Alex

Ditto. I've made pork tenderloin with a sauce made, if memory serves, from butter, shallots, chicken stock reduction, port reduction, blueberries, and rosemary. Or something like that.

Congratulations to her! I recently retired from a college faculty; it's a great gig. I hope she loves it there. Yes, the gardens are lovely, too. I remembered a few more eating places: Mosaic Cafe (small, very informal, counter service, excellent sandwiches and Mediterranean entrees) Heavenly Chocolate (in Thornes) La Fiorentina (great place for a cannoli and a cappuccino) ETA: The Pioneer Valley is a remarkable place for independent bookstores, both new and used. The Montague Bookmill ("Books you don't need in a place you can't find") is a long-time favorite of mine.

Paul & Elizabeths's, in Thornes Marketplace, has been around for over 30 years; they do a great job with vegetarian and seafood cooking (no meat). Sylvester's is *the* place for breakfast. Herrell's Ice Cream There are other really good places whose names I forgot. I sent an email to lifelong friends of mine who live in the area (they used to live around the corner from Sylvester's) and asked them for those names and any further recommendations. I love the Pioneer Valley! edited to add: P.S. I'm guessing your daughter will be going to Smith College. Even if she isn't, don't miss their art museum.

Expanding on curls's post... Little Serow: Issan Thai food, very hot/spicy, very popular -- get in line early and wait. Also in Dupont, a little south of the circle: DGS Delicatessen And there's a Dolcezza there, a little north of the circle Also recommended for lunch (dinner is expensive): Sushi Taro. Jaleo is José Andrés's tapas place. Nearby is Oyamel, his Mexican place. In my earlier post, 701 is in Penn Quarter; Proof and Zaytinya are nearby. Additional recommendation, in Georgetown: il Canale (DOC Neapolitan pizza, pastas, etc.)

I've found that small-ish florets roast up just fine; no need to do the extra-thin slicing.

Oops, sorry -- that "ditto" in my original post was meant to refer back to Le Diplomate, not Zaytinya. Nearest to your hotel in my list are Oval Room, Bombay Club, and Kellari Taverna. You're also not that far from Rasika West End and Vidalia. If you're in the mood for excellent gelato (and coffee), go to Dolcezza (several locations).

I assume you're staying in DC itself (vs. the surrounding communities -- Alexandria, Arlington, etc.). It would help, though, to know exactly where. For example, if you're staying in the popular Dupont Circle area, we can recommend places that are walking distance from there. So far, in your price range, I'd recommend: Rasika or Rasika West End (progressive Indian cuisine; don't miss the Palak Chaat), for lunch, dinner, or pre-theater dinner Tosca (classic Italian; pre-theater dinner + one glass of wine each would be ~$110 before tax/tip, but I've never had a bad course there) Corduroy (near the Convention Center; inventive cooking; expensive regular dinner, but a super-bargain three-course prix fixe upstairs in the bar (menu not on web site), plus inexpensive wine by the glass during happy hour) Le Diplomate (very good, very popular, probably a bit off the beaten track for you, but one of the go-to places if you're in that area) Zaytinya (Mediterranean -- think Greek/Turkish/Lebanese -- small plates; very popular place) Birch & Barley (ditto) La Chaumiere (classic French cuisine, in Georgetown) Kellari Taverna (Greek) I think this list of pre-theater options is up to date. Lunch bargains in the bar area are available at Proof, Oval Room, 701, and many other places. Indian Buffet Champagne Brunch in a beautiful setting at Bombay Club Champagne brunch also at Nopa My two favorite resources for DC are dc.eater.com and the aforementioned DonRockwell.com (register there as you did for eG to access the Dining Guide).

Yotam Ottolenghi's Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds. Works with young kale, too, if you're not married to someone who prefers her kale unrecognizable.

OK, please tell me the appeal of weirdly flavored potato chips. I mean, when I do eat potato chips (which is not terribly often because, as is appropriate for the brand being discussed in this thread, I have a ridiculously difficult time stopping at one, or three, or...), I want them to taste like potato chips. If I want any additional flavor(s) to augment my chips, I'll dip them in something tasty that doesn't contain nasty artificial crap. That said, I've been known to buy Kettle Brand Sriracha Potato Chips, mainly for Ms. Alex, but I do indulge in a few occasionally. (It's a safe chip for me; more than a few gets to be too much.) The ingredients aren't all that off-putting, either.

I'm afraid I haven't conducted any reasonable A-B comparisons, so I can't contribute in that regard. However, David Lebovitz, in my go-to book The Perfect Scoop, uses just an infusion in his regular mint ice cream but only extract or oil (plus crumbled peppermint patties) in his chocolate mint recipe. And, like you, he uses both an infusion and an extract in his vanilla ice cream. Regarding mint extract and oil, he says, "Different brands vary significantly in strength, which makes calculating their use in recipes a challenge. You may want to begin by adding a smaller quantity than called for in the recipe. Taste, then add more until you're satisfied."

This sounds like a great idea for a new forum.

The Awkward Yeti again: The Organs Have Their Say

There's a nice essay about the Bundt pan, complete with recipes for Tunnel of Fudge Cake AND Chocolate Pistachio Cake (first two ingredients: white or yellow cake mix and pistachio instant pudding mix) in Bonny Wolf's book Talking With My Mouth Full.

Hash brownies (late 60s ). Also, Neopolitan ice cream bombe. Pound cake (preferably Entenmann's) with thawed frozen strawberries and Redi-Whip. Coffee cake.

