Indy67

"Can someone tell me where I can buy saddle of lamb, somewhere not too far from Silver Spring? I've tried Whole Foods and they don't have it" Have you asked the butcher at your regular grocery store? I've found that most stores -- even stores that are part of a large chain -- are willing to do special orders as long as you give them enough advance notice. Indy 67

"I had dinner there on November 4 and was VERY impressed. " Ditto. I've never been to a restaurant so soon after opening, but my husband works in the area so we often eat in Crystal City. We miss the honest food we eat when we travel in Italy enough that we were willing to deviate from our catious attitude of stay-away-until-the-shakedown-is-over. Let's admit it. Maestro and Tosca are wonderful restaurants, but they don't capture the experience of eating in a typical trattoria in Italy. We used to bounce back and forth between Jaleo and Oyamel, but we've visited Bebo three times since its opening. And this from people who stopped going to Galileo some time ago because a succession of experiences made it taste/feel like the kitchen was merely going through the motions. There are some hiccups in the service. The tables get moved around routinely to accommodate the size of the parties dining at that moment. As a result, we've listened to quite a few conversations between waiters and runners asking where table X is located. It is also somewhat erratic whether or not diners are going to be offered olive oil to accompany the bread or grated Parmesan to accompany the pasta. These are small details -- and wholly irrelevent -- considering the superb cooking and the amazingly moderate prices. "Risotto del Giorno (happened to be one with Gorgonzola - the spouse LOVED it)" I ordered the butternut squash and crumbled sausage risotto. The taste of the dish and texture of the rice were amazing. "Lasagnette con Ragú di Carne e Besciamella ...Spaghetti alla Carbonara ... Bucatini all' Amatriciana" We'll agree to disagree; I liked the Amatriciana. If you like assertive flavors, you must go back to try our favorite pasta: Paccheri al Sugo di Costine Maiale (Tube-shaped pasta with sauce of pork ribs and tomatoes). The biggest bargain on the menu has got to be the roast chicken. This is a staggeringly huge portion of chicken in which the crisp skin sings with flavor and the meat is juicy and flavorful. Next day leftovers are almost as divine. The only negative I see is that the long-term future of Bebo is uncertain. Our waiter said there has been no decision about keeping Bebo open when Galileo returns to its renovated former home. Bebo has barely opened, but I'm already worried about its disappearance. I sincerely hope it stays; I can't think of a comperable restaurant in our area. Indy 67

"A question, we ordered caprese salad quite often and almost always the tomatoes were very firm, not ripe and really hard. is this normal??" I'm surprised to read this since I think of Italian food as characterized by serving only what is fresh and at its peak. I do have an Italian tomato experience to share, although it isn't exactly on topic... Decades ago, on our first and second trips to Rome, I was suprised to see that the tomatoes in mixed salads were routinely hard and green. More perplexingly, if one of us ordered a Caprese salad in the same restaurant, the tomatoes were ripe and packed with flavor. The restaurants didn't seem to be fobbing under-ripe tomatoes off on the tourists since nothing else about our food in the restaurants seemed indifferent, and the Caprese tomatoes were luscious. Somewhat later, I became friends with a Tuscan woman who is a divine cook, and I asked her about the tomatoes in mixed salads. She explained that Italian cooks deliberately choose green tomatoes for mixed salads because under-ripe tomatoes have less juice so the salad dressing doesn't get diluted. Indy 67

"Any suggestions for a nice place to eat Thanksgiving dinner in the metro area? Has anyone tried Maestro @ the Ritz in Tyson's?" Maestro won't be open for dinner. Curious, I called the restaurant and was told that the hotel will offer a buffet in the hotel restaurant, The Steak House, but Maestro won't be associated with the Thanksgiving food or service. If you go to Open Table and plug in the Thanksgiving date, you'll discover approximately 33 restaurants will be serving meals. The exact restaurants change depending on the time you plug into the search engine, but several names are particularly appealing: Blue Duck Tavern, Citronelle, Corduroy, and The Oval Room. 1789 is famous for its Thanksgiving meal, but I suspect that restaurant is fully booked. I think this is a book-a-year-in-advance kind of destination. Indy 67

