JeffC

Here's a pretty good list of highly-rated Kenyans that are available for online order, with the reviews starting with the most recent. I get a kick out the way this guy reviews--he uses a Parker 100-point scale and his reviews are floridly descriptive, to say the least. I've never been able to tease out all those flavors, but I've never been disappointed by a coffee he recommends. Kenya Coffees

Our house coffee of late has been Allegro Rwanda Karaba Fair Trade, reviewed below by the Coffee Review website. It's available in either whole bean or ground at Whole Foods. It got one of the highest ratings Coffee Review has given and it's really good. It's a little pricey--$12 for 12 ounces--but it's well worth it. Allegro Rwanda Karaba Fair Trade

--Spice night at Passage to India, especially the Shrimp Balchao and Mussel Vindiam. --Wild mushroom polenta and wild boar pasta at Dino --#5 at Inka's Chicken, on Georgia Avenue (fried tilapia and an assortment of seafood, with a sauce to die for.) --Pho 75. --Pranee's Thai food in Hana, Maui. She only cooks on Sunday and Monday, and you have to follow the hand-lettered signs to find the her tent on one of the side streets. It's well worth the effort. --Red chicken curry at Ruan Thai. --The fries and key lime pie at Bobby's Crabcakes in Rockville. --Caprese in our kitchen--heirlooms, aged balsamic vinegar, good olive oil, basil, and fresh mozzerella. I could eat this every day during the summer. Food resolutions for 2008: Get to know Joe's Noodle House and learn a lot more about Korean food. Happy New Year to all!

1. Put away my credit cards and only eat out when I can pay cash. (Wife's on board with this one, as well.) 2. Eat less red meat. 3. Cook more--see #1. 4. Buy and drink good wine, but leave the Parker 95+ ones alone. There are lots of good $15-20 wines around and even some good daily quaffers for less. 5. Lose another ten pounds. 6. Spend more time with good friends. 7. Go on more long walks/jogs with the dogs. 8. More long road trips in the roadster. Hope all here have a wonderful 2008!

I could have written this two weeks ago. My first experience of Chef Boillon's wild boar pasta was underwhelming, but on a whim I decided to try it again after longing for the "old" wild boar pasta for months. Thank goodness for the bread basket, otherwise I would have picked up the bowl and licked it clean. This is the best version yet, so it's back at the top of my Dino menu rotation.

Had lunch there today. The crab cake sandwich was as advertised, the best I've had. I'm not an expert on crab cakes, but I could really learn to love this place....and likely will, since I work in Rockville. The fries were terrific--I've been waiting for fries like this, perfectly crispy, not even a hint of grease, and the portion was generous, to say the least. I could come to Bobby's just for the fries. And Michael is right about the key lime pie. That pie is dangerous, it's so good.

I had my first Haagen-Daz over twenty years ago, in a health food store in South Carolina. The only two flavors they carried were carob and honey vanilla, both of which have been "retired". (According to Wikipedia). The honey vanilla was really good stuff and was my go-to ice cream for years. They should bring it back, as it's far better than many of the boutique "flavors of the week".

Only the late-night cheeseburgers? I'm gratified to know that I'm not the only one around here who has slogged through a McDonald's drive-thru in the wee hours--I'll have two--and lived to repeat the experience. (I'm guessing that "late-night" is the only time either of us eats those things.) Don't know about the Vanilla Swiss Almond, but I can tell you that their Vanilla Fudge is as good as ever. If anything, there's even more fudge in there. God that stuff is good....

Sure is. Outside of some of the more expensive/esoteric bottles like Laphroaig 30-year old (nectar of the Gods!), it doesn't get much better than the Lagavulin 16. I've heard that the 12 year-old cask strength is even better, but have yet to try it.

I was going to write about eating a plate of incendiary curried goat brains in a little canteen in rural India, but compared to this, I've got nothing.....

Not only is the menu challenging to use, but the ingredients in one of the stews might require a little tweaking... As it is, you might want to skip the Ghaimeh. Yikes!

2006 Torbreck Woodcutter's Shiraz. Excellent QPR and very well-balanced for an Aussie shiraz.

Many get confused about Highland Park, which may be the most well-balanced scotch available. Something in it for all tastes, it's a good one to pour when you have a mix of Islay-heads--like me--and highland-lovers. I'm particularly partial to the 18 year-old.

This is the finest single malt I've had the good fortune to drink. Picked up three bottles a few years ago, intending to keep them for "special occasions". Amazing how every day became a special occasion when this was sitting in the cabinet. Those are truly some fine friends.

I'm getting ready to fly back to DC tonight after two weeks on Maui. Not much to add to the above, with two notable exceptions. The is now a Flatbread pizzeria in Paia, at the beginning of the Hana highway. It's another extension of American Flatbread, even down to the design of the oven and some of the pizzas, but the local ingredients are very much Maui--Maui onions, pineapple, ono (fish), etc. The pizzas come in 12" and 16", the former being appx. $12 and just the right size for this eater. Easily the best pizza I've had on Maui. I ate there three times--two were superb, the third one was a little overcooked. I spent the last few days of the trip in Hana, which is usually a food wasteland, except the obscenely overpriced Hana Hotel. But Sunday I noticed a sign on the highway directing people to "Pranee's Thai Food", which turned out to be a Thai woman and her helper, serving some of the finest Thai food I've eaten out of a little hut in her front yard. I had sweet and sour mahi mahi, rice, and salad for $8! I also took home an order of Pad Thai and an order of Chicken Panang w/Kafir Lime and Coconut milk. Also $8 per order. It was spicy and good, much better than any Thai I've had at other places on Maui. For those planning a trip to Hana, they only serve food on Sunday and Monday, between 11 AM and appx. 2 PM. When the food's gone, they shut down. Gotta plane to catch, so.... Aloha to all!

