ethnic markets! korean, middle eastern of any stripe.... they're everywhere in dc. 355 behind south of the border across from congressional plaza. lotte in wheaton. there are many in NoVa too.

on 355 in rockville on the left side of the street going north -- it's hungerford drive there, i believe -- is patel brothers. in a rinky-dink shopping center that had the relocated magruder's there and a kfc in front, i believe. i loved them! then back towards dc on the same side not far from cuban corner and across from car wash was another. fyi, behind south of the border across from congressional plaza is a landmine if you care to try it. on the end is world market which has all things russian and eastern european -- fabulous pastries that willh have you licking your fingernails clean! -- and an iranian market and cafe that's just plain wonderful! you can take the red line to twinbrook and walk or catch a bus north. try the samosas at patel bros!! it was the very last thing i stopped for when i moved away.

yeah, framed in those terms, i could almost imagine being able to swallow. i think i'd want some brunswick stew with a nice pastry crust and some pie. maybe chocolate cream.... just something simple that will be easy going down. i wouldn't want to waste money on anything i wouldn't be able to remeber and enjoy later....

i'll bet it was somebody -- your server-- trying to think for themselves. did you say something before you left? if it was management's idea, it could be because 'ice is the cheapest thing you put in a drink.' but you pay for milk, you should get milk without ice.

i agree whole heartedly. that said, i feel that if an owner received a tip, it goes into a pool and is distributed somehow so that those relying on tip income are the beneficiaries.

another outlook, perhaps -- an owner is also at the mercy of the honesty of the employees when no one's looking. i've seen lots of dollars of food given away, wasted, and food and tableware walked out the back door. i've seen alcohol given away when there's a stiff legal penalty for getting caught. i've seen drugs on premises too much, and i've seen lots of time wasted. the risk is the owner's and perhaps, 'responsibility' for incurring debt and losing a business' is better said than the idea of 'fault' as mentioned earlier. yes, i do agree an owner should never accept tips from employees nor participate in a tip pool situation. however, the risk and reward in the venture are the owner's sole responsibility. a good boss will appreciate good employees, but the jobs won't be there if the owner doesn't also manage well. it's a very risky business. one compressor goes out in the middle of the night, and who gets called? it could means thousands of dollars of loss if it's the walk-in.

funny thing about the recommendations for old fashioneds - when i tended bar, those were for the little old ladies. simple syrup, orange and cherry, a splah of bitters and a splash of soda with some cheap whiskey. sweet and fruity and oftener than not, too sweet! i'm just surprised they've survived. i would have thought they' go the way of grasshoppers,golden cadillacs and pink ladies.... but hey!

on a hot day outdoors, campari and tonic in a tall glass of ice with lots of fresh lime. if you don't care for tonic, you won't like campari. it's got a bitter side.

cookie, please be circumspect about putting coke in anything top shelf.

interesting posts i read today included things we ate/drank in college which we'll never do again. your harvey wallbanger came up and i have to agree! besides, it's not particularly manly to my thinking, and when a bartender asks what it is, it's not particularly suave, and i wonder just how many bars these days have galiano... too many of those and he won't be feeling suave! just sick. Stick to something like bourbon or scotch with a splash and a twist. gauging that a screwdriver is manly because it's also a tool omits the heavy orange juice factor. stick to sipping whiskey.............

Walker Percy on juleps: 1941: Drinking mint juleps, famed Southern Bourbon drink, though in the Deep South not really drunk much. In fact, they are drunk so seldom that
when, say, on Derby Day somebody gives a julep party, people drink them
like cocktails, forgetting that a good julep holds at least five ounces of
Bourbon. Men fall face-down unconscious, women wander in the woods
disconsolate and amnesiac, full of thoughts of Kahil Gibran and the
limberlost.
Be careful of the advice you seek!
p://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/2004-March/000700.html

Have you considered the Carolina Inn at UNC? It's supposed to be wonderful.............. They have tea!

I'll be in Atlanta for a week early in February and I'd go for just about anything authentic -- soul food, a good muffaletta, a bahn mi, dim sum, pho, what else... Lebanese, Indian, Greek perhaps? Is there anything to recommend in Atlanta? Decently priced but real? Does Atlanta have real BBQ even? Or is it just a whole lot more of the same old, same old? Last I was there, I was uninspired.

one very important thing to know about cooking dried beans -- do not salt them until they are cooked tender!! salt will make the skins tough and you won't be able to fix that. little things like this you'll miss if you don't start with good informational resources. on the other hand, always salt the water for pasta and potatoes....

if you live in an area with ethnic markets--particularly korean and indian, but also latin american in some cass -- you can keep your food costs down! fish is often fresher because the volume sold is higher; spices are less expensive, produce is fresher for less cost, and you may find yourself seeing interesting options for learning some other cuisines. also learn to shop aldi if there's one available. read store circulars and clip cupons if you get a sunday paper or down-load them.

