Stretch

People feel strongly about it.

Domaine Saint Gayan Gigondas 1999. Nice, but are you supposed to get this much vanilla bean?

Pizzeria Bianco.Roaring Fork. Cowboy Ciao. Barrio Cafe.

Four Points hotels, the budget brand of Sheraton, is touting a beer program that at least on its face looks several cuts above the average chain-hotel fare. Interestingly, the initiative is being driven not by any particular Sheraton executive's affinity for the amber nectar, but rather by its fortuitous fit with Four Points' overall brand positioning initiative, which seeks to emphasize "honest, uncomplicated comfort." Lodging Magazine notes of the market research underlying the effort: Whatever the rationale, here's hoping this is a success and leads to more Bock and less Bud Light moving across hotel bar counters everywhere. Oh, and by the way, they have a job opening right now for a Chief Beer Officer, not that anyone around here would be interested. Paging Dr. Fresh, Dr. Crescent Fresh.

In that case, I can't wait until he next encounters rice, couscous or sabayon and is obliged to use "fluffy" again.

"Mini Bite" Is somewhat trite. I guess the eds Write the subheads?

I stand, as ever, by both my inadequate analogies and insulting over-generalizations. But I think we are on the same page with respect to the limitations of the genre, as you so much more artfully defined the problem.

Or wine pointers from anyone who doesn't drink it for breakfast.

Honestly, regarding the general state of restaurant criticism, can there be another quasi-journalistic endeavour more ripe for a Gonzo-style reinvention? Is there any other area of artistic expression where the grittiness of the average practitioner is more distantly removed from the prissiness of the average critic?

Hofbrau Oktoberfest. The last of it was going for $12 a 12-pack and yet the majority of the clientele was still walking out of the store with fists full of Bud Light. What the fuck is wrong with people?

Hey hey hey. It's only thanks to those same enlightened judges that two hot dog stands and/or taco joints are finally able to legally operate jointly from a single domestic premises, at least within the confines of this particular jurisdiction.And more choices are always good for the consumer, right?

Gee, I wonder who that could be?PS: And it did!

An exhaustive job? He dialed their freaking number a couple of times. Move over Edward R. Murrow.And how can a restaurant review ever be other than experiential?

What the hell is a "point fairy"?

Vodka, Vicodin and steroids. I believe this is known in the trade as a "Bonaduce."

I drank scotch, Neil Clark drank Stella, Lloyd Cole -- disappointingly -- mostly drank water, as he had a touch of the flu. It was a bloody good night, though, and the new album is terrific.

Et voila. Particularly efficacious for the ladies, it appears.

This doesn't really address the thread qua thread, but I grilled one tonight with a mustard crust and it was fucking sensational. So, if you do find one, hold on to your hat. Or other head covering.

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest.

Picco over Pizzeria Regina in Boston? And 3/4 of the review is about ice cream?

Anecdotally, the delivery drivers are so scared of Carole Greenwood they won't risk stopping, so her orders are simply slung off the backs of various trucks as they speed past up Connecticut Ave. And some days, the hobos living behind the nearby CVS just get there first.

Marmite does have one legitimate use. Spread thinly over lavishly buttered toast, top with runny fried egg. Oh mummy, umami!

Were you in the formal program or on the after-school Foley plan?

Just what is it about the D.C. crowd that summons the Stalin in food site supremos' souls? If Don actually existed, someone should ask him.

This is surely then a classic vicious circle, as personally the more cash I'm forking over for my dinner, the less inclined I am to stomach the sip, swallow and scram treatment. Can we look forward to the advent of the $175 entree, which includes the right to spend the night on an Aerobed under the table -- optionally in the company of one of the waitrons, as gender preference dictates?