qwertyy
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Everything posted by qwertyy
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I had a terrific meal at Indique last night. It was late, so we ran through it pretty fast, but there were several stand-out dishes (sorry I don't remember most of the names): The quail appetizer was amazing--who knew such an itty-bitty bird could be so flavorful? The crab cake-like appetizer somehow managed to taste fully of crab and spices, while having a creamy texture; it was delicious. Of the entrees, the fish Tamilnad was a winner--very tomatoey and nicely spiced--as was the fish wrapped in banana leaf, which has a surprisingly pleasant, subtle earthy flavor. The lamb vindaloo was spectacular. I'm kind of a medium-salsa girl, so this stuff nearly made me hallucinate from the heat, but it also managed to have lots of flavorful layers and a depth that's often lost in heavy spice. And the lamb itself was very nearly the consistency of butter. Homina homina. Terrific food. I'm very much looking forward to eating my leftovers for lunch and getting back for more soon! **FYI, just noticed that Washington Post has a new Indique listing: Indique Heights: From the owners of Cleveland Park's Indique, this upscale Indian restaurant opens Wednesday, April 5. Address and phone number are listed in the City Guide.
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Star Hollow Farms is starting its full farmer's market on 18th and Columbia this Saturday. While his cool Internet-based market has sustained me through the winter, I'm excited to get to start picking out my own fruit again!
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The cheese stand is terrific, and so is its staff. Even on a bustling weekend, they were happy to share multiple tastes with us and great advice.
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However, it is good every once in a while to remind ourselves that moderately "regular" foods can be just as good for us as uber-engineered stuff. I'm thinking of the article in Express on Friday that reported that scientists had found chocolate milk to be as effective a sports drink as Gatorade. I love that.
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If you like his writing, cool. Tell me why. But why are you so angry at the people who don't like it? The expectation--and it's a reasonable one--is that a weekly column in a widely read, not-technically-national-but-may-as-well-be newspaper be well written. That's all. (I'm actually shocked that that's too high a standard for some.) But he tends to get so wrapped up in inventing unique ways of describing food, decor, and service that he forgets that the reading public needs to actually understand what he's talking about. His phrasing tends to be cutesy, kitschy, and silly--and it also tends to be meaningless. I don't have any idea what a midnight-colored sauce is or tastes like, or whether it's good or bad. (And is it black? Navy blue? Sounds kind of gross, but he seems ambivalent, possibly positive.) One of the main reasons good writers eschew cutesy, kitschy, silly phrases is that they're filler, largely unhelpful in informing the reader. And since part of his job is to paint pictures of places his readers may have never visited, with his limited number of column inches, I just wish he'd concentrate on the salient points and use language that can't be parsed into 10 definitions that span the spectrum.
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Yes, he's being paid to eat AND write. And he's a bad writer. I used to read Phyllis every week even if I had no intention of going to the restaurant because, well, I'm a food nerd. Now I dread reading the reviews--even about restaurants I'm interested in!--because of his labored prose, senseless similes, and mind-boggling modifiers. It's not an odd phrase; it's every review, nearly every paragraph. Sorry to be stern with you, son, but that's the way it is.
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Yeah, I agree. Most times I pop into a chain out of ease or laziness, and I end up chiding myself for settling for the middling glop I'm served. Then I wonder why, then I eat well for another for six months, then I get lazy... Lather, rinse, repeat. Thanks for the invite! Now if I can just start getting out of the office at a reasonable hour, I'll take you up on it!
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Sorry. I know what safe food is. I meant--what is "afraid to eat outside a concept"? Do you think people with a fondness for pub grub are skittish or unadventurous eaters?
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I didn't realize it was a chain. Where are the others? What does this mean?
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I forgive the bulk of the fuzzy-wuzzy language in the chats because they happen on the fly. I'm talking about his columns, which he clearly thinks on for much longer. From an actual review: "draped in a midnight-colored sauce that reverberates with red pepper." Kill me now.
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I totally agree with you. He rarely uses his rather enormous soapbox for good. People write in with the most egregious crap, and his general reply is, "Chatters?" That's soooo wussy. Or maybe he just doesn't bother to read the questions--seems to happen in a lot of the chats nowadays, punting or answering a question that wasn't asked.
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Heh. You know, I don't even mind those phrasings--IF they're few and far between. But why does it seem so hard for him to just call a cigar a cigar? Real language is so rare nowadays... Sigh. [sorry to go off-topic, everybody--this is just my numero uno pet peeve about him.]
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I stopped into the District Chophouse for a post-hockey beer this week, and I'm aghast that I'd never been there before. I didn't realize they brewed their own beer, and the menu looks to be good steakhouse fare at a much lower cost than most steakhouses. But all I had the chance to try was beer.* Who's been in to eat? I'm thinking of taking dad there next week when he's in town. Advisable? Recommendations? *The bourbon stout was very interesting, but two of us thought it got pretty tired and overwhelming about a half pint in. The ale was terrific, and there are a lot of other interesting brews I'm interested in trying.
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I think it's unclear at this point. But I'd like to take this opportunity to reiterate that I think he's a lousy writer. I swear, if I have to read about one more "soulful" something "spiked" with something and "enlivened" by something else, I'm gonna plotz...
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Vace has all sorts of frozen Italian foods--from sauces to pastas. Their lasagne is terrific.
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Why is that slanderous? He didn't name the restaurant, and I for one have no idea what place they're referring to.
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...and we're not the only ones. This article in today's WaPo Food Section just warms my heart (breaks it a little too).
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Free-range water? Does that mean it's allowed to roam the fields before it's slaughtered?
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Where can we find them? Are they online somewhere?
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I know! And I appreciate your opinions! I just think that people often lose the fact that Irish and Irish-American are neither the same nor mutually exclusive, and that neither is right or wrong. You may not find Nanny's in Dublin, but you will find it all over South Chicago, frequented by Irish-Americans. That's all I'm sayin.
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There seems to be a great deal of bile about pubs and restaurants that are not truly "Irish," when in fact many of them are intended to be Irish-American--an entirely different, but wholly respectable subset of pubbery.
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For anyone curious, the party went off swimmingly with raves all around for the food. By far the biggest hit was the brown bread, which I made that morning from a recipe in the Kylemore Abbey Cookbook. It was shockingly easy--no kneading or rising required; really more like a quickbread that includes white flour, wheat flour, wheat germ, wheat bran, AND oats. For appetizers I also served some sliced deli corned beef with horseradish cream, smoked salmon with caper and lemon cream, and the four terrific Irish cheeses bought from Cheesetique the weekend before accompanied by almonds, grapes, and dried apricots. For the main course, we had Guinness stew ladled over chunky colcannon, which just hits the spot--no two ways about it. And for dessert, I made apple pontard, also from the Kylemore cookbook, for no other reason than that I had WAY too many apples in the house. It turned out to be a surpisingly good and verrrry easy baked custard with chunks of apples. A guest brought Guinness chocolate cake, which, much like the Guinness cheese I bought at Cheesetique, was much, much better than I expected it to be. Guinness really is magic. Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!
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True dat. I very nearly responded to that tax silliness, but thought better of it when I read your intervention. Best to not go there. [Or did I just manage to anyhow? ]
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Is this the fellow, always in a somewhat tattered suit, usually carrying a large newspaper under his arm? If so, I met him once, but I can't remember his name. Nice fella.
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But we're back to the beginning again. OF COURSE we all want to make as much money as possible--whatever job we do. But again: what's the justification? That the consumer will be treated well? Gee, I'd hope to be treated well anyhow.