wrash

My wife and I went back to Trummers on Main for my birthday last week. We'd been back since the new chef, Jon Cropf, had arrived for the new version of Sunday dinner, but this time it was on a week night for the regular menu. They were offering a tile fish entree, which I hadn't seen before at Trummers, and a number of other entrees that I think had been offered for a month or so. The tile fish was the best example of that item I've had anywhere, which is saying something. My wife had the pork loin, which was very well put together. We had an Austrian pinot noir. The baked oyster appetizer is good enough that I was willing to try oysters that weren't raw. Overall it was an excellent dinner. I think the new chef is finding his footing, Trummers is worth a visit. In January I took my family to Trummers for their Sunday dinner. The new version of that meal is based on an entree that's shared family-style along with sides, etc. Normally, there's one shared entree per table, but we had enough people that they provided two, one of each entree that was available. Some of my family members would have preferred to have the regular menu so they could get choices they preferred. Wayne Rash

Maybe that explains why I keep running across Dunkin Donuts in odd places when I travel in Europe. I found one just outside of the Hannover, Germany, train station when I was there on assignment in March. It seemed pretty crowded, so apparently Germans like their donuts. On the other hand, the other hundred or so food vendors in the train station don't sell donuts, so maybe they just want something different from beer and sausage, although I can't figure out why. WR

Has anyone been to the new Trummer's Coffee and Wine Bar yet? It's a spin-off of Trummers on Main in Clifton located in Gainesville, VA. Apparently it opened late last week, but so far I can't find a menu. Anybody been there yet? WR

I'm eating there in a couple of days with some not-to-be-named folks from that government housing unit over on 16th street. Any suggestions as to what I should think about ordering? This isn't on my dime. Thanks.

Trummers is now open for lunch on Friday and Saturday. The menu includes a reuben sandwich with house-made corned beef, house-made everything else except the rye bread. There's also their Farmers Burger, their house-made beer sausage and a falafel burger. The menu includes several snacks and appetizers, as well as some main plates from the dinner menu. I've had lunch on Friday a couple of times and had the reuben and the chicken-fried oysters as well as the vidalia onion chips and the fries. The botted beer selection is fairly small but well chosen. This is my new favorite place to have all those PR people go when they insist on taking me to lunch. It's close and I know it'll be great. Now, of they would only open on more days of the week for lunch. Here's a link to the lunch menu: Trummers Lunch Mar2015.pdf

It's probably just as well you went there. Trummers only started opening for lunch at the beginning of March, 2015. And even now lunch is only served at Trummers on Friday and Saturday.

I guess someone has to be the first, so here goes. We went to Le Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax with five people, three of whom have traveled extensively in France. One of those who had not traveled is only a little over 2 years old, the other is my son-in-law, and we're working on him. It was my daughter's birthday, and we added to the challenge of bringing a child to a nice French restaurant (we called to make sure it was OK) with my daughter's allergy to cows milk. Partly because the food is prepared to order, and partly because of the cuisine from the South of France, this was less of a problem than you might expect. The lamb tagine doesn't have milk or butter anyway, the beet salad uses goat cheese. For dessert the chef invented a blackberry savion. The restaurant is reminiscent of places I've eaten along the Côe d'Azur, especially at a couple of places on that street beneath the castle in Cannes. The dining room is inviting if not extravagent, the staff welcomes you with enthusiam. The menu is typically Mediterranean French, which is nice. There are a few dishes that are Moroccan, and several that have Moroccan influences. I had a wonderful foie mousse served with toast and cornichons. My scallops were perfectly prepared, which is unusual since most places overcook them. Other fish dishes at our table were examples of a deep knowledge of Mediterranean seafood preparation. The portions aren't huge, again typical of places along the Côe d'Azur where I've eaten. The entree prices are in the low to mid-20s. The wine list is small but well chosen and suprisingly well priced. One thing that got my attention is the $14.00 prix fixe lunch, which I haven't yet tried, but plan to try soon. Parking is a public lot across the street. This is French regional cooking at its best. As much as I like a good bistro in Paris, I also love the food outside of Paris, and that's the cuisine you'll find here. Wayne Rash

