ScotteeM

Since today is the last Tuesday in July, I'm wondering if they have something planned for August?

Big sale at Balducci's yesterday, today, and tomorrow: Wagyu boneless ribeye & NY strip steaks, $15.99/lb. Filets are $19.99, I think (Bill took the ad). "While supplies last." I got mine.

I'm one of those who taste soap when we eat cilantro. I'm trying to learn to appreciate it, since it is now ubiquitous, but that isn't easy. Scottee

I'm there with you, Raisa! Produce, meats, dairy, and eggs from farmers practicing sustainable techniques (as promoted by Joel Salatin) are significantly safer than the same products from large agribusiness. I appreciate that they are also more expensive, because more land is required to produce them, but I'm grateful that I can obtain them. Small farmers are an important part of our food chain.

I'm less and less inclined to trust that the label "organic" means anything or sets the produce apart from "conventional"--certain pesticides are still allowed. But that's a bit off-topic. I've never been to Super Q Mart, but I usually find that the produce at Super H Mart is fresh and cheap, if not "organic."

OMG! I'm laughing so hard Glad he's OK!

Today I picked up my first bag of the season, and already we can see that it is going to be a much better year, thanks to all the rain. After 2 years of droughts, maybe we'll enjoy an abundance through the summer. Our green bag (regular share) was full today. We received a large bunch of kale, a small bunch of rainbow Swiss chard, 2 heads of Romaine lettuce, one onion, a bunch of garlic curls, a head of escarole, about 2 quarts of salad mix, 3 heads of mei quing choi, a fist-full bunch of oregano, and a slightly smaller bunch of basil, and a special treat: a pint of the sweetest-smelling strawberries. I posted a photo of our haul on my Facebook page.

The Great Wall has live crawfish this weekend. They're labelled "baby lobster" and will run you $3.99/lb, which seems about right. They were downright lively when I pulled them out of the box with tongs and into a paper bag. Just sent husband to hunt for corn on the cob, mushrooms, and crawfish boil (already have the other ingredients). We've never had them before, so this should be interesting!

This thread is being quoted/attributed on Facebook. Not by me.

Several vendors at the Burke Fresh Farm Market today had English (or Inglish) peas, as well as snow and sugar snaps.

My own knowledge is limited, but I understand that duck eggs are more of a seasonal product than chicken eggs are. There may be some local farmers who sell them, but I don't know of any in this area. My one and only attempt to obtain some last year ended in failure, and I haven't tried again, so far.

I've gotten hanger steak/hanging tenders at the WF in Fair Lakes, and they've been good. You might want to call ahead and ask them to set some aside for you. I've tried one from the H-Mart in Annandale, and it wasn't bad.

Even when we were there early on Sunday with only a few other tables occupied, the staff who brought out the food seemed very confused about where it was supposed to go. I'm sure this can be fixed fairly easily, but we need to mention it to management or they may not know about it. Not enough to discourage me from returning!

We took a chance this morning, arriving a little before 11:30, and they weren't crowded yet, although things were humming along by the time we left. One thing that I haven't seen pointed out by anyone is that the restaurant is not handicap-accessible. My first clue was the absence of any designated parking spaces. The only real problem for me was that the restrooms are in the basement, and the walk back up the stairs was more than I had planned on. But the restrooms themselves are not handicap-accessible or even very handicap-friendly. Folks who cannot navigate the stairs should get take-out (and have a friend go in to pick it up)! Our food was delicious. We shared the Silken Shawl Imperial Autumn Rolls, and loved them. They are meant to be wrapped in the lettuce leaves with mint leaves and cucumber slices and shredded carrot & radish, and then dipped in the sauce. Eaten thusly, the interplay of textures and temperatures added to our enjoyment of the delicious rolls. Our other appetizer, the Jewel Green Papaya salad did not appear on cue (I think it went to another patron who had ordered it after we had), and I would have let it go but we needed the cooling aspect of the vegetables as our main dishes were significantly spicier than I expected. Everyone has a different tolerance for hot peppers and one person's "a little bit spicy" could be another's "makes my nose run" spicy. The Gregarious Lemongrass Chicken was much spicier than lemongrasss chicken I've had at other Vietnamese restaurants, but it was nonetheless quite delicious. I'm also not very fond of sweet and sour dishes as a rule, but the Lightening Squid, with all of its fire and fruit, impressed me enough to wipe the droplets of sweat from my brow and forge ahead. When the salad was finally brought out, it was much-needed refreshment for my burning tongue. It, too, had chili pepper flakes in the vinaigrette dressing, but that was served on the side, so I could control the intensity. I have to say a word about the shrimp chips: When I was a child, in the late '50s and early '60s, my mom's best friend was from Indonesia, and occasionally as a treat she would fry up some shrimp chips for us. I loved them! But I can see that they might be an acquired taste for some, and if they're not fairly fresh they're nothing special. I thought they were good at Present, especially as a vehicle for conveying the salad to the mouth. It added a textural element more than a flavor. The owner was very gracious, checking in with each table and talking happily about how he had been a partner in the previous restaurant on the site, and became sole owner. He and the staff are justifiably proud of their chef, and I could tell by the way they talked about him. I can't wait to go back and try more of their dishes!

