TedE
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Everything posted by TedE
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We had dinner this past weekend in Philly at WaterWorks which is housed in the old water pumping station next to Boathouse Row. Naturally, given the restaurant's theme, they have a bottled water section in the wine menu. One of the choices was Bling H2O from some high-falutin' aquifer in Kentucky and conceived of by a Hollywood producer. For $50 a bottle, I'm assuming mostly due to the Swarovski crystals that make up the label. At least there is no pretense that the water itself is worth that kind of scratch. From their website:
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This is intriguing coupled with the recent Hartzer news. I had no idea they even had an upstairs space. Adding to the call list ... Ah, yes, Circle Bistro. That one somehow slipped through on the first pass, but on the list it goes as well! Didn't know they had a separate banquet space; costs for renting out entire restaurants have generally been prohibitive so far, but we'll check it out. Keep 'em coming!
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OK, so after a lot of back and forth and more than a few starts and stops we need to finalize a rehearsal dinner space for our wedding next Fall. We have a number of options remaining, but I'm not particularly enthused about any of them so I'm throwing them out to the DR hive mind. Requirements: 1) Approx. 60 guests, but maybe 10 of them will be kids so some options for the wee 'uns. The party size seems to be a limiting factor here (lots of rooms for 40-50 that we've found) 2) Downtown D.C.; most of the guests will probably be in downtown hotels. Anywhere from the Hill to NW could work (rehearsal itself is in NW) 3) Private space that will allow for cocktail hour/mingling + dinner comfortably 4) Good food with broad appeal (or a diverse, minimally-restricted menu choice would work) 5) Price? Somewhere north of Denny's and south of Citronelle . In other words, "reasonable upscale". To give you an idea on some places we have looked at but rejected or didn't have our dates: Chef Geoff's (New Mex. location), Old Ebbitt, Aria. We are also looking into private space that would allow our caterer to run the show for this as well, but so far we've come up empty on places that meet the above space requirements and allow outside food service. Any suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated; feel free to PM me instead of responding here. Thanks!
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I don't think Kappo has that big of a staff. Sushi Taro maybe? I guess it could be Sushi-Ko as well.
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Are people really surprised that even high end places get (*gasp*) food items from Sysco or similar? That has got to be the worst kept "secret" of all regarding even exalted temples of gastronomy. In many cases it probably the best and only way to get consistent, quality produce in the off season. I'm astounded at Sysco's reach, though, good or bad. When I was waiting tables we spent one night after closing sitting at the bar looking at a recent supplier catalog and cracking up about all of the crazy, random crap that could be ordered.
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According to Tom's intro in his chat today Michael Hartzer is taking over the reins at Viridian.
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The SO doesn't like pancakes (she doesn't like maple syrup; I don't know how we're together ), but we made okonomiyaki for dinner last night. It was at least pancake-like.
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I've seen Hitachino Nest at the P St Whole Foods (and Glover Park I think). Chevy Chase should have it, but I'd call to confirm.
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2 more down, 11-ish to go. Slower progress over the last 3 weeks, but that included a beer-filled birthday weekend followed by another one where I was pretty lazy and couch-bound (damn weather!). I probably gained a smidge back during the former; I've purposely didn't step on the scale to survey the damage. I've been a little more lenient on what I'm eating mostly to get some more variety (and satiety!) to stave off gluttonous urges. With all the physical activity I'm kind of frustrated that the loss rate has slowed down so much, but I knew it would plateau eventually.
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M'Dawg Haute Dogs, Adams Morgan - Rolled Over.
TedE replied to mame11's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
We dropped by last night to experience this place as I'm sure it was meant to be: around midnight, half in the bag. I've gotta say that while I enjoyed the fries and choosing from among the fixin's ($1 for uptown) my half-smoke was anything but spicy. It had the right texture and a nice snap, but there was no detectable heat to it at all. Ben's takes the upper hand on that one. They were out of a couple choices (the andouille and the garlic one I think). A friend got the corn dog; they said that they were having issues with the batter and it looked slightly overcooked, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. It was huge! Overall I was pretty impressed. They have a sign up front saying something to the effect of, "Bear with us while we learn the ropes". I hope that they can get their act together for this weekend's late night rush, but maybe the weather will help them out. -
Lauriol Wonder where they are pulling the data from? It was pretty accurate for my zip code, but the choices were far-ranging and not obvious. One of the places (LiHo Restaurant? I'm just south of Dupont Circle) I'd never even heard of! Edit: Nevermind, it says right on the front page: Yahoo Local
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Really hoping you can help me with this one. I have two friends visiting from Manhattan this weekend, and they both think NYC is the end all be all of good food, so I want to show them that they are wrong. Problem is, one friend is a vegetarian, and the other eats from only three food groups: meat, starch, and cheese. Any restaurant suggestions? So where in D.C. should they go for the "be all end all" of bland food from limited menus?
