Lydia R

Yesterday's NYTimes had an article on the new coolness of rosés and Domaines Ott (please, D.O.) in particular. Just in case you feared rosés might make the trite food list -- here are a couple of the article's last paragraphs: Thanks again Joe for putting some dry rosé of Pinot Noir in your $5 bin last month.

Wow! Catscradle's July 20th original post was on CH until 16 hours after a link was added here. Basically, "catscradle" identified themself as being a frequent RTS customer, related to a RTS employee, an attendee at a Monday nite preview dinner with the RTS crew and went on to describe the food/decor (details overcome by v6.3). Don't feel bad for him -- I'm sure he has others.Edited for clarity

What really impressed me about the preview eats was the obvious devotion to the deep soul of classic American cuisine. Because Michael was insistent that we not post about the previews, I was surprised to see a non-DR F&F dinner report on Chowhound. Doubly so because it had little overlap with what we ate. Looking forward to the opening menu and the future launching of lunching.

... by italian food.

I hope you haven't had the menus printed yet, but you're probably serving Kennett Square Mushrooms. “The Mushroom Capital of the World” is in southern Chester County PA and host to a mushroom festival September 9th - 10th.Spelled either way, it probably tastes the same.

The Epistle of Michael to the Rockwellians

Interesting video link. There are several "lesson" segments available on making pizza and pasta dishes with Chef Donna. Julia really did have an interesting variety of chef-guests (click "Meet the Chefs" along left side of screen). It was probably an invitation nobody could refuse. OK, I need to get to the gym -- but glad to know that I've got company.

It's a bit hard to tell the source of the articles from the way they're set out on Agraria's web site. Today's City Paper has an article by our own Anne Marson with the subtitle "Is it possible to run an restaurant supplied by almost entirely by American family farms? Agraria's giving it a try." Sounds like Agraria has a business plan for serious branding and expansion, but "the longest journey begins with the first step..."

Today's enewsletter from Colorado Kitchen is entitled: Just Three More Sunday Brunches and they announce their August vacation (closure) dates. Sadly, does this mean summer's almost over (already)?

Not sure why your crew vetoed the New Quarry House, but pickings are pretty slim in Downtown SS (until Ray's and Old Dominion's Brewpub open).Maybe the Redrock Canyon Grill across the alley from Cakelove-North or Austin Grill? You said food was secondary to the beer...

Yes, Grizform has before/afters of Black's as well as 7th Street. After entering site, click on the word "commercial" at left and select project...

I ate at David Craig about a month ago and enjoyed everything except the actual wine glasses. Jason on DC Foodies didn't have any specifics on their RW menu. There also isn't any info on their website. No doubt it'll be a good deal because three courses (we had half orders of pasta for mains) and a glass of wine each for two people ran us about $100 (pre tax/tip).Please report back, I hope to go later this week.

How about Russell Crowe? There's an article in today's NYTimes about the uptick in food/wine oriented movies (with a nice background warm-up).

I wonder if ordering a martini rimmed with "sugar" should have involved signing a waiver. Yikes!

I still remember your August 2005 parting note in the Washington Post. I realize the dining public hurt you and I'm sorry your wounds haven't completely healed. I appreciate you standing up for restaurant owners - they are a brave crew. On a positive note, I took advantage of Derek's invitation to take the World Cup vino challenge on Sunday afternoon. The Alsace white was appley and "heads" above the citrus-y French offering (sure some would've voted the other way). Polished off a steak sandwich/frites and thought I was much better off at Agraria's bar than any of the other Washington Harbor venues. I got to page through the current wine offerings (e.g., Rioja Blanco) and am looking forward to a few low-key bar meals before they settle in with their new team. No high stakes meals, just enjoying the setting and the initial key elements in place.

