TedE

Wonder what other upscale places he'll be highlighting aside from Minibar? Swank hotel bar? Power lunch venues? I'm hoping he strays from the normal media coverage routine, but in addition to Ben's I'm guessing: Ethiopian Eden Center maybe? Salvadoran, maybe something from a taco truck (is there any other option for "street food"? He always seems to like hitting the street carts) If Adams Morgan is on the schedule for this weekend I see jumbo slice in his future Horace and Dickie's or Florida Ave Grill. Oohs and Aahs would be a good choice. H St or U St would be a good locations to show where the "two sides" of D.C. converge.

Slow news days, WaPo?

Sorry if this was already posted, but I didn't pull it up in a search. I just got around to reading last week's City Paper, and Carman gives a glowing review to Goldoni and specifically Enzo Fargione, favorable comparison with Fabio Trabocchi included. Has anybody dined here recently to provide confirmation (or a polite rebuttal )? I've admittedly only eaten there a couple times a few years ago and not on my dime. The food was firmly in the good-to-occasionally-noteworthy category, but at those price points I would choose spend my dollars elsewhere.

Ya know, even if it is a bunch self-absorbed, hipster d-bags that contribute to DNR (we could only hope ...), not all of their comments about the DR hive mind were completely out of left field. Glass houses and all that. Just sayin'

On The Fly has a few carts (well, at least two that I know of). I wasn't aware they had regular locations during the week, but I've seen them around town at various events. They were at the periphery of the Folklife Festival last weekend. Two carts are also stationed right outside of Nationals Park on game days. Tacos or Julia's empanadas beats most everything inside the park at half the price. No problems bringing their food inside either. Here's the WaPo map from last year showing the proposed location of the food carts. I've only ever personally seen the Korean cart which is quite good.

Well, the selection at the Evanston Red Mango shop and TangySweet were identical. I swear! And that's not just my hat talking

As I walked down 17th street today I passed a big banner for Mr. Yogato ("Domo arigato, Mr. Yogato", it said. Really!). Website says opening day is this Saturday, June 28. I will be sure to stop by. It's on the same block as Komi between the little pharmacy and the 17th Street Cafe. On the subject of other yogurt chains we went to Red Mango in Chicago, and I just visited TangySweet the other day. If there is not some corporate connection between those two I'll eat my hat. I couldn't find anything on their respective websites, but the menus are identical right down to the selection of quirky breakfast cereal toppings.

We were at Rustico 3 or 4 weeks ago and I chatted with Greg about progress on the space; he mentioned a Labor Day opening specifically, but obviously that depends on 1,000 different things. A couple nuggets from what I recall: The upstairs will be the bar space with a majority of the taps (and up to six (6!!) beer engines ) with the ground floor functioning more as a proper restaurant. Upstairs may have more of a limited menu due to kitchen logistics (everything will have to go up and down the stairs) Pizza ovens are definitely in the plans. Greg really wants to focus on service, something that it sounded like he thought was missing in many local watering holes in the District (he lives just up the street from the new space). I guess you could read that as a jab at a certain grandfather of the D.C. beer scene, but he also indicated he wasn't going to hire condescending, cooler-than-thou hipster kids to sneer at his customers. I am ridiculously excited for this place.

With a day off on Monday I'm thinking of heading down for the early happy hour at Old Ebbitt and digging into an Orca platter for the first time. I've been meaning to do this for a couple years now, but it seems that whenever I'm out during the week I can't strong arm any friends into making a late night stop. Nuts to them! One question: do you get a choice of oysters or does the platter come with a pre-set selection? EDIT: Nevermind. I should learn to read more carefully ...

We were in Chicago last weekend, and I was really excited to find out that the Map Room was right around the corner from the restaurant where my brother-in-law works (Hot Chocolate; don't be put off by the dessert-oriented theme here. The menu is seasonal and really, really well done.). Anyway, I was pretty disappointed with the Map Room aside from Midwest brews that just aren't distributed on the East Coast. Don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't blown away. Being able to get 3 Floyds on tap again was nice. The bottle list looked pretty good, heavy on the Belgians. Atmosphere in the place was great, though.

I'm the opposite: I like the wraps and find the samosas to be too greasy and dense. I admit that I only go there for the chips anyway; there are better sandwich options closer to my office.

I'm guessing that would be DarkLord. They have a huge release party for this every year and the hype has gotten to the point that it is only available in bottles by reservation I think (?) or as a growler fill at the brewery. Case allotments sell out that day. Imperial stouts aren't really my thing, but if they're yours I would suggest getting down to Birreria ASAP. Had it confirmed by the Beer Yard in Wayne, PA this weekend that 3F has completely stopped distribution to the East Coast. They aren't expanding production and local demand is such that they can sell all that they produce even after shrinking the market. Good for them, but bad news for fans like me. I'm going to really, really miss my Gumballhead this summer ...

