I agree. My grandmother sends us Outback gift cards for Christmas and I'm perfectly happy to have a few meals there.

Yeah, how cutthroat do you have to be to be on a cooking show? I like the show but he's just ridiculous at this point.

Then it's an even more ridiculous comment. I think sometimes he really has to work to come up with a negative opinion.

That seemed to be the point of his comment but mofongo bears no resemblance to shrimp scampi. It made no sense.

Psh. If you're a woman, bring a food container in your purse. I bring my own since I hate styrofoam. I occasionally get a weird look but I've never had a server say anything.

That was odd. Does he truly not know what mofongo is? I find that hard to believe.

That's a perfect way to do it. Alcohol adds up and that's where my problem lies. But your solution is both fair and tactful. I'd happily split the remaining bill.

You can do either. A little careful wiggling should transfer it with ease, though. Good luck!

Well said. If I'm out with a close friend or certain family members, I don't really care who gets the check because it will even out over time. But if I'm out with another group such as coworkers or friends of friends or people I don't really socialize with, I don't like feeling like I'm subsidizing their night out.

Yeah, that's fine. I just don't like getting sucked into splitting the bill when other have several drinks and I have none.

Yep, dislike this too. 50/50 only works if it kind of evens out in the end (or if everybody thinks it does) otherwise it leads to resentment. And hateful posts on CH :)

Oh yeah. If everybody's happy with whatever the arrangement may be, cool. But generally, I don't want to subsidize your binge drinking. Just occasionally.

People who want to split the bill evenly despite the fact that I rarely drink and their bar tab doubles my bill. Ugh.

I find that roasting garlic makes it sweet enough to eat straight up.

Yeah. My dad's been staying with us while the old tenant was moving out of his new place and he's used to my mom's crappy knives. He probably thinks I'm nuts every time I ask him not to use the marble cutting board or put my chef's knife in the dishwasher but there's no way I can tell him not to use it. I like him way more than the knife :)

I agree with you on Piero's. The food is decent and it's a good compromise for a group. Good to know about Elevation Burger. I had considered grabbing lunch at the Tyson's location last week but couldn't think of any rave reviews. All I really hear about it is "well...it was ok".

Yeah, I wasn't clear on where they were staying.

How would that be discriminatory?

How much do you want to spend? What kind of cuisine are you interested in? Where in DC will you be? Have you got a car or will you be using metro?

A maxim to live by!

Sounds good. Thanks for the info!

Is that the one at the library? How was it? I'm planning to bike up there tomorrow. Is there anything I should look out for. Sadly, I had no idea we even had a farmer's market until I got the most recent newsletter...

I've got the 3 cup NS-LAC05XT and I absolutely love it. I'm the only one who eats rice and I can make some for lunch and keep it warm until dinner. Perfect. Oh and it has a setting specifically for porridge (congee). Haven't used that, however.

Yes, we should all make ecologically responsible choices both large and small.

Well, then I'm good. My cats live inside and don't eat fish.

Wow. I'd always thought of this as a mostly Asian issue. I'm saddened that we, as a country, are not doing more to stop the trade in shark fin.

Ha. My cats should be banned. I had them fixed. Does that count? My issue with not using an entire animal comes from growing up in a rural area and eating what was hunted. There was a great disdain for those who killed, for example, a buck just for a piece of the animal as a trophy and left the rest to rot. Animals are a finite resource and when we deliberately waste them, we're not doing Earth any favors.

Sharks are already over harvested. Continuing the same practice with a little anesthesia thrown in is not being ecologically responsible. I'd have no issue if the entire animal was being used but its not. A tiny bit is taken and it dies (slowly) and is wasted. I simply cannot understand justifying this practice.

How would you responsibly acquire shark fin? Seems like an oxymoron to me.

I don't particularly care. I will say I swear too much in real life so I avoid it in the written word...and try to avoid it when speaking.