edemuth

Do you mean the one in Melbourne? It looks doubtful. Our Zest adjoins CityLife Hotel, part of the Heritage Hotel 4-star-plus chain in NZ, and serves as its bar/restaurant with cafe-style fare, more lowbrow than I'd expect from a hotel at that level and not as upscale as Zest's in Melbourne from what I can tell. Hope this helps.

I'd say Euro is your best bet for fine dining, although Shane Yardly is head chef now under Simon Gault. I've heard good things about O'Connell Street Bistro (chef is Stephen Ward who worked under Conran at Bluebird). For the best and freshest seafood in town, go to Salt in Grey Lynn. Very limited seating (mostly takeaway business) but it's so worth it. You should definitely get over to Galbraith's Alehouse while you're here, their Grafton Porter is fantastic (they have Mac's too).

Just found these: menus.co.nz: Has photos and menus from restaurants in Auckland and Wellington, plus you can make online reservations. dineout.co.nz: This site has NZ restaurant reviews posted by members (free to join), as well as discussion forums about different food topics.

You might want to try the author's (Joyce Goldstein) book, Solo Suppers, which she was inspired to write after doing the Dinners for One column. Lots and lots of recipes and tips.

You're welcome, Kathryn... and likewise!

I am moving to New Zealand myself in a couple of months, and I thought I would recommend one of the sites I've found in my research: www.buytravelconverter.com Even if you decide to buy in Australia, this site will be very helpful in terms of figuring out what you need. I didn't realize that some things need only an adapter, others an adapter and converter; now I understand what each thing does and why, and the types of sockets I'll be dealing with. I also have a KA mixer, so I feel your pain! Here's another translation: chilly bin = cooler. I was in New Zealand on holiday last year, and when our guide made reference to "chilly bin," my bunkmate and I both said "What?" He pointed to what we thought was the cooler, and we both burst out giggling because the words "chilly bin" sounded so funny together!

It's supposed to track eight months in the life of the Gordon Ramsay opening and Ramsay's quest for a third Michelin star. For more info, here is the BBC America page on Boiling Point.

halloweencat, Alton Brown did a Good Eats episode that's all about how to brew a great cup of tea ("True Brew II") which you may find useful. The transcript is at the Good Eats Fan Page (click on the subject index link on the left-hand side and then scroll down to the Tea topic). Cheers!

Definitely their Greek salad.eta: Reeves is still going strong, and Five Guys has a new location in Chinatown (808 H Street).

Jim Jones' Juice Joint

A friend and I are heading to Corduroy for happy hour tonight; ETA is between 5:45 and 6:00 p.m. Joiners welcomed.

Thanks, Tana and Muffin! Sushi sounds great, but I'll take a few other suggestions too. It really doesn't matter what time I eat, as long as I can be back at LAX by 6:30 at the latest with traffic. It would also be helpful to have a small grocery-type place nearby so I can pick up some healthy snacks for the plane, and I'd love to be able to take a nice stroll before or after dining. I need a casual dress code and am expecting to spend about $25-50. Hope this helps!

I have a seven-hour layover between planes at LAX this Thursday, from approximately 1:30 to 8:30 p.m. If it was only two hours, I wouldn't even bother leaving the airport, but I would think seven hours is doable for some kind of restaurant excursion. Am I nuts? I realize that most restaurants will likely not be serving during the time period I will have to eat, and there is also the strong possibility of getting caught in rush-hour traffic on the way back to the airport. My recent experience with the area is limited to the airport itself, so I thought it would be a good idea to ask the local eGulleteers for some advice. It would be nice to experience something unique to LA (if there is such a thing), but I'm open to anything really. Many thanks in advance!

High Noon's turkey chili.

I enjoyed the smoked rockfish--good quality and a pleasingly subtle (for smoked fish) taste. It comes with lettuce, tomato and a smoothly-flavored, grainy-textured mustard, but I missed the anchor of a starchy accompaniment. I would have gotten by with the house bread, except that it's what you'd get if you mated challah with King's Hawaiian, so it doesn't really go. If you will be considering dessert as well, I'd go for a dish of ice cream--chocolate, vanilla and blueberry are available, if I remember correctly--and skip the baked goods. I found the brownie in the brownie a la mode too sweet for my taste and the lemon pound cake, on the menu as "sunshine cake," a bit dry. I wanted to ditch the pound cake and have more of the blueberry ice cream, which featured plenty of fruit and was served at the right temperature to enjoy (not just-out-of-the-freezer hard)--an appreciated touch.

