Keithstg

1 hour ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

Right inside the TSA PreCheck line from the Jet Blue area in Terminal C.

Gotcha. I’m not a Jet Blue flyer, but have had luck with the Legal Test Kitchen and the Legal seafoods by the United gates. The LTK menu varies, but at the other Legal I have had good luck making a meal out of the Crab Bisque and the tuna sashimi.

21 minutes ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

I have mostly written off Legal because of some bad experiences on recent visits to Boston....the outpost at Logan Airport serves lukewarm, almost unheated, fare across its entire menu. Maybe it's just that airport food places are like ballpark food stands, just throwing pre-made food in the microwave and serving it with massive doses of indifference. There aren't many good options at Logan, but after all, this is Boston. Shouldn't Legal have some local pride?

Which outpost at Logan? I can think of at least three throughout the airport.

1 hour ago, pizza man said:

Bouncing around mdi

What with all the construction we didn't make it to SP's this summer - hope to have some excellent pizze etc at a place of yours next summer!

15 hours ago, pizza man said:

 I have used sourdough, ischia and calmoldi specifically, for my pizza ever since leaving 2amys. 

Where are you now? Still at Sweet Pea’s?

I've only been to one DR.com event (the beef tasting at Vidalia), but would be happy to attend events going forward if folks want to organize them.

I have to say, this thread is remarkable. Usually out-of town chefs get skewered, no matter the pedigree (see Lee, Sursur and especially Ripert, Eric). Yet ice cream from an absentee chef is nearly universally praised. Wow. Guess these other chefs should get busy making ice cream in the flyovers.

I've had the ice cream in Columbus and thought it was very good, and The Whole Ox in Marshall carries it. That said, its no 2 Amy's, or Moo-Thru. Or maybe it is, with better marketing

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2 Amys (DonRocks)

The Ashby Inn will be offering free lunch for Veterans on Veterans day, FYI.

On 11/4/2017 at 4:39 PM, bookluvingbabe said:

We are seeing Hamilton the day after Thanksgiving at the matinee.  I do not expect us to be stuffed from the night before.  In fact, I expect us to be hungry and a bit deprived.  Looking for a really good lunch close to the Richard Rodgers (46th and Broadway.) Going with Mr. BLB and BL-5th grader so it can't be too fancy (mostly for the adult, not the boy...)  Had thought about db Bistro Moderne but open to other suggestions.

Thanks!

Aureole - Cafe Un Deux Trois - Quality Italian -  Orso

Cafe Un Deux Trois is the worst of the bunch, but still serviceable. Honestly, I'd probably go to Aureole or DB Bistro.

On 10/21/2017 at 2:13 PM, lion said:

 

Did you get one? Or has anyone tried out these birds? Thinking of trying it out for Thanksgiving this year since we will be home and not at the in laws as usual. 

Don’t know about Bart, but we get our Turkey from the Whole Ox and have done so for years. We usually get two - a larger local turkey and a smaller Kelly Bronze. I’ve been very happy with both the birds and the store!

8 hours ago, Simul Parikh said:

Isn't this all under Mr. Ruta's jurisdiction? Sounds like a guy with his legacy would want to fix this and fast.

Couldn't agree more.

I ate at Mirabelle on Monday night, and sadly have to echo the service issues documented upthread. But, first the food - let's focus on the positive. Everything we ordered was exemplary. We had the gnocchi and foie gras pate for appetizers. Anyone remotely familiar with the gnocchi from Palena knows what to expect, and these did not disappoint. Listed as a "fricasse of black trumpet mushroom gnocchi and petite gris snails, this tasted exactly as I remembered from Palena. The pate, which was called All Parts of the Rabbit or some such thing was an ENORMOUS slab of foie along with some rabbit confit, some mushrooms and bread. There was not remotely enough bread for the dish, but more was provided and the amount of food here was astounding - easily enough for two portions. Our mains were the roast guinea hen/ boudin and the navarin of sea scallops and urchin. The guinea hen breast was brined in a way similar to the much remembered chicken at Palena, and the boudin would have given Marcels a run for its money. Just superb. The sea scallops looked to be fantastic, but I didn't get a bite. All in all, we could not have been more pleased with the food. The space is also beautiful, btw.

