DC Deb

Rockville location is now open. I stopped by this afternoon and the parking lot was a mad house. I gave up and went back after dinner. Good selection of canned goods, dried mushroom/seaweeds, snacks and noodles. The meat and seafood counters are big. The produce area was a little weird to me--the vegetable bins were more like prep tables with dividers. Bonus points for wide aisles and open layout. Asian markets are notoriously hard to navigate, especially on weekends. There is a steam table line serving "3 dishes and a soup" for $5.99. There is limited seating, maybe 10 tables. Overall, I'd say this is a good addition to the Rockville area. It will definitely give Maxim's and Kam Sam serious competition.

Good old steaks and brats on the grill. Serving with corn, watermelon and salad. Keeping it traditional.

If you are in Clarendon, go to Screwtop instead. You can have delicious cheese and charcuterie with your wine. Yum.

I get them from Cameron's Seafood. The usually have a coupon in the Post food section. With a copy of the ad, a bushel of crabs was only $40 last week.

To my chef, Michael Chretien. Today was my last day working for him. He has been a great teacher and friend. I will miss him very much.

Me too! I don't like things with flax seeds (e.g. Smart Balance peanut butter) because it tastes fishy to me.

I agree. I think once they add preservatives and put sauce in a jar, it just doesn't taste as good as fresh. The fancy brands don't taste any better than my go-to brands, Newman's Own and Barilla.

I agree. We have a Maytag gas range with convection oven. They sell essentially the same thing under the Sears Kenmore label. Works well, have not had any trouble since buying it last summer.

$5 combos today! (Just saw their Facebook post.)

Super deal on Double Take Deals for Tortacos! $10 for $20 worth of food. Sorry for posting so late--it expires at midnight. http://www.doubletakedeals.com/deals/md-silver-spring-n/20110420/4819

At work, I make a very tasty vegan rosemary/olive oil focaccia. The same dough rolled out is baked as a pita in the brick oven (on a pizza stone at home?). We also make a vegan couscous dish which has tons of flavor. Saute onions, garlic and veggies of choice (squash, peas, cooked potatoes, artichoke hearts) until tender and browned. Top with good tomato sauce and add cooked Israeli couscous. Cook down to a risotto consistency. Add chopped basil. So tasty!

How about crostini? Cut bread (baguette or raisin/nut bread) into thin rounds. Spread olive oil on a sheet pan. Dip slices into the oil and turn over. Sprinkle with a little salt. Bake slowly in low oven until crispy and lightly browned. You can get fancy with the olive oil and infuse it first with rosemary and garlic--just don't try to bottle garlic oil because of botulism. I warm the oil and let the rosemary and garlic sit in there for 15-30 mins then use right away. Depending on the cheese, maybe you can make mac and cheese. Take time to make a good mornay sauce. I like mine with mustard and garlic added.

Whatever you do, DO NOT order from Wine Country Baskets. We had a friend send us baskets from there for several years. They look nice in the catalog but are a real disappointment in person. The name brands shown in the basket are all under license from the original companies and made by WCB (many in China). The items are usually wrapped in excessive packaging. The baskets look big but contain very little. For example, a Ghiradelli pillow shaped box (show in the front of the basket in link below) only has 2 or 3 small squares in it. http://www.winecountrygiftbaskets.com/gift_basket_detail.asp/CHOCOLATE/SWEET_CHOCOLATE_ASSORTMENT/item_no/12+15+05+520/edp/11742/CAT/CCC9/SKW/CHOX/FL/SG/CMI/4/SL/A/

Have fun everyone! I wanted to come and meet you in person but I have to work. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Hear hear! If there was a "like" button, I would use it. Spike is so overrated and obnoxious. That stupid hat does not help.

I stopped in at the Bethesda location to get a cup of coffee. The pastry counter directed me to the hostess who got snarky at me because I didn't want to sit down. I told them that I just wanted coffee, to go. Three different people could not come up with a decent answer for me. What a cluster.

BF and I tried out Tortacos tonight for Cinco de Mayo. We stuffed ourselves silly trying out all their taco varieties, including Al Pastor, Carnitas, Lengua (beef tongue), Asada, and Pollo. All of them were good but it was a pleasant surprise to have the lengua since it was not written on the board. You top the tacos at the self serve bar. They also offer tortas, burritos, quesadillas and sopes. Everything was really fresh. Even the guacamole and chips are homemade. I love that it is a family owned place instead of a chain. I thought it was a good sign that we were the only ones not speaking Spanish there. Two large family groups were eating in and there was a steady stream of carry out orders. They have nightly specials--tonight was $1 tacos. That is an amazing price for the quality of food we had. The street address is 9629 Lost Knife Road. It's at the corner of Lost Knife and Odenhal, in the same plaza as H Mart.

Great news indeed. Thank you to all our service members and families who made this possible.

I was in Rockville yesterday and saw workers putting up a sign at the new store. It is on 355, north of Washington Street, across from Pho 75. I asked the workers when the store will open and they said about a month. The parkinig lot is pretty big with plenty of parking--about 2x the size of Kam Sam market's lots combined. I am looking forward to a new option in Rockville after hearing good things about their Merrifield location.

Sadly, I can't think of any good pork buns in DC. You probably have to venture out to the suburbs for them.

My favorite instructor at school, Chef Patrice Olivon, competed with former White House chef Walter Scheib against Cat Cora (battle Dungeness crab). He said that they were told ahead of time that they would compete against Cat Cora and given three possible secret ingredients. They planned specific dishes that would work for each of the secret ingredients. Alton Brown called him Patrice-o-matic (because he cuts so fast) and he is very proud of it. Here is the video: http://www.theamericanchef.com/ironchef.asp http://www.chefpatrice.tv/about.php

I totally agree. I used to work with a woman who always kept her Blackberry on the table, even at lunch with colleagues. Mind you, we were all directors at the same organization. If all the top ranking people in the organization were at the same lunch, who was she expecting that was more important? It would be one thing if it was an isolated incident (e.g. child is sick, expecting call from nanny) but she did it all the time. Obnoxious.

The bones are great for enriching sauce. You can use it for stock but it would be very "ducky" tasting.

I went there for Sunday brunch last summer. The menu was not especially "Irish." The food was overpriced for the quality--think boring hotel restaurant food. I would not go there again.

I think you did the right thing by telling them quietly. In both cases, the management came and tried to make things right. Freaky things happen, especially when people are in a hurry and not paying attention. I don't think staff intentionally try to harm customers. RE: the hotel salad incident: The kitchen staff may have put the salad aside for the banquet staff to put it on the buffet. The moth could have flown in then. It doesn't make it right or less gross, but I can see how that might happen.