JeffC

I think pretty much the same. I've bought Kenyan several times in the past in the US and I don't recall it ever making such an impression on me. Maybe I just need some freshly roasted from some online source.

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!

Soon after Chef Daniel Amaya left, we went to Dino and ordered the boar pasta, which is when we realized that Chef Stephan Boillon had changed the recipe. The sauce was more broth-based, and it was good, but not as good as the previous recipe. Tonight, we stopped in at Dino's on a whim because as my husband put it, I was "under-wined", and ordered the Menu della Sera. I was seriously considering ordering the lamb pasta but decided at the very last minute to go for the boar pasta. Boy, am I glad I did. The sauce is now a wonderfully rustic tomato sauce, which only lightly coats the pasta. I was delighted to see it, and loved every minute of it.

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....

And Lagavulin, that's yummy!

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.

... Finally he asked the sushi chef for something and the chef's eyes got large and he stared at me with a very odd look. The man, whose name I never found out, asked again and the sushi chef shook his head in a sorrowful way and bent down and took out a jar with what looked like very white linguine in a very brown sauce. I figured out (correctly and oh so not correctly all at once) that is was giant squid noodle cut and marinated in miso. Yet it was. But it was the marination process that I had not quite got right. It was packed in the jar and left on the roof of the building in downtown LA, smog capitol of the world, and left to ferment. For 6 months. Unrefrigerated. He told me that the long strands would make me "long too". I wasn't so desperate for the additional equipment package but I now realized that if I refused this one, I would lose all face at this restaurant and could never show up there again. So I followed his lead and took the "noodle" and dropped it into my mouth. He chewed his with obvious relish and swoon not seen since the last time I watched Graham Green, the Galloping Gourmet. I took one chew and began to figure out how to either projectile vomit it out of my mouth in a way that would kill everyone in the bar or swallow it whole. I finally chose the latter and, in one of the greatest feats of fortitude of my life, swallowed it.

How to describe the taste? First off imagine taking a tablespoon of Coleman's powdered mustard and sloshing it around your mouth. Then add some baby poop. From a baby with a very smelly and poorly functioning digestive track. Then add the aroma of a tire that has blown out on the freeway after driving on it for hours. Then add the essence added by LA's smog. Got it? Well it was worse than that. Infinitely worse. So much worse that my eyes tear up at the memory typing these word brings back. But I swallowed and everyone at the bar smiled at me with congratulatory looks on their faces. The best part? My friend picked up our entire tab which I later found out was about $500 for my specials alone! Who knew baby poop cost so much?!?!?

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.

Scott's seems to be showing up in more places. I've mostly liked the ones I've tried, but once in a while their lack of attention to detail leaves me puzzled. Highland Park labeled as a highland? (It's from the Orkney Islands, name notwithstanding.)

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.

30 year old Laphroig thanks to some great guys (you know who you are!)

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.

For future reference, I just returned from Maui and, as I have come to do more and more, avoided the over-priced high end restaurants. Most of those are pretty good, but they simply aren't worth the money. I used to love Mama's Fish House, but the prices are now in the stratosphere.

There really are better ways to spend your money on Maui than on the Longhi's/Mama's/Roy's money pits. This time I worked my way through the terrific menu at the Honokawai Ozakuya, a Japanese/Pacific Rim deli on the Lower Honoapi'ilani highway, just north of Ka'anapali in West Maui. All the entrees are between $8-12 and are better than good. The serve "plate lunch" meals, with rice and either a very good macaroni salad or non-run of the mill sauteed veggies. Especially recommended is their teriyaki steak, lemon caper mahi mahi, chicken katsu, barbecued chicken, panko-fried mahi mahi....and on and on. I got carry-out eight times in ten days, for a grand total of less than I would have paid for one meal at Mama's. (There are a few stools and a couple of tables outside the deli, but no one eats there. The seats are all taken by people waiting for their food.)

That, and some nice wines from Costco, and my friends and I ate very well indeed. Be forewarned--this place is very popular. Most attempts to call in an order are either met with a busy signal or the phone simply goes unanswered. They're unbelievably busy, but if drive over and place your order, they always have it read in 10-15 minutes.

And they're super people. No attitude, always friendly. If you find yourself on West Maui, it's well worth checking out.

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!

I want to know if Trotsky was involved the morning after Spice Night.

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.

Even though Haandi is technically a chain, the Falls Church location feels like very much of an independently owned, neighborhood restaurant - and a neighborhood restaurant is exactly what it is. The well-organized, well-written menu proudly lists the employees of both the Bethesda and Falls Church locations who have worked twelve years or more, and even accredits the individual chefs at each restaurant.

Navrattan Biryani ($12) is a comforting platter of saffron basmati, grown dark from the spices and nuts, made with a good half-dozen vegetables, the whole plate heavy and homey in a good-oily sort-of way. It's filling and satisfying, and cries out to be eaten rather than scrutinized.

Just as light-heavy is the Methi Paneer ($11), little cubes of paneer in a lightly colored, medium-thick gravy made more interesting by some fenugreek, and absolutely perfect as an Onion-Kulcha dunk ($2.50).

The biryani comes with raita, chutneys, and pickles, and so the only thing you really need to pay extra for is some breads from the tandoor, and Haandi's naans, rotis, kulchas, and parathas have been consistently adequate in my experience.

Haandi is never dazzling, but it's also never disappointing. Falling squarely within the circular Northern-country-masala-gravy genre, it has always been reliable over the years. I find the Falls Church location charming, the service unfailingly friendly, and the paintings on the wall (painted in 1989) soft and easy on the eye.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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.

We absolutely loved the rhubarb pie we got here

http://www.dangerouspies.com/about.html

It was tart and tangy -- none of this soupy, strawberry-y mess that you often get!

I also agree with everyone about Mom's Pies -- the sour cherry with the crumble crust is one of my greatest pleasures.

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.

I could be wrong but isn't Oct. 7 Presidents Day or something weekend?

Oct. 9 seems like a good day

Columbus Day is Monday, the 8th.