Food and How you Cook/Eat it (2016)

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

the electric pressure cooker is hands down the greatest invention since the printing press. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

It's Fried Matzah (Matzah Brie) season. Had Matzah and Eggs with Nova, scrambled, for breakfast Sunday, Matzah Brie, pancake style, with maple syrup today, and will have Matzah and Eggs with mushrooms and onions tomorrow for breakfast.  Also had a red Matzah pizza with chicken at my other favorite pizza place (sweet tomatoes) for lunch.  That came out well.

[Mathguy]

So why do you like it Ali ?

the electric pressure cooker is hands down the greatest invention since the printing press. 

[imref]

the electric pressure cooker is hands down the greatest invention since the printing press. 

Agreed. The ropa was fantastic.

[dracnal]

So why do you like it Ali ?

It gets a pork shoulder fork tender in 45 minutes.

[imref]

It gets a pork shoulder fork tender in 45 minutes.

my favorite aspect is the ability to cook frozen meat.  Flank steak went from frozen to pull apart tender in about an hour (45 minutes of cooking time, 15 minutes of cool-down).

[dracnal]

my favorite aspect is the ability to cook frozen meat.  Flank steak went from frozen to pull apart tender in about an hour (45 minutes of cooking time, 15 minutes of cool-down).

I also like that you can use it to saute and/or brown stuff, then toss it right back in to finish. Much less dishes.

[imref]

I also like that you can use it to saute and/or brown stuff, then toss it right back in to finish. Much less dishes.

You can even use the sauté feature after cooking to thicken.  I made a honey sesame chicken recipe last week.  After 5 minutes of pressure cooking you end up with a fairly runny sauce.  At that point the recipe calls for turning the sauté feature on 'low' adding a slurry of cornstarch and water, and cooking until thick.  I've also used the medium sauté feature to boil off excess liquid after cooking if necessary.

[Mathguy]

Funny article in the Post today

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/get-ready-to-eat-it-as-trump-clinches-the-nomination-its-time-to-dine-on-my-words/2016/05/04/70b9b4a0-123b-11e6-93ae-50921721165d_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

[houston-nat]

Shameless bragging: this week I started as the regular restaurant critic for the Dallas Observer (our alt weekly, similar to the Washington City Paper). Three restaurant reviews per month, plus freelance gigs whenever I feel like it.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

That is badass.  Their online edition is one of the better ones around.

Shameless bragging: this week I started as the regular restaurant critic for the Dallas Observer (our alt weekly, similar to the Washington City Paper). Three restaurant reviews per month, plus freelance gigs whenever I feel like it.

[BrandonK]

Shameless bragging: this week I started as the regular restaurant critic for the Dallas Observer (our alt weekly, similar to the Washington City Paper). Three restaurant reviews per month, plus freelance gigs whenever I feel like it.

Very cool, Houston! I read 'em all the time. I'll be looking for your pieces.

[varoadking]

Shameless bragging: this week I started as the regular restaurant critic for the Dallas Observer (our alt weekly, similar to the Washington City Paper). Three restaurant reviews per month, plus freelance gigs whenever I feel like it.

 

[imref]

Shameless bragging: this week I started as the regular restaurant critic for the Dallas Observer (our alt weekly, similar to the Washington City Paper). Three restaurant reviews per month, plus freelance gigs whenever I feel like it.

nice.  Beware of rats doing your cooking.

[houston-nat]

Anybody go to Matchbox Pizza? One just opened here, first TX location, and it looks like a DC chain.

My kid goes a lot. He likes it. There's one in Rockville, Maryland (DC area).

Quite popular here. Located near the Verizon Center. Non-traditional toppings, thin crust.  I've enjoyed it, but it more of the fancy pants style than a pure pizza experience.

The spicy meatball pizza has garlic puree under the tomato sauce.  It kicks ass.  Sliders are pretty good too.

Thanks everyone for the comments on Matchbox - I got to cover it for the Dallas weekly paper and really enjoyed it. The "ginormous meatball" was pretty awesome - had bits of cheese inside it, and the sauce on top had even more meat. They brought some Dogfish Head with them but mostly went Texan on the craft beer list, which is cool.

EDIT: Oh and thanks for all the comments directly above all this post, I missed those    It's been a great gig, hope it lasts a long time to come! Although these pants don't fit quite as well as they did last year.

[tomterp]

Accounting firm E&Y held an emerging company reception (that I attended) at Matchbox in the Mosaic District in Merrifield, with them being one of E&Y's fast growing clients.  They rolled out quite a feast for us, very good.  And the price was right.   

