Toogs

It's not in any way mindblowing, but I enjoy the hell out of Session Fest, their Winter brew. And it's cheap

evidently this place is closed

From the parts I heard, not much new ground was covered, but there was a panel discussion of this on Kojo today. http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2013-12-11/tensions-over-tipping-restaurant-workers

Batali is better suited to the O-line, and your guys need help there anyway.

I'd like to say the 90's revival of Outer Limits was better than it was, but "The Sandkings" (Season 1, Episode 1), starring Beau Bridges and Helen Shaver, Special Guest Appearance by Lloyd Bridges (just three years before he passed), is worth watching. The story is even better, by George RR Martin before Game of Thrones took over his life and he developed writer's block.

holy cow there is an amazing amount of stupidity on display in that clip.

Agreed with the above, great meal. Didn't know about the half off bottles over 150, we just thought you were all ballers! Oh well.

Immense thanks to Jeff and the whole Grapeseed crew for the fantastic surprise dinner party we threw for my mom's 70th birthday this past weekend. Cliff notes: awesomeness, beg Jeff for the arancini if they aren't on the menu, go to Grapeseed now either way. Lobster, oxtail and short ribs. Brioche bookends. Wine. Details: I asked Jeff to put together a tasting menu for 9 and here is what we had. I don't know which of these are on the current menu but here you go"¦ 1st course: Lobster Slider, paired with Bouchaine Chardonnay. One of the only pre-requests I made for the menu was a New England themed course, as this party was extended family with great memories of vacationing together in Maine. The slider was a smaller version of a lobster roll, on a beautiful buttery brioche roll. Anyone who has been to Freddy's knows chef kills it with lobster, so this was exceptional as expected. Notable comments from around the table were "oooooh" and "just the right amount of mayo, I usually don't love lobster rolls because of the mayo" and "is there a little Old Bay in there? (IS THERE JEFF?) I'm not a great lover of chardonnay but appreciate it when appropriately paired, and this one was. 2nd course: Arancini w/ Braised Short Rib, Pecorino, paired with Pertinance Nebbiolo. This dish was voted number one by the crowd. We actually voted. Some of us are nerds. I don't know if it's on the menu but if it's not, it should be. And if it is, you should go get it right now. This was also my favorite wine, and pairing, of the night. There were no sounds in the room--other than forks hitting/scraping plates--for the duration of this course. Perfectly brown and crispy but not at all greasy outside crust and great depth of meaty flavor in the stuffing. Fingers were used to scoop up the last smears of tomato sauce. One partygoer noted that arancini is somewhat like kibbeh (form, not flavor) which is true but I had not considered. I should note that there were two of these on each plate, and they were roughly the size of tennis balls. 3rd course: Choucroute Garnie w/Bacon, Ham, and Brats, paired with Scarbolo Cabernet Franc. This was one of 2 courses I pre-approved, and I did so knowing that there might be some sauerkraut haters in my group. Well, the fat parts of a pig changed minds once again, as this sauerkraut was spiked with bacon and ham, not to mention the big old Stachowski brat snuggled up to it with a couple of roasted potatoes. The sauerkraut was cooked just right, a little bit of crunch left, and the multiple pork products were all top notch. The whole thing had a smokiness to it that worked well with the wine. A couple of our group were starting to feel full and staring down at two more courses, so a lot of this went home in boxes (and reheated nicely I might add, as I swiped one of these from the lone sauerkraut-hater-holdout). As my family's representative of the Clean Plate Club, I did my duty and savored every bite. 4th! course: Filet Mignon, Oxtail Ragout, Horseradish Mashed Potatoes, paired with Saint Cosme Crozes-Hermitage. Jeff put short rib and oxtail on this menu. Psychic? Lest you think this massive meal was getting too heavy, the mash was light and fluffy with just a touch of horseradish. It acted as a second sauce; the perfect bite was getting all components on the fork at once. I won't venture a guess as to what goes into the braise for the oxtail, but the result was strongly beefy flavor with a slight sweetness that would be good on almost anything"”a cracker, a stale piece of wonderbread, just on my spoon"”but on top of a nice chunk of med rare filet? Well that's a good fit too. In fact I think filet should always have oxtail with it to make up for the lack of effort the loin performed in life. I enjoyed the pairing Dessert: Brioche French Toast w/Vanilla Ice Cream & Balsamic Strawberries, paired with Big Cork Late Harvest Vidal Blanc. Bookends of Brioche, nice. Mercifully portioned! Although stuffed, everyone destroyed this in three or four bites because it was so good. Crispy and creamy and the strawberries providing the acid to cut the richness. I am not a big dessert person but wish more were like this. We were in the wine room, which is a really nice setting for a group this size, and gave us at least the illusion of privacy when we belted out a stirring rendition of Happy Birthday to You!