Service was supremely odd. Things started off well enough, with drink orders being taken quickly and our drinks (the Colonel) were well made. That was the high point, though. Our server was pretty frantic - she spoke very quickly and in a very rushed tone - we must have been asked three times if we were ready to order yet. Very quirky, and not in a good way - reminiscent of the server back in the old days at Palena who always volunteered to cut your chicken. Perhaps the most noticeable error in service was the treatment of the wine we ordered. We went for a '96 Beaucastel, which was in fine shape, if a bit heavy for the scallops, but oh well. The sommelier working the floor decanted the wine, but didn't use a screen or decant carefully so consequently each sip was filled with sediment, from first to last, hindering our enjoyment. This issue was so noticeable that our server came over to change out our glasses, tut tutting at the somm all the while. I have to admit that I didn't voice my displeasure with the treatment of the wine, but perhaps I should have. Not sure who is doing the training here, but there is a long way to go until the service matches the food.

As luck would have it (or not), I found myself at the  Springfield location last week for the first time in about 17 years and asked for "Chicken Alamo", per the discussion upthread many moons ago. Wow. Totally revolting. I should have known, but went against my better judgement. Oh well. Fortunately it will be at least another 17 until I return.

Incidentally, this location is directly off of "Bland Street" - seriously. Too funny, and perhaps the best descriptor for this area ever.

6 hours ago, Bob Wells said:

That's a meal I could get behind. I'm all about the protein these days. I just have to remind myself that I'm in SR and not BBH (that's Boothbay Harbor for the flatlanders )

Or for folks from away.

9 hours ago, mtureck said:

Oh, come on...if you've read his reviews and his chats for a while, you know that there's no one in DC that TS has more respect for than Ruta.

Off the top of my head in two seconds, Mark Furstenburg.

That said, I'm more likely to head into DC for Mirabelle than I was before this review. Been eating more in NY and Maine lately.

1 hour ago, Simul Parikh said:

Did more touristy things, stopped by the famous Tahiti Nui bar at the top of the island, and then went over to the St. Regis in Princeville. Here, I did the thing with the ring, and we weren't so hungry afterwards, just sort of giddy, but we got the crab cake with ginger and the grilled Romaine hearts. Don't remember what it tasted like, but they did also give us a complimentary glass of sparkling Rose and didn't even charge for Valet. We drove back to our airbnb in Poipu and then realized we were starving, so we got some nachos at Keoki's Paradise. Not great.

Congratulations and best wishes!

To Richard Keane and Bill Meehan. 16 years.

Ditto Glen Manor. I'll also plug Slater Run Vineyards - tasting room is in Upperville, VA - winery is also in Upperville but only open to the public occasionally.

18 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Authors, I have no idea, but Bourdain isn't a good writer.

Chefs, you have to include Robuchon, Ducasse, Bras, Gagnaire, and Veyrat before any of the ones you named (then again, Mount Rushmore is American - are you limiting this to American chefs? If so, yes on Keller, and don't forget Charlie Trotter.)

For France, no Bocuse? Trosigiros?

1 hour ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

Looks like we need two Mt. Rushmores...?

For authors, it would be James Beard, Julia Child, Irma Rombauer, and maybe Bourdain?

For chefs, how about Jacques Pepin, Thomas Keller, Alice Waters (or Jeremiah Tower), and Paul Prudhomme?

Alice Waters isn't a chef. Visionary, maybe. Maybe.

