u-bet!

The smallish Harris Teeter in Shirlington is going to be a madhouse for the next year or so.

Most probably know that u-bet chocolate syrup is an ingredient in authentic New York-style egg creams, and therefore can make the connection between my user name and a love of egg creams (although I haven't had one in a while). I added the exclamation point when I first signed up going by an erroneous memory of what their logo looked like. Then I realized it does not have an exclamation point, after all.

A couple other foods for thought:

1) Do we vote for absolute best, price not being an object? In other words, which burger would you want if someone else was buying it?

2) Do we vote for basic burgers, or gussied up versions? Many places offer several varieties of burgers.

3) Beef only?

I suppose this debate could drone on endlessly, and I'll just have to announce the standards based on what I think makes the most sense (for now, my initial instinct is: 1) yes, absolute best 2) a particular burger, not just a restaurant name 3) beef, or primarily beef).

Keep the posts coming, and at some point (not for awhile yet), I'll come up with a list of nominees. There's no rush to get this done, and I'd rather it be done thoughtfully than quickly. After all, this is really important. We could also do several categories (and I don't see any compelling reason not to): Absolute Best Hamburger, Best Hamburger Restaurant, Best Hamburger Under $10, Best Non-Beef Hamburger, etc.

Also, what constitutes "our area"?

& the fact that the story was posted almost two hours ago and it still has not been corrected makes me think it may indeed be the official menu .

Spot the mistake (no fair looking at the comments).

There used to be instructions for using BBCode somewhere; for example, how to link to something so that "Click Here" is dsplayed instead the actual URL. I thought the instructions used to pop up when you went into BBCode mode while composing a post, but I don't see them anymore. Did this go away as part of an Invision udpdate?

Perhaps I should have consulted the concession map before I bought our tickets for Wed. I will have to navigate the little guy past cotton candy, gelato and dipping dots.

I'm not going to stress about missing part of or even a whole inning for an outing to Shake Shack or Blue Smoke. We had season tickets in 05 and partial package in 06. As much as I love baseball (and there were bobbleheads of Fredbird and Mr. Met at my wedding...), I don't want to be so invested in the game that we miss the experience. We'll record it so we can watch the highlights later.

Go Cards!

I've found very few areas in that park where you're condemned to missing any of the action if you're not in your assigned seat. If you're standing in a concession line, there is usually at least one TV witihin viewing distance. They also pipe the radio play-by-play into the rest rooms.

I've found Nick's sausages to be one of the better ballpark options.They offer to add sauteed green pepper and onion* if you want them; otherwise, it's just a grilled sausage on a large-sized hot dog roll. You can also add relish, ketchup, mustard, or raw onion at any of the ubiquitous condiment stations.

*I just edited this to remove "chopped", since I can't recall if the sauteed green pepper and onion are chopped or sliced.

They must have changed vendors; there was a "Hatfield" logo on the sign at the Senators Sausages stand I patronized last night. The sausage was also slightly smaller than I remember it from last time (shorter than the bun).

Papa John's is a definite upgrade over last year's pizza vendor, Flippin' Pizza. I had a slice of cheese pizza which was hot, fresh, and humongous.

Has anyone had the Senators Sausage? I am intrigued. What is it served with?

Also am wondering if Field of Greens (salads etc.) is any good.

Senators Sausage

Sections 108, 113, 134

Features a variety of Nick's premium sausages, including spicy Italian sausage, and bratwurst

I've found Nick's sausages to be one of the better ballpark options.They offer to add sauteed green pepper and onion* if you want them; otherwise, it's just a grilled sausage on a large-sized hot dog roll. You can also add relish, ketchup, mustard, or raw onion at any of the ubiquitous condiment stations.

*I just edited this to remove "chopped", since I can't recall if the sauteed green pepper and onion are chopped or sliced.

Los Tios (Del Ray) has gone downhill since my last visit about a year ago.

It's as convenient as it ever was, about an 8-minute drive for me from South Fairlington. Unfortunately, the parking lot adjacent to the property was chained off when I went last Tuesday night. I was able to find a spot on the street around the corner, but I can see where this would pose an inconvenience on busy weekends.

The bartenders were friendly and service was competent and quick. The shorter of the two gentlemen seemed to be in charge of the bar area, while his partner was doing everything from serving drinks to running food to preparing takeout orders for pickup. They were both very attentive to the customers seated at the bar and the whole operation seemed to be running very smoothly, although the place was not super-busy.

