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Eh, not bad. We tried the brisket, pulled pork and ribs. All were under seasoned. The brisket was moist and tender, and was fine after adding one of the various sauces. The ribs were also moist and reasonably textured, decent flavor. The pulled pork was dry, sauce made it edible but not good. Beans were very good. This is not great barbecue, but it's decent bar food.

Over five years since the last post - not a great sign. I'll be eating here at least once, and maybe a few more times, over the next few weeks. Has anyone tried it in the last couple of years? Is there anything worth eating? Or worth avoiding?

Inquiring minds want to know what is a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas meal? I'm sure it's tasty!

Most Puerto Rican holiday / special event / party meals are based on arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas) and pernil (roast pork shoulder). Lechon asado (roast suckling pig) is preferred, but less available in the mainland US than on the island. There are usually tostones (green plantains sliced, fried, flattened and refried) or mofongo (green plantains fried and mashed, with lots of garlic and crispy pork rinds). There may be any of a wide range of other foods, but those are the essential Puerto Rican party dishes. Christmas has all of those, but the main focus is on pasteles. They're a pain in the ass to make, so they're a Christmas specialty. Usually various family members will get together to make huge quantities, and everybody takes some home to freeze for later. Or just find someone who makes them and buy them frozen.

Dessert is flan and something else, usually rice pudding or tembleque (coconut pudding with a gel-like texture).

Our equivalent of eggnog is coquito - condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream of coconut, coconut milk if you want it thinner, and rum, along with various spices and vanilla. Extremely rich, so best sipped in small quantities.

We haven't been to Orso recently, but knowing how much pride Will took in his staff, I would expect the quality of execution of the regular menu to remain high. What will probably be missing is the creativity - the specials, the new menu items, the unexpected flavors that blow you away. The best pizza I have ever had was a pistachio-based work of art he put together one day, which never made it to the menu. That kind of thing requires a chef with talent, confidence and the freedom to create.

Christmas eve is a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas at Mom's. Christmas day we're cooking.

I'm still trying to master the art of reheating these. Even if I put them into a pre-heated oven, directly on the rack, the [Pupatella] crust comes out softer than I'd like - if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

A skillet with a lid - the direct heat will crisp the crust, and the lid will help the toppings heat and the cheese melt.

Archive.org is your friend. Here's the Komi menu from 12/6/2006:

https://web.archive.org/web/20061214060914/http://www.komirestaurant.com/komi_dinner_120206.pdf

I have never eaten at Brabo. But last week NQD and I went to this year's Capital Food Fight, and Brabo was among the restaurants represented. Each restaurant presents one or two small dishes, and Brabo's offering was their smoked sturgeon bacon appetizer. Favorite dish of the night, and there was some great competition. Now I'm trying to figure out when I can get to Old Town.

Three of us ate here recently. As we sat at the entrance waiting for the pager to light up, I wasn't getting my hopes up, although it was recommended by someone I trust to know good Tex-Mex. It looks and feels like any other chain. And there's no way it will compare favorably to the better Tex-Mex places in Austin (or elsewhere in Texas). But as was pointed out above, this isn't Austin. By local standards, it's quite good. You can eat well here, if you're looking for comfort food and aren't expecting elegance. And you can drink very well. 

Really? On the same block as Greek Deli?

OK, two more places to try. Thanks!. Ju Mak Jib doesn't sound like what we're looking for. We've been to Kogiya; good food but a long wait.

We live a couple of miles from Annandale, less than that from Seven Corners. We need to find a Korean restaurant nearby. Yeah, I know, not exactly hard. But we have specific needs:

- Good barbecue

- Good panchan

- Not too loud (not a dealbreaker)

and most importantly

- easy to get into without reservations or waiting

We used to have that in Han Sung Oak. We ate there fairly regularly. The food was always good, service adequate but friendly, ambience non-existent. And we never had to wait for a table. Last-minute plans were easy - from our front door to a table in less than seven minutes.

