hjshorter

I lived at 20th and O St for a time. There were three Starbucks within walking distance then. Probably more now. Head shops, dive bars (anyone remember the place at Wisconsin and M that turned into Banana Republic? That was the beginning of the end), used clothing, no-name jewelry and clothes stores, restaurants....almost all gone now. Why go to Georgetown and shop at the same crap stores they have at any suburban mall? There were a lot of empty store fronts on M St Saturday. Maybe the rents are a little too high? Are some of the new places being talked about going into the mall extension under construction? It's hard to believe that place could get any bigger. It's such a pain in the ass to get to it and park that the only time I bother crossing the river is to shop occasionally at LL Bean.

I had a discussion with Busboy and Mrs Busboy on that very topic Saturday night. The "mallification" of Georgetown appears to be complete and it's now moving east to Dupont Circle. Same stores, same chain fast food, same chain restaurants. I used to go back into DC to escape the sameness of the suburbs. Not much point to that anymore.

I was there with Ian in tow around 12:20, so we missed you by an hour. Got a coffee for me and some madeleines for him at the Starbucks outlet inside. Another advantage Safeway has over Giant - coffee. The woman at the deli was very taken with Ian and he scored a few slices of salami. They have a large organic and natural foods section too, bigger than the other stores in the area. It's all in one place too which is handy. The produce looked good. Thanks for tip about Tribes Grill. My kids love Middle Eastern food and it would be nice to have an alternative to Lebanese Taverna just for variety.

Thanks Joe, I checked it out today and it is the nicest Safeway near me. Remind not to go at lunchtime though - parking lot was packed with workers in combative moods.

I have liked all of the prepared things purchased from the Wheaton Han Ah Reum. While the thread is bumped I would like to vent about the Giant Food on Hungerford Road in Rockville. The shittiest Giant ever - and it's a brand new store! The produce is the main offender - wilted lettuce, slimy fresh herbs, limp broccoli....not even the bagged lettuce is safe. They don't sell any pork that isn't Smithfield Farms "enhanced" which is apparently industry speak for "pumped full of water". I have purchased several half gallons of sour milk that had not passed the experation date. Bah.

My Bernaise sauce. It can be tricky and I hadn't made it in a long time, but it was perfect.

1. Mustard of some variety, probably Maille. 2. Soy Sauce or fish sauce. 3. Crystal hot sauce.

You think Mario isn't a real chef?

I agree, Bill. I'd been to Trattoria Al Sole back in the 90's, and it never crossed my mind to go back. It's on my list.

That sounds delicious.

And that tired old Mrs Butterworth!

Our PBS station has started showing shorts from The Hippy Gourmet between their weekend cooking shows. Thank God it's only 5 minutes and not the full program as he drives me insane. His food sucks too.

Is Busara still open? I used to have lunch there with my dad occasionally. Not bad Thai, IIRC. Edit: Don't laugh, but if you're desperate the Nordstrom cafe has a couple of decent salads.

Rochelle's confit... Those would be some lucky girls. Are the girls ordinarily allowed to bring guests to dinner? What are the rules? And could you talk a little about your menu planning? Do you take requests, and how often? How far in advance do you plan? You said that you post the menu weekly but do you plan a month at a time?

No kidding. The attitude is why we haven't bothered going back to CK. It's stressful enough taking our kids out (and ours are well-behaved) without the feeling that the slightest infraction will get us thrown out. IMO a restaurant with meatloaf on the menu needs to take itself a little less seriously.

We'll trade you Jamie for Bobby Flay. At least Jamie is tolerable with the sound off. I accidentally saw a couple of minutes of Rachael Ray's new show Inside Dish. It was more pleasurable than driving toothpicks under my fingernails, but only just.

That berry blend is a favorite at my house - the kids like it on their oatmeal with some maple syrup. Trader Joe's nuts and dried fruits are great quality at a great price. Which TJ do you go to? Good luck with the party. I wish I could come help out.

We had company over for Sunday lunch after church so dinner will be fast and easy: Old fashioned macaroni salad with a mayo and sour cream dressing, red onion, celery, cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber and dill pickle, and tuna. With a loaf of crusty bread and butter. Vanilla Bean/Sour Cream pound cake, with vanilla glaze. From the lastest issue of Fine Cooking magazine. Every recipe we've tried from that mag has been good and this is no exception.

Excellent blog so far, M. It's too bad that the girls don't have more of an interest in cooking, or access to the kitchen. I still haven't given up the idea of coming over and helping you prep one of these days, if you would have me.

Could we possibly quit jumping all over Nick's shit and get back to talking about his coffee? Thanks. I'm still waiting to hear whether Murky will open a MD branch. Edited to specify Montgomery County, and preferably not Silver Spring, thankyouverymuch. SS is sooo 2004. Ahem.

Inspired by this post, last night's dinner: Sauerkraut cooked with bacon, onion and caraway seeds German frankfurters with mustard sour rye bread sliced cucumber salad. Tonight: Chicken marinated in yogurt, cumin, ground coriander, cayenne, and grated ginger and broiled. Recipe from the latest Martha Stewart Living. Basmati rice sauteed spinach Dessert both nights: The Chewy

Interesting. I have a recipe from my great-grandmother, who got it from her mother originally from Chemnitz, for Warmer Kartoffelsalat mit Speck. Potatoes, bacon, vinegar, a little sugar, flour, salt and pepper, sliced radishes, cooked and raw onion. It's not served "hot" but rather at room temperature.

Egads! I think that mi madre inflicted the exact same recipe on us. ← Sorry to hear that Joe. Holy crap it was awful. Thank God Campbells stopped making Cream of Shrimp soup in quantity. It's not available in the DC area but mom can get it in Charlotte. It should have been declared against the law. My sister loves seafood casserole and once in a while she and mom will get together and make a batch. They know better than to do it when I'm visiting. We also had meatballs in Cream of Mushroom, served over rice, and something called American Chop Suey that was made from elbow mac, ground beef, and a can of tomato soup.

I still make this all the time - same recipe my mom used from the 1965 Fannie Farmer cookbook. Served on toast, of course.

What's your definition of pub? Do you want food or just beer and atmosphere?