Upcoming Food and Drink Events – Mar. 26-Apr. 1
Tour d’Spain Wine Tasting
Arlington, VA
Saturday, March 31
Sushi Making 101
Sunday, April 1
From Vine to Wine: Winemaking 101 in Virginia Wine Country
food events, 
Tasting Journal
No Trans-Fat in Montgomery County?
Well it looks like Montgomery County may be joining the ranks of New York and Philadelphia in their efforts to ban trans-fat from restaurant menus across the region. A few years ago, the county’s restaurants were facing a different battle—the much debated smoking ban—and now the council is moving on to another controversial health issue—greasy foods fried in our beloved trans-fatty oils. What will become of our delicious grease-dripped fries and onion rings? Will the flavor be affected? Some advocates of the ban say that substituting the oil will not compromise the flavor. Really?? Hmm... I’m skeptical. I’m just going to have to go and taste some of these trans-fat free fries for myself.
Even though the ban has yet to be implemented, some resturants have already taken the initiative and eliminated trans-fat from their menus, such as Silver Diner in Rockville and Black’s Bar and Kitchen in Bethesda.
According to news reports, if the council approves the ban, it would take effect next January.
See NBC4’s video report: Montgomery County May Ban Trans Fats
trans fat ban, 
Montgomery County, Tasting Journal
Upcoming Food and Drink Events – March 19-25
Sam Adams Spring Release Beer Tasting
Washington, DC
Single Malt Scotch Festival
Washington, DC
Friday, March 23
Bordeaux Tasting
Saturday, March 24
Merlot Tasting
Sweets Expo
Vancouver, Canada
West of Western Culinary Festivals
Phoenix, AZ
food events, Tasting Journal
Another Wintry Mix.... Hot Crab Soup!
After nearly a week of beautiful spring-like weather, Mother Nature decided to dump another one on us. The morning started off cold and rainy, and then steadily evolved into an ugly wintry mix by the evening rush hour. Light flurries are coming down right now, but at least the sky should be somewhat clear tomorrow… just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!
Earlier this week I made some delicious crab soup. Some hot soup would be perfect on a gross day like today…
recipes, 
crabs, 
soups, Tasting Journal, 
Tasting Journal Recipes
Upcoming Food and Drink Events – March 5 - 11
Dining Out For Life
Benefiting Food & Friends
Washington, DC
Empty Bowls Soup Supper
Benefiting SOME (So Others Might Eat)
Washington, DC
Friday, March 9
Natural Products Expo West
Saturday, March 10
Cooking Fresh 101 Class
8 Dish Sushi and Saki Dinner at Wasabi
Washington, DC
Sunday, March 11
International Boston Seafood Show
food events, 
food charity, Tasting Journal
Huge chunks of pretty, white fluff started falling from the sky early this morning. I had to venture out of the house for a scheduled eye appointment, and when I stepped back outside after my check-up, the ground was blanketed in fresh clean snow. It’s a perfect day for hot chocolate, cookies, and TiVo!!
snow, 
Maryland, Tasting Journal
Upcoming Food and Drink Events - February 4-10
Monday, February 5
Silver Spring Restaurant Week: 2/5 – 2/11
Wednesday, February 7
For Chocolate Lovers Only: Wanders Homemade Chocolate
Thursday, February 8
Specialty Beer Tasting
Friday, February 9
Roman's Birthday - Incredible French Cooking Class with Chef Jim Davis
The girls and I took our very first cooking class a few months ago for Roman’s birthday (November 27). I’m obviously a little late posting this… And the thing is, I’ve had it written up and ready to go for quite some time now, but I just never got around to posting it. Anyway, here it is: Roman’s Birthday Cooking Class!
* * * * *
We told Roman to be ready at
The “restaurant” was located in a quiet little community center amongst a wooded area in Olney. It was so exclusive that it contained only 9 people that night. We even had pr
ime seats close to the kitchen, so close that we could have cooked our own meals ourselves if we wanted to—in fact, we did.
“Surprise, Roman!”
Actually the girls and I didn’t take Roman out to dinner this year. Instead, we decided to take her to a cooking class for her birthday.
Chef Jim Davis was our instructor for the evening. That night, he introduced us to an incredible French menu in which we would be preparing ourselves.
The carte du jour consisted of:
Garlic, Leek and Turnip Flan
Mushroom Crusted White Fish
Ravigote Sauce
Pear and Walnut Tarte Tatin
Doesn’t that sound simply divine? It was. Although I must say, this menu is definitely not for people who are watching their calories.
Kim: “4,165 calories in the Ravigote sauce?? Is that even allowed?”
Chef Davis: “Yes, this menu is by no means low-fat…”
Roman: “At least it has 1 gram of carb.”
