cajcaj

If I'm not mistaken, I believe he is a partner with the Armstrongs in Restaurant Eve, Eamonn's, and The Majestic.

That could be - I've just always seen Cathal and Michelle listed as co-owner and him mentioned as mixologist and sommelier.

Not TV, but Todd Thrasher just called in to the Eliot in the Morning Show on DC101 (101.1 FM) to advise Eliot on the new Wayne Gretzky wine.

Eliot: "Who's this?"

Todd: "Todd Thrasher."

Eliot: "And what do you do?"

Todd: "I own three restaurants and am a registered sommelier."

Eliot: "Oh really, which restaurants?"

Me: [Hand to forehead]

Okay, so maybe I'm a snob in a bubble but I thought everyone knew about Todd Thrasher! He's been profiled in every city paper...

/irrelevance. Return to your regularly scheduled program.

True, Thrasher has been profiled a lot, but still I wouldn't necessarily expect him to be known but anyone not particularly interested in food. Also, he doesn't own 3 restaurants does he?

I'm thinking of going on Friday night to try their omakase at the sushi bar. I called to ask about it ($42/person) and got kind of confusing answers. It seems the latest reservation they take is for 7pm (we'd be looking to show up later) and I when I asked if we'd be able to do omakase at the sushi bar as walk ins, she said she wasn't sure.

What has been other's experiences with going here after 7pm, long waits? How about going for omakase as a walk in?

The crispy oysters were on the restaurant menu last night. With an ever-changing creative menu, perhaps it's best to consider what is on the web a "respresentatative menu" rather than the literal menu.

Great, good to know - thanks!

Question - I see that the online menus have the fried oysters on the bar and patio menu, but not on the regular dinner menu. Can you order them if not at the bar/out on the patio?

Yep, this is the very article that got me thinking about getting to New Heights soon! Can't wait to try them!

I've been eager to try the soft shells here - does anyone know if they still have them/will still have them this week?

Speaking of Van Ness, has anyone tried the Italian Pizza Kitchen? It recently opened next to the nail salon at the corner of Conn and Albemarle.

It's opening this Wednesday, May 2nd.

I know its still early - but has anyone been by there?

The fry plate itself may be MIA, but at least one dish is being plated with onion rings, dauphine, and lemon.

and pray tell what might this dish be?

Does Firefly have a happy hour? I didn't see mention of one on their website.

Okay, I have the inside scoop. Nobody is supposed to know about this, but I'll break the news here on the website: Frank finally accepted the fact that he was unable to make crispy fries, and gave up.

Finally! The long awaited answer revealed! I knew I could count on you Don...

Really? So no one's been in the last week or so and noticed this? Or has the scoop on what's up? As you can tell I'm very curious...

Anyone out there know what the deal is with the disappearing fry plate?? My boyfriend and I went to the cafe about 2 weeks ago and were told they were "out" of the fry plate. My boyfriend went with a friend last night and it wasn't even on the menu anymore.

What's with the pretty frequent accusations and implications that Tom Sietsema's identity is known? Does anyone know if there's truth to that? Below is an example:

Falls Church, Va.: Hi, Tom from a fellow Minnesota native. No question today, just an observation: I was having dinner with a friend at Circle Bistro (this was a while back) and our server pointed you out in the dining room. Your cover is blown!

Tom Sietsema: The same waiter must not have been working when I dropped by the bar recently and was told "The kitchen is closing in two minutes, so you better decide if you want anything to eat."

Just to be clear:

Tobacco Sales + humidor rental revenue > 10% --> exempt tobacco bar

Tobacco Sales + humidor rental revenue < 10% --> covered by smoking ban

Establishments that do not have humidor rental revenue will have a harder time getting over the 10% threshold because they have to rely solely on tobacco sales. Ozio, because it does not have humidors, will have a harder time than Shelley's in meeting the 10% test. Also, the mayor has discretion to grant an exemption.

Ah, now I see what you meant by your earlier comment. Well Ozio must do quite well with their sale of cigars then.

"Tobacco bars" are not subject to the smoking ban. The DC implementing legislation defines a "tobacco bar" as:Apparantly, Shelly's can meet the 10% test by including the revenue from renting on-site humidors. Here is a link to the Act.

So, if you go into Shelly's make sure you buy a cigar from them, to help them remain "unique."

PS: I do not know if Ozio can meet the test. I doubt it because they don't have humidors for rent.

I believe Ozio's is exempt - I was there a few weeks a go and there was a lot of smoking going on. The act exempts "tabacco bars" that are defined as receiving 10% or more of their annual revenue from on-site sale of tabacco products (excluding from vending machines) - not only the rental of on-site humidors.

Now, has anyone been to Aroma recently? Are they exempt? I don't believe so since they had stopped selling cigars a while back.

Does anyone know what happened to 21 P?

The restaurant was shut down over the weekend. There are DC Government notices plastered on the doors and windows similar to the ones posted when a place gets shut down by the ABC board. I can't remember the language, but it didn't say anything about liquor.

What's the dirt?

 
as i posted above, this is all I know - but I haven't been past there again since...

Hey all - a friend and I tried to go to 21P last night for their happy hour (having never been there before). When we got there, we saw that they were closed and there were signs (DC signs) on the windows saying something about their registration hadn't been paid and therefore they were prevented from doing retail business. Anyone know what's up?

I've only been once, but eager to go back! Just curious, do they happen to have black sesame ice cream? Does anyone have sesame ice cream for that matter?? I haven't been able to find it anywhere...

Hey all - a friend and I tried to go to 21P last night for their happy hour (having never been there before). When we got there, we saw that they were closed and there were signs (DC signs) on the windows saying something about their registration hadn't been paid and therefore they were prevented from doing retail business. Anyone know what's up?

apparently the opening is a ways off- my friend walked by the other night and said it's still got a ways to go.

i emailed them so hopefully i'll get a ballpark date and post it here if i find out.

 
I emailed them as well, no response yet.

I would really like to try Omakase at the sushi bar here - but i have a couple of questions... First - is it possible to make reservations to sit at the sushi bar? and second, around how much is it, I've read about $50/person minus sake - is this accurate?

Has anyone ever been to this place? I've seen their ad in the metro at Bethesda - it says opening Fall 06, but I'm not sure if it has opened yet. Here is their website:

http://www.dysfunctionalcuisine.com/ [No longer works]

Apparently there is already one in Annapolis:

http://www.yinyankee.com/ [No longer works]

What's the word?