Al_Dente

Do you get their Rt 66 with your cigarette? Often, yes. Other times the Caravan blend, or whatever the special is that day.

Also in Old Town-- Misha's. They roast their own there, have a laid back atmosphere, and they have the added bonus (for me anyway) of having a room where you can hang out and smoke. I think they were once profiled on Food Network.

Just to be sure I'm not missing anything... you mean butter - not clarified butter - yes? Another question: I'm not sure what exactly you mean by omelet temp. Should the steak really sizzle when it hits the pan, or should it just be hot enough to make a little noise? I hate to see people put anything in a pan before it's hot enough to at least register something on the eardrums.

they probably had too many people either fall down those stairs because of that weird 1/2 step at the top, or smack their heads on the ceiling on the way down.

I agree. It was refreshing to get away from the mu shu pork and egg rolls for a night. I especially enjoyed the spicy head on shrimp. The pork skin sucked though. It was like chewing on an old dish sponge. Great to see you all again. I look forward to the picnic!

I plan on being there by 6:30p. Al? I should be there by 6. If anyone is coming that hasn't met me yet, I'm wearing khakis and a yellow button down. Oh yeah, and one of those propeller beanie caps.

Whaddaya mean? Rocks started this thread. Good point. Don't know why.

You read my mind. I'll be there.

This thread inspired me to go to Bistro du Coin in Washington DC last night for a tartiflette. Mmmmm... a pretty good steak tartare as well.

Cool. I was just thinking last night of flying up to Burlington, renting and car, and driving to Montreal. Any restaurants to recommend?

I find that the bar there is one of the least crowded in the area generally. Though I haven't been there on a Fri or Sat night in a long time. I'll try to stop by on the 5th before your minibar experience.

Me too. Though Andale has 1/2 price bottles of wine on Monday with the purchase of any entrees. Good stuff can be had for $12-15.

Is there any way that the eGullet powers that be can get her some more photo space? give bleu more space! give bleu more space!

Any ideas where he'll be having dinner tonight?

Excellent blog. I too would like to see more in the future. Is there any way you could at least do some sort of monthly French cooking adventure with pics? I've never seen a sexy radish until reading this thread.

i thought these were pure evil?

I wasn't suggesting I wouldn't want chicken hearts in my beer. Sounds deelish.

My recent fungus feast: grilled portobellas with serrano and gruyere prime rib roast rubbed with s&p and ground dried chanterelles and lobster mushrooms baked potato cake "sandwich" filled with browned button mushrooms and morels with a bit of cream wild mushroom and garlic confit on arugula

I might be up in Bawlmore Friday night. I know Federal Hill and Fells Point, but my Little Italy knowledge is rusty. Is there anywhere worth going? I'm not looking for fine dining-- if it's a spaghetti and meatballs kinda place with a good atmosphere and decent service, I'd be happy. Alternatively, is there anywhere worthwhile to go to in Greektown?

I'd just skip the cruise period. amen...

Sheesh. Clearly I'm losing my mind. We need to get some pig pickin local alumni to meet you and yours for a drink or something.

You think they suck here? I'll tell you about a place where the grocery stores suck, and I mean they suck like two buck chuck, they suck like a mangy duck, and they suck like a slapshot to the eyeball with a hockey puck. I went to visit family in Salisbury MD over the weekend, and I made the mistake of stopping at Food Lion to pick up stuff to make kebabs. Lousy kebabs. I knew my pickins would be slim in Salisbury (I spent way too much time living there a few years ago), so I set my sights as low as possible. What do I need? Hmmm, a hunk of some kinda meat and a few grillable veggies-- should have been a piece of cake. Button mushrooms? slimy and brown. Zucchini? looked like they had been gummed by geriatric dogs. Bell Peppers? these typically come in green, yellow, red, maybe orange, right? I don't know how to characterize the color I saw there. Maybe "putrid purple"? Cherry Tomatoes? packaged in a gauzy sack with some sort of furry white mold developing at the bottom. Meat? There was one decent looking hunk of pork butt that I ended up cutting into cubes for dinner. But tell me why, why in the world there were what appeared to be good looking NY strips and ribeyes that had been butchered (and I do mean BUTCHERED) into steaks that were less than 1/4 inch thick? Count your blessings...

Absolutely. "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying." Woody Allen

Depends on which part of the restaurant you're eating in. Minibar? Are you M or F?

So only pregnant women are invited? Main Entry: em·bry·on·ic Pronunciation: "em-brE-'ä-nik Function: adjective 1 : of or relating to an embryo 2 : being in an early stage of development : INCIPIENT, RUDIMENTARY just kiddin, man... weird sense of humor, I know.