DonRocks

Dining at Dino during “Wine Madness” is a great deal, all wines over $50 are 1/3 off on Sunday and Monday evenings, and Dino has one of the best wine lists in the city to begin with, an outstanding 2001 Marcarini Barolo “La Serra” was discounted from $81 to $54, putting it right about the retail level, if there’s a better $50 bottle of wine available in the area, I’d like to know what it is, the “Menu della Serra” is 3 courses for $20 before 7:15 PM Sunday through Thursday, a Proscuitto - Pio Tosini is a small, unadorned plate with about six slices of the palest of proscuitti, thin and delicate, Zucca - sweet dumpling squash, winter veggie hash, 3-cheese polenta was the dish of the night, a half squash, roasted, stuffed with diced root vegetables, and served with some of the best polenta I’ve had in ages, a great dish that’s a must for vegetarians, Dolce Firenze was a perfectly honorable bread pudding, twenty dollars for this meal is a steal, walk into CUBAN CORNER and you’ll forget you’re in a strip mall on a whirring section of Hungerford Drive, Frituras de Yuca Rellena con Picadillo ($3.99) were two large yuca fritters lightly stuffed with seasoned shredded beef, worth ordering and good enough to have without any sauce, Puerco Asado ($13.29) is touted as “the specialty of the house” and was tasty and satisfying slices of marinated pork, a bit overcooked, it needed some habanero sauce for guts, more interesting was our server’s suggestion of the Milanese de Pollo ($13.29), a flattened, well-seasoned, fried chicken breast, nix the dried out Moros y Cristianos and get separate sides of black beans with white or yellow rice, consider the Guyaba y Queso Empanada ($3.99) for dessert even though it’s listed as an appetizer, the guava, Swiss cheese, and fried dough making a perfect (and inexpensive) version of a cheese course served with chutney, above all else, make sure to ask your server about the Fi-Che Special, it’s impressive that 2 Amys can keep serving such wonderful little plates given the high volume there, Sardine al Forno ($7.95) was six roasted sardines, pairing perfectly with Fried Tiny Potatoes with Sexy Salt and Aioli ($7.95), I felt like I was on the Mediterranean, a special pizza of Lobster Sauce, mussels, clams, squid, garlic, and chives ($13.25) had no cheese and no tomatoes, just fresh shellfish taking a bath in a good, rich lobster sauce ladled over pizza crust and baked in the oven, it was a fascinating, drippy mess-of-a-pie that I’ll seek out in the future, Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Caramel Sauce and Gingersnaps ($5.95) was as good as any panna cotta I’ve had in ages, and the Rum Raisin Ice Cream ($3.95) would have been its equal had it not been served so cold, I had heard rumors that Butterfield 9 is making a comeback under chef Michael Harr, but it wasn’t apparent to me, Ricotta and Pumpkin Gnocchi ($11) was dense and served very hot over a bed of Path Valley shelling beans and topped with a foam of ginger emulsion, the combination tasted as odd as it sounds, Barbecued Eel and Black Cod ($13) was one bite of very good eel, and a terrifically rare (really, raw) piece of black cod that was unfortunately sitting atop too much miso glaze, served with burnt honey crispy rutabaga hearts and a small wild herb salad, it was close to being a very good dish, Roasted Pheasant ($12) served with black trumpets, red bor kale, jus and chestnut emulsion, was a miss, the pheasant hot on the bone but the skin floppy and limp, these three small plates were too busy for their own good, and have made me gun-shy about committing to the entrees at this expensive restaurant, which tend to hover in the low-to-mid-$30s, the best thing about RED DOG CAFE is their terrific fresh-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, some of the best I’ve ever had, at $3.95 for a large, I’d be drinking one of these for lunch almost every day if I worked nearby, and there’s another winner on the menu, the redDog Chili ($6.95), made with chunks of chuck steak, ancho puree and black beans, this mild, flavorful chili is one of the very best I’ve found in the Washington area, make sure to get this next time you go, the sandwich breads here are good, the