Chica Grace

Went to Central last night. After a perfect lemon drop martini by fabulous bartender team, I endulged in appetizers. Buffalo mozzarella? The freshest I've ever had. Filet mignon tartar ? Completely awesome. Look out for a new disk on the menu: Ratatouille. Yum.

Is it true - do I smell Corduroy soft shell crabs ? Is there any chance that Tom Power has once again mastered yet another fab sauce? Please please please please say that it is true !

Ferhat: You are by far the classiest , most elegant, understated and excellent server in Washington Dc. i wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Please keep in touch. For me, on the selfish side, I am never going to know what to drink at Corduroy again with my meal. Your excellent tasted in wine selections throughout the years have made every experience at Corduroy memorable. We will miss you.

Bummer! I just saw the list of Dr folks. I'm out in Herndon tomorrow all-day. have a good time!

mr ulysses: as long as you have a good stock at fabulous Central, that is all I need to know. I'm sure the well-trained bar staff will know what I mean when I ask for it. An excellent time was had on Saturday night. Thank you for everything. I will be he first in -line to try said blueberry cocktail

To all DR members: RUN. don't walk to Central. Brian (GM) and Justin Guthrie, aka "ulysses" (Bar Manager), as well as Chef Cedric know how to keep diners well-fed, well-served, and well-soused with extremely well-prepared food, excellent recommendations on wine, and total encouragement to mozy-on up to the bar for an after dinner drink. Be wary: there are many tempting items to Central's menu. My good friend Nadya and I decided to venture last night & check out for ourselves: "Gee what is all the buzz about ?". First: we did not have a reservation. knowing a table would be difficult, we decided to show-up early , be polite, look hungry and ask to ge seated. we did! Host stand was most gracious and we got a table "right where the action is" - in front of the open kitchen. we later realized this was to our advantage as all Central cooking staff soon became our dear friends, as we proceeded to stuff ourselves with completely indulgent items. Second: a perfect cocktail. I ordered a Cosmo, and it came not as the typical "pink" one but yellow-colored with floating cranberries. It was perfectly mixed. Having a perfect cocktail only means one thing - it goes down quickly. Most dangerous. Third: What did we eat? The question is - what didn't we? kitchen sent over fabulous onion tart/pizza with lardon. It was not just "a bite" it was more like half a pizza. Our "ordered" starters were the frisee salad with lardon & the duck rillettes with pate. The frisee salad was classic - with a properly poached egg on top the smothers everywhere when you cut into it. The duck & pate combo were "byond" good. I especially liked the pate, it had a mix of froie gras and something else . We kept this dich on our table all night, as we were determined to have every morsel bite - even though its like 50% FAT! UUGH! Fourth: As we moved on to mains - those consisted of hanger steak and lobster buger. Both -yummy , delicious. However, by this time, we are stuffed to the point, How can anyone eat more? But there is always room for dessert.......... Fifth: Souffle - that has a perfect texture, & is one of the highest and firmest souffle's I've ever eaten. Had a bit of an orange taste. Comes smothered with a chocolate sauce (EVERYONE must try this - out of this world). We also had the famous "kit kat/hazlenut bars" - which grew in size! The ones served at Central are more like a hazlenut bar - extending the length of the plate. Sixth: Complete indulgence. ended with bubbles. A blueberry champagne that is out of this world. Why stop at one glass? I had two. So did Nadya. Seventh: By this time, we 've been sitting at our table for hours. Eating , drinking, and getting to know the team at Central. And chef Cedric still offers to make us " a little something before you leave" My God Chef! The meal is amazing, but I can barely move. But, can I take a raincheck? Again - DR members - RUN don't walk to Central. Michel Richard's team has again elevated the meaning of service & food in Washington DC. Nadya? care to comment from your side?

the problem is these divine "Chocolate Hazlenut Bars" LOOK like kit kats. So if Chef Tom does not want everyone to call them by the way "they LOOK", then we need to help with a "naming contest". I'll throw in the first few names : what about "TOM TOM's" or "POWER BARS". This is about marketing the brand. any other suggestions? [Edit] Ok, as usual, just reading the latest posts , I need to get over there again at some point. but UUGHH! I can't get my act together for a few weeks. Work just interferes with my life.

You are taking me back to the day Barbara. I practically grew up at el Caribe. My parents would drive into AM every Sunday to buy the Spanish newspapers and then we would got o el Caribe for lunch. When I got older - we moved to La Plaza. What a wonderful restuarant - and I agree 100% on the flounder dish. I remember those gorgeous Renoir reproductions that Raul had in his restaurant. He used to get so stressed working the front of the house. It was funny. My family knew him for years.

Treznor: I'm glad you liked the restaurant, I know I did. I was with my Mom and Dad when I went, and since my Mom is Cuban, there was quite a high expectation on taste and authenticity. And this restaurant passed the test, certainly for the dishes we tasted. We had wine and felt we overpaid for the quality offered. So next time I'll take your sugesstion and go with the Mojito or Caparinha.

Trader Ronald: Your store is fantastic. Everything about it is good. Since I work in VA, I often stop by on my way home in DC and just "whip" into those unknown parking spaces in the garage - so roomy and so many of them! Its excellent. Unlike Whole Foods on P st. where you have to "wait" for a parking space, I never have to wait for anything at TRader Joe's. Keep up the good work. I'll say Hi next time I'm there.

