Stretch

I submit that the Don Rockwell Cocktail should begin with a Cognac base. Perhaps some Champagne as well. It is up to all of us to determie what next and exactly what Cognac and Champagne we should use.

I think it should be something he would really, really hate. How about HPNOTIQ and Clos du Bois Chard? Mmmmm.

Neeeeerrrrddds! Neeeeeeerrrrrdddsss!

Also, as this story makes clear (scroll down to July 14 entry), sometimes you can work the hotness too hard anyway.

I've been to BV's many times, probably at least 2-3 times per year for the past 4-5 years.  That includes lunches, dinners, inside, outside and at the bar.  I can easily say that this is the worst steak joint in town.  Management has been 100% absent every time I've been there.  It's an awkward setting, with tables either too big or too small.  Service is severly undertrained.  Long, long waits for food.  And when it arrives, it is very low quality, under-cooked or over-cooked, and not well presented. 

Did I forget anything?

No. But apparently these guys have.

"We're all about pure, unadulterated customer happiness. We have the food, the wine, but it's our personalized service at Bobby Van's that really sets us apart." -- Joe Hickey, co-owner, Bobby Van's.

"We believe that Washington will be known one day as a world-class restaurant town, and we want to be part of it. And our wait staff will take better care of you than your own mother." -- Joe Smith, co-owner, Bobby Van's.

Or see if they have any of the Onyx Kroon left. That stuff kicks ass.

A communication from Addy Bassin's on the rose front. They have some good-looking prices.

That place needs to go down.

What's your beef with their beef?

Yeah. It's on 15th between H & I. Maybe they got tired of the constant construction on that block. Ate there a couple of times when I worked round the corner and the porterhouse was pretty good. Liked the bartenders, too. They used to put out these funky hardboiled egg "trees" and some decent chips as snacks.

Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very hungover today. Misery mitigated somewhat by three cold bottles of San Benedetto and a great pizza topped with chanterelles, fontina, garlic, parsley and hot, orange, burstingly-juicy sungold tomatoes from a local grower in the Northern Neck. Now for a little lie-down.

I advise you to drink it.

A friend of mine once accidentally set himself alight at the bar at Tuscana West. The bartender calmly put him out with the seltzer hose and comped him another sambuca. Fire codes were not invoked.

Cats Phee on a Gooseberry Bush Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  It doubles as a drain cleaner!

I guess you can't say you weren't warned, though.

Looks like the rumor is true 

Stay tuned for details......

"Who doesn't like Ping-Pong?"

Here's a revolutionary idea for a great gimmick, why not just serve good pies and a few well-chosen wines and beers?

Landrum has no ability to run a restaurant properly, (evidence here and here.)  Clearly, putting him on the Food Network would be suicidal to their television operation. 

Plus, according to Sietsema today, "boy is he a chatty one!" Less dishing. More steak!

Stetson's has a backyard that like four people know about. The service is abysmal back there, but it's pretty unique... covered, but outdoors, ivy... A much better al fresco option than Local 16, at the very least.

Used to live around the corner and end up in that backyard all the time on summer nights. Saw some freaky sh*t, and I'm not just talking about the cat-sized-rats ambling across the creepers overhead.

I knew things were getting bad when I heard they'd put Slipp out to work as a rent boy to cover Landrum's coke debts. Oh, and the reason the new branch in Silver Spring hasn't opened yet is because right now it's still being used to store all the kidnapped Midwestern virgins and Russian backpack nukes. (This is the scurrilous rumor section of the Web site, right?)

Had an interesting Spanish red with dinner last night. Goes by "El Copero" (producer is Bodegas Murviedro) and can allegedly be found all the way down at $6.99, though I paid $8, I think, at Morris Miller. From Valencia, a blend of the local grapes Bobal and Monastrell, not much barrel age, a bit reminiscent of Gamay and of similar merit: light, soft, juicy and cheap. We had it slightly chilled with a chicken and pepper fricassee. Don't be put off by the odd frosted bottle. Definitely recommended.

My solution is this:  whenever Rockwellians agree to meet wherever, they should raise their glasses every 15 minutes or so with a toast "TO ROCKS."  That oughta do it.

Nah, "ROCKS ROCKS!" Hoo-Rah optional.

Has anyone tried this?  I would like to have some 'known' comments before buying a few bottles.

What's the worst that could happen? You end up having to drink a couple of bottles of average Sancerre, cold, with Coquilles Saint-Jacques.

I'm hungry.

How about eCiti Cafe & Bar? Assuming it survived the dot.com bust. There's also the bar at the Capital Grille's Tysons outpost. But I think you'd be fine at the lounge bar in the Ritz. There are plenty of comfortable corner tables ideal for a reunion slash gossip slash pitch.

Had a 2003 Ca' Del Solo Malvasia Bianca last night. $13.99 and worth every cent. Never tried Malvasia before so don't know if it was a pure and true expression of the grape etc. etc., but it did have a great citrusy nose and some really bright acid zing on the palate. Would go well with a spicy, shrimpy stir-fry, I think.

Email from CK today:

There's still time to run out and pick up that big screen TV.  Colorado Kitchen will be featured on The Food Network's Roker on the Road this Tuesday, July 12th at 9:00 pm and again a few hours later at 1:00 am.  Be sure and tune in. We're also pleased to announce that its that time of year again. Chef's Strawberry Shortcake is back. Remember, this yummy summer treat was featured on NPR last year. You don't want to miss those sweet local berries in their own sugar-coaxed juices on a tender shortcake biscuit with a puff of lemon-kissed whipped cream. Or enjoy it with a scoop of our super premium French Vanilla Ice Cream.

I'm gonna try and catch both!

I had a superb meal there during Restaurant Week last year. The service was very gracious the entire meal.

This mirrors my own experience there during RW. Very good food, excellent service, interesting wine list. Not much atmosphere, though, if that's a criterion for you.

Glad we didn't make it there this weekend, then. Managed to take in the chef's tasting at Clio, good if leavened with too many liquid preparations for some tastes, dinner at Mistral, very stylish room and solid cooking, and a final splurge at Grill 23, where we had excellent service and wine but steaks that weren't a patch on a certain local favorite with a corny name.

Had some nice fried squash blossoms today at 2 Amys. Didn't think the roasted beets were all that, though. The strawberry semifreddo was as good as DCJono reported earlier -- though it did prevent me from trying the chocolate brownie chunk ice cream and I'm still sorta wondering...

Scott is off on the battlefield somewhere in Northern Maryland.

Man, I had no idea the insurgents had been making such inroads. Maybe this thing is in its last throes after all.