We like this restaurant. I've read the account by the Chowhounds who ate lunch there recently. Other than the mandu, we've not tried the same dishes. I didn't care for the mandu.

We've only eaten dinner there. This is what we like about the place:
1. Very homey. The mother makes the banchan. Some are different from what I've eaten at other places so I appreciate that. No problem with getting refills.
2. If the daughter is waiting tables, I ask her for recommendations. I tell her to suggest the less popular stuff. One time, I had this beef soup with a large bone in it. Came with some spicy condiment. Very good.
3. Relaxed atmosphere. That may be because they're disorganized but it hasn't been a problem for us. Some Korean restaurants seem frenetic so I like this low key vibe. The waitresses also take time to talk to our two young kids.

If you're cooking a pork shoulder (Boston butt), cook @ 250-275 till internal temp is around 190. Temp needs to get that high to melt the collagen. This can take a long time. You can then blast it with high heat to get the outside crusty. This recipe is great : http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/20...

If you're cooking pork loin, then cook @ 375 to internal temp of about 145. I made one once that was quite good. Salt it and sear in cast iron pan, remove, deglaze with some broth or vermouth, add thinly sliced onions to cover bottom, mix in some soy sauce for color and umami, put the loin on top of the onions and cook in oven till done. Sliced and put caramelized onions on top.

In both instances and as previously mentioned, you have to loosely cover and let the meat rest before cutting.

I'm not aware of a morel-only hunting club. The Mycological Association of Washington (mawdc.org) is probably the closest mushroom hunting club near Baltimore. A great group of people and you'll learn not only about morels but also the many other edible wild mushrooms commonly found in the area and fungi in general.

While I think it's pretty easy to identify morels, I strongly recommend you go morel (or any edible mushroom)-hunting with an experienced person. Sometimes what you see in books is different from what you see in the field and going with an experienced person will be beneficial. I'd also recommend you purchase the Audobon book of mushrooms which is a standard in the field.

As far as I know, there are only a few deadly mushrooms around here- others will just cause tummy issues. Even perfectly edible mushrooms may cause gastric upset because of the earth in which they grew.

I've heard farmers markets carry fresh morels though many believe dried morels taste better than fresh. In the DMV, the season typically starts in mid-April in the lower elevation areas and goes on to about mid-May in the more mountainous areas.

Pioneer Pit Beef is very good. It's just off 695, about 10 miles from where 95 and 695 meet.

I think this website is very good for Korean recipes (in English)

http://www.maangchi.com/

I like the HMart in Gaithersburg (off Lost Knife). Produce and seafood seem fresher, store is cleaner and maybe bigger than the one on Ga. Ave.

I'm particularly fond of Moa restaurant on Wilkins in Rockville. Vit Goel on Parklawn is good but the menu is focused on soups.

I understand that the best Korean restaurants are in Annandale so you may want to do a search for that area.

Have you tried Rodman's on Wisconsin Ave.? I bought a couple of bottles there several years ago. They were located past the wine aisle and on the left with the beer.

I am particularly interested in a vendor of sour oranges so I can make mojo and marmalade. I saw a website for The Orange Shop (floridaorangeshop.com) that seemed promising. Any experience with this firm?

Thanks for your help.

I saw Crabbie's at Rodman's in White Flint last night.

I'm planning to be in the Albany area this summer and would like to buy a nice selection of Finger Lakes and other NY wines. I'd appreciate recommendations for wine shops with knowledgeable staff. thanks for your help.

I expect Litteri's would carry it.

A. Litteri, Inc.
517-519 Morse Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
(202) 544-0184 Store

Do they have seafood on their menu? I'm thinking that because Bengali food is known for its seafood dishes, they might do a better job on those than on what appeared to be the common North Indian dishes you ordered.

This place might be what you're looking for. Looks like they import the sausages and other products.

http://www.thebritishpantry.us/

Thank you for your response. What do you use the drippings for?

I subsequently did an 8# pork butt that took 23 hours. That was a little too old school, even for me!

Can't overcooking the pie also result in a more liquid filling? I haven't made the ATK recipe; I use the one on the back of the Karo syrup bottle (but use double the weight of pecans). That recipe says to pull the pie when the filling is something like 200 degrees. Since I began using the instant-read to measure doneness, I've not had an under/overcooked pecan pie.

Here is a technique developed by J. Kenji Alt that I have used with very good results. Details are on the web. Essentially,

Heat a cast iron pan till very hot. Lay the pizza crust in the pan. Put on a thin layer of sauce/cheese/toppings. Put under broiler until cheese is bubbling and you have sufficient char on the crust. Then back to the stovetop to cook the bottom till done. Whole cooking process takes me 5-8 minutes.

I like a book by David Wondrich called, "Esquire Drinks". It's not exhaustive but there are lots of classic cocktail recipes and he's a pretty funny writer. He's written some other books that you might find of interest.

I'm quite sure it is a hedgeapple

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgeapple

I don't believe the fruits are edible.

"Vit Goel" on Twinbrook Pkwy (Rockville) for good tofu soups but they also have decent galbi and bulgogi. Pleasant atmosphere. "Hwa Gae Jang Tuh" on Veirs Mill Rd., north of Twinbrook Pkwy (Rockville) for the std. stuff. I thought it was quite good, also pleasant atmosphere and it's near a Shilla bakery.

