iamthestretch

What the Hell does "phlegmatic" mean in the context of buckwheat noodles? I guess we can rule out "showing little emotion," but the inclusion of "clumpy" also seems to defeat the alternative definition of "watery." Perhaps Frank is telling us they actually physically resembled phlegm, but that seems a trifle indelicate. He couldn't write for toffee when he covered politics, either.

Told you not to mess with expectant fathers. We kick all sorts of ass. (My dog came into the bedroom at 4:30 a.m. this morning and threw up a half-digested mole on the new carpet. No kid can top that, right?) Happy hurlidays. Stretch.

Eating crow Nov. 2. Tasted plenty bad then, know it's gonna repeat on me for years to come.

The eventual validation of good design choices. Behind the bar at Jackie's, there is a big window. Two of the panes are of yellowed glass. Even on a really, really crappy day -- such as, say, today -- what little light there is falling through those panes pools on the bar and makes any patrons sitting there feel like they are bathing in a big tub of sunshine. Or maybe that was the Macallan Cask Strength. "Do you sell much of this?" "Some. Mainly it's here because the chef really likes it." I bet he does.

Also no Mendocino, Poste or Firefly this time around.

List's up. (Edited to add: I'm joining cafe society this year: Cafe 15, Cafe Mozu, Cafe Atlantico. That'll hold me.)

Amen on the Bombay Club. Always makes me want to grow a handlebar moustache and start styling myself 'Major Cholmondely.' The Goan fish curry is great.

If you do want to splurge, Arrowine has the primo Russian stuff. They say it's DNA tested at both origin and destination to make sure no one tries any funny business. Personally, I'd rather spend that kind of stupid money in the wine section. But to each their own.

Pastries by Randolph 4500 Lee Hwy, Arlington, Va. Phone: (703) 243-0070 Fax: (703) 351-9627. Do I win a fresh croissant? Me likey.

Search over. My friends ended up finding two 12 pounders, marked American Farms free-range, yesterday at the bottom of a freezer at a local Safeway for $2.95/lb. Many thanks, nonetheless, for the very generous offer to liberate a few prize honkers from one of Virginia's finest restaurant kitchens. Now, if anyone would like to help with making a dozen buckets of schupfnudeln?

We had ragu this very (very cold) night. It was goo-oo-ood. Chop an onion, a couple carrots, stick of celery if you have it, soften in oil or butter or both over medium heat. Add ground meat, a pound does us two with some leftovers, stir and cook until browned. Add salt, pepper. Add a cup of milk. Simmer a few minutes. Add a cup of white wine. Simmer a few minutes. Add half a can of diced tomatoes with juice. Bring to lightest simmer your stove can manage. Cook uncovered for several hours, preferably at least three. Add to pasta. Grate excessive amounts of fresh parmesan on top. Enjoy with red wine; plonk is fine.

I wonder if it sucked way back then, too? I keep hearing they're planning to start serving edible food and then, well...

This recent thread expands on some of the issues you raised, Bill. It also shows how hard it is to talk about supposedly trivial topics like eating habits without rapidly getting into some pretty heavy underlying concepts like national (or at least regional) identity, class differences and economic inequality. All of which should be, um, meat and potatoes for the DC contingent, right?

My friend's German in-laws are coming over to DC this week and his wife is determined to replicate a Christmas feast from the old country, complete with a roast goose as the centerpiece. Problem is, they cost a wing and a leg in the few places he's been able to find them so far. Dean and DeLuca want a fat $12/lb, and at a recommended minimum of 1-1/2lbs per person, that adds up pretty fast for a big festive dinner. I tried Arrowine and they were a little better at $10/lb. Wegmans, surprisingly, didn't seem to have them at all, despite stocking copious quantities of ducks, capons, heritage turkeys and whole swans pickled in aspic. OK, maybe not the last one. Anyone have any other ideas? Or should me and my mate just sneak down to the Tidal Basin with a slingshot one of these nights and "source" us some fresh government goose?

Had a great late lunch at Montmartre today. They've just changed their menu for winter and there are some good things to try. For starters, we liked the brandade of cod and the croustillant, a phyllo purse stuffed with braised oxtail and oyster mushrooms. Of the new main courses, I recommend the monkfish choucroute, amply larded with bacon and served over sauerkraut with a winey beurre blanc. The rabbit and the onglet were also reportedly as good as always.

I've got a friend in town from Boston who needs some convincing on DC's food cred. Scored a palpable hit with lunch at Eve yesterday, but today needs to be a little softer on the wallet. Thinking maybe Colorado Kitchen or 2Amys for lunch, then meander downtown and pitch tent somewhere snug for a long, slow slide into happy hour and the comforts of Corduroy. Maybe someplace with a fireplace and a pretty barmaid a soothing ambience. Any thoughts?

All pig, all the time: Eve's awesome new rillettes, followed by Eve's trusty braised pork belly, followed by Birthday Cake 7.0 (ask them to make it with lard.) Rumor has it Todd is working on a warm bacon vinaigrette cocktail to take care of the liquid angle.

(Edited: superfluous.)

How about Cafe Mozu at the new Mandarin Oriental? It's probably the closest interesting place to the Arena Stage, unless you want to go the whole nine yards at CityZen.

Moving along, does anyone else (Vandyhoo?) have any more info about the Ugly Mug place mentioned on the miniburger thread as opening mid-December in the 8th St. area of the Hill with Graig Gluflin's input? Mentioned it to a friend who lives around there yesterday and he immediately started shaking me violently and shouting questions like: "What? When? Where? Will it be any good?" Talk about pent-up demand in that neighborhood...

I've been a couple of times, but only to sit at the bar for a glass of wine and a snack. I do like the tartare there and can also certainly recommend the cheese plate, which is both well-chosen and substantial.

Plus, their bar opens at 10 a.m. I'm just saying.

I'm having serious problems with eggs. A few weeks ago we were doing the old boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast and I took one bite of my second eggy toast and ... whoops a daisy. Immediate and total rejection of a stealthily, but seriously, degraded egg. Now, even though I've always loved eggs, just thinking about actually eating another one makes the back of my throat start to sweat! This can't last forever, right?

I think the third clue may be that it's called a Rum Fustian and yet they left out the main frigging ingredient? Apparently it's historical in some extremely local sense, but not without the bloody rum.

\Ex*an"i*mate\, a. [L. exanimatus, p. p. of exanimare to deprive of life or spirit; ex out + anima air, breath, life, spirit.] 1. Destitute of animation; spiritless; disheartened. [R.] "My vocabulary seems exanimate next to Rocks's.''