Seems better but still not great.

Can someone point me to the personal attacks and baseless outbursts other than this thread, which as far as I see only has one baseless outburst.

The answer: 7pm

What time are these going to start?

I realize I didn't properly parse my thoughts above. It's an unfair shock to businesses to overnight triple it. Assuming the MW hike to 11.50 is fair (which is a conversation for another thread/board) 8.25 could possibly be fair, but there is no way it's fair to the owners to do it suddenly like what is being proposed.

2.77 to 8.25 is profoundly stupid. Tipped MW should be pegged to MW. It looks like it hasn't gone up for a long time--I think it was 2.13 last time I worked at that rate, and minimum wage was something like 5.50 at that time.

Well it's not lighter but there will be Frick Grenache at my Thanksgiving. I think it's the perfect Thanksgiving red and still lament dropping a bottle in my front yard 2 or 3 Thanksgivings ago. Also a Glen Manor Rose will bless this year's table. I need to invite more people.

I already answered that, but you said "I guess you had your buddy Troogs ask what date I was there to find out who I am." I am assuming since no one named Troogs posts here, and I asked about the date, that you are referring to me.

Ha. You give your opinion of the restaurant--you're entitled to do so. I'm giving my opinion of your post--I'm entitled to do so. Making a baseless accusation? No one's entitled to do that.

I don't know RJ and he has not communicated with me outside of this thread other than a brief drunken conversation at Vidalia years ago. I asked for details because your review was not useful. Comments such as "meh, "Just okay," "I liked it but my wife thought it was just okay" do not provide a useful level of detail that can be applied by potential diners in deciding if they should go, nor do they help the restaurant to determine if something needs to be changed. I asked about the date because I felt, upon reading your review, that it was long ago, and that you had lost the necessary level of detail from your memory banks to make a useful post. I also secretly hoped RJ would see the date and remember a night or two around that time when things weren't up to par for whatever reason, and you two would find some common ground. I'm not sure why you dragged me into this. You sound like someone whose experience was poisoned by perceiving you were ripped off on the wine price, and perhaps that clouded the rest of the night. It happens--perceived value can easily enhance or wreck a meal.

For those of you that cannot follow post movements as easily as others, signups for the farewell dinners have been moved here: http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?/topic/27694-drcom-farewell-dinners-at-dino-wednesday-124-full-and-either-1210-or-1211/page-2#entry248371

MDT, do you mine stating the date you dined there? Also I would be curious if you have more details on some of the courses?

I prefer Tuesday 12/10. Choirgirl21 and 92brennan agree.

No website that I could find, so here is their twitter: @HolyCrepesTruck Le Menu is here. This truck has been visiting a parking lot near my office the last couple of weeks. I have gone twice, and found both of my savory crepes delicious. The pesto aioli has been in both, and it's phenomenal. Today's was bacon, ham, mozzarella, onion, tomato, aioli. I have never had a savory crepe before but these are nice and crispy on the outside and you can almost eat them like a burrito until gravity and wet ingredients collapse the last few bites which are then finished with a fork. Being able to text my order and run to grab it when it was ready is a nice feature, especially when it's -37 degrees with wind chill.

Please change choirgirl21, 92brennan, and me to the 12/11 dinner. Thanks!

FYI, sometimes cheaper fares will show up in kayak or expedia if you search all 3 airports "Washington DC-All Airports (WAS)" on kayak than if you search just a single airport. I am not sure why, and it seems like it should not be the case, but it happens.

I am in for the farewell dinner, thanks.