beezy

I've really used Poste as a pre-MCI Verizon center hangout. As a bar, it rocks out! - The bar is always moderately quiet, even before a Caps game. - They have pretentious, strong, damn good cocktails, including the most inspired gin drink ever. - Truffle frites. - Truffle frites for $4 during happy hour.

Oh, bless your heart. I think everyone has given you some great advice: no soda, water, exercise, food diary (online ones are the bomb), portion control. 1. Get a nutritionist to help you understand what your body needs. Weight Watchers is a pretty good substitute. 2. Buy the best quality fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat and eggs you can get your hands on. 3. Splurge on grocery delivery. It makes you eat only what you order, and keeps you away from the stuff you might want to order. 4. Exercise. No, really. And get a buddy, a trainer, workout with a group, or join a rec league team if you can tolerate group sports. 5. If you really, really, really think you want something that's outside your eating plan, walk to get it. It's amazing how unattractive some things are when you have to talk to the 7-11 at midnight. 6. Plan what you're going to eat with a flexible set of guidelines- the American Diabetic Association's exchange program is great (WW also uses it), and think about food in clumps of a few days instead of one day at a time. Finally, if you're going to eat out, plan in advance, and adjust accordingly the day before and after. And eat somewhere nice (or something you really, really like).

I third Brooklyn Bagels nasty tasty yummy sandwiches. Booeymongers in Arlington (and... Chevy Chase?) has several yummy sandwiches - I especially favor the Buc Buc for tequila hangovers. Henny Penny Scrambled Eggs on a toasted, buttered bagel. $2.75 The Friss Scrambled eggs with melted American Cheese on a toasted, buttered bagel. $3.25 Buc Buc Scrambled eggs with ham on a toasted, buttered bage. $3.95 Chicken Little Scrambled eggs with bacon and American cheese on a toasted, buttered bagel $4.25

I think it's a mixed bag - and depends on where you are. I travel lots and lots for work, so I eat alone. I've had experiences where they have been downright cold to a girl on her own. I think the thing I notice most is that the service is usually friendly, but after-thoughty. You get one check in to see you need anything (drinks, bread, whatever) in conjunction with dropping off your plate. I have the worst time grabbing a waiter or getting a refill. (I get a greater than average portion of lukewarm food, too.) I also hate hate HATE flirty chatty waiters - I was once asked if I wanted company for the rest of the night in a fine dining restaurant attached to a hotel. (in another city) It's better if you eat in the bar, but sometimes, you just want a table. On the other hand, I've had above and beyond human kindness. One evening, after the worst day ever, I had a great waiter at the Woodgrille ask me what was wrong, to which I started bawling (it was a really, really bad day). He handed me a kleenex and bought me my dinner and several cocktails, with a note saying 'It WILL get better'.

From the folks at Sangaam, an often overlooked Indian restaurant in Arlington:

They used to be called 'drover's rolls', back in the day when they were first served. Don't forget the slightly sweet poppy seed butter that comes with it.

I'd try one of these: http://www.greatamericanrestaurants.com/ We went to Mike's one year, and it was reasonable, traditional and pretty good. (Not home cooking, but pretty darn good)

Here's an interview with David and Rebecca on washingtonpost.com - video, sorry about the ad http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6111000506.html Includes shots of old and new locations. Also related: Clarendon redevelopment article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6111000984.html

Has anyone tried HT's shop and pick up option? I hear Giant/Peapod is not so good, but the HT offering might be the way to go (I've seen it available at the North Arlington HT,but nowhere else.)

I second the Argia's - a little overpriced, but lovely sandwiches and nice pasta. I hear raves about Bellissimo in Fairfax city, although I've never been:

Super tasty roast turkey breast sandwich made from one of those fantastic kosher 1/2 turkey breasts from trader joe's. On a cheap-ass burger bun.

