Malawry

Thanks, Todd, for clarifying your methodology in reviewing restaurants. I for one am glad that both you and Tom are forthcoming about what goes into a review in terms of research and follow-up--it makes reviews that much more useful. Miami Danny--did you have any reaction to the Sietsema review of Cafe Spice? It seems you expected others to have one--what was yours? For myself, I read the review, said to myself "huh, one-star," and then congratulated myself on living near the excellent Tiffin/Udupi Palace/Woodlands restaurants in Langley Park. Not much of a reaction in other words--but I don't live very close to the Rio Center.

I made a super-simplified version of crab bisque for my girls yesterday... Soften mirepoix in butter with Kosher salt. Add canned tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper, basmati rice, and plenty of fish stock (clam juice works too if you don't have fish stock laying about). Bring to a boil and simmer until the rice is completely cooked through and soft, about 25 minutes. Add picked backfin crabmeat. Puree in blender. Finish with picked jumbo lump crab and some heavy cream. Some of them insist on putting a sprinkle of Old Bay on top.

We're coming down to Florida in June to visit family and friends in Tampa, Boca Raton and Miami. We were thinking of stopping off at a schmancy resort for 2-3 nights--the sort of place where there are spa services, a fitness center, perhaps interesting marina and beach type activities. Of course, dining is always a high priority with any luxe getaway--but so many resorts have crappy food. We'd prefer a place close to or in between our destinations, but we're willing to go an hour or two out of our way for the right experience. Any suggestions? What about the Boca Resort and Club? I remember my parents raving about it once, but that was 15 years ago...

Pizza Dough An excellent basic recipe. Good olive oil = good dough. 2 tsp yeast 1.5 c warm water 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt 4 c flour Cornmeal Combine water and yeast. Whisk in oil and salt. Gradually add flour. Push together and knead by hand until smooth. Put in oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise overnight in refrigerator. Scatter cornmeal on peel. Pull dough into a round of desired thickness. Top as desired and bake at 500 degrees in a stone oven. Keywords: Intermediate, Bread, Italian ( RG1228 )

Pizza Dough An excellent basic recipe. Good olive oil = good dough. 2 tsp yeast 1.5 c warm water 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt 4 c flour Cornmeal Combine water and yeast. Whisk in oil and salt. Gradually add flour. Push together and knead by hand until smooth. Put in oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise overnight in refrigerator. Scatter cornmeal on peel. Pull dough into a round of desired thickness. Top as desired and bake at 500 degrees in a stone oven. Keywords: Intermediate, Bread, Italian ( RG1228 )

The yogurt was sweetened, or it tasted sweet somehow? I'm confused. I like yogurt almost exclusively as a savory condiment--like a raita or a tzatziki--so a sweetened "plain" yogurt would be aggravating for me. Also, I'm curious: what exactly did you order from them?

Dean. I am fanning myself over here. So beautiful! Such clean, open spaces! So practical! So exciting! Congratulations!

This is the dough recipe I use: Click here I made this at work a few weeks ago. Topped with pesto, red peppers, black olives and sundried tomatoes for a pissaladiere-type effect. (I didn't think the girls would go for anchovies, so I didn't bother adding them.) The dough is chewy-crisp if baked on a stone, a little less successful baked on half-sheet pans.

I had dinner there with a friend a week or two ago. I enjoyed the steak tartare, which I discussed on the Beef tartare thread. My friend ordered this sort of assorted vegetable appetizer plate, which was very colorful and artfully arranged perfectly-cooked chilled spring vegetables (haricots verts, asparagus, radish, etc). It was more interesting than a salad would have been, and it came with a nice sharp rosemary aioli dabbed on the plate. We shared a fantastic entree of monkfish with tarragon beurre blanc, and an acceptable rockfish Breton-style stew.

Monica, I was just about to come here and say how double-triple-sorry I was to miss the Sunday party! The food and the hands look lovely. Did lots of women get their feet done like I did last year? Let me add my voice to those who are really looking forward to this blog. I've often wondered what you cook the 364 days of the year you're not hosting a henna party. Re: fruit leather--many natural foods stores carry fruit leathers without preservatives. So if your son is insistent, you may want to poke around next time you're at Whole Foods or near a food coop. Mangoes--how are US mangoes and Indian mangoes different? I find that most US mangoes sweeten up nicely if left at room temperature until they're soft but not so soft as to be rotting.

I love pecan-crusted anything. I made some pecan-crusted chicken wings which I served with remoulade sauce for my last birthday party. Catfish of course is the Ye Olde Southern pecan-crusted-dish. Don't discount plain buttered nuts though. They're incredible--so much better than you'd think they could be. Just melt some butter and toss in the nuts in a skillet over medium heat until the nuts are coated and aromatic. Ooh.

If you're in a car and have a little more time, it's not too far from downtown Silver Spring to the Parkway Deli or Red Dog Cafe on Grubb Rd. The 1 and 11 buses go from Silver Spring metro down East-West Hwy to Bethesda metro, so you could conceivably hop one of them and pull the cord when you get to Grubb Road. Turn left onto Grubb (that's South) and the two places are in the shopping center a block down on your left. Parkway serves Jewish standards like lox or whitefish salad and acceptable egg dishes, while Red Dog has a jumping juice bar to start your morning.

