ktmoomau

Ok, so my Mom heard that you can get Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay at Costco (from my sister who owns a liquor store in MD) cheaper than she can buy it from her wholesaler, but I am not sure if they carry it at all locations/Alexandria in specific.  I tried calling, but there doesn't seem to be a department for that, is there a customer service number?

And for the food, I would plan a couple nice meals, but otherwise, we really didn't have a problem finding good meals at cafes or other places along the way, and if we saw a place one night that was booked that we wanted to try, we would just make a reservation for another night.  We use Amex to do all the reservations, so we didn't have to worry about it, and noted that our phones would be turned off, so we wouldn't be able to answer a call to confirm.  There are so many choices, I just added a bunch of places I thought about to a google map and then figured out which were ones that made sense based on where we would be- I used this site, No Reservations, and a few places from some blogs.  It all worked out well.  It helps that my Mom and I look a little french and I speak a little, although I sometimes will say something that word wise is correct, but slang wise or saying wise is not correct.

The last time I went we stayed on a market street, and that was just fun!

This week I made- pizza with sausage, green peppers and tomatoes (Tuesday),  I used a Pillsbury crust which I hadn't used before, and while I ended up liking the flavor of the crust in the end, I had to ball it back up and re-roll the dough as it was torn and I didn't want to pre-bake it, I wanted to use a round perforated sheet instead.  So it was kind of a pain to use for quicky pre-meeting pizza.

I also made instant pot carnitas for tacos, I know there must be another dinner that I made in there somewhere, but obviously if I can't remember what it was, it can't be that good, hahaha. 

I am sad that the Zoe's Kitchen in Alexandria is in the Bradlee shopping center, that place is such a zoo,  I hate going there.  Given that we have a Cava in Potomac Yards though, we are pretty happy, but Zoe's was a little different and we liked both as an option.  I am a bit surprised there isn't a Zoe's Kitchen down Route 1 closer to Mount Vernon, etc.  I think a Zoe's Kitchen down that way would do well, there are so many chains, and not a ton of them have easy, somewhat healthy options.

Andy,

Thank you for doing this chat.  I wanted to see the answers to some of the above questions before I posted because they are way more interesting questions than my questions.   

I know every critic is different, but what are the small things- it could be service, or attention to detail things- that when done right really make a meal special for you?  

Also, what is your favorite more low brow food to eat when you are not on the job?

19 minutes ago, curiouskitkatt said:

Does anyone have experience baking gluten free desserts? I want to be able to bake a fruit crisp with almond flour, but am not sure of the swap out measurement from wheat flour to almond and/or coconut flour? Help!

I have used a gluten free pie crust mix that comes in a green box for pie crusts.  If you are making a crisp- I would think you might also be able to use gluten free bisquick, which I have also had really good results with for multiple things.  I had some bad experiences trying to do swaps, so I went for some pre-done mixes which normally isn't my thing.

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I went to Supra the other night with friends.  We tried the Amber wine flights, which were interesting, but not my favorite wines, one was very smoky flavored, one a bit too acidic-harsh for my taste .  We then switched to the red wine flights, which still wasn't my favorite wine, but was something a bit more palatable for me.  We all shared dishes, so I got to try a fair amount of the menu- we had the Roasted Vegetables Saidumlo, which was grilled red and yellow peppers, eggplant, fresh minted nadughi (soft cheese)- I liked this dish, the vegetables were in small pieces and it made a nice side to other more rich items.  The cheese was fine, but honestly I could have done with a splash of lemon juice and no cheese.  We also had Satatsuri Salad- grilled asparagus, cucumber, arugula, sunflower seeds, creamy guda dressing, this was a really nice salad with delicious dressing, I really enjoyed this dish too, the dressing reminded me of a sesame dressing.  

