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Granville Moore's, Chef Teddy Folkman on 12th & H Streets NE


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Just got this email off the dc-beer email list:

There's a new Belgian-style brasserie scheduled to open soon in DC: Granville Moore's Frittes, Ales, & Moules, at 1238 H Street NE.

The brasserie is in an old rowhouse and named for the doctor who for until a couple of decades ago had operated a long-running low-fee health clinic at that address. The ceilings retain their jousts and cross-beams exposed, the walls their brick and plaster remnants exposed. There will be two bars, one downstairs - more for dining with a 4-tap draft system - and one upstairs with bottles only, but an extensive collection. Stella Artois will be one of the 4 beers on tap, and at least at first, De Koninck, the second tap. The other two taps will constantly rotate, thus ensuring an eclectic mix of Belgian beers. Belgian-style beers from US craft breweries are NOT currently on the agenda.

The General Manager is Chris Surrusco, recently of Alexandria spots Stardust and Rustico. He plans for inexpensive brasserie fare: steamed mussels available 5 ways, fries, and a few grilled sandwiches. He will double-fry the frites after the traditional manner: initially at a slighter lower temperature to thoroughly cook the fries, and then a second shorter dip in a higher-temperature fryer for a finishing crisping.

Inspections begin this week, and Chris expects a mid to late June opening.

Props to Thomas Cizauskas for the info. Will definitely be interesting to see how this place develops, maybe a good spot for a meal before a show at Rock and Roll Hotel? That area is still pretty rough, though, and it's a pain in the ass to get there without a car. Still, very interesting...

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This place has been in the pipeline for awhile as they slowly rolled out the first set of establishments on H St; I'm interested to see how it fits in with the rest of the development. No evil can come of a new Belgian beer bar in my opinion. I've been meaning to get down to H St to check the new places out. Has anybody used the free Union Station shuttle service that the bars have been offering? I hear cabs are still fairly rare on that stretch late at night.

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Having driven by Granville Moore's recently, I can tell you that mid-June seems very optimistic for an opening date. That strip of H street is getting better all the time, though - especially now that the Pug, Palace of Wonders, and Red&Black are all open.

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From Frozen Tropic blog about H Street area, the proprietor posted a look at the menu. I'm sure he'd be happy to have it here too, along with info on the opening. How about 65+ Belgian beer choices!?!?! Now we're talking!

Dr. Granville's Menu Sneak Peek

Hello all-

Shooting for a July 27th opening. A little sample of the menu:

Apps & salads:

-Seared Georges Bank Scallops w/ Bacon & Corn Ragout.

-Arugula Salad w/ Kriek Swelled Dried Bing Cherries, Point Reyes Bleu, Toasted Walnuts, Red Onion.

-Belgian Endive Salad w/ Asian Pear, Fresh Coconut, House Tweaked Ginger, Mint.

Frites:

-choice of 8 different sauces (Roasted Garlic Aoli, Heinz Classic, Cucumber Raita, House Smoked Red Pepper Catsup, Wholegrain Studded Dijonaise, & others.

Sandwiches:

-House Ground Angus Burger w/ Homemade Pickles & Frites.

-Croque Monsieur w/ Organic Farm Egg, House Smoked Taso, Gruyere, & Frites.

-Grilled Organic Vegetable Sandwich w/ Belgian Ale Washed Chevre & Local Greens.

Moules:

-Belgian Tripel, Toasted Elephant Garlic.

-Preserved Lemon, Black Olive, & Harissa Broth.

-Applewood Smoked Bacon, Braised Leeks, Parsley, & Cream.

-Tamarind, Lime, Cilantro, Palm Sugar, & Thai Chili.

*** all moules served w/ sm frites, 1 sauce.

Entrées:

-Exotic Mushroom Risotto w/ THE Reggiano and Fresh Thyme.

-Grilled Pacific Snapper Filet w/ Heirloom Tomatoes, EVO Poached Fennel, & Saffron Broth.

