ScotteeM

H-Mart in Annandale has lots and lots of lobsters today at $4.99/lb, and they're open tomorrow.

Saturday night was our third visit this year to BDT, and our waiter welcomed us back like we were weekly regulars. He was delighted to inform us that the menu had just changed, with some exciting new choices. Roasted bone marrow is back! Veal liver has been replaced by veal kidney. We had a hard time narrowing down our order, and I decided to go with two "starters" in place of an entree. I also tried to select items I won't be able to enjoy when I start my gluten-free diet in a few weeks. I didn't get to taste my husband's roasted beet salad, but he raved about how delicious it was as he ate every bite. It was beautifully presented and he said that the elements went well together. The roasted bone marrow was seasoned with smoked paprika, which added another layer of flavor to the unctuous richness of the marrow. I couldn't decide if I preferred it on the toast smeared with roasted garlic or shallot. Each leant a different note to the flavor of the marrow. Husband's roasted guinea hen was a remarkable dish. The breast was, well, roasted, and sliced on the plate. It looked nicely prepared and moist but didn't knock his socks off. The leg, however, had been shredded and mixed with some ham into a sort of roulade (sorry, I didn't write down the description), set on end and topped with a poached quail egg. That packed a lot of wow factor for my husband. I did get a taste of it, and it was a rich harmony of flavors. I'm not usually into kidneys, but I couldn't resist the veal kidneys on the appetizer side of the menu. They were just cooked (a tiny bit of pink inside, and tasted like kidneys, but without the overpowering gaminess I'm used to in kidneys. Even husband tried a bite and liked it. It was served with an herb-y pan sauce that was quite tasty. The mustard mac 'n' cheese, with duck confit and crumbs toasted in duck fat (!) was very rich but made a nice side with the kidneys and the guinea hen. The seasonal vegetable of the day was salsify, braised and sauteed and served in a light creamy sauce. Salsify quickly became my new favorite vegetable. Yes, it was a very rich meal, but not overwhelmingly so. I found that I really liked the "family style" service, which facilitated sharing everything. We couldn't leave without dessert, so we spit a serving of the seasonal house-made ice cream, which turned out to be black currant. I don't think I've ever had ice cream so good, except for the last time we had it at BDT. The decaf coffee I had with it was just perfect (Illy, probably brewed a cup at a time). We headed home feeling sated but not stuffed, and very happy!

My husband and I had a share from Bull Run in 2007, and this year we switched to Potomac Vegetable Farm. We're going to stick with PVF for 2009. I felt we got more variety and better quality from PVF, everything was at least rinsed before we got it, and it was much more convenient for us. I agree that Leigh Hauter of Bull Run is a great guy, but I prefer the convenience of just picking up the right-sized bag of veggies over having to select vegetables out of bins according to a list on a white board. His output seemed a little repetitive, too--weeks and weeks of tomatillos and epazote, for example. YMMV.Oh, and PVF has a pick up location right on my commute route, whereas Bull Run's pickup site was about a 90-minute round trip in rush hour traffic for me.

After the holidays, I've committed to a strict gluten-free (wheat gluten) diet for at least a month. I don't want to avoid eating out during that time, so I have been gathering information on menus and ingredients. I think most Asian food is out, because of the wheat in most soy sauces used in cooking. I'd love to know about any exceptions. I'd love to hear from folks in the industry on this: What, if any, menu items are truly wheat-free in your restaurant (I'll bet a large number are)? What is your experience in serving patrons with this particular dietary requirement? What should I, as a patron in your restaurant, say or do before and during my meal? Thanks in advance!

