MBK

Jeebus, PF, what a tortured response! George Orwell-Sinclair Lewis-Rachel Carson. That was then, this is now.

Mmmmm, can't wait! Sounds like something that would go great with goat cheese.

Just speaking from experience...

didn't see the cocktail list (we were content with wine) but did get a chance to try a couple of desserts, and can wholeheartedly recommend the goat cheese cake. as can lackadaisi, who stole about half of my dessert while i wasn't looking.......

Just started The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, a memoir of a 36 year old corporate type who moved to Paris to go to Le Cordon Bleu. (Yes, the appropriate response is "of course she's reading that book!")

I don't have high hopes - word on the street is the author is extremely negative about her experience there (and since I'm extremely positive about mine, I'm unlikely to be sympathetic to whining about mean chefs or hard classes) ... but I'm in the process of reading anything and everything that'll remind me of my time in Paris, so this one makes the list.

We went here over the weekend, and although they're still working service kinks out (we got the wrong drinks the first time around), it's a nice addition to the neighborhood. I had the Lucy, as described earlier, chipotle-infused semi-sweet hot chocolate topped with whipped cream that had a nice spice to it (but not "really really spicy", as the server said in attempting to dissuade me from ordering it!). He had the Judy - I don't remember the description except that it was milk chocolate, rainbow M&Ms, and possibly some caramel and whipped cream? Far too sweet for me, but he didn't seem to mind it. We'll probably be back soon to try other concoctions.

get the Kosher variety -- large and yummy!

...cackling to myself at the anguish of the loud, boisterous New York Giants fans when Green Bay recovered a fumble.

...

More importantly, I won.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Most importantly, so did the Giants.

Anyone been lately? Any recommendations? I haven't been since May, am going to brave the weather to trek down there tonight.

After the year you just had, you should do the teaching!

You flatter me. But no way, my baking skills don't even approach the level of yours and mktye's!!

Looks like there are at least three people who are interested. Do you have a date in mind, Miss P.? Let's do this!

For you, that could be arranged.

Anyone else who has interest in a bread-baking class please PM me.

Count me in for Miss P's class, and mktye's too. Mmm, baked goods.

I am amazed (okay, maybe I shouldn't be) at how many of us are on the board!

But I suck at ultimate, so fellow TIPsters would be best served not to invite me to be on their team.....

Not really. The romantic French model of going from butcher to baker to grocer and monger is not what it used to be 40 years ago. Centralized supermarkets' convenience have become increasingly popular and there are ever decreasing numbers of bakeries, butchers and such. Market shares of baking chains and industrial frozen bread products have made up the 10% of what artisanal bakeries have lost since the 1990's. Of the independent bakeries there, a few have joined artisanal “brotherhoods” under the Paul, Banette, Baguepi,...etc. names to produce high quality bread under strict rules of ingredient and techniques much like the AOC of other food items. They represent the small rising force in “good” if not “excellent” bread by which all other should be graded against.

Anyone around today for lunch? Near Metro Center?

Went here last night, after a few year hiatus. I thought I remembered it being decent.

I remembered wrong.

Our appetizer, the green tea dumplings with shrimp, crab, and pork, was fine. Nothing to write home about, and topped with fried shallots that were nearly burnt... but not horrible.

Unfortunately, we should've stopped there and gone home. We ordered a chicken dish and a beef dish, and it's irrelevant what the flavors were because both suffered from the same problem - low quality ingredients. The beef and chicken were both stringy and chewy. They were impossible to eat, and I filled up on the (tasty) rice that came with our meals, and then went home and had a cupcake.

Should've stayed at the Round Robin after drinks and had the chicken tenders I saw heading to a nearby table - now those looked tasty...

To drive this further off-topic...

While at A&M, there was a drive-thru liquor store right next to my apartment building. However, you could not buy alcohol, not even beer or wine, on Sundays in that county.

Downgrade me (+1) to maybe? Probably more realistic...

Just back from NOLA. We had a pretty good time there. Our dining choices were limited because of our late booking

during a large event, but the fabulous concierge at the W was able to find us decent choices at the last minute. Less worry about finding non-smoking places than I first imagined. If a place serves food, it has to be non-smoking. Bars are as smokey as ever, though. We did a Garden District walking tour, saw a lot of the French Quarter (but not Bourbon Street), and found the Fauburg-Marigny area (Frenchman Street, mostly). Our friend, a local, gave us a driving tour of the 9th district to see the horrific damage.

Mothers - Lunch, had the Ferdi Special - ham, roast beef, gravy, debris, dressed. Kind of bland and soggy. I was not impressed. My husband thought his oyster po'boy was fine, but not the best he has had. (See Johnny's Po-Boy, below).

