hillvalley

Two questions: 1. Is there one thing you will not eat? We discussed ours here. 2. In this thread we are discussing weird things we ate when we were little. What delicacies did you enjoy? Thanks

If you wait until after June 18th I will join you.

Pain? I always look at it as a free day off that just happens to coincide with my birthday. Sure, some stuff's closed, but the whole not-having-to-go-to-work thing is a big plus. I love the fact that my b-day is Valentine's Day so much it's part of my handle. But trying to celebrate that night is a bitch. This year I found the perfect activity: a former student's Bar Mitzvah. Two good friends (fellow teachers) were there, we ate and drank for free on a parent who really owed us and we were not surrounded by couples dripping with romance I'll take any excuse to go to Palena and a b-day is one of the best of all. Specially because mine is 8 1/2 months away

I'm in. Just won't eat the rest of the month

As a member of the birthday on a holiday club, I feel your pain. My vote is for the Palena idea 'cause then you can get a manicure with your massage and still eat really well.

Check out fifi's post on May 20th. (Almost at the bottom of the page.) Brilliant. Belongs in the hall of fame.

Just spit wonton soup all over my keyboard. Still laughing. Out loud.

How sad. I spent many an evening enjoying bad wine and good pizza. I konw a number of people who would break the fast on Yom Kippur there.

Finally made it to the cafe last night. My dining companions thought I was nuts for forcing them to order the fried potatoes, roast chicken and cheeseburger. Then they took a bite of each. Pure perfection, including the lemons. One friend spent the rest of the night berating me for not bringing her here sooner. "All those wasted calories" she cried, "when we could have eaten roast chicken!" We also ordered the fried seafood plate. It was the only disapointment. The batter was oversalted, masking the flaovr of the fish. The blood orange margaritas and side cars were good, but not great. Too much alcohol masked the blood orange. Derek, by the way, is my new favorite host and person. If only they were open for lunch

If you are willing to go for a short drive on the Beltway, Tower Oaks Lodge might fit you needs. It is in the Clyde's family and the menu is pretty similar to the Freindship Heights location. I don't know if they will have friend shrimp, but Lousiana Cafe on Bethesda Ave. does a good brunch as well. It's across the street from the fancy car dealership and next to their Bentley showroom.

Linganore Wine has a music festival once a month. This weekend it's blues. Sure, the wines would never make the long list at Citronelle, but for $10 bucks you can drink all the blueberry or dandelion wine your heart desires while listening to some good music.

This is one of my current favorites. I LMAO each time I read it.

Yep, although I may be a little late.

Well, the secret is out. eG is really trying to take over the Post food section Thanks for all of your kind words and support.

Marlene, I wish you were here so I could buy YOU a lot of drinks. Goodness knows I am the calm person I am (hahaha) because of your womanly ways. I am making the executive decision that I will be at Matchbox tomorrow night at 6. 6:39 if traffic is bad or my parent meeting runs too long. Hopefully this fits into your schedule and/or liking. The more the merrier. My goal for the evening is to convince them to put cheese on the minis. And take mnebergall. *Note: Location may be changed if Al decides it is too smoky. If that is the case, someone else please pick a smoke free, metro accessible place? Feel free to email me but I can't gaurantee a reply. Please don't PM since I can't check it at work Otherwise I will see you in the evening.

This is a really good point. When my grandfather had chemo he would crave certain foods, but the smell of it cooking made his stomach sick. My grandmother cooked a lot of meals at her neighbors kitchen down the hall.

The more the merrier. We aren't that scary, once you get to know us I'm done with work at 4 so I can be there at 5 Babka will be a little late (I assume that is still correct?) so where ever we end up we will be there for a while. Does Zatinya do a good HH? or Zola?

I spent a summer helping a friend go through chemo and like you was on kitchen duty. When she couldn't eat we did a lot of chicken broth and added whatever carb or veggie she could handle. The cravings were fun at times, milkshakes, sushi, steak (she was a vegetarian.) This is not food related but still worth sharing. We had her friend each donate a gift (we let them decide how big or small). Then, when she got home from chemo she had a present to open. Sometimes it was a poem, or a new needlepoint project or a box of crayons and a new coloring book. Yes, she was in her mid-30's. This gave people a chance to feel like they were helping without her having to deal with people. And she had something to look forward to during her treatments. The latest EGCI course, Cooking with Disabilities, goes up tomorrow. There are sections about eating through nausea, when you have no appetite or are on medication. It might be helpful. Feel free to vent when you need to. Taking care of a loved one going through chemo is hard on everyone.

