vengroff

I agree. However, I expect a place that is tops for dinner to be able to put together a good lunch. Power lunch. There seemed to be a decent crowd of regulars willing to spend. For example, there was a group of mid to upper level diplomats from the Mexican embassy on the next block. Lunch entrees started around $13 for light salady choices and went up to around $20. The halibut was $18. My guess would be that at dinner they are probably in the mid to upper 20's. I'm just not sure I want to put up with the need to book so far in advance for prime times. There are plenty of other places in this town (Cashions, Poste, Zola,...) that I would like to try first. I would say that the fish was definitely in the interesting and well executed camp, but not particularly creative. You could get more or less the same dish, though almost certainly not as perfectly executed, at an upper level chain like Legal or McCormick and Shmicks. No, not in this day and age. I doubt anything will change, since the place gets rave reviews and is filled every night. From my limited experience, it's just a place that really knows how cook a piece of fish. I think their target audience is people who like pretty standard American seafood dishes, and are willing to pay a little extra to have them done as expertly as they can be done. I'd never compare it to Le Bernardin or Oceana; they are seafood places, but they are looking to do something quite different and more creative than Kinkead's is. Ah, now I know what it is. It's the all-seafood version of City Hall. I don't mean that in a bad way, because I like City Hall a lot for what it does. I suppose at this point someone with a better background in recent American culinary history may claim that Bob Kinkead invented all this stuff, and Henry Meer and some corporate schlocks from Boston and Portland just ripped it off.

If we refuse, under any circumstances, we may well be impoverished. That's the point that Shaw has been making, and I tried to reiterate. In some cultures the idea of eating an egg, or rotten moldy milk (aka cheese) is disgusting. If a food writer refused to eat them, we wouldn't take their writing seriously. For all I know, every time we saute some diced onions in oil we should be tossing in a handful of grubs too. It chould be that there is a compelling flavor there that we are missing out on. Or, it could be the culinary equivalent of a pukey green color with orange spots. Actually, now that I think about it, fiddleheads have probably already claimed that role.

These are like the paintings that have no blue paint, but belong in the museum anyway.

Sometimes I cook vegetarian dishes for vegetarian or kosher guests. The way I always think about it is that cooking without meat is like painting without using the color blue. It doesn't mean you can't make a good painting, but it limits your subject matter a lot. If you go through the Met, you will run across some interesting paintings that happen to not use any blue. In some cases the subject matter may not have required any blue. In others, the artist may have meant to say something specific via the lack of blue. In still others, blue pigment may have been particularly unobtainable or unaffordable at the time and place the painting was made, forcing the artist to come up with a creative way of getting his message across without it. In all of these cases, the curators decided that the paintings in question were still interesting and worthy of display. If, however, the curators had decided to refuse to show any paintings with blue in them, the museum would be a curiousity, rather than the home of one of the world's great collections. My point is that you can cook valid and interesting meals without meat, or without pork, or shellfish, or whatever else you might wish to exclude from your diet, but you can't argue that you are not missing out on the full range of culinary experience.

