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Al_Dente

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Posts posted by Al_Dente

    Tom Sietsema's Online Chat

    in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining

    Posted

    From Tom's chat yesterday...
    Washington, DC: Tom, I love your work and therefore I am sorry to be grumpy but I wish you would STOP recommending Palena in these chats. I am a regular there, and over the past few months that place has been pocked (not packed, pocked) with loudly twittering 20-somethings who think they're at the latest Zola or Helix or something like that. Needless to say, this ruins MY experience. Palena is not a happening new club, people: it is a fine neighborhood RESTAURANT that happens to have a great bar. So go back to your 1221 and your Blue Gin.

    Has to be a regular eGer, right? Anyone?

    Probably Hillvalley now that she's 30.

    Elephant & Castle, Penn and 12th NW.

    in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining

    Posted

    We are surrounded by too many abominations, like Sine in Pentagon Row, that claim to be authentic Irish-/British- style pubs.  They concentrate so much on decor that they forget what makes these places real. 

    For starters, get rid of the televisions.  Get rid of the piped in music.  You want to be authentic?  Then get some folks to play it live, preferably with traditional instruments. 

    Next, fix your beer.  Stop pretending that you're the closest thing to Galway this side of the Atlantic and you're serving single pour Guinness that's not cellar temperature or (egads!) Killians Irish Red!  It's just not that difficult to bring in quality imports these days from all ends of the spectrum.  And pour it through the nitrogen, will ya? 

    And would it hurt to have a cask-conditioned ale?  Even if you can't bring in the Bluebird and put it through the beer engine, why not try partnering with one of the many area microbreweries, or even brewpubs as a "guest ale?"

    I'd be very anxious to see the beer list of Elephant and Castle before I pass judgement on them, but I have a strong feeling I know where this place is going -- right down the path of Sine, which I went to once, sat down, saw what they were about, and left, never to return again.

    Of course, for that serious authentic feel, adding some slot machines would help!  :wink:

    I must really be on crack to think that any of this might happen around here, huh?

    Well put!

    Bad Home Cookin'

    in Cooking

    Posted

    My mother made a bean and sausage stew. It was kind of a 70's Americanized version of cassoulet. It would have been fairly decent if it wasn't for the "special ingredient"-- ketchup, and lots of it.

    Food Pronunciation Guide for the Dim-witted

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    I am terribly French challenged. Whenever I'm in a French restaurant I get stage fright when it's time to order. I think to myself, "is that "t" or "s" at the end pronounced?" Drives me nuts.

    Don't let it. You're the customer.

    And if you're in French restaurant in the U.S. or U.K., just translate it into English: "I'll have the frog's thighs, please."

    In France just point to the menu item and say "ceci". Smile warmly, they'll smile back.

    Is there a French wine pronounciation guide out there somewhere? I must apologize in advance to all you sumMAHlyerz for when I come to your restaurant and attempt to order the GevREE ShamBERTin.

    What can I say? I'm a rube.

    Panini Grills and Presses: Which to Buy?

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'm having some folks over for the Super Bowl and I thought it would be a fun concept to have a DIY Panini Feast. I'll get my hands on a variety of great bread, cold cuts, cheeses, various pickled items, roasted veggies, etc. etc. My guests can assemble their own sandwich, and I'll take care of it from there.

    Problem: I don't have a sandwich press, and I'm not interested in purchasing yet another kitchen gadget that I'll only use once in a blue moon. But I do have a big gas grill with heavy grates. What if I were to heat up the grates, throw some sandwiches on one side of the grill and then lift the hot grates from the other side of the grill and put them on top of the sandwiches for a minute or two?

    Think it'll work?

    Al,

    Got two cast iron pans, a brick, and some aluminum foil?

    Yes. And I have two turntables and a microphone.

    Panini Grills and Presses: Which to Buy?

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'm having some folks over for the Super Bowl and I thought it would be a fun concept to have a DIY Panini Feast. I'll get my hands on a variety of great bread, cold cuts, cheeses, various pickled items, roasted veggies, etc. etc. My guests can assemble their own sandwich, and I'll take care of it from there.

    Problem: I don't have a sandwich press, and I'm not interested in purchasing yet another kitchen gadget that I'll only use once in a blue moon. But I do have a big gas grill with heavy grates. What if I were to heat up the grates, throw some sandwiches on one side of the grill and then lift the hot grates from the other side of the grill and put them on top of the sandwiches for a minute or two?

    Think it'll work?

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