moki's Profile
Soy sauce + butter = yum!
Another twist is to add garlic to the mix. Garlic + soy sauce + butter sauteed thinly sliced potatoes make for a quick and hearty side to rice.
Eating Japanese - a cry for help
If you want to see what the typical Japanese actually eat, you must try out the noodles, whether ramen, udon, soumen, or soba. If you're going for Soba, try the Kanda area in Tokyo. Cold zarusoba this time of year is great if the heat has you down. Real(however you define it) ramen is harder to get in Tokyo, but there are a good number of fairly good places. Once you go towards Osaka, try out the udon. Also, try out the yakiniku (charcoal grilled meat), which is a modified edition of Korean barbecue. And just like the states, give the bar food a try. If you'd like to start safe, try a western style bar to see how the Japanese add a twist to western favorites, of if you're feeling adventurous, give a traditional izakaya a try.
Frustrated with DC
A good place to look is Tom Sietsema's Column in the Washington Post Sunday Magazine. While he tends to review pricier joints, once in a while he'll go to a more affordable location, and his annual cheap+good eats section is a must.
Penang, up in Bethesda, MD is a classy Malaysian food restaurant that I find has a nice atmosphere with good food to back it up. Old Europe, in the heart of D.C., serves good German food with a side of good service. Agreeing with other readers, give the Vietnamese and Korean in Northern Virginia a shot, there are some very good, authentic places in the area that you won't be able to find on the East Coast outside of this region. DIxie Bones, in Dale City, has the best Southern barbecue in the area.
Don't give up yet! The Washington Region has plenty of good food, it just takes a bit of looking. Good luck!
Is 'Corn' and its by products dominating North American diets?
creamy, just look at our presidential primaries. Imagine campaigning in Iowa under the platform "no more corn subsidies!" I remember Mike Gravel didn't even bother campaigning for the Iowa Caucuses for the corn ethanol subsidies reason.
Is 'Corn' and its by products dominating North American diets?
KevinB, you have a good point, which is why more and more research is now devoted to switchgrass and sugar-cane ethanol. 18 to 20% of the corn crop is now used for ethanol (DoA), which led to a 70% increase in corn prices! TechnologyReview has a good article on the issue: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=biofuels&id=18173&a=
Is 'Corn' and its by products dominating North American diets?
My bad, you're right, the technical term for what I was referring to is a juice drink or cocktail, I was in a hurry and didn't think it out. On the other hand, it's probably also a bad sign that we now commonly refer to juice cocktails or drinks as fruit juice.
Is 'Corn' and its by products dominating North American diets?
On that note, I was looking at the recent US. gov. figures, the average American now consumes more HFCS than sugar in a year (28.4 kg vs 26.7 kg) (USDA). Plus, with government import tariffs on sugar continuing, we probably haven't seen the last of HFCS and corn products.
Is 'Corn' and its by products dominating North American diets?
Don't forget all the seemingly non-corn products, which use corn as an intermediate product, such as fruit juices and soda (using HFCS).
Good Bread in NoVa?
I agree on the Great Harvest line, the owners of the Herndon franchise have never disappointed me.
Dulles Expo area?
Pho Bac, in Sully Shopping Center, next to the Shoppers, is good if you're looking for a fast, cheap, tasty bowl of Vietnamese noodles or rice entree. Pho 90, which is nearby, used to be great, but lately has removed a vast portion of their entree menu.
Old Europe in Washington
If it helps, they seem to have a website up and running at http://www.old-europe.com
