John William G

Is anyone going to the Cook It Raw BBQ event in late October? The list of chefs in attendance is staggering.

And $100 per ticket is also staggering.

I will be there, +1.  Will bring the jalapeí±o cheese squares and perhaps a bottle or two of wine.

Mrs G and I plan on being there, but we won't be absolutely certain for another week or so.

I used to buy wine making kits, and make wine in the basement.  But about five years ago, for various reasons, I stopped.  However I still have all of the equipment needed to make wine:

-Two wooden wine racks (unfinished), each of which will hold 104 bottles of wine.

-100 to 125 empty wine bottles

-a device for putting corks in wine bottles

-a bucket for mixing the wine, and three glass containers to hold the wine while it ferments

-a number of miscellaneous things, like an attachment to a facet to use to clean wine bottles, a thermometer, a rack for holding bottles while they dry, items to stir the wine, etc.

Here is a photo of one of the wine racks; here is the corker and one glass container. If interested you can have all of it for $200.

Sorry to report that Buenos Grill's last day will be Friday, Aug 30.  It never got the traffic it needed to stay open.

... I suspect people do know this, but a Casbah is merely an Islamic term for a fortress, common throughout North African towns...

Not an "Islamic" term, but an Arabic word. In Morocco the word normally referred to an older, walled area of a city

What's the recipe? If it's a cake, you should be perfectly fine using regular refined sugar. I use that for all my UK recipes that need caster sugar.

A recipe for plain, ordinary English scones. The only scones i can find around here (e.g., at the Swiss Bakery, or Starbucks, or Panera Bread) are always fancy--made with strawberries, or nuts,or some special topping. I wanted a simple, plain one, and the recipe I found called for caster sugar. I made them today using the superfine granulated sugar, and they came out fine.

That's sold in the US as superfine sugar. It's available in Domino brand at a lot of grocery stores. I've never tried making it at home but have heard that grinding granulated sugar in a food processor works. You want to get it very fine but not to the point of powder.

I stopped by Balducci's this afternoon, and they have packages labeled "Caster Sugar." Based on your comment I bought a package of Domino's Superfine instead, and saved about $4. Many thanks.

I want to make an English recipe which calls for caster sugar,which I understand is the same as "baker's sugar." Anyone know where I can find that in this area?

That’s the title of an article in The Spectator. Here is a quote from it:

"Shouldn’t more of us follow the example of the late gastronome Julia Child, who when asked to name her -favourite wine replied ‘gin’?”

Flint Hill

southdenverhoo thanks for the recommendations. We ended up at the Griffin Tavern, and had a very enjoyable meal. A very pleasant place, very comfortable, and nice selection of sandwiches and stuff for lunch. I had chicken on flatbread, with a salad.

Mrs. G had a Ruben.

Hume

This is short notice but: We're going to be near Hume, VA, tomorrow at lunch time. Any recommendations for place to have a nice meal?

Speaking of Pimento Cheese…I was in Charleston, SC, last weekend and ate at a relatively new restaurant, The Grocery. One of the best parts of the meal was their Crispy Pimento Cheese Balls.

... Coolers with ice are needed too. I can bring a big cooler but am not sure about ice...

I plan on getting there around 12:30. I will bring a bag of ice, but no cooler...so if you have an empty cooler I will have some ice for it.

I'll bring some cheese squares, and a couple of bottles of wine.

Sugar Palm Thai

Correct.

And let me give a belated Thanks to Simon for putting a smile on my face with his response to my original post.

I will be there with Mrs. G. Not sue yet what we will bring.

The dishes shown in the photo I posted are pork satay, butternut dumplings, and Plak Pla, which is fish nuggets with lemon grass, shallots, and a dressing. The restaurant has only been open about a year.

Looks like Thai. Bangkok 54?

It is Thai, and it is in Norther Virginia, but it isn't Bangkok 54.

And not the Rice restaurant in DC, either.

John William G., Cafe Asia?

No, not Cafe Asia.

Where did I dine?

To anyone going to Charleston in the near future, I recommend looking at this article in the Times. It discusses a number of new and different restaurants which have opened recently.

Buenos Grill is open. I ate there today. I'm not qualified to say if it is "authentic" Mexican, but the food Mrs G and I had was very tasty. The ingredients were fresh. The menu is fairly limited at present. There is a copy on their Facebook page: facebook.com/BuenosGrillVA. We found the staff to be pleasant and helpful, and the restaurant was clean and comfortable. If you live or work in this area, and like Mexican food, you should give it a try.

Yes, the Majestic.

This was our first visit to the Majestic, and we were very pleased with the service and the food. And it wasn't lotus root under the Char. That dish was served with cauliflower puree, fennel, and beets. According to the menu it should have had chicory, but if it did my wife didn't taste it.