divalasvegas

Appetizers run about $7-11 Mains run about $18-28 Wines run about $7-9 Mrs JPW and I usually run up a tab of about $xxx with all courses, a bottle of wine, and an after dinner drink. More frugal and less gluttonous people can easily walk out at about $50/per person. Edit to add - the spring rolls are $4 during happy hour! ← Thanks JPW. That helps a lot. Now, if I can just figure out how to combine being more frugal AND more gluttonous, that would be awesome!

This restaurant sounds fabulous. Great reviews everyone. Does anyone know when they'll have an online menu? Also, I hate to be crass, but what the Hell. What is the price range at lunch and at dinner? In particular, say appetizer and soup (I've got to have a bowl of one of the soups everyone's been raving about), main course, dessert, wine by the glass? Thanks.

I think the Ascot has a pretty good buffet at lunch but, alas, it's on 17th & L Street, NW. We have a rather multi-national office and I've often dined there with people from India who really like and it's close to the blue line (Farragut West) on 17th and I.

This is a great thread and I'm glad it's been resurrected. I too wanted to address the original question of what should restaurant management do. I think Sugarella made some excellent/points and suggestions, especially letting the parents know up front that the restaurant expects them to control their children. I had the misfortune to experience the following a few months back (this is part of a post I made on restuarant pet peeves, but I think it's important here as well to allow me to explain what I would suggest restaurants do and how we as customers can help as well): People who expect waitstaff and other customers to put up with the poor/obnoxious/sometimes hazardous behavior of their unruly clan. I had a particularly lousy dining experience at an Italian restaurant downtown. I don't know who I felt sorrier for myself and the other diners, or the waitstaff. I actually settled on feeling the most pity for the waitstaff since I could always just throw up my hands and leave; they can't. It was two families (it seemed to be two sisters and their husbands and kids). As I recall, it was four adults and about eight kids. Now with that many children I know I won't be dining next to absolutely drop dead quiet, but the behavior of the adults and several of the children was truly revolting. Since I had already been served when they arrived and there were no more tables for a single diner available, I decided to tough it out. I'm sure you all know what's coming: loud, obnoxious parents, telling servers what they needed instead of asking, allowing their children to shout commands at the waitstaff with their darling little mouths full, tossing tableware to the floor, pushing over full glasses of water and of course, not limiting their kids choices and trying to tailor/modify each of their offspring's dish to their specific liking. On that last one, I'm afraid that I'm a bit old school especially when you have an extensive menu. I think with that many kids of different ages (the oldest was maybe 10 or 11) to make everyone's life easier, limit what they can choose from giving them a few decent of choices; kids often eat the same stuff over and over again anyway. Also, parents, I'm really not interested in hearing the name of your child repeated 50 or 60 times during the evening. I think I can still remember the name of the worst offender, let's see, oh yeah it was: Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart. I AM NOT LYING. I especially liked it when the dopey dad, trying in vain to get this little brat to behave, reminded him of what he had been taught in etiquette class. Word to dopey dad: with the way the adults behave in your family and the fact that this kid publicly and loudly showed absolutely no respect for you, there aren't enough etiquette classes in the world to correct years of your very bad example. While the waitstaff behaved admirably, I really think there have to be times when management steps in to remind idiots like this that others are around them trying to enjoy their meal as well and that certain behavior will not be tolerated. Needless to say, I asked for my food to be packed up and left with a horrendus headache. - First of all, I've seen comments here that a lot of restaurants don't want to lose business. Well, sorry, but this establishment lost mine. Why the Hell would a restaurant want customers like that to return, yet don't seem to mind losing other patrons because of such behavior is a mystery to me. And yes I understand that restaurants have a thin profit margin, but I don't think I'll ever return and I've told this story to many people, warning them what to expect if they chose to dine there, so I've probably cost them even more money. - Let's face it: we have great parents out there, but many leave a lot to be desired. Many are dumb as a box of rocks, so restaurant management should go the extra mile when it comes to explaining what types of behavior would absolutely not be tolerated. Be excrutiatingly clear, since your understanding of the word disruptive and their understanding might be two different things. The establishment's policy should also be prominently displayed near the entrance as well as verbally communicated. - I know this next one is risky for some people, but sometimes you just have to say something yourself. I was in a restaurant with a steaming bowl of pho in front of me and you all know how hot that soup is usually served. Well this poor, stressed out mommy was having such a tough time with her apparently 2-3 year old--every answer was a loud "no" when she suggested/wanted him to decide on a dish, tableware tossed around, but the worst behavior was him running around the restaurant tipping chairs, climbing under tables, being underfoot with the waiters. Then he got to my table and began doing the same thing. I actually felt sorry for the mom since she obviously had no clue how to take control of this child. I looked at him sternly and said "no, you cannot play under my table; it's not safe for either you or me. You need to stop running around like that and sit down." He was quite cute actually but suddenly, those large brown eyes got larger and he actually went back to his table AND SAT DOWN! Sorry, but at that point I chose between pissing off mommy or making a visit to the local emergency room with second degree burns. I chose the former. Mom seemed to actually appreciate it. - If you've never dined at a restaurant--high end or not--then I'd call in advance and explain that you are looking for a quiet, adults only atmosphere and ask if they allow babies/small children. If they say yes, you can let them know that their establishment is not for you, unless they have a firm policy regarding out of control kids. Maybe if enough people do this, the restaurants will understand how much money these unruly families are truly costing them. - Like fifi I believe said upthread, I too do not believe that fine dining establishments where people would expect a quiet, adult atmosphere should not allow children below a certain age (I think the age of 12 was suggested), period. To be spending several hundred dollars per person and have to put up with unruly adults or children is unacceptable.

