hannnah

I ran across a significantly larger ad for Hercules in another edition of the Strand that I haven't had a chance to scan yet; I think it may have been more descriptive than the other two. It'll be Tuesday before I'm back in the office, but I'll post it as soon as I can.

We did have to wait for our reservation last time, specifically because the people who had the table before us didn't leave on time. It was handled as well as it could have been under the circumstances, and I got in a couple of games of Centipede while we waited. I imagine it's a lot more difficult to estimate how long it'll take to turn a table here than at a restaurant, simply because you don't know whether people are planning to get a drink or two and go somewhere else, or settle in for the evening and drink their way through the entire list and then some.

Oh, my. You are truly evil geniuses, and I'll be looking forward to this one, assuming it's still around in February when we're up there next. Maybe a play on the Italian or French for walnut - noce or noix, but the only ones I can come up with are mediocre puns like "great noce-on".

There's someplace around Covent Garden that carries Scharffen Berger in regular eating quantities, according to the nice gentleman at their shop in the Ferry Building in San Francisco. You might get in touch with SB directly to find out if they know of someone who imports the bigger blocks.

And, should you choose to pay them a visit, this is just about the prettiest time of the year to go. Benton's is just the other side of Sweetwater from my parents' farm, and I can definitely attest to how wonderful their ham and bacon is.

Having eaten at Lee Ho Fook in Soho, I can confirm that they do not, in fact, have beef chow mein on their menu, which is kind of a shame.

The Washington Post business section had an article today that focused on a lot of the regulatory hoops the marketers and importers are having to jump through - and, as usual, it sounds like various branches of the government aren't getting their stories straight.

Very much enjoyed a trip to PDT on Friday; it's a great space, the drinks are most excellent, and the waitstaff didn't bat an eyelid when I ordered a Corpse Reviver. And, I got to play Centipede while waiting for the lollygaggers inside to vacate our table.

Ok, here's the ad - from vol. 74 of the Strand Magazine, Jul-Dec. 1927: It clears up at least a couple of the questions - it's definitely maté-based, and they don't intend for it to be diluted with water (spirits perhaps, but not water). As far as flavor profile, I haven't tried maté myself, but I have been around when it was being prepared and drunk, and it struck me as more along the lines of strong tea - bitter but not unpleasantly so - and it smelled a lot like tea. Per Wikipedia, "The flavor of brewed yerba mate is strongly vegetal, herbal, and grassy, reminiscent of some varieties of green tea. Many consider the flavor to be very agreeable, but it is generally bitter if steeped in boiling water, so it is made using hot but not boiling water." Unless there's a lot of something else aniseedy in it, this stuff is sounding less and less like an absinthe substitute.

Found one of the ads that specifically says "Maté-Wine Aperitif" - scan coming shortly.

I'll consult the stack elves and see if they can find the relevant volume (working in the world's biggest library has its privileges - I checked out one of our copies of the Savoy Cocktail Book last week and had just gotten to the point of wondering what the heck Hercules was! ) Update: Well, the elves came through, but the volume reference on Google isn't right - there is no ad for Hercules on page 61, or any other page for that matter. I'll have them pull the volumes before and after this one and see if I can find it there.

Certainly not - meat, butter, oils, sugar, and various processed foods were rationed in the US. And it wasn't just for "show" - a significant amount of the food being produced was being shipped out to feed the troops rather than going into the domestic food supply. The shortages in the US weren't as dire simply because more people here had room and opportunity to grow supplemental food of some kind. There was also a fairly active black market in meat and sugar - sugar being one of the primary raw materials for, er, "artisanal distilling."

She was a fine, feisty lady, and her posts never failed to make me smile. I'll miss her.

Per spouse (as I'm not the expert and he ate the whole thing): "The doner was above average, the other stuff was excellent." If the revolving kebab hadn't looked plump and happy we would've kept walking - "never trust a skinny kebab." Also, we found out later that it's a favorite lunch destination of one of his sister's coworkers (she generally brings her lunch so hadn't tried it yet).

We'd been walking/busing by this place for about a week and a half when the spousal craving for a kebab finally got us in the door. Surprisingly, given the name of the place, they've got a pretty extensive Turkish menu - mezzes, various doners, pide, and a whole raft of other entrees. There's a pretty large seating area in addition to the takeaway, so we decided to eat there. The spouse got his doner, from a moist, plump, and flavorful representative of the keebly genre, and I had one of the "kebabs in sauce," which turned out to be a lovely piece of lamb shoulder cooked bone-in in a spicy tomato sauce with potatoes, carrots, and courgettes. We also had an order of hummus, which came with really good non-pita bread (not sure what it's called - it was sort of like a focaccia but less oily). It's across from Harrow-on-the-Hill tube station, a few doors down from the shopping center. They have a web site, www.kebabland.net, but there's nothing really on it other than a photo and their phone number. If we weren't a seven hour plane ride plus two and a half hours of Heathrow immigration hell away, I'd certainly go back regularly.

Awww, yeah - the Krystal fried chicken, the made-to-order waffles, and the cake donuts with vanilla icing were all fantastic. I vaguely recall seeing the fried chicken on the menu at the one in Dayton last year, but the donuts and waffles have been gone for a long time. I was also partial to the Hardee's hot ham & cheese and the Taco Bell Bellburger. I think they must've dumped the Bellburger prior to 1980 - it was probably first or second grade when I remember not being able to get them anymore.

The policy stated repeatedly on the hold recording was "up to 2 months in advance," although they seemed to have plenty of open times when I finally got through.

I called a week or so ago and got a reservation for Sept 12, so their reservation line is open at the moment even if the restaurant isn't.

If you're worried about being "watched by the government" you should probably choose another metro area. Especially in Reston, home of all sorts of buildings that aren't what they seem.

Here's hoping they roll out some of the classics, but the "Around the Med" series is a recent production for Channel 5, not the BBC "Floyd on (insert location here)".

Might be a better comparison had you picked the right pay table - the DC metro area GSers get 17.5 percent above the regular schedule rates because cost of living here is more expensive, which doesn't appear to be the case for the chefs. The table you're looking for is here.

Moxie has a really bitter/medicinal undertone, which is what reminds me of cough syrup; Cheerwine has that same chemical cherry flavor, but doesn't taste as medicinal to me as Moxie.

Um, unless you're a soda completist, you're not (missing anything, that is). Moxie tastes like carbonated Robitussin. (edit for clarity)

I've only seen Moxie one place around here, and that's at a nursery/fruit stand on Route 15 just outside Leesburg. I don't remember the name of the place, but if you're traveling from Gilbert's Corner on 15 going toward Leesburg, it's on the right a couple of miles past Oatlands.

I could have sworn it was open when we walked by last Saturday, but maybe I just saw the sign and assumed the next open door was Fettoosh. In any case, the neon sign is still there and turned on. Yup. That block now smells of french fries (which I suppose is better than various other things it could smell of).