jasonc

Great post SeanMike. A lot of it hit quite close to home. This Winter is something I've been dreading for a long time. Reach out via PM if you'd ever like to chat.

Ahh, Matthew, my stern but misguided master. You overlooked a key point. Several of the sandwiches can be bought in a platter, 6 for $8, thus reducing their price. And then two platters can be bought for $14. This reduces the price to $159.50. And on Wednesday, the $1 deal brings the price all the way down to $100.00 You best bring your 'A' game around here.

I think you should have had something comped or at least a more sincere apology. the first hour of your visit was terrible.

on the wasteland to coffee town (I guess Seattle?) spectrum, where does DC rate?

How about unwritten?

I'm jealous.

That's a misapprehension about Vancouver. It's quite overcast but the rain is far from constant. On average, you can expect a light rain a few times a week and not much sun if any. Mid 40s to low 50s. I guess that's a bit chilly but it's not a dry cold, so not as biting as say, Toronto :/ What Joe said about the drive to Whistler.

Agreed. Except something can't be "pretty unique." It either is or it isn't unique.

Situations like these really hammer home why I'd be terrible at your job. I suppose the key issue is balancing the interests of this party and those already seated. If you had chose otherwise and asked the party already there to shift down, you could very well be facing an angry e-mail from them. I echo the others in thinking the person who sent the e-mail seems very entitled and mean-spirited, an outlier rather than the average diner. I don't think you did anything wrong. In fact, I think the level of transparency and feedback you offered them is admirable - most people would find calling with bad news too uncomfortable and not even make that call. You should be lauded for that, rather than what you received. The one suggestion I would make - although i don't think it would have helped with this person - is make sure he or she knew that it was not your policy to ask guests to shift down, as many find that an intrusion to their dining. Really though, this person was going to be upset no matter how you dealt with this.

Don, would you please get started on local ryes and gins?

An underrated part of my trip so far to Hong Kong is the dessert shops. The above is mango with some kind of very light ice milk - gossamer strands of icy vanilla flavored milk. Since it's been about 90 and humid each day, these are welcomed respites from the heat.

Not to be the conductor the the Chipotle-love train, but I think it's important to note that while the meats are far from ethical (e.g, pastured), they do seem to be making steps in the right direction on that front. I think that's worth paying more for.

I probably had Chipotle 30 times this summer. Chipotle first popped up on my radar when one opened in a shopping center across from the Chevy Chase Bank in Rosslyn, Virginia, where I was a bank teller in 2003. Later that year I bought a bunch of burritos on my way home from work for my brother and I to eat while we watched DVDs of Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers right before seeing a midnight showing of Return of the King. I guess I was 22 at the time. My brother was still in high school. Cut to May 2013. My work has a policy of paying for our meals if we stay past nine. Early in the summer, during my rotation in litigation, I usually stayed until eleven or midnight. Hence, I went to Chipotle a lot. Those were days when I was still getting used to the new job. I was still getting used to a lot of new things. I was tender. The walk over to Chipotle at around seven or eight always marked the beginning of the night. Many of the lawyers had gone home by that point, and I could actually start to focus on work. I'd walk the two blocks over to Front Street, letting my mind clear and wander in a way it just couldn't during the day. Then I'd enter the friendly and familiar confines of Chipotle. (I'm aware of how absurd this sounds) I got to know most of the staff there, and was often comped chips and guacamole or a drink. I tried to explain that I wasn't really paying for it, and it was really just a transfer of wealth from Chipotle to my law firm, but it didn't really stick. I had a month-long flirtation with one of the employees. My order was almost always a burrito, chips and guacamole and a small drink (coke zero with lots of lemon). Listen, Chipotle isn't fine dining by any stretch. And the salt levels are definitely too high. But everything is freshly made, the staff is friendly, and it's enough food to get you through the night. I'd usually eat the chips and guac early in the evening and eat the burrito around nine or ten. I had some truly incredible meals this summer: Mas (la grillade), Wallflower, Pizza Libretto, and on and on. But Chipotle was the taste of the summer for me. Sometime during this seemingly endless stream of burritos the summer wore on, I learned a new trade, met new friends, kissed a girl who thinks I'm wonderful, and finally I surprised myself. Chipotle was a constant during this. The thing I love about Lord of the Rings is how, as the journey goes on, you lose track of how things began and when you get to the end you feel like you've changed along the characters.

