katabeta

I just got back from a restaurant where I had uncle ben's rice and "szechuan" pork whose dominant flavor was sugar. And it was $11. (Is this just a misconception of what people want in Chinese food, or is this what America wants? The answer might make me too sad.) Sometimes I get dumplings at the place where they make noodles in the window (on 7th st?) but everything else there I've tried was an MSG disaster. The Chinese places we go to in my hometown (exurban Central California) blow these out of the water. Where do you eat in Chinatown, and what do you order?

yyyyikes this stuff looks good. I've never eaten caviar in all my 23 years (just salmon eggs and those tiny orange ones that come on sushi). On work days, I usually just have some fruit and Kashi before rushing out to catch the subway, sometimes just fruit. Sometimes a slice of banana bread (I slice it and put it in the freezer right after it cools so I don't eat the whole thing at once). When my boyfriend's in town we have omelettes, coffee, the works, on the weekends, otherwise my current favorite is toast and fresh ground peanut butter with a huge mug of strong chai--boil the heck out of some low quality tea leaves and coarse ground cardomom, add milk and bring to a boil again (1:1 water:milk).

oh man, this thread is really making me miss California, especially the taco trucks of LA, where I lived for four years. I've been in Boston for a year and just moved to DC. I started my taco quest this week but I haven't seen any trucks. Until I move back west I'll have to drool over these photos! I never got my taco truck tacos plated so beautifully down in SoCal, that's awesome. My boyfriend from Berkeley wants me to tell you all that the steak burritos from the aztec grills at the chevron stations on the north coast are some of the best he's had--I'm not sure what he's talking about but maybe you folks know.

Mixtec definitely hit the spot! I went there tonight after wandering the zoo and had two tacos al pastor (pork with those soft corn tortillas) with beans and rice. If you guys haven't tried their horchata I highly recommend it, it was nice and cinnamony. And the service was definitely friendly. I'll be trying El Charrito or the 7th/Eastern market one this weekend.

this might be an impossible question to answer, but is there one indian cook book you would recommend? The shelves of cookbooks in the store are overwhelming to me--I never know what to buy so I just don't (actually the only one I have is the Larousse Gastronomique!). If this helps with the recommendation: I fell in love with indian food eating my friends' parents' home cooking, particularly gujarati and punjabi. I've tried to get their mothers to teach me recipes but it's always "some of this, then some of that" (the kind of recipes anyone's mother gives) so the only thing I know how to do reasonably well is chana masala. Maybe I should go back to California and get apprenticed in one of their kitchens!

you should be locked up. haha, no, guapo's just wasn't what I was looking for. and man did I order the wrong thing at guapo's. the salsa was pretty good. is that a chain out here or are there just a couple in the city? by the way THANKS to everyone who's posted suggestions or otherwise responded, I really appreciate it and wish I'd been on eGullet when I was in boston.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. I will hit one of these places this weekend.

yeah, I've found that the best tacos come from dirty little trucks and roadside shacks. the fried ones are good too--who doesn't like fried stuff and cheese--just not what I'm craving. there was a beautiful papuseria right next to my favorite taco place in LA, which was on the corner of a busy street. it was basically a little window where you ordered and ate your food on the sidewalk at rickety tables. the bad mexican food was at guapo's in tenleytown, my friend dragged me in there

I'm in NW DC, right near the Friendship Heights metro stop. Thanks

Hi, it's the newbie again with another "where do I go?" question. Last night I had the worst mexican food in my life: gooey tamales, dried out rice, flavorless beans. Where's a good place to go around here? I'm from California and lived in downtown Los Angeles for four years so I'm pretty spoiled and after a year in Boston I'm really missing Mexican food (or, according to the recent eGullet article on tex-mex, maybe what I'm missing is CA mexican). I want a taco that's on two un-fried corn tortillas, with some carne asada or pork, a searing hot sauce, onion and cilantro, limes, and a salsa bar. And if someone has a restaurant suggestion, would any of you like to come along to try it?

Hi all I'm new to eGullet and new to the DC area (I live in a basement in NW, close to the Maryland border). I was wondering if you have any recommendations for where to buy bulk herbs and spices. There was a nice little co-op store near my place in Boston but I haven't had any luck in my search here. And another sort of related question, what's a good source for Indian ingredients? Thanks so much.