Lydia R

The day is finally coming: wine shipping in Maryland becomes legal on Friday.

Alas, only 11 wineries have applied for the ridiculous 200 dollar permit. But I'll celebrate with a case of Pride or something.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-wine-shipping-20110620,0,794487.story?page=1

If you're a winery and even thinking about getting a permit: step-by-step directions

According to a WSJ article by Sumathi Reddy, H & H Bagels at 80th Street and Broadway will permanently close on Wednesday.

It remained unclear when exactly the store would permanently shut its doors, though it was apparent it would be soon. A woman at the cash register said Tuesday was the last day the store would be open to the public and that customers could go to the bakery's other location, at 639 W. 46th St., where its baking plant is situated.

The UWS still has Fairway and Zabar's, but H&H was a sentimental morning errand. More sentimental musings here.

Today, I got to Germantown's new Elevation Burger. I was drawn-in by Paul Frumkin's NRN article and video describing their Krispy Kreme-esque grill.

Because it's been quite a while since I've eaten Elevation's regular griddle burgers, I have no honest comparision for their new griddle's output. The almost half-pound rare-ish burger is a new offering. The two veggie options are interesting, but the only place I've found to read the differing components of each patty is at the ordering counter. Is it on their website?

I'll be interested to see what happens to their table delivery system when the dining room is more crowded and the outdoor seating is full [customer names are yelled from the counter followed by runners repeating the name while searching out their targets] .

Thanks DCDeb for pointing this place out, we would not have tried it otherwise.

I thank you too, DCDeb. I hadn't tried them because Tortacos' signage seemed "too professional" not to be a chain. It faces Roy Roger's and is in the old Hershey's Ice Cream space. Social media-wise, they're on Twitter, Facebook with original menu [some prices now higher] and Flickr.

This family business a real find and a great place to take non-chowish folks. It's clean and non-threatening, while still serving fresh, SoCal-Mex food. The "fixin's bar" has a flip-cover and is well-maintained. There's cilantro, sliced radishes, pico de gallo, chopped onions, lime wedges and two really fresh-looking sauces. ICD is right about the guacamole - my Father pronounced it "Excellent" and I agree.

Today for lunch, I had the Burrito Bowl combo with fountain soda, fried flour [wheat] tortilla chips and a side of Guac for $9.91, including tax. I could only finish half of the Burrito Bowl. On my extra day-off, I had a wide choice of lunch options and chose Tortacos.

They have nightly specials--tonight was $1 tacos. That is an amazing price for the quality of food we had.

From reading their Twitter feed, they had a Cinco de Mayo "all tacos $1 each" special. I'm not sure of their future "special offers" calendar, but here's a past example from their Flickr photostream:

My new plan is to eat at Tortacos before wading into H-Mart.

I haven't seen it mentioned, but Freddy's has the most comfortable bar stools.

Next time, need a cocktail from Chris because my +1 already had a draft Tupper's Hop Pocket Keller Pils waiting for me.

Holy Cow! we appear to be open.

Who knew

Update: Freddy's is closed today (Sunday) and tomorrow. The sign on the door states they'll be open on Tuesday the 17th. Better they open when they're ready, but this rainy PM would have been better with Freddy.

Looks like In-N-Out Burger may be headed to Dallas.

They've started to open. "It felt real in there"

Thank you TC for the link via Lunch Room Chatter.

The City Paper posted a congratulatory article with links to Tim's winning articles.

Yeah Tim!

According to this Tweet from metrocurean at 8:17pm

Master pizzaiolo Edan MacQuaid is now consulting at the pizza oven at Ardeo+Bardeo.

True? Deets?

This week (April 11th - 17th) is Bethesda Spring Restaurant Week. A list of participating restaurants and menus can be seen here.

This event is separate from the larger B-CC Restaurant Week and only includes establishments in the Bethesda Row complex. I wish this retail area well.

Bethesda Up [bethesda.org] will not have their larger community event until sometime in July.

I heard a rumor that they were putting in a system where you put in your own order and then give the cashier a number or something to pay.

There was an article from the Washington Business Journal [reads like a vendor press release] detailing their plans.

Washington Nationals Baseball Club LLC has hired Micros to update its concessions and restaurant ordering systems with its computerized touch screens, which actually do a lot more than just ring up checks. Known as hospitality management systems and widely used in the restaurant industry, the systems also manage inventory, speed the ordering process and increase transaction controls and employee accountability, reducing theft.

They also virtually link waiters to kitchens, and at Nationals Park, that includes in-seat ordering throughout the stadium. The Nationals will make the switch on opening day March 31.

The Nationals deal was made through Micros Systems Leisure and Entertainment business unit, which specializes in stadium and arena customers. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

From your experience, "the switch" to in-seat ordering wasn't available opening day?

It's behind the scoreboard - go up the escalators to the "Scoreboard Walk."

Yes, very accessible.

Image from the Nats Website

Sounds like it won't be ready for the Braves homestand.

Has everyone written to their representatives in support of the bill (being heard on Friday). You have today and tomorrow to do so. Easy link.

Wow! Your link now updates the recent Maryland House & Senate vote:

House Bill 1175 and Senate Bill 248 were voted on the floor today and both bills passed.

