Keithstg

Had lunch at the Tysons location of The Palm last week. The Palm would have been packed for Thursday lunch pre-pandemic, with Smitty holding court in the bar area for a huge group of regulars, creating a very private club like atmosphere (a nicer atmosphere and more exclusive than the nearby Tower Club, lol). The restaurant area would also be full.

This past Thursday was much different - no bar crowd obviously and a dining room perhaps 1/3 full, very well-spaced throughout the multiple rooms. The 3 course business lunch is still available, and paper menus/ masked and gloved servers are present. I went for the lobster bisque and chicken parm, while my colleague received the  blackened chicken salad. The lobster bisque was generic, cream/ sherry/ seafood stock with some chopped lobster in the bowl. Nothing special. The chicken parm has always been the best entrée available in my opinion, and I received a large, well coated chicken cutlet with the Palm's traditional piquant tomato sauce. All seemed fine - until my companion received his blackened chicken salad. 

The chicken salad was composed of some sad cubes of blackened chicken atop wan looking lettuce and barely pink tomato. Could easily have come from Wendy's, and I can't imagine it being served at the Palm, or any restaurant of it's ilk, pre-pandemic. Our server basically shrugged when asked about the salad, though did offer to replace it. Bottom line, stick with steak and parm. Tables are well spaced, and staff taking appropriate precautions, though the lunch business has pretty clearly been decimated. I hope that dinner is faring better.

On 1/29/2021 at 12:54 PM, Steve R. said:

Well, I guess I was a bit over optimistic, but 25% indoor dining as of Feb 14 is a start.  Personally, I think 50% wouldn’t change the rate in any significant way (although Long Island is at a much higher rate than NYC, I wouldn’t bet on indoor dining being the difference maker).  I think the overly conservative approach by Cuomo is understandable, given that he’s also pushing back against major “open it all up” forces in athletics, theater & tourist venues (hotels, etc), while getting non-conclusive info. on vaccine effectiveness and availability.  My next guess is that it moves to 50% indoor dining by the end of Feb, barring vaccine &/or variant surprises.

As for our mayor, well I’ll just risk violating DR’s “no partisan politics” edict by saying “what a f—king waste”, while thinking much worse 🤦‍♂️

It's a start, for sure, but a late one that flies against the state's own data regarding transmissions. Safe to say that the bloom is (or should be) off of whatever rose existed for Cuomo's handling of the pandemic, especially if you happened to have had a loved one in a New York assisted living facility.

Totally agree that a raise to 50% would be appropriate, and share your opinion of the current mayor. He will leave whoever succeeds him a total mess and a ravaged tax base. Best of luck.

14 hours ago, Steve R. said:

I think they're wrong and that the 25% indoor dining rule will be back, maybe by next week.  Just a hunch.

Well, Cuomo did relent a bit on this yesterday, so we shall see. Quite a 180 inside of 48 hours - perhaps at least pretend to have a plan? Interesting how completely sidelined the incompetent DeBlasio has been throughout this process.

https://ny.eater.com/2021/1/27/22252519/new-york-city-restaurant-reopening-plan-cuomo

Unreal...still no plans to help the industry - 11,000 restaurant jobs lost in NYC - in December 2020 alone.

https://ny.eater.com/2021/1/26/22250295/cuomo-not-contemplating-indoor-dining-return

Funny to read my comments in the thread from before I was a local resident. Jonathan Leonard is now Chef at the Ashby Inn, and Jean Van Haute is the Executive Chef at Goodstone, coming by way of Bruges, Belgium. A number of staff from the Ashby have migrated over to the Goodstone, further reinforcing the rural hospitality switcheroo.

We hadn't been in for quite a while, so headed over for dinner on Saturday night. The new conservatory is a beautiful addition to the property and is quite "atmospheric" as JoeH might say. Tables were very well spaced across two levels, and staff were well versed in appropriate protocols for COVID - gloves, masks, etc etc.

Dry January is still in effect for us, so no wine. My overall impression of the wine list was that while large, it was skewed to recent vintages and fairly expensive compared to other lists in the area. That said, plenty of variety on offer and I surely would have a suitable bottle or two.

Appetizers included a cheese plate for my daughter, escargot for my son, foie gras terrine for my wife, and french onion soup for myself. My wife and I also split an order of escargot. All appetizers were enjoyed, but when is a foie gras terrine ever bad? The escargot could have used more salt - a recurring theme throughout the meal.

