What are you eating?

[SonicMan46]

Just returned from a medical meeting in Washington, D.C. - cherry blossom season & even a visit by the Pope (who did not interfer w/ our eating!  ); we had some wonderful dinners:

Petits Plats - started out w/ a Calamari appetizer - sauteed (which I prefer); main course was a Halibut wrapped & steamed w/ a wild mushroom ragout (a special for the evening) - all quite delicious; shared a couple of desserts w/ another colleague couple who ate w/ us each night (did this at each dinner - all were just superb but won't go into each of them!).

Johnny's Half Shell - this & the next two were our favs! Started out w/ Oysters on the half shell (several different types; we cannot turn this option down!) - three of us had the Broiled Lobster, which was just superb - we all walked away happy! 

TenPehn - near Ford's Theater (and right across the street, the house that Lincoln died in the next morning, on 10th Street near PA Avenue); starters there for my colleague & I was the Himachi Sashimi followed by the Smoked Lobster, Chinese Style (all of us ordered that for our main course!).

Kaz Sushi Bistro - probably one of the most innovative (and better - and I've been to MANY in all the major cities in the USA) sushi places that I've ever tried - the menu link given will provide some idea, but there was an entire full page insert of specials for the night!  Just a wonderful experience for our last night in the Capitol!

Shared a couple of bottles of white wine w/ our friends each dinner - Sancerre @ the French restaurant; then New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs for the next three meals - I really like the tartness (acidity) of these NZ wines w/ oriental foods!

Now, if that were not enough, my wife & I even treated outselves @ the D.C. airport - there is a Legal Seafoods - on both are arrival & departure (left the hotel early), we had one of our favorite 'light' luncheons - shared a dozen Oysters (different types) & split a Lobster Roll along w/ some delicious cole slaw & fries - WHAT a start & ending - we did have a good time feasting! 

[Lilas Pastia]

Dave, your descriptions always make my mouth water 

The ostrich steaks were medium-rare, the kangaroo rare. Both were simply sizzled in hot butter and set aside for a few minutes while I prepared the gin and cream sauce (to which I added the meat juices). Extremely tender, they almost melted in the mouth - no exaggeration. The kangaroo tasted somewhat like a good piece of beef. Blind tasting would have fooled me in taking it for veal (texture) or beef (taste). The ostrich was more delicate in flavour. I can't  understand the comment of the clerk who sold it to me. She said the kangaroo had a 'very strong' game-like taste. Not at all.

The Oregon Cabernet Sauvignon was a great hit too 

[George]

Couple of cinnamon raisin english muffins with almond butter.

Mmmmmmmmmm. English muffins should be made into a food group. 

[Saul]

Couple of cinnamon raisin english muffins with almond butter.

Mmmmmmmmmm. English muffins should be made into a food group. 

They are the reason for fitness centers no?

[uffeviking]

You dear people eat anything that doesn't eat you first?   

You probably feast on goose liver paté, produced by geese with their feet nailed to a board to prevent them from walking around and, God forbid: grow small livers! 

[toledobass]

Since when did you become vegan?

Allan

[uffeviking]

I didn't! 

I am against committing cruelty to animals to satisfy the jaded appetite of some people. In size comparison it is not any different than the practice of the Romans indulging themselves in eating hummingbird tongues.

Let the geese run free like free-range poultry raised for human consumption and I agree. But then how many lives of geese does it take to fill one of those small cans of paté de foie gras? What happens to the rest of the goose carcass after the liver has been extracted? What happened to the rest of the hummingbirds after their tongues had been cut out? 

[George]

They are the reason for fitness centers no?

No, that would be the Entertainment/Advertisement Industry. 

[toledobass]

I didn't! 

I am against committing cruelty to animals to satisfy the jaded appetite of some people. In size comparison it is not any different than the practice of the Romans indulging themselves in eating hummingbird tongues.

Let the geese run free like free-range poultry raised for human consumption and I agree. But then how many lives of geese does it take to fill one of those small cans of paté de foie gras? What happens to the rest of the goose carcass after the liver has been extracted? What happened to the rest of the hummingbirds after their tongues had been cut out? 

Those who raise ducks for foie are a raising birds in a way that is a stellar example of what animal husbandry should be like (at least in the US,  over seas can be a completely different story).  Once slaughtered the flesh of those animals are completely used.  (I'm sure you could get feet,  frites etc if you called them up, but I don't see them regularly advertised.   

