SethG

You're hardly the first person on this thread to make this point about the "overall experience." It seems to be a pretty strong consensus among the posters here. None of the mentioned restaurants except Danube come remotely close to four stars.... wha? Come again? NYC is second best to.... Paris? Tokyo? Boise?

Sorry, I couldn't resist throwing that in there.

I was investigating a stabbing on West 47th Street this afternoon and happened to have a snack at Tehuitzingo today (before grabbing another snack at Daisy May USA). Man, what amazing tacos! I had some spicy pork and some carnitas. The carnitas were the best I've ever had. (Not that I've had carnitas far and wide, mind you.) I love this place. They do sell fresh Mexican ingredients at the front of the shop, but it appears to me that they sell the same crappy jalapenos, serranos and poblanos you see in most of the city. I can't count the number of times I've erupted in fury after failing to get any heat out of a huge handful of what are supposed to be serrano peppers! When I'm cooking Mexican, I usually resort to gourmet markets where I can get habeneros, or I just buy jamaican peppers and chop one of 'em into whatever lame, timid jalepenos or serranos I'm using.

I'm no conservative, much less a white supremacist, but all the discussion on the panel of the Carolina mustard-based style made me want to try some. There's probably no chance we'll see some next year, though, right?

Thanks to eGullet, I had a very nice time today at the Block Party. I arrived at the south end of the park right at noon and wanted to scream as I waited ten minutes to buy cue-pons. I bought fifty. Then I scooted over to the other side of the park and strategized. I had until 3:00-- I wanted to meet some eGulleteers, and then I needed to leave. So I decided to follow the strategy that would get me the most tastes (I wanted to try at least four of the places) in a couple hours. Mitchell's already had a huge line at 12:10, so I started with K.C. Baron. In ten or fifteen minutes, I got the brisket. My verdict is somewhere between Mr. Cutlets' and the Perlows'-- I thought it was good, moist, tender, but it didn't rock my world. And in no way was I grossed out by the fat. Next I took another look around and saw next to no line at the Blue Smoke hut and a shortish line at Bob Gibson's. So I hopped on Gibson's line and got my favorite dish of the day: wonderful pulled pork shoulder and some very nice beans. Soupy, with a nice pickly edge. So it was now 1:00 and I had already visited two places. I felt like a king. Now there was no choice; I had to brave a long line. Memphis Championship or Mitchell's? The Memphis line was the lesser of the two evils, and in half an hour I got the ribs, which were a generous portion, but I thought (as some others did) they were a little dry and none too warm. But their beans were even better than the ones at Gibson's. Now I was feeling a little full. I retreated to the park for a beer. Upon returning to the madness, I saw that the Mitchell line was longer than ever, doubling back three or four times. And I saw that the Blue Smoke station was nearly empty. So I thought screw it, I'm done. I went to Blue Smoke and had a very generous portion of spare ribs, which in my uneducated opinion were at least the equal of anything else I had today. Folks, if there's still time, don't pass up the Blue Smoke ribs. They're great. I had eaten four portions, and bought three extras to bring home. I had four tickets left; just enough for another beer. So another beer was meant to be. I had a nice time meeting sdome eG folks I hadn't met before, and enjoyed a good round table discussion too. I wish I could have stayed longer to talk to some of you a little more, but I had to run. I have some pics I may post later if they aren't totally redundant.

I have been silently awaiting the first mention of the Bugaboo stroller on eGullet. I have even attempted, thus far without success, to come up with a way to be the first person to bring it up. Personally, I disdain the Bugaboo, and "keep it real" with my Peg Perego. My admittedly obscure point: all notions of conspicuous consumption are relative.

It is a wonderful book. We've enjoyed everything we've tried: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Green Beans Stimperata (Fresh Tuna with Green Olives, Capers, Celery & Mint) Slow Oven-Steamed Salmon Moroccan Tilefish with Sweet Onions (this was probably our least favorite-- it was too sweet for us, but we had no trouble eating it up) Expatriate Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives (We liked this as written, but since then I've sort of simplified this a few times to create a spicing guide to a more conventionally roasted chicken) Slow Cooked Duck with Olives Cassoulet Our favorite was the casssoulet, but the slow-cooked duck was a VERY close second. We were pretty wowed by it. We also couldn't have been more pleased with the oven-steamed salmon and the Stimperata.

