rhodegirl

The reporter's name is Marian Burros.

D’oh! - sorry, my mistake - thanks for the correction, Carolyn! (By the way, the meats that are made in-house at Komi, such as the mortadella, are excellent.)

For a delicious taste of spring, go to Komi and order the Tagliatelle with Prosciutto, Fava, and Radish. A butter sauce, fragrant with garlic, barely coats the long narrow silky noodles, the perfect sauce-to-pasta ratio. One bite of these noodles with the house-made prosciutto, tender first-of-the-season fava beans and crisp radish, and winter fades away.

The strozzapreti with truffles worked for me. In fact, I’m still thinking of it days later. The truffle was finely grated, rather than shaved in strips, which meant tiny bits of truffle magic infused each bite of pasta. I’m also dreaming of the papardelle with ragu and the ravioli and all of the mezze, especially the cauliflower panna cotta with taleggio cheese…..

I nominate Chef Frank Ruta’s version of scallops and bacon to be the first inductee into the Scallops and Bacon Hall of Fame, if such an institution ever comes to exist, which I admit is unlikely. Nonetheless, here is the menu description of the soon-to-be acclaimed dish: Pairing of Our Own Bacon and Diver Harvested Maine Sea Scallops, with glazed radishes, a potato cake, spinach and a juniper froth. Since Palena house-made bacon is essentially a generous cube of pork belly, the traditional preparation of scallops and bacon - a strip of bacon wrapped around a scallop - is not what’s happening here. Instead, in a beautiful presentation, a large, perfectly seared scallop perches on the plate next to the bacon, accompanied by the crisp potato cake, tiny pearl onions and the aforementioned glazed radishes, spinach and juniper froth, which sort of floats above and around it all. Take your time eating this dish, for you will want it to last a long, long time. It is possible you will feel a bit crestfallen, possibly teary eyed, as you approach your last bite. Vow to return soon, perhaps later that evening, to order the dish again. Other highlights of our dinner in the café: Spinach and Pine Nut Ravioli, with a coddled organic hen egg and a Roman inspired sauce of celery and raisins. The delicate pasta and the savory-sweet sauce, with a bit of a spicy kick to it, would be delectable by itself, but the coddled egg puts this dish over the top. (By the way, both Chef Ruta and Chef Johnny Monis of Komi are masters at making the ideal coddled egg. As a rule, when dining at either Palena or Komi, if you see a dish on the menu featuring a coddled egg, order it and you will be happy.) Grilled Pennsylvania Raised Lamb with cocos beans and green sauce. Two delicious, tender lamb chops, cooked to a perfect medium rare, with a generous serving of white beans (the kind traditionally used in cassoulet, I think.) Penne with meatballs. A classic we cannot resist, especially on a cold night. (The scallops-and-bacon and the ravioli each were in the ‘second course’ section of the main menu. The lamb and the penne were on the café menu.)

We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Hank's one night this week. The marinated sablefish with sesame-balsamic glaze is one of the best seafood dishes I've had in a long time. The fish was rich, buttery and tender, brushed with that irresistable glaze, scattered wtih sesame seeds and served on a bed of greens. My husband had the rockfish, which was local, perfectly cooked and delicious. I can't recall the details of the preparation, but I believe it involved bacon and butter. We shared a side of superb brussel sprouts and pecans, and polenta with a light tomato sauce. We began with a half dozen raw oysters, some of the best in the city, in my opinion. We also shared the seafood ceviche - the seafood (squid, shrimp, and maybe some white fish?) was flavorful and fresh as could be, but the onion flavor was a bit too strong for my tastes. Service was friendly and knowledgable, and the atmosphere was fun and relaxed -good karma all around. Definitely has the neighborhood-kind-of-place feeling, though the quality of the cooking is many levels above what you find in many neighborhoods - which is why I'm glad Hank's is only a subway ride away. (Sablefish is also known as butterfish or black cod, though it's not actually a type of cod. The sablefish served at Hank's came from Alaska, we're told.)