I have to share about a restaurant which has recently been through some staff turnover, so I won't name it. I went in for Saturday brunch. There was one other table in the entire restaurant, three waiters, a gm, a hostess, and a busboy visible, and more kitchen staff. First, we wait for 10 minutes, while one waiter is engaged in a deep conversation with another table in the corner. Then two of the waiters argue for a few minutes about who is supposed to wait on us, while the third fiddles with silverware. Then, the loser skulks over and asks what we want to drink. He goes back to the kitchen to get juice and coffee (in a press). Comes back empty handed, then goes over to resume his conversation with the other table. We wait. For another 15 minutes, after which he fetches drinks, after I give him the stink eye to tear him away from the conversation. By this time, my coffee is cold and bitter and weak from steeping so long. We have drunk all our water, and both busboy and waiter two are engaged in other tasks. The waiter apologizes, saying he was having a fascinating conversation about the middle east, and that they were a very chatty couple. He takes our order (an omlet and a burger), takes it to the kitchen, and goes back to his conversation. About 25 minutes later, our food comes out. My omlet is cold, its filling completely unappetizing, and I'm really irritated. In the meantime, a party of 4 or 5 has come in, gotten a third waiter, had their meals served and is chatting over the paper. I lose my temper and ask to speak to the manger. The manager comes another 7-8 minutes later, and I explain the situation. Manager replaces coffee, waiter comes back in 10 minutes with a fresh omlet (my husband's burger gets cold, meanwhile, since he wants to eat with me), and a snarky comment along the lines of 'is your coffee strong enough for you?! Is that omlet hot now?" To his credit, the manager comped my food. But geez, a fine dining restaurant with more staff than customers can't do better than this? I don't expect slavish attentive service, but warm food served properly should not be this complicated.

Pistone's is terrifying and terrible. It used to be good in the 80s, when my mom and her friends took me there. I will say that they have an astounding salad bar, with anchovies and cheeses and weird pickled Italian things. The ambiance, however, is pure 80s sitcom. I remember back in the day when they carpeted the bathroom with this shaggy, soft brown carpet (like a bathmat). Not the floor. The entire bathroom, including the stall walls.

A word to the wise, though - turkey carcass is about 1.5 times richer and more gelatinous than chicken carcass. Be careful about letting it go as long as you would for chicken, or you'll wind up with an oily mess. (I'd strip out part of the skin, as well). For TG, I always use the neck and giblet trick (no liver), stretched with chicken stock if you run out. I think thanksgiving flavor is all about the stronger flavor of turkey - chicken seems kind of wussy to me.

I am inspired to write because I got the best damn simple chicken breast sandwich at the State Theater a few weeks ago with quite nice fries - all pulled out of a warming oven. It was just a chicken breat on a roll, but it was the size of my head, juicy, tender, and nicely cooked, a rarity even at nice restaurants. So, who else has good food in their theaters? Of course it's not as a nice as a real restaurant, but it's better than Chili's. And, sometimes, you just can't make the pre-theater dinner.... I have: - the State - has a full sit down cafe that you can reserve seats for an watch the show. In addition to chicken sandwiches, it has a nice pulled pork, and some decent salads. - the Birchmere - salads and a roast chicken Menu: http://www.birchmere.com/food_menu.cfm - Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse - a greek salad with or without chicken, and a green salad with dried cranberries (sandwiches and pizza are good in a nasty way. Not a good eatin' kind of way.) - Clyde's on the walk, next to Verizon - has an astoundingly good takeaway menu that's super cheap. I got a fennel-crusted roast pork tenderloin sandwich with spicy rapini for $5.95 (again, big as my head). They also have beef and chicken hot sandwiches, good looking salads, and a seafood chowder that got high marks from Mr. Beezy ($3 for a big take out cup) Menu: http://www.clydes.com/main/MenusList.cfm?R...des_on_the_Walk - Shakespeare Theater - cookies from Love Cafe, as well as some suprisingly good 'ginger Bards' (Shakespeare-head shaped gingerbread)

Hi everyone - Does anyone know of a farm that has a CSA program and (preferably) delivers? There used to be a great organic farm in Virginia that delivered to the Arlington UU, but it's since folded. I'm relying on Washington's Green Grocer now, which is not bad, but I miss my local, fresh-off-the-farm stuff. WGG is mostly/all organic, and it has dairy, too, but a lot of the produce isn't local - but they deliver.(http://www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com - in case you don't know about this nifty service) thanks!

