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bilrus

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Posts posted by bilrus

  1. Anyone want to wager a guess as to what Rocco's reaction would have been to the enhanced women coming up to the pass-through? I'm guessing he would have run out of the kitchen, gone to their tables and rubbed their shoulders.

    Ramsey told them to F*ck Off.

    A nice change of pace.

  2. At the farmers market this weekend some early season tomatoes called to me after tasting a bite of the samples they had sitting out. Then a few stands later I picked up some bacon from aother farm. You can see where this is leading.

    But a few days ago jenrus watched the movie Spanglish - not my idea of a great movie, but that's beside the point. In the movie, Adam Sandler plays a top-level chef and was actualy trained before filming by Thomas Keller. One of the extras on the DVD is Keller making his ideal sandwich. Basically a BLT on good toasted bread with a yolky fried egg and melted Monterey Jack cheese. With that inspiration I gave it a shot.

    No pictures, because it didn't look very pretty on the plate. But it was mighty tasty. The tomatoes were very nice for this time of year (can't wait for the summer to unfold) and the yolk from the egg gave the sandwich the extra bit of richness you probably didn't know that a BLT needed.

  3. If I remember my stands correctly I bought some pretty nice tomatoes from Toigo this morning at Arlington.  I wanted to be food-snobby and say, "No, this is too early in the season"  but then I tasted a slice and said, "Tomato - welcome back to my life, it's been a long winter, hasn't it?"

    Is the last week in May too early for a BLT?  I don't know, but I'm going to find out this week.

    Most likely greenhouse raised. At least that what Twin Springs had at Takoma. Not the same as a sun-kissed mid-July fruit, but good enough for the end of May.

    They were the basis for my salad at the DR picnic.

    The tomatoes ended up being a part of some really excellent Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese and Egg sandwiches. Good stuff.

  4. One of the things I think makes Thai cooking different from most other cuisines, especially Western cuisines, is how they feature their ingredients. One the goals of French cooking, for example, is to have the flavors and ingredients work together to taste different, and presuamably better, than they would by themselves. In Thai cooking the goal is to make the taste of every ingredient stand out, while still staying in harmony.

    Like the book says - Hout, Sour, Salty, Sweet. It is all in how you tweak those four tastes.

  5. You know Bill, I ordered the Babbo cookbook almost purely on the strength of your dinner photos.

    Thanks. I'm sure Mario appreciates it. I've not had any recipes out of it that I haven't enjoyed.

    Tonight was a Salumi platter - Sopressata, Mortadela, Prosciutto di Parma, Buffalo Mozzarella, some toasted bread and some assorted olives with my new revalation - pickled garlic cloves.

    salumi2uk.jpg

  6. St. Louis style pizza seems to provoke a love/hate relationship between the people who grew up with it and many non-natives. St. Louis style pizza uses a craker-thin crust and a processed provelone/mozzarella cheese products called provel. Provel melts very creamy without the stringy texture of mozzarella on traditional pizza.

    Most displaced St. Louisans crave the stuff (since you can't get it anywhere outside a 150 mile radius of the Gateway Arch) but, for the most part, our friends from the outside world just don't get it.

  7. Washingtonian, for me for years, has been an important resource to alert me to restaurants that I might not otherwise be aware of in the 6.1 million population D. C. area.

    Its just that so many of its rec's seem like they're the same ones you would have read when you started reading those many years ago.

    I'd much prefer getting my info from Sietsema, Kliman and what I hear from others on these boards - eG, DonRockwell.com or even Chowhound. I think for the most part we've got the region covered and have a pretty good finger on the pulse of the restaurant scene.

  8. 5. Scallop – served with garlic mashed potatoes and morel mushrooms. I ate this with some initial trepidation, as we were informed that the chef gets his scallops from New Jersey. Since I grew up in New Jersey, I had visions of ingesting scallops freshly harvested from the Hudson River.  :wink:  However, this was probably my favorite dish, as the scallop was seared perfectly and had such a fresh, clean taste.

    I had this a few weeks back in the bar and thought it was an interesting "surf and turf" combination - on the menu I'm not sure it reads as good as it tastes. The scallops with their faint taste of the sea work with the earthy mushrooms.

    When I had it they were using shitakes, so I can imagine it is that much better with the morels.

  9. If I remember my stands correctly I bought some pretty nice tomatoes from Toigo this morning at Arlington. I wanted to be food-snobby and say, "No, this is too early in the season" but then I tasted a slice and said, "Tomato - welcome back to my life, it's been a long winter, hasn't it?"

    Is the last week in May too early for a BLT? I don't know, but I'm going to find out this week.

  10. Saturdays we go to the farmer's market ...

    Saturday night dinner is always dictated by what we bought

    Same here today. Dinner was courtesy of the Farmer's Market. Aside from a bit of goat cheese and my dijon vinagrette, everything for dinner came from the market this morning (eggs, lettuce, maitake mushrooms, spring onions):

    omelette8oq.jpg

  11. Pretty sweet sounding lunch deal going on at Eve right now (from an email from the restaurant):

    The Lickity Split-Lounge Lunch Menu $13.50

    Welcome to Restaurant Eve, we use the freshest ingredients that local farms and area markets can provide.  We change our menu often, to provide you, the best of the season. Bon Appetit!

    This special promotional menu is available only in the bar and lounge from 11:30-4:00  (Valid One per guest only-cannot be shared Thank you.)

    Selections

    Choose any 2 items....YES!...We mean ANY TWO.

    DAIZE’S SEASONAL COCKTAIL Local Strawberries, Limes and Absolut Citron Vodka

    KEN FORRESTER Petit Chenin Blanc 2003 (South Africa)

    CASTILLO DEL BARON Monastrell 2003 (Yecla, Spain)

    VICTORY-Pilsner-Draft

    Virginia Asparagus with Virginia Ham and Everona Piedmont

    Market Salad; Mixed Greens, with Garnishes from Local Markets

    Spanish Omelet (Tortilla Español) with Grande Aïoli

    Virginia Asparagus Soup with Créme Fraîche

    Manilla Clams with Chinese Sausage and Spring Garlic

    Salad Du Jour

    Sandwich Du Jour

    Risotto

    Fingerling Potatoes

    Irish “BLT” with House Made Chips

    “Birthday Cake”....Just Because

    Chocolate Torte

    Apple Fritters

  12. I'm fascinated by the passion that this cooking seems to be provoking - on both sides of the coin.

    While at the same time eG members and posters on other forums have been waxing poetic about the food, I've seen a group of reports from several diners on another site that was absolutely scathing.

    Has anyone seen a report anywhere (excepting maybe Bruni in the NYT) that falls somewhere between rapture and disgust?

  13. And if you can get across the bay to Berkeley, there is always the quintessential experince of Chez Pannise.  You could dine in the Cafe.

    That's the place that strikes this visitor as the most emblematic of San Francisco (even though it is in Berkley) and the place most unlike what you'd find in New York.

  14. Susan the crisps are really easy! You just need a Silpat on a good baking sheet. We finely grated parm and used a 2 1/2" biscuit round as our guide. Spread the parm evenly and bake for about 10 mins. at 350F.

    Using a spatula remove the rounds from the Silpat, they are hot and soft. Guide them into an egg carton to form a tulip and let them cool. Fill and eat!

    One suggestion - use a little more cheese than you think you should - if you don't they can end up a little too delicate.

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