ba bay, baby

I've been to Ba Bay three times now and it's improved each time. I am so pleased to have them within walking distance.


I've had to work all weekend, spending today editing madly, to the point that my eyes were burning and watery. I didn't want to do anything fancy -- this is the problem with having one's birthday so closely on the heels of the holidays, as many of my Capricorn compatriots can attest -- I just wanted a nice dinner with some friends. Well, I got it, and then some.


The chili-glazed wings, scallion ($12) are just silly-good. I would happily go to the bar of a weeknight, get these and a vegetable side, and be happy with that as a meal. We also tried the new savory pancake, eggs, rock shrimp, scallion, maggi dipping sauce ($9), which is not a traditional Vietnamese crepe and not a scallion pancake, but the best of both, eggy and savory and sweet (from the rock shrimp) at the same time.


The brussels sprouts, sweet chili butter ($5) have gotten better, and the bok choy, oyster sauce, crispy shallots ($4) continues to be my favorite preparation of this dish I've yet encountered in town. The rockfish, almond milk, rice congee, fermented black bean ($21) was also lovely, although I only got a bite as one of my dining companions scarfed it up, raving about the great flavors and comforting nature of it. She also claimed the roseda farm shaky beef, marinated onions, black pepper, watercress purée ($19) was better than that at the San Francisco restaurant (well-known but I forgot its name already) known for the dish. Two large noodle dishes, the pho, rice noodles, roseda farm rib eye, tendon, tripe, herbs ($13)
and the spicy pork–shrimp broth, thick rice noodles, thai basil, pork loin, shank ($12), were uniformly praised and mostly devoured (seriously, if anyone can actually finish one of these after appetizers and drinks, I'd like to see it.)


The staff graciously and unnecessarily comped both our desserts in honor of my birthday (which I tried to make up in tips, although my editing-addled brain may have failed at the math). I saw a person or two grabbing take-out, and I'm really pleased that Ba Bay is offering their full menu for this. I just know that there will be countless nights that a big bowl of brothy noodles will hit the spot, and it will be just the right temperature by the time I get it home.


They certainly are learning, changing, and growing. Not every dish I've eaten there has been a home run, but tonight, everything hit the mark, and I was pleased to see that the dishes I like the first time have not slipped in quality even as others have improved. I hope more people learn about this spot and help turn it into a Penn Ave SE gem.

turkey lurkey

So I just ordered my Thanksgiving turkey from Whole Foods. I realize -- having noted all the fresh and available turkeys still there the day before the holiday last year when I popped in for other supplies -- that pre-ordering was not absolutely necessary.

However, there are only five of us, so I really did not want to get stuck with an eighteen-pound turkey. Eight to ten pounds will be plenty, so that's what I set aside.

Even btter, though, is the promotion they are running to keep down crowds on Wednesday the 26th: Pick up your turkey between 10 and 11 p.m. on Tuesday the 25th, and get a free wheel of Brie.

{crickets}

OK, so you, personally, may not be excited. But let me repeat: Free. Wheel. Of. Brie.

Fine, you think, free cheese. Yes, milk and dairy prices have gone up in the past year or two, but really: Who cares that much about cheese?

And if you think that, you definitely have not spent enought time around me, and by "enough" I mean "any." Yes, I am likely to have fallen asleep already by ten in the evening, but I will wake myself up, get dressed, and drive to Whole Foods to pick up my turkey if it gets me free Brie!

I love cheese, and pretty much never turn down a double- or triple-crème. "Never look a gift cheese in the mold," I always say.* I don't currently plan any Thanksgiving dishes that would be enhanced by the addition of a very creamy cow's milk cheese, although if I put my mind to it I probably could come up with one. I'm sure it will be perfectly happy to find its way into the hors d'oeuvres, though, and the rest of it ... well, that can be my personal treat on Sunday night, when all is said and done, we've overdosed and leftovers, and I just don't want to think about cooking anything before the work week kicks in.

If it even makes it past the (four-minute) drive home, that is. Did I mention: free Brie?

Excuse me; I think the Manchego in the fridge is calling.

*I have never said this in my life, but now I kind of want to.