A glass of Aloe Vera a day

A glass of Aloe Vera a day ...keeps the. ., originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

It takes some getting used to but a glass of Aloe Vera a day is supposed to be very healthy. I get this from the Trader Joe's in Reston. I have had people stop me in the store and say they drank this when they were active in sports. I am not but I feel this kind of rejuvenates your digestive system.

See what the NIH says about this http://nccam.nih.gov/health/aloevera/

Great for Thanksgiving curry turkey - kingfisher beer >$7 six pack Trader Joes Reston VA

Great for Thanksgiving curry turkey - kingfisher beer >$7 six pack Trader Joes Reston VA, originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

This is a good beer and if you visit India you will find this all over.the place. I cannot understand why it costs over $10 a six pack in MD and $6.99 in VA. This is at the Trader Joe's in Reston VA

White House State Dinner List & Connections

The list is on the White House website and according to ABC news there are 335 guests on the list. I study the list and try to find my Six Degrees of separation and try to make sense of the logic and connections in the list.

People I have met IRL

Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw  Chairman of Biocon and She was termed India's Biotech Queen by The Economist and Fortune, and India's mother of invention by New York Times  (Source wikipedia) She is also a master brewer( The White House list has a typo in her name)

My Connection: In my previous life as a chef in Bangalore India  in the 80’s I was introduced to her by Barota Malhotra and I made Guacamole at that time virtually unknown in India

My Most Admired List

Sam Pitroda & Mrs. Anjana Pitroda : I would call Sam Pitroda (blog) the hero of Indian telecom. India is a telecom powerhouse today because of his efforts in the 80’s

Indira Nooyi – Chairman and CEO Pepsico

Music

Mr. Zarin Mehta and Ms. Carmen Lasky : Zubin Mehta Zarin Mehta’s brother is usually better known as Zubin Mehta was the conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra and later the Israel Philharmoic orchestra. Zarin is a star of his own right. As the Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic orchestra he is credited with the great success of the the orchestra’s successful visit to North Korea.http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/zarin_mehta/index.html

Terra Cotta Warriors DC

For Tom Sietsema : Eating is a job

In Sunday’s Washington Post Andrew Alexander the Ombudsman for the Washington Post. it is definitely a must read to see behind the scenes at what a food critic does.

To ensure he doesn't get special treatment, Sietsema is obsessive about anonymity. He's used elaborate disguises in elite restaurants such as the District's Citronelle and the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia. He has a dozen aliases and sometimes feigns a foreign accent. Concerned about restaurants using caller ID, he may have friends make the reservation. He has nine credits cards with different names so restaurants can't identify him through receipts. Sometimes he pays cash. He even took acting lessons to alter his physical demeanor. It can help, he said, because "people get used to seeing you in a certain way.

and did you know “There are occupational hazards, such as high cholesterol. Food stains have driven his annual dry-cleaning bill to $700”

Read the rest of the article in Andrew Alexander’s column in the Washington Post

Tweetup at Vapianos italian 1800 M St Washington DC

Tweetup at Vapianos italian 1800 M St Washington DC, originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

1800 M Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
P. 202-640-1868
1800MStreet@vapiano.com

This is a whole wheat pasta cooked right in front of me with a spicy sauce.
TACCHINO PICCANTE
choice of pasta, chicken breast, orange-chili sauce, bok choy, bell peppers
This restaurant is self service. As soon as you enter you are given a card and everytime you get something the card is swiped. If you have too many glasses to carry the service staff come out and help you. Very friendly staff and great value for money.

Loved the herb garden as [art of the decor. This is a german based italian food chain . more details of the menu at http://www.vapiano-international.com/vapiano/menu/antipasti/list.html

Nearest metro is Farragut North.

Blog Warriors vs. Terra Cotta Warriors (RT)

I was lucky to get a sneak preview of the Terra Cotta warrior exhibition opening today at the National Geographic Museum. The amazing thing about seeing these right in the heart of Washington DC is that some of the exhibits are statues from the tomb of emperor Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled between 221 and 210 BC.

