Simul Parikh

Whoa ... just got through a little of this. Probably the most informative nutrition article I've seen in a really long time. I.e. - one that is medically and evidence based.

So, we are DIYing a lot of our wedding, but with 400 people it's a pain.

Suggestions on 'value' wine ... reds and white, 2/3 to 3/4 red, 1/3 to 1/4 white ... 

Indians don't drink much wine ... we are thinking about 120 bottles.

Quaffable, non Chuck Shaw, value wine suggestion? Hoping for less than $10 a bottle (I know, I know ... it's low priced, but I'm telling ya, my people just don't appreciate good wine ... )

My dad sent this - https://www.groupon.com/deals/wine-insiders-1780 - is this a good start?

Thanks

S

Ha - looks like we didn't run into each other at all this weekend in Richmond .. shows you just how many great options there are.

We started off at Buz and Ned's. I thought the ribs were a bit chewy, not as 'fall off the bone' as I like. Pork was great, though, as was the Mac and Cheese. Then the brewery tour began - we went to Triple Crossing, which was our least favorite of the bunch. After that was The Answer/Mekong, and we liked that place a lot. Had dumplings (not great, skin was way too thick) and chicken spring rolls (pretty good). Last brewery was Veil. That place continues to be awesome. SO MUCH HAZE. Super busy there, it's gotten quite a reputation and it's sort of a destination brewery.

Dinner was at Spoonbread Bistro. Elevated Southern food. To share, the group got the lobster pop tart, pork sriracha and collard green egg roll, and foie gras with spoonbread. Pop tart was flaky and pretty awesome. I don't know if I don't like foie gras or don't like their's. It was gelatinous and kind of boring. Lady and I shared the surf and surf - rockfish and poached lobster. Excellent! Everyone enjoyed themselves there. Then, a few bad decisions were made and instead of going home, we went out to a few bars. Richmond is a very, very young town, and we felt OLD.

Breakfast was at Union Market Cafe. That fried mortadella breakfast sandwich hit the spot after a day like Saturday, though lady didn't think much of the breakfast burrito.

Absolutely love Richmond. When I get sick of the ridiculous cost of living up here, wouldn't mind having a cool old house in the Fan with a great porch... 

The NOLA episode is so cool...

A truly meta food - Cajun crawfish goes to Houston, Vietnamese immigrants spice it up and create Viet-Cajun style, then Houston Vietnamese immigrate back to Vietnam and make Viet-Viet-Cajun Crawfish...

A beautiful episode. Chang is super liberal and some of his talk will be a bit cloying / irritating to folks but ignore that part and watch and learn about truly international cuisine. 

when i want to go to a bar/lounge 9 times out of 10 i want to sip, and sup, someplace sawnk. oh, but that 10th time, i want to go to a old fashioned dive bar. good jukebox, faded vinyl booths, and crusty bartenders that usually call everyone champ or hon. my favorites, in no particular order...

the raven, 3100 block of mount pleasant street, mount pleasant - great jukebox with an eclectic range of rock'n'roll and old motown, and no credit cards accepted. has gotten a tad bit too popular for my tastes. packed on weekend nights.

tune-inn, 3rd and penn., capitol hill - this place is the perfect anti-dote to bars packed with hill staffers who can't seem to talk about anything but politics.

fox and hound, 17th and q (i think), dupont circle - you have to love a place that serves you a glass of vodka and a small bottle of tonic.

what are your favorites?

How about JV's in Falls Church? Is that place cool?

Thinking of making a night of it - dinner and then party at Jangteo 7080... What do people order at Gom Ba Woo?

In addition, other than the sondobu / tofu stew, are there any spicy Korean foods or specific dishes that are spicy? Kinda want to burn tonight ... 

Alright... countdown to the big party starts with the stag. I chose Denver due to centrality, breweries, outdoor activities including sneaking in some spring ski, and many of my friends were interested in the, uh, botany of the area.

The guys got meals squared up... finishing up our brewery tour. I think we have it down, but curious if anyone had any ideas within 1 hour of Denver...

More:

- Tater Tots fancified. Why? Just why?

- Roasted chicken, generally over priced even at casual restaurants (I'm looking at you, Rustico, and others of your ilk)

- Turkey burgers. Invariably on menu. Invariable poor quality. Rubbery. Topped with weird things. Why not just top it with same thing as a burger? Turkey eaters like fried eggs and bacon, too.

Never trite to me

- Pizza. If you have a kitchen, give it a go. I'll probably try it. I'll probably not like it, but I'm going to try it.

- Lamb burgers. I don't eat hamburgers, but I, too, want in on the fun.

Good sized. Was full.

2 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:

The lawyer may have taken the case on contingency, I would guess that they did in this type of case with who is involved, but generally for an attorney to take a case on contingency, you have to have a bit of evidence and a decent shot.

As an attorney all these sexual harassment claims really raise for me a big ethical question- I really don't like that people are being tried in the court of public opinion, and I have seen cases with very horrible untrue allegations against employers as a revenge for terminating them.  At the same time, I know that sexual harassment exists, it often is a very hard case to prove, and I don't want it to continue to be pervasive.  But the lawyer in me also believes that there should be a fair trial before we assume someone is guilty.  I also think there are very often two sides to every story, but that doesn't mean that one person can't be a victim.  So while I appreciate the Me too movement and think there is a lot of behavior out there that needs to change, it is hard to see things like this playing out.

