dracisk

Wow. I got there at 5:30 over the summer (before Bon Appetit) with a party of four and got in for the first seating.

I have to say, despite the (minor) issues I've had, I really appreciate Uber, especially now that I no longer live downtown. I (a white female) never had an issue hailing a cab in DC or anywhere else, but it's just not possible to hail a cab where I live now. It's so nice to be able to press a button on my phone and have an Uber appear in front of my house 5 minutes later. I live about a mile from the Beltway between downtown Silver Spring and Bethesda, so there's never an Uber too far away (at least in my experience so far). Also, Uber is about half the price of a cab from my house to BWI ($40 versus $80). My opinion might change if I'm left strung out to dry before a flight, but so far so good (overall). That's interesting about Uber Black. I've only used Uber X and Uber Pool (a great and cheap option if you're not in a hurry). I was under the impression that Uber Black drivers had nicer cars, but I never thought about the quality of the driving.

I've definitely noticed this. I had the most terrifying Uber ride of my life the other night. It wasn't all that terrifying, but still. The driver was not skilled.

You can probably get this refunded. Recently I flew from Charleston to BWI and requested an Uber. The app thought I was still in Charleston, which I didn't realize until my driver called me and I saw that he was there and I was of course in Baltimore. I had no choice but to cancel the ride, and Uber charged me $5. I don't think they used to do that. Anyway, I tweeted to them and they refunded the $5 with no hassle. To be honest, I'm not sure if the issue was with the Uber app or with the my phone (my location services were definitely on, but I have issues with GPS accuracy at times), but I didn't even go there with them and they didn't bring it up.

According to someone on my local Nextdoor site this place isn't related to the restaurant of the same name in Columbia. This person asked at the restaurant in Columbia and they didn't know anything about a Wheaton location.

What is vaghar? (I was also going to ask about hing, but I think I figured that out via the Google.)

I received the following e-mail via a Silver Spring listserv this morning: Trattoria da Lina is a new Italian restaurant coming to Takoma Park in early 2017. The project will take over a former office space and add another option to Takoma Park's growing dining scene. Construction is well underway for this 55 seat restaurant in the heart of the Takoma Park commercial district. The restaurant's design is rustic and cozy with brick and wood and inspired by the casual eateries of the owner's motherland.The menu will offer a wide variety of pasta dishes, including traditional favorites and authentic creations, plus steak and fish options too. The restaurant will host a full bar. The owner is Marcello Minna, area restaurateur with 20 years experience and partner in Magico, the group behind Takoma Park's popular Dolci Gelati Cafe. Minna plans to staff the Trattoria with a team from Italy. Trattoria da Lina 7000 Carroll Ave Takoma Park, MD 20912 202-446-4167 Minnamarcello@yahoo.com

This has been true for the vast majority of my Uber experiences, but I also had a driver ignore the GPS that was redirecting her away from two accidents on the Beltway. She couldn't understand why the GPS was trying to send her a different way even when I noted the red lines on the Google Maps route I was looking at on my phone. Ugggggh.

I can eat most people I know under the table, and I was not hungry after Pineapple and Pearls. (I wasn't stuffed, either.)

I was there the previous Wednesday (the 19th) and I had the same menu except that in the second course we got salmon roe instead of trout roe. I'm attaching a (blurry, unfortunately -- it was gorgeous) photo of the eggplant tart (described on our menu as fairy tale eggplant tart). We were amused by the DC steakhouse course. I wish I could remember more details about it. It involved a popover and creamed greens (not spinach), plus some other stuff, along with steak.

To report back, I ended up at Husk and Hominy Grill. I realize that neither of these are off the beaten path or exciting newcomers, but, given that it was my first trip to Charleston, I got kind of fixated on getting into Husk, which I could only do for my one dinner, and I had limited options for my second and final meal, which had to happen in mid- to late afternoon because of my work schedule. Anyway, at Husk I had Wood Fired Virginia Salts Oysters, Chili Miso Butter, Pepper Mash, Lemon. Delicious, especially the broth in which the smoky oysters rested. I also had Carolina Heritage Pork, Field Peas and Butterbeans, Embered Brassicas, Jowl Bacon, Smoked Tomato, Boiled Peanut. Also delicious. I can't say I usually get excited about peas, butterbeans, and boiled peanuts, but the medley beside the crispy pork was as delicious as the pork itself. I didn't know what brassicas were until after the meal, but I definitely tasted their mustardy flavor, which was also nice. I couldn't resist also ordering the Skillet of Real Cornbread, Benton’s Bacon Crumble. I could only eat a little (I finished it for breakfast the next morning) and really enjoyed it. Despite only detecting one actual bacon crumble, the smoky bacon flavor came through. As far as logistics, I got there about 5:45pm (they open at 5:30pm) on a Wednesday, put my name on the walk-in list, and they texted me exactly an hour later (what they estimated) to let me know my table was ready, which worked out perfectly since I was able to eat at a normal time and wander around the beautiful historic district while I waited. I really liked my friendly and down to earth server as well. At Hominy Grill I had the She-Crab Soup (full of crab and not too thick) and the Shrimp and Grits (as tasty as reported). I was happy with my service there, too. The server was friendly and kept the sweet tea coming. Also, they have their own small parking lot. I definitely want to go back to Charleston again, if not for work then definitely for pleasure some day. So much more to see and eat!

