astrid

We really liked our dinner at Ristorante Alle Corone about 2.5 years ago.  Not too pricy for Venice.

I've updated with my contributions.  If things get really desperate, I'll bring a bottle of Kirkland brand vodka.

I should be able to bring 15 to 20 tomato varieties to the tasting.  Just started to get a few ripe large tomatoes this week, but next week should bring a good selection.  My basil plants are also going strong.

Cherry whisky will also be brought, along with a locally made apple pie liquor.

We won't be able to stay for the full time, however.  My high school reunion picnic is on the same day, so we will check out early to attend that.

No.  I usually eat tomatoes undressed, or cheat with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  

Almost all the varieties are new to me.  I am particularly excited to try some of the purple and black varieties.  I had a few excellent Large Black Boar tomatoes last year and Pink Berkeley Tie Dye is supposed to be even better.

Everyone is welcomed to bring tomatoes to the tasting, though please record the variety name.

I am fond of the CA Olive Ranch oil sold by Trader Joe's.

I will bring basil too.  Growing Thai, Italian, lemon, and lime basil this year.

Alrighty!  Tomato tasting will be happening.

Would anyone be interested in a tomato tasting?   I am growing about 50 varieties of tomatoes this year and I am seeing fruits on most of my plants.  So most should have ripe fruit by end of July.

Provence and Cote D'Azur? Basque/Catalan parts of Spain? Portugal?  Nice weather, nice beaches, walkable cities, great food, drivable if you want to, and relatively easy to get around.

Speaking for myself, I would push for Rome in a less busy month like January or February.  Celebrating two momentous birthdays in the Eternal City just seems fitting to me.  Plus I utterly loved Rome when we went in February 2016.  The weather was pleasant and crowds mostly tolerable.  I would probably have hated the experience if we went during a hotter busier month.

I will be there with +1, cherry whisky, and sundry.

Lilypons in Adamstown, MD?  

Definitely go see Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in late July, when the lotus and waterlilies are blooming.

This owned by the same people as Lucy in Silver Spring, our favorite Ethiopian restaurant.

Grittiness is probably because you included the Sichuan peppercorn seeds in the grind.  You need to remove them and only use the hulls, which contain the flavor.  

These podcasts from my rotation might have more than niche appeal (I also listen to things like Davis Garden Show and Book Fight). After a while, content matters less to me than having hosts with good radio voices and non-annoying musical cues.

Le Show
Revolutions
History of Rome
Special Sauce
The Allusionist
The Bugle
The Next Picture Show
The Dissolve
Judge John Hodgman
Ask a Manager

Tried them but I was unimpressed.  The cheddar ones don't have much flavor and the bags have a high crumb ratio.  

Have anyone seen poke in their deli section lately?  We really miss them, especially the spicy version.

Speaking of Asian jerky, Costco is pricing to sell the last of their HTY sweet beef jerky for $8 a packet.

Agree that my last few bags of Golden Island seems a bit off.

They run out of dough by probably 9 PM seating, on most nights.  If you don't get there shortly after opening, maybe up to 6:30 for a small party on a  bad weather weekday, you're looking at a wait of some kind up to 8:30.  But it's not quite the crazy wait of a DC hotspot.  Probably more like 30-45 minutes for a smaller party during peak times.  Though we just go right at 5 and always get seated immediately.

The pizza there are excellent.  The toppings were always exquisite.  I used to think the crust lagged a little behind Pizza CS and year one Pupatella.  Now I think they got it really right. 

On their website, hours are listed as:

Wednesday-Sunday:         5pm-Until the Dough Runs Out

Monday & Tuesday: CLOSED

Yes, but you risk the dough running out.  

I used liquid smoke in sous vide preps and jerky, I didn't notice any unpleasant smells.  They are supposed to be just naturally made smoke and water, so it just smelled pleasantly smoky.  I am not the best judge though because I seem to have a higher tolerance for smoky than most people.  But no reason to do smoky if you don't particularly enjoy it.  

Kenji recommend using liquid smoke in such situations.  Instant Pot is easier and probably produce a more traditional BBQ like product and better flavor development  Sous vide could be very tender after a long cook, though cook times longer than 12-18 hours have some extra challenges.

Apologies to Weber but kamado cookers are the way to go for BBQ.  Moist, smoky meats every time with minimal fussing.

2 hours ago, leleboo said:

Soooo for those who might be following — astrid, I haven’t forgotten you; we’ve had the Winter of Germs over here — I can recommend Banana Leaf on Carlisle Pike at 114. It’s a totally nondescript joint, but holy cow are these curries fab. They took us seriously when we asked for spicy. The naan is addictive. It’s a 20-min each way for us ... and worth it. 

Thanks for the recommend, we will have to try that!  Hope everyone has recovered from the germies!

Nevermind what I said about shopping!  China (especially the tourist spots) is the ultimate for tacky themed souvenirs :-)  It makes the world's supply of tacky themed souvenirs.  You will see miles of souvenir booths at every travel destination. 

If you do bring wine, I'd recommend a moderately priced wine (red or fizzy) that you enjoy.  Or something sweet and easy to drink like a mead, moscato, blackberry wine, or ice wine (though ice wines are never cheap...). 

I'd say go with your instinct about chocolate and bring a couple boxes mid-range chocolates.  Maybe Lindt or Godiva or if you can find them, a Ferrero Rocher variety pack.  Early to mid May isn't too hot and the chocolates intended for Kunming will be in a home most of the time, so melting shouldn't be a problem.  Macadamian nuts and pistachio and pecans (as well as their candied derivatives) are also popular.

Also - being even more annoying (and Chinese?#@!), I also recommend dialing back shopping to mainly window shopping and buying a few inexpensive souvenirs, or maybe buying some snacks/fruit/flowers for your hosts.  I find things on offer in Mainland China to be mainly poor quality and rather expensive - there's a reason why Chinese tourists infamously descend on western shops for clothing/luxury goods/electronics like swarms of locusts!  The quality and prices in the US are usually much better than what they can get in China.

Definitely do not buy anything from a shop that caters to tourists, those are infamous for price gouging and dodgy claims. 

Sorry to be a downer, but nowadays, the only things I bring out China are tea (gifted by family/friends who "know a guy from decades back") and xiangfei nuts from the local Carrefour supermarket.

Sorry to be that person, but you might want to re-consider bringing honey as a gift.  Speaking from experience, Honey has similar density/property as some explosives, so it can be tricky to get through airport security scans.  Also, it might make sense to check with your friends about the best kind of booze to bring.  What I had said are general guidelines, it's always possible that your friends' families are the exception and would prefer a nice bottle of Virginia wine over a bottle of Remy Martin.

From your description, I guess Lijiang/Dali/Stone Forest/Xishangbanna for the Yunnan leg and mainly staying within the Chengdu basin.  If it's possible, definitely see if you can fit in the big Buddha and Mt. Omei, even as a long day trip from Chengdu.  If you have a little more time in the Chengdu basin, an overnight trip to Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong is worth it - it's crowded and overexposed now, but the waterfalls and serpentine pools are really beautiful.

Personally, I was really underwhelmed by Xishangbanna, 15 years ago it was cut-rate northern Thailand with sub-par food with border access to a really sketchy part of Burma.  Yunnan has a lot of nicer tourist options, at least in my opinion.  Just want to mention this because Xishangbanna takes quite a bit of travel from Kunming so it's a biggish commitment.

https://www.terragalleria.com/asia/china/china.all.html offers a nice sense of a lot of what you might see.