Joe H

Even then Jimmy Comber's, Leonie's and certainly not Sammy's Villa in White Oak didn't compare to Ledo's. There were just too many friday nights of "non productive" barhopping and we ended up with a choice: Hofberg's or Ledo's to console ourselves. Not even Pop's on Henderson compared although some nights we found ourselves downtown at Anna Maria's or Luigi's, later Georgetown's Gepetto's. Actually even when we were fortunate enough to meet someone we'd still end up at Ledo's or Hofberg's or Anna Maria's.

Did you go to Dal Forno? We first met Romano and his wife 15 or so years ago and were extremely fortunate because their then (young) son, Michele wanted to practice his English when we visited in December. They were wonderful and spent perhaps two or three hours with us. We repeated this almost every year for a decade. I usually brought several bottles of American (i.e. K Vintners Royal City,, Caymus Special Selection, and green chili New Mexico pistachios, even Monks of Gethsemani fruitcake. We've built up a friendship and are honored to know them. Today, MIchele is married and around 35 and has a large role in the family business. It is an absolute honor and pleasure for us to continue to visit them.

Le Cinq is sumptuous luxury and that is part of the price and the experience. It's been several years but l'Astrance was a virtually impossible reservation but worth the effort: three stars today. Interestingly Alain Ducasse lost a star and is now two. A great part of the enjoyment of a trip is the research and anticipation of what you'll experience. That becomes even more interesting when you research restaurants where none of the reviews are in English and you have to google translate everything you read. I did this last night with La Fornace (which I mentioned above). Not a single English speaking person has been there recently. For myself this became a real attraction of places that I researched. I did not want to feel like I was in D. C. or NY-I wanted to feel like I was in another country. I say this because some of your best experiences on your upcoming trip will be places that you stumble on and have a "feeling" about. When you communicate through gestures and facial expressions it can help put the dining experience over the top.

Ah...Quintarelli! And Calabrian hot peppers!!!! And panini at the AutoGrill. Thank you, sir.

FWIW Le Cinq is now a two star and its prix fixe is E 310 per person. (with wine and supplimental tip you will be around $800-900). If you are going into northern Italy take a serious look at either Le Calandre outside of Padua and/or Dal Pescatore near Mantova which are both three stars. They will be totally different experiences, actually from each other as they will from Le Cinq. John Mariani in Esquire in '99 called Dal Pescatore "The Greatest Restaurant in the World." It is worth the 90 minute drive from either Verona (to the north) or Bologna (from the South). Both Italian three stars are around E 200. Regardless, have a great trip.