-Natural Chicken Breast w/ Toasted Israeli Couscous, Cerignola Olives, & House Preserved Lemons.

This is just a sample of the menu that Chef David Nugent has come up with. Expect these and many more selections from the kitchen when we open at the end of July. Oh, and 65 + Belgian Beers!!!

Chris Surrusco

Proprietor

Granville Moore's

1238 H st NE

202.399.BLGM

docmoores@gmail.com

Source: http://frozentropics.blogspot.com/2007/07/...sneak-peek.html

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Soft opening tomorrow... info from http://frozentropics.blogspot.com/2007/08/...re-info_02.html

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***

OPENING FRIDAY, AUGUST 3RD

Granville Moore's

1238 H st NE

202.399.BLGM

docmoores@gmail.com

Hello All!-

Granville Moore's, the Atlas District newest restaurant, will be opening Friday, August 3rd. Doors open at 5:00 pm, with food service beginning @ 5:30. As this is our first weekend, we will be doing a "soft" opening. We will offer 50+ Belgian beers, wines by the glass, as well as the full menu for your enjoyment. Please come and join us as we celebrate several years of hard work, but understand this is our first weekend of business. You will be pleasantly surprised this weekend, and wowed next week!

Chris Surrusco

Proprietor

Granville Moore's

202.399.BLGM

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GM's did in fact open last night. I didn't make it up there, but here's a neighborhood resident's review, pictures, etc. Can't wait to get there...

http://frozentropics.blogspot.com/2007/08/...ft-opening.html

We made it out to Doc Moore's on Friday night. For a restaurant on it's first night of business, things went extremely well! The place is dimly lit, and has tons of atmosphere. The upstairs bar is very large, and there is a small "beer garden" out back as well. The food was very good - moules come prepared seven or so different ways, and both the tamarind and veggie broth versions were enjoyed by our group. The mushroom risotto was well-prepared as an appetizer, and the frites were very good, although probably not as good (and absolutely not as expensive) as Beck's, which are our current favorites. They are still waiting on the "beer bibles" to arrive, but all in all a very fun night out on H street. We're glad to have Doc Moore's in the neighborhood!
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Couple of us made it out here tonight. Great vibe. Great beer. I think ferment everything can probably speak more to that. Not many tables at the moment - four or five four tops, two approx. 7 tops. About erm nine seats at the bar. So basically getting in a group much larger than four can frequently be pretty difficult. Competition was tough, and I imagine it will only get tougher. However, they do have a second floor that wasn't open when we got there, but seemed to open up later in the evening.

Mussels with trippel and garlic were delicious, as well as the ones with tamarind, palm sugar and thai chilis. I liked the sweetness of the Asian-y sauce, although I am curious to see what it would taste like with a little more tamarind. Mussels were cooked perfectly. With respect to frites, I prefer the thinner fries at Beck. As ladi kai lemoni put it... they remind me of Boardwalk Fries. We had roasted pepper ketchup and dijonnaise. Roasted pepper didn't really stand out to me, but the dijon mustard used in the dijonnaise was solid and a little bitey.

Charcuterie - I didn't have too much of it, but I wasn't terribly impressed. Sausage reminded me a little of breakfast sausage. I like breakfast sausage, but I wouldn't want it on my charcuterie plate.

All in all though, I really liked the place, and the people are great. I think it will end up playing an enormous role in the renewal of H St., and I definitely would want to head back to try some of their other flavors of mussels.

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Very, very solid beer list here, especially for such a small place...my hopes were not that high, but whoever put this list together really knows their stuff. A few bottles i haven't seen in some time (Mead the Gueuze, the Binks) and plenty of old favorites, as well as 4 taps that seemed very carefully chosen: St Feuillien Tripel, Stella, Bolleke (De Koninck), and Urthel Hop-It. The Tripel and the Hop-It were the standouts on tap, and the bottles we had (Lucifer, Pater Lieven Tripel, Chouffe Houblon, Bink Blonde, maybe a couple others?) were excellent.

