porcupine

A few weeks ago a friend suggested meeting for lunch at Fruitive. Nothing on the menu really appealed to me, so I got the avocado toast, which iirc was served with crumbled feta and za'atar (the online menu says something about pesto mayo and oregano). It was delicious.

Last week some friends asked us to join them last-minute at Silver in Bethesda. I went for the company, wasn't really hungry, so I got the avocado toast, which consisted of "Avocado mix, queso fresco, radishes, pomegranate seeds, basil oil on rustic sourdough topped with cilantro". The "avocado mix" was smashed avocado with chopped onion. It was not good, and reinforced my belief that whoever is behind Silver and Silver Diner just doesn't get it.

There seem to be a lot of people who think More is Better.

I believe Less is More.

First time I remember having something like avocado toast was at the newly-opened Cork on 14th St. A friend and I were at the bar and Tom Brown brought us a plate of toasted baguette (I think) with avocado, pistachios, pistachio oil, and duck confit. It was good but too rich, too many flavors. The dish made its way onto the menu without the duck and is still there (I just looked on line). Less is More. I've been making that and serving it at home ever since. 

A really good avocado on really good toast, with a bit of coarse salt, is a delight, even if it does meet the definition of trite.

I have a loaf of homemade Danish rye bread on the counter; I think I'll toast a few slices and put some avocado on it for lunch.

In order north to south:

1. Bob's Shanghai 66

2.  A&J

3. Masala Art

4. 2Amys

5. Tail Up Goat

There are no others in my regular rotation. I'm in a rut (which is not to disparage any of the restaurants listed above).

Exceptionally tasty dish alert: chilled corn soup at Chez Billy Sud, a velouté, with a few small pieces of tomato, whole corn, and herbs. Absolutely perfect when it's so hot you have no appetite but need to eat, anyway.

Anyone in the area carry diastatic malt powder? I can get in in time if I pay a fortune for overnight shipping but would like to find a local source. Thanks.

20 hours ago, DonRocks said:

BTW, what do you use to fill in the boxes in a mega-Sudoku - hexadecimal digits (these just replace "10 through 15" with "A through F")?

1-9 and A-G. There's also a thing called beach sudoku, which is one example of why Western civilization is doomed.

Ha. I'm addicted to Sudoku. I've been playing mega-Sudoku (16x16) for years now.  I think what you say might be true for the 5* puzzles, sometimes for the 4*, but in my experience, when I've reached a "this or that" decision, it's because I've made a mistake early on. Anyway, don't give up, they're fun! 

We just got back from a 13 day trip: four full days in the Faroe Islands (Føroyar) followed by five full days in Copenhagen, and although I loved the latter, I really wished we had spent two more days in the Faroes.

This is not a destination for everyone. The main reasons to go: appreciate the bleak, beautiful landforms; hike; birdwatch; experience a modernized yet still traditional country that does not yet have a well-developed tourist industry.

I could write pages and not do it justice, but will try to get a few details in. If you're considering going, please post questions in this thread and I'll happily answer them.

Getting there: currently service is offered by Atlantic Airways (the Faroese national airline) from a handful of European cities, and SAS once daily from Copenhagen. Also there's a ferry from Copenhagen and Iceland but that takes days. The shortest route from the US would be through Iceland, though you have to change airports. 

Weather: temperatures range from the low 30s in winter to the low 50s in summer. Summer is drier but still wet - kind of like Seattle, not pouring rain but light rain and mist, frequently. Bring all your raingear and dress in layers. The main issue here is wind. One guide told us that last Christmas Eve, they had a storm with winds at 70 meters per second. 

That's 156 miles per hour.

That was an unusually strong storm, but winds can make travel to and within the islands challenging, and I've read that pilots consider the airport at Vágar to be one of the most challenging commercial airports in the world (Mr. P did not appreciate me reading this to him while we were on final approach). Be flexible in your plans, because boat and helicopter service are frequently canceled or delayed. And the weather is extremely difficult to predict with any accuracy. Just dress appropriately and be adaptable. The weather may be fine half an hour's drive in another direction.

We stayed in the Hotel Føroyar just outside the capital, Tórshavn. It was described everywhere as the best hotel in the country. It was rather like a very nice motel. This is not a place for luxury. Tip: ask for a room on floor one, which is above floor two. Our room on floor two had a weird odor which was so bad on the second day, we asked for another room; they were happy to move us, explaining that the odor was "a known problem." An evening walk on the property led me to believe the problem is the septic system. However, the rooms are reasonably spacious, clean, and comfortable.