Entrees included Roast Chicken, Pheasant, beef tenderloin and turbot. The Roast chicken was a solid preparation - certainly the best between Middleburg and DC, at any rate. My daughter especially enjoyed the croquettes that came along with the bird. The pheasant was another winner, likely the most interesting dish, though the portion was pretty darn small. Turbot was beautifully presented and perfectly cooked, but desperately in need of salt. The lobster béarnaise sauce did a but to punch things up, but not enough. Even the dish's underpinnings of fingerling potatoes could have used additional seasoning.

Desserts were chocolate mousse and crème brulee. Nothing groundbreaking, though tasty. All in all a nice meal in a comfortable environment with excellent service. A bit more attention to detail wrt seasoning would have materially improved the meal. Not an overnight addition to the local rotation, but we will be back.

4 hours ago, Rovers2000 said:

Appreciate the advice.  I interviewed a number of folks, including Case and BOWA and ended up going with BOWA for a number of reasons.  Signed the contract yesterday so I'm looking forward to the design process.

Awesome - good luck! If you end up working with Tim Burch, he is a great guy.

58 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Legend Brown Ale - Governor Northam just declared a 6PM-6AM curfew in Virginia also.

It's odd being so close to the riot - it's as if I can "feel" it. Does anyone else experience this phenomenon?

Curfew is only for Arlington and Alexandria, btw.

For January, nothing. Bummer.

Among the general wines for the holidays, we had the usual suspects, though one wine was a huge surprise. A neighbor left a bottle of 2002 Rappahannock Cellars Cab Franc on our doorstep (literally), so we figured "why not" and opened it, saving a '76 Insignia for a later day.

Whoa. Not only was the wine still alive, it was in a really nice place. I have no illusion that the wine was meant to age for 18 years, or that there's anything but provenance and careful storage to account for the showing - or even that there are many other bottles of this wine still around. The wine was bought on release by my neighbor, moved probably 30 miles from the winery to his cellar, and sat there ever since.

Anyway, could have fooled a pretty solid taster as a just past-peak Bordeaux - say a 5th growth - not a Figeac or Petit Cheval, but thoroughly enjoyable and unexpected - which is why I drink this stuff to begin with. Not Loire-esque in the least, maybe due to American Oak?

Late to posting this, but attached/ below is a menu from our dinner on 12/5. Really enjoyed the space and atmosphere. Food was excellent as well, though the wine pairings/ list could use some work though the Sipp Mack Riesling was a winner (we did the "premium pairing", noted with diamonds). Headed back on Thursday - reservation times seem to have opened up a bit.

Stayed at Hopkins Ordinary which is about 300 yards from the restaurant. I'm decidedly not a B&B person, but enjoyed our stay. There's a brewery located at the Inn, and a minimum of doilies/ chintz. One could make a really nice weekend out of a combo three blacksmiths/ IALW trip.

17 hours ago, reedm said:

I read capers could be a substitute in some dishes. Not sure if that would work for a sauce.

I’ve purchased a box of mixed peppercorns and sorted out the green ones...channeling the old Van Halen “only brown M&M’s” tour rider...

On 12/23/2020 at 10:12 AM, naxos said:

Has anyone ordered caviar from Browne Trading Co.? Or order from Black Salt?

A treat for this NYE seems to be something to look forward to since we have not fined out nor ordered takeout  since March.

Wow. That’s a long time.

how about Astrea caviar? You can use the code CLAYFU for 25% off, courtesy of a friend from wineberserkers...

astreacaviar.com

3 hours ago, reedm said:

As the title indicates, I've been trying to find green peppercorns in brine. Neither Wegman's nor Harris Teeter carries that item. Does anyone have a source in/near Loudoun County? Thank you!

Sauce for beef Wellington?

20 hours ago, Steve R. said:

Indoor dining in NYC ends on Monday.

With no plan to address the imminent failure of many of these small businesses. DeBlasio continues to destroy New York City. 

1 hour ago, Bart said:

I'm sure Kinship will not disappoint.  They have a Christmas Eve menu to go that includes morning after options.  It's also available on the 23rd.

https://kinshipdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Christmas-Eve-Takeout-Menu.pdf

I haven't done a "big night" meal like this from them, but their regular Covid carry out meals have been great.

While I fully agree with Bart’s recommendation, Eater has recently published a guide to holiday meals that may be worth a review as well.

White truffles are in season - Urbani Truffles ?