Info and a link to buy tickets, which is now live, can be found here.

If it's possible, I vote we do it on December 6, after the Les Halles event, because I'll be out of town on November 22.

I stopped by Mandalay last night for some takeout, since I wanted to check it out before they left my neighborhood. I was very impressed by the staff, who were not only quick to acknowledge me and take my order but seemed to know almost every customer by name. It's a very welcoming place. Also, while I waited I noticed a lot of people ordering dessert, which doesn't usually seem to be the case in the inexpensive ethnic places I've been to. One couple even came in just to get dessert on their way to catch a flight to Boston. I did not order dessert last night, but you can bet I will next time to see why it's so popular! What I did order was the Thursday special (they only have specials Thursdays and Sundays), chicken in an onion-based curry with coconut rice. The coconut rice is so good I could have eaten a bowl of it on its own; it actually tastes like coconut, unlike most I've had, and was perfectly light, fluffy, and moist. When you order, they ask you how hot you want your dish--no heat, mild, medium, or spicy. I ordered it medium to get a benchmark, and it didn't seem very hot to me at all, so it seems they have a gentle hand in that regard. I also ordered a ginger salad, which I did not get to since I was full before I'd finished half of my chicken and rice, but I'm looking forward to trying it. (Portions are generous.) I was told that September 29th is the last day they will be open in College Park and they're shooting for an October 10 opening in Silver Spring. The restaurant currently seats between 40-50 people; the new location will have seating for about 125. They gave me a card and a menu too--their new address is 930 Bonifant Street, phone 301.585.0500; however, I was warned that the prices will "change slightly," which I took to mean they'll go up to help with the presumably-increasing rent. For what it's worth, the chicken special was $7.95 and the salad was $4.99.

Glad you enjoyed it, eunny! (While at Straits, mdt and I strongly encouraged her to RUN, not walk, to Palena and spend, spend, spend that gift certificate). I myself finally made it there last week... what a wonderful experience to have after a long Friday at work. I sunk into one of the Cafe's banquettes, then proceeded to be thoroughly charmed by the ambiance and the music. I did not mind waiting for a friend delayed on the Metro one bit... no, sir. Especially not after I requested a gin and tonic and was encouraged by Derek to try the pickled martini instead! I'm now a Hendricks (gin) fan. So delicate, but still packs a punch. Between my friend and I, we had the gorgonzola dolce plate, the regular cheese plate, the fries, the tuna, and the chicken. And more drinks, of course (wine for her, a Sidecar for me). Finished with the chocolate/toffee dessert. I'm not going to echo previous posters' spot-on comments on the food, except to second (tenth?) that the Cafe menu is such a wonderful value. I can't believe that the chicken is only $9! It was such a large portion that I took most of it home and was inspired to make a stir-fry with the leftovers--to me they were crying out for a Chinese treatment, I think because of the star anise (?). Carolyn and Derek get mad props for being so all-around good at what they do. I very much appreciated Derek's friendly welcome and Carolyn's willingness to track down a couple of caramels--in the middle of the dinner rush--so that my friend could try them for the first time.

I thought it might be a play on coeur du roi...

et Les Halles aussi.

I'm in!

My friends and I will be there by 5:45.

Firefly is at 1310 New Hampshire Avenue, in the Hotel Madera--a couple blocks SW of Dupont Circle, between Sunderland Street and N Street. Chef Shogun (or anyone else), if you need help with directions feel free to PM me.

Jenny, I was there yesterday too--for lunch. I could basically recite your post verbatim to share my experience there, except that my burger patties had no pink in them whatsoever and their texture suggested that they had been steamed (???) to toughness. Tried salt on the onion straws too... shook the shaker and heard all the grains go <plink> on the bottom of the plate; a "duh!" moment if ever there was one. You didn't mention how the service was, but our waitress was a bit overeager to snatch up our plates, sometimes before we'd finished! At least I didn't mind as much as I would have on previous visits, where the food has been uniformly excellent, but it was very annoying nonetheless. I feel your pain. I had brought a friend there for her first visit and was disappointed that she did not get to have a genuine Matchbox experience. No wonder I didn't see the chef around! Thanks for the explanation.