cheezepowder

At a friend's request, I had dinner at Yenching Palace tonight. So it's still open, though I didn't ask if/when they're closing. This was my second time; I had been there once a long time ago. I had the twice cooked pork, which was decent. I've had much worse elsewhere. They had quite a few takeout customers while I was there.

I remember getting a bizarre flyer from Yenching Palace, some time around 1994 or 1995. I wish I'd saved it. I guess it was a menu too, but it had all these blurbs from the press about how wonderful a place it was. I have to give it to them for being honest, because every one of the quotes was dated, and I believe the date range was from the Johnson administration all the way to the Nixon administration. It was quite odd. I never ate at Yenching Palace, but have always loved their faí§ade, which I will hate to see go if it goes.

I took a copy of their takeout menu, and inside the front page, it still has the quotes you mentioned. All the quotes are from the 60's and 70's and nothing more recent. The quotes are also here on their website.

I don't think it sounds harebrained. mdt brought up a similar idea in the thread on Michel Richard's new cookbook.

I don't know if it's still on the menu, but I had a banana split at Willow during August Restaurant Week.

On an aside, anybody still have that Nov 2005 Washingtonian (mentioned upthread) handy? IIRC Mel ranked Deli City second, but I can't remember the name of his first pick...

Eli's though not an unqualified first. The article is online here (an updated link from the one upthread, scroll down for article.)

Well, we stayed in Stowe earlier this year. If you feel like taking a short road trip, we enjoyed the following things:

In the Stowe area (about 50 minutes east of Burlington)

-- Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour

It did feel corporate, but we couldn't go to Stowe and not see the factory. The tour started with a short movie about the history of Ben & Jerry's. Then the tour guide showed us the ice cream machines (they don't run on weekends so instead you see another movie). The tour ended with a free sample scoop and, of course, puts you out in the gift shop. They also have a cute little flavor graveyard set up on the grounds.

-- Cold Hollow Cider Mill

I wouldn't make the trip from Burlington just to see this cider mill, but it's just a few minutes from Ben & Jerry's so I'd go if you were already at B&J's. It has a country store plus you can see how they make apple cider. They have a video running of the pressing process, and what we saw was essentially a big room with a press. They have really good cider donuts (cake style, rather than yeast raised) that are made fresh throughout the day, and according to their website, were featured in Gourmet as one of the top four donuts in the country.

-- Michael's on the Hill

This is also just up the road from B&J's and is an upscale, white tablecloth restaurant (reservations recommended). We went there for dinner and really enjoyed it.

In Cabot Village (about 45 minutes further east of Stowe so about an hour and a half from Burlington)

--Cabot Creamery

Cabot has a pretty big factory so probably not the artisanal cheese that you're asking about but it was interesting. I didn't realize Cabot started (in 1919) as a way for local farmers to utilize their extra milk and it's a co-op owned by the farmers. They start the tour with a movie about the history and then you walk through a hallway with wide windows on either side where you can see the factory in action. It reminded me of an episode of Unwrapped. It was also interesting to see the range of their products in the gift shop -- there are many Cabot products that are only available locally, like cheese curds and a large variety of flavored cheeses.

Finally, here is a Vermont cheese website that might be helpful to you because it has a PDF map of the "Cheese Trail" with cheesemakers to visit. We didn't have a chance to visit any other cheesemakers though.

How do you think the Super H counter food compares to the Lotte fast food stands (at Fairfax)? Would you recommend one over the other, such as for particular dishes?

I've been eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Dupont Circle Fractured Prune. The store was expected to open in August 2006, and I was wondering what was happening. I found on the MetroPrune website that they're now expecting to open in late October. And there's a Free Donut Night a-coming! Rockville Town Square is also getting one, as is Arlington. I've never been to one before, but I'm intrigued by the toppings.

The Wash Post also had a writeup on the restaurant in their Weekly Dish. It sounds interesting.

No report yet from xcanuck, the newbie organizer, on how it went? What did you all do to him?

