Keithstg

This is a good point. Maybe my comment is better located in the "Criticizing Restaurants" thread, but there is/should be a statute of limitations on criticizing a restaurant online. To name names well after the fact is unseemly, to say the least. Maybe a two-month window would be reasonable. After that, too late.

Schneider's has the Horton Viognier for $15.99 - even with a case discount, way more than $10.

Union Meat in Eastern Market, for one option.

Obelisk and 2941. The former I have no idea why, the latter may be because I don't often think of heading to VA. (I know, I know....) edited to reflect places "on the list" that I haven't been.

Once while home for the summer during college I was in a bodega on the UES - a guy walks in, grabs three 12'ers of Miester Brau, looks at me and said "Hey Man, no budget, no beer". I still laugh thinking about that - and the fact that I immediately dropped whatever 12'er I had and picked up the 'Brau.

Not right in Times Square, but within a short walk, I'd try either Town (56 bet. 5/6), LCB Brasserie (formerly Le Cote Basque - an old school NYC legend turned into a brasserie - 55 bet. 5/6), or The Modern, (53 bet 5/6). I've not yet been to the Modern Dining Room, but the Cafe/Bar was worth the trip. Town would be the pricer option between the three.

I'm happy to report that as of 2000, this was still the case. $7.99 per case (bottles), to be exact, Old Mil regular, light, and ice. Ah, Hamilton...

Up in Clinton, NY, Genny Cream was ever-present, as was Utica Club. Gotta love Shultz and Dooley!Fort Schuyler was by far the worst beer available in the area, though. 75 cents a glass, in 1999!

I didn't read it as snark. Just that this wasn't really "new news". I'd heard about the Galileo building being up for renovation for months. Nothing about the move to Crystal City, though.

Just to echo what has already been said, I would pay $500 for a bottle of wine that had special meaning to me, or some such thing. I think that the most I've paid for a single bottle is around $250 retail, and about the same on a winelist. Most of the time I am in the $40-100 range in restaurants. As dinwiddie said, were I fortunate enough to be on the Screagle list, I would certainly put down $1500 for my three pack and sell one, making the rest free. Other than that scenario, I wouldn't/don't buy wine as an investment per se, I buy it to drink when it's ready...

I'll second Etas Unis - it is excellent, just east of my old neighborhood (not that it matters to you), and won a Michelin star in the first Michelin guide to NY. I would call to make reservations - despite the city being nearly deserted on August weekends, the place is small. There is also a wine bar across the street that has its own menu, and does not take reservations.

Call it self pampering if you must. As a born and raised NYC'er, I hardly ever crossed town to the UWS. Now, as a DC resident, I spend 99% of my dining time in town, leaving most recently to go to Maestro. Usually we'll hop across the river to Ray's, or maybe Eve's bistro in an effort to meet friends who live outside the city. In the end, where we eat is a function of convenience - with so many great places in town, there's not a compelling need to leave (frequently, as much as we would love to make Maestro a regular destination).

Because it's awful, awful, awful. We don't even send interns there for happy hour anymore!

We also had an excellent meal at Sonoma last night, after having an excellent meal there last friday as well. I had a risotto to start, which contained proscuitto, corn, mushrooms (chantarelles?), and a bit of stock as a base. Not as creamy as a "typical" risotto, but it was excellent. My wife had the crab salad, which appeared with a more than generous portion of crab on top. She thought it was excellent. For mains, I had the flank steak, which I always get, largely due to the creamy polenta, which is irresistable. This time the meat was cooked perfectly medium rare - on friday it came out a shade closer to medium. My wife had the Amish chicken pasta for an entree, and thought it was excellent as well. This is usually my go-to appetizer, so I was glad to hear that it stood up to a larger portion. To top it all off, Kosta Browne RRV is on the wine list - at $84 I passed (I'm a mailing list customer), but it's a fair price considering both how good the wine is, and after the most recent Wine Spectator review, how (much more) difficult it will be to come by...

I agree. We'll be out of town this week, which is great!

Another good spot in the District is Hogs on the Hill, located on Bladensburg RD, just across NY Avenue. Nowhere to sit down, but for carryout I thought that the ribs were tasty.

A second vote for Hank's - maybe Pigalle, if they have a bar.

Rob, Union Meat in Eastern Market also has flat irons. $5.99/lb, I believe.

My rotation is also determined largely by location. Beginning with bimonthly stops (at minimum): Dinner: Poste Sonoma Palena Cafe (usually Tues or Thurs) bar at Le Paradou Hank's Corduroy Lunch/Brunch/Late Night: Belga Montmartre 2 Amy's Town Hall Ben's Chili Bowl

The Mrs. and I headed to Agraria on Sunday night, post movie showing. The restaurant is absolutely stunning, and the private dining room (I'm assuming that's what it was - with the wine racks covering the walls and a window out onto the fountains) looked incredible as well. Our waiter, Elijah, was very enthusiastic and helpful throughout the evening. On to the food - My wife had the citrus salad, which she enjoyed very much. I wasn't able to steal a bite of the salad. This was her second choice, as the crab and avocado(I think?) salad was sold out. I had beef carpaccio as a starter. This dish has been done to death, with every conceivable meat. However, the version at Agraria was really excellent, and extremely well prepared. I would order this again in a heartbeat. For mains, my wife had the tagliatelle with pesto, and I the roast chicken. Both these entrees tasted really "fresh", for lack of a better term - the focus on fresh, family farm grown produce and meat shone through here. No, the chicken is not Palena's, but the bird was well roasted and accompanied by some excellent wild rice, goat cheese, and vegetables. Very nice indeed. We found the wine list to be well priced and reasonably varied, especially for a restaurant that had just opened. The only snag of the night occurred after dinner. We met up with some friends in the lounge and took a seat. After being told that there was waiter service in the lounge, our party waited for approximately 20 minutes without being approached with drink menus. We did seek a manager after about 10 minutes, and were told that someone was on the way. Ten minutes after that, with no waiter in sight, we chose to depart. I'm sure that this service issue was isolated, and as the restaurant "works out the kinks", it will be addressed. Either way, we look forward to returning to Agraria often, and sampling more of the menu.

Where? Close in (to NYC) there is Blue Hill at Stone Barns...

In this case, learning about the Opentable blacklist was very, very nice to hear!

I'm on:Copain Radio Coteau Kosta Browne Loring Peay Sea Smoke Kistler Quilceda Creek

Kistler is one of the worst lists (IMHO) in terms of minimum purchase, etc. Truly frustrating, a totally different experience than, say, Copain or R-C. I fully expect to be dropped from Kistler after the next allocation. Oh well.

Good to know that they come in a week or so. I've thought about redeeming my points before, but the stated three week lag time (I think) was a turn off, although I'm not sure why. Either way I'll redeem some of my 15,000 today. Thanks!