hannnah

Scallops in a Horlicks cream sauce? Scallops in fruitcake sauce? What in God's name does this man have against poor inoffensive scallops? Was he traumatized by one as a child?

I love Thai Luang's food, but we stopped going there after they got one too many writeups from the Fairfax County health inspector for thawing poultry overnight in the sink.

We went to Craftbar on Sunday night and were very pleased with the experience. Got the stuffed sage leaves, the duck ham panini, and the evening's special of broiled barracuda(!) served with a wild mushroom ragout. I see now why everyone raves about the mushrooms - I've never been a great fan of fungus, but those were amazing, as were the sage leaves. The barracuda itself was interesting - the server compared it to swordfish, but I didn't think that was quite right. Firm white flesh, not super-flaky - the closest thing I've had to it before was "rock salmon," which is apparently a kind of shark, so that would make sense. Dessert was apple fritters with caramel ice cream, along with an amuse of peanut brittle. Good stuff all round, very reasonably priced for the quality of what we got. As an aside, does anyone know how they make the breadsticks? I came away thinking there might be polenta in them because of the texture, but I didn't get a chance to ask as it got pretty busy right after we were seated.

As far as places that haven't been mentioned, Buffalo Wing Factory in Sterling and Ashburn has good wings, burgers and pizza, and a stellar beer list. Hama Sushi and Mikaku in Herndon are both excellent for sushi -- Hama's more of a mom-and-pop type place, Mikaku's a little ritzier (it's the one Sietsema reviewed). Hama has nicer soups and tempura; Mikaku has better toro. For Indian, Supper Club of India in Worldgate has a solid menu and excellent service - the manager there used to run Harvest of India over by K-Mart in Herndon. I think he may have taken the chef with him to Supper Club -- since it opened Harvest has gone downhill a bit. Banjara in Ashburn is good as well -- their menu is more South Indian, and their masala dosa is comfort food at its finest. Finally, for that just-gotta-have-cheesecake-at-3am craving, there's Amphora. The food quality's all over the place depending on when you go and what you order, but their bakery quality has always been stellar. Between the various cheesecakes and the carrot cake, it's hard to go wrong.

Dunno - I've only been once, but it was certainly worth a return visit. They had one of the most amazing carnivore-fest dishes I've ever seen - NY strip crusted with applewood bacon - that was just as good as it sounds, assuming you like meat. And the Asian-style dishes were good as well - the Thai red curry shrimp was as good as any I've had in a traditional Thai place.

One of our local Chinese places serves something awfully similar to this as an appetizer - they call it Peking Celery. I don't know for sure that they use marrow - it might just be a really gelatinous stock. It's very good though. The celery sponges up all the juice, so you've got the crispy celery texture with a lot of gorgeous meaty flavor. I'm not a huge celery fan, but I do like this dish.

This is the space that was a newsagent's for years and years, right? Last time I was up that way there was definitely a sign saying it was going to be a restaurant, I just don't remember what it was going to be. Whatever it was, sounds like it hasn't materialized.

I'm partial to corn sticks myself. The only problem is that I have one properly seasoned corn stick pan and it takes forever to make them one pan at a time. Because of that, I usually end up making skillet cornbread instead.

Yes, but only fried.

Putting on my work hat for a second... *splorp* *ahem* The Library of Congress American Memory Collection has a fair amount of online material related to cooking and recipes, including Jefferson's instructions on how to make pasta, a letter to George Washington with a recipe for beaver's tail, and, of course, plenty of wartime recipes (my favorite is the Braised Stuffed Heart from the 1944 "Share the Meat" campaign.) Outside American Memory, we have gems like the first published American cookbook, which is on permanent display in the American Treasures exhibit. Everyone is encouraged to browse online, or, if you're in the DC area, come take a look.

The Dubliner's actually sort of contained within the Phoenix Park Hotel, so I'd imagine they could get the hotel front desk to stash your luggage for you if there's no room in the pub.

I'm basing all this on reputation only, plus the sheer size of the building - I've never been to one of the NJ or NY stores. But, quite honestly, if they were building a Harris Teeter on the same site I'd go just as often, as it'd still be nicer than Safeway/Grub Kitty in Sterling and more convenient than the HT in Reston.