Is anyone else going? I'm going with BradRev.

I went with my husband Monday night, and I have a similar reaction as others - food good, service needs work. I had polenta and a basalmic pork chop with herbs. The polenta was soo good, it made me weep little tears of polenta joy. The pork's flavor was great, the basalmic glaze was tart and savory. However, the cut of pork was dry and a little tough - not sure if the toughness was from overcooking, but the vinegar overcame the quality of the meat. I also had a celery-broth based soup with sausage and egg, which I really enjoyed - very savory. The egg added a great and unusual texture. The husband had spaghetti carbonara - the pasta was a lovely, nicely textured, and the bacon was of best quality. He started with the showy cesar salad. It's an amazing display of romain leaves stood on their ends and wrapped in a dried bread crouton. It's quite a site, but a little hard to eat (wasn't sure if this was a knife and fork, or if we were supposed to pick up the lettuce leaves, old school style). Chocolate pudding and hazelnut cake for dessert, which was a mixed bag. I though the pudding had too much rum, but I also don't exactly like that kind of thing. The hazelnut cake should be listed as a cookie. The best part was the divine carmel sauce and the amazing hazelnut ice cream, which may be some of the best ice cream I've ever had. Now, the service was a little off. I had a young, very macho waiter who was a little on the snooty side, and not terribly service oriented. He came by to check if we liked our food, but he also didn't seem to care much about our selections. We were clearly undecided, but he didn't make any suggestions, instead, saying 'everything is good.' He also tried to take the wine list away before I decided what I would like, also making no suggestions while I was clearly hesitating. Other restaurants have been very good about anticipating this need, which is really great for a wine novice like me. Finally, the waiter did something that really put me off - he insisted on giving the check to my husband, even after I had pulled the credit card out of my wallet and put it in the bill. I appreciate tradition, but, please put the check in the middle. Last I checked, giving the check to the man went out with menus with no prices on them. I'm going to make a return visit, and hope that these issues smooth out - it has only been a few weeks since open.

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone thought of compiling family recipes into a book, selling it and giving the proceeds to charity? Self-publishing is easy these days, and there's lots of print on demand sites, like Lulu - http://www.lulu.com/

Also, Steap in Philadelphia (has mail order) has a fabulous selection. Got some in a Christmas schwag packet from a consultant, and I've been hooked ever since. Green tea with pineapple is the best!

Additionally, Springfield Butcher either has it, or will order it for you. Most of their meat is raised locally (or at least it used to be - I haven't been a customer in a few years) at a small producer. The business is small and family run, for those of you who are interested in that - it was run by a great guy who used to hand out samples, and has been taken over by his son. Features the best ground meat ever!

I attended the first one of these dinners, and I have to say that from both a heartwarming and an eating point of view, I've had fewer finer evenings. The last dinner had tables of 10-12 with the chef and assistants preparing a meal for you, tableside. with wine. There was also a stunning service of appetizers, as well as an excessive dessert buffet. There was also an auction, that featured more time with chefs - I remember a fishing trip (I forget with who) and a food trip to Italy with Roberto Donna. More importantly, Phillip's mom spoke to us all about her son, and autism - it was a truly touching, and left few dry eyes in the house. I'd strongly urge anyone to attend!

Hi everyone - I'm taking out the husband for his birthday tonight at Vidalia. Anyone got favorites from the menu that they would like to endorse? thanks!

Does anyone know about Twigs? I was captivated by an ad in the Washingtonian years ago, and always wanted to try it. Of course, that was 20 years ago, and the restaurant may be past its prime...

Another couple of good ones are blackbird (highly stylized American food), and Aria Restaurant, in the Fairmont off Michigan Avenue. (Aria is my treat when I'm on expense accounts on business) Don't forget Frontera! It's still Rick Bayless, and nto as fancy, but oh so good. You can also sit at the bar and see Rick cruise around his kitchen, authoritarian as Darth Vader, while getting toasted on splendid margaritas.