I finally went to minibar last night. I loved the experience. I had many of the dishes that people have described here and elsewhere so I won’t describe them in detail but I will list our menu below so you can see what was served.

My husband is vegetarian, and I haven’t seen any reports from vegetarians who went to minibar so I’ve listed his dishes in parentheses next to the regular dish. (Their website FAQ says they can accommodate vegetarians and certain other dietary restrictions). We noted on the reservation confirmation sheet under dietary restrictions that he's vegetarian with eggs & dairy ok. We really appreciated their willingness to accommodate. The chefs were great, and I was impressed by how many of the veggie substitutions maintained the style of the regular dish (for example, the tomato and mozzerella injection instead of the lobster injection, the cotton candy avocado dusted with corn nuts instead of the cotton candy foie gras, mushroom and cheese steak instead of the philly cheese steak, etc.).

Menu

olive oil bon bon

passion fruit whiskey sour

“mojito” – liquid ball

pork rinds with maple syrup (veg: carmelized pumpkin seeds)

salmon roe cone (veg: tomato seeds cone)

beet tumbleweed

saffron yogurt meringue

ferran adria “olives”

curry boneless chicken wing – with a charred flavor (veg: seared watermelon)

cotton candy foie gras (veg: cotton candy avocado)

salmon pineapple “ravioli” with crispy quinoa (veg: deep fried sweet potato with crispy quinoa)

deconstructed glass of white wine

“ajo blanco”

organized caesar salad (veg: a different kind of organized salad)

conch fritter (veg: guacamole wrapped in jicama package)

smoked oyster with apples (veg: watermelon three ways – with vinaigrette, tomato seeds, parmesan)

zucchini in textures

“guacamole” – avocado slices wrapped around a log of tomato sorbet

feta linguine

corn on the cob

egg 63 C with caviar (veg: same without caviar)

lobster americaine with injection (veg: peeled tomato with mozzarella injection)

sea urchin with passion fruit (veg: berries with something salty with passion fruit foam)

new england clam chowder (veg: tortilla espuma? had potato puree like the clam chowder)

breaded cigala with lemon (veg: breaded asparagus)

philly cheese steak (veg: mushroom and cheese steak)

japanese baby peaches with yogurt

pistachio, beets and berries – had a beet meringue and berry sorbet

thai dessert – coconut sorbet, peanut “paper”

saffron gumdrop in edible wrapper/fruit cocktail injection/maracuya

marshmallows/chocolate covered corn nuts

halls lollipop

well, if you haven't done enough pirate talkin', according to this blog, Piratz Tavern is now open.

Whole Foods carries a trans-fat free shortening if you get in a bind recipe-wise and cannot (or don't want to) substitute butter. I don't recall the name of it, but I found it in the refrigerated section with the butters at the Alexandria WF.

There's also a trans-fat free Crisco.

In case you haven't already seen it, there was a thread on egullet though it's now a couple of years old.

Anyone know if Piratz Tavern is open yet? Or when it will open?

Going to PX felt like going to a friend of a friend’s place for a low key, upscale get together -- I rang the bell and didn’t know my hosts, but they warmly welcomed us. Sitting in the Blue Room felt like sitting in this friend of a friend’s chic living room with one of the hosts frequently checking in to see if anyone needed a drink (I loved the sweet basil cocktail). A very nice way to spend an evening.

The restaurant's website says opening October 2006 and already has menus up. The dinner menu also lists options of a five course (vegetarian and regular), seven course (vegetarian and regular) and fourteen course tasting menu with wine pairings.

No Penn Quarter store for Balducci's. "Balducci's Closes Door On a Store In District"

We tried this place for dinner (website here). It’s where Nouveau East used to be and is next to Rock Bottom Brewery in the Ballston Mall. I don't know how long ago it opened, but I googled it and see mentions of it from last year. You can sit next to the sushi conveyer belt at the bar or you can sit at a standalone table and order off a menu that has entrees other than sushi. (Side note, we have been to Wasabi Sushi). The sushi bar is a long U shaped bar with two tracks of conveyer belts – one track goes to your left and then it curves around at the end of the bar and doubles back. The sushi chefs behind the bar add plates to the belt every so often. The plates are color coded and range from $2.00 to $4.00, though they’re not labeled with what’s on them. According to their website, they use RFID tags to track how long a plate’s been on the belt.

