ktmoomau

Ended up here for dinner last night because they had outdoor tables available immediately, and we could sit with the dog. I ordered a chicken tamale, pork and cheese pupusa, chicken enchilada and al pastor taco. The tamale was decent, nice flavor kind of tasted like a corn chicken dumpling, but really not very different- just like chicken soup in a tamale. The pupusas are the best thing here in my humble opinion. A little crunchy on the outside, but tender on the inside, served with a nice non-mayo based slaw that I really like- I wish they would have given me some sort of salsa or chile sauce or hot sauce on the side though (I should of asked, but our waiter was only to be found at long intervals). The enchilada was terrible- no flavor in the chicken or in the sauce. The taco was ok, but the pork was in big meatball sized balls, and mainly garnished with onion- no cilantro, tomato or lettuce. Beans were gloopy, rice way too moist. I continue to hope to find something really good on this menu, I want to like this place. If I go again it will be just for pupusas or breakfast, which is decent. But Hubby had all enchiladas (which after eating my one I felt bad for him) and they were just dreadful. And I don't like their burritos either. It's like they are just missing flavor on so many items, and perhaps a little care. Should have gone down to Guajillo instead, but the pup was getting tired at Clarendon.

My in-laws in Charlottesville always go get fresh bagels for us when we are there from Bodo's, I really like them, but I probably haven't had any of the big heavyweight NY bagel names. But there is nothing better than warm and fresh.

So I am in the mood to go out to eat tonight, but the fuzz bucket has been in the crate all day, so I need somewhere with outdoor seating out now- preferably near Ballston. Any good ideas? I know Big Buns, Willow, Uncle Julio, Grand Cru, Liberty Tavern, Restaurant 3 and Boulevard Woodgrill have the outdoor seating out... Any other sightings? Especially ethnic. Will drive if need be. Thanks all. Oh and going to Rockland's tomorrow night so that is out.

Well I am wishing them all my best because I love the cart, it is the best pizza in our neighborhood, and the arrancini is mmm mm good.

*Sensing the need to find a place in my ridiculous little amount of kitchen space to store a dehydrator* I dry my own spices in the fall at my Aunt's house, it is amazing how much money you can save on herbs that way. I also got my Mother-in-law a nice dehydrator maybe I can go down there and we can experiment.

If you really like Mendicino you could try Sonoma instead? Very similar, but not in Georgetown. I like the squid with black risotto and the cheese and charcuterie boards. For before the show you could try Vinoteca? I still really like Central though it is where I take a lot of out of towners. I just went a week or two ago and it was as good as ever. I would also consider Proof.

I haven't eaten too many crepes in the area, but I think the little place in Alexandria, near the courthouse is good- Fontaine creperie. Mostly traditional filling, savory and sweet, but some nice selections. But again I don't eat too many here.

I actually got a super speedy response from Chris Turner at Hop and Wine Beverage in Sterling! I thought I would post the response in case anyone else was looking for it: To find Thomas Jefferson Ale try Whole Foods Market or Total Wine and More. Also, in Arlington you can try Westover Market. Wooohooo. Or perhaps Waahoooo is in order! I will try Whole Foods in Arlington first and let you know.

Any updates out there on when the Alexandria location might open? I walk buy and just yearn for it to be open... although it looks as if they have some time still.

I am looking for Thomas Jefferson Ale in Nova. I know I can get it at Eventide for consumption, but I am looking for a store that sells it. Has anyone seen it around?

