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Steve R.

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Everything posted by Steve R.

  1. Steve R.
    Two things: 1- re: Camden Yards. I have seen 3 Yankee games since our new stadium was built. All 3 have been at CY. Beautiful place to see a game. And a statue of Yankee great Babe Ruth outside as a welcome to us New Yawkers. 2- re: Manny Machado. Great talent, but I think his attitude sucks (at least what I’ve seen of it). Would’ve been nice if he had more Ripkin in him (or Jeter or Gregarius). I’m just as happy that we didnt get him.
  2. Steve R.
    I don’t know how you can complain. Yes, the Orioles lost Mussina to the Yankees, but they got Showalter as their Manager. It’s not like Boston, who’ve given us Ruth, Clemons, Damon, Boggs, etc in return for.... we’ll, I’m not sure what they’ve ever gotten.
  3. Steve R.
    Would we have felt differently about Melo’s game if he could shoot this well?
  4. Steve R.
    I agree.
  5. Steve R.
    Last week, we once again made Richmond our 1st stop on our way down to Florida. On a recommendation from an eG member who lives there, we ate at Brenner Pass. As I’ve already told her, everything we had was excellent. I especially loved my pasta with a chicken liver mousse “sauce”, while my wife’s duck was similarly excellent. Although I’m not particularly fond of the coldish industrial look & feel, the food more than made up for it. So, I fully agree - this is definitely worth a visit.
  6. Steve R.
    "... Can you name one other movie this famous for which you can't name two actors? (I suspect only true, hardcore film buffs can name a second; I certainly cannot.)" Well, actually "2001: A Space Odyssey" immediately came to mind. I even had a little trouble remembering Keir Dullea & I never would've remembered Gary Lockwood had I not just looked it up.
  7. Steve R.
    I have a feeling that I've seen it before, but I don't really remember it. Actually, when the same arguments by the same people break out on food boards, tennis & other regular parts of my life, I have a tendency to mention that I feel like I'm in Groundhog Day. Usually meets with a less than favorable response (usually the same one at that).
  8. Steve R.
    Not cheap, but very reasonable, is the Pub menu at Keen's (in my opinion, the best steakhouse in NYC). Only 3 blocks from Penn Station, its a great bar/pub to hang out at & it (I think) still has free pickled eggs if you ask. Perfect Olde New York. http://www.keens.com/OurMenus/Pub/
  9. Steve R.
    MOMA's collection and its availability are great for NYC & we go (albeit with mixed feelings). Its the architecture/design of the place itself that, in my opinion, greatly detracts from the experience and, in fact, hinders the enjoyment of the art. I don't think it would matter if there were half as many people there, since the overall space was utilized in a way that makes for a very dramatic open middle but cuts out any depth for many of the exhibition spaces and places art in areas where you need to stand directly in front of the piece to view it without folks having to walk in front of you (like escalator landings!). Its a traffic design problem that even Ikea understands. The idea was to create as modern a space as the art it holds, but this execution of that concept is probably one of the worst things that they could've done with modern art, as stepping back and appreciating a piece from a reasonable distance is (for me, at least) a necessity. Rant over.
  10. Steve R.
    Yes, but I hate it. The design is impressive until you try to find a single place where you can stand (let alone sit) & admire any piece of art without masses of people having to walk in front of you.
  11. Steve R.
    I'm pretty sure that there's a caravan of gators coming North & that they will try to sneak into all of our communities. Some folks think that they're all killers, but others are saying that they're just fleeing the Florida Everglades' pythons, as its just too dangerous for a young gator to remain. 😇
  12. Steve R.
    Having just gotten to this thread, I read the 1st post and immediately started wondering if/when the "leap" would be taken to expand this to social and political ideas. Since I don't feel that anyone, including my government, has ever seriously asked me whether they should go ahead and impose anything on others (nor do I think that they're going to start doing so), I'm relatively safe from deep thinking this. However, on a more micro level, I'm sure my life is full of examples where I've done what I could to "enlighten" others to my "progressive" way of thinking & I don't seem to be particularly guilt ridden by it. We do what we do, both individually & as a collective, to push things in the direction(s) we believe in (at the time). And if we happen to have the power (militarily, politically, economically, socially...) to "make it so", we will. "Should we?" is not a question that has ever been successfully answered. That's my opinion/belief and I hope you'll come around to it... or else. ETA: on a purely emotional "gut" level, I certainly hope someone figures out how to "convince" religions to stop looking backward for the answers. If there's any kind of deity, I find it impossible to believe it created us with brains so that we'd let them atrophy.