[broke this into its own thread -- Chas] "Oyamel has closed and is replaced by Bebo Trattoria - Roberto Donna's "temporary" home while Galileo is being renovated. Bebo opened to the public last night." Some folks in my husband's office actually had lunch there yesterday -- pastas -- and said the food was delicious. I didn't hear anything about how smoothly the place was functioning considering its newness. They brought a menu back to the office. The menu strikes me as a combination of crowd pleasers and more adventuresome -- very, very authentic Italian -- options. Reading this, I thought of Mario Battali's food at Babbo. Here are some offerings in each menu category: Antipasti Fried Mozzarella in Anchovy Sauce Homemade Cooked Salami slices with Green Sauce Roasted Peppers in Anchovy-Garlic Sauce with Grilled Polenta Three More Choices Salad Mixed Greens Romaine with Caesar Dressing Tomato and Mozzarella Two More Choices Soup Beef Stock with Cabbage, Fontina Cheese, Bread and Parmesan Cheese Wedding Soup Pasta e Fagioli One More Choice Pasta/Risotti Risotto of the Day Lasagnette with Meat Ragu and Bechamel Sauce Cylindrical Pasta with Tomato Ragu and Pork Ribs Spaghetti alla Carbonara Canelloni Stuffed with Ricotta and Ham with Pork Sausage Ragu Five More Choices Meat Fried Rabbit With Artichoke, Spring Onions, and Orange Mayonnaise Meatballs Sauteed and Simmered in Tomato Sauce Veal Tripe Simmered with Vegetables and Tomato with Pecorino Cheese Two More Choices Grill Entrees: Grilled Pork Chop Lamb Steak Grilled Quail Grilled Homemade Sausage Two More Choices Contorni Soft Polenta Grilled Vegetables Four More Choices Pizza Nine Set Combinations 19 Toppings for a Make-Your-Own Combination Indy 67

" I just called Oyamel. They are still in place there, but in the near future will be doing dinner only. When specifically asked about these rumors, the person I spoke with replied that "nothing is set in stone." It sounds like there is some basis to the rumors and the future of Oyamel is in doubt." Some time between when this message was originally posted in late August and today, Oyamel closed. My husband and I had planned to go there for dinner; however, someone in his office gave him the news and suggested it was time to go to plan B. I don't know any more details than what I've shared. If anyone else knows anything, I'd love to hear. We will definitely miss Oyamel. Indy 67

"I tried looking on epicurious and couldn't find the recipe you were referring to..... could you point me in the right direction please??" If you put the words "Marian Burros" into the search window on the home page of Epicurious.com, you'll bring up two recipes. The first one is "Plum Torte." If you put "Plum Torte" into the search window, you'll bring up one recipe. Both are the recipe I recommend. Indy 67

"These plums are deep blue skinned with the usual whitish cast over top, (think blueberry) and the flesh inside is pale green. I was assuming of course that these were regular purple plums that just hadn't fully ripened yet, but they're falling from the tree already. I ate several and they don't really seem underripe at all, although they're different than regular plums. Taste wise they're more like a cross between a plum and a sour grape; very sweet and slightly tart. The texture inside is soft, but not as soft as a usual ripe plum. The flesh is quite moist like a ripe fruit should be." "And.... any ideas for preserving them? Never made plum jam before." Other than the size, they sound exactly like Italian plums -- also called prune plums. Italian plums are oval shaped and probably the size of 1 1/2 golf balls. Perhaps the difference in size is the difference between the product of commercial agriculture and a backyard tree. If your heart is set on making plum jam, I can't help you. However, I can recommend an excellent recipe for a plum cake that delivers much more taste and sophistication than the easy steps would indicate. Marian Burros is the author of a cookbook called ELEGANT BUT EASY. Until Julia Child burst upon the scene and taught all of us how to cook French food, many of us learned our first elegant cooking from this cookbook. I think I got the recipe from my original edition of ELEGANT BUT EASY, but a web search refers to the recipe as appearing in the NY TIMES since 1983. If you go to Epicurious.com you'll find the recipe. Indy 67

"The restaurant is moving to the space where Oyamel was in Crystal City." Oyamel WAS? WAS? When did this happen? We ate at Jaleo within the last month, but we walked past Oyamel and it was full of happy patrons. Indy 67

"On the subject of smaller RW portions: I work at a RW restaurant, and our chef decided to reduce portions a bit on a couple of the more expensive dishes in order to make them available for RW (sea scallops and lobster ravioli). The thought was that there's no way anyone will go home hungry, and we could offer more variety (RW diners have four or five choices for each course)." As far as this diner is concerned, your chef made a good call. Last night, we had a great RW dinner experience at Kinkead's. Everyone's meal evidenced a bit of portion reduction. For example, I had the soft-shelled crab appetizer as a first. The dish consisted of half a single soft-shelled crab, some green papaya slaw, and lime dipping sauce (pleasantly hot with some Thai chili slices). Now, when has Kinkead's ever served half a soft-shelled crab? A whole crab would have been nice, but that's only because it was so delish. Ditto to my friend's entree of braised short ribs. She was served one short rib. Now, this particular friend doesn't even stand 5' tall and never has eaten a whole meal of regular restaurant-sized portions. When she had finished eating, she rather wistfully said she wished she had been served more ribs. Then, she admitted it certainly wasn't because she was hungry; she was simply sad to have the good taste end. Here's a list of a couple more dishes from last night's RW menu. (The list does not exhaust the possibilities) First: Heirloom tomato salad with goat cheese Tuna soup (reminiscent of tortilla soup) Grilled squid Mains: Crispy flounder with Tasso Seared Tuna with soba noodles Chile rubbed swordfish with black beans and mango Atlantic salmon with pepita crust and shrimp, corn salsa Our take away verdict was that we were delighted Kinkead's had gotten into the RW dinner biz. If reduced portion size was one thing that made this possible, here's to reduced portions! Indy 67

