ktmoomau

Wedding number 7 of the year for Hubby and I to attend was this past weekend in Boston. As a short note it is really hard to try to stay gluten free in Boston, there are so many good Italian joints with bread and pasta that just smells so good. I did my best. We landed and headed over to Cambridge to our hotel the Royal Sonesta. Which was ok, but not as nice as it purports itself to be. At least it has a spa and pool. Our room wasn't ready yet so we headed over to the mall across the street for me to grab a few things I needed for the wedding. Then we went to Techniques, a restaurant in the Cordon Blue for their students. It was fun to watch students get instruction and cook in the huge open kitchens. Hubby and I had lobster on a cornmeal johnny cake to start. It was really good, I liked the braised leeks and beurre blanc sauce. I then had cioppino which had really fresh seafood, a little spicy and really tasty rich tomato sauce with maybe a little cream, but not much. I wanted to get dessert but Hubby had to hop on a conference call. Rehearsal dinner was at Sunset Grill, which for beer lovers, must be a real treat, the food was bar food, order accordingly nachos, etc, but the beer list was huge, the draft list was huge, and unlike places in our area they weren't out of half that huge list. Wedding was at the Liberty Hotel and I had a catered lunch spread there. They really did it nicely for us bridesmaids, we had all sorts of high end sandwich fixings, spread and toppings, salads and toppings, dessert, chips, drinks of all sorts. The bread for the sandwiches looked divine, not your normal plain jane bread. Hubby went to Al Dente in the North End to pig out on pasta without me and really loved it. He didn't say too much, except it was really good. The Liberty Hotel was beautiful, and man it is a happening place after hours, you would have thought it was a club. Sunday we strolled around Boston. I got some clam chowder at the Market, which was good, but nothing special, normal clam chowder, but very fresh big clams in it. But good on a cold day. Then we went to Maria's Pastry Shop and I had coffee and ate a couple bites of the pastry Matt ordered. It was like a sweet, doughy cream puff with some cream in the middle drenched in vanilla amaretto liquer. It was worth it for me. We then went to Neptune's Oyster which was a great choice. I had a lobster roll sans bun, so lobster salad in a bowl with fries, and some fresh oysters. Everything here was superb. I really loved this place. The flavors and quality of ingredients was exceptional. The oysters were so fresh and briny. And they had a great raw bar selection. Wish I could have eaten more. Next time.

My dog was there with my sister in law, so if you saw a little fluffy white dog, with a blonde that was him. Everyone in my household apparently is a foodie.

Had wings again the other night and they were really good. Crispy and nicely seasoned. I got Medium which wasn't hot at all, but that is good for my stomach and the lemon pepper which are my favorite other than hot. Got them with a side of mashed potatoes and the peas. The peas were really fantastic, I love peas, but these were on the next level of peas for me. Nicely mixed with some mint, but not in an overwhelming way. Went well with mashed potatoes. All in all a really nice, cheap dinner. I still think the sit down then go order thing and have servers is a little odd.

Had a slightly annoying experience at Poste two nights ago. We went there to meet some friends after the caps game. Sat on the patio and was told we could only order drinks, so we tried to order coffee, no we couldn't have coffee on the patio either. So we went inside, the dining room was closing, but we could sit in the lounge area. Luckily there was one table that would seat four. Fine. So we finally sit down and order iced teas and club soda as they didn't have a menu with coffee or espresso and we didn't know what was available, not on the drink menu, not on the dessert menu (we were with friends who don't drink so normally we try to go places with decent non-alcoholic options). But we just wanted to spend time with our friends so it was fine. Look at the dessert menu and there is only one gluten free option, a panna cotta of yogurt. Well since I eat yogurt almost everyday I wasn't very interested in that so I asked if I could have a bowl of the ice creams they have with other items, sure no problem they say. It comes out and there are three little, itsy bitsy spoons of ice cream, you know the small little ovals you get alongside another dessert. I was going to share with my Hubby, but he felt bad it was so small so I ate it by myself. Now they were a fine size if they were by a dessert, but when you just order that it was a bit ridiculous. I have no idea what they charged as our friends picked up the tab, but I am sure it was way too much. Anyway won't do that again...

