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Ed, I know how tough this is...I was diagnosed, fairly recently, with Type II diabetes. I've done a huge amount of reading and soul-searching during these past few months, trying to figure out how, for the first time in my adult life, I am going to make changes in my diet and exercise patterns and make them sustainable for the rest of my life (I'm 57). In the past year, I've gone from 276 pounds to 245 (my goal is 220) and brought my blood sugar under control. Counting carbs, measuring my portions and exercising every day are so contrary to how I've lived my life up until now BUT I have designs on someday being a grandfather and a happy retiree. Please Ed, give up the junk food and focus on big flavors and on calories worth the investment. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!

Well...we got 6 viable plants from a pack of 30 seeds, each in their own peat pot...1 block into Maryland...across the street from the District of Columbia. And this last summer was hot, baby, and dry. With careful watering, 5 of the 6 did great and I anticipate a good crop of 'chokes next summer. I know that they're in too much sun, but we have almost no shade in the garden. We love the plants and hope to get some 'chokes, but if not, then we've got some cool plants.

A couple more of what I consider to be lesser-known treasures of DC eating:
1. San Marco- 18th & California in Adams Morgan. Low-key, medium priced and great food. Proprietor, Roberto, is a great host.
2. Mama Ayesha - Calvert Ave. betweeen Connecticut and Adams Mill. Beautiful place (renovated a couple of years ago) and GREAT middle eastern food. It's been there for 35+ years and the food is consistently excellent. The shish tawook (marinated & grilled chicken) is incredible.
3. Samantha's in Silver Spring. Family place for authentic Salvadoran dishes. Reasonably priced...fresh and delicious food. Some of the Mexican style dishes are ho-hum, but fajitas and soft tacos are fantastic. South American-style seafood and steaks are top quality.

The Serious Eats community is amazing! Many thanks for the great comments, suggestions and links. I will pass them along to my daughter. She is returning to the US in mid-December start grad school in January. I will look forward to the next incarnation of her blog.

Again, thanks to everyone!

We love spaghetti squash in several different varieties. My favorite is during the summer, I slow roast it on the bbq...drizzled with olive oil in a foil-topped pan with about a quarter inch of water. When it is fork tender, I take it out of the pan and place it, cut side down, on the grill for about 4-6 minutes. It gets slightly caramelized and achieves an amazing, slightly smoky flavor. We like to top it with either a little cracked pepper and parmesan or a couple of spoonfuls of pesto. The sage butter sounds fantastic, as well.

We also love it oven-roasted with marinara. It is incredibly versatile and we have even done it sweet with some raisins and brown sugar. We always take the seeds out first and like others, really like the roasted seeds. Enjoy!!

I have to disagree about Artie's. I've only eaten there once and the fries, hot dogs, and pastrami were all mediocre. It's nice to know the place is up on the UWS if necessary, but I'm definitely not putting it in the same category as Ben's Best, Sarge's, or Katz's. \

attmans: i concur w/ teh guy above; really, really good, but i do like arties better. (i've owned a house in balto since '97).

alas, been here 4.5 yrs, and have yet to get to Katz... sacrilege, i know.

Florida Avenue Grill for great soul breakfasts. Country ham, grits, fried apples, the whole deal!

Stephanie: First, welcome to the area! Second, I have to repeat: join Donrockwell, NOW!: http://www.donrockwell.com/

The forum was launched by a well-informed, articulate wit w a sharp tongue, off-color sense of humor and more than an iota of humanity. He writes about wine and offers personal reviews of restaurants, that is, a type of culinary institution he frequents more than grocery stores though many of the DR community are home cooks, too.

Note the discussion board's section devoted to restaurants and dining where you'll find a great range of experienced opinions regarding high to low establishments in D.C. proper as well as nearby VA and MD. Sheer volume of posts will offer more than you might get here, especially when the feedback is specific and detailed. However brief, the comment "sucks ventworm nut" urges you to stay clear.

Respectfully as possible, I question some of the recommendations here including places that inspire enthusiastic "Hear! Hear!"'s; your personal tastes may differ.

National recognition conforms to local opinion in the following list:

TOP THREE
Citronelle--Michel Richard has won just about every award and his sommelier, Mark Slater, James Beardian ribbon and metal, too. Very, very pricey. Imaginative. Elegant. Original.
CityZen--Usually given 2nd place status, but it's hard to think of this as anything but first-class. Kitchen is run by Thomas Keller-trained Eric Riebold who's made a name of his own. Set you back a few hundreds apiece, too.
Komi--Also given the nod for the reasons suggested above: the cult of the chef. Very different type of place: tiny, therefore hard to get into at times. Not as costly. When critic from LA Times came to town and dined out with a dear, long-time friend and fellow critic, this is the third of the three places they visited. I've already told you the other two.

Palena and Vidailla are usually given spaces 4 & 5, especially now that Fabio Trabocchi is transplanted in NYC. However, there are lots and lots of other wonderful places including some of the ones that get nods here, e.g. Blue Duck. Jose´ Andres is our link to El Bulli, cf. Cafe Atlantico and Minibar for that side of the chef along w truly gifted talent he's trained here in D.C. Ethiopian's perhaps the one expatriate cuisine associated w the city and up there w Dukem is Etete. Cashion's Eat Place mentioned yet? New Heights? Hook? Restaurant Eve?

Thank you, Adam. Great blogroll!

Blog name: pastrystudio
My URL: http://pastrystudio.blogspot.com/
What it's about/tagline: I have a reverence for classical pastry technique as well as endless curiosity for international traditions and modern flavor juxtapositions. My blog is about simple, fresh, minimally sweet handmade objects of desire.