Totally get that, and it makes it hard. And there are degrees and Eric is right - maybe many people in the industry have done far worse and this is truly not extraordinary. But sometimes during the revolution there are going to be people that are sacrificed for the greater good that aren't as bad as all the other true criminals. I'd have to say I'm okay with that  

I guess I lean towards generally believing this story, because there is a real lack of open support. When it's a nuisance/false claim, it seems to be that many, many people support the person being accused. There are so many restaurant workers that complain of this so frequently that it's hard to imagine when someone goes through this amount of effort that it's a false claim. 

Not quite the same, but when a doc gets sued once, you usually just think of it as a patient that is angry about an adverse outcome rather than malpractice. But, when many people sue the same doctor, you start making assumptions about their ability / skills. 

Seems in this case, many people are either supporting here, dissociating themselves from MI, or staying mum rather than voicing unwavering support... It's fair, though. I back track on saying he's a creep. I have no idea. And I actually like Graffiato.  

19 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

I'm inclined to believe Mike did some naughty things but they are extraordinarily mild compared to what other chefs have done.

I wonder why the severity of it matters when there is workplace harassment.. The guy sounds like such a creep.

I don't think people take the remarkable step of detailing this, keeping the texts, filing the lawsuits if it's not real. I just don't think it's worth the time and effort, because she's not going to get much out of this. Legal fees will be high, not going to much compensatory rewards, and she is going to 'blackballed' by a lot of men - even it is completely true.

Curious to see what happens, overall. And, I agree that the change to going back to being a chef - the timing is suspicious.  

Eh. Disagree. Have had it all over the DMV (even at the so called 'top' places) and in other cities. The only places that I've enjoyed it is Oahu and Sapporo.

Oh, also, this place offers to sub out the crap powder wasabi for real wasabi for $1 ... note that if you haven't had real wasabi, it is not nearly as spicy/pungent as the real stuff, so you won't get that nose burn/sinus clearing that you may or may not want. 

Went again yesterday... fiance is very friendly with the chef at the sushi bar (hmmm...). He gave us some yellowtail sashimi gratis. She got the shoyu ramen, which she said was very good for a non-ramen house. I got more nigiri (yellow tail, horse mackeral - just panicked and googled it to make sure it wasn't horse, salmon, sweet shrimp, couple other pieces, but I'm not about to try uni for $1), that grilled sardine, a roast pork rice bowl ($4 - this is really good!), salmon unagiri, and the only miss of the evening - chicken kara age. It was burnt tasting. I like it crispy, but too much in this case. $48 pre tip with a glass of wine and a small beer. Stuffed. 

The waiter and the chef are from Chiang Mai. We find ourselves speaking our terrible Thai at a sushi place, and that makes us laugh. I think the owner is Japanese, but most of the staff are not. 

New go to - has so much that I like. It has a very izakaya-like menu (minus the intense cigarette smoking), and I suspect that's what the owner wants to push - there are usually a few specials that are worth getting (yesterday was the sardine, yuna tartare and a beef miso skewer). They have some yakitori, as well. I think maybe the sushi is a loss leader, and as the place matures the small plates will be the reason to go there.

(It's funny that sushi is now conventional and safe)

UGH

Old Town Getting a TB Cantina!!

After 5-7 years of not eating Taco Bell, I got back into it. Hard. Big fan of the Cheesy Gordita Crunch. So good... 

Completely agree about this place. Fiance went there solo a few weeks after we got back from Japan and it was the first time and unlike the last few sushi attempts after that trip, she said "This place wasn't that bad." I went last week and was stunned at the value. Plus, the non-sushi items are REALLY good. I had a grilled whole sardine for $2. They also had takoyaki (octopus balls) and it had the same creamy texture that you get at a fair or on the street in Japan. The rice was solid (I think that's what makes average sushi fish taste really good). Plus some beers, and the damage was about $30. Even if they raise the price to $2, it's a very good value and probably the best in area.

Would like to hear about this as well!

I don’t eat beef any more and when I go with other people and get chicken pho, I invariably smell their food and am sorely disappointed in what I ordered. It’s so bland.

https://www.foodbeast.com/news/the-13-most-creative-pho-restaurant-names-from-around-the-country/

Hey- any idea how much wine pairing costs? I emailed restaurant and got no response.

Also, dress code for women?

Excited for dinner Friday!!

Trying to make occasional vegan meals and last night tried a vegan mac and "cheese". The "cheese" was made with a base of onions, garlics, tomato paste, cashews, miso paste, and potatoes. It wasn't cheese, but the texture was good and it didn't taste too bad at all. And, some roasted Brussels sprouts on the side. Any other vegan ideas for rich foods like mac and cheese, etc? I did a vegan chorizo and that was pretty good, too.

("How do you know someone is a vegan?" "Don't worry about it, they'll f**kin' tell you!")

Oh - and to the Indians - did your parents use athana masala/methi no masala on Mac and Cheese? I've used it for as long as I've eaten mac and cheese, and didn't know the name, other than the label on my jar of it - 'macaroni masala'... haha. 

Hahahah....

You phoking kill me!

(I’m here all weekend)

Bun Bo Hue is best Vietnamese soup, hands down.

How about...

Pho Tha Win??