Jeff Heineman

The website is pretty up to date, I will have Ernie take the Farm Dinner info down. Aside from that, we wold love to host an early ten top.

A good pair of restaurants would be to hit the Terroir in Tribeca for wine and snacks and then walk around the corner to Locanda Verde for some more substantial things. My last meal at LV was truly memorable.

Thanks for the pointers. I am not used to traveling and being at a complete loss as to where to eat. I think a mix of 'Modern Latin" and "old Latin " should be perfect

My wife and I will be in San Juan for two nights in a few weeks. Can anyone recommend some places in town for some real local flavor. And what do we do on friday during the day after I get my base tan finished up? I have heardthe rum tour is stooopid now.

Had to meet someone for lunch in New York so I ate for the rest of 24 hours to make it worth the trip. I walked past Madison Square park at 11:06 am and counted 34 people in the line, don't know how many of them will also be in line when they open down here. Lunch at Blue Smoke. Not revelatory or anything, cornbread was weird, but they let us spread out and work. Afterward a hot dog at Crifdogs was spot on. Later dinner at Locanda Verde. This place is on point. $12 for two sliders might be pushin it but this is NY after all. If they screw up and give you two pastas you get to eat them both. Beautiful braised meats in both of them. Scallops were perfectly cooked and a nicely balanced preparation. A great restaurant recomended to me by the GM at Terrior ( Also good BTW). Dessert was sushi at Blue Ribbon. I always get nice fish here and last week was no exception. However, a trip to Yasuda is forthcoming. Next day I had the recession special at Gray's Papaya. I have tried these dogs 5-6 times now. I just don't get it. I get that is quick and easy and always the same, but an unbalanced, pungent dog under a strange sauce just isn't good. I am glad everyone has drunken memories of this place, but it isn't for me, drunk or sober. Finished with a pie from Co. by the guy from Sullivan St bakery. Good pienice blistered crust, good char, nice fresh toppings, tastey sausage. There was indeedsome moisture in the middle from the mozzarella, and the pizza was still delicious. If everyone would just calm the fuck down about wet centers the world would be a better place. a good 24 hours even if I didn't see anyone famous

Sorry to have been remiss in thanking everyone for coming out. It is always interesting to put a face with a writers "name". I really enjoyed hearing everyone's thoughts about the food and wine. I work very hard at our farm and I am glad it came through on the plate. I will remember everyone's critiques and comments as I till up the land this weekend to get some fall crops in the ground, hoping to do it again. Jeff

Is this a consumer sentiment poll prior to opening Rays the Catch?

The Hanger Steak is from Piedmont Ridge Farm in White Hall, Md. Chris and Emily Birch make a tastey cow.

We are currently in search of Server types and Host/ess types. good place to work. people seem to make good coin. Family meal sometimes has pork. fax resume to 301-986-4132. or email to info@grapeseedbistro.com

Am I the only one who, until now, didn't have any preconceived notions about lotus stem?

Dirk Smiler was the Som at Bezu, he passed on Monday. A great guy. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2010/02/16/dirk-smiler-prominent-washington-goth-is-dead/

Everyone at Grapeseed is tired of this sh*t. So, we are closing and going home to take a nap. See you Thursday

Grapeseed is open. Some of us spent the night, so we had no problem getting here. I am however the only cook so I wrote a special menu. Here: Our menu for tonight: Four courses $30 1st - Assorted Antipasti - Olives, Cheeses, Dips, Spreads, Pita, Sourdough 2nd - Choice of: Caesar Salad or Wild Mushroom Soup 3rd - Seafood Paella served Family Style 4th - Choice of: Grilled Salmon, Parsnip, Caper Raisin Emulsion, Herb Salad or Pan Roasted Filet Mignon, Horseradish Mashed Potaoes, Oxtail Ragout or Italian Sausage and Peppers, Organic Polenta For the Kids we have our Turkey Burger with Fries $30 for the four courses we have a full bar and heat Don't drive. Unsafe and nowhere to park.