A more extensive article in today's WaPo, by Ann E. Marimow and John Wagner, includes an interesting reason the General Assembly is getting to these bills:

Maryland consumers soon could be allowed to order wine from out-of-state vineyards. They likely could see new restrictions on the kinds of toys and infant formula containers they can buy. And before long, residents may be able to take their dogs to outdoor restaurants.

With barely two weeks remaining, this year’s session of the Maryland General Assembly could well be remembered not for any signature initiative but for a raft of modest bills, meant to help consumers, that affect day-to-day routines.

<snip>

House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery) said some of the action on consumer legislation amounted to “cheap liberalism,” while other movement has come on bills “that have been hanging around for a long time and were overdue.”

<snip>

The House also approved a bill Saturday that would allow residents to ship bottles of wine from vineyards to their homes. To the delight of wine aficionados, Maryland appears poised to join the District, Virginia and 36 other jurisdictions nationwide that allow such shipments.

The House approved the bill 135 to 1, and a similar measure is pending in the Senate.

"It's going to pass, and it's going to help our consumers," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert).

Wine connoisseurs have long complained about not being able to order rare vintages from other states. Suburban Washington residents have skirted the rules by shipping bottles to their offices in the District or to the homes of friends in neighboring Virginia.

Despite years of opposition from the powerful alcohol industry, the General Assembly has advanced legislation in both chambers that would make it legal to ship 18 cases of wine per year, per household.

In a compromise with the industry, legislators eliminated a provision that would have allowed consumers to ship wine from specialty retail stores and Web sites.

<snip>

On a lighter note, the House has approved legislation that would authorize restaurant owners with outdoor seating areas to allow customers to bring their dogs along.

The measure, dubbed the "Dining Out Growth Act of 2011," passed 124 to 8 on Friday, and several delegates "woofed" in acceptance.

Any ideas about which Maryland restaurants would allow canine connoiseurs to dine al fresco?

When visiting a friend in Seattle, we'd drive out to Columbia Winery just south of Woodinville. [about 25 miles NE of Pike Place Market]. The best nearby restaurant is The Herbfarm.

I'm not really sure where in the state you're heading. Based on the Washington State Wine Commission, wineries are everywhere.

Just an FYI, Bubby's is celebrating its one-month anniversary with a different special each day this week:

Are these specials for lunch only?

Good report from Todd Kliman in today's Chog:

W o r d o f M o u t h . . .

You can talk about the bread, and it's true -- a deli can't be great without good, crusty rye bread. The quality of the meats, the way they're sliced, the way they're spiced -- all important considerations.

But a good deli is also a mood, a certain quality of light, a crackle in the air. Sitting down to lunch or dinner ought to be like getting that first hit of mustard on a sandwich -- zesty, and with an unmistakable flavor of Old World soul.

The new Bubby's New York Deli (4866 Cordell Ave., Bethesda; 301-941-1404) isn't deli perfection, and it's still too new to have developed an authentic character -- the place just opened a month ago -- but one thing it does not lack: It does not lack for zest.

I've been twice, now, and have been called "sweetie" by one waitress and winked at by another (a form of thank you for the reminder to check on a dish that had yet to arrive). If you're lucky, GM Jeff "Louie" Manas may sidle by in his dark glasses and white gambler's mustache to present you a taste of halvah with the check.

The cavernous, glass-fronted space needed lots of warming up, and though it could be warmer, still, it's warm. Sepia-tinted photographs of bubbies peer out over the dining room from their perch in "Bubby's Corner" -- in a touch reminiscent of the local rec center, customers are invited to bring pictures of their own for hanging. On the steps leading up to the restaurant, management has scrawled the highlights of the menu -- in green chalk. You have to stop and remind yourself that you're in Bethesda.

And the food?

I had a very good corned beef reuben, though the rye bread could have been thicker, and a very good hot pastrami on grilled rye, though the meat could have been more generously portioned. High marks also for the brisket, nicely cooked and piled atop shingled slices of challah, the whole thing drenched with gravy. (All the meats are prepared in-house and sliced to order.)

I love the pickle bowl, filled with sour tomatoes, two kinds of pickle, and sauerkraut. And I also love that the waitresses know to keep the bowl full at all times.

The matzo ball soup features what ought to be a sinker, it's so huge, squatting in a delicate, carrot-strewn broth; but it's almost as light and fluffy as a marshmallow.

There's good, not great, knishes. The egg salad sandwich is a skimpy, slap-dash production. The latkes are sodden. The blintzes are fine, nothing special.

One innovation: chicken fried chicken livers, with horseradish sauce. Excellent.

Desserts are on display in a lighted case near the front. They include several sweets from Junior's, in Brooklyn, including a fudgy chocolate cake and a good cheesecake. The light, layered carrot cake comes without that pedigree, but it's an even better bet. …

He does not seem to be very optimistic about a decent law getting passed this year.

Yikes! Scott Graham's article in yesterday's Baltimore Business Journal really hangs the black crêpe paper:

A funny thing happened on the way to swift approval this year of direct shipment of wine to Marylanders — the state’s powerful alcoholic beverage lobby got involved.

