MsDiPesto

I was wondering the same last night as I drove by their former location. The banner announcing the BBQ joint is still up, and there are tables and chairs out in the elements that are showing signs of weathering.

I've always preferred the wafer "cake" cones. Light and airy, with a nice, yet delicate crunch to add contrast to the last bites.

I favor putting lime and hot sauce on my ears of corn, with salt. I was turned on to the lime/hot sauce combination about 10 yrs ago by none other than the King 'o Dieselbilly, Bill Kirchen, the Telecaster Master himself. He was playing solo at the old Reston Farm Market when it was right on Rt. 7, where a gas station now stands. They were giving out corn, and he happened to be taking a break to get himself an ear.

Ktmoomau, was your server the gentleman with an array of pens in a spectrum of colors in his breast pocket?

I remember reading the first review of Ray's the Steaks in the old WaPo magazine one Sunday back in, I think, 2004. As soon as I read it, I wanted to eat there! Well, life can foil and delay plans, so I've had to settle for reading the accounts of others who related their experiences at this Temple of Beef on these pages. Last week, some friends wanted to take me out for my birthday, and when asked where I wanted to go, my first answer was "Ray's!" So, 5 of us met in Arlington Friday night, and it was the first time for all of us. Four ladies, one man. We were seated right away, and drink orders were taken (no martinis!). Everyone but me ordered salads, I am not much of a seafood eater, but I ordered the sherried crab bisque, and loved it! The sole male looked at the chalkboard and announced that he would be happy to split the dry-aged côe de bÅ“uf. I jumped on the offer, as neither he nor myself had ever had dry-aged beef. No regrets there. Others at the table ordered Filet au Poivre, and Filet wrapped in Bacon with Bernaise, which I had a bite of and it was the tastiest and tenderest filet I've had. The one non-meat eater got the Blackened scallops, which looked good. In addition to the usual mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, we got an order of Lobster Mac&Cheese for the table. There was so much food that I didn't even taste the mashed potatoes until I got home with my leftovers. Everything was wonderful. Our first bottle of wine was some red blend from Spain, and I'm afraid I don't recall the name. It was meh, but I ordered the second bottle, which was a Syrah with a name like "Woodcutters...?" or something like that, sorry I can't provide details. It was much better than the first bottle. I guess they don't have a sommellier these days. At the end of the meal, our very nice waiter discovered it was my birthday, and brought me a slice of the key lime pie, with another slice for the table to share. I ended up sharing half of mine with the table as well. The non-meat eater received two nice bones for her doggies, and we received the peanut butter fudge to end with. About an hour later, I was about to leave my friends house to go home, when I discovered I left my purse under the table. In a panic I called the restaurant to learn that they had it and I could come and get it. Fortunately, my friend was happy to drive me back to the restaurant where I retrieved it, and the staffer who gave it to me refused a tip. A huge thank you to everyone on Ray's staff!! On the way home, we used 50 as we had already experienced the construction delays on Rt. 66 earlier that evening. We drove past the hot spots for interns on Wilson Blvd, and that was a sight we had not observed before, with sidewalks full of hormone addled youth. One niggling issue: I was wearing all black, and ended up covered with a fine "snow" from the white napkin. I look forward to returning, it was all I had hoped for. And I just finished a lunch sandwich made with my leftovers.

I'm hoping Jose creates some sort of spun sugar dessert that looks like Trump's hair. He could call it "Dia Del Pelo Malo".

A Thomas' English Muffin with Trader Joe's Pastrami Smoked Salmon. Just a schmear of sour cream.

Off topic, I had a dog who loved green bell peppers!

I drove by the new Falls Church location last night and it had a lot of people inside and even chatting on the sidewalk. Soft opening?

I think that's the definition of an "Irish Exit". Leaving without saying goodbye.

That's good news, the same complex as Penzey's Spices, and there's parking!

Thanks Don, it was strange, I watched them pulling freshly made pitas out of the oven while I waited in line, and there were at least 5 people behind the counter, who were very nice. But they had no sense of order, and didn't have a "big picture" for throughput.