I will! We sat in the very front, so we didn't really see a lot. I don't think it's too familiar, I think it's lost the edge, I have had the same dishes before and they were executed with more finesse. You would think with the big guy in the house, they would really be on top of their game. Luckily at least the desserts are still stellar. I hope perhaps that he can whip everyone into shape. I really really love Central when it's on its game. Maybe he is just spread a bit thin with things picking up in Tysons.

I would assume so, same name, and looks like his writing style.

I stopped in the Giant in Ballston yesterday to pick up just a couple provisions. It is generally a pretty decent store, not amazing, but it isn't a huge store, and will never be able to expand because of where it is. I wanted to see if they had any gluten free products at all just to check who has what in my immediate area. I was pretty impressed with the selection. Most of it seems to be in with the organic stuff, so sometimes hard to sort out which is which, but a pretty good selection, none the less. It is normally clean and has all the basics you want and a few specialty items. The produce can be so-so. I just pick and choose what to buy based on what looks good and sometimes I don't get things on my list.

It has been a decidedly bad year in our family, after my Dad's passing earlier this year, in August my husband's grandfather passed. He was a funny guy he loved to go out to eat, but my funniest memory is him ordering fajitas (fa-gee-tahs). Then this morning my last grandparent, my grandfather, Sull passed away. He lived a very good life was 93 and always got to live at home, he passed away in his sleep after a month ago being diagnosed with leukemia. He raised a garden and had a cellar of cans anyone would have been proud and perhaps a little amazed at. Even at his old age he made sure his family was fed.

I had dinner at Central last night, the first time I had been in some months now. And while the food was pretty good, it just wasn't quite the normal Central experience I am used to. I started with the goat cheese Caesar salad, which is normally a favorite of mine, but the goat cheese and dressing where a little bit heavy handed and clumpy, it lacked a lot of the nice garlic taste it normally has (perhaps burried under dressing) and just seemed to lack some of the normal Central finesse. There would be clumps of goat cheese, then clumps of dressing. I had the scallops with roasted corn and mushrooms for dinner. The menu didn't note that the corn was a puree, or I would have ordered something else. The corn puree was kind of grainy, and very rich making the dish very rich with the carmelized onions and the mushrooms were kind of lost in the whole dish, there, but not one of the central tastes. Again just didn't seem to be quite the normal Central finesse. Dessert of chocolate mousse was heavenly. Rich and light with a nice surprise of their raspberry sauce in the bottom. My husband who thinks they have the best fried chicken ever said it was just ok last night. Perhaps it was a bad night. I am hoping it isn't slipping after the loss of Cedric Maupillier. It is normally my favorite restaurant in the area.

I just had a late lunch of part of a chocolate bar with crystalized ginger, popcorn and frozen yogurt. I thought it was a very healthy choice as I have now had calcium, antioxidents and fiber

You really needed a free dining out directory --> <-- I don't know any other place you would find one.

I got a seat on Friday night with my Mom. We wanted a relaxing dinner before going to see family and mission accomplished! We got there a little on the early side, but not really early. Parking available in the parking lot. We both had glasses of wine that I completely forget now, hers a Shiraz mine a Pinot Noir I believe. Both were good, not mind blowing oh my gosh good, but very nice Friday night ease off the work week good. Mom got a meat and cheese tray with Pate, drunken goat and belletoille cheese and cornichons. I really appreciate that you get nice sized portions of wine, cheese and accompaniments here. They gave us a really nice sized little ramekin of cornichons which is good because I love them and could eat almost all of them myself. I really liked all the cheeses, and they all went well with the pate (the server we had confirmed she thought they would). The pate was nicely flavored and again a nice size portion, meaty, but not too pungent in any way. I ordered the lasagna with mixed greens and that was good, as well. Really nice flavor, and had a down homey like my Mother in Law taste to it that I liked. Again very nice sized portion. The service was great, our server was lovely and really nice. Can't wait to bring the Hubby in soon.

