LEdlund

I think the sandwiches are quite filling. Too filling! They also have good fries so you can always have those if you're hungry enough.

Hey Shal! Great blog! We'll have to plan a homecoming party when you get back to Seattle.... So what are scotch fillets? I've not heard that term before.

I'm guessing something near the airport? ← Yes, it was the Salty's on Redondo Beach just about a 20 minute drive South of the airport. Great view, so-so food and service. ← David, I don't see you much on our PNW forum - you should poke around there a bit. We'll save you from having to eat at places like Salty's. We only send our tourist there

Ha! I worked at a cannery when I was in high school. Peas and Corn. I remember those cutters well.

Different strokes, I guess. The first time I had the oxtail sauce at Tavolata, I raved about it to Ethan. He asked if I thought it was too salty, because someone had complained that it was. I told him absolutely not! I think people confuse rich, concentrated flavors with saltiness. But I guess he can't cook to just please me, right?

Don't plan on loosening up there. I think there may be a total of 1/4 ounce of alcohol in those crazy cocktails!

Whenever I call to make a reservation, I always ask for the name of the person to whom I am speaking, then I note it in my calendar. Only once has a restaurant not had my reservation. When I gave them the name of the person who took it, they bent over backwards to accomodate us.

First of all, let me say Thanks! to all of you for your help. We had such a great trip. The weather was outstanding and we walked everywhere. What a beautiful city - I can't wait to return. We got to the Hotel Madera about 10:15 on Saturday night and decided to stick close to home and have a bite at Firefly. No such luck. They closed at 10 PM! On a Saturday night! I was shocked by that. So we hopped in a cab and headed to Old Ebbitt Grill. We started with cocktails and briny oysters. My favorite was the Stonington followed by the Moonstone and Wellfleet. Next we had burgers and a glass of zinfandel. It was a perfect slide into the weekend. Sunday morning we walked to Luna Grill for breakfast. We had the worst breakfast of the trip here (flavorless eggs benedict and cold, musty tasting breakfast potatoes) but we also had the best drip coffee of the trip at Luna. We were near downtown at lunchtime so we stopped in at Chinatown Express. We had the pork buns, the fried noodles with beef and the house special chicken. This was the first time I'd had soup dumplings and I was underwhelmed. The wrapper and the pork filling were fine, but there was no soup in them. The fried noodles were very good but the best part was the chicken. It was cooked to perfection and the skin was extremely crispy. It was sitting in a soy sauce broth in a pie pan, skin side up so the meat was all flavorful but the skin was still crispy. It was great. For dinner that night we went to Cashion's Eat Place. This was our favorite meal of the trip. It's just the type of atmosphere we like. Homey and comfortable but not "cute". Our waiter was engaging and knowledgable. As I sit here looking at the menu that I brought home, I can't for the life of me remember what we had! I know we had the Asparagus with remoulade, local baby greens, american sturgeon caviar and malden sea salt. But that is it! I know we had a good martini before! And a nice cheese course after! I will definitely come back here. On Monday, we grabbed a to-go breakfast at a deli on our way out sightseeing. We spent the afternoon walking around Georgetown (and up the Exorcist steps!). We had lunch at J Pauls where I tried the mini crab cake burgers and a J Paul Amber. They were both quite tasty. Dinner Monday night was at Citronelle. We had a 9 PM reservation and we got there a little early so we could have a drink in the bar first. We checked in and were told our table wasn't ready. We said that was perfect because we wanted to have a drink first and would it be okay if we waited in the bar. Of course! They'd come get us when our table was ready. Around 9:10, they came and brought us to our table. Our waiter started off by telling us the Promenade Gourmande menu was only available for reservations up to 9 PM and therefore we would need to order off the regular menu. We were disppointed but started to peruse the regular menu. As we sat there, we got more and more disappointed because it was too hard to pick just two things and there were no wine pairings. We rarely do this but we decided to speak up because our reservation was for 9 PM and we were even there early. Our waiter said he'd check to see if that would be okay. I jokingly said we'd eat fast! It turned out to be okay, but they really did crank us through the menu. We had: Amuse Bouche, egg surprise, mushroom cigar, haricots verts tartar. Champagne Michel Arnould Pere & Fils, Grand Cru, Verzenay The egg surprise was fun - cheese shaped to look like a wedge of hard boiled egg. The haricots vert tartar was served in a hallowed out egg shell, halved horizontally. Asparagus Vichyssoise. Good, but not great. It did motivate me to make an awesome chilled asparagus soup when I got home though. Soft Shell Crab, corn risotto. Riesling "Beblenheim". Domaine Marcel Deiss 2004 I have never been a fan of soft shell crab but I really liked this. It was stuffed with something - lobster? I can't remember but I liked it. Rockfish, vegetable pearls, lemon verbena emulsion. Sancerre "Cuvee Flores", Domain Vincent Pinard 2005 I liked this okay but my husband loved it. He loved it so much he had Rockfish for dinner the next night. Lobster Burger Meursault, "Les Pellans", Domaine Chateau de Chorey 2005 It's a lobster burger - what's not to love? Actually my husband found this boring. I liked it. Veal, black angus steak, sweetbreads, morel sauce, asparagus Benjamin de Pontet, Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac 1995 We had just made a beef with morel sauce for a party and this version wasn't much different than the one we made. At this point, the food was coming out so quickly and the wines were piling up around us. I started to pick and choose what to eat. The veal got left on the plate - too uninteresting. The sweetbreads were great though. Selection of Imported Cheese Malbec Reserva, Enrique Foster Bodega, Mendoza, Argentina 2003 I totally forget what cheeses there were. Apple Napoleon Vouvray Moelleux, "Cuvee Matieu", Domaine Gendron 2003 Normally I don't like anything with cooked apples. The "pastry" was very, very thinly slided apple slices that were fried (?) until totally crispy. In between were rounds of cooked apple. It was fun. Mushroom Vacherin Banyuls Rimage "La Coume", Domaine du Mas Blanc, Dr. Parce 2004 Also a fun dessert. The meringue in the shape of a mushroom was clever. Petit Fours As I said, the food was really cranked out. One plate was barely gone from our plate and another one appeared. I didn't really get to savor the courses the way I like. And the wines were all blending together after a while. The wine pairings weren't quite as spot on as I would have hoped, especially with the cheese. I'm not a cheap person, but I do recognize value and, at $235 per person before tax and tip, Citronelle did not give me the value I would expect. We did meet a lovely couple from Denmark who we will see when they are in Seattle in a couple of months. That was fun! And it was a nice meal, just not extraordinary. Tuesday we started with room service as we had a busy tourist day planned. At the end of the day - we were hot and starving so we grabbed a couple of drinks and apps at Thunder Grill at Union Station. Dinner that night was at Circle Bistro. We started with an appetizer of asparagus with brown butter vinaigrette and hazelnuts. It arrived without brown butter or hazelnuts. It was great asparagus though (and they comped it - which was appropriate). Paul had his second Rockfish of the trip and I had the gnocci. It was a totally pleasant meal. We had a drink in their bar before dinner and it was obvious that it's someplace the college crowd would hang out and smoke! We had a decent cocktail there. Wednesday was our last day in town and we started at Trio's for breakfast. I love places like this! It reminded me of the (now departed) Dog House here in Seattle. Of course I had the creamed chip beef on toast! How can you not order that when you see it on a menu! We wandered around Adams Morgan that afternoon and snacked at some places there (we shared a hand dipped corn dog!) before heading out of town. Like I said, I'm totally looking forward to our next trip. Thanks for all your advice. If you ever get to Seattle, I hope I can do the same. Lauren

