Busboy

Glad I'm not too late. I did my confit last weekend and stuffed some saucisse de Toulouse (merci, Mme. Wolfert) today. My dumb question of the day is: rind, what do they mean? The Bourdain recipe calls for lining the pot with rind as well as cooking and pureeing it. To me, rind is the inedible stuff on the outside of a pork shoulder or a slab of fatback. I can see lining the pot with it -- and saved all the rind I accumulated during sausage making -- but I'm not seeing it dissolve into luscious lipids no matter how long it cooks, and I'n not keen on biting into a sheet of desiccated pigskin during dinner. Is this a definition problem? Or am I missing something. PS, If I can find them, I'm going with flagelots. Will I be condemned for this by purists? Edited to spell Paula's name correctly.

All of my sorbets have been sugar, water & fruit juice. Not ingredients known for their fast decay times. Sorbet's I've made have maintained their taste for many weeks. The texture suffers but all you need to do is to give it another whirl in the blender to soften it up again. ← I'll have to try the blender trick. Regarding the flavor, though, I'd say there's a not insignificant decline in fruit juice flavor after a day or two. The stuff is still quite good, but never as good as when it's served a couple of hours after freezing. (The drop-off for ice cream is even more severe). Which is better OJ: "fresh squeezed" or "not from concentrate?"

The pros on this board have a number of techniques for storing ice cream and sorbets for many days, often relying on added stabilizers. My experience is that if you make a sorbet more than a day in advance, it will be an ill-flavored ice-block by the time you eat it. The dropoff in tastes is undeniable after 48 hours; and it is difficult to maintain a decent texture, period. Fresh sorbet takes almost no attention and offers explosive flavors that can't be duplicated or preserved. Make it the same day, or get some Ben and Jerry's.

I have to say that Cannons seems to be performing below its peak years these days. The retail fish doesn't seem as fresh, and you rarely see some of the great stuff you used to see, like Belons or scallops in the shell. Great for lobsters and non-exotic shellfish, though. Dean and DeLuca usually has only a tiny, expensive selection, but it's impeccably fresh. And Whole Foods is tough to beat as a go-to spot, though you have to go in looking for what's fresh, not with a predetermined selection in mind. On any given day, some selections are noticeably fresher than other.

Yep, those are short ribs, all right, though the onces I buy are a little less short. A loooong braise, which is what you get in most FDR's, probably knocks 80% of the fat off, though. When I make them at home, it all but disappears from the meat and is skimmed from brazing liquid after an overnight set. I suspect that, for red meat, they're relatively healthy -- especially when you consider that, when cooked in wine and stock, they're so rich that the non-bone portion is relatively small.

I didn't mean for my numbers to be literal, more figurative in nature, and I am not talking about 30% tips on $50 dining bills. I am talking about bills of $100-150 for the two of us. I don't even consider my tipping in diners, etc which always runs more than 20%, since its only a bill of $10-15 in those situations anyway. Perhaps I should be lumping those percentages in with what I was referencing, which was evenings out when our bill is regularly in the $125-175 region for the two of us and sometimes higher than that. There are occasions when, depending on wine chosen, we see bills of $200+. Are people tipping 30% on this level of bill as well? ← There is no reason you should ever feel compelled to tip more than 20%, unless food or drink is left off your tab.

I agree completely. That said, I think your tipping habits are perfectly respectable as they are. That's my opinion, which counts for nothing here. What counts is what YOU feel is fair. Tipping is a personal, optional and confidential practice that should be done according to each person's conscience. ← Not true, really. In the US, tipping is obligatory, in a social contract kind of way, and the rate is 15-20%. Outside of extreme circumstances, whether or not the person leaving the tip feels it is fair is a secondary consideration, at best.

Talk about chefs' "vision" gives me a rash.

I am an ex-waiter and have no problem going well below 20% if the service warrants it which happens -- I don't know, twice a year. I find it logically inconsistent to overtip, or to be expected to overtip, in the case of excellent service, and yet to not have the right to undertip in the case of terrible service. I once worked in a swank French joint where, as is the case in many top-end restaurants, menues were not brought out until guests have an opportunity to sip their drinks, take a deep breath, and shift gears in preparation for a (more often than not) relaxing and delightful evening. One night we had a table of eight, hosted by the scion of a very (VERY) wealthy and reclusive local family. He was clearly a little out of his element all night but, when we read the lengthy, handwritten note he left instead of a tip on a $1000+ tab, we found that the one thing that had clearly pissed him off was not getting the menu the moment he sat down. C'est la vie, I guess.

That's why I never bring up either subject when the wife's in the room.

