bhammonds

Thanks, Danny, for suggesting that. I too am a relative newcomer, having only posted twice although I joined the board several months ago. I used to live in Annandale and worked in Bethesda. My husband and I retired to South Central Pennsylvania where there is no restaurant scene at all, but I still get to the Northern Virginia area on a regular basis and occasionally to suburban Maryland so like to keep up with what's going on. Barbara Hammonds Clearville, PA

Good morning, I came across an interesting recipe a few weeks ago that called for an ingredient I had never heard of - verjus. I read that it is an early pressing of wine grapes and very tangy and sharp. They suggested substituting white grape juice and white wine vinegar if you can't locate verjus. I no longer live in the DC area but about 2 hours away in south central Pennsylvania; however, I get down to the DC area once every few months and often stock up on things I can't get locally (which is a lot :-)). Does anyone know of a place in Northern VA or perhaps Rockville or Bethesda where I can buy a bottle of verjus? I found a source online but the shipping was $15 which I am not willing to pay! thanks for any suggestions you can offer. Barb the Bee, Clearville, PA

Mister Big - I am a newbie to this blog as well; what a wonderful grin to see a post from someone who remembers Tops Drive-Ins and Giffords! Bet you and your dates and double dates split a Giffords Big Top on more than one occasion!

Hello all, I am a "newbie" to the world of food and restaurant blogs, having recently read about this wonderful resource in the Sunday Post magazine from a few weeks ago. I lived in Nothern Virginia (Annandale) for 25 years before retiring to south central Pennsylvania - a true restaurant wasteland! I get down to the DC area several times a year and always seek out new restaurants to try for lunch. I am paticularly interested in small, "hole in the wall" off-the- beaten-track ethnic restaurants that provide wonderful food at reasonable prices - no fancy surroundings needed. Vietnamese is a favorite, as there are NO Vietnamese restaurants within an hour of where I live now. I'm looking forward to checking out fellow diners' experiences and suggestions ! Barb the Bee