herbacidal

brassiere perrier has quite a busy happy hour. i may just be overly anal, but i wouldn't want work-related guests muddling through if it might hurt my chances of closing the deal. also, i was there before chris scarduzio came and wasn't impressed. since he has now left, i expect the food quality to be back to how it was before.

that's interesting. semi-suprising. is there a DC Chinatown nonprofit organization? in Philly, we have a Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. that helps keep Chinatown strong. But the even greater reliance on cars in DC (I suspect) than Philly hurts Chinatown also.

would "how" be some description of how they cook said meat? would "what" include other available meats and side dishes? As far as a DDC event, which is better: Option A: Open patch of land, Lucy's truck and Smoke'n Dudes BBQ rig both on site Option B, convoy from Lucy's truck to Smoke'n Dudes House or vice versa ???? Obviously, the second is easier to do, but can we think of an open patch of land that would be available? I personally love Option A, if we can find someone with a few dozen acres available.

how about durian? coal? wet blanket? crushed dingleberries/gingko nuts?

How about we do a mini revenge of Rib Run, between Sweet Lucy's and the place off State Road Marinade mentions in another thread?

i would probably lean towards Cantonese v. Shanghaiese.

i liked down home when i was there years ago, but that was then. disappointed BinG wasn't up to par. Never been to Sabrina's, but everything I've ever had at BinG has been good. And I love the magazines. It's where I get my monthly fix of giant robot.

fifi, you're the one who had that sig line. i like it a lot.

the difference in wok heat cannot be stressed enough. i would say the difference in temperature between the home kitchen and chinese restaurant kitchen is probably between 50 and 100. what the hell is lobster cantonese?

can't help thinking about gingko nuts, in much the same way. (they're used in congee, the small white-yellow spheres) 'cept used to call them dingleberries when i was a kid. still do. all the asian folks who know better (grannies and the like) would go and pick them all up off the ground.

while i think Chinese chefs do a good job with seafood, i think Chinese cuisine really shines with vegetables. without going to extreme complexity, Chinese food is able to make vegetables taste good.

i'm confident any of the high-end steakhouses around makes a good classic caesar.

You're supposed to eat the rice?? In fact, when dining out or in a home as guests, Chinese typically do NOT eat rice. It's a face thing, because you fear signaling that you are too poor/cheap to provide enough dishes to satisfy a hunger, or that your host has not done the same. I follow your logic, but I've never noticed the behavior. Whenever I've dined with Chinese people or observed them at banquets, they've always eaten rice. I would also disagree. In my experience, Chinese eating out in restaurants or other people's homes (been a while since I've eaten in someone else's home though) eat less rice, but not no rice. Also, you're always supposed to have leftovers. Indication of abundance.

i forgot about marrakesh and fez. eaten at fez, but only with 1 friend, like 7 years ago. never eaten at marrakesh. but everyone always says it's a blast with a group. a few people I know prefer fez though. anyway, since it's a reasonably large group, i'd suggest one of those 2, not to put ariana down. the whole sitting on pillows, eating with hands, middle eastern vibe has gotta be really cool as a group for a birthday party.

Ok, I think I understand. I just don't notice the non-sticky rice as much b/c at home or when I eat rice out in Asian restaurants, it's always sticky. The few times I notice non-sticky rice, it's not really supposed to be sticky. Latino, Indian, etc. Can't say that I've ever had rice cooked Japanese style. Hmm. something else to put on the list. I've never noticed the difference in jasmine rice, but truthfully, my taste buds aren't as strong as a lot people.

ariana should be fine. and you get to join the crowd in all the old city bars to hop around to afterwards.

OK, Here are the parameters and impressions I'm going on: Sara is the primary vote on dinner choice, and the only one that matters. All others will be listened to, b/c she doesn't want to make her friends uncomfortable, but not necessarily counted. Based on her initial choice of Joe Shanghai, I was suggesting restaurants of a similar guise, ambience, mood, price range, etc. Which is why I went with any number of places in Chinatown. She may have Vietnamese frequently, so I can understand wanting something more special. For the same reasons, she may not want Chinese. However, the Chinese I recommend (lamb cook it yourself hot pot, eel with black bean sauce, razor clams with XO sauce, snow pea leaves with garlic sauce, etc.) I would guess she may not have as often. BUT the Chinese I recommend, her friends may not be into, although if they were willing to try Shanghaiese food, then why not. Kabul is good. Tried it once years ago, liked it, don't remember much else. Judy's is a good solid little place (a great bargain during the week, as they give huge discounts for your next visit), as is Nodding Head; the Head is a noisy place that may be a regular bar haunt, so it may not as special.

Yea, I was thinking about Pasion, but somehow decided against it b/c of the small room. But I do think it's a good choice. Also Capital Grille as far as big honking meat. Lacroix might be a good option as well. I especially like Moshulu as a possibility, actually. People are likely to enjoy being on a huge wooden ship, plus you can solicit advice privately through an Egulleteer. My only caveat is that it's not as centrally located as Pasion, Capital Grille, and Il Portico. I decided against throwing Fork in for the same reason. 7PM is not too early.

I'd like to suggest Il Portico. I can't imagine it being too noisy in there, and I trust Al del Bello to make good food. Haven't heard much about it lately though, but the last I heard of it, people liked it. And it's Italian food. Always a safe bet. As long as no one orders spaghetti. Here's the site.

have ya been to dwight's southern @ 44th and lancaster or debreaux in the overbrook train station?

that must be the place that won the Daily News' best food truck contest.

hope that's just a typo there, and not when you registered it. you did want "www.elyseandfoods.com", right? although w/o the d, it's still sorta okay b/c people do say it that way. just not as easy to remember.

lately (past few years) i've been liking most sandwiches from Checkers. McGriddles are my fav McBreakfast sammie now, too. I always did like Roy's Bacon Cheeseburger, for a larger chain place.

i remember looking it up once. hong kong is on the same latitude as cuba. (latitude is east-west, right?) of course, i don't remember if the map i was looking at has been corrected since. anyway, i didn't think HK ever got in the 40s until wesza. one of my favorite memories of HK is seeing teenagers walking around in September in triple goose fat down coats.

yea, i just noticed that they were closed last week. can't say i'm suprised, except that i wasn't expecting it for a few more months. as far as sara's dinner, any place in chinatown can work. places I'd recommend Chinese: Ocean Harbor, Golden Phoenix, Tai Lake, Ocean City Malaysian: Penang Vietnamese: Xe Lua Indonesian: Indonesia (yea I know); rijsttafel if you want that route At any of these, don't trust any of their wine lists, there are no microbrews nor draft beers, bottles would be Bud, Lite (either Miller or Coors), Heineken, Tsingtao plus a few others maybe. just ate at Golden Phoenix tonite. PM me if you want menu assistance with Chinese. I'd make it a party nite with a dinner in Chinatown. With money saved, you can drink more afterwards.