reesek

*bump* I'm wondering if these still hold? Has any new place jumped onto the scene? We'll only be in Victoria for one night - October 30th, and I'd love to find someplace romantic. I'm currently leaning toward Cafe Brio - but the menu at Pescatore's looks good too - is that a new place, or just not one you're all crazy about? Anyplace (or thread) I might be missing? I'd love to have dim sum on Sunday - is that foolish? Chinese in Seattle is nothing special. Where should we go? We're staying by the harbour at Laurel Point Inn, and won't have a car, but are willing to hop a bus or grab a cab - I think if the weather's nice, I'd like to go to the Gardens, so I know we'll need to get out there...is there someplace we could hit on our way there? thanks a million in advance!

lmf - the crab is wicked good. the scallion pancake (and leek pancake) are ok - not the best i've had, but certainly good. the crab is insane though. i agree with all the other posts wrt suggestions - check out bahn mi threads too - there's a fried egg place across the street from the union station complex...heart cloggingly good.

yes! monkey2000 the manhattan. a damn satisfying sandwich. what happened to the jennifer? i suppose next you'll tell me that hermans and the american cafe are gone! isn't it still 1993 in DC?

that's a drag. WS has a serious lack of bars. guppy's was at least genuine, if a little joyless. the renovation needed to turn that space into something ovio will want seems pretty daunting. what was it before - a pizza hut? i just hope doubling the size doesn't hurt the quality of montoya's food.

i used to love a sandwich at booeymonger in high school - when i could get away with such things...it involved roast beef, cheddar, spinach & bacon and a curried? mayo. obscenely good. the delight at parkway. grilled pumpernickel with munster, russian dressing and pastrami. or coleslaw. and coleslaw? who knows...messy, salty and divine. growing up my quest was for the best sub sandwich - i guess, italian sandwich. sutton place used to have a decent one ages ago, vace's was never as good as i thought it could be. my dad reminds me that the liquor store on wisconsin avenue (a block north of the cactus cantina/safeway/former fait accompli/former flat top grill) had an italian i liked. as long as they were spicy, i always loved italians. now i love bahn mi. haven't had them in DC. in seattle i love them with fried tofu or <need paddles> fried eggs. lots of sriracha, thick jalepenos and sweet-crisp daikon and carrot. last sandwich ever...grilled corned beef and swiss on marble rye with long grilled onions. side of russian dressing. or a lobster roll. or a perfect italian sub with tons of pepper relish.

raynickben - you're recs are wonderful. i drooled over the green room's site and i just happened to see that monica's has queso. i did, however, discover that plans have changed slightly...it's great to hear that it will be a big weekend. if you (or any of you texans) are up for a late night - please come to club indigo (my bf's band is playing at around 12.) i'll be the chick selling the shirts. so we're having dinner at someone's house near to the club on saturday (i hold out hope that during sound check, monica and i can get to know each other over some queso) but friday is still open. thanks richard for the link to the ft. worth/dallas request...it's led me to a naive and possibly idiotic question about bbq - is the selection generally limited to beef, pork and chicken - or are there fish options too? again a million thanks - (come to the show! ) reese

thanks richard, sorry if i was vague...and it's not that dire! i think places with broad selection would be great - so the "bbq beef hut" and "the fishery" are out, but any place that offers a fish, a chicken and something else are fine...the only general wish i have is to try a place that a texan would be proud to go to...someplace typical (in the best way). our friend lives in ft. worth. saturday night (the night of the show) we'll be in dallas (deep ellum?) at club indigo. I have no idea if we'll be eating there, but if it's a cool area, maybe we'll hang out there for a bit before the show. Is there a bar in that area you could suggest? Friday we're likely to be in Ft. Worth. Our friend has a car, but unfortunately i have no idea where in Ft. Worth he lives. There will be several of us for dinner on Friday, and it's me and a bunch of boys, so a reservation seems destined to fail. Is there a casual walk-in kind of place in Ft. Worth that you'd recommend? As far as price range - let's say mid-range...and i promise to come back for some haute cuisine another time. Thanks so much for helping - if you're ever in seattle - give a shout - the PNW board will be happy to lend a hand! best, reese

