dcfoodie

I definitely plan to make some fava bean crostini like I'm starting to see at 2 Amys and the tagliatelle at Komi with the favas and radishes...yum.

Great! Thanks guys (and gal). I'll be sure to keep an eye out. I guess I just never noticed them. Hopefully the Whole Foods I usually visit will start carrying them.

Fava beans will be in season soon, and I've never been able to find them anywhere. The grocery stores certainly don't have them. Are they available at any of the farmer's markets usually?

I think the service is terrible.  TERRIBLE.  I still go.  Probably will go for breakfast today or tomorrow.  But I have to beg and plead for coffee. 

I've been to Tabard several times, mostly for brunch, and I don't think I've ever had terrible service -- maybe I'm just lucky. Of course, I wouldn't say they go out of their way to please.

Tabard is excellent for brunch. Any of their poached egg dishes cure my hangovers instantly.

We're going to try to make it out tonight. I'll probably be there around 6 or so with Amy coming shortly after that.

Every restaurant reviewer seems to have "go-to" words. For Phyllis Richman (and others) the word was "gutsy." I hate that description. How is food gutsy? Perhaps the chef is gutsy, but the food?

Perhaps it was tripe?

In defense of Tom Sietsema, I think that the job of moderating that chat and deciding what questions get in and which don't every week is daunting. Perhaps the question was submitted in advance, perhaps it wasn't. It wasn't the first question but it was close to the top.

There are so many questions that come in, and most likely when the question came in he didn't really think that it would be that obvious what restaurant it was...Perhaps in his desire to keep the chat fresh and interesting he posted the question, rather than post the usual Hey Tom I Love You I'm In Town For The Weekend Where Do I Go question.

However, I do think that my response to the question would have been a slap on the wrist for the chatter. Something to the effect of "You are paramecium excrement low for even submitting this to me. A restaurant, invites you in to their restaurant, gives you a free meal, and you decide to email me with insinuations that you got food poisoning and complaining about slow service as a thank you. Quite franky, you're an asshole."

But then again, I don't work for The Post.

OK. I'm totally whoring myself out here, but I can't help myself. Any restaurant that wants an easy to update web site where they can update the menu, phone number and whatever info they want to keep up to date should PM or email me. I can set you up with a simple content management system that allows you to update your menus if 5 minutes or less. Seriously, this is simple stuff and if your web designer is telling you that it can't be done, or it's really difficult or expensive to do, they're just plain lying to you.

That's a start. Is Heritage India two doors down from any particular Metro stop? 

Not really. Take one of the 30 buses to get there. I think there's a stop right across the street by Sushi Ko on Wisconsin Ave.

Only if jparrot is going to be there.  And only if I can figure out where it is and how to get there.

it's like 2 doors down from Heritage India.

Monday night and a girl's thoughts turn to Palena. 

We'll be there around 7.  I'm wearing a bright blue polo.  No idea what Mr. BLB will be wearing.

Jennifer

Hmm, I was just thinking about that too. Does that make me a girl?

That's so interesting.  Cheese and wine have never let me down at Dino (although pastas have).  I have found the cheeses to be rather exceptional for the price though I'm no expert.

I'd agree with that too, at least the part about the cheese. It's important to read the description of the cheeses too when ordering because they'll tell you what the texture will be like.

The comment about the polenta is surprising as well. I've had the polenta a couple times, and it's made like any other polenta I've ever had. The menu is quite specific about it being a creamy polenta too. If someone is expecting it to be more like a polenta cake, they wont be happy.

I'm very curious who this Michael is.

I think discussion boards like this one are as important if not more important than the food critics. Many more restaurants get covered here, eG and Chowhound than Tom S, Todd K, or the other newspapers combined. The more voices out there, the better in my opinion. No one person's opinion is worth more than another's as long as that opinion isn't something to the effect of "This place sux and I'm never going back" with nothing to back it up.

And let's not concentrate on the negative impacts that peoples posts can have on a restaurant. What about the people that come and read about a place that they're already written off? What if they read other peoples positive comments -- how everyone should try this one dish, or how another had exceptional service, etc? That has a huge potential to change peoples minds and rethink their decisions about a restaurant.

Edited to fix my poor grammar.

I just woke up from my nap after lunch. That was soooo good!

And yes, that picture is of the burgers we had this afternoon.

Welcome ASL!  Nice review and got me even more excited for my dinner there tonight.  Looks like I may have to catch a nap as our reservation is not until 9p.

Don't eat lunch today, and be prepared to be there LATE.

Birreria sounds good. I'm not sure I can get there before 6:30 though. I've been meaning to try one of Paradiso's pizzas with the whole wheat crust and soy cheese.

CB sounds good especially with the fish parade! On my way now.

Hmm, do you have room for three more? Myself, Amy and Stinky?

Yeah, 3 1/2 hours sounds about right for my experiences too. Let's see, we started around 8:30 PM and left sometime after 12. But like JLK, we weren't in too much of a hurry.

I just talked to Anna. I was trying to make a reservation for tonight but they wont be open. She did say that they were hopeful that they would be open tomorrow, but she couldn't make any promises.

That was DonRocks latest disguise.

Feeling a little homesick, Sebastian?

For some reason I'm picturing Marlin Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire...

I might be up for CB if I can get the old ball and chain to let me go.

That's GREAT news.  Did he say if they ended up adding a bar or not?  My guess is no, if they're ready to reopen so soon.

Last I talked to them, they said there was going to be no bar. That was the 23rd right before they closed (Nadya might have more recent news). Too bad. I wouldn't mind stopping by for the panna cotta on a random weeknight and sitting at the bar. I feel weird taking up a whole table by myself and only ordering one dish.

The good news is, Tom thinks you're a "nice young man."

OK. Who's the wiseguy/girl?