ktmoomau

Oval Room has an ultra-late reservation. But I wouldn't rely on OpenTable since many restaurants don't list tables for groups that large.

I don't rely on open table, instead I call or have Amex platinum call. You can often get in places that Opentable.com says are booked.

So I was hoping after last night's happy hour, when I remembered how good their menu was, that I could get a reservation at Proof for my Mother in Law's birthday this Saturday... no such luck.

I need a place that is upscale, where we can do something festive afterwards, in DC or VA, you know family quality time and all that jazz. Six of us in all. They will eat lots of different cuisine, but nothing too weird, as they would say, nice wine list preferred.

They loved Central, we've done Tosca they loved that, they aren't huge into tapas so no Jaleo or Zatinya.

I thought about Brabo or Geranio in Old Town, but you never hear much about them. MIL really likes fish dishes too. I thought about Blacksalt, but it is nowhere near anything. Need to check out reviews of Bibiana. Anyone been to 701 since the reopen?

Any other suggestions? Price range about the same as the above mentioned places. Or thoughts on the above places?

Thanks to everyone that attended. Adam - the punch was fantastic!! I don't know if you can make that a regular part of the drink menu (isn't there some restriction about prepared alcoholic drinks? maybe just in MoCo....but I remember a discussion of why sangria couldn't be pre-prepared at Jaleo).

A few charcuterie boards were ordered and the offerings on there were splendid. The company was even better. It was good seeing so many friends and meeting some of the boards newer members.

I apologize for having to leave early (and missing Rocks!). Hope everyone else had fun.

Thanks for organizing.

It was so nice to meet everyone. Will look forward to seeing everyone around in the future.

Or, better yet, a certain type of chaps will guarantee they will find you.

Hahahaha, well I wasn't worried until now. Good thing the husband is coming.

I would recommend Shelley's if you aren't into the Euro-hipster thing. It is more regular bar, with comfy seats and tables. But it can get extremely smokey, their odor eaters aren't the best. I didn't know you could smoke cigars at Aroma... duly noted.

I almost always take a Champagne and always unchilled so that the host or hostess will not feel any obligation to open it that night.

But as a note you are one of the best dinner companions/guests one could ever hope for. If only people like you wrote entertaining columns, well they wouldn't be very salacious and not as many people would read them so the magazine would go under, but at least they would be considerate of the people who lovingly invite others into their homes and company. Isn't that what a hostess gift is supposed to be about anyway.

When I go to parties of that nature I wear my Valentino mink and just wait for the chance to say "mahvelous, Darling" and "Cheerio." Oh wait, I am never invited to parties like that, I like the people I drink with... But if I ever was invited to a party like that lots of, "mahvelous, darlings." But I find with people of that temperament the more I can seem like a southern version of ab-fab the better.

Her life actually seems a little sad though, it makes me thankful for all my really wonderful friends.

I don't know for how long after Thanksgiving they will have the pumpkin cheesecake with maple whip cream and pralines, but it is worth a try. Really light and airy cheesecake, not a dense NY style or anything, but the lightness is really nice with the rich flavors and the sweet crunch of the pralines. We went for lunch the other week before our play and it was wonderful. The fennel and apple salad their is so fresh tasting it is addictive. Between that and the Vermont pizza and the pork chop they make it really difficult for me to try new things.

I will be there, I think I will bring the +1 too. I will be the one who recognizes nobody as it is my first DR event)

KT

Some friends treated Hubby and I to a meal here about a month ago now. We started out with a Cakebread Chardonnay and some very good bread, warm and crusty, but tender. I started with the Vanilla Belly. A vanilla pork brisket with rhubarb, spinach and grenadine. This was luscious, but not overwhelmingly rich, the rhubarb really balanced the vanilla. I am normally not a huge fan of vanilla, it was balanced will, next time though something different. I also stole a taste of the oxtail ravioli, which was really rich, but the pasta was really well made and the meat was tender as can be, this definitely won as a starter. Based on the multiple entrees I got to sample the best thing to order is fish, although everyone's entrees tasted good my favorite was my Cobia really tasted wonderful.