I've been making Tyler Florence's My Big, Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies. I really like the cookies but the only problem I have is chopping the chocolate. Some of the pieces get so small that they just melt into the batter and I prefer to have the batter plain. I think I'll try Alton Brown's and Cook's Illustrated for this Bake Off.

I've had the book for years and have used it regularly. I don't have it in front of me but I know the macaroni salad from that book is my go-to version for picnics.

I have all my notes and am writing them up. I will post tomorrow or the next day. I promise! Of course I meant to do that last week!

That's exactly the idea my friend................ uh, how do you know where I work? ← Seriously?

Yeah, I was just reading about the cheese on the steak tartare. I have to say, that was a real turn off for me - and I love cheese! That coupled with the attitude of the servers makes me think it's not the place for me. On the other hand, I just got an email from a fellow eG'er who at at BdC on her last visit and didn't like it much....tables too close together, uncomfortable chairs, etc. She compared it unfavorably to our local fav, Le Pichet, mentioned by MiFi above. I'm torn! Tell me more about Les Halles. Is the service better? More comfortable? How does the food compare?

Yeah, I meant to ask about that....has anyone been since the new chef started? Is it still a worthy place to go?

Just last night I was out with friends and they told me about a place in chinatown where the guy makes these fantastic noodles and dumplings. Anyone know the name? ← Chinatown Express, at 6th and H Sts. NW. ← That's it! Thanks, Heather.

Just last night I was out with friends and they told me about a place in chinatown where the guy makes these fantastic noodles and dumplings. Anyone know the name?

Good to know on the bagels - I'm sure they were recommended to me because we do have such crappy ones here in Seattle. I've had great ones in NYC so I won't go out of my way searching for them in DC. I understand that Seattle and DC are the two places in the US to sample ethiopian - so I think I'm good to go in that department. I love the idea of the farmers market! We'll definitely taka a stroll through there on Sunday. Please tell me I won't have to grab coffee from a Starbucks though

Considering we will have just gotten off the plane, the idea of walking somewhere is very appealing to me. Bistrot du Coin sounds perfect. Heather, thanks for the breakfast recs. I love bloody mary's so I'll be sure to have the one at Trio. I'm having troubles finding their hours online. Does anyone know offhand what time they open during the week? And if they are open Mondays? I've been told that I need to have blue crab while I'm there. I can't believe that it is better than dungeness, but I have it on good authority that it is. Is there a season for blue crab? Will I be able to try it next week? Is it regularly on menus, of will I need to seek out someplace specific to try it. I've also been told that, here in Seattle, we have no idea what a good bagel tastes like. Any recommendations on where to have a good bagel?

