Chef Shogun

Vodka: Liter of Smirnoff Red destined for infusing, Ghezhelka (How it sounds, not spelled...) for mixed drinks, Smirnoff Vanilla and Citrus Twists. Rum: Bacardi Select, Silver, and O. Ciclon (A Bacardi product consisting of rum, tequila, and lime...it's kind of neat. Made a Cuba Libre spinoff with it) Tequila: Might be a few ounces of some cheap Blanco left over from a party. Gin: Ginless*, though this needs to change. Bourbon and Whisky products: Eagle Rare 10 Year, SoCo, Jack Daniel's. Misc: Dubonnet, Hennessey VO, M&R dry white, triple sec, Kaluha Especial, Alize, Angostura bittera Now, ask me again tomorrow and the list might shorten...we're having a combo birthday/housewarming party today, and other than my roommate's contributions (A handle of Bacardi "Bahama Manna", handle of ChiChi's margarhita, handle of some crap vodka, and Whaler's "Killer" Rum....) mine is the only ammunition. And YES, my list is very collegian, but I'm proud of my little stash, even if it's seen more bountiful days! Besides, the good stuff is on my wish list (Keywords: Single malt, reposado, single barrel, monk-produced, and um....gin), and now that I'm working full time again.... might pick up a thing or two on the way home for my personal party enjoyment. -- C.S. * Ginless, adj: Of, referring to, or the condition of having no gin Edited to remove superfluous smily Further edited to ask everybody to join him in welcoming Canadian Club, Rhum Barbancourt, and Noilly Prat sweet red vermouth! Yay! .....and two of the worlds most expensive bottles of Roses' Lime for tonight's party...oy, kids and their kamikazes

Actually as I understand it, the organization that owns Outback owns several other steakhouse and restaurant chains. http://www.outback.com/pressroom/NewRestau...ncepts/main.asp For some reason it's always fun to see who owns which other places. An exerpt from that page (bolding mine): Manager 1: So we're going to have Tiki torches, surfboards, "I-Cee machine Daquiris and Rumrunners like you remember from spring break", and...what... Manager 2: Palm trees and crap! Manager 1: Yeah! Alright, I think we've about covered everything. Normally, it takes six months to open a restaurant, but we have to do it in six weeks! Manager 2: Wait, what about the food? Manager 1: Oh, right..food... And...scene! Alright, the quotation and skit had nothing to do with being amused by chain interrelationships (Chipotle/McDonalds is priceless!), but I loved the "And then there's the food".

Duely noted, and thanks for the suggestion, but I don't think I'm going to be down there in, well...the foreesable future. Unfortunately, if it's not a Zipcar, or better, Metro ride away, it might be a while...

Seriously! There has to be something to this stuff or nobody would eat it by choice, and as ravenously as they sometimes seem to! Might as well see what all the fuss is about! 'Tastes' aren't something we're born with. Just because something seems outwardly unappealing, or you dislike it on a first experiance, doesn't mean you're not allowed to keep trying to cultivate a taste if you see potential there.

The big question is: Would Old Ebbitt Grill be the place in the area for Your First Raw Oyster? Oysters, as I mentioned in the current "Acquired Tastes" thread seem to me to be one of those thing syou have to have properly the first time, or it's over and...I've never had raw oysters! Being thus Bivalve-curious, would this be the place to go? Subquestion: What to have? Sara: Be sure to write about your trip to Swan. Saw it on A Cook's Tour and it looks pretty cool. Hopefully by then I'll know more about the shellfish! -- C.S.

I had the Cuban Sandwhich from Breadline (Last of three they had for the day, I'm afraid), and it was very good. Probably one of the best things I've had from them, out of the potential field of the grilled veggie a while ago, and the 'spicy chicken dalliah' yesterday (A sandwhich with peanuts...wild!! Also, tasty). It's your basic cuban sandwhich, meat sliced to hand-carved as opposed to deli slicer tolerances, with an orange-cumin sauce. Wait, weren't the origonal specs for a 'not tarted up cuban sandwhich'? Oh well, it's good, and I'm not one to just throw italics around. At $8.25 after tax, it's about...a dollar more than I'd be normally up for paying, but I believe it's basically worth it. -- C.S. "He's Not Given To Wild Flights Of Alternative Typefaces"

* Olives. Chopped up or kind of hidden in things, fine, but blatant olivism still kind of bugs me. * Gin. I'm trying really hard with gin, but it's not going well. * Offal. I haven't had really any exposure to offal, so I don't know if I like them or not. Seems like a special case of the acquired taste: If you don't do it right the first time, it could be ruined forever. See also: raw shellfish, sushi (I love sushi, but it seems to be one of those categories of food). I think the thing with acquired tastes is that they are things you think you CAN like but currently DON'T, or else you wouldn't be subjecting yourself to the acquisition process. Like gin and I; I can see liking gin, but at the moment, I'm not a huge fan. Maybe I just haven't had the right gin for me in an actually well made martini, so for now, I'm working on it! -- C.S. "Not A Fan Of Blatant Olivism, And Gin. Olives In His Martini Are Right Out" Edited for spelling; reserves right to add more stuff later!

