DameEdna

I get that creepy feeling that we might be seeing one of those restaurant reviews that starts "The architecture is fabulous..." Not a good sign from either a good food or business longevity point of view ... let's hope that I am wrong, wrong, wrong, and I am mocked mercilessly ... (I can already imagine my wife saying "You would like that, wouldn't you?")

More information is available at the Agraria web site: click I want this venture to work, but what do people from North Dakota know about running a DC restaurant? They do seem to be starting with some good help, though.

Since everyone witha sensitive stomach has already left ... One business owner in Adams-Morgan was looking for his friend, who owned a restaurant across the street. Naturally, he went in the back door. He saw a very large hunk of frozen meat, thawing in the mop sink. Later, his friend wanted to know "why don't you eat at my place any more?" Following good procedures does not help the bottom line ... until you prevent someone getting food poisoning, with the story in the newspaper.

The Morton's in Washington is rather special ... it took over the location of Duke Ziebert's ... for Washingtonians of a certain age, Duke Ziebert's was as important a Washington institution as the Supreme Court. The stories of a snow storm, when Duke Ziebert and his pals when out in the street to hit golf balls! Anyway, now we have Morton's, very respectable, very non-threatening (too much garlic? of course not!) if you are still following the Atkins diet, and your wife is on the rabbit food diet, not to worry! They have something for each of you! Nothing will be memorable, but really excellent quality cafeteria food. I think for some Washingtonians (say, lawyers who bill $1,000 dollars per hour) going to Morton's is like a trip though the drive-thru at McDonalds. It has its place. It will survive, because they know their audience. I got a coupon because some computer thought I was a Morton's kind of person. The computer was wrong.

The service at La Fourchette is likely to be Cheerfully miserable.

Can a place with these characteristics find an identity? - hip location, Adams-Morgan, up a flight of stairs, with a beautiful roof deck. - pretentions of serious sushi - female impersonators, for weekend entertainment - what-ever type of food to fill in, where necessary To me, it looks like an impending disaster, but they have been using this formula for years. No wonder I don't run a restaurant myself.

Years ago, if I remember correctly, I read that the Mycological Society in DC was quite active. The problem is that they are interested in all kinds of fungi, including the inedible and the poisonous. All the "oh, that one will kill you!" talk might be off putting. They do have a web site: fungi

I don't know much about ramps, except that they will give you killer bad breath. (in other words, if one person eats ramps, all should, or the ramps eater is likely to be ostracized). Ramp festivals are a traditional way for small communities to raise money, in the rural mountain areas where ramps grow. For road trippers, check out the following link: click More generally, ramp season is from mid-April to mid-May. My interest would be for someone to do the whole ramps thing and report the results, good or bad. OK, so I'm chicken.

Hmmmm ... interesting experiment ... drink scientifically determined quantity of rosé ... say, six bottles ... in Provence (have wife take notes of the effects the next day, if she is in a condition to do so) ... bring back same quantity to U.S. ... repeat procedure. I don't think Science or Nature would publish the results. The Lancet, maybe. Worker's Compensation Claim: "job stress interferes with my drinking!"

Problems will probably be worked out ... I think the idea that every person at the table (in the group?) will get to taste every dish ... this was difficult. Progress was made, then forgotten. Not enough of some things, then too much of others. Would traded any number of things for more ribs. Still, I would like to go back when they are more settled. I think there are treasures to be discovered.

Service at China Gourmet started OK, then got worse and worse. I thought back to a friend of friends who told me (with pride) his restaurant method (which I think is mostly his life method). Here it is: He goes to his favorite Clyde's Restaurant, always at 5 P.M. on Tuesday. He sits at his favorite table ... his favorite server waits on him. He is treated like royalty. A control freak, for sure. It works. Anyway, back China Gourmet ... get there early ... on a week day... preferably when a tornado warning has been issued. And the Redskins are playing.

Others will definitely know more about the food ... but since I was personally groped by a drag queen at the Perry's drag brunch (OK, my wife paid to make it happen)... I'm no expert on the quality of drag entertainment, but it was fun. The music was loud, the performers wonderfully exotic, the food OK. Definitely a worthwhile experience, for those who enjoy that kind of thing.

After the dinner on Wed. night ... mdt --- glad to see the finish line. Barbara --- really needs a drink. Rissa and Chef Power --- still smiling! Thank you, everyone.

