Wow -- thank you for so many great choices that fit the bill perfectly! Was fast, too -- love this site, and trust the recs, which have always been spot-on.

Was thrilled to stumble upon Hungry Tiger on Wisconsin NW/ Tenleytown. Had passed it numerous times, always curious as to what it was, and finally tried it. Fabulously prepared Persian kabobs in a fast-food setting, with similarly attractive prices. Am a light, but finicky eater, so my friend and I shared the chicken and seasoned beef kabob combo. Excellent! Generous portion of two kabobs, delicious rice, with a side of yogurt sauce, green sauce, and, of course, sumac on the table. Will be ordering take-out again soon and stopping in whenever nearby. Was offered a bit of the crispy rice, which gladly accepted, and was wonderful (obviously, it's prob not always available, and not on the menu).

A friend's children, who are in DC, are requesting this, having visited a Mongolian BBQ place elsewhere.

Searched around the site and elsewhere, and found one with so-so reviews in Bethesda, and one with great reviews in Williamsburg: Peking Mongolian. Will save this for if/ when they go to Wmsburg.

Anything else closer to DC with a buffet and/or self-cook, appealing to kids?

Wasn't impressed as well with Teaism, having had some of their savory dishes, a soup, and something else forgettable.

Have a few short trips to the DC area ahead, with car, and have already compiled a list of 40+ places worth considering for lunch/ dinner. On past trips, enjoyed Palena, 2 Amy's (not 'overly' impressed, but was very good), Citronelle, Malaysia Kopitiam (really liked), Zaytinya, Jaleo....

Just discovered the site of Tyler Cohen's ethnic eats, based on DC-area restaurants, many of which are largely off the radar. Before I venture out an hour to Annandale or Fairfax (staying in DC), want to make sure these recs are solid. Saw Morton's listed, but at least it mentioned a good lunch deal, and love hearing about lunch deals as well.

More interested in the places with great, ethnic food, not the higher-end Citronelles. Would drive an hour out of DC to explore Eden Center, Fairfax, Rockville, etc....

Any must-do's on my ever-growing list?

Not craving hot for simply hot's sake... which is silly. Yet love hot with all the spices inherent in great Thai cuisine, yet without so much oil (and w/o rice, noodles, heavy breadings.....). Will try one of the salads next time. And, as I've recently posted on the General Top board, also a fan of bringing on sugar-free, no cornstarch, no flour (Juvenile-Diabetic-friendly), tasty, savory, spicy dishes, at least trying one dish to test it out, and, of course at add'l costs for the soy-based thickener, the splenda, etc....

Thank you, but whenever I convey that I have diabetes, I get a sad-looking plate of steamed meat and vegetables devoid of any seasoning. Trying to convey a way to get flavorful food with a distinctly flavorful sauce, appropriately roasted or sauteed meats, with a wide assortment of vegetables, no rice, maybe with shirataki tofu noodles..... Seems some restaurants might venture to feature at least one dish like this, for a higher price for the time and add'l ingredients, for a while and see how it goes....

Most of these are great options, thank you, yet also want ample, ie 70% vegetables in a dish.... And marinated seaweed, at least in the Japanese preparation, is loaded with sugar! Would be great if Chinese/ Thai/ Vietnamese/ other Asian restaurants had at least one dish with no sugar, cornstarch, flour, etc! (Rather easy to keep on hand one extra sauce and shirataki noodles, at an extra price, which would be fine for those of us in demand.)

Roast duck w/o the skin also makes my sugar rise.... just like a rotisserie chicken w/o the skin. The birds are infused with a sugary marinade with the successful intention of sweetening/ flavoring the meat.....

Roast pork is surprisingly, very sweet! (At least at the 20 or so places I've had it, including in HK). Blood sugar rises rapidly even w/o rice.....

Oyster Bar at GCS, Keen's, Boathouse, Asiate, Daniel, Bouley, Nobu 57

Thank you, everyone! And Kelli, would love to see the translation in Mandarin and Cantonese -- whenever she has time. Will carry the translations in as many languages as possible in my wallet (next to my Medic Alert card). Oh, FYI can also assure you that sugar alcohols so often found in 'low net-impact carb' foods do raise one's blood sugar considerably, almost as much as the equivalent level of slower-acting carbs in foods such as brown rice.

