NolaCaine

and I can't wait to try it. After mocking the name, somehow, I happened on the menu. As trite as some of the language may be, I want to try most of it. But then again, I generally like sea stuff. Not stinky, but am now okay with slapped. Anybody remember Wahoo Fish Taco in California? Very Yum.

Really enjoyed lunch today and think its a great location for business lunches. Appreciated the "Maria lunch" which is 3 courses. My "date" who I did not know before lunch, had pasta but didn't eat all of the red sauce. It took all of my self-control (and a little germ phobia) to not sop it up with bread. Also, it's picturesque. Maria today featured a quinoa and arugula salad lightly dressed. Perfect. I followed it up with an arctic char. At first, I thought that the acid was too acidy (lemon) but as I ate, everything melded together nicely. I didn't have maria's dessert instead opting for their fruit of the day (plumbs with picturesque mini flower pedals and a little sugar, but I was told that, couldn't taste it. Stopped at the Calvert Woodly on the way back. Got some cheese, bread, chocolate and would have gotten wine but was too afraid I'd drop it on metro.

"right"?

I really enjoyed lunch at Sei Friday for a variety of reasons. People watching was very good. I was jealous of the lunch drinkers, of course. and for some reason, i enjoy the tink of the decorations and the S&M look of those chairs. But the food. My date ordered for me, which was an unexpected treat and I liked all of the fancy rolls that we shared. As a starter we enjoyed the perfectly steamed edamame with huge salt crystals. All roles are HUGE and frankly, my mouth isn't, which is my only complaint. In order of preference, roughly below: To me the stand out was the (trite?) salmon poke which came topped with huge salmon roe on top and was bright and fresh. Crispy shrimp was very well done and the pineapple sauce added brightness as well. The lobster roll was a bit bland in comparison and so was the fish and chips but to be very clear, I enjoyed them both as well. Salmon Poke 13 avocado, jicama, habanero ikura Spicy Tuna Roll 11 spicy miso aoli, scallions Crispy Shrimp 13 arare, chive, old bay pineapple sauce Lobster Roll 15 lettuce, soy butter, yuzu mayo, bread Fish and Chips 13 flounder, malt vinegar, potato crisps, wasabi tartar

Last night my husband made dinner with leftovers. Served over white boil in bag rice* was a tasty concoction of lamb chops off the bone, home-made turkey noodle soup, sweet and hot red peppers, some green beans, and a bit of (wait for it) butter chicken flavor pouch. It was great! and weird. I'm from Louisiana and love all rice. Sometimes, however, I want the cheap white rice of my youth and when I crave it, I must have it...so have for such emergencies.

My mother is a terrific cook. She gave me a copy of her cookbook. I tried a recipe and it didn't taste anything like her cooking. So I called her up and she went on to explain how she did this, and that, and doubled this thing and left this thing out. I took notes and all of my cookbooks have notes in them. My grandmother. She would, once a year, make gumbo (seafood only to be very clear). To celebrate her life and introduce my second child to the family, my cousin got a photocopy of my Mimi's gumbo recipe with her notes written on it. Counsin purchased all of the stuff for it, and a bunch of cousins spent the day making a HUGE pot of gumbo. It was so fun. I don't even know what my kids were up to at the time. Thanksgiving. Growing up three of my cousins and I all had birthdays Thanksgiving week and the feast would end with a birthday cake. Every Thanksgiving the host would make the bird, and everybody else would bring various sides. For some reason, when I "grew up" I insisted on making pretty much all of Thanksgiving until this year. This year, all I made was the bird and a soup. Guests brought the rest. I loved it. I felt that familiar joy of sharing and family memories. Gardening. Taught by parents. I do it. My kids do it and like mentioned up thread, we eat warm tomatoes and cucumbers off the vine. We are horrible gardeners but that's not why we do it. We do it for the warm tomatoes. The other stuff that grows is just lagniappe. Love this thread.

I wish I didn't know this but the Clyde's in Ashburn is totally decked out for the holidays. Really...LIT. I'm assuming other suburban Clyde's are similar.

Apparently, I starved the kids yesterday because they at dinner so fast, they forgot to complain. Thank you Trader Joe's for catering: shumai, fried rice with extra shrimp and peas added, and steamed green beans.

Cold plate. Stuff in the fridge. Cold.

Dirty John will now be a posdcast with a visual component DaveO! Friendly kidding....Seriously, miniseries on Bravo. I must watch it.

Let me start by saying, I am not a North Side Social "person" and I know that now. The big beautiful building with lots of parking of the Falls Church location beckoned to me and I answered its call today. Imagine my absolute delight that there was 4 space in the parking lot. Wow! My lucky day? No, not at all. That big, spacious, freshly-paved, well-marked parking lot in front of NSS, does NOT belong to NSS. In fact, all of those spots are reserved for random addresses and there are lots of towing signs. A big sign, BEFORE one pulls in the lot, warning NSS people not to park in their own lot, would be very friendly. While I was uttering profanity and cursing the entire city of Falls Church, a street-parked car pulled out and i got a very convenient spot. I let go of some of my hostility, but just a bit. Inside, there's a long line and every table is taken. Upstairs, there are two rooms, one loud and communal and one quite. Mostly 2 and 4 tops, all occupied by single laptop users not drinking coffee or eating anything. When my butt got rubbed by the 4th stranger (it's cramped and crowded, I was not being in any way assaulted...or affectioned), I realized this place was not for me. That said, a perfectly cooked salmon salad, wafting with wonderful aromas, that was perfectly dressed and pretty, (about $17) almost had me change my mind. It was perfect. Finally, I *almost* got a hug from a stranger when I left. That's when I let go of all of my hostility and realized that it's a great place, just maybe not for me.

