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This lasts about 5 seconds, but that might be just long enough - 400 ft vertical drop at 90 degrees.. http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/top_thrill_dragster/index.cfm

Thanks! Glad to hear it was well organized.. I think we will check it out.

Has anyone been to this before? The ticket price seems a bit steep, but also looks like it could be a fun time.

How much was the omakase?

Haven't taken the time to read through the whole blog posting yet.. but while I have no doubt that LOTS of editing goes into any reality show to make it watchable (debateable with most), there's only so much editing can do. I mean, he did say the things they showed him say right? I'm thinking specifically about the backpedaling on the dessert and claiming that the meatloaf was "his".

Teddy Folkman is the local contestant, of Granville Moore's (and recently, the Cap Lounge). I'm sure people don't care that much, but was eliminated. The presentation he gave for Good Housekeeping was hilariously ridiculous!!

Did anyone watch last night's episode? Not a good showing for our local chef..

As I thought more about it got more funny, AND i was super thankful there weren't pictures and the like...

We ate at the bar on Saturday night and I forgot to post about it. Tried the oxtail tots for the first time, as delicious as everyone upthread has said. I had a hibiscus margarita which I found deliciously tart and sweet. Gina also made us "magic" chocolate milkshakes - yum! and we owe Gina further thanks for recommending the chef's burger - regular burger with the following toppings; onion rings, pork belly, medium cooked egg and gruyere - excellent!!

Menu per washingtonian.com

This place is closed, lasted longer than we thought it was, as it was always empty when we walked past (usually on our way to Mia's). We ate there once and had carryout from there once, it was decent, not sure why they couldn't make a go of it. Maybe because Bethesda is saturated with Thai places?? and of course the sign in the window announced the coming of a new Thai place.. Maybe new management or something?

I've heard similar about the driving experience there, and I grappled with whether we should rent a car or not, but we'll be there for a week and I didn't feel like dealing with taxis every day, and hope to take the car barge over to St John at least once. Thanks again!

Yea, after I looked up all the places mentioned, I realized Gladys' and Cuzzin's are reasonable. We'll be staying near Secret Harbour and not sure if the drive to Charlotte Amalie is too far to do it often. In any case, thanks!

Yes! - I'm still looking and thanks for replying! Those are all names I've come across on the tripadvisor board and in other research, so I will definitely check out these few that you've isolated. Any suggestions for relatively cheap casual lunches/dinners? Or are we going to be stuck with pretty pricey options? Thanks!!

So, an update. On Friday night, we did end up having dinner at Jewel Bako. The restaurant set up is very cool, with a sort of tunnel-like feel created by slatted and curved wooden pieces that extend from floor to ceiling. The sushi bar is at the back of the restaurant, which is where we sat. The service was good - very attentive without being intrusive. Quality of the fish was very good and everything that we had was delicious, so the only negative thing I have to say really is that I feel we didn't get a whole lot for what we paid. There are 2 omakases on the menu; one that is $50 is a choice between either sushi or sashimi, the other at $95 was listed as "chef's omakase tasting menu", so we assumed that included cooked dishes as well. One of us got the sushi omakase and the other got the sashimi and we shared. In addition to the sushi/sashimi, we received an amuse of pea mousse, miso soup, and edamame. The sushi omakase had about 12 pieces to it and the sashimi had about 14 (?) pieces. All in all, it was good and we tried some varities of fish that we hadn't had before (like belt fish and barracuda). Maybe the price wasn't so out of line, its more likely that I'm greedy and wanted more... went to Blue Ribbon bakery afterwards and had them split their 2 bread puddings, the chocolate and the banana walnut - delicious. Saturday lunch was our absolutely necessary stop at Momofuku - pork buns, steamed chicken wings, and momofuku ramen - excellent as awlays. Saturday dinner was birthday dinner at City Crab - decent seafood. Sunday before catching the train, we made a stop at the much anticipated Porchetta... we each had a porchetta sandwich and shared the potatoes with crispy bits - it was awesome!! The pork in the sandwich was the perfect blend of tender, melt-y pork and just pure fat, studded with super HARD pieces of lacquered skin (I kinda wish they weren't quite as hard). The potatoes were amazing - I love potatoes anyway, so the addition of the sorta burnt, sorta crispy pork bits and the flavor they had imparted to the potatoes, put the whole thing over the top. Boyfriend said that this may have to be a new NYC go-to. I agree! Afterwards we went to Momofuku bakery and shared a slice of the chocolate chip cake - layers of yellow cake with a (meyer?) lemon filling mixed with tiny chocolate chips throughout, and an oreo-like cookie crumble layer in the mix for good measure. This was great, the tart lemon flavor was a really nice counter-balance to the chocolate in the rest of the cake and added a real brightness. Got 2 compost cookies for the road - not quite sure what all is in them, sorta everything-but-the-kitchen-sink - chocolate chips, pretzels - etc... they were yummy!

Good points...mtpleasanteater as well. I don't think we will try it though and simply that comes down to not wanting to spend that much money.. but at some future point it seems like it would be a great way to experience Per Se w/o the tasting menu prices... Now I'm thinking of Jewel Bako - we really enjoyed our meal at Degustation in January. Has anyone been to this sushi place?

Great call! Here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/dining/r...&ref=dining He basically says what I'd been worried about, that with each dish individually priced, the whole experience would seem extra expensive.

That's a good point re tax and tip. Ooo good to know about the updates w/ the menu..

Oh, you ate in the dining room when you went on Friday - I didn't read closely and thought you'd eaten in the lounge.

Thanks for the intel - our train gets in around 6:30, so might end up getting there after its already busy. What did you think about dining in the lounge in terms of prices? From what I've seen of the menu it seems that it is (obviously) still expensive, but w/o knowing how tiny the dishes are, its hard to gauge. And I think we're ruling out a dining room reservations because we don't want to spend that kind of money.

Headed up to NY this weekend, we'll have Friday dinner free - any suggestions? In terms of places we've tried and enjoyed before; Momofuku Noodle Bar, Prune, Degustation, The Spotted Pig... blanking on others at the moment. Thought about checking out the lounge at Per Se, but not sure we want to deal with the inevitable (?) wait.

Has anyone been to Morimoto lately?

Going to St Thomas in June, any restaurant recommendations? I've seen the St John recs upthread and noted them as we may take the ferry across for a day trip or 2.

Surprising!!

You should definitely try to squeeze in a meal at Palena if you haven't been.