Gosh, I had no idea Sterling was so far from DC. And to think I've been commuting from someplace as far away as New Jersey every morning!

It wasn't an enormous scotch list, but there were a couple of real gems, including a sherry-cask-aged Laphroaig and a Bunnahabhain. I'd think your friend would certainly find something to like.

Wow. What a fantastic tale! Trouble is, now I'm really hungry, but I think I have a good idea what tonight's dinner's going to be....mmm, aloo tikki.

Spoken word, and he was hysterical as always. The best part was an account of a recent track he recorded with, of all people, William Shatner, and the dinner they had in the middle of the recording session. Apparently Shatner is quite the gourmand himself, and made a big deal about "a friend who lives...on the Eastern...Seaboard!" who "captures...his own...Scallops!" (Henry does a devastatingly good Shatner, btw.) The guy had flown in with some of his personally captured scallops for their dinner. The scallops thing brings on a tangent - "How exactly do you capture scallops?" The options were essentially: grabbing them, knocking them over the head, or the full cavemen-capturing-the-rampaging-woolly-mammoth-scallop. "Aagh! It's the scallops! *runrunrun* RAAAWWWGGGHHH! *stab scallop with spears*" There were also a couple of good bits on free food at movie premieres - since all the glamourous types don't actually eat, that leaves more popcorn and unagi for Henry.

We had a most excellent pre-Henry Rollins dinner at Nectar last night. It was pretty quiet, but we were there early. Somehow they made the connection between the reservation on OpenTable and the eGullet me - I have no idea how, since we've never been there before, unless they're able to pull up the reservation history at other places. Every single thing we had was excellent, from starters onward. I had mussels steamed with lemongrass in a peanut and tamarind sauce for a starter - the sauce had just enough chili zing to be warming without being overpoweringly hot, and the texture was just about perfect. Dave had the pumpkin soup, which was silky and savory and wonderful and which I'll be getting next time. I really have to compliment them on the breads - there were 4 offered, a walnut raisin, a semolina bread, an Asiago cheese bread, and a pain de campagne made with Guinness. I can't speak for the raisin, but the others were very good. The pain de campagne was particularly gorgeous, with a nice malty undertone but none of the bitterness I would have expected from something made with Guinness. I'd love to get hold of a loaf, 'cause it'd be dandy for a ham and cheese sandwich. For entrees, I got veal cheeks with lentil squash puree. I'm becoming a big fan of beef/veal cheeks - that melting meat texture is just the sort of dish I want when it's this cold outside. The puree was awfully good as well - just enough Indian spice to keep it interesting but not interfere with the flavor of the veal. Dave never met a duck he didn't like, and he says the duck breast with leg confit was some of the best duck he's ever had. From the one bite I got, I'd have to agree - it was just right. Our dining companion got the hanger steak - cooked to a perfect state of still-mooing, with potatoes hidden by a paper-thin layer of speck. Despite his being one of those low-carb types, the potatoes went away pretty quickly. Maybe he was seduced by the bacony goodness. The desserts were just as spectacular as their billing. I got the cobbler and white russian milkshake. Although the cobbler was good, the milkshake was definitely the highlight. Dave got the baked alaska, which looked like a medium-sized meringue-covered hedgehog. It must have been good; all I got was a taste of the meringue, but he was lamenting not being able to lick the plate afterwards. The mutant apple pie looked awfully interesting as well, and we were assured it was good. I had a couple of different glasses of wine - a Gruner Veltliner with the mussels, and another I can't remember the name of with the veal. I was really impressed with the variety of the list and the fact that absolutely everything was available by the glass. Kudos to their beer list, too - a lot of places don't make an effort to stock anything creative beer-wise, but there were some real gems there.

Thanks. We'll probably end up there around 5:30-6, but since it'll be a Saturday and Valentine's Day both (ack) we might add in some extra wiggle room.

Just out of curiosity, are they generally so busy that there's a long wait, or do they take reservations? (Trying to do some pre-trip planning and didn't see anything in the thread.)

Cheap downtown property? Great honking big tax break for taking a "less desirable" location? I suspect a combination of both.