Matchbox works for me, if that's good with everyone else. I could drink their flavored vodkas anytime. Unless we go to Montgomery County I don't know where any nonsmoking bars are.

Never been so I have no idea. It was thrown out at me as a suggestion. I have no idea what is downtown or where to go. Help!

I am taking Thursday off and am going to celebrate at happy hour Wednesday. Right now I am leaning towards Courduroy, but can be convinced to imbibe elsewhere. Who's joining me?

Tomorrow is pizza day at my school. (The high school sells pizza.) Of my 9 students, 6 will buy pizza and one will bring a pizza lunchable. Pizza lunchable Kids eat what their parents allow them to eat. My student who has gourmet lunches that make me drool everyday eats just as happily as the kids who get lunchable crap. Last week on our field trip I shared my brie and baguette with a kid who then finished up his Lunchable nachos. He was perfectly happy eating either one. Lunches prepared by most schools are just as bad as bagged lunches. But lunches cost money and that means taxes. Until people complain nothing will be done. And as was said earlier, at least they get lunch. Here in DC the schools open during snow just so kids can get fed.

I had a delicious meal at Ardeo last week. The tasting menu with wine pairings was $54. It started with an amuse of cold english pea soup with caviar. Could have eaten a whole bowl full. The app. was a soft shell crab ontop of tomato bread salad. The crab was expertly fried and it's juices seeped into the bread. Main course was lamb and whipped potatoes. We licked the plate clean. Dessert was an expresso chocolate mouse thing, which was good but I have had better there.

You can still find them, usually at silver vendors at craft market. I bought mine at the Eastern Market in DC. I get tons of compliments on it.

Just got back from a wonderful 36 hours in Princeton. Squashblossom and I had a great time walking around and checking out all of your suggestions. We ended up having lunch out both days and found two great places on our own. I had hoped to hit Sakura Express but it was closed. Instead we ended up at Theresa's Cafe, which is part of the Mediterrazza group. Great meal. We started with the antipasto which was fine, but rather lacking in the meat and cheese department. There were three types of meat, but only one slice per meat. There was one triangle of cheese. Do not have a clue as to what kind. As our main we shared a pizza. They are only 4 slices and I could have eaten the whole one myself (which is saying a lot). We had a prosciutto, smoked mozzarella and arugala pizza. Excellent artisan pizza. The dough was flavorful and perfectly baked. The toppings were generous enough that you did not feel cheated. The cheese was creamy and pulled into a string when you took a bite. For lunch today we went to Zorba's brothers. Good, basic Mediterranean food. I have a cheeseburger which was fine. Squash and my sister both had gyros that they were pleased with and my other friend had a wasabi chicken sandwich which as delicious. I want to put in a plug for the Herban Garden, a small farmer's market next to Witherspoon's Bakery (good bread, by the way). It opens on June 5th. I think there is only one farmer, but her crop is gorgeous. I can personally vouch for the asparagus, oregano, thyme, pea shoots and strawberries (I had the first one of the season!) They will also have fresh eggs. I'll post pics later. When you stop by tell her hillvalley sent you. Couple of comments on your suggestions: *Love Small World coffee. If I lived in Princeton I would be a regular. There is a wide variety of drinks that do not have coffee. The mango lassi looked amazing, but at $5 a pop, it was not in the budget. Something to look forward to. *We found a pretty good Asian market next to Whole Earth. Good selection from the usual countries. *There is now bubble tea in Princeton. The Fish & CHips place has become a Taiwan carryout. Word of warning, they only take cash. Speaking of tea, the natural vitamin shop near Sakura has a good loose tea selection. There were a variet of flavored green teas that I had never heard of. *Was told that PJ's is not worth the wait in line. We had planned to try it but the line was long and a friend said it isn't that good unless you get pancakes. Thanks for all the help.