Al_Dente

If the boudin blanc is still on the menu, go for it. Or anything with gnocchi. Or anything.

How bout trying Eggspectations? No one else has been brave enough to dine there yet. Tastee Diner is probably your best bet. It's less than a 1/4 mile from the north exit of Metro and right across the street from a public parking garage.

Me too. Especially in another room.

Braised Short Ribs There have been a couple (at least) of great threads on braising -- I Want to be a Braisin' Hussy and Braising with Molly. And, a several-part course on ECI. The Truth About Braising. 10 nice sized short ribs Olive oil Mire poix 1 large white onion, chopped 3 carrots, chopped 2 large stalks celery, chopped 2 T tomato paste 1 T anchovy paste (optional) 1 T minced garlic 1-1/2 c good red wine (I used a decent Cotes du Rhone) 1-1/2 c beef broth 1 14 oz. can tomatoes (I really like using "fire roasted" tomatoes 3 T minced parsley Brown short ribs in olive oil. Do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan. Really get that heat high and get a good crust. Remove beef, and then saute )in the same pot) with some more olive oil. Once they're beginning to soften, add atomato paste and the anchovy paste (if using; it adds some body and saltiness). Add minced garlic. Return the beef to the pot, and add wine and beef broth. Reduce heat to simmer, and let her rip for about 3 hours. Take out a rib, and sample for tenderness and flavor-- ideally with a glass of wine. Drink another glass of wine. If necessary, yet another. Drain the stew in a colander and remove the bones-- at this point that should be very easy. Strain broth for excessive fat. Return broth and strained ingredients to the pot. Just before you're ready to serve, add parsley. Serve that thang up, garnish with some more parlsey, and dig in! Keywords: Main Dish, Easy, Beef ( RG1214 )

Braised Short Ribs There have been a couple (at least) of great threads on braising -- I Want to be a Braisin' Hussy and Braising with Molly. And, a several-part course on ECI. The Truth About Braising. 10 nice sized short ribs Olive oil Mire poix 1 large white onion, chopped 3 carrots, chopped 2 large stalks celery, chopped 2 T tomato paste 1 T anchovy paste (optional) 1 T minced garlic 1-1/2 c good red wine (I used a decent Cotes du Rhone) 1-1/2 c beef broth 1 14 oz. can tomatoes (I really like using "fire roasted" tomatoes 3 T minced parsley Brown short ribs in olive oil. Do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan. Really get that heat high and get a good crust. Remove beef, and then saute )in the same pot) with some more olive oil. Once they're beginning to soften, add atomato paste and the anchovy paste (if using; it adds some body and saltiness). Add minced garlic. Return the beef to the pot, and add wine and beef broth. Reduce heat to simmer, and let her rip for about 3 hours. Take out a rib, and sample for tenderness and flavor-- ideally with a glass of wine. Drink another glass of wine. If necessary, yet another. Drain the stew in a colander and remove the bones-- at this point that should be very easy. Strain broth for excessive fat. Return broth and strained ingredients to the pot. Just before you're ready to serve, add parsley. Serve that thang up, garnish with some more parlsey, and dig in! Keywords: Main Dish, Easy, Beef ( RG1214 )

I rode my bike down to Maine Ave this past weekend. Most of the vendors are open, and there appeared to be some good offerings on hand. Snapper and grouper looked especially fresh, and a few of the large whole salmon looked like they could make a hell of a main course at a dinner party for 10 or 12. Avoid the pre-cut cling-wrapped stuff. God knows how long it's been sitting around. I've had mixed results buying various mollusks so I tend to be wary.

Well, in that case, I think I'll do a little cuisinus interuptus and go elsewhere. Hmmm...

I'm thinking of having dinner here soon. Opinions? Recommendations? Thanks!

Isn't there a bar in the Hyatt on NJ Ave near D? I seem to recall having a few drinks there and having a great view of the Capitol dome. Also, what is the collective opinion on La Colline? Oh yeah, and what's the deal with My Brother's Place?

Great thread Bill! I'm getting inspired.

Better be stocked up on diet cokes and saltines!

Not necessarily. There have been other threads on the parallels between good food and good sex. If she doesn't "get" sauce, chooses to dine on diet soda at Italian restaurants, and has boiled egg whites for dinner, I don't even want to imagine what she's like in the boudoir.

Soulless? Where does that come from? Really, I think such responses are interesting. Maybe the most interesting thing about the article is that, since it doesn't seem to make any value judgements itself, the reader is left to do so him/herself. And since the most jarring thing about this woman seems to be that she does not cook, that is going to be the basis of our value judgements. She seems to be portrayed as a very fortunate woman; she is successful in her business life, her family life, and her social life -- and these things are usually not accidents. So why soulless? (Slow day at work today. ) ← I'm not ready to call anybody soulless on the basis of one article. But, if you looked at her as someone apparently without any contemplative habits or hobbies, lacking physical skills or interests, who moves compulsively from through careers, social engagements, volunteer positions and shopping sprees, you'd be tempted to wonder if she was shallow and dissatisfied on a fundamental level. Oh, add in the diet obsession. On the flip side, maybe she's a bright, driven and productive human being, too creative to be caught up in one thing for long. Bit of a Rorscharch Test, eh? Personally, I don't trust anyone who can't survive without domestic help. ← Busboy is right, I shouldn't make such a snap judgement. But it isn't so much the fact that she doesn't cook that bothers me, it has more to do with what she eats and why she eats it. Some of the sentences from that article sound as though they were written about a cyborg: I just don't detect a hint of warmth in this article. That's my Rorscharch reading.

The article seemed to be a profile on a soulless human being.

I'd be happy to provide some musical entertainment at your establishment with my own special rendition of the Goldberg Variations. After a healthy plate of cassoulet, of course.

That about sums it up.

FYI-- At the bottom of the menu page of their website: Merkado Menu

I had the boudin blanc last night. I love this dish. Holding my butter knife between the tip of my thumb and forefinger, I was able to easily slice the sausage with just the weight of the knife. If it was any more tender it would just melt on the plate.

I plan on giving this place a try sometime this week. I'm hoping for the best.

Some day I hope to move into AnWa.

You're head would simply explode. And then you'd still have that eventual trip to the bathroom to look forward to.

Didn't Stardust use to be Marco's Steak House? ← I used to live a block from Stardust and went to the bar (at least whenever a certain bartender-chick wasn't there with whom I had an extremely bizarre experience with years before-- long story) fairly regularly. I like the bar, and some of the apps are good as are the burgers, but the entrees never seemed quite right to me. They always seemed one dimensional and dull. I have heard that it used to be Marco's, but that's before my time.

I douse our weekly "go-to" dish with plenty of Sriracha-- a simple tofu stirfry with mushrooms and green peppers (or some other veggie like chard).

Someone's gonna beat me up about this, but I've always liked Le Refuge. Certainly better than Le Galois-- I haven't been to Chez Andree. But your best choice would be Restaurant Eve-- mnebergall will take it from here.

It was quite packed this past Thursday night. It would have been a struggle to get your drink ordered. But, in the past, I've gotten lucky here-- I mean in the sense that I found a spot to sit.