Meaghan

Have never eaten there.  Don't know what people think.  Probably about a thousand other places I'd like to try beforehand.  But walking to Corduroy I noticed a sign in a window on the west side of 12th Street between I and K that Bobby Van's is coming this fall.  Isn't the other one just a few blocks away, or are they moving?

That's bad news either way. That place needs to go down.

Badminton goes much better with canoes.

Actually, I have the little insert that goes in their check presenter right here on my desk.

Happy Hour is 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. M-F, featuring $5 martinis, half price beer and wines by the glass. And most likely that lovely Jane as the bartender and tater chips.

It's not on a rooftop, but I recommend 15 Ria's patio for simply having a drink or two. The experience is elevated by the signal from Holiday Inn's wireless Internet. A good place to get some work done (not that drinking and working have any correlation)

They don't even have sorbet or ice cream? Strange.

i looked at thier "how we pick 'em" link (http://www.fineliving.com/fine/favorite_things_selects/text/0,1663,FINE_8073_8336,00.html)

and they claim to receive no financial benefit from the selected venues.  restaurants are choosen by "speaking to experts and searching the Web, catalogs and magazines ".  at least they don't claim to have actually visited the city in general or restaurants in specific.

even with a lazy and obscurely located caveat, reading that list is about as painful as a month of mother's day brunches.

My conspiricy theory? Unpaid Summer Intern.

PS: Do we really think Kinkead still gets excited when those Senators come in?

God! That's gotta be the weakest top 5 list I've ever seen! It's so obviously written by someone who's never been on DC for more than a day with a Zagat guide. I think we need our own top 5 foodie-to-do list. The only thing on that list that I might keep there is  Ben's Chili Bowl.

Seriously. And to think TV producers (that guy) makes good money doing this and that The Food Network pays his tabs all over the place. This is where my argument FOR blogs, forums, the amateur food critic comes into play. It's like community service, having access to the locals take on their dining scene.

At first I thought he was talking about Royal Phillips Electronics.

"the source on our CERTAIN SUICIDAL DEMISE is inarguably infallible."

Who or what is the source?

I had the Lilliputian fried chicken dinner a few weeks ago and it made me verrry happy.

For those of you who haven't encountered this dish yet, it's a first course portion (my hypertension rating: four salt shakers)

of the most delicious homestyle fried chicken, little corn cakes and a nest of cooked baby spinach spiked with bits or bacon (or a simmilar-tasting pork product). Al Roker would totally jam on a Lilliputian dinner like that now that he's a little man. That's what made me think of it just now; seeing that Al Roker had discovered Colorado Kitchen.

Is there a good site around here where I can post about dental hygiene, hypertension and grumble about urban sprawl? Oh, and me hungry.

I'm having trouble understanding why Mon Ami Gaby on that awfully corporate, wannabee Rodeo Drive portion of Bethesda Avenue would be a place to go on a date.

That place is like Corner Bakery with booze.

I'd say the wine bar at Grape Seed or Jaleo before I'd say that place...

... not a big pile where the chips underneath get no cheese.

Like the icky ones at Merkado.

I know that most important people eat lunch away from their little mouses and keyboards, away their secretaries and that you generally don't see them waddling around the corner with a clear plastic Subway bag and Baked Lays. Yes, the business district at lunch time is full of important people and we should be happy that they are here to stay, pillars of the local economy. As a lunchtime hostess in the past and as veteran office-dweller, I've seen my share of these types.

Some important people wear suits and ties everyday and have drivers idling outside when they dine. They might carry a handheld Crackberry and are capable of shooting you an e-mail as a fluffy bite of ravioli rests on their tongue. Some of them wear green outfits and straw hats and have suitcase-sized handbags and matching leather slippers. Many of them are at home at places like The Four Season, The Mayflower, The Madison or perhaps The Willard because their security team doesn't have to scramble if they're already staying there. Or because the service can be raised a notch with less hustle.

Places like Equinox and The Oval Room (proximity to the White House), Kinkead's and Taberna del... ( State Department), Bistro Bis, CP (House and Senate). The Irish Times (proximity to Ireland), for old school leather-necked drunks, some of whom are secretly very important in this town.

And not that all people with an IFB and microphone are important, but I bet people like Tim Russert get driven somewhere good since they need to stay clean for the camera ...or those CNN and NBCs guys go Chef Geoff's because of their colleague Nora O'Donnell.

You know, it's a real shame. Some people are just too important to surf the net all day long and think about the next happy hour. But at least they can say they help support the economy and the industry, and that's not a lie.

Is there still good deal sushi happening there?

in the gayborhood and...

I don't hear much about Colvin Run Tavern anymore.

Don't hear much about Cafe 15, 701, Occidental, Palette, Gabriel, the City of Bethesda, Signatures, Ella's, Obelisk, The Oval Room, Taberna del.. Maybe there's good reason for that or...?

"Basement Conversion"

Interesting review by Kliman this week, not online yet tho...

June 29 Weekly Dish

Sounds like them olives are green.

Thanks!

I usually would do my own research, but with little time and the upcoming holiday weekend affecting delivery, I'm in more of a crunch.

Sometimes filling the basket yourself is a nicer gesture (Trader Joe's and $50 gets you far), but I am desperate for some nonexistent compromise between gourmet and scarfy-yum yum.

Thanks, laniloa.

Do any of you know Zingerman's? Okay or nokay?

I'm trying to put together a gift basket for a family with a few kids...

The gist is for the thing to be full of treats of all different types, but not so much with olive tapenade or goose liver in a tube.

Harry & David fruit sounds good, but it's too limiting.

Do you guys have any reccs? It's seems there are more companies basketing gifts on web than I could have ever imagined.

(Dean & Deluca and Balducci's and......

Hey Tom,

It's great to see you here!

Here are my (more than likely overlapping) questions:

How do feel that online media, blogs and forums like this one have most affected how you do your job these days or even your writing style?

(For example, do you ever feel pressure to review a place sooner than you might have in the past because of the inevitable buzz has already generated on a blog or website? ) There most be days you truly resent the convergeing media!

To which U.S. cities would you steer an epicurean friend on a summer vacation this year ?

Where and what do you think D.C. lacks the most as a dining town?

Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years from now?

Which German car do you rather have? A 2005 Audi A8 sedan in charcoal gray,

2005 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in silver or a 2005 soft top BMW M3 in a bright blue?

(just kidding)

Thanks!

As I sat on the Metro sipping my Venti half-caf Starbucks drip, I read in The Express that in light of this year's Folklife Festival, Poste is offering a five-course dinner focused on locally grown ingredients. At $70 with wine pairing, it sounds like a pretty good deal.