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If you like fried sh!#, you'll like Eamonn's

You wouldn’t ordinarily think about writing a restaurant review about a place you visited following a root canal, while your mouth and tongue were still numb. But Eamonn’s: A Dublin Chipper is no ordinary place.

Having not eaten for most of the day due to the aforementioned dental work, I was really hungry. But I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money on a meal that I was unlikely to be able to fully taste. I had heard about Eamonn’s a while back, in some review that raved about the fried Milky Ways and Snickers. No, you don’t have to travel to a Midwestern state fair to have fried candy bars -- they’re accessible to you any time during regular restaurant hours right here in Old Town Alexandria. I had been wanting to check it out sometime, and when contemplating my dining options (and being stuck at the stoplight right in front), I decided tonight was the night.

Eamonn's is part of the Armstrong family's growing restaurant empire: there's Restaurant Eve, The Majestic, and Eamonn's, named after Cathal and Meshell Armstrong's son, Eamonn (Eve's little bro.) Eamonn's is the least upscale of the batch: as their website says, "If it's fancy yis want go to Restaurant Eve. You'll find a few stars." At Eamonn's, you'll find fried shi!#, and that's pretty much it. But that's okay -- it's really good sh!#.

It was pretty quiet -- just one guy using the free wireless access, another having the battered sausage, and the guy at the counter (the owner, perhaps?) who was standing on a bench dealing with the overhead lights when I arrived. I’ve heard it can be quite crowded on the weekends, so it was nice to enjoy my meal in relative solitude. The music playing was from an iPod -- not sure if that complies with copyright law in commercial establishments, but it was good music anyway.

The menu is pretty simple, with the most expensive selection setting you back $8.00. Basically, it all amounts to battered and fried sh!#. The focus, of course, is fish and chips: battered cod and French fries. There’s a slogan on the door which if I remember correctly says “thanks be to cod.” (Or something like that.) I didn’t thank cod tonight (I rarely pray to deities OR marine life), but went for the batter burgher instead. (I guess the added H makes it more Irish.) And the fried Milky Way -- I just had to have a taste for research purposes. I first had a battered candy bar (a Mars bar) on Bondi Beach in Sydney -- long before they were a staple at state fairs in farm country -- and have had fond memories ever since.

I perused my surroundings while I waited. There’s a FOD (fish of the day) which today was grouper. There’s also battered shrimp and shrimp salad, as well as chicken bites. Sides include cole slaw, baked beans, and "mushy peas." (I didn't have the chips tonight, but really, why would you order anything else?) Also included among the fried desserts (all quite the bargain for $2.50) were Snickers bars, bananas, and “dough balls.” I’m not sure how those differed from donuts, but perhaps that’s just what they call them in Dublin. At the register, there was a selection of unfamiliar candy bars which looked like they might be made by Cadbury and distributed in Great Britain.

In the beverage case, there were a number of canned beverages, which also must be imports from overseas, since they didn’t look familiar. The bottled sparkling water was from Ireland, and perhaps so were the rest of the selections. I sipped my wine, which was a decent Pinot Noir for $5.00, even if it was provided in a plastic cup like I was at a college (undergrad) party. All the booze (their word and mine) was $5.00 apparently -- hopefully the beer came in a larger glass, or it would be overpriced. The wine value was just right.

It took longer than I expected to batter and fry my meal, but it was definitely worth the wait. The burgher came with a sauce -- I picked curry, which was so excellent I took home the leftovers (be sure to order that with your meal, as it comes hot -- there are six other selections of mayo-based sauces as well). The thick batter was a little hard to penetrate with the plastic knife and fork, but I managed somehow. It was hot, but not painfully so (not like I would have felt it anyway) like most hot fried food. While the burger wasn’t very large, the batter and sauce made it quite filling, and I scarfed it down pretty quickly.

