Malawry

So I have started my new job as chef for a sorority house. I took a full inventory yesterday. There's some things I regard as real crap left in dry storage. About a case each of foodservice cans of cream of celery and cream of chicken soup, some dessert mixes (I noticed chocolate mousse and strawberry jello). Some baked beans. I talked to the departing catering guy for a few minutes. He said these products predated his tenure, and that he never found a use for them. He also suggested that it might be handy to keep some such things around for the rare snowstorm or other culinary crisis. But still, this guy was there a year and a half, and I normally try to use canned goods within two years...who knows how old they were when he started. And there's way too much of it sitting around to be justifiable. I detest waste. I pride myself on not throwing out food. And I do want to keep a little bit of this stuff around, particularly baked beans which are the easiest thing in the world to heat and eat, but most of it I want to use up. My idea is to try to put one thing on the menu each week that uses one of these products, so by the end of the semester we won't have much of it hanging around taking up space and developing botulism. I think broccoli, rice and cheese casserole isn't bad so there's one idea to use one or two cans of the soup. Other suggestions? What would you do with the dessert mixes? I wonder if powdered chocolate mousse might be salvaged by layering in parfaits with real whipped cream and some decent kind of chocolate cake. Ideas? Should I just get over it and pitch this stuff?

Bryan, that's how dining is in Greensboro, High Point and Winston. The only time the economy can support higher dinner check averages is during the Furniture Market. Otherwise people carp about spending more than $30/person at dinner. There's a reason why there isn't any truly high-level dining in Greensboro especially. I am stunned that Market Street closed. They've been around forever! My parents bought out the restaurant once to throw a big party for my grandparents. I really loved Mosaic, and the owners were some of the friendliest restaurant owners I ever met. After one meal there I felt like they, and our server Brian, were not just the agents of a fun meal but also friends. I love Bert's and they certainly deserve as fine a space as the Mosaic spot but I wonder if they can support their move. Sunset Grille, the first Greensboro "fine dining" restaurant to not serve beef as an entree, started at the same intersection as Bert's on Spring Garden in the 70s, and eventually they moved to the Market Street location. They eventually failed there, and then after a while Mosaic moved in. And now it's Bert's in the same spot. Is that space good karma for a formerly tiny, crowded, neighborhoody, much-loved restaurant? It's set off the street and the parking lot is not very friendly. As for Noble's...they've tried several concepts in Greensboro, all of which eventually failed. Their Winston and High-Point restaurants seem to endure though. I think Greensboro diners just don't support what they were trying to do, even as they got more casual over the years. I'm emailing the link to this article to John Batchelor, restaurant reviewer for the Greensboro News and Record, and asking him for his comments.

At dinner, soup comes with every meal (a demitasse, but a decent-sized one).

It ain't in downtown Silver Spring, JPW, but you oughta go to Samantha's on University in Langley Park. I've never had a flop there, and I've eaten about 2/3 of the menu by now.

Tom's review.

Forget what I said about a new fine dining restaurant in Silver Spring. Looks like we have something more casual going into the shopping center where Parkway Deli is instead. Grand opening Feb 14. Having tasted Chef Janis's food before I am sure everything they turn out will be excellent, but I am bummed they didn't move into some space in the downtown area. Red Dog Cafe

Maybe Al and I should get together with Maggie and make a down-home meal or hoors doovers and pork butt with hush puppies. The hush puppies work better if Al is hovering, even if they do end up looking like "blobs" according to the Raleigh Observer.

Scones. Demanded whenever I appear for breakfast or brunch anywhere. My dad practically ate the whole batch when I made them for him. Chefette complimented me on them and you know that's high praise! I think the hush puppies are headed towards signature territory.

Yeah. Maybe we can get Klink to come smoke some meat for us from there to be the crowning feature.

Fio's: The CityPaper did an excellent cover story on why Fio's which was much-beloved was closing, which ran about a month before they shuttered. I bet you can get a copy of this article by calling the CityPaper and asking about their archives. It was a great story...addressing who did and didn't eat at Fio's, what the Woodmoor (that's the name of the building, right?) residents thought of the restaurant, and more. Babka, some high schoolers still visit Tastee Diner after midnight on weekends. I've seen them at IHOP and such too, late at night.

Jim Dixon's Bettini olive oil is really good. Fresh-tasting, an excellent dipping or finishing oil. I use the big bottles of Bertolli sold at Costco for more pedestrian EVOO uses.

I won't be able to make it this time, so sorry.

Jenny, if you ever get interested enough in fish that you decide you're ready to learn how to cook it, let me know. I'd be glad to give you a few lessons. Thanks for blogging, your posts are reminding me of my downtown days when I ate out a lot more often.

Cocktails at Palette followed by a Stoneyburger, anyone?

Congratulations on fixing up that kitchen. Lord knows it needs it! Varm, why will it be impossible to manage for longer than a month without a kitchen? What will you do in the interim? I imagine that with the little kitchenette in the master bedroom loft and your in-laws just down the road you could manage better than most families...even if there are four lil Varmints scampering about. My partner and I discuss renovations periodically. He has a very different sense than I do of what would both make the kitchen more attractive and increase the resale value. I also have ideas on increasing functionality. Because of these differing ideas I feel ill-equipped to go engage some professionals and get ballpark numbers on the projects we might complete. As a result we have a cheap stick-on tile floor that was poorly laid, dusty rose countertops, and dark stained 1984 wood cabinets. However the kitchen is actually in pretty good shape for working and has plenty of storage space, decent equipment, and workable space layout. Plus it's big. So maybe I shouldn't carp.

The last of my NY strip steak, with a good crust and some butter melted over. Salad. Ersatz hot chocolate.

I will be there to check it out the afternoon/evening of the 29th. Who's with me?

Crisp and Juicy chicken from the expanded Rockville location, extra sauces (spicy of course) Salad

Yes, go to Mantis, but only if you can nab a seat far far far from the door. Brrrr! Another option is 88, further down on 18th Street. I enjoyed their whimsical nachos when I ate there...a starter of those and a "half note" salad and some cocktails could make a very nice dinner.

Chef John is my hero.

John, how do you encrust a soup?

Sorry, Dean, I was too famished to take the time with the chicken. Maybe next time. I mixed ground turkey with an egg, some diced onion, some crushed garlic, worcestershire sauce, an herb blend I found rattling around the cabinet, and lots of S&P. Added a little EVOO to the mix too. Cooked in a pan with plenty of EVOO over medium-low heat until completely cooked through. Topped with cheese and sauteed mushrooms, peppers and onions. Success! A not-bad turkey burger. They'll be going on the menu again.

Turkey burgers topped with cheese, sauteed mushrooms, onions and pepper. No bun. Salad.

The 80's music seems to be the background of choice at lunchtime.

If anybody performs the Kudzu Switch (ala Folger Switch) on my cocktail or wine, I'm never speaking to them again.