StephenB

Where do you get the mignonette sauce? The only place I know is Legal Sea Foods. And why do you capitalize it, is it a trade name? If so, it should be available bottled. I have some in my refrigerator at the moment, bootlegged from LSF.

Kyoto When I checked into a Kyoto ryokan some years ago, the manager somehow made clear to me that I could have fish or eggs for breakfast. I chose eggs. At dawn the next morning, two giggling ladies pushed open my straw door and entered the room on their knees. While I performed my toilet, they rolled up the tatami and set out my morning meal. It featured a small bowl of the softest-boiled eggs I had ever seen, which they presented, very formally, along with a Lilliputian spoon. The end of the spoon was no bigger than a thumbtack. Then they rested on their haunches to watch me eat. I tried to slop the eggs into my mouth with that tiny device. This caused them much merriment. After a while, they started straightening up my room, still on their knees. I had the feeling that it would take me forever to finish the eggs at that rate, so when I thought they weren't looking I grabbed a fistful and transferred the gooey stuff to my mouth. Alas, they caught me in the act and laughed to beat the band, hands over mouths. Somehow I got through the moment. Then it was time to immerse myself in a bathful of water much too hot to bear. I kept my eye on the door, and when the women waddled out still on their knees, I gave up, got dressed and went out to explore the town. At the market, I hooked up with two Australian strippers who were performing at a local nightclub. My conversation with them was the only English I heard, and those are my only memories of Kyoto.

Lunch today at Legal Sea Foods in Montgomery Mall. My companion and I agreed that the servings seemed fresher and more substantial than equivalent fare at the K St LSF. We also like the one at the airport and are neutral about the one on Rte 1. Yes, I know it all arrives from Boston on the same truck, but the outlets are so different that it doesn't seem like a chain. I had a dozen cherrystones with LSF's unique mignonette sauce -- green, tart and chunky, miles better than that awful ketchup-based stuff. I would gladly buy a jarfull if it were available. The clams were fair-sized and shucked to retain the fluid. They were tasty but I'm not sure I prefer them to the top necks I get at Sea Catch. Then I had grilled scallops with couscous, a green salad and Boston cream pie. Everything was good, and FWIW the waitress was really pretty. She packed me up a container of the mignonette, which I will traitorously carry with me to Sea Catch next time.

I will leave it to escoffier to describe the Vidalia extravaganza, if he sees fit. As for me, another recent indulgence was the baby clams with black bean sauce at Mark's Duck House. A couple of days later, I went to China Pavilion, in the Sangamore Center, and with the echoes of Mark's still rattling around in my gullet, ordered the shrimp-scallop combo with black bean sauce, but alas it was too sweet, somebody had sugared it. But their seaweed salad was just right.

Reprint, as requested: Instructing rockwellians on how to boil eggs would be tantamount to teaching your grandma to suck them. I will note that Extra Large are the best because you want a generous cavity for the blend. As for the caviar, my usual supplier, Trader Joe’s, was out and the stuff at SuperFresh seemed moldy. So I turned to Rodman’s (“between Harrison and Garrison with prices beyond comparison”) and found exactly what I wanted in 12 oz jars. Boil eggs, run under cool water, peel, slice, deposit yolks in bowl. Add about a third of the yolks’ volume of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, sprinkle in dill, a tsp of Colman’s mustard powder, several shakes of parsley and a drop of Worcestershire. (No salt — the caviar will take care of that.) Mish, mash and mosh until it’s no longer bumpy. Deposit in egg halves, smoothing at the top so there’s a place for the caviar. Using a cocaine spoon, or something of similar size, lovingly add the caviar. Grind some pepper over the whole shebang. Refrigerate until you leave for Fort Hunt or wherever the comestibles will be consumed. A couple of years ago, I read in one of the food sections something like, “Let’s not kid ourselves. You can make any kind of appetizers you like, but it’s the deviled eggs that go first.” I took that to heart, and the donrocks picnic gratifyingly demonstrated it.

How would you like to be pulling in $20,000 a month doing public relations for Le Cirque, and then you pick up the NY Times description of a piece in New York magazine? It's about Rudy Giuliani's courtship of Judy Nathan. <<The article describes a man who seems so smitten by his companion he took her out for dinner at the luxurious Le Cirque in Manhattan numerous times, even though the food was so rich it made him throw up.>> Not a good day to go to work tomorrow.

At Arthur Schlesinger's memorial service (as seen on C-SPAN), one of the speakers remarked that his two eccentricities were (wearing) bow ties and (enjoying) extra lemon in his tea. I don't wear bow ties.

I ordered 6 cannisters online just short of a week ago and they arrived today, average speed. All of them have some citrusy component -- lemon, orange, etc. The advantage, of course, is that all the company's products are available, unlike Wegman's, et al, where some may be out of stock. Also, you get a free baseball cap, which permits you to advertise The R of T, at no cost to you, the consumer. Wow.

I'm in, along with (by popular demand) my satanic eggs with variegated roe.

Yes, that's it. Thanks.

