wfwalsh

Great call on the crab-stuffed rockfish. I think I had the only good dish in my party of three (fried chicken included), though I would have gone for the experience even if the food were nothingburgers. I've been hearing about the place(s) since 1989, and I'm glad I finally showed up.

White Castle, Krystal, Culver's, Runza, Maid Rite -- I visit when I'm in the right region. In 'n' Out? Maybe. 

Just like Arby's!

Competition for Little Serow? :-)

We can hope. Maybe even Lotus of Siam!

Stranger things have happened on that street.

Walking on Barracks Row today I noticed that Old Siam is now Nana Thai. The Web site says it specializes in Isan-style cuisine from northeastern Thailand.

Not sure I see the connection, other than ... boy, that trip would have been much faster by bike!

But I'm pretty coddled -- my commute is a couple of blocks of quiet Capitol Hill streets, then the Capitol grounds, then the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane and then the 15th Street bike lane. And just three miles: enough to call it exercise but not enough for it to ever seem like an inconvenience. My fastest ride home at night was within a minute or so of the 12 minutes it takes by car.

"Dangerous U-Turn In DC Leads To Accidents" by Mark Segraves on nbcwashington.com

You know what, Bill? I'm sure you know I sympathize with you, but this afternoon it took me an *hour* to drive from Ballston to Osteria Elisir and park. I also needed to tinkle *the entire time*.

At what point does this indescribably intolerable commute become The Wild West? For me, that point was today.

Bike lanes or not, legality or not, these streets are no more of a place to bike than the Beltway. Cyclists are in danger here.

I had high hopes, but I left disappointed. A muffaletta doesn't translate well to the panini style -- if there was olive spread, it was obliterated by the concentrated flavor of the meats and the cheese, which become just one big glop of indeterminate flavor when hot. The meat that stood out was a stubbornly stringy piece of something that resembled prosciutto, which I had to extricate from the dense, molten hockey puck to chew separately.

My wife's peanut butter and banana also suffered from the molten-hockey-puck problem (yeah, we were impatient and could have waited five minutes for them to cool down), but it was pretty tasty in a guilty-pleasure dipping-into-the-banana-baby-food kind of way. I wouldn't mind one for dessert on occasion.

The panini press also obliterates differences between breads, so any subtlety they were going for there was lost.

I see that the muffaletta isn't on the current menu. Maybe Voltaggio realized his mistake. Maybe I could have ordered more wisely. Still, I'd love to see what he could do with non-molten-hockey-puck sandwiches.

I loved Bond 45 on a visit shortly after it opened; revisited last night and liked it still but was disappointed that they seem to have de-emphasized pasta. I remember having to choose among several great-sounding pastas last time, but this time there was only lasagna and the "guitars" with seafood. Opted for New York strip instead, and it was a very good steak. (I remember a choice between Italian- and American-style on the steaks last time, which no longer seems to be there.)

The complimentary popovers are very similar to BLT Steak's but instead of fresh out of the oven with a ramekin of soft butter you get them lukewarm. Butter is offered (as is olive oil), but it comes as frozen foil-wrapped pats.

Once you accept that Capitol Hill Mexican is its own genre only distantly related to actual Mexican food or even Uncle Julio's-caliber Tex-Mex, you have to admit that the Lomitas do a heck of a job with the marinade and the grilling of their beef tacos al carbon.

Life is too short to have a go-to, but my selection today, cooked "recommended," would fit nicely on the menu:

BLACK-N-BLUE BACON (but don't call the BBB on us)

-- Blackened Burger with Cajun Spices

-- Rogue Creamery Smokey Bleu

-- Applewood Smoked Bacon

-- Grilled Red Onions

(skip the lettuce and add creamy Dijon at the table)

OK, third visit to The Classics coming up Wednesday night. I know I want the House Special, having loved-loved-loved that the first time but been not as happy with Diablo treatment the second time. But please remind me again: Do I want rare or medium-rare? Or is there also a "recommended" as at the burger branch? I like the red center, but warm-red rather than cold-red, and definitely with a good char. Oh, but that Jeffrey Steingarten business with the melting point of fat and all, too. Sounds like I'm arguing my way to med-rare, but just want to make sure.

Also, looking for the cheapskate sweet spot on the wine list. Is there a nice Cabernet (or something more interesting) in the $40 range? I did enjoy the zweigelt, but maybe something more steak-y?

Well, there was that time at Les Halles when we were told we couldn't have spoons with our dessert because they had run out ...