Cooter

The one time that I went to Cheesecake Factory there were advertisements in the menu. I can't even comment on the food, or the wait time or anything else because I can't get past the fact that there are advertisements in the menu!!!!

Thanks so much for putting this together on such short notice. Even though I didn't make the final list, I can still recognize the effort. I guess the wife and I will have to be content with two pounds of Cheesetique's hanger steak on Sunday. ;-)

I decided to follow the advice of this thread and picked up a four pound hanger from Cheesetique on Friday. I had some difficulty trimming the sinew or whatever it is that runs down the middle of the steak, but goodness was it worth it! I simply cooked them on the stove over high heat for a couple of minutes a side. Then made a shallot redwine butter reduction to serve over them. My God, the flavor! I almost wish I had left off the sauce, as the beef flavor was fantastic. At seven or eight bucks a pound, these are a bargain!

Thanks to all who put this together! I have to say that I'm surprised that so many people are writing that they liked the shrimp tartar. At our table last night, it fared worse than the squash tart. For the four of us, the comments on the taste ranged from to . Absolutely no one was a fan of the texture. On the other hand, I thought that the squash dessert was ok. While no one else at our table besides myself thought it was ok, we all agreed that it would be better if the tart was half the size and the amount of ice cream remained the same. Perhaps pureeing the squash like a sweet potato pie would have worked? I think that everyone enjoyed the ginger ice cream. I think that everyone also agreed that the pork cheeks were to die for, as was the venison with the accompanying chestnut puree. Overall a great meal. Even though some dishes didn't work, IMHO, I welcome the challenge of trying new and different things. Thanks, again, to Rissa, Chef Power, mdt, hillvalley, Don and anyone else I may have forgotten.

Unfortunately, Bob Senn, the owner of Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium, passed away last year and it is closed. My parents, who lived in New Jersey, made a stop at the Emporium for at least once a year and were pretty friendly with Bob. It was, I think, the first commercial place that I ever went wine tasting. It was also at a special dinner there that I learned that I didn't really hate mushrooms. In any case, there are still a bunch of great tasting rooms you can check out just walking down the main st. of Los Olivos, but the Emporium and Bob will be missed. Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium Wes, from Clos Pepe, is a great guy and their Pinots are excellent.

I got a new $250 enclume rack on Craigslist for $50. It doesn't look like there is any of what you are looking for available now, but it may be worth it to check back often. Hanging racks seem to be the kind of thing that may not work after moving into a new place or seem like a good idea to register for, but that you never end up using. We benefitted from the latter.

I can vouch for the quality of Jason's excellent chocolates. The box we picked up at the Del Ray Arts Festival caused my wife to swoon. If I were capable of swooning, I would have as well. In any case, they are fantastic.

I would be interested!

I'm a little scared to join in with the advanced wine drinkers, but here goes . . . When the wife and I last went tasting in Napa, the woman pouring at Duckhorn echoed your thoughts about Merlot almost exactly. That is that there are simply no good inexpensive american Merlots. As this is primarily, if not exclusively, what the casual wine drinker in our country will taste, they form the opinion that the grape is not worthwhile. Incidentally, it was her opinion that Sideways had little effect upon the purchasing habits of americans and that merlot had been on a downward popularity trend even before the film became popular. In any case, we did get a bottle of their 2003 Merlot which was delicious to my and my wife's untrained palates and was later named by the SF Chronicle as their California wine of the year.

I used to live a block away from Al's and thought it was good, but they really underseason the meat and onions. I would have to dump a load of salt and pepper on my cheesesteak when I got it home. It really tastes like they don't use salt at all.

Thanks for everyone who suggeted cellartracker. I just added my huge (12 bottle) collection. It's great to see other users tasting notes and to view the reccommended drinking dates as I'm more or less a wine novice. In the future, I think it'll be fun to see what I've drank over the years in one place. Thanks, again!

I second the black truffle rissotto!

Can you recommend me your smoker? I'm in the market, but have no idea what makes for a good/reliable/cost-effective smoker. Thanks!

If the weather's nice, it's only about one or one and a half miles from the Braddock Road metro, straight down Mount Vernon Ave. I can't say that you could really make a whole day out of it, but you pop in on a Saturday afternoon and check out the retro fashions at Remix, have lunch at Taqueira Poblano, dessert at the Dairy Godmother (closed for the month, though), get some cheese at Cheesetique and then add to your wine collection at Planet Wine. All of these fine establishments can be found on Mt. Vernon Ave.

Some news about the current state of the restaurant scene in New Orleans in The New York Times featuring Bob Iacavone of Cuvee, among others. Not sure if you need a password . . .

Thanks so much for the info and link to egullet, abramer and Goldenticket. After seeing the pictures in the egullet thread, we're signing up at Great Country Farms since they'll deliver to our place in Del Ray. Hopefully we can use most of what we get, and if not, it'll be a learning experience. Thanks, again.

For those who live in Alexandria and are looking for an excuse to try the frickles, there's a coupon for a free order in the Alexandria Restaurant Coupon Book that was mailed this week.

So, the wife and I are thinking of signing up for a CSA, specifically Great Country Farms. Does anyone have any experience with a CSA share or with this particular farm? It sounds like an awesome idea. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, a CSA share entitles you to a certain amount of fresh produce from a local farm about once a week. There are a few in the area; some deliver and some you must pick up. Some also allow you to engage in a limited amount of "pick-your-own" activities in addition to the picked-up/delivered produce.

Barkeeper's Friend works wonders on stainless. I assume that it's also safe on non-stick, but not positive.

Hey, Dean, did you know that the first hit on google for "ridge montebello" is to your blog?

Happy new year everyone! I'll be dreaming of the prime rib that I will braise in butter to eat with a 2002 Paraduxx tomorrow. Bonne cuisine dans 2006!

I agree with you about Horton's Cab Franc. While I haven't tried that many, this is the first Cab Franc that I've truly liked. You can usually find it at Safeway for $9-$10. After the 10% discount for 6+ bottles, it's an excellent value. While I've only drank it on one occasion, I also enjoyed Horton's sparkling Viognier.

Sweet. Fully constructed Mr. Landrum BM.

Sweet. Oprah BM deconstructed.

Whole Foods in Arlington cut one down to two bones from five, IIRC, for me a couple Christmasses ago. I dry aged it in the fridge for a few days and it was great.