It was now time for the Milky Way, which was as heavenly and celestial as you could imagine. I was only going to have just a bite, but soon one became three, four, five…but I still managed to turn away from half of it or so (but just barely.) Of course, on a less restrained evening, I would be compelled to eat all of it, and steal bites of my friends’ fried bananas, compare it to the Snickers, and find out exactly how dough balls are different than donuts. But only when I can taste it all…

Rating: 4 bamboo stalks out of 4

Pros: relatively fast, inexpensive, and FRIED CANDY BARS

Cons: the selection’s not huge, but you don’t really need it to be.

Bottom Line: If you like fried sh!#, there aren’t many better ways to get it.

Laporta's in Alexandria a Major Disappointment

So I decided to take a little vacation close to home, and am staying in Old Town Alexandria for a few days (I live in Silver Spring.) I haven’t spent much time in Old Town, so relied on Open Table to tell me what was available on a Friday night. (Sadly, The Majestic was not available -- I’ve heard lots of good things.) Laporta’s Restaurant was available for a last-minute reservation, however, and since it featured live jazz, I thought it would be an entertaining place to spend the evening, especially as a single diner. Boy was I wrong -- the meal was one disaster after another.

When I arrived, the host seated me in an almost-empty room, where I could barely hear the music. I asked if I could be seated closer to the music, but she told me that all those seats were reserved. (Neither Open Table nor the restaurant’s website said anything about making special kinds of reservations to hear the music, however. I found it rather odd that the dining room and the bar were separated by the kitchen in the middle, so that diners can barely hear the music that is one of the restaurant’s selling points.

Some of the seating is awkwardly placed: I was originally seated at a table next to a window and divider, with the seat placed diagonally from the table in order to fit it in. Rather than eat sideways all night, I asked for another table. I was seated in a corner near some other diners, so at least I could hear their conversation (mostly about politics -- it is the DC area after all), even if I couldn’t hear the music. But I soon realized the chair I sat in was awkwardly located when another diner sat adjacent to me, and we were both boxed in.

The décor is straight out of a strip mall. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, if you’re in a strip mall. But for a restaurant with $20-$30 entrees, I expected nicer furnishings than low drop ceilings, dirty ventilation fans, industrial carpet, and faux marble tabletops on particle board. And what's with the tired red lanterns from Pier One clearance? There weren't any Asian items on the menu. Check your water glasses before you drink from them: the first one was inexplicably crusty on the outside, and both of them were heavily scratched.

The server recited the specials in a sing-songy voice without really looking at me, doing that eye roll that suggests there’s a list on the ceiling he’s trying to discreetly access. He actually had trouble making much eye contact, and had some lapses in concentration when assisting me. (He tried to excuse one of them by saying that he knew the person who entered the room. She apparently was a regular, although I can’t imagine why.) The night’s specials included rockfish and a pork chop -- there were some others, but they didn't make as much of an impression.

The wine list is in need of a more skilled designer as well as a more skilled sommelier. I’m not sure whether full bottles were available -- I was never offered a list. (Granted, I was a single diner, but could still put away...(oh, never mind. Let‘s just say they should have offered something beyond the crammed-together, hard-to-read, computer-generated list of uninspired selections by the glass.)) I went for a Napa pinot noir (I don‘t remember which one it was, but since it was the only one offered by the glass, it really doesn‘t matter that much). It arrived well above room temperature. Granted, most red wine doesn’t have to be chilled, but it shouldn’t be tepid either, so that it tastes like it came from a counter near the stove instead from a cellar.

For an appetizer, I was choosing between the roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella, and the mushroom rounds. (Laporta's Dinner Menu) The server said that both were good selections, but pushed me in the direction of the red pepper and mozzarella when I said that I was trying to avoid bread. The appetizer took a while to arrive, even though it just had to be assembled, so the server took my entrée order before it arrived. That was a good thing, I think, since there were long gaps between courses, even though the restaurant was virtually empty on a Friday night. That should have been a sign of what was to come.