But dessert really stole the show. I ordered the sweet potato, which was sweet potato ice cream over a gingerbread poundcake, maple and fluff, which really tasted like fall to me and was really comforting. But the concord grape stole the show. The soft cake with the tangy grape sorbet and cognac cream was so refreshing I was a little jealous I didn't order it myself.

Overall it was a great meal in a beautiful setting and I can't wait until I can go back. It truly is worth the drive for the city and if you are looking for a romantic special occasion dinner this place is a wower. I love the Onyx bar and will be back for that burger now that it has been promised to be so good. The remodel is really beautiful.

There is a Virginia Wine of the Month Club that I keep thinking about getting my Father in Law, but he is a little Virginia obsessive. Hubby got his employees a beer of the month club from somewhere I will check where that they loved (I think it was mainly microbrews). We also send crabcakes or smith island cake from crabplace.com or The Sweet Shoppe in Crisfield (they have a website, but I forget what it is) to our grandparents.

Just wanted to report back. We really did so much sightseeing and my friend's Grandparents treated us to a couple nights out so I didn't get to eat out at suggested places a lot. We were staying up in La Caí±ada and I can report that Los Gringos Locos in La Caí±ada is pretty tasty. I also really enjoyed Ichiban up in La Caí±ada for sushi. It was extremely fresh. It is so interesting how a little sushi joint out in the burbs can be so good and not prohibitively expensive. It isn't extraordinarily creative, but for good, really fresh staples it was excellent.

And a balboa bar from Sugar and Spice with heath bar crunch is really good. I also had a burger at Ruby's on the pier in Seal Beach [Closed in early 2013] for the experience, for being what it is they had good fries not soggy, very crisp and the burger with jalapenos and avacados was a good fast food burger, I was disappointed that there were such bad options at the airport, I was really hoping for an in and out burger.

Cafe Santorini in Pasadena was okay, I liked everything I ate, but wouldn't be somewhere I would necessarily recommend. Really nice balcony though.

I did get treated to some wonderful homemade shortribs and fresh artichokes.

What about Patisseries by Randolph in Arlington? I think their baguettes and croissants are quite good. They are one of the few places in DC where I can find croissants that taste like they do in France. I haven't had a baguette in a while but remember it being very good when I had one.

Went to brunch with my brother, his fiancee and the momma the morning after Halloween. Now I know this probably wasn't the best day to brunch, even the second string staff putting on brunch were probably horridly hungover and in no mood to cook. But I was hoping for some good comfort food myself. But while it was ok, I guess I expected it to be better.

The bread put on the table- a small monkey bread type of thing was over baked and dry. I know it is just bread, but to me I love good bread at restaurants and really appreciate the extra effort. This you could tell by looking, let alone touching it, was overbaked, so why bother serving it.

I had the oyster po'boy hoe cake. The oysters were good, nice crisp texture on the outside but appropriately tender inside. The hoe cake itself was just a small pancake really. I guess I should have asked before I ordered, but I was expecting something different. The only other part of the dish was some shredded lettuce and the sauce. The sauce was really good though, not to heavy with a nice zip and tang to it. What perplexed me was that the dish was not really a starter too heavy, but too small really to be an entree. I ordered potatoes on the side when I realized that was it. The potatoes were actually one of the best things I ate that day they were spicy, tender and crispy in parts with peppers mixed in. I really liked the potatoes.

Brother ordered chicken fried steak, which was pretty good. The waffle was nice and tender, the chicken was a little overcooked, but not by a lot. It was a nice sweet and savory bite in your mouth, but again the whole plate was just missing something, some flavor just wasn't present.

