Principia

Not that this is within the confines of the city by any means, but I believe that Wegmans carries a few kinds of hamentashen. I'll check next time I'm there and let folks know.

I'm throwing a St. Paddy's day party for about 15 people and looking for interesting, thematic foods to serve as appetizers. (My famous Guinness stew with boxty is featured as the main course.)

What say you, lads and lassies? I want Irish foods or foods that feature Guinness or whiskey as an ingredient.

My situation: no microwave, cool oven, great toaster oven.

Erin go bragh!

(Please feel free to expand this thread to include your approach to the sacred meal--corned beef and cabbage--and other topical yummies. I may not make them this year, but they'll certainly go in my file! I'll also take musical recommendations for proper atmosphere... Get creative!)

When you say cool oven you mean as in an oven that cannot come to temperature? How about your stove top?

I don't have any of my stuff with me here at work, but I've got several sources I can check from home later on.

...neither of which have anythinig to do with the thesis and does cast the restaurant in a negative light.

As I just said to jparrott, yes, complaining about the service and sheer volume of food at Eve does not serve well to illustrate his specific point.

But he doesn't deserve to be tarred and feathered because his experiences at these restaurants don't mesh with yours, particularly when his entire point is that the experiences are very different for two different groups of diners. Does the fact that he didn't enjoy himself at these places diminish your enjoyment of the times you've spent there? I would certainly hope not.

Except that one of the meals he uses to make this point is a meal that a lot of people probably would have enjoyed, with "artistry," "exclamation points," and "ceremoniousness."

I will grant you that if he meant to be critiquing the food itself in that instance, he needed to be more clear on that point, rather than kvetching about them having given him too much food or having (in his mind) pretentious service. I don't know that he would have found the service any different had he been eating a foie-gras and pork-cheek themed tasting menu.

But the fact that he could have done a better job illustrating part of his point doesn't change what the point was.

...And when he uses what sounds to me like a very positive description of a meal at Eve to make that point, and says that a matsutake mushroom in the hands of a very talented staff is "a step down from even the workman portobello," I have to question his ability to evaluate much of the food he was served.

Gee, someone didn't like something Restaurant Eve served? Quick, get the pitchforks! Does the mere fact that it came out of the kitchen at Eve grant it some miracle aura of goodness that's supposed to outweigh the fact that he ate this particular dish and didn't like it?

In my experience, there are a fair share of restaurants I go to with my +1 where I enjoy my veggie (usually side) dishes far more than he enjoys his meat-based main courses. Because we're essentially tasting from two different sides of the kitchen, we can come away with very different impressions of the same restaurant.

And while I'd prefer to leave this dead horse alone, you seem to be missing the main point of the article, which is that restaurants that otherwise have a strong reputation for serving excellent fare are (in his opinion) falling down on the job when it comes to vegetable preparations. I will agree with him that I shouldn't have to engage in negotiations with a restaurant to have them custom-craft me something off-menu just to eat there. For my part, the reason I don't attempt it is not because I'm submissive, but rather because I know restaurants usually have a rough go of it on a daily basis and I'm not interested in compounding their stress by being a PITA.

eta: I apparently had trouble following jparrott's train of antecedents. The mushroom in question was served at CityZen, and the point stands.

YES! YES! YES!! 

Me three. I'm actually hoping that Agraria will have some substantial vegetarian offerings, given that the entire concept is meant to highlight the products of family farms.

For the record, my favorite high-end dining place is Corduroy.

I second that recommendation - it is indeed an accumulation of veggie sides, but how very delicious! (That's what I had when we visited during Restaurant Week)

Is the market bigger, or is the space of people who will say that when asked but actually order braised short ribs bigger?  Nadya?  Other resto types?

I think the question is not dissimilar to when, for instance, the Coca-Cola company offers a new variety of soft drink: not only do you want to know how many people will order a given dish, but you want to know whether or not those people are ordering a given dish that replaces something else they would have ordered - that is, are the vegetarian dishes cannibalizing business from another part of the menu, or are they adding to the overall volume of business?