When the roasted red pepper and mozzarella arrived, I was initially impressed. Although I thought $8.99 was a little pricy for this appetizer, what would be considered a side salad in many restaurants, with artichoke hearts, olives, and field greens with a balsamic dressing, was included with the pepper and mozzarella. The appetizer had a pleasing mix of flavors and was generously portioned.

The server came back to take my entrée order. I told him I was deciding between the Chicken Envoltine, Pork Schnitzel, and the pork chop special. Once again, his recommendations were pretty much useless -- he again said they were all good without really telling me why. After he described the pork chop special, with a port reduction and fresh berries on top, I decided to go with that one. I also asked for a side of sautéed spinach (misspelled on the menu as sauted spinach), and he said he thought it could be substituted for the vegetables that came with the pork. He was wrong. He came back to say they yelled at him when he asked for the substitution. No apologies, so I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen until the meal arrived with the spinach served separately and the roasted vegetables he initially described were on the plate with the pork chop.

The pork chop was generously portioned (he had said it was 12 ounces), or so it seemed until I tried to cut into it. There was so much fat and gristle that penetrating the meat practically necessitated a chainsaw, or at the very least, a well-sharpened jigsaw. After sawing away at it for a while with my mere steak knife, I extracted what appeared to be an edible piece. Luckily, I was by myself so that after I chewed away for a while, and still found nothing edible, I could discreetly spit it out in a napkin. Yes, it was that bad, and that‘s not even discussing the fact that it was sickeningly sweet. (If I wanted pork candy, I would have stayed in Japan, where I’m sure it’s a delicacy available in a convenience store somewhere.) The server quickly noticed my lack of enthusiasm for the meal (although I suppose I would have had a decent workout by the end.) He asked if I wanted him to take it back and bring something else. I said yes, and ordered the pork schnitzel.

Another relatively long wait ensued -- but not long enough. The schnitzel arrived, and I cut into it. Yes, it was significantly more tender than the last cut of pork. But it was pink inside. Although I’m a medium-rare kind of girl, we all know that pork must be fully cooked to be eaten safely. The server came to check back, and I said, “I’m not trying to be difficult here, but this is pink.” He needed me to point it out -- or was he just annoyed -- then jerked the plate off the table to return it to the kitchen. It was accompanied by what appeared to be roasted tomatoes topped with parmesan cheese, although no accompaniment was listed on the menu. (I know it's probably weird, but I really don't like tomatoes, and would rather have saved them the trouble of bringing them out if a substitution was not possible, which apparently it wasn't.)

In the meantime, the guest sitting just a little too close to me sent his trout back -- apparently he wasn’t expecting something so fried. The server insisted it was pan-fried, not deep-fried, but it still didn’t appeal to the nearby guest. The menu says it's sautéed in olive oil, but it appeared much more heavily breaded and fried than one would expect from the menu description. The waiter by now was quite irritated with how his night was going, and less than gracious with the nearby table.

Third time was the charm, I guess…at least the pork schnitzel was now apparently safe to eat. Flavorless, but edible. I don’t know where the parmesan crust was -- I saw lots of parmesan sprinkled on the accompanying tomatoes, but not seared on the pork as advertised. He said he had yelled at them in the kitchen. (It seems like there must have been lots of yelling going on back there, but I didn’t hear it, thankfully.) I ate most of what remained on the plate, although having the partially-eaten slice from before returned to me was not so appealing. Each time, they reheated the spinach and replated it before returning it to me, ultimately turning it from properly sautéed to limp.

Did I want dessert? Not really, but decided to try something to round out the review. Although a tray had been presented to customers early in the evening, when I inquired about a menu, my server said it was “oral.” He again recited the selections with a noticeable lack of gusto. I selected the lemon tart, and again prepared to wait. In the meantime, I had another glass of the lackluster wine -- my server had oh-so-generously comped that. At this point, I was surprised he didn’t get the manager involved, considering I had returned a dirty water glass and two entrees.