Trotsky at home, Trotsky at work....

I haven't much to add to the two previous reviews, but I can't let this pass without saying how much I enjoyed my first DR event. The company was delightful and the food was wonderful. My wife is not a member of DR.com, but she may well become one after last night. The food didn't surprise her--we have eaten countless meals at Passage to India and knew that Sudhir Seth would put something exceptional--but she was particularly taken by the camaraderie. The seafood dishes really stood out for me--the mussel vendiam is one of the best things I've eaten in ages. Just a bowl of that gravy and a basket of naan would make this poster a happy man. Chef, you must put this on the menu. IMO, it would make a terrific appetizer. The meen kozhambu (South Indian fish curry) was excellent, with just the right amount of heat. But the shrimp pickle was amazing--at first bite, it was almost sweet, then the heat began to build...and build...and buiild. Some at our table thought it was the hottest of the hot, but for me, the aloo chokra--potatoes with burnt chile and mustard oil--topped the heat index. My other favorites were the green chili chicken--my wife's favorite, as it reminded her a bit of chutney ni murgi, a Parsi chicken dish on the regular Passage menu, but with more heat--and the char grilled chicken with cracked peppercorns. And kudos to the chili onion kulcha--bread stuffed with onion and chilies--that provided a nice beginning, giving us a chance to try a few of the pickles and chutneys. And Rocks, your surprise was much appreciated and came at just the right time! The spices were just right--not too incendiary, thus allowing the layers of flavor to emerge. Last night was further confirmation for me that Passage to India is the finest Indian dining in this area.

I worked in Georgetown, SC, from 1975-92 and had many meals at both the Rice Paddy and Thomas Cafe. In those days, the latter was your basic "locals get together and swap lies over coffee" place. It's just down the street from the courthouse, so there were always lawyers, judges, etc., having breakfast and coffee before going to work. Breakfast was definitely Thomas' best meal in those days. The Rice Paddy was mostly a lunch destination. It had a tea room feel and had particularly good she-crab soup. It sounds like both have broadened their scope in the past decade or two. If you go to Georgetown, do not miss Kudzu Bakery. This is one of those treasures that once you've tried it, you'll go back every chance you get. I still visit friends in N. Myrtle Beach, but always drive the fifty miles to stock up on Kudzu goodies. The pecan pie is the best I've had and they have a pretty decent wine selection for such a small place. I also understand they have opened a larger store in Litchfield Beach.

On my first trip to India in 1971, I was befriended by the proprietor of a little canteen, where I often went for tea and the Indian equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich. One afternoon Godridge, the proprietor, called me over and said, "Bald one, I've made something very special for you". He presented my a basket of chapatis and a plate of what appeared to be a very nice yellow curry, so I dug in. After the first bite, which can only be described as a sort of soft crunch, I asked my friend what this was. "Curried goat brains. How do you like it?" Needless to say, not at all....but I smilled and told him how nice it was to have prepared such a thing for me. And I finished it. I will never knowingly eat another brain, liver, kidney, heart, gizzard, tongue, intestine, stomach.......ever again.

Just finished a glass of the 2006 Thorn-Clark Shotfire Ridge shiraz. Excellent--rich, but not over the top. May be the best QPR I've had this year, at appx. $14 at Paul's, on Wisconsin.

Wow, speaking of "Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares"..... http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/medi...ardly_66561.asp

Any word on how the Store/Post Office project is progressing? I drive by the old Forest Glen Gerneral Store several times a day and haven't seen much activiity of late. The parking lot looks good and it appears from the outside that the interior has come along nicely. I'm really, really looking forward to this.

Haandi was my first favorite Indian in metro DC. The Bethesda branch was the beginning of our Friday-night-on-the-town for years, until I had my first meal at Heritage India. But we still have the occasional meal at Haandi, not only for the always reliable food--one food critic once likened Haandi to a Volvo--but for the gracious service. I love the butter chicken, the vindaloos, and their green coriander chutney, still IMO the best in DC. The Sunday buffet in Bethesda is one of the better Indian buffets around, a more accurate reflection of the overall quality of the restaurant than most.

Thank you for this! My great aunt in Kentucky used to make rhubarb pie from rhubarb she picked on her farm. That's one of my best childhood memories and I've looked for years for a good pie, not the combo pies that are so common. I'll definitely try this one. Someone asked about WF (Whole Foods?) bakeries. Occasionally we buy a WF criss-cross cherry pie. Very good, one of the best commercial pies I've had. And some of the juice pies from the Amish stores in Burtonsville and Germantown are hard to beat. It is not likely that many will get a chance to try these, but there is a pair of bakeries in Georgetown/Litchfield, South Carolina--Kudzu Bakery--that makes the best pies I've eaten anywhere. If you are ever in the South Carolina Low Country, do not miss these, especially for the pecan pie, which may be the best pie I've ever tasted.

Columbus Day is Monday, the 8th.