smokey

For the Rockvillians, I recently read in the Gazette that talks with Harris Tweeter to come to Rockville Town Center are off. The question remains--who will fill the grocery store 'niche' there, or will anybody?

Hmmm...

No, I'm with you on Ricky's Rice Bowl! Would I go there every day? Hell, no! But, it makes a nice, annual alternative to my string of other places to go to for lunch! That's the strip mall that has the Fu Shing (name?) on the lower level in back that I referred to earlier. I'm a fish-a-terian, so have always gotten the veggie appetizer rolls at Taste of Saigon (why can I not think of what the rolls are called? Not the deep fried kind, the summer-y yummy kind?). Anyway, theirs are *terrible*. Instead of just leaving out the pork they mince up all these vegetables (e.g. broccoli) that totally ruin the taste. Mind you, this isn't a broccoli rant. I'm not 41, I like broccoli quite a lot, but there are places it doesn't belong. And this is one of them. Other than that, I think Taste of Saigon is fine, but I'm with Daniel, a bit too expensive.

I *knew* there was someplace I was forgetting! Thanks for reminding me about La Flor de la CanelaAnd, I agree, Il Pizzico is quite good (or was when I was last there, which probably was a couple of years ago).

I'm SO psyched. I not only have my all clad saucier (with which i can make a mean custard), I just received the pistachio paste from KA for practicing a pistachio buttercream. This means that this weekend I'll be making a IM buttercream frosting for that yellow cake that needs to be in a 9X13 pyrex AND with the leftover egg yolks? I'll be making ice cream, probably strawberry. I love it when I don't have to waste egg yolks!

Somebody [wherewasitwherewasitwherewasit?] posted a pretty complimentary review of Madras Palace very recently, and I have been meaning to give that a try. There's also been talk (chowhound?) of a taco stand near the washingtonian center (is that Tacos Pepitos?). There's a Chinese place in the back of the strip mall with the Panera, across the street from the Sam's Club, that I've heard good things about but haven't been to (Fu Shing?). I think there are supposed to be some very good taco places in old town Gaithersburg. I agree with the Joe's Noodle House and A&J recs. I also like Cuban Corner a little further up the Pike. Others like El Mariachi in the plaza with the IHOP on 355--me, not so much. Although some DC-based hounds like to trash suburban food, I found a lot of really good, inexpensive food to eat in MoCo, and can still travel to the district when I want to.

The +1 and I went there for dinner a year or two ago. They have very limited vegetarian options, so i wasn't super impressed with it. The +1 was pretty impressed. I'll agree agree it's decent food at a very good price, just limited options if you're a vegetarian.

Geez, what would I do with a small amount of cake batter?! Thanks for the (very!) specific info. This will definitely help as I plan my attack on the cake (that, and the bottle of vanilla extract I just received from Penzeys!).

I'm not sure I understand why. My impression has always been that one way of getting a better mouthfeel is to add (non-sweetened) condensed milk to the mix. You get more milk protein with less water. I'm thinking dried buttermilk might have the same effect. (NB the theoretical nature of what I'm writing here. I have no specific experience from which to draw!)

yellow cake question here I need to make a birthday cake for somebody special in my life. Typically I would probably do 2 nine inch rounds, fill and frost. But for serving purposes I really need to make a 9X13 cake. Ignoring the issue of volume of batter and pans (I can do math just fine, that's not where I'm worried), can I bake a cake designed for 2 nine inch rounds in a 9X13 pyrex? Will the center get cooked adequately without burning the outside to dried powder? Any and all advice appreciated (including any recipes for yellow cake that taste good and bake well in a 9X13 pyrex!). Thanks.

My +1 recently ordered the DanDan noodles and made the mistake of ordering the thin noodles. They really can't stand up to the sauce at all, and the dish was made much less great by this mistake of +1. You might want to consider giving them a try again with thicker noodles (or, make your way on to some other amazing part of the menu--I think the shredded tofu/cilantro/peanut dish is amazing).

