Busboy

The Dead. Neil Young (Live). The Dead. The Stones. Anything with a strong rhythm and long arrangements, that pulls you into the zone so that you're barely thinking about the cooking, just reacting instinctively and well to the demands of each course and relying on your own fell and taste to make it come out right. This should be done while drinking. Not as effective for baking or dinner parties (conversation kills the flow)

We make them without using a batter per se; dip them in salted flour, then in beaten egg white with a little milh, then in -- depending on your mood -- more flour or in 1/2 flour, 1/2 corn meal. A little baking soda will make it lighten up, if you wish.

Funny, that was my original plan. I don't know why they suggested the reverse. Maybe I should ask. Well, if you're at the market first thing, wave to the tall, bespectacled guy with the hangover and the Starbucks cup. That'll be me.

This is pure speculation, but... I think it's lack of demand. And I think it's because Americans don't drink at lunch. In France, people like to have a spot of wine with lunch, but they do have to go back to work. So they split a half-bottle or share a half of red and a half of white, have a glass-and-a half with each course and, by the time their generous lunch hour and coffee service is over, they're fully functional again. At the cafes, a demi-liter of rose serves the same purpose. In America, no one drinks at lunch, and they don't mind getting a little buzzed at dinner. In addition, they seem less likely to change wines with each course. So they just get a full bottle of the stuff. Restaurants, with scarce cellar space, therefore don't waste it on the half-bottles nobody wants. (waiting for Bux or menton1 to slap me down...)

Just to toss in a monkey wrench, I'll suggest that you consider hitting the Farmer's Market at Dupont Circle on Sunday mornig, chef-ing and drinking Montrachet Sunday night, and going to Lavandou on Monday for their BYOB, no corkage monday night special.

We like to do our own "fusion" cuisine by making the tamarind-honey barbecue sauce in Gray Kuntz's cookbook and serving it over a pan-roasted onglet, with rice and Salvadoran-style red beans. Kind of France meets Asia and Central America by way of New York and Mt. Pleasant (my 'hood).

Ethiopian. Salvadoran. Vietnamese.

In case none of the other better-informed folks shows up, here's some input that should get you past the wine snob. BTW, unless s/he really is a snob, expressing your modesty and then asking their opinion 1) puts them in a position of having to say something nice and 2) will be a good learning opportunity. These are all under $20, mostly under $10 Spinach Salad: Vouvray (French), good Chenin Blanc (California) Mussel Soup: White Bordeaux (French) Sauvignon Blank (US, New Zealand) Beef: Shiraz or Shiraz Cabernet (Aussie) Have fun, mix countries, don't fret.

sadly, I haven't had the opportunity to track Clos des Gourmets trajectory since it opened, but it if used to be better and less expensive than it was when I ate there last month, it must have been truly wonderful. At any rate, the point is moot for this discussion as the matchbooks I brought back from the place announce that it is "ferme dimanche et lundi," closed Sunday and Monday.

Name-dropper.

Bad sex? I don't follow... Sex: even when it's bad, it's good.

Something lighter in weight, fruity and red like a cru Beaujolais, or perhaps even a not-too-weighty red Burgundy. For a white, you'd be safest pairing with something regionally similar like a Chasselas if you could locate it, or dry riesling or something sparkling like a Blanquette de Limoux. I just spent a week in Savoie, where reblochon is unavoidable -- not that you'd want to avoid it, except to save room for the tomme or a little beaufort. Savoyard wines seem to be labled by grape, a la nearby Italy and Alsace, and when the locals are in a red wine mood, they knock back a little gamay with their reblochon -- the base grape for Katie's beaujolais. There's a little more variety in the local whites, but I found that the roussette de Savoie, which tastes somehow like a redneck viogner (the sommelier at the local 2-star wouldn't let us order it one night: too unrefined for his chef's cuisine), made a wonderful match. Look for honeysuckle, rather than oak, is probably the lesson there. But delicacy is not a requirement. My favorite match: a real sauterne, a chunk of cheddar that's done hard time in somebody's cellar, and a peach. Summertime.

I have yet to find the Whole Foods where the person behind the cheese counter knows enough about the cheese they're selling. Even a question like "was this made with pasteurized milk?" can be a challenge and they have to run and look it up in the binder, or when I ask for a recommendation on something, their suggestions are so pedestrian that it seems they have no confidence in their customer to eat something "real" or no confidence in themselves to sell it. I've only been to Wegman's counter once, and it was the end of the day so I didn't completely fault the counterfolks there. I'll have to try them again. There's a woman at D&D (whose name I can't recall) who does a kickass job and really knows her stuff. In fact several of the folks there will test your tastebuds with some quality cheeses. Same thing at Arrowine. I dealt with her on Saturday. She seems to know her stuff and, for what it's worth, I have almost never had a problem with her cheeses.