Chinese, Malaysian, Burmese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Korean, love all Asian cuisines and crave the flavors daily. Being a juvenile diabetic, have had great success keeping my blood sugars down through eliminating sugars, white flours, cornstarch, and sauces which contain these ever-prevalent ingredients in most Asian cuisines. I can tell you how much sugars/ carbohydrates they have by how much my blood sugar rises -- it's astronomical -- after a typical meal consuming only a quarter of the rice, always brown rice....the sauces are loaded, as are the noodle/rice/dumpling-free soups, teriyakis, etc!

Could someone well-versed in Mandarin, Thai, Vietnamese kindly translate this: " Please, no sauces with sugar, cornstarch, flour. And less oil. Salt and abundant seasonings are welcome. Thank you."

When I order 'no sugar/ no cornstarch' in trusted NYC neighborhood restaurants, I get a sad-looking plate of chicken/ beef/ tofu with vegetables steamed or barely sauteed with a drop of soy sauce, if lucky. Would love to see some garlic, ginger, orange peel, splenda, a robust array of seasonings, and, oh, a soy-based carb-free thickener to meld all the flavors..... Sometimes have even brought in my own shirataki tofu noodles, which they've covertly accepted.

Many thanks for all of your helpful replies! Looks like we'll do dim sum at Yank Sing, and a dinner at either R&G upstairs or Great Eastern. Jai Yun doesn't meet our standard of a tasting menu, as singleguychef pointed out -- thank you for the info!

Three short days there very soon -- I posted earlier and finally read all the recs in detail in the linked, long-responded-to helpful post from a year ago. Must be annoying to always see the same question (like pizza and bagels in NYC)! We have three dinners (one will be at Slanted Door) and two lunches to plan for my SO and me, from NYC. All must, unf, be in SF proper, as zero time to venture out to Millbrae, Berkeley, etc, as have plans in the city each day and night and w/o car.

Staying near C-Town. Want places that are clean (no dives: like to see soap and towels in restroom, sometimes absent in NYC, and I do check out restrooms first when entering a divey-type place!); will spend more if necessary, but of course we love great things at a fair price! Neither of us is a connoisseur of authentic dim sum or Chinese food, neither lived in China, and we don't want pigs' feet or wonderful, but too fatty for us, Peking duck, etc. If it's Californianized, made with more local, fresh ingredients, that's great, so long as it's delicious and brimming with the flavors of China. In NYC we like Grand Szichuan and Sripraphai for Thai, for ex. Less spicy is also highly enjoyed, btw.

So far considering (given our C-Town vicinity out toward GG bridge):

R&G Lounge for Dinner -- loved it upstairs when I lived there in '00; any recent thoughts?
Jai Yun for Dinner -- sounds intriguing w the surprise menus of fresh ingredients
Yank Sing for Dim Sum Sunday
City View -- for its cleanliness and better atmosphere (what I read)?, but is the food great?
Great Eastern
Lichee Garden
Louie's
Brandy Ho's

Any thoughts on these for 1 Dim Sum, 1 Lunch (or Dim Sum again), 2 Dinners in/ around C-Town/ within a 10 min bus/ cab ride?

Many thanks!!

Finally made it to Sripraphai! Of course, better than any Thai places in Manhattan, and most other cities, but was slightly disappointed, given all the hype

Advice to management: have two menus! One aimed for the regular crowd, and another for the adventurous, with the REAL stuff -- can even have a disclaimer that no send-backs are allowed! Would love that in Thai and every cuisine!!!!

Ordered the fried soft-shell-crabs from the reg menu -- huge portion, but it was 85% bland coating, 15% crab, (similar to, if a bit more in quantity, than most restaurants that deep-fry them), no hotness as stated on the menu. After ordering, noticed their daily specials of other fried s-s crab dishes, all seemed to have more flavor, basil, garlic, sauces, than this simple bland coating. Did designate hotness, ie "much more than Thai-hot, I swear!!", and still got the blandness, and wasn't recommended to these specials that seemed more to my stated preference.

The Drunken Noodles were better than I've found in Manhattan, but wish they could be made with less oil (was SO heavy!), my extra-hotness request was perfectly fulfilled after saying the first course was nothing in hotness. Next time, and I will be back eagerly soon, loved the green papaya salad, and will know how to order and what to order (will have spiciness, hotness, and less oil written out in Thai).

Parents visiting, and need to stay around Midtown/ UES for lunch/ brunch Sat and Sun, as in-between museum visits, my place, etc. Want to take them to someplace w relaxed ambiance, very good food (they're not as chowish as I by far, so a place w great ambiance and v good food w/b best)) w/ Very reasonable prices to spare them sticker shock. J-G they liked very well, loved the scenery at the Boat House and we got lucky w decently prepared omelettes, etc there, Vivolo was perfect for them, being cozy, relaxed, good preparations of traditional fare, non-sceney, and very reasonable dinner prices. So, going back there for a dinner. French, Ital, Amer, something for conservative 70+-yo's from the Midwest looking for solid fare at a decent price, though with a NY bent........ Any ideas?

