DTBarton

If you like good pizza, 2Amy's makes excellent stuff. Not the cheapest pie in town, but they use great ingredients and cook in a serious wood burning oven. http://www.2amyspizza.com/

I definitely second the wild mushrooms, they're great with veal.

I love fresh kielbasa. We are forunate enough to live near Baltimore and can get it from here: http://ostrowskifamous.homestead.com/index2.html Big John's fresh kielbasa is amazing. It's fat, probably 2 - 2 1/2 inches in diameter, very flavorful and garlicky. It smokes beautifully, but pay attention with a meat thermometer as it can dry out. Also, to me it cooks more quickly than you think. I cook it to about 160 degrees internal temperature. Fresh kielbasa is also delicious in bean dishes and gumbos.

I'll second the notion of ham and beans. I make a thick stew and spoon it over cornbread.

The government in Wallonia says these reports aren't true and might have been an April fool's joke of some kind. It was a well done one as it had, as does all good satire, the ring of plausibility about it. http://en.rian.ru/world/20070404/63077075.html This retraction is from the same source as the original report.

I think your cause is a noble one even though some of the kids might miss the Domino's! I think your wraps will be OK made the day before, but less soggy if you can put the wet condiments out in bowls for people to add when they eat them. I've found with side salads that planning on about 1/4 pound per person is usually enough. Some eat a little more, some don't eat any. Remember that 1 pound of dry pasta will make a good bit more than that when it's cooked. Probably one brownie per person is enough. Again some won't eat any (high school girls watch their weight!) As an aside, one of the funniest stories I've heard lately was told by a 16 year old girl that I was driving back to boarding school. She had just switched schools and I asked what was hard about that. She said that for the first week of the semester, none of the girls would eat much at the dining hall. No one wanted to be the first to chow down in front of the others. She said she was starving. After a week or so everyone relaxed and it was OK to have a burger or a piece of pizza. Her description of all the girls eyeing each other was really amusing.

If you're cooking a fresh ham, I think low and slow in a moist environment is the way to go. One way I've been successful in getting a moist ham from a pre cooked product is to use a rotissserie on a gas grill at fairly low heat. Start glazing it some right away and the glaze forms a crust on the exterior that helps seal in moisture as you heat the ham up.

"Despite the widely mixed reviews I've been hearing, a friend and I both agreed that we'd had good bowls of them at Ralph's. (Personally I don't think there's any beating Walt's King of Crabs, but that's not an option anymore....)" This kind of sums up my sentiment, but I don't have a lot of experience eating mussels in Philadelphia. The ones I had a couple years ago at Ralph's were excellent, clean and with a shot of heat. Reminded me of the dearly departed Walt's, a place I enjoyed many times and still miss. I remember watching the guy get the pot ready with copious amounts of garlic and a big shot of crushed red pepper. And nice, fresh hoagie rolls to dip in the juice.

I think this is the rub. I'm willing to eat at no reservation places, but I pick and choose my timing. Joss cafe and sushi bar in Annapolis, MD is one of our perennial favorites. We just don't try to go between 7:30 and 9:00 PM on weekends, or Wednesday - Friday when the legislature is in session. We also enjoy Joe's Stone Crab in Miami, but we always go at 5:00 PM when they open and walk right in. By the time we leave at 7:00 or so, there's hundreds of people waiting. We just plan our day in South Beach around an early dinner.

Been mentioned around here before, but I'm a big fan of the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker for smoking or slow cooking barbecue, etc. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ Pros: Inexpensive at around $200 delivered, holds heat beautifully, the web site above dramatically reduces the learning curve. By following their instructions, I got great results the first time, light weight and portable. Cons: Not good for conventional grilling or searing (it can be used for higher temperature "baking"), also not too good in colder weather. I'm headed towards a 3 grill set up (but I do have the room in a detached screen porch). I always have an inexpensive charcoal grill with cast iron grates and the capability to adjust the height of the food away from the fire. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain. My next desire is a Weber gas grill with a rotisserie. I've cooked some things on my neighbor's rotisserie and it rocks for lamb legs, pork roasts, hams, chickens, etc. I'm also interested in this, particularly for tailgating. http://www.woodflame.com/en/ Anyone tried it?

