txaggie

Caprial Pence, Portland, OR...I love her cookbooks.

cjsadler and i are still in. The menu sounds wonderful!!!

cjsadler and i will be there.

My mom's visiting next weekend and I'm taking her to Palena for the bar menu. The food is delicious and there are probably dishes on the menu that your teenage brother would like (roast chicken, hamburger, hot dog).

She's staying at the Holiday Inn Select-University Center in Oakland.

I have a friend who is going to Pittsburgh this weekend with her boyfriend and his daughter (8 years old). She's looking for a couple of good places to grab breakfast/brunch and dinner. Her boyfriend and his daughter are willing to try new things but they generally like traditional foods. I saw the thread 'Pittsburgh Food? Am I the only one here?' and suggested she take a look at that. The places that I've tried in Pittsburgh are DeLuca's, Square Cafe, and Church Brew Works. Do you have any other suggestions?

My favorite brunch place in DC is Colorado Kitchen. It's reasonably priced. Not sure if they serve eggs benedict since that's not a favorite of mine. The doughnuts are delicious though.

A friend of mine recently had a dinner party for 20 people. She made pork in the slow cooker. Then as sides made chalupas, beans, rice, and a couple of homemade salsas. She described her recipe for the pork and it sounded delicious and easy -- She out a few ladels of tomatillo sauce in a slow cooker. Rubbed fajita seasoning on the pork (Boston butt). Put that in the slow cooker with another ladel of tomatillo sauce on the pork. Cook that overnight. Put the cooked pork in the fridge so it cooks and the fat congeals a bit. Remove whatever fat you can from the pork and pull it apart with forks or whatever. Then she reduced the sauce that was in the slow cooker (tomatillo and pork juices) and poured that on the cooked pork.

Two good places in Nashville are Monell's (family style Southern food) and F. Scott's (contemporary American cuisine). F. Scott's has a great deal for those that are willing to eat later at night ('Dine after Nine'). After 9pm, everything on their menu is half off.

My favorite restaurants on that side of Bethesda are Haandi (Indian) and Grapeseed. Haandi is located on 4904 Fairmont Avenue. They have the best tandoori chicken. Grapeseed is located on 4865 Cordell Ave. Grapeseed has an excellent wine selection and has wine tastings every other Tuesday night from 5-7pm. The schedule is on their website. Haandi -- www.haandi.com Grapeseed -- www.grapeseedbistro.com