JPW

Zaytinya in DC. Has wall mounted spouts that are a good foot and a half above the basins. Stand to the side when you turn the water on or you are guaranteed to look like you did not quite make it to the restroom in time. Hate the design of the place, but it is still one of my favorite restaurants.

My burn was caused by pulling a big restaurant tray with 6 loaves of bread out of the convection oven. One hand with a towel on the edge, just slide it out of the oven so your other hand with a towel is under the center. Turn to island and slide off. Easy until someone distracts you. Result = searing pain as edge of tray hits forearm. Problem is OPEN kitchen. With great patience, slowly put tray down correctly. Stroll into closed part of kitchen. SPRINT into walk-in, close door, grab coldest thing on hand, apply to wound, commence screaming at top of lungs. The 1 inch long equal sign (=) scar finally faded out of sight about 2 years ago (a good 10 years after the incident).

All righty then, Todd. Good to have you here. We promise to be gentle. Long time listener, first time caller. 1) What's your take on the DC restaurant scene's recent addiction towards pizza ovens? You can't swing a dead cicada without hitting a "nouveau" pizza joint a la Sette Osteria, Red Dog, etc. 2) Where do you tend to find your leads/ inspirations for your subject matter? I'll take my answer off the air.

He uses a new one each time! But seriously, I've gone through 3 probes over the same 2 years, so I feel your pain. You can get the replacement probes for $10, cheaper than a new unit. I broke one through getting it wet, but think I fried the nother by haveing it in a too hot oven. THey suggest an upper limit of 200 C/392 F.

Mario, Thanks to you I discovered the joys of saltimbocca. Thanks to you I am now addicted to it and inflict it on my wife as often as possible while still staying married. When watching Iron Chef, I jumped off the couch and started screaming when you started in on a lobster version. The question then is - what's the ultimate saltimbocca? If you wanted to send somebody over the moon (and perhaps get them in the mood), even if you have to start at noon and kill all of your own food, something that'll make 'em swoon and get the right attitude. Thanks Joe

Hmm.... Sounds familiar. Who needs to pay a therapist when you get eGullet FREE!

Inquiring minds want to know.... Are you saving the marshmallows for the end? Or not eating them at all (god forbid!)? I thought that everyone knew that you are supposed to eat all of the sugared oats first and then eat the marshmallows by color (you can choose your own order)!

I'm glad others noted the glaring inconsistencies in their wine mark-ups. My personal favorite was the Fonseca Bin 27 port - about $18 retail listed for $65. On the good side, the 1999 Cakebread Cab at $115. The 2000 is retailing for $60 (CalvertWoodley) and $80 (Total Wine)

Yes. Have not been since they got it, but they have beer/wine. Pretty sure they don't have liquor.

Off to Lynchburg to see the in-laws, do some work on the house, play some golf, maybe go to the best small town restaurant I've ever found (the name is "Grace"), and eat the best fried chicken in the world. THe fried chicken is courtesy of an 80-something Baptist preacher who is all of 5 feet tall, but who cooks all day before she sermonizes and who will still pretty easily knock you out if necessary. Have fun and be safe everyone.

The other day I was in my local run-down Safeway picking up a few odds and ends (ice cream and cones for Mrs JPW, Gummi Bears for me, the only store tortillas I really like and TP) as I'm paying, a guy gets in line behind me putting a couple dozen hamburger buns and what had to be at least 5 pounds of Scotch Bonnet peppers on the belt! He added a bottled water from the small cooler at the head of the checkout. It took me about 45 seconds of stareing to realize that he works at the local Jamaican hole-in-the-wall.

"Fine dining" in Pittsburgh is pretty limited. Try Baum Vivant (5102 Baum Boulevard) on the border of Shadyside and Bloomfield. Haven't been in ages, but it's about as close to real fine dining in the 'burgh as you can get.

