Simul Parikh

Anyone know places in DC tonight (or during other debates) that host a thing? Not just showing it with captions, but like with volume up so you can hear? I heard Mission Dupont, Union Pub, Press Club, Capitol Lounge. Anything else? S

Walking distance is very subjective! Cochon is 1 mile, and really good Domenica's is in the hotel, and great and can eat at bar I don't know if Bayona's is still any good. But, Uber finally made it to NOLA and it works out to cheaper than here! So, can go to Toups Meatery, or Le Petit Grocery, or I don't know, so many great places. I finally did the Galatoire's Friday lunch at the downstairs dining room a few weeks ago. It's one of the best cultural experiences I've ever had.

"Where Have All The Diners Gone?" by Aaron Elstein on cranesnewyork.com Good long form article... S

Why would you say unknown hideaway for a place that probably wants more business ?

Anyone want to update this? Headed there for a game in a few weeks.

The one that I find fascinating is Bob Chinn's Crab House in Wheeling, IL. They are crushing it. It's a upper north Chicago suburb like 30 miles from Chicago. Go Bob Chinn!

Going to be hard to get an honest answer to that. The reported margins are so slim (6-8% when I did my research), but so many people are hiding money/claiming a loss to avoid paying taxes, so I bet profitable restaurants are doing much better than that. These big places like Momofuku make a ton of revenue, and with drinks have a much better margin than 6-8%. Just looking online, seems like Slanted Door in SF does about $17 million in sales, and estimated margins are like 20%+. So, I think these big name places probably could double salaries without having to raise prices too much, but the investors would be unhappy. If the BOH costs are like 15-20% of costs, and you want to double their salaries, then to keep the investors happy, prices probably would go up a similar amount, right? Maybe you'd get less turnover, more efficiency, less stealing, and doubling their salary wouldn't actually cost double. On the other hand, a $100k for a souz chef ... I don't know .. a freshly graduated pediatrician barely gets over a $120k / year in major metro area for a job that requires quite a bit more education/training. I guess I'm biased.

The homemade pop tarts are good.

Interesting, the Buich's response says something like "Just because there is a dispute between people of different races doesn't mean that there is racism involved". The first girlfriend I had was not Indian, and my parents weren't happy about it. I was a 19 year old jerk, and I called my dad racist. He fumed and said, "I have one foot in India and one foot in America. In India, I'm looked at as an American. Here I'm an Indian. You don't understand anything about me if you think I'm racist." And he wasn't, and isn't. He's in fact completely the opposite, and I'd known that, but it was so easy to say something like that. The whole thing was just new to them, and he explained that he loves America and Americans, and sometimes he felt that he was losing his culture, and that it would perish with me. But, they've realized that I'm always going to preserve my heritage, no matter who I'm with. Since then, they have been incredibly warm to the girlfriends I've had, save for one. In the recent past, I was seriously dating a woman with children who was going through a divorce. My parents didn't approve of it, and my mom and I didn't speak for a few months. My parents didn't feel comfortable with the idea of me marrying someone with prior children. She happens to be white. My parents made it very clear because they weren't about to be called the R word again. "We're okay with her not being Indian. We're okay with her being older and divorced. We just don't think it will be easy with the children." If I had ended up with her, and my parents and my relationship was never repaired, I could see people (or even me) saying that my parents were racist, but that would be a really unfair characterization of what happened. So, who knows what really happened? It sounds like a heartbreaking situation, and hopefully there can be reconciliation and people can just enjoy some fucking Cioppino. S

Did my residency in PGH. Vocelli's is gross.. Just gross. Paisano's has a new fast-casual concept that opened up called Spinfire. I think some Washington Redskin in involved with the project.