Originally we were going to have our anniversary dinner in Paris, but alas more surgery as a result of that tractor-trailer back in 2010 meant no airplane flights fo me. So I dropped a note to Victoria Trummer and asked if we could go there for dinner instead of going to Paris. When we arrived at the restaurant, there was a tiny sparkly Eiffel Tower waiting on our table so that it might feel a little like dinner on the Seine. But I don't think they serve braised short ribs like that in Paris. They were prepared using sous vide, and were wonderfully tender and tasty. Everything else was likewise superb. The martini wasn't as cold as it wasn the previous time, but then on our previous visit Stefan Trummer came to the table with a bottle of Russian Standard vodka and a dewer of liquid nitrogen, explaining that he was going to make my martini so cold that I'd stop complaining. He did. This is the first and only time I've had a vodka martini, with olive, frozen into a martini-glass shaped cone. Stefan laughed while he was doing this, clearly delighted to pull one over on me. Once it thawed out, the martini was just fine. This time, Stefan was away and another bartender made the drinks. Very nice, but without that sort of flair that only Stefan can deliver. If possible, the dinner has improved above its previous high level. Just be careful - you might actually get what you're asking for. Wayne Rash

Trattoria Villagio has been open for a couple of weeks in downtown Clifton. It's on Main St. across the tracks and across the street from Trummers on Main. I went to the soft opening and found mostly good food surrounded by chaos. It was even more disorganized that most soft openings. The dishes were mostly successful, but the Calamarato Pasta needed work. It arrived cold with the pasta underdone (we're talking pre-al dente here), so they tried again, and the second try was the same. Reverted to the safer Spaghetti Carbanata, which was very good. The pasta was clearly house made, the sauce quite good. The wine list is well chosen and reasonably priced, the drinks are well made. They claim that this was designed to look like an Italian rail station. I've been in a lot of railway stations in Italy, but this version is far too clean and orderly to really look like one. This is just as well since I don't think I'd like to eat in the main station in Gaeta, for example. If you find yourself in Clifton, it's worth a stop. There's also an attached market that has nice Italian groceries, but only in a limited supply. The market also sells carry out pizza. I plan to go back. Wayne Rash

We went to Absolute Barbecue in Manassas for dinner tonight. This is the real deal. The whole hog pulled pork is cooked for 24 hours, the brisket for 17. There's not a lot of smoke flavor, but the pork is perfectly cooked, very moist and tender. There's a pit for the ribs, and they are exactly right. They're not the fall-off-bone tender that indicates being boiled first. Instead these ribs still have substance and texture, but the meat comes easily from the bone. I also tried some brisket, which is less smokey than Black's in Lockhart, and the rub is a little more salty, but the meat is very juicy and full of flavor. This place has the right decor for a barbecue place. Plain tables, metal chairs and live music sometimes. They make the sides in the kitchen, and the fried okra is as good as grandma's. the beer selection is small but well chosen. This is real barbecue. The place is a little hard to find, but trust your GPS. I'll be back for another visit very soon. Yum. Wayne Rash

Here's an update on Heart in Hand in Clifton. The decline continued. Eventually the management made a feeble attempt to turn it into a bar, noted mostly for its malaise. It wasn't interesting enough to get the local writers to hang out there, which means it was pretty bad. Also, the AC didn't work. Eventually it slid quietly out of sight. I don't think anybody noticed the day it closed. Heart in Hand was briefly replaced by a place called Weston's, which didn't have an ABC license, but did have an obnoxious person on the phone who enjoyed trashing his neighbors more than telling callers about his restaurant. It closed almost before it was fully open. Now an Italian place seems to be making an attempt. It's at least applying for an ABC license. But at last check it hadn't actually opened. So right now your best bets in Clifton are the Main Street Pub, formerly the Clifton General Store which is OK for lunch and is more of a bar at dinner. Then there's Peterson's which is an ice cream place that sells hot dogs and barbecue when it's open. The hours are at the owner's whim. Finally, there's Trummer's on Main, which remains excellent. They've upped the ante with a nice bar menu that's reasonably priced. If you're in Clifton, go there. --- [The following posts have been split into separate threads: Trattoria Villagio (wrash)]

I notice that there haven't been a lot of posts here regarding Taste of Morocco lately. I went last night to take my wife out for her birthday dinner. I ended up wishing I'd gone to Wendy's. I've been going to Taste of Morocco from time to time for years. Initially, it reminded me of dinners I've had in Tangier years ago when I spent some time in the Kingdom, and I enjoyed the familiar rich flavors and spices that danced on your tongue. The Bisteeya - we shared a small one for our appetizer - was once a delight of puff pastry and richness. Now the puff pastry remains, but the seafood version tastes more like they used canned tuna- you know the white tuna that has no flavor at all. I had the lamb tagine with almonds and raisins for my main course. My wife had the chicken couscous. My lamb tagine was a braised lamb shank with some raisins and slivered almonds tossed in, but not stewed with the lamb. The dish was completely devoid of any unseasoning. Not only was there no salt or pepper, there was no evidence of cadamom, cumin, cinnamon, timeric or cloves or any of the other spices that make Moroccan food so memorable. It did, however, have vast quantities of fat - so much that by the time I trimmed the shank, there was more fat than meat. By the time I removed the bone, there was very little left that was edible. The chicken couscous consisted of a couple of chunks of boneless skinless chicken breast, one random and detached chicken bone, some carrots, potatoes, onion and squash over couscous. Like the tagine, it was completely unseasoned. My wife picked at her plate, but ate little. We took the remainder home where I simmered it over low heat and added the spices required to make it into a proper Moroccan dish. I reheated the very dry couscous with some chicken stock left over from when I made chicken stew a few days ago. I used the rest of the chicken stock to simmer the chicken and veg. The only saving grace is the warm bread served with oil cured olives which brought back some memories of North Africa. Once this was a wonderful place. Now it's sunk so far that I have no plans to go back. It's sad. I used to love this place. Note that there's been a Groupon out for Taste of Morocco. It's not worth buying. If you have one, get the chicken bisteeya. Wayne Rash

Staunton We had dinner on a very busy Friday evening at Aioli in Staunton. This is a tapas and Mediterrian cuisine place in old town. Most of our party of five had tapas. I had marinated olives with herbs and feta, grilled diver sea scallops and Marquez lamb sausage. Others had hummus, grilled crimini mushrooms, truffle risotto and several other items, but memory fails. I knew the chef had promise when the scallops arrived perfectly cooked. They were not the rubbery overcooked shellfish you see so often, but were fresh and velvety inside - exactly the way they should be cooked. The lamb sausage was made in-house and had the French - Morroccan favors that I loved in Tangier. The chef, Said Rhafiri, is originally from Morocco, and it shows. The chef uses fresh local ingredients and treats them with great respect. This is a fine place to eat and the tapas are well crafted with perfect execution. Wayne Rash

I've been delinquent about posting here. New EIC gig keeps me swamped. We ate at Trummers for my birthday, and the next day I left for Europe. The meal was flawless, the food superb. They've started carrying Russian Standard vodka for my martinis. This is partly because I asked, and partly because I'd been complaining about having to import my own every time I went to Russia. The fact that they would carry this just because I asked is very cool. Fortunately the martinis were also very very cool, or more accurately, downright cold. This is as it should be. I'd have provided a more detailed description of the dinner but my food sense was muddled by a catastrphe that was so horrifying that it almost defies description. But I'll try. My favorite sausage vendor in Germany was replaced by (God, give me strength to say this). My favorite sausage vendor, the place that had the stand in the Hannover train station where they sold their own house-made sausages and sold the local beer was closed and replaced by a Burger King. There, I've said it. I'm still trying to erase my food memories from that part of March. I was supposed to go back, but all I can think of is that Burger King sign, so I cancelled the trip. Sigh. Wayne Rash

