reesek

what about tat's deli?

a friend gave me some fresh picked chanterelles. i sauteed them with garlic, shallots & butter, deglazed with sherry and added some confited onions, some tarragon and a bit of cream and tossed it over fresh linguine. grated parm on top. it was good, but very...subtle. it needed something else. maybe lemon zest...or fresh peas.

it's not a classic eggs benedict, but the crab cake benedict at kingfish is incredible.

has anyone been to the other coast cafe?

a panel of judges that doesn't include OC cast members won't hurt.

so...where do you get your pastrami on? i think the only thing that keeps me from diving right off the no-meat platform is the lack (or perceived lack) of real east coast deli.

Markk, bless you for reminding me about Rascal House. My dad's parents retired in Miami and we always went to Rascal House for breakfast and fought over the cheese danish. Great memories. Knishes. I ache to make divine meat knishes for my dad. (He's anti the potato ones - and they're all I can find online.) If anyone has a recipe - or a book they can recommend...you'd be making a 75 year old darling very happy.

tango is a great room. i went there with a group and they did a spur of the moment meal for us that was excellent. i think 20 would be a bit tight - 15 is about perfect.

i love the bar at palace kitchen.

sliced, halved or whole? any idea how long they'll keep? thanks!

i've been gifted with some hand picked chanterelles and matsutakes. i'm terrible with quanity - but maybe 6 smallish matsutake (3 inches long and 1 1/2 wide) and about 1/2 pound of massive chanterelles. the chanterelles are filthy - should i clean them (as i do all mushrooms) with a damp paper towel, or can i sneak them into a quick bath? i've only had matsutake once - any ideas? how long will they keep? i'd love to use one or both tonight - was thinking of sauteeing the chanterelles in butter/oil with shallot and tossing them in pasta with carmelized onions, toasted pine nuts and thyme. bread crumbs on top. i think i recall matsutake being earthier/wet spongier which i think would be better in a simple asian-style soup - any ideas? other ideas to bring out the mushroomy best? i'd love to make ravioli but don't have a pasta machine and find the pre-rolled too thick and semolina-y. does using wonton skins work well?

not sure what your budget is...capitol club is the obvious answer - so i hope it works out for you...they're a little slow to reply via email - but nice when they do. 1200 bistro might rent you the back (restaurant) part - they have a bar and a restaurant that are nicely separated - the room is probably too big - might seat 40, but your order is a tall one...so i'm not sure where you stand on compromises. the food is good, and i think would be even better with the structure and focus a prix fixe would allow. i just have no idea if they'd do it.

the ferry disembarkment (sp?) took much longer than i had anticipated - they didn't get off until about 9:40. i was exhausted and led them to elliot bay where honest pub food was consumed and enjoyed by all. i've only been to nell's once and i wasn't impressed - what makes it your standard thelastsupper? maybe we were there on an off night, but i didn't like the room or our service. and it was very empty on a saturday night.

agua verde would have been lovely...alas. we're either going to go to the sitting room or meskel. adanzig - i tried to convince my boyfriend that we should go to Laibela again, but he wanted to go back to meskel. i think we'll do meskel one more time and then i'll be able to convince him to re-try Laibela. he's definitely not as moved by the scientific thrill as i am. palace kitchen is one of my favorite places, but the menu is a little limited for vegetarians. also - i'm most certainly a freak about wanting them to have tons of choices...i guess at the end of the day, i'd rather give them great, varied food than a great atmosphere with more food they can't eat than food they can. note to tighe - capitol club is an awesome idea, but i'm hosting a party there later this week already... thanks so much to all for ideas...i'd love to take note of good open-monday spots!! rk

gay dance club + the new decor (isn't there something striking there...tequila layout??) might be enough to make it worth a second chance. how often can you eat an enchilada mole while taking in the dulcet tones of cher? laurel - what do you like to eat at galerias? lmf - carmelita is closed on mondays...along with most of the other upper end spots in town.

