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weezy

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Everything posted by weezy

  1. weezy
    One of my bookclub members is reaching a milestone age and we're celebrating her birthday next month at our meeting. I volunteered to make the cake, and thought it would be fun to do a riff on the upcoming royal wedding cake -- lemon & elderberry with fresh flower decorations. Well, last night I decided to do a test run using an elderflower syrup that I picked up at Ikea awhile back and using a basic butter cake base, and just for test run purposes, I picked up a jar of Dickenson's lemon curd at the store. I haven't been doing much sweet baking for the last 2-3 years, but my goodness, I'm amazed at how nasty this cake turned out. Dense, heavy, nearly flavorless except for the bitterness from the curd (there must have been a lot of pith in it). So glad I decided to do a test run and didn't subject my friends to this abomination!
  2. weezy
    One of the biggest hits at my bookclub recently was whole grape tomatoes, tossed in some olive oil, S&P and a little oregano, roasted, then drizzled with good balsamic. It's an excellent side to egg dishes.
  3. weezy
    600 career goals now. 4th fastest to that level. He's got a good shot at another Rocket Richard trophy this year. I wish the team, as a whole, was playing better.
  4. weezy
    They're open for brunch now. Met some friends Sunday to give it a try. The place was busy at 12:30 and a few folks without reservations were given an approximate time to come back plus texting notification, but there wasn't a line out the door, and there was still some room at the bar for singles & pairs if they didn't want wait on a table. About 8-10 craft cocktails in the $12-$16 range, and among us we tried 4 of them. They were all riffs on classic cocktails but with fancy names to match their fancy prices-- but basically a spicy Margarita, Bee's Knees, Gin Rickey, and I don't know what the last one was supposed to be, but it was very bitter, as if it was made from the pith of a lemon rather than using lemon rind to flavor it. That one was ignored and another Bee was ordered. Other than the clunker, the drinks were tasty and balanced and not too sweet. Entrees ranged in the $14-$18 area. Two of the group ordered the pancakes with a side of bacon, and the pancakes came with a berry compote topping, whipped butter and a crumble. One person didn't finish, although it was a big plate of food, but mentioned it was like eating a double helping of dessert. Another got the posole, a very homey looking liquid-y stew with a quarter of an avocado floating in it as a garnish. It smelled wonderful and my friend finished every last bit and claimed it was perfectly paired with his spicy Margarita. I got the lamb merguez and grits. The grits were extremely tender and buttery, almost fluffy, and a huge portion. Came with about a tablespoon of foamy spiced mayo (toum?) and garnished with pickled radish and with a runny fried egg on top. The grits were so creamy that they tamped down any spice heat of the sausage. It was tasty but I would reduce the grits by about a third to a half . It was all served in one bowl, so it wasn't really possible to just avoid them. That, or the kitchen needs to find a spicier merguez to stand up to them. Overall, it's a fun, buzz-y place -- pretty hard to hear if you're in the middle of the room, but easier on the edges -- and the food was cooked properly, and large portions. It's too far away for me to hurry back.
  5. weezy
    Power was out at my house from Friday morning thru Sunday evening. To recharge phones and such, I hung out with my sister at FC middle school and read while she caught up on some work on Sunday morning and we walked over to Pita Pouch for lunch. I was mesmerized by their pita oven, a rotating, semi-open turntable that held about a dozen pitas. The pita guy would slap on pita as it slowly spun around, on the second rotation he would flip the pitas, and on the third he would take out the finished pitas and then start a new batch. I was considering getting a bowl but could not resist the pita so fresh that the pouch maker had a hard time fitting them in the paper sleeve because they were still puffed from the oven and he couldn't hold them well because they would burn his fingers. They had two large rotisseries skewers, one of chicken shwarma, one of beef shawarma, plus many toppings (yay, pickled turnips!). Similar to Cava Grille, but a bit smaller in scope. Everything was fresh & tasty, generously applied, and a welcoming atmosphere. A pouch and a bottle water was a little over $10. The clear plastic chairs are gone and have been replaced with a cheery mish-mash of brightly colored woven rattan bentwood patio type chairs.
  6. weezy
    Driving by this morning, I noticed new signage on this building. Apparently, it's going to be Smoking Kow BBQ. Interesting that they would pick this location for a BBQ joint with Rocklands half a block away. Nothing I could see from the road about when it will open.
  7. weezy
    Thank you! I've put it on my calendar!
  8. weezy
    I agree with Daniel. Whatever date you pick will always be better for some than others.
  9. weezy
    I've seen a few different preps of it at Whole Foods in vacuum bags in the refrigerated section -- BBQ, Tex-Mex, something else. Tried one and it was okay but nothing special. I think it was the Tex-Mex flavor. It tasted mostly of lime & cilantro; the jackfruit was more of a texture than a flavor.
  10. weezy
    I don't know if it's still true or not (or even if you would want to) but as of about 5 years ago, cigarettes were among the most hoped-for gifts to receive from foreign visitors.
  11. weezy
    Great review! Congratulations!
  12. weezy
    If you're in Virginia, I found Lee's Sandwiches (Annandale Road near Rte 50) had good baguettes, but I don't know if you're looking for a softer roll than that
  13. weezy
    https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-many-questions-we-have-about-these-cookbook-covers-255252
  14. weezy
    I thought I remember someone mentioning Carderock a couple of years back as allowing alcohol, and that's more centrally located.
