schulju

I can't attend on the 13th.

I've never had soup dumplings and would love to try them. Count me in if I'm in town on the date you choose.

I'm out of town that weekend, but hope someone posts pics of the elves inside this magical machine!

I nominate Washingtonian or Cabin John for the MD side. (Thanks Mark!)

Business and tourists might make up the customer base in DC, but at the Potomac location it's all locals. Given their breakfast/brunch competition is mostly of the IHOP, Dennys, Silver Diner vein...I'd say its that FF is slightly better than mediocre in execution and quite a bit better in environment.

Third trip to Founding Farmers. (I realize I didn't post our second attempt. For all the issues they have here, the Spatchcock Chicken really was stellar.) This time around was for brunch. Silly me, didn't realize that I would need reservations at 10:30, and the place was packed. We chose to take two seats at the bar, and maybe because of that I had my best experience yet at the Potomac location. There were two bartenders, both friendly and not so busy that you couldn't get their attention if you wanted something, but not intrusive in the least. Unlike most bar seats in this town, these were generously sized, and provided a foot rest, so they were actually comfortable enough to enjoy the meal. The Sunday morning vibe was very family-friendly, and the restaurant was packed, but not as loud as it usually is. We were the fortunate recipients of an unwanted order of beignets, and those bad boys rocked! Because we had indulged in those sweet puffs of fried dough, I went against my natural inclination for pancakes or french toast and ordered eggs. They don't have omelets, but they do have these "skillet" dishes that are basically the same thing. Since I've had issues with food coming out of this kitchen luke warm, I ordered the sausage and potato skillet. This ensured my eggs were served screaming hot, and while I thought it was a bit under-seasoned, the dish was tasty. The hash browns served along side could have been hotter. The pancakes and stuffed french toast that I saw around me made me vow to return to try them. The stuffed french toast in particular looked amazing. I asked if the OJ was fresh squeezed, and it was. I do wish they kept the carafes of OJ on ice. Honestly, the best part was the bill. While I realize we didn't have to pay for the beignets and they would have added a bit to our bill, I was shocked that two of us enjoyed a really nice breakfast here for $30 before tip. Given the wasteland that is MoCo dining, I walked out of FF last weekend feeling like I had gotten a pretty great meal, in a nice atmosphere about as cheaply as you can. I immediately started planning my return trip for brunch.

Mazel Tov!

Second visit to SUGO last night. Another cucumber mojito for me, and three glasses of wine for my companion resulted in yet another 50/50 split between food and beverage on our $100 tab. Three of the five items we ordered were excellent and I would definitely recommend them. The scallops are some of the best I've had. The duck confit was wonderful, moist meat with crispy skin, highly recommended. The gnocchi were perfectly cooked, fluffy clouds of pasta with a very rich sauce..just the right amount of truffle. We also ordered the cauliflower which I didn't taste (although my companion seemed to enjoy it) and the buffalo mozzarella which is the only thing that I felt was not worth the price and would definitely not recommend. It wasn't bad, just a very laughably small serving for $11. At 5pm we had the place to ourselves, by 7 when we were leaving it was pretty full.

Like NovaLawyer above, we took advantage of the $22 lunch deal yesterday. Miracle of miracles, Hubby pronounced his small plate meal as quite good and an excellent value! Highlights were the crispy eggplant, the fattoush salad and the beef and lamb meatballs.

First visit to SUGO last night. Let's call this what it is..small plates..aka "chick food". Not a bad thing by any means, I love small plate restaurants as does the girlfriend I dined with last night. We both agreed that we could never bring our husbands here. (I think Daniel K is more evolved than most of the husbands I know and Dan, you've met my husband, so you know exactly what I'm talking about). We arrived at 5pm and the place was mostly empty. By 6 the bar was fairly full (I believe last night was the kick-off of their Happy Hour), but the dining room still only had a handful of tables. The lack of tables equated to great service for us. I will say the bar was slow and the time between ordering a cocktail and having it arrive at the table seemed longer than it should have been. The drinks themselves were definitely a highlight for us. We tried two different mojitos (order the cucumber one..it's amazing). I've tried most of the specialty cocktails next door at Founding Farmers, and I'd say the bar at SUGO is generally serving a better cocktail. On to the food: Charcuterie Board - included coppa, sopressata, speck and prosciutto along with some parm. I agree with HM212 above, everything on this plate was fresh and tasty, but nothing memorable. I wouldn't order it again. Scallops - these were excellent and our favorite dish of the night. Roasted Beet Salad - the beets were nicely roasted, but this dish was sort of "one note". I would chose a different salad next time. UOVO Pizza - sausage, mozzarella and a cooked (white cooked, yolk still runny) egg on top. This was excellent. There was a nice amount of char to the crust, which was chewy and nicely flavored. Would definitely order this pizza again. Cannoli - we finished by sharing the cannoli plate (2 to a plate). Clearly filled to order, these were surprisingly good. Overall a really nice experience I'm looking forward to repeating again soon. Our bill with tax and tip came to about $110. But given almost half was the bar bill..it was overall very reasonable.

Mmmmm, grilled cheese bars. Bacon bars (sprouting up all over town). These are concepts I can get behind. Someone find me a grilled cheese with bacon bar and I'll be in heaven!

