Flavortown

Maybe Keller's recipe in Ad Hoc at Home could offer some useful ideas. It calls for a heavily seasoned brine (salt, honey, Turkish bay leaves, tons of garlic, black peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and lemon peel + juice) that the chicken sits in for 12 to 24 hours. He pats it down, then dips it in buttermilk and double dredges in a combo of flour, garlic power, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, and black pepper. He lets it sit to dry, then fries it at 330 degrees in peanut oil, and finishes it with some coarse salt. Also, he suggests starting with a whole chicken, then cutting it into pieces after removing from the brine. Haven't gotten a chance to try it yet myself, but the picture looks awfully delicious.

Farragut North station is opened again. Trains limited to 25 mph between Dupont and Farragut (so-says the statement), but the front-page of wmata.com says that the Red Line is running on time. So, it looks like the commuting won't be so bad. I'll still be there. Busy deciding what flavors I want to ask for in order to receive some delicious creation.

Oh great...maybe I'll be arriving a little later than 5:30.

5:30 sounds good. See you all there.

Me too. Though I wouldn't mind some good food to go along with, or to follow, the drinks.

Sauteed chicken breasts marinated in garlic, salt, lime, and olive oil Creamed Corn Risotto (Arborio rice, stock, creamed corn, garlic, yellow onion, Parmigiano, and lime zest) Tomato Soup Risotto (Campbell's Tomato soup, stock, yellow onion, Parmigiano, butter, and a sprinkling of so-called "Italian" herbs)

Mandu really deserves a higher ranking in the dining guide. I've been 4 or 5 times in the past few months (it's become one of my go to destinations for pre-work meals, since they aren't closed between 2 and 5), and I've yet to have an unsatisfying meal. It may be more tame than other Korean options out in Annandale, but the service is great, the atmosphere is pleasant and these two aspects together with simple, yet consistently good cooking, give the food and overall dining experience a very homey feel. I normally go for either the Dolsot Bibim Bap ($12, and well worth the $2 up-charge from the regular bibim bap), a generous portion of rice, vegetables, and beef, topped with a fried egg and served in a burning hot stone bowl, with chili paste on the side; or the Duk Bok Gi ($11), a plate of rice cakes (think Asian gnocchi, but with more chew), mushrooms, onions, and beef in a perfectly spicy chili sauce. But yesterday, after escaping the first few flakes of the latest phase of snowmageddon, I went for the Ojeenga Bokum ($13), a large plate of sauteed squid and mixed vegetables in a sauce similar to the duk bok gi, but spicier. All of these plates have been deeply satisfying, and fully warranted their relatively low price tags, especially considering the ever-present complimentary appetizers (Banchan). While they don't change very frequently, the usual suspects (kimchi, marinated zucchini, tofu, potatoes, and bean sprouts) are still a welcome start to each meal. Appetizers have been really good as well -- all of the Mandu (dumplings) are worth trying, especially during their happy hour, when you get 6 for $3 (and they're happy to split the orders among different types) -- but the steamed shrimp option has been my favorite. The jun (egg-dipped shrimp, fish, beef, or beef-stuffed peppers) are also a good start (particularly the seafood options) as is the Doobu ($4), egg-dipped and pan fried tofu, one of the few preparations of tofu I've consumed that actually left me wanting more. From the looks of it, Mandu has been neglected since the dr.com dinner a few years back, but as long as the kitchen keeps putting out this kind of food just a 10 minute walk from the Dupont metro, it ought to get more attention.

Arancini misti, recipe testing to begin within the next few weeks. All I'm sayin'.

Haha, well I get that...but out at a restaurant...when I've just walked in from the cold, and I'm staring down the options of either: a. short rib chili and cornbread b. various hot panini c. flatbreads with hot, melty cheese and various toppings or d. a cobb salad with cold lettuce, cold bacon, cold hard boiled egg, and cold blue cheese I would find it near impossible to go for that last option.

I don't think you're the only one sick of comfort food. At Churchkey last night, everybody was ordering salads... how can you eat a salad in this weather?