We then moved to hot items- we had the meat and potato dumplings- the meat dumplings had broth like soup dumplings, but the skins were so thick, it was hard to eat them like that, I wish they were served with little bowls.  The potato dumplings though were really rich and if you cut them in half after eating the others, they soaked up all the extra juice.  I liked the potato ones the best, maybe it is the Irish in me, I thought they were rich, but delicious.  We also had the Ikhvi- LaBelle Farms duck breast, peach and fennel salad, hazelnut, roasted ajika- this was a delicious dish, I liked the varying components, especially after the dumplings, I liked the peach.  We also went all out and had a Ajaruli- boat-shaped cheese bread, organic egg- now this bad boy was rich and man my lactose intolerant system, despite taking a pill did not like me later for this, but oh boy this was a rich, gooey cheese delight that I would recommend having maybe once a year at most, but oh man, once a year it is true decadence of cheese and bready goodness.  I thought the bread was nicely done too. Mmmmm.  Service was a tiny bit haphazard in that we had trouble finding our server a few times, but everyone was incredibly nice and helpful.  It was a fun place to go with friends, I liked the atmosphere and didn't think it was too loud (although it was a nice night, so a lot of people were outside).

Flat Top is in our new hood, so we tried it out Sunday.  I got a bacon cheeseburger, which I would prefer a little more rare, but their burgers are kind of thin style, and it wasn't bad at all, it just wasn't my favorite burger either.  (Holy Cow is a couple more blocks and makes a better burger IMHO)  BUT I thought the onion rings were REALLY good.  I thought for the price of the large fries onion rings basket it could be a little bigger, but the rings were small, crispy and good with the sauce.  The fries were fine, just not special, but not bad.  I would like to try the pitcher of beer special.  It took a little bit longer to get them on a Sunday than I would expect, but there was a little bit of a line in front of me.  I think some of the add on prices, for seasoning added to fries or say $1 for american cheese is a bit rich, but their base prices are pretty reasonable.  The bacon was very good and worth the upgrade for me.

What I think has been horrible is that many media outlets of certain leanings- the same who "reported" the Comet Ping Pong stories, portrayed Fiola as either letting this happen or encouraging it, and it hasn't appeared to be rebutted by Mr. Cruz, or any of those media outlets after a time to gather facts.  I think they fueled fire without any real facts about the incident.  

This weekend was salad with chicken breast, pounded and seasoned with a penzey's mix- mural of flavor, leftover roasted potatoes warmed up on the skillet and browned a bit more, apples, cheddar and carrots with red wine vinaigrette.  Sunday evening was frozen yakitori mix from Costco, which I topped with steak I made on the range- this was my first time cooking steak in my own home where I didn't set off a fire detector, yay new home and hood vent!!! And some yakitori sauce.

I am not a huge movie person- I don't know how one is not a big movie person, but I just don't watch a lot of movies.  I like going to see movies in theaters (I know I am so not a millennial), but I am not a big sit at home and watch a movie person.  But I will preface that with I like watching really long saga movies at home where I can stop them to get a snack or go to the bathroom, they should bring back intermission on any movie over 2 hours. That being said:

The Man Who Knew Too Little- I just love this movie, it makes me laugh every time I watch it, I like the part where he is kicking up the speed cones.  I will watch anything with Bill Murray.

The Life Aquatic- the combination of the soundtrack, Wes Anderson (I love all of his movies) and the scene when they are walking through the town just make this movie for me, and plus it has Bill Murray.

Sabrina- This was a favorite growing up, and Audrey Hepburn is what I will look like in my next life if I am really good in this one.

Star Wars- all of the classics, and Rogue One- I like a couple of the other most recents, but I just love Rogue One.

I miss all the Mel Brooks movies, I haven't seen them in ages, "It's good to be the King." I also was a big fan of Monty Python back in the day and still remember a lot of their movies.

I like a lot of animated movies, and the ones listed above are all favorites.  The other movies I love are based on loving the books, and I don't know that is fair- Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc. I am sure I am missing a bunch of my favorites, but I can't think of them.  You all would be appalled at the number of classic movies I just haven't seen though.

Yes, I would like to go to the DC one!

Now that we have a house, Hubby wanted a Costco membership.  I guess I still don't get the love of these type of stores (we had a Sam's Club membership growing up).  I have gone a couple times, but- unless you go with a group of people or have a really large household- it just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me?  And you can't really do a full grocery run there.  People told me you could online order like at Harris Teeter, but the selection seems more limited than what I could find in the store?  What am I missing?