Last night, we went with another couple to Bobby Van's. Three of us weren't particularly enthusiastic about our destination, but we enjoy one another's company so we didn't refuse the fourth person's active lobbying to dine there. A steak house doesn't seem like a particularly good choice for RW; the basic ingredients are inherently expensive. Our concern was fueled by a post on another web site criticizing Bobby Van for RW. We were pleasantly surprised. The appetizer course consisted of two choices: Caesar salad OR field greens with vinaigrette. The entree course included pasta with pulled chicken abd andouille sausage OR crab cake OR petite filet mignon OR baked salmon OR a fifth choice I can't remember. There were two choices for dessert: chocolate cake OR cheesecake. I ordered the field green salad. When it arrived, it seemed like a pleasant surprise with some slices of Roma tomatoes, red onions, and a reasonably generous crumble of blue cheese. Alert readers will have noted the word "seemed." People who like the taste of balsamic vinaigrette won't share my criticism; however, I'm not a fan of sweet dressings. Furthermore, the strong taste of the vinaigrette made each component taste largely the same -- a tough accomplishment when one of the ingredients is blue cheese. My companions said that their Caesar salads were good with a nicely flavored dressing. We looked at the regular menu and noticed that Bobby Van's offers no Petite Filet among its offerings. So putting an eight-ounce Petite Filet on the RW menu was its way of keeping steak -- other than hangar steak -- among the choices. I ordered my steak seriously rare and the kitchen obliged. The remaining three steaks were ordered medium-rare. Here, the kitchen fell down. One steak was as ordered, one steak was rare, and one steak was almost as rare as mine. Finally, when you order your steak, ask the kitchen not to salt it. They use a heavy hand. Since salt is on the table, that's an easy thing to adjust yourself. Judging by the clean dessert plates, everyone was satisfied with dessert. The cheesecake was creamy without being too dense and a drizzle of fruit sauce added a bit of fruity freshness. Service was competent but nothing special in either a positive or negative sense. Overall, a positive evening -- definitely better than personal expections and advance billing based on other posts. Indy 67

The starter's gun has sounded! How was your first meal for Summer RW? I have a positive report from Seasons restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel. The RW menu is quite limited -- two options in each course -- but we found something that truly attracted us so we weren't troubled by these restrictions. More significantly, the food we ate was truly delish! The service was gracious and attentive. We've dined at Seasons before -- most recently in May -- and the restaurant's excellence in the kitchen and in intangibles such as service remain intact in spite of RW bargain prices. The evening began on a positive note. The RW menu is placed inside the regular menu. However, the maitre d' took pains to explain that this was simply to make people aware of the range of the regular menu in the hope that they'd be intrigued and happy enough with their RW experience to return at full price. This was a really gracious gesture and in stark contrast to our experience at Taberna a year ago when the RW menu was not presented unless asked for, and, then, it was accompanied by condescension. The two appetizer choices include Yellow Gazpacho with Celery Sorbet OR Seared Scallop with Mussels in a bouillabaisse broth. The two entree choices include Roast Chicken Breast with mashed potatoes and pencil-thin asparagus OR Sauteed Red Snapper served over a Crab, Potato, Corn, and Pea Swith Meyer Lemon garnish. Desserts include a Vanilla-Lime Cheesecake or Pineapple "Raviolis" filled with Raspberries accompanied by Margarita Sorbet. The hit of the entire meal was the fruit dessert. After hearing our waiter wax rhapsodic about this dish, all four of us ordered it. Paper-thin slices of pineapple encase some fresh raspberries. Three of these pineapple raviolis alternate with scoops of Margarita sorbet. A basil sauce decorates the plate and lends a wonderful fragrance and sharp taste to the whole. The bouillabaisse broth was fabulous: gutsy and rich with concentrated fish stock. In fact, we thought this broth was better than bouillabaisse we've eaten at Le Miramar in Marseilles. Portions struck me as somewhat smaller than restaurant-size portions -- smaller than I recall portions at our May meal. Of course, much has been made of the ridiculously large size of restaurant portions. Tonight's portions were more in line with normal at-home portions. As a result, we left the restaurant full and satisfied but not stuffed. Assuming you can find something appealing from the limited menu, you'll have a great experience at Seasons during RW. Indy 67

