May 30, 2008
The Weekly Feed: Mmm... That's Meaty Edition
Dish of the Week: Fried oysters, grilled asparagus, and strawberry lemonade
Where: Tackle Box
The warm weather has put us in the mood for seafood. It hasn't quite hit prime blue crab season yet, so we've been looking at other ways to get our fix. Fortunately, a trip to Tackle Box did the trick. Their big, meaty fried oysters must be credited to Chef Rob Bechtold, a Louisiana native. And even though it is not a month with an 'r', these sustainable beauties were a marvel. Instead of the delicate little Kumamotos, Malapeques and other fancy oysters, these oysters were hefty suckers meant to carry the slightly spicy, delicious po' boy-style breading. Topping these off with a little remoulade or lemon garlic aioli really does the trick. The mind boggles at the opportunity to pack these babies into some crusty French bread.
While you're there, you can also pick some slightly more seasonal menu items. Epicurious posted a great map for finding out what produce is in season in each state. So be on the lookout for asparagus, strawberries and spinach at our local farmers markets and restaurants. Tackle Box takes advantage of the season with their grilled asparagus and strawberry lemonade. And it won't be long before Pastry Chef Heather Chittum's strawberry-rhubarb pie makes it onto the menu.
Bad Blogger
There was a comment on Tom Sietsema's online chat this week that sparked much speculation. The chatter wrote:
NW D.C.: I was out with my wife at a well-known, hard-to-get-into place, this past weekend and overheard a conversation at another table. The diner was complaining at their table and the service and indicated that "He is a senior member of a well-known area food blog, at that the lack of service will be noted." Well, the waiter calmed him down and comped the person a full bottle of wine. I checked the blog (will not mention) and sure enough there was a entry, and there was a mention of the lack of service, but no mention of the comped wine. Do the boards hold that much sway over restaurants that they fearful of bad posts?
There have been many hypotheses floating around about which site this was posted on. But let's put aside speculating who the culprit is. The person did a disservice to not only the restaurant, but also his fellow diners by not telling the full story, regardless of pulling the "blogger" card.
In certain forums, at least, there are ways for restaurants to straighten out the facts. For instance, on DonRockwell.com it is against the membership agreement to use membership to get special treatment. This falls under that classification. Via e-mail, Rockwell told us restaurants should contact him if that is the case. "I want to know about this rubbish so I can step in and prevent it from happening." And he mentioned that they often do.
Photo by artolog
Small Bites
Julep Day!
The Kentucky Derby has long been run, but today is Mint Julep Day. So go on over to the Round Robin Bar at the Willard Hotel where the julep was standardized and popularized with the help of Henry Clay. Nothing quite like those frosty julep glasses.
Another celebrity chef
Über -chef Alain Ducasse is set to open up Adour Alain Ducasse in the St. Regis Hotel. It looks to be an intensely fancy affair, sure to attract those lobbyist dollars. But what I am hoping for is a special Air and Space Museum menu with some astronaut food. Freeze-dried truffled foie gras anyone? [via Washington Post]
Vendor musical chair
DCRA held a lottery yesterday for 28 vendor spaces around the new Nationals Park. Unfortunately for them, each permit only lasts a month before they have to go back into the pool again. So if you happen to like a particular vendor, hope they keep winning the lottery.
Note: Top Chef spoiler alert!
Unpacking the knives
Top Chef contestant Spike bid adieu this week with some sloppy frozen scallops. As he was recently fired from his job at Mai House, it looks like he'll be spending a lot of time down here at his soon-to-open burger shop on Cap Hill, Good Stuff Eatery. Let's just hope he doesn't bring those awful hats.
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That old saw about oysters and months with an "r" in them doesn't apply anymore. It was meant to prevent harvesting during breeding months but since most oysters are harvested year round, it's irrelevant.
And that "I'm a well-known blogger" rant has yet to get me out of the drunk tank.
I think it also had to do with the fact that if you like them raw, they're less likely to have diseases when harvested in the colder months.
Which is exactly why I thoroughly douse my raws with lemon juice. The elevated pH takes care of almost all of the pathogens, if there were any. Doesn't do a thing for the mercury or heavy metals, but nothing does. And it also makes for a tangy spermicide!
For my money, the Oyster Po Boy at Johnny's Half Shell is tough to beat. For me, it's their bread that makes it worth the extra money. Nothing ruins a po boy quite like rock-hard s**tcake bread. The Peacemaker oyster loaf at RT's is a steal at $11, but it's a different beast altogether. Where RT's is a comfy old mattressback whore you've been going to for years, Johnny's is a real hi-class hooker what you got to make reservations for.
I totally (heart) Tackle Box. I splurged on their lobster pail. Soooooo good. Tons of food for not that bad a price.
the way i read the third paragraph, i thought it was talking about "asparagus and strawberry lemonade". rereading that sentence made me realize that you're talking about separate things there, right?
right???!?
because asparagus in my lemonade could be the most disgusting thing i've heard of this week.
I ate at the Tackle Box recently. I wasn't terribly impressed. The prices for the shrimp, crab and lobster rolls are quite high for a "fast food" joint.
A rare error from monkeyrotica.. lemon juice would lower the pH.
Politburo - I didn't have both my legs blown off at Chow Foon to debate alkaloid chemistry with little pukes who wouldn't know a horse from a hacksaw.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need a session with Summer's Eve vinegar and water douche. I'm feeling...not so fresh and need to lower my pH.
Ate at Tacklebox the other night. Good news and bad news. The bad news is that I was sitting on one of the stools along the wall, enjoying pretty good scallops, and watched a mouse run from one end of the wall to another. The good news is that, all creepiness about seeing a mouse in a restaurant aside, I have to admit that he was kind of cute.
Meh. I don't think there's a restaurant in the world that doesn't have a few critters.
You're lucky you didn't see the rat that the mouse was running away from. I accidentally ran into one in the men's room stall. He was reading the paper, taking a dump, and smoking, in flagrant disregard of the ban. Then he had the nerve to tell me my parents weren't married when I was born!
I thought the food at the Tackle Box was tasty. It's surprisingly nice to see fried clams on a menu in g-town.
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