The 2005 RAMMY award nominations are in. Read the press release here: Clickie Our own Steve Klc has been nominated for Pastry Chef of the Year. John W's Firefly garnered a nomination for Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year and Informal Dining Restaurant for the Year. Mark Sommelier can be proud of Citronelle's nomination for Wine and Beverage Program of the Year. Not to mention the guys from Ray's the Steaks and Restaurant Eve--Cathal Armstrong's nomination as Rising Culinary Star is duly deserved. There's lots of other things to talk about here--does anybody have personal experiences with the restaurant employees nominated here? I personally think it's great to see Ris Lacoste recognized for her wonderful work at 1789. Komi received a few nods this year. I am curious as to the choices for pastry chef this year--I had mostly unimpressive desserts during recent meals at Red Sage and Kinkead's, but I am delighted to see Didier Derouet recognized for his work at Marcel's.

What sorts of finger sandwiches did they serve, Monica?

Sunday night, I seared a veal chop with local scallions and mushrooms in a marsala cream sauce, which I ate with a steamed artichoke with homemade sauce tartare.

bump I had lunch at the Yellow Brick Bank in Shepherdstown, WV yesterday with my spouse. I ordered a simple salad and the goat cheese souffle, which was less poufy than I like but still quite respectable. My sweetie ordered a corn-bacon-jalapeno chowder that was delicious despite its lack of potatoes (in a chowder?), and a fried oyster-andouille po' boy that he clearly enjoyed (enough so that he only let me scam a scrap of the spicy sausage). We almost split a gargantuan cupcake from the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop bakery, but decided against it in the interest of health. They had some mighty good-looking sweets there, including all manner of donuts, bar cookies and cake slices. There is also a small farmer's market in Shepherdstown on Saturdays. There were only three vendors this week (a baker, somebody with salad mix, and somebody with seedlings) but apparently it swells to 10 or so vendors in peak season, including two dairies. The market is close to the main entrance to Shepherd University on German Street. I expect to be reporting frequently from Jefferson County, WV in the coming years.

I just had an excellent version at Bistro Bis on Thursday night. I am a big believer in steak tartare as a starter, not as an entree--it's rich and full of strong flavors and I think a huge portion of it is somewhat gross. It's an app on the BB menu, and it comes with yummy house-made potato chips and crocks of cornichons and French-style mustard for crunching and dabbing.

Back when Chef Jaime ran the ship there, I loved her daily specials. I remember a delectable braised pork shank that was particularly appealing. And I liked the market sides concept--those were always fresh, creative and delicious.

Melrose is a little more of a schlep from Georgetown, but they're rightly proud of their breakfast service.

Marcel's has a delectable osso bucco type dish. There's even a tiny spoon for scooping out the marrow from the bone.

These were starchy baking-type potatoes, which I'd used to thicken and enrich the soup. This was a long long time ago but I've never forgotten it.

I've frozen creamy spinach soup with potato and it was all weird when I defrosted it. Mealy and fluffy and gross. Heating and stirring it a lot didn't help much. I haven't tried to freeze anything potato-y since. Tater tots, like other frozen potato products, are flash-frozen. This makes a big difference to the ice crystal formation--they form so fast, their jagged edges don't break as many cell walls. The result is less mealy mushy grossness when the frozen potato is defrosted and cooked.

My personal opinion is that travel enriches rather than detracting from a reviewer. Phyllis Richman, who previously had Sietsema's position as lead WP reviewer, did not get out of town as often, and I felt it showed in her columns. I'd be irritated if Baltimore restaurants got WP coverage once a month, but two or three times a year is perfectly OK with me. It's nice to know about places like Charleston and Black Olive when I'm up that way--from a reviewer I read regularly, whose tastes I understand. Sometimes I have wished Sietsema would cover more restaurants in typical Washington-area destinations like Rehoboth/Lewes/Ocean City or the nearer ski resorts. The reviewer I grew up reading, John Batchelor of the Greensboro (NC) News and Record, did dining guide columns of beach restaurants in late spring and mountain restaurants in early fall. These guides were snapshot reviews of four or five restaurants--but enough to give an overall sense of where to go when you're on holiday. Clearly, I'm on the side of geographic diversity here.

How about Nora Pouillon (Nora, Asia Nora)? Or on a more casual level, Janis McLean (Red Dog Cafe)? Alison Swope of Andale? There was Tracy O'Grady at Kinkead's for a long time--she can run circles around plenty of male chefs. Women are running kitchens in this town, even if there aren't nearly as many as there are men.

I admit, I rather like the Firefly Farms Allegheny Chevre. If you're looking for a fresh goat cheese to use in a cheesecake or as a dessert component, I think this is a good candidate. It's excellent with honey and baguette. A little chalky, very fresh and sweet tasting. Not a "challenging" cheese--nothing stinky or aged about it--but quite good for what it is. I almost always order a log from Gourmeco when I'm placing a work order from them. They also sell it at the TPSS natural foods coop in Takoma Park sometimes.