hi all, i'll be in dallas this weekend for a concert and i'd love some help on dallas and ft. worth specialties. there's always a catch, though - isn't there? we're staying with a friend in ft. worth who's a picky eater (no beef, no fish, no pork) i know. we eat fish and are juuust starting to flirt again with meat. the last time we were in town, our friend took us to a large tex-mex place in a strip mall which was pretty average. i'm interested to know what the dfw area is famous for...hopefully i can gently suggest to our friend that we try a recommended spot...maybe someplace that's safe but dabbles in the extraordinary? i absolutely swooned over Scott --- DFW's description of Lanny's Alta Cocina...perfect for me and BF, a bit "alta" for rick.

roasted squash ravioli with brown butter and sage is wonderful, but time consuming. if you did decide to undertake this - you can freeze uncooked raviolis - just lay them on a sheet pan dusted with semolina and freeze until frozen - then transfer to a freezer bag. a sweetish mash is good with pork - roast (or steam) peeled cubes until very tender. i roast, because i like a little caramelization. i stick a pear into the oven to roast about halfway through and run them both through a ricer. add some hot butter, regular or coconut milk and serve. i like this on the thin side - more of a puree than a mash. soups are wonderful - thick pureed curried squash, chunky minestrone with cubes of squash... i also like roasted squash over fetuccine with thyme or oregano and crumbled feta.

i guessed - there may be a better way to do it. i preheated the oven to 300, then changed my mind and turned it up to 375. i put the sausages on a piece of foil on a cookie sheet and roasted them until i could smell them and the tops looked brown, then i turned them over and roasted for another 10 minutes. the bottoms were already slightly browned as they rendered some fat...no spitting though - no water/juice escaped...very cool. i'm avoiding the "how long" question...i think probably 20-30 minutes - i don't like them pink, though i'm sure they're fine that way. they were still juicy though, and not at all dry. the thing i liked best about roasting them vs. cooking them in a pan is that was really easy to tell when they were done without puncturing them.

my nails. go yankees!

i've always considered thanksgiving to be the true test of the US as a melting pot. growing up, we always had 'strays' and the one price of entry was that every guest brought something. for years family a couple of family friends who had more than a passing interest in hard alcohol would attend - they would often make peanut soup (with whisky), rum balls (in more than name only...we never knew how they even stayed together), jalepeno cornbread (with gin?)...in one way or another, each guest would contribute something important to them - regionally or historically. a southern friend might bring bourbon pecan pie (hmm, a different person...but i'm understanding more about my habits...) my brother-in-law's entry to the family introduced us to green bean casserole. i loathe it. (except for the onions, of course) but it's essential to him, so we have it. before we were old enough to protest my mother made oyster stuffing (very regionally popular in DC/MD). when i moved out west, i started hosting my own thanksgiving celebrations. i often make salmon, use dried cherries and nuts more than i would back east and my guests bring different dishes than i'm used to which changes the table...corn pudding instead of sweet potatoes, no relish tray and desserts seem to be generally more fruit focused (pear tart, apple pie) than usual.

ms. ramsey, i had the same kind of experience at nells...we thought it had a geratric country club vibe. except that since it was empty...it was sad and a little creepy. i would go back - i just don't think i will. julia's - ate there once. there's much better breakfast in seattle.

i took the leftover collards and beans, added some diced potato, some green onions and some sliced shiitakes and added the rest of the carton of broth i'd cooked the greens in the night before and made a soup. i served it with crusty bread and spicy italian sausage i roasted in the oven. i have to give a shout out to jinmyo for the tip - that it is the best way to cook sausages by far. crisp, juicy, evenly browned all over.

braising...great idea, and i'm sure it would work brilliantly. i think you'll want at the very least to well wash the corning spices off (assuming you're buying it the way my mom did - in a bag with pickling/corning seasonings applied) and possibly blanch it to get some more of the salt out...my mom made ribs the same way she made corned beef (boiled then baked) - they were always tougher than slow braised or long roasted. would you roast/bake it at the end, to get the slightly crisp bits on the edge and top?

