legant

Lays potato chips... Tamar Ridge pinot noir... Saltines with peanut buter... Blueberry Pop-tarts. Comfort food all the way! (Particularly bad day at work; some folks just don't know how to use the sense God gave them. Simply idiots!)

You pour the water over the chocolate rather than melting the chocolate over a double boiler? Doesn't this dilute the chocolate flavor? Or, is this because it's white chocolate? Would you do the same with real chocolate?

So... that's how they do it! The bartender at one of my faves "takes the liberty" to order raw onions with my burger. At another fave the bartender remembered a comment I made about smoking; yet at another the GM remembered a comment I made about a particular entree being "orgasmic." I was impresed by these people with such a terribly good memory. Each of these comments bought a smile to my face and makes/made me feel very special; hence they are my favorite restaurants, ones that I highly recommend. Now that I know they use a crib sheet I feel even more special.

Bull Run CSA, week 10: potatoes, eggplant, pepper, yellow squash, garlic, tomatoes … and the usual herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, epazote).

In Tuesday's Bull Run basket: salvia Epicurious was of little help. Here's Wikipedia's recipe: I love looking this stuff up!

Two sports betting sites (bodog.com and sportsbook.com) suspended betting on Hell’s Kitchen, Season 3. That shouldn’t stop us. The final three contestants are: Bonnie, Jen and Rock. Who do you think will win? My money is on Bonnie. Why? It's all in the editing: the ultimate (reality show) winner is usually the one who's been flying under the radar. Both Jen and Rock have received too much air time. What say you?

Winchester Any updates on dining in Winchester or its surrounds? Or a more recent review of Brewbakers. Nothing fancy -- casual, good cooking will do.

Why do I think half the time you're make this stuff up? [Maybe because I still enjoy Fig Newtons and PopTarts and Grape Kool-Aid?]

Get thee to an Indian market! My fav: Krishna's in MoCo.

The only way to tell is through a tasting. I can be reached at 202-456-1212.

With the "dismissal" of Josh, I hoped it would be a "get out of jail free" night. But I think Ramsey was truly sincere about Julia's growth and talents, as demonsrated by his offer to send her to culinary school. In my book: she's the true winner.

Woo-Hoo! Van Ness is getting a Starbucks! Now... once Indian Ocean opens its doors (for more than 2 weeks), we'll be able to compete with the big boys: Cleveland Park.

First visit to Dupont market since early April. Was unable to complete a complete, intelligent sentence; stopped mid-word to ooh and aah and ponder; Eric was too through with me. In awe of the selection and variety: small, one bite plums; deviled crab cakes; two-colored squash – how’d they do that?; squash blossoms; and a whole range of eggplant. I bought eggplant that looked like tomatillos. I believe it was this variety, yet mine were green. Is this, in fact, Turkish eggplant? I was told that they are denser than purple eggplant and the best way to prepare them is to flour and fry them in hot oil. Any other suggestions?

Sunday: Baked squash blossoms, stuffed with home-made Boursin (CSA basil, parsley, garlic) Saturday: all'Amatriciana strata (CSA eggplant, garlic and oregano)

Summer Finger Food: Baked squash blossoms, stuffed with home-made Boursin* Edamame Cherries Belmondo Pinot Grigio, 2006 Toll House cookies (*CSA basil, parsley, garlic)

all'Amatriciana strata* Creamy polenta Toll House cookies Belmondo Pinot Grigio, 2006 (*CSA eggplant, garlic and oregano)

Don't be too hard on him. Obviously Ferhat is mindful of the Corduroy confidentiality agreement:

Dah-um! Before I call Jug Bay, I decided to do a bit of math: Jug Bay: $570 for 20 weeks = $28.50/week Bull Run: $350 for 20 weeks: $17.50/week Any other farm breakdowns? ETA: Okay… after a visit to the Dupont market I have a new appreciation of my CSA share. Basil was $3 a bunch; potatoes $5/basket; garlic $1.50 a head; eggplant $1.50/lbs. Granted some of my numbers may be off, but I easily take home $12 worth of basil each week. CSA is very, very good to me. Even if my basket is full of weeds.

No fair! Y'all can't post about dinner and not provide more information! Details folks! Details! What did you use to mix/bind the edamame? I'm guessing it was a puree of sorts. How did you prepare the polenta? Was it moist or dry (e.g., fried or baked)? Was the cream sauce for the chicken or polenta?

What, if anything, would you do differently? Would you cut down on the amount of sugar? Did the combination of brown sugar and maple syrup render it "HORRIBLY sticky"?

TenPenh Les Halles Chef Geoff Both Oyamel and Raisika offer modest and flexible eats; you can easily craft your own pre-theater meal.

No... I perused the menu. It went down like this: Dessert... Hmmm... Cheese plate... the Bavarian goat's milk sounds good... so does the Artic Char blue... I think I'll have the... wait a minute... WTF!!! $43!!! Check please!

Ain't gonna to do it... no names. Someone will -- invaribly -- step forward and inform me that the cheese does come from one of the five Arakan turtles on earth... and I'll feel all regretful and embarrassed and sh*t. Nope... ain't gonna happen. Besides: Why deny you the pleasure of discovering this “gem” on your own? The thread's not doomed. I have quite a laundry list. Just wait for the outburst on valet parking. And other tales from this weekend alone. Let me pour another finger of bourbon and I'll have populated this thread with two pages by tomorrow afternoon.

Have you ever just wanted to vent about a restaurant or a dining experience, but don’t want to name names… it might have been an off night or hormones? Yes, getting it off your chest is the best medicine; you want to spew your venom… yet you don’t want to be patronized by someone “justifying” or “excusing” other’s actions. This is the place. Rules: no names, no recriminations, no retribution. Okay… I’ll start: WTF came up with a $43 cheese plate??!! You get 5 slices of cheese… less than an ounce each… and just enough bread for one cheese – just bring out the whole damned loaf! – and you’re charged 43 dollars!!! Okay, maybe the milk comes from the teat of an Arakan forest turtle… but 43 f*cking dollars. Puh-leeze. There! I feel so much better now. Your turn.

Chilled tomatillo and cucumber soup using my CSA tomatillos, onions, garlic, parsley and peppers. Unfortunately, soups do not photograph well: