Principia

Someone told me yesterday that Rainforest Cafe has left Tysons in the last few weeks. Could it be that this new addition has moved rents up to such an extent that the old restaurants can't succeed? And is this a foreshadowing of how the new places will fare in a couple of years. Of course, Rainforest wasn't ANY sort of culinary destination....but they did a hell of a business with the under-10 crowd.

I just hit the Rainforest Cafe site, and they indeed no longer have Virginia highlighted as a state that contains one of their locations.

Good riddance, I say. I just hope they replace it with a real restaurant and not another paean to crapitude.

Say, there's a thought - is it possible that one of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants might take over the space?

Just to take this discussion waaaaaayyyyyyy off topic, I thought the Galleria (with the Maggiano's, Sax, Neimans, etc.) and the Tysons Corner (Bloomies, Lord and Taylor, etc) were both owned by the same folks. No?

Nope, they're definitely competitors. That's why Tysons got in such a snit when folks in the beginning referred to Tysons Galleria as Tysons II (and some of us still do).

I've always found Tysons Galleria to be superfluous, between its ladies-who-lunch hours, duplication of Tysons Corner stores (although that's improved in recent years), and constant churning of stores/excessive vacancy rate.

I'll be interested to see what Federated decides to do with the Hecht's in Tysons, given its proximity to TG... I would imagine they won't turn them into a Macy's, but since there are also already a Bloomingdale's and a Lord & Taylor in the same mall, that doesn't leave them with much of a choice but to either close the Hecht's or make it a Macy's and close the one at the Galleria instead.

I think both malls might do well to take a look at the dynamic between Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, or what was once two separate malls up in King of Prussia.

A year or so ago Lettuce Entertain You was going to open their upscale Shaw's Crab House and  Wildfire joining Coastal Flats and Pauli Moto's.  Both of these would have been good additions to Tyson's yet for whatever reason are not part of the expansion.  While I look forward to Morimoto's new "concept" restaurant and Coastal Flats, neither Brio nor TGIFriday's is particularly exciting for me....

Does anyone know what happened to those plans? I have to admit I was puzzled when I walked in and saw Gordon Biersch and Brio alongside Coastal and the not-yet-open Pauli Moto's. Did Lerner tell them they'd kick Maggiano's out of the Galleria if they moved into Tysons?

The place was a Zoo From Hell on Friday night. I was there with a group of friends to see Serenity at the new AMC, and we did not even try to get into any of the sit-down joints. I was gratified to see that the Thank God It's Food seemed to be the least crowded place there - including any of the food court stops.

My +1 and I ended up back there on Saturday evening, and at that point all of the food court units had opened except for Grill Kabob, which appears not to have had any of its build-out done yet (perhaps they were a last-minute replacement?).

The Gordon Biersch was not bad for bar food, although the salads were thoroughly uninteresting. While the wait was theoretically 1.5 hours (!), GB has the good sense to make their bar/patio area self-seating, so we were able to eat immediately.

There were some really weird choices the builders made, and I think the structure is going to confuse people for a while. Although I'm sure some of our male denizens might enjoy strolling past the new bondage-themed Victoria's Secret that is quite near the escalators one is forced to trek to.

Sammy T's

I don't like that he posts the "I DEMAND AN ANSWER" people, largely because I think it encourages other people to get snippy in their questions....

Sometimes I wonder if he posts those to elicit (well-deserved) mockery from the other participants.

When I am given the litany of water options, I like to respond  "I will have the 'Mayor Williams Special' please."  After blinking a couple of times, they usually get it.

Yeah, that or Fill in the City's Finest.

Folks - I am posting this with permission from Mr. Don Rocks himself. If you like Indian food ... email/pm names of your favorite dishes --- no restuarant names needed, just what you love to eat!

I look forward to hearing from you all.

thanks in advance

(I need these for an article I am working on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.)