I wish I had read this earlier. 1. Call the American Embassy in Paris and ask them to e-mail you the list of the hotels where their visitors stay. They will all be three stars (five star scale), all within the Federal per diem (i.e. approximately E 100-125 or so). You WANT to stay in the 7th or 8th Arr. It makes a difference when you walk out the door and you are in the middle of everything. 2. I have driven everywhere in Europe-I had to, it was my job and I did it on business for 30+ years with an average of 30+ days each year. The drive from south of Cannes north by Nice, by Monte Carlo and into Italy through San Remo is one of the most beautiful in the world. Aix and the countryside is interesting. Not as interesting as the French Riviera. ( I have too many opinions.) 3. I've eaten at 11 or 12 three Michelin starred restaurants. The best was in Germany (Schwarzwaldstube in the Black Forest which I prefer to Le Cinq. Regardless even if you were going to Baiersbronn you have to reserve a year in advance). The most interesting of any restaurant I have been to was a single star in a 2000 year old literal stone furnace on the Northern Italian coast (driving from San Remo towards Genoa) called La Fornace. I wrote about this on Chowhound ten or more years ago and, to this date, it is the most interesting and unique restaurant I have ever been in. Look closely at the photos: http://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g1973857-d3682925-Reviews-La_Fornace-Vado_Ligure_Italian_Riviera_Liguria.html It may still have the Michelin star when we visited but, it is not about that. Rather, some of the stone for the Roman Coliseum came from there. Literally, this is a twenty century old stone structure which has been styled into a restaurant; some rooms having ceilings that you have to bend over to walk under. Most of the light is from candlelight. It is breathtakingly beautiful, extraordinary and still open although I am not sure of its menu today. 4. I realize that you have to go to Paris but I am also a huge fan of Bavaria (Munich to Garmische/Partenkirchen, Munich to Salzburg, Munich to Regensburg) and northern Italy including Venice, Cortina (you must go to the Dolomites), Verona, Montreaux and the Kaiserstuhl (German wine region which Americans never write about or visit) which is near Freiburg. Also love Barcelona and Tarragona down the coast. And, again, the French Riviera. 5. Drive everywhere and get lost. Serious. It's not that far, say, from Cannes to Aix. Get lost on the Mediterranean coast. Literally. As noted above it is a special place on Earth. (As is Cortina and the Dolomites...) 6. I realize you leave in a few days and it is too late to change many plans but you really should stay in the 7th or 8th Arr in Paris and call the Embassy for where to stay. (Probably will be a 10-30 room hotel with feather pillows, soft sheets, good mattress but small lobby and no room service.) For myself staying in the middle of a city/village was an absolute priority. I cannot emphasize location enough-there is much to be said for literally staying a couple of blocks from the Arch de Triumphe (which you should walk up). And don't discount walking into, say, the Opera in the 8th. If you are serious about Paris there is "character" in the Paris sewers and also Jim Morrison's grave. Serious-unique experiences. Neither is like it may sound. Again, location: walking out the door and seeing the Eiffel Tower a couple of blocks away is worth a lot. And, how can you not go to Venice? In November when there are relatiely few tourists? I don't care if it has ten or more million tourists other months but there is nowhere else on earth like it. If/when you return seriously consider Venice/Cortina/Bolzano/Innsbruck/Munich. The Euro is about 1.09 to the dollar. Since it was released in the late '90's it has fluctuated from .86 to about 1.60. You are going at a time when it is fairly strong to the dollar. I passionately love Switzerland (I represented a Swiss company outside of Montreaux for years.) Unfortunately the Swiss Franc to the dollar today is about par. For comparison in the early '80's it was 2.85 to the dollar. Switzerland is frightfully expensive. If you are anywhere near Switzerland/Germany or Austria around the first of December look for a Christmas Market. http://www.webcamgalore.com/EN/webcam/Germany/Munich/2.html will show the Christmas Market in Munich's Marien Platz in late November. And....you cannot imagine the feeling of standing in Venice's San Marco Square and watching them erect a Christmas tree with snow falling. Of course walking out of a small starred restaurant on a chilly night near the base of the Eiffel Tower is a memory, too. Or sitting on a creekside bench at the foot of an early medieval stone wall which encircles the village of Soave and having a glass (or two) of good amarone. Or staying in Venice's Daniele in one of the third floor rooms which have a small balcony overlooking the canal where gondoliers stop and serenade their passengers... ...

When I was in college a friend of mine and I had a date with two girls who were friends and dormmates at the University of Maryland. We had a lot of hopes built up for this date since we had talked them into going to the Beltsville Drive In. When we got there we noted that it was a horror movie double feature with "Blood Feast" and Night of the Living Dead. I remember my friend having a couple of six packs of beer and we settled in somewhere near the back row of cars. Barry was in the back seat with his date and from time to time he would "goose me" underneath my seat to let me know that the night had started with promise. At some point there was a scene of zombies munching on somebody's intestines. All four of us made the mistake of seeing this. It was gross. Not the kind of thing you immediately want to return to French kissing after seeing. Somehow, over the next several hours, we sat totally engrossed (and grossed out) while watching Night of the Living Dead. We both ended up having our dates hug us because it was, honestly, scary. (Any moment someone could be eaten.) Blood Feast was almost as bad: Fuaud Ramses had his own preference for "munchies." For all of the dates that I have ever had in my life that started with "promise" this was among the best. Perhaps not for what I might have expected, though. That night, many years ago, I learned how to hug. And cover my eyes during certain scenes.

Tonight, Halloween 2015, @8:00PM Reston Town Center was remarkably dead. Jackson's had 1/3 to 1/4 of its tables (booths) empty, BarTaco was similar-in fact we drove around Town Center first noting that there was very little foot traffic then we started looking in dining room windows and were shocked. We had thought it would be mobbed. Past weekends, even weeknights Town Center is a huge destination for western Fairfax county. But not tonight. I thought Halloween was the second best night to New Year's Eve for many restaurants. Am I wrong? Why wasn't Town Center packed?

