CrescentFresh

"A Brit would say that we’re “Bang On” – excellent, just right." This quote comes from the 2003 annual report of the Canadian company that owns Elephant and Castle pubs, one of which looks like it's about ready to open at Pennsylvania and 12th, NW, in the old TGI Fridays space. (If it hasn't already. I walked by about 2 weeks ago and it looked close.) "We completed a strategic review of the brand in early 2003 and used this to design and implement a series of brand enhancements, ranging from the look of the menu to the staff uniforms. We are proud to offer timeless pub comfort – but timeless certainly doesn’t mean static – and we must continue to be ‘Bang On,’ relevant to an increasingly sophisticated and demanding guest base." I wonder if their servers will need to wear "flair?" Red phone boxes and photos of the queen do not make a great pub. And I'd sooner be tied to a maple tree and molested with moose antlers if I thought this place would serve ANYTHING close to a cask conditioned ale LIKE THEY DO IN AUTHENTIC BRITISH PUBS! "We will continue to evolve the brand to not only retain our current guest base, but to attract new guests. We need to remain “Bang On”, fresh and competitive. It will be our goal to maintain and build upon our status as the premier authentic British pub concept in North America." So they're going to be like Sine and Bennigans...only British! It's bad enough that Americans have to Disney-fy everything and send it all over the world. Now the Canadians are doing it? Actually, it serves us right to get it sent right back at us. /rant

Names and faces, gorging, sunshine, great day. Thanks to everyone who helped put it together. I'm glad Melissa and I were able to go. Please forward to me all of your "What To Do With Leftover Cheese" recipes. Stat.

Did you get a chance to read this? Or this?

Stretch, the system was probably set up by the same folks who came up with the zone system for taxis. Go figure.

The fish folks at the Dupont market do. Mike, see if Don will make you moderator of the DR Eel Forum?

HAHAHAHAHA! KILLER! MUST STOP LAUGHING!

Someone really needs to send this pic to National Geographic or some other mag that specializes in ventworms.

awww hell, let's just do it tomorrow.

Will there be an official presentation of the "Hearts of Palm d'Or?"

I hit Penn Quarter market this week. I thought it was very weak, although that could be because I got there a couple hours after it started. Lots of plants and herbs and soaps and the like. Lots of asparagus (naturally) but no strawberries (were they sold out by 5pm?). Perhaps 2 or 3 vendors with the standard offerings of vegetable greenery. One with apples. Goat tart/perogie guy was there. Blue Ridge Dairy with their excellent cheeses. But the best part of the Penn Quarter market is WB Lanham Bakery...originally of Shepardstown, WV...but now from some other town near there. He says they sold their building in Shepardstown and bought an old stone barn with lots of land. Went to France for a bit, picked up a few new recipes, and shipped a boatload (boated a shipload?) of equipment from France to their new digs. I bought a loaf of Onion/Bacon bread...one of their new recipes. Wonderful stuff. Tasted his whole grain, too. Even last year, Lanham's breads were consistently delicious. I like Atwaters at Dupont, but I really think Lanham's is leaps and bounds beyond Atwaters in quality. Would like to know what others think.

Sat across the street from Oyamel tonight, outside in the open air. For me - Four crispy chicken tacos liberally doused with Tabasco. Two margaritas on the rocks. For the Mrs. - Three soft barbacoa tacos and a Negro Modelo.

I'm all for paying for quality, but my wallet doesn't always have the same disposition. Just to make sure my wallet doesn't try to kill me if I go for this experience next week, what was that cost?

Cafe Italia - Remember when you were first learning to cook, and you sat down with your creation and then those wonderful adjectives like: rubbery, watery, flavorless, and congealed sprung to mind, and then the lid slammed down on your kitchen garbage can? Looking to relive those fond memories? They're yours for the asking just a five minute walk from the Crystal City metro station.

I've done this at home with friends who consistently dog VA wine. Every one of them has been pleasantly surprised. Not all of them would necessarily go out and buy them, but they don't dog them anymore.

No arguments with you at all on that point....or should I say pricepoint. I buy some from time to time anyway, but usually splitting a mixed case discount price. At what point, then, does the price begin to drop to reasonable levels? Are they so grossly overpriced now because they're such small operations creating such small amounts of wine that even a sellout would not generate enough capital to make a small profit unless they command prices $10 higher/bottle than they should be? Is it really a case of scarce supply and great demand? I'd find that hard to believe. But perhaps for the few wineries that are creating decent, drinkable wines, that's the case.