Well, there's an Asian Super Market listed at 1407 Montgomery Highway - it's probably worth giving them a call. There are also places you can order online - I googled "miso paste order" and it came up with a bunch of vendors. Basically you can stir the paste into veggie broth or chicken broth to make the soup, or marinate things in it. There are plenty of recipes out there, and it's really easy to work with. (Note on soup: you can get an instant version of the traditional broth, called dashi, but it's really easy to make from scratch. Unfortunately, it involves seaweed, which may be a little overadventurous for her.) My mom isn't big on Japanese either, but she really seems to like the Japanese steakhouse places - they're basically stir-fry, nothing raw unless you go out of your way to order it. They'll generally do miso soup too, if you want to try some before you invest in a tub of miso.

Best of luck to your wife - I'm nearing 5 years' post op, and I can honestly say that the surgery was the best thing I ever did for myself. From experience, I'd suggest the following: 1) If she likes Japanese food, make sure you have some miso on hand. It's ridiculously high in protein, it's easy to add to savory dishes, and a cup of miso soup gets past the "I don't want to eat but I need to consume something" problem. 2) Instant grits or instant oatmeal are good protein vectors. Cheese grits, oatmeal and yogurt, either of these are tolerable. 2) Most baby food is vile, except for the ones with fruit. And you can't live on those. I had some on hand, but I think we ended up giving it to someone with a baby because I couldn't stomach it. 3) Food processors are a wonderful thing. It's amazing how many things you can puree and have them turn out decently - beef stew was a favorite of mine, and has plenty of protein and veggies. Unfortunately, I did end up eating a lot of scrambled eggs and peanut butter, since I couldn't tolerate the protein powders. I must have gone through 6 or 7 different types, and the texture's just all wrong for me. And, to be quite honest, I couldn't take eating mush for an entire month, so I ended up cheating with nice squishy easily chewable food. My first meal out was sauteed scallops and mashed potatoes. Oh, and this may sound weird, but I have 4 friends and 2 aunts who have had the surgery, and every single one of us developed a significant craving for sharp flavors like tomatoes and vinegar after surgery. I have no idea why, but it's something to keep in mind.

