jparrott

Jake, I don't think you can compare the streets of Mong Kok to restaurants in America here.

I was attempting to refute the statement, "It's cultural," by probing to what culture the poster was referring. Certainly not any Chinese culture I've observed in situ.

It's cultural. They simply see it differently than we might.

Hmmm. I don't even get a batted eyelash when I buy stewed intestine-on-a-stick on the streets of Mong Kok. (It's delicious). Of what culture do you speak?

Here's my ideal approach for restaurants that insist on having separate menus, and not delivering the Chinese menu to non-Chinese: put a note at the bottom of the Americanized menu: "A separate translated menu with traditional Chinese dishes is available on request."

DanielK gets the pony.

If you want to think I'm a rube when I walk in the door, fine. But don't make me beg, cajole, or (especially) guess beyond that.

As wlohmann said...it's really a simple answer:

The majority of apartment land dwellers in Van Ness aren't going to order tripe/blood cake/congee etc. They want General Tso Chicken and egg rolls

The embassy workers and/or World Bankers want the real stuff...and would never return if they were served up Americanized Chinese food.

Which. Is. Fine. Just give people both menus, in translation. The secrecy is the symptom of the fear.

Maybe right that the owners "fear" that their non-asian customers won't like or appreciate the secret menu. But maybe not always or usually nefarious. Rather, in some cases, a narrow-mindedness of sorts brought on by beliefs cemented from overseas or whatever.

Sure sounds like fear to me.

Have two menus, that's fine. The secrecy is the issue. The secrecy is the evidence of the fear. And the fear is bullshit.

see if the real goods can be had if we ask politely.

This is bullshit.

Restaurateurs, if you stopped being scared of your patrons, you'd be better at your jobs.

I believe a pony can be had at this establishment....I'm picturing a table-full of Rockwellians, bibs around necks, fork in one hand and spoon in the other, and a direction to the kitchen to "feed us real food"....

But the fact that you have to beg and plead and organize and cajole at almost every establishment just to get a look at what's on the other side of the fence is, frankly, bullshit.

I want a pony.

I want a pony.

I'm just looking for a 2-top, so might be easier still. Thanks.

Might.

Anyone know what the waits are on a weeknight (post-review) if you *don't* get there right at 5:30? Want to go next week, but arriving at 6:30-7 is far more likely.

Last Tuesday, all the 4-tops were taken by 6. I didn't see a ton of folks coming in, so (on Tuesday) you might get in second seating if you got there by 6:30. YMMV.

i think you should change your name to Don Plotnicki and try to set up a Tom Sietsema/Robert Sietsema-type dialectic.

Proof, Fiola, PS7s down that end. Jack Rose is an option farther west.

That may be a tight budget, but the Tabard Inn has a few rooms that can accomodate these sorts of events.

But the key point in my screed above is--the BBQ at Lexington is freshly chopped--it doesn't have time to stand around, re-twist, congeal, or any of the other flaws of steam-table Q.

Hambone stock from the remnants of a delicious NC country ham. Also prepping for cumin lamb.

Molasses isn't corn syrup. It is a by-product of cane sugar refining (occasionally, the word is used to denote heavily-reduced syrups of sweet sources, such as pomegranate).

Barbecue, especially ribs, is really hard to hold for service. The finished product of well-made BBQ is essentially the same as that of a braise, but there is no braising liquid in which to rest the meat and provide some hope for liquid equilibrium between the meat and its immediate surroundings. So it dries out. At the same time, the gelatin in the meat (from all of the collagen that has broken down) is cooling and getting firmer and redistributing in the meat (or the meat is being held under steam which may be causing too many of the meat fibers to stay twisted or continue to twist). Same for the fat--either congealing or being melted away by steam.

So it may be that barbecue is not the culprit, but rather the modern day barbecue restaurant, that tries to do 10 kinds of meat with 8 kinds of sauce and be all things to all people. As a counterexample, consider Lexington #1 in Lexington, NC. Shoulders only. And chopped to order from shoulders that just came out of their pits (remember to order extra browns!). Night and day.

I may be wrong about this, but I think I've seen sliced lamb at Super H-Mart. I know they have the thin-sliced pork and beef, but I want to say I've seen lamb too.

If not there (since lamb doesn't seem too Korean), maybe one of the other Asian markets like Great Wall?

No dice at Super H Mart in Fairfax this afternoon. Also no Thai basil (which may be a thing right now--Grand Mart in Centreville didn't have any either).

Thin sliced/shaved bits of lamb (for making Uyghur dishes like Cumin Lamb). Any help? Obviously, I can do it myself to a first approximation if necessary.

Having done a lot of yum cha in Hong Kong about a year ago, almost none of the good places use carts. So carts in and of itself are not an indicator of "proper" yum cha. That said, A&J is Shanghainese by way of Taiwan, so it is different food.

It is real, white cheddar. Actually bought a couple different ones and tasted them--the less appropriate one went on the board for my guests, the more appropriate one got grated for my grits.

Grits, bought from the Portland (OR) farmers market. Simmering in pork/chicken ("ramen") stock, then will hit with a bit of grated cheddar. All that to serve alongside the Kenji pork-belly porchetta from last month.

Great....! Now when I go to Old Cairo for my koshary fix, I'll be forced to get a pizza at Villa Bella too....my New Year's resolution thanks you a lot!

KN speaks the truth. Old Cairo (in the same shopping center) is the only place I know of in the area that does koshary. And they do it well.

What Don said. An excellent alternative to Papa Domino Hut, nice people, a half-decent beer while you wait for your takeout order.