Busboy

A couple of questions: What's "inexpensive?" Sandwich shops? Cafes? Less expensive "nice" restaurant? "Downtown" means different things to different people. Do you have a hotel or location? Will they do ethnic? One place to start is Washingtonian magazine's "Dirt Cheap Eats" Virtually every DC restaurant on the list is close to a subway, as are some of the suburban spots, though I am less metro-conversant there. The magazine's "100 Best Bargain" restaurants is a year old, the new one not being up, yet, but is a good place to look, as well.

I like picking up and moving, my wife likes staying in one place. We both agree that too many day trips (even "close" destinations can make you spend 3-4 hours a day on the road) and/or too many pack-up-and-moves put too much pressure on a vacation and don't provide enough opportunity to get the rhythm of a place. They also interfere with one of France's great contributions to western Culture, the three-hour wine-fueled lunch. But the real reason I wrote is to suggest that, for all the wonderful restaurants in France, it would be a tragedy not to spend at least one week in a gite or apartment with cooking facilities so that you can go to the markets and cook what you find there at your own "home." Market days are generally easy to find on line. We spent some time googling before our own vacation (10 days and counting down) and I'm pretty sure that wherever you go there will be everything from budget flats to converted chateaus. We ended up not selecting an official Gite de France (we're staying in town), but they look great and many of them offer weekend packages in the off-season, so you can chill in the countryside for a few days before heading back into the city. Gites de France link here.

More to the point, for the next few hours, what do y'all eat during the Coupe du Monde? Any traditional sporting event foods such as, in the U.S., hot dogs and warm, flat overpriced, beer?

An article in today's Washington Post reminded me that the most delightful restaurant meal I've had in months was a few weeks back at Komi near Dupont Circle. Hagedorn gushes so much -- and rightfully so -- about rising star/hottie/wunderkind/chef Johnny Monis that, if you haven't been there, you might not realize how comfortable the place is to curl up in and hang out at for hour after hour. Get the full menu, and the wine pairings (note: some do not love the paraings, I personally can't see getting my knickersin a twirst about them. Especially since, if you finish your glass, they keep pouring more). If you're in town, or you'recoming to town, and you haven't been been yet: go.

← Take the Green or Orange line to North Station. Depending on the time of day, getting off at Haymarket -- the stop before -- is worth it to see the market there, as well. I lived in the North End for six months about 20 years ago. No one had $30K gelato machines then, nor were there oyster bars with Wellfleeets. There's a fine line between real ethnic and generic upscale, I'm not sure if I'm pleased or not with the changes -- not that one can artificially hold onto the past. The immortal "Death and Life of Great American Cities" opens with a description of the North End which, in the 60s should have been -- by any demographic measure -- a slummy hellhole. But there was an incredible community behind the restaurants and import shops on the commercial streets; families and neighbors that knew one another, celebrated Saint's Days and together and sent their kids to St. Anthony's together,and kept an eye on everything that moved. I remember my corner grocer, Pepe (in the 80s) , lecturing me on the fact that "the problems you see today" stemmed from the decline of the corner grocer: they guy who knew everything and everybody on the street, whether your kids were skipping school or a suspicious character was passing by. That's what made the neighborhood special. I hope that the Wellfleet vendor and gelato guy are becoming part of that community, otherwise, they're choking it off and turning the neighborhood into yet another theme park. Last time I was there, though, I made it to Pizzaria Regina (still a dive, still great) and one of the little no-credit-card joints on Hanover Street. And some of the old butcher shops that helped make the North End a spectacular place to live -- my roommates and I were determined to find the best sausage in the North End, not sure if we did, but it was a blast trying to find out -- were still going. Even my old employer, the guys who regularly denounced the health inspector as "evil" and had the tomato sauce that cooked for weeks at a time, were still open. There is hope.

It's worth noting that, whether you fear trichinosis or not, another factor in the pink pork trend is that research revealed that the temperature needed to kill the bad guys was much lower than previously thought. Your mom was told that pork needed to be cooked to 170 or 180. Today, a temperature of 140 is considered sufficient to do the trick.

Put Randy's on the disabled list. I went by last weekend and the stuff was just bad. Don't know if they had an off day or what, but for the first time in my life, I left a rack of ribs uneaten.

The markets are at there best in August and the fall -- your timing is great.