good for you. great for you! when i was in college i had to learn to cook too, and i found myself looking through The Joy of Cooking at night before falling asleep. you can pick it up and read just anywhere, flipping through until lights out, and the current edition is very good. in it you'll find all kinds of basic how to's, know your ingredients, how to prep veggies of all kinds... and you'll start to notice that it builds on basic knowledge. braising is a technique that applies to any number of varied dishes. once you understand a few ideas and the sequence, the recipe becomes a mere suggestion. you're finally pedalling without training wheels and feel more adventurous. as for the expensive ingredients, make a revolving list of those and include just one in each week's shopping or maybe twice a month. but keep at it and pretty soon you'll have accumulated a number of different tools, spices, specialty items and accomplishment. it becomes a wonderfully creative hobby! it's something you'll always have! and it's something you can share.... keep at it. don't worry. don't overload. make it part of your relaxing time. let yourself make mistakes. and remember to vary color, texture, taste, and shapes in your menus. rule of thumb -- if you can count several different colors, you're probably eating well enough. and please learn to use fresh parsley!

in europe, i read, they'd never refrigerate an egg. and really, on farms i've spent good amounts of time on, the eggs go into a part of the cellar that's coolish, not refrigerated.

Also too late for your Chrismas needs, however in several cities I've found the owners of Indian groceries very welcoming and often have suggestions for someone willing to teach. There are two on 355 in Rockville --Patel Bros. was my preferred -- and if you visit any of them you'll find masalas already mixed, many, many varieties, with simple enough instructions for Indan home cooks. It certainly saves individually measuring, toasting and grinding spices. I prefer Shan brand. Good ones to start with might be chana masala and your chicken tikka. If you can find the Steaks and Chops, definitely pick it up! You'll also find that spices are fresh, bulk and inexpensive as are many other ingredients. DC has lots to offer -- you're very lucky. And if Patel Bros. has samosas, get a couple. But definitely don't be afraid to talk to people there!

lum's in what becaume crystal city looked more like a red gypsy wagon or a caboose.

Green Chartreuse is 140 proof. You can chill it and still light it. I drank it warm in a snifter, and it really lights you up! as for the days 'when i wouldn't see any money for another week' you should visit a campus these days and compare. kids are the most affluent that they've ever been. i don't think they'd understand, but i had a habit of fainting after exams because i took off work to study, therefore did not eat. i worked in restaurants. then finally once i landed so badly i had plastic surgery on my face. that nearly stopped that habit!

tequila sunrises.

for me it was mateus rose. we all thought it was sophisticated and although we all hated it, we got it down so the bottle could hold drippy candles. i'll have a chilled lambrusco on a warm evening, but i cannot bear gin, especially tanqueray. not the smell of it, not the green glass bottle with the red sealing wax. not even with tonic.

what great advice!
made me recall Walker Percy's essay on bourbon in Signposts in a Strange Land, and his run-in with Two Natural. of course, he was no connoisseur................. he makes that clear!

is that what a brass monkey was? i cannot drink rum either, and i'll NEVER eat cincinnati chili again.

that's brilliant. i always wonder why i can't have the meat on the side. sauce and eggs should go into the muffin! the meat is just in the way..... when i have eggs over, i have to have them on top of the toast when i cut in. in South Carolina they just cut 'em up and stir them into the cold runny grits that have slid all over the plate. now that i don't get...................

i agree with the 'you guys' horror. really! it diminishes the tip immediately and sets me in the mood for expecting worse. i wish someone would talk to these 20 somethings and let them know it's awful for a grown adult to hear the party, especially when it includes women, addressed this way.

I have to agree. I really enjoy the menu planning, shopping, prep, setting a lovely table.... and then beginning... and then that's about it. making sure everything is doing fine and on schedule and all the rest, well too often i've noticed that when we say grace, i have a dirty dishtowel over my left shoulder and no shoes. i'm pretty done with everything before i taste it and all I care about is how it looks! if it's pretty and they eat it, then I'm ok. but once I noticed I hadn't tasted something and then that became a real bad habit. I just had to stop doing dinner parties for a while.

there used to be a place in one of the carolina's -- north, i believe -- called Sam and Ella's. Then there was Julia's Cheeser in my hometown for a while. just a cheese shop... but I thought that was pretty catchy.

Curries are reprentative of many cuisines throughout southeast asia because of the spice trade centuries ago. Goa, in India has facets of its culture and cuisine that are Chinese. What I lament is the loss of regional southern cooking to the like of Chilis, Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill (what's with that anyway?) and the like. You could drive across the country and eat at national chain all the way...... Cracker Barrel too. More than half the barbeque I've seen in the Carolinas in over a year here isn't even smoked. Sauce from a bottle. Chinese buffets catering to lowest common denominator tastes. So sure, in this country we probably are. Frozen felaffel is just horrid. Steak Ums type fast food gyro meat? Taco Bell and KY Fried co-located just confuses me........ Anything that becomes popular will hit bottom given enough time. Is that just us in the US?

well, you probably know this one already, but skewer some fresh fruit into pretty kebobs and display them sticking out of half a pineapple. mix some yogurt with all-fruit preserves. everybody's happy with 'dipping sauce.' maybe fill some Belgian endive with seared scallops and have some stuffed grape leaves. use doilies and garnishes and make it special. but i also say serve whatever else you like and suggest the spouses each bring something and supervise their charges.