Malawry

Thanks for a most excellent rundown, Jeff. Some great dining ideas in that post! I agree with you on Samantha's--I've had most of their menu at this point and am hardly ever disappointed.

Fan-freaking-tastic, Dave. Will you be making the crab fingers again at Varmint's, by any chance?

An update on who and what will be there: Simdelish - some kind of chocolate kit kat bar type thing, and MOJITOS Chef Shogun - undecided Rosebud +1 - a special zucchini dish Hjshorter - a salad and some wine Squids (possibly) Mdt (possibly) Al Dente (+1?) - pickled shrimp JPW +1 - undecided PM me if you're interested in coming. There's still room for more!

Ooh, I'm delighted at the prospect of enjoying Mr. Cole's wonderful pork again. I hope he makes it--I never met a finer gentleman, and he raises a real mean pig.

I think a tie means Busboy and I get to keep needling one another ad nauseum.

OK, so here's who's in so far and what they're bringing: Simdelish - some kind of chocolate kit kat bar type thing, and perhaps mojitos (start sucking up now, people) Chef Shogun - undecided Rosebud +1 - a special zucchini dish Hjshorter - a salad and some wine Squids (possibly) PM me if you're interested in coming. There's still room for more!

Thanks, Pastramionrye. I'll get you that $20 later.

Them's fightin' words. I demand satisfaction. Oh, wait...

But...in that recipe you linked to, the chicken is wrapped in plastic overnight. And it simply roasts at 425 degrees, without saying anything about a preheated vessel. Is the book recipe dramatically different? (Four pages?? Wow.) Maybe I should see if I can get this book out of the library in advance.

I feel like either we both truss, or else neither of us trusses. I want the birds to be as equal as possible in quality and character, except of course mine will be better. I was considering the Bell & Evans chicken from Whole Paycheck as a strong contender for the bird to be roasted. Normally, though, I roast whole Costco Tyson chickens at home. They're cheap and they're smallish--I think a small chicken tastes better roasted than a big bird. I don't know about the Zuni technique, not owning any Zuni Cafe books. Can somebody summarize? There's still room for more, so get those RSVPs in. There haven't been many eGullet events this inexpensive in a long time, and it's a good chance to show off your summer cooking chops with a side dish. There will be photos and stories afterwards in this thread, naturally.

Here's where the embarrassing confessions come in: I usually don't truss the bird, nor do I spatchcock it. I've done both, but I am normally too impatient to go through with it--I just prep it and then rest it on a V-shaped rack. How horrible. I'll have to clean up my act in time for this event.

I, on the other hand, do not normally make a pan gravy with roasted chicken. Sometimes I pour the pan drippings over the carved bird, but usually I don't even bother with that--I just strip off the skin and dive into the flesh like the savage omnivore I've become. Uh. I hope that wasn't too much information. So what sorts of flavorings do you think are essential? I normally make an herb butter with whatever herbs are around and rub it over the inside and under the skin of the bird and then stuff the cavity with a couple lemon slices and some more fresh herbs. I add any remaining herb butter and some wine to the pan and roast the bird on a rack. I baste the bird with the combined wine/butter/drippings periodically. This is basically the Mark Bittman How to Cook Everything technique.

Hollywood East and Hollywood East on the Boulevard are owned by the same people. The Boulevard is a much more pleasant dining room, though. As far as I know, the original Hollywood East is still a decent place to dine, but I understand the new Boulevard location has a longer menu plus the dim sum on weekends.

We haven't negotiated the particulars, but I am pretty sure we are talking about roasted chicken here. Actually, I'd encourage you to post your thoughts on preparation methods in this thread, since this is more fun if the peanut gallery gets involved (ahem). The idea here is for all things to be identical--ingredients from the same place, methods the same, same amounts of everything except for salt. Just my chicken will be brined and Busboy's (or Stephanie's) won't. They could even be prepared by the same person, if Stephanie really wanted to do it all herself--but then I'm afraid ya'll might call fowl. Also, just 'cause I went to culinary school don't mean I'm highly skilled. Ask any chef who's hired somebody fresh outta school . I was a vegetarian for close to a decade until I decided to go to school, so I've only been roasting chicken for a couple of years now. The Busboys are likely to have an edge on technique because of this.