So tonight I went back to the Springfield location of BGR The Burger Joint after receiving needed intelligence that you have to tell the order taker that you really, REALLY want your burger cooked medium. They'll ask yo twice if your really, really mean it. You have to assure them that you really, really do. So we did. And they did. And, mindful of Don's doubts, I checked the time. this time it was 12 minutes before the buzzer thingie went off. They do warn you that it will take 15 minutes, so I considered that this was a good sign. And indeed it was. When I got back to the table with our orders, both my wife's burger and mine were cooked exactly medium. The difference was remarkable. The burger tasted like it should have, the meat was sufficiently juicy that I got it all over one of my good shirts. I could taste the flavor of the beef, the nice char from the grill. And the cheese was melted this time. "This is as good as the hamburgers I make," I remarked to my wife. "Almost as good," she said. Ah, love, ain't it grand. Anyway, the burger was totally different from the sad, gray overcooked thing of yesterday. It was a joy. This is the way a hamburger should be, and I'm delighted. Too bad I don't have another Groupon, but that's OK. I'm happy to pay full price for a burger this good. A word of warning about the sides. The onion rings, which we had again tonight because my wife is addicted to onion rings, are in her words, "huMONgus." you only get 7 rings, but that's plenty. I ordered the sweet potato fries. I think this is the first time I've ever had sweet potato fries done in the Belgian twice-cooked method, and they were really nice. The surface was crisp while the interior was well cooked and almost creamy. This is the way fries should be. The warning is that they give you enough fries to feed you and your 11 other friends who came with you. Didn't come with a dozen people? Well, then you'll probably run out of space before you run out of fries. But you'll enjoy every bite of them while you overeat and consume enough beta carotene to turn yourself orange for a week. Yup, these burgers were the good ol' sloppy burgers that you always want and can never get, and this time they were cooked exactly right. Maybe they should post instructions for getting the right doneness on the menu? But it sure was good. I can see why everyone loves this place, but you DO have to know the secret. Wayne Rash

It was indeed about 15 minutes. I got through about 12 pages of a particle physics book, and that's how long that takes. WR

The Springfield location had two other tables occupied, so I don't think WiFi would be causing overcrowding there. But it would have been nice to read the paper on my iPad while I waited. I noticed a couple of other people with tablets they couldn't use. I'm not sure if you can tether an iPad to a T-Mobile BlackBerry or not. Next time I'll bring a portable 4G hotspot. Wayne Rash

Hi Fellow Rockwellians, So tonight I went over to the Springfield location for dinner since my wife was off at one of those interminable Girl Scout meeting, and I knew that I'd otherwise have to cook for myself, and while I like my own cooking, I'd rather cook for others. The Springfield location was nearly empty at 7:40 when I walked up to the ordering station. There were a few tables taken outside, which was understandable since it was a spectacular night. After looking at the menu, I decided to start with the basics, so I had the burger with cheddar cheese and bacon. I also had the onion rings and a soda. When I spoke with the young woman who took my order, I specifically discussed what I meant my "medium" including the part about being pink in the middle. I also asked for extra onions, but didn't realize that to get fresh onion rather than grilled, I'd have to ask specifically. Next time I'll know. When the burger was finished and I took my first bite, it was clear that the "medium" and "pink in the middle" that we'd discussed meant "beyond well done" to the cooking staff. It was gray, dry, tough and not particularly warm. The cheddar was cold from the fridge. I wonder if perhaps the cook lost focus, realized that the burger had been on too long, and then didn't give the cheese time to melt? The sandwich was one of those good ol' sloppy burgers with stuff squeezing out when you eat it. In other words, just like what I make at home, except that I don't overcook mine. Also, I make sure the cheese melts. The onion rings are those inch-thick kind that some people like, and some don't. I have mixed feelings about onion rings cut that way, but the menu does warn you. They're Vidalia onions, so the flavor is quite mild. The thickness helps, because otherwise you'd never be able to taste them. However, the heavy load of excess frying oil doesn't help. These were really greasy, not very crispy rings. I dried them with a napkin, which helped. The burgers are actually quite good, considering the level of doneness. But you really don't get the taste that you should get given the quality of the beef. Overcooking them is a disappointment because beef this good should taste good. When it's well done, it loses a lot of its taste. Maybe on my next visit I'll provide written instructions on the definition of "medium." I know the order lady understood what I wanted, but the kitchen didn't. I'm not sure how you overcome that. Now, a couple of other items that aren't directly food related. The Web site is broken. When I tried to enter customer comments, I got page after page of Java error codes. I found them interesting reading, but I think that BGR needs to send the webmaster to french fry school and find someone who actually monitors the operation of the site and fixes things when the code breaks. They also don't provide an e-mail address so that you can send comments that way when the comment form is broken, and leaking Java errors all over the floor. How hard could it be to turn on comments@bgrtheburgerjoint.com ? I'd like it if they'd clean the tables. I hate it when I get squashed tomato all over my iPad. I'd like it if they'd add WiFi. I get that you have to wait 15 minutes for a burger, and you should. Great burgers aren't fast food. But WiFi would help pass the time. Heck, even McDonalds has free WiFi. And along with fixing the customer comment system, they need to fix the BGR VIP card registration. It's also broken. The burgers have great potential, and they have great ingredients. It's too bad that things don't work well in execution. Wayne Rash