White Sulphur Springs (The Greenbrier) - map Lewisburg (WV State Fair, Lost World Caverns) - map - directions from White Sulphur Springs Was at the Greenbrier at White Sulpher Springs for the weekend. They have a new steakhouse in the Greenbrier called Prime 44 West (after Jerry West) it was good, they had a nice variety of steak and fish. They do a table-side Caesar salad that was wonderful. Very garlicly, but fresh, with a good crunch and nice Parmesan. I had the veal chop which was great. The vegetables side was a nice mix of root vegetables and some asparagus, all cooked perfectly (obviously not together because all was crisp, but tender). Hubby had a steak which was really good too. I am not sure what Sam Snead's will serve when it opens back up as Prime 44 kind of stole and upgraded its menu. The main dining room menu was wonderful, they serve really classic dishes, but I feel like they have done a good job in keeping the preparation clean and a little more modern. I don't remember it being quite as good in the past. I had a perfectly cooked duck breast with sesame noodles and pickled vegetables that I couldn't stop eating. We got packed lunches one day for a hike and they did a great job packing just the right things for a picnic, packed in just the right way. Oh and fyi if you go to Draper's Cafe, get the hot ham and brie on pretzel bread sandwich, it is wonderful, I always get it there, and now make it at home too. As a note the resort was still wonderful even during the casino construction. The fact that casino patrons must be hotel guests was smart on the part of the state. I think they will have to open a few more dining options once the main casino is done (May to July). But I think they are being very smart about how they are building and using the casino, so far the atmosphere seems to be very much the same, but perhaps a little more lively. We went in to Lewisburg one night to visit the Harmony Ridge Gallery and eat at Food and Friends, but it was packed, so we ended up at Tavern 1785. I had a good ribeye (not like Prime 44 or a big DC steakhouse, but good) with excellent horseradish mashed potatoes. They also had a nice tomato basil soup, but next time would ask for it without sour cream or cema that was on top- it didn't need it, I took it out. Was a nice place for dinner if you happen to be in Lewisburg.

2941 does a lot of weddings... I am not sure about the space for dancing though.

Or the America America store in Union Station- you might find patriotic water or something. They have chocolates with the capital and all sorts of stuff like that- I think you can find them in that chocolate shop at Farragut North, near the Grooming Lounge. Or White House ornaments? They are always beautiful. They might not have the new ones though so you might have to get last years.

I am hoping this means I can get to the bar at Liberty Tavern. I really enjoyed the old Spider Kelly's too, the food was great and a steal, so if it is still that good, I will be back. But it did have a nice calm vibe. But in the map they seem to have tables in their own area, so maybe it will still kind of be a pick your atmosphere kind of place.

I agree with all the comments about declining in Chow reading. I too think the past 6 months or so the site has gotten less interesting. It is like the in-depth thought crowd that used to be there (many of them are probably you guys) are less frequent. And no one actually reads down through responses or fully even reads the whole posts often before responding. It feels more ADD than it used to. And I agree it is being over moderated, we used to get into some real brawls, most deleted in the end, but they were fun while they lasted. And some of the people who used to really keep people in line aren't posting as much. Some people just need a jpschust or ericandblueboy schooling over there. So thank goodness you all are here!!!!!