They definitely need some time to settle in, but I can't wait to return, even if I only drag myself over there for a pre-R&R Hotel meal. Oh and the food was very solid, especially considering how long they've been open.

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Got to GM's last night for the first time.... actually, went Sunday night, but the kitchen was closed. [Note: Kitchen's being closed Sunday was an anomaly. Chef had a fire at home and was hospitalized for observation. So its not a change to their schedule. Chef is ok.]

There were 2 of us, and we arrived about 6:30, plenty early to belly up to the bar. Pat the bartender (who you'll also recognize from Schneiders) was friendly and helpful in picking a beer from the very lengthy list of choices.

We each had a bottle of La Chouffe, which Pat recommended since we were looking for something dark. Was smooth with only a little carbonation.

I had the the Belguim Trippel moules (with thin slices of elephant garlic in the broth) and frites with curry sauce. My friend had a burger with frites and the sea salt & malt vinegar sauce. We both really enjoyed the curry sauce, but he eschewed the vinegar... acquired taste, as my grandfather would tell you.

My mussels were excellent. They arrive piping hot and you dig in. Most were open plenty to get the flesh out. Dipped in the broth, they were garlicy goodness. I couldn't resist drowning a bunch of bread in the broth once the shells were emptied. Frites are not overly crisp, but in the sauces, wow!

Pat recommended the Maredsous Trippel 10 for my second beer. Also quite tasty, and its a trippel so its high in alcohol (10%). Beers by the bottle are $7-10, generally.

The whole experience is a bit surreal, when you think that you're sitting on the 1200 block of H St. NE. But, its what the stretch needs. We left around 8, and there were lots of occupied tables & barstools. They have the advantage now as being the only sit-down game in town. Its a risk they've taken, and its clearly paying off.

A few things that I've seen in writing that I can confirm based on my conversation with Pat: space was a free doctor's clinic (not sure how recently); the kitchen has no oven and no freezer (only thing that arrives canned is Heinz ketchup, since Joe Englert is from Pittsburgh); chef was at French Laundry; there's upstairs & back patio seating.

For now, they're opening around 5 or 5:30 daily. Long term, they may add weekend lunch.

Bottom line: get up there and try the mussels, frites, and beer!

[Edited to change "stove" to "oven" and add name of La Chouffe as 1st beer.]

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Frozen Tropics is reporting that there's a new chef here. That didn't take very long.

I don't have a pre-loss of chef experience to compare it to, but I was pretty impressed with my first visit here tonight. This is definitely the class of the additions to the new H St. There were four different mussels preparations and I liked the three we tried, though they weren't Belga-like quality. Each order of mussels comes with a small frites and bread. At $14 a piece, you've got a pretty good meal for 2 between it all. And I liked the frites. Garlic aoli is the hands down winner for dipping. The beer list and the willingness to discuss it of both the owner (downstairs) and upstairs bartender (apparently he's a brewer at Old Dominion, and bonus points for being a Cleveland Indians fan) were great. The owner was exceptionally nice. Certainly a very good spot for fans of Belgian beer and they were nice about helping me find things I would like, which I appreciated because I don't generally go for Belgians. The space itself is lovely. Lots of character, old, authentic, comfortable, friendly feel - my sense of what H St is striving to be.

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I don't want to oversell Granville Moore's in my enthusiasm for the place, objectively they are serving decently prepared mussels and have a good selection of beer, one batch of frites was very good and the other ok...it's more about the place itself. Unlike virtually any other restaurant I've been to in DC...the vibe is more bohemian...gritty decor in a gritty neighborhood...this is Washington, DC?

And packed...standing room only...on a Thursday...in August...on H Street, NE?

ok, the Sietsema's Dish had come out the day before, but this crowd didn't seem like Dish Groupy types. The bartender claimed this was normal, even a slow night...I guess the secret is out.

