fuzzy510

Actually, to be fair, I think he offers a lot of "among the best" or "one of the ten best" compliments. Doesn't mean that he's not still overreacting, but he at least doesn't seem to go completely overboard.

Exactly what it was. Thanks for jogging my alcohol-ravaged memory.

With the gnocchi? Don't believe so; I think I'd remember veal. Tasting menu was, for the record: -Ahi tuna tartare -Gnocchi -Crispy sea bass -Lamb over bulgur wheat -Carrot spice cake

Fantastic meal last night at Birch and Barley, highlighted by the gnocchi (which I believe is currently a different preparation than has previously been mentioned here; I'm a bit sketchy on the details from last night) and some outstanding desserts - after finishing the tasting menu, we might have ordered more desserts, just because we could. The goat's milk cheesecake with cherry pepper sorbet was just fantastic, and the carrot spice cake with a passion fruit sorbet worked far, far better than I thought it would. Overall, it was one of the most enjoyable meals I've had in a long time, and I'm anxious for a return trip. (In the interest of full disclosure, I did drink for free, but it was unexpected, and had no bearing on my opinion of the food)

I would definitely be interested and could be available whenever. If we could settle on a date earlier though, that would be better for me.

It's obviously not entirely about Yelp, but it's also not just "Restaurant Review: Sergio's" either. Think about what you're asking in giving the restaurant anonymity. In order to truly do that, Carman has to provide minimal to no details about his meal or the comments made about the restaurant on Yelp. Basically, his story ends up being "I ate at a restaurant, and my experience was nothing like what they said on Yelp." How is that worthwhile at all? The details of how so much runs counter to the Yelp reviews are what make the story. And it's not as if Sergio's was just picked at random. As Carman mentions, it's a restaurant that had received higher praise than, among others, Tosca, Bibiana and 2Amy's. You say that it's obvious that Sergio's doesn't belong in that upper echelon - doesn't that make it a perfect candidate to be analyzed here? I guess what I don't understand is where there's such a crime in calling out Sergio's, especially if it's highly praised in another part of the food community, however spurious some of the praise may be, and especially if it's not deserving of that praise. And sure, maybe it could have been a bit more Yelp-focused, but doing that properly involves bringing another restaurant into the fold and likely rendering the piece without the details to keep it from boiling down to "I'm right, Yelp's wrong."

I, unfortunately, can't make the 28th.

If you took that article as a feature on Sergio's, then I think it's safe to say that you missed the point entirely.

As anything resembling a food show, I completely agree. As an hour (or, in the case of the last couple weeks, two hours) of dumb and mindless entertainment each week during the summer, which is devoid of anything resembling watchable TV anyway, I wholeheartedly disagree.

I'd be interested in going assuming I'm not put on the schedule for whichever night, but travel is a bit of an issue. Any chance anybody could give a guy a lift from a nearby Metro station?

Lies!

I'm not trying to say that you're wrong, just legitimately wondering this myself: how much of a grace period should/does a restaurant get where issues can be chalked up to being new? At what point is it fair to say that a restaurant like FS1 is just not up to par?

Um, wow. I'm not usually one to care much about Yelp reviews, but I'm not sure I've seen a place so widely loathed as what I'm reading here. Even the filtered reviews were almost all one-star reports: http://www.yelp.com/biz/fire-station-one-silver-spring And I know that there's apt to be a bit of exaggeration in some of those, but I'm shocked to see multiple claims of servers being clueless about the beers FS1 is serving. That's kind of important for a restaurant calling itself a "brewing company."

Six words: Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Milkshake. Yum. (I just wish I hadn't gotten one before work tonight)

There is, in fact, a Jimmy John's in College Park. A serviceable sandwich. Definitely one of the better delivery options in the area.

Actually, I believe they've started taking credit cards recently.

It's only about 20 minutes by foot from Barracks Row to Nats Park in the worst case scenario - if you call ahead, I think you should be fine.

Even better!

Lunch at Vito's Pizzeria today, located on the corner of Route 1 and Hartwick. Had a couple of sizable slices of plain, which basically tasted like an average New York-style street pizza. Nice crispness to the crust, and a good enough sauce, but too much cheese for my tastes. Still, a nice change of pace from the same predictable chain sandwich shops. Apparently, Vito (he actually does exist) is going to be expanding into the space next door, and I'm glad to see he's doing well. The space he's in right now is really not a good fit, and there's been a ton of different food options which have come and gone from that space.

Should I be saving this thread as evidence, or will that only earn me a "dinner invitation"?

Isn't that one right in the Inner Harbor? That would make it a prime tourist trap.

Even if someone else WAS buying, I'm not sure I'd eat Domino's, chain Ledo's or Z Pizza unless I was pretty drunk.

I normally wouldn't post really crappy Best-Of polls like this, but I legitimately think this might count for serious "worst ever" consideration. I mean, in a city with so many solid pizza choices, how can you somehow miss ALL OF THEM? http://wtop.com/?nid=812&sid=1974099

Not mentioned there, however, is the best part: The BGR folks were planning on adding one pickle for every strikeout Strasburg got in his debut. For those of you who didn't hear, Strasburg struck out fourteen batters last night.

Crap. He who hesitates......