Hi bleachboy. THREE CUPS OF GOOSE FAT AND A GALLON OF GOOSE STOCK? You are my hero! As I said upthread, I'll be making a goose for Christmas as well. I think I've settled on what dressing I'll make on the side. I found the following recipe online. Really looks good to me, although I always tinker with recipes. Dried Fruit Dressing Recipe Now, how to coax a cup of goose fat out of you......................

Thank you for the additional information about male/female crabs, divalasvegas and wesza. After reading that article, it is very obvious that the 2 crabs I bought were both males. And wesza's explanations made a lot of sense. I remember cooking Dungeness crabs bought from San Francisco China Town in the late 80's and remember having crabs with roes in the belly. But not in recent years. As for chili crabs: I had that dish in Singapore once (along with curry crabs). Both were excellent. I had tried to reproduce chili crabs only once. First prepare the crab and velvet the pieces in oil as depicted in this post. To season: heat up some cooking oil, add lots of minced garlic, a bit of salt. Add minced (or sliced) fresh chili, some Chinese hot chili sauce (a little bit sour based). Dash in cooking wine and a bit of white vinegar. Then add a bit of broth and 1/2 to 1 small can of tomato sauce (depending how dry/wet you want this dish). If needed, thicken the sauce with corn starch slurry. Return the crab pieces and cook for a few more minutes. Chili crabs are rarely offered in Cantonese restaurants. (Actually I have never seen it on the menus of the Cantonese restaurants that I had visited.) ← Thanks so much for the chili crab recipe hrzt8w. I'll have to try it. I think you mentioned $2.49/lb for Dungeness crabs; what a bargain that would be here. You really made my day! Well you and the local football team: Washington 35, Dallas 7. Yes indeed, today is a very good day

Thank you, divalasvegas. I was afraid that this question would be brought up. I don't know how to tell the "boy" and "girl" crabs apart. It does make sense. The only thing I left behind was the golden brownish/greenish substance. I don't know enough about the anatomy of exoskeletal animals and don't exactly know what it is. Perhaps someone can enlighten us. When I ordered crabs in Chinese restaurants (made the same way), I love to eat this greenish/brownish paste under the shell. When I made this dish the other night, I might have over-velveted the shells. The paste turned very bitter and I ended up not eating much of it. Handling a live Dungeness is not too hard, actually. Like Dejah said, you can slow them down - putting them to sleep - by putting them in the freezer for an hour before you process them. ← Thanks again hzrt8w for your wonderful pics and explanations of your recipes. I'd like to know how to adapt what you've shown us so far to create a crab dish with chili sauce. Anyway the link below shows what I mean by "boy" crab as opposed to "girl" crab. In these parts the part that identifies the male is often called the "monument" after the Washington Monument while the females are called the "Capitol" after our US Capitol. The "gooshy" stuff in the male, at least to my understanding is the liver, while in the female it's the roe. I enjoy eating them both. Blue Crab Gender Identification As for the Maryland/Chesapeake Bay blue crabs I grew up with, it's pretty easy to tell them apart. The boys are called "jimmies" and the girls have "aprons" and are called "sallies," at least that's what I was told to call them. I have a friend who lives in the same area as I do but who grew up in North Carolina (poor thing: my family is from Virginia and South Carolina) who has told me on numerous occasions that she and her family would clean live blue crabs before steaming. Again we NEVER did this when I was growing up since blue crabs can be very fiesty, nasty critters and would show your fingers and knuckles no mercy! Take care.

