hjshorter

Twist my arm, Dave. Um, yeah. We would be up for it. To say the least. I'll make the collard greens again. And bring some of my hot pickled green beans - they make great martini garnishes.

You may be satisfied with Sutton Place then. I was ordering for a party where 80 people were expected, so the price was a little painful. And yes, they are little cakes covered with fondant. Right now they have very cute Halloween designs.

They do and they're good. However, at $2.50 apiece, you have to want them really badly.

I had completely forgotten corn chowder existed. With bacon, onion, potatoes & milk, right? I grew up eating it all the time, usually with steaming cornbread to go with. I love lentil with andouille, split pea, and homemade vegetable. No crackers - fresh hot buttermilk biscuits.

Can I invite myself over if this ever happens? My regular indulgences Smoked salmon. I would put bagels on the list but it's impossible to find a decent bagel in the Washington DC area. Good chocolate, coffee, cheese & olives Steak. There is nothing quite as bad as crummy steak. Pay the $$ and get the good stuff. Red wine. Warm, ripe tomatoes in the summer. It was such a pleasure to grow my own this summer and save the $2/pound at the farmer's market. Hot buttermilk biscuits slathered with butter and honey. Worth tracking down White Lily flour. My favorite indulgences are dinners with friends with too much wine and laughter.

Have you read Perfection Salad by Laura Shapiro yet? Her explanation of the relationship between social position and a perceived lack of interest in food (for women at least) was fascinating. In a nutshell, a lot of the US food fear has its roots in the lack of aceptable scientific careers for women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Or those interested folks who can't afford to "explore the scene" and don't want to risk a bad meal or experience on their one night out every few months.

Oh that's good news! They were closed last season and we thought they were a goner.

Pizza! One with assorted wild mushrooms sauteed with garlic and fresh thyme, fontina and smoked mozzerella and the other for the kids with mozzerella, fontina, fresh tomatoes, oregano and nicoise olives. With some steamed asparagus and a big glass of water. Ripe juicy pears for dessert.

Smoked salmon omelet, sliced tomato, and cream cheese piled on a toasted sesame bagel with OJ & two cups of very hot coffee.

Their cold cut sub is one of the few things I miss about Wheaton. That said, they are (or were) closed on Sundays, so it was impossible to get a sub to enjoy during the football games. A small bummer. Marathon Deli's gyro circa 1986-88 is among my favorite all time. Giuseppe's in Rockville makes a respectable meatball sandwich but I find it needs a hit of salt and pepper. Lebanese Taverna's chicken shwarma with garlic sauce - as long as I have no plans for the rest of the day. Firehook's egg salad. Sutton Place had some good ones, but they have revamped their sandwich menu and the new selections don't look very interesting.

Is there a Fuddrucker's in DC? I would nominate them. Super greasy, and not in a good way.

We used to go quite a lot, mostly to the upstairs room with the DJ, as opposed to the downstairs room with the crappy jukebox. Never had a freshness problem with anything, but they were frequently out of my first choice, whatever it was. And it's one of few places that reliably had selections from Der Dolle Brouwers - usually the Oerbier and Stille Nacht. The beer tasting were excellent but we haven't been to one in years.

Wow, thank you for expressing that Russ. I thought I was the only one who thought so. And thanks Cusina for your review, it was thoughtful and well presented. Since we don't live in NYC Amanda Hesser is not usually on my culinary writing radar, so to speak. I'll look for her book at the library.

What's a typical day, like what time do you eat breakfast? Do you usually eat dinner after the kids go to bed?

I'm with you. We have a small house, with a small kitchen, and we don't have enough dishes...well we might but don't want to wash them. And formal entertaining in general is pretty much off my radar until the kids are older.

That's right, we talked about this Emma had her allergy testing. And for the pigs feet...I am guessing snerd. But do you have a pispot to serve it in?

It's fun guessing what's for you and what's for the kids. String cheese and popsicles are a gimme - do they like spicy food yet? I can get Emma and Ian to try some spicy food. Ian still hates it, but Emma is getting a little more tolerant. Who in your house drinks rice milk?

Yay for guajolote! Looking forward to sharing your meals this week. It was tasting G's wonderful pickles at Varmint's pig pickin that got me into preserving. And his coffee!

Hi Tammy! As you know I've got two, a fairly well-behaved, restaurant savvy 5 year old and a shrieking 2 year old barbarian. We've had good meals with the kids at Jaleo, Zaytinya, Austin Grill, Les Halles, and Matchbox - all downtown. We have never had an issue with bringing the kids to a Chinese or Thai restaurant. In fact, most seem to go out of their way to talk to our kids, or ooh and ahh over the baby. The key is to arrive before the children are actually hungry.

All of the above, and add (Joe, you'll notice this soon enough) filthy, sticky high chairs and boosters. We always clean it before and after the kids use it. Yes, kids make a mess. And yes, some parents are pigs and never even make the attempt to clean up after their progeny. But if you are trying for family friendly dining, it helps to provide clean seating for the little ones.

Thanks from me too, for the opportunity to share your meals this week. You have probably been over this somewhere else, but here goes again... Are you the main cook at home or does your partner cook too?

The frybread doesn't interest me so much. The cafe in the museum sounds intriguing.

The National Museum of the American Indian opens today. Is anyone planning a visit this week? I'm taking the kids and will of course check out the cafe. From their website: Sounds intriguing, and a welcome change from the mediocre-to-bad food available in the other museums. The website doesn't mention any specific menu items. In addition to the museum opening, the First Americans Festival is set up out on the mall offering craft demonstrations, performances, and of course food. The festival runs from 9/21-26.

Beautiful, thanks so much. I assume the ginger should be fresh?