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porcupine

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Everything posted by porcupine

  1. porcupine
    Thank you both for suggesting Rice Paper. I got an order of shrimp and pork garden rolls with peanut sauce, and an order of rice paper rolls with Vietnamese pork and special sauce. Both were delicious and exactly what I was in the mood for.
  2. porcupine
    If one were in the general vicinity of Eden center and needed a quick pick-me-up (say an order of summer rolls) rather than a full lunch, and if one were generally a little leery of Vietnamese cuisine but wanting to try it again, where should one go?
  3. porcupine
    And in other bubble tea news, Kung Fu Tea is now open in Rockville, at 275 North Washington St. Interesting menu. Note that the bubbles (or other things, like jelly or beans) cost extra. You can customize extensively, including getting your drink more sweet (not shown on the website, but on the menu at the store), or with more or less ice. This was a darn good bubble tea, with a clean tea flavor despite lots of milk. I can't really describe nuances beyond that. It's just bubble tea, after all.
  4. porcupine
    Very infrequently, and not for a year at least. Having a bakery within a five minute walk of my house is dangerous. More importantly, though, I discovered that I don't care much for that style of baked goods, so my comments wouldn't be useful to anyone anyway. If they have bubble tea I don't want to know.
  5. porcupine
    I would agree with you about biathlon. How about ballet? the study found classical ballet could be compared with other high-intensity interval training Classical Ballet: An Art or a Sport?
  6. porcupine
    Discovered Snow Bots the other day - "Bubble Tea and Snow Cream". Was in a bit of a hurry so didn't take time to inquire what snow cream is. The website isn't very useful answering such questions. Bubble tea (black milk) was just what it should be, and the regular portion at a little over four bucks was a bathtub worth of sugar. I can' think what volume the large must be. Open since last November. 1701 Rockville Pike Suite B9
  7. porcupine
    Presented for your consideration. Read about it before scoffing. "Fitter than footballers and leaner than athletes: the word on the Formula One circuit is that racing car drivers possess the most finely tuned bodies on earth. Medical studies consent." "Formula One - vital stats: A racing car driver has to be in peak physical condition. This calls for: A resting heart rate of around 40 beats per minute (the average, healthy human has a resting heart rate of around 60bpm) Being able to maintain a heart rate of up to 200bpm for the duration of a two hour drive (the average healthy human has a heart rate of around 150bpm during an intense gym workout) A constant body fat ratio of around 7%, similar to that of a marathon runner just before a big race. Neck muscles able to support up to 24kg when rounding corners at high speed. Hydration levels able to compete with the 3kg in weight a driver has been known to sweat off during a race." Channel 4 website (archived article) Are F1 Drivers Considered Athletes? "As our driver sits on the grid waiting for the lights to go out, his heart rate has increased to 185 bpm even though he is not moving a single muscle. During the race adrenaline will push the heart rate up even higher, sometimes over 200 bpm. This will give an average reading of approximately 170 bpm. That heart rate of 170 bpm is equivalent to almost three beats every second. Count it and then imagine your heart going through that for the full two hours." F1 drivers are athletes, too
  8. porcupine
    For what it's worth, and as a point of comparison, when I was there over a week ago the tomato salad had quite a lot of burrata - about half of one, I think.
  9. porcupine
    Yes, but be aware that the small plates menu is quite limited at lunchtime ( at least on on weekends); to get the interesting stuff you have to go after 5:00.
  10. porcupine
    fixed
  11. porcupine
    Garrison has been open for just over a week now. It's a handsome restaurant with a pleasant patio space in front. The menu is vegetable-centric and apparently emphasizes seasonal produce. Mr. P and I nibbled our way through a number of vegetable side dishes/appetizers and a pasta course. Poppy seed gougères were excellent: very small and took awhile to come out, suggesting they were made to order. Gougères are as much about texture as flavor, and these were spot-on. Heirloom tomato salad was nicely composed, with a piece of burrata and mint rather than basil (a nice change of pace), and slivers of almond. Fennel gratin was straightforward but intense, the flavor punched up with a splash of Pernod. Squash blossoms with smoked provolone and Romesco sauce were outstanding, perfectly fried and not too much cheese, so the flavor of the blossoms wasn't overwhelmed. Mr. P also had the roasted cauliflower; he liked it but said it was his least-favorite dish. As I don't care for cauliflower I can't usefully describe the dish. Sweet corn tortellini was a nice summery pasta dish, buttery but not overwhelmingly so. The pasta was a tad overcooked but I'm so accustomed to that now it doesn't bother me. We also ordered two of the three desserts, a chocolate terrine and buttermilk panna cotta, which were pleasant but unremarkable. A nice way to end a meal, not too sweet, not too large, and blessedly not precious, either. Coffee was adequate. Would have liked to have half-and-half or cream with it rather than cold milk, but nope, not an option. Service was genuinely friendly and polite but somewhat lacking in a few ways that aren't worth going into, because for a place open just over a week it was impressively good.