So, what does blanching do to the flavor/tecture of the basil? Not that I haven't gotten along fine with less-than-emerald pesto in the past, but I never miss a chance to mess up anolther pot or two while cooking. And, in case anyone's considering blanching their basil without having done so before, note Thomas Keller's practical advice on how much salt: the water should be as salty as seawater. (I hear this throws of Utah residents and Midwesterners ). And the cold water, of course, icy cold.

I think you should trust your taste buds more than a recipe -- next time get more of everything than you need and make a batch and taste it, then just adjust as you see fit. Especially dealing with ingredients like basil, garlic and olive oil which can vary quite a bit, no recipe can really be exact. Garlic can be bitter-- maybe you just got unlucky. Olive oil can have a bitter finish, too. Good luck next time-- at least it's cheaper than wrecking a steak!

Where was the frikkin' garlic? I am deeply suspicious of the walnuts -- hey don't taste anything like pine nuts. And the parsley. Adding that is like watering the gin. Somewhere an Italian grandma is turning over in her grave. I'm also wondering if the the basil needed a rinse. (This might irk the grannies as well, but I put a little fresh lemon juice in mine when it needs a little kick. Also, when I'm feeling all elegant, I roast the pine nuts.)

My too-brief experiences in Northern California lead me to believe that you will be a bit let down by the markets here. I am fiercely partisan to this region, but if the Santa Cruz market -- and even the Portland, Oregon Market -- are indicative of the general quality, they're still ahead of us out there. They have the dang climate on their side. That being said, there are many excellent and dedicated growers out this way and you will not go hungry. And, unless you actually lived in Chinatown, it is unlikely that you have had better access to excellent Asian food -- prepared and markets -- than you will in Northern Virginia. It's everywhere and it's world class. We don't make as much cheese here as they do out West, but there are many up-and-comers selling at the markets, and there are some excellent shops. Jill at Cheesetique in Del Ray (Alexandria) and Aldo at Arrowine (Alexandria) are legendary cheesemongers. And, of course, we do have the best crabs in the world, and a lot of great fish shops. Welcome back east. When do you arrive?

Most independent butchers should have them...if you're willing to cross the river, Union Butcher in Eastern Market sells them at non-usurious prices. If you don't mind being gouged a bit -- or you're just in a hurry -- a Whole Foods near you probably has them.

I didn't get the alarming edge-rise, rather it just looked like a cream sauce looks when it breaks, only held together by the egg. I made another recipe in the skillet, and it came out fine, so I've eliminated that as the cause, but I am still mystified.

Finally caught up with the show for the first time this season last night -- back-to-back episodes. I think the shtick is getting a little old for me, I'll likely finish this season and likely won't be cak next, even if Gordon is -- he's kind of a one trick pony on TV. But my question is -- did they pick the men's just to be particularly unattractive? Bad personalities, bad cooking and the only cute one(in theis straight boy's perhaps flawed opinion) got booted already. It's hardly a fair contest for the hearts, minds and palates of the viewing public.

You know, I almost don't think a beer guy like you needs to even post on this site. Portland beer is just that good. I remember my first time in Portland, with a bunch of campaign buddies in town for the Oregon primary, a couple of days ahead of the candidate or a real schedule, all stinking in the way you do when you've been working too many days in a row without access to a laundromat. With a rainy afternoon blissfully free, we turned up a laundromat in a slightly grim neighborhood downtown, stripped damn near down to our skivvies, threw everything else into the washing machines and headed out for an early afternoon beer binge. We stumbled into the kind of place where you could tell people occasionally paid for their drinks with accumulated nickles and dimes, and you wouldn't want to walk into the bathroomon a Friday night without making it clear that you were not a cop. But, because it was Portland, even a dive like that had something like six local microbrews on tap, and damn they tasted good. Best laundry run ever. You're going to have a good time.

