Food and How You Cook/Eat It (2023–2025)

[1995hoo]

[imref]

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2025/04/17/giordanos-pizza-metro-center.html

[imref]

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2025/04/canadas-tim-hortons-plans-maryland-locations/

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I might have to get a car for this 

[varoadking]

I might have to get a car for this 

So...we did a thing today...at the only Timmy's in the Commonwealth (Norfolk, VA)

[1995hoo]

I have made this salmon recipe several times this spring and we really liked it. My wife likes hers cooked a little more than the recipe specifies, so I leave it under the broiler for a little longer to ensure the thickest part isn't quite so rare. I gauge doneness for this primarily by the amount of charring on top. You want the sugar to caramelize and char a little bit, but not so much that it turns into a blackened mess.

(Notwithstanding the URL, I have not done this in the toaster oven, primarily because usually we use that to heat up something else to go with the fish but also because I don't want fish spatter getting all over the toaster oven.)

https://www.seriouseats.com/miso-glazed-salmon-in-the-toaster-oven-recipe

[JCA-CrystalCity]

food safety question:

I have a glass jar of honey with a metal top. Last year, I had to throw out half a jar because the top was impossible to open (soaked it in hot water multiple time, may have flipped it upside down in boiling water, just could not get it to budge). I just finished off a plastic honey container with a plastic flip top with a small hole. I've cleaned the plastic container pretty well (hot water to get rid of the hardened honey at the bottom and in the bottle, soaked it in detergent a couple of times). I'm thinking about just dumping the jar into the plastic container, but I'm a little worried about the safety of reusing the plastic container for this. Is there any reason to be concerned? Should I just go with the glass jar and wipe it down / clean it frequently?

[English Natsie]

food safety question:

I have a glass jar of honey with a metal top. Last year, I had to throw out half a jar because the top was impossible to open (soaked it in hot water multiple time, may have flipped it upside down in boiling water, just could not get it to budge). I just finished off a plastic honey container with a plastic flip top with a small hole. I've cleaned the plastic container pretty well (hot water to get rid of the hardened honey at the bottom and in the bottle, soaked it in detergent a couple of times). I'm thinking about just dumping the jar into the plastic container, but I'm a little worried about the safety of reusing the plastic container for this. Is there any reason to be concerned? Should I just go with the glass jar and wipe it down / clean it frequently?

Should be fine if you're going to use the honey within a month - longer than that is best in glass. Any form of cleaning causes chemicals to leach from the plastic, and creates micro-scratches which can harbor bacteria if repeatedly used beyond the short term.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Should be fine if you're going to use the honey within a month - longer than that is best in glass. Any form of cleaning causes chemicals to leach from the plastic, and creates micro-scratches which can harbor bacteria if repeatedly used beyond the short term.

makes sense. I don't trust cleaning plastic if I can't scrub it a bit inside the container. I think I will just wash the top of the glass very frequently,  maybe each time I get any honey on the rim

[1995hoo]

Tried a new (for us) restaurant last night: Alias in Fauquier County. One of our Caps season ticket partners recommended it last year, really raved about it, and we were supposed to go there this same weekend last May for our birthdays (my wife's was Thursday, mine is next Saturday), but Ms1995hoo came down with Covid and we didn’t want to go to a restaurant when she was running a 102° fever. So we finally made it there last night. It’s at the old Vint Hill Farms Station, the old "listening post" off Route 215. I found the location amusing because I remember in my Boy Scout days 40 years ago, Vint Hill was way out in the sticks and we went there for campouts. Back then there was nothing around for miles.

The restaurant has a single seating per night and has two fixed menus, the regular one (see below) and a vegetarian option. The menus change monthly. We both got the regular one. The fellow on the phone said a good number of couples split it—one gets the regular, one gets the vegetarian—so as to try everything, but that didn’t appeal to us. The rockfish was the star of the menu in our opinion. The poke was quite good and had a serious kick to it. The sparkling Riesling cut the kick quite nicely.

There is a microbrewery next door, Old Bust Head. Didn’t try anything there. Didn’t seem like a good idea what with the wine pairings with dinner.

We'll definitely go back, though not on a routine basis simply because of where it is. I took the I-66 express lanes on the way out to make sure we’d be on time. Good thing I did—the two right lanes in the mainline were blocked west of Manassas and the mainline was backed up to Centreville, but I just left the cruise control at 70 mph the whole way. Downside of that? Well, the toll from the Beltway to Gainesville added up to $55.20. But once in a great while when you need to be somewhere at a specific time…

Also, the second picture below is the final plate served after dessert. Notice the top right and bottom left.

[imref]

We’re regulars at OBH. Best brewery in the area imho. Irish red is can’t miss but most other beers are good.

[tomterp]

We’re regulars at OBH. Best brewery in the area imho. Irish red is can’t miss but most other beers are good.

There's a genuine dive in Front Royal called the Chester Street Tavern.  Plenty of live music out in the smoking courtyard, if the locals warm up to you they might offer you a toke.

