TedE

There is a newish Five Guys on the Florida Ave side of the Metro (just off Fla Ave, kind of tucked in behind the ATF building). I think you can get through from the M St side, but I don't know for sure. Not exactly what you were looking for I'm sure, but it's all I can think of. There is a BBQ truck in a parking lot on Florida and 3rd or 4th NE (south side of the street). It's been there awhile, but whenever I drive or ride by it seldom seems operational. I have seen smoke coming out though. Might be just a summer thing. Of course A Litteri is right off of 6th St north of Florida (6th and Morse) if you are in the mood for a hoagie Good luck, I know the pickin's are slim!

"We're gonna out-Lauriol Lauriol!!" Maybe it's the cold medicine, but I'm trying to think of Dupont property being worked on that could claim the Largest Patio crown and am coming up blanks. All-knowing Google returns references to a "secret" yet-to-be-announced location. "Dupont's largest patio" "Secret location" Does. Not. Compute.

P St Whole Foods had a selection of 4 or 5 Southern Tier bombers in the cooler a couple days ago.

The Coniston is in the cooler on the left hand side, top right shelf. They also usually have Bitter & Twisted, Hen's Tooth, Sam Smith and other assorted UK brews in singles. The small cooler behind the shelves with DFH and Stone Brewing products will sometimes have those same bombers chilled at the very bottom. Their strategy for organizing stock is, um, erratic I would bet that some of those obscure Belgians have been there for years.

Cairo isn't the cheapest around, but they are my "local" so I'm there quite a bit. I don't mind paying for the convenience, especially when unexpected treats like bottles of Westvleteren 8 (!!!) pop up. Bombers are usually priced more competitively, but the 6-packs do tend to be expensive. I like them as a good source for other singles, too: most high gravity DFH stuff (120 Minute, Burton Baton, World Wide) are priced by the bottle. And they always have Consiton Bluebird in stock

I've seen them at Cairo Liquors on 17th as well

I'm excited that Pret is coming to DC (and around the corner from my office to boot!), but given the glut of decent lunch places around here it's not fantastic news. It will replace Potbelly as my I-only-have-5-minutes-and-really-want-a-sandwich option. I'm guessing they won't have Prawn and Rocket sandwiches, though

Au revoir

Latest word on the street indicates a 1Q 2009 opening, that's about as specific as I can determine. My mantra: "It will be worth the wait, it will be worth the wait, it will be worth the wait" Seriously. If this place lives up to 25% of my expectations it will be worth the wait. Serenity now!!

Even though they are cooked on the docks (or even on the boats on the way to the dock), stone crabs are still best as fresh as you can get them. The quality of the ones I've had up here have been been average at best. Whole Foods on P St had them occasionally last year, but two two times I splurged on them I was disappointed: dried out and fairly flavorless. There are several places in the Keys that will overnight fresh claws to you; even with the ridiculous shipping it often works out per pound to be similar to what you can get at retail in DC, but much fresher. This is the place we like to drop in for lunch on Marathon when making the drive south: http://www.keysfisheries.com/ You can usually get mediums/selects for ~$20/pound when all is said and done if you order in quantity (you can never have enough stone crabs ...). I've been really pleased with them in the past.

Ummm, why is that turkey sh****ing out a baby?!?! Same with the lobster. Somehow I don't think she thought that one through very carefully.

I tried several weeks ago using the only way I knew how (the email address) to "reserve" or just to find out more info and never heard a peep back. So, yes, it seems there is another level of access to negotiate or I just got unlucky.

Hitachino Nest beers are also true imports, but I would hardly classify them as "common".

I don't see any difference between this and the massive bump in pinot noir sales from Sideways. Now, if the author was being paid behind the scenes to push product, that would be insidious.

Does anybody know the origin of the X-berry designation for fro-yo joints? I always assumed that there was no significance except places trying to cash in on the Pinkberry name recognition, but it sure is rampant. Just pray that Rep. Dingell doesn't decide to open a shop in D.C.!

I saw that, but I'm assuming it was just to cut down on the lines to get in. If they are actually cross-referencing your scanned bracelet with your photo ID and denying entry if they don't match there are going to be a whole lot of angry people mobbing the doors. Given that you could buy 4 tickets at a pop it's not even enforceable

This is what I think seals the deal. Just having unlimited access to that variety of oysters from all over North America in one room is almost worth the price of admission (this year, almost). Throw in the booze and the general party atmosphere and I think it's a winner. $125 is about reaching the upper bounds, though. Considering that it appeared to be totally sold out when I tried at 7:45 this morning (damn you alarm clock!!!) the market hasn't softened, and I anticipate it creeping upwards again next year. I'm really bummed to miss out this year. We may have to try our hands at the secondary market; with the initial price I'm hoping the price gauging won't be as egregious close to the event and we can score a pair near face value.

So, did anybody actually get through to order? I checked at 7:45, the site said Saturday was already sold out, and there was no link at all to order Friday tickets. 30 minutes trying to get through on the phone and nothing left . Hey, buddy, can you spare a pair of Oyster Riot tickets?

They also had Avril at Beck as of a few weeks ago

She is in dire need of this

This is in the old Grape Legs spot, yeah? Are they using both the upstairs and downstairs for the cafe? I know he was building out the upstairs portion for that purpose before the place went under (it was basically complete from what I understand). Downstairs seems a bit too cramped for any dining activity, but maybe with all of the wine racks removed it's more spacious than it seemed.

I tried to get a gluten free one for my wife on the way home yesterday, but they were already out (they were almost out of everything around 6:00, mostly coconut left). Buzz's GF cupcakes are the current standard to be measured by, so hopefully Hello's will at least match that, and it will be nice to have them so much closer to home. CakeLove also does GF, but, well, you know ... I had the root beer one. The cake could have been moister, and I did get the almost medicinal flavor lingering, but I liked the "bite" that it had. Frosting was really good, but piled on a bit to high. I had to lick some of it off before I could even take a bite. Cupcakes are nothing that I would eat every day, and the price is a little steep, but for an occasional treat on the way home from work I like this place a lot. I'll just have to be sure to get there early enough to snag a peanut butter one

I was assuming that was a typo: matcha powder, a green fruit smoothie staple

Bummed to see the date pushed back, but it's not unexpected. October can't come early enough! Signed, "Dupont beer geek"

I drove by on Sunday afternoon and saw lots of activity inside but didn't stop to see what was up. I'm really looking forward to checking this place out in the next couple of weeks.