Mom ordered Gale's pancakes. These were a failure. They tasted too tangy and it wasn't balanced at all with the choice of syrup. I am not sure how many people would actually like these or if the batter that day was off, but I can't imagine them being a hit as they were. I really wanted to like them I took several bites to figure out why they were so unappealing because I really love a good pancake.

Brother's fiancee ordered chicken fried steak. The steak was a little rare for chicken fried steak which didn't bother me, but I certainly noticed it. I don't love well done steak, but for chicken fried steak things are a little different. The breading and gravy were good though.

What I really noticed overall was the lack of vegetable or fruit on most plates. I realize I ordered extra starch, but the choices of the choices for sides it sounded the best to accompany my meal. I had a small bit of lettuce, Mom had some fruit, but it was mainly a big pile of starch and protein covered in starch. I would think they could have easily worked in some greens, fruit or something. And with all that protein and starch you didn't leave like you sometimes do after a gluttonously good meal reveling in it, instead I left feeling the whole thing was really mediocre and a little pricey for mediocrity, had it been good I wouldn't have noticed or cared about the price. They seem to get better reviews for dinner, but it will be hard for me now to take the chance. I really wanted this place to be fantastic. I love Southern food and crave it so often, but at least for brunch this will be a skip for me in the future.

I'm trying to avoid a tasteless fiasco at the in-laws like last year (although, with shag carpet and 70s-era fixtures in their house, "tasteless" is a foregone conclusion).

I was thinking I would make a dish or two down here, bring it up there, and reheat it in their oven.

Anyone have any suggestions? It needs to travel well, reheat easily, and be delicious.

And by "reheat easily," I mean stick in the oven. No additional prep. Their only cooking tool is a telephone.

I highly recommend the stuffing in Giada's Everyday Italian cookbook that she always makes with pancetta and foccacio. I made it last year (minus the garlic because the in laws didn't have garlic) and it was really the best stuffing I have had for Thanksgiving, you could do all the steps except adding the stock before hand and I think it would be fine. It is hard being somewhere else that isn't your home with your food, this year I will dearly miss my Mom's mashed potatoes and gravy because they are honest to goodness the best ever, but this stuffing should be the way to the light. Also I find people who eat store bought pie are amazingly impressed with homemade pie, pecan pie is super easy and no one will notice if you buy the crust (although pie crust is super easy). I have a cupcake carrier and I put a pie on each level, but I have to normally make like 4.

Hey All,

I am headed to LA for an extended weekend. Staying with a friend who lives near Burbank. She is on a student budget. I know we will probably go to Santa Monica, the Getty and West Hollywood. Looking for some nice cheap to moderate, more casual eats, and one moderate to nice place to take her as a thank you dinner (Think Central, Proof budget range). Would love to perhaps get some things we don't have a lot of around here. She loves local beer, so a nice gastropub might be fun? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance, I have never been to LA so looking forward to a nice trip.

---

Angeli Caffe (deangold)

And a mockup...

That looks really nice I think Don should owe you a drink exchange for the effort

Are there any spots left? If so I would be interested.

Trummer's has a killer burger on the menu. By far the best I've had in/around DC, and that includes Hellburger and Palena. Obscene fat to meat ratio, with some surprises in terms of ingredients and seasonings. Very good.

The problem with this though is like Central, the rest of the menu is so darned good, how do you go and eat a burger? I love me some burgers, but...

I will say though that eating a burger on the onyx lit bar would probably improve the burger taste to me just because that bar makes the whole room so comforting and relaxing, and eating while relaxed has to make food taste better. And can I just give a big kudos to the bartender a couple of weeks ago when I was in at the bar with the Hubby we ordered two glasses of wine while waiting for friends to join us for dinner and they poured a small tasting pour first to make sure we liked the wine. That is really nice, and I really appreciated it. But pretty please if someone from Trummer's is listening put your red wines by the glass on the bar menu there wasn't a page for them the other week and I can't remember there being hooks on the side of the bar where the hostess stand is, I know it is a little strange, but especially in this day and age where purse stealing has unfortunately become more common it is really nice to be able to hook your purse right in front of you, so it isn't on the floor or out of site and isn't in someone's way. Maybe there just wasn't one near my seat, but I couldn't remember finding one there.