Muffeleta Sandwich ($10.75) stuffed with Italian meats, cheese, and olive spread, it’s assertive and a bit much for lunch, equally large is a Roasted Lemon Chicken Ripieghi ($9.95), a folded-over pizza crust surrounding what must be twelve ounces of shredded chicken meat, slathered in a cucumber-yogurt dressing and topped with watercress, it would have been better if the chicken had a bit more flavor, Red Dog Café is expensive for lunch, as the menu isn’t discounted from dinner, but it’s one of your best options on the East-West Highway corridor between Silver Spring and Bethesda, CASSATT’S is in the charming Lee Heights Shopping Center in Arlington, perhaps the only New-Zealand-themed restuarant in the area, it’s very much of a grill at heart, with standard fare such as salmon, meatloaf, scallops, and chicken breast being adorned with chutneys which I suppose is the Kiwi theme at play, Kiwi Meat and Vegetable Pies ($9.50) are served with a small salad and mango chutney, a version with chicken and vegetables was akin to Chicken a la King in an empanada, next time I’ll try the lamb, ask bartender Juan Morales to pour you a Flat White ($2.98) after your meal, the wine list at Charlie Palmer Steak is nutso expensive, but there are two things working in the diners favor: you can bring up to two bottles of your own wine (free if they’re American wines, $25 corkage fee if not), and more importantly, sommelier Nadine Brown, who steered me to an elegant, delicately oaked bottle of 2003 Lemelson Vineyards Chardonnay from Willamette Valley ($52), a great match for the Atlantic Salmon ($27), served atop sweet-corn ravioli with a ragu of leek and baby corn and clam-shell mushrooms, at $27, this dish was a rare failure, the relatively small plank of salmon being overcooked, the mushrooms over-fried in oil that needed to be changed, and the ragu itself downright bland, much better were the two side dishes, Baby Bok Choy ($5) and Potato and Parsnip au Gratin ($7), I’m not sure which of the side dishes contain meat products, but I suspect a vegetarian could cobble together a pretty satisfying meal here for well under $30, if you’re longing for great deli in this area, you’re in trouble, but a hot corned beef on rye ($6.95) at Deli City comes close, it took forever to get the sandwich, but it was worth the wait, a two-inch-thick mound of warm, fatty, flavorful corned beef piled on two pieces of grocery-store rye bread, a little mustard is all it needed, no sandwich is over $6.95, and no entree is over $9.95, when you order here, note the box of tissues near the TV set, with the note scrawled on it “Cowboys Fans Take One,” I snagged Johnny Fulchino when he was walking by me at Johnny’s Half Shell and asked him if I should try a glass of Muscadet with the Oyster Stew ($8), he thought for a second, and said “No, no, it’s a rich stew,” instead pointing me toward a glass of Chardonnay from the Maconnais, the stew itself is a bowl of about ten oysters sitting in a very thin broth, the primary flavor being leeks and onions, when he came by again, I told him I thought it would go well with a glass of Sherry, “Yes! Sherry!” he said, “That would be perfect!” all of this passion and enthusiasm is funneled into Fulchino’s well-chosen selection of wines by the glass, it was a great night for BlackSalt, Seafood Remoulade ($4) was made with white shrimp, day-boat scallops, and jumbo lump crab, BlackSalt excels in the freshness of its seafood, and simple, unadorned dishes show the restaurant at its best, Serrano Ham wrapped Gulf Shrimp with ajo blanco were $3 a shrimp and worth the splurge because of the smackingly fresh shrimp, a small plate of Pacific Butterfish with Mushroom Fondue and Smoked Onion Quinoa ($14) was well-conceived and executed, the butterfish beautifully seared on top, the crispy shield locking in all the flavors of this underrated fish, Organic Salmon with Beluga Lentil Cassoulet, Duck Confit, and Cauliflower was expensive at $27, but this generous portion of perfectly cooked salmon was a lot better than the version I got at Charlie Palmer Steak, whoever was poissonnier this night needs to be tenured, how was your week. (For punctative ninnies and the visually impeached ... click.)

