StephenB

I plan to attend.

I have used their private room, which has a large round table (seats 14), on several occasions. I've always been happy with the food and the service. Here's one of the menus I special ordered with the captain, Jimmy:

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

They call them soup dumplings, they're listed as xiao long bao on the menu, they taste good, and I've had them at least once a month for years, but I've never gotten one that actually had any soup inside.

There seems to be a problem with the translation of the word "soup". At Hong Kong Palace last weekend, a group of us ordered "beef with vegetables in spicy broth," which I referred to as soup. The waiter took pains, with emphasis and annoying repetition, to assure us that it wasn't soup. I ate mine with chopsticks and a round spoon. And by the way, it was terrific. But soup.

Sam's Argentine Bakery, Adam's Rib, Tiberio, Trieste, Germaine's, Jenny's Pan-Asian Cuisine.

I have a stash of really old Burgundies -- 50 years old and more -- and frequently the cork crumbles when I open a bottle. So I strain the wine into a decanter and then give it 45 minutes or so for aeration.

Yes, I know that if I had had better atmosphere control, I wouldn't have this problem.

Scott, please save a place for me. I hope your pre-ordering includes their spicy soup.

The environment is the real winner here. A spacious, well-appointed room with an enormous window giving on the canal. Tables well separated. Professional service (not chummy, thank God). The food is more than acceptable, though nothing is out-of-the-world extraordinary. And it's one of the few places around that knows how to serve tea.

There is free valet parking.

All in all, you will have a pleasant, relaxed, refined experience in which you will not feel rushed or crowded. And that window! It reminds of me of a place I used to go on the Serpentine.

Calvin Trillin had a delightful essay about street food in Singapore in The New Yorker Sept 3 last year. You can see an abstract at

Sep 3, 2007 - "Three Chopsticks - Does Street Food Make the Best Cuisine?" by Calvin Trillin on newyorker.com

but I recommend you read the whole thing.

There's also a chapter in Anthony Bourdain's latest potboiler on the same subject. The best part is his specificity regarding ingredients.

"Anthony Bourdain's Travel Tips for Singapore" on travelchannel.com

As one who has been to both Joe's and HKP many times, most recently in the last week, I would say in general that Joe's fare is hottier, louder and gutsier and HKP's is more refined and beautifully presented, though still with a zing. Both those places please my palate. Are they authentically Szechuanese? To me, that hardly matters -- it tastes good. I hear that the best food in China is at government banquets. We Washingtonians wouldn't know about that.

Parenthetically, our former colleague, james g, also known as pandahugga, who has moved to Beijing, is running an interesting blog, occasionally on food matters, at www.jamesinbj.com.

Gung hay fat tsoy!

The entire non-Christian population of Greater Washington descended on Joe's on Tuesday. When we four got there at 5 p.m., only two tables were still available. We were an Asian, a Lapsed Christian and two Members of the Chosen People. This pretty much reflected the demographics of the patrons as a whole, except that a majority were Asian. By the time we left an hour or so later, there were 20 people lined up outside the door, and surely the crowd was going to grow as normal dinner time approached. Audrey, the materfamilias, was off counting her blessings, or spending them, but the place rocked without her. Yes, Joe's Noodle House is where it's at, at Christmas.

To this day, in almost six years, I have not sat down to dinner in Ray's The Steaks

If you want a reservation, I think I know somebody who can help.

I would prefer the 7 pm time.

I would like to attend. Thanks, Don, for doing this.

The problem was with the grill, not the gas-line.

Glad to hear it. But the woman on the phone did say gas leak. Is the pork offering available only at the bar?

What I won't do for a night off.

Ray's: The Classics is closed tonight due to circumstances beyond our control.

When we will re-open depends on whether I choose to forfeit my amateur status.

I will say that the idea of turning pro and having two nights off a week is mighty tempting at this point.

According to someone on the telephone from RtC, the reason for the closing was a gasline break. So we went to RtS instead and had the usual fine meal -- hangar steak, filet and entrecote, all just right. A waitress told us that Michael had been there earlier but bolted out in late afternoon showing signs of consternation. I hope the problem lends itself to an easy solution. I hate it when restaurants I'm eating in explode into smithereens.

Don, at the present rate you may have to rent RFK. This is the most enthusiasm I've seen since the intro to Ray's the Steaks.

Hay! Arigato, Don-san.

It was a sumptuous, satisfying meal that had new elements for me (others were more experienced). Thank you, Scott, for presiding. And thanks, Don, for your excellent calls.

Thai Square is doing bang-up business, probably because of the Post review.

I strongly disagree with my good friend, Johnb. There is no such thing as food without people. There is no such thing as people without chat, gossip, stories. Taste is inextricably linked to the people who express it. It is unimaginable to think that we could talk about food in an arm's-length, sterile, impersonal way.

Those who wish to follow the Don's advice may be interested in the Portuguese terms:

bottom sirloin: fraldinha (fral-DEEN-ya) rare: mal passado

lamb chop: cordeiro (cor-DARE-oh)

pork ribs: costela de porco

chicken drumstick: perna de frango

Sausage: linguiça (leen-GWEE-sa)

top sirloin: alcatra

filet mignon: filete (fee-LAY-chee)

I'm hungry: Estou com fome.

I'm full: Estou completo.

As for the wine, grab a jug of sangria (no accent in Portuguese) and gobble the fruit with a spoon.

I think steering clear of the salad bar is a beginner's trick. As you learn to enjoy this meal, you place more emphasis on balance and less on satiety. Don't go wild with the greenery but let the things you like awaken your taste buds. For example, I know places in Rio and São Paulo that have rare offerings, such as pickled turnips, that should be tried, and enhance the experience.

Yes, October 21 is doable for me.

My son has canceled his trip. But I'm on for Sunday night. (I told the restaurant that my son was doubtfu.)

Does anyone have a current e-mail for james g (pandahugga) in Beijing? I'm looking into this for a friend who's moving there from Shanghai.

Can't make this one. My son and I are opting for the Indian dinner that day.

I don't think the Washingtonian mention is a diss, as I understand the term. People continue to go to Ray's the Classics, and they continue to have high praise for the food. But because they keep ordering the same things, apparently based on what they know and love from Ray's the Steaks, the menu had to reflect that, and that constitutes a change but not necessarily for the worse. That is a comment, not on the restaurant, which continues to get high marks, but on the clièntele, which does not care to experiment. As for the Tim Carman piece, I agree that Michael Landrum is an interesting character and worthy of journalistic focus. I knew he went to Andover because he sometimes refers to time spent at the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library, which is where it is. But what about the published assertion that he did a tour in the Israeli army? And as for staying free and clear of bank loans, there have been references right here on dr.com that estabishing Ray's the Classics put him in serious hock. Carman seems to deny that without addressing it directly. And then there is the issue of chefs. Apparently, Landrum himself is manning the grill at RTC. Is that a long range plan? And who is continuing to turn out the wonderful chops at RTS, especially the mysterious but delectable calotte, which I have blissfully consumed on two recent occasions? Last time, the waitress said, "Here's your culotte." I said, "'That's a pair of pants, honey, I just want some meat." Under any name, it was very, very good.