jdl

Our most recent pizzas here were verygood+, save for one thing: One of them was a build-your-own, with salami among the requested ingredients. And there were all of two pieces of the stuff on the entire pizza. That's $1 per piece of salami, for those keeping score at home. WTF?

Tom was honored yet again by the Association of Food Journalists in the best newspaper restaurant criticism contest. Third place this time around.

But the little Pan Roasted Tail of Maine Lobster with Two Egg Linguine ($18) gets my vote ...

Mine, too! I absolutely agree re the awesomeness of this dish.

Had a meal here the other night. Food and service were fine. But the most striking thing about the experience was reading the menu - and realizing that they're using the exact same font as Corduroy!

Talk to Phil at Bassin's. He has the best german selection in the area. I know that they have the 06 in stock. The 07's are just starting to arrive and they should probably get it in stock within the next couple of months.

I think I'm just gonna order it from DVW. For one thing, they already have it. For another, the cost of shipping will pretty much be wiped out by the full-case discount.

Had a bottle in SF last week and it was spectacular. Pitch-perfect with everything I'm looking for in a bottle of kabinett. Thinking about ordering a bunch from Dee Vine, but wondering if there's a local source that might be competitively priced.

Mmmmmmm, riesling.

The chat producers don't select which posts to answer; the hosts do.

The New York Times has a feature on ballpark food around the country this weekend - including an interactive map that features highlights and lowlights from each park in the big leagues. (The curly W pretzel from Noah's gets props - while the chili dog from Hard Times gets hammered.)

Wow.

It's rather amazing that She Whose Face I Dare Not See will be in the finals.

Still stunned that Dale got booted two weeks back.

For those keeping score in the lounge: That soup is available on the bar menu, too.

The best, most notable new arrival on the DC dining scene in 2008 may, in fact, be an old favorite.

It's pretty simple: Chef TP's cuisine is finally being showcased on the stage it deserves. Now you can love the space as much as you love the food.

Bravo!

Shad roe porridge! Mmmmmmmmmm.

Todd Kliman wrote about it a few years ago:

The chef claims his French Laundry– derived interpretation—in which he slits open the egg sac, forces the eggs through a strainer, brines them overnight, and warms them gently over a low flame to create a porridge—emphasizes the nature of the dish. “We’re not hiding it with bacon. This is what it is. It’s roe. It’s caviar."

It's insanely good. Funny thing: It wasn't even the featured ingredient in the dish I had, but it's the only thing I keep thinking about. Sadly, I don't even remember what kind of fish it was served with. The server described it as Ziebold's take on fish-n-chips, only with the porridge instead of chips.

The crispy tete is on the bar menu right now, but the shoat has been bumped for a spring lamb dish that, too, is really, really, really delicious.

In the form of a tater tot, as an amuse-bouche, with a sauce gribiche?

Oh no, no, no. In the form of a fat, crispy round - two of them, actually - served over some braised endive and olives with a bit of piperade sauce on the side. There's a deadly but delicious poached quail egg on top of one of the rounds, too. Yu'uuu'u'u'm.

Quite a heady dish.

Three words: Tete. de. Cochon.

Ohmy, that's a great dish.

DC restos in the 2008 survey: Komi, Minibar and Citronelle. Minibar actually shows up in the Worth Going Out Of Your Way For category -- one of nine North American restaurants on that list; the others are Alinea, French Laundry, Jean Georges, Manresa, McCrady's, Per Se, Splendido and Urasawa. Urasawa is actually the top-ranked North American restaurant in the guide, just edging out Flaundry.

Steve, how close did CityZen come to making the list?

I'd eat there over Morimoto, Cyrus, Boulevard, Alan Wong's, Joe's Stone Crab and Matsuhisa (among others) any night of the week. Well, unless Nobu himself was cooking omakase in that little Matsuhisa side room again!

If that's the case, then why didn't Fabio say that to Bruni? He should have defend the restaurant's position and explained that it's standard practice in the industry instead of caving to the pressure - which, if I'm reading the thing on Eater correctly, wasn't even driven by Bruni. "In response to guest feedback about increased menu prices at Fiamma restaurant in SoHo, B.R. Guest today announces that it will reduce the prices of the three-, five- and seven-course prix-fixe menus."

And if the cost of doing business is to blame - ie, the cost of ingredients are going up - lay it out there. Give examples. Show all work; partial credit will be given, etc.

Restaurants are a business. Sure, I get that. But I don't think there's any problem in telling consumers that a recently reviewed restaurant's proffer will now cost you 22 percent more. And to his credit, Bruni actually said re his recent meal there that it "was excellent, its quality not necessarily out of line with its cost." Diners have the data; they can now use that information however they choose.

Regarding David Chang: How much have the prices gone up at Momofuku and the Ssam Bar?

Interesting that they have Richard Blais as a contestant. He's been on Iron Chef America and has had a couple of restaurants in Atlanta. Seems a lot more experienced than everyone else.

He's even been interviewed by Food & Wine before.

Was interested to learn that Erik Hopfinger, the guy who made that nasty-looking nacho souffle, was named one of the SF Chronicle's Rising Star chefs a half-dozen years ago. He's gotta be better than he showed in the first episode, no?

To point the finger at Fiamma is ludicrous.

Why is that ludicrous? Seems like a fine public service to me. Let the readers decide whether there's nothing wrong with the practice. But they should at least be aware of it. And it's not like Fiamma was the first to get called out for jacking up the price after a nice review.

Bruni writes: "In mid-2006, just a few months after I gave the restaurant Country a three-star review, I learned that the price of a four-course prix fixe that gave diners choices within each course had risen to $110 from $85. The restaurant lowered that price after I publicly noted it." (Though he also notes that "the price has since gone up again, as have most restaurant prices over two years’ time. Country now charges $105.")

What's on the bar menu these days, anyway? Hmm...maybe I'll have to swing by tonight to find out.

Pulitzer count in this decade: New York Times 16, Washington Post 13. I'm just sayin'.

(Obvious disclosure: I am employed by The Washington Post Co. I do not, however, write for Food. Except for the two times that I did.)

Criticism 1. the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.

By its very nature, isn't criticism all about the expression of opinion? And isn't opinion based on one's personal view? We all view the world through the prism of our own biases, no? Is your criticism of Tom's criticism unbiased and neutral? What is neutral criticism, anyway? Critics are supposed to take sides, to state positions. Otherwise, it's just reportage.

What, exactly, is "objective criticism"?