MarkS

That looks like a great plate of meatballs.

The point is that all these ranges get pans uber hot, way beyond what is typically needed.  I.E.  If you sauté on high you must tend to that pan constantly and simply can not do the same if you had 3,4 or 5 pans at that high setting.

Lots of beverage choices in cans in Annapolis.  Boaters do not want glass on our boats.

Hard to believe Cindy Wolf at Charleston has been a runner up 8 times.  There just aren't that many better cooks then her.

I can vouch for my Wolf range, 6 burners plus French cooktop.  All the specs regarding BTUS are overkill as there is no way regularly turn one burner on high except to boil water and turning all 7 to high would heat the house.

The stainless on my range match the stainless on my sub-zeros as well as my Asko and Fisher Paykel dishwashers and Kohler sink. 

Clarity has great food and server lunch till 2:30 and then snacks the rest of the afternoon.

10 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

You're referring to Out of the Fire? It has been there quite awhile.

Exactly.  I go annually on my way to a wine dinner in Oxford.

14 minutes ago, zgast said:

Ava's is the pizza place

You are so right about Ava's, great place though I dragged an anchor in the harbor the same night!!!   The Scottish Highland Creamery in Oxford is great for adults and kids.

On the fire in Easton is always good and there seem to be other farm to table places there as well.  Oxford has the Robert Morris Inn and is a nice town.  Cambridge seems run down.  St Michaels is always good, Cracked Claw for Crabs and I know there is a good pizza place on the main street.

Ate here again before the Caps game.  These folks are smart as they noticed I was there previously.  The Chicken was great in a crackish kind of way.  My wife mentioned they baste in lard, great flavor and crisp.  Garlic shrimp were good, portion size was great but shrimp were on small size.  Trying to keep my belly from growing we had two vegetable dishes.  The Shishito  peppers are on of my go to, and they were great.

Again-Good fun spot with decent food

They did mention they have started the brunch which includes breakfast paella.  Highly recommended.

Nice area.  I have sailed to the Mears marina next door.  Very lively bar Jelly Fish Joel’s where the main attraction is grabbing a drink and watch how many boaters fail to navigate a very narrow and shallow channel and run aground.

Ate at the Vienna location again.  Plaka was hoping at 7pm when we walked in to grab the last table.  I had a 1/2 roast chicken with Salad and veggies.  The chicken was good, a bit under seasoned but solid and had much much less fat and other pieces then a Peruvian joint.  My wife had a salad bowel with shwarma  and we had a 9$ bottle of wine.  Seems if you ask every night could be 1/2 priced wine night.  Total was 32 which hits the bulls eye for cheap eats.  We will be back as they try hard and everything is generally fresh.

We ate at the Penn Quarter location Saturday night, March 23rd.  Still open only for dinner as they said they were working out all the kinks and getting up to speed.  Service was really good and the noise level was good, we were seated towards the front.  Very large and attractive space with tables that can accommodate large groups as well as small intimate boots and tables.

Wine was a bit over priced as I suspect they want to steer folks towards sangria.  Vino Alberdi which I have in my cellar and drink a lot of at 15/bottle was 62 I believe.

Food was really good.  We had lamb meatballs, several order of Brussels Sprouts with Chorizo, Mussels, eggplant spread, great half chicken and a few other dishes which we all good.

Since they felt they are still in soft opening, they brought 2 plats of desert to put us over the top.

Great dinner, will be back.

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Ate at Flamant Saturday and glad to see De Pue has found his stride in Annapolis as he expanded out the back to add a charming room with roaring fireplace.  Restaurant week menu ws limited but the execution and service superb.  I'll add this to my rotation as the food was great. 

My sons grew up on burgers, meatball, pizza, bagels and Mrs. T Perogis.  Grew up just fine.

Weezy

Great analysis.  Hockey and winning the Stanley Cup is a marathon, not a sprint.  Evening up players minutes may seem trivial but harder to execute.  It all changes in the playoffs as teams tighten down and goals are much harder to come by.  Caps made 2 good trades with no apparent downside.  Both trades gave us speed.

Bryce need to take a lesson from Alex Ovechkin and take the long view.  Folks were willing to call Ovechkin over the hill and ready to be traded.  He reinvented himself and won a Stanley Cup.  Not the highest paid player but the best and arguably enjoys every minute he plays.  Goodbye and goodnight Bryce.

Your chance to get out of DMV and visit Annapolis.  http://www.downtownannapolispartnership.org/restaurant-week

19 hours ago, pras said:

My first might have been Harvey's - "The Restaurant of the Presidents" in downtown DC - I was about 20, and I was nervous as hell.

Harvey's was the 1st restaurant I ate at when I moved down here in 1983.  I was on an expense account while moving.  Their menu had the term "Free Bar Pour" for their drinks.  When I ordered a Vodka and tonic, I was brought a glass full of Vodka and a bottle of tonic.

When I was in Chianti a few years back workers would fill their jig of wine to consume with lunch before taking their 2 hour nap.  Possibly redefines cheap wine.

I was just cruising last week in the Bahamas and I wished we could find boxed wine as bottles were heavy and over priced.  Oh well, captive audience.

I think this is the best iteration and can succeed.  All of the areas except for the Gelato are owned and operated by the same team.  You can sit at the wine bar and have then bring you a side of fries from the burger space.  They can and will succeed if they can deliver to the folks docking in ego alley.

Artadi, Muga and Roda are three producers I like and have in my cellar.  Consider tasting from Crienza, Riserva to Grand Riserva which denotes increased barrel and bottle aging though the standards are minimums.  Great importer is Grapes of Spain founded and run by Aurelio who was Somm at Tabernina a long time back.  

Riojas age well.  And because they are bottle aged at the producer, they typically drink well at all time. 

7 minutes ago, jpbloom said:

Interesting that you say that.  Rioja is generally my fallback as well. 

I'm attending a wine tasting and dinner this weekend featuring Kurt Venge representing his Napa and Sonoma wines and Roda from Rioja.  Should be very interesting.

I think a well curated list of 100 wines is sufficient and a lot easier to maintain then a 19 page or larger  book. A small list can show love and focus between chef and Somm./Wine manager as opposed to buying every wine that is available. 

When in doubt I usually go to a Rioja.

Sorry to miss this as February as I just got an email from Charleston today teasing me with their wine list.  I've already committed to sailing in the Bahamas for a week, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays I somehow call the Tysons Sheraton home(how weird).  enjoy.