So what's the deal with Virginia wine, anyway? What is the general take of the DR cognoscenti on "Virginia wine" as a whole?

I just got back from Napa. It was my first time wine tasting or even being on a vineyard and... I've developed a taste for it. But why go all the way to California when I have my own little Napa less than an hour from my house in Fairfax?

I take pride in wherever I live (otherwise I wouldn't live there), so I really want to support and promote local wineries. I will smite any who refer to Virginia wine as "swill" on principle... but I'd really like to have something with which to back up my passion.

Dan,

I am not a wine expert, but I drink enough of it to feel my opinion is at least perhaps slightly credible. For Virginia wine most of my favorites are around Charlottesville(although White Fences in Irvington had some suprisingly decent bottles when I visited). My inlaws live in that area and have merrily supported my love of trying new wine and food so I get to go to a lot of wineries, my top favorites are:

Barboursville- they have two tasting days where you can taste almost all of their wines one in the summer and one in the fall really worth the trip, but if you taste everything you will have drank a whole bottle of wine so make a day of it).

White Hall- If they don't have it out ask to taste their Cuvee de Champs it is one of my favorites.

Flying Fox- relatively new but a lot of promise.

King Family- again also relatively new, they have polo matches there and that is a fun day to go if you ever want to visit fyi.

I know they serve some Virginia wine's at Passionfish (I don't know if any of the other ones have them too) and I keep seeing Octagon on more and more lists, I know it is on the list at Trummer's on Main.

I think that so far the red blends and viogniers tend to be best. But that is just my amateur opinion.

We have FREE UNDERGROUND parking (1st level of the garage at Zoso Flats) at American Flatbread - 1025 N Fillmore St (corner 11th & Fillmore).

Have you been in to try us? We are cheaper than all of the pizza establishments in the area and feature locally sourced and organic ingredients. Additionally, The Washingtonian has featured us as "Best 100 Cheap Eats" in the Greater Metro DC area for 2008 & 2009.

I didn't know you had free parking! There is normally street parking nearby, but that is so good to know. Thanks for posting this.

Sushi Zen is near our house so we get carryout from there every 4-6 weeks or so. We have never been blown away by anything we ordered there. The rice is ok, the fish is ok, nothing especially noteworthy. But, we continue to go back because, while the food's not outstanding, it's never bad either. And the people there are very genuine, they make a real effort to make sure you're satisfied, and the owners seem to care about the community (as evidenced by their various involvements in community efforts). These reasons, and their close proximity to home, will keep us going back. And who knows, maybe someday we'll be bowled over by something we order.

I feel the exact same way about this place. You nailed it for me.

I would put it in Mount Vernon.

I am getting a little tired of burgers and pizza not that I don't love burgers and pizza, but it's becoming a little overkill. It would be nice to see a more healthy casual restaurant. He seems to have a west coast vibe, why not some causal, but healthy stuff served in a low key environment? I would love to see him cook something like that and show some real creativity.

And I would love a nice healthy casual breakfast joint near the Eastern Market as all the breakfast places over there are so crowded. Or a place that had as good of breakfast as places like Matt's Big Breakfast in Phoenix. You could do farm fresh breakfast and casual other meals of the day and I would be all happy, but pizza... no, I doubt I will be going there.

I feel bad dissing two Liberty names, because I do love Liberty oh so much, but Lyon Hall reminds me of a place the Lion's Club would meet. That is too cool of a space for a lame name- really that space is soo cool. If it's really French they could call it Lyonnaise, but I think a cooler name could be had.

BTW what is the name of the building that Murky used to be in I saw a plaque on it for some sort of historic thing.