They need to get their act together, I stopped in last night to get a couple of schwarma bowls to take to a friend's house and had a bad feeling when I saw the line. I nearly walked out at that point, but decided to chance it. I could see that the rotisserie with the steak was pretty much down to the nub, but I was getting chicken anyway. There was plenty of chicken left. When it was my turn to order, they put almost everything in but chicken. They told me something about the chicken not cooked enough yet. But everyone who ordered pita was getting the same chicken. So my bowls sat there, forlorn, and the original server went off to wait on the pita people. Every now and then an employee would ask me about the bowls and tell me the chicken wasn't ready. Then they put chicken on one bowl, but the other sat there without its protein. Finally, when the 10th apology came I just said "I'm leaving." They need to take a good look at Chipotle and Cava's methods. There is not enough room behind the counter for the employees to pass each other. It was a clusterthingy, and I can see a "For Lease" sign in that place's future pretty soon.

https://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/ossabaw-island-hog Sounds like porkium unobtainium.

I bought the large size of the posole last Friday night to share with a friend. The place was busy, and they had about five people behind the counter. Despite the busy atmosphere, I received my food pretty quickly (I had ordered four tacos as well). I was lucky to find a parking space, and a couple of people had violated the social contract been creative about making up their own parking spots, which is always annoying. The Posole was wonderful!

My friend announced that if I bought the lamb, she would cook it. So I picked up a 4-pound N.Z. boneless leg of lamb at Trader Joe's. My friend uses Julia Child's recipe, as did her mother, with cloves of garlic inserted into the roast and a coating of mustard mixed with soy sauce and olive oil. The lamb came with a netting which she removed as it would interfere with the crust, and tied it with twine which was comparitively easy to deal with. She served it with roasted fingerling potatoes tossed with olive oil, S & P, and spaghetti squash tossed with butter and Penzey's Tuscan Herb blend. The lamb was cooked to perfection. We split the leftovers. She plans to make lamb curry this weekend, while I've been enjoying a warm slice of the lamb on a slightly larger piece of mediterranean flatbread spread with my homemade toum, some tzaziki sauce and thinly sliced tomato.

Can identify. My in-laws had a house out in the Sperryville/Etlan area of VA. "No! I just know they'll drop in if I'm there, I'd rather have my teeth drilled!".

Have you seen this? Might be just the thing to smoke on a kettle grill.

Sipping coffee in the presence of cats is something I enjoy. Currently the only way I experience this bliss is if my ex goes out of town and asks me to watch the house and cats.

I saw that too, and wondered if there would be curried yucca?

I was in Atlanta for a conference this past Fall, and also to visit some old friends. One of them picked me up at my hotel and we drove around searching for a place that had an atmosphere conducive to conversation for dinner. My only requirement was protein and veggies. We ended up at Ted's in Decatur, and it was just right. We ended up closing the joint. Oh, and I love those green half-sour pickles they serve too, and I found out where to order them. The company says you can buy them at the restaurant now too.

I have a friend who has been getting Blue Apron deliveries since 2013. It's great for her as she can't stand going to the grocery store, and often uses Giant's "Peapod" delivery service. I have been the benificiary of several meals made from these "kits" and have made them myself on occasion when she goes out of town but hasn't cancelled a delivery in time. The ingredients are of good quality, and whoever designs the meals has come up with some very nice flavor combinations. We found that even though the quantity of food is intended for 2 people per meal, there is enough to feed 3 people adequately.

I'll only buy Fever Tree when I'm at Wegmans. Every other store seem obliged to tack on another 2 or 3 bucks per 4-pack.

I'm amazed by the color of your home-grown pineapple!

That's for sure, when this shopping center was on the way home for me when I worked in Georgetown, I called it "The Plaza of the Angry Yuppie" (La Plaza de los Yuppies Enojado?), what with the too-narrowly drawn parking spaces and the obnoxious behavior of many of the people I encountered in the stores and the parking lot.