We eat dinner at Jaleo with some frequency since my husband's office is nearby. Last night was one of those nights. There are some new tapas on both the temporary menu and the specials menu that are totally amazing. I thought egulleters would like to know. Special tapas include: o beet gazpacho with goat cheese o black pork charcuterie platter o toasts of squash blossom, Idiazabal cheese and ham Temporary tapas include: o sweetbreads with Pisto Machengo Don't order beet gazpacho expecting the typical tomato soup with a garnish of beets. This soup is a thick puree of beets accented with a couple of firm-textured diced beets and some crumbles of goat cheese. The natural sweetness of beet gets a bit of a jolt with some vinegar and the goat cheese serves as a creamy counterpoint to everything. Just fantastic! The portion is large enough for two people to share happily. Apologies for using the French word "charcuterie" for what is a Spanish dish. I could have written salumi, but that wouldn't be any more Spanish. My menu French and Italian are better than my menu Spanish. This dish includes three thin slices each of dry cured ham, chorizo, and salami. The meat is from black pork rather than from the more common white pork. There are two options: black pork raised on its regular diet (whatever that may be) and black pork raised on a diet including 60 days of acorns. The latter option is a bit more expensive, but we chose it. The taste was exquisite. Frankly, it was better than Mario Battali's salumi platter at Babbo restaurant in NY where we ate recently. Do not order this dish if you're going for cost-effective tapas choices. The diameter of the three types of charcuterie is no bigger than two inches and the meats are sliced appropriately thin. However, the taste was really special so we're happy we ordered it. The menu lists "toasts of sqush blossom with Idiazabal cheese." We didn't quite know what that would mean, but I'm a fool for squash blossoms so we tend to order them whenever they are offered. What arrived was a totally exquisite version of grilled cheese: a thin slice of intensely-flavored ham, a layer of squash blossoms, and cheese. The sandwich was cut into four small slices. I don't know if I can ever eat an ordinary version of grilled cheese again! My husband and I aren't certain that the veal sweetbreads are listed on the menu as Sweetbreads Pisto Machengo, but we are confident that they are among the temporary offerings and that they are the only sweetbread option. I like sweetbreads. When I see sweetbreads on the menu as an appetizer, they are among my final choices. However, they haven't won out in a long time. Some other appetizer is calling my name more. My husband will tolerate sweetbreads. Last night, he was willing to order them in a shared tapas-sized portion. We're glad we did; what a treat! Imagine wonderful ratatouille with a meaty, savory sauce and some bite-sized cubes. My husband described the dish this way: "Savory. The sweetbreads are really an accent and don't dominate the taste. Even someone who really doesn't like sweetbreads would like this dish." We ordered a couple more tapas selections, but no one needs for me to write about the standards like patatas bravas. The only negative in an otherwise wonderful meal is that we exerimented by ordering the white sangria instead of the usual red. We didn't care for the white as much as the red. Indy 67

" However, just a few blocks off the inner harbour is little italy. Not all the places are great but few of them I thought were pretty good." Da Mimmo in Little Italy used to be a good old-style Italian restaurant. I say "used to be" only to accurately reflect the fact that we haven't been in a while, not that we have any specific information about its decline. Our allegiance has shifted to Boccaccio even though we have sentimental attachment to Da Mimmo for introducing us to Pepoli Chianti by Antinori. This wine was our first encounter with the modern style of Chianti, and it was a revelation after the straw-wrapped horrible Chiantis of our younger days. You're forewarned that dining at Da Mimmo won't be a cutting edge experience if you go to their web site. The background music is Dean Martin crooning "That's Amore." We were particularly fond of their veal chop. Boccacio, also in Little Italy, serves excellent Northern Italian cuisine. It is the top-rated Italian restaurant according to Zagat's. It is definitely a more polished experience compared to Da Mimmo in terms of food, decor, and service. We've had excellent veal and fish/seafood dishes at the restaurant. These two restaurants offer shuttle bus service to/from the downtown hotels. This is a real convenience considering that parking is a premium in Little Italy and tourists may not even have a car. (Of course, the distance from downtown/Inner Harbor to Little Italy is so small that a taxi couldn't cost that much if you're inclined to go that route.) Indy 67