Looks like the Equinox website was remodeled after CJSAdler's original post. This link works and the recipe looks wonderful - thanks! Link to Carole Greenwood's Cheese Grits recipe

The issue is that New York state (and therefore NYC) hasn't adopted the FDA 2005 Model Food Code. Because there isn't a nationwide food code, each state has the option to adopt the FDA code or, like NY, come up with their own. I wonder if this regulatory/enforcement issue also affects the retail sale of frozen sous vide products at the Costco Warehouses in New York. The above is from an article in the April 3, 2006 Nation's Restaurant News Magazine "N.Y. sous-vide ban puts pressure on fine-dining chefs nationwide" by Milford Prewittby. The magazine's website (nrn.com) charges for the complete text, but it's findable via Google (NOTE: my spyware detector was bothered by the find@rticle site). Did anyone catch Gabrielle Hamilton's April 27th NYTimes editorial piece on this subject? She's the chef/owner of Prune and there's a notation that she's writing a food memoir - liked both her food sensibility and writing style. Edited to correct: Sunday morning spelling...

Please excuse my massive ignorance (or sheltered existence), but what is PO ... Parole Officer?

Hmm, looks like Heather found good stuff there yesterday -- what are your favorite stands? I finally made it to Dupont Market today - many thanks to both Mr. Barbara & Zora for stopping and pointing out the highlights. After inhaling a palmier from Bonapart, I left with two soft goat cheeses from Firefly, sweet peaches from WestVA, and a resilient-looking lavender plant. The greenbeans, cherries and zucchini were tempting...

Here's the MoCo Agricultural Services' web site that lists the Bethesda Tuesday market: MoCo Farmer's Markets with links I noted Heather's comment about the Rockville Towncenter market. Any good farmer's markets in MoCo? Haven't been able to get to Dupont Sundays.ETA: OMG this is my 100th post - ventworm

Hmmm - don't know if walking in with my own stems would make me come across like Minnesota Fats... A couple of weeks ago, I brought a non-foodie friend to David Craig in Bethesda (trying to support indies). We both enjoyed our meals and highly competent service from Pete (one of several Tabard Inn alums there). I respect the risk and effort it takes to open a new restaurant. Hopefully, they're now generating some positive cashflow. If so, for the love of all that is good in this world, please invest some of it in appropriate stemware. Currently, all wine is served in the same stemware. Had I known that, I probably wouldn't have ordered the Pinot (Sebastiani). My frustration with the probably-OK-for-chardonnay-glass was quickly tempered when my friend went nuts over her selection (2003 St. Francis “Old Vines” Zinfandel from Sonoma). Yup, even in their “starter” stemware. Will go back but, like JoeH, I’ll made “smarter” wine choices. ETA: This thread was originally entitled something like "the heartbreak of too small wineglassses" and my post was more on-topic. I think my wineglass frustration would have been aneurysm-inducing if I saw appropriate glasses out of reach and unused...

Guess we now know what kind of hand Bill was holding:Buffet gives it away...

Katy McLaughlin has an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that notes the internet's assistance in allowing chefs to find farflung restaurants or former stagieres (unpaid interns) that have flattered them with imitation. Other "victim" restaurants mentioned in the article include Craft and WD-50. I understand, given the large investment ($100K/yr in his test kitchen) Chef Andres makes in his intellectual property, that chefs need to protect themselves -- but I still shake my head when I remember DCFoodie's experience at Buck's... 'That Melon Tenderloin Looks Awfully Familiar...'

Pleeze -- certain members of this board may resemble that remark!

Agree! This film could become painfully boring if it has too many product placements - loving close-ups of "certain" wine labels (note: an unnamed Napa wine/spirits company is already providing funding). Hey, maybe they're just trying to get some Sideways magic, except for California Cabs instead of California Pinots. The Variety piece thankfully isn't as gushing or hyper-ventilated as the piece in Spurrier's magazine and it gives more "current" information about the early genesis of the film. Casting speculation regarding the male lead is way premature, but whoever it is will need to have a swollen head...