LauraB

Threat of thunderstorms sidetracked our plans to grill.

Broiled lamb loin chops

Sauteed rainbow chard with garlic and EVOO

Steamed asparagus

I'm going to be in the San Diego/La Jolla area for a few days in July. I grew up in Los Angeles, so I was weaned on Mexican food. Really hoping to find some good Mexican food in San Diego. I've read the entire thread and haven't seen anything much about good Mexican, especially recently. Anyone have anything to report? Thanks.

Dinner tonight was a slice of toasted Attwater's sunflower/flax bread and a bowl of WF salsa eaten with a spoon while on the phone for *2 hours* with Quickbooks tech support . Not exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday evening, although it was made better by the 2 glasses of "Le Petiot" Sauvignon Blanc (thanks Don!) and the fact that they actually fixed the seemingly intractable problem...at least for today.

I've all but stopped buying garlic at Whole Foods, because their stock seems to be the worst with the brown spots and even mold.

Same here. I've stopped buying the organic garlic at WF and now buy regular garlic at (aack) Safeway. I have no idea what's going on, but it's been going on for several months now.

Need your advice: going to be in NYC for a very important birthday -- yes, one of those with a 0 on the end. Want to have one blowout dinner for the celebration. Right now we are vacillating between Per Se and Le Bernardin. However, would really like your input. Also, would love suggestions for a less opulent dinner the second night. Open to all cuisines. Thanks so much!

Strange...these words, they are so familiar...yet somehow they do not make sense to me.

LOL! Trying to set a (sober) example for my 20-something daughter. Now, if it had been just me and my husband, well....

Roasted whole chicken in tamarind butter:

Marinade: coriander seeds, star anise, cinnamon stick, garlic, soy sauce

Sauce: unsalted butter, tamarind liquid, fish sauce, soy sauce, palm sugar syrup, cayenne

Barley and zucchini

Was in NYC for 2 days a couple of weeks ago. Had 2 phenomenal meals:

Candle79: 79th and Lexington Avenue

My daughter and I had lunch here following a visit to the Picasso exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- a 5 block walk from the museum. This is a vegan restaurant and while neither of us are vegan or even vegetarian, the meal was fantastic. So much so that I contemplated cancelling our dinner reservations and returning here for dinner. The menu changes seasonally, so it may not be useful for me to list what we had. We were there for lunch, so we didn't look at their wine list. I will say that they have perhaps the best list of non-alcoholic drinks I've ever seen. We both had the iced tea which may be the best iced tea I've ever had in a restaurant. The table next to us had a round of their house-made Ginger Ale and while I haven't had a 'soda' in more than a decade, I was seriously tempted by the sight of such a lucious drink -- so ordered one and daughter and I shared it -- WOW! This is nothing like the Canada Dry Ginger Ale you buy at your local grocery store. This was ginger heaven in a glass.

Given that it was Spring, I had the soup of the day: Asparagus Soup which was really delicious. As an entree I had the Spring Harvest Paella in a Saffron-Red Pepper Sauce which was tasty, if not the best thing I've ever eaten. My daughter ordered the Burrito which was incredibly good! We did not order dessert because we were too full. Service was way beyond good.

Seasonal: 132 West 58th Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues

Chose this restaurant because it's Austrian and I spent several years of my youth in Austria. Even if you've never been to Austria, you'd like this restaurant. This was a lovely meal -- we had the seasonal tasting menu and I did not take notes, so can't provide details. I can say that the food, the service, the wine, and the ambiance were all excellent.

I haven't been to Plume, but it seems that the reviews are very mixed. It seems like an iffy proposition. I've been to J&G 3 times and every time it has delivered on every score -- food/wine, service, ambiance. Regarding the view: J&G is on the ground floor of the W Hotel. There is no 'view' as such. However, if you get a window table, you can have a view of the Washington Monument, which at night, when it's lit up, is pretty dramatic. If a view is important, my recommendation would be that you book a pre-dinner reservation at the POV Lounge on the top of the hotel which has the incredible view and have a drink up there before going down to dinner. I think the drinks and apps up there are pretty lousy, but the main purpose in going up there is the view.

Risotto with salmon, white wine, lemon zest, mint, tarragon, parsley, onions, garlic, ricotta salata

Steamed asparagus

Strawberry-rhubarb cobbler

Rhubarb-strawberry cobbler -- couldn't resist the rhubarb and strawberries at the farmers market yesterday!