Don, if this is un appropriate axe it. Hi, This is Jeff, with a shameless plug for a dinner that someone might be interested in attending. we have a lot of wines in our inventory that are drinking very nicely right now, so we are going to do a big ass wine dinnerand drink em up. It will be the day after Christmas. About the same time it would be good to ditch the in-laws and have a blowout dinner. It is only available with pre paid tickets, because I really can't afford to open these wines, have a bunch of no shows and just serve my mom dinner. It is $250 for the first ticket and $225 for tickets to give as a gift. Merry Merry. Call me or Ernie at 301 986 9592 Grapeseed's Really Big, Really Fancy Wine Dinner Take a break with us December 26th, 7pm. Sit Down with Our Wine Guy Ernie Brice, Break Bread and Drink Blockbuster wines from our cellar. You can try to recreate this dinner later, but the wine alone will set you back over $1500!! Menu A Series of Plated Hors d'oeuvres Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame" Champagne 1998 - Reims, France ________________________________________ Seared Hiramasa, Chestnut-Bacon Jam, Toasted Brussels, Chardonnay-Chestnut Velouté Paul Hobbs Chardonnay - Russian River Valley, California 2006 ________________________________________ Parmigiano Reggiano Risotto, Winter Black Truffle Ferraton Père & Fils "Le Meal" Ermitage (Syrah) - Rhone, France 2003 & Jim Barry "The Armagh" (Shiraz) - Clare Valley, Australia 2000 ________________________________________ Pan Roasted Duck Breast, Buttery Yukon Golds, Foie Gras, Orange Vérité Winery "La Muse" (Merlot-Cabernet) - Sonoma County, CA 2001 & Vérité Winery "La Joie" (Cabernet-Merlot) - Sonoma County, CA 2001 & Vérité Winery "Le Desir" (Merlot-Cabernet) - Sonoma County, CA 2003 ________________________________________ Devil's Food Cake, Marshmallow, Ganache, Graham Sauce Grahams 10 Year Old Port & Grahams 30 Year Old Port Dine with Ernie as he discusses these block buster wines in depth and shares his thoughts on food and wine pairing.

Look, I made my first post and an idle threat at the same time!!!

Took a quick break and headed to New York last week. Went alone so I wouldn't be slowed down in a 24 hour eating fest. Beig able to move fast and walk between meals is the key to being able to squeeze in 6 lunches, a dinner and two snacks in 24 hours. Lunch #1 - Met a friend near NYSE and grabbed a lunch at The Pump Energy Food on Pine Street. Kinda glorified Chipotle with "healthy, Complete" food, good thing it is healthy cause it didn't have too much flavor and was cooked poorly. The health food world would probably benefit from finding a way to categorize Salt as healthy. Lunch #2 - Ditched Friend and headed to Caracas Arepa Bar 93 1/2 7th St. The Soup of the day was a simple Root Vegetable puree that was fantastic. rich and smooth, just a well made soup. The Arepa Pabellon was very god, nicely braised beef and quite sweet with ripe plantains. A good stop and they appear to be adding a carryout joint next door. There is also a lobster roll joint next door that I really wanted to try but didn't have space. Lunch #3 - after a leisurely stroll from 93 1/2 to 110 East 7th I ate at Porchetta and got the namesake sandwich and potatoes with burnt ends. The sandwich was a nice portion of beautifully cooked porchetta and chuncks of crispy skin on a fresh roll. The meat was spot on, if I had some sort of jus to moisten the roll a la Chicago Italian Beef it would be off the charts. The potatoes are a great idea of spuds cooked and mixed withcrispy edges of the porchetta. It comes out as a mix of nicely cooked and not so nicely cooked potatoes and meat mixed up. The idea is great, a little fine tuning wold put it over the top. Snack #1 - Cereal Milk at Momofuku Milk Bar on 2nd Ave. Delicious. $4.50 for a small dixie cup of soft serve, but crack like. After a break to talk some actual business with someone , I met up with another friend for a cold beer at some ubiquitous Irish joint whose name escapes me put surely ended in "y's", we went to dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar. Small and busy as usual, Very good even though there seems to be a little less emphasis on Offal. This is a bad thing in my book. However, the beef tendon was a beautifully cooked peice of meat(?). I would have loved to squeeze some lime on the dish but it was very nice. Steamed buns were perfect. the BBQ Rib sandwich was okay, and the rice cakes with sausage was good. Because of the daily crush of people they now have you wait for your table next door at the Milk Bar. It is a bit confusing to order and receive drinks and then crabwalk back to the dining room, but we ate eventually. Stopped at Gray's Papaya on the way to my hotel. Still don't get it. If I am Supposed to be craving that stupid tomato onion topping I must never be drunk enough when I eat it. Lunch #4 - after starting the next morning in the gym I made it up to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Good burger, well organized and priced right for New York. Someone should tell them that "Shack Sauce" is called "Fry Sauce" in Idaho and Utah and should be credited as such. I don't get the lines but I probably should get one of their fancier burgers before I judge this place. Lunch #5 - A lovely stroll brought me to A Salt & Battery at 112 Greenwich, for a great Fried Haddock and Chips. Food was pefectly done and the setup is so classic fish and chips shop it is perfect. Counter, Fryers, guys in Tee shirts, and some stools. All it should be is all it is. Lunch #6 - a not long enough stroll a coupla blocks and I ate at Taim, a falafel shop at 222 Waverly. I was honestly hoping to see somebody famous here, but just got a good falafel sandwich. A really good sandwich, flavorful toppings, really well done. No famous people. All these places were interesting for what they are, and would recommend stopping by any of them if you are nearby (except maybe Pump). And stop by Momofuku even if you are not really nearby. Starbucks for lots of coffee, Amtrak , Home