What the heck is this supposed to mean?

I would point out that as uninteresting as people on this board might find the (to my mind overly-picky) complaints about the concerns of the particular vegetarian diner in question, there are lots of things that people complain about on this board that other people find irrelevant or trivial. For instance, I couldn't care less about whether Restaurant X fails to offer/charges too much for Alcoholic Beverage Y - because I don't drink. But I don't trail around after people with these complaints telling them they're not entitled to their opinion because Restaurant X has better things to worry about.

And to the post above, is Austin, Texas really a more veggie friendly city than DC?  Not doubting, just amazed.

Austin is a huge college town; like most other college towns (including, for instance, Fredericksburg, Virginia) it has a greater preponderance of vegetarian-friendly establishments than other places. SAMMY T'S!!!

Ahem, sorry.

As a (mostly) vegetarian for taste/texture/health reasons, I have to say that I agree that what most non-vegetarians take exception to is the rather sniffy and self-righteous tone many vegetarians-for-a-cause adopt in general towards other people, and towards the restaurant industry in particular. Granted, in most restaurants the vegetarian entree options suck, and unfortunately do project the message that the establishment is just trying to get the vegetarian crowd off their backs. Hell, Burger King offers better vegetarian meal options than a lot of the 'white tablecloth' crowd in this area.

But...

When I go to a restaurant that is not explicitly vegetarian, I assume the following things: my food has been in contact with surfaces that were also used to cook meat, any dishes will probably be ovo-lacto, many of the vegetable options will have been prepared using chicken stock, and the best vegetable dishes will be either appetizers or side dishes.

While it would behoove the dining public if the restaurant industry were to start offering healthier options in general, including interesting vegetarian entrees and the use of vegetable rather than meat stocks in many cases, no one individual restaurant should be under the onus to try to cater to the wide array of tastes within the vegetarian community.

To wit, vegans won't even eat honey because it's a product that came from an animal. Some vegetarians want dishes that are as close to meat as they can get. Other 'veg-heads' get offended by the use of meat substitutes. Some vegetarians are explicitly forbidden by their religion to consume any dishes that even use spicing similar to those in meat preparations. And every time you cater to one of these groups, someone decides they're being left out and will complain. I've even seen it happen to vegetarian restaurants.

Just like I don't expect to go to an Indian restaurant and order a ham curry, I don't go to a steakhouse prepared to have a conniption because I have to order a salad and vegetable sides if I want to avoid meat. If a particular restaurant truly offers nothing I'll eat, I'm always free to let them know, but I'm pretty sure most restaurants take those notices about as seriously as the people who won't eat there because they carry Pepsi products.

Name tags?  We have to wear name tags?  Do we have to also pin our mittens to our coat sleves?

Last night it was so the servers could tell who and who wasn't getting the wine pairings, as the name tags were different for the two groups.

So, what time are folks showing up to Corduroy tonight? My plan is to skip out of work early and get down there - I'm shooting for around 6:30.

Just bear in mind that Corduroy's lounge area is not closed to the public while we're there. At least half of it was filled with non-DR members last night.

I'll have one Cardiologist's Special, please!

So here's a question: Earl's or Breadline? Discuss.

I'll be trying Earl's tonight on the way home from work if I get out early enough.

We haven't been in a few months, but last we were there, the food was competent traditional French (beef bourguignon, duck confit, etc.)  Good soups, as well. 

Me and the +1 haven't been in a few months either, but I would concur with this assessment. If I recall correctly, they also have a separate menu for their bar area and even serve afternoon tea... yep, just confirmed it on their Web site (http://www.bistro123.com/home.htm).

My pet peeve is with restaurant customers that count the minutes between courses and want to be rushed through a meal as if they were a train that needed to be pushed out of the station... People need to learn to relax or express that they are in a hurry.