they're 'actual' vegetarians. they eat cheese, but no fish. has anyone been to the new galerias? i went to the "old" galerias years ago, and thought it was gross. i've since been told it's wildly authentic and i must have ordered poorly. the menu looks to be very veg friendly - and best of all - it's open until midnight. i'm a little nervous about places with kitchens only open until 10...what if it's slow and they close up a bit early? i'm off to search on galerias, but please feel free to post here too. many thanks to tighe and lmf for input.

just not on monday. flora would be perfect. i'm bummed it's not going to work out. should i give Lola another go?

where would you take a strictly vegetarian couple who are in town for one night only - tonight, a monday - that's open after 9pm? (they're taking the clipper in - gets in around 8:30 and we likely won't be seated anywhere until nearly 9:30) that's the practical, please-help-me question (btw - they live in DC and i'd like to take them somewhere with some atmosphere...carmelita, monsoon, cafe lago and cafe flora are all closed). i can default to ethnic...but want to take them somewhere at least slightly cosmopolitan. where do you take guests when your standbys are closed? edit: forgot 2nd half of question

has anyone tried replacing some of the oil with applesauce? i have made very popular carrot cakes (usually the epicurious one referenced on the first page that has maple in the icing - though i make my own icing) replacing half or more of the oil with apple sauce. i think i'm going to have to try one with 1/2 apple sauce and half melted butter...i'll add some pineapple (drained) but no coconut. yes raisins, toasted pecans/on top but not in the cake. love carrot cake.

great topic! if i can find them i like gravensteins mixed with granny smiths - otherwise, i'll use GS and something tartish - usually braeburns. i'm not intending to hijack the thread, but i've been struggling with a problem that several of you allude to... i make a single crusted pie with a crumb topping - dutch apple? from my mother's recipe. her recipe calls for a frozen crust, and while i have, on occasion made my own crust, it never really matters - because the pie is always loaded with liquid...which sogs up the crust and just isn't too appeeling (hah - sorry). i don't pre-cook the apples, because i've always been afraid they'll turn to mush...i have taken to adding a bit of flour with the raw apples, but i'm not crazy about idea. i'd rather cook the apples than thicken them...but how long? and should i be pre-baking the crust? when i made my own crust, it became completely adhered to the pan...the apple/sugar mixture must have soaked into the crust and then glazed...what can i do to elevate my pie?

rachel, it's good to hear you're still cooking! you have so much cool stuff to work with. you could stuff the green peppers with a mix of rice, sauteed veggies and chorizo - top with something tomato-y and bake until tender... i agree on the chicken curry idea - do you have fish sauce? limes? both will give your curry (along with chilis and some sugar) the right "thai" feel. let's see..what else you could make coconut rice pudding with the leftover rice, coc. milk and eggs. i think rice pudding is gross though so i have no real recipe for you. you could make a delicious potato/paneer dish with some of the spicy peppers, other veg, curry leaves, garlic, leeks, shallots, toasted cumin, and corriander. i'd start by cubing and sauteeing the paneer until golden, then pulling it out until the end. that dish might be good with the stuffed peppers. i also am not a fan of green peppers, but i like them better roasted, peeled and marinated in rice vinegar, garlic, salt and thinly sliced onion (shallot is fine). i'd add a bit of olive oil too to cut the vinegar bite. they'll keep for at least a week and be "ready" as soon as 12 hours after you marinate. very good on thick bread with cheddar cheese and mayonnaise.

i love saito's. shiro's is good, but imo, not worth the hype unless you were going to have shiro himself make omakase for you. saito has an enormous menu and much less austere decor than shiro.

sleepy_dragon - this is a great list - thanks so much for taking the trouble!

jack - what an amazing job you've done. it really is daunting to see the accomplishments of this community - thank you so much for the photos, the bread tips and a chance to walk through your garden. if i wasn't so glad just to have seen this (even from online) i'd be so envious i'd spit. bloviatrix took the words right off my fingers when she said you'd better watch out next year...i'm already wondering how to plant the seeds with BF's aunt and uncle. i'm sure they want to see their darling nephew again!