Seconded

A beautiful extrapolation of Atkin's

Scott, Thanks for the feedback, it is always very helpful. By all means come visit us soon and the waiters, managers or I will always answer any questions about our food or service that come up. I am certainly sorry you thought some things odd, that is never our intention. We have four fried items on our menu and three are labeled either "fried" or "crispy". And all of our servers know how everything is cooked so just ask if an alternative cooking method is possible. As for the salmon the locally grown squashes are in a Harissa sauce. Harissa is a North African Sauce of chili peppers (we use dried), garlic, corriander and olive oil. We add some roasted tomato to temper the heat, and again, the server should have been able to fill you in. As an aside, you won't find much Indian curry seasoning around here because, well, I don't like it. Thanks for the feedback if you have any further thoughts or questions , I would love to hear them. Jeff Chef/owner guy

Hey Everyone and Anyone, We have something for you to do July 3rd!! This Friday 7/03 we are doing #5 in our "You be the Sommelier" Dinner Series. As always $100 inclusive. Menu: On Arrival : Assortment of Plated Hors d'oeurves Chateau de Pourcieux Rosé - Provence, France Course 1 Line Caught East Coast Swordfish, Orzo, Grapefruit, Lavender Featured Wines Hopler Grí¼ner Veltliner - Burgenland, Austria Schloss Gobelsburg Steinsetz Grí¼ner Veltliner - Kamptal, Austria Black Ankle Vineyards Grí¼ner Veltliner - Mount Airy, Maryland Course 2 Maine Lobster, Grilled Stone Fruits, Saffron, Fennel Featured Wines Domaine Weinbach Pinot Blanc - Alasce, France Broglia Gavi de Gavi La Meirana - Piemonte, Italy Terredora Dipaolo Greco di Tufo - Campania, Italy Course 3 Roast Amish Chicken, Smoked Potato Gnocchi, Belgian White Ale Reduction Featured Wines Highlands Estates Camelot Vineyard Chardonnay - Santa Maria Valley, California Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay - Casablanca Valley, Italy Jean-Paul Paquet Pouilly-Fuisse Dm. les Vieux Murs - Pouilly Fuisse, Burgundy, France Course 4 Grilled Flat Iron Steak, Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil Pistou Broth Featured Wines Francois Mikulski Pinot Noir - Cote de Beaune, Burgundy Cono Sur Pinot Noir - Casablanca Valley, Chile La Crema Pinot Noir - Sonoma Coast, California Course 5 Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding, Hazelnuts, Orange Shortbread Wine Pairing: Alceno Dulce Monastrell - Jumilla, Spain Call us at (301)986-9592 for reservation

We got the Cemita Atomica and the Arabe. I liked the idea of the sandwiches but, honestly, the bun was stale (it was a Sunday) and the explosive flavors were lacking. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't jump out at us.

Went to the organic pizza joint last year, it was really good. Food was first rate , service was as well. but Hell if I can remember the name. Haven't made the Evanston location yet, looking forward to it.

