ktmoomau

That's where Landrum buries his victims.

Well no one would find them unless he buried them underneath a patch of ramps or ginseng.

I posted on another thread, but we visited the night of the snowstorm. I had a steak salad which was a nice change of pace from what we had in the fridge, but the real show stopper was the chocolate bread pudding. Mmmm, warm gooey and moist with good flavor and a white chocolate sauce (although a bourbon sauce would be killer). It was really good. And lots of libations to keep us warm trekking back to Ballston. Thanks for being open! We appreciated not being stuck with the measley scraps in the fridge.

So I went up to Garrett County for Christmas, where I am native too, and my Uncle from the area exclaimed that he wants to go to Ray's the Steaks. How in the heck he knows about this place I have no idea, unless he has been tracking me on Chow. Thought it was pretty funny as it was kind of a random exclamation.

Bonaire; Belize; Barbados

In the Carribean if you want lots of R&R I love Bonaire, I can't remember all the restaurants we went to, but there were some very good ones.

I also really like Ambergis Caye in Belize for a nice trip down to the tropics. They have good food, it all tends to be a little more low key- Elvi's Kitchen is a particular favorite.

Barbados has the Osings Fish Fry and lots of good places (Google Lois' Report) too, we normally are on the East Coast and go to Champers and some other places near Hastings. There is a great little Italian place on the way to Hastings.

You could always head to Jade Mountain too, that's a lovely resort.

I am so glad everyone got neat stuff! (Except the microplane I don't need one either-see below) I got Martha Stewart's Cookbook, which I like more for the baking recipes, but will use all as they tend to be good weeknight things. But her cookie recipes and etc really are good.

I got lots of stuff from Totally Bamboo including three nice antimicrobial cutting boards, one is huge with appropriate grooves for meat cutting. New Wooden utensils and I think I now have an extra microplane too (good thing all my friends are getting married). I also got a wonderful book on herbs and growing and using them in different ways including cooking. I also got some very cute bird cookie cutters. And lots of chocolate to stash in my drawer at work. Also got some gift certificates to help complete our wedding registry. And I got all the rest of the attachments for my Kitchen Aid. Hubby will now be helping me make fresh pasta! And a meal from my brother somewhere in DC. And lots of other non-cooking related things.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year too!

Thanks for the compilation. It is nice to see all the openings and closings, it seems for all the closings that I really miss, there are openings I really love.

I like it! A lot. Very nice Christmas present.

I watched the fan favorite video and didn't know Kevin and his Wife separated right before the finale. That must have been really tough. I don't think I could cook the meal of my life with all that emotion. With all of that I am glad he has gotten all that he has from the show. I am sure he can use the support and we can all support Bryan by eating at his restaurant

I am really quite fond of Pastries by Randolph. They are my go to place to buy desserts and breads when I don't feel like, or have the time for, baking. They have very nice quality full size cakes, the chocolate mousse cake with chocolate shavings is a particular favorite of mine. It is light and gooey in all the right chocolate ways, with dense chocolate cake with just the right amount of moisture to mix well with the mousse. If you really love chocolate- this is the cake for you. I have gotten this so many times now to take to someone's house and it is always devoured.

They also make lovely mini cakes and desserts, cupcakes, fruit tarts, cookies and other assorted pastry and chocolates. Their fruit tarts always have really nice crusts. I am always impressed that everytime I get one it is just right not to hard or soft. They also have a nice selection of holiday favorites. At Easter the place is cute as can be with chocolate rabbits, duck cupcakes and any number of pastel treats. At Christmas they make a beautiful Buche de Noel. And at Valentine's Day the store is so cute with all the red and hearts.

They also have really good breads. Their croissants are wonderful. They are the closest thing to those you get in Paris that I have found in this area. They also make good baguettes and other breads. I have taken a couple pizza breads when I was on the go with no time to eat and they hit the spot as good non-messy road food too.

I have never ordered a custom cake, but they have a book with cakes you can order, and I am sure they do specialty cakes, as well. And the staff has always been professional and very helpful whenever I have had questions.

Website: http://www.pastriesbyrandolph.com/

I've pretty much given up on bread pudding for a use since it makes a lot more food, and I end up throwing that out. Another application is French toast, which also ends up creating excess food. If I have room in the freezer, though, I vacuum seal extra French toast and freeze it. I just have to remember it's there to use it in the future. That's a good use for a bread like the one we just finished--with fruits and nuts--but I still had other French toast made with similar bread in the freezer from an earlier loaf .

But if you don't eat all the bread pudding, you can make bread pudding souffle, which is far superior to bread pudding as far as I am concerned. The recipe from Commander's Palace for both bread pudding and the souffle is really good with the whiskey sauce.

Hank's Oyster Bar has a good corned beef hash.

I was happy to see so many places in Clarendon open last night: Hard Times, Liberty Tavern, Harry's Tap Room, Restaurant 3, Whitlows and Boulevard Woodgrill as we didn't have much in the fridge and didn't feel like taking to the stores during the pre-storm madness. We ended up at Restaurant 3 and I had a steak salad which was a nice change of pace from what we had in the fridge and a very good chocolate bread pudding.

Wish I would have checked on here, would have gone to Ray's!

Post shoveling: Mexican hot chocolate (we had a box of the sugared chocolate bars for this) spiked with Kahlua.

Lunch: Welsh Mac-n-cheese, essentially Welsh Rarebit over mac.

For dinner: Rack of lamb with oven-roasted spiced potatoes and baby choy.

We'll be doing "yellow snow" later today, which is maple syrup over snow. I may also do a green tea powder version. And, of course, for the adults only, we have all these beautiful, brightly colored liquors to pour over snow.

