hjshorter

Tonight: Perfectly medium rare grilled NY strip steaks Yukon gold frites with sea salt Mixed greens, with brandywine tomatoes so ripe I thought they were going to explode, EVOO, white wine vinegar, S&P 1996 Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon from our cellar (read basement ). Perfectly ready to drink. Nectarines for dessert

Oh man, I love WayneHarley Brachman. Now that guy has a history. Other faves: Jamie Oliver (Yes, I know. ) Tony Bourdain Alton Brown, especially when Shirley Corriher is on. the Two Fat Ladies Julia & Jacques Rick Bayless Jacques Torres Not so faves: Bobby Flay. Every time he opens his mouth I want to slap him. Ainsley Harriott Mario Batali. Great food. I just wish he would lose the pedantic tone. Joanne Weir, although her recipes are really good. Martin Yan Christopher Kimball

I craved those when pregnant with my daughter. Not the chocolate ones, but the orange. And nothing else would do.

Every new Safeway here has a Starbucks in it.

Just promise me he won't come in Dungeons and Dragons garb! No D&D garb, promise.

Looks good, V. I will wait on buying the paper goods until closer to pig time. We will also bring a large cooler and plenty of trash bags. We're planning on arriving Friday noon, so Scott will be around that night to help with the pig.

I only lived in a dorm for one semester (at Hood College, 1984) and don't remember the food very well. It was good enough that I gained five pounds that one semester. Later on I shared a group house near the U of Maryland with four guys. We had a grocery store, liquor store, and 7-11 across the street. Lots and lots of Lipton packages, burritos, and Kraft mac & cheese. Beer, beer, and more beer. Something called Hawaiian punch, which from what I recall had cranberry juice and blueberry schnapps. Ho-hos. Twinkies. Entemanns chocolate chip cookies. And illicit substances.

We're in, Monica. Now I just need to find a babysitter.

Had errands to run today and didn't make it to the grocery store. I've decided to post the good, the bad and the ugly here from now on. Dinner tonight: purchased garic and black pepper rotisserie chicken - skin on, of course. I hate skinned rotisserie chicken. spinach, mandarin orange, red onion, walnut and gorgonzola salad with EVOO and basalmic dressing olive bread hazelnut gelato

Hm, perhaps I should get spare meds too. I had forgotten about the prescriptions I take, and Emma's.

This one's for you, Chad. I need to grocery shop, plus my husband is out tonight, so dinner was whatever I could find in the freezer. It was particularly uninspired: Ian's organic fish sticks (bought at Whole foods in a moment of madness) Frozen haricots vert, micro'd and buttered Bread and Butter Golden raisins and cherries for dessert The kids loved it.

Jin, that sounds delicious. Would it work with leftover roasted lamb? Perhaps with a beaten egg and brown rice too?

OK, OK, you've all convinced me. I will order it from amazon.com tonight.

I stocked up last year when the terrorist alert was raised. I'm not one to panic, but if you live near DC you have to be a little prepared, especially with two small children. We've got bottled water, canned food, several days worth of diapers, flashlights, batteries, first aid kits, blankets, duct tape, a radio, and an old-style phone that doesn't need electricity. But, like Tommy, I tend to fill up my car only when the light comes on. Should be more diligent about that. And I always wear comfortable shoes.

I love the Onion. I love Starbucks too. I used to mail order their coffee years ago, before they acheived world domination. It was so much better than the crap you could get at the grocery stores, and there really weren't many independent local roasters because coffee wasn't popular back then. It was just swill that you sucked down in order to get going in the morning. No one cared how it tasted. I don't pay much attention to the foo-foo drinks on the menu these days, but have to admit that they do draw people into the stores who don't like coffee.

If pressed I would say that we probably have more Asian cookbooks than any other, but only slightly. We have a lot of different cuisines represented. My favorite changes from season to season. Right now it's the Barbecue Bible by Steve Raichlen.

For instance, we have friends who will bring anything requiring cooking, but a cold salad prepared in our non-kosher kitchen is fine as long as it has no meat or dairy.

Sounds delicious. Recipe?

we should also add here that people from DC are bad tippers. Oh yeah. Never more than 10%.

Not sure if this is a generalization (wouldn't want that now, would we? ) but in my experience, the Northeast (Boston, NYC, Washington, Philly) is more formal in dress than the West coast, or Denver and Austin, to name two states in the middle that we've spent a lot of time in. Washington DC is a very formal town. Men go to nightclubs wearing ties, ferchrissakes. I have always percieved NYC to be far more casual than where I'm from. You fucking snobby DC people! Always calling us New Yorkers shitkickers and yokels! How dare you make a comparison?! Oh, wait... I wouldn't call DC snobby. Just uptight.

Not sure if this is a generalization (wouldn't want that now, would we? ) but in my experience, the Northeast (Boston, NYC, Washington, Philly) is more formal in dress than the West coast, or Denver and Austin, to name two states in the middle that we've spent a lot of time in. Washington DC is a very formal town. Men go to nightclubs wearing ties, ferchrissakes. I have always percieved NYC to be far more casual than where I'm from.

How did "the" "Midwest" get into this thread in the first place? I still don't understand the following slkinsey comment . . . It seems to me that "Midwestern" is being used as a synonym for "unmannered." Living in DC, which attracts yo-yos from around the globe, I can assure everyone that by far the worst mannered tourists here are NOT from the Midwest.

Foo, did you have a point to make about the topic, or were you just trying to be insulting?

Just had another idea. You might try asking the folks that sell cheese at some of the local farmer's markets. There's a few at the Dupont market on Sunday am. Pretty sure they're at the Takoma market too. Where are you located?

Welcome to eGullet. I don't know of any particular store offhand that has what you're looking for. You might try calling a local dairy to see if they can point you in the right direction. Or try the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Association (301-953-2964). They may be able to help you out. Please post and let us know what you find out.