Where Do I Get Stuff?

[Gastro888]

The tofu restaurant in Eden Center is the best place for tofu/soy products in the area. Very high quality tofu.

[Marzapane]

The name of it is Thanh So (sp?)

I go there all the time for the mushroom tofu, but the best thing of all to get there is the tofu pudding. It is incredibly silken, warm, freshly made tofu and comes in two flavors-- plain white tofu with sweet ginger sauce, and (my favorite) the green pandan flavored tofu-- it's kind of like a light vanilla flavor-- with coconut milk and tapioca. It is the most delicious thing ever and is good cold, too. It is also incredibly cheap.

They have a bunch of other things that I am eager to try-- has anyone had any of their drinkable concoctions? They look interesting but I don't know what to order.

The tofu restaurant in Eden Center is the best place for tofu/soy products in the area.  Very high quality tofu.

←

[V.H.]

I asked the Vietnamese woman in line ahead of me what she was planning on doing with her tofu (she bought about 9 pounds of it, assorted) and she said that she loves it in with meaty braises. I think she was talking about caramel sauce baised braises, which I never would have thought to do but sounds great.

[Soup]

I think she was talking about caramel sauce baised braises, which I never would have thought to do but sounds great.

←

Not a vietnamease dish but I make a korean version. Slice tofu into 1/2 inch slices, I usually get 4 or 5 slices out of a block. Dip into flour and pan Fry. Once fried on both sides, I remove excess oil and dump in my sauce. Two TBL of GochuJang, TBL of sugar and TBL of soy sauce. Fresh pepper to taste. Throw the mix into the hot pan and it caramelizes a bit. Green onions at the end, and YUM.

If I make a lot of it, I skip the dip in the flour. It doesn't hold up well as the skin gets real soggy.

Soup

[Monica Bhide]

It's that time of year again... I am cake hunting for my son.

Last year after posting here I was lucky to find someone who made us a gorgeous Nemo icrecream cake!

this year the party is outdoors so we cant do icecream

The cake can be in the shape of batman (preferred) or a cake done up with batman stuff.

Anyone ???

[Soup]

Sorry,

Can't help you on the cake but best of luck. I did however, like your website. Please let us know the next time you offer your cooking class. I've been looking for an indian cooking class.

Soup

[Crackers]

It's that time of year again... I am cake hunting for my son.

Last year after posting here I was lucky to find someone who made us a gorgeous Nemo icrecream cake!

this year the party is outdoors so we cant do icecream

The cake can be in the shape of batman (preferred) or a cake done up with batman stuff.

Anyone ??? 

←

If money were no object, this is where I would start and end my search: at Mike's Amazing Cakes.

[Chris Amirault]

eBay always has a jillion character cakepans on sale; I'd bet you'd find a Batman one pronto....

[LizzieH]

A sheet cake is likely easier that a shaped cake, unless you are making it yourself. Pastries by Randolph always has a huge selection of kids' cake decoration choices in a book - and great cakes - it is on Lee Highway in Arlington. Heidelberg Bakery also has a lot of cake decoration choices. For younger kids, however, I tended to always go with Safeway or Giant - they usually have all the current popular themes, and at a much better price than the better bakeries. Kids generally focus on the optics of the cake and not actually eat it.

Another option is to get a simple cake and use Batman figurines puchased from a store such as ToyRUs. I did a Rugrats cake like this one year - ordered a cake with a fun color icing and had them place the wording around the toys that I dropped off.

For a cake in the Batman shield shape, you may be able to make a larger sheet cake and cut the Batman shape then decorate with black and yellow icing. It seems like a fairly easy shape - you could enlarge on a copy machine a picture of the bat emblem and use it as a template.

[mnebergall]

Try Keith Ryder, he has been known to create "ventworm" cakes on the spur of the moment.

http://www.bcakes.com/

[simdelish]

Too bad you aren't closer Monica, I have a very well-used Batman cakepan collecting dust in my storage room. I would have been happy to make you a Batman cake. (Maybe we could have traded okra for cake? )

You technically can't find someone to make you a cake specifically in the shape, as that is a licensed character, therefore a no-no to "sell." That's why places like the Giant only can do a sheetpan with plastic add-ons. There are a zillion cake decorators over in NoVa. Keith probably doesn't have a batman pan, but I know he can direct you to someone who does. Tell him I said so!

[Monica Bhide]

I hope someone can help. I am not a good cake decorator!