As someone with variable/questionable walking ability myself, as well as a handicap parking permit, I'm starting to pay more attention to this issue. One thing I've learned is that the handicap parking spaces are not always in the best location relative to my destination. Because most parking in Old Town Alexandria is street parking, and many of the sidewalks are kind of uneven, that can be problematic. I concur on Four Sisters for ease of access, except that from the curb cut at the corner to the entrance one must navigate around a landscaping element, which annoys me. Also in Merrifield, Jasmine Garden and Pho Cyclo are quite accessible, although the latter doesn't seem to allow enough room between their tables for a wheelchair, so I would avoid the lunch rush. Blue Duck Tavern seems quite accessible to me, with valet parking. I love Restaurant Eve, but I have to be up for a hike to get there if I'm dining alone and parking the car. Same for Vermillion and The Majestic. I love Komi, and I am willing to struggle up their front steps for a special occasion, but they are not WC accessible. It's also important to check restroom access. The RRs at The Majestic and DC Coast, for example, are down a flight of stairs, with no elevator in evidence. Mike's American Grill, in Springfield, has an elevator and accessible parking. Gamasot, also in Springfield, is in a shopping center with accessible parking. This is all off the top of my head, but as I think of or see more places, I'll try to add them. I wonder if there's a way to mark accessible restaurants in the Dining Guide?

I know I bought sliced hanging tender from one of the H-Marts, either Merrifield or Annandale. I find them pretty consistently at the Fair Lakes Whole Foods, for $8.99/lb. They're in the case, already trimmed.

Yesterday's Lickety Split's Polyface ham & rutabaga veloute soup was an amazing revelation of flavors and texture. I paired it with the Bacon, egg & cheese salad for a luxurious but light lunch. I wish Chef would give a cooking class just on making veloute soups! But even if I knew how to do it at home, I'd still have to go to Eve for a regular fix.

The advice/information given earlier in the thread was extremely helpful to us tonight! We went to the 5:00 show of Kooza, planning to stop for dinner at National Harbor after. After deliberating over all of the information about the open restaurants, I selected McCormick & Schmick, mainly because I wanted some oysters on the halfshell, and I had happy memories of such a treat at the Reston M&S about a year ago. We parked near M&S and took the shuttle to the Plateau. The show was fabulous! But our dinner at M&S was a disaster! They were out of oysters (except for the fried oysters, which were decent), and many other menu items, including fish & chips. I ignored my first instinct, to order the cheeseburger, and went for the "Maryland" crabcake instead. One word: Don't! If we ever go to another event there, we'll plan to eat elsewhere.

Today at the H-Mart in Annandale, lobsters were $4.99/lb. They had mainly small ones, albeit quite lively, and I ended up buying about 4.5 pounds of lobsters for a third less than I used to pay for 3 lbs of lobsters at H-Mart and Great Wall a year ago. This is my birthday tradition, and I'm revelling in it tonight!

I have an appointment at 1:00 on Tuesday at 11300 Rockville Pike. Rather than cutting it close and risking being stuck in traffic from Virginia into Maryland, I thought I'd go early and have lunch nearby. Looks like Chain City in that area. Any good recommendations? I'll be driving so I don't have to stay within walking distance of my appointment. Thanks!

Thank you for extremely helpful and detailed information!

WWMeade and I have tickets to Cirque this coming Sunday at 5. I was thinking of stopping somewhere in the neighborhood afterwards for a glass of wine and a light supper of some sort. I'm thinking of oysters and other apps at McCormick & Schmick, or cheese and something else at Old Hickory. Should I try to make a reservation or just hope to be able to sit in the bar? If a reservation, about how long is the show? I'm guessing we'd be out by 7:30.

The cup of sul leung tang that accompanied my lunch yesterday at Gamasot was warmng and comforting. I'm ready to go back for a whole order!

Grassfed beef is quite different from the grain-fed or grain-finished beef we get in the supermarkets. It is a wonderful product and quite healthy food, but does need a slightly different approach. Based on my experience, it is leaner than grain-fed, although the fat it does have contains CLAs, so don't trim it off! I recommend a wonderful cookbook called The Grassfed Gourmet, by Shannon Hayes. Click here to find out more about her and her books. I've enjoyed braising many grassfed beef cuts in braises or in the pressure cooker. They have a great, beefy flavor that really comes out with low, slow cooking. And, just to clarify, the term "cow share" usually applies to owning a share in a milk cow so that one can obtain the milk straight from the cow. In Virginia, that's the only legal way to obtain raw milk.

