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If you decide that Tyson's doesn't fit the mood, and don't mind driving west for an hour or so, the Ashby Inn in Paris has an interesting Thanksgiving menu this year. Brian Pellatt is a wonderful chef, and the setting is lovely.

If they're covered in brine, you should be able to refrigerate them for at least 4-6 weeks. If not, they'll begin to soften considerably and have an off-taste in fairly short order.

Back in the day, Ben's Chili Bowl and the Florida Avenue Grill used to serve them up.

Both of my sons really liked The Palm at that age. And, when you're eighteen, it's likely that you can actually finish the giant slab of meat that they put in front of you.

I don't think that the Sarris family sold the property, especially with the developers circling these past few years. And, for those who collect DC trivia, Tom Sarris used to operate a quasi-jazz club on the premises called the Mardi Gras Room (it may still be there--I haven't in almost thirty years). Some of DC's best musicians, like Danny Gatton and Dick Heintze, used to play the room in tuxedos.

Consider, too, picking up a 12-slice, 16” pepperoni pizza from Guiseppi’s. In my own, rather dated experience, you will only need enough salad for two people since the lads will likely touch nothing green willingly for several more years. The time that you save by not cooking can be put to good use explaining that the flying bicycles are not real; I failed to do that twenty years ago, and my younger son promptly launched himself and bike off of the garage roof, thereby earning me the coveted Sibley ER Platinum parking pass.And, the leftover pizza will make for a wonderful breakfast, especially if there’s any Coke left.

The late Zebra Room was a worthy dive bar, dating back to the Kennedy Administration, that had neither pride of ancestry nor hope of posterity, but served as a community gathering place for years, and had unimaginably terrible food. It was a treasure. The late Carl Albert, when he was the Speaker, used to get regularly soused there, and sometimes would exit his parking space by hitting the car behind and in front of him in order to gain more maneuvering room. Usually, though, one of DC’s finest would drive him home after being tipped off by the bartender.

Consider the parlor at the Tabard Inn on N Street-- (202) 785-1277. I believe that they serve in there, but check to make sure. It's quirky and relaxing.

The traditional DC restaurant for Ockoberfest is Old Europe just below Calvert on Wisconsin Avenue.

Baltimore and Pikesville offer much more than you can find here. One of the best is Accents Grill in both locations, and the family has opened a dairy restaurant in Pikesville that is supposed to be very good called Cocoaccino's. My first wife insisted on keeping Kosher. I recently married a Methodist who makes wonderful potato latkes. So it goes.

I would have thanked the server for her concern, cancelled the entrees, asked for the check, tipped generously and left without further discussion. There is no need to suffer incompetence.

Many thanks for the Rodman's information. I'll try to get over there early next week and pick up a few bottles of those wines you noted unless, of course, you report back that the Cairanne wasn't a good buy.Paul's is a remarkable place, and my dad started shopping there in the Fifties. It has become a wonderful outlet under the current owners and, while I miss the late Sonny, who was the driving force and a great character, Rick has done his father proud.

I've seen it at Rodman's up on Wisconsin at Garrison.

The Super Fresh in Spring Valley frequently puts the Chapoutier Bellaruche on sale for $9.99. I'm drinking the last of a case of 2003, which is very nice, and will post here when next I see it at that price.

I grilled dinner on a 22 1/2" Weber with a cast iron grate insert, and used a combination of oak charcoal that was made up in Harford County, and a few blocks of hickory wood. I usually wait until there's a fair amount of white ash so as to ensure that the grate is at it hottest point. It's charcoal cooking and, too, wood grilling; an excellent combination of flavor and heat.

Wood-grilled, dry-aged rib-eyes Wood-grilled asparagus Wood-grilled peaches Wood-grilled corn with garlic-lime butter Fresh peach sorbet 1998 Hickinbotham Shiraz (And, to the two rabbits grazing happily in our herb garden, you're next.)

It's not fully recovered. If I may make a suggestion, the next time you travel to Middleburg, stop in Aldie at the Little Apple Pastry Shop. It's just past the mill on your left, and the two women who run it are not strangers to butter and lard. Their pies are superb, and the country ham biscuits are the real thing. They are not cooking for tourists.

My folks live in Middleburg, and usually elect to eat lunch at the Hunter’s Head (part of Sandy Lerner’s Ayrshire Farm complex), or the Blackthorne Inn, formerly the 1763. Both are a few miles west in Upperville. They have enjoyed a few meals at the French Hound on South Madison, but you’ll likely need a reservation there. For the wasteland that is Middleburg dining after the Aster closed, it’s the only place that I can recommend without feeling guilty about your afternoon.

Cava up in Rockville does a wonderful variation called loukoumades, which are tossed in cinnamon and honey. They serve three to an order, and my wife and I struggled to finish two of them. They were lovely and freshly-made.

They add a wonderful dimension. I eyeball the sauce as well, but have tried to reduce it to measurements here.•1 tablespoon brown sugar •1/2 cup ketchup •3 tablespoons bourbon •1 tablespoon garlic salt •2 tablespoons pureed chipotle in adobo •1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce •1 teaspoon mustard powder •1 teaspoon black pepper

The size shouldn't matter if it's cooked properly. Lobster meat can taste bitter if it has been thawed too long in water and absorbs chlorine, but that doesn't seem likely with your baked lobster. If the baked one was stuffed, there could have been an ingredient, like garlic, that imparted the bitterness.

With The Palm temorarily shuttered for renovation, a table on the patio of the Old Angler's Inn and a vodka martini the size of a Duron paint can.

Lou Malnati's deep dish pepperoni pizza (care package from younger son). Salad of shaved fennel, oranges and greens Il Poggio 1999 Chianti Classico Riserva Lemon sorbet

The outside fat adds extra flavor as it sears, seals off the edge of the meat from the possibility of overcooking and, as it drips onto the charcoal, further enhances the smoke flavor notwithstanding an occasional flare-up. Perfect, cross- hatched grill marks, while visually appealing, are a matter of presentation, and not flavor; in short, style over substance when dealing with a minor inconvenience such as a few flames spiking. The key to good, grilled steak is to buy the best meat possible, use quality hardwood and develop the experience and instinct that allows you to avoid grinding your teeth over theory. The other thing that’s helpful, and I speak with forty-plus years of experience putting meat on a fire, is to have your third Martini only after the steaks are finished.

Trim off all but 1/4" of fat post-oven. If you remove more than that, you'll lose the seal/flavor effect that the fat imparts on the grill. To avoid having to remove the steaks during a flare-up, just build the fire so there's a cool spot on one part of the grill, and put them there until the flame ebbs. Judging from the look of those steaks, though, you're doing everything perfectly.