Some sort of a miso marinade would probably be delightful with soft shells!

I've never dined at the chef's table at Teatro Goldoni, but my one and only dinner experience in the regular dining room was a real disappointment. Komi, OTOH, has never been less than exceptional on my visits.

I've experienced what Nicholas Stefanelli can do with an Eco-Friendly hog, and it's amazing. I think the whole event will be mind-blowing. But I don't know yet if I can go.

This does look like fun!

I confess that when we arrived at the Mandarin Oriental and I saw the tables set up outside, I had a moment of trepidation, owing to the cool temperature and the wind. Thankfully it wasn't raining, as the lovely table umbrellas didn't survive the wind and were dispensed with before we began. It was really lovely in the garden, and once we'd had some wine and good food, it didn't seem as chilly. I've posted photos to my FaceBook page Click because to this day I have not learned how to post them on this forum (hint: I need help). The appetizer was the only plated course, and it was a lovely arrangement of crab beignets. The rest of the meal was served "family style" and we passed the serving platters around politely. The roast shoat was the focus of the dinner, of course, and it was delectable and tender, and the cracklin's were a treat. With the shoat, we were served Parkerhouse rolls, spinach salad with hard-cooked eggs and bacon crumbles, grilled asparagus with Parmesan shavings, roasted cippolini onions with shiitake, maitake, and morel mushrooms (extra treat: the morels were stuffed with shoat sausage), and twice baked potatoes that harbored a special surprise: minced roasted shoat tucked under the mashed potatoes). Dessert was an apple and rhubarb crumble topped with vanilla/five-spice ice cream. And the best part of "family style" service: second helpings! We started and ended with Champagne. The appetizer was paired with a lovely Chablis, and we had two wines with the main course. I did not take notes, so don't know what they were--I hope someone else can address that. With dessert we had more Champagne and a still red wine and the star of the dessert wines (at our table, anyway): a sparkling red from Italy. This was a picnic as picnics SHOULD be: real tables and chairs, cloth table coverings and napkins, real flatware, china plates, and actual wine glasses--none of that plastic, paper, disposable stuff! Everyone at our table had a great time, including 6-month-old Anne, who was quite the social butterfly. And all of the staff were clearly enjoying themselves, despite working on their day off. Thanks, CityZen, for a wonderful Sunday afternoon! ETA: And this time, I did say hi!

We bought the soft shells at The Great Wall yesterday morning. They were $2.50 each. The catch, as I had suspected, was that the fishmongers there won't clean them. My husband was going to walk away without them, but I took a deep breath and said, "I can do it." Armed with my basic knowledge of crab anatomy, years of watching fishmongers clean soft shells, and an instructional video I found on line, I cleaned our four little crabs, floured them, and sauteed them in butter. I won't say they were the best I've ever had, but they were quite meaty and tasty. I was still too full of pig from the CityZen picnic, though, to eat more than one. Interestingly, the instructional video and several illustrated how-to websites I found all showed female soft-shells being cleaned. Now I know!

Guess we'd better take sweaters!

I've had a couple of very nice lunches here, but haven't been recently. It's on my Thursday route of errands, so I'll add it to my rotation.

My husband saw female soft shell crabs at The Great Wall this afternoon--live. He deliberated for a while and ultimately didn't buy them. Does anyone know why one would not want to buy FEMALE soft shell crabs? The price was very reasonable, as is typical at TGW.

Gotta have Grover, and with the recent thread maybe JoeH as well.

Husband made our reservation. Is anyone else going?