Actually, my experience is that very few places really seat until 11, regardless of what their posted hours are. We've had Symphony tickets for many years now, and finding late eats afterwards -- even on a Friday -- has been quite frustrating. Tenh Penh specifically declined to ask us over when called 10:30-ish, and I have a vague memory of DC Coast and Zatinya closing earlier than I'd expected, as well. Central Michel Richard claims to serve until 11:30 -- I haven't been there late to test it, but I suspect they're a good option. The best food of the bistro lot, but you may need a reservation. The chefs hang at BdC on Saturdays, by the way. Fridays it's just us civilians. (If you choose BdC, ignore the wine list on the menu and look for the specials posted above and to the right of the bar. Not cheap -- $30-50 -- but usually excellent price/quality ratios). If you're not up for the bistro thing, Rasika serves fairly late and offers up very good Indian food in very hip surroundings. Sette Osteria is in walking distance of your hotel (as is Bistro du Coin and, on a pleasant night, Bistro Francais). They, too have been known to close the kitchen earlier than thier posted hours, but if you're feeling Italian they fit the bill. And, of course, if you just want some good old burgers and martinis, there's the good ol' Old Ebbitt Grill. Botton line, though: Unless you're going to one of the Bistros, call first and gauage the enthusiasm of the voice on the other end of the line. No point being rushed through a meal because the host was more enthusiastic than the kitchen staff. ← Busboy, you've absolutely hit on my concerns. There is nothing worse than being the last people in a restaurant where you are clearly not wanted! So, back to BdC - I'm a civilian - will I be okay there on Saturday? And thanks for the tip on the wine list. By the way, Busboy - I hear that I missed a very good time with you and your wife during your visit to Seattle. Do you get out our way often?

We're staying at the Hotel Madera on Dupont Circle so Bistro du Coin sounds perfect for our Saturday night dinner. We're planning to hit Zaytinya for lunch one day - after the Spy Museum! Any breakfast recommendations?

That sounds like just the kind of place I'd like!

Next week, my husband and I will be visiting DC (from Seattle) for the first time. I have been reading tons on all of the boards and getting advice from friends who have been before as well as those who used to live there. I've got a couple of specific things I haven't been able to nail down yet. Our flight gets in around 9:15 Saturday night. By the time we get luggage and check in to the hotel (Hotel Madera on Dupont Circle, by the way) I figure it will be 10-ish. Where would you suggest for a late night bite? I understand that DC is not a late night town, but there must be some place we can go, right? We're in need of decent, not fancy, breakfast places near our hotel. The plan is to eat there, then take off for the museums, galleries etc. Paul and I both enjoy cocktails and little ms foodie and TallDrinkofWater were kind enough to point us in the direction of some that they enjoyed on their visit last year (write up can be found here. Are there any new places with interesting cocktails that we should know about? Obviously we'll be hitting Firefly, since it's in our hotel. How is the food since the chef has left? My dialing finger was too slow and we weren't able to get a reservation at Minibar - next time. We are having dinner at Citronelle Monday night. I'm very much looking forward to that. Thanks! Lauren

I made the Best Ever Brownies from Baking With Julia. They were definitely the best brownies I've made. Thanks to this thread, I didn't worry when the baking time was nearly twice that of the recipe. The texture of these brownies are exactly what I like - a little chewy with a nice crackle crust. Question for the better bakers than I: I want a more deep, pronounced chocolate flavor. Maybe a tad less sweet. I used 4 ounces of 91% Theo Chocolate and 2 ounces of 70% Scharfenberger. The recipe called for 2 cups of sugar. How do I acheive a deeper chocolate, slightly less sweet flavor without changing the texture?

The bakery that makes this tiramisu for Saito - Hiroki - is a couple of blocks from my house. I've had the tiramisu before and it is.....interesting. But I still prefer the traditional. I do like a good tiramisu. Maybe this will be my "easter" dessert!

I was inspired by this thread to make Dutch Babies this weekend. Both Saturday and Sunday in fact! I used the Joy of Cooking recipe which, in my version anyway, includes 1/4 cup sugar. I thought mine was an updated version but I'll have to check when I get home to be sure. The only difference between the recipe I used and the Times' recipe is the sugar and nutmeg (the Joy of Cooking recipe doesn't include it.) It was mighty tasty and will become part of our regular weekend breakfast rotation (although probably not both days ) Lauren