  15. weezy
    For such an enchanting movie, apparently there was a lot of friction behind the scenes http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047437/trivia
  16. weezy
    I've found that I like using cabbage as a stand-in for pastas in many dishes. A little Italian sausage with a good marinara and thinly sliced green or white cabbage is a way to scratch the red-sauce itch. And a stroganoff using napa cabbage, keeping the mushroom forward and dialing back on the sour cream, is also satisfying. I really don't bother with trying to find a cracker/bread substitute. II'm always disappointed. I do like foods that require some assembly to keep me focused off the lack of bread -- lettuce cups, peel-and-eat shrimp are a couple of high involvement meals. A few nuts sprinkled on top of stuff for a bit of crunch helps.
  17. weezy
    There is no oversight of home schools in California, where this occurred. It varies on a state by state basis. I remember a similar, somewhat less horrific, situation happening out in the Shenandoah Valley/Winchester area about 10 years ago. At that time, Virginia also did not oversee home schools; I do not know if that has changed.
  18. weezy
    FYI, January 23 is the anniversary date, and Mixon will be in town and smoking a whole hog and doing dinner (I think $55) on that date.
  19. weezy
    Stopped in for an early lunch today, about 11:20. I got the vegetarian sampler platter and a bowl of chicken vegetable soup, my companion had the kibbe appetizer and the lentil soup. The sampler came on a rectangular plate had stuffed grape leaves in the corner, and a line of scoops of hummus, baba ganoush, laban bi kiar (a yogurt & cucumber spread) and muhammara (diced red peppers, feta & walnut), and came with a basket of warm pita. The pitas were very thin and a little chewy, tasted very fresh and also seemed as though they would not travel well at all. The stuffed grape leaves were traditional but very nicely done, a good bright note of lemon in them and the rice was nicely firm. I also enjoyed the muhammara, a dip/spread I hadn't tried before. The baba ganoush and hummus were typical. As for the soups, the chicken soup broth wasn't very flavorful but the veggies weren't cooked to mush. I tried a spoonful of the lentil soup and it was clearly the soup to order here. Very nicely spiced. Service was pleasant but a little slow. Although we were the only people dining in that early, there was a pretty steady flow of take-out being picked up while we were there.
  20. weezy
    Driving home last night, I was surprised to see that there is a new place going in where Sultan Kabob sat vacant for so long (I've worked in Old Town for 11+ years and I think it's been vacant all that time), at the corner of Cameron and N. Henry Streets in Old Town. The new place has hung a sign that says "Old Town Cosmopolitan Grill." No idea when the opening is or who is connected with it. Sort of an iffy location, as Henry St is the southbound one-way street to the Beltway access and I think only one public garage nearby, plus up and around the corner from the main drag on King. As for Sultan Kabob, I will say they had the best awning I've ever seen. In all that time with zero attention given to it, it never ripped or noticeably faded. I don't know who made it, but they are top notch awning-ers.
  21. weezy
    My single favorite cooking show episode was Jacques Pepin making eggs coddled in a mushroom sherry sauce with toast soldiers. I wanted to leap thru the screen and eat that dish. My daily breakfast is two runny fried eggs (from pasture living hens), either with dry toast or on steel cut oats cooked with a little salt. Dinner last night, I had nothing planned, so cooked a sweet potato in the microwave, and had that with some leftover shwarma-spiced roasted cauliflower and a couple of poached eggs. It was delightful.
  22. weezy
    This place has been open for about a year, across Annandale Road from Anthony's. I stopped in for the first time yesterday for a quick lunch. The website shows it is a chain/franchise, and the Falls Church location is the only one in Virginia. The menu is divided into two sections, European sandwiches and Asian sandwiches. Plus they have a selection of house brand coffee beans, macarons ($1.99 each), a variety of pastries, and a sign that says they make fresh baguettes every hour. The outside signage says open 24-7-365, but signs were posted inside that they're going to a 7 am. - midnight time schedule now. It was a little later than standard lunchtime, but I was the only Caucasian person in the place. A couple of Hispanic blue collar guys picked up orders, and the rest of the clientele was Asian. You order at the counter and there's plenty of seating. The menu was a little confusing, but the gentleman working the counter was very helpful, asking first if I wanted European or Asian, and then if I wanted a hot or cold sandwich. I said hot, and he listed the numbers of the hot sandwiches (the menu board showed the various meats/ingredients per sandwich) to help me narrow it down. I went Asian with a basic pork banh mi and some iced tea. The sandwich came out very quickly, and I thought it was good. The baguette was nicely crusty on the outside and not too spongy on the interior. The ingredients were bright and looked & tasted very fresh. The marinade on the pork was a little sweeter and more forward than at DC 50, and they used a moderate amount of mayo instead of a big glop, which I prefer. The iced tea was made with green tea. For $7.20 all in, a tasty lunch and fairly priced. I think I would give it a slight edge over DC 50 Sandwich on this particular day, mostly due to the very good bread.
  23. weezy
    I hear the concept is going to be a sports bar
  24. weezy
    Winter hours start this week -- 9:00 opening until May -- although with the dangerously cold temps, I would check to see if they're even going to open this weekend. I'm a pretty diehard marketer and I don't plan to be there.
  25. weezy
    great article. Nice to catch up with Julien's doings as well.
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