Greenwood may have the single best collection of Virginia wine of any store I have been in anywhere.

I am hanging my head in self disgust. My wife and I had lunch at Panera today. I had a lentil quinoa chicken broth bowl that I enjoyed and she had a genuinely awful ham/chicken/cheese flatbread that I didn't even want to look at much less help her eat. Their broth bowls are supposedly nutricious (how can kale not be?) and actually quite decent. But my one small bite of the flatbread was worthy of a nightmare. Of course I added three packets of Tabasco and two wedges of lemon to the broth bowl... And most of the flatbread was thrown in the trashcan.

I believe RDV's name was first spread by Jancis Robinson and Dave MacIntyre with social media following. Rutger's problem is that his wine is almost inaccessible, it's not something you can just drive up to the winery and buy. You need an appointment. Having said this Linden Boisseau and Glen Manor Petit Verdot are cult wines in their own way-there is very little of them. I think four barrels of the '10 Boisseau and something similar of '10 PV. Yet both Linden and Glen Manor have excellent reds, in particular Linden's widely available Hardscrabble Red and Glen Manor's similarly available Hodder Hill Red. I believe that today both are fairly well known and no longer need to be "sold" by a sommelier or waiter as many other VA wines need to. Of course social media is part of a marketing campaign. But I'm probably guilty, as in my note, of believing that there is a huge market for VA wine that has not been tapped yet. Social media can spread a reputation but someone needs to start it and sell it. I believe that comes with pouring in the glass. Last comment: if anyone reading this has a chance to taste either an '09 or '10 Glen Manor Petit Verdot or the '10 Linden Boisseau I believe they are the equal of any red Virginia wine ever. And, FWIW, a year or so ago after surgery I could not drink alcohol for almost a month. When I finally was able to have my first glass it was '10 Delaplane Williams Gap. His '13 Williams Gap with time has the potential to be even better. --- One more comment: Linden's 2013 Hardscrabble Chardonnay received 94 points several months ago from the Wine Advocate. That is the highest point rating that any Virginia wine has ever received. (Jim Law did not submit his '10 Boisseau which, by the way, is 15.8% and remarkably smooth and balanced despite the alcohol.) Social media should be all over this: it was just released at Linden.

Social media is not going to sell a chef wine: you are going to have to pour it in his/her glass. There are six and one half million people in the metro D. C. area and arguably a Richmond wine industry that does not support northern VA wine the way it should be. There is also a preconceived notion that VA wine is too expensive OR that many think of VA wine as that which is cheaply poured at festivals or minimal tastings. This is what you are up against: a year ago at King Family almost every one of the 25-30 tables adjacent to their polo field had the cheapest bottle that King Family sold on top of the table. Only one or two had a Meritage, PV or anything that expressed what the winery was capable of. At countless wineries there are far too many people who walk in the door and do a tasting. Many of them complain if the tasting is more than, say, $10.00. This wouldn't happen in Napa, Bordeaux or, today, in Walla Walla. (Although WA wine in the early '90's was not that dissimilar in perception from what much of VA is today.) You are going to fight the image of VA wine and it will be uphill. I believe you need to sell the quality of the wine-not an event, not the view or the setting but what is poured in a bottle. Two weeks ago at a Saturday night dinner with a French importer and his Baltimore distributor I poured 2010 Glen Manor Petit Verdot, 2010 Linden Boisseau and 2007 Breaux Nebbiolo. They were speechless. I poured this alongside seriously good French red. PV is a wine found in blends in France, perhaps almost anywhere outside of VA. Yet Glen Manor's is truly world class-perhaps even the world benchmark for this. Four, five, six sips then an hour later more sips. They were speechless. And Linden's Boisseau was even more breathtakingly delicious. (I've also poured this side by side with RDV's '09 Lost Mountain and preferred the '10 Boisseau.) These were opiinions that mattered. You're going to need to spread the name and acceptance of the quality of this wine to DC area restaurants and others. Note that Jackson's/Artie's/Coastal Flats/etc, to be the best of my knowledge does not sell a single VA wine. Several of their restaurants are doing $10-13 million or more a year. And not selling VA wine. The state in which they were founded and are based. I'd like to pour '10 Boisseau and '10 Glen Manor PV (or '10 Delaplane Williams Gap) for someone who made a decision at GAR. I'd love to see his/her reaction when they took a sip. I can't tell you how many DC area restaurants I've gone in that don't sell VA wine. Or Richmond restaurants including one of their absoltue best where I had a disagreement with the GM this summer for why he only had one bottle on his wine list. You are going to have to pour what you believe in and know that the best of it will be the equal of almost anything on earth in its price range. VA has honest excellence now in some of its wine-you MUST believe this in your heart. If you do and if the winery who is interested in you will benefit. You'll also have help: Dave MacIntyre is passionate about VA (and some MD) wine in the Post. In fact the Post has had several outstanding feature articles over the past couple of years about Great Va wine. As the Wine Spectator in the mid '90's put Leonetti Merlot on their cover and called it America's best, you can find similar hyperbole in our press. For that matter Dave MacIntyre recently shared RDV and Screaming Eagle in the same evening-and the RDV held its own. But you are going to have to sell chefs, importers, writers and others to spread the word. That sale will come with their tasting what is in the glass. When they buy in to your passion and agree with your taste, then social media will help. But you are going to have to knock on a lot of doors first. And, if you are good, you'll open a lot more. Note: I am probably guilty of the larger picture, i.e. not just an individual winery succeeding but VA wine, as a whole, succeeding in the D. C. area. It hasn't been successful yet although there is a lot of interest and several have tried (i.e. Roberto Donna, Sebastian Zutant, Neal Wavra). I may be looking for more of a "minister" to spread it's "gospel" and less the success of filling an individual tasting room or lengthening the list of a wine club.

