Baccala

Had a chance to have lunch here today and was impressed with what they were doing. I order the Margarita and while I was waiting I was offered a sample of the roasted pepper soup. The soup was perfect on this cold day, nice flavor. I was the first pizza order of the day and had to wait a bit, but it was worth it. The crust was decent as was the ingredients. The only recommendation I would make would be to hit it with a little salt at the end. Well worth the trip. Unfortunately I am usually no where near here for lunch.

Bear Rock is open for business in the Westlee Condo building on Lee Highway. Looks like a interesting twist on the typical sandwiche place. 2200 N. Westmoreland Street Ph: 703-532-0031 - WiFi http://www.bearrockfoods.com/

Under the original owners the bruch was excellent in my opinion. If they would have only gotten rid of the paper plates. We ventured in a week after the handover, not knowing of the change, and got my omelet and right off the bat I knew somthing was not right. Way too much greese and it was sloppy. It was decent, but not the same and we have not been back for a second try. The bread is the same, which I tought was excellent.

I am glad to see you are selling at Grape Juice. It reminds me that you sell retail. I bought some items, at grape jucie and will be in your store to by more.

I like most of the shows he does on the BBC way better then the US versions. His version of Kitchen Makeover is much more serious and better produced. I like the F word as well. I think he has don himself a disservice with US based shows like Hells Kitchen. For anyone that does not like what they see on the US version of his shows should watch him on BBC and you will see him in a different light.

I love Earl's and usually eat the Turkey, however have recently started eating the roast beef. I usually keep it simple, meat, lettuce and sourdough bread. I think the beef has good flavor, but think it could use a little more salt when roasting. I agree that the bread is kinda a weak link, however in addition to that it is the Mayo. They are not using Hellman's. which for me is sad considering the quality of the meats. The brand they are using simply does not hold up, way to thin and lacks flavor.

I agree with your comments. I was there a few weeks ago and had a wonderful meal. The food, wine and service was excellent. I told a few friends at work at Dino and they came back with a excellent review as well. I have upcoming reservations for this weekend and on Christmas eve and look forward to going back.

Has anyone had or attempted to make one ?

Some classic quotes "We offer modern american cuisine in a nieghberhood setting that is both delicous, reasonably priced and innovative" "..try something different....Perhaps our Potato Crushed Salmon dinner sauteed with lobster basil sauce or our cheeseless Mediterranean pizza, prepared with mushrooms, onions, green peppers, fresh tomatoes and black olives seasoned with a olive oil vinegreate sauce and perfectly cooked to leave you wondering why pizza ever had cheese in the first place."

The people that own Milan Bakery have opened an Italian eatery in the old pizza hut, cowboy cafe outpost. They are open and ready for business. Hopefully it will be decent enough to stick around. This place has plenty of parking. Milan Restaurant 5731 Lee, Arlington, VA 22207 (703) 237-6606

Wonder how the Bistro concept will work in this space. They have signs in the window that they are now hiring and will be opening soon http://www.yorktownbistro.com/

Joy and Veronica, the owners for Restaurant Vero, have opened a wine shop near their restaurant. The shop has a great selection of wines from Spain, Italy, Australia and US. In addition that they have respectable selection of beer and other food goodies. The small environment and the knowledgeable staff make shopping here a pleasure. Their passion for wine is expressed in their wine list at the restaurant and is evident in their selection at the shop. I would highly recommend adding them to your list of local wine stores www.grapejuicewineshop.com 5707 Lee Hwy Arlington, VA 22207 (703) 536-9463

Review from Siestema (Nov. 28, 2007) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?n...ies=Restaurants

This months Bon Appetit (p82) has a list of the Best Upscale Meat Balls, they mention the Pea Soup with vealcheek meatballs. Has anyone had the soup ? Is it worth a trip ?

2003 Muga Rioja

Has anyone tried this method. I thought it sounded interesting. http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/b...mbid=rss_epilog

Interesting. http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNew...756414420071113

NY Time article worth a read http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/dining/1...xprod=permalink

3471 Washington Blvd across from the Giant

Looks like the new location on Washington Blvd will be opening soon after a long delay ( thanks to the county). It is located in the old Pica Deli location. Looking forward to having it back in the area. Hopefull the food will be a bit more consistient.

The wife and I went to Eat last night for the first time. We were in search of something light to eat as we had a late lunch. We have been to Tallua before and have been in the Bar, but not since the conversion. We ordered the Mussels with Chorizo, Jamí³n Serrano, Blue Cheese form MN, Butternut squash soup and Baby Burgers. The soup was excellent, perfectly prepared and nice on a cold evening. The Mussels were good, but not great, nothing special. While I was happy with the Jamon and Cheese I was not happy with the portion size additionally the cheese came out very cold. The burgers were well prepared and flavorful. I thought that the bun was a little too big for the burgers, which detracted from the flavor of the meat. The buns were a little cold as well. Service was attentive and it is a fun place with a nice feel with a great wine list. While it was not great we will go back and be more selective with what we order. With 2 glasses of wine and dinner our bill was $70 with tip, wine was $13 each. Overall more then I wanted to spend on a light dinner.

Arrived a little early for our 7 pm reservations. Prior to dinner we had a glass of wine at the bar. Service and offerings were fine. While waiting for our tables we noticed the mini burgers being served to people at the Bar, they looked good. We had a perfect location to watch the kitchen and all the action. For appetizers were had Pork en Cruet- Nice appetizer. Pork served in pastry with pickles and mustard on the side. Nice flavor combinations and textures. Calamari- Perfectly seasoned and fried, excellent flavor with a nice remoulade sauce. Mussels- Perfect all around. White wine Broth, with chorizo. They were served in a Staub Mussel Pot. Clams- Wellfleet clams, fresh and nicely presented Oysters- 3 different types all were fresh and nicely presented, a nice combination of oysters Dinner Tagliatelle Bolognese- Well prepared and flavors were fresh and balanced. A decent dish. Halibut- perfectly seared nice sized piece of fish atop of perfectly seasoned broth and vegetables. Chesapeake Bay Stew- A nice combination of shrimp, clams and sea bass. Flavors worked well together. Grilled Flat Iron. Perfectly seasoned, and prepared, It was ordered med rare and was delivered med rare. The shallots and sauce were a nice addition. The sauce, which was under the steak, was smooth and flavorful. Braised Veal Cheek- Very tender and flavorful. A great dish. Mac and Cheese- Well prepared. Needed a little salt, but other then that it was good. Desert We had the pineapple upside-down cake, blueberry cobbler, warm chocolate cake and port. The chocolate cake was served with a malt ice cream which great. Overall desert was excellent. The service was attentive and responsive a little over covered, but it was fine. The wine service was excellent. The Sommelier selected a great red and fully explained the selection. He told us that he was helping until they hire someone and that he work at Maestro. Very nice guy. We were luck to have a seat in both near the kitchen with a perfect view of the kitchen. Chef Marino visited the table and we had a discussion about the cheeks. He noticed that we did not order them and had the dish sent out to the table for us to try. Eric Ripert was in the kitchen and working the floor as well. It was a treat to meet him, he was pleasant and allowed us to have our picture taken with him. Overall a great experience. We will be going back.

http://www.slashfood.com/2007/11/02/meryl-...ay-julia-child/

Befriend someone in the business, maybe a restaurant that you spend a lot of money at or eat often and ask them to add to their order. I have done that and pay them when I pick it up. Works well for stock bones as well.

Excellent video podcast- The latest, 10/18 is Bone marrow by Fergus Henderson. Worth wathcing