liz2041

You may not want to get back in the car and there are many choices to narrow down to just one, but I recommend Edmund's Oast.  http://edmundsoast.com/

We went there back in May a week or two after it first opened.  Really cool space both inside and out.  Excellent food.  Crazy huge list of draft beers.  Fun back story.

I didn't drive but don't think it was too far out from downtown.  If others have more time than one night to spend in CHS, you should definitely add this to the list.

Enjoyed an excellent meal at Apt 2G last week.  Started with a shrimp risotto that had tremendous flavor. For main courses we had scallops and lamb.  Both were delicious. For $50 per person I thought it was an excellent deal.  I was surprised by the size of the upstairs.  I pictured 3 or 4 two-tops looking directly into the kitchen.  Instead there are about 10 tables spread out through two rooms with a closed circuit tv on the kitchen.  Guests are welcome to get up and wander into the kitchen, which we did and it was fun to watch but I felt kind of intrusive. Notwithstanding my incorrect assumptions, I felt very comfortable and relaxed the whole time.  The table was ours and we did not feel rushed in anyway.  

The Element part downstairs was mostly full even though we were there on the early side at 6:30.  Dishes coming out of the kitchen while we were having a drink at the bar before going upstairs looked worth a trip back to try out.  Out that far, I still prefer One Block West and need to get back there soon.  (and I desperately miss my beloved Ashby of old, and need to give the new gang a shot too) But 2G is a great bargain for the amount and quality of the courses, a very relaxed atmosphere and just a unique and fun time.

Walked by the other day and signs on the door and windows say closed until September. 

Next time you are out here give the Griffin Tavern in Flint Hill a try.  I would argue their burgers are on par with some of the best in DC.  The other food is good and they have a great patio/deck for dining.

Speaking of Arlington old-timers, does anyone remember Blue & Gold? That was my go-to spot in the late 1990s for a burger and a beer, and it was *good*, too. It's hard to believe that was just fifteen short years ago, and I'll bet over 75% of Clarendon residents have never heard of that place (which I *think* might be Lyon Hall now; I'm not sure, exactly, but it was around there).

Bahhhh!  You just brought back memories of a 23rd or 24th bday celebration in like 94 or 95 that had been long tucked away (on purpose)!  B&G served yards of beer and on that bday I think we drank the length of football field worth.  I think it was the only place in VA that served them and saved us from having to go across the river to Tiber Creek at a time when drinking yards of beer was very important to us....  I also remembered they had really decent food.

Great news. Welcome back to the neighborhood.

(In my opinion, you were one of the few that got this whole Clarendon ball rolling in the first place!)

For having a 50+ restaurants probably, not very many of them are good/worth the money. There are some distinct holes - not one Indian restaurant in Old Town/Old Town North/Del 

Patiently waiting for Bombay Curry to re-open in Del Ray. If it is anything like it was when it was down the street, the wait will have been worth it.

This news makes me terribly sad.  Thank you to the Wavra's for their tremendous hospitality over the last few years.  Thank you Neal for opening my eyes to wines I never would have tried.  I always looked forward to pleasant chats with you in our visits to the restaurant.  Your wine dinners were always entertaining and something we were very much looking forward to this spring and summer.  I trust the staff you leave behind will carry on your good work.  Best of luck to both of you in your new ventures.  

Lunch special at Orso the other day - a drink (with a refill!) and 2 topping pizza for 8 bucks.  8 bucks!   For amazing pizza!

I don't know if that is an every day thing, but I am very happy it was on the day I decided to blow off going to the office and meet someone here.  If I worked out near there, it would be dangerous.

This is turning into our go to Clarendon spot.  The shrimp appetizer is totally addicting and the beat/ricotta/honey combo is excellent too.  We have tried many of the main dishes and all are quite good, including the pork chop and the bacon cheeseburger.  The steak frites dish was a bit salty last time I ordered that, but I don't generally like salt at all so am a little hypersensitive to it.  The only miss so far was the pumpkin ravioli, which was a bit flat.  The only dessert we have tried is the apple tart with ginger ice cream (or maybe it was sorbet).  Holy crap, it was delicious.

Sit at the bar with Andrew and you will enjoy good food AND great conversation.  Really nice guy and extremely knowledgeable.

There is a Michael Shaps wine dinner at the Ashby on Thursday, March 6th.  If we weren't going out of town, I would be all over that.  Sounds wonderful. 

A tasting menu dinner at One Block West in Winchester

According to arlnow.com, they opened for lunch today as usual.  FWIW, I think Bangok 54 surpassed Thai Square some time ago.  We eat here several times a month.  It is solid, consistent and delicious.  Glad to hear there was no permanent damage to the restaurant. 

TNT has lowered the price of its cocktails.  Most of the home grown ones are $10.  They are as delicious as ever and certainly worth it in my opinion.

I didn't eat at the other Eamonn's enough to notice a change in the batter, but I still really like it.  As I have mentioned previously, the curry sauce is awesome on the chips. They are also serving paninis during lunch now.

This place really needs to see more traffic.  Please go visit.   It is a great place to go in the Columbia Pike neighborhood and we would very much like for it to stay that way.

This place is seriously dangerous.  I lost 20 minutes just wandering around looking at everything they have.  So much fun.  It feels like they have anything and everything you could possibly need.  And the people are so nice too.  I bought notebooks, a sewing kit, a birthday card and a pumpkin!  Randomness abounds.