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Picked up the City Paper on the way to work this morning; the cover article deals with the vagaries of the Montgomery County liquor laws. I've only had a chance to glance through it at this point, but it looks to be a point/counterpoint between restaurant and store owners (Jeff Black is at least one quoted) and the DLC director and his cronies.
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We're headed here this weekend. Any recent reports? Newer items on the menu we should be looking out for?
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I can imagine a number of places that wouldn't mind, and I guess it depends on the atmosphere you're looking for; "pitchers" is telling me low-key dive bar is not a problem, and that is a good thing. In D.C. I've definitely seen card playing at Townhouse Tavern and Fox & Hounds. Adams Mill probably wouldn't care. If there were actually piles of cash changing hands over the table it may be a different story, but if you're doing chips/matchsticks/drink straws and settling up later I can't see how they could mind.
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We dropped by on Saturday night and agree on the hamachi. The white tuna was also better than ever. It may have had more to do with the fact that we were really hungry! I'm convinced that the kamemeshi set (including a bowl of miso, a generous portion of sashimi, and various tasty pickled sides and salads) represents one of the best values around to ward off the bone-chilling cold.
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Blasphemer!! But last after Quizno's? Really? At least squishy bread doesn't require oral anesthetics after a meal
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I'll have to check it out this weekend. From that link it sounds like a good alternative to Best Cellars, at least the concept, and only a slightly longer walk. Hopefully the selection will be a bit more variable and interesting.
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Only the greatest sandwich shop EVER!! OK, it was the greatest sandwich shop in Evanston, IL when I was in college (and drunk). Fresh bread, great price, and they delivered free until 2:00AM or something. We knew our delivery guy by name, and he'd stop off to pick up beer for us if we asked. If you went to a large school in the Midwest (almost every Big Ten school at least) in the last 15 years or so you probably know JJ's. I literally almost crashed my car on the way back from IKEA when I saw the one in College Park. Our previous closest sighting was in Pittsburgh. Looks like there's one in Alexandria near the Eisenhower Theater now, too. Man, now I want JJ's for lunch. They would make a killing if one opened up near GW or Georgetown.
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Is that their default white rolls? I always get wheat and haven't found them offensive. Not great, but not synthetically chemical WonderBread bad. What this town really needs is a Jimmy John's! The one in College Park is not close enough to me ...
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I used to buy frozen mango chunks (Trader Joe's usually had them cheap) for when I ran out of frozen bananas. Used them the same way with yogurt, some milk to thin it out, other frozen fruits, and sometimes soy or whey powder if it was a real meal replacement in the morning. I also slice up overripe avocados and freeze them (which happens more often than not when I buy them). They add a great texture if done in moderation. Most people I know don't agree with me, though.
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An industry person can shed more light on this, but I would guess that most places only block off a portion of available tables for OpenTable. I would imagine the cancellation rate would be higher than call-ins. You can go into OT and make reservations for 6 different places in under 2 minutes probably, then cancel all but 1 of them in probably less time, all without having to engage in any human interaction whatsoever. I'm sure that's appealing to some folks and open for abuse. This leads me to something else I've wondered: has there ever been a documented case of OpenTable scalping? That is somebody registering a bunch of accounts and then snagging tables at prime dining times for popular joints when they become available. I'm assuming said person could then auction off those times or take cash for the info through other channels. Short of carding guests at the host stand I can't see how it would be enforceable. Not that there's a business model lurking in there or anything ...
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That may be true, but what she's showing the greater U.S. dining public is, "and now I have $0.73 left over to leave an exact 15% tip for my danish!". Just leave a dollar already! I know the premise of the show and the financial constraints they are trying to stick to, but it's also giving guidance to all of the calculator-wielding tip misers out there. Then again, they probably think the fancy-pants teevee personality is throwing green around like it grows on trees
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It's the side-mouth talking thing for me, really (and to compare that to someone with a degenerative, ultimately fatal neurological condition is a bit much; Parkinson's isn't a "quirk"). I've never had a problem with her cooking per se, and I think she is exactly what the Food Network wants: broad audience appeal in a quirky, non-threatening package to expand their base. I used to watch her show when it was on in the evenings just as I would get home from work. I would even say I picked up a thing or two from time to time. But, recently, the marketing! The incessant, endless marketing. If she wants to be the foodie Oprah now then go right ahead. It just seems that to many she represents what is "wrong" with the Food Network: more eye candy fluff, less culinary stuff. As the channel has grown it is inevitable; you don't gain market share with real cooking insight at 5:30 on a weekday. But then again the level at which RR teaches on her show isn't what folks on dr.com are looking for.
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It's the talking-out-of-the-side-of-her-mouth thing that gets me. She could be the world's greatest ventriloquist, but only when viewed in profile.