A woman walked into an orthopedic surgeon's office, unable to walk because of lower-back pain. "My MRI was negative," she said. "My primary physician insists there's nothing wrong!" "This is why we treat patients and not photographs," the doctor replied. Quick, Nick: Click! Cheers, Rocks. P.S. Just in case anyone thinks I'm inaugurating Pick On Nick Day, I agree with his general assessment of restaurant coffee (yes, there are exceptions), and Murky Coffee is where I try and buy my beans. Aggressive? Yes, but this is the type of rabblerousing the area coffee scene needs. Now go ahead and argue...

PS you under-roasted those special auction Kenya whatever-beans that I bought a month ago. Yes, I know you go for a light roast, but these were still under-roasted. They were! Sorry for my crappy handwriting, Rocks.

Never take financial advice from someone who isn't a millionaire. I think it may be about time for a dr.com group New-Years weight loss and fitness regimen...

"Barton Seaver and Johnny Monis" can be rearranged as: "Mean and brave, or tiny johnsons?"

Yes I do. Hypothetical situation posed as devil's advocate: Suppose a member here was "outed" because someone figured out who they were based on their posts. First of all, I'd ask: What's the point? And more importantly, I believe I'd step in and make sure their privacy was protected - doubly so if they expressed concern to me about it. Is there a difference between "outing a blogger" and "outing a poster?" I don't see much. Cheers, Rocks.

Bourdain is the rock star - he had his agent with him, and had to be whisked away for another appointment at noon. We had emailed before, but I'd never met him - he's a good, down-to-earth guy. Lots of things I'd say differently if I had it to do again, but the first time is never easy. Guests, please click ---> HERE! <--- for your free porn video.

[Please either get back on topic or post your responses to the correct thread. Thank you! Grinchola.]

"You like onions?" I'm standing in front of James McLaughlin today at Howard University, watching him ladle me up a cup of chicken dumpling soup. I had just come from one of the three Coco Bread carts near the School of Business, and Mr. McLaughlin's Food Cart was my last stop. After this, I'll have visited every establishment featured in the program "Neighborhood Eats," televised on WETA Thursday evening at 8 PM. I approached the food cart on the corner of 6th Street and Howard Place, and saw a man quietly going about his business, a senior citizen. We nodded hello, and I asked, "Are you Mr. McLaughlin?" He looked at me in a guarded way, and said, "Yes." I introduced myself, and said "I heard you're going to be on TV this week." He then smiled and became animated. 'Oh! When is that going to be?' We began chatting about the show, and then I mentioned that I'd like to buy some lunch. I had heard he sold soups that his wife makes, and he walked me around to the side of the food cart, where he had three different vats of soup. Chicken and dumplings, that was the one for me. He grabbed a paper coffee cup, opened one of the vats, and began ladling in some soup. "You like onions?" "Sure..." "Good. That's how I like mine. It really brings it to life," he says, spooning some diced raw onion on top, sticking on a lid, and handing me the cup. We chat some more. "I've been working at this same cart for 35 years." Before that he was across campus selling ice cream out of a truck. "When did you first come to Howard?" "1968." "Why did you come here?" 'I had a gas station on Benning Road. They burned it down in the riots. So I went out and bought a truck, and I've been here ever since.' In the meantime, a couple of younger girls come up, relatives or friends of Mr. McLaughlin, and overhear us talking. It's time for me to go, and as I'm walking away, they ask me again when the show is to be aired. "8 PM this Thursday night." 'Good. I'll make sure not to watch it - I don't want to see his face any more than I have to!' She's laughing. I get into my car and flip open the lid of the soup. Driving away down Georgia Avenue, I take a sip, nod my head, smile to myself and think, 'Good call on the onions, Mr. McLaughlin.'