'nessa, those Central Market photos are something else! From a New Yorker's perspective, the most amazing thing about the store is the width of the aisles! It looks like you could drive a truck through that store and do no damage. The produce and meats look good, too. Are the breads always wrapped in plastic like that, or just at the end of the day? Whenever I see fresh breads wrapped up like that in a store, it makes me sad. Edit: you know, I can see now that many of the breads are not wrapped at all. I thought it was a trick of the lighting, but it looks like they do store a lot of the breads right on the shelf. Good.

A little off-topic, perhaps, but has your experience at the Penthouse steakhouse changed your opinion of Daisy May's USA BBQ (same chef)? N.B.: I haven't experienced the Penthouse restaurant and very likely never will.

Oh my God. Nessa, that brisket puts to shame every ounce of meat that I consumed in last week's blog.

Sounds great, Vanessa! I've visited Dallas, and it seems like a good eating city. I'm looking forward to hearing about your big cooking day.

Okay-- one of the people I tagged has taken up the torch! So I officially bid you farewell. Good luck to all future bloggers. May the blog be with you. Check out nessa's foodblog here. (Feel free to post the name of either of the two songs that remain unidentified from my list of five. They aren't exactly obscure, but you don't hear either one on the radio that often.)

So now I have TWO PMs just hanging out there, with no response. What is this, a holiday or something? Tcik, tock, tick, tock.

See my criteria for a good road trip song above. Quality is not necessary. Anyone here besides me ever watch the Tony Orlando & Dawn variety show on TV? I used to watch the two women and wonder which one was Orlando and which was Dawn. I've decided to go ahead and tag someone else. I can't stand the anticipation.

I acquired the Pie & Pastry Bible pretty recently, so I haven't tried as many things as I'd like to. I've really liked the savory tarts in the book. There aren't that many, but they're well-chosen. The poblano/red pepper one is unusual and good. The spinach one is very good too. I've made the apple pie that begins the book twice, with good results.

I always think of it as "Beam-eye Baby", imagining some super-powered infant with magical laser-eyes. Go Ronettes! That's very funny. Here's the picture appendix: Fig/anise bread: Sourdough boules (the one on the right went to Heather's house): Sunflowers for sale at the Eastern Market: BACON for sale at the Eastern Market: Twenty percent whole wheat sourdough batard:

Adele, have you tried the cream cheese crust? I've had good luck with it. I look forward to reading more about your baking! (Shirley Corriher is currently writing BakeWise, by the way. But I have no idea when she'll finish it.)

Can you tell I'm back home, with my DSL connection? What did I eat on Sunday? Isn't that what I'm supposed to be talking about? Breakfast: bagel, cream cheese, lox. Lunch: assorted leftovers in my mother's house. Dinner: my mother served some salmon fillets, some baked potatoes and a salad. I wolfed this down in seconds, since I was trying to get all our stuff together so we could get out the door. Tomorrow I'll post a few pics: some bread, and a couple shots at the Eastern Market. And that'll be it.

By the way, on the drive home tonight I stumbled on some more good tunes. I'm posting some lyrics here. Can you name the songs? "'Cause tonight (TONIGHT) is the night (TONIGHT); we always knew it would feel so right." "One floor below me, you don't even know me, I love you." "This dance ain't for everybody, only the sexy people." "But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness." "Is there gas in the car? Yes there's gas in the car!" "For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three." If you use Google, you're cheating!

I've always been fond of "Motel Matches." You're pretty bold there, going with Goodbye Cruel World material. My strange choice for favorite EC song, from King of America: "Suit of Lights."

