cheezepowder

I had a birthday cake to make so I decided to try the Master Recipe for Chocolate Layer Cake (Velvet Devil's Food Layer Cake) from Cooks Illustrated - The Best Recipe. The cake turned out moist, fudgy and dense. It's more fudgy and somewhat brownie-like than the chocolate cake recipe I usually use from one of my Marcel Desaulniers cookbooks. This cake was good, but I prefer the more cake-like texture of the cake using Marcel Desaulniers' recipe.

The recipe says to use two 8 x 1 1/2 inch pans, which I did, but there wasn't much batter, and the cakes didn't rise that high (the recipe calls for 1/2 teas baking soda). They were about an inch tall, which didn't seem tall enough for a respectable cake so I made a second batch so I'd have four layers.

I didn't use the coffee buttercream frosting as recommended in the recipe but instead skipped ahead a few pages to the Chocolate Butter Icing recipe that comes with the Sour Cream Fudge Layer Cake recipe. I doubled the recipe. The icing is melted chocolate and butter mixed with corn syrup, then cooled over ice water til thickened. I also grated dark chocolate over the top of the cake and managed to get grated chocolate everywhere. (Does grated chocolate get static cling because it seemed like it.) The frosting has a thick ganache texture. It's good, but I prefer a fudgy, creamy chocolate frosting. I'll have to try another frosting recipe next time. I've made chocolate buttercream, but it's lighter and fluffier than what I have in mind. Anyway, the birthday cake came out very chocolatey which was the goal.

But what interested me overall was the fact that after the weather turns back into Fall, they are going to re-shape the restaurant into a fine dinning establishment.

I noticed when I walked by tonight that Mama Quan's is now closed. There was a sign saying tiki equipment for sale at specified times Fri, Sat, and Sun. I'm looking forward to seeing what the new restaurant is like.

(reading the email blast) WOW, congratulations on leaving your daytime job to pursue Shoebox Oven!! You've had so much success so far, it'll only get bigger.

The hazelnut cake should be listed as a cookie. The best part was the divine carmel sauce and the amazing hazelnut ice cream, which may be some of the best ice cream I've ever had.

The hazelnut dessert confused me when I got it. The "cake" is a crumbly, crunchy, freeform hazelnut cookie. I was wondering if they ran out of cake and substituted a cookie. I asked the waiter about it, he confirmed the cake is more of a biscuit. Not what I was expecting, but it was a good cookie, and the ice cream and caramel sauce were really good.

I agree, fun to read! I also noticed a coincidence. click and click.

The big questions is: Has anyone here got experience with Turducken (esp commerical stuff). I'm worried that it's more style vs substance. I'm also worried that by the time the inner most parts are cooked, the outside turkey portion will be drier than dry.

A couple of years ago, I ordered a turducken with plain stuffing from cajungrocer.com. A bit pricey, but the novelty factor was definitely a big hit. The turducken comes boneless so it made it easy to carve. Maybe the turkey was a little dry, but what I really remember is that the turkey/duck/chicken layers were not as clear as I was hoping for, especially once people started slicing it. It tasted ok, and I'd get it again for fun. Someone who was there just mentioned it to me again the other day so I guess it was memorable.

I was planning to try it within the next couple of weeks when I'm downtown seeing the Cirque du Soleil show, depending on what the rest of their menu looks like.

Well, the rest of the menu is online, and unfortunately (fortunately?), they don't have any vegetarian entrees for the +1. I don't think he'll be satisfied to "wander through Posh's secret garden, lush with classic favorites and refreshingly original works of art" and have the citrus bibb salad for dinner nor do we want to try the place enough to ask about special requests. So I guess someone else will have to be the guinea pig and report back.

Twinsdaddy said:

Did you notice those new buildings going up in back of Elevation Burger? My company is moving into one of them in early December. Many of us are already fans of Elevation Burger. They will be getting a noticeable shot in the arm when we move -- as will the nearby Italian Cafe, the German Deli, Super Chicken, Victor's...

And also, dear god, Milan Donuts.

Twinsdaddy's post piqued my interest so I went on a doughnut mission. Milan Bakery & Miss Doughnut (7167 Lee Hwy, Falls Church) is in a small strip just down the road and on the other side of the street from Elevation Burger. Most of their yeast and cake doughnuts were standard varieties, but I did see a sign for pumpkin doughnuts in front of an empty tray. I also saw a sign for saltenas on the counter which sounded interesting, but that tray was also empty. There were other baked goods in a glass case.