Wow--who knew? Thanks for this info!

A friend of mine is looking for a recipe for kielbasa. Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

I've become addicted to their grilled lemongrass chicken.

WWMeade and I took advantage of a rare opportunity to hit the bar together for a Lickety Split lunch today. Not long after we arrived at 11:30, the place was packed! Two words: Mushroom Veloute. This is amazing, earthy, creamy, delicious to the last drop. Made with Maitake mushrooms foraged in the Shenandoahs, it is comforting, and I could feel my blood pressure go down a few notches with every bite (this does not constitute medical advice). WWMeade had the mussels, with apples and rosemary: "Excellent". My house-cured and smoked pastrami sandwich was the best use of grass-fed brisket I can think of, and WWMeade's mushroom risotto was unctuous and satisfying. Go early or be prepared to wait to get into the bar. I think the article in the WaPo food section a few weeks ago sparked more interest.

I will second what choirgirl21 said about raw milk. After many decades of lactose intolerance (which seems to be a familial predisposition), I have been happily drinking full-fat raw milk, and consuming other raw milk products (yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir, butter, cream, sour cream) for 16 months. In addition to the benefits mentioned above about the milk fat from grass-fed cows, the fat is needed for our bodies to metabolize the calcium and other nutrients in the milk. At my last checkup, my doctor was very pleased to see that I have lost a little weight, in spite of the milk fat, butter, chicken skin, eggs, beef and pork (with fat) I consume. And I wasn't even trying! In terms of contamination concerns, according to the CDC's own data, pasteurized milk has been the cause of many more cases of illness due to contamination than raw milk, even considering the proportionately greater consumption numbers for pasteurized milk. But we never hear about that in all the media hysteria about raw milk. I, too, know the farmer who produces the milk and other products I consume. I haven't visited his farm, but I am welcome to any time, and other customers have visited him and shared photos of the cows, chickens, and other animals on the farm. I know that my farmer strives daily to produce a healthy, tasty product for me and his other customers. If anyone is considering trying raw milk, I'll be happy to provide some resources for learning more. It is very important to be an informed consumer, and to know the laws regarding raw milk consumption, which vary from state to state. It is legal in Pennsylvania, with stringent restrictions and considerable harassment of farmers by state bureaucrats. It is more restricted in Virginia, where one must own the cow to be able to obtain the milk. I hope that one day the same logic that applies to the sale of other raw food products (meat and vegetables, for instance) will prevail in the dairy arena.

I do have photos! But I have no idea how to post them here. Can someone please PM me with help to post my photos?

I got lobsters at the new H-Mart in Annandale on Saturday, for $6.99/lb. They were fresh and delicious. I paid that price a few weeks ago there also, shortly after they opened. Blue crabs were mainly females and $1.49/lb there.

I'm still playing a little bit of "Name That Green", but we got a full bag tonight from Potomac Vegetable Farm: potatoes, both white and purple sweet potatoes carrots some kind of chard with lavender stems tatsoi mizuna salad mix beets dill arugula I'm sure glad I subscribed to the fall season!

I think this is a great idea, although I am currently enrolled in a class with my Avatar on Thursday nights, probably through the end of this year. WWMeade and I are trying to get out to lunch more at some of the high-end places--we spend less at each one, but can cover more ground that way while things are tight.

I'm not sure that the whole restaurant seats 40 people! But they do carry-out. As for turnip cake, I've never had this, but the menu lists #4110 as "Turnip (Daicon) Pastry" ("Luo Bo Si Su Bin").

To answer my own questions: They are open 11-10, seven days a week, and yes, they do carry out. It is a very lovely space, and service is smooth and friendly. At lunch today, shrimp wonton soup had a nice broth and delicious, plump wontons full of shrimp. Grilled lemon grass chicken was divine over steamed crepes. I'm so happy that they are there! It's 5 minutes from my office.