What is better to use in pepper infusions: dried, fresh, or a mix? Is there any sense in using a mix of peppers, or would the hottest pepper prevail over the qualities (Flavor notes other than blatant hotness) of the others? At this point I'm thinking of four infusions: Pepper, mixed citrus, mixed berry, and maybe a Jolly Rancher infusion for the roommates. That really felt like saying 'for the kids'. Ha! But seriously, they'll get a kick out of that. I'd like to try the vanilla bourbon, too. Has anybody else done anything with infused bourbon? It seems like the challange here is to 1) pick an infusion that would complement the bourbon's flavors while 2) not overpowering or destroying them. As opposed to vodka where there's no inherent flavoring and you're trying to make something that tastes...like something!

I believe that this may be one of the best examples of an oxymoron that I have ever read. No, seriously, it was this whole event. You paid $13 (When I first agreed to go, I was told it was going to be $5, then standing in line it became $10, then when we got to the counter it was $13 [if you didn't bring canned food]. Great.) for a wrist band that let you get into about a dozen places without paying a cover. Places that never usually have a cover, now. All for the privledge of having $2 Bud Lites and the occasional $3 shooter at a variety of mid-level venues For the DC crew joining us in this thread we hit, in no particular order: Rumors, Recessions, Front Page (Think an organized bar crawl is bad? How about an organized bar crawl with a bathroom attendant), Sign of the Whale, Singapore Bistro*, Mackeys, and probably one or two other places whose names escape me. They all kind of run together into one medium-sized venue with a front and back bar, loud mid-90s era high school dance standards, and far, far too many people packed into one place. * Despite my rational arguments, two friends had the sushi bento box special (it didn't come in a box). Nothing like sushi before a long night of drinking, eh?

It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be like this at all..... Every conflict and flame war since the beginning of recorded History bears unintentional consequences in the existances of its nameless victims. That victim's name is Jagermeister. Ok, so the victim has a name in this case. You want to make a federal case out of it? Moving ON. All Jagermeister ever wanted to do was aid the digestion of frat-party patrons*, serve up herbal psychedelic super-freakouts, and provide the USDA recommended daily allowance of German deer blood. When I began "Crimes Against Alcohol" lo these four or five days ago, I envisioned a harmless thread where we could share a few laughs about using really good tequilla to make Muppets, or like, crazy martini stories, or how the worst drinks I've ever had in my life have occured on seperate occasions at this one guy's parties. Maybe not so much with the snobism thing, but I guess we should have seen that comming. Not to hurt anyone...least of all Jagermeister. * The dinners of the frat party goers that is, not the fratists themselves.

Apparently I'm going on an organized bar crawl tonight, but if I wasn't: The As-Yet Unnamed: Highball glass with ice One "South of the Border" shooter Ciclon* Good splash triple sec. Good splash RealLime. Fill with Coke. Garnish with Bendy straw. It's kind of like a Cuba Libre. *A Bacardi product containing rum, tequila, and lime. Bacardi Select is good for this, too since yes, this is a take on a Cuba Libre.

Flows right off the tongue: Humping Alligator-tini. ...in a dirty glass!! Edited to point out that if the customer didn't want much vermouth, it would be a "Dry Humping Alligator-tini", so it works on many levels.

My burger universe is largely defined by the menu at Lindy's. Of 25 or so burger-toppings combos availible (In meat, veggie, and I think chicken breast forms), these make up the bulk of my regular rotation. The Southwestern: chili, chedddar, and onions. Au Poive: black pepper and bacon. Yogurt: Tzaziki sauce, and the L and T. Manhattan: Sour cream and onion. The Robert: BBQ sauce and mushrooms One of the above will be lunch today (How could I not, after this thread?) Tune in next week to find out the answer to this, and other questions. As far as my own burger-craftings go, I like stuffed. Mushroom and balsamic-glazed onion stuffed burger w/ a good cheddar on top, for example, and roasted new potato wedges. "Hi, I'd like to place an order for pickup" --Me, to Lindy's "Ok, hurry!" --Lady on other end Only at Lindy's would that be totally worth it. T'was wholly unexpected (Service is generally pretty good, I think), but hey...for a #3 and fries, I can deal with a harried phone-picker-upper.

