Pool Boy

While I am looking forward to PG county getting a Wegman's, I was dismayed that the local Food Lion (the place I stop for quick stops to get stuff as it is right near my house and very convenient on the way home from work) is going to be transformed in to their 'new concept' Bottom Dollar. Oh.....yay. Laurel is just on the wrong side of the tracks it seems. <sigh>

Upstream is a great little fishmarket, but expensive! The lobster I got there several weeks ago was fantastic, but very pricey. But I suppose it was Maine lobster. Oh well. Maybe I won't get lobster there again froma pure price perspective, but I eagerly await trying some of their other goodies.

JoeH-- Glad to hear it's a much better place. I used to work in Bethesda and I was disappointed in the old Black's. It had replaced the old Gulf Coast Kitchen, which was a funky cool weird joint, that I thought served better food than the Black's version that replaced it. I'll have to try this out sometime soon.

Yawn.

​Rehoboth We were in Rehoboth Beach a couple of weekends ago and we dined at Eden, Fusion and Chez La Mer. Eden was my favorite, and not just because you can BYOW ($5/stem was the corkage fee this time). It has a unique feel to the room and they've expanded the upstairs significantly. But we chose to remain on the main floor with one of the booths with the gauzy fabrics dangling hthere to make the booths even more cozy. Very good service, quite good food. The highlight was actually the tableau of food underneath one of the entrees, a concoction of corn, bacon, tmato and various seasonings. Super. Fusion was very good, and was my wife's favorte this trip. A bit more spartan, but with some interesting art. It does have some noise issues even without it being a full room. But leaving that aside, the food is quite, quite good. Very fresh and creative and a decently priced winelist, if a little spartan (eden's was better -- and better described along with fun section headings like 'Don't Hate Me Because I'm Pink') as they do not allow BYOW. Their desserts are fine, but we passed this year opting for some banana, brown sugar and sour cream crepes at Le Crepes Suzette over on Penny Lane. Chez La Mer, which I thought had slipped a bit a few years ago was back in form, but perhaps not at its peak. But stil a very good meal. Inventive enough, but just well prepared food served simply and efficiently. A nice and french-heavy winelist, they also do not allow BYOW. But they do have 1/2 price wine nights on Mondays. Definitely worthwhile. We've only been to LaLaLand once a few years ago and found it to be horribly overrated. Too crowded floor (tables way too close together), not so great service and a tad pretentious. Espuma is on our hitlist for either late in the season if we make it back this year, or next season.

Need to fix my downspout drainage system, but otherwise OK. My wife works at the Smithsonian, and her building has been closed for the past three days and will possibly be closed through the rest of the week. She's lucky, lucky, lucky!

Ciao Bella is overrated, IMO. I prefer Capogiro Gelato myself. These guys are based in Philadelphia. They have no plans to franchise as they think it will ruin their product. We brought back pints of their Cioccolato Scuro and their Fior Di Latte gelato. We also brought back a pint of their Champagne Mango sorbetto (incredible!). We tasted previously their Pinapple Sage, omygoshsogood! Available through Balducci's in limited flavors locally. Try to make the trip to Philly one of these days and bring a cooler filled with ice!

I agree with Mark's suggestion of a Cotes du Rhone. I would find it hard to find a $10 Pinot Noir that I really like, but that's me. I'd try one of Mark's suggestions though and see if you and your fiance enjoy one of them. I think that some other options open up if you're willing to stay closer to the $20-ish range though. I also suggest the taste test someone suggested. First to show lots of different varietals compared to each other (not all in one sitting!), and then when you find a varietal you like, start exploring that varietal across regions. For example, let's say you end up liking Pinot Noir-based wines. You can get these wines from producers in Burgundy, California, Oregon, New Zealand and other places. Maybe you hate Burgundies. Maybe you think Oregon Pinots remind you of swamp gas. But you discover you really like NZ Pinots.

I tend to agree. If you are worried about any of the bottles in particular, drink up!

I agree.I have not yet gotten wine-geek enough to bring my own stems to a restaurant. I was once at a nice Pinot dinner on LBI, where some of the other folks attending brought stems for everyone (Riedel Sommelier Burgundy stems), which was wonderful. I just try to make sure the places I go to where I intend to enjoy a good bottle of wine (whether I am BYOWing or not) have decent stems.