Had a very interesting evening at Columbia Firehouse last night. I was there with a group of 8-10 girls for a bachelorette party dinner. We were seated and didn't have cocktail menus and then didn't have drink orders for a long time, and had to flag down another waiter to get them taken. Which, ok we are a big group, but obviously celebrating. The cocktail menu looked good I tried the sparkling wine cocktail with macerated strawberries which was very good. I went with wine as it was going to be a long night. They had a good selection of wine with at varying price points. Then we were given a set menu without being told we would have a set menu and not getting to have input on that set menu. That irked me. If you want to give us a set menu- fine- but give the person organizing it a heads up and let them help. We choose the restaurant because of the strength of appetizers and our bachelorette loves their mussels and that wasn't on the set menu. So we asked the server to inquire whether we could have things off the regular menu. The GM came to our table explained they had a small, busy kitchen and that he would allow appetizers off the main menu, but entrees needed to be from the set menu. GM, as a note, perhaps you should tell groups when making a reservation about this policy. And as a note when you build a restaurant the size of Columbia Firehouse, perhaps make sure your kitchen is sizeable enough to handle the seating you put in. This place is huge between upstairs and downstairs, a small kitchen was not smart, but I digress. So I had wanted mussels as my main course, but I obliged and ordered mussels to start. I had them with tomatoes and capers. The mussels were a good size and fresh, the broth was good, although it was a little too capery. It came with a huge amount of bread, which would have been better plain, instead of with extra garlic and butter, because you are sopping up the juice, you shouldn't need anything else. We also had onion rings, which were good, light batter type, with nice sauces. The real highlight was the cornbread. We had to request bread, but when the cornbread came it was worth the wait. Nice texture, not too sweet, airy, but moist, this was really good cornbread. Then they brought out starters for people who had starters instead of appetizers, seemed a little odd to me, but ok. Entrees took a really long time to come out, but we bided our time with wine. I had salmon with gnocchi and broccoli rabe for dinner. The salmon was nicely cooked to medium it had nice spices on the skin. It came with a wonderful red wine sauce that sauced the broccoli rabe well. The gnocchi were good. They were light, but not pillowy. They weren't the best gnocchi I have ever had (Palena), but they weren't bad and they went well with the other components. We had so much food we decided no dessert and headed to some bars for liquid dessert. The food here was good, very solid. I would like to eat the food again, but the service... The server was really nice, he really tried, maybe he had too many tables, but the service was just slow. And it wasn't his fault that the kitchen took forever (and we stayed on the restricted menu for entrees and it took forever). But it's the type of place someone who really focuses on the whole experience of dining may not be whelmed with. Anyway I might go back to try some appetizers, but I won't be running back, especially with all the other options around. And I just thought the way the whole dinner was handled by management was improper.

Wanted to add the thanks for everyone coming out. Matt and I had a great evening and enjoyed meeting many more DRians. We can't make 3/19 (we will be happy houring at the Greenbrier instead) but have a great time and drink some good brews! Thank you to Eventide for treating us very well.

Stopped in the other night to pick up a coconut and almond cupcake for a friend I was meeting for dinner, who has a birthday today. We are big cupcake fans. Her Hubby decided to come to dinner, so I sent them home with them. After oogling the almond cupcake I went back to get another, but alas they were all sold out. But I got a chocolate with nutella icing cupcake, and I got a discount for them running out of almond, which was extremely nice (I will be back for the almond and maybe this strawberry talked about above). The cake itself was extremely moist and flavorful. The icing seemed to be whip cream based. It was good, but the cake itself was better. But I was very impressed with the quality. I still really love my Georgetown Cupcake, but it has some fierce competition very close to my home. My friend loved her cupcakes too, so, we will both be back I am sure. (Might want to move this thread to the shopping forum? Because I looked for it under bakeries int he guide, had to Google to find this)

Anyone been here recently? What should I not miss?

I went for lunch about a month ago. I had iced tea and a oyster po-boy. The iced tea was great ice tea, not lipton or some mix, but honest too goodness real (and good) tea. The po-boy was one of the best I have had in the area, the bread was soft inside but crunchy, the oysters fried well with good flavor, remoulade sauce was good but not to heavy. I have been meaning to get back there for lunch, but it wasn't a very healthy menu and I have been trying to watch what I eat for lunches so I can splurge on dinners.

Well you are in luck, Don Rockwell happy hour tomorrow night... (shameless plug, oh well)

How do I fit this is between a bridal shower and bachelorette party (not my own) hmmm.... I will have to work something out.

Ok so someone tell me how it was so I can live vicariously? Daniel did you meet my brother and convince him to join dr.com?

You can have the job back for the future. Ok Eventide this coming Friday aim for 5:30 (show up before 6). I can definitely make it earlier, as I am not in court that day. agm- 2 FunnyJohn- 1 stickmoon- 2 leleboo- 1 and me for 2 so far... Keep the replies coming!

I'm in this Friday, probably with my Husband. Does someone want to keep count? I can if people want to PM me, but someone else can feel free to take that role if they want?