wineitup
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Posts posted by wineitup
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Hopefully when the show airs, he directs people to the Fredericksburg location so I can still walk in and get a table.
Fish w special sauce at Peter Chang might be best plate of food in America. Discuss #food #travel https://vine.co/v/hZdKt6BABtZ
Supposedly this isn't for Bizarre Foods, but a new show he's going to have.
I had the Fish with Special Sauce at the Fredericksburg location last Saturday. it is an awesome dish.
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It's about Thyme also owns the Copper Fish and the Thyme Market on the same street. The Thyme Market is a good place for sandwiches and the like. They often have suckling pig. Their pizza's aren't bad either.
There are a few cool shops on that same street as well. GREEN ROOST (sells cool accessories for the home, many repurposed), HARRIET'S GENERAL (sells made in the USA clothes and other items), and TASTE (sells olive oils, vinegars, and spcies).
Also, about 5 miles outside town is Cibola Farms. They sell bison, free range pork, goat, chicken and turkey. We make a trip there every quarter to load up the freezer.
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Try Taco Bus the food there is pretty authentic.
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Stanardsville (near Charlottesville)
I have not seen this one mentioned so i thought I would add it.
Did a 3 day weekend near C'ville and while looking for a place for our anniversary dinner came across The Lafayette Restaurant and Inn . It's in Standardsville, VA. After checking out the website i noticed they did a Chef's Tasting Menu for $125/pp that included wine. I was intrigued, so i made a reservation.
I can safely say it was well worth the money. Since we went on a Friday evening, we basically had the whole restaurant to ourselves and even had the chef come out for basically every course and talk about the food and wine. They generally do 10-12 courses, but I got the impression he would keep going if you had more room. The wines were a mix of Virginia wines, along with some, Italian and Argentinean wines if i remember correctly. A new wine is served with each course, which ended up be way to much wine, and we did not drink all of it obviously (took a cab to and from, just to be safe).
The food itself was good. We had to stop him at 10 courses because we were stuffed.
Here's what we had:
Cold Strawberry soup
Corn fritters (these were bite sized bits of awesomeness)
Fried green tomatoes
Caprese salad
Scallop & watermelon (sounds weird, but it worked)
Southern eggroll
Lobster ravioli
Vegetable wellington
Voodoo mahi mahi
Bread pudding w/blackberry sauce -
Anything new in in Louisville? Have a business dinner there in a couple weeks. looking for something more laid back.
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Some thoughts from our recent trip to wine country.
Whenever I ask anyone whether they prefer Napa or Sonoma, pretty much everyone says Sonoma because Napa it too touristy. I liked my trip to both places, but personally, I would say that I like Napa a bit better. It is more expensive, but my time in Napa didn't seem touristy at all and I felt that the scenery was better. Not that I didn't love my trip to Sonoma, I did, but don't let people sway you from going to Napa if that is where you want to go.
Healdsburg is awesome, if you are staying on that side, I would recommend Healdsburg over Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Kenwood, Glen Ellen, etc.
Dinner at Cyrus was fine, but I was not thoroughly impressed. I felt that the food was solid and the wine pairings good, but overall the value was not there. The service was also solid, but it seemed very hectic on the floor. Whenever I looked up, there were at least a dozen staff on the floor. Some people may see that as being attentive, but honestly, it was because they are inefficient as hell. At the French Laundry, we never waited for anything, they were always there when you needed them. It was almost as if they were all in a back room with cameras on every table and they would spring into action when you needed something. It just is much more peaceful to eat when you don't have people all over the place all of the time. In essence, I would gladly spend $891 at French Laundry as opposed to the $575 that I spent at Cyrus.
Dinner at Barndiva, however, was a different story. It is not as fancy as Cyrus, but the food was every bit as good and the service was much better. It was one of those dinners that you look back on and think to yourself, "That was just a great experience.", even though I can't remember one specific thing about it.
Healdsburg Bar and Grill was another "must go" place to check out when you are in the area. We went for lunch and ate burgers, along with 75% of everyone else in that restaurant, and they were damn good.
We never ate at Spoonbar, but we had fantastic drinks there two nights during our trip and I would have made it every night if I had my way. Both nights I just sat at the bar with my family, ignored them and was mesmorized by their liquor selection. If I could steal a bar and put it in my house, that is the bar that I would steal.
Outside of Healdsburg, we only tried a few other places and El Dorado Kitchen was the place the blew us away. Clearly, I liked the places that we went to, but we ended up here on a whim one afternoon for lunch and it was simply fantastic. The porchetta sandwich that I had was easily the best sandwich that I have eaten in years. The lamb burger was also incredible, as was the burrata, as was the pool connected to the hotel with bikini clad women.
I can't say the same, however, for Maya. Mexican food sounded great after a long day of wine tasting, but it was average at best. The place was jammed, so they are definitely popular, but all six of us didn't finish our food, that is not a good sign.