<snip>

Since Raskin and Ivey filed their companion bills in late January, two other lawmakers in the House have submitted similar — yet also very different — direct wine shipping legislation.

Del. Charles E. Barkley, a Montgomery County Democrat, filed a bill that would allow in-state and out-of-state wineries to ship to individuals. But his bill wouldn’t allow retailers to ship wine directly.

Barkley said House Bill 1175 is in response to concerns he has heard from retailers who are worried they might lose business to larger out-of-state wineries or wine merchants.

“We’ve had [no direct shipping] up to now, but the sentiment is to start slowly and see where this goes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Del. Tom Hucker, another Montgomery Democrat, has introduced another direct shipping bill that would permit in-state retailers to mail wine, but not allow out-of-state retailers to ship to Marylanders.“

It just makes sense to give in-state retailers a leg up on the out-of-state retailers like Wine.com,” Hucker said. “And helping the in-state retailers helps to raise taxes and create jobs for the state.”

Hucker, whose bill would permit in-state and out-of-state wineries to ship directly, said his legislation also places tougher restrictions on the labeling and mailing of the product. House Bill 1079 also sets a higher direct wine shipper’s permit fee — $300 versus $100.

Looks like In-N-Out Burger may be headed to Dallas.

Yes, news from Nancy Luna in D Magazine. This is a very comprehensive article with field guide [Flying Dutchman?] and map.

I'll report back in the appropriate Intrepid Traveler topics.

Heading to Florida and watching Major Baseball League Spring Training is increasingly appealing.

The "Training Triange" is defined by:

* Viera Beach [Nationals] on the Atlantic Space Coast,

* Tampa, Sarasota [Orioles] and

* Ft Myers on the Gulf-side.

Definitely looking for Sunday Brunch on the Space Coast and then non-breakfast meals on the Gulf-Side. We'll probably drive back and forth across Florida on the I-4 and either Rt 520 or 528 corridor.

Early finds:

* Grimaldi's [from under the Brooklyn Bridge] opened a coal oven pizzeria in Ft Myer

* Bern's steakhouse in Tampa has a more casual outpost named "SideBern's"

* Seasons 52 in Tampa is appealing both because of the "good for me" food & the Kensington site is opening soon

More, please.

Let's hope they have better luck than I did the other night...cough, cough, ahem, ahem.

Hey! We offered you our bar stools in exchange for those cushy lounge seats. Y'all really looked comfortable over there - so we continued our intelligent conversation with Dr. Suave.

Yes, I need to put Corduroy into heavier rotation. Their bar deal is generous and Pichan is the man.

TheThe talk is that it will be a kosher deli, actually supervised by a rabbi and not just "kosher style."

Their website doesn't mention being a kosher establishment when they open in May [after peeking at your blog, I realize you already know that].

Also confounding: there's a Chef Salad on the menu.

[Don: Thanks for raising the location of the Baltimore forum]

I was in Yonkers in September and ate at Frank Pepe's and thought it was a chip off the original block. The food and decor are the same down to the crust and wainscot panelling. I thought it was a more relaxed visit than the New Haven original.

Here's a snippet from an article published on October 29, 2009, by Julia Sexton, when the Yonkers location opened:

The Frank Pepe Development Corporation is taking few chances. The Yonkers pizzaiolos will have completed a six- to 12-month apprenticeship dancing at the Wooster Street ovenmouth, learning through repitition the fiery behemoth’s hot and cool spots. (Cooking in a coal oven is an art, where everything from wind to ambient humidity affects the finished product.) Instead of a large single oven, the Yonkers space will hold two, whose combined 35,000-pound mass was built by the Frank Pepe Development Corporation as perfect copies of the original. The iron doors to the Yonkers ovens are cast from their New Haven ancestor, and even on the Yonkers sidewalk, you’ll find a New Haven man hole cover capping the coal chute. The idea of bringing in New Haven water for the dough has been bandied, but anyone who has ever tasted a New Haven tap will appreciate that CT-bottled Foxon Park birch beer and lemon-lime “gassosa,” among others, are available for drinking.

There's also Stew Leonard's the huge grocery store with anamatronic mascots. Just don't go on a weekend. Here are a couple of photos from their website of in-store options:

as mentioned above, the onion rings were a giant order (definitely meant for two) and quite good.

Yesterday, the couple at the table in front of me each had water and shared an order of ORings [nothing more]. I vowed that the next time I dine at HB-2, it'll be to make a meal of the ORings.

I bet they go better with beer.

This photo, from the on-line version should be captioned: "I mean rare, really rare" At least you didn't tet the full-Carman experince.

[quote name='Express article by Nevin Martell'

]Written by Express contributor Nevin Martell

Photos by Jason Hornick and courtesy of Vidalia

I've had fairly good luck with the, gulp, Marriott Hotels in Montgomery County. Their Suites location adjacent to the Marriott World Headquarters near Montgomer Mall has, over time, had the best luck with keeping tables of adults-only and adults & tinies apart.

I don't know whether eating in DC is required or if there's a specific target geography.

Maybe other DR-folks can help highlighting the better bets in DC or VA.