ktmoomau

I think you just set yourself up for planning a NOVA Happy Hour

I dislike the show so much, I forgot it was on last night. After hearing all this I don't think I need to watch it. Maybe I should let you guys preview all this seasons episodes before I bother to watch them. I really do miss last season so much. It was so neat to see a awesome bunch of people rising to the top without all this type of drama.

Had a burger for lunch yesterday and it was very good. Of course, the BLT my companion had looked awesome. I might have to try that next. FYI this is a great place for a lunch business meeting in the area as it is quiet and they will put you away from others and had no problem with the amount of time we spent there.

I have ordered for myself and others crab/crabmeat/crabcakes from: http://crabplace.com/ with good results. My Mom helped them get funding for a grant program (she is the director of the Microenterprise Council of MD) and they seem like really nice people. Local Maryland crabbers from Crisfield, MD. I have eaten some of their other products which were good, but I mainly stick with the crab.

That response to the chat today really annoyed me. I see more and more Virginia wine on wine lists. But having been to many of the wineries and buying lots of product there, the price does not make it an inexpensive just try bottle, when you factor in what the price would be at a restaurant. Most whites are at least $17 list price at the winery and good reds are more. Not that there aren't some good ones, but there are many people still not ordering them even when put on a menu at a decent price, not marked up much. Another thought to put out there is that a lot of the wine being produced in Virginia right now is not being held by the producer to age appropriately. There are a lot of young wines that will benefit a lot by holding them in your own personal cellar. I just bought some flying fox that I think will be awesome in a year, but isn't quite a s good right now. Restaurants can't hold bottles and wait for them to be at just the right age. And a lot of the producers are not huge and just can't hold the bottles, so you get the benefit of a lower priced bottle if you can hold it. 2006 the year of the drought produced some wines that are fantastic right now because the flavor of the berries was so concentrated, but they definitely needed some age. I love Virginia wine, I happen to be married into a family of Virginia wine addicts. I special ordered all Jefferson Vineyards wine for my wedding at the Greenbrier. I talk with people all the time about Virginia wine and my favorites, but restaurants are businesses they need to carry things people order. When more people start requesting them they will carry more, so if you want to see more, order more and request more. Restaurants generally want to give you what you want if they can make money off it too. I don't think that the Armstrong's are saying it isn't good. I think their response clearly stated that price, demand and other considerations drove their decisions, as well as, taste of wine. And that they in fact carry some Virginia wine and think much of it is good. (Sigh)

A hot mess.

Got delivery again last night as both Hubby and I were just whipped. I had the Polynesian special in an attempt to not cause my stomach insane but tasty damage. It was ok, but not as good as other things. It was nicely cooked but the flavor was just a little bland, but it had a nice variety of veggies, which I appreciate. Also got satays, which with both the peanut sauce and pickled veggie condiment together was worlds more interesting then the plain standard peanut sauce. I put a little of Hubby's Ka Prow sauce into the polynesian special and it made it much better as leftovers.

Fight the power! A bagel is a bagel, if it has toppings it is a bagel with toppings. A open faced sandwich is not a sandwich which is why they have to explain it, like saying bagel sandwich, if you have to explain why it is a sandwich, it isn't.

Thanks for this post Joe! Will definitely check it out. If it is better than Octagon for that price we will be buying a case too. Have you tried the Cuvee de Champs at White Hall? I think it gives Octagon a run for the money too. It isn't on their normal tasting list, but you can ask for it and they normally have it.

Hmmm maybe a DR group would be interested in going for the Sunday night special or a happy hour there? I would go. Thoughts?

Oh goodness seems like things went downhill fast. You wouldn't think you would run low on things on a Friday night. I luckily had tons of rabbit, and real cookies. But we did dine very early as we had just gotten out of work. Was the spice cilantro? I don't like cilantro I am one of the soap people and know some brunswick stews have it so asked to have it with no cilantro if it had cilantro. I have a mental list of things that may contain cilantro I dislike it so much- I have very nice family friends that make brunswick stew every year in the fall for a big family get together and after the first year it is now cilantro free for me. I wonder if the extreme heat tainted my taste buds or if they were just wildly inconsistent that night.

We are going, I forget where our seats are, but not in section 208, it might be the opposite end of the field (this is what happens when your husband who actually likes sports picks the seats or just hits best seats). But hoping to drive up in time to get a bobblehead!

A wrap is a wrap, that's why it is called a wrap. Sandwiches are topping sandwiched between two pieces of bread, not wrapped around in a wrap. Just my two cents.

I met up with my Mom this weekend and we went to the Severn Inn for lunch so we could sit outside and listen to the waves crash into the shore underneath us. We had chardonnay and an umbrella to keep us shady and a nice breeze. Mom got a crab salad that was really good, crab salad served with sliced avocados, hard boiled egg and lettuce either for making cups, wraps or cutting up to be more of a salad. I got a chance to try it and the crab was nice and fresh and the flavors were very refreshing. I had a chicken sandwich on foccacio with mozarella, roasted tomatoes and peppers with pesto that was fantastic, the chicken was crisp and juicy and the whole sandwich was full of flavor and juice that got nicely soaked up by the bread. I was not expecting the lunch here to be near as good as it was, I was really impressed.

So unfortunately I can post any reviews as I was not feeling good that morning and we ended up canceling our reservations. We went to the LEGO exhibit later in the afternoon, and it was pretty cool, especially as I also hadn't seen the solar decathalon exhibit.