Well, at least you know we won't be doing that to you on the 28th and the 1st!

Sad to say I've been to dinner once with a group where we were indeed in a hurry and had let the restaurant know. Obligingly, the kitchen was getting us our orders as quickly as possible. Then one of the people in the group - of course, the one who'd made it necessary for us to be in a hurry - kvetched to the rest of us because the food was coming "too fast." We muzzled her before she got to say anything to our waiter. If she'd actually gotten to pitch her little fit to the staff, I'd have considered their response justifiable homicide.

Principia, you sure it's the policies that are alientating people?

I think he forgot to switch on his sarcasm filter; at least I'm guessing he's being facetious given the often farcical tone of his posts.

Well, probably not about #2. I've grown up in this area, and would concur that a lot of "important" people in this area are every bit as self-absorbed as the worst of the Hollywood starlets.

Can't Siestema let that go?

I know... it's not as though he doesn't have hundreds of posts to pick from, and him constantly harping on such matters is getting really old. Honestly, he's starting to come across as a more than a little passive-aggressive on this issue.

If he's got a problem with a restaurant's policies, then he just needs to come out and say it versus hiding behind chatters. On the other hand, perhaps he thinks he's helping by making Chef Landrum aware that the policies are continuing to alienate people. That having been said, I don't understand how people continue to be unable to grasp the basic concept of seatings... there are well-known chains (e.g. The Melting Pot) that have them, for heaven's sake. I don't see how anyone could fail to get through a dinner in an hour and a half, but then again I don't drink. How much would our wine-consuming members say that it adds to the length of their meals?

My pet peeve is with restaurants that have seatings for all intents and purposes, but don't advertise them and then rush you through a meal like you're a train they're trying to get out of a station. grrrr

"Rare but known complication," that's an interesting term for them to use. Old-school tech support would say "That's not a bug, that's an undocumented feature."

Learn something new every day on this board.

Well, at least it doesn't delete the reservation, but OT really should notify folks if a change like that occurs. I mean, what if you're trying to plan around a play or a movie?

Let's say $50 magically landed in your pocket and it must be spent on a food related item.  What would you buy. 

Would you head to the store or use the wonders of the Internet to buy some random item only you would enjoy?

Hm, methinks somebody's looking for some ideas about how to spend a piece of her birthday largesse.

I'm going to assume you mean food of some kind, rather than durable goods related to the preparation thereof...

I would avail myself (and by extension, my buddies who'd get to share it) of some chocolates: I'd pick up some of Jacques Torres' Wicked Hot Chocolate, then round it out with an assortment. Or if the time of year was bad for shipping, I'd probably pick up some Blanxart from Sur La Table, assuming they had the spiced chocolate in stock.

Adapted from the original -- ("The Love Boat" by Paul Williams and Charles Fox)

What was that we were saying about posting while drunk?

So does that make hillvalley our cruise director Julie?

I saw steamers last night at the Wegmans in Fairfax.

It's your Birthday! (thud!) Happy Birthday! (thud!)

May the candles on your cake

Burn like cities in your wake

On your Birthday! (thud!) Happy Birthday! (thud!)

Wow, this is the first I've heard of this.  Fabulous if true.  I'm imagining this place slammed from morning til night.

.2 miles from the Foggy Bottom Metro. I hope they hire a lot of cashiers!

Next week is not Mardi Grae, it is Mardi Gras.

And it is not Fat Times, it is fat liver (or fatted liver). Fois=Times Foie=Liver

I am sorry, the title is causing others to mispell the word,and my French friend whom I turned onto this site is laughing.

Foie Gras

BTW D'Artagnan sells the Hudson Valley last I checked. If anyone is really desperate for some Foie Gras, PM me.

Given that the title is 'Fois Grae', I'm willing to bet they just transposed a couple of letters. If we're all going to start mocking one another's spelling and/or typing mistakes, this place is going to get very unfun very quickly.