But rather than make even more of a fuss, I ordered the lemon tart. When it arrived, it was attractively presented with whipped cream and a strawberry (although the strawberry was pretty much inedible too, given that it wouldn't be ripe for weeks.) The lemon filling tasted good, but the crust was strangely grainy -- better results would have come from a store-bought crust from the freezer section. I ate part of it, then asked for the check.

The meal, even with the comped glass of wine, came to just shy of $60.00. If it were a $25.00 meal, or more had been comped, I might have excused some of the deficiencies. But to pay that much for a meal that could fairly be described as “gross,” tended to inspire outrage. Not to mention, it took over two hours to get through this travesty of a gastronomical experience -- hours of my life that I will never get back. (The other single diner -- the regular -- got her entrée to go. That should have been a sign.)

How was the jazz? I could only hear a little, but what I also found surprising was that the singer, Sandra Y. Johnson, would only sing a song or two, then take a long break. During the whole time I was there, I don’t think she sang more than four songs. It was a trio, and her piano player played a couple on his own, but even still, the intermissions were longer than the performances throughout the evening. When she wasn’t singing, the restaurant played classical music. Given the plethora of cool jazz stations out there, you’d think they would at least try to stick with the jazz genre. But not much about this evening made sense -- not the seating policy, the décor, nor the food preparation techniques. Needless to say, I won’t be back.

The only good discovery of the evening was the Crate and Barrel outlet store between where I’m staying and the restaurant. I’ll be visiting that more frequently in the future. Oh, and there was a Whole Foods nearby -- I would have done better (and saved myself a boatload) if I had just got some takeout from there.

Rating: 1 bamboo stalk out of 4. (I'm a panda fan, and a panda's favorite food is bamboo, so that's where my rating system comes from.)

Pros: not many, except the appetizer was decent and the music wasn’t half bad (when it was happening, that is.)

Cons: uninspiring atmosphere, inedible food, lackluster service, disappointing seating arrangements.

Bottom line: Don’t bother -- there have to be better places to eat in Old Town than this.

What's Wrong at Budweiser?

I saw this new product at Party Time Liquors in Mount Ranier, MD, just over Washington, D.C.'s Northeast border.

I know some people have peculiar cocktail recipes for beer, such as the Red Eye, which is not that bad in my opinion. But, to mass produce Clamato, which is tomato juice and liquefied clams, and Bud premixed in a 24 ounce can with lime and salt flavor added, is just plain crazy.

What's going on in the offices of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis? The person who thought this would be a big seller is playing some high stakes marketing poker. Or maybe, instead of outright quitting, they just want to get fired so they can collect unemployment.

If someone has the cajones to try this stuff, please post a review in the comments.

(In other liquor news, Danny DeVito has introduced his own brand of limoncello.)

Uncle Julio takes care of you at rio grande

Since I was in Maryland i.e. Home today we took the opportunity to grab lunch with kid No 1 and the missus. The venue Rio Grande at the Rio in Gaithersburg.

Uncle Julio's
Rio Grande Cafe

231 Rio Boulvevard
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
240.632.2150

http://www.unclejulios.com/locations.php

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

As it was a day when the schools had closed the place was not full at 1.30 on a Friday.   We have been here but not that frequently. The Rio complex has another Mexican restaurant called Guapos.. My wife and daughter had the Fajitas al Carbon with chicken and I had the Sonora platter with chicken. There is a difference in the food between Mexican restaurants and I like food that is a little spicy. In my meal I didn’t like the Tamale and the enchilada as it was a little bland . I would like to give the restaurant the benefit of doubt as it may be me who should change my taste. I liked the red beans a lot. I liked the tortilla machine, i wish they could have whole wheat tortillas made in the machine. See the video of the machine below.

 

Is it me or does it seem like restaurants have raised their prices? In summer the Rio Grande cafe is lively specially in the evenings. Lunch time I would skip and go to the  El Mexicano.

 

Thai Luang Restaurant - Herndon

My friend Brent enjoying the Thai food but sweating.