What's better--brined chicken or unbrined chicken? Busboy and I are in two different camps on the issue, so we're going to cook chicken both ways and see for ourselves. Come along for the ride and watch me whup his ass. We'll also talk about chicken seasoning methodology, enjoy some tasty birds, and share whatever other food ya'll cook up. Pullets at 20 Paces Date: Sunday, August 7, 2005, 3pm Cost: Only $5 (just to cover chicken expenses), cash only, to be paid at the door. Bring: a dish to share. Also, BYOB. Location: A private home in DC. Address provided to attendees. Cap: 14 people, not including me and Busboy, first-come first-served. RSVP: Via PM to me, Malawry This event has been organized through the eG Forums by members but is not sponsored by the Society or its eG Forums. The event is open to all participating eGullet Society members, contributors and their guests. By participating in this event, you confirm your understanding and acceptance of the eGullet Events Policy, to which all eGullet Society members have already agreed. You can use this thread to ask questions about or discuss the event.

Now that I've looked around at butcher blocks and spent a little time looking at the kitchen and furniture stores, I've decided I really can't compromise--I really do need a 36" tall table to serve as an additional workstation. 30" just won't cut it. There really don't seem to be many rectangular 36" tables out there for under $2000 though. Am I just dreaming here, with a crash back to reality to follow? Tomorrow, I plan to visit an unfinished furniture store in Martinsburg, WV. They carry a couple of 36" tall tables, including one made by http://www.whitewood.net/.

I've not been to Tuscana West during RW, but after dinner there a couple of weeks ago I'm not inclined to recommend it to others. I thought the Italian food was fairly lackluster and uninspired. It's sort of a "safe" restaurant for picky eaters, but I can't think of why else I'd send somebody there. Avoid the tiramisu if you try it anyway.

Hey LBNoble--did you ever get to the Antique Tables showroom/store? Are the tables as nice in person as they look online? I am contemplating driving all the way out there to check out the Irish table, which looks ultra-sturdy. The tables really are beautiful in a classic way. I just went by IKEA to look at a bunch of different things, including their tables. The Ekhard table was surprisingly sturdy and reasonably attractive--unlike many IKEA tables, this one is solid wood and the top is a single piece. It didn't budge when I shook the floor model, which impressed me. At $449 it's their most expensive table, but that's still cheaper than the tables anywhere else I looked for the size I want. They don't offer a taller height. They do offer custom tables--pick out the tabletop you want and then the legs you want with it--for very reasonable prices. And some of the legs are taller for a counter-type table. But none of the tops I saw in the store thrilled me. I really want something solid and I want something quite large--the largest tabletop was significantly smaller than the Ekhard I'd liked. I also swung by the IKEA marketplace section specifically to check out butcher blocks. They used to carry a beautiful solid block, but no longer apparently--the two I saw didn't really impress. The Spar butcher block comes close to fitting the bill, but I don't like that there are ridges along the short edges--seems hard to keep clean. It's o-kay at $20 but not exactly to my liking, plus it's much paler than the table will be which seems aesthetically undesirable. Exklusivt chopping blocks are smaller, and they really are unattractive--there's a black band around the block and a black undertone to the wood that I found totally unappealing. And it's still $20. I am feeling less confident about getting a lower table and then a bunch of butcher blocks and/or an extra tabletop to raise the table for workspace as a result.

The quest begins. I went up to Rockville, MD to see what I could see at some of the major furniture chains up there. Bassett Furniture was my first stop, having been tipped off by a LiveJournal friend that their lines were highly customizable and relatively cheap. They carry a few tables that come in a 36" counter height, and they sell "counter height" chairs to fit them. They are a good value, but the tables I saw were a little more wobbly than I would like. I want a table that can take a fair amount of abuse without shifting every time somebody cuts their steak. I liked the chairs, which are between standard chair height and barstool height. (Bars are usually around 40", counters 36", and tables 30".) It's possible for me to sit in one with both feet on the ground, and I'm 5'6". So I might go back to get chairs there, depending. Then I stopped into Ethan Allen, conveniently located in the same shopping center as Bassett. They sell beautiful tables, most of them too formal for my needs, and they only sell 30" tables. Danker Furniture completed today's tour. They have a couple of tables in 36" height, and they are very sturdy, but they are very expensive and I wasn't 100% thrilled with the styling--the tables in question were very contemporary in style, while the cabinets and the living room furniture are not. Hmmmmm. Jackal10, your table is wonderful. It's a little more rustic than I think would work in my house, but it's great for your kitchen.

