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I haven't been to Brabo. But have been to his other two restaurants--Marcels's and Brasserie Beck. They're both outstanding. Brasserie Beck is a Belgian bistro, and one of my favorite places in DC. It's routinely on the 100 best restaurants in Washington list. I'm guessing you'd be more than happy with Brabo.

Ditto on the storing in water tip. I'll give that a try. But another method that has worked for me is using my Food Saver vacuum sealer. I've stored a half of an avacodo, using either a bag or container, and have managed to keep the leftover OK for 2-3 days. It may not be as bright green as fresh cut, but it's not brown either.

Yes, once upon a time (and to this day), latte did mean only one thing. As you stated, it means milk. It seems people are too lazy to order a cafe latte. I'd love to see someone order a latte and be handed a glass of milk.

I've been going to Eastern Market for about 30 years. Canales Meat Market is one of my favorite stalls. They have large selection of all types of sausages. The andouille is the best in DC, and my jambalaya wouldn't be the same without it. And it wasn't mentioned, but pickle guy also sells great sauerkraut.

Soap and water will remove the gummy film--as long as you use steel wool to scrub the pan. The only trouble for me is that it's hard to find steel wool these days.

Thinly sliced caraway seeds? Really? I guess you need a surgeon's magnifying lamp, surgical tweezers and a scalpel. Is Alton the Dr. Brown of Dr. Brown's soda fame?

This is my take on a José Andreas recipe that is super simple and very tasty--apple manchego salad. Dice or matchstick cut equal amounts of Granny Smith apples and manchego. Drizzle with garlic oil. Makes a great side or appetizer.

My first "guacamole" was inedible. I too was in high school at the time--about 30 years ago. I didn't have a recipe. I knew there's not much to guacamole, so I figured it would be simple. Well, what I didn't know was that you need to have ripe/soft avocados. Well, my avocados weren't ripe. They weren't mashing, and I didn't understand. All the guacamole I'd ever had was so creamy. I figured there must be some creamy ingredient I didn't know about. My solution--mayonaise. So I wound up with a mix of chunks or rock hard avocado and mayo.

In the DC area, I've seen them at Super H Mart in Falls Church. I don't recall fresh chiles, but certainly canned and jarred.

I'm pretty much with everyone here. I dealt with the same issue, wanted gas, but settled for electric. I've gotten used to it. The main issue for me I can't use cast iron on my ceramic cooktop. But I now have a portable induction cooker for the times I want to crank up the heat and sear a steak. The bigger issue for me is not having a grill or smoker. That's enough to make me cry.

The fries are definitely hit or miss. And that goes back to when they just had two outlets. Some times they're nice and crisp. Other time they're completey limp. Part of the problem may be that they are constantly using different potatoes. And because the potatoes are can be different from one day to the next, or from location to location, they're just never going to cook the same. I don't know if they still do this, but they used to have signs in their early locations stating "today's potatoes are from...."

Sabra is good, and the small snack packs are very convenient. But I can't overlook the fact that it's made with canola oil rather than olive oil. Sure, it would cost more if made with olive oil, but just think how much better it would be.

I often bring back food from international travels. And regular grocery stores are always a destination. But I still remember the food item I didn't bring back. I saw 00 pizza flour in Italy for about one-third the cost of what I pay at my local Italian deli. I was about to buy several kilos. But then I thought, do I really want several kilos of white powder in my luggage? I decided saving a few bucks was not worth the hassle that might ensue.