Spent three days and night in Chicago this weekend. Thought a synopsis might help some people looking for good food. Day 1 National Car Rental SUCKS. Eventually we got out. Straight to Hot Doug's. Since there was a Cubs game soon, the line snaked two blocks and our hunger drove us to UrbanBelly three blocks away. Trendy well designed place, very small, counter service, really good food, great variety (three different types of dumplings were all very different). Next, off to Pequod's for a great deep dish pie. This place used to be owned by Burt of Burt's Place but is more user friendly in that you don't have to preorder your pizza and drive to Morton Grove to get it. Soon after we headed to dinner at Mado, a BYO in Wicker Park. They are trying hard to be pork and offal centric and homemade stuff. Boquerones rocked, headcheese, beef hearts and most of the other dishes would have with the judicious use of acid, as they are they are pretty good, very interesting, albeit a bit flat. Absinthe at the Absinthe Cafe was absinthe that couldn't have been served in a inappropriate glassware. Upon questioning the bartender told us she thought the correct glasses, which they have, are too thin. Whatever. We paused a moment, and headed to Duchamp, on Damen. A great, vibrant setting. Great , Friendly bartender. Food was pretty good, but might have been too simplified for it's own good (apparently the chef's idea - stuff like "we only fry our fries once, so they taste more like potatoes") They should really think about giving up a little "potato flavor" for a little "potato crispness". Their competition, The Bristol is a block away. They do it all a bit better. Better fitted out and even more packed and vibrant. We ate some things upstairs. Cool, warehousey space, with nice, a bit aloof service. Beers on tap were great, and the duckfat fries were what you are lookin for. Menu was spot on and they will get a future visit. We exchanged stories about getting punched by women and decided we were done for the night. Day 2 early morning trip to the Maxwell Street Market. Not what it once was but easier to navigate now and the Eye Tacos and tube socks are still there. Did have some Oaxacan Tacos that performed like lead weights in retrospect. However, our consomme saved the day and warded off hangovers without resorting to Menudo. We outfitted ourselves with Luchador Masks and headed to Cemitas Puebla on various recommendations, including Guy Fieri (His picture is up next to the door). We were left unimpressed with Guy's Choices, we wont be back. It is only 30 Blocks on the same street to Johnnie's Italian Beef so off we went. Still my favorite Beef in Chicago. and the Lemon Ice on the drive back to the hotel puts you in a perfect place for a moment. After a nap, we met a friend at Emilio's in Lincoln park for some underwhelming Tapas ( their Paella looked really good however in its 4 foot pan). Then we moved on to L20 for dinner. WOW!. the space is beautiful. The service seemless, efficient and not pretentious in the least, and the food was mostly stunning. Foie Gras doesn't need 4 quarts of cotton candy, Hamachi Shabu Shabu a bit silly. Otherwise, some of the best food I have had in a long time. Sashimi plate was perfect, as was the papparedelle, smoked salmon, lamb tartar and many others. You get the idea. We got tour of the kitchen a it was stunning as was expected by this point. They are on all cylinders now. Ming Tsai at one table Daniel Boulud at another so the people watching for foodies is good. After that drinks at Ravens, a 4 am bar nearby, was a riotous time accompanied by Toxic Avenger playing behind the bar. Day 3 Finally made it to the food show for more than an hour, so I can write part of this all off. Then Publican for intermittant service while sitting in the stupidest, almost claustropia inducing booth. The booths close as if it was a log flume ride, giving you an unnecessary isolated feel in an otherwise empty at 4pm space. pork rinds weren't finished due to their noxious citric and spice powder topping. Mussels okay. Charcuterie well done. Perennial is only a few blocks away. we had some tastey snacks (fried chorizo stuffed olives were great, bocadillos good), and the drinks were right. Off to Kuma's Corner. This place is a must visit. The vibe and energy is really special here, The burger lineup impressive. And the guys cooking put on quite a manic show. I do happen to like heavy Metal so the music works. The burger itself wasn't so hot, overworked meat and underseasoned. But the scene is to be visited. Finally we ended up at Bistro Campagne a great place that does bistro classics in a comfortable setting. Chicken and Marrow dishes were spot on, and the mac and cheese could be some of the best ever. At this point we were done.

Hey, This is Jeff from Grapeseed. We are having another Sommelier Dinner Tomorrow night, and I have 10 or so seats available. This thing should be awesome. Five courses + Hors d'oeuvres. 14 wines to drink. Make your reservation, arrange a ride and come on by. 301-986-9592. Menu: On Arrival : Assortment of plated Hors d'oeurves Tavignano Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi -- Marches, Italy Course 1 Fresh New Zealand Orange Roughy, Grapefruit, Peach, Tarragon Featured Wines Long Boat Sauvignon Blanc - Marlborough, N.Z. Seifreid Sauvignon Blanc - Nelson, N.Z. Palliser Sauvignon Blanc - Martinborough, N.Z. Course 2 Seared Sablefish, Sable Liver, Pickled Ramps, Corn Featured Wines Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc - Napa Valley, CA Mauritson Sauvignon Blanc - Dry Creek Valley, CA Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc - Napa Valley, CA Course 3 Elysian Fields Lamb Loin, Lasagnette, Fiddleheads Featured Wines Mantane Primitvo - Pugila, Italy Seghesio Barbara D' Asti - Piedmont, Italy Casale Vecchio Montpulciano D' Abruzzo - Abruzzo, Italy Course 4 Broken Arrow Ranch Wild Boar, Dried Berries, Sunchokes, Black Garlic Featured Wines Can Blau - Monstant, Spain Bodegas Atteca Atecca Old Vine Granacha - Calatayud, Spain Pazo de Arribi - Bierzo, Spain Course 5 Warm Plum Crisp, Cardamom-Pine Nut Streusel, Orange-Buttermilk Ice Cream Wine Pairing: Lustau East India Solera Sherry -- Jerez, Spain Here's your chance to act like our Wine Director, Ernie, for a night. $ 100 per person inclusive

Thanks for all of the kind words. It was a pleasure to prepare some fun things for you all. I look forward to doing it again, hopefully with a larger group (a pox on those of you who ate elsewhere on Tuesday night). (Don, the tomato stuff with the bread does indeed contain crack. Fairly high grade stuff, really. Jeff