We also stopped at Underwood one day for lunch on the recommendation of a winery that we were at that morning. Personally, I could have done without stopping there, but it is a pretty good place in a one stop light town.
From a wine perspective, let me get my negative comments out first. Hartford Family Winery sucks. The service sucks, the tasting room sucks, the wine sucks and the value sucks. We went to 10 wineries while on our trip and this is the only one where we did not buy a bottle of wine. Hell, most places we bought a case of wine from, but we could barely get through our tasting here.
Now, on a positive note, we absolutely loved our trip to Lynmar (make sure you go on the farm tour) and Quivira. I would also highly recommend a trip to Ledson. Is the building a bit ostentatious? Probably. Is the wine tasting overwhelming? I guess so as it is tough to pick 6 or 9 wines to taste from a list of 20+. But, in the end, the wine was damn good, the service (Hana) was incredible and the pictures come out great. Oh yeah, we loved Michel Schlumberger and Preston as well, ditto for Matanzas Creek, Gundlach Bundschu, Deerfield Ranch and and . Basically, go to any of those places other than Hartford Family Winery and you will be impressed.
I'll second the El Dorado Kitchen recommendation. Had a great meal there our last trip. Also agree with the Deerfield Ranch, Matanzas Creek and Arista nods. Both Matanzas Creek and Arista are in beautiful, but very different settings.
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Going to Bali in June (for my job, not vacation). Any recommendations are appreciated.
Well I'm back from Bali. My meetings were in Kuta, which as you know if you've been there is the main tourist spot. Nothing food wise really stuck out at the restaurants. The best meal we had was at an Italian restaurant called Rosso Vivo. The "Indonesian" cuisine was toned down tourist grade. Had some pretty good Indian food at a restaurant called "Queens" and a fairly good burger at the poolside bar at our hotel. Agree with the above poster that the fruit was awesome. Our hotel had a gigantic breakfast buffet that included pretty much every kind of breakfast food from every part of the world. The fruit display was huge and i tried everything they had there. Really like the jack fruit. Also became addicted to Guava juice while I was there.
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My girlfriend and I went there in January while staying at a B&B nearby...we loved the food and talking to the owners. In fact, we would like to go back and eat at a few other places there. I bought some Waygu hotdogs and assorted meats from the Butcher next door and wished they weren't 45 mins away.
That would be Olde Town Butcher. Yes it is great. I get most of my stuff there. Lee, the owner is able to get just about anything you want with a couple days notice. He will actually be expanding his space soon.
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Had a chance this past weekend to visit a farm-to-table place that has received some real acclaim in recent years called Poppy Hill Tuscan Kitchen.
Borned and riased in and moved back to F'burg in 2007. Unfortunately Poppy Hill has been hit or miss the last year or so, not sure what is going on. Our last meal there was good, but the previous two were lacking. I always have a good meal at Bistro Bethem, they have an excellent wine program also. The small plates at Kybecca Wine Bar are also very good. The newish Bavarian Chef is very good as well. If you are lloking for something a little more simple, Soup & Taco is awesome (and definately my favorite restaurant for the money in F'burg) and for a great burger go to Old Towne Grill (open 830-5, closed Sundays). I personally hate Sammy T's, had terrible food and service when we moved back in 07' and haven't been there since.
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Had great lunch at Balliceaux today. Started off with roasted sweet onion soup with olive oil crouton. The onions are slow roasted and you really get a nice depth of flavor. My wife started with the coastal blue crab soup with sherry cream. She said she loved it. My Main course was the fried oyster po' boy with truffle fries. It was served on a really nice grilled baguette with butter lettuce, tomato, a really nice creole sauce and some really great fried oysters. The truffle fries are awesome, by the way. My wife's main was the potlikker braised catfish served with long grain rice and pigeon pea pilaf and zucchini salad. I didn't taste it, but she finished every bite of it and said it was really good. We both had a chocolate cream caramel for dessert. It was decadent and it was great! The service is friendly and very good.
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This afternoon we drove down K street from Washington Circle to Connecticut Avenue. I saw two locations with signs in the window noting they were for lease. One is next to the Prime Rib and the other a block or two further east. At the corner of Connecticut and L is a new office building under construction advertising 15,000 quare feet of retail available as well as the top four floors. I don't remember ever seeing several prime spots on K street in a several block area with signs in the window.
Is the industry softening? Or is this a comment on K street no longer being the prime spot that it once was?
I think maybe the latter. K Street was the "power address" back in the 80's& 90's, but I think today it's just another street in DC. There seems to be no shortage of restaurants opening up in DC, just not on K St.
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Carmine's seems like it was conceived for this sort of thing. There's also a communal table at Zaytinya and a separate room upstairs that they will book for groups. And PS7s would probably love to have you.
PS7 could take us. thanks for the suggestion.