Navaratan Korma

Vegetable Biryani

Malai Kofta

Paratha

Aloo Paratha

Dal Makhani

Dosas

Uttapams

Naan

Garlic Naan

Aloo Gobi

Aloo Chole

Kashmiri Pullao

Baignan Bharta

Kofta Lajawab

Idli Sambar

Palak Paneer

Aloo Palak

I think it is unreasonble for a vegatarian or someone with "special dietary concerns" to expect that a restaurant will go out of its way to prepare special food for them.  It is above and beyond the call of duty when a restaurant does so.  It takes a lot of work and preparation for a restaurant to execute its existing menu.  If someone has a special dietary need or is a vegatarian, the most they should expect from the restaurant is to have someone point out for them the things on the existing menu that meet their needs. 

The people who walked out because the restaurant would not prepare special food for them--piss on 'em.  Restaurants have menus, they generally are not in the custom food preparation business. That is what a home kitchen is for.

I'll be OK in a few minutes.

[This topic deserves its own thread.]

As an ovo-lacto vegetarian who does it out of a dislike of meat, I have to say sometimes I want to shake my fellow veg-heads by the shoulders until their teeth rattle. They're so snotty and demanding it makes me want to scream, and they try to glorify their self-absorption by portraying it as some grand mission. Bzzzt! Wrong, but thank you for playing.

I don't expect chefs to blow a lot of time trying to bend over backwards to meet the conflicting requirements of the different varieties of vegetarians. As long as all the side dishes aren't loaded with salty-ass chicken broth or bacon grease (et al), I am perfectly happy to dine on a selection of those!

As far as I'm concerned, going into a restaurant and demanding they concoct a vegetarian item (much less menu) for your pleasure is comparable to going into a restaurant and demanding they create a gluten-free, milk-free, or kosher/halal menu just for your precious little self.

If the restaurant doesn't make food you want, guess what? You always have the option to go somewhere else!

climbs down off soapbox

according to washingtonpost.com's best bets, maggiano's is the area's best italian. 

I still can't believe that cheezoid copout from the editors of the Post (But it's the only thing a bunch of our readers know... we put 'Editor's Choice' next to the good ones). Isn't the point of these sorts of things to bring great spots to the attention of the general public? Maybe they should separate out the chains into their own categories, if they're so determined to keep them eligible.

A reservation for eight arrives on a Thursday night, busiest of all RW shifts.

"Hi! This is XXXX, we had a reservation for eight."...

I never get tired of this. What's not to love about my job???

Tales like this of other diners' idiotic behavior never cease to amaze me. And then, of course, these dim bulbs are always the ones who get so wound up over problems that they were the cause of to begin with.

I wonder if your little party girl would try to fit all 11 of her sorority sisters into a mini-van that seats 8? Where would she stash the other 3 - the roof rack?

It occurs to me that $20 Tuesdays coincides with"late" HH at David Greggory.  Does HH count?  Is it possible to spend $20 or less at DG?

More importantly, anyone interested?

I've no idea how expensive their cocktails are, but it certainly seems feasible to get a decent bite to eat based on their HH menu.

And DG's also pretty easily gotten too from my work... hmmm...

They get my vote!

Just today a co-worker told me he went to Georgia Brown's this weekend and enjoyed it greatly...I recall reading recently that there has been a chef change, but haven't heard that anyone has gone there until today.

My +1, my mother and I went to GB's for the Jazz Brunch on the 26th (it's been really busy at work), and the buffet was delish, including the best grits ever. Didn't get a chance to judge the entrees, since we weren't in a position to get the leftovers to refrigeration any time soon.

Nice place, if a bit tightly packed. The music, however? Loud enough for a room five times the size!

I'll have to see if I can talk my sweetie into trying this new deal, when we can be assured of peace and quiet.

A couple of us are planning on heading over to Sonoma after the cheese tasting this Sunday evening.  There are a couple of spots open for my reservation at 8pm, so if you would like to join us please email or PM me.

How did the post-Cheesetique outing go?

The noun, not the metaphor.

Well, I was trying to be politic, but evidently that's not necessary.

