dcs

Hmmm....... Best Restaurant Overall Piola Can a chain restaurant really be the best the city has to offer, "overall?"

I don't know how the author can describe the interior as "plush" based upon these early stage construction photos.

A legitimate point. As I am not an urban planner, however, I tend to care more about vibe. That said, in the spirit of conciliation, I hereby welcome the new CVS and 24 hour Commerce Bank to the neighborhood. Who knows, I may come to appreciate the ability to get an emergency loan from an actual bank teller at 3:30am to finance some of my nocturnal misadventures.

Yes. You can tell your grandchildren that you witnessed the Reston Town Centerization of Clarendon. Me, I'd take the Queen Bee and the Peruvian Motors used car lot any day.

Try the soft dinner rolls at Heidelberg. They always looked like slider buns to me. http://www.heidelbergbakery.com/?q=node/190

Laugenstange with cheese and ham from the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, warmed in the oven. Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea. http://www.heidelbergbakery.com/?q=node/395 Delicious.

As much as I hate to say it, the quality of the bagels started to slip when the original owners sold. I am not sure I would bother if they did reopen nearby.

No need to miss it entirely, just the convenience of the Georgetown location. The Georgetown Bagelry at 5227 River Road near Friendship Heights is run by the same folks who started and ran the Georgetown shop until almost the end (I believe they sold to the Hook folks a year or two ago). Same great bagels, albeit somewhat pricier than the competition but definetely worth it, and worth the trip. Another bagelry that I recently found that comes close is the Capital Bagel Bakery at 3610 King St # A, in an otherwise nondescript strip mall in Alexandria. I always pick up a dozen and a couple of freezer bags when I am in the neighborhood. You couldn't pay me to eat a Chesapeake bagel. Faggedaboutit!

Has anyone ever tried coffee brewed in a Japanese siphon bar? Sounds interesting. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/dining/2...&ei=5087%0A With its $20,000 price tag and labor-intensive brewing process, that has to be one expensive cup of joe.

If I had to guess, and it is only a guess, I suspect that the chatter's only previous experience with birthday parties at restaurants were children's parties. You can probably get away with this type of behavior at Chuck E. Cheese's.

My excuse is that the frozen pizza dough at the Italian Store costs about $1.25, or slightly more, and tastes just fine.

Funny thing, and I am not sure this is related. I just got back from visiting with H&R Block, and they told me that my taxes this year would not be prepared with the usual care and exactitude because so many people we seeking the same service at the same low price at the same time.

OK. I'm in.

I don't understand. How does/can a chef "lay back" during RW and not cook on par with his/her usual ability? Most of these places, the good ones at least, are probably not dramatically more busy than usual. Couple that with a more limited RW menu and this should be like rolling off a log.

I do not think you will regret it. Splitting a full share at Great Country Farms is easy since a full share is two more or less identically packed plastic boxes. As for recipies, do not forget to sign up for their electronic mailing list on their web site. They send out weekly newsletters describing that week's goodies and often include a recipie or two involving that week's produce. Also, between the following 3 websites you most likely can find more recipies than you ever will need. www.foodnetwork.com www.epicurious.com www.cooks.com Actually, the fun of using these sites is mixing and matching between several recipies that use similar ingredients. I rarely follow any of these recipies exactly as written. More often I make substitutions based on what I have lying around or using interesting sounding ideas from other recipies. Within certain limits, it is generally hard to completely botch most of these recipies. You can also break out your well worn copy of the Moosewood Cookbook that you have from college if you are still in need of more ideas.

Congrats on your first post! A timely question, indeed. We did a half-share with Great Country Farms last year and were very happy. A 1/2 share was more than adequate for two of us, but I agree with Sam that it is impractical to split a 1/2 share. It really is not too much and you are always free to share your abundance. You will learn how to make and freeze soups to get through the produce sometimes; it can be a challenge, albeit a fun one. We ate some things we never tried before, learned a whole bunch of new recipies, and became better cooks. GCF delivers to our door which makes it the only real option for us. They are already taking sign-ups for 2008 and we have already submitted our application. Good luck.

So far..... Alka Seltzer.

Are you a Piker? We started with Margaritas at 5:00 and are still going strong. Happy New Year!

I have only really enjoyed the market on Old Dominion in Arlington. The kabobs I buy raw and cook myself. They always come out just right. My youngest lives on the hummos. It is okay at this location, imho.

We have 3 kids. Two prefer pizza with no sauce, or basically with anything on it other than mozzarella. They even pulled this stunt at Bebo to the raised eyebrow of our server. I seriously question whether they are actually my children. They do bear a strong resemblance to the postman. For the record, we love Pie-Tanza pizzas, including the ones with sauce. We have also enjoyed the pasta dishes and calzones. Personally, I like the fried olives.

We dove in tonight. Arlington location. Take out. Pork ribs are all smoke but little flavor. Corn pudding good. Baked beans good. Potato salad OK. Service was pleasant enough. Overall rating is "fair." I would eat it again, and probably will given its proximity, but I will not be rushing back.

Have you called the Organic Butcher in McLean to see what they might be able to do for you? http://www.theorganicbutcher.com/mclean.html

I was never a big fan of Rocklands at Carpool. But where can I go for takeout BBQ in North Arlington that is not Red, Hot and Blue? I am hoping this new Rocklands will be better.

The website says the Arlington store opened yesterday. ARLINGTON STORE UPDATES WE WILL BE OPEN FOR BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5 FOR LUNCH! Monday - Thursday 11-10 Friday - Saturday 11-11 Sunday 11-9 We have big screen TV's!

There was some discusssion of development plans for the area on the Alpine thread a while back. http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=6576