Get yourself over to Linden Vineyards. And under no circumstances should you miss the cellar tasting. They're held every half hour, and I think the last 3 or 4 are done with the winemaker, Jim Law. The cellar tastings are $10. I find that there are many, very drinkable white wines from Virginia. Aside from Linden, Breaux makes some very good ones. But, so far, Linden is the only producer of quality red wine in Virginia that I'm aware of.....or at least that I'm happy to drink.

When handed my check last night at the bar at Jaleo, there was a booklet tucked in there announcing some events at Atlantico to celebrate its 15th anniversary in June. Tuesday, June 7 Cata de Vinos, a South American wine tasting. No menu was listed (although I've emailed them to ask.) $120 pp inclusive. Wednesday, June 15 Almaviva Wine Dinner. with winemaker Tod Victor Mostero. Menu prepared by Jose Andres and Katsuya Fukushima. Regalitos - Mojito soda - Carrot pisco sour, Oysters with pea puree, pea sprouts, snow peas, candied lemon mint, Tomato-Watermelon "Gazpacho", Chicken Caesar salad, "Steak and Eggs", Tres Leches 3 Ways. $125 pp inclusive. Saturday, June 25 Art Auction and Dim Sum Celebration, featuring works by Latin American artists. Special dim sum brunch and cocktail party follows the auction. No price listed. Monday, June 27 Dinner with Jose and friends. Guest chefs, Douglas Rodriguez, Ola, Miami and Guillermo Pernot, Pasion, Philadelphia. $150 pp inclusive. I know I'd want to see more info on these before I would consider shelling out the $.

True. I should have said wineries rather than wine.

Nice plug for Virginia wine in today's New York Times: "A Taste of Vintage Virginia" by Jessica Merrill on nytimes.com --- Barboursville Vineyards (DCMark)

I second this question. Not to keep JPW from enjoying any chance he can to visit Cheesetique, it happens to be on a direct line from my residence to the picnic site, and would be happy to stop by and put together a small selection.

What I'd be curious about then is where the line is drawn between what is a bar and what is a restaurant. For instance, on egullet, I railed into Vermilion (deservedly) for what I considered to be a wholly unacceptable ventilation system. The "restaurant" floor was separate from the "bar/lounge" area, but it seemed as though the air from the latter was being pumped into the former. (And yes, I know it's not in the District, but it serves as a good example). Another place that comes to mind is Ella's Pizza. Clearly, Ella's is a restaurant, a pizza joint, but it does (I haven't been there in a while, so perhaps this has changed) draw in a pretty good bar business, particularly for happy hour. There really is no true physical separation between bar and restaurant space there. That's another place where smoke really carried. I have no objections to smoking and smokers. I just don't want to be a part of it when it ruins an experience for me. Restaurants like Vermilion or Ella's may be concerned that they'll lose business if there is a ban on smoking in restaurants, and of course RAMW will come up with all sorts of doomsday figures to back it up. But there's also the serious chance that people who avoid certain restaurants because of the smoke will start going there again. I mean, you couldn't pay me to go to Vermilion again until it becomes smokefree. I'd hope owners/managers would be looking not only at numbers of people that might be lost by such a ban, but also at the numbers that they could gain. And John, thanks for the insight from Firefly.

I agree that they won't be able to pass it as a national law, but what I do think they'll do eventually is "coerce" states into doing it like they did with the drinking age 20 years ago. States that did not raise their drinking age to 21 would not receive federal highway funds. Every state can probably still choose what it wants its drinking age to be, but...... So that's how I think Congress would act on national smoking regulations. States wouldn't want to turn their backs on the cash. Although it would be interesting to see if the tobacco companies would make up the difference in places like Virginia, North Carolina, etc.

Obsessed? Bah! 45 minutes 'til lunchtime.

Thoughts on this new means of clearing the air in DC restaurants/workplaces? Frankly, I hope it works. Trying to eat near cigarette smoke is foul and it is a tremendous relief to go and visit family and friends in NY where I don't have to be hassled by the smoke. Not to mention being able to go out in the evening and not wake up coughing the next day as if I was lighting up myself. I'd really like to know what restaurant owners/managers think about this notion that they'll lose customers. If it's banned in DC, can we really expect this mass migration away from District restaurants and into Virginia and PG county? I don't believe for a minute that smokers will boycott DC venues and run out of town to smoke with the meal. It's only a matter of time before smoking regulations like this are passed. And not just in DC, but eventually Congress will act on it nationally. ("We won't give your state any highway/health funding unless you pass this smoking ban.") It may take ten or twenty years, but it's a question of when and not if it will happen.

New delivery is arriving today, I'm told. Usually, I've seen beef, pork, lamb and chicken. Varieties of cuts and chops.