I bought (and tasted) five doughnuts: glazed, Bavarian cream, double chocolate, toasted coconut, and apple something (can't remember the second word). These aren't made to order or hot doughnuts, but they tasted fresh. The yeast doughnuts were fluffy, and the apple (a cake doughnut) had a dense, moist crumb with apple spice flavor. The apple and the toasted coconut (a yeast doughnut) were my favorites. The double chocolate (a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting) seemed a little drier and was my least favorite. I probably won't make special trips for the doughnuts, but I'd stop by if I'm in the area. For today, I combined it with lunch at Elevation Burger.

Try the wings, they are the best in the area.

I agree those are really good wings. They're meaty, juicy, and nicely seasoned. When I first tried them, I was expecting buffalo style or bbq sauced wings (I hadn't read this thread or probably the menu carefully) so I was surprised when I tasted them. This week, I found myself with a sudden craving for them so I had to get more.

So the City Paper has posted a picture of the pizza. But it looks like they had more tomato sauce on theirs than I had on mine.

I've gone to Qdoba twice for lunch. It's got the burrito assembly line like Chipotle. Today they also had a friendly manager type asking everyone in line if they had any questions. I like Chipotle better. The food at Qdoba didn't have as much flavor as Chipotle (yeah, probably not as much salt either). I've tried the steak burrito, shredded beef soft tacos, chips, guacamole, and three cheese queso. Steak was a little gristly, the "hot" salsa wasn't spicy at all, and the guacamole was ok but kinda bland. The three cheese queso was good (similar to the queso at California Tortilla). The chips were ok the first time but had an off taste (like old oil) the second time.

They have a website. And even though it says Interactive Website coming soon, if you click on the PoshDC in the upper left, you get more website here. and some menu information. Their website had indicated they were opening on Oct. 24th-ish and then got updated this week to what you see now so I would guess that they've opened but haven't confirmed.

Thelistareyouonit says "Chris Willis, formerly author Tom Clancy's personal chef at his Eastern Shore home, is the new executive chef for the oh-so-soon to be opened Posh."

I was planning to try it within the next couple of weeks when I'm downtown seeing the Cirque du Soleil show, depending on what the rest of their menu looks like.

Edited to add: I found the cached version of the old website that says opening Oct. 24 but the countdown is going up instead of down. Makes me feel like I'm going back in time.

I've bought them before from the bakery at Praline in Bethesda. 4611 Sangamore Rd., 301-229-8180.

Sadly, there was no sign of Shoebox at Courthouse this morning.

She's got a stand at Clarendon Day today so that must be why.

There's a Coming Soon sign at this building in Clarendon (near the corner of Wilson and Washington Blvd). The website says coming in early 2007 though, so I guess it's still a ways off from opening. Anyone know anything about this place?

I first had a jumbo/super/giganto slice of pizza in NYC. (eta: years before the ones opened in Adams Morgan)

Plus, China Bistro's prices are reasonable when you consider that it's not unusual for Chinese restaurants to charge around $4 to $5 for the dumplings appetizer which often comes with 6 dumplings. As an example, I'm looking at the Joe's Noodle House menu, and an order of 6 steamed pork dumplings costs $4.50.

No no, I read it that Dear Leader resisted the temptation.

And I read it that he resisted the temptation while sober, but then went to Bourbon, and then went to Pizza Mart and had a slice. And did not like it.

I noticed that Qdoba Mexican Grill is now open in Rockville on Rollins Ave. right off Rockville Pike (128 Rollins Avenue). Also other locations in MD and one in downtown DC (555 11th Street NW). I found these reports that it's better than Chipotle or California Tortilla (I'm a Chipotle fan myself). Wondering if anyone else has tried it?

Yes, Chipotle is indeed owned by McDonald's. I've tried their stuff, and have never been terribly fond of it -- their tortillas always taste like the aluminum foil they're wrapped in.

I've had better luck with the offerings at Qdoba.

I think California Tortilla is consistently the best. I used to prefer Baja Fresh, but their quality has slipped over the last year and a half. For those who like Chipotle, I'd recommend trying Qdoba. Same quickness, but better and, for reasons I can't explain, seemingly fresher (both have the food by the counter all day).