Beautiful and delicious as usual hzrt8w. It appears that you have "boy" crabs. Could you elaborate on what you leave behind in the main shell? Is the golden brownish substance the crab liver? Any other parts kept? In this part of the USA the blue crab is king/queen and I assume that they're pretty similar inside, am I right? As for prepping them live, I have to say NO WAY! The only live crabs I prep live are softshells since they're too soft to fight back.

Please help me............ 1) Where are all of these men with money to burn? 2) And how can I meet one (or more) of them?

Of the many reasons not to invite me over for dinner, I suppose this one ranks well below fondling the help, telling off-colour jokes, and drinking my host's wine cellar dry. Here's how it actually looks when I'm on tour . . . "Mr. Maw will no doubt also offer to prepare a meal based on his extensive but regionally focused repertoire. Allow me to describe how this works. After leading you on impossible and highly expensive goose chases to local butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers and wine shops (beware his Siberian Peach Pie with Chateau Petrus, 1931), Mr. Maw will come down from his evening bath, circa nine o’clock, wondering why you and your family look so tired. "He will then enchant your other guests with tales of foreign intrigue, win all of the party games and seduce your neighbours’ wives. Their husbands will never speak to you again. He will then take all of the credit for cooking the meal, even if in tones of faux-modesty (“Heavens, it really wasn’t anything at all”), which your wife (who actually prepared the meal according to his specifications and recipes) will misunderstand and blame you for over the next decade. Your son, who has been hefting cords of firewood to Mr. Maw’s in-suite fireplaces all evening, will herniate a disc in his back and have to retire from any notion of a rugby career. Your daughter will never marry." The rest of the piece is here. ← So are we to start thinking of you as the J'Lo of the food critic/foodie/gourmet/gourmand world? For example, alleged demands such as: J'Lo's Divaesque Demands On the Road, Part One Or, even this: J'Lo Demands, Part Two In light of the entirely reasonable list of demands that must be met before consenting to your next dining experience, perhaps you should consider an additional online moniker, say J'Maw? Edited for grammar.

Just like your ordinary griddle, except that it gets REALLY cold! He didn't use it for the meal i just described, but I saw the machine...so, soon! I think Grant Achatz at Alinea inspired the design of this precise model from Polyscience but I think they've been doing similar things at elBulli, maybe even in some commercial kitchens. I'm eager to see what Shola does with it! ← Well I guess we'll just have to wait to see what he does with this, but philadining I'm interested to know what ideas you/others may have on how to best use this device. BTW, I think I'd have to sneak in some bread just to sop up every last drop of those exquisite sauces! Edited for additional comments.

Thanks so much for your review philadining. I love this thread so much and like so many other great threads on eG, this one allows me to at least take a peek at fabulous, interesting, delicious-looking food. I haven't been in Philadelphia for years now but I think I need to start planning a little quickie getaway soon. Redding Market, great subs, and perhaps a Studio Kitchen experience? Philly, here I come! BTW, what exactly is an "anti-griddle?"

Well GG there are several interesting elements to this article. 1) It's interesting how much spare cash people have to waste on a crappy drink like this, or ostentatious crap in general. 2) It's interesting that the inventor of this libation chose to use Hypnotiq instead of a real cognac. Actually, I'm not sure if real cognac would serve any purpose at all in this drink anyway. But if you're going to charge this much for a drink why not use: real cognac, a high quality, unflavored vodka, oj, pomegranate juice not liquer, Gran Gala, and then a splash of champagne. 3) It's interesting, sad and very frustrating that I didn't think up this gimmick first! Not surprising though given that we live in the time of $10,000,000 bat mitzvahs. Also, since this guy is supposedly a jeweler and is getting the stone wholesale anyway, why not have the ruby set in a ring, 18K gold of course, and let the sucker, um, purchaser go home with the rest of the bottle of champagne, you cheap bastard.