  13. Steve R.
    Post Thanksgiving humor.
  14. Steve R.
    I’ve always thought that “wanna take you higher” was a veiled reference to drug taking.
  15. Steve R.
    Cycles. With any luck, it continues to be an upward spiral and not flat or downward. No guarantees I guess. So, the 3 of us are all the same age, huh?
  16. Steve R.
    Just bumping this up so someone can more easily merge both threads.
  17. Steve R.
    In the mid to late ‘70s, when various revolutionary groups were in the process of overthrowing the Shah of Iran & vying for support on college campuses, I remember Eritrean support groups being just as present. And, yes, they were talking about liberating their country from Ethiopia. I was in grad school at the time & remember having several conversations with one of them, an avowed Maoist, who mistakenly thought that his cause would succeed way before the Shah’s foes took over Iran. He was wrong. But he gave me an envelope filled with the most incendiary flavorful spice mix, so I remember him fondly. Just thought I’d throw that in, this being a food board and all.😎
  18. Steve R.
    The chicken explanation seems right on target & I would’ve been the perfect example of the problem. I love chicken & eat quite a lot of it. Not Wade Boggs level (he reportedly ate it for dinner every day), but pretty damn regularly. So, having read about it but before knowing that they’d taken it off the menu, I had already decided I’d order it when we were there. However, I’d already wondered if the chef wasn’t going to disappoint me by failing to provide either coq au vin or fried chicken, but serve a too cute Frankenstein creation that goes amok. In a way, I was glad it was gone, allowing me to order something else.
  19. Steve R.
    No, no, no, no & no! Kossar's is only a name with a history and isn't the same place. It's like remembering Nathan's hot dogs. The bialys are nothing like they were and, if your friend is asking for the best ones, s/he will probably not like the result. Unless, of course, there is a complete bialy wilderness out there and any bialy in a storm will do. eta: I just looked at the linked website. Its from 2015, I think before the latest sale of the place. However, even then Ginny & I didn't like them any longer.
  20. Steve R.
    I believe so but I don’t think it’s gonna help anyway. Le Coucou doesn’t release better table times to Opentable to my knowledge. Unless you have some good connections or if they’ve recently lost some cachet, you probably won’t be able to eat there at any reasonable hour.
  21. Steve R.
    A virtual food board "friend" from another venue (eGullet: "hassouni") is also a real life friend of someone we know well & eat with pretty often. He, real name Chris, opened "The Green Zone" in Adams Morgan not that long ago (2226 18th St NW). We went and had some great drinks and some truly good small plates. The falafel was a major standout & I know from falafels, having eaten them for 50+ years from places serving foods of Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Greece & Palestine. And the "F--K Trump Punch" made my evening (hey, that's its name... politics embedded and I can't do much about that, can I?). Its a loud, partying type of place with a crowd to match and I don't think that we're the target audience, but its a welcoming place & clearly already well loved. I recommend it and congratulate Chris on getting this venture off the ground. Jul 23, 2018 - "Eyeball the Menus for The Green Zone, Officially Opening on Thursday" by Laura Hayes on washingtoncitypaper.com
