Margaret Johnson

You're asking me to believe that Roberto Donna baked and served three burnt pizzas? There are a lot of other things that I will believe that people experience in restaurants but this is not one. Did you see any of the pizzas? Or are you just taking her word? Let's assume that you didn't see the pizzas, yet you feel comfortable posting on here that Bebo with Roberto at the pizza oven is serving burnt pizza over and over. I just flat out don't believe this.

Roberto was at the pizza oven the whole time we were there. He wasn’t checking or watching the food or the pizza he just stood there talking with staff. As we paid our check and got up to leave a woman came up behind me and asked how our food was. She said she couldn’t believe that Bebo had the reputation it does for food. She understood the reputation for poor service but after having three pizzas served to their table one more burnt than the last one they left to have pizza around the corner. She said she had guests in town for the Marathon and they were starving. She was extremely upset. I suggested she speak with Roberto and she declined saying she watched him do nothing all evening and if he didn’t noticed three totally burned pizzas than something was extremely wrong.

I would have been happy if my pizza were just burned! My recent Pizza Capri (Tomato, Mozzarella, basil, oregano, whole egg) came out with no cheese! None! I thought maybe it was hidden somewhere, maybe under the sauce, or even under the egg! Nope.

Since Bebo opened, I have been happy to live with the disorganized, frenzied yet S- L- O- W service, in order to enjoy pretty good food at a fair price. I've known that I cannot go to Bebo in a rush or bad mood, starving, thirsty, etc. That way, I usually leave happy. Not this time. I just left perplexed. I intended to point out my missing cheese to the bartender (we were seated at the bar), but I couldn't catch his attention for about 30 minutes. Knowing that Roberto was at the oven the whole time, and had prepared my pizza, only added to my bewilderment.

That said, I ate the pizza anyways. It was actually OK without the cheese.

I'll still go back to Bebo and take my chances. On the whole, the food is still good for the price, bad service and all. The trick is to sit at the bar and order a bottle of wine, that way you can keep it coming at your own pace.

I've just been informed by someone who heard this story that Chez Panisse is essentially putting themselves out of the water business. All their "L'eau du tap" is free.

In the NPR piece, their GM said that their decision to stop selling bottled water basically results in a wash, financially, for them. Any profit from bottled water was offset by the amount of water they gave away to regulars, VIPs, etc.

What's with these Chilean apples everyone is rattling on about? Almost all the apples I see in the supermarkets come from either Washington state or New Zealand, and that's true all year long. Even at supermarkets in the Shenandoah valley in October.

To keep on-topic, what ever happened to Quibell water from West Virginia? I never see it any more. The idea of importing drinking water from Europe is just mind-boggling.

I've never seen Quibell water, but would probably drink it were it offered to me in a restaurant. While I generally prefer the taste of Evian to most other water, when I am really thirsty I just want a glass of water, period.

Perhaps those restaurants touting their dedication to local food could offer locally bottled mineral water.

...enviro/local-dodos who actually are that clueless but nonetheless feel qualified to make sweeping pronouncements on food quality, and other subjects...

Shall I post my resume...or will a list of my personal qualifications suffice?

Or, maybe we could just continue discussing our opinions on bottled water...

The explanation seemed a reflection of the long-standing friendship of Alice Waters and Michael Pollan and shared thoughts about the environmental impact of bottling and shipping all that water from far away when there is a perfectly good supply coming out of the faucet.

Unfortunately, there is a sharp contrast between eating local food and drinking local water.

Apples from Chile, bananas from Ecuador, and meat from across the country not only negatively impact the environment, but are of far worse quality than what you can get locally.

Water from the Alps tastes much better (to me, and probably to most) and is more healthful (minerals v. chlorine anyone?) than any local bottled water I've tried.

I had one of Earl's signature sandwiches today for lunch - roast turkey on ciabatta with pesto mayo, lettuce and tomato (though I had them hold the tomato).

The strength of Earl's sandwiches is the meat, which is roasted in house. Although mine lacked seasoning, that was easily remedied with the personal stash of salt I keep in my car. My sandwich had a mix of light and dark meat, which I appreciated.

The drawback was the bread. I don't recall any mention of baking bread in house, so no big deal, but the ciabatta had the texture (kinda chewy) and flavor (not much) of something you'd pick up at the Safeway bakery. Not horrible, just not good. That said - I didn't really care about the bread. It's great to be able to get a decent sandwich at an independent shop.

I'd rather pay $6.29 for a turkey sandwich with house-roasted meat and mediocre bread than the same price for one with house-made bread but processed meat.

My tube pasta had a very dry and white core. Being fundamentally insecure myself, I ate about 5-8 of these, until I could bear it no more. I asked the server, "Is this middle supposed to be dry and white?"

"Yes. It means it's al dente."

me: "Oh, but I know about al dente (I think), but is it really supposed to be dry and white in the middle?

server: "Yes."

Al Dente

If the restaurant only has 100 seats, then they only have 100 seats. Period. So they are not exactly "slammed with more business" on V-Day, are they? If they are unable to operate smoothly when every seat is filled, then maybe they should consider decreasing the amount of seats or hiring more staff.

In fact, I would think that restaurants would LOVE to have every seat filled every day. This shouldn't be an inconvenience or an emergency that requires a increase in prices, it should be a blessing! One that the restaurants should appreciate and strive for EVERY day.

