B.A.R.

No notice at all, huh? That's odd, because on their website it says they closed because their lease expired.

It's been years since I went to Red Maple, but when it opened it was predominantly a club, with only a few appetizers on the menu.

So....say...$53.90 would sort of, take your breath away?

I need to take an informal poll, and hope Rocks allows this. Forgive the simplicity of the scenario: You walk in to a modestly appointed bar in Washington DC. The drink order is two Jack and Cokes, two glasses of Pinot grigio. What should your bill come to, including tax?

Thank God!

Wegman's Fairfax always has them.

We're looking for a line cook who wants to be busy, but not exhausted. That wants individual responsibilty, but appreciates team dynamics. That isn't afraid to say, "Chef, I'd like to try this" We're looking for someone who may someday want to run his own kitchen. But if you don't, that's totally cool too. We're looking for someone who is looking to get out of the restaurant grinder, but leave with their passion, and intensity, intact. We are a small, growing, renovating hotel restaurant whose goal is pretty simple: make people happy (and this includes our associates). Pay is more than fair. Shifts are mostly nights, usually 3-10 or 4-11, and benefits for all full-time employees. After 90 days. Oh, and we believe full-time is 30 hours a week. So, if you, or a friend, might be interested. PM me. And, if you happened to have smoked some cannabis in the past, say 30 days.....please start drinking water. A lot. We test.

That's one of the best things I've ever read on this board.Good luck in all of your endeavors.

I have to call bullshit. A fall of 85 meters would surely seriously injure, if not kill a person.

Have they added a third wine less than $100 to their list?

Lemmee see......that would be 15 restaurants in 7 days. There are people who SELL TO restaurants that didn't see that many accounts over the holiday weeek. I betcha left some out, too!

Yes, this weeks was excellent. That's about 5 for 52 though, well below the Mendoza line.

Not sure if this is true of Butterfield 9 or not, but I have a feeling that this is going to be a very difficult year for the dining industry (read: Fine Dining) in DC. A glut of high end restaurants as regular folks cut back on their spending and businesses curtail luxury spending. Sky high food prices. Very expensive leases. It could be ugly.

I was at Bebo last Saturday night and had an all around good meal. I did have many service issues, but none of them were "server" issues. To a fault, every employee I spoke with at Bebo was charming and gracious, and seemed really to be trying. The vast majority of the issues were with items that were out of stock: wine, fettucini, individual components of dishes,desserts, etc.. What I was served was, on the whole, fabulous. I was surprised when I sat at the bar how few selections of liquors were available on the back bar. Vodka choices were Stoli and Smirnoff. They ran out of almost 25% of the things we attempted to order, it became a running joke at the table. They don't allow you to "tip" on credit cards. And they hand you a pre-printed note with your check informing you that their credit card processor is having "problems" and that it takes almost 15 minutes for your transaction to be processed. After my transaction was processed in less than two minutes, I couldn't help but think what the card should have said was "Please Pay in Cash". I've been in the service and hospitality industry for many years. These are not good omens for a businesses longeivity. I wish them well.

I've been to the Brewer's Art hundreds of times over the past decade. The food upstairs can be great and can be middling, often in the same meal. The beer has always been outstanding. It never remotely seemed like a gay pick-up place, but if your looking, there are plenty of options in the immediate vicinity.

I was under the belief that a large majority of the stadium financing was supposed to be derived from taxes on tickets, souveniers, concessions, etc. In today's paper, it said that a wopping $20,000,000 per year would be generated by these taxes. Now, I'm no mathmetician, but if the Nats sold out every game, and stadium taxes were 10%, the average attendee would have to spend $60 each game in order to generate this kind of revenue. I guess the days of $4 bleacher seats at Memorial stadium are long gone.

Are you ready to step out on your own? Are you looking to lead a kitchen, showcase your abilities, develop menus and concepts, manage a budget and grow, personally and professionally? Do you want to join an organization that is profitable and growing, offering such novelties as competitive salary plus bonuses, paid vacations, sick days, health insurance, 401K, and schedule flexibilty that is not code for ONLY 80 hours a week. Do you have passion about what goes on the plate and will work to establish relationships with vendors to procure only the finest quality ingredients? If so, I have the opportunity you are looking for (it may surprise you). Drop me a PM with your contact info and a brief job history and I'll be in touch.

Not making excuses (but I am....) estimating turn times in a restaurant is an acquired skill. A hostess with 10 days of experience at a restaurant that has been around for 20 years should be able to guage the flow of customers very effectively. A hostess with 20 years of experience would have no clue at a restaurant open 10 days.A restaurant is a living, breathing organism that goes through dynamic changes in short periods of time. You may have caught Cork in its larvae stage. It's gonna be a butterfly.

I like Rockland's. Like it a lot, actually. Is it the Salt Lick north of Austin? Why, no. But it'll do in a pinch. And, if anyone tries to dispute the tastiness of the corn pudding, I will have to invoke Godwin's Law.

Yeah, we had my 5 year old's soccer banquet there. Great chicken tenders with interesting dipping sauces. The root beer that Vincent selected was outstanding (and in our price range! ). Sorry to hear they closed, but I understand there's a new man on the fryer at 1789, and it is almost basketball season......

Reading this made me wonder about this. I was under the impression that although espresso TASTES stronger, it actually has much less caffeine, per volume, than brewed Arabica bean coffee.How I feel after drinking each certainly supports this notion. Any actual facts to back this up?

According to the Baltimore Sun, the last day will be 12/31/07. Seems the restaurant is closing due to divorce. Surprised no Food Flash from Tom.

He's an Italian-born chef. Trained in Italy. Is NEW to NYC, so many people up there might not know what to expect of his cuisine. He took over an ITALIAN RESTAURANT, formerly a more casual, traditionally Italian one. The restaurant has a noticably Italian name. Bruni and others have pointed out to their readers that...ahem, this ain't your typical Italian restaurant. And the food? Apparently he thinks it is truly special. How many restaurants opened up with 4 NYT ****? I can think of only Per Se. Great review. I am sure they are ecstatic.

Great service is a result of managerial discipline. It is created and fostered because of good hiring practices and training, training, training. I imagine the reason that Eve has generally great service is as much of a result who they DON'T hire, as who they do. Many restaurants take a glance at an application, see a list of high end restaurants and think "GREAT", "train" the new hire for a couple of days ("here's a copy of the menu", "have you ever worked with Micros before?", "follow Stephanie today"), and then turn 'em loose. I am making a huge supposition here, but I would imagine a slew of high end restaurants on a resume submitted to Eve is taken as a negative. Look at GAR. They have what, 10 restaurants? With several hundred waitstaff? They are pulling from the same pool but seem to miraculously field a staff of young, informed, enthusiaistic, and attentive waitstaff. How do they do it? They have defined expectations for their employees (promptness, dry cleaned uniforms, teamwork, etc.), are unwavering in their adherence to their core beliefs, and train, train, train. If they can do it at a group of restaurants that have a $35 check avg (I am guessing), it can be done at more upper-tier restaurants as well. It basically comes down to how much do you, restaurant manager/owner, value service? And do you have the will to see it through? It certainly is not easy, but it is doable.

Anyone know where the Shaw outpost is located?