laniloa

I just did a spot check in the Virginia index. The topic links that point to a www.donrockwell.com site are busted. The topic links that point to a donrockwell.com site (no "www") work.

I went back and checked since others weren't having the index issue. I'm using IE. The DC and NY Dining Guides work and don't have the "www" but all of the others dead end.

Glad to have everyone back. The links in the indices don't seem to be working.

I'm in.

I went with my parents last night and had an enjoyable meal. Wasn't spectacular, but a solid good and I would return. It was a good choice for my parents. My mom likes a wide variety of flavors but my dad's tastes run more limited. Their day had started off with movers packing up the house and saying goodbye to NY after 7 decades. My dad with a cheeseburger and pronounced it good. My mom really liked her lobster mac-n-cheese and thought the garlic green beans that came with it were a sharp, bright taste to cut through the richness of the cheese. I had a lobster roll. It was very, very lightly dressed (a good thing in my book) and a generous roll. I thought the bun was too dry and, while toasted, it had obviously sat because it was cold when it arrived. The "fries" that came with the roll were a nice twist - thickly sliced potato that had been fried. The slices had a great crispy edge with soft middles and were served with a sharp salsa that I skipped since it would have overshadowed the lobster. A good deal for $16. The place was pretty full and loud enough to make conversation difficult. The service was a little overly friendly and the manager was making the rounds to make sure that there were no opening kinks that still needed to be worked out.

On 7/28/2009 at 8:52 PM, 'sheldman said:

Toscana Green is a lovely place. (It is at 2300 Clarendon - if you're looking at Velocity Five, go around to the left.)

Very welcoming people, in a colorful and modern but peaceful environment. Since it's been open just a few days there are still some pacing issues (i.e., slow), but the food that we had was very good. The menu is vegan- and veg-focused, much more than the average restaurant, but also has meat and seafood dishes.

We had some little spicy crostini and fried zucchini appetizers, then some fake-meat pasta dishes and a pizza. The food is somewhat simple in its conception and preparation, in the sense that there is nothing mind-blowing about the sauces or the execution or whatnot. But it is very tasty, and the place and the staff are great.

In a way it's sort of the anti-2 Amys (this being on my mind since we ate there for the millionth time a couple of days ago). 2 Amys continues to do great business, despite the uncomfortable chairs and ridiculous noise and staff who act like they don't care and tables too small to fit all your little plates when they all come out at once, because in the right moment the food ingredients and preparation can be sublime, and then you go home and wonder how you possibly ate so much olive oil. Toscana Green is a place where they welcome you and feed you nice food that does you good, even if it does not blow your mind. I hope it does good business too. We will go back. Try it.

This place has been changed to Toscana Grill. The organic bent is gone. I was not a fan of the old place so hadn't paid much attention to it to notice the change despite walking past it everyday. It is now more of a red-checkered tablecloth neighborhood Italian place (that is they would be if they had tablecloths). They've had people out on the plaza handing out samples and trying to let people know about the change. I went tonight and it was ok. I had penne with sausage and meatball in marinara sauce. The sauce was good but a tad sweet and the meatball didn't have much flavor and a fluffy texture (yeah, I know fluffy isn't really a meatball description but it is what comes to mind). The sausage was the highlight -- nicely seasoned and not too fatty or too dry. The serving was on the smaller side compared to the oversized portions you see so often, but was definitely enough for me for dinner. I was given a sad looking basket of garlic bread where a few small pieces were lost in a too-large basket. It was made of pizza dough and nicely charred and very garlicky. Made me think it would be worth it to try their pizza.

They had a very limited menu of pastas with assorted sauces and you could add your choice of protein and pizza. Online shows a far more extensive menu. The service was attentive with several people checking in on me throughout the meal who seemed genuinely interested in how I was enjoying my meal. They are offering several specials and gave me a $5 discount on my $14 dish. I think they are still working through their opening kinks. I won't be rushing back, but I will go back after they have some time to settle in.

I'm in.

Sadly, work is going to keep me as a maybe until the very last minute so I need to release my spot.

I'm in

I'm in.

I'm in.

I'm in.

I'm in.

Is there a schedule of the live music and are there cover fees for it? If the live music is in the same area where people are eating I can see how it would be hard to have a conversation, so I would have to set my expectations for it. I like the Texas style roots music but I'd like to know the schedule in advance so I could pick & choose.

I left before the music started yesterday, but they were setting up downstairs. The calendar of acts is on their facebook page and it says there isn't a cover unless otherwise specified and none are.