You do make an effort to purchase whole animals raised locally, and organically that have been raised in a way that the animals are able to express themselves as they wish, right?  Is their slaughter humane certified?  Are you using the fifth quarter of all those animals?

I sure hope so because you keep getting into the ethics of the way people eat without telling us anything about what or how you eat,

Allan 

 

[SonicMan46]

You dear people eat anything that doesn't eat you first?   

You probably feast on goose liver paté, produced by geese with their feet nailed to a board to prevent them from walking around and, God forbid: grow small livers! 

Actually, to produce foie gras, the ducks or geese are actually 'forced feed' by various methods (check the link, if interested) grains (lots of corn!) to basically enlarge the liver (6-10x normal weight in the reference given in the link), i.e. similar to the epidemic of 'fatty liver' (or hepatosteatosis) found in the current US population! 

But then how many lives of geese does it take to fill one of those small cans of paté de foie gras? What happens to the rest of the goose carcass after the liver has been extracted?

Lis - reminds me of the 'frog legs' cartoon below! LOL -       Dave

[MN Dave]

What happens to the rest of the goose carcass after the liver has been extracted? What happened to the rest of the hummingbirds after their tongues had been cut out? 

We need a catchy tune and it's a hit!

[BorisG]

[MN Dave]

[Lilas Pastia]

Force feeding of geese is not something new, it was common in Antiquity. Most raising or feeding practices involving farm animals have a rather disgusting flavour  to them. But this is nature.

Queen termites live some 15 year of immobile life, force-fed by worker termites and hatching millions of eggs.

[M forever]

I have to admit I have been eating extremely well all this past week since I was in NYC working on a project, we massively upgraded a screening room located in the basement of the Tribeca Grand Hotel with digital cinema and other professional a/v equipment for $300k+, to get them ready for the Tribeca Film Festival and also because the location is very much in demand as a location for screenings and previews of all sorts, film makers and producers often come there when they want to see or present their work in progress or just finished, but not released movies, or simply when they want to host a private night of movie watching on high end professional equipment...
So anyway, we also got to stay in the hotel    which was very nice, very trendy and up-scale, and we went out to eat 2-3 times a day to restaurants in the area - and since basically all restaurants in that area there are pretty expensive but also really good, we just didn't have much of a choice but to eat very well. 
At first that felt a little awkward to me because it all gets paid for from the expense account, and it somehow feels wrong to me to spend $150/day or more on food, but they assured me it was OK (in projects of that magnitude it really doesn't make a difference anyway), and an older colleague of mine led the way I never ordered for more $ than he did, and we got a lot of really very nice food. They had some great French and Italian restaurants there, as well as Japanese and Thai, but also some really good American bar food places, and even a really outstanding Mexican restaurant. After 5 years in Southern California, I thought I never wanted to see Mexican food again, especially because a lot of it is just crappy and greasy, but this place was just awesome, fresh, tasty, spicy, interesting Mexican food - not all that "fancy", but just very well made with very fresh ingredients (at least it all tasted very fresh... )
So I have kind of a "gourmet week" behind me... 0:)

[George]

Dried Mulberries

[orbital]

a really outstanding Mexican restaurant. After 5 years in Southern California, I thought I never wanted to see Mexican food again, especially because a lot of it is just crappy and greasy, but this place was just awesome, fresh, tasty, spicy, interesting Mexican food - not all that "fancy", but just very well made with very fresh ingredients (at least it all tasted very fresh... )

Tribeca probably has the highest concentration of better and (more expensive) restaurants in town. Was the Mexican place in Tribeca? Do you recall the name?

---

Not as good looking as this one though 

[matti]

I have to admit I have been eating extremely well all this past week since I was in NYC working on a project, we massively upgraded a screening room located in the basement of the Tribeca Grand Hotel with digital cinema and other professional a/v equipment for $300k+, to get them ready for the Tribeca Film Festival and also because the location is very much in demand as a location for screenings and previews of all sorts, film makers and producers often come there when they want to see or present their work in progress or just finished, but not released movies, or simply when they want to host a private night of movie watching on high end professional equipment...

With a sentence that long you seriously challenge Thomas Mann! 

[FideLeo]

Pringles New "Rice Infusions" Cheese and Onion flavour 

[Kullervo]

With a sentence that long you seriously challenge Thomas Mann! 

There is a funny review on Amazon of Buddenbrooks that says something to the effect of, "This dude must like breakfast, because that's all he ever talks about." While he couldn't have missed the point of the novel more, there is something to it.