Stretch

We used to like Thai Derm on Bonifant. Mandalay moving in across the street didn't kill them, did it?

Will there be more of the food (and wine) content online when the new Web site comes on stream?

Czechvar.

"I demand to have some booze!"

Old Grouse

Do you have to break its legs to get it in the glass?

Paper City Brewery, Holyoke, MA

Blonde Hop Monster

Can't recommend it.

I am, of course, a crank, but I find a little bit of bile to be a fine palate cleanser after the surpelatives of the dining guide.

Speaking of bile, the guide certainly does seem to shake loose the most dispassionate and articulate citizen reviewers.

Someone has a hangover this morning.

Tom Sietsema: I know Blacksalt has a number of high-profile fans, but I'm not one of them. The food can be hit or miss, the interior is off-putting and the service is a joke.

Tom Sietsema: CityZen bests Citronelle in the service department. Oh, how I wish Mr. Richard could see how a few veteran servers are ruining the overall dining experience for his patrons!

Oh, and the cooking at 2941 is "kind of clumsy and predictable", Acadiana is "pretty ugly", and the new Johnny's Half Shell on the Hill better get their shit together ricky-tick or it's going to be Le Pigalle all over again.

I just hope they don't model their service on their close Dutch namesake.

Phoquil!

This one's going to be huge...

Lookin' for some pork porn here, people!

This thread is accuratelly titled. There is no way either a moron or an imbecile would ever go near one of these things.

Second-degree Godwin. Compounded by Wikipedantry. Threaddeath.

Stone IPA, North County, San Diego.

I think this is my single favorite American beer.

Just not a wine snob, per se.

Can't remember if I've pimped for Sichuan Gourmet here before, but it's becoming our most-visited restaurant.

The owners seem to care greatly about both their restaurant and their native cuisine, and the cooking is consistently good. The Chengdu spicy dumplings and the double-cooked bacon are favorites. On weekends only, there is an incandescent rabbit hot pot dish.

toothpicks

Staples!

Clos de los Siete 2004. Malbec, merlot, cab, syrah. With all the marketing -- Michel Rolland this, new Argentinian paradigm that -- I was ready to dump on this, but at $15 I'ma buy some more.

This is a good resource for novice Bullet smokers. You'd have to be an idiot to screw up while following his basic method.*

* (I know this because I, in fact, managed to. In the course of replacing the lid, I managed to dislodge the upper cooking grate, which allowed the ribs to slump down into the greasy, viscid water pan below, where they simmered greyly for several hours. I cannot recommend this cooking method to anyone who doesn't think bong water hot dogs are a dandy idea.)

It's the Verizon Center now.

Does that mean the food is any better?

No, but you get a better reception.

Tah-dah!

Dali is well worth the near-certainty of donating $40 in fines to the City of Somerville if you want to park within two miles. Get the rabbit and the bacon-stuffed quail.

I'm amazed that Locke-Ober made the cut. Our meal was fine, but there are at least 10 restaurants in DC I would go to ahead of L-O.

Without wanting to start a fight, one senses perhaps a certain casting-about for more female chefs to include on the list.

Here's a pretty good potted guide to get you going.

A friend of mine is turning the big 3-0 this weekend and I want to get him a bottle that has aged roughly as long as he has. What spirit would likely be the best bet? Scotch seems to be out, as I don't like him $$$$ much. Maybe cognac?

PS: He'll drink anything. Seriously. Remember that scene in "Withnail & I" with the lighter fluid?

Todd Thrasher ... begins blowing ... a pissed-off dragon, while an appreciative dozen or so people look on."

Didn't realize there was a floor show. Move over Siegfried and Roy!

This may be too international, but I can report that in London right now the aperitif of choice appears to be six pints of Stella, and the digestif three vodkas with Red Bull. Curry in between, by preference.