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I don't want to oversell Granville Moore's in my enthusiasm for the place, objectively they are serving decently prepared mussels and have a good selection of beer, one batch of frites was very good and the other ok...it's more about the place itself. Unlike virtually any other restaurant I've been to in DC...the vibe is more bohemian...gritty decor in a gritty neighborhood...this is Washington, DC?

And packed...standing room only...on a Thursday...in August...on H Street, NE?

ok, the Sietsema's Dish had come out the day before, but this crowd didn't seem like Dish Groupy types. The bartender claimed this was normal, even a slow night...I guess the secret is out.

ITA with what he says. Also, what's with not being able to park within two blocks? Return, ghetto charms!

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Was up to GM's the the 4th or 5th time last night. Have gravitated to the DeKonincks on tap and have found splitting one moules & one other item make a good and generally healthy meal for 2. Of course, when I gouge myself on both orders of frites anyways, the healthiness washes away, but that's my issue....

Last night, the frites were the best I've had yet. Crispy, cut long. And the mussels were the largest I can recall, and there seemed to be fewer of them as a result. Only 2 of the whole bowl were unopened (the fewest "dead soldiers" I've encountered).

The menu's grown upon each return. There's a new "Navigateur" moules variation, with chipotle, coconut milk, cilantro, lime. It wasn't too spicy, even by Ms. WDCBruceFan's palette. Also, the croque monsieur has returned in the past 10 days. Still haven't tried it, but would like to hear from someone who has. The burger & the steak are both bison. I don't recall that my steak was bison about 10 days ago, but I may not have been paying close enough attention when I ordered.

And more press for GM's: Washingtonian's Feed/back has 4 groups reviews from earlier this week. They gave it 9, 8, 9, and 7 (from someone who spent time in Belgium) out of 10. Great scores! Things continue to look up for the good Doc!

Looks like I'm headed back twice next week to introduce various friends to the culinary delights of H Street NE.

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The Argonaut struck me as the best spot to try. The other option I'd thought of is Granville Moore's. (I wasn't sure which thread to put this in. I don't see a general H Street/Atlas District thread.) The Rock and Roll Hotel also has food, but the menu won't be substantial enough for my husband.

I'd vote Granville Moore's, but I haven't been in a couple months.

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Granville Moore's is the best option but gets packed and with no room to stand inside people wait out on the street...which can be chilly this time of year (well not today). The Argie is you basic dive bar and you should find seating. The food is standard bar food, apps, sandwiches etc. with a couple entree type things, yes even hanger steak! although I was there two weekends ago and they we breaking in a new chef so what ever that is worth. Definitely get the sweet potato fries.

There are also a couple of Jamaican joints on H street. I've had take out once from Naby's at 12th and H Street and it was decent and low priced. The dining room consists of a couple cafeteria style glass top tables and is basic but if you are in the mood for some island flava could be a good alternative.

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Granville Moore's is the best option but gets packed and with no room to stand inside people wait out on the street...which can be chilly this time of year
Due to the ice storm, we had no trouble getting a table when we got there about 7:45 last night. We opted for upstairs instead of the only open downstairs table, which was by the front door. Wet and achy from the rain and falling down, it was nice to sit and regroup for a bit before heading down the street to the show. I enjoyed my steak and cheese sandwich. I couldn't finish it, but what I ate was quite good. The fries were a little wetter than is my preference but still quite acceptable. The horseradish cream for the sandwich also made a nice dip for the fries :mellow:. I was tempted to ask for more of the horseradish cream and probably would have if I had managed to get farther through the sandwich. I had a Stella and my husband had a Leffe, which he was quite pleased with, along with the bison hangar steak and fries he got. He cleaned his plate.
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Rumor has it...(from the Hill Rag)...that Granville will be profiled by a, as yet, unnamed Food Network star...mid-march-ish time. Gaida Escaping Todd for the Weekend? Rachel and her 40 dollars? Guy doing a drive-by dive?

The show is America Eats, scheduled to be filming on 3/17 and more info can be found here.