Took some friends to dinner here last night. We started at the bar- really nice bartender. Hubby had a Main Street with bourbon and cinnamon that was really good, I had a glass of sparkling wine from Barboursville. We tried some of the popcorn at the bar with truffle oil and parmasean cheese and it was really good. The burgers did look fantastic will have to go back for that. But they normally don't serve their bar menu on Sunday night. Instead they have a three course menu for $38 dollars and many of their wines by the glass are just $5 on Sunday nights. I had $5 glasses of Norton from Clifton that was fruity, but nice with all the rich flavors I had. I started with the mussels and curried quinoa that was nicely balanced and very refreshing as it had a nice hint of lemon and a balsamic reduction. I tried Hubby's Mulligatawny soup and really enjoyed it as well, lots of celery and lime flavor in the broth. For an entree I had the lamb brisket which also was really good. The cut is fatty, so if you don't like fat you wouldn't like this dish, but it tasted delicious and was served with simple vegetables, sauteed in some butter. I ended with a cheese course as I wasn't feeling it for sweets, and that was nicely presented with some nuts, honey and fig bread. There were three samplings a wisonsin cows milk gouda, wisconsin cows milk cheese similar to a brie, but a little more flavor then a soft sheeps cheese that I forget the origin of. I also have to note that I love their breads here. The Sunday deal is a really good deal for some really nicely made and presented food. And stellar service.

Dined outside on the courtyard at Jackson 20 Friday night due to being with the dog and hungry. They gave him treats and fresh water. Although a lot of the menu looked really good, the blazing temps really didn't help our appetite. I had the rabbit brunswick stew, which although being a hot dish had a lot of nice veggies and the dumplings were very good in it, so it wasn't too heavy. They are country style dumplings that were biscuit like, and very good. Hubby got the ribs and they were good, oven made as the meat was falling off the bone and not smokey, but good none the less, and their coleslaw is nice. I like the dinner rolls in the breadbasket they serve, they are like good southern yeast dinner rolls, but in miniature. Also had the ice cream cookies for dessert and we really enjoyed all but the chocolate ice cream, which was just too rich in this heat and the chocolate ice cream was very normal. But it was nice to have ice cream out there in the heat. And the cookies were great. We also had cocktails. I had the Forbidden Fruit made with passionfruit that was nice and refreshing. All in all it is a really good place to dine with a dog in tow.

The same place you will find an attorney for $150/hour.

That must be nice I got woken up not having sensed a thing to some mild shaking and a freaking out dog at a time I don't often see. I think I would have slept through the earthquake without knowing a thing.

That is handy, thanks leleboo I followed their advice and asked Wegman's to start carrying one of the pole and line caught brands in their Fairfax store. We will see.

Al the Pal- Definitely remember to allow him a small splurge now and then. Not Ray's this week or anything, but my Father had heart problems for a long time, but absolutely loved steak and sausage. He grew up eating country food so it was a hard change for him. So he got some of those things every now and then so he didn't go nuts- normally he saved it for dinners out with friends so he didn't have to worry or be too picky when invited out by others- but he would choose leaner cuts and make sure it wasn't cooked with/in butter (well my stepmother would) and really watched portion sizes (which luckily was easy for him as he never ate huge portions and always gave his kids lots of bites from his plate). But overall he ate much more healthy than before. He loved chocolate, but lowered his consumption and switched to dark chocolates. He loved ice cream, but found fruit smoothies made with yogurt a nice alternative. My stepmother got really creative with her cooking so he didn't feel so upset by it all. He was so willful that if you didn't let him have something now and then he would have snuck it, so it was best to incorporate it into his diet in a more acceptable way. He also got more daily exercise by taking long evening walks. I remember taking him to Wegmans on a Saturday (he had never been to one before- it took us 4 hours to get through it) and he just loved the free samples of cheese and chocolate. He was in hog heaven that day even though they were only small bites.

As an attorney I can tell you honestly that people really do scrutinize their service, normally every line of their bill, which with the cost is certainly understandable. Even the courts scrutinize our services and their respective values. Many attorneys are not retained or kept based on their hourly rates alone. I think all service based industries are scrutinized, as they should be for their value. Some people value certain things that other people don't. As I am not a hungry teenager nor do I have the appetite of one, especially in this heat, I value better quality ingredients and care less about portion size. Eric values his time heavily as a factor in doing many things. Monavano values her ability to cook and bake. I think that is all appropriate which is why I say live and let live as I did above. As a note, the building they are in is a very nice new building, I imagine the rent is higher than say the location of Lebanese Butcher. I just lament that Saab does regular car service between 8-10 am because I have to get a service soon and would much rather let them service my car while I caught lunch or dinner at Orso. It would be sooo convenient.

Well I live in Ballston and will happily make the drive and pay the cost of Orso quite often. I think if they can make a profit then they can charge what they want. I think if you want to take your kids out for pizza and have a more cost effective meal, drive another mile to Lost Dog they have good pizza and it is cheaper. And we all can live and let live. I don't really think it is supposed to be a "family" establishment, although I am happy to have families there. I can understand some people thinking it was pricey. It might be, but I really felt it was worth it.

I really like both Passionfish in Reston and Blacksalt for the ability to order really healthy fish that tastes great and is healthy. for those especially careful you can get most of their fish selections simply grilled. Blacksalt looks like it has a lot of options, actually. I have also been able to eat pretty healthy at Zaytinya. Oh and Overwood might be a good pick too.

I hope so. I will report back! I love Againn, and would love to take our friends there, but their brunch menu is so uninspiring. I know it is difficult to do interesting brunch, but I really get tired of the usual suspects.