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I have reviewed Thai Luang before and its a nice restaurant. Lunch time can be very busy so go earlier if you are more than 2 people. 2 things that happened today were I tried a new dish " Thai Luang Chicken noodles" and i was diappointed. it was bland and also no sauce in it. Second was that the "Chicken Fried Rice" that my friend brent had was very spicy even if he had ordered it mild. Maybe they made a mistake with the order. During lunch it is vert difficult to change that and I ate it unwillingly. I would still return as in the 10 to 15 times that I have been here they have failed me 2 times. I am not asking for perfection so I will still go there and orfer my favorite which is the Thai Green Curry chicken.
Location

171 Elden Street
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 478-2233
Located right off the Fairfax County Parkway
(Exit 11) between Reston and Herndon.
Hours

Lunch Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Saturday: 12:00 am - 3:00 pm
..............................................
Dinner Hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Friday - Saturday: 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Thai Pavilion Rockville - good food, location & ambience

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Thai Pavilion

29 Maryland Ave
Unit 308
Rockville, MD 20850 (301) 545-0244

www.thaipavilionrestaurant.com

My wife and kids had taken carry out a few weeks ago and loved it. At first when I ate the food at home a few hours later I thought the spices were raw. You can never judge a restaurant by carry out so for our President's day outing we went to the Thai Pavilion located at the Rockville Town Center. It's conveniently located right next to the Rockville library and about a block away from the Rockville metro.

The menu says "

The names in this menu are the names of 76 provinces of Thailand, only purpose is to introduce to our customers, and employees for their point of reference. They are not
necessary representing any provinces of our famous dish"

Other than the fact that the food took a long time to arrive everything else was very good. The prices are a little on the higher side I think but the food is awesome, great decor . I would return any day. One peeve I do have is that they have cutlery that changes shape so its difficult to hold, I am sure the intention was to be contemporary but not convenient.

See Yelp review here , there were not many other reviews as this is a new place.

Marriott in the kitchen - Marriott Chefs join the Blogoshere

Brad Nelson. Vice president of culinary and Marriott corporate chef is now a blogger. Bill Marriott made the announcement welcoming him with a blog post on Marriott on the Move - Bill Marriott's Blog ( I should call it a podcast) I was thrilled when Bill Marriott started blogging and announced it. I frequently comment on Bill Marriott's Blog.

On the Marriott Chefs Blog there are several good resources and Marriott has really taken a lot of time to make it good.

I have stayed in some very good Marriott hotels and love the chain. I follow Bill Marriott's blog and i would call it a very good example of a best practice CEO blog.

Here is a recipe that I took from Chef Brad's blog post. as I love clam chowder and hope to make this at home

Boston Clam Chowda'

Ingredients for 1 gallon

2 slices applewood bacon, chopped
¼ cup clarified butter
¾ cup flour
½ gal milk

2 tbl butter
2 cups onion, diced
1 ½ cups celery, diced
1 tsp garlic, chopped
½ tsp thyme leaves
1 qt clam juice
2 lbs chopped clams (about 1 ½ pint by volume)
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp Tabasco or hot sauce

1 pint heavy cream
2 tsp parsley, chopped

Preparation:

1. Render the diced bacon until crisp. Remove and reserve on an absorbent cloth for later use.
2. Add the clarified butter to the bacon fat. Add the flour, mixing well. Cook the flour/butter mixture over moderate heat, making a roux. Stir often.

3. Separately heat the milk, but do not boil. Add the hot milk to the flour mixture, whisk vigorously. Simmer over moderate heat for 15 minutes.

4. In a thick bottomed pot, melt the butter and sauté the onion, celery, and garlic 4-6 minutes.

5. Add the potatoes and clam juice, bring to a slow simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add the tabasco, Worcestershire, salt and pepper.

6. Add the clams and bring back up to a simmer,

7. Add the thickened milk to the clam/vegetable mixture.
8. Heat the heavy cream and add to the soup base with the chopped parsley. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if necessary.

One of my friend's is the Executive Chef of Renaissance Austin - Raman Natarajan snd in s previous life I was a chef too .This is a going to be a great blog to follow.

