Grits and Gingkos

There is a major crisis currently playing out on the streets of Washington DC. It is something that none of us, citizens or visitors alike are immune from. I caught my first whiff that there was a problem a few days when walking through the very cool neighbourhood of Adams-Morgan. No matter where I went, I could smell dog pooh. Needless to say I was getting completely paranoid. There were no traces of anything on my shoe, so was it me that was smelling? This went on every time I left the flat until eventually, this morning, over grits and a western omlette, I picked up the Washington Post. I was not alone. There have been record reports this year of the effect of the fruit from a Gingko tree that when dropped and crushed by passers by, smells like rancid butter. The district government even tried injecting the trees with 'massive hyperdermic needles' (imagine the scene) to prevent this - but it seems to have had the opposite effect. The trees have been bearing record levels of fruit. So we've got a few more weeks of flaring nostrils and quizzical looks at the soles of our shoes to endure yet.

As I said, I was eating brunch at the time when I was able to breath a huge sigh of relief. I didn't need to change my shower gel. Anyway, why can't people cook omlettes properly? This one wasn't bad, per say, in fact it was quite tasty. The smoked ham - cheddar cheese - green peppers - onions combination was quite satisfying. But it wasn't cooked properly. And by properly I mean slightly under-set in the centre. While I was at Ballymaloe, we learned that an omlette should take less than a minute to make once it hits the pan. Any longer and you know it's probably going to be too set, as was this. The grits however, were a revelation. A strange texture, somewhere between polenta and cous-cous, served very wet. They need seasoning and I can quite imagine serving them with shedloads of Parmesan stirred through, but these ones were plain. Somehow though, they were delicious piled on some toasted rye bread. I'll post a recipe once I find one.

Advanced warning of some upcoming posts: look out for reviews of Ben's Chilli Bowl, Julia's Empanandas and Five Guys - all legendary DC food joints!