jwhite

Wishful thinking? More like a nightmare scenario for customers. Patent law would handcuff and stifle up and coming chefs while benefiting the established and wealthy (corporate backed).

I suspect you are doing something wrong. Please elaborate; when do the coals go out and what are your vent settings. Stop lighting chimneys on your deck; that's a terrible idea, just stop. Generally on long cooks hot coals need to be added so find a non flamable place for it Why would you pay a premium for chips and have to toss them on every couple hours as opposed to just tossing on a few fist sized chunks at the start? Chips have merit on non charcoal grills but with a multi hour smoke they just get silly.

My list goes like this: 1. El Pollo Rico 2. Crisp and Juicy 3. Super Chicken I will say however that all are very good and all are a ridiculous value. Also, this ranking is based exclusively on the chicken.

Not sure I've ever heard lower and slower advocated for grilled steaks before. Care to elaborate?

Fear mongering and wild speculation. You provide data that indicates deaths at a ridiculously miniscule level and claim we are at risk for a massive outbreak. Lightning is killing more people than your great threat.

John, I have eaten there on a couple of occasions this year as I often have business in the Ashburn area. It is good for the area but I would rarely if ever eat there if it moved to DC.

Targeting how? Specifically, how is he reaching them with his message? Wait, do you seriously believe that a retailer will be moved that a local winery is producing better quality than KJ and decide to push their wines, stocking less KJ in the process? I believe that pretty much anything is better than KJ. However, I know that KJ is very cheap and very well known (marketed). I believe Horton is a horrid value relative to other wines that I generally drink. I will (and do) visit local wineries for the joy of the experience.

dm, It is because such a statement appears to be vastly misunderstanding your customer base. It is akin to Hans Hess who runs Elevation Burger bragging to his customers that his burgers and fries are better than McDonalds. The people who buy KJ are not the people traveling to your winery and seeking out local wines. Trying to market it as better than KJ will not be effective.

Tom, Saw your review in the post and took note of your hours. How do you manage your cooks? I see 8-10 hours a day and given that each butt will take 10-15 hours if done as you describe and imply, how hard is it to manage the supply?

Neil, I cannot tell whether or not you are being facetious. On multiple levels this paragraph is staggering; please elaborate on your meaning. Are you stating that you believe your chardonnay stands up to equivalently priced californians, that you believe kendall jackson is a competitor, both, or some other assertion which I've missed? J

If it is not your party you should do what the host wishes. Were it my party, assuming an average group with 6-10 wine lovers and 60+ who just want a glass of something, I would go with mostly bottles of acceptable wine but keep a couple of special selections for those whom I felt would appreciate the wines. I would feel neither ashamed nor offensive in doing so and would have no problem steering a wine lover from the marginal to the special even in front of others. It would of course be best done using a comment such as "Here Joe, I thought of you when I last tasted this wine."

Your facetious response has a great deal of truth. The backyard is where the best bbq in DC can be found. BBQ with it's 6-12+ hour cook times does not lend itself to a restaurant business. In order to do it right, restaurants are forced to make estimates the day before; closing early if the underestimate demand or eating the cost if they overestimate. Most are unwilling to do that and instead choose to reheat precooked food or use higher temperatures and other shortcuts.

My wife and I recently had lunch there. I had the Phat burger, her the Veggie #1, and we split the fries and chocolate shake. I was very impressed. The burger was two small patties of good beef cooked to well with no char. Some char would have improved it as would cooking to specification (medium) and a larger patty. My wife enjoyed the veggie which I did not taste. The fries were thin, not at all greasy, and had a nice hint of olive oil. The shake was excellent. I don't know what the complaints on pricing are about. That lunch cost $15. That's a shade above McDonalds pricing. The restaurant itself is nice. Service was friendly and it did look like Hans basically hired the local high school. Most of the patrons looked to be young families. As others have pointed it, Elevation compares very well to In N Out. They are extremely similar and I mean that in a complimentary way. Elevation has higher quality beef and thus would get a slight edge. It is better that five guys, much better. However it is not as good as the burger at Harry's (especially when they served Wagyu beef) . While Harry's is not a very fair comparison, it sets the bar and provides some ideas for potential improvements. A larger single patty allows for the burger to be cooked more like a steak with the seared exterior and a rarer interior. I believe the absolute best preparation to be a 1/3-1/2lb patty with a seared, charred exterior and a medium rare center. This just can't be done with the smaller patties. As for the Wagyu vs Virginia Kobe branding silliness; it's just marketing and I certainly know what I'm getting with American Kobe beef.

Yes, if I recall Linden went so far as to refuse to be listed in the Virginia wine guide for that very reason. My coversations with the folks at Linden in particular have colored my opinions of tour groups.

I love going to local wineries; venturing way out west, doing tastings, talking to the winemakers, and having a picnic on their grounds. As others have pointed out, the wine quality is not great and certainly no value. However the overall experience is wonderful. With that said, the tour groups destroy this experience by herding large masses through to quickly get their free / cheap buzzes before moving on to the next winery. Please don't be one of those people.

While I cannot speak for the poster, I suspect that if the govt restrained themselves from "redeveloping the area" by throwing money at large chains such conversations would be unnecessary.

And just a little further, where 29 and old lee split, crisp and juicy has the best chicken that side of ballston. Never cared much for carribean's chicken relative to other choices but they do make a good cuban. Pietanza is a solid, brick oven pizza place. A good lunch spot. Go less is more on the toppings and stick to their specials. Zen is highly americanized sushi; big servings and approachable rolls. Service can be horrid (slow, oblivous) but it's good (not great) sushi at decent prices. Most places in that center are primarily attractive as kid friendly establishments. None are worth a special trip for.