It was driving rain and wind. The negative to not accepting reservations is that people will not stand in line endlessly and get soaked. The expectation of a long line and horrible conditions will preclude many from even considering going. With reservations, even a handful of reservations, people will still call. Rose's policy can be counterproductive with bad weather.

You must speak with passion and conviction. This will come if you truly enjoy and appreciate their wine: you will believe in it. That will allow you in almost any door, entertain almost every audience. And when they taste you'll be trusted. Anything less you should not take the job.

It will be interesting to see how long their lines are after their new restaurant opens. For that matter the exclusivity of the new restaurant is interesting: open only Tuesday through Friday night and a handful of tables. Over the years I have made reservations almost a year in advance at both El Bulli and Schwarzwaldstube in Germany's Black Forest. El Bulli, of course, had international publicity and Schwarzwaldstube was an extraordinary experience known throughout part of Europe but not this side of the Atlantic. 9/11 interrupted our trip to El Bulli while Schwarzwaldstube was so incredible we made a second reservation a year in advance for the following year. While I won't stand in line (again) for Rose's Luxury (last visit to the kitchen counter was January of 2014) I have no problem reserving and guaranteeing a year in advance. Or crossing an ocean, if need be, for it. If it is that good. There will be expectations. If the new restaurant lives up to them it is good for our city. Perhaps someone from Baiersbronn will be crossing the Atlantic to have dinner here...

They grow their own Ghost Peppers. Ghost Pepper hummus was worth the burn. Also garides Saganaki (totally different from their excellent cheese saganaki. Sheesh Tawouk is basically a chicken thigh kebob with an incredible mayonnaisey textured like side called toum which is loaded with fresh garlic and is intensely delicious.

It can be beaten. I am a huge fan of the Wine Kitchen in Leesburg but not in Purcellville. I have not been to their Frederick location. However, I sincerely believe the best eastern Mediterranean restaurant in the greater Washington, D. C. area is in Frederick: Ayse Meze Lounge (website). This is TurkishLebanese/Greek, etc. At this point we have eaten through much of the menu including a visit with a Lebanese friend who is a serious cook in her own home and cannot rave about this enough. With all due respect to anywhere else even in downtown D. C. or Tysons Corner the Frederick restaurant is the best. Perhaps, remarkably, the best. There was a time when we would deadhead from Reston to Frederick for Volt. Now our deadhead is for Ayse Mezze Lounge. For the Wine Kitchen we will not return to Purcellville. For Leesburg we are almost regulars-they are that different.

