Pete

Thanks for posting about this place! I have noticed them driving out that way on weekends and keep meaning to pull off the road to give them a try.

15 years. I remember a really great Chinese place right off the square in Brugge though! Owner spoke not a word of English, we had no French or Flemish or any dialect of Chinese.

That doesn't help you one bit, does it???

Say hi next time? I was there 15 years ago as well...went to both Brugge and Brussels. Although I can dig up my notes from then, I doubt that they are relevant at this point.

We should name it here! Surely we can come up with a few better descriptors and then have a poll.

If Patagonian Toothfish can become Chilean Sea Bass, and Sablefish can become Black Cod, then Snakehead can become Sino-American River Trout

How about Potomac Trout?

I think the name refers to what a rabbit may eat; not eating the rabbit.

Would a rabid rabbit eat a rare bit of rabbit?

Time for more coffee.

The problem is, subforums here simply do not get the same level of traffic as forums with direct links from the main page. Perhaps we can have one Intrepid Traveler forum for restaurants, and a second one for hotels? If we make "hotels" a subforum of restaurants, it will just get buried, and it will rarely be used.

I think a hotel subforum could work. The Intrepid Traveler forum title is still generic enough (it doesn't specify "Restaurants"). All you need to do would be to change the subtitle from "Dining in other cities" to "Dining and Lodging in other cities". Personally, the main page of the website is starting to get a little cluttered so I wonder how adding more forums would impact the look of the website.

Due to sheer laziness, I have not been able to muster energy up to make ketchup, since all ketchup that I have been able to find on market shelves contain traces of onion powder. (Sucks to uber-sensitive to onions! Antacids don't help either at times.) The only one that I have been able to tolerate is Osem Ketchup, but I have not been able to find it on any shelf lately. Has anyone seen it near them or can recommend a store brand that does not contain onion powder?

Have you tried World Market? It seems like the type of place that might carry it. The international aisle of Wegman's is a possibility as well. Of course, Amazon has it, assuming you want 9 bottles at about $6/bottle.

It has been a few years, but we used to enjoy Mikaku Sushi Taro in Herndon. The sushi was always fresh and they had a large selection of appetizers (Japanese Tapas per their menu). It was never busy, but always good.

Well, how's this for absurd? Cafe Deluxe, Clyde's (Tysons and Reston), Maggiano's, Jackson's, M&S Grill and Gordon Biersch are PACKED, day in and day out, by discerning suburban palates, while Colvin Run Tavern, Inox, Monterey Bay, Michel and Maestro are all closed. Same general locations, same general demographics, and not all that different price/cover. That's absurd to you?

Cafe Deluxe, Clyde's, Maggiano's, M&S Grill and Gordon Biersch all have lower price points, and are in more accessible locations within Tysons, than Colvin Run Tavern, Inox, Monterey Bay, Michel and Maestro.

It was almost 4 years ago, but we made a last minute stop at Pearmund Cellars, which is only a couple of miles off 29, and really enjoyed the wine tasting. I can't remember the food selection (if any). This thread on Virginia Wineries and this one might be of use.

6-Year Bump.

(Possibly) stupid question here. I understand that wines are stored on their side so that the cork doesn't dry out. However, do wines that have Stelvin closures, or wines with synthetic corks, need to stored on their side? I am mostly talking about white wines, and the occasional red, that will be consumed within 2 years.

To "Kid" Gary Carter, who I had the pleasure of meeting on 2 separate occasions when I was 11 years old. A legend on the field and one of the nicest people that I have ever met.

Or maybe I'm wrong. However, there was the same hysteria that surrounds this release last year, but I was able to find available stock weeks after release scattered around. If I wanted to pay for it, that is.

I know Norm's Beer & Wine in Vienna sold out of their allotment in under 4 hours yesterday (they were selling for $19.99/6-pack).

I had a wonderful, relaxing birthday dinner on Friday at Eola. I ordered the Offal menu and Paula ordered the regular menu. We shared each course, which worked very well, as I think eating the full Offal menu would have been a very heavy meal. Some highlights of our meal.

The Great:

A Spicy Stew of Chic Peas: manilla clams, mussels, chard, carrot & cumin froth (Regular menu)

This was our first experience with black chickpeas, which were nuttier and more toothsome than "regular" chickpeas. The broth had a nice spice that hit the back of the throat. This was one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Hand Cut Fettuccine: smoked pork trotter, coddled egg, horseradish & bread crumbs (Offal menu)

PORK!! EGG YOLK!!! How could you go wrong? The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the occasional crunch from the bread crumbs provided a wonderful textural component.

Confit of Pork Jowl: sea island red peas, swiss chard, mousserons (Offal menu)

Our main waiter (Jean Paul, who is also the floor manager) "warned" us (and every table that orders it) that the jowl is smoked for 24(?) hours, so it has a very smoky and salty flavor. He was absolutely correct, but it worked perfectly. The exterior of the jowl had nice crunchy bits, while the interior was tender. It is not often that I look forward to eating vegetables; however, taking intermittent bites of the swiss chard and mushrooms was a nice way to break up this meat-heavy menu.

Coffee

Eola serves Counter Culture coffee. I am not sure which kind we had (they apparently have 5 or 6 single origin coffees on their menu), as we just asked to have coffee with dessert. I need to buy some Counter Culture beans now.