Kheder Rababeh, the owner of THE LEBANESE BUTCHER, has been in Falls Church since 1988, also owning a slaughterhouse and butcher shop out in Warrenton, he sells whole lambs, goats, and veal, as well as all the parts (the naughty bits are $2.99 a pound), everything conforms to Islamic Halal standards, a Lamb Shish Kabob ($11.99) and a Chicken Tawook ($11.99) were almost identical except for the meat, both were great kabobs, artfully plated with an impressive number of accoutrements, the chicken was good enough where I’m wondering if he also slaughters his own chickens, a Lamb Feteh ($9.95) was crispy pieces of pita, mixed with chunks of lamb, slathered in yogurt and garlic, essentially a Turkish Donner Kabob, this lamb was extraordinary, really so good that you want it unadorned, if you buy the prepackaged breads next door at the store, make sure to visually inspect them for freshness, Mr. Rababeh, a gracious and welcoming host, told me that his Warrenton slaughterhouse will gladly butcher animals brought in by hunters, although I suspect you should call before just showing up in your pickup truck, get a carryout order of Makanek ($5.99), terrific housemade mini-link sausages to fry up in your breakfast omelette (doesn’t that sound good?), a Jumbo Lump Crab Cocktail ($15.85) at Jimmy’s on K Street was an iced metal bowl of cold, tasteless lumps of crabmeat mixed with a little cocktail sauce, a boring, limpid dish, especially at the price which is really pushing it for what is basically a scoopful of frozen crabmeat, the restaurant is surprisingly large inside, packed with suits as it was Election Day, toasting in either celebration or disappointment over a weak, overpriced wine list, Mayorga Coffee Roasters now has retail outlets in eight locations, even in Pittsburgh Airport, but the Silver Spring location is where you want to head on a weekend with your laptop, a cavernous 6,200-square-foot warehouse filled with plush chairs, free wi-fi, in-house roasted coffee, acceptable beers at the bar, and a pretty meager Sunday brunch buffet served 10:30-3:00 ($12.99), it’s a fun place to hang out and catch your morning jolt, as the seasons have changed I’m finding myself drawn towards lasagna, several versions of late ranging from the unearthly (at Maestro) to the unworthy (at Sette Bello), and San Vito Ristorante Italiano is serving a very good one at their Springfield location, a down-home, grandma-styled Lasagna Pasticciata ($9.25 at lunch) with fresh noodles, ricotta, an ocean of meat sauce, and plenty of melted mozerella on top, if you like lasagna as pig-out comfort food, this is the one for you, Sunday and Monday dining options are limited because of restaurants either being closed or without their chef, but Restaurant Eve remains a great upscale option on Mondays, generally having a well-staffed kitchen, this Monday Cathal Armstrong, Todd Thrasher, and (sous chef) Dan Fisher were all working, Thrasher said he was going to ‘take me outside of my box’ and pulled a bottle of 2002 Casa Castillo “Las Gravas”Monastrell (Mourvedre) from the Jumilla region of Spain (pricey at $60), the wine pairing perfectly with Armstrong’s Roseda Farm Steak Tartare with Pumpernickel ($13.50), the steak hand-chopped and the bread housemade, and the homey Braised Pennsylvania Rabbit with Root Vegetables and Pommery Mustard ($29), the Bistro here is expensive, but bar patrons can also mix-and-match from the much more affordable bar menu housing several choices under $10, Armstrong doesn’t just pay lip service when it comes to supporting small local farms, he walks the walk, Restaurant Eve is currently offering a Chesapeake Bay rockfish, whereas the version currently served during lunch at Tosca ($21) is from North Carolina, and is pleasant enough, albeit somewhat dull, it came with a bubbling bowl of tasteless cauliflower gratin, and was only given life by a bed of black kale with caramelized onions, a half-order of Buckwheat Tagliatelle, with Swiss Chard, potatoes, fresh sage, and aged cow cheese melted with roasted garlic ($9.00) sounded interesting, but was too heavy and gooey, a rare bad showing of the usually fine pastas here, this food was too expensive for what it was, but the service was elegant and gracious as always, Haidar Karoum has inexplicably languished in obscurity as chef at Asia Nora, but his last day will be December 31st, and he’ll be getting more exposure as he opens Mark Kuller’s new restaurant, Proof, sometime in the spring of 2007, all bets are off after Karoum leaves here, but there’s still time to get his Warm Chocolate Five Spice Cake ($9.00), served with Vietnamese coffee ice cream (made down the street at Nora), and a sesame tuile, perfect with a glass of Bourbon after an evening on the town, I’ve had some really good meals lately at Tallula, which is why I was surprised that all proteins one evening including the foie gras, the miniburger, the duck, the pork cheeks, and the salmon, were overcooked, it turns out that Anda was away cooking at a charity event, so I snuck back in two days later and re-ordered the biggest culprit, the Roasted Muscovy Duck, with cripy leg confit, citrus-carrot puree, sauteed Swiss Chard, and star anise gastrique ($24), and it was like night-and-day, a de-licious, suck-the-duck-off-the-bone dish that’s a testament to the simple truth that every great football team needs a quarterback, consider calling before you come here to see if Anda is working, and if you go, ask your server to “have chef Anda recommend what he thinks is good tonight,” your query may not actually get to him, but it will send a message that you’re a serious diner, PEDRO AND VINNY’S