Charles Geer

Outside DC

Oysters, muscles, tempura shrimp with a nice Muscadet at Moran's Oyster Cottage, Galway, Ireland

George Carlin's alternative to turkey for Thanksgiving is to serve swan. You get more stuffing. One of Bastille's alternatives last night was muscovy duck served two ways, both were delicious. The 1er cru Savigny les Beaune wine pairing was right on. I started with a half dozen VA oysters. My wife and I shared a small cheese plate. And finished with a fantastic beignets of apple or something. Terrific dinner. The 3 3 oz wine pairings for $30 were good but seemed just a little skimpy for the money (especially compared to the otherwise generous servings by the glass). A small complaint after a wonderful evening overall.

Very good short ribs last night at Et Voila! Mussels mariniere, with a garlic and white wine sauce, had a touch of rosemary or something we could do without. Would prefer a touch more garlic instead. But we're purists with mussels. These were fairly large and juicy. Nice cheese plate for dessert.

If you love lobster, one option is to go to a seafood distributor ("lobster pound") like Bayley's in Pine Point or one of the places down on the wharf off Commerical St. in Portland and buy them fresh. Or even better to call up and order them cooked just before you arrive to pick them up. The cost for cooking is minimal, maybe $.50 per lobster. Right now hard-shells are $4.99 per lb. for smaller lobsters, about 1 1/4 lb, and $5.99 per lb for 1 1/2 and larger. My wife thinks you get more meat in the hard shells but the soft shells are sweeter. Same lobster just different times of the year. She won't get a lobster larger than 2 lbs because she believes the big old boys get tough.

Someone mentioned J's Oyster. I intended to try that out last week because I read that oysters were about $1 each which sounded like a good deal to me. But when I called they said they didn't have mignonette sauce, just the red cocktail sauce. I prefer the mignonette which is just a simple mixture of vinegar, shallots, and pepper. The red sauce is fine for shrimp but it drowns out the taste of raw oysters for me.

2002 Newton Unfiltered Cabernet last night at the Capital Grille, Tysons. Great steak sauce.

My favorite Italian store sub is a small tuna on a soft roll with a little extra mayo, lettuce and lots of sweet and a few hot peppers…. And a nice bottle of Barolo.

For cheap eats consider EL Ranchero at 4617 Wilson Blvd in Arlington, between Glebe and George Mason. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they have $1 tacos and $1 beer (actually the $6 pitcher is a better deal). The taco shells, chips and salsa are freshly made. Not bad at all. Can't beat the price. Under new management.