Al_Dente

I went a few nights ago. Fortunately, I drove my Hummer and brought along Paris Hilton, otherwise I doubt they would have let me in. There should be a sign out front "Tragically Hip Only".

Today is gonna be a tough one. Perhaps I'll try the bar at IndeBleu...

The Al Dente Institute SEAL OF APPROVAL of Excellent Threads I look forward to watching and participating in this one!

Went out with all the other donkeys, mules, and asses last night for New Years dinner. Most all the clientele at Corduroy seemed to have 2 legs however. Had excellent service from the staff and some beautiful food. Try those beef cheeks with tarbois beans! And I wish I could get greens as fresh as those in their salads. Thanks Ferhat and Chef Power! Al

The place looks awesome. I look forward to eating there soon. Picked up some diver scallops, monkfish, and halibut to cook up this evening. Can't wait to get started cooking it all up. Happy New Year folks!

I especially like their mortatofu.

What to do, what to do. I'm going to sneak outta the office here by about 4 and meet up with some peeps for dinner at 7:00 or so. I'll have time to kill on the red line. I could brown bag a pint of Wild Turkey or some such on the Metro and berate out of towners on the finer points of mass transit usage, but then I'd be sloppy at dinner. Probably not a good idea. I need somewhere comfortable to sit at the (hopefully not too cig-infested) bar and read and have a little pre-NYE wine. Damn, I just can't seem to settle on any particular place.

DiMarco's on Colesville Rd in Silver Spring does a good Italian cold cut. Also meatball. Also sausage. Also prosciutto and home made mozz.

I'm right handed too, but I hold the knife with my right. After all, the knife hand has to do the difficult work. The fork hand just has to hold in place whatever you're cutting and then navigate the forkful toward one's gaping maw. This only applies to foods that require both hands (and utensils) to eat-- if I can just use a fork, I eat with my right. I don't give a rat's ass about etiquette. I'm sorry, was that rude?

Porcini Isn't there a story about a famous composer (Rossini?) who only cried twice in his life-- when his mother died, and when a roast chicken stuffed with porcinis fell overboard during a dinner party on a boat?

Oops. I've been away from eGullet for too many days.

Amen to that. I'm thinking I'll be doing this later next month or perhaps even Feb. I'm going to be ordering the duck fat, the beans, etc., so I'll need plenty of time to plan this. I'm a bit torn about the sausage situation. I was going to make the confit myself, but the sausage, I'm not so sure. Seems more like a commodity than the confit, but perhaps I'll see if I can get the proper attachment for my Kitchen Aid to grind the meat and fill the casings. Does anyone know what this will cost? My Kitchen Aid is a hand-me-down older model, so I'm concerned about whether or not I can get the right accessory. What do we think? Must the sausage (and the confit for that matter) be made from scratch? Will purchasing ready made ingredients result in penalties or disqualification? Also, I'll go ahead and make this offer. If you're out there, Mr Bourdain, you are of course invited.

what time? i might be able to swing by. is there a dress code? i'm dressed down for a slooooow day in the office.

I'm in. I was going to do a thread on making the cassoulet anyway, might as well make it a group effort. Also, a handful of lucky (or possibly unlucky) DC-area eGulleters might get to sample my efforts. Provided they bring the appropriate wines of course.

recap of last night. as i remember it anyway. belgian beer (9% alcohol) pinot noir cab to Bistro Bis a negroni malbec steak tartare malbec merguez sausage seared scallops malbec cab to Poste shiraz shiraz spinach and ricotta ravioli (wow!) shiraz walk to next restaurant-- rosa mexicana pomegranate margarita don julio anejo tequila (smooooooooooooth) walk to next restaurant-- jaleo sangria sangria cab home ice cold vodka pass out ice cold and here i sit. in my office. railroad spike in my left eye. satan in my gut. happy freakin holidays, al dented

Thanks! I plan to take a shot at Bourdain's cassoulet sometime in January, so now I can do the confit myself. Question though, for a cassoulet, would you alter your recipe? I'm thinking I'd leave the lemon and orange out perhaps.

Nearly all the restaurants on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. I gotta lotta problems with you people!

Tonight, probably Bistro Bis. Though 15 Ria and Ceiba are under consideration. Me, my best bud (father of my twin god-sons), and my bro (future father of my twin nephews and/or nieces) will be celebrating my bro's big news. I'll probably be excluded from most conversation as it will revolve around commiserating about pregnant wives. Oy, and I have to work tomorrow.

This is like National Geographic, eGullet style. Remarkable!

Hell yeah-- big bad wolf in a zoot suit! ← 3 Bops and a Wolf Went to Banana Cafe on Capitol Hill instead of Rice last night. Mixed results around the table as far as food goes, but it's a fun atmosphere. Good guac!

Hell yeah-- big bad wolf in a zoot suit!

Might try Rice tonight.

Spokesman for the Thickeburger

We picked up some bay scallops a few days ago (not in the shell however). Absolutely delicious and fresh. Seared them up in a pan with S&P.

I dig caviar, but I just don't get it. I like the best caviar like I like the best lox. But I ain't paying doobage prices for it. Can someone explain it to me?