Camille-Beau

If there is Island for people who love food this is it. We spent the first four days of our honeymoon at Cap Juluca (the food sucked) in 2004, and there are some real gems on this island. The only bad meal we had was the one night we had dinner at the Cap. This seems like a nice event, but almost a waste to go there and limit yourself to just food at the hotel

Each of the chefs will prepare a dinner one evening during the week that will be paired with the wines listed, so this isn't a 'let's order from the standard hotel restaurant menu every night' kind of trip.

If you have a free week in July and are in the mood to travel, here's an option (click on Epicurean Week):

Maillouhana resort

AT 12:53AM USA Today continues to report that both Frank Ruta and RJ Cooper share in the award for the Mid Atlantic area. However, the Beard website shows only Cooper as the award recipient. I hope that clarification of this is imminent by either USA Today or Beard.

Beau was at the awards and said that only RJ's name was announced as the winner. The Beard website is accurate

-Camille

Just received the email: be sure to congratulate Slater for winning outstanding wine service and to Frank Ruta(both are long overdue)ohhhh wait, its a two way tie Ruta/Cooper

Not a tie, although it appeared that way initially. RJ won!

There is a difference between greasy and buttery goodness and my memory (from two days ago) corresponds with Waitman's.

Hey Bilrus!! Beau and I thought that was you on Monday. We dined at the bar that evening -- had the juicy (greasy, buttery, whatever ) burger and the succulent lamb shank on corn polenta. Loved both -- particularly the lamb with the meat falling off the bone and just a hint of rosemary in the rich sauce. Is that dish in the 'Happy in the Kitchen' cookbook?

-Camille

I love Tony Bourdain and his candid opinions, but I doubt that he would turn down a JB award of any kind if one were to be bestowed upon him.

-Camille

I actually like it better than foie gras, but the truth is, the two aren't really that similar.

Yes, the faux gras tastes like chicken

Anyone know if the fried chicken is still served with a mustard sauce?

It was as of a couple of weeks ago.

And it was still on the menu today as well. My first trip today (Beau is apparently a 'regular' now with the wine basically appearing as he walks in the door...) included the luscious lobster burger and some of Beau's hangar steak. The shared starter was the 'faux' gras with duck rillettes. Both are delicious with lots of flavor, the right amount of saltiness and perfect textures - smooth for the chicken liver and a bit more rustic for the rillettes. Love that extra layer of fat on top of the rillettes. We had to share the Kit Kat bar that's been raved about on this thread. It really is as awesome as everyone said -- gotta love that gianduja. Now if only I still worked in that neighborhood...

-Camille

Nominations for:

Mid Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve, Old Town Alexandria, VA

RJ Cooper, Vidalia, Washington DC

Jose Graces, Amada, Philadelphia

Maricel Presilla, Cucharamama, Hoboken, NJ

Frank Ruta, Palena, Washington DC

Outstanding Chef Award

Tom Colicchio, Craft

Lee Hefter, Spago

Jean Joho, Everest

Paul Kahan, Blackbird

Michel Richard, Citronelle

Outstanding Wine Service

Bin 36, Chicago

i Trulli

Mary Elanie's at The Phoenician, Scottsdale, AZ

Citronelle, Washington DC (congratulations Mark!!)

Picasso, Las Vegas

Complete list: 2007 Nominees

Thursday, March 15th, Todd Thrasher will be on Fox 5 here in the Washington DC area sometime in the 8am hour

Friday, March 16th, Cathal Armstrong will be on the Martha Stewart show -- "It's a good thing"

From the James Beard house newsletter:

Brendan Cox, of nearby Circle Bistro, is leaving to supervise the kitchens at Dish and Notti Bianche.

When does this happen?

Snyder's of Hanover

...All I can remember is my moms "Brain Fritters" as we called them, and having to douse them in hot sauce and ketchup to try to forget what they were. You would of thought I would have gotten over that by now.

This brain was served on a leek & cream sauce and was so light & airy it just melted on the tongue. Tasted similar to sweetbreads without the spongy texture. I don't think they have brains available very often. This one just happened to be from the veal that arrived last Wednesday. The tasting room did offer veal 4-ways though: sweetbreads, loin, braised shoulder and liver. Also quite yummy.

Fried veal brains last night at Eve. Crispy on the outside, white and creamy on the inside -- much like a warm, oozing brie. Delicious!!