Hi frogprincess, Just juice it as you would any citrus juice. You'll need an electric one like this model: Electric Citrus Juicer Or a manual one with heft, like this: Heavy Duty Manual Juicer Now, when are you going to invite me over for some pomegranate margaritas?

Hi bleachboy, I'm planning on roasting a goose this year as well. I've done it before and loved it. I must vote for roasting since one of the loveliest, tastiest things ever is the crispy skin. Also if you braise it would you be able to successfully recover rendered fat? Would any fat the rose to the top be on the same taste level as fat that slowly rendered in an oven? My instinct tells me recovered fat from a roasted goose would be far superior. Actually, until my recent electric deep fryer malfunction, I was thinking of deep frying the goose. But that's another story. Anyway, when I last roasted a goose, I made gravy with the defatted drippings and giblets (simmered giblets, liver removed, for a bit of goose stock for the gravy) and it was so rich and delicious, as you said almost prime rib like in it's intensity. Perhaps the addition of wine or cider or such would lighten it up, but I liked it the way I did it. Also, I plan on having a ham since the meat is not as bountiful as that of a turkey. I concur with what others have said here: don't stuff the bird since any stuffing will end up pretty greasy. I think I've settled on a dried fruit based dressing that will be baked on the side. And make sure you prick the skin all over before putting into the oven. Best of luck. BTW, I think your practice bird looks gorgeous.

I want to join everyone here in thanking you, Eva and all of those who took part in this great blog, for two things actually. First, for your time, enthusiasm, great photos, and words that have made your part of the world come to life for me. Heck, I'm even sitting here kinda choked up and misty eyed, especially at your reminders for what we should truly treasure and be thankful for. Thanks again Jamie and Eva Oops, almost forgot the second thing I wanted to thank you for: photographic evidence that Santa is indeed a BROTHA'. True dat.

Toll House chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich, Babe Ruth candy bar, plain M & M's. Pedestrian, but tasty. Not my fault really; it was this thread that made me do it.

Lamb sushi for you! Unfortunately (well, perhaps not), no photographic images exist of the lamb. Mr. King made sure of that, even patting down the servers as they left the restaurant just before breakfast on Sunday morning. Jamie ← Damn, too bad Jamie. Once again "the silence of the lamb." (Note to self: begin drinking much later in the day.)

Well Jamie I don't care what mean old E. Thurston Howell Whoever says, everything looks wonderful to me. Having said that, I'd still like to see a photo of the finished Seven Hour Sacrificial Lamb................... uh, unless that photo is the finished product.

If no one minds, I'd like to add my pet peeves along the lines of how this topic began, mostly about restaurant experiences, at least that's what the initial posts addressed. Mostly I find mispronounciation of ingredients by waitstaff or the restaurant misprinting certain terms to be more amusing than annoying. Dirty bathrooms, being seated at unbussed tables, having to hunt down the server, are definite no-no's for me like many here. But over the years I must say it's really the shabby treatment of waitstaff/servers and other restaurant personnel by the general public or management that makes me cringe. BTW, I'm just a consumer not a restaurateur or server. Several examples of this: - Leaving a lousy tip because the food wasn't good. Earth to you-know-who-you-are. The servers don't prepare the food they just bring it. One of the few times a server should be held accountable is if they have left the food to linger before bringing it to the table. - Customers who never make eye contact with the server. In other words, they speak to the menu, then, again without acknowledging the server, hand the menu back to them sideways. Personally, I find that incredibly rude. In the same league with snapping one's fingers or hollering "hey you" to the server. - Management attempting to blame the server when the blame primarily rests with management. One particularly egregious situation occured one Spring as the weather had warmed up enough for this particular establishment to open up its outdoor dining for the first time that season. Well, I was out with a group from the office and we noticed that it was taking an incredibly long time to get anything--orders taken, water/coffee refills, etc. However, thank goodness we all noticed why. When we finally got to speak with one of the managers, he began to profusely apologize for the waitress' poor performance. We let him know in no uncertain terms that she was working her butt off, was very nice and that the restaurant seemed to be poorly understaffed. It was only then that he admitted it was the first day of alfresco dining and that they had neglected to hire additional staff to compensate. Incredibly bad form on his part. We left the waitress a big tip BTW. - People who expect waitstaff and other customers to put up with the poor/obnoxious/sometimes hazardous behavior of their unruly clan. I had a particularly lousy dining experience at an Italian restaurant downtown. I don't know who I felt sorrier for myself and the other diners, or the waitstaff. I actually settled on feeling the most pity for the waitstaff since I could always just throw up my hands and leave; they can't. It was two families (it seemed to be two sisters and their husbands and kids). As I recall, it was four adults and about eight kids. Now with that many children I know I won't be dining next to absolutely drop dead quiet, but the behavior of the adults and several of the children was truly revolting. Since I had already been served when they arrived and there were no more tables for a single diner available, I decided to tough it out. I'm sure you all know what's coming: loud, obnoxious parents, telling servers what they needed instead of asking, allowing their children to shout commands at the waitstaff with their darling little mouths full, tossing tableware to the floor, pushing over full glasses of water and of course, not limiting their kids choices and trying to tailor/modify each of their offspring's dish to their specific liking. On that last one, I'm afraid that I'm a bit old school especially when you have an extensive menu. I think with that many kids of different ages (the oldest was maybe 10 or 11) to make everyone's life easier, limit what they can choose from giving them a few decent variety of choices; kids often eat the same stuff over and over again anyway. Also, parents, I'm really not interested in hearing the name of your child repeated 50 or 60 times during the evening. I can still remember the name of the worst offender: Stuart or as I recall: Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart. I AM NOT LYING. I especially liked it when the dopey dad, trying in vain to get this little brat to behave, reminded him of what he had been taught in etiquette class. Word to dopey dad: with the way the adults behave in your family and the fact that this kid publicly and loudly showed absolutely no respect for you, there aren't enough etiquette classes in the world to correct years of your very bad example. While the waitstaff behaved admirably, I really think there have to be times when management steps in to remind idiots like this that others are around them trying to enjoy their meal as well and that certain behavior will not be tolerated. Needless to say, I asked for my food to be packed up and left with a horrendus headache. End of Restaurant Rant, Part 1.

