frogprince

Had a perfectly fine sweetbread vol-au-vent at Bistro D'oc last week; nice pastry, pearl onions and mushrooms bathed in champagne cream, made one almost regret finishing it, had not the veal brains in brown butter been thrust upon me a little too soon

i'm finishing the other half of jamie's pastrami and yes, it deserves to be on that list

stachowski's - pastrami

fast gourmet - cubano (i adore culinary traditions but find the chivito repulsive but really, every single one of those ingriedients needs to be on there!?!)

2 amy's - soft shell on sourdough

am wine shoppe - admo (yes iam biased because this is our sister joint)

taylor - ive had the same pork-provolone-raab thing there twice in the last month (t st): 1 was outstanding; the other was atrocious

This may be too late but we stumbled across Mr B's BBQ last year when we were passing through. Its the kind of place that one always dreams of discovering, especially when travelling away from home, that dilapidated shack sitting forlornly by the side of the road forsaken by even the most battle-tested world travelers, the creaky weathered swinging door hanging off its last two coppered bolts, the lazy indolent feline that greets you inside and the two pitmasters, sharing enough attitude between them to make a hampden hon blush, whose remain fixated on the the young and the restless flickering on the black and white tube in the corner that one must marvel at the 'cue they produce, given their lackadaisical attitude; but the 'cue, oh! the 'cue!

the goat at himalayan heritage

crabs while the gettin's good cos it wont be too much longer

"do you know what it means, to miss new orleans?"

pesce and mourayo spring to mind

(Hey, you forgot to mention I asked you to post this!)

The problem with "Mike" is that he's too closely linked with "Spike."

One can cook like a journeyman professional cyclist can ride a bike.

(Let's not forget, he was Chef de Cuisine at a restaurant people like.)

The other cooks sloppy, greasy garbage, and needs to take a hike.

And that is why haters gonna hate, sure as a tyke gonna ride a trike.

The difference is the difference between a gutter ball and a strike.

These two chefs, despite appearances, are simply not at all alike.

You know, I really don't enjoy being a prick to this gentleman, but to issue false praise would be like endorsing McDonald's just because it's famous and popular. Despite its playful nature, this is a deadly serious restaurant website, and I owe our readership nothing less than honesty and integrity. Spike Mendelsohn may well be one of the five most famous chefs in the Washington, DC area right now, and that is nothing short of a fucking joke, and it's an absolute insult to the 1,000 unknown, hard-working line cooks in this area supporting their families while making $15 dollars an hour who can cook circles around him. Yes, that's right, I said one thousand.

oh wait this aint facebook, i suppose i cant "like" this, let alone LOVE IT

I think the owners of The Black Olive have opened a more casual place (or am I totally making this up?).

You're quite right; last time we were up there, had a delightful lunch on the roof- simple unfussy seafood-heavy Greek (whats not to love bout that!?!) There is a patio, if folks are so inclined, plus a breathtaking industrial view. I believe its called The Inn at Black Olive, over there at Aliceanna and Caroline streets

Mathew's pizza in Patterson Park, bout a 10 minute drive out Eastern Ave from downtown, fits all of your criteria (except crabcakes): cheap, lowkey, lunch. I've been going since I was in utero and my family has been frequenting Mathew's since they opened eons ago; dining here is akin to popping open a time capsule, at least to my nearly 30 year old eyes- a liliputian dining room haphazardly decorated by the world's worst italian travel agent-turned-interior designer, the requisite bawlmer 'hon' waitresses, the red and white checkered tablecloths, the fountain soda, a gimmick-free menu, cold beer; I simply adore the place.

If you like ethiopian, and are concerned about the logistical (potentially) nightmare that is "8pm friday no rez," Zenebech Injera is legit. Zero atmosphere but does it matter when the food's good and the booze flows? You could just split one platter (say Baby Lamb Tibs from the owner's family's farm in Md.), thereby not waddling up Florida to the 930.

Oh, and that whole 8pm Friday thing? not a problem.

The bar at Eatonville has never had a soul at it, in my experience, if thats more your thing.

Pilar, while still the best restuarant in the 'hood, would be an absolute madhouse; the recent reopening and expansion cannot help matters either, me thinks.

My favorites are fairly obvious: Woodberry, Blue Grass Tavern, I also adore Jimmy's and Nacho Mamas. I also think One World Cafe has really good vegan/vegetarian options. I figured most of these places are fairly known so I didn't mention them.

are you referring to jimmy's in fells point? if only i could find comparable scrapple and crab soup here in dc at a restaurant (let alone a DINER); sigh, suppose i will have to make my own

mathew's pizza on eastern ave; ostrowski's of bank street- both for serious old school deliciousness

Reading over this thread in prep for a quick visit to NO for a wedding this month, knowing that I'll have a limited amount of time, the only thing I thought of that I had to try was a muffaletta at Central Grocery, I didn't focus on beignets because I'm not into sweets. What other foods would you definitely fit in, if you were there for 3 days?

For such a brief visit, and in such a locale as New Orleans with its quite literally dizzying array of eatingdrinkingdancingmusicculture, I'd try to hit the big boys, as it were:

August or Galatoire's, very different restaurants, each exceptional in its own right, though I would say Galatoire's if you want to get a more, hmm... "historical" meal, a repast that demands your attention remain focused solely on southeastern Louisiana and its complicated, incestuous history; August is just Awesome, though decidedly more modern.