Tough call. There's the traditional fraternity 'have a day long picnic on the Mall then watch fireworks' event. It's fun for the first and last 90 minutes. The intervening couple hours kind of drags. We'll be the ones with the big folding tent under that one big tree on the little hill. Since I no longer live in the city, I get the feeling that if I venture there, I'll be stuck for a while. Other than that, I might stay in and cook. For some reason, stuff turns out especially well on the Fourth of July, food-wise. You may not know this, but on July 4, 2002, the best stuffed burger known to the Western culinary tradition was created in an efficiency apartment on 23rd Street. Made on a George Foreman even! I shudder to imagine what would have happened if it had actual fire behind it! Anyway, this year I'm thinking fish. Have a few things in mind, and Sunday would be as good a night as any to make one.

Georgetown Waterfront. One I forgot: Thai Coast in West End/Foggy Bottom had some sort of tropical drink special in the afternoon that I never got around to checking out before I left. Nothing special beer-wise. Does ANY Thai place in DC have a good beer list?

Froggy Bottom Pub, Foggy Bottom: Monday: Half price pizza. Tuesday: $2 Red Hook and...something else of that nature. Thursday: $2 Sam Adam's Seasonals. All these are something like 5 pm to closing. Hamburger Hamlet, Crystal City Underground: $2 appetizers, $4.50 Guinness', $4/$2 22oz/12oz 'Premium Drafts' (then down from there). $2.50 rail drinks (unless they're on the rocks, then they're like $3.25; their rationale is they give you more booze to compensate for meltage). 4-7 pm. Lindy's, Foggy Bottom: $9 pitchers, vary by day of week. I love Lindy's, but while $9 isn't bad for a pitcher, they always seem a little...off. Anybody notice? Afraid that's about the extent of my Happy Hour experiance.

Egad. For the record, I did a search before I posted and nothing came up, and I consider myself an accomplished googler! Oh well.

Info here. Curious as to what everybody thinks of this scheme. Think it's useful or worthwhile? Will you participate? I signed up and am working on my first review, writing about Raku in Dupont Circle. Offtopic Forum-Newbie Subquestion: I mainly held off writing about Raku here because I felt that most had probably been there, and while it was a good place, it might not measure up to the caliber of restaurant I've seen discussed at length. What's the protocol for determining what warrants its own thread? (Hosts feel free to move or PM and chop this offtopic bit)

Ugh, not for X-Treme Vodka. All the naked marketing reps in the world couldn't get me to take another shot of that stuff. The first shot offeredy by a clothed rep at the local liquor store doesn't count. I didn't know what I was getting into! Is the slate still open for nominations?

Urban myth. That has happened to many foods and spirits. Sad. Good old urban myths. I remember even when I was very young (late-mid-80s), probably before I even knew what vodka was, hearing that Jäger contained herbs of a hallucinogenic nature and was therefore a banned substance! How little New England coastal town kids got this particular bit of {mis}information I have no idea, but I remember comming to college and seeing some at a party, and having something waaay in the back of my mind be like 'Wait, they can actually sell this stuff here??' I was never an underage drinker so I never really looked into the truth of the matter, so part of that myth stuck with me! Man, I almost hate to admit that. -- C.S. "Avoiding Carrots So As Not To Turn Orange Since 1986"

I'd have to check the dates, but Mr. Thomas may well have invented the recursive algorithm right there!

Breadline had the Cuban sandwhich as the special today, but I just had the $4.17 for an ever-tasty but non-Cuban-sandwhich Wreck from the Potbelly on the corner. Wish there were some way of seeing what Breadline was doing on a given day without having to actually go over there, and potentially jeopardize other luncheon options!

Ha! Aftershock and Goldschlager. Known in my circle of friends as a "Red and Gold". Popularly served in a split shot glass, the red Aftershock and gold Goldschlager are representative of our professional engineering fraternity's colors. And yes, it's every bit as horrible as it sounds. I *knew* I was missing something in my opening tyrade. --C.S. OT GB674

Cadbury Creme Eggs. Next question.

Whenever the department goes out for lunch and somebody asks for the salt, my boss passes both the salt and pepper and says: "Never sever the salt and the pepper." What's with that? He doesn't know, either.