pastramionrye

*disclaimer: i work at palena. but if you are looking for the best bufala mozzarella outside of naples, get the anitpasto plate at palena...they get it straight from the source....naples, italy, and it is spectacular. jenny, if you dont like it...(just so it doesnt seem like i am plugging palena, i will pay for your appetizer).

the space is being divided into three...and blockbuster will not be renewing their lease, so that space will be available in the near future as well.

i dont see five guys as fast food like BK or McDonalds or Jack n the Box are...they are made to order with toppings and are much thicker than those other burgers. I think their burgers would benefit from not being well done....just my opinion.

100% true...Five Guys burgers are all served well done....there is a sign in the "restaurant" saying those exact words. i was bummed when i finally made the trek from maryland to virginia to try these much lauded burgers.

agree with the five guys comment...the fact that you can only order the burgers well-done detracts for what they could be. as for in-n-out...it is clearly the best fast food burger i have tried. i love them. when i went out to california for college, all my friends told me that the burgers were awesome and the fries were unspectacular.

i like the chat...it can be repetitive, but who cares...not everyone tunes in religiously. my only complaint are the people who write in and bitch to tom about why he does this, why he says that, why he acted this way...its like he has 1000 mothers out there in readership land... as for the content...i think it's pretty cool that eric ziebold is coming to DC...i for one am looking forward to his new restaurant at the mandarin hotel. i think this is huge news for the DC restaurant and dining scene to get a chef of his caliber at the beginning of his career as an executive chef.

greenberry's...

i hope you mean caulk....rubber cock!!! egullet is getting a bit racey.

Eating or dining out or whatever is a multi-sensical experience that goes beyond just sitting down, or standing up or eating in the car or in front of the TV and quickly scarfing down something to satiate oneself. one cannot eliminate the prefrontal cortex response or the fact that you are enjoying food in a quiet cafe with your new wife on your honeymoon, or having a family meal with your WHOLE family for the first time in 15 years or...it is not just the TASTE of the food that allows you to determine whether this was a positive experience or the food was good or whatever...it is your mood, the people around you, the atmosphere, you mind frame or expectations going in...etc.. the best meal of my life might not have registered as high in a blind test measuring my brain waves, but when you take in account my expectations, my friends surrounding me, the wine flowing....it was a great and memorable meal... but this gets away from mr rocks first point...

i agree with donrocks wholeheartedly...and it is not an elitist attitude... for one can gain great satisfaction out of a tomato sauce made by one's grandmother with nothing other than a piece of garlic browned in wonderful olive oil, some tomatoes, onions and parsley...when the ingredients are great and the techniques are great...a synergy occurs. and while a sauce made with a base of a jarred ragu or prego or a strata made from miracle whip might satisify you for a moment, it will lack the soul of the dish made from great ingredients and great technique. now soul is a very tough term to define, but it is something that one can sense, in music, art, cooking, writing, everything...an undefinable but recognizable sense. i eat out a lot, and i am also in the business...and i was just talking about this very same thing that don rocks brought up, with my chef today...lets take meatloaf as an example...Cheesecake factory has very good meatlof (and i happen to be a sucker for home style cooking like meatloaf...but cheesecake factory lacks the super quality ingredients and techniques and soul that a real home meatloaf has. And due to the law of dimishing returns. this meatloaf will fizzle out quicker than one made ffrom those wonderful ingredients and great techniques... so maybe that is where we are left...the law of diminishing returns...something with soul will be more likely to keep exciting ones palette for a longer period of time than the mcdonalds burger or factory meatloaf or miracle whip strata... ***** this all reminds me of my buddies father who made ribs all the time...and he had his "secret" BBQ sauce...when we finally got him to tell us what it was, he said "two bottles open pit BBQ sauce, 1 bottle KC Masterpiece, ketchup, tabasaco..."

la panneteria is decent italian food...bangkok garden is good thai food...and there are some decent carribean/latin american food places as well...also, for a relatively cheap, not neccessarily super authentic, but tasty asian food, oodles noodles always has been pretty good.

kanpei is on the right side of Wilson if heading out of Roslyn into Arlington, just prior to the Safeway...i have been to thematuba in bethesda, and i like kanpei a lot... greenberry's is on wilson too, in a little strip that also has Ray's the Steaks and Guajillo's...just a few blocks up from Kanpei. My finace and I also love Lebanese Taverna...their markets and cafes are just far better and a bettter value than their flagship in woodley park.

the RAMY's are a joke...for all of you who aren't familiar with them...one mus be a member of the Washington Area Restaurant Association (an association with monetary dues) in order to win the awards...so in reality the best chef, is not the best chef in washington, necessarily, it is the best chef who is a member of the Washington Area Restaurant Association...which does not include many of the best chefd and finest restaurants in the area....

