MsDiPesto

I love to read Bruni when he's ripping the facade off of a phony overpriced place like Ago:

"This restaurant isn’t in the hospitality business. It’s in the attitude business, projecting an aloofness that permeated all of my meals there, nights of wine and poses for swingers on the make, cougars on the prowl and anyone else who values a sort of facile fabulousness over competent service or a breaded veal Milanese with any discernible meat."

or this deservedly frank dismissal of Kobe Club:

"ATMOSPHERE A dimly lighted theater of about 100 seats that’s part samurai fantasia, part torture chamber and packed with chunky guys on expense accounts."

I've been using similar products as well, both the Trader Joe's brand and the Uncle Ben's line of 90 second rice packages. Brown rice in a minute and a half , mixed with whatever leftovers I have makes for a healthier lunch these days. I'll look for the brands mentioned by grover next time I'm in one of the markets likely to have them.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome of that incident Sandy, I know it would have left a bad taste in my mouth. I expect better treatment from Kimpton.

What the hell are they doing over there!? The zpizza there is in the same strip that Dad's Backyard Burgers was in, that strip is probably not more than a year or so old. Why the hell would they allow them to build a brand new strip and then tell everyone to get the hell out!?

I've always wondered that myself, I don't know if anything is left in that strip, I think there was a Thai place too. It's practically impossible to make a left turn into if you're heading north on Gallows, you'd have to be heading South and forget it during rush hour. Must have been a cheap lease.

I'm sure all that stuff will be going away in the near future: Johnston's Auto Body and Gnome Display, etc.

I regret to report that a friend informed me last evening that the Z Pizza franchise in Merrifield, VA is no more. Apparently the site has been taken by the county as part of the "town centering" of Merrifield.

She also told me that she called the Falls Church store as a back up, and had to finally ask for someone who spoke English after 10 minutes of trying to place her order, whereupon she got hung up on. She called back, spoke to the manager, and got her 'za.

I've had some interesting run-ins with that Falls Church store myself in the recent past. The evening of the 2 hour delivery was one of those times.

Thanks for that review, Rocks, I was wondering if they did take out.

Yum, I think I'll be calling them for takeout in the near future! That'll give me a chance to see what else they have on any kind of a menu too! Best of all, it's a neighborhood place!

Back in the 80s, my spouse of the time had the task of entertaining people who won awards in the aviation industry. At the time, the person being recognized hailed from Clovis, NM, and he brought his spouse. We never learned his wife's first name, she was always "Mrs. X". Other items of interest we learned were that man was superior to other living things, including women, and that he could "heal" aircraft engines...yeah, some of these guys were more rustic than others....

A big part of the recognition was taking them out to see the sights and go to dinner every night at one of the nicer (at the time) DC dining destinations. I would go when I could to help "wrangle" the guests.

Once, we were taking them down to Mt. Vernon, and drove past the RR at King and Washington. They saw it and said with awe "Is that the Roy Rogers' restaurant?"

I take things out of the drawers and cabinets as I need them. This usually resulted in a later comment from the ex, who would usually say "what, you used every pot and pan in the kitchen?"

Hey, whatever it takes!

At that point she threatened to call security if we didn't leave right that instant. We stood up immediately and left, leaving our unfinished food and drinks behind, but were at least able to tip our waiter (who had been very nice) on the way out.

Just awful.

You should have thrown it at her if you weren't able to finish it. Heck, what could they do, put you in "hotel jail"? What a whack job!

Someone stole my pizza at the Italian Store today!!

I truly could not believe that someone would take MY pizza without paying for it.

... if the pizza thief is lurking out there, you should be ASHAMED!

But aren't the best tasting pizzas the stolen ones??

oh, wait, that's watermelon.

never mind.

an alternative to the social safeway and the wonderful but incredibly expensive salad extravaganza that is Whole Paycheck on days when I don't bring lunch? thank goodness!

Via DCist:

Giant discontinuing low-selling products, reducing consumer options

Some individual stores are still pretty good, but the chain is a shadow of what it was.

There is but one store in the chain that I think is worth going to, but the rest of them are a big disappointment. The new one on Rt 50 in Falls Church is terrible, I spent 20 minutes watching one customer buy a 1/2 lb of everything in the deli case (specifying "I want the end piece" on everything....it's cold cuts, fer crying out loud!) therefore hogging one very slow deli clerk while the other clerk on duty spent more time rummaging in a cooler full of cheese than really doing anything....finally, I threw my numbered ticket in my cart and walked out and went to Harris Teeter. At least one person in front of me had done the same thing already. Life is too short for that nonsense.

I've seen large bags of sea salt (various grain sizes) at korean gorceries (e.g., super H, el grande, grand mart, lotte).

I've tried them, good price, but noticibly brinier than other sea salts. I used it in pasta water, to make it "taste like the sea".

I have never really understood the modern coffeehouse culture...

Know what you mean, kind of like going to the office but with better coffee and no IT support.

I'll make anything, especially now that I have a tornado-strength hood.

Yep, the new kitchen has the mandatory wind tunnel of brushed chrome, and the HVAC system has the Aprilaire 5000 Whole House Air Cleaner to get anything that doesn't go out the hood (and into the 'hood).

Hope they did not go to Pistone's! Although they could have experienced the "Pistone's Caviar" (chopped up black olives) with the bread. Good times...good times.

Silver Diner would have been safe too, and Old Hickory Grille.

You can find a reverse-engineered recipe for an Ollieburger as researched by a former employee here. He says the chain actually bought the blend of spices already mixed for economy of scale. He also states that the long list of ingredients let to the chain's demise, as the burger was getting expensive.

Well, I guess I need a baby and a diaper bag to help me remember.

I think the non-shiny ones are much stronger.

You mean the non-shiny babies?

<snip>What I miss however, was the tater tots with onion. I have not been able to find them in any local grocery in several years.

Onion Tots are still around, I saw them in Harris Teeter the other night.

Went there once with a bunch of friends a few months back. It's more fun with more people. I had never been to a churriscuria before, but knew enough to not fill up on the salad bar, not to eat the (so I hear) rich bowl of mashed potatoes they set in front of you, and to skip the cheap cuts (chicken, etc). Not cheap, we spent a lot on caipirinias and wine, but what I had was acceptable grilled meat. They do have salmon too, and you can ask to have certain cuts sent over when the server gets a chance. Using the "go/stop" sign worked out well, and allowed me to pace myself. Not something you'd want to do all the time.

16' Pies $10.25

Toppings $40/each

Extra cheese $1.75

What kind of toppings for $40? White and Black Truffles? Caviar? Himalayan nanny goat tails?

Sigh....the other day the staff confirmed that the Panko crumbs are a discontinued item due to low sales...so good and so well priced too!

In accordance with the campy Arabic theme, some take it for what it is,....

So true, it's the place you go with out of town visitors, but there are more amusing choices now...you don't go as a couple to a place like this seeking an unforgettable evening of dining....I remember the most painful dinner I ever had there was with a friend from NY who was with the woman who would become his third wife...she had a very narrow appreciation of food, having been raised on chicken breasts, spaghetti (not pasta!), and center cut pork chops. She was in tears from embarrassment by the end of the meal, having consumed, in total...one apple. I could not wait to end that evening.

Made it to the Falls Church Penzey's today, and restocked several things and gave a try to others. Nice space, convenient parking, cherry space. And being able to smell different things is wonderful. Finally, I know which ingredient is responsible for the aroma in curry. Almost got the Green/Black Peppercorn mix, but the price put me off. Took home the Telicherry instead, which is always good.

I've used their herbed curds to make poutine.