Sitting by the Dock of the Bay

This weekend I went to Kent Island, Maryland, to film a video podcast for the Kristin Brooks Hope Center, the folks behind 1-800 SUICIDE. After the shoot, KBHC president, Kent Island local and good friend Reese Butler suggested lunch at the Harris Crab House. Well, as the saying goes, when in Rome...

The Eastern Shore is world famous for its seafood, especially crabs and oysters. So I couldn’t resist an appetizer of a dozen oysters (Crassostrea virginica to be exact) and a crab cake sandwich. According to my buddy Reese, who lives on Kent Island, Harris Crab House employs more than 120 people. Before you jump to conclusions and assume that this must be the biggest restaurant on the East Coast, Harris’ employees do more than cook and serve food, some of them are actually watermen who dredge the bay for oysters and set crab traps, and others serve as delivery men for the operation's seafood distribution business in the DC Metro area.

Knowing this bit of Harris’ history, I assumed the food would be as fresh as can be, and it was. The oysters were sweet, delicate and about as fresh as you can get (unless you happen to be a captain of a skipjack.) And the crab cake sandwich was outstanding. I only wish I hadn’t had breakfast a few hours earlier or I would have ordered a dozen steamed crabs.

Kent Island is about 30 minutes away from DC, just over the Bay Bridge. Plus they also offer next day airmail seafood delivery via their website. In fact, Zagat gave Harris Crab House the Award of Distinction with a rating of “Excellent.”

On a sad note, since the introduction of MSX and Dermo in the 1950’s, two infectious diseases that have played a large role in the decline of the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population, doubled with the fact that the oysters in the Bay have been over harvested for decades, these treats are becoming endangered. The good news is that several oyster hatcheries along the Eastern seaboard are working with scientists across many fields to develop innovative restoration initiatives for the Bay. In addition to these programs, one idea is to introduce a non-native oyster from China called Crassostrea ariakensis.

The following video podcast I created for a past project focuses on current research underway with C. ariakensis, the potential risk of new diseases that could affect the Bay’s ecology and/or human health, the attitudes of Maryland’s watermen toward the oysters' possible introduction, and the role of local, state and federal policy. Enjoy. And, while C. virginica are still in the Bay, make the trip to Harris Crab House and enjoy some of the freshest seafood our area has to offer.

Chef Geoff's in Downtown DC

Chef Geoff's in Downtown DC, originally uploaded by shashiBellamkonda.

1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004
(on 13th Street between E and F, NW)
Tel: 202.464.4461
http://www.chefgeoff.com/

Went to this restaurant for dinner organized by @newmediajim. As you enter the restaurant the welcome is very good. The menu consisted of gourmet specials to excellent sandwiches.The food was very good and the service professional. I had the Jumbo Shrimp and Very Gouda Grits -w/ Peppers and Tomatoes for dinner. They have valet parking. The restaurant is opposite the Warner Theatre.

The chef of this restaurant was featured the same day in the Washington Post.

Jack's Whiz

An old deli/salad bar called the LA Cafe on 18th St. & Mass. Ave. in Washington, D.C. that I used to frequent for lunch closed down at the end of last year. This didn't disappoint me as the food was mediocre and the salad bar was always a disappointment. In late January LA Cafe was replaced by Jack's Fresh.

On the surface, Jack's Fresh looked just like the restaurant it replaced. But the difference is that the romaine is crispy in the salad bar and there are a lot more choices. They also offer a basic deli with chicken subs, burgers, reubens, tuna, etc. But what makes Jack's Fresh stand out is that they offer steak subs with Whiz. Yes, Cheez Whiz!

Cheez Whiz is a staple of legendary steak and cheese joints such as Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia. In fact, I think it's safe to say you haven't really had a steak and cheese if it didn't come with Whiz.

I have yet to see any other lunch crowd places or carry-outs in D.C. that offer Whiz as an option. So I had no choice, I had the "Beefsteak with Whiz" and fries, and a fountain coke for $7.30.