"Perhaps a more apt comparison would be the Bar Room of the Modern and Nougatine as they may share more similar characteristics." You're absolutely right. Still, I meant that Jean Georges and the Bar Room of the Modern share an eclectic approach, as opposed to the single-cuisine approach of Babbo. The next time we're in Manhattan, we're going to try Nougatine. Incidentally, our anniversary restaurant choice came down to a choice between Daniel and Jean Georges. First, we tried to get a reservation at Daniel since we've enjoyed DB Bistro Modern in previous visits to NYC. Our biggest hesitation about Daniel was that we aren't part of the in-crowd, and we'd read about two-tier treatment there. However, my husband particularly wanted to enjoy the opulence of Daniel for our milestone anniversary. Our decision was overtaken by events when we discovered Daniel would be closed July 3 and 4. We have pleasant memories of a wonderful meal at Vong in Hong Kong four years ago so it was an easy switch to Jean Georges. More important, they would be open. I'll keep this brief since I'm in the Modern restaurants thread, but our meal at Jean George was sheer perfection. The food was simply the most amazing food we've ever tasted. The combinations were interesting without being bizarre. There wasn't a single item in either tasting menu that we would have ordered if we had been choosing from the a la carte menu. Ultimately, we decided to experience the chef doing his thing so we selected the Summer Tasting menu. We were amply rewarded; each dish was fantastic. The wait staff was attentive and pleasant with no trace of two-tier treatment. A family including three little girls -- ages five to ten -- was in the last stages of their meal when we first arrived. After we had experienced the adventuesome combinations of several courses of the Summer Tasting Menu, I couldn't imagine what the girls might have eaten. I asked the waiter about children at the restaurant. His response was typical of the attitude-free experience we had. He said that the restaurant was prepared to modify anything on their menu and if that weren't enough, they would bring in -- albeit reluctantly -- something from the hotel's room service kitchen. He added that the palate of many of the children who eat at Jean Georges was more sophisticated than his was at their age. "Some of them even scare me when they come in demanding certain ingredients." Another example of the warm and charming service: I'm lactose intolerant so I travel everywhere with Lactaid. That way I don't need to ask any questions about recipes or restrict my choices in any way. Our waiter noticed I had some packets of Lactaid next to me on the banquette. When he set down the fish course -- fish in a buttermilk vinaigrette -- he said I'll tell you if there's any milk in any of the other courses. I'm lactose intolerant, too, and I need to be careful." Indy 67

My husband and I were in NYC for the July 4 weekend for a wedding. We stayed a couple of extra days to visit museums and celebrate a milestone anniversary. Friday night we ate at the Bar at the Modern, Sunday we ate at Babbo, and Monday we ate at Jean Georges. (It's a no-brainer to figure out which day was our anniversary.) We thought the our meal at the Bar was lovely and we'd be happy to eat there again. Admittedly, we're also glad it was our first meal out of that trio of restuarants. A couple of the dishes were sublime and overall it was very good; however, it suffered in comparison to Jean Georges. Babbo's food isn't the same style so there's no useful comparison. Both my husband and I ordered the Charred Octopus. I also ordered the Sorrel Soup with Foie Gras and my husband ordered the Alsatian Country Sausage. For entrees, my husband had the Duck Confit and I had the Swordfish. The Sorrel Soup was the highlight of my meal followed closely by the Octopus, easily the most tender version we've ever eaten and that includes Babbo's Grilled Octopus in Limoncello Vinaigrette. Since the tables at the Bar are closely spaced, our meal was somewhat marred by the constant complaints of the husband of the couple seated next to us. At first it was annoying. The husband fancied himself a foodie, but his comments seemed clueless both in real time and upon further investigation. Our experience was excellent: interesting, well-prepared food and attentive service. By the time the husband leaned over to our table to advise us on what to order for dessert -- the beignets but to make sure they bring whipped cream and tell them to hold the mango marmalade -- we could barely keep from laughing. Indy 67

"I'm going to St. Petersburg (Russia) in mid July and am in search of good restaurants. Has anyone dined there recently?" Is summer '04 recent enough for you? If so, I can recommend two restaurants: Za Stsenoi and Kavkaz Bar. Za Stsenoi's location, decor, and menu reflects St. Petersburg's long association with Europe, especially France. The restaurant is located steps away from the the Mariinsky Theater. This is the theater where Marius Petipa, a Frenchman, brought Russian ballet to international prominence in the 19th century -- a position it has retained through the present. I had fun looking at the decor which includes all manner of theater and ballet memorabilia. The food leans towards French, although you'll find some Russian dishes, too. The food was very good, but very familiar, so I recommend this restaurant for the total experience more than an opportunity to break new culinary ground by sampling Russian cuisine. Kavkaz Bar consists of two adjoining restaurants of the same name serving Georgian cuisine. (You'll want to eat at the restaurant rather than the cafe. That's the establishment on the right as you're facing the two possibilities.) We ate here with another couple and made a meal of all appetizers. The food was fantastic. If you've ever eaten Turkish food, you'll notice similarities to Georgian food. The menu listed dishes using the English -- or as the Russians say "the Latin" -- alphabet. I recognized enough names that I felt quite confident ordering. For example, I spotted a word that was close enough to "bourek" that I was confident I'd receive a pastry filled with a savory filling. I did. We had some language issues with the servers, but pointing and smiling smoothed over the rough spots. Two years have gone by and the restaurant may have improved the English skills of the servers. I think each couple ordered four or five appetizers, and we had huge amounts of food. (I'll check with my husband when he gets home from work and, if I'm wrong, I'll write again.) Indy 67