Churchkey is open, with some special menu items: chili, 3 kinds of wings (buffalo, jerk, and Asian), a sausage and pepper flatbread, brisket and cubano panini, and quesadillas. Birch and Barley is closed. I'm working the door, so say hi and show your ID.

Arancini: they're more common than mozzarella sticks now, and each restaurant that puts them on their menu comes up with a new misspelling. Plus places are charging more and more while reducing portions; they're just risotto rice, cheese, bread crumbs, and a little vegetable/meat for variety. $3 for one slightly larger than a marble? That would mean a bowl of risotto should cost about $60.

Birch & Barley/Churchkey is open tonight, and so are the rest of the NRG restaurants.

After the last time I had a Hell burger, I told myself I'd never pay for a burger in any "fancy" restaurant again. I figured the $15 + price tag could never be warranted when the best burger I'd ever had couldbe gotten for $8. I was wrong: the Vidalia burger, with fried onion strings, foie gras mustard, and cheddar (I'm pretty sure), at about $16, was worth every penny. Served medium rare, with a giant pile of those onion strings right ontop of the patty, it was extremely juicy and flavorful. And while the meat had that fantastic looseness that makes you realize exactly how similar some burgers are to hockey pucks, the bun contained it well, and the onion strings offered some nice crunch. Even though stuffed, I honestly wanted to order another to go (I'd split the first one with a friend -- i'm no a complete glutton). Other awesome dishes included the gratis pickled vegetables, the pancetta and caramelized onion socca, and the Reuben, lifted from the pig and pinot menu, now full sized and composed of sturdier bread plus the same awesome pork. The arrancini paled in comparison to these other, stellar dishes (as well as their price tag), but otherwise the food was great. The company was too, even though not too many people turned out. At any rate, I can now be content hiding from the snow in my dorm for the next few days. And after that, I'm going to get another burger.

Talk of restarting the Friday Happy Hour tradition, and the impending snow, have wrought inspiration: it's thursday, but why not have a happy hour tonight, prior to battening down the hatches and hiding from the snowpocalypse? Vidalia's the place, since I figure it's a convenient middle ground for most people. Any takers?

The crust really is their downfall. A week or two ago, on the 14th street location's opening day, they were giving out freshly cooked samples on the street, and I gave it a shot. The toppings seemed fresh, and the flavor combination of the cheese and herb pizza I tried was tasty enough, but the crust was like a cardboard cracker. Thin, with no chew, and no flavor as well...just dryness. They were giving out pizzas for free that day, but even if I hadn't been obligated to show up at work on time, I still wouldn't have waited in line to get one after that sample.

Friday happy hours sound like fun to me. Definitely would be interested in trying Firefly for the first time, and after that last visit to Corduroy, I'd gladly return any day. But whatever the venue, it's simply fun to have a more loosely organized chance to meet up and hang out for a while available from week to week.

A back to basics Hell burger - just cheese and heck sauce - and some sweet potato fries.

Pre dinner shift Hell Burger, if anyone else has a desire for one at the random time of 3:15.

Today's Groupon: $12 for $25 at American Flatbread Living Social: $25 for $50 at Co. Co. Sala.

Seconded. Not at all similar to Buffalo-style, but absolutely the best wings I've ever had. They've got a really unique combination of spices that yields a slow, escalating burn, along with a ton of flavor.

Same here.

Breakfast for the floor: Pan Sized Pancakes (8-10 inch diameter, and crazy fluffy - like1 to 2 inches thick) Frittata with potatoes, onions, monterey jack, and cheddar Scrambled eggs Whole Foods Maple Chicken Sausage Fake Meat Sausage (for the vegetarians, ugh)

Thanks for organizing Daniel. Hope everybody had as much fun battling the hoards of butternut squash as I did (even if the weapons at hand were less than Excalibur-like). It's too bad we don't get to see the end product.

Edit: You know you spend too much time running from one job to the next when you forget the date and think you're only 2 weeks into a month, but you're actually 2 days from it ending.