The plates on the belt had standard selections like shrimp, eel and cucumber roll, spicy tuna, California roll, and a couple of rolls that had an interesting presentation, like a roll made with surimi separated into strands and presented in a circle like a pom pom flower with a cone of wasabi in the middle. Many of the plates had 3 pieces, sometimes 2, sometimes more, depending on the size of the pieces. There were also some signs on the plates for other items outside the $2-$4 price range that I assume you would order individually.

We sat at the bar, and I chose plates from the conveyer belt. (My husband ordered the vegetarian sushi platter off the menu). I had standard rolls like spicy tuna, eel, and various rolls with surimi, seaweed, and other ingredients. Most of my dishes were in the $3.00 range, and my total was $16.00. The rolls I had ranged from fine to very good, and our server was efficient. The sushi chefs also were very friendly. I’d go back again to try more of their menu.

No. I am moderately offended that someone would feel compelled to remind be to be a gentleman and that "no means no" as though I were too low-rent to know these things already.

I thought the rules were just tongue in cheek to go with the "speakeasy" old time theme.

Reservations will be taken for the PX’s Blue Room, while the back rooms will be open to those who comply with the ‘Rules of the House.’

Does anyone know the difference between the Blue Room and the back rooms and anything more about the reservation policy?

I received an email with a description of this event by TasteDC, and I thought the concept and menu sound very interesting. It says, "This chef-driven event is designed to showcase food items not normally put on restaurant menus." Full description here. (What are calf fries?) Some people here probably would have no qualms about trying everything on the menu, though I can't say I'm one of them.

EDITED TO ADD: Whoops, I just realized I mis-titled this thread. Sorry about that -- the name of the event is actually called "Unique and Unusual Food and Wine Festival". I don't think I can edit my thread title...

I made two versions of coconut oatmeal toffee cookies today. I found the first recipe here (an adaptation of a recipe from Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts), plus I added Heath toffee chips. There's less oatmeal in this cookie than a "typical" oatmeal cookie, and the cookie is chewy, with the chew more from the coconut and cookie dough than the oatmeal.

The second recipe is Hershey's Oatmeal Toffee Cookie recipe (with the addition of the optional coconut) that was on the back of my bag of Heath toffee chips and is also available here. This recipe has more oatmeal than the first recipe, and the cookie is chewy with a hearty oatmeal texture and appearance. It was interesting to do a side by side comparison of the two cookies, though I liked both versions. My husband preferred the second (Hershey's) recipe.

Maybe the owner has a general policy that servers have to pay if dishes are comped to keep a tight rein on servers comping for reasons that may not be justified (like for friends or the customer ordered chicken but then changed his mind after he got chicken and wants beef, etc.). The inflexible application of that policy to your situation would have been unfair but the policy could also have been intended for other situations in which the policy made more sense. Just a guess.

Stardust in Alexandria and Mezza 9 at the Hyatt in Rosslyn.

Heavens to murgatroyd. I'm a mee-guk and I found this review really interesting. Let's start with the panchan (the 4 which turn out to be 5) small dishes.

For a mee-guk, you're better versed than me in the Korean terms. Yes, it was 5 panchan, I added one that I forgot, but then I didn't change my reference from "four" to "five." (I always find the typos after I post. Also, my post here wasn't clear on this, I was at the Rockville location.

I assume you took spoonfulls of tofu and put it on your rice to cool before you ate it and didn't try to eat it from the dolsot (a practice which can lead to serious damage to your body from the boiling liquid). I always order my soondooboo with the shrimp and oyster and clam and spicy spicy.