  12. porcupine
    You're welcome? Read the book, it's great. The movie had its moments but if I had to sum it up in one phrase: ham-handed. You have to watch to the absolute last second to see that, though, and by then the song "Waltzing Matilda" will be pinballing through your brain with such intensity that if you do manage to sleep that night, you'll be dreaming "Waltzing Matlida". So just out of curiosity, what if someone wanted to write about "book vs. movie"? What forum should it go into? Though I think the topic would get old fast.
  13. porcupine
    Thanks for the tips! Not adding Maketto was an oversight that I'll correct; on the fence about Red Apron; never been to Bakers and Baristas so it'll go on the list to try.
  14. porcupine
    If you like that song, do not ever watch the movie On the Beach.
  15. porcupine
    nor did you see my raised eyebrow. One other thing to add, in the interest of fairness: the waitress took the morcilla off the bill. No one asked her too, but she (or a manager) did anyway. It was unnecessary but a considerate gesture, suggesting that someone there really cares about the customers.
  16. porcupine
    Dave beat me to it. Don, the waitress did say how much it was, and that it was meant for two. No deception. I agree with Dave: the pintxos were winning, as were the tapas. A pinxto of green olives, pimento, and smoked mussel was exactly what I want out of a bar bite, intensely flavorful and appetite-stimulating, and I would have loved a whole bowl (rather than a demitasse) of the cold cucumber soup. The lamb brochette (main course) was wrapped in caul fat, not something that I normally mind, except I found both the flavor and texture off-putting, so I scraped it off, to discover that it had taken all the lovely char from the wood grill and there was none on the meat itself, which was rather tough and not very flavorful. Also, the eggplant was undercooked. Mr. P's salmon with corn and tomatoes was perfectly fine, nothing to complain about, but was nothing more than a piece of salmon on corn and tomatoes, with nothing to tie it all together. But it was a nicely cooked piece of fish. If I lived nearby, and if I could drink, I would gladly sit at the massive bar and make an evening of nibbling on pintxos and tapas. [edit to add] - ps: I didn't order the tapa (really an appetizer) of grilled peaches with arugula, because of the many, many times I've ordered dishes like that to find they're really huge piles of arugula (which I hate) with, like, three paper-thin slices of peach fanned out on top. But this dish was, actually, several very large pieces of grilled peach with a few arugula leaves scattered atop. Dave must've seen the remorse in my eyes, because he offered me a bite. It was great.
  17. porcupine
    Yeah, Hazlenut was closed last weekend, as well. Curses! Call Cent-Dix; we sat in the very front of the restaurant and didn't get a look in the back, so I really can't say. It seemed quite small but I'm not sure. I believe Mr. P's gnocchi were vegetarian but if you're calling anyway ask. Do let us know how it was if you go!
  18. porcupine
    Ithaca Le Café Cent-Dix, from the owners of Mercato, opened last September on the east side of Ithaca commons. We arrived around 5:30 on a Friday to find a line already forming, and by the time we finished our appetizers, I knew why. The place offers very well-executed French bistro fare. Not that French bistro fare is hard to find, but very well-executed is. If I lived in Ithaca I'd be a regular there. Steak tartare was served with a small mound of lentils le puy and frisee, with just a touch of smoked-paprika oil on the plate; it was enough to give the dish a little extra interest without overwhelming it. I had a salade frisée aux lardons for my main course. A standard dish, nothing unusual about it, put perfectly done. Mr. P ordered the Parisian gnocchi (preparation changes seasonally, it seems), and devoured it, something he rarely does since he was spoiled for gnocchi years ago by Frank Ruta. These were about as good as any Ruta ever served. Mr. P's chocolate cake with ganache icing was exactly what we'd already come to expect, meaning it was exactly what it should be. (Which gets me to thinking that it isn't often restaurants can do that anymore.) My lemon chiffon pie was actually a medium-size tart with a so-so pastry crust (but I'm a pastry nut, it takes a lot to impress me) and a perfect (again) lemon chiffon filling, something I haven't had in about 30 years. Who does lemon chiffon anymore? We don't get to Ithaca often, but if Cent-Dix is still around next time we're there, we'll be there at opening again. Also, the Ithaca Farmers Market is incredible. A bit of an event, really. We picked up the best blueberries and black raspberries ever, and managed to keep them cool and fresh enough on the trip home to make for some great breakfasts and pie over the next few days. If all blueberries were that good the world would be a much better place.
  19. porcupine
    He's still around. We don't go often, but every time we do, he's there. <shrug>
  20. porcupine
    You might want to check that link, Tujague.
  21. porcupine
    Look at the top of the map, under the title. It says: *indicates really great coffee ***personal favorites do your own research! caveat emptor It isn't a rating system.
  22. porcupine
    also check here
  23. porcupine
    They're becoming easier to find in the DC area. The best are at Bread Furst.
  24. porcupine
    "New Horizons in Music Appreciation"
  25. porcupine
    Correct. Just to remove any ambiguity, the XLB I had at Bob's Shanghai 66 last night were the best I've ever had.
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