You may also consider the little fast food places in the Korean mkts (Korean Korner- Rockville, HMart-Wheaton, Lotte-Silver Spring). Kind of hectic but the food is good. There's a restaurant next to Korean Korner that I've never tried.

I've only tried Woomi Garden's lunch buffet and I thought it was good.

I was in Assam in July and know that ghost peppers are used in pickles. The season was ending when we were there and we were staying with relatives so we didn't go to any restaurants. However, I believe they are also used in curries and other preparations.

I'm not surprised that the peppers are used in Bengali/Bangladeshi cuisine; many Bengalis went to Assam to work in the tea gardens. I believe these peppers are are native to northeast India so I wouldn't expect them to be known in Bangalore or Hydrabad, both of which are in the far south of the country.

I found it interesting that these pepper plants can grow 5 ft. high. Eggplants grow surprisingly tall too.

I don't think bhut jolokias are used in US restos for two reasons: it's too hot for most palates and the flavor is different from the chilis Indian chefs use. They have a fruity flavor reminiscent of habaneros.

Sorry for hijacking this thread but I live close to Tony Lin's and have wondered about the food there. Wondering hasn't led to dining as we pretty much stick to a rotation of Joe's, A&J, New Kam Fong, and that dim sum place in Gaithersburg.

What would you recommend @ Tony Lin's? thanks

I saw one of the Cook's Illustrated shows and what they did was to put a mix of baking soda (for drying) and salt (for seasoning) on the meat and put it in the freezer for 30 min. Then they cooked it on high heat.

In their magazine they've reported that as you cook beef, certain enzymes act to tenderize it until the meat reaches a temp of something like 125. So, if you can keep the temp below that for a while, you'll have a more tender steak. That seems consistent with the advice royalpresence was given.

Currently, my procedure is to bake the steak in a low oven until it reaches a temp of 95, then a quick sear on both sides in a cast iron pan till a temp of about 130, then rest it for 10 min. I've been happy with the results.

CI also wrote that there is a range of quality within the "Choice" grade. Look for a steak with the most marbling.

Good luck.

Addis Ababa in Silver Spring has traditional tables. i enjoyed the food too.

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Addis Ababa Restaurant
8233 Fenton St, Silver Spring, MD 20910

I saw these last week at the HMart in Gaithersburg (Lost Knife Rd.).

I have and found that the meat was not as tender as when I cook at around 325 with a blast of high heat near the end to brown the skin. There are two techniques I've used to get a faster cooking, yet tender turkey:
1. Cook on a Weber kettle grill. I think the shape of the grill has something to do with it. The kettle temp stays in the 300-350 range.
2. A Julia Child technique- Remove the legs and butterfly the body. Cook on a big sheet pan @ 325.

In all cases with cooking meat, I let it rest so the juices redistribute throughout the meat.

Hi Woodburner,
thank you very much for explaining this technique. I did a 6.5# pork butt on my Weber 22.5 kettle and the results were terrific. Great bark, moist, smoky meat. Dressed with sauce I bought from Wilber's Barbeque in Goldsboro, it was a real winner.

I was amazed at how stable the the temperature was. Maybe because outside temps were in the 70s, the kettle stayed at around 225 for 8 hours. Not surprisingly, I wanted to do it "old school" so I did all the cooking on the Weber. It took about 17 hours and I ended up preparing a little over two fuses or slightly over 100 Kingsford briquettes.

My question for you is why the fuse only goes 3/4 of the way around instead of all the way around. Is it because the kettle temp would end up too high?

thanks for your help.

I recommend a Thermapen instant read thermometer. It's supposed to be the best on the mkt. I don't have one yet but I do use my cheap instant read for a variety of apps (pies, breads, meats, fish, beer making, canning). I think a good thermometer is a key to success for many dishes.

I highly recommend Dale's on the west side of Indian Head Hwy about 5 mi. north of Indian Head, Md. The ribs are smoky, moist, simply seasoned, and are carefully cut (they don't hack the ribs in such a way that you risk your cheek being impaled by a shard of bone). The sauce is nothing special but I don't think you need it anyway. A friend and I have tried most of the well regarded barbeque places in southern Md and we have found Dale's to be reliably excellent.

I was at Tortacos in Gaithersburg a few days ago and the son of the owner said they are now serving fish tacos. I didn't try one since I was hankering for the carne asada and al pastor. I am sure they will be very good since everything else I've had there has been excellent. Not an upscale place though. Maybe Baja Fresh-like but smaller and calmer. You order @ the counter and take the food to your table.

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Tortacos
9629 Lost Knife Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20877

My wife is from Delhi, so we might have been going to less well-known areas than you. We used auto rickshaws, black and yellow cabs, but mainly "radio" A/C taxis (the white cabs; you call the company, tell them where you want to go or how long you need the driver and negotiate a price). It was rare that we didn't need to provide directions to our destination. We would also frequently find that the A/C in the "A/C" taxis didn't work so we would have to argue the fare down. That was a pain but easier for us since my wife speaks Hindi.

I think the reason why a detailed map is a worthwhile investment is because they are not commonly used there. I found that w/o a map, it was the blind leading the blind, particularly if one was straying from the common tourist destinations.

Muscadines are a southern grape. I know they are very common in NC. I have only seen them in the DC metro area being sold in front of people's houses in southern Maryland. I think your best bet would be to try a farmer's market.

I recently ate a grape called "Jupiter", which has a very nice, muscat aroma. You might want to give these a try. Probably also only available at a farmer's market.