What about the voice of Geddy Lee? How did it get so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy. I was in camp when "Tom Sawyer" was a hit. For some reason, I remember that "All Those Years Ago" (the George Harrison tribute to John Lennon) and Styx's "Too Much Time on My Hands" (see Note 1, below) were also in heavy pop radio rotation at the time. I didn't know what I was talking about, but I told some other kid that I didn't like Rush. His response: "Neil Pert is a poet." That always cracks me up when I think of it. But he was right. I still don't know much about Rush, but their hits are amazing pop songs. The lyrics are pretty damn good. They use more funny meters than Dave Brubeck, and they've got serious chops. Note 1: Whatever happened to Tommy Shaw? Anybody remember "Girls With Guns?" I heard it recently and thought it really wasn't that bad. Only a little bit. We'd go back. I thought I would take some hits for my generalization about all restaurants outside New York. But I guess what I said must be a generally accepted truth.

Here it is, late Sunday night, and the person I tagged has not responded. I could tag someone else, but seeing as it's so late I don't think that will do any good until tomorrow. Here's what I propose: it is a holiday. I'll give the person I tagged until noon tomorrow (Monday), and if I hear nothing I'll tag someone else. I would've tagged someone else tonight if I hadn't been in transit. But whenever it happens, someone WILL be tagged. I ain't gonna be the one to break this chain letter!

Eastern Market indeed. After I had a bagel and some coffee yesterday morning, we packed up the kids and drove down to Capitol Hill, to visit a couple with three kids. Capitol Hill is probably my favorite neighborhood in D.C. I just love the feel of it. After hanging out at their little house for a while (where I had a chocolate chip cookie), all nine (!) of us trooped off to the Eastern Market. I was expecting a greenmarket, but the Eastern Market is more of a craft fair/grocery store/flower shop. Most of the food vendors are selling mass-produced supermarket fruits and vegs. You have to look for little signs advertising the few vendors who are selling local produce. Those vendors had some nice stuff. There was attractive asparagus, strawberries from West Virginia, some cantaloupe. There's also an inside space where you can find butchers, fishmongers, bakery and deli stuff. The butchers had impressive piles of various types of bacon-- I took a pic that I'll post later. Lunch for me was a spicy, half-smoked hot dog, something that I'd never seen before. I thought it was pretty darn good actually. And I had half of a pretty nasty turkey sandwich. And I picked up some strawberries and had a couple of those. And I bought some chocolate ruggelach (sp?) to bring back to my mother, and I had a couple of those too. No cheese, hillvalley, sorry. We sat outside and ate, and then Leah started to have a bit of a meltdown so we decided it was time to go. Once we returned to my mother's place in the mid-afternoon, my wife and kids all took a nap while I baked a loaf of 20% whole-wheat sourdough to bring over to some other friends we were to visit last night. This loaf came out really well (I'll post a picture later). I have to admit at this juncture that my mother's electric oven may bake bread better than my gas oven at home. The electric oven browns the crust better, for some reason. After everybody woke up, we continued with the visiting. We saw another couple (friends of mine from high school) who have three kids, plus another couple of friends of mine who have two kids. This made for a house full of six adults and seven kids, only one of whom was over three years old. It was pretty crazy. We ate.... more meat! I think this week has to be a record for me. I'd be on the Atkins diet but for all the bread. We had burgers, dogs and brats, and a southern baked bean dish that was very sweet and bacony. And there were raw carrots and cucumber, dipped in salad dressing. Today I'm planning to bake more sourdough-- although my mother complains about flour on her counter, she wants another loaf of bread before we go! I also want to figure out a way to start a loaf that I can finish in the morning in NYC. Our friends down the street who just had a baby are having a Bris tomorrow, and I'd like to bring a loaf. It's been a fun week of blogging. I done tagged somebody a few minutes ago. I hope it works out, since I may not get back to post until very late tonight. We're driving back to Brooklyn this evening, which brings me to another topic: what do you listen to when you're on a road trip? I bring a book of CDs with me, but I find that if I'm driving at night, the music is what I use to stay alert. I need surprise, and if I play a CD I don't get it. Even if it's my favorite, uptempo record of the moment, say This Years Model, my attention will wander eventually and I'll start to get tired. So what I do is I keep flipping the radio dial looking for a familiar song to which I know the words-- and it doesn't have to be any good. It's more like Karaoke; I'm looking for singalong stuff, and I'm definitely singin' along. On the way down from Brooklyn, I had a good run in which I stumbled on "Piano Man," "We Are the Champions," Steely Dan's "Dirty Work" (which almost doesn't count because it's so truly surprising and good), "Tom Sawyer" (which I thought was hilarious, but since everyone else was sleeping, I had no one to share it with!), and "Band on the Run." What do you do?