Grazie!

On the other side of Times Square is db Bistro Moderne. 44th between 6th and 5th (closer to 6th). Not very far of a walk at all. Plus you can book it on Opentable!

Really (about the MD bit)?? That is actually great news. I thought the only way around was the private room thing. If you are right, that is very cool

I would not let the mere possibility of people disagreeing with you stop you from posting about anything, particularly about a not so great experience at any given restaurant. I though Restaurant Eve was overrated...TO ME. I've only had a single experience there, so perhaps I am being unfair, but, TO ME, it is not worth the drive there to try again. At least not yet.We all have lousy, or at least not so great, restaurant experiences. I think it is as important, or perhaps even more important, to know about those experiences from others than just the good experiences... JMHO

I think that the way that some places in MD (and maybe VA) deal with BYOW, which is technically illegal, is to do it via a private room event. I think that might be a way for the places that do do it to get around that law, legally. But it's just a guess. Another great way to enjoy wine is to either host an event for your fellow foodie/wino pals or be lucky enough to be invited to such an event.

This show is a guilty pleasure palace of mine. I loved the prior episodes. When is it airing now?

Weird. Is this the large print Reader's Digest version of a foodie board? I am not sure this is much of an improvement over their old format, IMO. What people want out of a forum boils down to a few things... Ease of navigability. Ability to see posts with new threads quickly. Ability to jump to new posts in a thread. Ability to quickly get to what your looking for, essentially. The new Chowhound software does not really seem to do that.

That's great to hear. While I admit to not knowing you or your establishment, hearing that dinwiddie wants to give your fine cooking a spin definitely picques my interest. Us winos love a great meal, and it'd be even better with a paired up thing. Very cool. I look forward to eventually trying some of your dishes...

My wife stopped by there yesterday after hitting the Farmer's Market nearby (what is that market called, the Penn Quarter??). Here's what she said over in her foodie zone-- We dined on some really excellent farmer's market bread, some salad picked just minutes before from our garden, and three cheeses (Mimolette, Humboldt Fog and Wabash Cannonball) for dinner. Perfect quick no-cooking dinner for a hot summer night.

Too long. Easier to drive and we usually can find parking with a little effort. I dine mostly in the back dining room, but the regular menu is (I think except for Mondays) available in the bar. I'd suggest anything with the word 'house cured', 'house made', 'made here by us', or other similar description. It usually rocks!

Thanks ol ironstomach! I think the oven setting to 'proof' is for the dough itself. Hence, creating a nice warm spot for the dough to proof and expand once the yeast is in it. I think.

JoeH...I am impressed at your perseverence to wade through the event. I find it tedious, bothersome and tiring to try to get pours at all the places I want to try. There are quite a few places that have loiterers hanging out at the table seemingly endlessly and they logjam the whole proces. Between those loiterers and the boozers, I just find it a waste of time.

Mw wife stops by the Vaccaro's in Union Station from time to time for an espresso or cappucino when she has a craving. She swears it's the closest the the godlike stuff we had in Italy. I cannot say the same thing for their branch in Owings Mills Mall though (not bad, but not godlike).

OK, maybe I know even less than I thought! So, what is the official definition of proofing? I had thought it meant allowing time to pass to allow the yeast to do its thing on the dough before you actually are able to work it out to the shape you want and then thus make-a-the-pizza. But I guess that is wrong? As for warm places in the house, we only live on a single level and when we redid the kitchen, the cabinets go to the ceiling so I can't stick a bowl up there. I guess just stick it in the laundry room (no AC there) on a warm summer day, eh? By the way, thanks for the King Arthur's tip. My wife had just thought of that yesterday and so we'll give that a whirl. But why keep it in the freezer? And that vacuum-packed brick of yeast, is it in packets? Or do you just break some off to use every time you need some (and do you keep it stored in the freezer too)?

Got it when Scottj came to town to party with the Crü. heh heh heh But dude, it's not READY yet.By the way, for those of you looking for wine bargains when in Rehoboth Beach, DE, try Chez La Mer on Monday nights. All wines, yes ALL OF THEM, are 1/2 price.