rhodegirl

I couldn't have said it better

This is it. I have found the place. A restaurant I've been dying to try run by a true Sox fan. Whether I'm ecstatic or heartbroken after tonight's game, I believe Nectar will be the place for me this weekend.

Oddball question: Does anyone know if there is a chef in town who happens to be a Red Sox fan? I know I'm going to need to go out to dinner this weekend to either celebrate (please G*d) or to wallow in despair. Either way, I'd like to support a fellow Red Sox fan, if possible. If I cannot find such a chef, I think I'll head to Palena Cafe, where our great waitress the other night was a fellow native New Englander and Sox fan.

Congratulations, Monica! For those who do not see the print edition, it's the lead story with numerous photos - very cool. And it's an excellent article. I have a feeling many people in the DC area are going to be making various versions of chicken curry this week. All of us are benefiting from Monica's transition to a career as a food writer!

Carolyn, I am so very sorry for your loss. Please take good care of yourself during this difficult time. And thank you so much for your beautiful, heartfelt writing. Be well. (and congratulations on your writing projects!)

I realize I should expand my horizons and order something besides the lamb steak when I go to Firefly. But inevitably, while I’m perusing the menu, one of the servers whisks by, carrying to another table the lamb entrée, with the side of mac-n-cheese in its own little dish - and I find myself gazing longingly at it. Last night was no exception. At least I mix it up when ordering starters. In seven or eight visits to Firefly over the past year, I’ve enjoyed the sublime English pea soup with yogurt and curry oil, the always-crisp-never-greasy oysters with chipotle tartar sauce, perfect spice-cured salmon gravlax, PEI mussles with combinations such as cream, sweet curry and celery, and, last winter, the eggdrop soup with butternut squash, and the eggplant curry with firm polenta and slivered almonds - which sounds odd but is one of those dishes that makes your eyes widen in wonder after the first bite, and every bite thereafter. (Mr. DonRocks did a much better job of describing this dish earlier in this thread) (I didn’t take notes, but I’m pretty sure all of these starters were on the menu last night, with the exception of the eggdrop soup and the eggplant curry.) For our starters last night, my husband and I shared the addictive pork and cabbage spring rolls with the sesame-mustard-dipping-sauce-that-you-want-to-eat-with-a-spoon and the baby spinach salad with spicy walnuts, creamy sherry dressing and hard cooked egg. He had a glass of sauvignon blanc and I had chardonnay, both of which our very helpful waitress recommended. Both dishes were excellent and the wines were very good choices. For entrees, I succumbed to my craving and ordered the grilled lamb minute steak with Tillamook chedder mac-n-cheese and chard. My husband ordered rib eye with potato puree and Maytag blue cheese. Both were perfectly cooked to medium rare. The lamb, as always, was outstanding, tender and juicy, with the the chard and the mac-n-cheese sending the dish over the top. I must say, though, the ribeye may tempt me to cheat on the lamb. The combination of the tender flavorful steak with the blue cheese and potatoes was enough to lure a girl out of her lamb reverie, at least temporarily. With our entrees, we both had the excellent Syrah from the wines-by-the-glass list. We decided we were too full for dessert…until we looked at the dessert menu. We were immediately intrigued by the vanilla ice cream with prunes soaked in bourbon. For those of you who see the word ‘prunes’ and quickly avert your eyes, I urge you: cast your doubts aside and order this dish. The prunes in their sauce provide a delicious just-sweet-enough complement to the rich, creamy ice cream studded with bits of vanilla bean. Now that I think about it, there may be simple way to expand my horizons beyond the lamb steak. I just need to go to Firefly more often

Congratulations, Derek! Looking forward to seeing you at Firefly... And kudos to Evan and the rest of the team at Palena! Hmmm. John Wabeck's lamb steak one night, Frank Ruta's gnocchi the next night. What's not to like?

Chef Michael, Thanks so much for doing this. Could you talk about the suppliers you use for the restaurant? Do you use produce, beef or other foods from local farmers or farmers' markets at all? What do you think of 'grass-fed' or 'naturally raised' or 'organic' beef? What about the practice of sustainable farming? Do you think these approaches improve the quality of the products? Are small restaurants able to use foods from these kinds of small farms, or are the prices too high? (Apologies if these questions are ridiculously basic or naive - I'm not in the business and I know nothing about how the restaurant supply process works.)