"From my experience, Les Freres Jacques on Dame St (celebrating their 20th birthday this year), has the best cheese board in Dublin." One of the food disappointments of our trip to Ireland was the dearth of cheese plates as lunch options. I could have happily eaten an assortment of cheese, brown bread, and salad daily. Admittedly, we didn't make a point of planning places to eat lunch, preferring to keep our emphasis on seeing the sights so my wished-for lunch might have exisited. However, the place where we ate lunch in Thomastown -- the Cafe at the Watergarden -- struck me as restaurant that should have had a cheese plate given the nature of its menu and its devotion to quality ingredients. A local woman recommended the cafe when we discovered Hudson's didn't serve lunch. Still, our soup and sandwich was delicious and we got the added bonus of a charming glimpse of town life. Everyone knew everyone in the restaurant so hugs and cross-table conversation was constant. One woman paying her bill complimented the cashier on the chicken salad plate. The cashier replied, "Elaine made the marinade." Obviously, that was all that needed to be said! In a pub in Kilkenny, I asked if they could put together a cheese plate for lunch. No problem. They served me slices of Brie, really lovely cheddar, and mozzarella with brown bread. Not quite the assortment of Irish cheese of my dreams. They did serve the cheese with something I would call chutney, but which they called salsa. Their salsa was fantastic, and I don't know why I didn't ask if the chef would share the recipe. "It sounds like your experience at Shanahan’s was much better, so I’m really looking forward to your report. I’ve never been, but know plenty of expense account people who have enjoyed it, but would be reluctant to cough up the hefty prices for the legendary steaks out of their own pockets. As there is no existing thread, perhaps you could start one?" I will. For now, I'll simply say that my enthusiasm for Shananhan's stems from the fact that my husband shared some of his rib eye steak. It was, quite simply, the best steak I have ever eaten. Details to follow. Indy 67

" It's been awhile since my last trip to Florence, but I think Il Bronzini is in that area. I'm not even sure they're open for lunch, but the food was very good." Good memory! I checked my DK Eyewitness Guide to Florence. The Accademia is in section D4 on its map of Florence. La Taverna del Bronzino (which I'm assuming is the same as Il Bronzini) is recommended by the guidebook. It's located in section D3, on grid north of the museum, specifically on the Via della Ruote of the same map. This road extends through the lower half of section D3. The OP should know that north is away from the main attractions. The Duomo, Palazzos Medici-Riccardi and Pucci -- among others -- are south of the Accademia so it may not make the most sense to eat head north for lunch. Our first trip to Florence, we stumbled upon Carabe which has already been mentioned. We were heading to the Accademica, and we were already hot and thirsty despite the early hour. We stopped in because they had a cooler of bottled water near the front door and cool water was what we needed. Once inside, our plans changed. We saw the clippings about the place we ordered granita in spite of the time. Conversation overheard in Rome: Wife to husband: What do you want to do about breakfast? Husband: Get some gelato. Wife: Gelato for breakfast? Husband: It's our last day in Italy. I'm going to have gelato for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And if I feel like it I may have some gelato in between. Indy 67

We just got home from two weeks in Ireland. We divided our time almost equally among Dublin, Ennis, and Kilkenny. This is the first of three reports on our experiences eating at Chapter One and Shanahan's. (If I have time -- and I really have a sizable stack of laundry and mail to deal with-- I'll write about Ely's Wine Bar and a couple of other places where we ate.) Chapter One Executive Summary: Delicious food. All dishes were extremely well executed and appealingly plated. Gracious welcome. Attentive but not intrusive service. Attractive surroundings. Detailed version: The evening began with festivities even before we got to the restaurant. I'm a great fan of contemporary art. Barry Flanagan, a British sculptor who is famous for his sculptures of hares, will be having a show at the Irish Museum of Modern Art opening June 28. The median strip on O'Connell Street north of the Liffey has become an ad hoc sculpture garden for Flanagan sculptures in conjunction with the museum show. As we cruised to the restaurant, we were delighted by the sight Flanagan's whimsical sculptures. The restaurant is lovely with a sleek, modern look. The upholstery on the seating is understated to keep the visual focus on the stone walls. I don't know if the stone is original to the Jameson family's time in the building or an interior designer's addition. In spite of the stone walls, the noise level in the restaurant was not a problem, although there were outbursts from a large group celebrating a milestone anniversary. We ordered the tasting menu: six mini-courses. A tasting menu often involves no choice; however, I asked if we could substitute a different dessert and they agreed happily. (The original selection was a chocolate and banana concoction.) Empowered, my husband asked about substituting a different meat dish for the Spring Meat Pie. This time the answer was no with the explanation that the chef had planned the progression of tastes and our tinkering would upset the balance. As you'll read below, the progression of tastes involved a surprising amount of repetition. First course: Lobster and crab cocktail with avocado and sun-dried tomato. Second course: Pithivier (puff pastry) filled with griolles (wild mushrooms) with asparagus garnish. Third course: Ballantine of foie gras with peach wedges Fourth course: John Dory with griolles and asparagus Fifth course: Spring Meat Pie (puff pastry filled with chunks of squab, lamb, chicken, and veal) with Bernaise sauce and peas Dessert: Lemon creme caramel with mango and mango sorbet (husband) Custard tart with fresh strawberries and creme fraiche ice cream (me) Wine: We shared a bottle of wine, a Sancerre. The sommelier first recommended a pinot gris from Alsace. When we expressed some concern about it being too sweet for our taste, he assured us it was rich and fruity but not sweet. Since that wine was sold by the glass, he brought us a bit to taste. Whoops! It was appallingly sweet. I've never had a sommelier's recommendation be so far off. My husband's next move surprised me. He informed the sommelier that he wanted a Sancerre and to please recommend one that would work with our meal. This is contrary to our practice of letting the sommelier make an independent recommendation with only price to guide him/her. Obviously, the sommelier had lost standing as far as my husband was concerned. The fish preparation that was served was not the one described on the menu. That version featured John Dory with mussels in a ginger vinaigrette. Since we had gotten griolles in the second course, I think the menu dish would have been better choice. In addition, I think the menu should not have included two dishes with puff pastry or asparagus. Now the food was masterfully prepared and tasted delicious. However, the purpose of a tasting menu is to see the chef's range of talent. Serving dishes with repeated ingredients seems to defeat some of that purpose. Based on our experience, is Chapter One really the best restaurant in Dublin? I'd be hard-pressed to give Chapter One the nod over Shanahan's. (We did not eat at Patrick Gilbaud's restaurant.) The issue with duplication on the tasting menu was a negative for me even though each dish was really, really excellent. The interesting combinations in each dish was a positive for me. Perhaps I'm most influenced by the fact that as suberb an experience as we had at Chapter One, the evening met our expectations. The evening at Shanahan's exceeded expectations. Indy 67