For whatever reason I have long associated Thanksgiving with dinner in a country inn, even if the country inn was Georgetown's 1789. Decades ago I remember driving to the Penwick House in Dunkirk, MD one year, the next to the Wayside Inn in Middletown...VA. Both were warm and welcoming: at home with family, stone walled and wooden raftered Holiday experiences. Exactly what I felt was appropriate on Thanksgiving. One year we went to L'Auberge Chez Francois, which along with 1789 may be the DC area's most honored Thanksgiving destination. I wrote about it on the "old" Chowhound. I doubt that it has changed very much including the policy of accepting reservations one month to the day and being booked up within hours. (Next Monday is the day.) I am also guessing that many on Chowhound have recently left and as my wife and I looked for a home that Thanksgiving, are looking for a new home...here.

Opening night with 175-200 covers, dining room was literally completely full until 10:00PM when we visited. An enormous success. Stand by my comments for ambience similar to Kent Island, Baltimore East or West Ocean City (Sunset Grill). 70-80 seats outside are going to be a weeks long wait for a reservation-they are romantic and special. I will sincerely argue that the tables which are lakeside are among the most amospheric waterside settings in the mid Atlantic after dark. An older crowd, similar to what one would see at Clarity which is the direct comparison for this. We've just started to work our way through the menu. Much more to come. Red's Table will be an enduring success...and gift to many of us.

They are open as I type this-I just left. @10:20 there were 15 or more at the bar and a half dozen in the dining room and outside on the deck that backs to the lake. That deck is going to become a destination-awesome, softly lit romantic ambience. Again, this restaurant is a major statement for Western Fairfax County. Still have not had the food but the setting has character and is special. My analogy above to an upscale restaurant on the water in, say, Kent Narrows or Baltimore East is appropriate. As Clarity is serious so do I believe this is a serious room. I love this place. The menu has changed, especially the pricing. I am holding it as I type this. All of the appetizers range from 5 (cup of "eleven ingredient clam chowder") to 15 with most in the 9 to 12 range. Several look interesting: "Artic char crudo: lime, fish sauce, cilantro, fried garlic sesame seeds" 12, "Point Judith calamari (raw bar is a specialty): cherry peppers, linguica, lemon, with smoked tomato sauce" 11, "Baked Mornay: with coddled egg cracker, shards, green onion, red pepper flakes" 9, "corn and clam hushpuppies sith smoked paprika butter" 9. Pasta includes "clam & Castelvetrano Buccatini: white anchovy, garlic, crushed red pepper, evoo" 16, "ricotta-black pepper Gnudi": smoked corn puree, grana, roasted corn, squash" 14 Main courses include "Sea scallops a la Plancha": house speck, summer vegetable ragout, plum sauce" 24, "buttermilk fried chicken (house specialty) :braised kale, black garlic miso aioli, b & b pickles, 17. Much is local farm to table. But again, the ambience is that of a serious waterside restaurant with an open kitchen that I counted 8 in tonight. We will return in a couple of days to begin working our way through the menu. Bravo to the family, chef and GM (who moved here from San Diego specifically for Red's Table) who have brought us this. This will be a destination.

Soft opening was tonight, also tomorrow (Sunday) night. Perhaps the analogy with Clarity or downtown is inappropriate. Having now walked inside after dark I would suggest this is an Annapolis or Old Town (on the water) kind of experience. In some ways it reminded me of the Narrows on Kent Island. Red's Table will pull people from Town Center and from Tyson's. It is going to be a destination in Western Fairfax County.

The press release includes comments from various publications that it is one of the most romantic inns in America. Not only do I agree with this but with more than 30 years of heavy international travel I would feel comfortable putting it one on one with anywhere I have been in North America or Europe. We are fortunate to have this so close by. In fact my wife and I talked about this last night: if we had crossed an ocean we would have been overjoyed to find a similar inn and restaurant in the Cotswalds, Tuscany or outside of Aix. We didn't have to cross an ocean: we drove 30 minutes from Reston and found an experience worthy of crossing an ocean for. The Goodstone Inn is special.