Soup lovers, I urge you to get thee to Firefly as soon as possible to try the cream of rutabaga soup with shallot confit and croutons. With each spoonful of the rich, luscious soup, make sure to include a bit of the intense slow-cooked shallot confit and the crisp, lightly toasted croutons. Even if you are not a particular fan, or haven't tasted, the underappreciated rutabaga, this soup will win you over. I'd also strongly recommend the roasted beets with goat cheese vinaigrette and rye toast. Yes, roasted beets seem ubiquitous on restaurant menus lately, but don't let that stop you from trying Chef Wabeck's exceptional version. Cured duck breast with arugula, dried cranberries and candied pecans is another winner. The duck breast, we're told, is roasted until rare and then chilled. Again, make sure to include a little of the tender meat, slightly bitter arugula and the cranberries and pecans in each bite to fully appreciate the layers of flavor in the dish. Finally, the chef's experimenting with the spicy Prince Edward Island mussels seems to have worked - there's a definite kick to them, but just enough to enhance, not overwhelm, the flavor of the mussels. Derek suggested a couple of excellent wine-by-glass pairings: an Australian Pinot Noir with the duck, and a sparkling wine from Greece with the mussels. Excellent, friendly service all around.

It's not a kit, it's a book. For other post-2001 editions of the book, a portion of the sales was donated to the Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund, a charity that helps families of Windows on the World employees who were killed on 9/11. I haven't seen the 2006 edition yet, but I'd be surprised if they've changed that practice, given Kevin Zraly's involvement with the charity. (www.windowsofhope.org)

Do yourself a favor and try the new tasting menu at Komi as soon as possible. When we were there one night last week, one of the small plates, or mezzethakia, was a cauliflower panna cotta with taleggio cheese, served with a side of rapini. Sink your fork into the middle, and golden egg yolk oozes out, mingling with the rich, creamy essence-of-cauliflower-and-cheese custard and the sharp, pleasantly bitter greens. We’ve had dinner at Komi three times in the last few months, and each meal was better than the last – which was hard to believe, because the first dinner was outstanding. I suppose I’m preaching to the choir here - I realize Komi is a donrockwell.com favorite, but it’s worth repeating: Chef Johnny Monis is an amazing talent, and we’re lucky to have him in DC. Other highlights from our dinners: Bronzini Me Harti, a tender and sweet filet, cooked in parchment, served with herb salad, lemon, olive oil and fingerling potatoes. Spinach gnocchi with oxtail ragu. Risotto with sea urchin, roasted squash and vanilla Papardelle with roasted baby goat ragu Prosciutto with fig and grape mostarda on grilled bread House-cured anchovy and octopus with heirloom beets, orange and olive oil Oyster served with Greek yogurt and pomegranate vinegar The best tzatziki I've ever tasted There were also a couple of other outstanding dishes, the details of which I didn’t write down, such as perfectly cooked lamb (loin, I think) served over lentils and an exquisite ravioli that involved a touch of truffle oil – apologies for not remembering all the details - clear evidence that Carolyn and her colleagues did an excellent job of pairing wines with our dishes - wonderful service as always.

Congratulations, Monica! That's great news!

FreshFarm Markets no longer operates a farmers market in Georgetown. In addition to their markets in Dupont Circle and Silver Spring, they operate the following: H Street Market, Saturdays 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, 600 block of H St. NE Penn Quarter, Thursdays 3 pm to 7 pm, north end of 8th Street, NW, between D and E Streets. Foggy Bottom, Wednesdays, 3 pm to 7 pm, I Street, between New Hampshire and 24th St, NW (I'm pretty sure this one starts this week, on 6/29.) They also run a market in St. Michael's, Md, on the Eastern Shore, on Saturday mornings, I believe. Hope this helps!

I'm not going to the picnic, but just wanted to let you guys know, in case you haven't heard: On Sunday from 2 pm to 6 pm, there will be a wake for Joseph Pozell at Oak Hill Cemetery, adjacent to Montrose Park. Pozell is the voluntary traffic officer who died this week after being hit by an SUV while on duty. He was a beloved member of the community and the superintendent of the cemetery, so his wake is likely to draw literally hundreds of people to the cemetery and the surrounding area on Sunday afternoon. (I realize it's kind of off-topic, but thought you would want to know this will be going on.)