Dante's Kitchen - Cute little place uptown (across from Brigstens). Loved the atmosphere, great service, good food. They start you out with some tasty spoon bread. I had the trois mignons - three little filets, each with a different sauce - red wine sauce, debris, and blue cheese on carmelized onion mashers. Quite tasty, but they were slightly overdone. Might be because my friend ordered the same dish, but ordered it medium-well. My husband loved his fish special, Olive Oil Poached Grouper over gulf shrimp, wild green onions, and roasted Creole tomatoes; garnished with fluer de sel and aged balsamic vinegar. (C/P from the menu) Reasonable bill, although we limited ourselves to glasses of wine and my one friend doesn't drink at all. http://www.danteskitchen.com/

Coop's- small little bar/restaurant on Decatur. Very good burger. My husband had the "taste plater", which was very large portions of just about everything - A cup of Seafood Gumbo, Shrimp Creole, Cajun Fried Chicken, Red Beans & Rice with Sausage, and Rabbit & Sausage Jambalaya. He ate it all! The server (just one that I could see) was extemely busy, and the cooks were delivering the food. They were grilling in a backyard courtyard. I'm not certain where they hid the rest of the kitchen equipment, because this place was tiny, and half of it was given up to a pool table. http://www.coopsplace.net/

Marigny Brasserie - On Frenchman Street - great atmosphere, very good food. Probably the best dish I had was the fried green tomatoes here. The tomatoes were perfectly done in every way - crispy, not greasy, flavorful. It was served with a crab salad topping - and there was a ton of crab and very little salad. Large lump crab. It was almost a meal in itself. I ordered the lobster risotto, which was not very good. Probably just a poor choice on my part, considering the other choices on the menu. It was bland and the lobster was not tasty. My husband had the fish special - bronzed drum - which had about 3 sauces on it - one too many for him - he should have asked to have them skip the bernaise sauce (he hates all creamy sauces). He said it was great however. Service was very good. My friend raved about her chicken dish - Roasted Amish Free-Range Chicken Breast- on Louisiana Long Grain Rice, Spring Vegetables and a Cognac-Dijon Demi Glace. Here daughter just had the ensalata capresse. I don't usually order tomatoes at this time of year, but she liked it. http://www.cafemarigny.com/

Johnny's PoBoys - better than Mothers, IMO. I had the shrimp po'boy, the husband had the oyster po'boy. Of course, they were huge portions (New Orleans seems to favor that). The shrimp were crispy and not overdone. The line was out the door and the little dining area was packed. The line moved quickly and the service was very friendly (unlike Mothers, where they seemed rather cranky).

Cafe du Monde- had to have a cafe au lait and some beignets.

Then we had hotdogs/sausages from the vendor at the Superdome. Enough about that.

Frenchman Street - Blue Nile and Cafe Negril - Great street for music - and great people all around. They seemed so happy to have tourists around (spending $). We saw Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ swingers, Chief Al Doucette and Smokey Greenwell and the Blues Gnus. Great time.

Also had a few beers at the Ernst Cafe (near Harrah's). Great little bar that worked hard last weekend treating the Buckeye crowd well.

All in all, I'm sure we could have done better if we had more time to plan, but everything was great and the people were the best. Thanks New Orleans!

Glad you had fun despite the outcome. Geaux Tigers!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I want to kick off a great year of $20 dollar Tuesdays with a trip to A&J in Rockville, Maryland on Tuesday January 22nd at 7:30 PM. A&J is a wonderful restaurant with authentic Chinese cooking. Last time we were here (a year and 1/2 ago) we ate like kings and walked away for something like 16 dollars. While many people frequent A&J, I think the group experience is the way to go. Reply back to this post or PM me directly. If we have a large group, I may need to pre-order items for the group and let the table supplement (like we did last time!). I will update the post if we need to pre-order.

This is a great event to come to if you are new!!!!!!!!

Rides available to/from the metro

Thread is here: http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=797

I'm in. Potentially +1.

Thanks! I may pick up some of that also because my friend who was with me at the tasting said she thought she detected a piece of coconut in her serving of cake.

I'll probably end up trying both. Luckily, rwtye's coworkers are always happy to help us take care of leftover baking tests.

I can think of a lot of people, not just rwtye's coworkers, who are always happy to help you take care of leftover baking tests!!!

[Talk about year-end babies!!]

Birthday wishes to our own French chef! Welcome back, MBK!

Thanks! 31 on the 31st, ten days after becoming dr.com's own French chef It's a big day!

And, of course, happy birthday to Violet's Mom. Enjoyed celebrating together a day early and meeting the beautiful new addition!

Chai tea. Jetlag plus hangover equals minimum sleep and maximum crankiness. Some welcome home, huh?

I realize it's a long-shot, but does anyone have any recommendations in the Lot region of France? Cahors, Catus, Albas, etc. I'm spending a few days there near the end of the month, before I return to reality stateside...

Would anyone else like to come this evening? We can fit 6-7 more people.

I would like to.

But it would be a bit of a commute...

Somebody send me leftovers.....

Bump. Any recs for White Plains? Will only have one lunch and one late-ish dinner, but recs are welcome. Also, if there are any preferred bagel places (especially if they also have bialies) where one could get one's fix.... ??

Bump again. For those of you in the southern reaches of the listening area, Paul Sanchez rocks tonight at The Mad Hatter in Farmville, VA, from 8PM. See you there!

Why do you keep rubbing it in that I'm missing Paul shows right and left?! He'd better come back after the first of the year or else I might be forced to make a trip to NOLA to see him at Carrollton Station...