Gourmet Digest - February 2004 Cover photo is of Chocolate Espresso Pots de Creme The Way We Were: February 1957. Featured recipe is Gumbo Z'Herbes. Letters: How dare they suggest that Austrian doughnuts should be filled with raspberry jam! Heathens! Someone else complains that tasting menus make them want to go home and have a ham sandwich. Everyone else is either thanking people for recipes or sending in their own. You Asked For It: Nori-Dusted Tuna with Ginger Rice Balls and Wasabi Sauce. Caroline Bates: Cetrella Bistro and Cafe, Half Moon Bay, CA. Good local veg and seafood make for tasty Mediterranean fare in an increasingly less-out-of-the-way coastal spot. Jay Cheshes: Mix, NYC. He didn't like the space, he didn't much care for the food, and he didn't even like the dishes. eG'ers tend to disagree. Roadfood: The Sterns visit Sgt. White's Diner in Beaufort, SC. "Euphoric" and "seductive" BBQ at a little place just down the road from Parris Island, run by a former Marine drill instructor. Kitchen of Leisurely Delights: Cynthia Zarin writes a glowing review of Paula Wolfert's The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate Cook. "Ease reigns; erudition is taken for granted." Canned Heat: A profile of Poppy Cannon, 1950's answer to Sandra Lee and the author of The Can-Opener Cookbook. Apparently she had good intentions and some ideas ahead of her time, but could never get past the seductive allure of canned goods and frozen pot pies. Good Living: Out of this world focaccia from Port City Pasta Co., Lake Oswego, Oregon; Kokum, a relative of the mangosteen, starts making an appearance in cocktails and curries around the country; a report on Paris' Salon International de l'Agriculture; Mexican hot chocolate; winter grilling tips; upcoming PBS documentary on Tupperware (Feb. 9); Seville oranges; English translations (including recalculated measurements) of three-star French chefs' cookbooks offered by Ici La Press. Travel: English country house hotels - one in Wiltshire and one in Hertfordshire. Style: Asian teapots. Drinks: A profile of winemaker Elias Fernandez of Shafer Vineyards, and a sidebar on Hispanic winemakers in Napa and Sonoma; new fruit and chocolate cream liqueurs; Three Thieves 2002 California Zinfandel; reds under $15; the sommelier at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia recommends Paul Jaboulet Aine Parallele 45 Rouge 2000. Saving Grace: Gerald Asher's wine pairings for the menus featured in this month's issue - Australian sparklers, rieslings, Shirazes and dessert wines for the Dinner for Twelve, Murphy-Goode or Flora Springs merlots for the Scandinavian menu. Dinner for Twelve: Cooking for a large group - with foie gras toasts, braised duck legs, wilted mustard greens, and sauternes-soaked genoise. Memorable Meals: Jeremy Smith reminisces about meals at his Grandma's house - where the post-prandial dessert and tea is accompanied by a light snack of three roast cornish game hens. Sympathy for the Devils: The men who keep Mexico City's central market humming - the diableros. Cocoa Dreams: Mmmm. Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Chocolate cream pie, chocolate fallen souffle cake, chocolate espresso pots de creme, frozen chocolate caramel parfaits, and hot fudge sauce. Travel: Bangkok Baroque - John Powers visits the "Brazil of Asia" and eats his way around what he calls "one of the world's best food cities." Recipes include spicy pummelo salad and fish with red curry sauce. Nordic Nights: A Scandinavian dinner to warm up the long winter nights - curried herring on rye toasts, celery-root and beet salad, pork loin with apples, prunes, and mustard cream sauce, sauteed green beans, hasselback potatoes, sabayon lingonberry mousse, and spice cookies. Food Lovers' Guide to Montmartre: From wine bars to patisseries, from the market on the Rue Lepic to the old fashioned dining room at Au Poulbot Gourmet, see the culinary sights in the "last unspoiled Paris neighborhood." Gourmet Everyday: Poached eggs with roasted tomatoes and portabellas; grapefruit sabayon gratin; roasted chicken with garlic confit; parmesan and black pepper polenta; pasta frittata with broccoli rabe and sun-dried tomatoes; Indian spiced cauliflower and potatoes; mashed potatoes with carrots and leeks; individual meatloaves with bacon crisps. Five Ingredients: "Midwinter Melt" - Castellane with mascarpone and roasted grape tomatoes. Low Fat: Rice noodle soup with ham and lettuce; steamed striped bass with ginger and scallions; broccoli spears in garlic sauce; steamed white rice; and cherries in the snow (almond milk gelatin with cherries in port). Kitchen Notebook: Melting chocolate - microwaves vs. double boilers; how to make Hasselback potatoes; frenching green beans; Thai red curry paste, bread crumbs, and pickled herring. Well Bread: Things to do with a day-old baguette.

Spaten Bock is gooood. On one happy evening a few years ago I was in Munich and managed to hit the Hofbrauhaus, the Spaten pub/restaurant and the Franziskaner pub/restaurant all in one evening. Spaten was definitely the best overall, followed closely by Franziskaner. The Hofbrauhaus was tourist central, but they did have good suckling pig.

Perfect timing for this thread - we'll be up for Presidents' Day/Valentine's/spousal birthday weekend, and while we always hit at least one of the high-end places (this time it's Aquavit), it's really helpful to have an idea of less expensive-yet-good places. Especially when they're spread around the city enough that there's bound to be something within walking distance of wherever we might be. I'm taking notes. You can't necessarily get a full meal there, but Jacques Torres Chocolate qualifies as "not fancy," and is absolutely worth the trip even if you're a tourist scared to leave Manhattan. The hot chocolate mix is so good you can eat it straight from the tin (spousal quote: "Wow! This stuff would be worth having PMS for!"). We made an awfully good dent in the display case for personal consumption and gifts for less than $20. The staff person who was making the chocolate bunnies do a happy dance was a little disturbing, but I suspect they're on a permanent sugar high from the air alone. It smells goooooood in there. Oh, and re: Trish's post, those categories would be helpful - but I'd be perfectly happy with 10, as I suspect 20's too many to come to a consensus on without years of wrangling. Maybe add a snack or pub grub category as well? There have to be plenty of places for a drink and a quick bite that don't really fall under any of the categories but are still worth a mention.