Remember a few haunts in the Richmond District and C-town, but it's been a few years, and amazing how things change (and sadly, I don't keep notes!). Will be a short trip, staying in SF, and won't have time to venture from the city as I used to love doing. For Chinese/ dim sum, anything better than Yank Sing or Harbor Village in the city? For a Chinese dinner, any regional cuisine, love it all -- but again must be in the city due to time, ideally a place close to C-town, so would likely go with Harbor Village.

And Mexican was great in Berkeley and down the peninsula had some luck, but don't recall much in SF. Anything remotely better than the pitiful Mexican we have here in NYC would be a blessing!

Enjoyed the Slanted Door once yrs ago, but reading some mixed reviews....

Miss SF, Berkeley, the Peninsula, Marin, etc very much!!!

Any other recs for a now NY'er missing her SF days would be welcome!

Thx, fellow Hounds!

Thx!!

With little time to prepare a great dinner at times on weeknights, rejoice in finding something delectable I had recently made in the freezer. Past faves have been French onion soup (the 4-hr variety); a rich bolognese (also multi-hour); lasagna; stuffed peppers; meatballs; a complex long-cooked down chicken soup; beef stock; pesto when have loads of basil....

Any other favorite dishes that are either too time-consuming for a weekday dinner or ones that are more efficiently prepared in larger portions -- and which freeze well?

Thanks! Samuelsson's recipe sounds great, and will experiment with other fish, meat, veg combinations.

Know can steam/ boil them filled with cooked rice, meats, and other vegs then tied..... Have never cooked with them before...... Any favorite recipes?, and ideas beyond rice w/b great!

Looking for places to take two young kids to broaden their culinary horizons. Hate to say it, but the unusual, playful, physical element (ie dim sum carts, or Ethiopian eating-with-your-hands, or sitting on the floor in a Thai/ Asian place) would succeed in opening them up more than finding the absolute best re food. For selfish reasons, also hope there is such a place that also has great cuisine! Prefer DC proper, as will be visiting museums, etc, but could easily go to the suburbs. Thank you!!

Agree wholeheartedly -- one of my favorite places in the area. Have had some very good/ great pastas, salads, and overall experiences there. Wonderful addition to the Midtown West/ Theater District!

Specifically looking for two Hungarian paprikas, one hot and one half-sweet. Authentic, from the Szeged region of Hungary, which have often heard has the best paprika, though I don't know this myself. Also need/ want other top-quality spices from a company known for its freshness and superior suppliers from around the world. Thanks!

Thank you, everyone, for sharing all of your ideas and favorites!! Much fun planning this and have much research ahead!

My bf and I both want a terrific kitchen, #1 priority! Only want to buy the best appliances, utensils, cookware, cutlery once to last decades. (Generous corporate housing allowance, so willing to spend whatever necessary for the best gourmet kitchen).

Have a large copper pan from France, some All-Clad, a DeLonghi mini convection oven, a reliable (old) Cuisinart, etc...

Wondering about ovens, stoves, countertops, cutlery, favorite gadgets, etc. Have the china picked out and have many unique serving dishes -- but eager to hear about anything else you'd include in your 'ideal kitchen'!!!

Many thanks!!!

Any price range, within 5 miles of downtown, any cuisine -- places different from what one can find in NYC. Only have two days and two nights there.

So far have thought of Senses Bakery, Bistro 990, Centro, Lai Wah Heen, Nectar, Pangaea, and Splendido....

Many thanks!

Thank you for your reply. Still want to do an amazing, killer first course. And I do make a mean fish soup, so was hoping to have that as a second. Can always do something stronger as a main course fish dish -- and excellent point -- thank you!

Hosting a dear Swedish friend, who adores fish (for every course save dessert), for dinner. Want to make at least one Swedish dish, and the other courses can be French/ Italian, or any cuisine.

Current thoughts:

1) Gravlax -- need advice on the traditional Swedish accompaniments (mustard sauce and.... thinly sliced rye bread? Anything else? I know no capers...)
-- Do want the first course to be incredible -- importance of first impression/ etc!!!

2) Provencal Fish Soup

3) Sole a la Meuniere
w/ sauteed greens, garlic mashed potatoes

Appreciate any tips. Thank you!!