dcandohio

I went to the pop-up Sunday. Typing from the menu: Cucumber with lime Queso Fundido (this was served with a thick, warm flour tortilla and was yummy) Salad of chayote and papaya (I expected the chayote to be more crisp, but this was nice after the rich, hot queso) Taco of goat (the goat was delicious but overall the taco needed sauce) Taco of chicken (came with a bit of salsa verde, I would have liked more) Empanada of guava with lime creme (perhaps slightly overcooked but I loved this) Chocolate abuelita, which +1 called "decent instant hot chocolate" but I do not think it was instant The goat taco was served with a taste of Tequila Arte NOM Seleccion 1079 And the chicken was served with a taste of Purasangre 10 meses Highland Reposado. We also shared a $6 margarita and it was bracing and tart and strong. No sugary mix used. The food showed a lot of promise, and once they open and get comfortable in their own space, I think Impala will be a big hit on H street. I want to taste their hot and cold sauces as this menu really didn't include sauces. This tasting showed a lot of care and precision, and I am eager for them to develop a full menu.

I went, so you don't have to... Tel'Veh is housed in one of those massive new apartment buildings on Mass. Ave. Looking at the web site you could be convinced that it is a serious wine bar with a good raw bar, so I was really curious. It's been open since May, so lack of any posting made me wonder...hidden gem? In short, no. Positives: Excellent greeting by the friendly hostess. She started the evening off by creating very high expectations. Large windows offering views of the world passing by. Generous space between tables. Happy hour ($1 oysters, drink specials, a few food items) runs till 7:30 and is available at tables as well as the bar. We did have a $5 Sauvignon Blanc which was just fine. Mixed: The room is pleasant, with a very high ceiling and interesting "new build" faux-industrial details. It's like a high end hotel lobby. But there is an incongruous rustic rope railing that runs along the upper part of the room. I don't know if that is supposed to evoke the sea (oysters, a menu that leans toward Greece), but it seemed out of character. They've made some obvious attempts to dampen sound, such as padding under the tables. It's a bit too obvious. The mealy grey pad is clearly visible under some tables and it was so thick under our table that my knees brushed up against it. We decided that those things would have to be replaced regularly. They're going to get filthy and beat up pretty soon. Not so good: Our server was robotic. He didn't know what variety of oyster was on special for happy hour. When I asked about the oyster's place of origin, he had to ask someone else. OK, not a good sign for a place that touts its oysters. He seemed ro be rushing us, even though the place was not full and not one table turned while we were there. The oysters were fine, but were served in one of those sloping oval bowls (back higher than front) often used for mussels. Huh? Why not a platter? The baked camembert was fine, but a "sharing" portion was served with three measly slices of toast. This just bugs me. Two people should receive at least 4 slices...you know...to share. The $10.50 shrimp saganaki portion was TWO shrimp. One was firm, sweet and delicious, and one was soft and mealy and horrible. And it was served with five pieces of toast...which would have been nice with the cheese. I felt the portion was stingy. I don't have a big appetite, but I was really annoyed by the portion. My partner had anchovy rolls (again, 2) which were small pieces of anchovy rolled up and some sort of salad. It was tiny. Wine prices outside of happy hour were steep. I believe Tel'Veh serves as a convenient and pleasant, albeit pricey, living room for the tenants of the apartments and condos above and near-by. It is definitely not a place to seek out, and we see no reason to return. We walked to Acadiana after for a drink, and I saw food being delivered to the bar and almost cried. Everything looked and smelled so good! I must make a point to go there soon.

Why is it that the kinds of black and white "my time in NYC portraits" that tend to show up in serious exhibits always look like they're staged in the rattiest shithole apartments on earth? I've had family and friends who lived in some pretty nasty places in NYC, and all have managed to clean up and make the places pleasant enough. The apartments in those photos looked dreadful. Of course, compared to some of the places I've seen in Beijing, maybe Weiwei didn't have very high expectations for apartment life.Weiwei's photos and films depicted a grim side of Beijing. I've been there a few times and it always seems a little sad.

Thanks In a rare confluence of events, I will be in DC Sunday night and I just made reservations! Will report back.

Has anyone been? I have a reservation for Friday, and I can't find anything on DR.com about this place. I would be very grateful for feedback from anyone who have information. And dear mods, if there is a topic already, feel free to move this post and delete the duplicate. Cheers.