The Faroe Islands is not a foodie destination, although there is a Michelin 1 star restaurant (KOKS). We didn't eat there. We had some very good meals (call it the Noma effect), and some good food. Nothing was extraordinary, but neither was anything bad. One dinner was fish and chips at a village convenience store. It wasn't great, but it was hella better than a lot of fish and chips at DC restaurants. I'd say on average the quality of food is rather good, just don't expect fine dining or service or you'll be disappointed. The range of ingredients is limited: not much grows there. Expect fish and seafood (especially salmon, as salmon farming is the major industry), lamb, bread (really good bread, actually), potatoes, other root veg, and rhubarb.

This is probably reading like a hell-trip, but actually we loved it. Absolutely loved it. We're going back next summer.

They don't exactly have a tourist infrastructure, but they do provide for visitors. For example, many of the villages are too small to drive in, or have no place to park. So there's a small parking lot at the entrance, and frequently there's a WC there as well. Every building we went to was impeccably clean, sound and sturdy.

These people take pride in their land, and it shows. They have rules, only a few simple ones, and so long as visitors follow them, it will remain a delightful place to visit. Mostly the rules come down to common sense and courtesy. Like, stick to the paths in the infields, the trails in the outfields. Don't harass the sheep. Close the gate.

Most of these villages will have a little cafe that might serve something savory, but more often than not offer just coffee (espresso, really) and "vafur" (waffles), which are always served with rhubarb jam and whipped cream.

I'd read that the Faroese were reserved, and think that's generally right, but at the same time they know hospitality. In one village a man had set up kaffi & vafur outside, but when the rain started, he moved us into his kitchen, where we sat and chatted with a Danish couple. In another, a woman gave me a coffee - we walked into her shop (ground floor of her great-grandfather's house), and she said "oh you look cold, I'll get you coffee". I tried to buy a sweater she had knitted, but I didn't have enough cash, and she couldn't take a credit card. So she gave me a slip of paper with her bank account info and asked me to deposit the amount into it within the next two weeks.

How can you not love that?

Faroese is the official language, but everyone speaks Danish and almost everyone speaks at least some English. 

Roads are generally good (better than Iceland), but some of the tunnels can be challenging (think one lane, unlit, and five kilometers long).

There are sheep everywhere, including the roads (though I think the Faroese build better fences than Icelanders do). Watch the road. And watch your step, because with sheep everywhere comes sheep droppings everywhere - including the entryway to our 5-star hotel. Seriously.

The hiking is challenging. There are some mostly flat hikes, but the topography is such that mostly you're walking up and then down. After one hike our iPhones registered 4.5 miles walked, 170 flights of stairs climbed. As you ascend, the weather comes in - the mountains catch or create the clouds, fog rises on the slopes, and sometimes when you reach the top you're socked in and can't see a thing. Sit still for 45 minutes, maybe it will clear up a little and you'll have a beautiful view, maybe not.

There's a new excellent hiking guide online (here), and free copies of it at the airport and tourist info centers. Read it and pay heed to the warnings. In Mykines there's a memorial to men who've lost their lives at sea; on the other side is listed the names of people who have fallen to their deaths from the cliffs.

I'm not kidding. It happens. Poor footing and fog are a dangerous combination. And I heard tales of scheduled helicopter trips being canceled because the 'copters were needed for search and rescue ops. This is an inconvenience for the tourist but a real problem for the residents, because many of them depend on those helicopters for supplies and transport, so much so that as a tourist you're only allowed to travel one way by helicopter, and must take a ferry the other way.

Oh, and ferries are frequently canceled because of rough seas. People get stranded on some of the smaller islands. Those islands have no accommodation for visitors. Do your homework and be prepared. And if you're prone to motion sickness, consider getting a scopolamine patch.

Back to food. Favorite restaurant: Áarstova, by a mile. Simply prepared food but a little elegant rather than plain. Coffee: Brell Cafe in Torshavn (they roast their own beans). Kaffihúsið is good, too, but they use beans from Iceland (Kaffitar). Breakfast: just eat at the hotel if it's included in the room cost, because unless you want to eat pastry and eat it late, you won't find much of interest. Good pastry: Paname Cafe. Good fish and chips: Fisk and Chips (really, that's what it's called). All of these are in Tórshavn. In Klaksvik, Fríða serves a good cup, with nice pastries.

That's all for now. Again, happy to answer questions/provide details for anyone who's considering going.

from the article:

“The prices of most restaurants is out of control,” says Ian Malcolm, 30, an information security engineer living in the District, who got a serious case of sticker shock after moving here from suburban Virginia. “I couldn't care less about how fresh or sourced the ingredients are or what farm they came from. Whatever makes the meal cheaper would be preferred.”  [emphasis mine]

I don't even know where to begin.