Kinkead's comes up from time to time in this forum. Some people love it, others find it decidedly overrated. I've now been, and I can see both arguments. Indeed, if I were predisposed to do so, I think I could easily write either a very favorable or relatively unfavorable review. I would have ample ammunition for either. Kinkead's wasn't actually in my original plans, but Kaz Sushi Bistro's doors were already locked at 2:10pm. What to do? A quick dash around the corner to dine at the bar at Kinkead's, obviously. The lunch menu has a lot of classic American fish dishes--things like chowders, crab cakes, lobster rolls, fish and chips, and oysters on the half shell. Is the food bold, forward-thinking, surprising, challenging or avant-garde? No, not at all. Is it well executed and genuinely tasty? Yes, with some minor exceptions on the execution end. My lunch consisted of a selection of oysters on the half shell followed by seared halibut with dijon sauce, fingerling potatoes, and spinach. The oysters were fresh, smooth, briney, and well-shucked. They came with a classic mignonette, lemon, and cocktail sauce. The mignonette stood out, not so much for it's flavor as for its presentation. The shallots were chopped into all sorts of irregularly sized triangular shapes. No careful brunoise dice here. It was either done mechanically or by someone who failed knife skills 101. I know it's a small nit to pick, but this is the kind of lack of attention to detail that one should not find at this level of dining. It's only a matter of time until this lack of focus spreads to other aspects of the cuisine, where it can do more damage. The halibut that followed was exceptional in every way. There was a hint of golden brown on the surface, and the center was tender, moist, and just flaking. It was exactly how this fish was meant to be cooked. The same could be said of the potatoes. The combination of spinach and mustard, one of my favorites, and admittedly a big part of why I ordered this dish, was fully up to my expectations. Nothing about the plate was complicated or fussy, everything was simply cooked to the exact standards required to get the most out of the ingredients. This is clearly the kind of cooking that Bob Kinkead made his name on. The meal ended with an espresso, which was disappointingly luke warm. It had good strength, texture, and crema; it just wasn't hot. I suspect it was brewed properly but served in a cup that was previously cool. So how can I summarize a meal like this? It didn't try to push any limits; instead it just took a simple plan and tried to execute it as flawlessly as possible. Had I only sampled the main dish, I would have said it had absolutely succeeded. However, there was sufficient lack of attention to detail elsewhere to live up to the billing of one of the absolute top tables in the area. I wouldn't say the flaws ruined the meal by any means. However, they were certainly not things that I would tolerate as a chef de cuisine or general manager of an establishment trying to compete at the highest level.

Recipes from this thread are now in the eGullet Recipe Archive. Using the new Ingredient Wizard feature, it took just a few minutes per recipe to put them in. Here's a link to the Cornbread Recipes in the eGRA. To try it out, and enter your own recipes from other threads, simply click the Add A Recipe link from any eGRA page, and then click the "Ingredient Wizard..." button to bring up a window where you can paste your ingredients. The window has directions explaining the units it recognizes, and how it determines what lines are headers.

Yukon Gold + ricer + holding over simmering water has worked well for me in the past.

I thought yassa was usually made with chicken and lemon.

What part of Africa was the food you had from? Surely there is significant diversity across the continent. I have had some decent Senegalese food in New York, but I was in the company of Senegalese who knew what and how to order.

I'll second the gnocchi. I think it's easier to make than most homemade pasta. What about a wild boar roast for a secondi?

Note, I was just asking if that is the place. I have never been there and have no idea what they carry. I just found that address with google.

Saycheese, Where IS the Springfield Butcher? PLEASE share. Is this the place? Springfield Butcher 6816 Bland Street Springfield, VA 22150 Phone: (703) 451-3033

I'm with =Mark on this one. Pass them right on by, and go for asparagus instead.