Thanks for your input. Are you telling me that a restaurant buys it cheese from the same source as the grocery store? Aren't there specialty cheese shops (especially in NYC) that sell only to restaurants? Funny story. On our recent trip to france I bought about 5 lbs of cheese. I decided to put it into my checked bags as the temp would be lower. Certainly worried that the beagles would smell it at Dulles. At the baggage return pre-customs at Dulles. Bag comes out. No need for dogs there, you could smell the cheese from 10 feet away. WOW. Luckily our customs agent had a cold! On our last trip home from France, our customs agent told us that cheese was legal, but seized the cured meat that I had inadvertantly left in my carry-on. Some of the cheese had been vacuum packed for the trip, but the stuff we'd been snacking on on the plane was open and quite ripe. Our agent clearly was not a cheese-eater and the look on her face when the aroma hit was pricesless.

Rest assured that if you had presented it in a traditional form, someone from eGullet would have been sitting at the table saying "boring...". You can't please all the people, you may as well have a good time. Here's hoping that I get a chance to try it someday, and that I appreciate it for what it is -- good, honest cooking with a clever twist. (that is what it is, isn't it?)

That's the way they make pizzas in Provence -- my wife and I were having a cold early beer after a hot morning of marketing, and when I went back to the gents I noticed a cook baking one crust after another in the wood-burning oven, getting ready for the lunch rush. Naturally, we stuck around, and ended up persuaded that the French deserve a little more attention for their pizza than they get. Later (we had kids in tow, so we kept eye out) we noticed that it was pretty standard practice in the region. As to their profusion in DC, I say, let a thousand flowers bloom and may the best pie win.

For eating, not for endless lounging, try Pesce on 21st and P St, ijust off Dupont Circle, for fish. Very relaxed, very good. In Georgetown, Cafe la Ruche is a great place to order up a pate sandwich and drink wine. Not up to Parisian standards, jeunefille, but gently priced and frequented by locals. Avoid the 12-1:30 crush, and get a table on the patio. 1039 31st St. in Georgetown

Stephanie and I had a wonderful evening, thank you. I came away with a renewed appreciation for the depth and variety of Chinese food. For me, and probably for most people, Chinese food gets reduced to a handful of Americanized favorites -- though I'll thrash anybody who denies that a carton of General Tso's is a box of spicy bliss -- closer to fast food than fine dining. It was a delight to sit down with people who enjoy food to really taste and appreciate it, and to sail off the map for a little while. It is, however, a little odd to wake up with a craving for jelleyfish with shredded duck. When I get around to it, I will start a new thread on the upcoming DcGullet picnic. Great finally meeting you all.

Thanks, Busboy. You're sweet, but I'm going to stick to the script for tonight. Stick to the script? You were talking scandal and intrigue not long ago. Or is your script more interesting than you've been letting on?

If you're feeling mid-scale on a Monday night, it's byob night at Lavandou in Cleveland Park. Order dinner and bring your own wine, for a substantial savings on the total check, not to mention a much greater wine list. If you're feelin up-scale on a Friday night (and they continue the tradion) Sam and Harry's steakhouse on 19th Street offers half-off their wine list on Fridays and Saturdays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The wine list doesn't have the depth of, say, Citronelle, but if you're looking for a powerhouse California Red that you couldn't normally afford (or even find), it's worth a visit.

Oh, c'mon. You can just order the Lo Mein. We won't make fun.

If there's a seat for me this time, I'll stay. If I have to duke it out with a cranky manager, again, I'm off to Nick and Steph's.

Sounds like New York City, to me. Baltimore? Perfect? (Not that it's not "Charm City")

I laughed out loud when I read that. Kudos to Keller's chef for taking the staff meal seriously; the only time I worked in a top French place -- DC's Le Pavillon -- the staff meal was some combination of scrambled eggs, boiled rice, baked chicken and bacon. Every meal, every day. Except when they served the fish -- and you didn't want to eat the fish. Restaurant Nora, where I later worked, took the staff meal seriously, generally preparing one of the low-priced menu items in bulk -- a pasta, say, or curry and rice -- walking the staff through the ingredients, and educating us about food. The best staff dessert: A spoonful of Nora's chocolate mousse, and a swallow of Warre's '66 port.

I'm sure everything will be OK, but what a bummer in the mean time. Where's MIL when you need her? Was looking forward to actually coversing with you tonight, rather than drinking and dashing. See you at the picnic, perhaps.