BURRITO CART is just off the northwest corner of McPherson Square, but there’s no Pedro, and there’s no Vinny, John Ryder has worked this popular cart for nine years, serving only vegetarian bean burritos (the beans themselves are vegan), with about 50 sauces to choose from, he’ll make your life easier by asking you, “on a scale of 1-10, how hot do you want your sauce,” and then “do you want fruity or non-fruity,” and then he’ll pick for you, make sure to request his homemade mango-habanero sauce, grab a handful of free tortilla chips to throw into your bag, then head over to McPherson Square and chow down on a bench, this may be the only food cart in town with its own website, Zaytinya was packed on a Thursday evening, with all tables full, and over 90 people crammed into the bar area, the Taramosalata ($4.50) here doesn't seem to be made in-house, I prefer a more fibrous, potatoey version than this, which has the consistency of whipped butter, Midye ($7.00) was two skewers of five fried mussels each, served with “Tarator” walnut sauce, you don’t see fried mussels very often, but this dish is a winner and well-worth ordering again, the bartender urged me to try Steve Klc’s Pumpkin Cake ($7.95), a recent addition to the dessert menu, and I’m glad he did because it was Klc at his best, a complex assortment of textures, temperatures, and sweetness levels, somehow perfectly assembled in a kitchen that must have been slammed, yes, Zaytinya is a food factory, but in its defense, fully 47 out of the 78 dishes on the menu were priced at $6.95 or less, and no other restaurant in town can crank out so many thousands of dishes per day at this level of quality, The original Silver Spring TASTEE DINER opened in 1935, and was rebuilt in 1946 where it stood for 54 years, in 2000 it was trucked to a new location to make room for the new Discovery Channel building, the surprising thing is how large it is inside, but it shouldn’t be surprising that a Western Omelet was overcooked, the good news being that it wasn’t at all greasy, and the Home Fried Potatoes were actually pretty good, with a few squirts of Texas Pete, a Sam Adams, a flat-screen TV and a jukebox, you could do a lot worse than this at 3 in the morning, I happened to be strolling up 18th Street and saw that Mandu was having its grand opening, both the upstairs and downstairs dining rooms were full, while it’s not appropriate to say much about a restaurant’s opening night, I can say with confidence that Mandu is serving a small menu for now, which consists of “Korean dishes that non-Koreans might enjoy,” favorites such as scallion pancakes and bibim bap, the Dolsot Bibim Bap ($11.95) is not worth the upcharge over the regular version because the stone pot isn’t really stone and it doesn’t continue heating the dish, I wonder if Mandu is being initially cautious in serving only mild food, mild to the point of being bland, but the presentations were elegant, and the kitchen showed great trust in humanity by taping a $100 bill to the wall, apparently their first customer got them off to a pretty good start, I wonder if the hoards of diners at Sushi Taro realize that their edamame isn’t supposed to be brown at the tips and seams, although it had improved since my last visit when it was also growing fur, a Live Octopus Sashimi ($12.50) was the first great dish I’ve ever had here, spankingly fresh octopus, thinly sliced into perhaps fifteen rounds, beautifully plated with a small julienne of radish, lemon and wasabi, and well-worth the splurge, however a Live Eel (Prepared Here) Sushi ($9.75) fell short, two pieces of overcooked eel without any depth of flavor, at almost five dollars a bite, this seemed frivolous, two rolls were as bad as you’d get in a grocery store, an Alaska Roll ($4.50) with salmon and avocado, and a Yellowtail and Scallion Roll ($5.50) were both served too cold, and the rice was dense, overcooked, and dry, Sushi Taro is an attractive restaurant, and I can see its appeal, but the food here has never lived up to its popularity, If you haven’t discovered happy hour at Taberna del Alabardero, the time is now, all tapas are half-price at the bar, and the wines offered by-the-glass, if you factor in the price-to-quality ratio, are the best in the city, an order of Verduras a la plancha con refrito de ajo ($7.00), a fancy name for grilled vegetables with exquisite little garlic crisps on top, is a mere $3.75 during happy hour, attention destitute vegetarians looking to impress a date: sneak in here the day before, introduce yourself to the outstanding bartender Manolo Gracia, then bring your date back the next evening at 6 PM, and voila, you’re Don Juan on the cheap, Belga Café deserves more attention than it gets, a fine, peppy little restaurant in Barracks Row with a fascinating menu, the best selection of Belgian beers in the area, and a solid wine list that chef Bart Vandaele has wisely built around local importers Olivier Daubresse and Laurent Givry, a Lauwe Aspergesalade ($9.95) is salmon cooked mi-cuit, served with lightly baked asparagus, some barely dressed frisee, and adorned with a tiny base of coriander butter, it’s good and it’s healthy, Waterzooi Van Vis ($19.95) is a stew of fish and root vegetables, served in a broth accented with anise, if anything, the dishes here are slightly (and refreshingly) undersalted, Vandaele is a serious chef, and he’s running a very good restaurant that seems to be getting better as time goes by, it’s ironic that the name waterzooi translates to “watery mess,” which aptly describes many of the neighboring establishments on Barracks Row, but certainly not Belga Café, how was your week.