Elizabeth Gill

One Block West -

A wonderful dining experience.  While the service had some hiccups and the wine pairing pours were barely enough to scrape through the course, I would absolutely return and do the tasting menu again.  It was $65 plus $45 for the pairings. 

First: salmon three ways - tartar, smoked and roe.  A little over olive oily.  I do not eat sushi but ate the tartar and smoked pieces nonetheless.  Quite tasty.

Second: drum over crisp razor thin bean slices with a sweet potato puree.  OMG this was phenomenal.  The whole combo just worked wonderfully.

Third: Rabbit wrapped in prosciutto with feta and spinach over squash puree.  Not a big feta fan, thought it was a bit overwhelming, but this was also very good.

Fourth: Sausage with a sauerkraut eggroll.  It really wasn't an eggroll, but it was wrapped in cabbage.  (My wonderful german mother who fed us pork and saurkraut every new years day as what I thought was punishment for coming home drunk the night before would flip if she heard me say this)  The saurkraut was amazing!  It was not vinegary, which is how I grew up hating, I mean eating, it, but very sweet.  Went tremendously well with the sausage. (edited to add this correct description of the dish)

Fifth: Bourbon sorbet.  Yum, yum, yum. 

Sixth: Lamb.  Tender, flavorful, delicious. 

Seventh: Dessert.  I didn't write it down, so I don't remember.   I do remember eating the whole thing and being pissed b/c it was so good but I was full but I couldn't stop eating it.  (edited again - clearly should have looked at the website before I wrote this. This was f-ing awesome. 

This place is absolutely worth the trip from DC.  We stayed at the Wyndham right there in town.  2 blocks from the walking district, very convenient and only about 120 bucks.  (although based on the aforementioned pairing pour sizes, I certainly would not have been nervous about driving back if it was required).  I read great things about One Block West and am happy to report that the food was incredibly good.  Oh, they had a person playing accoustic guitar in the dining room during dinner, which was quite nice.  I wish this place was closer to home.   

We also walked around and stopped into the pub (Union something I think).  Friendly people and staff, excellent beer selection and wines by the glass.   

Twisted Vines is doing a Virginia flight for wine month.  Cab franc from Glen Manor, Linden and one more that just fell out of my head.  I surprised myself by liking the Glen Manor more than the Linden.  I think a visit is in order. 

To Mary C.

Fuck off, cancer.  You suck.

Has anyone been to the Rye Bar?  More curiously, has anyone been to the Grill Room in the same location?  Is it just an insanely overpriced hotel restaurant?  I am interested in checking out the former, but post-dinner.  Trying to figure out where to do that dinner part first. 

According to the new signage, it will now be called Rialto.  I assume that means Italian.  My short stroll down M Street today also revealed a new thai and sushi place going in where the infamous Garrett's used to be and a new wine bar called Eno on the corner of the Four Seasons driveway entrance. 

Vienna

Maybe confusing Italian Store with the Italian Gourmet?  Italian Gourmet was in the shopping center at Nutley and 123.  Not sure if it is still there.  Same type of place but almost positive not the same owners.  The Gourmet had awesome pepperoni rolls though.  That I definitely remember. 

It is quite ironic that I am reading this as we are enjoying a Michael Shaps Meritage that we learned about and purchased based on recommendation by our amazing waiter Kevin during our last visit to the Ashby.  It is no secret based on my entries above that we immensely enjoyed the talents of Tarver King.  But that is not the only thing that drew us to return multiple times over the last few years to the Ashby.  (And to only stay in the Glasscock room every time just like the other DR members - that's kind of funny.)  To us, the Ashby was not just the meal that Tarver prepared.  We enjoy and appreciate the Inn because of the hospitality of the Wavra's, the phenomenal staff, and the wonderful setting and top notch accomodations.  While I am disappointed by the news that Tarver is leaving, I will not hesitate to return and look forward to my next visit to the Ashby.    

I dunno. Ick. Chris Kimball is among the most annoying TV personalities of all time, the "Cooks Illustrated" quest for the perfect meatball or the quintessential pimiento-loaf sandwich schtick is tiresome to the point of shoot-me, and Kimball's down-home reflections on the beauties of Vermont traditions inspire a certain sympathy with a number of mass murderers.

Marcella Hazan? Craig Claiborne?

After our meal this weekend, I would put Tarver King on that mountain.

A little bit of ATK gossip - did anyone see in the NY Times sports page for girls, i.e., the Sunday Style Pages, that Chris Kimball married the cute, brown-haired woman that sometimes does baked goods on the show? Completely useless piece of info, but racy nonetheless.

We did the brown bag salon tasting/tour at RDV this weekend. While expensive ($60/pp), the brown bag format was tremendous fun. Kevin led an amazing tasting and Andrew a great tour. Your jaw will drop when you see the insides of this place. As for the wine, unbelieveable. Matched against wines that were quadruple in price, the RDVs knocked it out of the park. And it is crazy to think they have only been doing this a few years.

I don't know how much longer they will be doing the brown bag format so I suggest you make reservations soon. It is unique enough to be worth the splurge.

You should consider inviting a girl who could bring a MD contender with her to that tasting.

ETA: Our salon tasting at RDV is this Saturday. Getting very excited for it. And still planning to swing by Delaplane afterward.

So you are the reason we couldn't get in there tomorrow... Enjoy!

Joe H - We are going to Linden and Delaplane. Anywhere else recommended in that general vicinity since Choirgirl boxed us out of RDV or is that about it for that corridor?