Opened this week, and I've driven by it every day after work. Looked hopping, and I wanted to check it out. Really hoping for something unique in the 'hood. Like it's said above, it's right by the Station next to 7-11. Awesome patio, heaters, flames abounding. I went in at 650pm, and there wasn't one available seat at the bar or at any of the tables. There were people standing at the bar, even. It's super cool, very un-Del Ray. Feels DC, like you're at Matchbox or something more like that. It's low lighting, brick walls, cool bar. I loved it, felt very urban, rather than the neighborhood feel of most of the places in the area. From 4-7, they have happy hour with some beers for $5, wines for $5-6, and cocktails for $7. They don't have a happy hour food menu, so currently, they are serving the appetizers for half price, which is a pretty good deal. I got a beer (A Kolsch for $5) and a charcuterie ($8 happy hour) plate to start, while waiting for friends. I had called and made a reservation for 745p, and all they had was the "commune tabes", so I took that. We were seated at the end of the table, the 3 of us. We were actually sitting next to the archictect of the restaurant, and had a nice discussion about the place and what their vision was. We ordered a butternut squash gnocchi, based on the architect's wife's suggestion, to share. Tasty! A touch sweet, but I liked it. We each ordered a pizza, I got the Diavola (spicy), the Captain got the Sunny Side Up (eggs, potatoes, sort of like a breakfast pizza), and retired Captain got the Korean (with BBQ short ribs on it;a funny exchange occurred with the waiter when I said, 'Did you recommend the Korean to him because he's Korean?" I'm good at making things awkward!). Anyway, the pizza was good not great. They have an awesome oven, and they use good ingredients, but I don't think they are master pizzaiolos, or are not yet. The crust wasn't charred, there wasn't that .. I don't know what you call it .. the blotching you see on the pizza at Ghibellina's (which I went to the night before). It was good. I liked it better than DRP, but it's not serious pizza yet. I really, really, really hope they work on it. I don't know who the main chef is. The scene was great .. I loved it. I will go a lot. I like the location for them, they will get all the young professionals who get off at the Metro there for happy hour, b/c the only other option before was Dos Gringos or whatever that Mexican place is. Then in the evening, they will get the locals, like Mayor Bill who was there and enjoyed the big meatball and pie. The patio is amazing, and will be kicking when the weather is nice, like last night. Mr. Yates came around to chat with everyone, and that's sort of the thing they were going for. His son was involved in the place, and that's how they made it more a scene-y place. If they keep the happy hour special, it will be the "hot" place for a while. The non-happy hour beer prices are a little obnoxious (comparable to Lost Dog, which does not do a happy hour), like $7.50 for Optimal Wit, $8 for a Bell's Two Hearted, and $5 for Bud Light (for real??!). The pizza prices were comparable to what you would expect for 10 inch and 14 inch pies. I hope the pizza gets better!

It's a good point that the absolute value of the tip has nothing to do with quality of service. If you have a meal at Bangkok Golden that's amazing with perfect service, and you tip 25% on a $60 bill, that's $15. You go downtown DC somewhere and you have terrible service and get less food at some steakhouse, and the bill is $150, and you tip 10%, the tip is the same, and you've rewarded bad service with the same tip as you rewarded good service. And, Don, why just for wine would you propose that? For the waiter, the work is the same either way. Hell, maybe it's harder at a smaller restaurant! This whole system is crazy! The more you think about it, the nuttier it gets...

