the ebb - pork cracklins

I learned my culinary lesson of the day from Kroger - never buy those dry-ass, mealy, greasy pork cracklins in the crinkly 99-cent bags - ugh. The only other time I had had pork cracklins was from a Mexican grocery store somewhere on Buford Highway, direct from the butcher. I've had them on my mind lately, probably from watching too many Anthony Bourdain shows, but I cracked at the grocery store today - cracked for cracklin. Ugh, never again will I buy it from a non-ethnic grocery store!!!

In other culinary news, I had to go to my comfort fallback of making a load of won tons to stuff in my freezer. I threw out about a gallon of beans I made at the beginning of my unemployment (good lord, in January, maybe?) that I never touched once they entered the freezer because they turned out crappy before I froze them and I thought I would be able to revive them and zhuj them up with some better seasonings of something. Sometimes you have to give up, and I needed to reclaim the tupperware it was occupying, so to the trash they went.

Unemployment has caused me to eat compulsively all day long as I surf the interweb looking for jobs. I've started working out in the morning to counterbalance the five meals a day I'm eating so we'll see how that goes.

DC Metro food holiday

I'm still in Maryland after about two weeks on vacation at my parents' house. I have eaten twice my weight in all kinds of food. The most noteworthy place I've eatren was at The Birch & Barley/Churchkey in DC on 14th Street (Logan Circle). This apparently just opened and is hard to get into and my friends that took me had made previous attempts. The hostess told us it would be an hour and a half so we scooted up to the bar (Churchkey) and got some cask beers. The Cheesecake Factory-style pager went off after about 10 minutes and we got primo seating at the chef's counter. I had an appetizer of tagliatelle with rabbit and an entree of skate. The rabbit was extremely tender and well-seasoned. The skate was actually a little on the salty side for me. Dessert was an apple-filled beignet and multiple sorbets. We also had beer for dessert, of course. Recommended but I wouldn't actually wait an hour and a half for this place. There was a nightclub-style line out the door when we left.

The best meal I've had so far, actually, was at Michael's Noodles in Rockville, about 5 miles from Rockville Pike. This is Taiwanese style food and it is well done. Highly highly recommended. And cheap, which is always good and recommended. If you're ever in the area. We had the tea-smoked duck (crispy and not too greasy served with bao-style buns), salt and hot chili pork chops (this would make me give up fried chicken), and spicy beef noodles (Taiwanese-style pho). Their dumplings are also freshly made and fantastic.

If you are ever in Rockville, please visit Maxim Supermarket (I think it's also called Maxim's Gourmet Oriental Store, or something lame). It used to be really grimy, as all Asian supermarkets traditionally have been. Lately, it's gotten some stiff competition from another Chinese supermarket behind it. They've cleaned up their act big time. There is a cafeteria-style hot bar that does roast duck, crispy pork belly (which they've been doing way before the current pork belly craze), and all kinds of familiar hot Cantonese-style dishes. I always crave the Cantonese goodies that I grew up with - like black bean hopia and rice cakes (I couldn't spell the Cantonese pronunciation of what it is if I tried). I've looked all over Atlanta and the 'burbs and have not found these particular items or other Cantonese delights that I crave every so often. Maxim is close to my parents' place, once again, and almost makes me wanna move back (not really).

More later as I have to leave for my umpteenth dinner out with family...