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Several good to exceptional meals at Granville Moore's in the last several weeks. Teddy Folkman is cooking some great meat right now.
I second that. The mussels and fries were fantastic when I was in a couple weeks ago-- better than Beck's I thought ;) Had some interesting Belgian brews on tap too (Nostradamus and one other I can't remember that I haven't seen before)
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Went to Granville Moore's last night, expecting to just enjoy their delicious $10 Monday Moules Special, have a few Belgian drafts for $1 off the normal price, and avoid any St. Patrick's Day crowds. (Love beginning of the week bargains!) Because I was just going to stop in for a quite bite after work with my +1, and because I had been there before for drinks and liked the place, I didn't think to check any threads for pointers/ gossip prior to showing up. No, no. I just checked back after, b/c I was going to report.

And, what has this cost me?

Um, probably an unfortunate live experience on the Food Network sometime this fall.

Sure enough, they *were* filming last night, as this thread states, and only on the early side, too. Right smack dab when I was there. Say, from before I arrived around 5:45 to only 6:15-6:20. I walked in, and literally stopped in my tracks. Camera Crews. Filming innocent civilians calmly enjoying their meals and perusing the menus. YIKES. Almost walked out, but I was really craving mussels. Delicious inexpensive mussels at that.

So. The boyfriend and I figure, "Bet we'll fool them if we sit at the bar! Can't tape us there! No Angles for shots!" We happily sit down, order a few drafts (Chimay White, fyi), and start looking the menu over and debating the ever-important question - What TYPE of mussels. After finally ordering, a delicious Moules Saucisson, the BF wanders off to the bathroom, while I sit and happily drink my beer and continue looking through the menu. Something I love doing. In fact, when waiters steal menus, I always get a little sad. So, there I am sitting, reading, drinking, and loving life. When. I get that creepy feeling that someone is watching me. I slowly turn, and JUMP about two feet. The sneaky camera man has caught me. And for Who Knows How Long. I try to ignore it, and it finally goes away. Meanwhile, the BF comes back, and we start chatting with the bartender about the history of the place, the various nightly specials, typical talk. And, again, I get that feeling. Yup. The guy is back. So much for no camera angles at the bar. That is now two times that I have been unwittingly filmed. Luckily though, our food arrived to distract us, and the man left.

And was it ever delicious. A giant bowl of plump, well-seasoned, non-grainy, wonderful mussels. The sausage, onion, pepper and mustard combo for the broth was wonderful. And they even served bread with it for soaking up the sauce. Comparing the mussels to those at Brasserie Beck, you get about twice the amount. And, comparing them to Belga Cafe's, the amount is about the same, but I have never gone there without having to send the mussels back because there were so many unopened ones. So, much better all around. LOVED the mussels. Also, loved the Frites. But, as a warning, do NOT get the large order. Unless, say, you would like to feed a small army, or just eat about 3 lbs of french fries. Not, of course, that you wouldn't want to eat that many of these fries, since they are very good (double fried, seasoned with the perfect amount of parsley and sea salt), but you just can Not do it. Trust me. They come in the same size bowl as the mussels, and it is just frightening. Just as frightening as me attempting, and failing, to eat them all. I think I had to be rolled out. There are also multiple dipping sauces, about 4-5? We tried the Truffle Aioli and the Dijoinaisse, and thoroughly enjoyed both.

But, of course, the story wouldn't be complete, except for the addition of the Last Creepy Watching Feeling. While savoring each bite of my food, with actual audible oohs and aahs, I again noticed the camera zooming in while we were eating. Oh Dear. And, this time, we were actually asked how we enjoyed the food. On camera. ! But, we lucked out as the sound wasn't working, and so we were saved. And, right after that, they packed up and left, and we enjoyed the rest of the meal in peace. Phew!

According to the bartender (whose name I sadly cannot recall, but who was very nice), it was for a new show starting in the fall. America Eats. So, no Bobby Flay. Apparently, they will be on the first episode, and the show is going to feature a different region/city each week and the food specific to it. If I understood correctly, and I could be wrong, DC is becoming known for it's mussels culture? And that is what/ why they were filming?