Do you ever wonder if people who put so much time into an image, or even criminality spent that much time on something valuable, that the world would be a much better place? I really like pretty pictures. I really like pretty pictures of women. But I also want a scion to have an MBA and earn a living or give it all away. I don't actually care. This woman has massive creative power. Imagine if she focused it on ending the need for orphanages worldwide. Or anti the anti-vaxers....or just being nice and civil discourse. I'm not hating on her. I am hating on the massive cult of superficiality that is not contributing to our nation being even greater. I realize that this is off topic but I am on the edge of losing my own civility.

I do not understand modern art but the kids do so I took the kids and both they and my husband loved it. My favorite was the house or maybe it was room, maybe a small house. It's fascinating. If I was there without kids, I probably would have spent a lot more time pondering the exhibits.

I'll admit something. I went to Rice Bar once on a Thursday for ramen (based on DR's ramen thread). The ramen soup was sold out and I was so overwhelmed by the ordering system that I ordered something I didn't like nor can remember. Since then, I've considered going a few times only to leave before walking through the door, or leave when I see the line out of the door, or leave when I can't figure out the first STEP at this place. Fortunately, I got to Rice Bar early today. No line. I had grabbed a menu during my last attempt so had carefully considered my options. I decided on the pre-determined "bulgogi noodle soup" which allowed me to go through the line without making a single decision, I thought, but I did have to make decisions. 1. What type of noodle? There's 4; I picked udon. 2. What type of broth? There's 2; I picked miso. 3. What kind of sauce do you want? (IDK i answered). "It usually comes with this one" me: OK. Them: how hot do you want it? Let me just pause here. That's a lot of decisions and I cut out like 24 other decisions by picking something I thought was pre-determined (but was only partially predetermined). They asked other questions but you get the picture. Verdict: Loved it. Bean sprouts, zucchini, eggplant, bulgogi and egg are all wonderful in the miso broth. Next time I might swap out the kale and carrots for some mushrooms. Although the predetermined noodle soup price was listed at 11.49, I was charged $14 so I got something wrong somewhere. It's a bustling, cramped, popular place but the serving size is huge and i have leftovers to tomorrow, or later today. A note on the line: it moves really, really fast...so be ready. 😉

Don: I found this thread extremely hard to find. Maybe another tag would help? can the website's address be a tag? maybe add "soup" on this thread?

and I got that exact feedback as if I somehow failed parenting by having taco night on a Monday. 5 year old mansplained it to me which was funny, especially since she is a very serious girl child.

make Your own tacos... preceded by miso soup. Can’t make this up

Red beans and rice. I used salt pork part found at shoppers food warehouse, bacon fat to saute the meat, some cubed ham steak and some fake andouille sausage. Amazing! and completely unhealthy.

Oh my LeLeBoo, you are one organized lady. My kids ate MY red beans and rice tonight and I did the happy dance but no way could I possibly do a lasagna conga line...and my kids are older than yours! Good Job!

I went to Salzburg on a business trip and spent the day walking around that magical city alone. I spent the last night in a castle and had dinner in its restaurant. I also took a dip in the heated pool while the outside air was about 50. A truly magical 24 hours. (the conference part was good and in some ways magical too). https://www.monchstein.at/en/

Well good ktmoomau. My shitty lunch choice today was pot belly wreck with a side of soupergirl soup. How did I get that combo? I love soup and as I've shared in the soupergirl thread, I love that soup even though its vegan. Here's the thing about food allergies, sometimes the best bet is a chain because you know what you're gonna get, or something certified vegan/kosher because they can't sneak dairy. The soup wasn't that great which is very notable since it was the first and only time I haven't liked a choice. I purchased a few last time I walked over. THey freeze/reheat well, except this one which had whole wheat noodles in it...that was the problem with the soup, just those noodles.

For SECOND dinner my 5 yr old had a bowl of pasta and green beans with butter and salt. She didn't want the "sashage sauce"

I'm a little hesitant to post this since it's negative but not about the food but I'm going to anyway. First, for lunch I had really tasty shrimp curry. I love fried shrimp; these were great. I love rice; the rice was excellent. Curry was good enough and lunch was about $14 with a drink. But here's the thing. I was sitting at the lunch counter by the open kitchen at the dupont location and the manager was being rude to his staff. When the staff were working alone, they had a good rhythm and seemed to me to be hustling. One guy was wiping up the make table and straightening things as time passed. While I was there, it was busy and I know because some really loud "ch-ching'' noise happens every time a new order goes on the order-board. When the manager came up he was passive aggressive, rudely asking them to do things and complaining about the tidiness of the area. Much of it was tone but also, staff body language changed after this. Also, I smell like fried food now, but that's on me.

Lion: How do you keep an lunch avacado from getting brown? Stupid question: If I roll an avocado in a tortilla with ham, will it turn brown if well wrapped in something like plastic wrap? My 5 yr old is part monkey as she loves avacado, mango, banannas...well, all the fruit.

I'm wondering how judgemental this thread is? I see very beautiful lunches for M-F, my lunches are usually embarrassing. Ya'll interested in my sh1**y lunch choices? Today it might be a soup run. I'm having some trouble swallowing and am short of time today. If we are reserving this thread for "fancy lunches" I fully understand.