I agree with the points made here ... just as a way of displaying my capacity for trivial information ... -- if you are interested in what the truly obsessed about cast iron are saying, go to Ebay ... the finer points of Griswold vs. Wagner vs. Lodge. -- in the old days, when your cast iron got cruddy, you could put it in the fire box of your wood stove for a few hours, then re-season (or is that just an urban myth?) -- cast iron skillet owners are as protective of their stuff as carbon steel knife owners ... likely to store the cast iron in the safe deposit box when their mothers-in-law come to visit, to avoid "a good cleaning with soap and water".

My wife loved reading Julie and Julia. She does, however, follow the "Henry Miller" rule: "some words from the printed page are not suitable for oral application". For a fuckwit such as myself, any interesting Anglo-Saxon-isms I read will quickly be added to my vocabulary list for the week, and used with the enthusiasm of a five-year-old. Maybe that is why my wife has not encouraged me to read Julie and Julia.

"I can only deal with one problem per day. Today isn't the day for your problem. Tomorrow doesn't look so good either." (from the greeting card aisle)

When I was a restaurant server, years ago, I didn't learn much. But this stuck with me: don't count your tips until after closing. And: If a customer is an a-hole, that is his problem; if you carry a newly acquired bad attitude over to your next customer, its going to be a long night.

Something about the Les Halles Cookbook made me nervous ... the author. I met Anthony Bourdain at a book signing at Olsson's Books ... he is very tall, and very, very skinny. Does that make me a "size-ist?" I will try to give the LHC a real chance.

The question is brought to mind more often than I would have thought, on one thread or another, "Do some people enjoy bad food?". Leaving aside the question: what is bad food?, I have to say :yes. Years ago I had a friend who thought that Red Lobster was the best restaurant ever. Those who are interested in good food must use the tools available to them: persuasion, deception, education and mis-representation to get their way. Particularly when things go wrong for lack of clear thinking: "Let's go to (name of chain restaurant here). I have a coupon." Shrieking, fainting, and tantrums can be used. I'm sorry to drift off into ill-conceived humor. But still ...

How many notchs before the reservations diva gets to the last person on the list? (i'm the +1), andi have a very, very, very positive attitude. ( i have been a very good boy) [HillValley, can you move dameedna DOWN ten spaces on the waiting list for having triple-spaced this post? Thank you! Rocks.]

I have left my comments until the very last, just because they are so fussy. I very much enjoyed the wine selections Chateauneuf-du-Pape especially. Service was excellent, the wine service most of all. The fussy part: The menu was printed on plastic (like an overhead projector slide) ... what's with that? No photocopier paper in Northern Virginia? The menu was almost unreadable in the dim light. The menu was printed in wretched fonts (is there a font "Wedding Invitation Minuscule"?) No wine pairings listed on the menu. I thought the waterfall room was designed as a Business Lunch/ Business Meeting space ... lighting sort of office spacey ... not very flattering to food. I was sitting at the table closest to waterfall (with only glass between). I thought the ambient sound was ... a running toilet (stuck valve). Would someone jiggle the handle, please? One person hears a soothing waterfall, another hears ... ********************** When we got near the end ... the chocolate chestnut mousse and cognac sabayon, brandy caramel and chestnut tuile ... amazing! ******************** Then to trample on the moment by bringing out a giant purple haybale of cotton candy. I think the cotton candy machine should be used very, very carefully. Or sent back to the carnival.

Are winning lottery numbers marketable? I could set up an exchange ... How much is a winning dinner number worth, in the standard currency, "Rockwells"?

Don Rockwell has to be admired for participating in the traditional Adams-Morgan night of drinking in every detail. I can imagine the man in blue stopping by ... "OK, buddy, I got you in flagrante delicto. Gotta give you a ticket ... If I check the D.C. Code ... yes here it is ... 'discharge into a public waterway without a permit'." The little building is historic ... did you notice Arts and Crafts details? Designed by famous architect Waddy Woods. You could look it up. I don't think the little building had a name ... until now. The possibilities...

Are you not counting the "hotdog cart" at Galileo? OK, so I'm trying to be funny. Next week, chef will probably have a hotdog cart (an Italian hotdog cart) on the terrace. Then I will be truly confused.

A wine store had a special sale on Beaujolais Nouveau left over from the year before ... "it has an extra year in the bottle!" Who would fall for that? It wasn't very good.