mr food

We went last night. Staff is still getting up to speed so it took a while to get anything! Everything is expensive-players need to make their millions. Ben's half smoked was the best item we tried but there are many choices. The brisket from RHB wasn't bad but at $10 a one time experience. Beer selection is good with quality drafts-Pilsner Urquell, etc. Wine choices are poor and, again, at $8.50 to be avoided. You can bring your own food and a liter of water per person-the way to go. They had a pasta station set up in the club area for $15 a serving-not much business. Overall, it's a nice park and the sitelines are good just about everywhere; our seats were padded and very comfortable. The Nats, however, need a 101 class in fielding. Take the metro-very easy and well organized last night albeit with a half full house.

I was there recently. Food was good. I had the steak and shrimp dish which was cooked to order. I think Creme remains a good value and the atmosphere is fun if a bit noisy. I'm not sure how much time Chef T spends there anymore. The coconut cake was excellent-moist and flavorful and can be shared.

Interested to know what "the word" is, because he's at Circle every time I go, six days a week.

A couple of employees gave me "the word". If they were wrong, my apologies and we will return regardless. A nice meal in a pleasant atmosphere!

Anyone going to opening night?

We had a nice time and nice meal. A $5-6 glass of decent wine in the comfortable lounge poured by Joe is a nice start. Our lovely server Lenya (sp) from a small town in Russia brought us good food-diver scallops cooked properly, lightly fried puffs of chevre with greens, made in house egg tagliatelle with duck ragu, "Shenandoah (sp)" rack of lamb cooked as ordered. A pleasant cheese tray ended the meal. A good value even if BC was cooking at a celebrity event. Word was he's not in CB very often but our meal was fine. I will return. Wine list was good and not too over priced. ex. Seresin 2006 NZ SB for $36pb was a good choice

Any recent visits? We're going tonight

I've tried most of the places near the State and haven't discovered anything too great. Argie is the best of the bunch I guess.

Thanks for the report. I read about the new wine program and we've been considering a visit.

Where's Tiffin please?

I personally like Bombay in White Oak, been there a number of times. The only thing I don't like about the place is the weird and very loud phone ringtone they have set on the house phone.

tiffinrestaurant dot com for details. It's in Langley Park near the intersection of New Hampshire and University. Dining room is kind of sterile-ok for lunch but we takeout for dinner. Their other branch is Udupi Palace which is vegie only. Tiffin serves meat dishes.

We've taken out from there several times and found the food mediocre and oily. Tiffin is better.

Tiffin is our local for Indian food and the quality is consistently good. The buffets are a good value.

The $10 CC I had at Old Ebbitt today was excellent-almost no filler and tasty crab meat. Not bad at all for a cold, rainy January day. The Fried Oyster stew was its usual excellent self.

99 Lynch Bages with a ribeye last night. Not a long termer but nice last night-still on the upswing but not too much longer. Drink 'em if you got 'em without guilt. Decant for an hour or so.

Any recent reports? A friend and I will be taking our kids there after their piano recital today.

They have a new chef who was formerly at.....???? Somewhere good IIRC. Decent restaurants still seem have problems lasting in this area and Franklins is probably the best of the bunch. Great beer

A branch supposedly in the new Hyattsville arts district is planned. Not sure when it will open.

Dean and our server Ashley (sp) guided the two of us through an terrific Italian journey of food and wine last night. I left my notes at home but we thoroughly enjoyed the wines and various dishes we tried. I will try and get more specific comments posted in the near future but Dino is a very different place in terms of cuisine and service than the last time I visited. The wines have always been outstanding-extensive and very fairly priced. Bravo!

WE had dinner there a few days ago after (finally) viewing the Turner exhibition at the National Gallery West Wing and to me Zaytinya remains one of DC's best values with excellent small plates and good service in a fun atmosphere. Everything tastes fresh and correctly seasoned.

I'm not that thrilled with their winelist-should have been much more Rhone/Rhone Rangers centric, IMO; also could have featured more Bordeaux. Still, the food was good and the service excellent when I visited. I'll probably BYOW next time.

Creme was in good form last Tuesday. I had the flat iron steak surf and turf. The meat was a bit chewy but flavorful but I wonder if it's really a "flat iron" cut, The fried shrimp were plump and not greasy. The coconut cake is a top tier dessert. We sat at the bar and the bartender sold us a bottle of Cinnabar Merlot for $37-pleasant wine. I was sorry to learn that jazz will no longer be featured as I though the space wasn't bad for music. The scene was lively as always.

Ask for Steve Cornwell at Bassins;he will be glad to help you. Then you can go eat at Black Salt next door. WWW has some deals but Eliott (sp) is not the friendliest guy in the world-maybe you have to spend big bucks before he will pay attention to you.

good AND consistently good. Unfortunately, this is generally an expensive meal as I usually stop in to see SteveC at Bassins and let him ply me with CNDPs.

We had a nice dinner at Lavandou on Christmas Eve a couple of years back.

Highland Park 18 is de bomb! As far as Macallan, the cask strength is a great value. It's on sale for $40 this week at Calvert Woodley.

I t was drinking especially well out of a magnum a few months ago so I think the 750 is ready to go. I don't think you need to stand it up for two weeks-a couple of days would be adequate and you can decant through a filter to catch the sediment . Just make sure you use quality stemware to enjoy the bouquet this wine emits. Try not to drink it too quickly if that's possible as it evolves beautifully. I only wish I had more than a single 1500 of this great wine. The 2000 may rival this vintage one day.

If you can find it for less than 150 a bottle retail let me know and I'm all over buying some. FYI, there are rumors going around that the kirkland branded scotch is really the same as this.

Bells on M street has the 18yo Mac for $130 according to their catalog