This is one of the better analyses on the subject. They break it down very nicely. I especially like how they explained that it wasn't risk assessment, but rather, hazard identification. I.e. - banana skins definitely do cause accidents. Not often, and not catastrophic, but they definitely do cause accidents. Thus, based on the IARC's classification, both bananas and cars would be in the same class. Thus, processed meats and cigarettes are in the same IARC class (1), but that doesn't give the whole story. They are "confident that it causes cancer," not saying how much cancer it causes. But, yes they are actually saying that they are confident that "bacon causes cancer". They are labeling it as a Group 1 carcinogen - they believe they have sufficient evidence to say that it is carcinogenic to humans. Not probably. They are saying it does. And that's uncharted waters. Now, red meat "probably causing" cancer is in the same group as shift work (2A). That's kind of weird. Shift work?? So, if red meat and shift work are in the same group, than you know the data for either is sketchy as hell. Yet, we have had many observational studies showing the link. It's not great data, but it has existed for decades. GI docs have been saying for years that people should increase their fiber, and decrease their red meat intake. It's not new. It was in my (really old) edition of Robbins' Pathology. Also, discusses that it's a relative risk increase of 17%, not absolute risk. So, about 61 / 1000 people get colorectal cancer in the UK. The people that eat the most meat have a risk of 66 / 1000. The people that eat no meat have a risk of about 56 / 1000. So, 10 additional people per 1000 get colon cancer if they eat a lot of meat vs no meat at all. That's increased risk, but it is going from 5.6% to 6.6%. Is a 1% increased risk of getting colon cancer enough to make you change your diet? I think most people will say no. But, some people want to reduce their risks and they will make some changes. 50g of processed meat per day is associated with a 17% increased relative risk of colorectal cancer. One slice of bacon is 28 grams. 50g a day would be 12.5 slices of bacon a week, or 9.4 hot dogs a week. Okay, I can see maybe eating 3 slices of bacon twice a week, or 2 hot dogs a week, but this amount is a lot of processed meat! This tells what a headline in Daily Beast said yesterday: "Eating Bad Things Bad For You". For the red meat, it's 100g a day associated with a 16% increased relative risk. It's a little over a 24 oz steak a week, or 6 quarter lb burgers a week. There are people that certainly eat that much, but it's kind of a lot (I think). Overall, the general population has concerns about saturated fats, and have eaten less meat anyway (due to concerns about coronary artery disease) and increased the proportion of turkey and chicken into their diets. Another thought I have is the type of people that eat 9 hot dogs a week .. I would wager these folks aren't great about running 3-4 times a week, going to yoga, and regularly seeing their doctor. I'd say people that eat >9 hot dogs a week probably smoke more and drink more, are poorer, and lesser educated. So, that's going to skew things. Another thought I have is what would it take for "Big Meat" to admit that they are making a product that is potentially harmful to humans? Would it take even more population based studies? I bet that wouldn't be enough. A randomized trial? Yeah, right, like that would ever happen. It's in the interest of "Big Meat" (like "Big Tobacco", "Big Energy", etc.) to always deny, deny, deny. Why would any business interest act any other way? What are they going to do? "Oh, shit, guys.. all the meats are killing people. Let's close down the factories and go into wearable tech!" So, anything they say should probably be just ignored. After reviewing the data, I think the evidence is strong and convincing - we've known for years that this is the case. This is just the first time that a national or international organization has made a vocal statement about it, and have classified it as a carcinogen. Whether or not it is clinically meaningful, whether or not people need to make wholesale changes to their diet, whether or not warnings have to be on the packages ... This is what will be the next big decisions for clinicians, public health officials, and policy makers. Big fights ahead! In the meantime, you can have a hot dog or two, and wrap it in a slice of bacon, but don't eat 9 of them! -S

Lame.. Everything does cause cancer. But, the really big one is smoking, which is responsible for most fatal cancers. And people still smoke regularly! Sun related cancers .. Well, a lot of them may not even need to be treated. But, dermatologists do need to put their kids through private school Sure, some foods may be associated with some malignancy, but the association isn't nearly as strong as tobacco, radon gas, and a few other thing that we are pretty sure cause cancer. I don't think I've ever once had a discussion with a patient: "Yes, Mr. Wathen, it was the steaks that led you to where we are now." Just no way to prove that... Now, the nitrates in processed meats and pickled vegetables, we know that's really a thing, but it's more seen in Japan/Korea, and they have developed a strong upper endoscopy program to mitigate that. I just don't think we get that level of nitrates in the US. And the concern about meats.. they've been there for years, and we still don't have good studies to prove the association. "Everything in moderation ... Including moderation!" - O.W. S

Are you going to force the users to listen to Bjork, too????

Oh oh oh ... Go to a local pool / hot pot, if you want a local experience. That's their "third space" like a pub or Starbucks. But, instead of drinking, you just hang out in the pool or a hot pot, which is like a jacuzzi. There are a bunch in town, even the smaller cities in Iceland usually have one. You pay admission, shower, and then just relax with the Icelandic people. Laugardalslaug is one of the bigger ones.