I keep going over and over your photos/details/comments Jamie about that glorious and well documented meal at Mission Hill, and what strikes me so much is that I CAN UNDERSTAND IT! And, if I may be a bit immodest, I think I could make it, as well. It's just really great dishes made with quality ingredients prepared by hardworking, talented people who let the food speak for itself. That's why I keep coming back to your account of this meal. Smoked salmon, spinach, oysters, really "kicked up" cheese puffs, creamy soup with one luscious scallop with leeks and jerusalem artichokes, boar (which I've never had) pretty much a very flavorful wild pig, right, with root vegetables, chestnut souffle, creme anglaise, quince (something else I've never had, but intend to). And your description of the wine made this very novice student of wine not feel condescended to. I really appreciate that. Wishing you all the best in your travels and dining.

Thanks so much Daniel. Re: #1 -- Thanks for the insight. Absolutely agree on nixing any ersatz bbq; better none at all. BTW, what's on your smoker sounds heavenly. Re: #2 -- Great. That's so refreshing to hear, especially nowadays where you can hardly get 5 people together for dinner, let alone 10, without hearing who can't eat this, who can't eat that, I'm on a "special diet" and so on. I'd cook for these guys any day! Re: #3 -- Your answer to this one made me LOL since I just knew that was a totally "girly-girl" question. Re: #4 -- Yum. Way to go. BTW, I will absolutely pass out if you can get those guys to eat chitlins. Re: #5 -- Smoked Spam, mmmmmmmmmmm sounds tasty. Well, as long as you're around, we'll all have something great to look forward to. All the best to you and your girl.

Oops! Sorry 'bout dat rjwong. Now, as for that damn camera..........................

Thanks Jamie. Fantastic: oysters, beets, and Lena Horne in the same breath. Now I know I like your taste. Something just jumped out at me when I saw what was paired with the appetizers: HEINEKEN 2005! Nice touch. Paired with which appetizer? As for your mention upthread of a camera--Olympus 500--with a "cuisine" setting, more tongue in cheek? Tasty travels.

Everything looks so delicious and as beautiful as those photos are, I'm sure the photos don't even come close to matching how wonderful those dishes actually tasted. I was especially drooling over the boar cheeks and root vegetables. Thanks again for letting me live/eat vicariously through you and your "better half." One question though: I'm trying to imagine how the mignonette of beets would taste with the oysters. Did you like the pairing? I was thinking that sweetness of the beets would clash with the oysters and from the photo it seemed that all of them were served that way, not giving the diner the option of having no topping at all. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us for the rest of the week. Edited for grammar.