bugsy

the wines at Joostenberg are among the best in ALL of South Africa.

boulevard wood grill

2901 wilson blvd

clarendon...near clarendon metro stop

geez, i really liked the salads.no license, so bring byob, store a block away. i always bring my own stemware, since the available stuff is really bad.i do enjoy iggie's..best pizza in Baltimore. btw, it's lisa, not linda as the owners name.

geez, i forgot to TIVO the food network throwdown. it must have been kind to buz and ned's because i went in to pick up some ribs last night at about 6pm and there were more than 20 customers in line. we'll try again tonight. it was a tad rainy in Richmond yesterday so perhaps the crowd was due to the home bbq'ers who didn't want to get wet in their backyard...or he beat up bobby!

pazo is tapas type place and VERY noisy.

better dining at timothy dean, abercrombie,...downtown or petit louie, brassiere tatin, ambassador (indian, in romantic rooms) in the northern part of city...(hopkins area)

Lewes

spent the week between christmas and new years on the beach in Lewes, DE. the hit of the week was the second street grille

http://www.secondstreetgrille.com/

as good a dinner and ambiance as is available at the beachs....DO NOT SPEED IN LEWES>>>not even 1 mph over. nasty

http://spiritofwine.blogspot.com/2006/12/f...experiment.html

i've not had a corked bottle since i read this, but it looks promising !

is at The Wine Specialist, 2115 M st NW on Sat. 16 Dec. 4-7PM

this house was bought by Veuve-Clicquot in 1978 and promptly taken out of the US market. LVMH decided

to sell the house a couple years ago and now it's back as an independant brand! drop by and have a glass!

free !!

bugsy will be pouring, please say howdy!

here is what is available and without comment on our customer service dept..i'll be happy to give prices to any

retail license holder.

the sant antonio valpolicella is in stock 2005

we can order all of the following:

valpolicella ripasso "mont garbi" 2002

valpolicella "la bandina" 2001

amarone "antonio castagnendi" 2002

amarone "campo dei gigli" 2000

cabernet sauvignon "torre mellotti" 2004

cabernet sauvignon "capital del monte" 2002

soave 2005

the national sales manager for vin divino is based in Chicago, but is married to a grad student in DC, so she is looking for good business reasons to visit here. perhaps there is a tasting/dinner in the making.

she is here in election week with enrica scavino of piedmont doing a dinner at a location tba...i'll post

i'm with the country vintner and we are able to source any and all sant antonio you wish...i'm not in the office so i can't check whether we're VA compliant on the wines you want, but we can order them into a DC retailer of your choce...tell me who that is and i'll send them the prices etc....just trying to keep our wine $ local.

the vindivino is a new portfolio for us and i've not tasted this, but you have my interest !

Cape Charles

i recall reading a Post article which mentions Sting-Rays, any other restaurant that we should try ??

i think joe riley would be my choice ! the grapevine says it will another retailer ???? DR Jay ?

and will Rovani be in the DC retail scene ?? where ?

let the games begin !

the logo on the Sette glasses have the line under the logo at the 5 oz pour line on their Riedel stemware.

i'm aware of some government requirments as to portion control....may be what was encountered.

I know an older Greek gentleman who swears by Ikaros in Baltimore's Greektown, also Zorba's Bar and Grill. I've never been to either, so I can't say for sure (from what I've heard him say, his taste in food outside of the Greek realm is suspect, but he was the one who first recommended Mykonos in Rockville to me, and I like that place well enough).

And I've always wished Greek Taverna in McLean got a bit more attention. Although I haven't been there in a couple of years now, I've enjoyed it in the past many times. If they have the lamb-shoulder special with lemon sauce and fried potatoes, get it (they also occasionally offer a Yiouvetsi which is less vibrant).

Cheers,

Rocks.

Ikaros used to be the place in Baltimore's Greektown, but Acropolis across the street is a much better choice now....my Greek mon even liked it!

watch for the Greek Church festivals, they serve the best stuff made by the "ya-ya's"

we've just moved here and live in The Fan district. there is a take-out only place owned by the same group that does mama zu and edo's...its called 8&1/2 and it's on Strawberry St ...guessing 300 block north. best thin crust real Italian style pizza i've had.

Acacia ...www.acaciarestaurant.com is on West Cary...about 3300 blk and chef was a F and W best new chef winner a few years ago...tues. nite all bts. wine with 2 entries (or their 3 course $19.95 prix fixe) are 1/2 price!! run, don't walk!

BBQ...i'm not an expert, but we took out from buz and neds last evening some pulled pork and slaw and if it gets any better in Richmond, let me know!! it's on about the 1100 blk of N Boulavard (3000 blk West)

we've only been here a couple weeks but, seems to be a decent dining scene...i'll up date as we discover good eats!

btw, you'll be happy to know,if you don't already, that the elena walch merlot is bought directly from the winery by the company that sells it to you!!

have you tried the "prendo" bottled under her husbands name???

joe, you didn't mention that these are exactly the same wines that had been sold under the Rex Goliath label until that label was sold to Constellation(?)

hmm..their web-site says something like the following.....don't forget to serve this wine with desserts such as pumpkin pie, baklava, or fried apples and cinnamon ice cream with pastachio compote for an after dinner treat...perhaps there is a little RS in this wine? new catagory..."dessert chard" ??

Mine is a bit different as it does not involve the memory of tasting wine, but a memory realizing what reverence some people put into collecting and tasting wine.  I was a very luckly ten-year old in that my presence in the world coincided with my dad getting a job at the UN in Vienna.  He was (is) a committed francophile who took every opportunity to take our vacations in France, with the Michelin Red guide as our tour planner.  Sufice to say I went to many restaurants (of the trois etoile variety) that I will never again be able to afford.

One Christmas found us at the Tour d'Argent in Paris.  I remember being unimpressed by their specialty duck.  However, at the end of the meal my father asked for a wine cellar tour.  He and I took a cramped elevator down to this world-famous cellar.  The look on my father's face as he peered over the bottles, many from pre-1900, was sheer joy.  Already interested in history, I could see that these bottles represeneted alot more than just grape juice.  Although it took years for my palete to catch up with my brain, this was the moment I realized wine was something very special. 

In case you missed it

you reminded me of my last visit to Tour d'Argent in the early 80's when i was served a bottle of Bordeaux that was corked...when i asked to have it replaced it was as if i had committed a crime! i had 3 or 4 try to convince me that i was mistaken and that the wine was perfect...my French was not the best and i was being tested big time...

i di not get invited to the cellar! tant pis!

hi joe,

nice idea...mine was a moment at a tiny restaurant in Luxembourg and moved me to explore getting into the wine biz...it was la mission 1948 in 1980...they had only 8 bottles left and they allowed me to reserve them for future dinners! none left now, believe me....it was especially sweet since the 1948 Bordeaux reviews were not very good. their lose and my gain....funny, i can still taste it!