kwhitney

The Oxo thing is good in that is shows all measurement units, metric and standard. But I find it a awkward to use.

You should go to Cocktail; Kingdom and buy a pair of properly graduated shot glasses. Buy the one that has 1/2 ox paired with 3/4 oz and the 1 oz paired with the 2 oz. Get the Japanese style, which is longer, not squat like the alternative.

A great book on technique to get you started was published last Fall. Look for "The Bar Book" by Jeffery Morganthaler. No recipes, all about technique, and how to do it right. For all of this and recipes, too, look for Gary Regan's "The Joy of Mixology". Both really good writers and books.

The Cherry Heering web site is still active. It is available at the Vienna ABC store.

Buffet. And a very small one for a large house. There were four serving stations, one with all of the proteins, another with salads. A third with sausage, bacon and an omelette/pancake station. Deserts were at another. As I said, this made for long lines.

We did the brunch yesterday, and we won't be back. Long lines for skimpy portions of proteins. Expensive and mediocre.

Very funny video runs about 2:00.

"Super-High People Taste-Test Coffee And The Results Are Hilarious" by Sativa von Teese on hightimes.com

Thunder Grill is on the opposite side of the terminal from America. Center Cafe might have been part of America, perhaps they shared the same kitchen.

Bernard Clayton's "New Complete Book of Breads". Great book. 

I miss "Louisiana Express on Bethesda Avenue".  Then you should check it out after it relocated to Cordell Ave. many years ago. Its still very good, and a good value.

I am fond of Rittenhouse. Good strength, being bonded, good flavor and good value.

We were surprised to find the Red, Hot and Blue in Falls Church closed about a month ago. I had not heard anything about  it, and we were psyched for their bar-B-que. We found the place empty with a space available sign in the window. I hope they are not leaving the area, I like what they do, 

Agreed, the hard roll is the only way to go. The Milano is the go to sandwich there, for me. And get a freshly made one, not those they make a head fro the lunch crush. Most of those are soft roll, anyway.

Is he is going to review every new instance of every chain. Seems like waste of time to me, both to write and to read.

It was good I decided to give them another chance.

This is my first review for the board. I am only giving my impressions of my dinner. It is not any kind of overall review of the restaurant.

I had the fois gras, the lobster pasta, and Baked Alaska. My wife had the mushroom soup (which I did not try), and the pasta as well. She didn't have any desert.

The fois gras was grilled perfectly, and tasted wonderful. It was served with apples poached in a Cabernet reduction. It was served in a bowl, and the sauce was quite liquid. I would have preferred it reduced to much longer to a less fluid consistency. But the flavors of the fois gras, apples and wine were quite clear and delicious. I would rate it an A-, with points taken for the liquid nature of the sauce.

The lobster pasta tasted great. It was two chunks of lobster with green spaghetti, in a Bechamel sauce. The flavors were exactly what I had in mind. I ordered the appetizer size serving. I though they were a tad under cooked as they were kind of soft, and gave little resistance in being cut by my fork.  This didn't effect the flavor at all. I had anticipated a thin broad pasta, like fettuccine, not the green spaghetti. But the green of the pasta made a beautiful presentation with the red lobster again the white sauce. The sauce was fabulous, so rich with a slight bacon influence, perfectly complimenting the other ingredients.

Finally, about the quantity of the lobster. One of the lobster chunks was the entire pincer claw of a very small lobster, I would say the smallest legally allowed to be harvested. The other one was slightly larger, maybe the other claw, I don't remember. I think the amount of meat was proportional to the size of the serving. Ironically, I was a little disappointed with the quantity of the pasta. I would give this pasta dish an A-, deducting a bit only for the quantity of the pasta.

The Baked Alaska was OK. Basically, it was peanut ice cream on a thin chocolate cake like thing, covered with the browned meringue It was the largest dish of the night with the peanut butter roll about the size of a good sized egg roll. The flavor was mostly the ice cream. It was garnished with a few other things, and I could recognize their flavors. But they were essentially only garnishes. I am getting tired of seeing ingredients on a menu winding up to be present in the dish, in amounts best eaten with tweezers. I would rate it the dish a B.

All in all a great dinner, just the kind of celebration I had hoped for. The entire night was flawed by the idiot valet attendant for: driving too fast in returning our car, not addressing my wife in presenting the car, not acknowledging me as I tried to tip him, and forgetting to return our key fob. We have to return today to pick it up.

Thanks for all of the responses. This is why this is such a great web site.

I decided to go with 2941, and give them another chance. I know they have had a few good reviews here lately. I am going in with my eyes open. The dish is exactly what I had in mind, and they offer it in half and full portions. Even if I am disappointed with the quantity of lobster meat, they serve fois gras, and that will cover it for me. They still had space available for us tonight, even booking at noon.

I'll check back tomorrow with how it went.

2941 is a good thought, but I don't trust them. The last time I went there was a wine event where it was arranged so that there were long lines at all of the tables so that you could not take advantage of the food offered. I think it was over $100/ head, and got very little in practice. I was so angry, I swore i would never go there again.

But, the menu looks good. I think the problem is a greedy owner, not the chef. Have you experienced the dish first hand? I thinking I am afraid of getting the lobster named dish with only a brief glance at actual lobster meat I am trying to avoid.

Thanks for the thought if cafe Renaissance. I'll consider that.

I think Alexandria is a little too far for me, but thanks for the thought.

I recently got our of the hospital after having major surgery. My diet is restricted a little bit to low fiber foods. Today is my birthday, and would like to have a simple dish of pasta with a nice lobster sauce with a decent amount of lobster meat. So often, when you order this dish, you wind up with not much more than a picture of the lobster. I live in Vienna, but am looking anywhere in northern Virginia.

Anybody have any suggestions? I don't really care about the price (I'm celebrating). If I can't find this, I'll probably just get a full lobster at Legal. They're good there, but I would like to dress up the dish a little.

I also ordered the baby collard greens with hen egg

Aren't all eggs from hens?

This place has been around forever, and it great. Southern Italian cooking like a millions places you can find int he NY area, but they do it right. My favorite dish is their Lasagna with meat sauce.

You're right the fried zucchini doesn't travel well, but when its hot, fresh out of the kitchen is it terrific.

Your idea of testing for allergies at the ER door, is not very bright. There are doctors who can do this testing under proper conditions.

If you go to the net, give this place a look.

Who you gonna trust, your Doctor or your bartender?

French Toast?

Is this the "New Cruelty"?

Taylor's Pizza and Parts. Very mediocre. Surprisingly poor crust. Service was good, but the foundation of the mean is the crust, and it is weak.

food to be determined

It sounds like there is a lot of planning going on, except for the food. It seems odd to leave the food as an afterthought.