DrXmus

We're planning our kitchen remodel now for construction to start in September. We're changing our 40 year-old kitchen into a modern, two-cook style area (with counter space!!!) We have lots of question and I know people here can give me some answers...or at least educated opinions...or off-the-cuff smartass remarks. -I think we've decided that the floor will be a thick linoleum/urethane in sheet form. Our designer says wood is used more often now and that wood will connect with the rest of the area better, but I don't think I won't stop worrying about water damage from the cat fountain, flour dust getting between planks (eventually), grease/oil damage, dents, etc. Newer sheet flooring can look very nice plus it has some cushion to it. Do those of you with wood wish you'd done something else? Do those of you with linoleum wish you hadn't used it? Tile is right out for us, FYI. -I asked this in the current dishwasher thread too, but what are your thoughts about where the dishwasher should go relative to the sink. There are differing schools of thought, apparently, but our designer says it should go to the left of the sink if the user is right-handed. Currently, ours is to the right of the sink and I think that seems fine, although I can see the advantage of piling dishes to the left of the sink and having the dishwasher right there. -How important is a warming drawer? It seems like a frivolity to me, but I've never had access to one, either, so I'm naive. -Bluestar, Wolf, Viking, KitchenAid, GE. Which is your preference for a cooktop/rangetop? I'm pretty jazzed about Bluestar after reading some of the above comments and checking out their web site. We'll go to a showroom soon. There are several in the area. -Do you have a brand preference for wall oven? I'm sure I'll have more questions, so please stay tuned. Thanks for your help!!

I was planning on asking this question in a remodeling thread, but it seems apropos here, too. When designing a kitchen, should the dishwasher be to the right or the left of the sink if the user is right-handed? My wife and I have read differing "rules". But then there's also the school of thought that it doesn't matter and you'll get used to what you have. Thoughts?

And Curry Mantra 3 is will be open (was it later this year?) in Cedarpark Shopping Center in Vienna. This is literally around the corner from me, so I'm looking forward to it's opening. It'll be interested to see how this site fares because the shopping center is a shithole with no redeeming qualities. Many people avoid the center due to the loitering dudes and uncomfortable looks they give. Either Curry Mantra will be the turnaround, or they'll be closed in 1-2 years.

As an anecdote to an anecdote, I haven't haven't had a problem using the combo powder/liquid in a gelcap for the past 2 years or so. Depends on the washer, maybe? Water temp? Brand of gelcap?

Yes, go to the store. Just like every home project is a reason to buy a new tool, every drink is a reason to buy more liquor.

I didn't realize M&R was frowned-upon. It was my standard (which I realize doesn't mean much) until I found Carpano. Anyhoo, your drink is a Red Hook with the addition of Orange Bitters. You can make a Punt e Mes substitute with 2:1 sweet vermouth and Campari. If you're doing that, I can't imagine you'd care if it's M&R, Dolin or Stock. Chill out, dude (in the gender-neutral sense). Use what you have!!

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with extra cheddar and milk with a pound of browned ground turkey mixed in. It's no effort to finish the whole thing, but it's great left over, too.

Vienna Patch has name-dropped donrockwell.com in their article on the new restaurant.

Cafe Nemooneh has closed as of 3-3-13. The reason: high rent and customers not returning frequently enough. According to the Vienna Patch, they closed the Chantilly storefront last year, also.

Interesting. Alcohol was discounted the few other times I've used Savored at Orso and 2941. Perhaps, Savored should look at the way they describe the product. at least for VA restaurants.

Terrible night at Orso with a Savored reservation for 6PM.As I'm supposed to do, I told the server that I had the deal, but he didn't know what I was talking about. I had to explain the 30% discount. Strike 1. When the bill came, the discount was only about 18% so I had to ask the server what was going on. He said the discount was on food only but I assured him it included drinks, too. He said he'd get the manager.Strike 2. After a while, Jonathan (?) came over and fed us a line of bullshit that the laws in Virginia are odd and that discounts couldn't be taken on happy hour prices. I asked if we ordered in happy hour and he said no, but that he set up the system so that discounts never included alcohol. He graciously said that he would make things right and ended up giving us a round of beers, which makes the total discount a little more than 30%, which is considerate, but I suspect it's only because the computer wasn't set up to give the 30% total discount as Savored promised. It's strike 3 for the night. I'll certainly try the system again because the discount is hard to beat, but if I have to go through the hassle and embarrassment of haggling over a bill, then I won't be using it long-term. I'm still not sure what Savored gets out of this. Maybe this is the beginning of the end for this program.

Well-said! We haven't had a lawn in years! No mowing. No fertiziling. No pesticides. On the "pro" side - we have Monarchs, bluebirds, three types of woodpeckers, Pipevine swallowtail butterflies, Spicebush swallowtail butterflies, tree frogs, foxes, raccoons and something colorful and blooming most of the year!

What you are asking for is what my wife does, albeit she's a consultant only but will help you coordinate with the company that is doing the work. Her business is called Nativescapes and she specializes in placing native plants. Shady spaces and clay soil is what many of these plants want and need and trying to put plants where they don't belong is why landscapes need fertilizing, aerating and irrigation systems. None of this is needed when using native plants that actually want to live in your yard. She won't ask you to cut down any trees. She'll work with you to include the types of plants you like, but she'll try her best to place native plants, which are sometimes even better than what you thought could go into the space. Her web site is Nativescapes.net.

