(no subject)

[rivka]

Still at Capclave. I'm posting from our dimly lit hotel room, waiting for Michael to come back from his 8:00 panel. Alex is peacefully asleep in the middle of the bed. It's nice here.

This isn't my Capclave report, but I couldn't wait any longer to rave about the fooooood. Yesterday we went to a Moroccan restaurant with kip_w, Cathy, and their 3 1/2 year old daughter Sarah. Despite its location in a shopping center, it had little in common with the average mall restaurant. The walls had been painted to resemble mosaic tile, and we sat on couches strewn with cushions. They brought olives and a tasty flat bread to begin - it tasted a lot like the bread they serve at our local Afghan place. Then I had chicken with green olives and preserved lemons. It was good. I'd never had preserved lemons before. They're like a lemon pickle, so, unsurprisingly, I loved them. We finished with a plate of Moroccan pastries to share (I was unimpressed, unfortunately), and left before the belly dancing - to the headwaiter's distress.

But tonight... tonight we went with selki, stevendj, jonsinger, lisajulie, and Seth Breidbart to Mandalay, for Burmese food. Jon's been trying to get me to Mandalay for years, and now all I can do is mourn the lost opportunities behind me.

I don't even know how to begin to describe the food. Everything was delicious, but most of the dishes had strong, striking flavors that I was completely unable to identify. I don't think I could describe them, either. Ginger salad: shredded ginger and cabbage in a peanutty dressing, topped with crispy garlic and crisp fried yellow peas. Tea leaf salad, made with fermented tea leaves in a similar base to the ginger salad. Fritters made from yellow split peas, deep-fried but impossibly light and not a bit greasy. Pork with mango pickle. Chicken, bamboo shoots, and something completely startling which even Jon didn't seem to be able to name. Tofu with sour mustard greens. Lots of sour, tangy flavors - although not entirely; there was shrimp in coconut curry, for example, a much more familiar flavor. I loved every single thing on the table. And afterward I felt an overwhelming sense of peaceful well-being.

Why haven't we been eating at Mandalay all the time? Why haven't you been eating at Mandalay? Oh my God.

Comments

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I, for one, haven't been eating at Mandalay because I live 500 miles away. However, if I am ever in the area again, I would be more than delighted to go there, because it sounds wonderful!

[caille.livejournal.com]

Oh rivka-love, I want to be at Mandalay RIGHT NOW. What a lovely description. I am going to shut up now, but my dear, you have provided me with some magical culinary imagery.

Kiss Alex for me.

[minnaleigh.livejournal.com]

Now I am feeling guilty about the fact that I've never even heard of Mandalay, never mind eaten there. I will have to try it! And soon!

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sounds fantastiuc. I'm beginning to suspect that one would have to be a fool to turn down any dining suggestion from jonsinger.

[ckd]

Why, yes, I am jealous of the folks at Capclave; why do you ask?

Mandalay sounds wonderful; I will go with janetmiles and claim lack of proximity in my defense.

[beaq.livejournal.com]

Lost opportunities indeed.

[kate_nepveu]

I ate once at Burma in DC when I was living there, and always regretted not going back and getting the green tea salad for myself. Mmmm.

I don't miss a lot of things about living in DC, but I do miss a lot of the restaurants.

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

My friend's incredible easy and visually pleasing instructions on perserving lemons (http://www.stuttercut.org/hungry/archives/recipes/000324.html). I use them in my tina salad.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Maybe we could organize an expedition. The more people, the better, up to a point - because then you can try more things.

Have you met jonsinger?

[minnaleigh.livejournal.com]

That sounds like fun!

I believe I met jonsinger at a Chinese banquet when therealjae was in town.

[stevendj.livejournal.com]

I ate once at Burma, and have never felt a strong urge to return. But Mandalay is extraordinary. I knew it was good, based on my earlier visit; this time around was in a bigger, more vegetarian-friendly group, and I ate a much wider variety of dishes, and, well, wow.

My mother put down a deposit on a condominium a block away. I'm going to have to take her there, as soon as possible.

[selki.livejournal.com]

I agree, the sharing around made it so much more apparent how wonderful the food is. Any number of those dishes, I would be happy to have as a meal, but being able to taste a forkful of this and a scoop of that was great, and showed their range beautifully.

And the company was not bad, either!

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, this sounds like my favourite Moroccan restaurant in this part of the world, the Sultan's Tent in Calgary. I seem to remember I tried to take you there twice, but you said we didn't have time? Silly you. ;-) Anyway, tremendous food, and in an utterly amazing atmosphere. I want it nooooow.

-J

[papersky.livejournal.com]

How was the food for presence of peppers? (Green, red, yellow, chili...) Indian food is pretty much out with my pepper-allergy, so I'd assumed Burmese would be as well, but you make it sound so good. Not that I'll be in DC any time soon, but anyway.

There's a Tibetan restaurant I've been meaning to try, and I've finally found a Vietnamese one the rest of the family like.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Many dishes had green peppers in them. We didn't have anything that was really spicy, but I couldn't swear that things didn't have small quantities of chilis in them. BUT: onions were also heavily featured in the menu, and Jon is allergic to those, so the restaurant left them out of every dish that wouldn't be ruined by their absence. Especially if you went to Mandalay with him (he's practically a son of the house), I bet they'd work with you on the green pepper issue.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Some of us have been eating at Manadaly.

B

[telerib.livejournal.com]

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when Mandalay moved out of College Park. We used to go about once a week.

Of course, now College Park and Silver Spring are about equidistant for me, so...

[lisajulie.livejournal.com]

*giggle*

Now you know why I was so peeved that people waited a whole _month_ to tell me about the place.

Just about any time you want to make the trek down here, jonsinger and I will be just happy as all get out to meet you there. There's so much you haven't tasted you (she said cunningly).

[pnh.livejournal.com]

We ate there last night at the committee dinner-with-the-guests. My salad was transcendent; the pork-with-mango entree, heavily recommended by Jon, was merely okay--a rare misfire for the mighty Jon Singer foodie recommendation engine. I'd definitely go back.

My biggest disappointment wasn't food-related. The two people I barely saw at Capclave and most wanted to see more of were (1) Jon himself and (2) fellow-GoH Howard Waldrop, and I got it in my head that Sunday's dinner-with-the-concom would rectify that. But when we got to the restaurant and were all seated, it was clear that the concom had firm ideas about putting one GoH per table. I didn't even get to sit with Teresa.