Pool Boy

Mmmmmmboxwine. NOT! I admit it, when I was in my early 20s, I bought the stuff. But I was young and stupid then.

Man that sucks! She was so nice a host for the wine tasting panel thing I attended and she even showed us around the newsroom.

And I haven't been in 6 years or so but I would agree. I have some friends who have been in the last year or so and said they had a good experience. Nothing mindblowing though.

My wife and I are actually considering a trip to Oregon this fall (either this idea or fly to LA and drive up the coast to SF and CA wine country) so this is all good and useful info. Being a wino, I should know this, but where exactly are the major wine growing regions of Oregon? in the north west and central west sides of the state closer to the coast? Part of our decision making process is based on drive times to all of the places we want to hit in the state, including places in the south like Crater Lake and there is apparently a Shakespeare festical down there as well. Plus there is stuff up near Portland we'd like to see. But the reality of 'X' amount of time driving around is clear and present. So any advice as to foodie and wino type places are appreciated.

I'll 2nd that suggestion.

Bouchon is overrated IMO. It's good decent fare, but there are much better options in Napa Valley. If you kick up you price limit just a tad, go to Terra. You will not be disappointed.As for wineries in Napa Valley, you might try heading up to Neal Family at the extreme Northeast end of the valley. They are kind of up on the mountain a tad... If you're willing to head over to Sonoma, I'd suggest Bella (certainly not the 'best' wine or winery, but the folks there are very friendly and the place is beautiful. I'd suggest a picnic there on their grounds.

with mascarpone....never tried that yet...now mustHad lobsters on the grill Sunday with corn saland and a roasterd red pepper with feta dip to go with some fresh out of the ground radishes and pita etc. Oh and Saturday night was Maestro. OMG!

My wife works for the Smithsonian and she headed over to the farmer's market in the Penn Quarter this past thursday (what's it called?) and picke dup some nice fresh bread and pea soup with morels. Paired those with some fresh greens from our raised bed veggie patch and dinner was complete!

We'll be heading to Larriland soon for strawberries and probably again ina while if our blueberry and raspberry bushes do not produce enough to sate our appetites....

2004 Peay Chardonnay...wioth grilled lobster & corn salad

JoeH...I only have two Somms and I use them frequently. However, I am told that if you look at one the wrong way, it'll crack and splinter right back at you.

I dined here this past Saturday with out of town wino friends....I was a little worried in that pals from the DC Crü had only a so-so experience here about a year ago. But I was pleasantly surprised. Service was good. Room atmosphere was good (a tad loud as they were packed with quite a few larger parties (grad celebrations?)). Food was delicious. I had a warm lobster salad over a beet carpaccio, followed by Veal 'picatta' (really a sweetbreads 'burger' complete with special sauce) and then followed by a pork loin and cabbage ( with, I don't know, skin? Porcini/trotter crust? Ahhhhhh!) Followed by a pineapple and apricot charlotte. Oh and a charcuterie butcher's block!) Delish. The lobster salad was marvelous. And, I am not a big beet eater, really, generally speaking, but I keep trying because my wife loves them, and these were great. The 'picatta' was wonderful, rich, but light enough at the same time. Inventive and fun and great flavors & textures. The 'meat block' was interesting. They brought it to us even though we did not order it (I forgot about it) -- I am not sure if it ended up being 'free' or if we got charged as my friends deviously paid the bill (they rock!) but it was pretty good. The pepperoni was delicious and not over the top, the salmon was delicious, there was a slab of 'particle-meat' (I forget the proper gastronomic term..aspic?) that was atsty as well. There was other stuff I did not get to try, too. TYhe bread with it was average. The pork was fabulous. Juicy and deliciously layered with the outer 'skin'. Delicious. The apricot and pineapple thing was decent, but nothing to write home about. Wines were a 2004 Planeta Cometa, a 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia and a 1997 Etude Cabernet. All were good, but the Insignia was ridiculously good. All BYOW. I'd go back.

I assure you it is just blind luck, DW. But perhaps it is also because I rarely polish-dry the stems -- usually only when we're hosting guests for dinner or a tasting at our home.

Interesting. But frankly, I've had great luck with breaking stemware. Only 1 or 2 lost in 5+ years.

The best cheese course I have had in the last couple of years was actually in NYC at Grammercy Tavern. It was fantastic.

Been here a couple of times with my local winos, the DC Crü, but haven't been for, what maybe 18 months. Anything new going on here?

I kind of agree, but I still think it is possibel to find better poor quality crap to eat out there versus lesser poor quality crap. What I think is funny is how many posts are stacking up from such a simple dumpster dive as what I did. That said, anyone else ever had a Ted Drew's frozen custard in St. Louis? You know, a concrete? Mmmm.

Well this would be damn fine. I only ever got to dine at Nectar once and we really enjoed it. Great service, too. I look forward to this joint opening when it does.

I'll 2nd the recco on dbBistro Moderne. But honestly, I do not think the burger is all that. I'd try their coq au vin, seriously good. If db is booked, try Triomphe, which I think is on the same block-ish.

Thanks for the cable car recipe. Sounds good!

Yes, that is the place. It imploded in the 90's? I remember it as pretty good and I was a sometime visitor during 1995 to 2000 or so. Looks like they moved south a bit, too.

OK so what's a cable car?BTW, great thread!

I think all of their landscaping is finally mature enough to block out the view of the Sheetz gas place across the street, too.

There an interesting ice cream place in Belstville just north of Powder Mill Road on the southbound side, I can't remember the name, but they have some unique flavors of ice cream (like ginger). Pretty good. There used to be a place in Bethesda, too, that had decent ice cream and it was an independent as well. Sort of on the backside of where the Discovery Channel building is/was (still is there, but Discovery Channel is not). Opposite side of the bilding where Philly Mike's is located. Anyone know if it is still there and whatthe name of the place is? Or did the Ben & Jerry's shop kill them off?

If you're willing to drive just a tad, head over to Pasta Plus in Laurel. Their red sauce is quite good.