According to Google and Yelp, Seoulia is closed, which seems like a shame based on what I read here. I haven't verified myself. ETA I called them at 5:15pm on a Saturday and got an answering machine.

That's really good to know. Thanks. I still have a reservation at The Grocery, which I'll cancel as needed. If I can't get into Husk maybe I'll wander over to FIG since it's a short walk as opposed to getting back in the car for The Grocery. Someone upthread said FIG was better than Husk anyway.

That looks great -- thanks! Mm, crispy oyster basket.

Thank you! I'll have a car and will consider Martha Lou's for Thursday. It's actually not that far from where I'll be working. Does anyone have any experience with Hominy Grill? They're also open all afternoon and could be a possibility for Thursday. Tom Sietsema seemed to like it in the 2015 article linked above. In rereading the recent posts in this thread I discovered that Two Boroughs Larder closed in July.

Thank you for mentioning that about the bar at Husk. They don't say anything about food in the bar on their website, so I'll try for a table right when they open for dinner. Hopefully like you I'll get lucky! Presumably they save some spots for walk-ins. Thanks also for the Leon's recommendation. That sounds like a good possibility. I'm not a huge fan of fried chicken (I like it well enough but don't get very excited about it), but I do like oysters cooked in various ways. If anyone else has a recommendation for my 3pm-5pm slot on Thursdays I'm all eyes!

Ugggggh. Change of plans. I'm really annoyed that work is getting in the way of my meals! I was planning on Husk for lunch Thursday, but now I can't do that. Of course they have no reservation availability for dinner Wednesday. Does anyone have a sense of whether I could walk in as a party of one when they open for dinner on Wednesday or shortly thereafter? I don't mind sitting at the bar. So if I do Husk for dinner Wednesday I can no longer do The Grocery, which is only open for dinner. (I only have one dinner and one lunch in town.) Does anyone have a recommendation for somewhere I can do a mid-afternoon lunch on Thursday or even an early dinner? I'd need someplace that stays open all afternoon. I basically have a window of 3pm-5pm for my second Charleston meal. Grrrrr. I'm flying out at 7:30pm Thursday. Thanks!!

Thanks! I made a dinner reservation there. Also just read about it in a NY Times "36 Hours in" article.

I just found out I'm going to be in Charleston for a dinner and a lunch next week (Wednesday and Thursday). I made a reservation for Husk for lunch on Thursday. Any suggestions for dinner Wednesday (someplace I'll be likely to get a reservation at this late date (or someplace I could likely walk in and sit at the bar))? I'm open to just about anything but barbecue. After lunch on Thursday I'll have some time before my flight home. I'm thinking of just wandering around the historic area since I've never been to Charleston before, but if anyone has any recommendations for something low key to do I'd be interested. I'd also love suggestions for food to bring on the plane so I don't end up with a crappy airport dinner. Thanks in advance!

Yes! Thank you! I hadn't heard anything about it.

That's good to know -- thank you! I think we're likely to be in Marshall in the mid-afternoon this time, but I'll keep this in mind for the future. Thanks for the Whole Ox info, too. I'm leaning toward stopping in there for dinner provisions (we'll have a full kitchen at our disposal once we arrive at our destination) to avoid having to eat at the Pig n' Steak again. You mean besides stuffing our faces? We're staying in the guest house at Brightwood Vineyard and Farm. Even though it's only 2 hours from our house in Silver Spring (much closer for you, I'm sure) it feels like a million miles away. We probably won't get there until late afternoon Friday, and we have a 2.5-year-old who goes to bed early-ish and takes a 2-hour midday nap, so that cuts into our time for activities. We'll get up early Saturday (and maybe Sunday, too) to "help" feed the farm animals, then we'll cook our own breakfast (provided by the farm). Last year we visited Yoder's Country Market, an Amish market with animals out back that can be fed. They also have a pretty good sandwich bar. Last year we also did some wine tasting. There are several vineyards nearby (caveat: I'm a wine novice and have no idea if any of these vineyards are any good -- they're beautiful, though!). This year we're thinking about driving on Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park isn't too far). I'm really looking forward to foliage, which we missed last year because we went later in the season. Charlottesville is about 45 minutes away. There's also a pumpkin patch in Culpeper, which is only about 15 minutes away. We'll be heading back to Silver Spring mid-day Sunday, so we really won't have a whole lot of time to fill with activities. The guest house doesn't have wifi, and we didn't have cell service in the guest house last year (although we did have service very close by). Even though I enjoy my Internet access it's nice to just unplug for a bit.

We're leaving for our weekend in Virginia on Friday in case anyone else has suggestions. At this point we're thinking The Whole Ox, Red Truck Bakery, Moo Thru, Barbecue Exchange, Yoder's and Shawn's Smokehouse BBQ. Wondering if there's anything else we should be considering. Thanks!

I realized around midnight that I'd probably be up until at least 1am if I watched until the bitter end, so I called it. I heard the sad news on NPR this morning. Oh, well. It was a good run. And now I can root for the Cubs without conflict. :-)

I was going to go to bed if there were no positive developments this half inning. Looks like I'm staying up!