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It's looking more and more like Doug Keane is the chef to beat this season. Sang Yoon appears to be putting out some superlative dishes, but when he misses, he misses big. One of these times, he's not going to be lucky enough to either have immunity or someone who puts out a worse dish. David Burke is starting to get knocked on his plates as the competitors dwindle. Bryan V seems to be steadily producing very good plates and I think will be finishing in the final 3-4, but at that level of cooking, who knows what morsel is going to be deemed sublime and which is going to be merely excellent?

I just got a Samsung installed last week (HH Gregg, $439 on sale). My verdict thus far: Meh, at best. It is extremely quiet, which is good. But, it doesn't have a delayed start function -- my bad, I didn't check for that, but I miss it. The shortest wash cycle is still an hour long and I don't think it doesn't a very good job cleaning. The heavy wash cycle is 2 hours long, plus another hour or so for drying. In addition, take a few things along to try loading into the racks. I'm having a devil of a time finding the best stack for my dishes -- I'm having a hard time fitting in more than one lasagne type pan, for instance, if I have bowls in there, too. Also, I hate the silverware baskets going all the way down one side instead of up front & center. I can't just open the door a crack and drop in a teaspoon.

Thanks for the being the catherd, Ilaine! Looking forward to your roast pig. No idea yet what I'll be bringing, but I'm putting it on my calendar now.

I'd really prefer to think about other things.

New China is the name of a carry-out on Tom Davis Drive in Annandale.

Loved watching David Burke working FOH and with the wait staff this week. A two minute case study in how to do warmth and efficiency simultaneously. Will also have to try that soya & butter sauce sometime soon. I wouldn't have thought it was awesome, but apparently there's some magic in it.

thanks, Don! I appreciate the plug. The biz is not getting off to a flying start -- website development issues combined with some family stuff and....well, it's a good thing I'm looking long-term here!

Saw this on my facebook feed. 5 courses,, $80 tax & tip included, with wine pairings https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/315329135280494/

I've been watching the Sous Battles since Bart clued me in to that. Really enjoying seeing the sous chefs work and their personalities coming out. This latest show, it's hard to say if Grahame didn't execute well enough or if Bryan picked the wrong dish for him to prepare. I know if I saw a venison & oatmeal dish on the menu, I'd have to think twice about ordering it.

One of the fellows at the Falls Church market had seconds for 99c/lb last week, the latino farmer that sets up near the corner on the lower leg. He might cut you a deal on a volume buy.

Are we doing a fall picnic this year?

I steered my bookclub here today to welcome back a former member who came to town for a visit. I was the only one of the crowd who had eaten here before and so there are now several more fans of Chef Will's work. We arrived a little later so we were able to camp out since the restaurant wasn't crowded. Thanks to the gracious, attentive waitstaff for allowing us plenty of time to catch up with old friends. A variety of brunch items were ordered -- omelets, pizzas, waffles (the waffles looked superb, those ladies who ordered didn't offer to share a bite!). I think I was the only one who got the hash and it was addictive (I also didn't share). I also tried the grilled watermelon salad and it was a delightful summer salad with a smattering of blue cheese and plenty of argula to balance the sweet smokiness of the watermelon -- that one I did share and everyone enjoyed it. Great value for the price in all aspects. We all left stuffed & happy.

I couldn't help myself, either. I've contributed for one as well. Now to research food-vac systems to go with it. Right now, I'm thinking my first foray will be yogurt, as that is finicky about temperature and the taste of fresh is so different from store-bought.

I stopped in here last night for a very quick bite before heading over to Artisan Confections for the demo. I had about 35 minutes and the bar was full, so I talked to the host and explained that I needed something very quick. I sat outside, the waiter showed up within a minute, got my drink order, came back with my beer and took my order for the Kung Pao sweetbreads -- I asked which was faster between that and another appetizer, and went with the speedier dish -- and within 5 minutes, I had a cold beer and a hot dish, so I actually could relax and eat my dinner at a reasonable pace. The waiter checked on me a couple of times, brought the bill as soon as I asked for it, and I was out of there and heading down the street with about 3 minutes to spare. The sweetbreads were good, expertly fried, perfectly creamy inside and crunchy outside. It's just a preparation that doesnt' allow for a lot of the flavor of the sweetbreads to come through. The beer I ordered was the Port City Monumental IPA; too hoppy for my tastes to drink alone, but a good pairing for the fried food. Kudos to the FOH staff for being so on their game for me.

His sous didn't keep him safe during the elimination challenge, but Votaggio lucked out by getting the earliest time-out of the three. I wonder if they put Sang last of the three because he's been winning so much? And very sad to see the Italian chef go home. That dish looked totally luscious to me.

Thanks, Jason! Really enjoyed the demo, learned a lot. My co-workers are going to enjoy the treats I brought in, I'm sure.

Good on you, Barbara! I've got the leftover rotisserie chicken & carcass in the crockpot right now, to take the meat off the bone and to get some stock. Roasted some leftover corn and took that off the cob and will use half for salsa tonight on some grilled chicken thighs, and half will go with the crockpot chicken meat for some enchilada filling. The stock from the chicken will go with the corncobs I saved and I'll add to that and make a soup base that I'll freeze for colder weather.

Toigo had the Moira corn this morning at the Falls Church market

Thanks! I will program that in.

So, anyone besides me watching this? I like the Masters' series of Top Chef -- less drama and more about the cooking and the thought processes behind what the chefs prepare. I don't like that I have to watch the sous chefs' preparations separately online, though. I understand the time constraints, but almost feel like I need to record Top Chef to watch the sous' competition first and then watch the chefs later.

Met up with an acquaintance for lunch here today. I had the double roll special ($11 for 2 rolls), an eel avocado and mexican crunchy tuna. My dining companion had the chicken teriyaki bowl. Both were served with miso and a small salad. Everything was nice and fresh, the rolls were well constructed and tasty. We traded tastes and the teriyaki chicken was well cooked with a nice glaze from the teriyaki, with some shredded cabbage but not much else in the way of veggies in the bowl. Overall, a clean place with quick and pleasant service and pretty good food at a decent price. Teaism is in the same complex on the lower level, and if I had to choose between the two, unless I was jonesing for saag paneer, I would pick Zento in most instances over Teaism. It just seems a better value to me.

that's making me dizzy

Damn wildlife. They left behind four of the most unripe tomatoes and stripped the rest of the plants bare. This morning, there were about 20 or so in the green-but-not-for-much-longer stage. Today? Nothing but fat squirrels and fockingbirds.

Finally had a tomato ripening on Monday, would have been perfect on Wednesday. On Tuesday, I came home to find it pecked to oblivion. Neighbor reports a mockingbird had its way with it. Last night I got in from work, looked out the kitchen window, and there was that damn mockingbird perched -- PERCHED, I say -- on top of another tomato and pecking the hell out of it. This morning, I went outside to water things before work and I found two green tomatoes pulled off the vine by the chipmunk and each one 1/4 eaten. Damn wildlife. I'm about to get all Caddyshack on their woodland asses.

I think it's a great way to get the Fieri-loving tourists and their tired, cranky children away from the good spots and leave more room for us! I'm all for it and I hope it's a great success, even though I am unlikely to go there.