jpschust

Hi everyone,

I've been driving out to the strawberry patches lately, but haven't made it down to the markets yet this season. So as this will be my first trip of the summer- should I take the metro in to dupont or can I get most items in takoma park? I am suburbanite, so the drive is easier- but I am happy to make the trip in for better selection and products.

I will probably still go pick strawberries myself because I will get a lot, but I am looking for spring peas, fresh eggs, whole grain bread, local cheese, greens, and anything that is newly in season!!

Rockwellians, where should I go?

We may be up there anyways that weekend- could we meet you all up there?

If somebody finds a way to make Corona taste like something, count me in. Hence the aim of this thread.

Listening to The Splendid Table right now. Flavor of wine has nothing to do with the minerals in the soil, he's saying. You don't taste the granite. There's nothing natural about wine, when you think about it, its complexity and virtues lie elsewhere. I'm just reporting. Thoughts?

I'm really happy that so many people are coming, and I only wish it could be more. (Well, why can't it be more?)

And everyone who goes, make SURE you thank crackers for all the hard work she is putting into this. It simply would not happen without her help.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Okay new members: who else is in?

Ya do know that it's actually distilled by Four Roses, don't you? Find out whether it has its own mashbill and yeast!

bourbon tonight to meet the bulleit distiller.

The only positive about this is that I'd love to have that overpriced phone book already programmed into my GPS I could care less about the ratings, but as a phone book it's great!

I've been drinking a bunch of tawny port lately- generally the older the better. Those rich chocolate plum notes are amazing.

Jeffrey Chodorow and Michel Richard meeting at Central yesterday. Any possibility of a Central or Citronelle-like restaurant opening in NYC?

the roof of the reef, happy hour. with gmat study materials. maybe studying DeKonik blonde is back on tap!

OK, I think we get it- offering a comp'd dessert isn't the same as offering a menu from which to choose and they shouldn't have done that, but come on, nearly 2 pages of what I'd consider to be a pretty miniscule complaint in the grand scheme of things? Hopefully they've learned their lesson and won't do it again, but I'd hardly call this a mark of continual poor service...now if this had been in a Bebbo thread I wouldn't have been surprised...

Rumor is that Mr. Bullet of Bulleit Bourbon is going to be at Bourbon in Adams Morgan on 5/30 around 9 or so pm...be there or be square.

Any recent reports? I have some time to kill between a 4 pm meeting near La Jolla and my 10 pm red eye.

on a whim im drinking my way out from the cubs blowing a 4 run lead in the 9th to the mets.

Bottled water is a lot cheaper than prosecco but it's still annoying to get hit with an upsell no matter how little cash it's trying to take out of your pocket. Not that Hook is necessarily upselling (I haven't been), but the prosecco offer, regardless of intent, appears to be rubbing people the wrong way. Any one whose been there noticed parallel pressures for desserts and sparkling water?

A quick Google suggests retail at $13-15/bottle. To me that suggests a more-or-less standard markup.

Oddly, the prosecco seems to be among the least expensive sparkling wines offered by Hook:

http://www.hookdc.com/wine-list.php

If they were really trying to squeeze the last dollar out of customers through an impulse order, they probably would have chosen a somewhat pricier alternative. Perhaps they are meaning to showcase what a "bargain" the prosecco is?

I ate lunch at Central yesterday after jury duty. I used all my money DC gave me, but that didn't get me through the meal. Or to my first drink Anyways- The food was excellent as it consistently has been, but just a note on it- I ate at the bar and the bar appeared to be in disarray from when I sat at 1:30 or so until 2:45 when I left- service was certainly slowing down and no one was paying attention to the clenliness of the bar area. Stools were in every which direction, I noticed 3-4 napkins from previous diners on the floor, bottles were kind of all over the place on the bar. It just seemed like everyone was heavily focused on bussing the restaurant side and no one was paying any attention to the bar. This didn't make it a bad experience, but it was just something worth noting to me at least.

Well we ate there last night and I've got to say, I went in with pretty low expectations just based on the new menu, but I was pleasantly surprised- I think we ordered just right though.

Started with the goat cheese wellington (ours wasn't soggy as the previous posters was) but rather tangy and rich, a cute take on this dish.

Oysters rockafeller- a good traditional dish, tastes good, simple

Meatballs- not quite Dino's saltimbocca, but still very good and again simple

Devil Eggs- great, again simple classic preparation

Crabcake- didn't get to taste it but looked mighty good

Little stuffed tomatoes- tasty, excruciatingly hot

strawberry shortcake- looked good, but my girlfriend pretty much kept this one to herself

The wine Joe mentioned in the post I linked to might be what you want. I'd call Joe at Ace Beverage and see what he's got.

Oh, and congratulations!

I'd look at two sparkling wines if I wanted something with a hint of sweetness- prosecco (sure, it's not champagne, it's from Italy, but it's good and very reasonably priced) and I'd also look at blanc de blancs (sparkling chardonay grapes). Neither of these are pink, but both can be made that way with an addition of casis. Otherwise, for a pink sparkling you want a sparkling rose.

Alright then, I never watch TV, so when I do, I actually watch TV. And by that, I mean pay attention. Just now, during the closing credits of Ren and Stimpy, there were a bunch of screens that flashed up with lots of names on each. One appeared for a split-second, and my eye was drawn towards a name - it was like catching a shooting star because it was only up there briefly, and I saw it only with peripheral vision - but I'm certain it said Jna Mi Hwang. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Cheers, Rocks.

I am in Louisville. Watch this space. Closely.

anyone up for a happy hour in Dulles' B terminal?

That sounds like a much different situation, Jonathon. I am a very exacting person, and will not hesitate to write honestly about my opinions here and in other places. BUT, I do not post anonymously, and I always give the restaurant a chance to fix things while I am still there and they can do something. You sign your posts with your real name too.

Bitching about getting your mains too soon, getting compensated with free dessert for a petty problem, then going online and complaining about it anonymously is being what Don so nicely called an "Anonymous Dickweed."