Well, I actually ate it straight from the dolsot. Reminds me of a funny story - I was at Woo Lae Oak with my dad and husband once, and we all ordered stews. They came bubbling hot, and my dad just nonchalantly starts eating it straight out of the bowl, as do I, while my husband (not Korean) just looks on incredulously. "It's still boiling!" he exclaims.

How spicy is the "spicy spicy"?

Someone mentioned this place on Chowhound so I tried it today. I posted a report on the Chowhound thread but thought people here might also be interested or may have tried it already so I've also copied it here. There's one on 12710 Twinbrook Pkwy, Rockville, and 4121 Chatelain Rd #100 in Annandale.

I tried the Tofu House (eta: in Rockville) for lunch today and enjoyed my tofu stew. I pictured a restaurant in a strip mall, but it was actually in its own, standalone building (with a parking lot). The sign says Lighthouse Tofu & BBQ, Now Open (although from the date of the comments on the Korean site, it seems to have been open at least since the beginning of this year.) The restaurant inside is bright and spacious with wood tables. Around noon, the place was only about one third to one half full with both Koreans and non-Asians. The waitresses wore Korean dress and were friendly and spoke English. Service was also pretty quick.

Menu: They specialize in tofu stew (soon dooboo). The menu is in a plastic stand on each table and lists tofu stews for $7.99 for lunch, $8.99 for dinner. The stew varieties are: 1- mushroom; 2- clam, shrimp, oyster & beef; 3- clam, shrimp, & oyster; 4- kimchee beef; 5- oyster; 6- pork & beef; 7- beef; and 8- vegetable. You can select the spice level for the stew – white, mild, medium, spicy, and spicy spicy. They also have Korean bbq, marinated beef (bool go gee), mixed seafood and vegetable pancake, noodles with small octopus broth and special sauce, noodles with stir fried small squid with spicy sauce, and stir fried small squid vegetable with spicy sauce, ranging in price from $9.99, $12.99 and $15.99.

They give you cold barley tea (boreecha) for water. I ordered the pork & beef tofu stew with a spicyness level of “spicy.” The waitress brought over a cart with my dishes. She gave me the stew which was bubbling hot in a stone pot. She also gave me a small dish containing a raw egg still in the shell for me to crack into the stew. Then she had another stone pot with rice, and she scooped rice out of this pot into a stainless steel bowl which she gave me. Then she scooped some excess rice out of the stone pot into another stainless steel bowl (that I presume she took back into the kitchen with her), and she poured barley tea into the stone pot with the rice. She gave me that stone pot with a big plastic spoon. By the end of my meal, the barley tea in the stone pot was very warm, and I could scoop up the soft and browned bits of watery rice from the stone pot.

She also gave me five side dishes: (1) bean sprouts, (2) something that looked like chopped raw garlic with chopped raw oysters (?) in red pepper sauce, (3) kimchee in cold orange water/kimchee juice (?) (4) pickled spicy cucumber in thick round slices (seemed slightly sweeter and less garlicy than the kind at A&J), and (5) kimchee – the kind that’s not yet fermented. It was strips of napa cabbage in hot pepper sauce with a touch of fish/seafood flavor (personally I prefer the fermented kind but this was good for what it is.)

My stew was chock full of soft and custardy tofu in a spicy broth. The meat bits were more of an accent, the tofu was really the main ingredient. I'm also not sure I got pork and beef, it looked like just beef to me. I stirred my egg into the stew so it kind of blended in. The stew tasted as I expected it should (I say that because I’m Korean American). I have a medium to medium high tolerance for spicy, and I was satisfied with the “spicy” level of the stew (the heat (temperature) of the stew also accentuates the spicyness). To me, it was the level of spicy I would expect if I ordered the stew at a Korean restaurant without specifying the spicyness level, though I don't know how much of a gradient there is between medium and spicy or spicy and spicy spicy. It was pretty inexpensive for a filling lunch, and I even took half my stew home (they have Styrofoam containers, and the waitress helped me scoop the stew into the container). I’d go back again and try the other items on the menu.