MsDiPesto

When I was in publishing, the management would take us to La Chaumiere for our Holiday Lunch every year, and it was wonderful, I haven't been since then, and it's been awhile. These posts remind me I need to return.

I think you have a different definition of "street pizza" than I have.....

My experience cooking two geese for xmas years ago can be summed up thusly:

1. It takes forever for them to come to temperature.

2. A 55-gallon drum to catch the grease would not have gone unused.

3. A cousin brought his new Russian spouse and her daughter to dinner, and they got to participate in a drunken rendition of "12 Days of Xmas" because everyone got drunk waiting for the geese to cook.

A pity about your potato perturbation, Rocks. The Kimptons in Calif seem to have a higher level of "fit and finish" in their dining sections.

I saw a comment somewhere recently that described the show as "Batali and Bittman's Midlife Crisis".

A reliable source of decent MaPo Tofu, especially with this darn cold going around that hangs on for weeks. I lalso like the Hot and Sour soup when only the lightest touch of cornstarch is used, which is most of the time.

As long as we're all boycotting Chick-fil-A for being closed on Sunday, let's boycott Max's for being closed on Saturday, and Shamshiry and Woodlands for refusing to serve alcohol.

There, that should piss just about everyone off.

I'm not so concerned about their being closed on Sundays, I listened to their on-line spiel about it, and thought, well, OK, whatever. But their support of Dobson's organization will keep me from ever going there.

Finally, I made it to EB last night to get dinner to go. This was my first visit, and I was looking forward to it. It was around 8:30 pm so it wasn't too crowded. The counter person was pleasant and cordial, and if I wished anything was improved it would be to have a smaller copy of the menu down where you can see it while you're ordering instead of having to lean back and try to read the big overhead list.

I ordered a cheeseburger with caramelized onions, ketchup, mayo and lettuce, and the french fries. I knew I wanted a shake, and only knew the flavor because I had read about it somewhere (Key Lime) not because I could see a list of flavors.

I had to wait for a little while, but they have a bench, and it wasn't uncomfortable. It did take a little longer than I thought, but I was in no hurry, and I could always play a game on my PDA if I needed distraction. Next time I'll bring a book.

My shake was ready before the other items, so it was nice to have something to sip on whilst awaiting my burger and fries.

I live on the other side of Falls Church, so it was a short ride home, and the food was still warm. The burger was good, had a nice texture, much better than 5 Guys I thought, and just the right size for me to not end up unpleasantly stuffed. I usually buy the Martin's potato rolls anyway, so I liked the bun.

And the fries were fantastic! I couldn't resist nibbling on the way home, and upon putting the first one in my mouth thought "Oh...yes....olive oil!" I love thin fries, and don't care for the thicker "steak fries" like Five Guys serves, as it's just too much starch for me.

The shake was good too, I'll be back for more.

One can substitute Deadly Nightshade for Henbane.

Farmers are buying Washington vineyards, hoping to establish roots in the area and capitalize on the booming wine industry, but authorities believe some of the buyers are producing thousands of illegal marijuana plants.

Ganja and grapes? Will they have a tasting room?

Do I have to take off my leather pumps before I can come in? Will they be lending out Birkenstocks the way some places lend out jackets for guys that aren't wearing one?

I've now eaten at Assaggi twice, once on Sunday mid-afternoon and the other time for lunch today with a friend. Both times I had excellent experiences, both due to the food and the attentive and welcoming staff. On Sunday, the only chef on duty there was Giovanni Carlo, who formerly was with Roberto Donna in Galileo Laboratorio. He is a young chef and thus far has not been noted in any of the reviews. He has, however, great imagination and skill in the kitchen. On my second visit, I met Domenico Cornacchia, the chef/owner, formerly of Cafe Milano. He was very warm and welcoming. Golnaz Feiz, the Maître de, is kind and attentive. You feel that you have entered the home of a friend. Although the restaurant is largely unchanged from Centro, the staff has added some softening touches which has made the restaurant quieter, with a more relaxed feeling.