We ended up at Addie's after all. I called again, and this time I spoke with a person who told us that we could show up at 9 p.m. and get served. So we went and had a good time. The place is informal. It serves what I would call "New American" cuisine, with an emphasis on southern influences, although many of the fish dishes take a detour into Asian terrain. Being that we are in Maryland, Robin and I both started with crab appetizers. She got the crab cake, which I thought was very good. It had a very smooth texture and it held together well, but without any obvious mayonnaisish quality. I had a soft-shell crab speacial. It was prepared with some sort of wood something, and it came atop a succotashy corn thing. I thought it was even better than the crab cake. We were a little disappointed in the entrees. Robin had cod, which was served in a sauce that also contained clams. I didn't taste it, but she questioned the clams' freshness and didn't think the dish united as a whole. In keeping with the unintentional meat theme of this blog, I had a pork "Porterhouse," served with a bourbon sauce over grits and topped with a nest made of sweet potato. I had no specific complaints about the dish although I thought the pork steak was incredibly fatty (and I wasn't sure I minded). I did feel that it was just a bit too fussy, too busy; this seems to be our experience (here comes the provincial snobbery) whenever we eat in America outside New York City. We had dessert: Robin had a white chocolate cake special. I disapprove of white chocolate and don't think it deserves to be called chocolate. So I wasn't the best audience for the dish, which I thought tasted like air. I had a real chocolate cake that I thought was wonderful. We had a bottle of an Oregon Pinot Noir that we really liked. Sorry, no pictures. More to come: We're visitng some friends on Capitol Hill this morning, and I think we'll be going to some greenmarket or other. Later, I'm baking some more sourdough, this time a partial whole wheat. And I gotta tag somebody, right?

Yep, Heather is this blog's mystery guest! Not much to report about it, as I had to get back to my mother's after about an hour to meet my sister and a cousin. Had a very nice, brief visit. Ian was a most welcoming host to Leah! He shared his toys without a peep; I hope some day Leah will return the favor. We consumed some very tasty coffee and some of the sourdough I brought over. I took a couple pics of the loaves before I went over, but I can't post them until I get back to NYC. They were standard white sourdoughs, with some wheat germ tossed in. I grabbed a jar of Ringo on our way out of Brooklyn, and reorganized my mother's fridge yesterday so that I could fit a bowl of refreshed starter and two retarding loaves in there, much to her apparent consternation. She seemed appeased today, though, when she tasted the finished product! It was something of an adventure making the loaves in someone else's kitchen. I couldn't rely on some of my usual crutches: the scale, the stand mixer, oven/instant-read thermometers. I felt more like a true "village baker" than usual, adding water as I kneaded to correct the texture by feel, using a rest period ("autolyse") to let the dough organize itself a bit, and stretching and folding ("turning") the dough a couple times as it rose to encourage proper development. It's hard to slash a loaf when you can't find a single sharp knife in the kitchen, and I thought the loaves browned too fast, but with some panicky adjustments to the oven temp everything came out all right. Lunch today was a (heated, frozen) Quiche Lorraine and a salad. I'm still working on dinner. Heather suggested Addie's in Rockville, but when I called them I got an answering machine which said they close on the early side. Actually, maybe 10:00 it isn't early 'round here-- it is in NYC! We were hoping to go out after our kids are in bed so I'm not sure that's going to work. One thing's for certain: wherever we go, I'm not ordering steak!