Chris W

Corduroy was on point last night. The Duck Confit appetizer was stellar. The skin had a very peking duck quality, not sure how this was done but it was awesome. But the star of the show.......PORK BELLY! A huge piece perfectly cooked and just absolutely succulent. I'm still full. The only thing that wasn't totaly on point was the service, it was a bit disjointed for the amount of people in the restaurant.

I'm introducing a business associate from Arkansas to Corduroy tomorrow, and the best part....wait for it......he's paying.

I was there recently and the Fois Gras app was fantastic as was the sonoma duck and chanterelles. For the money I've heard the Snake River Waygu is not that great.

The Home Market is by far my favorite food store in the area. I was out in uppervile for a bike ride yesterday and enjoyed wandering around the market for a while on my way back trying to come up with a dinner menu. I do this about every other weekend (I'd be broke if it was every weekend) Their beef is as good if not better than Snake River or any other high end ranch. I ended up with two NY Strip steaks, some organic blue and white fingerlings and a bunch of organic Kale. The people are sooo friendly and I just ended up talking with a few of them for a while after I paid. Definetly worth the trip.

I feel a hang over coming on already......

Shoot I completely forgot the second cheese course while we were trying to decide what to have for desert. Dean put together a cheese course for us which consistend of a Parmesean Reggiano that I'm sorry but my memory is fuzzy on exectly the specifics but all the cheeses were off the charts good.

Well it's official, Dean has got a gem of a restaurant on his hands. Where to start? The restaurant itself is uniquely laid out and while giving you the initial impression that it is small it actually has ample room which is compartmentalized really well. We had a table upstairs that was perfect for the amount of food and wine we intended to put on it. Dean guided us through the menu and as I commented to a friend earlier I was amazed at the amount of different foods I ate but in relativley smaller portions. There was always a plate on the table, we started with a bevy of cheeses to compliment a Billecart Salmon NV Brut and Alain Soutiran Brut Rose'. This was followed by couple plates of Crostini while we figured out what to order for appetizers. The whiped cod crustini which i tried was fantastic. We then as a table opted for a large plate of salumi and proscuitto accompanied with pickeled vegtables which are done in house. As a side note Dean is a wealth of knowledge......especially about cured meats. The next course of family style pasta dishes included the wild mushroom and proscuitto, as Dean noted, this is not a light dish...and it isn't but soooo good! We also ordered the wild boar pasta dish which was essentially pasta ribbons with a wild boar ragu, awesome. Once the Pasta was finshied off we moved onto the meat course which primarily made up of duck I forget the details and I'm sure Dean will help me out here but it lived up to the billing. I also got raves about the whole Bronzini and the white bean salad. I finished off with the Marscapone and Nutella sandwich, really good and I can't pass up that combination....ever. Great night. I'll be back soon! The wines we had with the meal are below, suffice to say all of them were fantastic, and it should be noted that the wine list at DINO is filled with great wine at even better prices. Banfi 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Antinori 1997 Tignanello Moccagatta 2001 Barbaresco Bric Balin Eredi Lodali 1999 Barbaresco (WOTN) Pio Cesare 1998 Barolo Pira 1995 Barolo La Spinetta 1995 Barbaresco Gallina Pelissero 2000 Long Now Langhe Macarini 2004 Moscato di Asti

I like Bistro Francais at about 1 in the morning, nothing better than eggs benedict and snails at that time of day.

I remember back when Michael first opened the crab bisque used to come out with litteraly about a shot of sherry floating on the surface.....it was great then It's great now.

Let's put it this way, I'll be walking back across the street for happy hour.

I had a great lunch in the bar at Willow today. The Mushroom bisque is solid and hearty, and the apple wood smoked bacon and gruyere sandwich was really tasty and came with a side of beets and picked string beans. Very tasty all around and that include the bartendress..

Sounds like a lobster trap for fruit flies...

I drove an hour to Howard County Community college at 5:30 in the morning for the supposed start to the Tour of Hope ride...which was cancelled. It took us almost 2 hours to get home since 495 was closed at exit 31 due to an accident. Ended up at Boulevard Woodgrill at 11:00 for a few Bloody's and some food. It was a seriously wet weekend.

Right sorry. I promise I won't tell anyone else that Buck's is really good and makes one hell of a Makers Mark Manhattan.

Chef, Just to warn you I'll be there on the 19th with a bunch of other Vinophiles and Gastronomes so I'd stock up now...We may be there till' spring. Looking forward to it.

6 of us went to Buck's last night and had a fantastic time. James was awesome in a list minute pinch, and set us up at the communal table down at the end. My chopped liver app. was as better than my Grandfather makes and trust me that's saying something. The BBQ duck was spectacular and the mac & cheese as rich as it get's. There were raves around the table about the grilled shrimp and the steak, as well as the pork chop. I will definetly be back.

A friend of mine recently bumped into a memeber of the Saudi Royal family in Mate in Georgetown.

Last night I bellyed up to the bar at Boulevard Woodgrill and had me some meatloaf, mashed potatos, and creamed spinach. Soo good. Not to mention they have the Dogfish Pumpkin Ale on tap!

I wish I could make it however this weekend I will be riding in the Tour of Hope Fundraising ride with my mom who is a cancer survivor. I'll try and make another weekend though.

I've been reading and making dishes lately from Chris Sleschingers "Let the flames begin" Chris is the Chef owner of East Coast Grill in Boston which is one of the most popular restaurants in the city. He is a master behind the grill and his recipies are fun to cook and center around live fire and the enhancement of flavors through grilling.. great book

"Give yourselves $20 each and put it on the Underhills" "Muchos Gracias senior" "Tiera Del Fuego"

Nadya, your story reminds me of one of the best movies ever....Fletch. "hi my name is John...John Cock-tost-ten." "I'll take the lobster termador two bottles of Dom Perignon, and a steak sandwich. Put that on the Underhills tab, I fought with him in the war."

Two girls picking a bottle of wine: Girl A: "let's get this one I really like the label" Girl B: "ooohhhh yeah it's really cute get that one." Me: "if you could only drink the labels" (on the inside)

Hear Hear Don... I whole heartedly agree with you. An absolute gem of a restaurant. That marscapone date was honestly one of the best bites I've ever had as well. We actually offered $50 for more of them...

I agree on the Kalin. The Domaine Serrene Is nice but a bit rough and needs serious air right now. I've had multiple Hanzell vineyard pinots recently from Kosta Brown and Walter Hansel and they have all been fantastic. I'd like to see the folks at Siduri, get into one of these lists. Adam Lee is making some wonderful pinot.