We ended up having Mother's Day dinner at Boxwoods, a restaurant in the new Mason Inn hotel on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax. This restaurant opened about seven months ago, and you can still see the evidence. The service is a little disorganized, for example, and a new chef is still getting his sea legs. The restaurant clearly has high hopes of being a fine dining establishment in Fairfax, which could use more fine dining. Unfortunately, Boxwoods is hampered both by being new, and by being part of a conference center. This means that the space is fairly spartan, there are no tablecloths, and the glassware, especially, is straight out of the restaurant supply store. However, the decorating, while minimalist, is attractive, and the food is good. They seem to be able to come up with roast beef that's actually fairly rare, the fish is nicely seared without being overcooked. There is a shortage of sides, however. Nearly everything is served with gratin potatoes, although you can get saffron rice or steamed rice on request. The restaurant was able to accommodate my daughter who has a serious milk allergy, which is more than a lot of places can manage. Overall, it was a pleasant place to eat. The prices are a little steeper than the experience justifies right now, but you can still get an entree for $20.00, and the wine list is reasonably priced. You can find out more at the Web site: http://www.acc-masoninnandconferencecenter.com/dining/ This is no Trummer's, but it's one of only a few non-chain, upscale choices in the area of Fairfax City. Wayne Rash

Last week's date night took my wife and me out of the rut we'd gotten ourselves into for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason was that I was tired of the same five or six restaurants that we seemed to rotate between. So when I noticed the sign for the Old Cairo Grill in the Wal-Mart shopping center in Burke, we drove over, lucked into a parking space, and checked out the menu. As you'd probably expect, this is Middle Eastern fare with hummus, pita, falafel and kababs. But this isn't a generic kabob house. The food here has a slightly different flavor profile that reminds me of food I've had elsewhere in North Africa. The proprietor, who is a very pleasant and extremely cheerful gentleman, assures me that the food is exactly like what you'd get in Cairo. I can't say from personal experience, but having traveled in the Middle East and North Africa, I can say that there are a couple of things missing. There aren't groups of men huddled around tables smoking. There isn't a fog of exhaust fumes floating in the open door from insane traffic outside, and there are no street merchants gathered around the door. While this does take away from the atmosphere (meaning you can't actually see the atmosphere floating around you), it does mean that you can actually taste the food. And being able to taste the food is a good thing. I had the Kofta Kabab plate, and while it's the skewered ground beef that you'd expect, the spices are different, and it's served on a rice-noodle mixture that soaks up the soaks up the juices from the meat. You're also served a tahini sauce, a hot freshly grilled pita and a simple salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and a little lettuce, dressed with a lemon juice vinaigrette. My wife had a gyro, but it's not the same as the similar Greek version of the sandwich. It's simpler, with different spices. We also had a hummus appetizer that comes with two grilled pitas. One interesting part of the flavors at the Old Cairo Grill is the use of cumin as a dominant spice. It's in the hummus and the tahini, and it's obviously part of the spice selection on the meats we tried. It's a nice change from the standard Greek flavors. The Old Cairo Grill is a simple space with wood tables and chairs, a white tile floor and some very nice art. One painting covers nearly an entire wall. You order at a counter and the proprietor delivers your food. This is a nice place. It's not fancy, but the food is good, and the prices are low. I'm planning to go back. You can find out more at the website: http://www.oldcairogrill.com/ Wayne Rash

