JPW

Annie's Paramount in Dupont maybe. Or, go to Firefly and get "Michael's Rib Eye Diablo". I believe that it's still on the menu. It's been too long since I've been in.

I like to eat green beans with my fingers.

Fine dining experience is all well and good, but, most importantly, do they know anything about coffee?

Egads! I think that mi madre inflicted the exact same recipe on us. One of the best things that ever happened to me was when mom got her nursing degree and started working the occasional 3-11 shift. No doubt some of the early concotions I made for myself at the age of 11-12 were pretty nasty, but they were better than most of her cooking.

I live in the land of price oddities. It's called Montgomery County, MD. It's said, and I believe it but can't prove it, to be the only county in the US with its own liquor control board. Liquor is sold only in county stores. These stores also carry beer and wine. Other retail outlets can carry beer and wine, but the must buy from the county. All restaurants and bars must buy from the county. They have what seems like an almost random policy of putting things on sale. Occasionally quite steep sales. I'll have to start keeping track better, but I recall buying 1.75L of Maker's Mark for $30 (normal price $40). Go here for this week's sales. Stores will also drop prices on items they want to clear below these sales. I also do some shopping in both DC and Virginia so I'll have to do some more comparison shopping.

I think perhaps this is easier to do with TV characters, as they have more than two hours to put the product image in your mind. Take MASH for example - 1)The surgeons' still 2)Radar's Grape Nehi Or, Sex and the City and cosmopolitans.

Maybe Rocks IS Kliman !!

Perhaps the greatest drinking movies of all time are the Thin Man movies. Nick and Nora Charles drank mainly martinis, but they were not limited to it. As Nick instructs a bunch of bartenders in the first movie "THe THin Man": "The important thing is the rhythm! Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time."

To pile on with a real world experiment. Last week I made a chicken soup with lentils using homemade chicken stock. Mrs JPW, who tends not to be a big soup person declared it delicious. Last night, I again had leftover chicken meat to use up so I made the same dish. Unforutnately I was out of homemade stock so I had to use store bought. Mrs JPW said "Last week's was much better".

Thanks, Dave. I'll check it out. Joe

You're right. I like the looks of the first one much better. Thanks again.

Thanks GG! This looks great. At these prices we could afford to sign him up for a couple. Other ideas are still welcome.

All, My FIL's 70th birthday is just around the corner. He lives in midtown Atlanta (Ansley Park to be exact). AS he has taken a new interest in cooking since he retired, Mrs JPW and I thought a great present for him would be to pay for a day cooking class. We were thinking something focused on fish/seafood. Price isn't of great importance, but our budget is not unlimited. Any experience with classes in Atlanta? Any restaurants with good chef classes you could recommend? Any Atlanta research resources? Thanks. Joe

Where is Finksburg?

Beyond grazing (crudites, dips, salami, cheese), it would have to be grilled cheese and some canned soup.

I find this to be a theme in cheap Asian restos. Is it a conspiracy? The first Pho place I started goiing to here in Rockville played Abba every day. That one closed and I started going to another where they seem to have this thing for the BeeGees. You kind of have to shut out the cheesy music to enjoy your food. On the flip slide... The BEST music/cuisine cheap eats blend is at Roger Miller where they play African music videos on the giant screen TV on the back wall all night.

Wash Post food section had an oil tasting for 3 bigwig local chefs and they too ranked Goya very highly. I bought a bottle and am waiting until I finish off my open bottle of EVOO to try it.

Not to go too far off-topic, but... The last time that I went for a full meal was before the renovation and was a disappointment. The food, while good, didn't wow me in any way. The service was very slipshod. Our waitor was earnest, but not very good. A disappointment for the price. There are too many other places for me to spend my limited entertainment budget that have been more enjoyable, and too many places that I have not yet visited, for me to give the place a return engagement. Just my 2 cents.

Restaurant hyping publicists are nothing new. A friend of Mrs JPW does it in Atlanta. If rbh's experience in seeing it empty on a Thursday is not an isolated thing, a publicist may be a good investment for the owners if this is actually what is going on. In addition to placing blurbs, most publicists rely on some guerilla marketing. This one has probably started going through his/her rolodex of DC hipsters and placing the pitch.

At this age, it really only takes stuffing the baby as full of milk as possible and driving around the block a few times. Another part of it is just plain blind luck. Peanut's starting to get old enough that she actually stays awake for more than an hour at one time. Dinner out is getting to be more difficult, but she still tends to stay calm as long as it is not too loud.

If this was a buffalo burger, there is another potential source of the crumbliness. Buffalo is too lean to hold together very well when ground.

Don't know if the turntables will be heavy enough. You'll still need a brick

Al, Got two cast iron pans, a brick, and some aluminum foil?

Fortunate enough to have both a formal dining room and a breakfast table in the family room off of the kitchen. Weekend meals are almost always in the dining room, while during the week, we split about 50/50. There's also a seasonal component. We eat more at the table in the family room (lots of windows) in the summer and more in the dining room in the winter. Need to get around to getting a nice table set for the back deck soon.

At that price point you are drinking a different wine than what Parker tastes. This will not be a wine for long-term aging. Some of the 2002s that I've had have been a little thin (water-logged if you will), but this should be fine. Again, I would trust in M. Kacher's taste.