Grilled lamb merguez sausages

Flageolet beans with tomatoes, green beans, shallots, white wine, parsley, tarragon

Cabbage slaw with arugula, persian cucumbers, scallions, parsley, dressed with vinaigrette of olive oil, garlic, crushed fennel seeds, tarragon, parsley, lemon zest, capers, shallot, champagne vinegar

Asparagus soup

Persian cucumbers marinated in dill vinaigrette

Alaskan halibut steaks roasted in tomato-herb sauce

I would rather see you eat conventional bagged salad than Earthbound Farms and I feel that Cal Organics is not a good steward of the land in general.

Forgive my ignorance, please explain.

A meal in one dish:

Quinoa with moroccan-spiced sweet potato and carrot stew: onion, garlic, sweet paprika, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, cayenne, saffron, tomatoes, lemon juice, cilantro, mint

My doctor recommended that I start eating flaxseed. I've gotten advice from a friend about incorporating it into my diet (adding it to lentil soup at the end of cooking, mixing it with granola/Grape Nuts and fruit as a yogurt topping). Does anyone else have ideas for eating flaxseed?

Good for your doctor. Not many doctors are well-versed in nutrition. I don't know if your doctor mentioned this, but it's best to eat flaxseed 'ground', not whole. You'll get more benefit from it as it's more easily processed by your body. You can buy ground flaxseed at Whole Foods or natural foods stores like Mom's. Be sure to keep it refrigerated as it can get rancid, just like any other seed. I usually add my ground flaxseed into a protein shake for breakfast, or add it to cooked oatmeal -- I like Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats.

FWIW, today's Groupon is for Bobby's: $10 buys you $20 worth of food and drinks.

Maybe I should stop buying pork at Whole Foods. The last time I was there, I bought baby back ribs, a couple of days before their "sell by" date. They seemed okay when I took them from the package, but we discovered upon eating them that they had started to spoli. I was going to bring that up with the meat department on my next trip; however, once there, I felt it wiser not to bring it up...Yes, today I was that PITA customer.

I shop at the Whole Foods in the Kentlands in Gaithersburg. I've been really surprised to discover numerous times that items on the shelf had exceeded their sell by date. Usually I discovered this after I had bought it and brought it home. Often, the sell by date had been exceeded by months, not days I am very careful now to inspect the date on the package. So, I guess I'm not surprised that the meat you bought was over-ripe. As it turns out, Whole Foods is not all that.

Scully from x-files?

I assumed they meant Gillian Clark, formerly of Colorado Kitchen and now of The General Store in Silver Spring. She's known for taking no prisoners when it comes to customer requests that don't fit her modus operandi.

Watercress, daikon and avocado salad with miso dressing (miso, olive oil, lemon juice, brown rice syrup, toasted mustard seeds)

Moroccan style chickpea soup with roasted red pepper coulis

(a recently discovered allergen) Because if it tastes good, and I like it, then invariably I end of being allergic to it.

Bummer! So sorry. I can only imagine what that's like.

I also use a mister for all my roasted vegetables, which works quite well. But with Canola instead of Olive Oil. I can only imagine how much more flavor this would have with the EVOO, but, alas, it is now on my banned substances list.

Why is EVOO on your banned substances list?

So for that reason, my Global sits in the drawer a lot while my Wusthofs get the workout. Love the weighting and balance on the 10", holds an edge for a good amount of time, and twice a year, Sur La Table sharpens it for free.

I love my 10" Wusthof as well. When is it that Sur La Table sharpens your Wusthofs for free?

Halibut fillets marinated in fish sauce, sake, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, cilantro, sugar, salt & pepper, then broiled

Stir-fried baby bok choy with ginger, rice wine, chicken stock, soy sauce, kuzu, finished with toasted sesame oil

Green beans dressed with sauce from bok choy

We went to the Rockville location after the second blizzard last month. It was really nice to get out of the house and not cook. BLPreschooler ate a good portion of my grilled octopus dish.

But it was too loud, too crowded and the food wasn't memorable.

I might go back for lunch because the lunch options out here stink but I don't think I'd go back for dinner.

I agree it does get very loud and crowded in the evenings. That's why we try to go very early and our experiences have been better. Granted, we don't have a toddler in tow, just 2 adults. We especially love the Lamb Kapama and the Spanakopita.