Zydeco at Rock N'Bowl

Cochon because, well, if youre on this board, youre either A: Industry or B: Lover of good food and libations (or both) and, in whichever camp you herald from, you simply must go if in NOLA, because Cochon is that.damn.good.

acadiana. boudin balls. several tvs

I should mention that they now have a second location outside of Frederick, at

Black Hog BBQ & Bar

Phone: 240-699-0070

Address: Urbana Village Center. Ijamsville, MD

Now I dont want to be a negative nancy here but, well, I just gotta be: my wife and I were driving back from Morgantown (this wouldve been in early November) and went to the address listed there in Ijamsville and, well, it. just aint. there; as in, where it should've been, there was a sparkling new Harley showroom and body shop. Now, I aint the most technologicalified man and there's a definite chance I just copied down the address wrong, so my wife dutifully looked it up again on her Idroidberry and, lo and behold, same address, but still no 'cue, no sweet tantalising wisps and wafts of slowly smoldering fruitwoods and hickorys tucked into their sabled iron durance, no grates full of gently softly rotating oozing porcine parts and bovine bellies, no, just the long slow deliberate screech and whine of man's drastic failed attempt at his apotheosis two wheeled earthbound icaruslike.

I'd like to be proven wrong here, hell I'd just like to know how we managed (or didnt) to get it all so drastically fantastically wrong; any body actually been to their second location?

It will definitely be Cochon if we haven't made it there prior, I've been to and loved both, but Cochon is one of my favorite restaurants.

Haven't even heard of Casamento's. Care to share more about it?

its on magazine, down past the garden district but well before the swing into uptown. bout 4 or 5 blocks off st charles. the BEST SOFT SHELL ive ever had. if i may be so arrogant as to qualify that statement: my family is from bawlmoor; my uncle and his cousins were/are crabbers and 'wudder-men; i have a tattoo of a crab on my forearm. my great-granny smacked us over the head after she inspected our shells and found them too "full."

and at casamento's i had the best soft shell crab EVER, in my 29 years on this earth. a cold abita and some colder gulf oysters to start and i, as they say, was happy as a, well, crab in sand in december.

and you must, even if you dont have to, use the restroom at casamento's. you must walk the gauntlet thru the kitchen, past the woks (!) that pass for deep fryers here (no there are no deep fryers, though one wouldnt believe it by consuming the crispy salty treasures that emerge) and GO TO THE RESTROOM; its outside (sort of) and the banter and small talk ( and ribbing you get from the staff, until you show that crab tattoo) are the stuff that stories told to your grandchildren will be made of.

all that aside, im ignorant as to the crab season in louisiana, though we get gulf crabs up offseason, so...

you want to go to casamento's; trust me.

Looks like Palena Cafe is no longer serving weekday lunch. We found out the hard way after planning a lunch there so wanted to spread the word for others. Big bummer--the other lunch options in the area are a definite step down from what they were doing.

strongly strongly dislike

Do you really think that most places around here serve 100% Chesapeake?

absolutely not. which is why i never order crab at any restaurant

Washingtonian is reporting that the crab is a blend of Chesapeake and Indonesian crab: Link to Washingtonian

The pictures don't do a good job of distinguishing between pale-white crab and pale-white mayonnaise.

you lost me at "blend" and "indonesian"

Heading down to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond to see the Picasso exhibit, any recommendations for nearby spots for a late afternoon lunch? Interesting veggie options a big bonus. Probably prefer something on the more casual end of the spectrum.

Would also prefer walking distance or short drive from the museum.

Buzz and Ned's remains one of my favorite 'que joints in these here parts; tho' the endless loop of defeating bobby flay could probably be toned down or simply abolished. Its just up the boulevard from the museum.

Comfort, just a short jaunt away in Jackson Ward down Broad st, has some pretty stellar sandwiches and fries of character.

Millie's, even if it is on the other side of town (this is Richmond, not DC, so "other side of town" is, in actuality, something like a 15 minute drive) always has interesting options, if not always downright delicious.

cochon cochon cochon cochon cochon (galatoire's and casamento's) cochon cochon...

(i smell guy fieri...)

We would like to find five or six places for lunch in these neighborhoods, including one or two vegetarian options. We are staying at a hotel at the north end of Tottenham Court Road and would like to walk to the restaurants.

Admittedly, it was 7 years ago that I lived right about where your hotel is (on the corner with Euston Rd.), but there is a trememdous street, Charlotte Street 'bout a block west running parallel to Tottenham Court Rd. that has some truly trememdous eats. Of course, the only name I can remember is Pied a Terre, a Michelin 2-star with heavy dose of Gallicness but in an oh so English way. A quick google search should unearth the rest. Off the top of my head, there are both phenomenal Italian and Eastern Inidan, toward the bottom of Charlotte St.

A little further down Euston Rd, toward Great Portland Street, is Villandry, a combination fancy-pants market, cheese counter, bar and restaurant, with the required 21st century emphasis on local, sustainable, organic, heirloom, etc...

I love the staff, and have the utmost respect for Frank and the business he's built. I'll continue to support the restaurant no matter what the configuration because the food is fucking good, the service is outstanding, the prices are affordable, and everyone is treated with respect.

'nuff said.

(italics mine)