A few issues back in The Wine Advocate, Parker gave what seemed to me to be sage advice. He receommended not buying heavily in '05 futures (especially expensive ones) because the hype surrounding the vintage would keep prices high and lead to bargains down the road on perfectly good '03s and '04s. Similar to the bargains available on good 98s and 99s after the 2000 vintage hype took off.

I absolutely agree. I can never get dishes I make in other folks' kitchens come out as well as they do in mine. I think it's everything combined. Different pans, different heat levels of burners and ovens (huge), slow reaction time as you search for the equipment you forgot to locate ahead of time. I usually don't make total hash of it, but I'm always thinking, man, this was a lot better at home!

You got the jam band catering job, cool. And someone else mentioned Los Lobos. Good food and good music!

From today's Washington Times, another review: http://www.washingtontimes.com/weekend/diningout.htm

Why I'm just a fan of good, clean athletic competition! Ha, I don't think anyone does the NIT that doesn't have a dog in the fight. Tigers all the way, class of '83! Thanks for the suggestions.

I know this is short notice, but I was hoping some of you New Yorkers could help me out. I'm training up to the city tomorrow for the NIT final basketball game at the Garden, arriving about 3:30 PM, game is at 7:00, heading back by necessity right after the game. Looking for some recommendations for good food, not fancy, we like anything, walking distance from the Garden. I know there's a ton of stuff around, but can anyone share a favorite nearby before about 11:00 AM tomorrow? Thanks very much.

Related thread here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=87858&st=0 Been said before, but our meal at FIG last fall was great: http://www.eatatfig.com/home/default.aspx

Since Siracha and sources have come up, here's some from http://importfood.com/ I haven't tried them but all the other stuff I've gotten from them has been really good. Gonna get me some on my next order. http://importfood.com/sash1001.html http://importfood.com/sash0709.html and one in a similar vein: http://importfood.com/sach0601.html

I haven't had any problem making fresh pasta a few hours ahead of time, I don't think you need to cook it as you go. It doesn't dry out enough to notice, from what I've seen. I do toss the pasta with a little corn meal to keep it from sticking together. When my grandmother made homemade noodles (she didn't call it pasta!) she hung the long, hand rolled noodles all over the kitchen to "dry". They were delicious.

Central is reviewed in the Washington Post magazine today: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?n...ies=Restaurants

I have a hard time finding these three things without going to the big city. 1. Good, interesting olive oils (including some that are reasonably priced) 2. Good quality dried pasta 3. Good anchovies I get all of theses readily when I go to Philadelphia, but kind of skinny locally.

I like a thinned down elegant version of tartar sauce. You don't want it too thick. Mayonnaise, white vinegar, diced sweet and hot pickled peppers (I like the Mt. Olive brand called sweet and hots), some juice from the pepper jar, a little fresh tarragon, black pepper, and a shot of lemon juice.

Restaurants serving shad roe from today's Wash Post weekend section: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7032200463.html

I agree. In my experience, I have found the food at the RTM Sang Kee to be far inferior to what they make at the 9th street restaurant.

I tend to agree with Megan that most folks seem to understand where and when kids are appropriate. And there are plenty of places that cater to kids. In my experience (10 nieces and nephews), we've had good luck with very young infants in restaurants. Just make sure they're warm and fed and they snooze out in the baby carrier by Mom's feet. For the most part, the ages between about 8 months and 5 years are not good candidates for taking kids to nicer restaurants, in my opinion. Mostly it seems neither the kids or the parents have a good time. On the rare occasions someone insists, we (and usually they) agree that an early reservation is best. Go when they open and it's not crowded. The city doesn't matter much, I think, as long as common sense prevails and parents supervise their kids.