  22. Steve R.
    It was our type of place. This was a very good meal. The red wine we ordered was a bit overpriced and undergood for what we wanted ($60 - I believe it was a Languedoc Carrignan/Syrah blend from Domaine du Pas De L'Escalette 2013) but the food was outstanding. We started by ordering the garlic bread with a tomato based dipping sauce that was really good and really garlicy. Nice. The "escargot in a blanket" app. that Ginny ordered was not what was expected & was a major winner. The escargot were chopped and wrapped inside more of a thin egg roll shell, crispy and non-greasy. Four pieces. My more traditional smoked Herring app w/potato salad was also excellent and the potato salad was a solid inventive component of the dish as opposed to simply a dollop of a usual style. Ginny's duck slices were served with alternating slices of turnip and she loved it enough that I never got to taste any. My bouillabaisse was comprised of shellfish, a large head on shrimp (prawn?), some potato slices and 4 fillets of various fresh tasty fish. All very good and unexpectedly generous. The broth was not very rich and not a stand out, but the dish overall was a winner (yes, a piece of hard bread w/roux was there as well). We split a 3 cheese plate for dessert and all were perfect. With tip, we were a little over $100pp, putting it in the "new normal" range for a good meal in a moderate NYC place. However, the food here was better than that level and we'd go back if/when we return to D.C. Only 3 blocks or so from Dino's, I can easily see eating in both places (very different, but both very notable) regularly if we lived in Shaw or surrounding areas.
  23. Steve R.
    As planned, we ate at the bar last night & reacquainted ourselves with Andrew, Dean & Kay. All were great to see and talk to again. Nice to see that Hawaiian shirts are still in vogue 😎. And, since it was Sunday night, there were a ton of excellent "Happy Hour" specials offered (& accepted). Half price on good wines had us drinking a very nice bottle of Sagrantino throughout dinner. We started with an order of the deviled eggs w/prosciuotto (these are very nice) and a full charcuterie board of 5 excellent meats, olives & some cheese. These were not the usual slices of cold cuts that I'm used to (& would've expected and accepted), but 4-5 pieces each of interesting & tasty stuff - pork shoulder pate, tongue, testa, pate w/ginger slices & duck - all of which was top notch. At full price, I think this is a no brainer to order -- at $10 its a steal. We then moved on to a half order of boar w/pappardelle (for me) and spinach/cheese cannelloni (Ginny). Both were excellent as well. Writing this, it doesn't seem like we ate a lot -- however, eating it all wasn't easy, as this was a lot of food. I remembered the old location fondly and I'll remember this one even more so. The place was busy, both upstairs and down but, looking around, it seemed like folks were content to order mussel pots (which looked great) & other food without really paying much attention to what's being served here & why it stands out. We get that in Brooklyn a lot -- tons of red sauce places serving decent tasting Italian food that was probably made well in advance from standard ingredients by reasonably competent kitchens, served straight from the microwave to folks who like it well enough & accept it without much thought. However, Dino's, like a couple of favorites of ours at home, is doing something significantly different, serving much better tasting food which, importantly, comes from fresh, well sourced ingredients and is prepared/presented with a much higher level of skill and care. And they're doing it at a price point that makes it look "normal" & may not easily stand out. If I lived in the area, it'd be a once/week dinner place for us minimum. As it should be for any food loving person in Shaw and surrounding communities. Not that they made any $$ on us eating there on a Sunday & would be patiently waiting for us to make a return visit to D.C., but we're going to seriously consider more than a once in 7 years return & live vicariously through you all in between.
  24. Steve R.
    Canyon de Chelly is gorgeous, isn't it? The Holiday Inn is the better choice -- glad you stayed there. We've stayed there several times, as well as at the Thunderbird Lodge, since we have friends on the reservation. By the way, Canyon de Chelly was the location for several Tony Hillerman novels which, if you haven't read any, I highly recommend. Did you get anywhere else in the area, like the Hopi mesas or Window Rock? How'd you decide to go there anyway? Its in the middle of miles of nowhere.
  25. Steve R.
    “... aims to bring a slice of Brooklyn to Washington D.C.” Jam packed since it opened in Williamsburg several years ago, we only got there once and liked it. The owner (Starr’s partner in D.C.) has a great feel for creating places that are both trendy & good. I assume that the D.C. branch will be gold as well.
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