[imref]

this one is for you tom - at a scout outing recently one of the patrols made dutch oven peach french toast.  In a buttered dutch oven put in a layer of french toast, then canned peaches, then another layer french toast.  Top it with butter and brown sugar and bake until done.

[tomterp]

this one is for you tom - at a scout outing recently one of the patrols made dutch oven peach french toast.  In a buttered dutch oven put in a layer of french toast, then canned peaches, then another layer french toast.  Top it with butter and brown sugar and bake until done.

 But did it have any sugar in it?     

Great for a chilly morning.  I have this issue of dutch ovens however where I am constantly doubting that 13 briquets can actually cook something so I always overload and then burn my food.   Oh me of little faith.

[imref]

But did it have any sugar in it?     

Great for a chilly morning.  I have this issue of dutch ovens however where I am constantly doubting that 13 briquets can actually cook something so I always overload and then burn my food.   Oh me of little faith.

it's pretty rare that anyone cooks in a dutch oven using coals and doesn't burn their food.  Though I did have scouts once make ice cream in one.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I don't recall this ginormous meatball...I guess in the land of 3 hour lines for a brisket sandwich, ya got to rock out with your cock out

The "ginormous meatball" was pretty awesome - had bits of cheese inside it, and the sauce on top had even more meat.

[houston-nat]

At Founding Farmers, the Biggest Temptation is to Leave: Zero Stars
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/founding-farmers-review-where-the-biggest-temptation-is-to-leave/2016/06/01/76b2c844-204e-11e6-9e7f-57890b612299_story.html

[Natsinpwc]

At Founding Farmers, the Biggest Temptation is to Leave: Zero Stars
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/founding-farmers-review-where-the-biggest-temptation-is-to-leave/2016/06/01/76b2c844-204e-11e6-9e7f-57890b612299_story.html

I've eaten there a couple times. It's good but not great. Zero stars is an overreaction.

[tomterp]

He also savaged Ben's Chili Bowl recently.  I have only tried the chili half-smokes at the Park but found them to be bland and relatively tasteless, so I'm inclined to buy into the review as being fair.

Lunch arrives, and I take a bite of food capable of creating lines outside the place on weekend nights. The bun is soft, white and tasteless. The pork-and-beef sausage is crisp from the griddle, where it appears to have surrendered any juices it may have, long ago, had. The snap I anticipate never happens. Sorriest of all is the thin liquid drape on the meat: a sauce that packs flat cayenne heat and tastes burnt.

The chili half-smoke at Ben’s Chili Bowl is, alas, just as I remember it: awful.

This is no small matter. In a city stacked with monuments, Ben’s, brought to life by Ben and Virginia Ali on “Black Broadway” during the Eisenhower administration, stands out as one of the capital’s most beloved institutions. Over its remarkably long life, the diner has not only survived race riots, drug wars and subway projects, it has helped the community recover from them, too. Gentrification hasn’t touched its character. Politicians consider Ben’s an important pit stop on the campaign trail; tourists and newcomers put it at the top of their must-eat list; students of history and music want to sit on stools that once hosted the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald. And the brand has recently expanded to H Street NE, Arlington, Reagan National Airport and more.

But as much as it pains me to write it, this icon has few clothes, at least when it comes to gustatory pleasures. If this food were anywhere else, the only sound you’d hear would be crickets.

Take the hamburger — please! The crumbly patty would taste of nothing if it weren’t for condiments or cheese. (Grilling the buns would be baby steps toward improving the eating here.) Like the half-smokes, Ben’s bean chili can be shipped “anywhere in the USA!” reads a sign next to the menu on the wall. But I can’t imagine anyone in the 50 states happy to receive in the mail the one-note heat and salt lick of something that tastes like it came from a can. Ben’s also now offers “healthy” choices. They include a sorry tuna fish sandwich that prompts the question: Why would anyone go to a hot dog spot for tuna salad? A slice of screaming-yellow lemon cake seems to be equal parts sugar and artificial flavoring.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/bens-chili-bowl-review-i-get-its-importance-but-i-still-wish-the-food-were-better/2016/05/10/d38a3542-0899-11e6-bdcb-0133da18418d_story.html?tid=a_inl

[HalfSmokes]

Bens is where you stumble to before heading home - taste really isn't the top priority

[mitlen]

Bens is where you stumble to before heading home - taste really isn't the top priority

I thought that was Little Tavern.