We went to this traditional German restaurant in central Hannover, Germany, at the recommendation of a friend. Knowing my friend's tastes I expected world class cuisine, and I got it. I only regret that I'll be limited to one meal there on this trip. My dinner started with a bread service that consisted of German health bread and brown bread, served with a pate of duck and duck fat. I'm not going to go into the joys of duck fat since you all already know about that. The bread was freshly baked, and had just the right crust and chewiness. We polished it off so quickly they brought us more. I ordered a special of wiener schnitzel with potatoes fried in bacon fat. The wiener schnitzel was pounded very thin, and lightly breaded before being sauteed in butter. In other words it was perfect. It was without question the best wiener schnitzel I've ever had, anywhere. It was light, flavorful, and the taste of the veal came through nicely. The potatoes were perfect. They were browned with a lovely bacon flavor, and there were pieces of the bacon used for cooking mixed in with the potatoes. There was also a salad with a peppery dressing, and of course, the local beer, This is not a big restaurant, so having reservations does help. But the service was timely, thoughtful, and performed exactly as needed. The total price for dinner including dessert was 46 Euros, which I considered to be a very good deal. If you happen to be in this part of Germany, it's worth a visit. Reimanns Eck Lister Meile 26 Hannover Germany +49 (511) 31 35 30 Wayne Rash

Dinner was well along when the threat came. My wife was a few bites into her beef shortribs when she put her fork and knife down, looked at me, and said, "This is my new benchmark for ribs. If you cook ribs, they have to be at least this good." I didn't dare ask what the "or else" part of the threat was, but by then she'd gone back to making the beef disappear. But in reality, this story of dinner at Trummer's on Main starts back in May. That was the day when a few friends and I were taking advantage of Trummer's half-price wine night and enjoying their house Cabernet, the freshly fried potato chips and some other snacks. I was talking to Victoria Trummer who had stopped by the table to bring more chips. I told her how much I enjoyed the restaurant, but I lamented that while I could hear the trains that went by just on the other side of the parking lot, I could never see them. Yes, I admit that I'm a train buff. Victoria said that they did have a table that had a window that overlooked the tracks, but that it was best enjoyed in the winter. So Friday night we visited for a Restaurant Week meal, and were immediately escorted to a very cozy corner next to the fireplace, and also next to a window with a view of the rails. I was delighted. When Victoria stopped by the table a few minutes later to say hello, I expressed my surprise that she'd remembered our discussion. "It's just coincidence," she replied. I'm not sure I believe that, since I'm convinced that they keep track of every conceivable customer preference. They remembered how my wife likes her Brandy Alexander. They remembered how I like my martini. They remembered our names. I'm impressed that they go to this much trouble, even if they're just keeping notes tucked away in their computer system. Anyway, on to dinner. The Restaurant Week menu was short but well chosen. My wife chose a spinach salad for her appetizer, I chose a country pork terrine with French prunes and whole grain mustard. The spinach salad was served with a warm dressing and a slice of bacon on top. My wife reported that it was the best salad she's ever had. Ever. She refused to share. The pork terrine reminded me of a similar dish I'd had once in Cannes, although the whole grain mustard added a flavor note that the earlier dish was missing. It was a classical French country terrine preparation, and was essentially perfect. The prunes complemented the rich saltiness of the pork, and the mustard brightened the flavors. We had finished our cocktails by then, and as I pondered the wine list, I noticed that there was a good selection of remarkably inexpensive Rhone reds. When I asked the waiter about them, versus a couple of domestic choices including the Trummer's house Cabernet, he offered some thoughts, pointing out that the vineyards producing the Rhone wines were virtually neighbors. But he said there were differences. To illustrate, he set us up with a tasting of several wines so we could decide which would go best with the beef we'd ordered. The Rhone wines were a little young, but the Trummer's house wine was fine, so we chose that. We both ordered the beef short ribs which were served on a base of cheese grits. According to the menu, these ribs are slowly braised in red wine until tender. One of the staffers reported that they were cooked at a very low temperature for about 72 hours. The meat was the ideal of what slow cooked ribs should be. It was tender without being mushy, the red wine braise infused flavor throughout the meat. Most of the fat that you usually see on ribs had melted away leaving meat that seemed to simply melt when eaten. Thus the reason for the previously mentioned threat. Clearly I'm going to have to find a way to run the ol' smoker at an even lower temperature, and cook my next set of ribs even lower, and even slower. Meanwhile I'm feeling inadequate. Dessert was Praline Semi-Fredo which is semisweet sorbet about the size and shape of a hockey puck served on a bed of crushed Oreo cookies and hazelnuts. There were other choices including ice cream and cake as well as a cheese plate but the Praline got my attention. It was just light enough to follow a rich meal, and just flavorful enough to make you feel like you finished off dinner with something that completed the experience. The restaurant was crowded, the bar was packed, the parking lot was full, so we had to park across the street. The service was attentive and perfectly timed. I don't think I could have asked for a better dinner experience. I think that Trummer's has really gotten its act together. But there was one regret. Despite having a perfect view of the tracks, Amtrak and Norfolk Southern found ways to keep from running any trains for the entire two hour duration of our dinner. I guess I'll have to try again. Wayne Rash