You lucky batârd. In the U.S., even at the current grotesque exchange rate, you couldn't even buy a bottle of wine for €3, much less stomach what was in the bottle if you could, and most stuff under $10 tastes like household cleanser. Indeed, one of the great delights of French vacations is the good quality of the cheap wine. This summer, in addition to getting my Christmas shopping done during a trip to France, I'm thinking of getting all my wine drinking done as well -- drinking good Southern pinks and reds 24/7 for three weeks and then just staying sober for the rest of the year. I could save thousands.... More seriously, though, the French winegrowers are facing a shakout comparable to what U.S. farmers faced during the 80s. At the same time, the EU is reducing subsidies and all the world's wine regions are overproducing and French wine consumption is down. When you're dealing with a commodity like wine that is easily transported and substituted, it doesn't take much overproduction to send prices down. The growers have been told to produce less, but better wine, in hopes of lifting prices, and pulling up the vines is part of that effort. One interesting aside: The derided Gallo brand "Red Bicyclette" (shouldn't it be either "Bicyclette Rouge" or "Red Bicycle"?) is produced in cooperation with growers in Languedoc (Herault, I think) and -- whatever you think of it over here, is considered a great success over there.

The carryouts I'm talking about aren't the chains-these are independantly owned places where you and I would stand out like a sore thumb If my camera is working I'll do some research this weekend. I think you're right about the Salvadorans or giving Carribean a shot. I'm still rooting for Ooohs and Aaahs though. It would be a good fit for dinner. Chris-a little known slogan of DC is "Your Capital City, Where There is No Such Thing as A Great Breakfast." That being said, my favorite place is a little hole in the wall about three blocks from the Capitol called Jimmy T's. It's another one of those places where you will find Hill staffers and cops sitting next to each other Saturday morning.What about Negrill for Jamaician? ← Negril? Naaah. Maybe. Already discovered. But let's make a date for next weekend to do a little location scouting up 14th Street and Georgia Avenue where yuppies like us are afraid to go. Been meaning to do that for a long time, this would be a good excuse.

Not sure in DC carryout culture is any more pervasive than anywhere else -- and a good amount of it is accounted for by chains -- but there are some good places. There are the also the Hill Rat places, overrrun with 20-something would-be power brokers, a few sould food places in addition to Ooohs and Aaahs (which is no longer off the beaten path, but still quite good) and the places where tens of thousands eat every day: cafeterias in massive government buildings and the museums on the Mall. Maybe you can get into the Senate Dining Room for bean soup. [Hill: We went to El Tapatio the other night. Not impressive except for the mole, which was damn impressive. On further thought, though, I'm not sure if an LA-based Food Network Prersonality who's also going to Houston and Chicago needs to find Mexican in DC. He should come up into my 'hood and hang with the Salvadorans, instead. Maybe we should consider exploring the Caribbean Stuff around Shaw and Howard U.]

sauteeing shallots in the bacon grease doesn't hurt. Neither do a few wild mushrooms.

Any new discoveries for Maryland Barbecue? I'll be running my daughter to camp again and always like to use the occasion to get some serious down home 'cue.

You can stand with one foot in MD and one in DC - they border one another. The mexican neighborhood is about 15 minutes across the state line -- if it was in LAm, it would be well within the city limits; the 'cue runs about an hour or hour-and-a-half by car. The Vietnamese strip mall I spoke of earlier is about 30 minutes outside. As I said, if you are going to be shooting in DC, let us know and we'll see what we can dig up, and maybe introduce you/your producer to some other smart foodies.

Unfortunately if you are looking for cheap eats recommendations from Embassy staff in DC proper you won't have much luck. "Embassy Row", also known as Massachusetts Ave. between just past Dupont Circle up to the Observatory (where Chaney Lives) where most of the embassis are located does not have any restaurants nearby. Nothing. For the most part in order to find good cheap ethnic eats you have to head to the burbs. Given the real estate prices in DC it's getting harder and harder to find cheap eats, let alone ethnic cheap eats in a lot of areas. ← Are you doing prepared food only? It occurs to me that a lot of embassy types do their shopping at the DC farmer's market, a very funky and fun spot with wearhouses full of obscure and exotic items, which are usuallly sold retail as well. It also has sould food supplies and a legendary Italian space. Also, there is a growing Carribean/African population with places that need to be explored but are not yet well known. Will you be going out of DC proper? There is Mexican food and southern Maryland Barbecue. PM if you want more details or just to shoot the breeze.

I'm not in the biz so this may be completely useless, but the Russion community in Brighton Beach seems large enough, and to have enough restauranteurs, that you may be able to network into that based on your experience back in Moscow. Somebody's brother-in-law or something. Just a thought.

Why? PS, I'd suggest that buying live lobsters is one of the few areas in which Americans are intimately connected to the with the reality of killing animals in order to eat them.