If you’ve had a bad day, or week, or for that matter, month, go to Palena Café and order the gnocchi. These fluffy, cloud-like golden little dumplings will melt in your mouth and make you smile. When I had the dish the other night, it was served in a sauce of mushrooms (hen o' the woods, I believe), butter and other delectable ingredients that escape me at the moment. I’m pretty sure pancetta was involved. It’s hard to say because I tend to fall into a daze whenever I’m eating the gnocchi at Palena Café. Details fall by the wayside. So do life’s annoyances, such as the vexing question as to why the Red Sox are yet again frittering away their chance to win the pennant. But I digress. I believe the gnocchi is almost always on the menu. The sauce changes depending on the season. To guarantee the evening’s success, bring along a couple of loved ones and, in addition to the gnocchi, order the Roman-bread-and-tomato-soup-that-inspires-poetry, the boudin blanc, the caeser salad, and the pasta alla chitarra with rabbit ragu. (Noodles made on the 'chitarra', or guitar, a frame strung with music wire, used to cut fresh pasta into strands.) But even if you order just the gnocchi and a glass of wine, I promise, at least for that evening, all will seem right in the world again. And as you leave, you'll find yourself thinking 'hey, there's always the wild card'.

How about Firefly? My parents enjoyed it when we took them during a visit last year. And they love Tosca, where we've taken them several times. They've also enjoyed Ardeo and Lavandou, though I haven't been to either of these two for quite a while, so perhaps someone else could give you more recent feedback. Palena Cafe would be a great choice, too. If you don't mind going early, between 5:30 and 6 pm, you most likely won't have to wait for a table.

I can't make it Sunday, Oct. 17, but it looks like the other dates work for me.

I'm in, probably for two

Thank you, Foodman, for pointing out this piece. It's priceless. Especially this: <"No," he said adamantly. Then he delivered his big punch line with a whispered rage reminiscent of early Al Pacino. "When you know what osso buco is, then you can talk to me about my osso buco.">

The parfait of foie gras and chicken livers with golden apple jelly and brioche toast at West is like heroin. I would mainline it if I could. If I lived in Vancouver, I would need a fix at least a couple of times a month, if not weekly. When we first tasted this incredible dish, my husband and I briefly considered quitting our jobs, sending for our dog and starting a new life in Vancouver, without bothering to return to our home in Washington DC. Two and a half months later, I still daydream about that foie gras. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, a belated 'thank you' to everyone on this board who offered restaurant suggestions for our trip to Vancouver. During our trip in early summer, we celebrated our anniversary with dinner at the Chef'sTable at West. It was one of our best meals ever. We opted for five courses, which actually turned out to be much more because Chef David Hawksworth and his staff prepared two different dishes for the first, second and third courses, and for dessert. We shared everything, so each of us tasted ten different dishes, including the 'pre-dessert'. We did not do an ‘official’ wine pairing, but we each had several glasses throughout the course of the evening. Service was friendly, relaxed and professional. Overall good karma. And even though there was a full house all evening and the kitchen staff was very busy, Chef Hawksworth, as he worked, spent plenty of time talking with us about the dishes he was preparing, his style of cooking, his experiences working in England, etc. He’s incredibly talented and he seems like such a good guy. So, onto the food: First Course Classic tomato gazpacho with Tofino Dungeness crab tian with organic olive oil Yellowfin tuna sashimi, jalapeno spiced sesame dressing with crisp shallots Second Course West bacon with tomato jam, roasted scallop and micro greens Parfait of foie gras and chicken livers with golden apple jelly and brioche toast Third Course Marinated Sablefish fillet with shitake mushroom broth, asian greens and Chinese sausage Roast Princess Island skate with sweet corn emulsion with lobster saffron risotto Fourth Course Roasted veal loin, nutmeg gnocchi and bacon essence Pre Dessert Strawberry sorbet with golden kiwis and roasted strawberries Dessert Lime sour cream mousse filled cornmeal tuile with mango salsa, sweet corn ice milk Malted milk chocolate mousse white chocolate raspberry tart and dark chocolate cake with banana ice cream Sorry, I don’t have specifics on the wines by the glass. We asked the waitress to please recommend British Columbia wines since we do not have access to them in DC, and she did an excellent job. I believe there were two semillon, a chardonnay (Cedar Creek, perhaps?), a pinot noir, I think, and an ice wine after dessert, to finish the evening. Again, thanks to the locals for your great recommendations!

