nmorrell

The mister and I had dinner here last night before going to see Patton Oswalt, who by the way was on fire, really hilarious but I digress. The mister started with a cocktail (The Colonial) which had a tasty house made cardamon salt rim that was great. I mentioned I'd had a bordeaux the last time I was in and loved it, of course no clue of the maker but our waitress deftly glanced through the menu and found it. It was again delicious. We split the steak tartare and the tuna crude. The tartare was some of the best I've had. It was a perfect mix of ingredients and paired nicely with the picked carrot and greens as well as the grilled bread. I had the tuna appetizer the last time I was in and it was amazing. This was a new dish and while the flavors were spot on with jalpeno, hint of grapefruit and chicharons (which this southern girl just calls pork rinds). The tuna was too largely cut in my opinion. I wouldn't have even mentioned it but both our server and another staff member came over to our table and mentioned it was the first time for this starter and wanted to know what we thought about it. I thought that was really courteious of them and so of course, we both told them honestly. This is as good a time as any to say how fantastic the service is here. This is my second time in and both times the service has been outstanding! Friendly from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave. Friendly and attentive with out being fussy or overly present. A+! For mains we ordered the sausage duo (thai and boudin basque) as well as the fried chicken with collard greens, trite de grit (fried cornbread/meal) and their "DBQ" sauce. Jim must have also ordered pommes puree but with all the food coming I missed that. Both of the sausages were outstanding, I especially loved the flavors in the thai but I have to give it to the boudin. The inside of the sausage was like silk, which seems like an odd way to describe sausage but it was amazing. Certainly my favorite dish in an already outstanding field. I like to think we have tried our fair share of great fried chicken and collards and DBGBs are definitely in the top, this was Jim's favorite dish. The chicken is bone in and I'm guessing double battered and fried as the crust is really thick and darkly browned and crispy... delicious. The greens also had some heat to them, which I love. And the DBQ sauce is tasty as well. We didn't have room for dessert but the menu looked great and they do have a great after dinner drink selection. All in all I had another wonderful experience at DBGB and am looking forward to my next outing there... which conveniently is in two weeks for a girls dinner.

I met a couple of girlfriends for dinner at Tazza Kitchen a week ago Friday and have since been back twice in less than two weeks. I hadn't heard of the spot before and didn't have high hopes for a chain restaurant in the middle of a strip center but I was completely enamored with it almost from the moment I walked in. The margarita is excellent, fresh lime juice and no sour mix! We started with the brick oven nachos which were made with chorizo that was flavorful and cooked perfectly. I followed up with the Kale & Chilies salad and grilled shrimp. Maybe it was the chilies or the lemon vinaigrette but it was hands down the best kale salad I've ever had. I know that might be a low bar but this really was excellent. A friend had the five spice chicken tacos, which I gladly had a bite of and loved. The five spice was smoky and paired perfectly with the chicken. Other friends ordered the pizza, brusslesprouts and beets but I didn't try those. I hardly ever order dessert but this was a friend's birthday so we tried the olive oil cake as well as the salted caramel gelato. I'm no expert on olive oil cake but it was just so so. The gelato however was nearly addicting! The very next day I drug my husband and two kids to Tazza to try out their brunch. If dinner was outstanding brunch was even better. Their drop biscuits were crunchy on the outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside. They have several different butters to try. Don't get sucked in to the bacon butter, its not worth it but the pecan maple butter was delicious and next time I'm going to try the black pepper honey butter. I had the huevos rancheros which were the best I've had outside of Texas. My husband had the five spice chicken burrito and my kids had the breakfast pizza (béchamel, bacon, caramelized onion, mozzarella, grans padano and two baked eggs on top) and french toast. I was a little worried that the pizza it would be too rich but it wasn't at all, absolutely delicious! Did I mention they have a wood burning oven? Yep. The crust was light and crispy and delicious! I went back again today with another friend and enjoyed another great brunch. I also have to commend the staff. They were all very friendly with out being overly attentive. The worst thing I can say about Tazza is the parking situation. Despite the size of the lot its a nightmare to find a spot.

I'm heading up to Nantucket for a weekend with five friends in May and starting to look at restaurants. Anyone have any great recommendations? We'd love to try a few casual local favorites, one or two high end dinner locations and since we'll have a house for the long weekend perhaps a great local grocery/gourmet food-wine shop. Thanks for any suggestions!