A family birthday dinner took us out to Mokomandy this weekend. Our crowd of 8 had a really nice time. Made even nicer by the warmth and hospitality of the entire staff. Thanks to Tad, Tom and Steve for making us feel so welcome! My husband and his siblings are serious beer-o's and they each found something they really seemed to enjoy on the extensive beer list. I don't drink beer, but reading the descriptions was pretty entertaining.. On to the food, with 8 of us I won't go into every dish we had, but I'll mention the standouts that made it down to my end of the table: Wild Boar Bowl - one of the best dishes of the night. Tons of moist meat, rice and other veggies. I wish the fried egg served on top had a runny yolk but that's really being picky. Fried Oysters - I actually didn't try these myself, but our resident chef seemed pretty darn happy with them and listed this as his favorite. Deviled Eggs - I love any kind of deviled egg...but put a house smoked piece of bacon on top and I'm in heaven... Gator Croquettes - listed on the small plates, but if you don't share these you won't be able to eat anything else. Crispy outside, almost creamy inside. Think conch fritter with bacon. Shrimp and Grits - The shrimp was fine...but those grits were amazing. Specially ground very large (think oatmeal) they had a great texture. Soft Shell Crab Po-Boy - Another HUGE dish (this on the medium list), was quickly demolished. Easy to see why this is a local favorite. Definitely worth a return trip

Fiola's address is Pennsylvania Ave, but Google Maps puts it on Indiana. For those of us who have not been there, is the entrance on Indiana or Pennsylvania?

It might be manna from heaven, but I could never bring myself to order something called "snakehead". A nom de cuisine is definitely in order here...

A $20 Tuesday candidate in MoCo?? I'm in!

First ever visit to Spices this past Saturday. We went with a couple that live in the area and it is their "go to" neighborhood joint. Since this was my first visit, I can't say if they've done anything to improve the noise, but we were seated inside the small room in back that is separated by glass. Noise was not much of a problem for us. The couple we were with mentioned it was much quieter in the area where we sat then it had been when they sit in the main dining room. (It appears all of the 2-tops are in the main dining room or right by the front doors.) Onto the food. I thought it was pretty good, and actually really good if you take into consideration the value as compared to the rest of the neighborhood. They have a special fixed price menu. For $25 each, a couple can order 2 apps, 2 entrees, 1 noodle or rice dish, 1 vegetable and 2 desserts (ice cream). Because there were four of us we tried pretty much all the dishes available on the dinner special menu. Nothing was bad, or even meh...it was all good with a couple of very goods thrown in. The Peking duck, was better than most in the area with the exception of Peking Gourmet which is the standard by which I measure all other Peking duck. For the value, I think this is a place worth further consideration. I plan to go back to explore the regular menu. FWIW - they are happy to pack up the bones from the duck for anyone who wants to make stock.

Tyson's Corner is like Cleveland Park...an area designation, but not an actual address (with the exception of shops located in Tyson's Corner Center). Route 7 divides Vienna from McLean outside the beltway, I think most would agree that both sides of Route 7 are "Tyson's".

I'm using Chrome. I was able to access the main navigation page one time this morning, but none of the links worked. I exited out of the site and attempted to return, and the site wouldn't load at all. That was around 7:30am. Obviously, the issue seems to have resolved itself at this point.

Went for dinner on Friday night. I've not been to the original location, so I have no basis of comparison. Clearly some opening week issues with the staff. We watched the food runners take dishes from table to table..unable to find the correct destination. Servers cleared dirty dishes from the tables quickly..but there didn't seem to be enough buss staff, since the same tables sat dirty and empty long after the patrons left...despite a healthy crowd waiting in the entrance way. I enjoyed a specialty drink (Park Potomac Swizzle) from the "pre-Prohibition" bar, but my beer snob hubby was not happy that the beer menu only mentioned the names of the breweries and not the actual beers available. Our server didn't seem very familiar with the available beers which made ordering that much more difficult for him. As for the food, I ordered the chicken and waffles which is served with mac n cheese and some greens. Hubby ordered the braised beef ribs served with vegetables and mashed potatoes. The beef ribs (plural on the menu) are one of the more expensive items on the menu, yet he was served only a single beef rib. Generally the food was good, but under seasoned. Also, it arrived warm but not hot...presumably our meals took the same tour of the restaurant that we saw everyone else's dishes take. Dessert was a chocolate peanut butter pie - outstanding, and a very dry piece of red velvet cake. So dry and hard on BOTH sides that we had our server replace what was obviously stale cake with a fresh slice. Overall, I would put it above mediocre, especially for Montgomery County...it might even be good in a few weeks once the team is better trained.

For those in the Germantown area, the eclairs at the Dutch Market are huge! The pastry and cake are great...I would prefer the icing a little less frosting-like, but that's really being picky.

I've been to Fogo (both here AND in Brazil - yes, it's a popular chain there as well), and to Chima. I think the salad bar at Fogo had more choices than Chima, so Fogo gets points there. But, I really think the meats were of a higher quality, and better prepared (delivered as ordered) at Chima. Really the protein is why we go to these places, so my vote goes to Chima.

From an earlier post on ice cream, it's apparent to me there are more than a few in the DR.com community who hail from the Northern territories. I figured I may as well start a fight over who sells the best NJ Italian-style hot dog. Those in the know, well...know that the difference is in the bread and the potatoes. Personally, I'm a fan of Dickie Dee's...but it's a constant battle with my brother who is resolutely in the Jimmy Buff's camp. Discuss...

The original Thomas Sweet shop was located in New Hope, PA. (Yes, I know, I'm harping on about Bucks County again!) This represented the first "mix ins" ice cream place in the greater Philly metro area and it was an outrageous concept for those times. As a kid, I loved that I could have my favorite candy mixed into ice cream. My much wiser parents knew better....it just didn't compare to the half dozen or so real dairy ice creams available in the area at the time (Goodnoe's, Chubby's to name a few.) Tanner's is the last one standing as far as I know...

I'll second Rocks on the cane sugar, and real vanilla bean please. I cringe whenever I see vanilla ice cream and it's completely white...I want black specks in my vanilla!

Which is more amusing, the parody or the story of how you stumbled upon it?