In all, aside from the hilarious, and distracting, encounters with the Food Nework crew, I really enjoyed the food and ambience at Granville Moore's. I will definitely be back again, probably on a Monday. $10 for mussels? Nice. But, not only on a Monday. The moules were very good, and I like that each day (week?) they have a special flavor in addition to the five or so already on the menu, so that you can always try something new. Plus, I really think I would like to try the Bison Hanger Steak. It looked good while there, and the added recc from above might sway me. ;))

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We are great fans of Monk's in Philadelphia and Belgian beers in general, so we checked this place out with the bambino on a Sunday at 5:30. The bar is dark and divey. The beer list was impressive. I had a Carolus classic (sigh, only one because I'm breastfeeding), but others tried the Piraat (in a bottle), a Corsendonk brown, and others I can't remember (the waitress was fairly knowledgeable and helpful with choices, service was great). We had the mussels with beer and leeks and the bleu cheese and bacon. Huge bowls of steaming mussels with lots of sauce to sop up with bread. The fries are tasty with a choice of dipping sauces - we had the truffle aioli (favorite), horseradish and the house hot sauce (sweet and spicy). We also tried the meat and cheese plate which was ok. We thought we'd be out of place here with a baby, but as we were leaving (we were the first ones there and the place was packed by the time we left), we saw another couple with their baby sprawled on the tabletop asleep. Just another reason why we dug the place.

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I had a chance to step into Dr. Granville Moore's last night for a few Belgian beers and dinner before heading to the R&R Hotel for a show. I really loved the atmosphere! It had a great dive-bar feel - comfortable, dark, perfect. I was there with a group and had a chance to sample many of the menu items. I thought that my bison burger was good (but not quite to temperature) but that the frites were great! The mussels (with fennel and bacon) were also very good - plump mussels, cooked just right - lots of flavor in the sauce/broth and the bison sirlon was awesome - nice amount of char and cooked perfectly. I also liked the mayo options for the frites, but found I was drawn to the classic Belgian mayonnaise...

My only complaint is that the bartender (we sat and ate at the bar) was less than attentive - it seems to pay to be a regular at Dr. G's if you want to sit at the bar on a rainy Sunday night... ;)

I wish I had a place like this in my neighborhood! (yes, I guess this would negate my previous comment, wouldn't it?!? :) )

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We went on Saturday afternoon. The Moules Navigateur were delicious - green curry heavily spiked with lime and Serranos. Very spicy and piquant. Curry mango dipping sauce tasted way closer to ketchup. The truffle aioli was lovely though. One bowl of mussels + sharing the fries was way too much food and we were all clutching our stomachs as we left from being too full.

The last time I had eaten there was the first week they opened. They've really changed the seating upstairs, which was a surprise. There is outdoor seating, and they were kind enough to warn us of the chance of rain that afternoon and suggested we sit upstairs.

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My only complaint is that the bartender (we sat and ate at the bar) was less than attentive - it seems to pay to be a regular at Dr. G's if you want to sit at the bar on a rainy Sunday night... :lol:

The incredibly obnoxious bartender and waiter that I had a few weeks back ruined my experience at this place. The bartendress wouldn't acknowledge me and when she finally did, she acted like she was doing me a favor in pouring a $7 beer. The waiter there was actually rude, giving me an attitude as I was trying to get by him in the cramped space by the bar and making a spectacle of the situation.

You'll be hardpressed for me to trek all the way out there to get treated this way for a couple Belgian beers that I can get at Brasserie Beck :lol:

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For all that are interested, Granville Moore's will be featured on the Food Network Tuesday July 8th at 9:00pm Good Luck Teddy! :)

"I made this post so Don wouldn't kick me out!" :lol:

The food tv site shows 9:30PM on the 8th as a Throwdown about chowder :lol:. I've noticed plenty of inaccuracies on that site, so maybe they're wrong.
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