The Very Good:

Ricotta-Date Tart: cinnamon, honey, salted caramel ice cream

Very enjoyable and lighter (in a good way) than I was expecting. "Salted caramel" anything has become extremely trite at this point, but the salted caramel ice cream was delicious.

Toasted Matcha Cake: cocoa sorbet, orange, candied zest & star anise "jelly"

The matcha cake was borderline savory, but not too much and was well-balanced by the citrus elements.

The Good:

Crispy Torchon of Pig’s Ear: fried egg, savory oats & roasted garlic puree (Offal menu)

This was my first experience with pig's ear. Although it was a little chewy, it had pretty good flavor. This dish screamed out for a little more salt.

Herb Gnocchi: cauliflower puree, anchovy, olive, caper & orange zest (Regular menu)

We were expecting a pillowy-soft gnocchi; however, these were deep-fried. They were tasty, but not what we had "thought" we would be getting. In reality, given that it was served with the cauliflower puree (delicious), the crispy gnocchi was probably a better preparation. Our fault for not asking, but perhaps on the menu they could be called "Crispy Herb Gnocchi"?

Border Springs Farm Lamb: polenta cake, kale, turnip, radish & jus (Regular menu)

The lamb was cooked nicely, but didn't really stand out. The star of the dish was the polenta cake, which was crispy, creamy and very flavorful.

Supplemental Cheese Course

The cheeses were enjoyable; however, it would have been nice if the waiter who brought them (not Jean Paul) had given us a little more information about them.

From start to finish, the courses were spaced perfectly, and we never felt a lull between courses. Jean Paul was a terrific waiter, who was very engaging and answered all of our questions. He brought us 2 complimentary glasses of prosecco for my birthday, which was a nice touch. I look forward to returning in the future to see how the menu changes.

I want to thank the folks at Eola for hosting my wife and I in our 16th wedding anniversary dinner last night. A very mature and well developed meal with several memorable dishes.

Thanks for posting this, as I was about to post looking for feedback about any recent meals here. I'm heading here tomorrow night for my birthday....now to decide which menu to order from.

Thanks for the recommendations, Don. I more need the caffeine for the shopping as opposed to the drive, which is why I was leaning towards getting something out by Sterling. I am getting on 7 at the Dulles Toll Road, so the Tysons options are all backtracking for me, and I am lazy.

I know there is an Atlanta Bread Company in Sterling near where I am going, which is my fail-safe option if I can't find anything else.

I am heading to Sterling from Tysons tomorrow morning. Is there any place that I can get a decent cup of coffee and a pastry either along Route 7 or near the shopping plaza with Lowes/Walmart?

Way too much wine syrup for just two pears. What should I do w leftovers?

Red wine syrup keeps (almost) indefinitely in the fridge. I keep leftovers in a squirt bottle in my fridge and use it on top of vanilla ice cream or as a sauce with angelfood cake and cheesecake. It is great in a bowl of (not-as-sweet-as-expected) strawberries.

It's all new and different and scary. I don't like it.

Kidding.

I've only been on for a few minutes but what I have noticed (I'm using IE 8) is that when I click on "Next Unread Topic" it goes to the first unread topic in a forum instead of the next one chronologically (I usually go to the oldest unread thread in a forum and work my way up). I also noticed there used to be a button after the last post in a thread for "Previous Topic" (or something like that) that no longer is there.

I've had their pizza a few times in the past few years and it was fine-good, but this last time the crust was bready (not thin enough) and underdone (very pale) and the toppings were sparse. There's a reason I get most of my pizza in Arlington now!

For future reference, your best bet is to order them "well done", which is what I always do, as most of their pies seem underdone.

and breasts were better then because they were smaller, more natural.

Are we still talking about chicken?

According to Norm's Beer & Wine in Vienna, a total of 58 cases were shipped to supply all of Virginia and DC. Norm's was allocated one case and is allocating the bottles via a random drawing from their waitlist.

Restaurant Eve's "Sunflower" room holds up to 20 people. Then move on to PX for the afterparty!

We made our first trip to Plush Gelato & Coffee on Saturday and may have to have our mail forwarded to their store. I'm no expert on gelato/sorbetto, but what we had this weekend was extraordinary. I had a combo of the Chocolate Hazelnut and Dulce De Leche, Paula had the Chocolate Hazelnut and the Mango, and our almost 4 year-old had the Strawberry (she usually orders either chocolate or 'pink' desserts). We ate in silence until I finally uttered "this is f-ing awesome" with Rain Man-like repetition. The texture was incredibly creamy and each flavor was strongly (in a good way) identifiable. The fruit flavors are their true strength here, as both the Strawberry and Mango sorbettos tasted like eating freshly-picked fruit. After we finished, the 4-year old asked "can we get some more"? We don't normally give in like this, but Paula and I really wanted to try more flavors so the 3 of us shared the Tart Lemon and the Strawberry Basil while our 4-month old kept lunging herself towards the gelato.

We kept talking about how we wanted to try more and more flavors, which is how we wound up back there on Sunday. I had a combo of the Blood Orange and the Tiramisu (odd combo but it strangely worked together), Paula had a combo of Raspberry and the Vietnamese Coffee (the best non-fruit based flavor), and the 4-year old had the Cookies n' Cream (the least favorite flavor that we have tried so far, but it was still pretty good). We didn't have any coffee but I noticed that they sell (and presumably use) Caffe Pronto beans, which is what is served at Restaurant Eve.

I look forward to working my way through the rest of their menu.