" Had a bad experience with La Taberna del Alabardero on my last business visit. I might give Nora's a try." "The word" is that Asia Nora is now performing more consistently and better than the original, Restaurant Nora. Except for overly salty soft shell crabs at Nora about 1 1/2 years ago, we've had uniformly good experiences at both restaurants, so I'm not sure where the criticism of the Nora is coming from. But I'm happy to pass along this general wisdom to help you avoid another bad experience in DC restaurants. What was wrong with your experience at Taberna? Indy 67

"We got home at midnight last night, but my body is still on Istanbul time so I'm up writing. If I have a chance to share more food experiences -- both shopping and restaurant dining -- I will." During a trip to the Grand Bazaar, we ate lunch within the bazaar itself, at Havuzulu. This inexpensive restaurant offers donner kebap and other meat kebaps sliced or grilled to order. However, the majority of the food choices are available by choosing from many large casseroles holding both hot entrees and vegetable accompaniments. We had eaten at a similar type restaurant the previous day, but no one spoke English so we didn't know how to do anything other than order donner kebap and mixed salad by pointing. At Havuzulu, an English-speaking maitre d' instructed us to choose from the casseroles. I made some guesses about the contents of each pan, but an English speaking waiter eventually joined us and rapidly rattled off the names of the dishes in each casserole. My husband ordered sliced lamb on a bed of mixed vegetables topped with gratineed bechamel sauce. I ordered meat stuffed eggplant. We also shared a half order of meat-stuffed vine leaves. The food was pleasant but not memorable. The premises were clean and the wait staff was friendly. In keeping with the hawker atmosphere of the bazaar, a random waiter approached us while we ate to shill for a ceramics store somewhere in the bazaar. At the Spice Market, we purchased pistachios, spices, dried fruit, saffron, and more from Hayat. (Hayat is located a couple of stalls inside the market at the entrance along the Bosphorus. A better clue to locate this place is to say that it is across the aisle, but within sight of the entrance to Pandeli restaurant.) My husband and I had been part of a group organized to see the total solar eclipse plus tour some of Turkey's many ruins and museums. Our guide, a resident of Istanbul, was a particularly kind and engaging person who really tried to respond to everyone's needs during the days we were together. When he recommended Hayat for our shopping in the Spice Market, we were only too happy to follow his recommendation. I assume he got a kickback from our purchases, but that didn't bother me at all. In a situation in which all the vendors in the Spice Market seem largely interchangeable we had no other basis to decide who to patronize; we were happy to have a recommendation. Hayat has a shrink wrapping machine on the premises, and instantaneously prepared our purchases for legal entry into the US. On our customs form, we answered "yes" to the question "Are you bringing any food, nuts, etc. into the country? However, I also added the words "shrink wrapped" on the form. Since we appeared to be over our duty-free allowance, we were told we had to see a customs agent. At first, we incorrectly went to the agriculture agent and handed him the card. He saw the words "shrink wrapped" on my form and never even asked to see our food purchases. He did ask if we had purchased any meat. Since we had not, he pointed us in the direction of the correct customs officer even as his colleagues were confiscating bags of lemons and mangoes from other tourists. Indy 67

