Al_Dente

I live a few blocks away. I'll have to check it out!

By the next day, GONE.

We did roast them with garlic and rosemary. On a whim, I just stuck a couple of sprigs in the potatoes. I restrained myself from saying "BAM".

Everyone had good things to say. I'm always suspicious if folks are just being nice, but they sure seemed happy. Not sure about how it compared flavor-wise, but they did say it was as tender as any they've had.

My first Passover. A good time was had by all. I enjoyed the experience immensely. The gravy only needed a bit more s&p-- once it reduced, the flavor really picked up nicely. It wasn't too sweet. The ground coriander and cumin rounded out the flavor well, and there was a little zing in the background with the garlic and a bit of cayenne. Thanks for all the advice! Some pics for your perusal: The brisket, trimmed of fat, poked full of holes, and stuffed with the fruit, garlic, and spice mixture. I had to saw the 7 1/2 pounder in half to fit it in the pan for searing. Seared. I didn't sear as much as I might have normally because the sugar from the fruit was burning in the pan too easily. Praise the braise! This is about 1/4 of the meat after slicing. It was so tender that cutting was difficult without it just falling apart. Reducing the gravy. Served. Garnished with cilantro. Roasted potatoes with silly rosemary garnish.

Had my first Wegxperience Saturday morning. I was there a 1/2 hour before I realized I hadn't even gotten out of the produce section yet. Wow. Bought a dozen baby artichokes for $3, a handful of fresh porcini's, some tiny potatoes, perfect dandelion greens, lotsa herbs, and I even fondled a durian briefly. I'll be back next Saturday! Next time, perhaps I'll try out the fish after having bought duck breast, short ribs, and a 7 1/2 lb brisket.

although people may not be kosher in respect to the holiday, you should avoid mixing meat and milk or in this case, butter and meat. It just wouldn't be kosher!!! Ooops. Okay, just EVOO then. Crazy Gentiles.... sheesh.....

Cooked the doormat sized brisket last night at 300 for about 3 hours. I think I'll throw it back in the oven shortly at 275 for another couple of hours to get it even more tender. Flavor of the gravy is good-- still needs something. I was considering slow cooking a large sliced onion in a pan (maybe with some more cumin and coriander?) with EVOO and butter and adding that with some more s&p. Then I'll slice up the brisket, return it to the pot and let it cook for another 45 mins to an hour. Whaddaya think?

I briefly had a girlfriend in college who was fluent in Spanish-- a fact she'd emphasize at every opportunity. Even a spin through the Taco Bell drive through would generate an over the top pronunciation of "burrito". Notice the word "briefly" above.

Back in my waitron days I heard a couple debate whether to have a glass of "pea-nut no-ear" or a "mer-lott".

Excellent. This has my vote too.

I'm positive I will.

I have a little bit of an idea of what I'm in for. I think these people do a bit of a Reader's Digest Condensed version, so perhaps I'll be spared.

Okay, now a new wave of anxiety has come over me. I knew there was a "flat" and a "point", and vaguely knew the difference, but now what do I do? How bout both? Perhaps I'll do the flat with the fruit recipe from epicurious above, and the point in a more savory classic style? I'm cooking for twelve and there will be a roast chicken to augment the main course options. So, poundage-wise, how much brisket should I get. In order to take into account FG's advice on portions, the Jew/Gentile ratio will be 8/4.

I get it. So, Johnny Andale is now the sous chief, and Ike Paolo is the executive chief, at Jeff Joshress' latest restaurant, Fin Rocks. I hear their brain soup is excellent.

I KNEW you looked familiar. I haven't been to Whitlow's in ages.

Sangiovese, Peperino, Terruzzi & Puthod ‘01. I think I could eat that meat and cheese plate every night. Gorgonzola Dolce... Agreed that the waitstaff didn't know the cheeses-- didn't they also say the soft cheese with the soft rind was buffalo mozz? I loved the pizza I had with escarole, capers, and anchovies. It was a pleasure meeting everyone. Hope we can do it again soon.

5 cups of wine is NO problem I'll bring my own wine!

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll have to post a pic or two after I make it and let you know how it turned out. I think I'll stick with the recipe-- perhaps try to tone down the sweetness a bit. I find it reassuring that this will come out okay after you folks listed such recipe ingredients as: Kitchen Bouquet Garlic Powder Onion Soup Mix (!?!?!?!) Dr Pepper Ginger Ale Canned cranberry sauce Coke Yikes. I don't know if I could use these things-- at least not in a holiday meal. I'll definitely take the "make ahead" advice. I think I'll try to whip this up Sunday morning.

Have you been recently? 6 months ago I would have agreed with you, but I think their food has improved quite a bit lately. Cafe Atlantico Cafe Atlantico Minibar

I'll take your place. I'm in. Beware, I may have pizza

I was looking at the Sette website. Perhaps you should only order the pizza to take home with you: Pizza = Viagra?

The quality of the oysters on the Maine Ave waterfront is pretty suspect. And there really isn't much of a space to sit down and eat. I do think it's worthwhile for a visit though, as it's definitely got some atmosphere (on a warm day even MORE atmosphere-- phew), and it's fun to check out all the fish displays, live crabs scurrying around, and the frequent oddities (both piscine and human) you might encounter. Eastern Market is a fun place to hang out as well. There is a restaurant called Tunnicliff's across the street that has outdoor seating as well as a French place down the street (Montmarte?) that are good spots for brunch. Or stand in line for the fairly decent crab cake in the market itself. Grab a few cheese samples from the vendor in the market too.

Fawlty Towers had some great stuff involving food-- Basil had no idea what to do with the American couple insisting on Waldorf Salads and Screwdrivers, a hotel guest dies and Basil thinks it's due to food poisoning from old kippers, Manuel's "rat", purportedly a Filigree Siberian Hamster and the health inspector, etc.

Darn, I coulda sworn my recollection of what the theme music sounded like matched one of my ringtones on my cell. A while back I was making an effort to beef up my classical cd collection. Sounds like I need to get bach to getting a handel on that.