If the FOH pay is to be maintained, while increasing the BOH pay, then the service charge or price adjustment has to be an increase of 25-30%, and that's if demand is inelastic - that there will be no decrease in demand despite the price increase. If there is a decrease in demand, than even that 25-30% won't be enough. Margins are so slim at restaurants, and when the executive branch finally pushes through the employer mandate, there are going to be significant health care costs to larger restaurants. This seems unsustainable... We sort of hit "peak restaurant" in the US with regards to the quality of the food at the price we pay, compared to abroad. Curious to see what happens in the next 10-20 years. Outlook doesn't seem great.

Get lobster stew and whale skewers here There was a really tasty Indian place with puffin and other Icelandic meat dishes that I can't find, maybe it closed. Try the hakarl because they love seeing foreigners eat it, it's probably the grossest thing I've ever had, like urine in gelatin form. There is a great comedy show that tells the history of iceland. What a great little country! There are good city tours, too, and they will tell you all about the hidden people.

Who gets the money when you tip? It's in UK. Interesting - they are allowed to deduct a portion of the waiters tips to give to BOH.

For all the pros and cons of increasing the minimum wage, a good meal is so much cheaper here than most places in Europe. A decent sit down meal in Scandinavia or Western Europe or the UK is a slap in the nards. You could make the argument the service is better or the waiters/sommeliers are better, but man is it expensive to eat in London or Copenhagen. I wonder how the locals do it, seeing that the US per capita income is higher than either of those places... I wonder what will happen overall if we get rid of the $2.13/hr as far as the overall menu prices. So, three cheers for cheaper meals at the expense of the working man. (sarcasm) -S

