MelGold

I like Stephanie. She's what I think Tiffanie wanted to be like in season 1. The rest of them I'm not so sure of right now.

It looked shuttered when I drove by last week.

I'll move this to a whim later this week, but if anyone's up for a margarita at Tortilla Coast before Saturday's expo game against the O's I'll be there with some friends/co-workers before heading over to the stadium.

She also made the honeycomb & lavendar bites so she wouldn't have been dish-less, but point taken.

seared tuna steak seasoned with pepper, some amazing citrus EVOO and chardonnay salt that HV gave me for the holidays & sauteed squash, zucchini and onion

Why would you serve them to the judges if you had already decided to pull them from the table? Nikki should have been kicked off for that reason alone.

I certainly expect Teddy to kick some NY ass during the throwdown! Good luck!!!!

Is anyone going this year?

Bison. Hanger. Steak. Go!

Can't wait to see what they dish up tonight!

Last night was Jaipur (in the bottom of an office complex on Lee Highway between Nutley & Pickett). We had a big group with a few newbies so we ordered "safe" - appetizer platter with an assortment of deliciously fried items from samosa to paneer to salmon, butter chicken, lamb goscht, goscht paneer, eggplant, chickpeas and tons of na'an. Have no idea why this place is so quiet on the weekdays, but for $27 a head & belly full of Indian goodness it's my go-to place outside the Beltway.

Don't the Irish enjoy mussels & frites?

Turkey meatballs & whole grain rotini with homemade a pesto and roasted garlic red sauce. It was even better as leftovers for lunch today (the rest of the sauce is hitting the freezer tonight).

Grrr...

Oh my god, that's a f*cking tragedy!

There was a couple in the elevator with us after the concert who had just come back from their second full dinner of the night - guess they didn't want to miss out. She had an Amada bag in hand with leftovers...they had nothing but raves for the place. Then again, who could trust it...they probably had so many plates pass in front of them over the past six hours, they all started to run together. Didn't find out what the other place was since we got to our floor before I had the chance. One night in Philly is enough for me though.

We ended up at Osteria afterall & had an absolutely delicious meal for about $125 with tip & tax. We ended up at the front bar since the back bar was already full at 5:05 when we arrived. Since I wanted to try a bit of everything, my friend was kind enough to humor me & share an order of the mozzarela bufalata with swiss chard crostini; the parma pizza with mozzarella, fontina, arugula, and prosciutto di parma; a sweet & rich squash tortelli with butter, sage and amaretti; and the chocolate flan (aka the chef's molten chocolate cake) with a scoop of fabulous pistachio ice cream & crushed pistachios to cap it off. To drink, we started with their Venetian spritzer, which is red or white wine, campari and blood orange with soda. I had the red which was a really refreshing way to start...my friend ordered it with white & had the unfortunate chance to taste what happens when you add too much campari (YUCK!), we also both had a glass of Tocai with dinner which made the tortelli dish magical. Our seats were right in front of the pizza oven & to the immediate left of the expo so it wasn't really a relaxing meal. If you go, which I highly recommend you do, get reservations (try for the enclosed patio area) and enjoy. Also make sure to think ahead about how you're getting home. Taxis are few & far between - we ended up having to walk back to the hotel which wasn't far but the heels I was wearing weren't quite hiking boots (and I have a healing broken toe)! For brunch this morning we were going to go to Honey's Sit 'n Eat, but the line outside was daunting. We headed over to Market for a quick bite at Fork etc, but ended up at Continental on the corner of market & 1st. Great brunch - my friend had a huge plate of brioche french toast with caramelized banana and I had the roasted tomato frittata with fontina & bacon served with a side of grits & multi-grain toast. They start you off with a passion fruit slushie too! All in all, I'd say this was my best food experience out of all three of my Philly trips to date (and George Strait rocked the Wachovia Center which just made the trip all the better)!

Probably drive down for brunch, hang out...possibly hit the children's museum...then home again jiggity jig.

Anyone been to the Strawberry Street Cafe? Looks cute but is it worth the trip for a family brunch? My sister, bro-in-law & the kids are meeting me & the parents halfway for my dad's birthday brunch next Sunday. We need a place that's yummy, affordable & kid friendly (read: 3 & 1 year old)...oh, and reservations would be nice!

They're completely booked on Saturday (even at 5 PM)...we might keep it as a back up & eat at the bar. Anywhere else???

A friend & I are heading up to Philly for a quick getaway and concert on Saturday night. I've gotten tons of ideas for breakfast/lunch on Sunday, but need a place to grab a bite before the concert somewhere near the hotel (17th & Race) or the Broad Street Line. Want to stick pretty casual, sit down American or Italian (can't imagine there's good Mexican up there?)...not too expensive. Any suggestions?

Welcome, Ben! If you can make it over to Old Town, head to Southside on S. Washington. They tend to run out on the weekends, but it's worth the trip.

Thank god for this little slice of heaven on the Hill! After 4 hours walking around the Hill with Santa Claus handing out coal to Congress yesterday, my colleague & I hit Taqueria right as they made the switch to lunch. Two tacos - a bean & a chorizo - and an order of guac & chips set me back to rights again. I wish I found myself on Capitol Hill more often around lunchtime!

Tis almost the season for after-Christmas sales & new suits! Congrats on your progress to date...you're inspiring!

My family's recipe is uber simple: 7 or 8 potatoes 3 Tbsp of flour 1.5 tsp of salt 1 tsp of baking soda cinnamon & sugar to taste 2 eggs grate up the potatoes - press out the water - mix up everything in a big bowl - let it sit for a few minutes while the oil heats up - do a final squeeze per handful just before you put it in the pan so it doesn't scald you - and voila. We had semi-heated debate on applesauce v. sour cream. I personally put a dollop of sour cream on, cover it with a larger spoonful of applesauce & sprinkle a bit of cinnamon & sugar on top. YUM!