These responses are great, guys. Keep them coming. Steve, I am blown away at the beauty of those tables--and thrilled with the specs you have shared with me. I may invesitgate custom-built tables, since I had the feeling I wouldn't find what I was looking for independently. Fat Guy and Dave, you've given me food for thought. There is a restaurant I frequent here in DC where the barstools are comfortable for an entire evening of dining, but these stools are the exception. I do have a formal dining room table with nice comfortable chairs that I inherited from my grandmother, and I thought it might be nice for people to sit at a higher table to interact with me more on eye-level if I am working in the kitchen. Now I am thinking I should go sit on some barstools and think about this more seriously. Yes, I will post my "kitchen table story" for you all to enjoy. It's a quest that I hope to complete in the next month.

We had dinner at the new Hollywood East Cafe on the Boulevard recently. It has a much nicer decor than the old Hollywood East--lots of Asian antiques. Tables were really close-together because about 40% of the restaurant was set aside for a private party that night--but I think it's usually a little more spaced out. The shredded duck curl was delicious if a little short on the duck--lots of cabbage, carrots, onions and sprouts with roasted, shredded duck, with lettuce leaves alongside for wrapping. We liked the kung pao chicken, which wasn't overly greasy or sweet like some versions are. Black pepper and garlic razor clams were individually deep-fried in a wispy batter and then topped with a heavy shower of crisp fried garlic bits--tasty, but it needed some kind of sauce or something since most of the garlic fell off as we picked up the clams. We had Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce alongside, always a favorite and prepared well. I think the total tab was about $45ish for three people (nobody had anything to drink). I'd go back, either to dine in or to carry out, especially as long as I'm staying in downtown Silver Spring during the week.

I'm not sure Cafe Atlantico has participated before, actually.

I saw Hostess "Willy Wonka" cupcakes at a 7-11 store yesterday. They looked like the average Hostess chocolate cupcake, but they were frosted with purple frosting and decorated with a curlicue of orange frosting on top. They looked kinda gross, but I appreciated the psychedelic color scheme.

This summer's list of Restaurant Week restaurants can be seen here. For those who haven't been to a DC Restaurant Week before, lunches at the restaurants on that list are $20.05, and dinners are $30.05--both meals are three courses. There are some places I don't remember seeing before on the list: B. Smith's, Cafe 15 (which is Quite A Steal), Cafe Mozu (at the Mandarin Oriental), Fahrenheit, Fourth Estate at the National Press Club. There are also a number of NoVa selections this time around, including the Grill at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City and JR's Stockyards, and The Rockfish in Annapolis. What do you all make out of this expansion? Where are you going this time around? So many of us take Restaurant Week as an opportunity to take a chance on places normally beyond the dining budget--others hit restaurants not on the list that week to avoid the crush. What's your approach?

I just bought a house today. It has a nice kitchen, but it needs more--it's not large enough for me to do the culinary teaching I hope to do from home in the near future. There's a large "nook" type area for a kitchen table at one end of the kitchen, which then flows into a carpeted living room area. I'd like to get a table that's higher than a standard kitchen table, which can double as an additional island/work table--and then surround it with chairs of barstool height (barstools with backs, basically). The table I have in mind is extremely sturdy, with a thick wooden top that's easy to keep clean. It shouldn't be glossy since people will actually be working on it and I don't want to have to worry about the finish. A weathered look would be fine. I'd prefer legs that are centered enough to make it easy to sit at the table without banging your knees. There will be children, my own (in the future) and others crowding about this table for cooking classes, so I'd prefer the edges be a little softened rather than sharp and dangerous for little heads. There's enough room for a table that seats 8 in this space, and I'd like to find attractive barstools with backs to match. I want to be able to have an informal dinner party at this table, so I can entertain without leaving the kitchen. (We have a formal dining room with a formal dining room table I inherited from my grandparents, so this table will not be the only table we have for entertaining--but I imagine it will be where we actually spend most of our dining time.) The kitchen itself is fairly formal, with dark wood cabinets, antiqued copper pulls, and coppery-golden countertops--the fixtures are also antiqued copper-type look. The floors are hardwood and a basic walnutty type color. Unfortunately, both the digital camera and the computer with photo-editing software are packed away, or I'd just take pictures to show ya'll. We're willing to spend a fair amount of money for this table, and I'd consider getting it custom-made if it's not available on the market. Advice? Ideas? Even if you just have suggestions for who to avoid, I'd be glad to hear it. I'm also interested in what you personally have for a kitchen table, and how it works for your house.