Holiday baking:

Rosemary shortbread

Lemon Crisp cookies

Chocolate cracks

Dark Chocolate dipped Biscotti.

Ooh could you share your rosemary shortbread recipe? It sounds wonderful.

My husband and I have used these at lots of places. I can't remember a time when it wasn't accepted graciously. We always tip on the total pre-discount. But we like to eat out and this probably encourages us to eat out a little more than we normally do.

I have seen Goose at Wegman's in Fairfax near Christmas time. You might call and check.

Well I just came back from a very busy evening at Srewtop Wine Bar. It was so nice to see such a large crowd there. I hope the general public doesn't find out about the parking situation too fast. We came in around 5:45 and got a table before it got too crowded. I took one of my favorite wine and cheese connoisseurs with me for a last happy hour before the holidays. We both ordered tempranillos, hers was a little more fruity from the process and mine more earthy. I forget the exact names (I will update this later with correct names). We then had the chicken liver pate and a cheese plate with Grayson from Virginia a nice semi-soft cheese with a little stink, but not too much. This would be a nice cheese for someone who is just starting to dabble in the more exotic cheeses. We also had the clothbound cheddar from Vermont which had a wonderful nuttiness to it, with an almost creamy taste to it, very nice. We also had the truffle tremor which I loved. Very soft and tangy with very nice richness from the truffle. We had fig compote and honey to go with. What I thought was very nice was that you could purchase the accompaniments if you wanted to recreate the cheese plate at home. We also were treated to some popcorn with truffle oil that was salty and savory. We also had some of "Momma's Toffee" at the end. I purchased some of that for my "Momma."

Anyway I really liked the ambiance of the place. It was just dark enough to have nice ambiance, but you could still read everything easily. The wine selection was varied, it isn't a huge space, so they will need to really work hard to keep a good value and nice selection, but I liked the picks. I liked the selection of cheese and meats and they had nice small food and other gifts. I really hope they do well. I can't wait to check out Artisan Confections. That building is a small little treasure trove on that side of Clarendon.

You know I really wanted Bryan to win and was a little disappointed when he didn't (I thought he won dessert- it was complete and done well and yes sophisticated and the main course), but my Husband reminded me that we have eaten both their food and I did like Michael's much more, it was really creative and had some really nice flavor profiles. That said, I think they both could learn from each other and I hope they do.

Will they be taste testing any bakegoods with this coffee at Liberty Tavern next week? I shouldn't be asking this with Christmas feasting coming my way, but that would definitely tip the scale for me.

Wow this is a hard one ok, here we go:

Dirt Cheap:

1. The Italian Store for a Napoli sub if you need it to be sit down then sub in Matchbox for a plate of miniburgers then a pizza

2. Ravi Kabob for Lamb Kahari and chickpeas

3. Ray's Hellburger

Regular Priced:

1. Central for just about anything, but the faux gras and rillettes would be on order.

2. Sonoma for an cheese, charcuterie and risotto cooked in squid ink with grilled squid (I am addicted to this dish)

3. Rasika which might lean on the spendy side, I dunno I don't think it is that bad

Spendy

1. Minibar if you haven't been.

2. Marcel's for just about anything AND the boudin blanc

3. Palena's back room

I haven't been to Komi, yet, so it isn't on the list.

I would love to stay at one of the rooms at the Mansion on O Street. They are a little eclectic though. I remember going through some of the place during my ex-step-sisters wedding and it was really neat. It's in Dupont. I got a kick out of the log cabin room.

I have only seen one room at the Latham and wasn't crazy about it. You could do the Four Seasons and eat at Bourbon Steak? Fahrenheit at the Georgetown Ritz is pretty tasty.

Or the Park Hyatt and Blue Duck Tavern- they are kind of minimalist, but in a way I think is pretty.

I've only been once, met up with a friend, a year ago. I had championed the hotel's role in DC cocktail history as the site of the definitive Mint Julep. I've heard great things about the head bartender, but he wasn't there. And the storied mint julep . . . served in a plastic cup. I'm willing to go back but that was just a bit too amateur.

They don't serve julep in plastic cups they are chilled pewter I believe. I may be incorrect on the type of metal,but I know it's not plastic... If you got one this way, I have no idea why as they normally always have the traditional cups. I have never seen them serve anything in plastic, actually. I wouldn't know why they would even have plastic unless a dishwasher or something was broken, or something drastic.

I didn't see a thread during my search on the Round Robin inside the Willard Intercontinental, which in my opinion needed a thread, if nothing else, but for the excellent bartenders. They are always friendly in that appropriately sarcastic bartender way. I always like hanging out there because they take good care of you. And they make some tasty drinks. Some a little pricey, but tasty. I like their special gin fizz, mint julep and other cocktails. As a note they do have a TV, which sometimes it is hard to find a good bar with a TV. But it was nice to be able to catch a little football sipping a good cocktail before a night out.

The food is decent. Stick with things like burgers or a steak sandwich and you will be happy.

Yes, I got a hint of Rays The Glass a while back, but the Game place- oh la la. So glad to live nearby. Now let's hope Michael tells us when the soft opening is so we can have a taste before the hoards assault the place and the wait time is forever. Congrats. And good luck as you all are going to be very very busy.

I have always really liked Cheestique, I have a group of girlfriends that go often, but I am really happy about the expanded Winter menu. Look forward to tasting the new creations by the new chef.

Well apparently although I was supposed to pick the restaurant I ended up with no say. Ended up at Ceiba. Should have gotten the ribeye, but I didn't. The scallops were ok, but not near as good as the ribeye.