Nice to see that you had a good time at Clos des Gourmands. We had a wonderful meal there last year about this time and found the pig's head to be a life-enhancing experience. The service was very warm, despite the fact that we were somewhat underdressed (forgot to look at the knives and forks in the Guide Michelin) and were tourists toting children. I hope to have a chance to get back some day.

I actually used to live within walking distance of Ben's and am not certain why you find it so compelling, but am glad you had a good time in DC and that we've now got our own little corner of Holley Eats. When my wife was pregnant with our second child, she was hospitalized several times with premature labor. One night, however, she gave me a "good husband pass" and sent me out for out for a night on the town with a friend. I dropped by the house to check up and found that contractions had begun again and that I was on the shitlist for not calling in (back before cell phones). My friend and I dashed over to Ben's for a pair of chili dogs (at her request), which we dropped off before dashing over to a coffee shop for some java to brace us for the long evening ahead. By the time we got back to the house, however, the Ben's chili dogs had worked their magic and the contractions had stopped (and Stephanie sent me back out for more beer -- God, I love that woman). So, even if they're not to my taste, I have to admit that Ben's dog's to posess a strange and undeniable power.

I ended up at Marcel's bar Saturday night and Dr. Hall was there as, apparently, usual. If abnormal means elegant, well-fed and enjoying the jazz, sign my ass up.

Full Kee has excellent food and was host to an eG dinner. More than you could ever want to know about it here. It's a Washingon Post "editor's pick," for whatever that's worth, and is located very close to the Chinatown metro stop. No alcohol. City Lights of Chine does competent General Tso's/Mu Shi/crispy beef/etc. and is two blocks north of the Dupont Circle station, while Mei Wah is about four blocks south of Dupont Circle, on New Hampshire and M, and is considered slightly better than City Lights.

I cracked up when I saw that quote. Of course I wish Ms. Leeds, and especially her sous chef the lovely Tess Moseley (a local legend) the best of luck. But you could not have a more neighborhood restaurant than Trio's Subs. They've been there for like a hundred years! And there aren't too many places where those who put together their change for a steak and cheese; drag queens from across the street, college students and drunk/hungover locals mixed in a fun (but admittedly shabby) hole-in-the-wall. Their neon sign is a classic. But as long as Trio's coffee shop is still there, along with Fox and Hounds for happy hour, I guess we'll be all right. ← Amen.

I have to admit this is news to me too. Never heard the story before. What instead seems pretty certain is that Marco Polo did not bring pasta to Italy, I have been often told that the whole story was a urban myth spread by the advertising of a Canadian company. And BTW yes, there are historians that doubt his getting to China. One of the theories is that he actually learned the tales he wrote down in "Il Milione" from a fellow prisoner while captive of the Genovese, at the time sworn enemies of the Venetian Republic. I have to admit that I'm no expert on this aspect, just summarizing a very well explained article I happened to read a while ago that pointed out big incongruence in Polo's story. As far as pasta goes there is a big distinction to be made. Romans already knew fresh pasta and there are documents references to what was called laganae -presumedly the root for lasagne- which are described as similar to tagliatelle or pappardelle. Dried pasta on the other hand comes very probably from the Arab domination in Sicily and moved from there to Genova through commercial exchanges. Most historians agree that the Arabs developed the drying process first: the old name for pasta tria, still surviving in Sicily, Liguria and some areas of Puglia, would be directly derived from the Arab ithrya, which, as far as I've read, should mean dry dough (any Arab speaker here?). The fact that tria production is documented in Sicily in the early XIII century, about 50 years before Marco Polo's travels, is enough to dismiss the Chinese connection. There are a few Italian historians who claim that actually the Arabs developed the process in Sicily, but the explanations for this always seemed a bit cloudy to me. ← One thing I think we can all agree on is that until America sent peanuts to China for Dan-dan noodles and tomatoes to Italy for the sauce, neither nation's pasta was of particular interest. (sits back and waits)

Trio's, on 17th and Q, is just a diner, but it's cheap and convenient to Dupont Circle if you're at the Phillips. The waitresses are very tolerant and they serve excellent (ie, real) chocolate milkshakes. On nice days they have outdoor seating in a pleasant people-watching 'hood. There was a small item in yesterday's food section that said the chef from 15 RIA is about to open her own place in the Trio space, called Hank's Oyster Bar. It will be open by the time this family comes to town, but they will be mightily perplexed if they go to 17th street and look for Trio. ←

Monument's closed for terror-proofing, anyway. ← I think it is supposed to re-open the first week of April. ← Sure enough. I thought it was later. Another good view can be had from the tower of the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue, near the History Museum and the Penn Quarter restaurants. And since I'd clearly rather spend time on eGullet than deal with a particularly frustrating writing assignment at work, I racked my brains for places l5-year-old for ast night and came up with two I used to take mine to. Trio's, on 17th and Q, is just a diner, but it's cheap and convenient to Dupont Circle if you're at the Phillips. The waitresses are very tolerant and they serve excellent (ie, real) chocolate milkshakes. On nice days they have outdoor seating in a pleasant people-watching 'hood. And, in Georgetown, Cafe La Ruche (31st St., very close to the Joe H's fave public works project, the C&O Canal) offers cafe classics in a very relaxed atmosphere and, again, outside.