Venison Stew with Gnocchi Serves 4 as Main Dish. I think of this dish as an Italian take on meat and potatoes. It is loosely based on a gnocchi dish that Mario Batali serves at Babbo, which appears in his Babbo Cookbook. However, I'm sure St. Mario would advocate a lower ratio of ragu to gnocchi. For the stew 2 T olive oil 130 g panchetta, in 1/4 100 g carrot, diced 75 g minced shallot 100 g diced onion 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 500 g venison stew meat, cut into 1" cubes 500 ml dry red wine 28 oz canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes 3 bay leaves 1 T chopped fresh rosemary salt and pepper For the gnocchi 500 g Russet potato 120 g all purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1 large egg additional flour for dusting water and salt for boiling Begin the stew first, and then prepare the gnocchi while it simmers. The whole process will take two to two-and-a-half hours, but most of it is unattended. Start the stew in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add olive oil, and then fry the panchetta in it until it is crisp and brown and has given up its fat and flavor. Remove the panchetta, but leave the oil behind. Pat the meat dry and coat generously with ground black pepper and a little salt. Add to the pan and cook until all sides are well seared and brown. Remove the meat. Add a bit more olive oil to the pan if necessary, then add the carrots. Saute until they just begin to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Add the onions and shallots, saute until they just begin to color. Stir in 1/4 of the tomatoes, and turn the heat to high. Cook until the moisture has left the tomatoes and the whole thick mass of vegetables begins to carmelize. Stir to carmelize all over, not just on the bottom. Add the wine, and reduce by about 1/4 to remove the alchohol. Add the venison, panchetta, remaining tomatoes, bay leaves and rosemary and return to a simmer. Reduce the heat and leave the pot to simmer uncovered. Over the course of the next two hours, the flavors will meld, the meat will soften, and the sauce will reduce and thicken. After an hour, you may wish to skim any excess fat from the surface. While the stew simmers, prepare the gnocchi. Preheat the oven (or a toaster oven, if you have a decent one and don't want to overheat the kitchen) to 425 F. Poke a few holes in the potato to release moisture, and bake it for 45-50 minutes until the skin is crisp and the center is tender. I prefer baking rather than boiling the potato, because boiling retains too much moisture and can make the gnocchi soggy and dense instead of light and fluffy. Cut the potato into chunks and remove the skin. The skin should easily seperate from the potato. Put the potato through a potato ricer (ideal) or mash with a fork. Spread the potato out in a thin layer so that it will not get soggy, and allow to cool to room temperature. Mix the flour and salt with the cooled potato, and make a well in the center. Add the egg to the well and work it into the flour and potato to form a dough that holds together in a ball but is not sticky. Divide the dough into quarters, and put on a floured work surface. With floured hands, roll each piece of dough into a long rope about 3/4" in diameter. With a sharp knife, cut the rope into bite-sized portions. I like to pinch the rope between my fingers as I cut, so that each gnoccho has a dimple to hold sauce on each side. If you prefer ridged gnocchi, you can roll them on the tines of a fork or a gnocchi roller. If the ragu is not ready yet, lay the floured gnocchi in a single layer on a baking sheet and refrigerate. When the ragu is thick and the meat is tender, add salt and pepper to taste. To cook the gnocchi, bring 8 quarts of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add salt to taste (a couple of tablespoons) and then add the gnocchi. When the gnocchi rise to the surface, they are ready. Remove the floating gnocchi with a spider and add to the stew pot. Once all the gnocchi are ready and have been transferred, gently fold them into the stew. Turn the mixture out into a serving bowl, and bring it to the table to the delight of your guests. Serve with a bold Italian red. Keywords: Game, Potatoes, Pasta, Intermediate, Main Dish, Italian ( RG224 )

Ever since he did the food festival series, I can't watch this guy. He never even attended the festivals, he just did voice overs after the fact. For this, I think of him as more of an anti-Bourdain than Emeril could ever be.

Is there a retail outlet in the DC area that carries a good selection of game? I've seen a bit of venison and quail here and there, but that's about it. Any recommendations? Wild boar, in particular, is a favorite of mine.

Note that Chef Mazzi's departure was just announced within the past couple of weeks. So, it's not clear what you will get if you go there.

He most certainly has. He has mentioned them more than once in his reviews and chats. It seems he views them as exceptions to the rule.

So what about Dylan Prime's various toppings? The only one I've tried is the wild mushroom. OK, but not really needed when the steak is good. From the Dylan Prime Web Site:

In today's Weekly Dish, Tom's only mention of a move is This doesn't seem as big as what he intimated was going to happen last week. Is it?

Last call for baseball tickets. PM me by 5pm eastern time today if you want them.

Here is a recipe for Crispy Buttermilk Waffles.

Yesterday we spent some time getting the yard ready for spring. In one corner, we found a sage plant and a rosemary plant, both of which seem to have survived winter just fine. In fact, both are now large woody balls between two and three feet in diameter. If I trim them back, will they develop new tender branches and leaves more appropriate for kitchen use?

Personally, I find it hard to imagine a situation in which I would be safe from harm locked up in my house for a week, but would have no access to any source of food or water outside my home, or transportation to a location where such a source would be available. That being said, I'm sure I have more than enough to eat and drink for a week in the house.

I have now been to the Georgetown location. We stopped in before catching a movie. Unlike the original location, there was no line out the door, even on a prime weekend evening. Also unlike the original location, the pizza was a mess. Just about everything was lost in the translation, and I'm certainly not eager to go back. One of our pizzas came out with a huge burnt bubble occupying about 1/3 of it's surface. The others all had much thicker and wider outer crusts than I had ever had at the original. Toppings were applied haphazardly and very unevenly, leaving spots of plain dough showing through in some places and big cold piles of toppings in other places on the same pie. Service was also quite slow and inatentive. If I didn't know better, I would never imagine that there was any common ownership or management of the two locations.