David Knight

I haven't but I will ask my vet when I take him in for a checkup next week. Right now he's on Ketoconazole. It seems to be helping a bit. Thank you for the tip.

I shop around utilizing the farmers markets and whole foods markets. I'm leaning away from whole foods because they're becoming too pricey and too corporate. I do try and grow my own herbs and spices using strawberry pots or window planters. Planting baby lettuces is a great way to have fresh greens every night. Just pick the outer leaves off and the lettuce will continue to reproduce from the center outwards. As for meats I use a real butcher in Elkins, WV.

I recently adopted a one year old German Shepherd named Max. The original owner apparently paid $1200 to a breeder in Canada for Max. Unfortunately Max was tied up on a rope and left outside. The owner wanted to send Max back to the breeder, who would have Max destroyed, and then send another dog to the guy. My vet had the owner sign him over to their care where Max spent the next six weeks cooped up in a cage for most of the day. I took my Golden Retriever in for a routine check-up and was offered Max. He was one year old, weighed only 60 pounds and was missing 90% of his hair just to name a few of his problems. Max is now 100 pounds and has 90% of his hair back and is looking good. He's no longer mortified of everything and has developed quite the personality. The issues he has left are that he has a strong odor of urine to him. His skin breaks out in a red rash and he'll scratch himself raw. He's been treated for Sarcopic Mange and did very well on the meds he was given. Now that he' s off he's developed the urine odor and the rash. Any ideas what could be the cause of this?

I'm a chef with 20+ years experience and my focus is on the baking/pastry side. If you would like recipes or to talk about techniques then please feel free to write me.

If I could have breakfast in bed I would start with fresh squeezed orange juice (with the pulp) and mini fruit danish pastries. Not just any fruit though...I'm talking caramelized mango, smoked blueberry maple, roasted apple sage or grande marnier black cherry. A great cup of coffee...right now I'm diggin' Gevalia brand...no Starbucks! That basura they pass as coffee to all the lost sheep following the fashion herd is so bitter and burnt tasting. No wonder you have to add so much extra crap to it to drink it. I want just coffee, cream and raw sugar. No mocha frufru latte's. Ok...let's get back on track...a bowl of fresh fruit is a must have on the table. Fruits like Lychee, Rambutan, Dragonfruit, Baby Kiwi's (they're the size of a grape), Pink Grapefruit, Brazilian Honey Bananas and so on. Then for the main I would want a play on eggs benedict. Start with a buttered and grilled sourdough 'round' then pile on a roasted garlic spinach and follow with paper thin slices of home cured pastrami and sauteed crawfish from New Orleans. Top that with a creme fraische and some Malosol Beluga caviar and I think we got a winner. Now I just need to find somebody to serve me breakfast in bed. If you could have breakfast in bed what would you like?

I didn't say it, but, your right. One of the dirtiest, unprofessional and undisciplined kitchens I've ever worked in.

I was just reading thru the postings and noticed a few reviews about bad service or food, but, I never see a review of how clean the kitchens are or aren't. As a chef born and raised in Bethesda I've worked at many of the local establishments and as a professional chef of 20+ years I have to say that most of them are filthy behind the scenes. The customer only sees the waitstaff and their ability to provide good or bad customer service. I just left what is known as a 'exclusive' country club on Rockville Pike ( I won't mention the name but it's across from the Best Buy) and I left for a number of reasons. I told them when they hired me that I would not, under any circumstance, lower my levels of discipline and professionalism. I don't think anybody cared about those things. From the Head chef on down it didn't seem that anybody gave a damn. I finally ended my employment after only 8 weeks because I had to share my workspace with mice, roaches, flies and bugs. The kitchen was never properly cleaned, sanitizer was rarely used, the walk-in coolers were always above 50*F all day and a huge majority of the food was instant, frozen or pre-bought crap. The mashed potatoes were instant powder from a can. Is it that hard to boil and mash a potato? Not to say there aren't any clean kitchens because there are. A vast majority of them are not though. Next time you go to dinner ask to see the kitchen. If the chef takes pride in it you should be welcomed to walk thru...if the chef is a slob then they don't want you to see where the food comes from.