The hottest restaurant in DC is Kapnos. It's got everything: taramasalata, greek fries, tyrokaftari, celebrity chefs, smoky beets, game face, and human fire hydrants.

Are you planning on canning any of your bounty?

I'll be living here until December so if anyone has any good recommendations, please send them to me. Right now I'm working of JParrott's excellent work. And if you are in town, say hi!

I'm really glad they mostly worked out! I realize now I should have probably recommended more Chinese food as that's a local specialty. Although, a great deal of it is outside of the city proper, so it might not have worked out anyway.

It's really not that important - I can plan around the location. She's a pretty trendy lady - so perhaps not too stuffy or old school. i saw the pearl and ash thread - would that fit the bill?

I'm taking a date out for a birthday meal in Manhattan in a few weeks. The parameters: -Not Asian (not my choice) -I'd prefer mains in the $20-$30 range, rather than $30-40 -Not super quiet and super romantic, but on the end of that scale, rather than bustling and noisy. So yup, pretty broad. I just have very little idea of what's going on in NYC these days. Thank you!

I've heard good things about Daisho but haven't been. I suppose I didn't mention it before because Chang's empire isn't endemic to Toronto. In terms of ramen, i've heard very good things about A-OK foods http://www.torontolife.com/tag/a-ok-foods/

In that case: Harbord Room, Splendido (quite pricey), Yours Truly, The Burger's Priest, Lai Wah Heen, County General I'll try to think of others

Biff's is actually more French - other than the oysters I'm not sure seafood is a highlight. Outside of about 4:30-6:30 or so, cabs are easy to find and pretty affordable here. I've been happy with the cabs. I spoke to a colleague who lives just east of the Rogers Centre and she listed Real Sports as her restaurant of choice that's in walking distance. That's kind of just a crappy sports bar, so I think that's an indicator of the choices in that general area. Edulis is a chowhound favorite and a reasonable cab ride from the Rogers Centre. Less than $10 one way. You could also get to Leslieville for about $10 and that's a very trendy area at the moment. I've never been but friends rave about the brunch at Lady Marmalade.

Hi Genevieve, Here are some thoughts I had. I may come up with more later. They should all be reasonably close to where you are staying, some moreso than others. Biff's Bistro - they have $1 oysters after 5:30 in the whole restaurant. Banh Mi Boys White Squirel Snack Shop WVRST Canteen Bannock Cibo has half priced wine on Thursday, but I wouldn't go otherwise. There is a restaurant in the four seasons pretty close to where you are staying that I would NOT go to. I wasn't paying but it was one of the most poorly executed over-priced meals I've had in a long time.

Sure, I'll work on this. I will say that you should avoid the restaurants in the entertainment district at all costs. It's chain or just high priced, low value restaurants that are designed to extract money from tourists. That's sort of the nature of the area unfortunately. It neighbors the financial district (where I work), and that's just a business lunch area that shuts down after 6. But there is some stuff. I'll start a list.

Sure, here are some ideas: Check out Edulis. Their Sunday dinner is an especially good deal. Check out Chinatown, where Americanized Chinese food has been perfected. I like Swatow. The Ossington strip is especially popular right now and is home to several interesting places: Bellwood's Brewery (I wrote about it upthread) continues to impress and many consider it Ontario's finest producer of craft beer, Hawker Bar, and Yours Truly. Wallflower, mentioned on my blog. Black Hoof The suburbs for authentic Sichuan, Cantonese and various Northern cuisines. Toronto is a lot like Brooklyn-lite right now. Lots of small independent chef-driven restaurants that pop up every week. Except since it's Canada it's a lot more expensive than Brooklyn. For instance: http://henhousetoronto.com/ Also, in the Eglington West area (little Jamaica) features numerous restaurants with guys cooking jerk chicken outside their shops on makeshift grills.