Julia may have been the first TV chef, she was almost certainly not the first person to publish a serious French cookbook in the U.S. What she did was translate classic and traditional cooking into recipes people could understand and duplicate -- she made French home cooking accessible in a way it had never been. Her first cookbooks remain standards 40 years after publication for that reason. Probably more important, though, she brought such enthusiasm and joy to the task that people were motivated to get into the kitchen. She was not just a teacher, she was a missionary in a way that few, if any, of those who have followed in her footsteps have been.

You can't be serious about Afterwards. Though, it is a historic bookstore in that it is the shop where Monica Lewinski bought the copy of "Vox" she gave to Clinton. The battle over Starr's subpoena of Lewinski's purchase records became a bit of a cause celebre for civil libertarians and one of the whole farce's more interesting footnotes. There are many better places in that neighborhood within footsteps.

DocSconz wanted high-end spots and places near tourist traps; you were looking for mid-priced spots and nightlife. As a result, you both got different reccomendations, but you may want to look over Doc's thread just to see what you can see, long as you're both going to the same city.

I noticed that you and Menton1, by asking different questions, got different recommendations -- because we in DC believe in custom solutions. Nonetheless, it might be worth you're scrolling through his thread, and vice versa, just to see if anything catches your eye.

Monument's closed for terror-proofing, anyway.

I don't want to be un-neighborly either, but why is it that people ask the opinions of locals, then try to pick a fight with them? This happens all the time on the Southeast Board when people want suggestions for South Beach. Guess what? South Beach Sucks! There, I've said it! And the people on this board know their stuff. Monocle? America? No self respecting local would even use their bathroom! The streets roll up at 6PM? C'mon New York! Go to Bistro Du Coin to see how the locals do. You might even see Madeline Albright. (That's a joke.) ← I've never seen a Cabinet Secretary there, but I did sit next to famous White House Speechwriter (Bartlet Administration) Rob Lowe one night.

I live in the NY Metro and there are scores of restaurants here in that price range. I did not believe that DC was MORE expensive than NY, so I did a little digging, and it isn't. Just some cursory research turned up these places well within the budget: America, Union Station La Brasserie, Capitol Hill La Colline, Capitol Hill Monocle Cafe Atlantico Georgia Brown's Kinkead's Bistro Francais, Georgetown La Chauminiere Occidental Grill I got this info from a "friend of a friend" who lives in DC; this is a short list, he said there are many more in this price range! ← There are, I suppose, many restaurants in DC where you can chow down for $45 (dinner) including wine, tax and tip. The problem is that they mostly suck or, to put it more gently, are not places I would recommend to a fellow eGulletor who appears to share my affinity for certain eden-like stretches of the Cote d'Azure. America, for one. Stay away! A quick Internet search, to ensure that I haven't somehow lost my mind shows highlights like: Occidental Grill: "Expensive" in Washingtonian Magazine, defined as $81-140 including tax and 15% tip, excluding vino. Cafe Atlantico: Aps, $8-12; entrees $19-25. Assuming an $8 dessert and one (!) glass of $8 wine, you're over $45 before tax and tip and drink much less than I do on vacation. Kinkeads: Earns a "very expensive" from Washingtonian Magazine, more than $140 for two, including tax and 15% tip, but excluding alcohol. Bistro Francais: "Moderate" $51-80 without wine. That seems low to me, but it's a personal favorite and I recommend it highly. Note that it is in G'town and that it serves very late, making it a favorite joint for dinner after you go out drinking or culturizing (or doing a late-night monument tour.) La Chaumiere: Another place I like, Thursday is Cassoulet Day. $20 entrees, $7 apps... you might get out for $45 each but I never seem to. Your friend's friend is peddling bad dope. I mean, yeah, you can spend whatever you want to spend. But places like La Brasserie and the Monocle are a joke -- though the Monocle is a great Senator-spotting place when they're in session -- and Georgia Brown's appears to have passed its prime. To get memorable, non-ethnic food in DC you're either going to have to spend more than than $45 per person, or order off the low end of the menu and keep wine consumption very low, which I hate to do on a vacation dinner. Or go to the places I recommended above (add 2 Amy's to that list, though it's, again, in a slow part of town). Good luck, have fun, report back and check all restaurant recommendations from your friend's friend with DonRocks before you go spending your money in them.