Just as an afterthought, although all the courses were at least good, imo, with some being absolutely wonderful, I would have done this as an eight-course meal -- the first six as presented, except insert the fresh vegetables between the duck andouille and the tiramisu, then have the bread pudding as a second dessert. I'm not complaining, though.

Bastille Day -- or, as the French call it, Fête de la Fédération. I dunno about French food tonight (I was planning on a simple stir-fry), but I certainly can crack open a nice bottle of French wine. Perhaps instead I could make oeufs avec saumon fumé (aka lox, onions, and eggs ).

Thanks for asking. We were told at the start that there'd be a break in the middle for us to stretch our legs, etc. Many of us assumed it'd be after the tiramisu, which would make sense: essentially two six-course meals, both ending with dessert. However, for some reason -- maybe a timing issue in the kitchen -- the break came after the seventh course, the lamb. That said, it was a bit jarring, but not as much as I had anticipated -- maybe because tiramisu, if it's done right (which it was), is light, not rich.

For several years now, one of my very favorite restaurants in West Michigan -- which in its broad definition includes the metro areas of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Grand Haven, and Holland -- has been Mia & Grace, in downtown Muskegon. They're extraordinarily committed to supporting local farmers and other food producers as well as local artists and artisans. They make as much of their creative menu as possible in their own kitchen, including bread, butter, ice creams, pastries, condiments, and sausages/hot dogs. Unfortunately, the area didn't generate sufficient dinner traffic to justify their staying open in the evening (at least I think that's the reason; perhaps the owners just wanted to have more family time), but they're still open for breakfast and lunch 9-5 Tuesday through Saturday, and for special events. And speaking of which, on July 12 they hosted an extraordinary 12-course dinner for Slow Food West Michigan, with guest chefs. The very simplified menu Farmers and Friends Small samples from Harmony Brewing in Grand Rapids were served with four of the courses First course: bread loaf w/condiments Condiment plate, clockwise from the duck fat candle (!): Sumatra coffee jelly, blueberry preserves, rhubarb jam, jalapeño jelly, goat cheese rolled in black pepper, bacon jam, and, in the middle, house-made butter w/sea salt Second course: quenelle of chicken liver pâté, sweet and sour dried cherries, pickled green tomato, poppy seed crumble, purslane, lettuce Third course: morel and leek soup, crème fraîche, red bell pepper, purslane, truffle flavor potato chip Fourth course: chilled poached whitefish surrounding a whitefish mousse w/parsley, salt, and pepper cream; yellow summer squash, lamb's quarters, oxalis, nasturtium aioli Fifth course: hickory-smoked duck andouille, cheddar jalapeño grits, swiss chard, pickled rhubarb, golden raisins, pea shoots, radish, ham glace, cornbread crumbs Sixth course: tiramisu two ways: 1) housemade ladyfingers, pistachio liqueur w/vanilla, amaretto-coffee glaze; 2) housemade ladyfingers w/amaretto cookie, raspberry glaze, blueberry Our table, halfway through: Seventh course: lamb neck and tomato sugo, pecorino Parisian gnocchi, nasturtium leaves Eighth course: Scotch quail egg (panko + chorizo crust), sweet potato puree, herb pistou, pickled onion, cilantro Ninth course: Farmers Market vegetables -- new potatoes, redskin potatoes, string bean, sugar peas, snow pea, edible flower, fresh dill, sweet onion-veal broth Tenth course: "Pork Belly Breakfast" -- braised and maple syrup-glazed pork belly w/ Hollandaise sauce, savory (garlic and herbs) mini-waffle, pickled strawberry, Sumatra coffee jelly, crumbled cured egg yolk, English muffin crumble Eleventh course: Pizzette -- pizza slice with mozzarella, coppa, crème fraîche, swiss chard, peppadew pepper, roasted garlic oil Twelfth course: brown butter bread pudding, fennel ice cream, fig, roasted pistachios, golden raisin butterscotch sauce

I'm guessing you (lindag) like ginger in general, just not the particular flavor of that ginger beer. Another idea to tone down that flavor is to use it in place of some of the stock in a ginger-carrot soup recipe.

I had no idea Stoli made such a product. On Amazon, it's expensive and has mixed reviews. Could the other have been Fentiman's or Goya? Both come in a dark brown bottle, iirc. Gosling's also makes a credible ginger beer, in a can. Chez Alex, we usually use Regatta. Fever-Tree and the "traditional" Barritts also are good. If you do try making a Dark and Stormy, please let us know what you thought. The rum should tame some of the ginger's bite and intensity.

Goslings Black Seal is a dark rum. It's the traditional choice for a D&S, so I haven't tried any others. Those Dark & Stormy popsicles in blue_dolphin's recent post look awfully good. Re the MM, I'd recommend 1½ oz of vodka (I use Tito's), ¾ oz of fresh lime juice, and about 4 oz of ginger beer, with lots of ice. I asked about the brand of ginger beer because some are more sharply ginger-y than others.

What amounts of ginger beer, vodka, and lime juice did you use? Which brand of ginger beer? Have you ever tried a Dark and Stormy?

It indeed does -- eight copies in our regional library system! I just requested it. Thanks for the recommendation.

A small taste testing

We're no NOLA experts by any stretch of the imagination, but Ms. Alex is a huge fan of Herbsaint, on St. Charles.