Oh just tell us all already! I'm very bummed that 3 Floyds is disappearing from this market. Gumballhead is a fantastic summer brew.

My favorite beer-naming story of all time, first told by Sam at the Lupulin Slam 3 (?) years ago. I really wish I had saved that bottle label ... It's ubiquitous these days, but I'm surprised Arrogant Bastard didn't make the list.

A comment on the dearth of posts, Don? I was there late last Tuesday night, had a spicy half-smoke, stayed "downtown" with just mustard and onions. It hit the spot, but I was in no frame of mind to give a thorough review

I'm actually glad he didn't follow through. Not because his haute ballpark fare wouldn't have been fantastic, but because his stand would have almost certainly been sequestered in the club level and unavailable to those of us with regular folks' seats. That would have been torture.

The softshells are back!! It's a sure sign of spring. Crab itself was nice and meaty, perfectly fried, but I just don't dig the brioche there. A little too crumbly. Fries were pretty much terrible: mushy and bland. That's the first time I've experienced that at BL. Looks like the latest bad news on this year's harvest is trickling down the supply chain. This little delight was a splurge at $14.45 Waiting to see when CFFolks starts getting them in; I've always preferred the preparation there.

From the TomChat today: (Golf clap)

Just a reminder: if you are coming to Dino for the dinner tonight please mention it when making reservations so that we can get an accurate count. Thanks, and we hope to see you there!

Sorry, just to clarify because I've had a couple questions about it: there are no set times or seatings for this event. Dean will be offering the set menu to reservations throughout dinner service. If you would like to attend, please do mention it when you call Dino so we can get an accurate count for planning purposes. Thanks!

Oh, man, the restaurant's reaction notwithstanding (as told through the filter of the complaining party, natch), how many things wrong can we find with this situation? Methinks they don't quite understand the meaning of "corked". Right in front of their eyes! It's a biochemical miracle!!

Please join us next Tuesday, April 15th, for dinner at Dino to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My wife and I are participating in the Society's Team in Training program as Team Captains and mentors for new triathletes training to compete in the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, FL on April 27. Dean has graciously set aside some room upstairs and prepared a menu for us, served family style. The price for the evening (inclusive of tax, tip, and a $20 donation to the LLS) is $70/person. We will also be offering a wine pairing for an additional $30/person (also inclusive of tax/tip/donation). Please contact Dino directly at 202-686-2966 and mention the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society when making your reservation (they have asked that all reservations for this dinner be made over the phone and not via OpenTable). Dino will set aside tables based on the number of reservations for a given time period. Since the meal will be served family style smaller groups may be seated together; if you would like to sit with another party (or if you would like to avoid your dreaded DR nemesis ) please mention this request when you make your reservation. MENU Assorted antipasti Farro con Porcini e Tartufo Nero - Tuscan bean salad with veggies & black truffle & porcini condiment Buratta - fresh bufala milk cheese with condiments Carcioffi Fritti - baby artichokes, fried with lemon & black lava salt Mains Pappardelle with Wild Boar Sauce - Dino's signature pasta Pollo all'Girarrosto - Rotisserie Chicken with garlic, lemon & olio topping Assorted veggies including our roasted potatoes with onione & herbs, fresh local greens Dessert Tiramisu & small desserts Coffee/tea is included. We sincerely hope you can join us next week on Tax Day to drown your sorrows or celebrate that fat refund check! Please feel free to PM me with any questions. Regards, Ted

If you hurry and are in the area they are on the menu at Breadline today! I believe they're a Thursday staple until the soft shells start coming in. I've also enjoyed the version at Hank's, but have heard dissenting opinions from others. I'm not much of a traditionalist when it comes to fried seafood sandwiches as long as it tastes good.

The lines for Red Hot & Blue, etc. on the concourse in left were a mess, but here's a hint: Noah's Pretzel's serves Ben's half smokes. Once we got through the throngs waiting in line for BBQ and Boardwalk fries there were maybe a dozen people in line for Noah's. We only went there for the gluten-free pretzels for my wife (and gluten-free beer, a nice surprise!). I don't know how long that will last, but I'm guessing that it will normally be a better option than the Ben's stand proper. The Red Porch and upstairs bar look like a great place to kill time before the first pitch, especially in this weather. EDIT: a friend tells me that you can get a half-smoke with the works at all of the Nats Dogs stands around the stadium as well (there are a few of them). If that is all you are looking for from the Ben's stand no need to wait out the hordes.

Here's a link to a supposed complete selection of ballpark offerings from Centerplate (most without prices at this time, but I'm sure it will be updated by Opening Day). Intentional Wok!!