I was just starting to make a completely new map, updated for 2017, when I saw that the Washington Post had already done it. No use to me re-inventing the wheel. Farmers Markets in the Washington Area for 2017.

6 hours ago, jca76 said:

totally agree.  unless i'm mistaken, only turbogrrl has actually eaten at mirabelle,

Ah, nope. How do you think I got pix of the opening night menu?

On 4/8/2017 at 11:33 AM, DonRocks said:

... i have to disagree with one thing you say; If you think "best" boils down to the voters being so inept that it's a popularity contest,

But I didn't say that, and apologize if I implied it. My point was that unless "best" has an objective definition, it will necessarily become subjective, and that leads to popularity contest. It really doesn't have to do with whether the people judging are inept. It has to with the fact that they are not judging on a consistent set of objective standards.

What defines "best cinematography"? How well the camera stays in focus? Proportion of close-in shots to sweeping view shots? Nice effects? How well the action is followed? Beats me. If I were a judge, I would define it as "how well it illuminates or contributes to the point of the story", but is that what every single judge is considering? If not, what are they considering, and why should their collective opinions be considered authoritative?

I mean really, it's the same reason why this is such a good food review site, and why I tried to argue that you shouldn't use a rating system for restaurants. Reading each diner's considered opinion gives valuable information (even if you have to sift through or read between the lines). An aggregate "people on this site call X the best" is a pointer. It's devoid of information.

BTW the cinematography example follows my fascination with the movie Whiplash. Consider watching that one. I love films where the cinematography helps further the story. It doesn't happen often enough.

16 hours ago, DonRocks said:

The best picture almost never wins Best Picture - this year might just be an exception.

Psst - the James Beard Awards are every bit as much of a travesty as the Academy Awards, probably even more so.

The problem with awards for "Best" of anything is that they are subjective, and thus become little more than popularity contests. How can you define "best" objectively? What exactly does it mean to have the "best" cinematography or "best" hamburger, other than a majority of people agree that they like it the most?

Nonetheless "best" lists are useful. The list of nominated movies is likely to include ones that were in several ways superior to most releases in that year. The list of best restaurants is likely to include most of the better ones. Useful as guidelines, but after that, who cares what some other body of voters thinks?

It isn't as clear cut as, say, a foot race: first one to cross the finish line wins.

8 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Porcupine,

I vaguely remember you saying you detested Forrest Gump, and I'm wondering, in all seriousness, if you're too smart to see through the stupidity of this film, which I think is very good at the core, and intentionally designed to be presented as stupid.

I don't remember it well enough to explain or defend my opinion. All I remember was the gut feeling of really not liking it.

The opening menu:

Good news for those who spend time on the Mall. Excerpted from a Smithsonian staff email:

Borrego Springs is tiny and was apparently completely overwhelmed the weekend before I was there, but seems to have recovered this past week: they didn't run out of gasoline or food, and police were doing a good job of traffic control.

A few quick observations:

Hacienda del Sol - old-fashioned motel (the only place I could get a room), so run-down it's almost an insult. There was one and only one outlet that accepted three-prong plugs in my little cabin. Bare light fixtures. Threadbare furniture. No wifi except in the lobby and pool area, which close at 8:00. Feh.

If you want wifi the thing to do is go across the street to the public library and hang out on one of the many benches. Wifi is on 24 hrs/day. And there are outlets outside. Woo!

Food?  Engh. Kendall's Cafe is open at 0600 and serves a good diner breakfast. For dinner, though, not so great, but maybe one of the better options in town. Red Ocotillo seems like maybe it's the closest thing to high-end (a very low bar to clear in this town). Carmelita's served the best food I had all week (until I got back to San Diego), but that's also not saying much.

There's a nice little independent grocery/deli in town. Central Market or something.

I could type lots more but just got home after not sleeping on the red-eye. If anyone wants specific advice or info, post here and I'll do what I can.

Bo-Beau is closed on Mondays. Instead I ate at a decent neighborhood Italian place, Antica Trattoria or something like that. The real find was La Mesa Bistro and Bakery, open at 0530. For something like twelve bucks I got a gigantic plate of eggs on chilaquiles - very tasty, way better than Denny's. But the coffee sucks.

Instead of bringing a sandwich through security I was able to time things right for a quick dinner at the bar of Juniper and Ivy, which I wholeheartedly recommend. Good, innovative California cuisine with an emphasis on fresh produce. And the coffee is good, too.

It was spectacular. But... flowergeddon.