Only have about 7 beers on tap but the owner says he had Old Bust Head make them to his recipes.  Not all IPA's either. 

https://chesterstreettavern.com/menu

Since I spend a lot of time in the park (Shenandoah NP), it's critical to know where one can get a brew on the way out.  Top choice is Sperryville, the best of which is Hopkins Ordinary.  I am hop weary but their IPA is very nicely balanced.  Can't really get to it though, Smiggy's Scottish Ale and the Pass Mountain Porter are always calling to me.   https://www.hopkinsordinary.com/on-tap

[imref]

There's a genuine dive in Front Royal called the Chester Street Tavern.  Plenty of live music out in the smoking courtyard, if the locals warm up to you they might offer you a toke.

Only have about 7 beers on tap but the owner says he had Old Bust Head make them to his recipes.  Not all IPA's either. 

https://chesterstreettavern.com/menu

Since I spend a lot of time in the park (Shenandoah NP), it's critical to know where one can get a brew on the way out.  Top choice is Sperryville, the best of which is Hopkins Ordinary.  I am hop weary but their IPA is very nicely balanced.  Can't really get to it though, Smiggy's Scottish Ale and the Pass Mountain Porter are always calling to me.   https://www.hopkinsordinary.com/on-tap

i assume you are familiar with spelunker's in Front Royal? Burgers are fantastic.  I'll have to look for Chester Street the next time i'm out there.

[1995hoo]

....

Since I spend a lot of time in the park (Shenandoah NP), it's critical to know where one can get a brew on the way out.  Top choice is Sperryville, the best of which is Hopkins Ordinary.  I am hop weary but their IPA is very nicely balanced.  Can't really get to it though, Smiggy's Scottish Ale and the Pass Mountain Porter are always calling to me.   https://www.hopkinsordinary.com/on-tap

Thanks for that tip. Later this month we're headed to the Inn at Little Washington for our anniversary weekend and Hopkins sounds like it might be worth a visit.

[imref]

Thanks for that tip. Later this month we're headed to the Inn at Little Washington for our anniversary weekend and Hopkins sounds like it might be worth a visit.

What a beautiful spot. The Inn has been out of budget for us (and my wife is too picky for me to spend that kind of money on food she might not eat). We have been to their cafe next door (Patty O's) as well as to the coffee shop / bakery within Patty O's. Both are wonderful.

[1995hoo]

We're eating at Patty O's one night and the Inn the other. (Why two nights? They have a minimum-stay requirement on summer weekends.) What was the prevailing attire at Patty O's? I know what I'll wear to dinner at the Inn, but Patty O's didn't exist yet the last time we were there five years ago. We go there for every five-year anniversary.

[imref]

We're eating at Patty O's one night and the Inn the other. (Why two nights? They have a minimum-stay requirement on summer weekends.) What was the prevailing attire at Patty O's? I know what I'll wear to dinner at the Inn, but Patty O's didn't exist yet the last time we were there five years ago. We go there for every five-year anniversary.

I've only been there for lunch. I'd say nice casual. There were people there in jeans but i'd wear something a bit nicer. IIRC, I wore a polo and khakis. You don't need a coat. The coffee/bakery shop is around the side of it.

[1995hoo]

Heh. Under no circumstances would I wear jeans in late July! Too darn hot. But I wouldn’t wear them to a place like that anyway. Feels disrespectful. Thanks for the info. Sounds like you wore roughly what I likely will.

[tomterp]

i assume you are familiar with spelunker's in Front Royal? Burgers are fantastic.  I'll have to look for Chester Street the next time i'm out there.

Yes on Spelunkers - not only the burgers but their fries and milkshakes too.  And they upgraded their drive through so it sort of looks like Chick Fil A though not quite as crisp in the execution.

 

[tomterp]

Hiked Old Rag today.  Encountered some chanterelles here and their, mostly a few days to a week from being ready for the skillet.  My friend did pick a half-dozen to cook though.  A lot of them were directly on the edges of the trail itself.

Note that in SNP - it is legal to pick above ground items such as shrooms, apples, berries, etc., but illegal to dig, say for ginseng.

[bluestreak]

Does anyone have a Komodo grill? I’m thinking of getting one and am curious as to peoples’ experience.

[blue911]

Yes on Spelunkers - not only the burgers but their fries and milkshakes too.  And they upgraded their drive through so it sort of looks like Chick Fil A though not quite as crisp in the execution.

Cheesesteaks don’t suck either. All around it’s a nice little hamburger stand

[1995hoo]

I am making a Basque-style cheesecake. Today’s lesson: When a recipe calls for a 14-cup food processor, it is a good idea to check and see that yours is only 11 cups before you start so that you can split the batter into two batches.

Finding out it’s only 11 cups after you load up the bowl with six eggs, two pounds of cream cheese, and 1-2/3 cups of heavy cream is, shall we say, problematic.

[varoadking]

I am making a Basque-style cheesecake. Today’s lesson: When a recipe calls for a 14-cup food processor, it is a good idea to check and see that yours is only 11 cups before you start so that you can split the batter into two batches.

Finding out it’s only 11 cups after you load up the bowl with six eggs, two pounds of cream cheese, and 1-2/3 cups of heavy cream is, shall we say, problematic.

Just remove a dollop of everything and adjust accordingly...blend on slow and apply sufficient pressure to the lid...

[bluestreak]

Or split what you have equally into two containers. Then split the remaining ingredients between each one. Then refill the processor with the first container then the second until it’s full.