When I was a teenager and was a hostess I was in charge of take out orders. I always appreciated the tips as many of the take out orders were complicated, sauce on the side, no tomatoes on the salad, making sure everything would travel well etc etc. And it took me away from floor duties so then it was more work. I was wage, but the tips certainly helped, as my wage wasn't stellar (but not bad for a teenager, but wouldn't have been able to pay rent anywhere). I normally tip, but if my order is more complicated I tip extra. I remember a huge take out order for 10 that was really complicated that there was no tip on and the people were fairly rude, that really made me mad. Because that type of order can easily take 20+ minutes from your other duties, so when you are done you are slammed. But since it was a resort area that happened. You also got the nice people who would give you a really nice tip on a simple order. Funny enough people at McDonald's probably had a better salary than me and benefits... But I tip now because I can and because I know the people packing my order spent time making sure it was packed right and generally need it. Plus I order from the same places a lot and I appreciate their service to me and like to keep a good relationship with them.

Arlnow.com reports here that Trader Joes may be coming to Clarendon. I personally would like that, and some dedicated garage space might be good considering how the Whole Foods parking lot gets, but I don't think the garage just needs to be for Clarendon Center.

I think Caribbean Grill on Lee Hwy makes a pretty good Cuban sandwich, in a pinch Dicky's Custard at Farragut makes one that is pretty good for a office lunchtime special. Also if you don't mind a non-traditional take, Earl's Sandwiches makes a tasty cuban sandwich.

I really think Georgetown Cupcake should open a concession in National's Stadium, I don't know why, but sitting at a game the other night, I just really thought that would be awesome. Or send a concession guy around with cupcakes. Say what you want, but judging how much the tech geek guys at my hubby's office party loved them, I think they could do a great business here.

And they don't have outdoor seating. To add to the list of good places to go with dogs for others seeking the same info as me: 3 Bar and Grill Punk's Backyard BBQ (Annapolis) City Dock Cafe (Annapolis) Northside Social (although I don't love the food) Hiedelberg Pastry Shoppe's outdoor seating I am hoping that some of the new places going into Ballston have dog friendly patios.

(This is why my husband hates that he married a lawyer) If you dislike/allergic/afraid of dogs and there is a dog already present on the patio it would ruin a perfectly nice day by sitting on the patio with a dog. The dog is already there, he isn't going anywhere. I guess if you live in Bethesda/Clarendon/Ballston or Alexandria you have a pretty good shot that if you sit on a patio at many places a dog will show up. So you have to decide what risk you are willing to take. Is it worth it to sit outside when a dog could arrive? I would think if you really dislike dogs it isn't worth the risk for the benefit of sitting outside. For you, that deicision is no, and I would say if you really dislike a dog that decision would be no. If it is a really good dinner, is it any less of a good dinner because you didn't sit outside? I can't think of one meal I have had outside that would have been awful if I couldn't have sat outside. If for you it is worth the risk then you know it is a risk you are taking and if a dog shows up, why make a big fuss, when you knew that could happen? And there are places with outdoor seating that don't allow dogs. Or in places like Shirlington they must stay on the outside of the fence, some of Old Town is like that too. If you are in Bethesda you could sit at one of the places that has doors that open up so you get the benefit of the outside while technically being inside in the dog free zone. We are pretty strict with our dog because we know he will be interacting a lot, we live in a condo, we travel a lot, he goes out a lot and stays in lots of different places. I think if you live that kind of lifestyle you really need to train your dog for it. We started training our dog for restaurants when our dog was really young (4 month mark probably) and now at 9 months he is very good with this type of thing. Like a kid we took him to the most accepting places first, where we could go quickly and tested it out. I think our first adventures were to Rocklands, Big Buns, Mexicali Blues and Raku. I think it is up to restaurants to decide what dogs to accept. It is harder for larger dogs to sit under tables, and some restaurants have better space for it than others. Big Buns has big round tables so that is nice, and they have a park nearby. Rocklands has a huge outdoor space and picnic tables and grass nearby. But I think if you are going to take your dog out you definitely need to socialize them for it. And dog owners that don't really spoil it for others, just like bad parents. It was hard at Raku to keep him under the table because little girls at the table up from us kept trying to get his attention and wanted to play with him. And people walking by were all stopping to pet him, if you signal that you want to give him attention he will come your way, he is a friendly dog like that, but if you ignore him he ignores you. When you own a dog like mine though you kind of get use to that because he definitely rocks the cute factor, and is a breed that is known to be very people and child friendly.