Hmm...the thought of having an idea makes me wanna get drunk.

Excellent article! I agree with 95% of it. I agree with YOU that the footnotes are integral to the humor of the article. My favorite lines: -non-footnote: [re: Emeril] Now in his second season as an adjacent judge, the onetime garlic tosser is heavier and slower, a Wookiee in winter. -footnotes: Don't get me started on Bravo's trademark "laugh clip," the story-adjacent island in the middle of the second-to-last commercial, that forces you to stop fast-forwarding the DVR just to see Wolfgang Puck make a dick joke with a geoduck -This paragraph brought to you by Terlato Wines, aluminum foil, Charlize Theron, and the miniature Charlize Theron I just made out of aluminum foil while drunk on Terlato wines. -This is the only show I religiously hatewatch. I have seen every episode even though the relentless, delusional ego suck makes my skin crawl like the snakes in Raiders of the Lost Ark.["Hatewatch" - I love that term. I've got a show or two for which I could use that term]

Not quite true. Last month, I found 1L bottles at Brabo's market (The Butcher Block Market) in Old Town. I paid $39. I happened to buy a bottle yesterday at Beltway Liquors in Baltimore for $33, BTW. What can be done to keep vermouth fresh for longer than a month? After the last bottle I bought, my wife and I drank a shitload of Manhattans, Anejo Manhattans (rum), Rum Manhattans, Boulevardiers and Negronis. Now, I'm not complaining because they were all outstanding, but I'd love to stretch out the bottle a little longer. Is it oxidation that affects vermouth? Can I layer carbon dioxide or the wine-saver-type of inert gas over what remains in the bottle? Can I split the bottle into several smaller aliquots and freeze them? What can I do??

Closed. Empty shop. Vienna Patch reports the owners say they couldn't sustain the business in the colder months. Personally, I think any business there will be stressed due to the ridiculous parking options in the immediate area. In addition, they didn't open until 11AM, apparently, so there goes their AM coffee sales.

Questions I had after catching up on LCK today: 1) What was the timing of this cook-off? I'm guessing it's right before they taped the finale. Kristen mentioned Josh had lost weight and he said he'd seen himself on TV. I would've guessed the LCK was done right after Josh got kicked off, but then they wouldn't have been able to bring in the fan favorite. 2) How pissed is CD that he wasted all the time, emotional energy and maybe money to go to LA, thinking he'd have a chance to be in the finale and then get booted in the first few minutes of taping. c) IIRC, didn't Josh have his own pig-sort of restaurant during the show? He was wearing a different restaurant's coat in LCK...and it said PASTRY CHEF! Has Josh switched sections? I will have to admit it doesn't seem like he can cook meat for shit so maybe it's a good move.

Building a brick oven has been in the back of my mind for years. Besides the fact that I'm not very good at building things, I'm held back by the concern that I won't use it as much as I'd like because of the pre-pizza work involved. Don't you essentially have to plan half a day to start the fire, keep it going and heat the oven for at least a couple of hours before baking? When all this work goes into a 5 minute bake, I just can't justify the time outlay. Now, for baking bread, I can see the advantages. I remember being in my mother-in-law's little town of Neudorf in Germany when they happened to be building a new community oven for the village. The base was about 6 feet square and 3 feet tall with concrete blocks as the outer layer. Hundreds of pounds of broken glass about 1/4-1/2" thick were within the walls. I'm not sure what happened after that was laid, though. I'm guessing concrete was poured in and filled all the spaces.

Wow, that's some thick pastrami! 0.12 decimeters thick slices may be a bit off-putting for me, personally.

Just thought I'd bump this. Fantastic!

Hmm...hadn't noticed that, but I did question whether the slices of pastrami were REALLY 1/2" thick as reported. Unless the bread pictured was 3" thick, that meat wasn't 1/2". Yes, it was thicker than some of the others, but I doubt 1/2". Seriously, the metric system is soooo much better. Some pastrami looked like 2-3mm slices while others looked to be 5-6mm. A half-inch is about 12mm. [Dang, forgot to quote the appropriate post above. Wish there were a way to add that in editing.]

Thanks picking up the ball and running with it, VikingJew (coming from a RussianJew). I'm excited to taste with you all.

I've decided, while Hopslam is a great beer, that the $20 (or more) price tag is beyond my limit. I feel a little violated at that price point because I don't think the ingredient list warrants the price. Sure, it's a Double IPA and hops and malt and honey cost more for this beer, but there are other DIPAs, such as Stone's Ruination or Bill Madden's Molotov Hoptail (only available at Mad Fox), which are just as good, in my opinion, and are more reasonably priced. I understand supply and demand can dictate price, so good for Bell's to be able to sell out a beer within a week of release at that price. Having said that, I won't turn down a bottle if someone offers it to me:-)

Funny, I think he and I were watching it at the same time. Thanks, Netflix. It's hard not to consider doing some juicing after seeing this movie. If I don't want to buy a juicer, can I get by with just blending the crap out of the ingredients with a VitaMix?