mongo

Well, the Mongo Joneses were a big disappointment.  On the basis of pre-publicity, I thought he, at least, would be as spicy as the H-20 at Joe's.  But it turns out they are a pleasant, demure couple with excellent manners. 

it is true that i am always a big disappointment but this is the first time i've been called demure. i must remember to hurl some dung at stephen if we ever meet again.

nice to meet those we met, and sorry to miss some that i'd hoped to meet. dinner was quite good, on the whole, with highs and mediums (no real lows).

the post-dinner activity at bistro du coin and then raven (?) was a lot of fun as well, even if i was dragged away from the bar before my jukebox selections played.

we leave for the airport in a bit. as of now we don't have a ride (to temptasian, not the airport). will probably get online at the hotel at some point, so i figure it will get figured out by the 29th.

Where to for drinks afterwards? Annandale ain't exactly party central.

heather, who has backed out of dinner, and i have talked about drinks somewhere in the vicinity of our hotel--no place has been named yet though. when do you think we're likely to be back in that end of town post-dinner?

But for the letter I's introductory feminine dance sequence

is that supposed to be a belly dancer? a stripper? nothing says classy restaurant like the outline of a gyrating woman on their front-page.

we will accept the offer of a ride from heather--a large van sounds good (i have a rather gigantic arse). plus there's the possibility of neil diamond.

heather: 7pm in the lobby of our hotel? the doubletree at the address upthread. i don't know how many combos of tall indian man and short korean-american woman there will be but to be on the safe side i'll have a copy of "turning the tables" between my teeth.

look forward to meeting you all (yes, al dente as well).

okay, party people, it is confirmed: dinner at temptasian on the 29th. drinks after. we will not be able to begin before 7 pm and will need a ride or directions.

who's in? who's out?

oops, i didn't realize i'd set off a mini-controversy. actually, we'll be at an indian dinner the other night so would prefer temptasian this night (especially since we're starved for decent sichuan in denver/boulder). bhasin, i hope to see you whenever i'm in dc next (if you don't come to said indian dinner the previous night, that is).

will confirm the night for temptasian within a week.

i don't know if it ever made the main menu but bhasin once featured my mother's recipe for alu-gobi in his lunch buffet. apparently, it was quite popular. unfortunately, i don't think i'll be able to make it out to his place on this trip.

The last time I tasted Sunderam's green chicken masala, I was a student in London four years ago.  The Bombay Brasserie staff ushered me and my friend out very quickly when I used the larger entree plates for the dessert buffet (as opposed to the tiny dessert plates they'd prefer you to use), but the chicken was so good I bore them no ill will.  I've probably thought about that green chicken dish once a week since then.

It was every bit as good tonight at Rasika.  Very dark, very complex flavors. The service was a bit spotty and rushed, but the space was beautiful and every dish was perfect.  Amazing chaat, spinach with corn, piping hot, very fluffy naan, a whole trout cooked just until its flesh set in the tandoor (for just $16!), superb bread.  I loved the walnut kulfi and the bread and butter pudding - definitely not run-of-the mill Indian desserts.

The place has the same feel as Indique, but it's a lot better.  Reminded me of Tamarind in London.  Definitely a step up from Bombay Brasserie for Sunderam.

why is their site's splash page so tacky?

the menu seems like a bizarre pastiche to me, but i suppose that's par for the course for so-called nouveau indian cooking. do the entrees come with anything? or do you have to order dal and veg separately if you want them?

and a desparate attempt to shove crumpled bills into an aging stripper's garter as the ground beneath her feet -- or is it your feet? -- sways in disconcerting patterns, at the Royal Palace. 

i don't mind if anyone's desperate or if the bills are crumpled--i'll take all the money you can shove at me.

i leave it to the locals to iron out the details. i'll add that while any food consumed should be broadly edible, the point of the evening for me will be to meet you guys. i will confirm the date (either the 28th or the 29th) as soon as i can.

How about:  drinks at Firefly, then more drinks somewhere else, then finish up the evening with drinks in yet another location? 

And maybe some food somewhere along the way?

i like the way you think. just as long as the first port of call is not too difficult to reach from the vicinity of the address i posted above.

can we get back on topic? the topic being me, and where you people will ply me with food, liquor and cash.

just want to clarify that the title of this thread is not my doing--it was edited by some depraved admin

[We have no idea what you're referring to. ed.]

zengo gets good reviews here in elway-land. i haven't been but have eaten once at stablemate tamayo. quite good, but a little overpriced, in my opinion.

(for the person who noted that denver is a culinary wasteland: compared to dc etc., yes. but there's some decent stuff. if you really want an excellent fine meal in the region, you have to drive up to boulder and eat at frasca. if you can get a table, that is.)

Another way to meet mongo -- (hint: use prophylactics) -- The infamous eG food blog

little known fact: that blog was pruned after the fact. about 150 posts from the original 485+ were deleted. so, the most fun bits are probably gone.

thanks, all, for the welcome--my cup runneth over (not that since the "accident" that takes very much, but still).

al dente, jpw, heather, hillvalley--these are names that suggest this forum is populated by freaks, and the ensuing references to things like "new big wong" (presumably a sex-toy mart) and "temptasian" (doubtless an opium den) confirm this. some of the other names i don't recognize but you seem genially deranged, so it is, as they say on the street, all good. it seems doubtful that people such as you are gainfully employed so perhaps the fact that my visit is in the middle of the week, and that i cannot confirm the evening i will be available (though it seems likely that it may be the 28th) will not be a barrier to possibly meeting.

i must, however, disown all connection to mongomania. it is a nasty, evil site and no one should visit it.

hi, i'm mongo jones. you may remember me from such movies as "tonight we eat, tomorrow we puke" and "daddy, why doesn't that man wear pants?"

i'll be in dc for 3 days at the end of the month--dec 27-30, to be exact--and am hoping to get some recommendations for meals that are cheap, yet full of goodness. ideally, in the vicinity of the omni shoreham hotel, where the convention i will be attending will be centered, or near 1515 rhode island avenue nw, which is where the heat vent over which i will be sleeping is located.

my schedule at the convention is still up in the air, and will likely not be finalized till about dec 23, but if any here are interested in plying me with expensive food and drink i will theoretically be interested. less theoretically, i will also accept cash to stay away from your part of town.