Let's see, the other opinions I heard were manure, mulch, "like a horse ring", and "like that stuff you dig out of your horse's hoof when it's infected."

My +1 described it as a "mother-in-law cheese"; me, I thought it tasted like feet.

A mighty thanks to hillvalley and Jill (the proprietor) for coordinating and hosting this fun event!

My "+1" and I had a great time; we ended up taking home a total of 4 cheeses (Rosemary Manchego, Midnight Moon, Pecorino Brinata, and Muenster Petit). For those who couldn't make today's tasting, Jill said that this set of cheeses will be the ones she'll be using in her tastings throughout June.

A quick listing of the cheeses covered, to whet the appetite of potential attendees:

a. Pecorino Brinata - the youngest of the cheeses, and the one from the tasting we ended up bringing home

b. Caprino with Truffles - trufflicious!

c. Rocchetta - my +1 loved this

d. Pecorino Toscano 30 day - I really enjoyed this one

e. Castelmagno - what a neat texture!

f. Piave Vecchio - quite nifty, very complex

g. Parmigiano Reggiano Cravero - I actually enjoyed this one more than the Piave, which I guess makes me a total cheese Philistine

h. Vento d'Estate - distinctive, with an almost minty taste to the rind

i. Ubriaco - very, very winey and fragrant

j. Pecorino Fossa - very, um, unusual.

It was great meeting everyone, and we hope to be able to make it to another DR event soon!

Possible new winner of Trend Combination, Drink Category:

Big Apple Mojito Martini

Bacardi Big Apple, sour mix, Sprite

$10, Heritage India Dupont

Aside from the cringe-inducing name, this drink manages to further condemn itself with a lack of thoughtful mixers and little resemblance to either a mojito or an apple martini. I haven't been brave enough to order one, but a simple peer review process of the ingredients has led to a unanimous condemnation of the entire specialty drink list.

So if they stuck some mango in there, I guess that would make it a Big Apple Mojito Martini Caipirinha? *shudder*

The perverse will of the people has been worked and Mie an Yu has been selected as "best restaurant".  I voted for Mendocino.  Who did you vote for?

Mie N Yu as best restaurant? What color is the sky on their planet?

Uh, I think you mean DR.com.

I would be up for it.  That means we need 8 more.

Do I even want to know how much the tickets cost?

Good Lord, the singing is the WORST.

Also, is it even possible to eat more than the smallest size?  soooooo dennnnnnnnnse.

I've been to the one at Fair Oaks Mall, and the new one in the Worldgate Shopping Center in Herndon. I was not subjected to singing at the latter location.

The SO and I have found that the best deal is to agree on a pair of add-ins and order a hand-packed pint. Not that I'm all that fond of them, but they're better than Baskin-Robbins.

I definitely agree with the burger at Palena , top notch.
miniburgers are just ok and five guys close to suck. Stoney`s ; never liked.
My own burgers started to kick ass getting better everytime.

If This was west cost no doubt to say `In-n-out burger rocks`

One other great cheap eat that I recently sampled was Amsterdam Falafel in Adams Morgan.  Great little place where the falafel is fresh and $5 for a large and $2-3 for great fries. They have a nice salad bar (think mezze toppings and sauces) to top your pita too.  Can't beat that price.

I strongly second that recommendation!

If you're interested:

http://www.falafelshop.com/

Do you hit a local store, shop online, or...?

I need half-sheet pans, precut parchment liners, ring molds in various sizes, and a few other things. Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma & etc. are OK, if expensive, but I want the real stuff.

The aforementioned Big Tray carries a good variety of baking supplies.

You might also try the Next Day Gourmet restaurant supply store in Alexandria:

http://www.superprod.com/webapp/wcs/stores...geId=Alexandria

I'll piss on the party, and come right out and say it:

McDonald's!

Yes, Chipotle is indeed owned by McDonald's. I've tried their stuff, and have never been terribly fond of it -- their tortillas always taste like the aluminum foil they're wrapped in.

I've had better luck with the offerings at Qdoba.