This is one of the great dining adventures within hundreds of miles of the D C. area. A storybook setting reminiscent of the Birchrunville Store Cafe west of Philly, miles and miles of fantasy like heavily wooded, stone walled countryside before finding the Inn which must have once been a horse stable straight out of the 19th Century or earlier. With all due respect to the first six years of this thread if we had found the Goodstone Inn before the Ashby Inn we would have never gone further. Truly idyllic especially tonight with a full moon softly shining through the forest. I will honestly match the overall setting one on one with the Inn at Little Washington. Perhaps not quite the same sumptuous luxury as the Inn but character, flavor and a memory to match. (I must note here that several of their rooms/suites are in the $500-750 range per night range. Staying at the Goodstone is an expensive indulgence.) For their small restaurant they also have corkage which is reasonable @$35 a bottle. A la carte with first courses $10-20, main courses in the $30+ range, superb fruit pastry in a small cast iron skillet, a la mode, worth every penny of $12.50. All four of us absolutely loved our dinner with the overall experience among the best anywhere on the East Coast. The food? Two and a half to three stars, several dishes worth a destination. With corkage, tax, tip and full dinners we were about $125 per person. Four course prix fixe was $85 or so-still well worth the "investment." This is dining in another century, in another land. Sincerely, a Great Escape. And, on Monday night almost everyone of the 28 seats was full. It has a following. I raved about Clarity in another thread. This is a Washington Irving countryside adventure to match.

High End? High End? You're serious? With virtually every steak house in Tyson's at $35-60 a la carte for a steak + $8-9 for each vegetable and 250% markups on wine. Clarity is $12.50 for crab gazpacho and it's a small pour. It's also the best gazpacho I've ever had and I order two bowls at a time and then order my entree which is usually 19-22. Clarity is not high end, nor is Red's Table. Excepting the steaks Red's Table is no more expensive than half of the restaurans at Town Center. But it's not Cafesano. It's not the Lakeside Inn, it's not the Greek restaurant which preceded Cafesano. It's a sincere attempt to do a better farm to table chef driven restaurant in western Fairfax County on a beauitful lake. Coincidentally this happens to be in a shopping center. A shopping center surrounded by millions of square feet of office space and a socio economic class to support it. If it were at Town Center it would be even more expensive. It's also a helluva closer than driving into downtown D. C., ostensibly attempting to provide us with a very real alternative to the new and excellent Clarity in Vienna. I sincerely applaud's Red's for coming here. I just don't understand why you feel robbed, that it's not another medicore family restaurant I am deeply grateful they are opening here. I also, as noted, expect it is going to be appreciated by hundreds of others, every night they are open I am also arguing that the physical space in the South Lakes shopping center, backing to the lake, is more appealing and LESS EXPENSIVE then at Weihle avenue or by the Reston International Center. It is a special location properly presented-having walked by it yesterday afternoon I am excited at what they have built. There is very real character.

I am confused. There is not a decent privately owned restaurant anywhere near Town Center and now we have Red's Table which has Clarity like ambitions and people are disappointed with the price point. I don't think it's suppose to be for a family that wants to eat out twice a week. That's next door at CafeSano. Rather I believe this is an alternative to Town Center where every dish would be 10-20% more expensive. Yet this is a beautiful lakeside setting and has character And the restaurant wants to be special for Fairfax County. There are not a lot of independently owned restaurants that want to be special in Fairfax county. I am not interested in another nondescript "family friendly" restaurant in Reston. There are far too many of them now. Almost all without character. Red's Table is ambitious. it's a mile from me. With Clarity having recently opened now there's a second restaurant "of character" that has ambition and it's literally in walking distance. Can I remind anyone reading this how many really good non steak houses there are in all of western Fairfax County? Not many. A restaurant is being opened that wants to have another dimension of appeal that is sadly lacking for the million + people who live within fifteen or so miles of South Lakes. A restaurant "for families" is next door, next to a family Chinese, family pizza, Subway, Chipotle and more family restaurants nearby. There is a desperate need for something truly "decent" here. With a bit or more of ambition. Red's Table is trying to be this. As Clarity has 175 covers on Tuesday nights I believe that Red's Table will, too. I welcome the taste, creativity and courage of the chef and owners to open in an area that truly needs what they can share with and introduce us to.