I have to say it made me long for the days when my old punk rock band used to play Stalog 13 in Philadelphia and after the show we'd go to Pat's at 2:30 a.m. and wait in a long line to order a "Cheez wit."

With that said, nothing else at Jack's Fresh really stands out. But if your hankering for a hunk of Whiz. This is the place.

(Note: There are some other reviews on Yelp, but they are for the Jack's Fresh location on 1400 I St NW, D.C.)

Angeethi Restaurant Herndon VA

Angeethi
www.angeethiva.com
645 Elden Street
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 796-1527

I tried this as it was highly recommended by a commenter in the previous post. The ambience is very aithentic Indian and the first impression was excellent. They have a Lunch Buffet so no a la carte menu was offered. Service was very attentive and the waiter looked happy. They give you the nan bread on the table thats a great thing as the "nan" can get dried up if placed on the buffet.

The buffet is very elaborate and has a choice of 2 soups. The Dal soup was very thick. I would have preferred it slightly more liquidy and we went at the beginning so the thick consistency was not due to it being on the buffet at a long time.

The food looked very good. I enjoyed the meal and the 2 desserts. The biruyani could have been a bit less oily . Another thing they could have corrected is not to have "chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken" on the buffet and had at least one other meat. The vegetarian choice is excellent.

I would give this a 4 score over 5.

Lunch at Moes in Herndon

WSJ.com - The World's Hottest Chili

Anyone who is from India is profiled as a chilly eater :) I was born in the State of Andhra Pradesh that has a lot of hot chilly varieites. I was thrilled to see this article in the Wall Street journal where the hottest chiily in the world actually comes from Assam.It's 200 times hotter than the jalapeño. Workers handle it with goggles and face masks. And spicy-food lovers can't wait to get their hands on it. It's the bhut jolokia chili pepper from India, and it's recently been declared the hottest in the world.

read more | digg story

Have a good time Casino Night for Charity

NOCK (National Organization Caring for Kids) The mission of the National Organization Caring for Kids is to improve the quality of life for special needs children through the use of assistive technology.

Please support NOCK’s 4th Annual DC Casino for a Cause fundraising event, Saturday evening April 12, at the Crystal City Sheraton Hotel in Arlington, VA.   It is guaranteed to be a wonderful event, including cocktails, delicious dinner, exciting live auction, fun casino entertainment, and raffle... with proceeds going to help special needs children.

Last year, nearly 200 people attended the DC Casino for a Cause, raised over $100,000 for disabled kids — and had a great time too!

Date & Venue :April 12, 2008  -  Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, Arlington VA

Kevin M Bish
Event Chair, NOCK DC Casino for a Cause
April 12, 2008  -  Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, Arlington VA
www.NOCKonline.org

Indique Heights - Lunch In a Box

Indique Heights, 2 Wisconsin Cir., Chevy Chase, 301-656-4822, http://www.indiqueheights.com

I love home cooked lunches even so there are times when you have to eat out - going with colleagues or friends or even your Social Media Friends. I saw this article in the Washington Post Box Lunches at Indique Heights. Now if my Blogger friends remember we had a tweetup at Indique Heights in December and loved it. Having a ready boxed lunch is a good idea and as the writer writes the boxed lunch is sumptuous.

The three ready-to-go box lunches are bargain priced :
-The vegetarian ($6) includes saag makai( a creamy spinach and corn curry}and alu chole(chickpeas cooked with tomatoes and potatoes).
- Chicken tikka makhani ($7) includes saag makai
- Lamb makhani ($8)includes saag makai

All the lunches are accompanied by rice, nan and 3 chutneys.

I haven't heard of Lamb Makhani but I know Indique is always experimenting oops ! I should say innovative.

My only regret they are too far away. I work in Herndon. if you live or work in the Friendship Heights area you should try this sometime. Lunch boxes available daily, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.


(In full disclosure I know the owners who are friends from India but I have no commercial dealings with them. )