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[Not directly related to the question, but... I carry a "sustainable fish" card in my wallet that's published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It says which fish are good-to-go and which to avoid because of overfishing or ecological issues. The Web site is incredibly helpful because if you type in "rockfish" it gives you three different results that break down by region and nickname (rock cod, striper, greenhead...). None of them say anything about the lesions, but it's just a site I find useful. Monterey Bay Aquarium]

Speaking of spices, what's the best way to keep spices fresh for the longest amount of time? Glass jar? Baggie inside baggie? Freezer? I don't usually buy in bulk, but I may be headed off to Zanzibar next month, and it just seems silly to return without my suitcase packed full and stinky with cloves, nutmeg, and cardomom!

Dal party! Dal is this carnivore's favorite non-animal protein dish, and I think it would be fun to make one green and one brown. I'm also quite partial to Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for dal mixed with cumin-sauteed cabbage.

I'd happily eat at any of these places once I marry rich.

Did I understand correctly in Tom's chat that Morou Outtara is now temporarily consulting in Perry's kitchen?

Great story. I've long believed that the bacon cheeseburger has to be the most widely offensive food ever concocted, and I think that's one of the reasons I love it so!

Actually, they've been about equally split between car road trips and Metro road trips. Even though I am one of the great unwashed pedestrians who should just "be happy staying in DC"... Could someone tell me where the Metro stop is on this map? I hear oodles about Joe's noodles, and it's great to think that I could get there without an exorbitant cab ride or, you know, buying a car.

Star Hollow Farms is now open for virtual or actual shopping. The real! live! market opened two Saturdays ago. But unfortunately, I finally have a complaint: Their root veggies actually have a shorter life span than their greens. Seriously. Over a couple of months, I've had russet potatoes FOAMING on my countertop after four days (I'd never seen potatoes FOAM before!), red potatoes that look fine on the surface but more than half the inside flesh is black within two days, and turnips sprouting after 7 days. No, it's not just my kitchen; root veggies bought from other vendors last an appropriate length of time. Oddly, their delicious, wonderful greens that I love have lasted over two weeks in my crisper. Caveat emptor.

I know. I was hoping one of the lucky attendees would describe it.

What's Mozambique? And will one of you lucky folks please fill this former Midwesterner in on Brat Night? It's been TOO LONG since I've had one of those halcion sausages of my youth... Mmmmm...

That's not been my experience. The merchant copies I've seen have only four digits.

Then how do so many restaurants get away with having me sign CC reciepts that only have the last four of the number? Odd!

But that signed copy of the reciept does not have to have the entire CC number on it.

And I agree with you completely. Maybe it's just the bastardization of the language and carelessness with words that makes people think that slow service on a busy night should elicit a blood oath. Or maybe the rest of the world is more melodramatic than I? Or maybe, when the plural of chef became "chef's," I should have moved to a non-English-speaking country because at least they'd have an excuse. (I don't mean you, Waitman. I love your writing. ) Quelle drag! Especially so for those restaurateurs with welcoming, neighborly public personas!!!

Amen! I thought this was illegal! (I'm pretty sure it is in California.) But I just dined at a very nice place that printed the whole card number on the reciept. In fact, that reminds me that I need to make a call and complain on that...

I'm always surprised at the vehemence with which people react to bad service. I get bad service, eh, I probably won't go back. But these folks "vow to never return" and "swear to never set foot near the place again." My goodness people are grumpy, huh?

It's in DC? Where is this haven of chicken and shrimp?

Well, um, I was joking. But clearly the vitriol is there for a bicoastal burger brawl!

Do you think Five Guys and In-N-Out expansions will spark an East Coast/West Coast burger war? Biggie and Tupac would be so proud...

I think that's the key. Get your drinks first, order the next round before your glass is empty, and just relax, ignore the service as much as possible, and let the night be about food and friends. It can work, and I think it's worth it there.