I had the pleasure of trying Hunting Creek the first week they were open. We were a party of 8 for a surprise birthday dinner on a Saturday night so I fully expected a few hiccups given our group. And though at times service was a tad slow, the staff all went out of their way to be helpful, friendly and more than accommodating to our party which at times was a tad raucous. We waited briefly in the upstairs bar which is small but cozy and my husband enjoyed that they had a large tv on sports. Through out the night the owner (not sure of his name but I recognized him from our many evenings at A La Lucia) seemed to be on top of it all. From bringing back fresh wine glasses to making sure our table was happy with our dinner. We started with the fried oysters, fried zucchini and fried Jerusalem Artichoke. They were all good but the fried oysters were a stand out dish! The breading was light in texture and taste and the oysters were fantastic! The waiter mentioned they were sweet water oysters. I'm not an oyster expert but I would order those again, every time. I usually order the fish, however being in a steakhouse I ordered steak. I had the 8 oz. tenderloin and substituted brusslesprouts for the fingerling potatoes. The filet was cooked perfectly to my taste. The outside had a nice char and the inside was a perfect shade of red. The brusslesprouts were fine, though I prefer mine roasted and crisper then these were. All in all I was very pleased with our experience and I will certainly be back here again soon.

By happenstance I have found myself in Asheville for the weekend with my 4 year old son. Where to eat? Thankfully there is Don Rockwell's Intrepid Traveler! While he is a pretty good diner for his age I didn't think I could take him to the Admiral even if I could get into the restaurant (which, for the record we couldn't, I tried.) Instead we've booked brunch reservations at Curate tomorrow and tonight tried Chai Pain (http://www.chaipaniasheville.com) tonight. Indian is a cuisine that my son loves so I assumed if they had naan and a decent chicken tandoori he'd be set. Well this place far exceeded my expectations. The restaurant is fun and youthful while maintaining its Indian street food character. Unfortunatly, my husband wasn't with me to eat his fair share so I only had room to order two items and a cocktail but all were amazing. There were at least 5 other small plates I was regretting I wasn't able to try. The Bhel Puri ( a favorite of mine) was perfect. (photo is too large to upload) Crispy, slightly spicy and perfectly balanced. I also ordered the Kale Pakoras (attached photo) which I hesitated ordering in fear of it being overdone and with out the Indian flavors I was hoping for but the waitress assured me it was a good pick. And it was. There was little heat to it which means even my son loved it. They weren't overly fried and just enough Indian spices to give flavor with out overpowering the kale. I can't remember the name of the cocktail I ordered but it had rum, cumin, some other hot spice and fresh lime juice with soda water. It was a perfect match. Another bonus is the part of town Chai Pain is in. Its quirkily, creative, lots of outdoor restaurants, art shops, singers on the corners and unique stores. We walked around a bit and even picked up some sweet treats next door at a local chocolatier shop.

I'm planning to take my husband to Chicago (where he grew up) for a Bears game this fall. We've been several times and tried some fantastic restaurants over the years but its been a couple of years since I was there so I'm hoping to get a few recommendations for some more current fine dining restaurants we should try. Perhaps a tasting menu. We'll eat anything! Thanks!!

**nervously looks around and waves hello** Hi, so this is only like my 3 or 4th post here. I'm a total newbie but I do lurk here sometimes. You are all very witty and wise! I am so excited to hear Chef Trabocchi might be returning to town. I was just browsing through his cookbook (Cucina of Le Marche) and on line lurking. It's been years since I made his Potato Gnocchi with Duck Ragu but am thinking I might just have to make it this weekend in honor of his (maybe-possible-fingerscrossed-holdingbreath) return to town. Oh and I don't know fairfax county at all so I hate to say anything about what types of restaurants would work there but as a longtime resident of Old Town and now Del Ray I would cast my vote for my neck of the woods! We like yummy food and are usually willing to pay for it! And lastly, I don't know how "legally acceptable" this is but I did post the recipe on my blog, well it will be posted tmr. morning at 7am. If you are interested in trying to make it yourself. It's really quite heavenly!! http://ouiserb.blogspot.com Cheers, Texchef (AKA Ms. Ouiser B.)

Last night my husband and I had one of the best dinners I've ever had at Komi. We first tried the restaurant several years ago and have been looking forward to going back ever since. Even with our high expectations, we were blown away. We went with the chef's choice, degustazione dinner. Everything was outstanding. If you haven't been yet I hope you do so soon and if you've been before it's time to return! I did a quick restaurant review on my blog if you want to check it out... http://nicolealon.blogspot.com/2009/10/restaurant-review-komi.html

Deffinitely Boston and Lobster! I was thinking entrees around $20- $30 to clarify that we are looking to go somewhere nicer than a casual seafood shack (which of course I also love, but for another time). I certainly expect to pay more for the lobster!

I am going to Boston in a couple of weeks for a girls weekend and not to be cliche but we want to get some great lobster. Somewhere fun with entrees around $20-$30. I'm not that familiar with the city but we are staying between Boston Common and Beacon Hill and we are happy to go anywhere in the city. We are also going to Nantucket for a day so if anyone has suggestions for good food please share. Thanks!