Here are a couple more recommendations and observations. Istiklal is a pedestrian street south of Taksim Square. It's a fun place to experience the press of people taking a stroll and enjoying themselves for the evening. Haci Baba, a frequently-recommended restaurant for tourists, is located on this street. Friends of ours who ate there were not overly impressed. On our nights strolling there, we only saw clusters of obvious tourists waiting to get in so the restaurant may be suffering from tourist indifference. We ate at one of the restaurants in the Ciceki Pasagi and had a good experience after a somewhat rocky start. The Ciceki Pasagi is an arcade containing many similar-appearing restaurants. Each restaurant has about three or four tables for six people outside their restaurant proper in addition to a conventional restarant. The arcade tables are less smokey since air comes in the open access to the pedestrian street. Strolling musicians come around to serenade the tables -- sometimes competing groups -- but musicians never played for our table. We arrived for dinner between 7:30 and 8:00 both nights and were able to get a table with no wait. Within a short time, every table filled up. We were told that the eating and raki drinking goes on until quite late. When we entered the arcade, our group of six was accosted by each maitre d'. With similar menus, we had little to use as a basis for distinguishing among the restaurants. Finally, we chose a restaurant that was bringing a tray of wrapped sample of their mezze options to already-seated. Those looked appealing and the great decision was made. Until then, we must have had a deer-in-the-headlights look. Highlights from the meal included rice-stuffed vine leaves (heavily scented with cinnamon and other spices), red lentil soup, sauteed eggplant with tomato sauce, and lamb casserole. Leaving the arcade, turn right and continue walking south on Istikal. You'll come to a Turkish ice-cream store. Turkish ice-cream has a gummy, elastic texture which was not universally appreciated, but definitely should be experience. (The name of the ice cream store was something like Mando. At any rate, it's an obvious ice cream shop.) Not surprisingly, the pistachio and walnut flavor ice creams were great hits and people who ordered the mango sorbet (portrayed as ice cream) were very pleased. We ate a nice lunch consisting of three shared mezzes at Pandelli, in the Spice Market. The standout dish was an eggplant creation with a name something like "burek." We expected this to be eggplant encased in phyllo, but was, in fact, more like an eggplant custard topped with a single slice of donner kebap and the ubiquitous grilled mild chile pepper. The Turkish restaurant near our home serves delicious tarama, and we were looking forward to eating some in Turkey. In fact, Pandelli was the only restaurant with tarama on the menu in all our travels, and that may be a function of the fact that it's essentailly a Greek place. The tamara was much saltier than we are used to, but the taste grew on us. After the expensive surprise of ordering fish at two seaside restaurants in Side, we didn't order any more fish meals. Our first fish lunch in Side was very expensive but so delicious and the scenery was so enjoyable that we weren't distressed. (We were told in advance what the price would be for the seafood we chose.) We quite casual about our second harbor-side lunch, and didn't ask prices. Whoops! We spent more on that lunch than we have ever spent on any lunch anywhere in the world and in a price range that is a special event price range for dinners. Let's just say you can buy a small tribal rug for what we paid for lunch! We got home at midnight last night, but my body is still on Istanbul time so I'm up writing. If I have a chance to share more food experiences -- both shopping and restaurant dining -- I will. Indy 67

"I'll be spending the day alone in the mall area of DC in a few days while dh is at work. Where could I eat lunch that is: --inexpensive-ish? --focuses more on protein than starch? --will let me take my time?" Monday, I ate lunch at Charlie Palmer Steak after seeing the Cezanne exhibit at the National Gallery. The prix fixe lunch isn't inexpensive on an absolute basis, but a fantastic three course meal in elegant surroundings for $20.06 meets my standards for such excellent value that I'm comfortable declaring my lunch to have been "inexpensive" on a relative basis. The service was leisurely. The three options for the appetizer were: -- spinach salad -- halibut -- curried cauliflower soup (I had the spinach salad. While it was filled with interesting things, I wished I had ordered the soup and I normally HATE cauliflower.) The three options for the entree were: -- roast chicken -- grilled hangar steak -- sauteed salmon We each ordered one of the options and everyone was happy. The three options for dessert were: -- chocolate caramel mousse -- trio of creme caramel -- ??? Mixed votes on the chcolate mousse. One person loved it and one hated it, saying it was too sweet. My trio was amazing. Indy 67

"One of Ireland’s most famous potters... Kilkenny... In Dublin..." Corinna, Thanks for this fascinating post. This summer, I'm going to be in staying for nearly a week in each of three locations: Ennis, Kilkenny and Dublin. Since I collect teapots, craft shopping will be a priority activity. I've become reasonably familiar with traditional Irish ceramics. Could you recommend some potters who are working in a more contemporary style? Will I be able to find their work in any of the locations I'll be visiting? Thanks! Indy 67