So if you’re on Atkins, the Ravigote sauce is fine. Actually, after taking a second look at the nutritional content of the rest of the items, it appears that the entire menu is relatively low-carb. So that’s a plus for all the carb-watchers.
We were divided into groups of threes. Each group worked together to pr
epare the menu. Roman, Katherine and I were together, and Kim was grouped with a couple of others in the class.
The three of us took turns doing the different steps. Since i
t was Roman’s birthday, however, we gave her most of the fun stuff, like stirring the ingredients together and cracking the eggs. After a couple of hours, our dishes were starting to come together nicely.
The class was fun. The dishes were simple, but elegant, and easy enough to prepare at home. Our food came out a bit too salty, so we’ll probably add less salt
if we try to make it again.
I thought Chef Davis was a knowledgeable and gregarious teacher. He provided basic instructions and helpful tips (such as how to hold a knife when you’re cutting). Toward the end of the class, while we were waiting for some of dishes to come out of the oven, the Che
f gave a brief discussion on food and wine pairing, and talked a little about his life.
We ended our cooking class with the delectable Tarte Tatin, delicious
Happy Birthday Roman!! Only 352 more days until your next birthday!! :-)
Photo Files:
As soon as I stepped off the train, Janine took me to get a hot dog at Gray's Papaya!
And here it is!
After spending most of the day shopping, Janine and I decided to reward ourselves with authentic Belgian fries at Pommes Frites.
We got lost and very frustrated trying to look for the place, but eventually we found it.
DC Restaurant Week: Mie N Yu
Mie N Yu
3125 M Street, NW
Tel: 202.333.6122
http://www.mienyu.com/
It’s a shame when a beautiful restaurant with such great potential and with which I had such high hopes for doesn’t measure up to par in terms of service and quality of food. While I understand that servers and restaurants can have their bad days, it’s rather disappointing when you feel that other diners around you seem to be getting better service than you are—or really, just any service at all.
In honor of DC's Restaurant Week, the girls and I decided to have Sunday brunch at Mie N Yu in 
nsists of various dining areas, such as the Moroccan Bazaar, the Red Baroque Room, the Tibetan Dragon Room, the Turkish tent, and even a giant steel birdcage suspended from the second floor, each boasting gorgeous and vibrant décor that’s sure to send a few to “ohh” and “ahh”. If these dining rooms aren’t stunning enough, head down to the unisex restroom on the lower level, where individual s
talls with tall wooden doors surround a cluster of sinks with faucets that filter water into barrels filled with pretty stones.
Mie N Yu’s menu offers an equally appealing and eclectic selection of items. The Restaurant Week brunch version included intriguing starters such as t
he Thai Poo Poo Grille, with Korean barbequed ribs, shrimp dumplings, beef satay, tempura vegetables, and served with a roasted pineapple sweet chili sauce; and the Smoked Salmon Bruschetta, with pastrami rubbed smoked salmon and feta cheese, and served on a toasted baguette. Some entrées included the Tandoori Chicken Kabob, with roasted garlic h
umus, tzatziki and apricot raisin couscous; the Peanut Chicken Salad, with grilled teriyaki chicken, toasted peanuts and Asian slaw; the Crab Hash, with sautéed blue crab meat, onions and garlic seasoned potatoes; and the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, served on sesame challah bread, with a remoulade sauce.
Unfortunate
ly the stunning décor and diverse menu wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of service and poor quality of food. From the moment we stepped foot inside the restaurant, the staff acted as though our existence was somewhat of an inconvenience to their day. As I mentioned before, I know that servers and restaurants can have bad days, and Restaurant Week can be an especially busy time for some dining establishments, but the service that we received during our visit was extr
emely disappointing and left a really bad first impression of something that I thought would be wonderful. I’m not normally the type to make quick judgments so I’m not going to shun this place off all together and never return again. I’d like to give Mie N Yu another try or two before I make any solid opinions.
Katherine and Roman both wrote a letter to Oren Molovinsky, the general manager at Mie N Yu, explaining the dining experience that we had at his restaurant. David Troust, the associate general manager, replied to both, offering his sincere apologies and extending his regards with a $50 gift card to the restaurant. Below is a copy of Roman’s letter (similar to Katherine's, but a little shorter) and Mr. Troust’s reply.
***
(Roman's letter)
Mr. Molovinsky,
Three friends and I recently chose your restaurant to dine at for
restaurant week this year and I would like to share our disappointing
experience. I had heard wonderful things about the restaurant from
friends and coworkers, and I was very excited to experience it for
myself.
After the hostess lead us to our table, she stood and watched as two
friends struggled to sit in the wooden bench. Although we laughed
about it, she almost appeared annoyed. After looking over the menu, a
server came over to take our drink orders (no greeting) and I was
feeling a little under the weather, so I asked for a cup of hot tea.