The salsa was the highlight; thin, chunky, and spicy, as described above by KMango. Chips were good, as well; hot, crisp, and not too thin, but difficult to tell if they were fried in-house or came from a bag. The margarita (on the rocks) contained alcohol, which is about the best thing I can say about it. The large size I ordered was indeed large, but did not feel like a good value at $11.00. It tasted... well, bad. Not much salt on the rim, either.

I ordered the Lomo Saltado (now $18.95) with some trepidation. I remembered it being pretty good and certainly filling the last time I had it, but knew that the "fried potatoes" it featured would be frozen french fries. I don't remember that being a deal-breaker the last time but, for some reason, this time it almost was. The strips of "prime sirloin" were cooked medium-rare as ordered, but the remaining ingredients (green pepper, onion, and tomato) seemed a bit skimpier than I remembered from last time. The whole dish seemed out-of-balance and lacking seasoning, and the frozen fries dumped on top as if they were an afterthought seriously degraded the overall quality.

I haven't given up hope, since I quite enjoyed the Lechoncito al Horno on another previous visit, and plan on trying it again (maybe I'll order a beer instead of a margarita). Until then, my general impression of Los Tios is one of declining quality and rising prices. Not a winning combination in my book.

Many thanks to our tour guide (who wishes to remain anonymous) for a wonderful experience today! It was great meeting everyone, but sorry LauraB had to miss out . Thanks for organizing, and hope you feel better soon, Laura.

Ummm, no it's not. And if you consider Evening Star, you might also want to consider Del Ray Cafe, but it appears that Light Horse wins this round. Once Will left...well, let's just say it's different.

Evening Star (in Del Ray) is 1.7 miles from the intersection of King St. & West Braddock. LIght Horse (in Old Town) is 2.7 miles from the intersection of King St. & West Braddock.

That's real close to Del Ray, too (Evening Star, maybe?).

I noticed their easel sign on the southeast corner of E Street while walking by today. I stopped, looked around, noticed a bank but no sign of the actual restaurant, so I kept walking. Sounds like I dodged a bullet.

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday afternoon at one of the bars at Old Ebbitt and I'm not sure if I handled it correctly. After being presented with the wine list, I decide to be frugal (cheap?) and go with a glass of the least expensive offering on the list. At the very top of the list were different varieties grouped together; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and, IIRC, Chardonnay and maybe one other variety, all of them described as being from a particular Virginia winery (whose name escapes me at the moment) with which Old Ebbitt has some knd of relationship, and all priced at $6.00 per glass. I ordered a glass of the Merlot, preceded by the name of the winery, as in "I'd like a glass of the _______ Merlot". I was not presented with the bottle and did not notice what the label said as the bartender poured my first or second glass, so I assumed I was getting what I ordered.

When I received the bill, the wines were listed at $8.50 per glass and identified as being from a different winery than the one I had requested. I looked again at the wine list and saw the listing for the more expensive wine in a different section of the list, so I had either been given the wrong wine or my order was rung up incorrectly. I wondered for a moment if I should say something, such as a diplomatic "I'm not sure if I ordered correctly...", but ended up assuming I had been given the more expensive wine and deciding just to go ahead and pay for what I ostensibly drank, even though I was given something other than what I had ordered.

The problem here is that, if the same mistake had been made with a food item, I obviously would have noticed if I had been served something other than what I had ordered (or what I thought I had ordered), and the situation would have been rectified before I had eaten it. I assume there are some who might have been able to tell the difference after one or two sips between the $6.00 wine I thought I was getting and the $8.50 wine I ended up being served (if that's what really happened), but assume the majority of palates are not quite so sophisticated as to be able to make that distinction.

I have two takeaways from this: 1) I probably should have ordered by saying "House Merlot" instead of by mentioning the name of the winery and, 2) always ask to see the bottle. Just curious if others would have handled the situation as it played out the same as I did (not make a fuss, pay the bill, and go on my merry way).

I'd also like to be added to the waiting list, please.

When it's cold out, and I'm craving chili, I still make my poor college student version of chili. Brown hamburger meat in a skillet, add a can of baked beans, add various seasonings, cook it for a long time, serve on top of a cheddar cheese-covered baked potato with more cheese on top.

Then prepare to pass out.

In the realm of make-at-home, I find Bush's Chili Magic chili starter (basically seasoned beans in a can) to be passable, if a little salty, and certainly quick and easy to make. I try to "healthy it up" by using ground turkey breast and no-salt-added diced tomatoes, and serving over brown rice.

For all of its faults, I think Hard Times remains the best deal of the concessions at Nationals Park. Order the Chili Mac & tell me if you think you got your $9.00 worth.

If you're in a position to hire, please keep these folks on your radar. There are some talented folks at Santa Fe Cafe, both front and back of the house.