It is not as simple as a restaurant being able to smoothly handle a full house. Most of these "top tier" restaurants consistently do just that, which is why we frequent them. Valentine's Day is particularly challenging. Just a few possible reasons:

1) Tables for two. Six deuces in a section require much more service than, say, 3 four tops, or 2 six tops, thus more stress on the server.

2) Special requests. On Valentine's Day there are significantly more special requests that take up more time (from the server, host stand and kitchen).

Can you please balance this $15,000 ring on the rim of her cocktail, bake it into her desert, bring these flowers to the table after we sit down but before we order, etc.

I can understand raising the prices a bit. It doesn't mean, though, that I'll be paying them. I spent last night freezing my arse off, studying while waiting for my clothes at the laundromat. And I had two delicious cheese pupusas with ensalada de repollo from Veronica's Bakery and Cafe, for $5 (including tip).

...but what strikes me about Eve is that the menu is a lot more adventurous than most places I've been.

I might not get out enough but can't think of any other place where you can order fois gras OR sweetbreads OR pork belly as your entree.

Not that I am complaining.

But if someone prefers steaks to organ meats, they surely would not be disappointed by Rays.

Foie gras and sweetbreads are indeed organ meats. Pork belly is not. It is plain, simple, delicious BACON (mmmmm).

NY Times Sunday Styles article on food bloggers

(Fingers are crossed - this is my first time posting a new topic - so I hope it works )

If you really want your Peruvian chicken to taste good, it should be eaten after 10 pm, and with lots of mayonaisse - NEVER for lunch (and on that same note - the inverse is true for ceviche - only at lunch, NEVER for dinner)!!

Has anyone been to El Chalan lately and have any recommended dishes? It was recommended as best Peruvian by my friend's cab driver one night, and we're headed there tonight to try it out.

Stick with the classic lomo saltado or the cabrito. On my most recent visit to El Chalan, these were the only dishes we ordered that were close to authentic "costeña" Peruvian food. Do not get the aji de gallina - the sauce had the right consistency but was bland, not spicy as it should be.

If you are looking for ceviche, in DC or NOVA, you have to go to Terra e Mare on Rt. 50 in Falls Church - a proper ceviche with choclo and yams, and of course an absolutely delicious leche de tigre.

I do not consider El Chalan the best Peruvian food around, but it is probably the best Peruvian food in a restaurant that doesn't have a TV on playing Telemundo.

(Hopefully this will be moved to the correct El Chalan thread!)

OK, people. You wanna know who REALLY gets RW? It's 1789. No lie. . No scaling down of the portions or anything remotely like slap-dash cooking for the masses. Impeccable service, smiles from everybody, not a patronizing or sneering attitude from ANYBODY. The best dishes were the quail salad and the pork chop. Desserts were a tie. I felt like we shop-lifted half of our dinners.

Great review, Barbara!! I haven't eaten at 1789 during RW but have had similar experiences there recently with Chef Beauchamp's cooking. To me 1789 and Curdoroy are similar in that you get amazing food and equally gracious service, with that same level of execution in the kitchen that you'll find in the city's top kitchens, but both with an "atmosphere" issue (servers in tuxedos, or located in the Sheraton). Some of the best food to be found in the city, and you feel like you are stealing it because the prices are reasonable.

Both are great values for restaurant week.

Any word on what the menu is like? The website is not up yet. Also, is there a separate bar menu?

Do restaurants overbook, or allow less time per table during Restaurant Week? Because if they do, then the busyness excuse sounds like the same patronising BS that mandates crappy food and/or service on major holidays. Special price or no special price, that is not the diner's problem.

Most restaurants count on less time per table during RW, most likely because they are working with a more limited menu than normal, thus faster plating, etc.

During RW this summer, I had two distinct experiences.

At Curdoroy, I had amazing food, perfect, personable, unpretentious yet professional service and a well-paced dinner. Based on that experience I will definitely return to Curdoroy, RW or not. The second of my RW week dinners, however, represents what I think is more typical of that week, unfortunately (and is why I am not participating in RW this winter).

At Vidalia, there were substantial surcharges on about 50% of the RW menu, our server must have said "As you wish" at least fifteen times (at least providing unintended comic relief), as a party of six, each person's plate was cleared once the last bite was in, not once all at the table had finished, and the next course arrived in about three minutes. Being six people, with a couple bottles of wine, I was not particularly pleased that the entire night out was over in less than an hour (check dropped on table with desserts!). While I've had some very nice food from RJ on other nights at Vidalia - to me this was why I no longer "do" restaurant week.

the espresso-based drinks are better than most places around here, at least in Clarendon.

The Clarendon location has hands down the best espresso drinks I've had in the area, and I make sure to find time to sit and enjoy one (not take it to go) whenever I am nearby. The key is that they a. have the proportions down (2-1 milk/espresso for cappuccino, 3-1 for a latte) and b. they don't scald the milk. Oh, and they are consistent. In other coffee shops I occassionally get a good latte, but generally I find a dry foam sitting atop the espresso, which is WRONG and pretty gross, too!

When I was in Murky yesterday it took the guy making my latte about four minutes! Of course I didn't mind at all because I got a perfectly creamy, deliciously smooth latte, with some sort of leaf design in the crema.

I'm heading to PX in the near future, and while I'm hoping getting in won't be a problem, one never knows. So, I want to have a back-up plan in place.

Thanks all!

To be sure to get into PX, I would suggest calling downstairs to Eamonn's to make a reservation.

For a back-up, you could try the Majestic or the wine bar at A La Lucia!