Hannah

Your mistake was ordering the regular pancakes - the buckwheat pancakes and potato pancakes, and some of the non-pancake stuff like the baked omelets are actually pretty good.

That being said, the place gives off weirdness for some reason.

I am going to be very specific, again: the raves for Teatro Goldoni are for the Chef's Table and the prix fixe dinner that is served by the chef at it. It is a unique experience. Having lunch or having dinner in the restaurant and ordering a la carte is an entirely different experience. I am making no comment about the quality of that experience. ONLY the quality of the experience provided at the Chef's Table.

In short, don't count on quality control or consistency from that kitchen unless you see the chef plating your food himself.

Pallette/Palate. <sigh>

John Hope Franklin.

INOX is in Vienna, really good but not cheap.

That being said, it's about the only place in the immediate Tysons area I'd say has anything approaching ambience. I think Busara's better than Neisha for Thai, but that's undoubtedly a personal preference thing - I don't like Neisha's pad thai. Busara does have the benefit of a good beer list as well. Lebanese Taverna in Tysons II is meh for ambience, but they do have the fantastic pita bread, which makes up for a lot.. Tachibana in Mclean has pretty good sushi and is a good place for conversation even when it's busy.

Ray's, especially at that time of the evening and with the option of reservations, should definitely be on the list - it's only 20 minutes from the Westin at that time of day in a real worst-case traffic scenario.

I drive through Tysons every day at morning and evening rush hour, and other than the occasional snarlup from an accident, like yesterday, the construction doesn't seem to have made much difference. There's certainly no reason to think that the sky is about to fall, or that Tyson's will suddenly become undriveable - in fact, one of the HOT lane construction reroutes has made the entrance from the toll road onto the outer loop of the Beltway better, and I wish they'd made that particular change years ago.

The only time Tyson's is a real traffic nightmare to be avoided at all costs is between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that's not going to change no matter how much construction occurs or doesn't.

Having been to Masa last weekend, this quote is probably the most absurd thing I have read on a food board - this year, anyway.

This is not to say that the chef may not have some kind of hookup somewhere - I'm fairly sure that Hama Sushi and Mikaku in Herndon take advantage of the fact that there are a couple of direct flights a day coming into Dulles from Tokyo, and there may be the same or similar coming into BWI. At the same time, I don't think for a second that Hama or Mikaku have their own personal agent at Tsukiji Fish Market picking out the prime toro like Masa does.

There's a difference between personally liking a restaurant, and demanding that everyone else on the planet agree that it's the best place ever. It's perfectly okay for GeorgetownFoodie to love Sushi Sono and rave about it. The "everywhere else is icky" approach is a little offputting, but if that's going to be his/her style, that's fine too.

Wow, I've been watching the promos for this show and he looks tougher than Gordon Ramsey! Saw him on AB No Reservations too. I think he made GR cry (so I hear), so the winner is going to really tough it out to get that restaurant!

I bet it's just that the final "n" is burned out in the sign.

But how about the legendary Burke and Hare?

this discussion is way too deep for me, and i don't think i have derived any valuable moral lessons from it to apply the next time i consider going to a restaurant, but one thing does bother me about this argument: leni riefenstahl is just about the oldest trick in the book.

While I agree that his broccoli soup was extreme in terms of minimalism, didn't the chef in that episode use 1,000 different ingredients to make mediocre to crappy food? I think his rant was used to make a point to the chef that you can do things simply and cheaply. Most of the places he goes into are hemorrhaging money so he helps them get that in control.

Merlin T. Cat. 1994-2008.

If I'd walked in off the street not knowing this was Inox's second night of service, nothing I ate or drank would have given me that impression. There are some really interesting dishes on the menu, including the grouper with escargot tortellini mentioned downthread, and an appetizer of pumpkin pierogi in onion bouillon that was far more savory and meaty than I'd expected. The seared duck breast entree is excellent as well, and the table next to ours had entrees of Wagyu steak and salmon that also looked very promising.