And yet another one, this time for a very different purpose.

Chicken and sausage jambalaya Kale caesar Whit's frozen vanilla custard with berries

I know I am not the target audience. Clearly. I wasn't commenting based in whether the ad was relevant to ME, but whether is was relevant to a target market who would feel connected to the brand through the ad. But I'd like to know whether that rural community consumer is, in fact, their target audience. If so, the cost of execution and placement will likely cost far more than the subsequent increase in sales. And I don't have any of their data, but I wonder about the size of that rural community market and their intentions to buy expensive new trucks in the next year. If this is the beginning of a major rebranding effort, then it will be interesting to see if it succeeds over the long term. Another relevant point is that younger people (e.g. mid 30's on down) don't know Paul Harvey and don't give a rat's ass about "the rest of the story." The people who knew and loved Harvey are aging out of a lot of product categories. I suspect this ad will do more for the legacy of Paul Harvey than for Dodge.

The Paul Harvey narrative was very moving. However, as a marketing professor, I just can't laud the ad because I had to watch it a second time to know what product it was promoting. The purpose of advertising is to help customers develop a cognitive or emotional preference for a brand. Entertainment or emotion-producing value of the ad execution is secondary to the brand-development goal. If people aren't talking about Dodge Ram (and I had to watch the ad twice before I realized it was a truck ad...I thought at first is was going to be an ad for FARMING) then the ad is a business failure. Lots of ads that win awards for creativity or execution actually suck at building the brand or selling any products. Maybe that's fine for viewers, but as a business decision, it's bad. The satire is great, and actually makes the same point I made. You can use iconic images of farmers to cause a well-learned emotional reaction, even when the reality behind that image is drastically altered, but what the heck does that have to do with selling trucks?

Me, too. if Chef Andres wants to brag about exorbitant cost of the bar's furnishings, that's his right. It's kind of a turn-off for me given the price point of the drinks, to the point that I wouldn't care to go. But I know some people will want to go BECAUSE of things like that sofa, so I am sure the place will be a raging success.

To a departing boss, who did an enormously difficult right thing today, without getting any credit for it. We didn't always see eye to eye, but today's actions confirm that he will be better off in the next job.

Brined pork loin roasted with celery, carrots and bell pepper Roasted sweet and white potatoes with rosemary and basil Kale Caesar salad Brownie with marionberry sauce and Whit's vanilla custard Grenache

I don't know how much direct influence Rosendale has on banquet food at the Greenbrier, but at a recent wedding the food, presented beautifully, was completely forgettable. When Rosendale made his brief attempt at a restaurant in the Columbus market (Rosendale's, now defunct), we were stunned at how gorgeous presentations of expensive ingredients could be so flavorless. The food was lovely and tasteless. (He had a great bar in there, though, with an awesome group of employees). I wonder if Mr. Rosendale is all flash and no flavor?

To a very special group of my work colleagues who bust their butts and who are about to get hosed. I am so sorry, and I am drinking to forget that something we built that was wonderful and efficient is about to be ruined by a Peter-principled hack who doesn't care about the mission.

That strip has grown up quite a bit. But Dublin is quite a haul from Granville and parts of Columbus. I don't know if the pricing still applies. The last time I had wine in one of those places I paid standard by the glass prices (standard for Columbus). For anyone near downtown or campus during happy hour...there's a restaurant on High Street in the southern end of the Short North (is that confusing!) called Deepwood. Chef driven, seasonal, local sourcing, etc. The place has been in construction zone hell for many months due to building renovation next door, with scaffolding obscuring the front door and windows. Anyway, at the bar, during HH, bottles of wine are retail priced....which here is about 1/3 discount off the regular menu price. We have had some wonderful bottles here. There is a great bar menu, but you can order off the regular menu, too. The bar menu is innovative and changes frequently, and comes with a great bread basket. It's one of the best deals in town.

No. Tomatoes. In. Gumbo. It should be a law.

Oh, no. I just realized that North Market is CLOSED on Mondays. Sorry. Don't want you to head there and be denied. Northstar, Mojo, Cafe Apropros, Stauff's Coffee (5th avenue in Grandview, very good coffee)... there's also a Cup O' Joe in the Lennox Center (very close to you...ask for directions to the Target and look for the Giant coffee cup). All have wifi (I speak from experience). If you want an OSU campus experience, you can pay to park next to the Ohio Union, get coffee, breakfast, use the wifi and people watch.