A very welcome addition to the area. My co-workers and I had a bit of spring fever today so we ducked out a little early to check it out. One the guys is from Texas and has had a goofy grin all week anticipating the meal. The set up is not obvious at first, but everyone was very helpful explaining it. If you sit at the front bar, you can order off a bar menu, but the really good stuff is in the market in back. They give you a card when you enter and lead you to your table. When you go through the various stations of the market, they mark it on your card. You give your card to the cashier on the way out. They had a bit of a line to check out and offered apologies by way of complimentary cookies. For being open just a few days, staff handled the crowd from St. Patrick's Day, the NCAA tourney, and regular happy hour rush very smoothly.

I got the brisket special -- 1/3 pound amazing lean brisket, corn bread, and a side. I got the green bean casserole. It was much more than I'd normally eat at dinner and I just couldn't stop. The lean brisket wasn't so lean as to be dry. I love the idea that you can order brisket by the slice and next time plan to get both lean and moist brisket to compare. The ancho honey butter for the corn bread put it over the top. I had a taste of the German potato salad which had a really nice kick to it and the bite of prime rib I had was ridiculously tender. I do wonder how the counter service is going to flow when this place gets mobbed, because it should get mobbed. My only complaint was having to start a tab and getting a single bill for drink service at the table. It would be nice if that was marked on your card to skip the additional step and, since you have individual cards, make it easier to pay individually. A belly full of great brisket more than makes up for it.

You know how something grows so big in your memory that when you finally are faced with it again, it disappoints? Corduroy doesn't fit in that category.

Don't ask me how, don't ask me why because I just can't explain it, but after spending many, many a night at the old Corduroy when I lived here before I somehow hadn't been since I moved back to the area last year. I corrected that tonight and was faced with the decision of whether or not to order the parsnip soup. I thought about that soup while eating many crappy meals during my southern hiatus. It took on mythic proportion. So I almost didn't order it tonight. And that would have been wrong. It was better than I remembered simply by living up to my memory of it.

Now I feel like I can finally say it is good to be home.

Dammit! You had my hopes up!

Seriously! One of the things I miss about living in Hawaii is Leonard's malasadas. We used to stop there on our way back from sampling trips. We'd alternate with Waiola store shave ice. A bad day sampling required stops at both.

They weren't there the weekend before. That was the day it was really cold and drizzly. The market was a little smaller than usual. Quail Creek was handing out Valentine's presents this weekend. I asked what was in one loaf of bread and he handed it to me and said happy Valentine's Day. Then he handed a bunch of other people stuff as well. My gift of cranberry walnut bread was fabulous for turkey sandwiches.

We live in the VA suburbs far, far from a Metro station. What is the parking like at what now seems to be the hottest spot in the city?

I drove and only had to circle the block once to find street parking. It can be tricky to get a street spot, but there is a pay lot right at Palena's door.

Sat in the new cafe area for lunch on Saturday. I agree that the space is somewhat spare, but I thought that gave it a bit more cafe feel. I have a few friends who routinely passed Palena by because they thought it was just too fancy looking. This was perfect for an easy lunch. I'm not sure how it would translate at dinner. We split an order of burrata and the roasted brussel sprouts. I thought this meal really showed why Palena has become a sacred cow. The smoky-salty bread was a perfect contrast to the creamy cheese. I thought the sweet potato-olive stew added a nice note, but would have been perfectly happy without it. My dining companion had never had burrata and has already asked to return for more. The roasted brussel sprouts were tossed with walnuts. I thought the walnuts brought out the nuttiness the sprouts took on from the roasting. We left happy, full and with our wallets only slightly lighter.

They carry three flavors of this (blanking on what the two besides original are) in the little convenience market across from Starbucks in the plaza at Court House metro.

I'll be drinking shortly in honor of my colleagues who didn't make it through today's round of layoffs.

Finally found the strength to explore beyond the pizza. Was going to be splitting with friends so we added the croquette, arancino, and fried brussel sprouts to our order along with a pizza. These were fantastic. The croquette of potato, prosciutto, and mozzarella was light, slightly salty, and with a crispy thin crust was the best of a good bunch. The brussel sprouts were tossed with apples and a balsamic glaze for the right mix of salty, sweet, sour. Highly recommended.

I hate to jump on this trend, but thanks to the metro delays getting me to the office nearly 2 hours late there is little chance I can also leave early. So so sorry.

On the positive side, this seems to have resolved my problem with getting the site on my home computer.

I need to get in there for breakfast, definitely! Though I have to admit - it might've been around 3 PM, but I really wanted beignets or biscuits.

They were making them to order when I left around 2:30 yesterday. They are on both the breakfast and the sweets (11 a.m. to close) menus. But I agree, a biscuit in the afternoon would be a great little snack.