It looks like such a delicious dinner. And what wonderful, thoughtful hosts! Thank you for the detailed descriptions. This has been such an interesting thread.

Morela, your poem should be printed on the menu. How could anyone resist ordering soup that inspires poetry? Now you're inspiring me to come up with an excuse to go back to Palena as soon as possible...

Hello Chef, Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. When did you first become interested in cooking? Who did the cooking in your family when you were growing up? And what kinds of food did your family eat? Any particular favorite dishes from your childhood that you still make now? Do you cook at home on your days off, and if so, what are some of your favorite meals to make at home? Or would you rather do anything but cook when you're not working? Now that you've been in the business for quite a while, do you feel your education Johnson and Wales prepared you well for the 'real world' of restaurants? Thanks again!

Run do not walk to Palena Café for the Roman bread and tomato soup, which is topped with a coddled (or poached?) egg and fried sage. Dip your soup into the perfectly cooked egg, and the creamy yolk slowly spreads through the bowl, blending with the diced tomatoes, small chunks of bread, and rich broth. Other highlights from our dinner: Boudin blanc, housemade with chicken and foie gras and pink turnips and apples, served in its own little pan. Heavenly. Sweet corn raviolini with large chunks of tender, juicy crab in a light butter sauce - as good, if not better, than the last time we had it a couple of weeks ago, . The cheese plate and the wine pairings with the meal and the cheese were excellent. I also tried my first Sidecar. I’m a pretty lightweight drinker, but I could get used to this cocktail. So, for others, like me, who can’t handle stronger drinks, like martinis, but would like to try something different, the Palena Sidecar is a good choice. The service was outstanding. Many thanks to Evan, our waiter, and to Derek - they were both friendly, professional and gracious on a very busy Friday night with all the tables in the cafe, inside and out, filled much of the evening.

I'm pretty sure it was $85 a person for the chef's table. The total bill for six people, including two bottles of wine, and two or three individual glasses, plus tax and tip, was about $850.00

With this thread revived, I realized I never wrote about our dinner at the chef’s table at Tosca back on Memorial Day weekend, so here it goes. My parents were in town for the World War II Memorial Dedication, and my husband and I wanted to take them out for dinner in honor of my Dad (He was a B-17 pilot who flew 35 missions over Germany - I know, I know, off-topic – the point is we wanted a particularly special evening for our veteran. ) We decided to reserve the chef’s table at Tosca, which is in the kitchen and seats up to eight people. (You need a minimum of four people to reserve it, I believe.) We invited a couple of close family friends, for a total of six people. The table is set up so that everyone at the table has a good view of the chefs at work. Chef Lanfranconi was not there that night, so the sous chef cooked for us. I’m embarrassed to say I forgot to write down his name. He and the rest of the staff could not have been more gracious. He described each dish as he went along and cheerfully answered all of our many questions. The wonderful maitre d' also checked on us often throughout the evening and spent a good deal of time talking with us. (The restaurant was slow that night because many locals had fled the city for the holiday weekend.) This was back in the spring, so of course the menu is different than what they are serving this fall. But I thought I would share the menu of our dinner, just to give you an idea of the variety of courses. (I'll write the English version, though they sound even better in Italian. ) Cappuccino of wild mushrooms Marinated salmon stuffed with goat cheese and orange carpaccio Organic buckwheat flour crusted local soft shell crab with sautéed green peas and Vidalia onions with a pine nut sauce Pan-seared scallops, sautéed spinach, yellow tomato sauce and crispy tomato Roasted fois gras with rhubarb sauce, brioche and vino Santo sauce Small ravioli of local organic tomato pulp in a fresh basil pesto sauce Handmade squared semolina spaghetti with local farm lamb and artichoke ragu Pepper crusted yellowfin tuna with sweet peas ravioli and vanilla saffron sauce New York strip steak with a black pepper crust, potato puree, wild mushrooms and whole grain mustard sauce We did not do the wine pairing, but the maitre d’ chose a couple of excellent bottles for us: Roero Arneis Funtanin, 2003 and Vino Nobeile di Montepulciano Avignonese “Grande Annata”, 2000. I thoroughly enjoyed every single course, though my favorites were the soft shell crab, the scallops, the ravioli and the spaghetti with ragu. (I adore the pastas at Tosca) After dinner, we were served a generous assortment of desserts, including a rhubarb tart with homemade ice cream, a warm chocolate cake, an assortment of sorbets, a ‘modernized’ tiramisu and the unbelievable tomato marmalade sweet tart. Sorry I don’t have more detailed descriptions of the desserts. They were all delicious, but my favorite was that addictive tomato tart, partly because it was different from any dessert I’ve ever had. Everyone loved the meal and the entire experience. We were there for nearly four hours and savored every minute.

