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JPW

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Posts posted by JPW

  1. To my 11 dead neighbors (May your memories be blessings), to the 4 Pgh cops wounded trying to save them, to the Jewish community, to Squirrel Hill - the place where I grew up, to my sister who has let CNN and MSNBC set up in her front yard because she lives across the street from Tree of Life, to everyone, everywhere, still as shook as I am by Saturday's terrorist attack.

    • Sad 6
  2. 5 hours ago, ol_ironstomach said:

    If you've seen the very steep HH parcel and followed Jeff's efforts to make wine "in the vineyard" (2014 Virginia Grower of the Year), you'll understand that it wasn't merely fruit that was lost to Florence, but also a tremendous amount of labor.  I don't know what the loss of the 2018 red crop will mean for their bottom line in one to two years' time, but I'm sure that the continuing support of their fans will be appreciated in the coming year.

    It really does suck. But, as Jeff mentioned in the e-mail and flat out told me the other day, he was not going to make a wine that he couldn't be proud of. 

    It's also a warning to remember to avoid most VA reds from 2018. If Jeff can't get grapes to ripen sufficiently before losing them to rot due to excess moisture on that plot (up to 30% gradient, super rocky crappy soils) than all the folks on the flatlands with clay heavy soils...

    Let's just say that you're going to see a lot of 2018 mystery VA red wine where the source of the grapes will be very carefully hidden.

    PS - I'm not exactly unibiased, as I calculate that my house consumes .5% of GM's entire annual production, but the 2017 SavBlanc is the best he has ever done and the 2016 PetitManseng is gangster right now.

    • Like 1
  3. Adam's out

    "On August 27th, I’ll be leaving 2 Birds 1 Stone, Proof & Doi Moi side of Fat Baby restaurants. It’s a bittersweet departure, but I appreciate my time with these wonderful restaurants & anticipate wonderful things for both myself & the group in the future.

    It’s been a fantastic relationship that began nearly 10 years ago, talking about dining philosophy over lunch with Mark Kuller. Through that relationship, I’ve learned so much. I’m grateful for all of my experiences with the group. First at Proof & the opportunity to be involved with Estadio with its opening in 2010 & Doi Moi in 2013. Of course, above all the myriad of reasons, both personal & professional, I’m grateful to Mark is the opportunity to open 2 Birds. After Mark passed away in 2014, that relationship continued on with the Kuller family, in general, but specifically, his brother, Jason, & his son, Max. I’m so appreciative to have been able to continue with the group in the subsequent years.

    In the 5 years since we opened 2 Birds, it’s exceeded my own optimistic expectations, Mark’s, & those of pretty much everyone who was involved its conception. Of its achievements, I’m proudest of the bonds developed there. Those between colleagues, between guests & bartenders, company & community. I’ve long believed in the beautiful function of a bar to foster relationships & 2 Birds has only solidified that belief for me. Chief amongst those is my bond with 2 Birds’ bar manager, Lucy Dunning. Lucy’s talent & work has been a massive boon for 2 Birds, but the influence of her personality & humor has been so essential that I can’t imagine 2 Birds without her. It’s hard for me to really express how much I appreciate the people that I’ve worked with & all of the people who have supported us over the years.

    Fat Baby will be reconceptualizing the 2 Birds space, driven by the brilliant Lukas Smith & I anticipate great things. In the meantime, Lukas has taken over the cocktail duties at Proof & Doi Moi.

    As far as what I’ll be up to… Well, I’ll still be working with Estadio, making Gintonics & Slushitos & the like & working towards exciting developments in Estadio’s future! With that, you’ll see me on the floor at Estadio at bit more I’m involved in some great new projects- some as a consultant & some a little more heavily part of- & I look forward to talking more about those in the coming months. I’ve got smaller, more goofball fun drink stuff littered throughout the fall & I’m really really psyched for those.

    For the month of August at 2 Birds, we’ve put together a menu of the best & most representative (& sometimes, just our favorite) 2 Birds drinks. We invite guests to write down their own favorite from the menu on their checks or credit card slips in a meddle-free poll, culminating in one 2 Birds’ drink to remain with the space.

    We’ll be open for a special evening Monday August 27th, commemorating our 5th anniversary with one last bash. Please feel free to come by & watch me devolve into a maudlin mess."

    • Like 1
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  4. <Emerges from the fog> Celebrated NuttyBuddy's birthday here last night. I really like Woodberry Kitchen, so I was really looking forward to this. It's a really good restaurant. Food (Tuna tartare/Kilt salad/DuckDuckGrits/charcuterie plate/lost potatoes) was delicious, service was exemplary (great systems - take a note of the dance of the oval mat on your table), setting is lovely, scored an extremely quaffable Liquid Farm rose that is not on the wine list. A really good (if very expensive) experience. If I had one obvious complaint it would be that for a place that sells itself on being all about Mid-Atlantic provisions, the wine list is laughably short of local wines.

    On the whole, a very positive experience, but there was something that just didn't come together to make it great, and then I read the Ann Limpert piece linked above and it made sense. This is the most self-satisfying restaurant I have ever visited.

    PS - Neither of us got hugs

    </Emerges from the fog>

    • Like 3
  5. We're around. We just don't get out as much as we used to. I see most of the old guard once every few months.

    As for me - Peanut is 12. Edgy is 8. Mrs JPW started her own company doing corporate branding. I'm management now which means more money, but less time for exploring DC's culinary treats (it also means that you don't actually do anything, you just make sure that things get done). About to pay a very nice man an insane amount of money to put an addition on our house to include a master suite, a man cave, and a wine cellar.

    And so it goes.

     

    • Like 2
  6. Unfortunately, you paid $31.25 per glass (plus tax and tip, which works out to about $40 per glass) for wines that I wouldn't pay $10 a glass for - these are wines that I wouldn't even give a second glance to in a retail store (a possible exception being the Linden).

    The Santa Duc is a decent daily drinker, but I still can't believe how utterly pedestrian that wine pairing is.

    • Like 1
  7. Other than those already mentioned:

    Anything with Bogart

    Anything with Bacall (the most beautiful woman who ever lived)

    Anything with Cary Grant  (especially The Philadelphia Story)

    Anything with Swayze (except Ghost and Dirty Dancing) (Roadhouse is my all-time favorite bad movie

    Any Bond

    A random shout-out to Up in the Air

    And finally, I went through a phase where I couldn't turn around without Patton starting late at night. I must have watched it 30 times over the course of a couple of years. "I'm only going to watch the first 30 minutes", I'd say. At 2:30 AM, I'd still be watching as George C. Scott took his final ride

    That and the Dirty Dozen are my all-time favorite WWII movies with Where Eagles Dare running a close 3rd.

    • Like 2
  8. Had 5 courses (I think) at the kitchen counter a couple of months ago. One of the best high-end meals that I've had in DC in recent memory. You're sitting directly across from garde manger, so it isn't too terribly exciting, but if you are perched out at the end, you're about 6-8 feet from the pass and have a decent view. It was a little loud, but not as loud as I feared. Service was very good. At that point the wine list was still a work in progress. Wine mark-up was pretty high.

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