...after my first course which was paired with a riesling...thirsty me finished the wine and had no wine to drink when the second course was served. When my +1 prompted our waiter about the fact that the birthday girl is without anything to drink, he said, oh, you were supposed to drink the first wine with this course too.

On our last visit, it turned out that Beau and I were expected to have the Riesling through the first four courses.

Special burger at FF today with cheese, foie gras royale and a poached egg on toasted brioche. What's not to love?

I've tried duck tongues and duck feet once -- no more. Liver and kidneys are eh. You couldn't get me to try lungs, brains, testicles, uteri, pizzles or bungs short of threatening my life with a large calibre weapon. Forget about chitlins, just shoot me.

But I love tripe in menudo and pho. And sweetbreads. And calf tongue.

And Eve's sweetbreads are very fine, indeed.

Let's not be too quick to judge chitterlings. On a recent trip to London, I had the chance to grab dinner at St. John in Smithfield. I started with roast bone marrow (3 large bones) and parsley salad. The marrow, once extracted from the bones, could then be spread on toast, topped with the salad and sprinkled with gray salt. Fantastic (if not exactly heart healthy)! I followed that with chitterlings that had been sliced into slim strands, woven together, and then finished off in duck fat. This was served atop lightly dressed dandelion greens. Really, really good.

Or, perhaps just evidence that anything cooked in duck fat can be good!

Regards - Beau

Back on topic -- dinner at home for Valentine's Day worked out perfectly this year, particularly given the weather-related travel problems. Always a good idea to keep a bottle or two of champagne on hand for that very reason

No services were rendered; from the little I know about contracts consumers usually win these type cases. I am sure it would not get that far at a place like Maestro, if you called to explain what happened.

Do you typically enter into contracts which you have no intention of honoring? That's what would happen if you agree to the restaurant's policy by giving them the card and then disputing any charges they might place on the card if you did not fulfill your end of the bargain.

...I have left a credit card number to hold tables at Cityzen and Maestro. I only do this because I am sure American Express would not let then get away with charging me, if I had not shown up, which I would never do without giving proper notice!

From Maestro's reservations policy: "We have a 24 hour cancellation policy, we may contact you for a credit card to hold your reservation and there will be a $50.00 charge per person for cancellations or no shows after that time." Based on that, if you were to cancel your reservation with less than 24 hours notice, would you dispute the $50/pp that Maestro WILL charge to your AMEX?

"...And some of these people are quasi-insiders -- people who are fond of a chef or restaurant and who then become fans or, if you will, groupies of that chef's place. People who want to be on the inside. Special treatment invariably follows, which in turn leads to gushing posts on the message boards, which in turn creates a buzz about a place."

So Todd, how does your constant raving about places like Etete differ? The fact that you aren't posting it on a message board?

Nine Lives

I'll be in London this spring. What are my culinary fantasies there? You tell me.

I highly recommend The Capital restaurant located in Knightsbridge. It's in the Capital Hotel on Basil Street (nice place to stay by the way) about a block from Harrods. Eric Chavot is the 2-star Michelin chef in the kitchen. Be sure to check out the original Dali's in the dining room.

Do try Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road as previously recommended. You (hopefully) won't be disappointed.

-Camille

Translucently thin slices of fresh tuna, framed in a salad of baby arugula, shaved fennel, celery, onions, and shaved parmesan, all in a delicate vinaigrette, with a center ornament of chopped tomato, currants, pine nuts, and capers--just a few of my favorite things on one plate. Every bite was a little bit different. Every bite was fresh and light. None of the toppings overwhelmed the flavorful fish--they all balanced with the tuna and with one another.

This is a great example of how different everyone's tastes really are and how fortunate we are to have so many diverse restaurants and options. One of the dishes I least liked at Kinkead's was the tuna carpaccio as I found it to be completely lost underneath the large 'salad' piled on top. Far too many items competing with the taste of the tuna. I really want to like Kinkead's, particularly for lunch, since it is directly across the street from my office, but I've had far too many disappointing meals there to continue giving them another chance -- or perhaps go for desserts only which sound really good.

-Camille

b. Any room preferences?

If staying overnight, try to book "Junior Suite #2" which is in the main building. Some of the rooms in the large number of separate properties owned by the inn are nice, but I would describe them as 'upscale Grandma' -- lots of floral, chintz & doilies. The Jr Suite #2 is very luxurious but not too over-the-top.