I have a biscuit recipe that I've used and I'm quite fond of, so I know the sort of cake you're talking about. I've never made the mods to make a chocolate biscuit, and I'm thinking I want a traditional, American style layer cake (moistness and all!). Part of this is I love that look, part of it is that I'm not sure what kind of simple syrup I would use to enhance the chocolate/pistachio aspect, so I'm stumped there. CI has a cute little layer cake book (for the life of me I can't remember the name) that I bought on somebody's rec, but I don't know that I've ever baked out of it. (The recipes are probably in the Best Recipe as well--they've got like 500 recipes they keep reorganizing/packaging/selling!) Maybe I'll give one of their chocolate layer cake recipes a try as a scrimmage for the full on cake (while I await the arrival of pistachio paste!)

I went to Benjarong once last (?) summer. I thought it was pretty shrug. Not bad, but I don't remember a single thing we ordered nor do I remember thinking, "gee, gotta get back there soon" when we left.

Yeah, I admit, I was sort of thinking the same thing. That you tolerate (for lack of a better way of putting it) more different textures in the filling of a cake then you would, for say, the icing or off the spoon . I may try to work this out for my birthday cake (still a few months away). I've got some things I want to order from KA anyway, so the, umm, need for pistachio paste will just give me further excuse. I am thinking a chocolate cake with pistachio buttercream filling between layers and then...hmm, any rec for a frosting on the outside? I might just do a chocolate buttercream (can you tell I like chocolate?) but I don't want the pistachio filling to be shout down. Maybe a chocolate ganache drizzled on top? Could look nice with the pistachio buttercream frosting peaking out the sides. Other thoughts gratefully accepted. Do you have a favorite chocolate layer cake recipe? BTW, thanks for the offer to copy the cake recipe for me. I'm ok for now, but you never know, I may come back inquiring about it! And, to respond to you Capital Icebox, I don't think you can carry around cake batter for a couple of days (even refrigerated) before baking. There are a couple of problems. One is the raw egg in the batter (my assumption is that this will not be refrigerator temp cool 100% of the time--I see bacteria multiplying in front of my eyes). Two, the chemical reaction that gives the cake rise will have come and gone by the time you bake it. Others may feel free to correct--these are just my assumptions!

mktye, I've long been tempted to do a recipe like your chestnut buttercream, but using pistachio puree (that canned stuff from KA, it's not puree but I'm totally drawing a blank on the name). However, I've resisted because I've had the feeling that it would be gritty (not matter how much additional puree-ing I gave it). Have you got any sense of that? Have you ever fooled with something like a pistachio buttercream? Other ideas for how to convey pistachio flavor without relying on weird fake food flavorings? (I'm thinking more in the filling/frosting rather than cake--I imagine I could sub in pistachio flour to get pistachio flavoring in the cake.)

I've been to Italian Market a handful of times over the past few years. Honestly, as an Italian deli I think they leave a lot to be desired. They used to have a lot more imported deli items, but now seem to be almost exclusively a wine store. The sandwiches are good, not great (they're greatest virtue is the bread, the oft-neglected but most important part of the sandwich IMHO). The cold cuts (or whatever you call them) are Boar's Head or some other national brand that is found at the Giant as well. While I think the mozzarella is good, I went there once looking for fresh ricotta. They pointed me towards their refrigerated case, where I could buy Polly-O's (yeah, that same stuff you can get at the Giant). Oh, and I thought their gelato (doubt they make it in house, not sure where it comes from) was far below average. All the flavors I sampled tasted like they should be labeled freezer burn. Bottom line, I think there are a few things they do well, but in total, they are more than a step below Vignola (as a general point of reference, i recognize that option isn't available near Italian Market) and they really don't rate at all as an Italian market/deli in my eyes. (as for peperonata, I liked them, but am just not up that way often enough. They were never going to get my 'coming home from work why don't I stop and pick up some fresh pasta for dinner business.' I agree that their location was a challenge, as highlighted by ol' ironstomach)

I decided to take a flyer on cookwarenmore and just ordered an All Clad 2 qt saucier with lid. While I would prefer to choose one with my 'dings of choice', there's no way I'm going to have a chance to get to an outlet to give them the once over. It's got the same allclad guarantee, and I can return it if I'm not happy with whatever imperfection there is, so I decided to give it a go. I look forward to unscorched caramel in my near future, not to mention custards of perfection!