P. O. Sh. (Did Willard Room really get 1.5 stars?!)

Unless it's a child of Satan.

[TMartin, I'm going to insist that you back this claim up with some specifics, especially since you're new here and are posting under a fake screen name. What, exactly, don't you like about PS7? How many times have you been, and what have you had there? I mean welcome to dr.com and everything, but sheesh! Cheers, Rocks]

Fair enough, and I've been meaning to change the title. When I asked her, Carole told me that it's really "New Haven 'influenced,'" meaning she wanted to use a very hot oven, and a thin crust that cooks quickly, in as little as 90 seconds if the oven gets hot enough. Coal ovens are illegal unless there's grandfathering. She drew much of her inspiration from Pepe's. Cheers, Rocks.

Nope!

I’d like to say hello to everyone at our latest (and only) affiliate, the venerable yet penurious WETA, where I’ll be helping kick off the Brand! New! DC Dining website with weekly simul-postings of Lettres de Mon Moulin. I'm also happy to help WETA promote “Neighborhood Eats,” a one-hour show featuring over 30 area restaurants in 60 minutes - a Minibar-like romp through the culinary backbones of our most vital communities. It will be televised on Thursday, November 16th, at 8:00 PM. We now return you to our regularly scheduled program... Even on an off night, Thai Square is the best Thai restaurant in the area, Nam Sod ($7.95) was particularly fierce in its high-toned heat, a thin, watery heat that finds its way through every microscopic pore and punishes you mightily, the only relief comes from sucking on an ice cube, Sun-Dried Beef ($7.95) was a great dish, delivered with the surface oils still bubbling, and served with a little dipping bowl of Sriracha-based sauce, Roasted Duck in Red Curry Sauce ($10.95) needed more wedges of tomato to balance the pineapple and duck in this classic dish, the tomato contributes a stoic quality that was lacking here, slow-cooked Pig-Knuckle Stew ($11.95) was fabulous as always, haunting with its scents of four-spice and cinnamon, the dish of red pepper dipping sauce sent this dish off the charts, obligatoire, Pad Ped Pla Dook ($10.50) is a classic catfish and Thai eggplant dish that isn’t as spicy as it looks, the eggplants were cooked to a perfect al dente, but the catfish was not the best quality this time around, given that it was pretty much unidentifiable as catfish, the rice was painfully bad, if you’re looking for the perfect first-date restaurant, head straight to Bistrot Lepic Wine Bar, a quiet, comfortable, upstairs lounge with sofas and an almost Moroccan feel to it, decent wines, no need for entrees here, there are plenty of small plates for sharing such as the Beet and Farm Goat Cheese Terrine ($8.50), really more of a layered Napoleon, a fine Octopus Carpaccio with Seaweed ($9.50), and an Onion Tart with Bacon in Puff Pastry($8.00), all three served with plenty of greens so don’t order any salads, this food won’t win any awards, but it’s not at all bad, you’ll smile at the cartoonish paintings of pigs poking fun of the restaurant with their “Bistrot Le Pig” motif, there are some seriously skeevy Irish pubs in town, and THE AULD SHEBEEN in Old Town Fairfax is no exception, a large two-level pub, with a huge, smoke-filled bar upstairs and several flat-screen TVs, a Smithwick’s was old, a Boddington’s well-poured, the self-defeating homemade sausage in the Asiago Irish Sausage Rolls ($6.95) is so bad it would make even Jimmy Dean cringe, a Cahill’s Irish Stout Burger ($10.95) sounded gloppy and it was, an overcooked meat patty topped with Cahill’s Irish Stout Cheese, served over instant mashed potatoes and frozen peas, and slathered with a “rich brown gravy” that was congealing with alarming rapidity, a terrible meal, this smokehole is open until 2 AM nightly, an almost urgent need for a reliable lunch the next day, I headed straight for Moby Dick for one of their outstanding Persian lunch specials, on Wednesdays it’s Khoresht Bademjan ($6.99), a large portion of sauteed eggplant, chunks of beef, onion and tomato, braised and served with steamed Basmati rice and a half-piece of bread, Moby’s has expanded and gotten more corporate in recent years (there are now eight locations, even one in Ashburn), but the McLean branch has remained a bastion of quality with it’s daily lunch specials, the bread here isn’t as consistent as it used to be, nor is the cooking at Marcel’s, I wonder if trying to open Beck’s (Robert Wiedmaier’s second restaurant slated to open downtown) is having a draining effect on the kitchen here, on a Thursday night the food should have been perfect, but two of Wiedmaier’s bailiwicks, his classic Boudin Blanc ($17) and a tureen of Chestnut Soup with Venison Sausage ($16), were mal-cooked, the boudin being dryer than normal, and the soup, usually ladled up piping hot, served merely warm, everything