[8Track]

Harris Teeter has a wide variety of super hero and other specialty cakes. We got Spiderman in April. I'm confident that they will have Batman.

[Monica Bhide]

They do?? I had no idea. I think here is one near where we live. I will go check it out. My son will love that plus I think that they are quite reasonable. ... yes?

[hillvalley]

Try Keith Ryder, he has been known to create "ventworm" cakes on the spur of the moment. 

http://www.bcakes.com/

←

Click here to see the infamous ventworm cake.

[Crackers]

Here is another view of Keith's awesome ventworm cake:

Edited June 22, 2005 by Crackers (log)

[ghost]

If you want to hike up to Baltimore, Duff Goldman at Charm City Cakes... www.charmcitycakes.com Is absolutely amazing. He's doing our wedding cake, and will even be on a Food Network cake challenge. I don't know how much he'd charge for this though...

[JRage]

If you want to hike up to Baltimore, Duff Goldman at Charm City Cakes... www.charmcitycakes.com  Is absolutely amazing. He's doing our wedding cake, and will even be on a Food Network cake challenge. I don't know how much he'd charge for this though...

←

Furins in Georgetown makes great cakes and they are usually up to the challenge of making custom cakes... I'd ask them to see what they can do...

[Pontormo]

Consider this British Invasion, Part IV since I have stolen the idea from the forum for the U.K. & Ireland.

This thread is a place to come if you're having trouble finding a particular bottle of wine, cut of meat or fresh herb that only comes dried in bottles at your local supermarket.

When your local Asian market goes Latino and you become addicted to crema, return here when the store becomes another Seven Eleven and you don't know where to buy the stuff.

Track down the best place to reline your copper pots or purchase certain piece of cooking equipment.

Edited January 12, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Pontormo]

Anyone know where I can buy cardoons?

[Robin Shuster]

Anyone know where I can buy cardoons?

←

I don't offhand, but this is a great idea!

You could ask Galileo where they would source it.

[Pontormo]

Ahhh! It's been a while since I've gone to Galileo. It makes sense that they might be on the menu.

Great suggestion, thanks!

I'll report back if I succeed.

If anyone reading this frequents Eastern Market and finds them there, please let me know. Here's a photo, by the way, towards the end of this page on Chardgirl's food blog.

Edited January 14, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[andiesenji]

Too bad you don't live near me. I have cardoons "volunteering" in my yard. I started out with a single plant several years ago but unless you keep the seed stalks cut back, they self seed all over the place - the neighbors have some also but their goats keep them trimmed.

If you are ever interested, you can grow them in a large pot. One plant is plenty!

Note the warnings!

One of my friends, who lives on a boat in the Oxnard marina, has one on her dock in a half barrel - It keeps kids from skateboarding down her slip! Those spiky leaves can be sharp.

Edited January 14, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[Malawry]

I could swear I've seen cardoons at Whole Paycheck once or twice. I'd try calling them, Balduccis and Dean & Deluca to see if any of them have them in stock. I believe cardoons are more of a fall vegetable than anything else, so you may be a little late for them, but it's worth calling around in any case.

Just about any fine dining restaurant in the area is going to source something like cardoons from one of the produce suppliers...Keany, L&M, etc. There are some restaurants that use small local growers like Eco Farm , Toigo Orchards and Sunnyside Farms directly (some local growers do sell directly to the public, via farm markets and stores like the TPSS Co-op), but somehow I find it hard to believe these local growers currently have cardoons available. Unusual produce, in my experience, is one of the hardest things for the DC-area home consumer to source, unless it's available in the farmers market.

[Pontormo]

Cardoons were being grown in California in early December and Elie Nassar (sp? aka Foodman), writing in the new Year of Italian Cooking thread in that region's forum, said he is able to buy them now.

I felt that we ought to be able to get them locally if he can buy them in Texas, especially since WF is based in Texas and ships a lot of produce from CA to the East Coast.

As much as I like the produce people at WF as people, I am frustrated by any attempts I have ever made to get them to order things that seem "strange". Employees make decisions about what their departments sell--to some degree--and the decisions are based on their own familiarity with foods. I don't think their knowledge is broad and choices are conservative if more wide-ranging than other chains. Why display Buddha's Hands at $10 a pop that no one's going to buy? It's a bit like an ice sculpture. Why not trust customers who cook and order a little over a period of two months just to see if the item moves...

But this is material for another topic. Thanks for all your feedback, Rochelle!!!