This really gased me up today. Not because I love my dog and think he is entitled to lick whatever he wants (he isn't and doesn't) but because just like so many other things, why can't people just live and let live. If you are afraid of dogs and a dog is on the patio, sit inside, problem solved. If you are on the patio and a dog comes on the patio and you are scared or allergic alert the manager quickly and nicely, so they can decide what to do. I don't want to cause you pain or fear. If it is far away from you and you are ok with ignoring it, do! There was a dog on my plane to Buffalo last weekend that no one even knew was there until he barked when people were exiting the plane, and everyone was just fine, no one got all huffy. I take my dog out to neighborhood places because I like to eat out and he needs some fresh air, and he is very well behaved. Not because I want to inconvenience others or feel he is entitled to go everywhere. We always ask a restaurant nicely if they can accommodate him or go to places other pooches go. My dog will not lick you or come up to you unless you reach down to pet him or feed him. He will sit nicely under my chair and wait for falling french fries. And everything gets sanitized in the dishwasher. There are plenty of people I don't want to share germs with either. With how hot commercial dishwashers get they can sanitize things nicely. Why do people have to make such a big deal out of these things instead of just enjoying their nice meal out with good company or a good book. You choose to live in a city near lots of other people and animals, so why can't you try to accommodate people. If you hate dogs that much why not just sit inside all the time? I don't think my dog is like a child at all, but similar to children, if you don't want to be near one when you dine, don't dine at places they frequent. Dogs can only be on outside patios it is pretty easy to avoid. It just seems like people get so worked up over things that don't matter, I just kind of feel like life is to short for that, you gotta enjoy it while you can. People are going to have dogs and children, some people at another table may get better service than you, maybe a chef will greet them and not you, but it is all going to be ok, and in the grand scheme of things it will equal out and everyone will be just fine.

How does the diner know the chef smokes? Or that he smoked 2-3 hours prior to service?

I always try to call as soon as possible if a group number changes, but in general I know from being a hostess that 3 to 4 isn't that big of a deal or 7-8, but 4 to 5 goes from being able to be seated in a booth or a normal table to having to have a table for a larger party. Many walkways have to be kept open and you can't just add a seat for purposes of safety to many tables. And sometimes a restaurant only has so many of those size tables and many are already reserved. I don't think it is abnormal in that situation to have to wait an extra1-2 hours to get a table, at least. Not to be mean, but just as someone who has been on that other side, the hostess may have been doing as best she could to even get you a table at all.

Between TJ Maxx and Home Goods I have found a lot of pots and pans on registries for the gazillion weddings I have/had this year. Lots of calphalon and le crueset. And at big discounts from the tag price, which has really helped. If you aren't picky about Le Crueset colors you can find some great buys, I think I got a dutch oven medium size in their line for $75 last year.

So this past weekend we had a wedding in Rochester. We were with another couple who like me had never been to Rochester or Buffalo. Having a little extra time on Sunday Hubby thought it would be a great idea to drive to Buffalo to get wings as he and our other friend love wings. So we drove and drove and paid tolls only to find that the Anchor bar was closed until 4pm too late for us. Duff's was closed all day. There were a couple other places we had past that looked interesting, but Hubby was not turning around so we ate at a Bob Evans on the way back to Rochester airport as there is really nothing in between. I was not happy. So as note call the Anchor Bar before trying to visit on holidays, they aren't always open. I was fit to be tied... at that point.

Rochester Was in Rochester this weekend for a wedding. Dinosaur BBQ is a must-eat. The ribs were tender, but not too fall off the bone. The pulled pork was great, kind of a cross between NC and GA style, but juicy and full of flavor without being watery. Brisket was ok. Cajun corn was a great side, although it doesn't have much nutritional value. You could smell the smoke outside and the atmosphere inside is very Roadhouse in a great way. We also went to breakfast in Pittsford at the Coal Tower because the crepe place was packed. That was a nice homey diner and my spinach, mushroom and swiss omlette with homefries was really good. They seem to be able to do the classics right here. The Woodcliff Resort was ok as a hotel, but don't expect a real resort. And as a note their restaurant isn't very big so it is hard to just walk in for a meal when they are busy.

That's why I freeze the kong after I put in peanut butter, I put some in smush some treats in it then freeze. This seems to eliminate most of the mess, which is good because PB beard on a bichon just doesn't look very good and is hard to get off, though he would try his darndest to lick it all off. But the sausages sound quite tasty, might have to try that now and then. Especially when we babysitt the in laws dog as peanut butter makes him gas up the place to an intolerable level.