Desserts are just right - the pastry chef (first name Scot - I can't recall his last name) came over from 2941, so a lot of the desserts have the wonderful ice creams and sorbets that were a feature there. We tried a milk chocolate bread pudding with fleur de sel and olive oil ice cream, and a warm pineapple mousse with pineapple sorbet. I remember seeing a banana-cardamom ice cream on the menu as well, but don't remember what it accompanied.

The wine list is (of course) solid, the space is lovely, and while things are obviously still ramping up capacity-wise, I think we're looking at a winner here.

Harris Teeter will occasionally have it in their freezer section, if you can't find it anywhere else.

What a marvelous choice - congratulations to all.

Oh geez, now Ramen is "hot" (pun intended)? Lord help us all... It may be a good thing because of the severe recession, but not because it's gourmet or worthy of showcasing on a menu.

Back to the discussion at hand, Hama Sushi in Herndon does a passable version, and is the only place down here I've run across that offers the choice of miso or shoyu broth. The roast pork bits in the soup are pretty good, and while I don't think the noodles are made on site, they don't look or taste like Nissin's finest either. Hama does regular business with the ANA crews on layover at Dulles, so I've always taken that as a pretty good vote of confidence.

Oh Really...... But Franklin Roosevelt was elected to the New York Senate in 1910. .... Employment for the unemployed and "a chicken in every pot" were the themes of the times. ...

The Question:

Which president promised "a chicken in every pot"?

The Answer:

It wasn't just chicken. During the presidential campaign of 1928, a circular published by the Republican Party claimed that if Herbert Hoover won there would be "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage."

Despite a landslide victory over Alfred Smith, the first Roman Catholic to run for president, the Republican Party's promise of prosperity was derailed seven months after Hoover took the oath of office. The stock market crash of 1929 plunged the country into the Great Depression and people eventually lost confidence in Hoover.

During his administration, however, there were several impressive accomplishments. He increased the acerage of U.S. national forests and parks by five million. He also worked out the engineering and funding of San Francisco's Bay Bridge, and re-organized the FBI. Despite these undertakings, American voters couldn't be persuded to elect him to a second term. With the Depression at its lowest point, voters elected Franklin D. Roosevelt to replace Hoover in 1932.

Thank you very much Heather - we appreciate that .

No Beasties for me Monday. The great jazz vocalist, Melody Gardot, is playing at Proof that night. I will, however, get to see part of the Monday night's 930 club inaugural lineup when Citizen Cope warms up at Proof Monday afternoon.

(And technically, discussion of the Beasties is on topic since they name-check food, wine, and even chefs in the songs. So there.)

FDR Roasted Free Range Chicken Breast, Celery Root, Apple, Walnut and Chicken jus $36

Inspired by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

FDR is considered one the most important presidents to date. Not only was he elected to four terms, he fathered the nation though two very trying periods, the Great depression and the World War II. Employment for the unemployed and “a chicken in every pot” were the themes of the times.

Really enjoyed the braised oxtail with buttermilk mash, and the turnip and potato latke that comes with the duck confit is good enough to be a dish on its own. And yeah, the pecan pie is very, very good, particularly when paired with the Lancaster old fashioned.

It's the same "oh look, I've found restaurants in DC that are actually good" snark piece she always writes. Different publication, slightly different list of restaurants. Yawn.

And to Patrick McGoohan as well. Bad day for classic sci-fi.

Anybody know how far in advance they take reservations? I called to ask yesterday and the person answering the phone wasn't sure.

The newest Ramsay restaurant is the York and Albany, which opened this fall and appears to be pretty reasonably priced compared to some of the others. If you're looking to save money, go at lunchtime - a lot of London restaurants will do a reasonable fixed price lunch that will give you some highlights of their menus. (Unfortunately, Ramsay's main restaurant is not one of the ones that does a cheap lunch - you'll definitely get charged full price there!)

In the mid-price-range, MBK mentioned Maze, which is another good bet; there's also Boxwood Cafe, which is slightly more casual modern British than RHR or Claridge's.

He's also taken over three historic pubs around London, one of which, the Narrow, has gotten really good reviews, but you could easily drop into one of those for lunch without booking a table.