is relative and yes, I’m holding Marcel’s to a higher standard here because it’s expensive and has the potential to be great, at these prices (entrees run in the mid-30s), there’s almost no margin for error, the service was flawless just as it always is, as good as any in town, “We just ordered them,” Stacy Hennesey said to me at Stacy’s Coffee Parlor, referring to the fabulous cupcakes baked by Falls Church baker Robyn Savage, “wait here, I’ll run and get them,” then she took off down the block only to return in ten minutes with a boxful, try finding that at Starbucks, the great historian-mixologist Derek Brown handed me a drink called “The Adonis Cocktail" ($13), invented at the Old Waldorf-Astoria hotel, and now being served at Michel Richard Citronelle Lounge, my task was to figure out the base, I checked every neuron in my memory, but came up empty, when he told me it was made with Sherry, I screamed “Yes! Sherry!” well, I didn’t really scream that, but I sort of did in my head, it’s made with 3 ounces of Lustau “Jurana” Fino Sherry, an ounce of sweet vermouth, 3 dashes of orange bitters, and the coup de grace, a burnt orange peel macerated in Grand Marnier, if you’ve had a bad day, this drink will make everything better, the Taiwanese Hamburger ($2.95) at Bob's Noodle 66 is Americanized in name only, a “Chinese pancake” (really a steamed bun) folded over a few chunks of fatty pork and a bit of sour mustard, sprinkled with a tiny bit of “peanut powder” which is a dead ringer for a Planters Peanut Bar scraped on a cheese grater, the Taiwanese Thick Noodle Soup ($5.50) came in something resembling a mixing bowl, I picked it up and it weighed between five and ten pounds, a thick, dark, corn-starched chicken broth filled with good, heavy, homemade noodles, shreds of pork and vegetables, easily enough soup for four people, it pays to remember the Noodle in Bob’s Noodle 66, don’t look for Sette Bello to be on any “Best Of” Wine Programs anytime soon, with over eighty wines, this may be the largest list in the city that doesn’t include any vintage designations, that’s just plain lazy, a large Antipasti platter ($19) was a pleasant surprise, loaded with cheeses, meats, seafood, and interesting vegetables, plenty for three people, don’t let the price of this scare you, it’s worth ordering, the pizzas have traditionally been quite good as well, but this time around a white pie with sausage, broccoli rabe, and pepper flakes tasted of nothing but cheese and dough, a caesar salad was boring, and a lasagna consisted of noodles, too much tomato sauce, and seemingly not much of anything else, Sette Bello has slipped, four dollars doesn’t take you very far these days, but it does buy you an addictive plate of four baked-to-order Andouille Sausage and White Cheddar Biscuits at Ray’s The Classics, served with a little bowl of spicy pepper and cheese fondue for dipping which I wish was served hot, if these biscuits see enough oven time, they’re as good as biscuits can be, and perfect with a glass of Champagne, unfortunately the price has risen 15% on the small-grower Champagnes here within the past two weeks, and they’re no longer a bargain, the signature Crab Royale ($29.95) is a huge mound of “Maryland” crabmeat, ten-ounces worth, although I wouldn’t guess the crab is from Chesapeake waters, it’s still a great, important dish that I crave regularly, there are two ways to experience The Italian Store, either grab a pre-made Milano, or gut out the wait and get a sandwich made to-order, if you go for the pre-made, you’ll wonder why there were so many people there, because the sandwich has sat out and become soggy in the roll, but if you order a Bresaola and Sopressata on a soft roll, with provolone, sweet peppers, oil, and oregano, you’ll get not only a freshly made sandwich, but also freshly sliced meat, and it makes all the difference in the world, a small sandwich here is plenty for one, a large enough for two, and a bag of Martin’s Kettle-Cook’d potato chips will furnish the critically important crunch, Carole Greenwood and James Alefantis are getting more than they bargained for at Comet Ping Pong, a curious mix of the ultra-hip and the ultra-domestic, families with children were out in force at 6:30 PM, the pizza here is terrific and becoming more consistent as the days go by, the wines need to improve but at least they’re cheap, five dollars a glass, we’ll wait to see what happens when Roberto Donna gets his pizza oven up and running at Bebo Trattoria, but for now, along with 2 Amys, Comet Ping Pong is one of only two pizzas in the Washington DC area to merit national attention, I remain undefeated in ping pong here, my most recent victim being nine-year-old Matt Rockwell, “It’s like eating at an amusement park,” I said to him on the way out, “Yes,” he replied, “except the food is good and they don’t have any rides,” how was your week.