Finally got a chance to try Cafe Salsa the other day with family who are in-town for the holidays. It is a mix of Cuban, Peruvian, with some Mexican thrown in for the heck if it. Our appetizer, Chicken Quesadilla was pretty standard, but came packed with chicken that was tender with flavor. Yummy! We moved on to the mains: - Bistec de Palomilla - Chuletas de Puerco - Sandwich Cubano - Arepas The Bistec de Palomilla came smothered with onions in a light brown sauce/gravy with a very tasty side of rice and balack beans. The chuletas de Puerco were tangy & moist . The restaurant served us quite a large portion. The Cuban Sandwich was as good as purchased in Miami - everything was right -the bread, pork, you name it. And finally, the Arepas, which came stuffed with meat that was similar to ropa vieja minus the sauce were also quite good. They offer some wines, I'd recommend to stick to the cocktails. Since it was late lunch, service was very attentive, there were only few tables in the place. Here is their website , www.cafesalsa.com Happy eating.

Having one of Calvert-Woodley's recommended 2005 Bordeaux. Love it. Go get some

Welcome Jeff. Look forward to checking out the new menu. In fact! I just tried to make a reservation for Wed. night and you have nothing available on the earlier -side, as I have tickets to the Studio Theatre at 8 pm. Goes to show - looks like you are catching on! Look forward to the cooking.

Hey everyone - so maybe its because I've been sheltered (NOT), but the last time I heard reference of a "supper club" was in North Carolina, where I was taking a class a few years ago. So, I figured it was a Southern thing. Can someone help? what exactly IS a supper club?

Decided to take the day off, after a weekend of galivanting around Washington DC with a friend from out of town. Winding down the day with a wonderful glass of prosecco. Actually, two glasses.

Chica: I'm so proud of you!!! finally we get post from you. What I will do is bring my appetite. And therefore, do you fabulous cupcakes justice with my eating.

Its a classic Don Rockwell picnic. I have to remember to bring my tupperware.

Long day at work. Complete overload on information. So, needed vino to wind down and relax. Currently drinking 2001 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. So worth it....

How did you like it? I was there for dinner the other night. Quite good. Everything was top notch. Love the wine list, but of course, Danny is super picky about his list. And of course, everything he offered was incredible. I had sparkling saki at the bar before we went to dinner. How was it for you?

I love having people over for dinner. But I am with most of you - the number of people I invite is purely dependent on how many chairs I have - a total of 6. So, my dinner parties are pretty small. I think 8 is the right number. I go for themes: lke "Belgian" - I buy a bunch of Chimay and other Belgian beers, go to the market and get 4 dozen mussells, and then do french fries right before everyone gets there. And we eat for hours. But mostly, I serve the first course - a soup/salad, and then the main is served family style - so I can have time with my guests. And never run low on vino! I always buy too much, but once - I ran out!. I also like to give more formal ones - where things are plated. I recently did that for a friend's birthday and it was great fun. Let's see, the menu was: Starter: Mushroom Pate, 1st: linguine with Tomato Cream Sauce. 2nd: Eggplant Salad with Basil. Main: Fish with Shallot butter Sauce over bed of Spinach. Dessert: Profiteroles. So mktye will like this one - I messed up the profiteroles big time. As you know, I am "baking challenged". The dough came out too dense and not "light and airy" like the recipe stated. But I stuffed them with ice cream anyway, and slathered with chocolate sauce. No one noticed. It also had to do with the dessert wine - we had too much and by the end of the meal, we were all doused. Smokey - I'm with you. Same experience here. Everyone I invite - always comes and always eats. Amazing!

Barbara: can you go with Dame Edna? I just RSVP'd and talked to Rissa. I am on the list for that dinner. Would not miss it. I'll be solo that night.

Woo Hoo! That will compliment really well!

Fall Fall Fall & cooking? What do I cook? Definitely look forward to anything with Acorn or Butternut Squash - from soup, to pie, to whatever. And I'm loving the various greens - kale & cabbage. Oh, and how could I forget about beets! Love beets. Finally figured out how to work with them last year. so, I'm ready with some new recipes. Now that I just finished all the tomato, & pesto sauce varieties for freezing - there isn't much room in the freezer left!

For me, one of the things that makes any restaurant unique - is not only the food, but also the people - and in this regard Hans Hess IS unique. As the Don Rockwell board can read for themselves, Hans Hess is passionate about his burger, fries, quality, and the entire process of getting a fresh burger and fresh fries out to his customers. When I first met Hans, I had this entire "build-up" to the situation from my boyfriend, who knew him. We were meeting a bunch of people at Elevation Burger for dinner. Hans took a break and joined us for a few minutes. I must say, that within the course of those few minutes, Hans exuded passion , committment and creativity. When we've returned, I've heard this man talk about the potato process, and how he wants to store them in a cooler for a period of time before he serves them, and what is the best approach to do that? I've heard detailed discussions on the supplier process in the area and the trial and tribulations of being a "one-stop" /unique place, and not a chain with more volume. I want to also add, that I just DON'T go to ANY fast food places. The reason I don't go is that my stomach cannot take it. If I have a Big MAc, or anything from Five Guys, sure enough an hour or two later, I've got grease overload and my stomach is churning. So, I've shunned fast food for years. I've dismissed it from my RADAR entirely. I'd rather starve, and I have. So, I had some serious concerns to try the Elevation burger when I first went, thinking " Will this be another episode ?" I had hoped the organic beef would make a difference, but I was still concerned. And I am happy to report, that NO ISSUES. To me, this means, there is actual Beef in the burger and that whatever process Elevation Burger uses to cook - that its not greasy, and makes my stomach happy. What I can say is that this guy wants to serve a great burger and great fries, and he is passionate about it. Sit down and talk to him about his ideas, because he has tons of them. Meanwhile, Elevation Burger is the only fast food place I will go to. So enjoy - and have a shake, burger, and fries. They are awesome.