smokey

Ahh, what I like to refer to as the "carnivore's idea of what a vegetarian eats for dinner."

Ok, I haven't been recently, but I wasn't very impressed with Spiaggia the time I went there. I've never been to Everest, but a friend who worked in the kitchen there (as well as Charlie Trotters and a (formerly? not sure if it's even still open) well-regarded restaurant on the North Shore, Carlos', didn't think much of Everest. I'm well aware it doesn't always get much love on various boards, but I've consistently (over 10-12 year period) had good to great meals at Topolobampo (including just a couple of months ago). I would heartily recommend it, and it's very different from anything I've had in DC. I've never been to Tru, but would love to try it. From reading boards (not actually eating there) people used to have a love/hate thing with Alinea. It's somewhat similar to Minibar. So, if that's not your thing, Alinea may not be for you.

Definitely, more specifics on the grocery stores and restaurants! I'm headed up to Frostburg (which I think is in the deep Creek Lake neck of the woods, if I understand correctly) in about a month and would love some specifics!

Frostburg The +1 and I will be spending a (hopefully relaxing) weekend at the Savage River Lodge, conveniently located near Frostburg, MD, in mid-September. They have a restaurant attached to the Lodge that I've never heard boo about. Anybody care to comment on the lodge restaurant? And, even if you have no comment on it, any thoughts on places to eat in Frostburg? A search of chowhound revealed a 6 day old reference to a "mexican place on Main St." and a 2 year old reference to an "Italian place half block off main street." Wine lists are totally unimportant to us, and cost isn't particularly important either. While I want good food, I'm more interested in relaxing while there, so good food that is a one hour one way trip away from Frostburg is unlikely to interest us. Any advice appreciated.

Also, depending on when the festivities will occur, you may run into a problem I had planning a special dinner in early September--many restaurants close for the final week or two of August.

I save the rinds in the freezer and throw them in with soaked (formerly dried) chickpeas when I'm cooking them. It really adds a delicious flavor.

Welcome, maxfli, and post away!

Wah . I tried to make a reservation for early September and was rebuffed (ok, maybe just buffed--I don't think I gave the woman a chance to do it a second time! ). I was told they won't be accepting reservations in September until 'sometime during the last week of August'.

For those eating kabobs, I think it's totally worth trying. The felafel may very well be an outlier.

A Moby Dick's opened recently in the FallsGrove development off of shady grove rd (almost across the street from Shady Grove Hospital). I noted that they had felafel on the menu and decided to give it a try (there used to be a place in that strip mall called tribes that sold a decent felafel, and I've long been looking to recreate that). In a word, the felafel platter sucked. The felafels (of which there were a whopping 4 felafel balls for $6.49) were burned on the inside and mushy and flavorless on the inside. The tahini sauce was no more than roughly 1-2 tsp. drizzled on top. Without the accompanying cucumbur/yogurt sauce (reminded me of raita, but obviously wasn't, and was pretty good), it would have been nearly impossible to get down. And the bread that is so highly touted on their menu? Eh, unremarkable. The rice was equally unremarkable. Not worth the extra price for a 'platter'.

Ok, JPW & DanielK, come on! Give me some estimate of the price of entrees, please (feel in best whiny voice of child here!).

The postings make the food sound delicious, Landrum sounds like my kind of crank, and I no longer have to worry about crossing a river to get to food . But here's the question. I've still got a budget to worry about. Does anybody have a sense of entree prices? Roughly? I don't think I've seen that kind of info posted anywhere (but perhaps I have not searched adequately--apologies if so).

I went there once maybe 6 months or so ago and really liked it (but don't remember any specific rolls, sorry). Do post back if you get the cold soba; I would be curious for a review.

And, depending on what your definition of very soon is, that may cause you problems too. They're closed for at least the last week, and it may be the last two weeks, of August.

Yeah, Bamyan has been gone for many years I wish I had tried the place you liked.

Oh, was that the place (let me openly admit to a terrible sense of the geography of that part of VA, nay, all of VA) that was a free standing building in the parking lot of a strip mall? Call Bamyan, I think? God, did I love that place!

I think this would hold up well and taste good (although the cream cheese/vanilla combo might be a bit weird). Plus, children are not as turned off by the tooth-aching sweetness of the heavy-on-the-powdered-sugar frostings. I disagree with zora on the marshmallow fluff idea--even as a child I detested the stuff. To each their own.

You know how parks are haunted by ice cream trucks with that little dittie they play acting like siren's song, luring your child towards them? I wish local parks had a coffee truck that toodled around serving good coffee to desperate parents ready to gouge out their eyeballs from boredom. I'm not sure what song they would have playing...