I made a hacked version of rice and beans last night- black eyed peas, pintos and lima beans cooked with onion, garlic, bacon, hot dogs (2) and a little ground sausage with some beer, salt, pepper and hot sauce.  I wanted to thicken the sauce a bit, and I had this packet of chicken gravy mix from my MIL, so I used about half of that, and it made a thick sauce.  Served over white rice, it was quite good on a cold winter night.  Maybe not your most gourmet looking meal, but as I would say, "darn good." 

I finally made what I would consider a real dinner last night in the new house.  I am not counting spaghetti, or roast chicken from giant with roasted potatoes I made.  Last night was Parmesan garlic orzo with chicken and sauteed zucchini.

1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said:

According to Laura Hayes at City Paper, Dorjee is closed temporarily.

Oh no, that doesn't sound good... 

Well we have mostly eaten very casual- take out, as we have been in the throws of un-packing, and fixing stuff around the house.  Souvlaki Bar had a good salad topped with roast chicken, a nice big salad, with I thought a good portion of chicken, I would go back here. 

Saigon-Saigon in Pentagon City delivered some ok Vietnamese last night.  The chicken satay and garden rolls were fine, good even, I thought my vermicelli dish while acceptable, was nowhere close to Nam Viet, Hubby's panang curry was good.

Bella Napoli had very limited pizza toppings and I accidentally got spicy peppers instead of banana peppers, but it was fine, for the price of a pie, I would do Lost Dog instead, I just like it a little better in terms of topping selection. 

Cava Grill is a place I have always liked, and continue to like. 

Hops had what might be the lightest meatloaf I have ever eaten, I assume it has a lot of white bread in it?  It was fine meatloaf, the mashed potatoes were too runny, steamed broccoli was steamed broccoli.  Hubby's chicken finger platter with fries looked like a better choice- I am sure it was all sysco, but I am a sucker for some bad for me pre-frozen chicken tenders.

What about Doi Moi?  They have a whole GF menu on their website.

Last night was salmon crusted with lemon zest and a rub someone gifted me.  I also made most of the veggies frozen in the freezer- a bit of green beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots with shallots and the basil butter that was also frozen. And a side of white rice.

I went ahead and started packing the last bits of the kitchen, as I am down to a very small amount in all the cupboards.

There are really good basic classes at some cooking schools which might hit some of these topics for you.  I also find watching some cooking shows is helpful sometimes as I am a somewhat visual learner.  PBS actually has a ton of good cooking shows.

I went to Thai Square the other week.  The inside was redone and very cute from the last time I was there.  They no longer had pork knuckle stew on the menu (I am hoping maybe if I called ahead a couple days I might be able to request it or get the recipe).  But we had good crispy duck, panang curry and papaya salad.  Still very strong.  

Excited as when we move to Alexandria, the Shaw area will just be a tiny bit easier to get to, hoping for a Dino meal here soon.

I have been baking like crazy to finish all the tidbits in the house- this weekend I made chocolate banana muffins and apricot/ginger cookies.  But I have been baking EVERYTHING.  I have about two cups of bread flour, trying to figure out how to use that.

This weekend was my family reunion- night one we do a cook out- and Mom and I made potato wedges with old bay, and I made no-bake cookies with coconut.

Supper Day two is the big one- I made hand pies with beef, mixed with onion, salsa, olives and chilles that I fried then baked off, what I think is like a freezer pie dessert- graham cracker base, instant lemon cheesecake, mixed berry compote layer, whipped cream (mixed with the last 1/4 cup of cannoli filling) and then a roasted hazelnut, graham cracker struesel topping (not as good as Weezy's struesel topping), the aforementioned cannoli, and I used the second last bag of shrimp by making shrimp steamed/boiled in beer and old bay.

Last night we were home and I warmed up leftover pizza, made some garlic bread and baked the pasta with greens and red sauce with a pud of mozzarella on top. 

I don't hate a poached egg in a mold, the ones made without are better, but I don't mind them as much as other "molded" eggs.