What an incredible meal! Many, many thanks to Chef, Robin and staff for an unforgettable evening. Delicious food, wonderful company, excellent service - what more could you ask for? And thanks also to Babka and Hillvalley for organizing this gathering. It was great to meet everyone. p.s. Even our dog, Gilbert, gave CK a great review - he gobbled up the homemade dog biscuits from DaSto' as soon as we got home.

I enjoy Flavors of Tuscany so much! She writes a great deal about the culture and the history of food in the region, etc. Now I'll have to get the Flavors of Puglia One note - I notice Flavors of Tuscany was released in 1998, so it may have been written pre-Mad Cow scare, at least in Italy. So I'm not sure of the situation regarding bistecca in the towns in Italy now.

Dried spaghetti A combination of ground pork and ground beef, a slice of good white bread, crust removed, soaked in 1/3 cup milk, chopped fresh parsley, freshly grated parmesan, 1 egg, a tiny, tiny grating of fresh nutmeg, salt and pepper. don't over mix. i make them fairly small, maybe about an inch, inch and a half around, i think. fry them just for a few minutes, then finish cooking them in the sauce (or gravy, as it was called by Italian Americans in Providence, where I grew up) for the sauce: if i don't have much time - olive oil, small onion chopped, 1/4 cup finely shredded carrots, 1/4 cup finely chopped celery, saute over medium heat for about tenminutes or so. add canned crushed tomatoes, a couple of bay leaves and some crushed hot peppers to taste, cook for about an hour. i add the meatballs for the last 30minutes or so on a weekend, especially in fall or winter -a variation on the sauce that is slow cooked for hours and hours - meatballs added last half hour or so. I always add red wine to the slowcooked version and sometimes to the quicker version. I don't usually use tomato paste, unless for some reason the sauce is on the thin side. drain and toss spaghetti toppings - lots of freshly grated parmesan to drink: a chianti or a cabernet serve with green salad and italian bread thanks for the great topic, Soba!

When I make this dish, I use a variation of the version in 'Flavors of Tuscany' by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, which is similar to what others have advised. Warm a serving platter. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the steak, either a T-bone or porterhouse. Grill over hot coals until the steak is either rare or the rare side of medium rare, with a good brown crust on both sides. Meanwhile, arrange one bunch of arugula on the warm serving platter. Place the grilled steak on the arugula and drizzle with best quality extra virgin olive oil. Let it rest, then slice and serve with lemon wedges on the side. For a side dish, I usually serve potatoes roasted with olive oil, fresh rosemary and salt. And, of course, plenty of big fat red wine,as mentioned earlier. Enjoy! By the way, I thought you might be interested in a portion of Ms. Jenkins' introduction to this dish: Bistecca ai ferri (grilled beef steak) "It's sometimes called bistecca all fiorentina but it isn't really Florentine. In fact, the people of Cortona claim it as their own, and with considerable justification. Each year in early August, Cortona holds a sagra della bistecca, or steak fair, when thousands of these steaks are cooked on grills set up in the main park to feed the hungry multitudes. The modern sagra is but a pale reflection of the annual agricultural fair that used to be held in Cortona. The old fairs were great institutions, where animals of all kinds, along with other agricultural products and machinery, were bought and sold... Nowadays the only thing left is the sagra della bistecca but it's a glorious celebration in itself and splendid time for meat-lovers to get together and feast." . Actually, I believe there was a piece in the NYTimes food section this week about a restaurant - I think it was in Brooklyn - that holds their version of a 'sagra' once a month. I don't know how to link to articles yet, but it was in yesterday's food section, on an inside page, below the fold. (offtopic, I realize, but Jenkins' intro reminded me...)

Dear Chef John Wabeck, Since summer does not technically end until September 21, could you please keep your sublime cold pea soup on the menu at least until then? pretty please?