Wow, thanks all. I've received some very thoughtful replies to my query that clearly took into account my stated preferences (including somebody who edited their response to delete references to bacon ), and opened my eyes to some places that weren't on my radar screen (thanks, Rocks). I'm not sure where we'll end up, but I'm grateful for all the recommendations (additional recommendations gratefully accepted!).

I realize this is a hackneyed request, but here goes. I am looking for a restaurant in which to celebrate my upcoming birthday with the +1. It can be anywhere in the DC/MD/VA area and cost is not a determining factor. Neither of us cares much about wine, so the wine list is, essentially, irrelevant. What I'm looking for is a good food and, preferably, a more neighborhood-y, intimate feel. Our restaurant of choice for special celebrations in the past has been Palena. I still like Palena a lot, I'm just looking to broaden my horizons. I'm a fish-a-terian, so steak houses/meat-focused restaurants are pretty well out. My first choice was (sniff) Komi. They're on vacation the weekend I want to go (Labor Day weekend). For a variety of reasons, I can't easily shift the weekend I want to go. The two remaining restaurants on the list are Restaurant Eve with the tasting menu (sounds good to me, it's a bit far from where I live, but do-able), Blacks (it's gotten such glowing reviews here in its current incarnation, but somehow, I'm not sure it's what I'm after). ETA: Maestro, which was on the list, is closed on Labor Day weekend. Any thoughts on the winner among these two? Recommendations for a place that I'm overlooking and should really consider? Thanks for reading this far in a request that I know is kind of tedious. ETA: Although moved into this thread, I'm not serious considering either CityZen or Citronelle.

I'm not much of a liquer fan as a broad statement, so the fist option isn't so appealing. The second one, though, might be just the ticket. I'm going to need to do some kind of chocolate ganache like type thing (I'm thinking a chocolate glaze for the top, dripping down the sides, permitting views of yummy pistachio buttercream sandwiched between cake layers) anyway, so a slightly different dilution/permutation would make for a good chocolate enhancer in the center.Xochitl10, I don't have any experience with cocoa nibs. Thanks for the idea. I can tell I may need to do quite a bit of experimentation!

The ratio was based on volume not weight. I'll admit, it wasn't a super precise measurement (what with needing to lick my fingers and all while getting buttercream out of Tb), so I was thinking I would lean towards more buttercream and modify as necessary.Although obvious, the cocoa simple syrup thing somehow seemed, I don't know, wrong. Yeah, probably will just need to experiment .

I wanted to report back on my efforts to make a pistachio buttercream filling for my birthday cake. I had frozen leftover Italian Meringue buttercream from my son's birthday cake and the KA Flour Pistachio Nut Paste sitting on the countertop, waiting for their marriage. Straight out of the can, the pistachio nut paste is pretty amazing. Although initially there is a strong smell of almonds (I'm thinking one of the "natural ingredients" must be almond extract), it's followed by the scent of pistachios. The color and general appearance is a bit, well, frankly, off-putting to somebody who's changed a lot of diapers. I was able to overcome this, though, and it's got a really good taste. Again, initially a strong taste of almonds, but followed by an equally strong taste of pistachios. Really, really yummy. The nuts are *very* finely ground, so the grittiness is pretty minimal. In the name of science, I did 5 different dilutions of buttercream:nut paste and the +1 and I had at 'em. Bottom line, it's a great combination, if killer rich. I thought the best combo was either the 50:50 or 60:40. I think +1 preferred the 50:50 or 40:60. However, I felt the texture was a bit too chewy in the 40:60. Thanks for the encouragement to give this a go, mktye. Well worth it and I'll be ordering more of the pistachio nut paste to make the actual filling. So, now the final (burning!) question. What kind of cake to use? I had planned on a typical American (read here, moist and rich) chocolate later cake. I'm thinking now, however, that it may be too much (too rich) with the pistachio buttercream. This leads me to think that a lighter cake (a biscuit, for example), might be more appropriate? But then, I'm wondering what kind of simple syrup to put over them? I like using the simple syrup to enhance/complement some flavor of the final concoction. But, my biggest complaint with chocolate biscuit in the past has been that it's not chocolate-y enough. So, I'm thinking I want to enhance the chocolate, but not sure how to do it in a simple syrup medium. (Perhaps I should just soak it in hershey's chocolate syrup?!). Any and all advice appreciated. My birthday is still over 6w away, so I've got some time to experiment!

Having looked at the menu (thanks for posting the link!), I'm with Pat. I think this is a way of 'dressing' the a la carte, off the grill, options. If you get a composed plate, then I think they would be surprised if you chose a sauce to accompany it. (Of course, I've never been, this is Smokey's theorizing.)

I wonder if part of that isn't because they're new to the space? I thought the one at the old WA St. address in Town Center had the perpetual scent of rotten produce.