puchica

They are indeed back! No more elephant ears, but oh... those apple fritters

Thanks for all the guidance... I have to say that one of the great thing about our most recent half-cows was their relative cheapness. And tastiness of course. The second one (we named him Deuce) was even cheaper because his organic pedigree had been ruined by antibiotic ointment for an eye infection. Since we weren't going to eat the eyes, we decided it was OK with us. I think grass fed is what we are really looking for, truly organic or not, so it looks like we should be hitting the farmers markets and making some deals. There really is no better feeeling than a freezer full of delicous beef products.

My roomates and I have bought sides of organic beef for the past two years, but our hook-up moved out of town. Does anyone know of local organic farmers or butchers who sell pre-cut beef by the half or quarter? I've found some places that offer "grain-fed" cows, but I'd rather have organic or near-organic.

The Italian Store!!!!!!! It is one of the few things that I will drive to NoVa for. The sliced meats are all quite good, but I usually get the veggie cause the artichoke salad is sooooooo good. And real provolone... and sweet cherry peppers... and route 11 potato chips on the side. It's almost too good to be true.

I sure have! Good coffee and lots of earthy-crunchy sandwiches. A little to whole-wheat for my taste, but the avocado sandwich with black bean spread reminds me Mexican tortas. They have ice cream downstaairs too, but I've never tried it.

Say it ain't so.... Mt Pleasant's only neighborhood bakery has closed, at least according to a a sign in the window. It always seemed like the kind of place that could withstand the pressures of gentrification, but maybe not. Anyone know what happened? Is the other branch closed too?

Fried oysters, steamed shrimp, and homemade caramel cake from Maine Avenue Seafood at the waterfront fish market is the best down-home greasy spoon DC meal in my book. Also Five Guys is worth it - they have new locations at Howard U, Gallery Place, and Georgetown. Hot dog wise - the half smokes at Eastern Market definitely do Washington proud.

I've never posted, but as a native Washingtonian I've got to weigh in on this one. If you are looking for the local speciality eaten by the most locals (as opposed to the many folks who are just here for a few years), then I have to agree with the City Paper article of a few years ago that narrowed it down to the half smoke and "mambo" sauce. Both are staples in the parts of the city without "gourmet" restaurants and don't seem to exist anywhere else. When my seventh grade students went to NYC last year they were dumfounded when they couldn't get mambo sauce for their wings. You can't write them off just cause you only get them at carry-outs and hot-dog stands... Philly cheese-steaks and Providence, RI hot wieners aren't exactly down-home family recipes either. As for where to buy half smokes - Eastern market has a wide selection, and you can even get them hot off one of those 7-11 style hot dog rollers. e.d.