The Chicago Dog, which was the series special at the "Taste of the Majors" stands during the Cubs series, was very good. Regular-size dog with chopped onion, tomato, sport peppers, neon relish, and celery salt on a poppy seed bun. Two for $10.00. The Pittsburgh Stuffed Sandwich being prepped on the grill while I waited looked damn good, too.

Wow, what a coincidence! I can't believe you brought this up! I had a problem and I wasn't sure which thread to post my question on.

I just bought an iPhone and when I tried to log on to my Prodigy account to check the USENETs for the latest quote on my Facebook shares, I got nothing. It also seems that on my iPhone, something between the Prodigy GUI and Invision doesn't quite synch and I have trouble using this site too.

If anyone has written a patch in TBOL using NAPLPS that would fix this please e-mail it to me at: nawty.teen@compuserve.com

I looked all over GeoCities for help on this but couldn't find anything.

It's really frustrating because I can't find any reviews on sidewalk.com (my back-up to dr.com for restaurant recs) either.

I just hope this same problem won't keep me from checking out all of the Hot Picks! on the new Zagat's on Google+...

Thanks!

You're using the wrong browser. Try Mosaic.

Had a very pleasant evening at the bar after a long slog home to Arlington from Rockville in that mess of traffic and weather that was Wednesday night. Looking for a place to grab a quick bite and a drink, and maybe watch a little baseball, I had originally popped into Dogfish Head in 7 Corners, but all of the seats at the bar were full and I didn't want to wait for a table. I continued on down Route 7 and ended up at Clyde's at Mark Center. It's very convenient to where I live, but it had been a while since my last visit. Service from Tim at the bar was professional & friendly, but also unobtrusive. Other bartenders were also attentive to me and helped each other out, even though it wasn't super-busy. Select wines are very attractively priced on Wednesday's, and I ordered a bottle of a very good 2009 Argentine Malbec for $12.00(!) Also had the Cream of Crab soup at Tim's recommendation (over the Housemade Soup of the Day, which was cream of asparagus, IIRC). Not as many chunks of crab as the bisque at Ray's, but a nice strip of claw meat floating in a creamy broth with plenty of crab flavor, and no starchiness. After a long perusal of all three menus (raw bar, regular dinner, and bar), I ordered the Lamb Kofta Pita Pockets off the bar menu. These were really good; two decent-sized pita pockets filled with plump patties of spicy ground lamb, with grilled onion and another vegetable (I forget exactly what else was in them, and don't see the bar menu online). They were served with a ramekin of fresh-tasting Tatziki on the side.

I realized as I was leaving how long it had been since I had such a pleasant low-key dining experience without any snags or even minor annoyances which always seem to diminish things. It was sorely-needed after that commute, and the good food and drink, as well as the welcoming service, will bring me back here more often.

"Retro" Ray's may be the place for you, and was certainly designed with many of your complaints in mind, where we offer all of our classic, straight-forward preparations using the traditional, core Steakhouse beef and most everything is in the high teens to mid twenties, price-wise. In fact, we lowered prices there for identical steaks by 5-10% based on an in-kind comparison.

To clarify, the dry-aged cuts available at the adjoining RTS are also presented as ordering options when you are greeted by your server at Retro Ray's (at least that was the case the last time I ate at the bar). But you still can't get coffee (at least that was the case the last time...)

I walked in around 630 and there were multiple open seats at the bar.

Say "Hi" next time.

There were even fewer people when I walked in about 20 minutes before you. I wonder if that will continue or if it will start filling up earlier and earlier? I was too tempted by the offering of a dry-aged ribeye to take advantage of the opportunity to snag my usual go-to House Special at the old price, so ironically enough, my bill was the highest it's been among my solo visits to the various incarnations and locations of RTS (OK, so I gluttoned it up by having the Devilishly Good Eggs [$9.99] as a starter, 3 glasses of the Ball Buster [$9.00 each], and Dark Chocolate Mousse for dessert [$6.00], all of which were worth every penny). Still the dry-aged "Sidekick" as it was identified on the check, at $35.99 was a bargain. I love the horseradish cream which was served alongside, but the flavor of the steak was so intense, I made sure to eat more than a few unadorned bites. According to my brief conversation with Mark, the plan (if I understood him correctly) is for the main space to become reservations-only, and the Bistro will take walk-ins. My only complaint: Why no coffee?

Intriguing. How spicy were they? Hot wings spicy? A nice tingle? Flaming and in need of dousing? Bon Chon spicy?

The wings are prepared with a Sriracha-based sauce. Good stuff they are.