12 hours ago, Sundae in the Park said:

Heh, note that not all Southern California deserts are created equal, conditions in Death Valley were not optimal for creating a superbloom this year, and folks trekking there for flowers have been disappointed. If looking for this year's superbloom, see the thread on Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

I just got back from ABDSP.  :-)

Thanks, eatruneat - I was hoping you'd see my post.  :-)  Breakfast depends entirely on whether I make it to the car rental place before it closes. If I do, Denny's it is and on the road before sunrise. If I don't, I have no choice but to wait until 9 the next morning, in which case I'll go to Sheldon's.

So you can get a sandwich through security? Last time I tried something like that was with with some unusual cheeses in Montreal; we ended up having our airport picnic pre-security and an hour sooner than we wanted to, but at least we didn't have to ditch the cheese.

I'll be on a solo trip soon, need dinner and breakfast recommendations. From the airport I have to head to La Presa (I think) to pick up the car, then I'm spending one night in La Mesa before heading out at o-dark-thirty. Will be tired, cranky and frazzled after getting the car, so would like to stay in that area rather than going back downtown. Sounds like Bo-Beau is the best option? Anything tasty and low-key will do.

Any 24 hour breakfast joints? other than Denny's, I mean, which is where I'm planning to eat breakfast if nothing better is around.

On the return, I have to drop off the car in La Presa by 5:30, then be at the airport by 6:30. Is there anything I can pick up and eat once I get to the airport? Or anything decent in the airport?

Many thanks.

I'm sorry you were disappointed, but I get it. You aren't the only one who feels that way. As a botanerd and orchid fancier in recovery, I prefer a more science-oriented exhibit; however, I commend Smithsonian Gardens for trying something different. The idea was, if I understand correctly, to try exhibiting them purely as art. Viewed that way I think it's quite successful, but it is a change from what people are used to.

The annual orchid exhibit is held at USBG alternating years, so look for it there next year. In other years it's held at a Smithsonian facility (two years ago it was called Interlocking Science and Beauty; I think it was at Natural History). It's a collaborative effort between two different organizations and I love that they do it.

ktmoomau, if you're an orchid fancier you might appreciate this: fifteen or twenty years ago, SI, USBG, Architect of the Capitol, and maybe a few other entities had a massive shared greenhouse facility near Blue Plains. I went there once with a few employees from Brookside Gardens - we were borrowing some materials - but there was a glitch and we were left cooling our heels for awhile. Then a gentleman whose name I've forgotten came by, introduced himself as the head orchidist for one of the organizations, and offered to take us through the orchid collections. This was beyond special, since the collections held endangered species that were seized under CITES guidelines and were being studied before being repatriated to their home countries. The plants were so protected that he wouldn't accept any volunteers who expressed even an interest in orchids, just in case (he'd had problems with volunteers poaching plants, iirc). I was in geek heaven.

Terminal 3 at McCarran International in Las Vegas has almost nothing open very early in the morning. At 0530 our choices were Burger King and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which actually had pretty good coffee, but no food except a few stale-looking cinnamon buns and racks of almost-frozen burritos and sandwiches that hadn't been put in cases yet. Fortunately the instant oatmeal in a cup stuff isn't too bad. Anyway be warned if you have an early flight.

On the other hand, Sky Canyon at Dallas Love Field had really good tacos. Seriously good. Mr. P thought his hamburger was fine but nothing special; I thought the beef tacos and pork tacos were exceptional. There's also a gelato shop that makes a decent milkshake.

LAS   DAL

Thanks for the suggestions. Waited too late to make a res at Lotus of Siam, so read back further in this thread and decided to try Chada Thai and Wine, which was great. Or maybe I just ordered well after a few days of crappy park service concessions food, but it really hit the spot.

On 12/7/2016 at 8:49 AM, Simul Parikh said:

Hey  - does Mobile Passport add anything to Global Entry? Does anyone have it? It's a free service. Some sites say that the Global Entry program is getting more popular and the Mobile Passport line is basically empty.

Based on a single experience, for now I'd say don't bother. We were returning from overseas through Atlanta last month and had three hours to kill, so decided to try Mobile Passport. From being among the first dozen or so people off the plane we ended up at the very back of the regular line, because the MP kiosk printed our receipts with big Xs on them. I asked a TSA member if we could backtrack to the Global Entry kiosks and try again. We had to explain to other TSA personnel what we were doing, but they were sympathetic, and all nodded their heads when one of them said, "just never bother with Mobile Passport, especially if you have Global Entry; it's not worth it."

Also, I hope I never have to return via ATL again. What a mess. At least we managed to kill that extra time.