We went to CityZen last night to celebrate a special occasion. I made reservations a while ago so it was a coincidence that Tom’s dining guide giving CityZen the fourth star was published the same weekend. We’d been to CityZen before when it was relatively new, and I’ll admit that what I was most looking forward to were those Parkerhouse rolls. We had the five course tasting menus. Dinner was delicious and impressed me more than on my first visit (this is not to say I didn’t like the food back then). In addition to those Parkerhouse rolls, my favorites were the two amuses (mushroom fritter and the hard-boiled quail egg with prosciutto instead of the yolk) and the slice of brisket with a little strip of fat that came with the pan roasted sirloin. The rock salt is fun - they grated it over a fish amuse the first time we were there and the quail egg this time. The restaurant added some very nice touches to recognize the special occasion (card signed by the staff, complimentary glasses of sparkling dessert wine, and a celebration message beautifully written on each of our dessert plates). Service was great. We never felt like we were waiting for any of the courses and never had a reason to look for our server. He was also popping up pretty often to check on things.

The only kind of odd thing is that we didn’t experience the extra service mentioned in other posts (quoted below). Not a big deal, just something I noticed.

...After valet parking the car (free with validation from the restaurant), we were escorted into CityZen, to a table in their lounge (there is also another lounge in the main lobby of the hotel that has a better view), and our escort even informed the hostess of our presence so she could inquire to our reservation name & time. Very smooth...

We just walked into the hotel after we gave the valet our car. No one offered to escort us.

...The waiters often appeared to be playing musical chairs when they came with our various courses -- always two of them (each with a plate in hand), they would stand opposite each other and then put the plates down...

...I guess I just don't see the value of multiple servers descending upon you to lay the plates down with flourish as they describe the food....

One server came to our table and put our plates down one at a time, no flourishes.

...Your coats are waiting for you as you leave and your car has been pulled up out front. No claim checks, no waiting, a nice touch....

After dinner, we picked up our validated claim check from the hostess, went outside, gave the valet our claim check and waited for our car.

I wonder if they no longer do these things or just didn’t last night. Or maybe the valet/escort things that others experienced were special and not standard operating procedure. The large amount of space that these quotes and my related comments take up on my post does not indicate their importance. As I said, not a big deal. Just something I noticed because the fourth star implied to me the same or increased services from before (though Tom's review does focus on the food).

Dinner was wonderful with dishes that I'll be thinking about for a while.

Service was sloppy and the manager was way too anxious about having our group spread the word about his place. He told us that he had called Tyler Cowan to invite him to the place and had reached out to other people. He even brought out the card of someone whom had eaten at the restaurant.

Um... okay.

Sounds like he just really wants/needs more publicity and business. It's got to be difficult to open a new Indian restaurant in Clarendon with Delhi Club, Tandoori Nights, and Delhi Dhaba nearby, not to mention all the other restaurants in the area.

We were there not long after it opened, and at 8pm on a Friday night, we were one of the few guests in the place. A man who I assumed was the owner (maybe the manager you talked with?) came by when we were done with our meal to see if we needed anything, and I asked to have my leftover fish vindaloo wrapped up. He was very concerned about whether I liked my dish, which I did, it's just that I always stuff myself on appetizers and naan at Indian restaurants. When he brought back my leftovers, he was very concerned again about whether we liked the food and wanted to make sure we were happy. I asked him if this restaurant had relocated from someplace else, and he said No, it was his first restaurant. I appreciated his eagerness to please and really hope his restaurant succeeds. It's especially nice to have new independent businesses still opening in Clarendon.

I liked my fish vindaloo; the sauce had a more pronounced vinegar flavor than other versions I've had. We plan to go back sometime. Here's their website. I will say, they have something that the other Indian restaurants in Clarendon don't have: beef specialties.

I froze my leftover steamed pork and string bean dumplings. I threw a few in the microwave, and they reheated pretty well for a quick snack. I had thought about buying uncooked ones, but when I went, there was a sign near the register that said something to the effect of it's difficult to cook frozen raw dumplings so they recommended buying them cooked.

Sounds similar to the hot broth/meat/dipping sauces you get at Melting Pot (fondue) but better. What kind of dipping sauces did they have?

So how was Bob's 88?

There are more of them. "Twice as elegant as traditional stemware, it takes up only half the cabinet space."