3 hours ago, Rovers2000 said:

As I perused the above - I wanted to see if anyone had a specific contractor they'd recommend.  While my current kitchen (we moved into our new Great Falls home in June) is fine and a big step up from what I've had previously - I'm in the very early (i.e. planning) stages of scoping out a project that largely entails ripping off the current deck, replacing it with a "3 seasons room", adding an outdoor kitchen and redoing the exterior patio.  The first contractor I'm meeting with is Case Design but I'm struggling to dig up reliable recommendations on others to engage.  As the outdoor kitchen is a substantial component of it - I think I can fit it into the kitchen remodel page

I've used Case before and the results were fine, though I think a lot depends on your project manager. I have been far more pleased with Distinctive Building Group and BOWA Builders, though I used them all for different projects on different homes. Distinctive did our kitchen over, which is in a quirky former general store and they did a flat out fantastic job from start to finish - on time and on budget.

9 hours ago, Tom Power said:

I think stirring was edited out to keep the video as short as possible.  I watched the video again and was shaking the pot, it's not likely to burn before it boils if you give it a shake or two.     

Thank you. Corduroy will be in hibernation until the weather allows us to resume outdoor dining. During that time we will have a limited takeout menu of mostly frozen soups to stock your freezer with.  Sort of like Souper Girl but for omnivores. Depending upon interest there may be other options but it will be mainly soup that you heat on a cold night in the future.    

Thanks, Tom. Order off of the website?

30 minutes ago, reedm said:

At the risk of being boo'd/booed off of the forum (not really, I hope), has anyone tried Popeye's Cajun Turkey? Thinking about trying it this year. 

One of my colleagues swears by them and she orders multiple each year. I've had a piece or two and found it enjoyable, if a bit salty.

19 hours ago, Tweaked said:

But honestly, the Impossible is an impressively engineered product.  

Engineered is a great word to describe a product brimming with GMO's and other modified soy-related products.

Told you.

1 hour ago, Bob Wells said:

If you've lived here for a while, you might remember American Flatbread in Broadlands. Really good, but I think it was ahead of its time. Their frozen pies are available at Harris Teeter. https://americanflatbread.com/

Didn't they have two locations in the area at one point? I know they opened a place in NYC off of Canal Street that didn't last long. Seems as though they are down to three locations in Vermont. Perhaps the retail expansion was ahead of its time...

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

I heard it on good word that PassionFish Bethesda will be permanently closing after Sunday night. A quick search on OpenTable for both Sunday and Monday seems to confirm this:

That's really too bad. A business lunch staple. Always solid. Guess it's back to Mon Ami Gabi...

2 hours ago, KeithA said:

We stop at Red Truck Bakery every time we head out to Shenandoah or other towns out there (it is only a 5-10 minutes detour off the highway) and we always love the cakes. The orange bundt cake and Kentucky bourbon are our two faves. Still good but not faves are the apple cake and triple chocolate cake. The granola is very sticky and good with a nice twist with added coconut. The cookies and other goodies are good but the cakes and pies are why it is worth stopping or going for a trip. Also a few doors down and across the street is a really good small butcher/gourmet foods shop that makes good burgers/sandwiches. I can't recall the name and not sure how they are doing during Covid. Red Truck during Covid is operating pre-orders and has a walk-up window where you can get all of their offerings (no indoor access).

Their ice-cream is also exceptional. Produced in collaboration with Moo-Thru, another Fauquier County business. Not widely available, and absolutely not cheap, but every bit the equal of the flyover-based ice cream makers so fawned over.

10 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Wonderful! I grew up on Butterball, and while I've had "good" turkey meat, I'm pretty sure I've never had a whole heritage bird, at least not one like this. I have no desire to relive the turkeys of my youth, which tasted like a dry, flavorless, white meat-sawdust dessicant, only given life by gravy and condiments. I suppose Butterball turkey is just as good as Purdue chicken, so extrapolate accordingly.

Did the place you bought it from remove the tendons from the drumsticks? I think I'm buying ours at Organic Butcher, btw ($181 for a 13-15-pound bird; $220 for 16-18 pounds) - the second link (in the first post) is to Dickson's Farm Stand Meats in New York which says they remove the tendons, dry age, and hand pluck the turkey. I'm wondering if all that's done at the original source, or if it will vary depending on where you purchase the turkey.

Please feel free to list all area places that carry them - I wonder if Georgetown Butcher is offering any.

The Whole Ox in Marshall, VA. carries Kelly Bronze turkeys, though may well be sold out at this point. Believe that they deliver also.

On 11/6/2020 at 3:52 PM, JBag57 said:

"Moving on from Patowmack Farm, Chef Tarver King Announces Plans for New Restaurant in Paeonian Springs" by Karen Graham on paeoniansprings.com

Bucolic heaven is Paeonian Springs.

Very interesting!