I've said it before, and it bears repeating - Batard is the best fine-dining deal in NYC. Was there last week,  and despite restaurant week crowds Batard delivered a wonderful experience. We opted out of the restaurant week menu and the three of us sampled the majority of the "regular" menu dishes. I started off with the Octopus Pastrami, which was reminiscent of David Dunlap's Octopus carpaccio from his Ashby Inn days (with the addition of pastrami spices, obv).  The octopus was bound into a terrine and served warm-ish, along with ham hock, pommery mustard and roasted new potatoes. The ham hock was a nice accompaniment to the octopus, as was the mustard, which helped cut the richness of the dish. Not sure why it's obligatory to include potatoes in each Octopus dish,  but there they were. Didn't add a ton, but didn't detract either.The others in our group had the foie terrine (duck confit,  apricot, mache salad, hazelnut viniagrette) and the scallop crudo (avocado mousse, lime, radish, black sesame) both of which were excellent - but when is foie ever bad?

We then moved on to a pasta course, where I had the rabbit sausage (spigarello, preserved lemon). This dish was flawless, and my favorite of the night. Really not much else to say about it other than every component worked harmoniously. Reminiscent of a Roberto Donna prepared risotto, back before I stopped patronizing his establishments. In fact, all of the pasta dishes were standouts - the others being sunflower seed pasta (roasted quail, spinach and olive oil) and agnolotti (taleggio, caramelilzed onions,  roasted tomatoes, parmesan). I got a bite of the sunflower seed pasta and it was also excellent.

Although the pasta dishes were the standouts, mains were no slouches either. I had the lamb, which included the rack and leg, along with runner beans, romesco and pistacios. The rack was a bit more rare than anticipated - I would have prefered less than 30 seconds more in the oven, but was still good. The leg was compressed into a terrine-like square and was excellent. Other mains included steamed black bass (goldbar squash, tomato, black olive) and a pork schnitzel, although I have waited too long to document the dish and it' already off menu - replaced by a roasted chicken dish now, I believe.

Wines were two burgundies - a 2010 Domaine LeFlaive Puligny-Montrachet and a 2008 Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle - Musigny. Both were singing. We skipped dessert/ cheese and headed over to Compagnie des vins Surnaturels for wine and cheese, but had another truly memorable meal. Service was excellent and the pacing was also on point - at no point did we feel rushed, despite a huge crowd for mid-week in August. Batard continues to provide tremendous value and a fantasic overall experience.

11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Please do not ever underestimate the importance of posts such as this.

Thank you for writing it, Keith.

Are these two restaurants copies of each other, or two different concepts?

I guess two different concepts - NIK in Winchester is a straight up Italian-American joint, while NIK's Broiler room is a cross between an Italian-American restaurant and a steakhouse. No dry-aged beef in Winchester.

1 hour ago, silentbob said:

What the DC area really needs is an AMEX Centurion Lounge at one of its airports, but then it would instantly become overcrowded like the one at SFO due to being so much better than the legacy carrier ones.

Agreed! Have heard about the overcrowding, but Centurion card holders still have family access and dedicated areas.

21 minutes ago, dcs said:

Amex Platinum offers Priority Pass Select.  It is no access to all lounges only certain ones under certain conditions.  For example, United does not accept any Priority Pass travelers.  More discussion on The Points Guy.

Thanks! Looks like I'll stick with the current card and continue to swallow the big annual fee. I've got access to most lounges, and the Centurion lounges are now in most of the airports I frequent.

8 hours ago, porcupine said:

AmEx has been good for getting into airport lounges, except when the lounges are closed to Priority Pass members.  Of course Chase offers the same Priority Pass benefit, so that doesn't matter.

Interesting - can you expand on this? How often are lounges closed I'm considering downgrading to Amex Platinum, but lounge privileges are important with frequent travel.

58 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

We're becoming more like a stiff Seattle everyday.  

Tom, I must say that your cuisine and atmosphere really are deserving of dressing up for; it's just that everyone's tired at the end of the day, and nobody feels like dressing up. I've always felt comfortable sitting at your bar in jeans; it's the parking that has kept me away more than anything - that said, I'll see you soon.

Couldn't agree more, Don - Tom's cuisine and Corduroy are worth making an effort for. If "dressing up" now constitutes "more than shorts/ tshirts", we have well and truly lowered the bar.