i love saffron and tomato together, and think saffron lends (or extends) a seafood flavor...very luxuriantly. i like to roast fish (halibut, rockfish) on a bed of thick saffrony tomato sauce made from sauteed leeks, fennel, onion & garlic, saffron and tomatoes (chopped - fresh in summer, canned in winter). sometimes i add capers and kalamatas. i usually bloom the saffron in some water or gently warmed tomato juice for that dish, and then add it to the sauce off heat as i prepare the fish. it's very good served in shallow bowls with bread for mopping. saffron cream with peas...drool. good one.

i think i know the ones...it's the same story i get from metropolitan markup - but they're not the fermenty kind that almost foam in your mouth all kimchee like. very respectable for garlicky dills, but i'm envisioning what i used to call whole sours...back in my deli-banging days. i'll check it out - thanks lmf.

kristin, i can't wait to see what you've got in store for us this time...i just spent some time with your last blog...the korean pancake is still making my mouth water. i highly recommend that those who haven't read kristin's blog from last year take a look...it's amazingly satisfying.

thanks for the report! vital question - were there pickles? pickles of unusual size? pickles of extraordinary circumfrence?

goods - any fresh herb releasing it's oils...especially tarragon and basil. ok, and parsely and cilantro. things that are baked...especially yeast breads and anything involving cinnamon. very fresh fish. mangos and habaneros give off the (same) luscious fragrance when sliced, truffle, anything cooked on a bbq grill makes me want to sink my teeth straight in, coffee. fresh cream. bads - the smell of jamonerias in spain. (where full legs of jamon serrano are stored and sold.) there's something about the way the skin dries...but the smell is musty, meaty and decayed all at once. i have to hold my breath walking by outside. once sliced, fortunately, the potency of that stank is reduced. old fryer oil is so gross. fritos. the smell of fritos makes me gag. ditto orange flavoring. chopped liver + vodka gimlet + benson & hedge menthol...my mother's "party breath."

slow cooked collards and white beans with guajillo and smoked alliums. gave it just the right depth and roundness of flavor without it tasting hammy. i will add more broth to leftovers for dinner soup tonight. also - homemade quick radish and red carrot pickle and chile-spice crusted marlin. i had no idea until i did a search, wondering if it was best served rare or flaked that there is quite a bit of debate over the fishing practices of marlin. for the record, it tasted almost exactly like swordfish, not any tougher... but the thought that my beloved grocery doesn't support sustainable fishing kind of killed the taste for me.

ah - i'd forgotten about that review...but i do love me some macaroni salad. no idea why, but there's something about the slippery macaroni, relish and mayo that turns me into a 6 year old. so i might try it and half an italian sub. LMF - i'd love to have lunch - next week is tough though - so please plan without me and if i can, i'll swoop in at the last minute.

<bump> on the rue de rossiers there are a bunch of falafel places. across the street from "the world's best falafel" is a delightful deli with gorgeous thick potato pancakes - my horrible french (hopefully slightly made up for by my earnest efforts, and engaging smile) notwithstanding, i acquired us a warmed potato cake as we perused the falafelerias. i had been looking for L'As, but had no address. we ended up eating at "world's best" one day to go - and sat precariously on fences as we licked tahini and eggplant from our wrists. the next day we ate inside. i had a plate - all the same stuff, but i think i prefer the experience of the sandwich better. like eating an ice-cream cone vs. from a cup. may not be the "world's best" but it's the best i've ever had by far. falafel is not gourmet imo, but the highest form of any cuisine is surely a treasure.

the italian sub looked authentic from the description...but they're philly guys - right coast - wrong cheese...and they offer some disturbing combinations. "sir, please keep the mayonnaise off my corned beef." bbqer - let me know how it is...i might leap off the wagon at your rec.

is this new central market part of the chain that's big in texas?