Alex

Could you provide details about your meal, please?

Dino and Nam-Viet are a *long* walk uphill. (There are other very worthwhile restaurants in Cleveland Park as well, most notably Palena.) Cashion's, in Adams-Morgan, also is too long a walk, imho. The Woodley Park area, where the Omni Shoreham is located, has the excellent New Heights, literally down the street from the hotel. I'd go there.

One more: Why Italians Like to Talk About Food

As Edward J said, refurbs are primarily returns. I've had zero problems with the various ones I've bought over the years -- most recently a SanDisk Clip mp3 player. A full warranty would be nice, but I mostly disagree with dougal about a cut-down one. If the warranty is 30 days (or maybe even 90) vs. one year, I'd probably pass unless it was an outstanding deal. However, KitchenAid has refurb blenders on their web site and eBay with a six-month warranty. You can pick up the Cook's Illustrated top-rated model 580 for $69 + shipping (or the mechanically identical 560 for 55-60 + shipping). The best price I've found for a new 560 is $80 + tax from Bed, Bath and Beyond after applying their 20%-off coupon.

Where on the west side of the state are you located?

R.I.P Seldom Blues

The Lakeshore Express ferry is very cool but also very expensive if only one person is in the car, and yes, it won't save any time at all from Madison. Amtrak is about a 10-hour trip, assuming the Madison train arrives at Union Station with enough time for you to make your connection (one-hour layover). There's also bus service from Madison to Chicago. If driving from Madison, you don't necessarily have to go through Chicago proper. You can stay in the 'burbs by taking 294 to 80. I can't speak for other eG'ers, of course, but I imagine that as the date gets closer, a Chicago person or two might be open to carpooling. Re flying, the cheapest MSN-DTW fare today is the nonstop on Delta, for $399. Sales do happen, so you might want to sign up for a fare-tracking notification system like airfarewatchdog.com. The airport is close to Ann Arbor, so I'm sure that someone will be able to pick you up.

As usual, I can make something (especially if Edsel brings his Vita-Mix ).

Be there AND be A-square. Sounds good to me, too.

I'd serve it in a regular soup bowl to show off the bright green, and use a little crab meat as a garnish.

I assume you mean 65-70 degrees Celsius (about 150-160 Farenheit), yes?

The horror....The horror. These might work: Cooked penne rigate, a little butter, asparagus pieces, sliced lox, lemon zest, black pepper. The heat of the penne will "cook" the salmon for DH. A salad: avocado chunks, thinly sliced fennel bulb, radicchio, slivered red or yellow bell pepper, sliced lox, lemon-y mustard-y vinaigrette. Tell DH the acid in the vinaigrette cooks the salmon.

Echoing scubadoo97, is this lox-type salmon (you mentioned bagels and cream cheese) or chunk-o-salmon?

Here are two existing forums: clicky 1 clicky 2

Is Costco a membership store? Can anyone shop there? Costco is membership only, as is Sam's Club. Once, maybe twice a year I'll see a guest pass for Sam's in the newspaper. That'll get you in, but you'll pay a premium over the member's price (I can't remember exactly how much--probably 10% ±5).

As a regular visitor to DC (and a sensible person in general), I would advise you to pay close attention to Busboy's advice. That said, and understanding that your decision is mostly, if not completely, made, you also might want to consider Proof and Vidalia. Here's some recent info about Proof. And here's their website. Here's some recent info about Vidalia. And here's their website.

If you want to be more or less exact about this, you could ask your cow person the actual percentage of milk fat (typically at least 4%), then calculate from there. The percentage may vary according to the season or the cows' feed. (If your cows are grass-fed during warmer weather, you also may notice a grassy undertaste, which some people [e.g., Ms. Alex] may find objectionable in their coffee.) Sorry I can't offer more help than that, as we skim off almost all the cream for our coffee (and cooking, sometimes). The rest we drink or is turned into yogurt.

I also own Frog/Commissary. I must confess that I bought it solely for the Eden Burgers recipe, although I've made a few other recipes from time to time, all good. Here are my major influences (I know--some aren't cookbooks per se): Early on: Fannie Farmer, The NY Times International Cookbook A bit later: The Joy of Cooking, Joyce Chen Cook Book Early middle: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, The Jewish Holiday Cookbook Late middle: Cook's Illustrated collection, On Food and Cooking, The Best of the Midwest More recently: What To Drink With What You Eat, The Instant Bean/The Brilliant Bean

I choose...bacon. With pancakes. Why? The most interesting taste profle + maximum nostalgia value. Mine are relatively commplex. Dry = KA flour, toasted wheat germ, sometimes unsweetened dessicated coconut, a little plain granola, pinch of salt. Wet = milk, egg, plain yogurt or sour cream. Optional = blueberries in season, banana. Local maple syrup, natch.

Thanks for the input. According to Google Maps, the #81 and #82 buses stop right by Feast and run within a few blocks of her hotel. If she's willing to take the bus, would you recommend she opt for Feast over Voice or T'afia? I would say Feast, Dolce Vita, and Da Marco (depending on how fancy she wants) all over either of those. Catalan is bussable too, and probably my favorite. Another option closer to downtown is Ibiza (not walkable but closer than Reef or T'afia). Honestly, to me, the idea of T'afia is much better than the food. Reef is very good seafood, but to me, not as good as those other places. ETA: Another great option down Westheimer would be Hugo's. Authentic upscale Mexican, probably something you can't get in Michigan and very excellent. Thanks so much. Those all look wonderful. We'll probably review all the menus together later today then make some reservations, provided we don't ruin the keyboard by drooling over it.

Thanks for the input. According to Google Maps, the #81 and #82 buses stop right by Feast and run within a few blocks of her hotel. If she's willing to take the bus, would you recommend she opt for Feast over Voice or T'afia?

Ms. Alex will be in Houston for a conference at the end of the month, staying at either the Doubletree or the Hyatt Regency (right by each other). She'd prefer a dinner place she could walk to, but easy walking distance of a light rail stop would be fine. A short bus ride might be OK, too. Lunch needs to be close to the Hyatt. I've done some research and would greatly appreciate comments about my selections, along with any other suggestions you might have. Thanks. Near downtown Reef Feast t'afia Downtown Voice 17 Yatra Massa's (seems a bit gimmicky and no comparison to Reef, but it's right across the street from the hotel; maybe a good lunch option?) Lunch Treebeards - The Tunnel Artista (Hobby Center) Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen (at the airport, just in case)

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Could you expand on that carbonara comment? I've been using local farm eggs exclusively for the past 10+ years, and my carbonara (Ruth Reichl's recipe) turns out great every time. The eggs are anywhere from a few days to a month or so old.

I used my Penzey's both last night and tonight in a spice mix for savory pancakes: sauteed onion, red bell pepper, and fresh corn added to a simple flour/egg/milk batter in which I whisked in salt, cumin, oregano, paprika, cayenne, and the aforementioned granulated garlic. Tonight they were served unadorned with Sriracha on the side; yesterday they were topped with butter-poached shrimp seasoned with salt, a spritz of lime juice and a quick shake of smoked Spanish paprika.