The only positive aspect of the show, for me, was that home cooks and professionals were treated the same way. It was interesting to hear the judges trying to guess whether the taste was prepared by a professional. Otherwise, it was a slapdash production that often left the viewer confused. There were some fairly nasty (bleeped out) comments about the cooks. Bourdain censored just looks like a real jerk - the context of his own shows with their back alley grit and sometimes trying conditions makes his profanity and his directness just part of the experience. But in a posh studio with all amenities, he seems more coarse than necessary. I don't care that he's selling out to network TV and the big dollars, but I hope he spends less time trashing others who do, or who have done, the same. When network prime time succeeds with a "reality" cooking show, we are are all going to be shoved down the very slippery slope of spin-offs and one-ups (American Idol, The Voice, etc.) which means that anyone who has successfully executed a lasagna or a lemon pie is going to believe he or she can be the Next! Big! Thing! Watch for short-lived restaurant openings near you.

Breakfast/brunch spots: deNovo (downtown, so maybe too far to drive, but a cool place), Mojo on High Street in the Short North (not the downtown location), Cafe Apropros on Third at Michigan in Harrison West, Northstar Cafe (High street in the Short North). None of these are very far. All have decent Coffee. Northstar has pretty good ingredient ethics. Another option would be for you to go to the North Market, which is very interesting in its own right, located at the southern edge of the Short North, just above downtown. You can get good coffee or tea, peruse the vendors, get a pastry or other snack. Lots of seating area upstairs (if you don't see the stairway, just ask - the layout can be un-obvious). La Chatelaine, recommended for dinner, also is a good breakfast/brunch place. Excellent pastries, made in-house, with high standards. More hidden, but not hard to find, and worth the effort, is Tasi just off High Street in the Short North. Breakfast, pastries, coffee...very good sourcing and ingredients. Just be sure to park at a meter or in a space marked for Tasi because you will be ticketed for illegal parking. So, lots of options within 15 minutes. Google to see what entices you. Good luck! The vet school here has a wonderful reputation and I know they will do the best they can for any creature.

OK. You are North of main campus and north and east of the vet school. You are not in a premier dining area but also not far from lots of options. if you go south on Ackerman and then turn right on Lane, going west, there is a great divey pho place in a former Taco Bell, a very decent option in La Chatelaine (at dinner it is a sweet and reasonably priced french bistro, not as noisy and hectic as lunch), and a nice wine bistro. They are all on the north side of Lane, not more than 10 minutes from your hotel. Good burgers at Graffiti Burger in Grandview on 5th avenue not far from where you are. Better than steak and shake. More upscale good burgers at Third and Hollywood, just a few blocks from Graffiti burger. From where you are I can direct you to all sorts of things...so let me know what interests you.

I just sent you a PM. Happy to advise. Zoo is pretty far away and not enjoyable if weather is really bad. Plenty of solid burger options without resorting to Steak and Shake. Easier to advise if I know where you are staying.

The chair comment made me laugh. I am really short and so many chairs and barstools are just horrendous. If I have to worry that planning my mount/dismount from a barstool might cause the thing to tip over (and therefore requires a spotter), I am not coming back. In general, it seems that places who have the least "creative" seating often have the most comfortable seating. Nothing wrong with a "captain's chair" barstool, or a plain, lightly padded banquet chair.

To our country! Celebrating the legacy of Dr. King and all the dreams that were fulfilled today as Our President began his second term in a peaceful and glorious day of ceremonies. On a day like today, I do feel a sense of hope.

I actually did that. I didn't describe the whole process because typing on my iPad is challenging. The chili was great, and it will be hard to go back to any commercial chili powder ever again. Today I bought dried anchos and guajillos. Will use the same process, but will end up with enchilada sauce. It's bitterly cold here so the MLK day off is a good day to experiment in the kitchen!

I made a big pot of chili with ground turkey, chorizo (loose from Whole Foods) 4 kinds of dried chilis and 3 types of breans. I lightly toasted the chilis in a dry pan and buzzed them in the Cuisinart with water. Added that to browned meat, onions and garlic, plus with some organic chicken stock and cumin. Dumped in a can of imported cherry tomatoes. Simmered a long time. Perfect on a very cold day.