First thought was that, man this is a bigger city than I thought. Just felt large, and lots of big buildings, and traffic. Not what I imagined. Second thought was that these people are freaking crazy about the Seahawks. There are "12"s everywhere, every storefront, and then when on a drive for a hike, there was a huge random 12 on a forested cliff. Got in super late, went to Damn The Weather. Great name for a bar. Had a beer and a bunch of fried food - chicken skins, housemade hot dog, lamb kibbeh, and something else fried. It was pretty good, but at this point, it was 2AM EST and probably wasn't the best choice, but in that part of the city, there wasn't much open for late night dining, and we weren't about to drive around. Coffee at Milstead in the morning. Legit. This was amazing. They do charge $3.5 - $4.5 for individual pour overs (I don't think they even have drip coffee). Sis had one of those, it was so tasty. I had an Americano, which I loved. Something I noticed at a lot of places is that the Americano price was fixed, regardless of size. That's nice of them the realize that they are just adding a little bit more water. Had baked goods here, too. Nutella filled crossaint is the breakfast of champions. Pike Street Market was amazing, but we weren't ready to eat, so didn't try anything here. I think the fish throwing is really cool. Not overrated in the least! The line for the original Starbucks was too long, otherwise I certainly would have went. We went to Local Color Cafe, instead. Super cute little gallery/cafe. Lunch at Tsukushinbo. Wow, this place was dope. Tiny hole in the wall, people line up at lunch time, especially on Fridays, when they do a special shoyu ramen. $9.50 for a bowl, 3 gyoza, and side of rice. I guess it is prepared over the course of 3-4 days, and then only served on Friday until they run out around 1.30p-ish. That's what I got. Sis got some rolls, eel and the Marine roll (scallop with spicy sauce, topped with seared salmon). Ramen broth was earthy, rich. I don't know how to describe it. I said (in the least bad way as possible) that there is something like "feet" about it. Sis not impressed with that description. Maybe it's that umami or whatever. I can't explain it, but I would eat that ramen day in - day out on cold winter days. We got a side of some fried tofu in sauce, and that was great, too, I think it's Agedashi. There was a Japanese couple sitting next to us, one from Osaka, the other from Kyotu. They said that the ramen there reminded them of home, as did the agedashi, but the sushi was Americanized. Very fresh, though. We went on a Seattle Underground tour. It was the evening one, which is supposedly more scandalous. It was $25 and you get a cocktail at the end. The tour guide was a hoot, she dressed up like a western gal from the gold rush era. The night tour is basically about all the whores whose shoulders the city was built on. Did you know that the blow job has a very, very special role in the development of Seattle? Dinner was very late, and we were sofa king tired. Went near the hotel to Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar. It's straight up oysters here. Some mussels and clams, but they don't have real entrees, only shellfish. We got a half dozen oysters, 6 kumamatos, sis got an oyster stew (she was craving some sort of seafood stew, but they didn't have a mixed version) and a caeser salad which had whole anchovies in it, ha. Also ordered a half of a dunganess crab ($23!) which was unbelievable. I was eating it like I had never seen food before. Could have eaten the shell. That was some sweeeet crab meat. I don't even want to deal with blue crab any more. Passed the hell out after that, it wasn't even 1030PM. Got up and went to Espresso Vivace. Sis had sore throat so she got tea, I got a 8oz latte. Smooth as silk. This town just gets coffee. Trail mix bar was moist and good, too. Hiked a bit of Mt. Si, and then headed out for lunch to the sichuan place in Bellevue. La Bu La. Sis wanted a noodle soup, and the sichuan beef noodle soup hit the spot. She asked 4/5 and it came out damn spicy. It had fatty chunks of beef in it, a great broth, and filling noodles. I got the fish and intestine in spicy broth. Really organ-y. Not sure why I got that, it was just too much texture for me, but I made a decent dent in it. Much more expensive than HKP or Panda Gourmet or Joe's. Watched the ridiculous end of the Michigan - Michigan State game, and watched several hundred dollars vaporize at the final whistle. That sucked. Went to the Space Needle, and remind me not to go to tall structures for a view, especially if it costs $5 or more. This was $22 a person, and it was cloudy and raining, and couldn't see a damn thing. If you are going to go to this, go in the day time, make sure the weather is decent, otherwise google the view. Last dinner was at Local 360, typical farm to table American food. Ate at the bar. Ordered deviled eggs, and waited a while to order entrees b/c hate it when it all comes at once. Got an Old Fashioned that was tasty. Ordered pork loin, sis got steak frites. Waitress says, "I swear I put in those eggs"... They finally show up 25 minutes later, and within 10 seconds the entrees come. Good loin. Good steak. Not much else to say about the place. It came on recommendation from sister's colleague. Last meal was brunch before our flight. Americana. This place was pretty great. Standard fancy brunch, great ambience insted, a random saw hanging off of the wall, weird signs. Good "Seattle" crowd, like what you imagine people that live here look like. Pepper bloody mary was great, sis got a souped up Fuzzy Navel. Shared a chorizo/manchego/potato omelette and orange honey pancakes. Perfect... Probably my favorite meal here. They give you good coffee while you wait, and I've always loved places that do that. Too much in this city for a Thu - Sun jaunt! High high density of good restaurants, lots of Asian it seems like (Vietnamese, Cantonese, Thai seem to be everywhere). Lots of hiking within 1 hour - 2 hours. Great coffee. Smart population. Maybe they are looking for an oncologist? Haha Love these trips with little sis. They clear my head, and remind me how lucky I am to have such a good friend in her. What's next, Sheena? -S

Hmm... Sounds like they would know if it was Sichuan peppercorn. I've had circumstances at HKP where it was too much and ruined the meal, even made the water taste bad, tongue felt coated and everything tasted salty. But "acrid" sounds different ... Weird

In Seattle and dining at this place tonight. 20% charge, and they explain it on their menu in excruciating detail: http://www.thewalrusbar.com/uploads/menus/Walrus-Food-Menu.pdf

That's true. Should be separated. Not fair to the restaurant.

What I meant by American problem is that we create an institution that is a lot of times not ideal, but a work around to solve a certain issue and then when it becomes unworkable, change is nearly impossible, due to the resistance of the players involved and because of severe path dependence. When international solutions are recognized and recommended, there is a consistent - "well that works great there, but it would never work here because of X, Y, and Z" See: health care, tort, broadband/Internet, public education... If everyone isn't subject to the same minimum wage policies, what is the real incentive for restaurants to move to this model? It's noble for Meyer or Bar Marco, but in many cases I bet people will try it and then just go back to the old way. I just don't get how a bartender at a nice restaurant can clear $250 on a good shift, while the souz chef makes $100-150, and nobody in the back of the house revolts.