The server asked what kind I wanted, and I replied asking what kind
the restaurant offered. The server replied rather rushed "anything,
what kind do you want?", and again I asked what kind the restaurant
offered. After providing me with three options, I felt as if I was
inconveniencing him.
After approximately twenty minutes of watching the hostess seat tables
and help them with their chairs with a smile, and watching the server
walk past our table without making eye contact, we began to feel
somewhat neglected, but assumed it was busy and tried to be patient.
Finally, I flagged down a manager who took our orders. After another
twenty minutes, and after we watched tables who were seated after us
and order the exact same appetizer receive their food before us, we
received our cold appetizers, minus the extra Salmon Bruschetta we
ordered off the regular menu. Again, we tried to be patient and
assumed it would be out shortly, but it never came and we decided not
to say anything.
Through the rest of the meal, the server came by once or twice and
made an attempt to be friendly, but never refilled our drinks or asked
if we needed anything, nor did the manager who took our orders. At
the end, the check was quickly dropped off, and we were charged for
the Salmon Bruschetta that we never received, and upon informing our
server of this, he simply stood there staring at the table trying to
recall if we had received it or not. Once he "believed" us, he simply
corrected the check without so much as an apology.
I would like to say that having worked in the restaurant industry for
years taught us to be patient and understanding, but this experience
was simply intolerable. After tipping 20% we tried to brush it off,
but I could not shake the disappointment. Employee after employee
providing us with mediocre, if not poor, service and then watching
others receive great service let me know the employees were not "in
the weeds", they were simply rude to us. Had I had the opportunity to
taste the food hot, or even room temperature, I would give you
feedback on that, but unfortunately I cannot.
I just wanted to share this experience with you, probably one of the
worst I've had, so that you have an idea of the kind of service some
of your patrons are receiving. Thank you for your time.
Roman,
First of all, I would like to thank you for choosing Mie N Yu as your
brunch destination for Restaurant Week, and for your gracious comments
concerning previous visits to the restaurant. Also, thank you for
taking the time to give us open, honest feedback regarding your dining
experience. Feedback such as this allows us to address guest
comments, and strive to create an even greater dining experience in
the future. I would like to apologize to both you, and the friends
you dined with, for the less than perfect brunch experience that you
had on Sunday.
Our host staff is fully trained to politely lead guest to their
tables, assist them with seating, present the appropriate menus to the
guests, introduce their server, and then wish them an enjoyable meal.
Even with the fast pace of Restaurant Week, we continue to focus our
staff and managers on customer service and enhancing the "guest
experience". I apologize that you perceived the tables around you
received better customer service than your party, this is certainly
not the usual treatment of guests at Mie N Yu. I assure you that this
customer service failure is being addressed with the entire host
staff, and will be utilized for training at our next host meeting this
month.
As for your server, I would also like to apolgize for the perceived
indifference that was present at your meal. After a busy long week,
our staff may have been slightly tired, but that is certainly no
excuse for the treatment that you received. In the future, I would
suggest that you request the manager come to your table, to not only
address your concerns about customer service, but to . Once the
manager's attention was focused on your table, the salmon bruschetta
issue could have also be taken care of more quickly. This email is
also being sent to the manager on duty from Sunday, so we can address
this situation in our weekly meeting.
Once again, I assure you that your brunch experience on Sunday is not
the norm for dining experiences at Mie N Yu. Because of this customer
service failure, I would like to offer you a $50 gift card to Mie N
Yu, to be used during lunch, brunch or dinner. In addition, I would
request that you contact me personally when you are ready to dine with
us again. I will be taking care of your reservation personally, to
ensure the highest level of excellence by our management and staff.
Please provide me with a current address, so I can get the gift card
sent to you as soon as possible.
Thank you again for your feedback, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
David Troust
I think it’s important to give restaurants feedback… both positive and negative. In our case, it happened to be negative. The managers and owners deserve to know what’s going on in their dining room; and feedback from diners enables them to improve on areas that may need a little help. I’m looking forward to our next visit, and I have high hopes that our next experience will be a few steps up from the last.
restaurants, Washington, DC, Asian fusion, Tasting Journal
Happy 2007!!
I am finally back from an extended holiday blog break. I had a lovely Christmas with my family, and I got to spend plenty of quality time with Nick. We celebrated the New Year together at Tabaq Bistro on
On Saturday afternoon after Nick’s departure, I decided last-minute to go to 
Because this was a busy holiday year for many of us, the girls and I decided to have our holiday dinner
after the holidays. So on Sunday afternoon, after coming home from
Since Roman couldn’t attend our holiday dinner last Sunday, we decided to all get together for lunch this Sunday at Mie N Yu in