common grounds has the absolute worst service for any coffee establishment i have ever been to...and this is coming from a person who refuses to go to Starbucks, and who worked in coffee establishments as a young lad...go to greenberry's instead (right neext to rays the steaks), i like guajillos for mexican kanpei for sushi..i havent been to a lot of restaurants since i moved to arlington, as i work in the restaurant business and havent gotten out as much as i would like.

by adding the spice mixture to the breast (especially the salt) and allowing the breast to air dry uncovered in the refridgerator overnight, you will achive the perfect duck skin. i am sure you can get it by cooking it in a pan, but the results from grilling it on low heat, and rotating it often are unbelievable. not to mention the spice mixture gives wonderful flavor. the skin will not blacken (unless your grill flames up while unattended) and the meat will not be overdone.

the best duck breast preparation i have experienced: make a spice mixture in a coffee grinder of equal parts: for example: cloves, juniper, star anise, salt, pepper and sugar, plus a bay leaf. the most important spices are the salt and the sugar, the other spices can really be whatever you like, fennel seeds and coriander...whatever. sprinkle the spice mixture on both sides of the duck, and let the duck breast sit uncovered in your refrigerator overnight so it can air dry, and the thick layer of fat can tighten up a bit and dry out. season with salt and grill duck breast on low, rotating the duck breast on the grill often and basting with butter often. cook to medium rare and let rest 5 minutes prior to slicing. sprinkle slices with fleur de sel. grilled duck breast is by far the best! just be careful not to leave it alone while you go about other business, because the fat will drip into the grill and can spark up flames that will blacken the breast...if flames arise, just move the breast to another spot and spoon some salted water on the flames. good luck.

I went to Kampai today, due to the recommendation seen on the board; and because i live sooo close....and all i have to say was: excellent. we sat at the bar and chatted with the owner/sushi chef for several hours...as we ate some of the tastiest and freshest sushi i have had in the area. the fatty tuna was the fattiest i have ever seen; the white tune (never even seen it before) was exquisite...the monkfish liver was the freshest and most like foie gras i have ever had, and the sea urchin was tasty too. all in all, the place was clean and nice looking on the inside...the service was friendly and the food was tasty. all within a 10 minute walk from my house.

its over....and i feel as if i have been hit by a truck.

sietsma always recomends mykonos in on eof those shopping centers on the pike...i have never been. when i am in the area i always make it over to lebanese taverna cafe, which for the money has some good eats. up aways on rockville pike near shady grove road is momo taro sushi, some of the best in the city, believe it or not. vegetable garden is a vegan/vegetarian place my brother loves...

you could sear the whole foie gras, getting a nice color on the outside...then, either let the foie fras and the pan cool down for a moment or two, or put the whole foie gras into a new pan and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes....foie gras should not be well done...but it shouldnt be rare....it will be insipid that way... then let the meat rest, just like any other meat...and slice before serving...i like this method better than searing slices in a pan...also season with salt before; but more importantly, season with fleur de sel prior to serving the slices.

you could make a clementine mostarda di frutta...

in the last few days i have tried some exquisite wines, a position i do not find myself in very often...but i felt like i would share it with you all: a 1998 ( i believe) late harvest barbera d'asti, ai suma...very nice, bold, flavorful wine. 1995 Chevalier Montrachet...which believe it or not, i wasnt wowed with...very soft, and i cant imagine it being able to stand up to many food pairings...maybe past its prime? i dont know.... 1988 Chateau Certan (Pomerol)...a great meat and potatoes wine...great flavors that evolved over the course of several hours. and lastly...the coup de grace... 2000 Cheval Blanc (St. Emillion)...Beautiful, subtle, flavorful and i felt honored to have tried this wine...i only hope i will be able to try it in a few years....again....and a few years after that...and a few years after that.

i have had the apricot three ways dessert at zaytinya...and it was good...damn good. the dessert, the carrot fritters and the cheapish wine list are reasons while i'll go back.

this is not an insipid bird...it is one picked up from a berry farm in pennsylavania that sells 100 birds every year for thanksgiving, and 100 for xmas...killed on monday...delivered to me yesterday...it will be brined for three days in a nice spicy brine with star anise, allspice, cloves, cinnamon etc for three days...it is not for turkey day...it is for my "friends thanksgiving" on sunday... i do have a rosenblum zinfandel...andmaybe i will grab a german gerwurtz...and start with the bubbly...

what would you all recommend that might be affordable and go with this poultry feast filled with heavy side dishes? $10 to 25 price range...thanks.