I stand appropriately corrected

Reporting on my culinary experiences at the Freihofer's Jazz Festival at SPAC. Meant to do this earlier, but we returned from upstate Monday just in time for our Infant CPR class and then I had to drive DC to Richmond for a meeting on Tuesday. Mrs. JPW and I kicked off our weekend Thursday night with a dinner at Chez Sophie (Malta on Rte. 9 just south of I - 87. www.chezsophie.com). It was a fabulous success. Thanks to all who recommended it. The restaurant is now on its second generation of French-American owner/operators. Very much French country food. Mrs JPW started with a mix of sauteed mushrooms in a vinaigrette with some perfectly steamed asparagus on the side. I began with a goat cheese sprinkled with rosemary baked in puff pastry accompanied by a very elegant blueberry sauce. The pastry was perfectly complimented by a nice dry rose. (Domain Houhait, Cotes de Provence from what I can make out of the waitor's writing) The next course was a nice palate cleaning light salad with a perfectly done tarragon vinaigrette. Mrs JPW followed with the duck breast with a green peppercorn and apricot sauce. The duck was perfectly done. To my palate, the sauce was little too sweet, but Mrs JPW liked it just fine. It was rusticallty plated with haricot verts and rice pilaf. I had the beouf bordelaise variant with Cotes de Rhone used in the sauce instead of Bordeaux. The beef had the perfect consistency - falling apart, but not mushy. (For the life of me, I cannot remember the correct descriptor in the menu name) Plated with the single best mashed potatoes I have ever had and haricot verts. It was washed down by a Coteaux de Languedoc. For dessert, Mrs JPW raved about the home-made vanilla ice cream. I had cheese - A nameless stinky goat cheese and a Raclette. I washed it down with coffee and a nice 1994 Churchill LBV port. The restaurant is incongruously set in a 1950's diner. The wait staff was earnest if a little green (to be expected in a resort community). Chef Paul and his wife Cheryl were incredibly gracious hosts and dedicated to providing the most positive dining experience possible. You will be hard pressed to find a better (or more reasonably priced) wine list in a restaurant at this level. For that matter, you will be hard pressed to find a better meal in a restaurant at this level. The next night we hooked up with the irrepressible Phaelon, his amazing GF, and three others for Southern comfort food at Hattie's, a local legend. Hattie is no longer there, but it's still good grub. The jumbalaya was a little disappointing (only 3 shrimp in the whole dish and so-so andouille), but the fried chicken was fantastic! The corn bread was also quite good. The place is pretty much what you would expect - packed and loud with iffy service especially out on the patio with the bar crowd. But the chicken made it well worth the price of admission. The rest of the weekend was spent on the lawn of SPAC listening to great music and drinking beer. Mrs. JPW and I are pretty busy this year, so we did not prepare too much of great interest. Phaelon, however, shared a great aged chedder with me. Well, now I'm back to reality.

make that a another thumbs up for Cafe Ole. Especially if you can sit on the patio out back. Not quite as inventive as Zatinya (no surprise there), but good dependable mezze. I'd say that it is much better than any of the Lebanese Tavernas.

Damn Mrs. JPW's old Apple. Not able to handle the web site! You bet your sweet patootie that I'll be camping out like it was the first of many reunion tours for The Who in 1982!!! Malawry, we'll either be fighting for or joining each other at the first available table!

Drove by on Sunday after my TP farmer's market outing. The store is still in business, but is closed on Sundays. THe building has a big for sale sign on it, so I don't know how much longer it will be open.

The thai place was really the only place I ever saw worth a repeat visit on 23rd. However, the Greek place on the alley just north is decent. I knew I had been forgetting the other good food thing about Del Ray! Those were very good and only 2 blocks from our townhouse.

There is WC left in PA. Last time I saw, there was still 1 open on North Craig Street (right by center ave)in North Oakland in Pittsburgh, which is still part of PA.

Hey Carolyn, Got any recs for us?

Nice to have a fellow physics addict around, HOOLIGAN. 2 additional points to further the analogy. 1) Quantum mechanics, like the food of Ferran and Jose and those inspired by them, is full of "weird" particles and particles acting "weirdly". This is at the least what particle physicists have labeled them so that they make sense to outsiders (aka other physicists). 2) In physics, as in top-level cheffing, there are often theoretical paths taken that turn out to be poor choices. My dad spent years in the late 60s and early 70s working on "Atomic Theory" which completely fell apart under experimental scrutiny. Just my 2 cents.

too lazy to write a new post, look here for my opinion

That's not just the case in NYC. Nor is it limited to Asian restaurants, my experience is that it the case in many "ethnic" restaurants. Several of the best "ethnic" restaurants in DC have wine lists that are not at all comparable to the quality of the food. One of my favorite cuisines is Thai. I find a good Riesling or Gewurtztraminer that is in the mid-range for sugar goes ideally with fiery Thai food. However, most of the good Thai restaurants I patronize have at least premiere cru food and fast food level wine. But there's also the matter of price level. The above situation doesn't really bother me too much when I'm paying $10 for an entree. At $15-$20, it starts to get a little bothersome. Just my 2 cents....

There are lots of diners around Binghamton. They are all owned by one of two Greek families. GOod diner grub dirt cheap. Closest to downtown is the Park Diner just on the other side of the Susquehanna River from downtown. (this is the one wannabechef couldn't remember the name of) In grad school, this was our favorite 2 AM drunken munchies stop. This is where all the cops hang out. The front desk at your hotel should be able to direct you. The Lost Dog is the restaurant whose name I couldn't remember. As already noted , slightly more upscale breakfast, but with the advantage of being right downtown.

I'll make a scouting trip this weekend.