I think National Geographic did a great job inviting Bloggers and photographers for a preview along with the traditional press preview that they did a few days ago.

Many of these were built painstakingly and buried along with emperor Qin Shihuangdi and were discovered in 1974 outside the Chinese  city of Xi'an in 1974. That ought to be the biggest discovery of the century.

According to the National Geographic Blog - “The average terra cotta warrior is 6 feet tall and weighs 300-400 lbs. Craftsmen sculpted individual facial features for each figure by hand. Many of the faces are thought to resemble the artists themselves or some real person or military figure. It is believed that no two faces are identical.”

Remember as you go through this exhibition ( They have a audio tour too) that these exhibits are from centuries ago and imagine the days in a land far away the painstaking labor and craftmanship that went into this and maybe we will all be inspired to do something great with our own day and art.

Here are my pictures from my visit yesterday. Details of the Exhibition are below.

Exhibition Title: “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor”

Exhibition Dates: Nov. 19, 2009 – March 31, 2010

Web Site: www.warriorsdc.org

Overview: “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor” features the largest number of terra cotta figures ever to travel to the United States for a single exhibition. The exhibition showcases 15 terra cotta figures from the tomb of China’s First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled from 221 B.C to 210 B.C., including nine terra cotta warriors, two musicians, a strongman, a court official, a stable attendant and a horse. The exhibition features 100 sets of artifacts in all, including weapons, stone armor, coins, jade ornaments, roof tiles and decorative bricks, and a bronze crane and swan.

Organizers: The exhibition is co-organized by the Bowers Museum, Houston Museum of Natural Science and the National Geographic Museum, and is guest curated by Dr. Albert E. Dien, professor emeritus, Stanford University.

Sponsors: The exhibition is supported by American Airlines; Amtrak; Washington, D.C.’s Loews Madison Hotel; P.F. Chang’s China Bistro; The PIMCO Foundation; UPS; Viking River Cruises; and WTOP.

Location:

National Geographic Museum

1145 17^th Street NW

Washington, DC 20036

Hours: The exhibition is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours on Wednesdays until 9 p.m. The National Geographic Museum is closed on Dec. 25.

Admission: Tickets are timed and dated and can be purchased online at the Buy Tickets page of the exhibition Web site www.warriorsdc.org, by phone at (202) 857-7700 and at the National Geographic Museum ticket booth located at the exhibition’s entrance or at the National Geographic ticket office, 1600 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Ticket prices are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, students, military personnel and National Geographic members; and $6 for children ages 2-12. Children under age 2 are admitted free. A companion audio tour, offered in English, Mandarin and Spanish, is available for $5.

Prices for groups of 10 or more are $8 per ticket, and K-12 school groups are $6 per person with one free adult ticket for each group of 10 students. For more information on group sales, call (202) 857-7281.

The PIMCO Foundation will provide 200 free, same-day tickets each Wednesday evening during the exhibition’s run. These tickets will be distributed at 5:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. viewing on a first-come, first-served basis at the museum, with a limit of two tickets per person.

Terracotta Warrior and a 4 yr old

Barboursville Wine Dinner at Dante Ristorante Friday Nov 20th

 

Here is a event that my friend Chris Geno put out on Linkedin for Friday 20th . If you folks are into wine you should check it out. I will be on Richmond on that day  so I regrettably will miss this event.

Luca Paschina, award-winning winemaker of Barboursville Vineyards will be at Dante Ristorante in Great Falls on Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7pm to talk about his wines at a wine dinner combining Italian cuisine and Virginia wines. Jason Tesauro, Barboursville’s Marketing Director, Sommelier and host of the highly successful Modern Gentleman events will also be there.  If you would like to attend, please let me know.

Location:

Dante Ristorante

1148 Walker Road
Great Falls, VA 22066
ph. 703 759 3131

November 20, 2009 at 7pm

COST: $ 100 per person plus tax and gratuity.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Dante at 703 759 3131 or media@danteristorante.com.