Until recently, both Borders and Barnes&Noble sold cannisters of specialty tea. The cans were about 7" high, 3" in diameter, with about a dozen sachets per unit. I bought orange, chamomile, red, green and white versions at various times. Now those items are gone from both chains. When I ask the people behind the counter about them, they drop their lower lip and say, "Huh?" Alas, I never bothered to look at the trade name on the packaging. Does anybody know how to find those things, either online or in stores?

I certainly hope so. (He is a flitabout.) Keep us informed, John.

You don't get it, you do it.

These are enormous beasts. Some of them are 5 feet across. The legs can be more than 2 feet, and they are very meaty, sweeter than lobster, I think. I recently made a vat of soup, which turned out well (according to the participants): http://www.fishermansexpress.com/oriental-crab-soup.html I've seen them at markets for up to $20 a pound. Costco currently has them boxed and frozen for $11/lb. I got one yesterday to try it out, but haven't experimented yet. They are amazingly big animals. I would like to put one on a leash and take it to a party.

Yeah, you have to watch out for the implosion factor. How many dozens did we dozen have?

I've been to Joe's a couple of times in the last fortnight. I detect no difference in the cuisine. The cumin-flavored lamb was outstanding. The owner. Audrey, avers that the kerfuffle over a departing chef had to do with a longtime employee who demanded a piece of the action without any investment. Otherwise, the kitchen staff is the same. Is this the straight poop? I have no way of knowing. Has Audrey been to the new place? No, she says with a smile, but she has been to Dino.

Michael, you said at one point that RTS runs better when you're not there. After tonight's dinner, I can say that it's certainly no worse. Not only was the food predictably tasty, the service was charming, prompt and efficient. I was there with a friend of mine, an American who's been living in New Delhi for a couple of years. I sent him a lot of traffic about RTS and RTC, just because it was interesting and occasionally amusing. Even the nasty gossip about staff turnovers, etc. It lit a fire under him. He had to get out to Arlington as soon as he arrived in Washington. He was bowled over. By everything. He even liked the décor, poor sucker. He insisted on paying, but practically plotzed when he saw the check. He said it was less than what he'd expect to pay for lunch in NY or Geneva where he's also lived. He ordered the NY strip in order to compare it to Peter Luger. The verdict was -- a tie. But the amenities were way better at RTS. I had the rib eye, a flavorful portion, the horseradish accompaniment unnecessary. The salmon and the scallops were, by acclamation, unbeatable. The server, Simone, came over to greet me and to indulge my barbaric Portuguese. She was recently in Rio soaking up the rays. The encounter was an unexpected pleasure, and I thank her for her kindness. Finally, we were a bit late because of a traffic accident that clogged the road, but were seated immediately.

I think I prefer the Chinese version (as you describe it).

Me too! I think I can order beer now.

The spelling here is so self-consciously crude that one suspects it is a purposeful attempt to shield the identity of the sender. It could be some sort of send up. Still, one would like to hear Michael L's comment and explanation. Something is brewing at RTC besides coffee. Of course, this may fall into the category of subjects so sensitive that one hardly dast mention it. I would still like to know who replaced Hartzer, and what changes have been detectable in the fare. I do admire Michael Landrum -- his ambition, his oversized personality -- and have said so many times. But I would like to know what is going on in a restaurant that I have enjoyed on every visit so far. Or is this forum limited to pusillanimous sucking up?

Monday the 19th, please. I'm at the KC on the 20th.

I can't give you a chemical analysis, but Montreal smoked meat (famously at Schwartz's Hebrew Deli) is not exactly pastrami. Where pastrami is sliced, the Montreal version is more shredded. It's not as peppery, but it is pungent with a sharp aftertaste. I'd say it's a cousin of the Carnegie version, but maybe a second cousin. Btw, for those of us who adore Montreal's "Au Pied de Cochon," check out pp. 51-54 of Tony Bourdain's new book, a paean to that rude, noisy, crowded, utterly original and delightful restaurant.

And Evan Bayh dropped out of the presidential race because he wanted to spend more time with his family, sure. Given the publicity that "the two Michaels" have received, there's got to be more of a story there than meets the eye. I once asked Landrum if Hartzer was in the kitchen, and he said, "If we're open, he's there." This forum is exactly the place where the truth should be uncovered, rather than hiding behind professional courtesy and prissy evasiveness. What was the real reason for Hartzer's departure? Who has taken his place? How quickly was the substitution made? And what has been the effect of the change? We have generated reams of copy on this restaurant, almost all of it laudatory, and yet when an earthquake hits, we ignore it.

M'sieu Escoffier has it just right. I recommended the place not so much for the food but for the ambiance -- the widely spaced tables, that enormous bay window, the professional service, the free valet parking. My theory is that RW is a good time to try new dishes, but also to feel pampered. The balance changed when the food turned out to be so tasty, beautifully prepared, pridefully presented. Although the choices were limited, the dining itself was reason enough to go. And that window! It reminds me of a place whose name I can't remember across the street from the Serpentine.

No good for me.