Yep, that's it! I used Callebaut bulk chocolate that I bought at WF and Penzey's dutch cocoa. To be honest, I think that using good quality ingredients makes a huge difference in something like this. The recipe can be just ok, or reasonable, but with really good quality chocolate, everything else just seems only kinda-sorta important (at most). All just my humble opinion.Thanks for the sauce pan recs (particularly the saucier--that's the style I had been leaning towards). Have you been happy with the service from cookwarenmore, ol ironstomach?

I have an old recipe from BA or Gourmet for 'double chocolate pudding' that I love and made recently. It's surely available at Epi, but I'm not sure I have the name right. It's made with whole milk, chopped bittersweet and a few tablespoons of cocoa (plus other ingredients, I'm just mentioning the ones salient to me). For something made with only (!) whole milk (no creme, etc.) it tastes quite rich, it's really chocolatey, and the serving size is two, which is perfect for me and the +1 (after the +0.5 goes to bed!). I've never tried to make chocolate pudding from any other recipe. They could all be this yummy (or even yummier!), I don't know. But goodness, do I like this one. The ancilliary benefit? This was the second time recently that I've 'realized' I need a better saucepan. I also made turtle brownies from a recent CI, and fighting the scorched hot spots in my caramel (combined with scorched spots in pudding) made me realize i really need (not want, need) a good quality pan. [FYI, the turtle brownies were quite good. I had none of the nuts called for so subbed in hazelnuts, which were delicious.] Anybody want to recommend a good quality, won't kill me to pay for it, won't have @#$@#$$^ hot spots sauce pan?

I'm with you on that one (as well as the tropicana pure premium, now that I think about it!)

Yep, that's the stuff. And, I'll admit, I'm pretty well unwilling to drink anything else either. I would rather have a glass of cranberry juice or apple juice than switch to that from concentrate dreck.JPW--where's Sniders?

That's funny, the scallion pancakes the time I had them were <shrug>. I've always ordered the DanDan noodles with the thick noodles. Maybe that's the difference? Not sure. I've certainly never thought the sauce tasted of nothing. Maybe an off day.

Actually, the scuttlebut I've heard (I like w/in walking distance of town center and am intensely curious about this myself) is that it will be a Harris Teeter. I don't think magruder's has yet "released" their hold on the grocery store space (for lack of a better way of putting it) and I don't think anything has been nailed down with anybody. The result being, so far nobody is really willing to name names. ETA: Although i wish the WF wouldn't move further away from me, they're WAY to crammed into that space. Oh, and a Balducci's, mmmm, capogiro, mmmm.

I've been thinking about giant shrimp frequently as I've weekly battled at the Rockville Pike WF regarding the pricing on the shelf vs. scanned price of the Tropicana Golden Grapefruit Juice. It's $3.99 on the shelf, but $4.49 when scanned. When brought to the attention of the first cashier, she refunded me 30 cents. I calmly pointed out that it was a 50 cent difference and she gave me the 20 cent balance. The next person brought the manager in on it, who happily gave me the dollar back (I was buying two of them). Nobody seems to think they owe me free product for misrepresenting the price. Until yesterday night. I got two free Tropicana Golden Grapefruit Juices. Make no mistake, I spent a fair amount of time trying to memorize the face of the friendly gentleman who did this so that I could return to his aisle in the future. (And yes, Tropicana Golden Grapefruit Juice is my favorite beverage in the world, so I'm willing to pay these exorbitant prices. There's little I enjoy as much as a glass of it with a rich brownie, or (on a separate occasion) mixed with a good vodka, or, on a separate occasion still, drunk down straight with my morning cereal. It's an amazingly versatile beverage.)

I would definitely consider Mamma Lucia's for red sauce Italian in MoCo. Their pizzas are actually quite good, if salty (not a problem for me, but my 3yo wakes up in the middle of the night begging for water after we feed him some of it). I've never eaten in at dinner time, so can't comment on its usefullness as a place to dine with children.