Basil chicken with chillies lunch special at Chao Phra Ya Herndon Va

Image by ShashiBellamkonda via Flickr

Basil chicken with chillies lunch special at Chao Phra Ya Herndon Va, originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

Chao Phra Ya Restaurant
2465 J-1, Centreville Rd.,
Herndon, VA, 20171
Tel : 1-703-713-0103
Fax : 1-703-713-0599

This restaurant is located in the clock tower area and has always been consistent in good food. Service is good and they serve lunch very quickly. Love their lunch specials. See my review on Yelp

Which is your favorite Thai restaurant?

xxx hot and tasty

xxx hot and tasty, originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

This Salsa is actually called Triple-X Salsa and is made in West Virginia by an amazing entrepreneur. This Salsa is spicy and even though I was born and brought up India this spiciness reminds me of Bhut Jolokia ( hottest chilly in the world) Compared to the previous peach salsa this salsa is for the die hard spicy lovers. As usual the Salsa was like home made from Blue Smoke Salsa. If you are a fan of spicy salsa you should check this out. i think the website is http://www.bluesmokesalsa.com/.

This picture is my highest viewed picture on Flickr and I am not surprised. I would consider ordering this for the holidays. They have other tasty and milder salsa too ;)

Washington Post Food Critic Tom Sietsema now on Twitter (RT)

I was thrilled to see that Tom Sietsema the Washington Post food critic is on Twitter. According to Tweetstats Tom Sietsema’s activity increased since October with an average of 1.8 tweets per day.

Not surprising that Tom tweets more on Friday

As a food critic he probably cannot say where he is dining when he is dining. But here is a sampling of some interesting tweets from him.

Direct from Lebanon: DC gets the first U.S. branch of Kababji Grill. Fire up your appetites. http://bit.ly/4qMR7N

Lunch at White House Mess today: Burgers, salmon, molten chocolate cake. Nice touch: Departing guests get M & Ms with Obama's signature.

Follow Tom Sietsema http://twitter.com/Tomsietsema and also Shana Glickman http://twitter.com/dcconcierge @dcconcierge Mbhide http://twitter.com/mbhide another DC food writer I like a lot. Anyone you know of that we should all follow, comment here and let me know.

Technorati Tags: food critic,washington post food,tom sietsema,dc blogs,dc food blogs

Diegos at MGM Grand

Pubcon 2009 Day 3 Diegos at MGM Grand, originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

MGM Grand has a few great restaurants and we tried out the Mexican Restaurant called Diegos.

The guacamole was made fresh at the table on a trolley that is brought to your table. Reasonably priced restaurant , only wish they had more beers on tap. Great salsa for your chips.

Crisco Pie Hotline for help creating the perfect pie for the holidays

Got this in the mail and thought it great to share with readers who have pie on their mind this holiday season.

Every year, thousands of home chefs struggling with their pie crusts rely on the brand they can trust – Crisco^®. Available beginning October 1, 2009, the Crisco Pie Hotline is back to offer the latest baking, storage tips, time saving hints and the option to talk to a live pie pro.  Consumers can call 1-877-FOR PIE TIPS toll-free to find answers to some of the most common pie-baking questions like:

• "How do I prevent the bottom of my pumpkin pie crust from becoming soggy?”
• “How do I prevent my meringues from weeping?”
• “How can I make a quick, classic pie crust?”

 

The Crisco Pie Hotline features tips and new helpful hints from the 2009 American Pie Council Crisco National Pie Championship’s Champions Carol Socier and Linda Hundt.  Carol is the 2009 Amateur Pie Champion in the Custard category for her “Butterscotch Pecan Cream Pie” and Linda is the 2009 Professional Pie Champion Best in Show for her “Tom's Cheery Cherry Cherry Berry Pie.” The pre-recorded tips from these experts as well as the live Crisco Pie Pros will give your readers the tools they need to create the perfect pie every time.

Home chefs can also visit Crisco Pie Central at www.Crisco.com to find troubleshooting tips, step-by-step visual instructions for creating delicious pie crusts and simple, yet tasty recipes using seasonal ingredients.

I may be calling this hotline if I get time off from blogging to bake pies.