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They forgot to add "Sucks." Kidding, kidding. Incidentally, I ran into Doug Riedel about a month ago - he's working part time at The Vineyard, Jim Arsenault's fine little wine store in McLean.

I have no time at all right now, but got a (rather urgent) request to delete a thread. I don't even have time to read it. Will review later. Ciao for now. ROcks

If you have a food-related blog, and want some linkage, please let me know about it. (Cooking blogs are fine too). Even if you think I already know about it, tell me anyway so I don't forget anyone! Cheers, Rocks.

I've been sitting on this news for two months; the time to break it is now: The chef will be Haidar Karoum of Asia Nora The sommelier will be Sebastian Zutant of Rasika and Komi The restaurant will open Spring, 2007. Cheers, Rocks.

Mock me if you will, but your irony is considerable. My final film - in which I was to play struggling musician Wooden Timberlog - came to an abrupt halt during the opening scene. I was to perform my own composition, with the three starlets replying in unison as the chorus, but they, too, mocked me. WT: "I'm bringin' sexy back." Chorus: "Not!" WT: "Them other boys can just go lick my crack." Chorus: "ker Jack!" WT: "I think it's special... cumin on yo' back." Chorus: "We prefer coriander!" WT: "So turn around and I'll play wit yo' rack." Chorus: "Of ribs?" That was it, I knew I was done.

My days of performing in front of the camera ended years ago.

Let me end this rumor before it begins: I'm not on Neighborhood Eats - WETA didn't contact me until after it was filmed. But...

This is sorta funny. And dim! Jeez, Eric P ... thank goodness you aren't my accountant. Oh, wait a minute...