I've had a long series of disappointments at pan-Asian restaurants. This string of crummy dining has gone on long enough that when I was invited to join a few other former co-workers (when you're in journalism, everybody is a former co-worker because of the constant churn) at Nooshi on Thursday I approached with some trepidation. I'm glad I went. The menu has expanded since its days as a noodle shop, and includes sushi, grilled Asian dishes and soups. They have a nice Asian beer selection. I ordered two items, an eel and cucumber roll for an appetizer, which is a reasonably safe choice when in unfamiliar territory, and Singapore noodles. I had a couple of bottles of Singha to go with it all. The roll was well made. It was tightly rolled, and had the proper proportions of cucumber and eel to the rice. One of my friends had the soft shell crab roll which I also sampled. I was surprised to find that the soft shell crab was really soft shelled (something you see all too rarely) and was properly cooked and very tasty. My roll tasted of the eel, the sauce and the cucumber, it was very fresh. Next time I'll try a much broader range of sushi. On the way out I inspected the sushi prep area and I was pleased to see the selection and the obvious freshness. A word about Singapore noodles. There's really only one way to enjoy these as they were meant to be enjoyed, and that's when they're purchased from a hawker stand at one of the many food markets in Singapore. Well, getting to Singapore just for noodles is a really complex process since first you have to book a seat, then fly for 16 hours while being fed caviar, chilled vodka and other specialties by lovely attentive flight attendants, sleeping in one of those private bedroom thingies, going through customs and immigration, then getting into town. Instead, I took the Metro to Farragut West and walked a couple of blocks. Much easier and cheaper, although it would have been nice to have had a Metro employee serve some caviar and vodka. But when I got to Nooshi, I was delighted to see Singapore noodles in a setting where I thought perhaps they'd do the dish properly. They did. While they weren't quite as good as the noodles I've eaten in Singapore, they were really very nice. The rice noodles were properly cooked, the spices were correct, although they didn't exhibit the depth of flavor you'll get with the real thing, and the dish wasn't very spicy. Partly this is my fault since you can get them as spicy as they serve them in Singapore on request, but I forgot to request it. This place is crowded, noisy, high-energy and everything is in constant motion. They have a happy hour that I just missed. The good news is that I've found a pan-Asian place that's actually good. The only bad news is that it takes an hour and a half of driving, Metro and walking to get there. But I guess that's better than a 16 hour flight and a line at customs. Plus, you can chew gum. I'd go back in a heartbeat. I really enjoyed my evening at Nooshi. This is a nice place. Wayne Rash