Dinners like the one my dad and I had last night at Notti Bianche make me glad I found all you fabulous Rockwellians. What a great place--the food, the wine, the service, all of it. I loved the bruschetta to start, especially the shrimp, which were in my mind the taste and quality that Jaleo's garlic shimp were aspiring to be. The frittata was an inspired mix of flavors; serving it cold was a nice surprise. The monkfish just barely missed the mark for me, but I won't deduct points since I really admire the chance it took with such different textures and flavor combinations; "bitter," I think, is not a flavor you find in dishes at restaurants that are treading water. A bite of dad's hangar steak (or was it flat iron?) confirmed that they can even make meat and starch interesting and delicious. I LOVE the listing of Liquid Desserts. I'm usually too stuffed for more food after a nice meal, but I do like an after-dinner drink. Generally, one's stuck with a choice of ports and scotches (not that there's anything wrong with ports and scotches!), so it was cool to be able to try something new, and the prosecco-housemade limoncello concoction was a great meal ender. The service was terrific too. Our server hit that perfect balance between friendliness and professionalism; we never lacked for anything, but she never interrupted us when we didn't need her. And she hooked me up with great wines by the glass throughout the meal. I will say this: I think they must have spaced out the tables on the banquette since the Post review because I don't think we were too close to our neighbors. The tables were, however, too close to each other for the formal serve-left/clear-right service; a bit too much jostling for my taste every time our or our neighbors' tables needed something. But no biggie. It was all so good, I just don't care.

I made my first trip to Jaleo (downtown) this weekend with my dad, embarrassed as I was yet again to have never been to the tapas temple. The food was really quite nice, and I look forward to tasting more some time. Unfortunately that night the service was so abysmal we only got to four dishes before dad insisted on paying and leaving. The date fritters were, as described here, just delish; the salty-sweet, crisp-chewy combo totally hits the spot for me. And the endive with goat cheese, orange segments, olive oil, and almonds was gorgeous--a terrific combination of flavors and textures and great quality ingredients. The garlic shrimp and cured meats were not spectacular, but perfectly good. But the service... Oy. It bothered dad more than it bothered me, but it was truly, empirically awful. We were there Friday night, but at 5:00 pm, and the place wasn't even half full when we left an hour later. Just one example: I ordered the three-sherry sampler. The busser who brought them couldn't tell me which sherry was which and the waiter didn't come back for over five minutes so I could ask him. As I worked my way through the sherries, I realized that two were the same. So I flagged down the waiter, who looked at me skeptically then spent an inordinate amount of time comparing the wines' colors (identical!) in the window. He finally took one back and brought another. It was, of course, the same one he'd taken back in the first place, so I sent it back again. Luckily the third (fourth?) time was the charm, but come ON. Incidentally, for each "send back" it took over five minutes to track the guy down and over five minutes for him to make the "exchange." I think I'll return, but it will be with no expectations and to the bar where I can watch the pour myself. Sigh.

Except for the last two sentences, this seems normal for prime outdoor seating in prime outdoor weather. Tending toward totalitarian, but normal. They eventually caved to your threat to publicly trash them, right? Do you think they should hold your table because you drove an hour but not hold another's because s/he walked five minutes? ETA: Sorry--on a re-read my tone seems harsh. I don't mean it to sound that way, but am curious about what you think should have happened. (I'm just grumpy that I'm not on a patio. )

I had a wonderful meal at Cashion's last night. The service, wine, and atmosphere was, as always, great. So was the food, but most of it was overshadowed by our first appetizer, truffled beef ravioli. Songs should be written about this dish, people. It was amazing, delicious, totally off the hook. The pasta was perfectly tender, the beef was soft and seasoned, and the truffle cream sauce was just ridiculous. I've only experienced this a few times in my life, but I very nearly put my fork down after the first bite and declared myself done. What more satisfaction canst thou have tonight??

Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home introduces Julia's anchovy-less version by saying that her parents took her to eat a caesar at Cardini's when she was a child and that version is her take on it. (Which is not to say Julia Child is alive; just some trivia for y'all.)