our group said she was looking for some relatively bland orders among the fiery ones. So the Crystal Shrimp was pedestrian. And what the roasted pork lacked in flavor it made up in slipperiness. But the two fish dishes, appetizer and main course, hit the spot with unexpected richness, as did the mustard-pork soup. And of course the wontons in chili met their own high standard. In the end, I don't think we raised the spiciness rating of the known world, but both the food and the company were fun and easy to take.

Yes, I tried the cleaver (which I bought at Great Wall on your recommendation). It does the job but it's heavy. You can't use it for precise jobs. It's great for deboning a fowl.

I do not put myself forth as a knife expert, but I had an experience that may be of interest. Two decades ago when I was visiting Kyoto, I asked for an appointment at Kyocera hq since I was writing about technology and I was interested in their printers and cameras. Oddly, they assigned a Spanish-speaking employe (just back from Peru) to brief me, which worked out pretty well since I have a much better knowledge of Spanish than Japanese. After showing me what they were working on in my areas of interest, this gentleman paused dramatically, and said, "But those are not our most exciting products." He had my interest. "Kyocera derives from Kyoto Ceramics," and we are working on a ceramic knife that will revolutionize the cutlery industry." He showed me a sample. "This knife," he explained, "is sharper, more durable and lighter than anything on the market. It does not retain odors, it wipes easily and if it ever needs to be sharpened, we will do it here for the customer. There is only one little problem." "Problem," I repeated. "If you are working in a kitchen with a tiled floor, and you drop the knife and it lands on its point, it will shatter into a thousand pieces. We're working on that." Well, 20 years have passed and I notice that Ming Tsai is pitching Kyocera ceramic knives. I wondered whether the passage of time had enabled the company to solve its little problem. I recently bought a chef's knife with a 6" blade. Would that I had the experience and knowledge that other contributors here do. All I can say is that it cuts meat and vegetables quote nicely. It is an in-between size. And so far I have not dropped it on its point.

If Heather isn't picking up Santuckus until 7, we had better adjust our start time to 7:30, no?

Is somebody going to call the restaurant to make sure they expect our rather sizable group? And that they have the fish for the roasted fish?

I'd like to join you for the dinner sector. I may skip the drinks part, if that's OK. I'm driving from Gtown and have room.

I'm always eager to revisit TemptAsian.

Zora, do we really want to encourage junk posting? The great thing about dr.com is that it maintains a certain literate level (in contrast to, say, Chowhound). I prefer to read well-written, well- thought-out entries, like yours.

Here are some leftover thoughts from Monday night: Donrocks may be right that Michael Landrum is "a tormented genius." But to me it appeared more likely that he was in a four-hour religious trance -- the tipoff was his beatific smile. There was a woman at my table who had called in advance to say that she was allergic to garlic. Michael took note of her location, carefully omitted the soup, the scampi and the salad and brought her absolutely lovely substitutions -- assorted shellfish and a carefully prepared garlic-free salad that obviously had taken time to assemble. To the prodigious feat of remembering the steak doneness everyone had ordered, there was this extra complication. But he didn't break stride with either. At the end, people who had leftover hunks of meat were provided with plastic cartons, and invited to slosh in copious amounts of mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and mushrooms. I did not avail myself of this opportunity since I could not imagine ever being hungry again. I thought there were 40 places up for grabs. How did we get to 52? Am I correct in thinking that the original charity was a cancer thing, rather than an education thing? Not that it would have made any difference to us grateful diners. Those of us in the far-end kitchen table couldn't hear the speeches at the front. It didn't seem to matter at the moment. But did we miss something?

TemptAsian? Just tell me when.

We, the select few (were we 40 or 52?), send greetings to donrockers who will follow in our path. I asked hillvalley how many of the original 40 were present, and she said about 2/3. I know Michael has said he will set up a special table for the overflow, but I seriously doubt that he will again be able to serve everybody in the joint all at once with a smile on his face. In any case, my advice to the next wave is to pace yourselves. Ignore the bread, go easy on the scallops, be skeptical of the devilled eggs, choose one or the other scampi, sop not thy sauce, savor the soup, pick at the salad, and arrive at the steak -- whether it's ongelet, NY strip or filet -- with a serious amount of room in your belly. Don't worry about the key lime pie at the end -- it is so delicious that making space isn't an issue. My contribution was a 50 year old Burgundy, a Chambolle Musigny. (Michael obligingly accepted a glass without breaking stride.) DanielK came up with a 15 year old single malt scotch that he had smuggled in from the moors. Scott had an excellent cognac that he was generous with. My lasting memory is of the extraordinary feat of athleticism in which Michael served everybody in the house, remembered our orders, and somehow kept things moving. However, his dictum that we'd have to be out in an hour and a half was slightly off -- by two and half hours.

I'm planning on it.

Para ellos que no saben español, esto quiere decir "Yesterday's Cuba".

What is the parking situation at Ray's

That sounds good. What is the address, the time, and how close can one park?

What time do we gather for the dinner on Dec 5?

FW, I have had success in staging private parties at the Sichuan Pavilion, 1820 K St. Their private room is capacious and their largest table, a round one with a Lazy Susan, holds up to 14. You can add other tables, of course. The panels slide, the doors close and you are absolutely sequestered. As for the food, I think they do a better job with banquets than with daily dining. Here is the menu that I hit upon after some experimentation, and I think it's quite good. Spring Rolls Sichuan Dumplings Crispy Shrimp Packs Fresh Smoked Fish Fillet Snow Peas in Ginger Sauce Seafood Soup with Crispy Rice Whole Lobster with Ginger & Scallions Crispy Fish with Sichuan Sauce Sichuan Lamb in Garlic Sauce Sea Cucumber Country Style Peppery Shrimp & Squid Double Delight Pork Crispy Sliced Duck “Ma Po”Tofu The place is, of course, considerably less expensive than the steakhouses you referred to. If you decide to try it out, talk to maître d' Jimmy.

Between Harrison and Garrison, with prices beyond comparison (or so they say).

Eden Center is in fact on my regular route. But how do I know which place you're recommending?

I'm interested in El Chalán on Dec 8. Please keep me informed.

We are giving an evening pre-dinner reception for about 40 people. We need to buy, rather than prepare, all the edibles. Our first decision is to serve no hard liquor, only wine and soft drinks. But what about the nibblies? My sense is that Costco does a pretty good job with party platters. I went by the other day and thought the shrimp platter and the antipasto platter looked relatively appetizing. Am I naieve and uninformed? We'd get some other stuff as well, and of course Costco is great for inexpensive wines, so that streamlines our shopping. Does anybody think we're making a dreadful error by buying the foodstuffs there, and if so, what alternatives are preferable? We don't mind spending a few bucks, but simplicity is paramount: buy it, put it on a table, then stand back and let the reception happen, that's our aim.

I wol drynke licour of the vyne And have a joly wench in every toun. --the Pardoner's Prologue And, as a potential guest of honor at Ray's: Wel loved he garleek, oynons, and eek lekes, And for to drynken strong wyn, reed as blood; --The Summoner's Portrait