We went to Duk Wo which is on Burke Lake Rd. in Burke, VA. This restaurant has recently reinvented itself, and to make sure everyone knows about it, they sent out a Groupon that gave you 20 dollars off for 10 dollars. I guess the idea was to get people to come back to see how the old Duk Wo has changed. The old Duk Wo was one of those neighborhood Chinese restaurants that was kind of down at the heels, but reliably OK. It would never win any awards, but the place was good for a quick Chinese dinner and didn't feel like driving too far. But the place was getting run down, the food was losing what quality it had, and many people, including me, stopped going. Now Duk Wo has been redone. It's bright and renovated inside. The booths are comfortable, the lighting is good, and there are Asian art-like things on the walls. There's even a sushi bar. The food, however, is nothing like the old Duk Wo. The menu is short, the selection somewhat confused with a Thai thing here and a Chinese thing there. You can get a design-it-yourself generic stir-fry in which you pick one of each thing to go into it. There are three soups, one of which is a hot and sour soup that's actually not bad. The won-ton soup is generic. The spring roll is generic and without flavor. My wife had the lo-mein, which she said was also without flavor. I had the crispy beef, which had a pepper on the menu promising heat that it failed to deliver. In fact the only flavor note on the beef was near cloying sweetness. It was, in other words, an Asian restaurant nearly totally devoid of Asian flavors. Sadly the service matched the inept nature of the cooking. Our spring rolls appeared, at room temperature, after our main courses. They forgot napkins. We had to request chopsticks more than once. At least they were friendly. Basically Duk Wo has become an Asian-like place without Asian flavor. I'm glad that I got ten bucks off through Groupon so I wouldn't feel as ripped off. But it wasn't really worth what I paid for the dinner even at the reduced price. My one piece of advice: Don't go there. It's just not worth the time and effort. There are other Chinese places in and around Burke, and even the mediocre ones are better than this. Wayne Rash

Karlsruhe; ICE train; Durlach So we went to Kommoedchen Restaurant in Karlsruhe. It was a short walk from the Renaissance hotel, which was a good thing, given the weather. The hotel staff had alerted the restaurant that we were celebrating our anniversary, and they went to a lot of extra effort to make the visit nice. The table was scattered with rose petals, they brought us a few things before dinner as gifts from the chef in addition to the usual amuse. My wife had the venison goulash with spaetzel. I had a seared duck breast with red cabbage and potato dumplings. The duck was done perfectly with crisp skin and pink in the middle. The dumplings were somehow very light and also al dente. The restaurant provided a nice Spanish red (which I've forgotten - jet lag strikes). The service was attentive, I think we had three waiters. It wasn't a Michelin 3-star, but it was very good. I'd recommend it, and I'd go back there again in a heartbeat. We also had breakfast on the BordRestaurant on the ICE between Stuttgart and Munich. As meals on trains go, this was very good, and much better than on Amtrak. The attendant said that she made it a point to cook the breakfast on top of the stove instead of microwaving it because she thought the results were better. It was indeed a new favorite thing - watching Germany go by at 200 MPH while dining in white-tablecloth comfort. I'd do that again in a heartbeat. One other culinary adventure was the Christmas market in Durlach. This is a medieval town, and they play that fact up. You can find people making armor, selling swords, etc. Think of the Renaissance Festival, but in a really old town. As is traditional in German Christmas markets, we had a choice of things to eat, with most of the stands serving that historic German favorite, "Pizza." We looked instead for sausages while also drinking a few cups of Glühwein here and there. What we found was a stand with a very large, coal-burning grill serving a variety of sausages. The bratwurst there is about a foot long, and served as seems to be the case everywhere in Germany, in a french dinner roll so you have about four inches of sausage sticking out on each side. They put mustard on that. We also discovered a form of fried bread called lango, which can be had as a meal vaguely like a pizza, or as a dessert with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. It's about the size of a French Bread Pizza, and deliciously bad for you. Oh. And they serve draft beer on the ICE trains. Wayne Rash