hillvalley

Bump. I need new places people. Tired of BdC.

Last night was a friends and family preopening so I imagine they will be serving today.

Wanted: Translator to explain what the hell they are talking about.

Stopped by for a drink tonight to catch up with an old friend. He was pleased with whatever beer he drank (something he can't get in Charleston) and my gin gimlet was fine. The service was attentive leaning toward the over attentive; it was clear our waiter is still getting the feel of his new employer and not over his nerves. But better too much service than not enough. We only tried the wings and mini wagu burgers. The wings are perfect bar food. The blue cheese dressing is full of chunks of cheese and there was plenty of carrot and celery sticks. The mini burgers were, well, clearly closely related to The Ugly Mug. They came with fries which were fine. All in all, nothing to write home about. Prices for the mains are in the $20's. In this economy I hope they will be able to stay afloat with prices that high. I am looking forward to The Boiler Room opening. One can only play so much ping pong with little kids and hipsters. BTW-parking isn't that hard if you are willing to walk a couple of blocks around the neighborhood.

That's the hope. The earlier start is going to be rough for some of the farmers though.

To Frank and the rest of the soldiers from Fort Campbell who are approximately 10 minutes away from hugging their loved ones after being in Afghanistan for a year.

Everyone has one great birthday cake they remember from their childhood. And there are ones that just sucked. Spill 'em. Best: 6th grade birthday party. I don't like cake that much but Love Hostess and Tasty Cake so we made a pyramid using a huge variety of different types of treats. I had a package of HoHo's and Pink Snowballs. Can't remember a bad or disappointing one.

While walking around Whole Paycheck, talking on the phone while listening to someone's life altering news, I threw a piece of Sweetgrass Green Hill cheese. It's perfectly ripe and as creamy as it can get without running away. Damn good cheese. Oh, and some vodka to wash it down.

Giant bakeries make damn good mini cupcakes. They are school allergy friendly so you should be okay. If you want to go the fancy cupcake route, try Fancy Cakes by Leslie in Bethesda. I'm pretty sure they have mini cupcakes and do have cupcake pops.

I checked that before my posts. While they may have only posted a few times they have been a member for a year. My post, although I am sure it came off this way, was not a personal attack on Schrapy50. I don't know them in person and am sure they are a perfectly nice person. I'm happy to have a drink and show anyone how to use the site effectively. But when my words are used inappropriately I am going to back them up.

As the person who was quoted from Five Years Ago I'd like to state that a) I resent a post that old being used against a restaurant that has undergone a major change, including a new chef, b ) I did go back, when there was a change of chef and Ardeo had the wonderful sous that Don raved about. I'm going to add to the pile on, which I don't usually do around here, and say that when posting about a restaurant it is unfair to use posts that are not only years old but refer to different chefs. I stand by the post I wrote back then because you will note that there were Details about what I thought was wrong. The management was also told about how we felt about the meal. Posts critiquing your meal are not discouraged here, but please a) let the management know at the time of your meal and b ) back up your statement with details. Lately I have noticed that details are missing in both positive and negative posts around here. An early member of the board who had moved away recently began reading again while visiting DC. When I asked her what she thought about the board now she noted that the quality of the posts had gone down. Thought used to go into what was said about a restaurant. Today it seems we get quick I went and it was good posts. This site has never been about how good of a writer you are but it was about the thought and detail that went into your post regarding your meal. It's time to stop being lazy about posting and write something that is valuable to those who read this site and take your opinions into consideration when spending their money in the restaurant community.

Welcome back darling, you've been missed. When you go ask for the window table behind the host stand. You almost have your own little alcove, plenty of room for whatever accoutrement the 8 pounds require, and you can still watch for people you know coming in. And the fontina and artichoke sandwich is as good as it was back in the days of brunch.

Thank you kind sir ;-) Happy Birthday to Mr. Rockwell Jr.

Sad news...

I know but I'd have to find a lot of folks to make it worth my while.

I met Jon Wrinn and Seth Cooper, the owners, at the underground farmers' market a few weeks ago. They were selling individual packages of meat and I am kicking myself now for not buying any. The meat draft sounds like a great idea but since I'm buying for one it is more meat than eat in a year. I'm hoping they come up with a way for people to buy their stuff without having to go through the draft.

I do the same thing but either on cucumber rounds or endive and with tuna pate or smoked troutThis coming weekend I am catering an event where one of the family members is gluten intolerant. We are doing the above mentioned tuna pate on cucumbers and a Tunisian eggplant spread served in endive. Endive is a great alternative to crackers. In the past we have also done tapanade in endive. For dessert we are doing chocolate dipped coconut macaroons which are super easy (no oven required) and always go fast.

It's an ongoing thing. Chef has talked about changing the protein at some point but given the success I doubt it will disappear anytime soon.

This place is not getting the attention it deserves (you know who you are). Our dinner last night was great. The service gets an extra thanks because part of our party showed up an hour early and the GM (Mark of Mark and Orlando's) handled the situation beautifully. But the food is what counts. The menu kept a vegetarian, a carnivore, a beer and cocktail lover, and me happy. We have found few restaurants that can meet those criteria. I started with the seafood stew. There was enough fish and seafood so that there was some with every bite. The fish, mussels and clams were all perfectly cooked. The broth was full of delicate seafood flavor enriched with a touch of cream. For my main, which they call bigger dishes, I had the lamb duo. It reminded me of the lamb dish that used to be on the menu at the old Corduroy. Cooked on the rare side of medium rare I thought it had a bit too much salt but others at the table disagreed. The broccoli rabe was some of the best I have ever had. Just a hint of bitterness and very tender. The potatoes and mushrooms were also perfect. The only other thing I got to try was a bite of the mashed potatoes, which included hazelnuts. Interesting combination that worked. For dessert we shared a banana mousse topped with brulee bananas in a chocolate pie shell and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. The mouse, bananas and ice cream were all delicious but the crust was just pointless. My friend chastised us for eating around the crust, because after all it was chocolate, but after a taste apologized. The drinks deserve a mention as well. The sazerac was declared one of the best in a city by someone who has done his research. It's on the sweeter side though. My Clover Club was excellent as well. I have a feeling it's going to get harder to get into Atlas in the next couple of months so I recommend braving the nightmare that is the construction on H street and go now.

Part of being a kid on the Hill in the '70s and 80's was getting a banana from Mr. Calomiris when ever you were at Eastern Market. I can't even imagine how many hundreds of pounds he must have given away over the years.

One of the best days of the year to go to Costco.

It took us about three hours. The meal is an event itself so I don't know that I would plan to go before going to the theater. You also leave very very full. I can't imagine sitting through a play after all that meat.

We were about to get through to my friend yesterday and talk for about 10-15 minutes. Never thought I would raise a glass to his courage to leave the safety of Israel to travel back to school in Cairo. And to the parents and friends of those who are in Egypt. The waiting between each phone call can take forever. And of course to those who are there fighting for their rights.

Chili verde with pork. Smells damn good in here, which is a good thing because I'll be eating it for days.

If you need suggestions on where to dine out on V-Day click here.