On Sunday, we started with a delicious Bellini which was accompanied by a selection of cheeses from the Mozzarella Bar and the marinated condiments. The cheeses were delicious and were drizzled with some fruity olive oil which enhanced their flavor. The burrata was made with cow's milk and was from California. You could tell how fresh it was. The rustic bread, was also excellent. My husband had their lunch special plate which consists of a small pasta portion, a small salad and a protein. In this case, the protein was skewers of fish, monkfish and salmon, and they were cooked perfectly. The pasta was a penne (done al dente) with peas and proscuitto. I enjoyed the veal ragu which was served over a hand made gamelli pasta which was made with flour and wine. It too was al dente and served in a generous portion. The ragu was a proper ragu, and even though the weather was hot, I found it totally delicious. We tried two desserts, the ricotta cheese cake and the hazelnut chocolate cake. Both were absolutely fantastic. They were served warm and had both a light and tender textures with deep flavors, served with delicious sauces and a scoop of ice cream.

Today for lunch, I started with a mixed green salad which was dressed perfectly with a balsamic vineragrette. There were crisp tender vegetables with the greens, such as baby zucchini, radishes and green beans. My friend had the gazpacho soup and declared it to be delicious. This was followed by a small appetizer of a grilled fish (which we split) with thyme and a dab of an olive tapenade. Sitting on top of the fish were fried tomato skins. I had never seen this either as a decoration or an accent, but added a lovely element to the dish. My friend had the lunch plate of salmon with a serving of salad. Her salmon appeared to be properly cooked, not overdone. I tried the lunch special which was a linguine with seafood in a white wine sauce and some fresh tomatoes. The seafood was perfectly done. It's easy to overcook calamari, but this calamari was tender and delicious. I'll confess that I sopped up each last bit of the sauce with the delicious rustic bread. The bread, by the way, was accompanied by a compound butter which was delicious.

Although we were sated, we couldn't resist a delicious dessert of a multi-layered "cookie" (I'm not sure what to call it) which had cream in between the layers. There was some semi-freddo on the plate as well as a wonderful rum ice cream with cracked caramel throughout. Just to end it with perfection, we shared a tasting of three types of chocolate, each with a different level of cocoa.

Frankly, Domenico Cornacchia, Giovanni Carlo and Golnaz Feiz are adding something quite wonderful to the Bethesda dining scene. I can't wait to go back and continue to explore their most interesting menu. There is a chef's table (for 6) which can be reserved for a tasting menu. It shouldn't be hard to find 5 friends to share what I would expect would be a wonderful meal!

I noticed your same remarkably positive and detailed review on chowhound. You sound very familiar with the restaurant and staff. Must be quite the place.

Last year I made pseudo crab cakes from grated zucchini that came out rather well, I'm going to attempt them again one of these days.

By the way, going back to some of the original issues here, having myself been in retail for the past 22 years, whatever happened to, "The customer is always right"?

Just to throw another stick on the smoldering dead horse...

While the customer may not always be right, they are never wrong. Pointing out to them that they're wrong, whether they are or not is not exactly good form. Unless, say, they were stealing from the tip jar.

Cheez-its, Mary and Joseph, I'll have to go there and get a tub!

And with instant oatmeal (yes, it works) and flax seeds that you can buy in a grinder readily available, it's super convenient to get these beneficial things into your diet.

I have to get a copy of that Chinese Menu! I used to live pretty close to Peking Village and it's still not a heinous drive. I used to patronize it before I discovered the joy of China Star and HK Palace. But I was naive then, (in that particular cuisine) and still getting Kung Pao.

shit with parsley in it

I certainly hope this isn't a trend!

No families?

I'm there!

Favorite chips of all time: Lay's Limited Edition Rosemary and Herb flavor. They were only available for a short time, which is, to be perfectly honest, sadistic.

Second favorite: Lay's Smokey Bacon Flavor chips, available only in Canada, because, you know, there's some national security issues or something.

Everyday, easily obtainable chips: Lay's Salt & Pepper flavor.

I like the Salt & Vinegar chips too, but after too many, my mouth goes numb.

... the ema datsi is not for the faint of heart.

In other words, it's Rockwellian worthy!

Thanks for the tip, do they have specific hours of operation?

FYI, all the instant steamed rice products in Korean grocery stores are using sticky rice.

I'm there!

Except for Dad's Backyard Burgers, which still sits there looking like the morning crew overslept and didn't make it in to open up. Very weird.

Exactly the sequence I've witnessed. They have returned to their home planet. Those who partook of their burgers will carry their lineage, a la "Alien".

"Schizza" seems like an unfortunate name for a menu item.

Can I get a shitake schizza?