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In a meeting in Penn Quarter. About 15 want to go to dinner this evening. not having much luck on OpenTable. Any thoughts or help is appreciated.
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I'll second the Rosario's recommendation from further up the chain of replies. It's in an area I think is called SouthTown, about a 10 minute walk from the Riverwalk. The Concierge said the restaurant had been around for about 30 years. Had Parrilla di Tripe (think Tripe Fajita's) which were very good. Also enjoyed the Salsa (smoky with a nice kick). The place is very popular with visitors and locals, so it's pretty crowded and you'll likely have to wait for a table.
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Headed to Sonoma with my family (wife, sister, brother-in-law, mother, mother-in-law) in June. I am pretty sure that I have the restaurants covered, but I am struggling with what town to stay in and what wineries to go to.
Any thoughts on a preferred town to stay in - Healdsburg, Sonoma, Glen Ellen, Kenwood, Santa Rosa? Any hotels/inns that you would recommend? We are also considering just renting a house since there are six of us and we will be there for four nights.
What about wineries? Since this is a more diverse group that I usually go with, I won't be able to go to a winery that only serves cab or only serves zin, I will have to go to places that have some mix to the wine that you can taste?
For reference, when we went to Napa in 2009, we stayed at the Milliken Creek Inn. Also, when we were there, the wineries that I liked the best included Quintessa, Palmaz, Schramsberg, Paraduxx, Pride and Frank Family.
If you want to consider Glen Ellen. There is a place there called the Glenn Ellen Inn. It has 6 what I guess you would called suites out back behind the restaurant. Very nice. quiet area. The restaurant is not bad either. Plus across the street is the Fig Cafe (same people who do the Girl & the Fig) and an awesome breakfast spot called the Garden Court Cafe.
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Made it to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon on my recent trip to Vegas. It was a very good meal, with Very Good service. But I think for the money (ended up spending about the same) I enjoyed my experience at our very own Komi better.
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Going to Bali in June (for my job, not vacation). Any recommendations are appreciated.
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Back from Savannah. Here's the lowdown.
Local Eleven 10 - Had an awesome 6 course meal here for New Years. The wine pairings were spot on as well. Go to this restaurant! - http://www.local11ten.com/
Vic's on the River - Good seafood. The price point keeps some of the tourist riff-raff out. Nice interior. - http://vicsontheriver.com/
B & D Burger - Good Place for a good burger. About 30 or so choices. - http://bdburgers.net/
Broughton and Bull - WIne Bar with Southern Flair. Good place for a nice dinner. - http://www.broughtonandbull.com/
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Well I am not sure where in your world wide travels you have eaten but I can assure you this practice is widespread at fine dining establishments throughout the world. Moreover, at several restaurants i have been to in the U.S. and the Europe, including, for example, the French Laundry, Eleven Madison Park, and Per Se, they will not even leave the bottle on the table after opening it (away from the table), instead returning with the bottle or decanter to fill your glass as the need arises.
I have eaten at Eve many times and observed Mr. Thrasher and both his assistant soms at work. Like Todd, they follow the routine of presenting the bottle, opening within view of the table, tasting to confirm that it is without defect, seasoning the glasses, and serving. I was not there with you so I have no choice but to take what you say at face value. But I wish there was a video because sight unseen I would bet my $1000 to your $100 that the assistant som poured closer to 1 ounce than the 3 ounces you claim.
Eve has an extensive list - one of the best in the the DC area, and the best I have seen in Virginia this side of the Inn at Little Washington. So when you say there is not a single wine on their list you can drink I am wondering exactly what varietals and regions appeal to your palate. Please share with the group - I think after so damning a criticism we are entitled to know specifically what it is that you do drink.
Your pricing analysis is also off base. You assert that Eve is marking wine up 3.5X (62/18). That is wrong. I am very familiar with wholesale prices and in my experience Eve's markup is in the 2.5X range. And your local store, facing competition from Total Wine and the web, is likely working on a 20-25% mark up, not the 60+% you claim . Eve's list is quite fairly priced, especially when compared to area restaurants of its caliber. Though in point of fact there are only one or two area restaurants that actually are of Eve's caliber.
Excellent Response.
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Way to welcome the new guy by outing his face from the get-go, Joe Yonan.
Congrats to Tim Carman, to the Post for landing such a talent, and to the rest of us for keeping him here in DC!
He was on No Reservations like two years ago, so this article didn't "out" him.
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Ate there a number of times when I worked in Rosslyn. Always good food. As noted above it gets little press and maybe gets overlooked a bit because of all the other great choices in the area (and in that strip mall).
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I echo the Osteria Marco recommedation.
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In Fredericksburg, it's the 2400 Diner.
Peter Chang China Cafe, Szechuan Restaurant Chain Undergoing Expansion
in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
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I live in F-burg, it actually really depends on the time of day relative to traffic. If 95 is backed up taking 17 to 1 is actually a good way to go.