Now that they're gone, we've tried a few other places. Some good, some disappointing. Always a wait, sometimes a very long wait. And even if the food is worth it, sometimes we just want a decent neighborhood restaurant where we can drop in on a whim with no effort.

Any suggestions?

Sorry to have to miss it, but the 28th is the only day in the fall that we've already committed elsewhere   I'm subscribing to this thread anyway though, in case something changes!

We also have something else scheduled that day, but I'll follow the thread anyway, for the same reason.

The diversity of food has always been the big draw for me (well, after the company). But I've enjoyed the tastings we've done (butter, salt), the cook-offs (pigs, chili), and on-site cooking (fried chicken!) and stunt cooking (ostrich egg, ice cream).

The barbecue was very good! Absolutely worth a return trip. I'm very jealous of that smoker. And the space is beautiful on a summer evening.

For the benefit of those who may be reading this today or Tuesday, since this is a casual event and open to more than just us, can people just show up without notice? And if the answer is no, what's the cutoff for signing up (if that hasn't already passed)?

Um, what if we show up late? I'm assuming that most of us can't get there until 6:30 or 7.

Yeah, 5:30 is a deal breaker for me.

NQD and I are in for June 10.

Oh, hell yeah. We're in.

That's fantastic. It will be great to have Antonio in the neighborhood*. This DC/Maryland stuff just wasn't working for us.

*Well, almost. Couldn't make it out to Falls Church, could ya?

NQD and I are in.

Joe, first, let's be clear. It's 4 to 5 percent of total wine sales that was deducted from the tip pool, not a percentage of the pool. Potentially a lot more money. Way more than you'd need to cover breaking a few wine glasses.

Since when is there a minimum wage for waitstaff? Well, here's the thing. You can pay less than minimum wage, if tips make up the difference. But if the house is withholding some of that tip money - and it doesn't matter how much - then the minimum wage rules apply. You can't claim some of that money and then pay less than minimum wage. That's just the law.

The law also appears to say that the house can't claim any of that tip money anyway, under any circumstances. At least, that's the view of the Department of Labor. One court has disagreed with that, so it's still an open question.

The law, at least in New York, also requires overtime. I don't know since when, but it does. Don't like it? I'm sorry.

And Joe, you know what? There are a lot of business practices that were perfectly legal in the 1930's and '60's that aren't any more. And I think most people are pretty happy about it.

This isn't about sharing with runners and bussers. From a different source:

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/mario-batali-agrees-to-5-25-million-settlement-over-employee-tips/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

The lawsuit against Mr. Batali, filed in 2010, said that he and a partner, Joseph Bastianich, and their restaurants had a policy of deducting an amount equivalent to 4 to 5 percent of total wine sales at the end of each night from the tip pool and keeping the money.

The New York Post said:

http://nypost.com/2012/03/08/batali-partner-settle-wage-and-tip-lawsuit-for-5-25-million/

The suit alleged that Batali and Bastianich "misappropriated" 4 to 5 percent of each shift's wine and drink sales from the workers' tip pool, took an unlawful "tip credit" that pushed pay below minimum wage and failed to pay extra for shifts lasting more than 10 hours.

50 responses and nobody has mentioned the steak and cheese at Ray's to the Third?

The other option, if you don't mind frozen, is to buy a whole duck at any Asian market. Remove the breast, braise or confit the legs, and use the carcass for stock.

Maple leaf is the Tyson's chicken of the duck world.  D'Artagnan sell many a type of duck breast.  I do believe the Moullard is a byproduct of foie gras production if that is an issue for you. 

Dinner last night was duck confit made from Maple Leaf duck legs I picked up at Wegman's. They were smallish, and pretty bland, compared to the Hudson Valley Moulard legs I've used before (these were Pekin ducks). Not a whole lot of duck flavor. I wouldn't bother trying the breasts.