Keithstg

On the whole I agree with you, Mike.

In this case, I inferred that the particular dish was consumed too long ago for it to be relevant or fair to name names today.

I tasted the 2005 Horton Viognier the other day at a friend's house, and it was delicious. I didn't ask how much it cost, but I'd wager it's more than $10.

Where can you get a rack of pork around here?

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.

when I was living in san fran 94, sharing a 1 bedroom apt w/ 7 other irish students, the tipple of choice was Meister Brau....$4.99 for a 12 pack of cans

I am meeting with a vendor of mine in NYC on Monday with offices right on Time Square. Lunch is included and before I suggest db Bistro Moderne again, I thought I'd see if anyone else has any suggestions for another place to try that is is the same general area. TIA

Old Milwaukee was the go-to beer in central NY in the mid 80s.

Hey, I went to college in Brockport, NY (pronounced Braak-port) where we drank oceans of Genny Cream. $1.99 a six-pack. You couldn't beat it.

Fort Schuyler was by far the worst beer available in the area, though. 75 cents a glass, in 1999!

In today's TomChat, the gloves come off...

Yesterday, Kliman reported that Galileo would be heading to Crystal City for the year, while their downtown building undergoes renovations.

Today, Sietsema calls that "no secret" and "hardly news" --

"It's no secret that Galileo -- and the two other Italian dining rooms within Galileo -- will soon shutter, so that the building that houses them all at 1110 21st St. NW can complete major renovations. And it's hardly news that chef Roberto Donna plans to take his pots, pans and a lot of his staff to Crystal City (and a soon-to-be-vacated, 140-seat restaurant space) so that he can continue to cook for the year or so the construction downtown is expected to take.

What's news is the forthcoming restaurant's name, Bebo Trattoria, and the dishes Donna plans to offer (as soon as next month, if all goes according to schedule). The Post got a sneak peek of Bebo's menu yesterday, and the choices read like a cross between Donna's budget-priced Osteria and the more formal Galileo. The seductions include (start salivating) house-made salami with fried bread and green sauce; fried rabbit with artichokes; an Italian wedding soup; raw veal topped with celery, mushrooms, Parmesan and olive oil; spaghetti with bacon, cream and egg yolks - amusingly dubbed "spaghetti alla coronary"; and the chef's popular hot and cold panini and pizzas. For the curious, "Bebo" is Mr. Donna's nickname."

Why the snark, Tom?

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...

One pretty low key (for a moderate to sllightly expensive restaurant) Upper East Side place we have enjoyed is Etats Unis, 242 E 81st Street, (212) 517-8826.

Let's get real. A short car ride is no big hassle. I live in DC. It takes me 10 minutes to get to Ray's in Arlington and 20 minutes to get to Joe's in Rockville. The posts so far seem to be characterized by extreme self-pampering. They remind me of the story about the society dame on Manhattan's East Side who was asked if she ever goes to the West Side. "Oh yes,"she replied, "on my way to Europe."

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).

How come no one ever talks about this place?

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 don't think restaurant week worth the effort and usually use it as an opportunity to practice my home kitchen skills.

I had some pretty good ribs the other day at Kenny's on 8th and Maryland, NE. They also sell them by the full rack. Others on this board are more knowledgeable about BBQ than I, but I have the impression the best places for BBQ are in the 'burbs.

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.

Which location? I used to shop at the Magruders on Duke St., but I think it's now closed.

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.

I'm heading up to the Hudson River Valley for the long July 4 weekend. Any recommendations on where to eat and drink while I'm up there? Restaurants? Wineries? Can't-miss holes-in-the-wall?

Thanks,

Michael

I couldn't help having the notorious corkage story involving Corduroy replaying in my mind as I read your sadly esoteric advice.

I figure I've been dumped from Martinelli since I didn't buy the last two times since I didn't want to be captive. I love buying from Radio Coteau, and Siduri keeps sending me letters even though I seldom buy anything anymore (just to many lists and too little money). Karl Lawrence keeps sending me the same allocation and I keep buying it, hoping to move up soon.

My current lists:

R-C

Siduri

Karl Lawrence

WesMar

Dain

A Donkey and Goat

Loring

A.P. Vin

ROAR

Neal

Kosta Browne

Copain

Radio Coteau

Kosta Browne

Loring

Peay

Sea Smoke

Kistler

Quilceda Creek

Dinwiddie's is right. I am on about a half dozen or so lists and I also regularly buy off of other folks' lists, usually to my fellow DC Crü pals. I remember thinking it was funny when Kistler dumped me off their list. One list I know I will fight to stay on is Kosta-Browne. Oh, and Peay.

Takes less than a minute to redeem on the site. A week later you get a GC, accepted at any OpenTable restaurant. I've never had even a moment's hesitation by a restaurant in accepting them.