Rovers2000

I've always gone by 2 tablespoons of fat, 2 tablespoons of flour + 1 cup of liquid will give a cup of gravy.

I've been going to Dr. Oh for a bit over 4 years now, after not visiting a dentist in over 2.5 once I moved here due to some poor experiences with dentists other than my family's dentist back in NJ. Finally biting the bullet out of fear that my teeth would fall into disarray, I was extremely pleased with both the overall team (from the receptionists to Dr. Oh himself). At no point did I ever feel that I was getting "sold" to have work done...actually the opposite, remarking that my current fillings were put in by a pretty skilled dentist as they were still fitting perfectly. I have sent 3 of my colleagues from work to them and all have been thrilled. Now that I live in Cleveland Park, I still drive out to Arlington for my checkups and dental work. The small office is on the ground floor of a condo building that buts up against the Harris Teeter in Ballston which makes it easily walkable from both the Ballston and VA Square Metro stations. Dr. Oh DDS 4141 North Henderson Rd. Suite 16 Arlington, VA 22203 website Dave Hofman

It's somewhat on the wallet busting side, but Jetties (I know they do catering out of their location on Foxhall but am unsure if that also applies to their new Bethesda location) does platters of both sandwiches and salads. I believe they're 70-80 bucks for what would comfortably feed 8-10 people and they do have vegetarian options.

I find that to be a laughably harsh generalization. Does that count for the Top Chef (which this "season" is copying) fans as well?

Geneva Going to a wedding this weekend at the Belhurst Castle in Geneva, NY. I have never been up to this part of the country, so a couple of quick questions: -Any suggestions for places to stop and grab a bite to eat / drink on the way there (leaving early Friday afternoon from DC) as I wouldn't mind breaking the drive up some or on the way back Sunday? -I will have a car, so are there any places worth checking out food / drink wise (or suggestions on wineries) in Geneva or nearby? Thanks!

I look at it more as Pepin evolved (post accident) from chef to teacher, which resulted in his TV stints and cookbooks (as well as two of the more important culinary works in La Technique and La Methode). If you haven't read "The Apprentice" I would strongly recommend it.

A few options (although, not sure what price point they're looking at) would be: Fiola, The Source, or Proof

I really enjoyed the discussion...I actually found myself thinking about how you could apply the principles he talked about in the context of food to other arenas (business, etc)...and believe they would be able to be applied seamlessly. I think Adria's discussion re: creativity / motivation would do well in front of any audience, not just those interested in el Bulli and food. I also appreciated that Andres seemed completely comfortable letting his mentor / friend take center stage. It was touching how much he clearly loves and respects Ferran (for those of you who have seen the episode of No Reservations episode on el Bulli, it comes across the same way in person as it does in the show). Agree with what those above have said on the cookbook, it is a worthy addition to anyones collection.

While this is definitely a bummer, I had never been in there for lunch when there was more than 10 or so customers during a weekday so I can't really fault them.

I'm going with the +1. Should be an interesting discussion.

It could also be Bullpen or the slightly newer "Das Bullpen" (the only distinction being that Das Bullpen has a more "European" beer list and it is even closer to the metro exit).

Google Offers just launched in DC. Their first deal is with Amsterdam Falafel.

Venting for 2 seconds based on a wonderful, earthquake enhanced (thus thread appropriate!), experience with DC Public works today: -Looking at a wedding venue around 1:45. Earthquake hits, finish review of venue and leave. -Realize car has been towed (giant sunflowers blocking the "street cleaning sign" -Call DC public services only to be informed that "due to the Earthquake, we cannot help you unless you need an ambulence or fire truck" -Bounce around the district call tree to the "diplomat services" and finally find my car You would think, that if your back end operations go on hold during an "emergency" like today, you would maybe stop towing until services are back up in running? I love this city. I hate its "services" .

Dinner at Proof surpassed my expectations (and they were high) last night. A quick run down of what we ordered: -Assortment of pates and terrines - excellent with the pate being a particular standout -Assortment of seasonal pickles (fennel, cukes, green beans, onions, and preserved lemons) - really served as a nice balance to the pate / terrines -House made mozzerella and heirloom tomato salad - the mozzerella really stands out here...perfect creaminess to accent the tart / fresh flavors of vinegar and tomatoes. -Gnocchi with corn / zucchini / tomatoes - there were a bunch of people who recommended this explicitly so I had high expectations going in. This far exceeded them...additionally, it is a sizeable portion, even in appetizer size. -Roasted scottish salmon (cauliflower, zucchini, potatoes, fennel cream) - only snagged a quick bite b/c I was busy guarding the soft shells from my SO, but the salmon was perfectly done -Chesapeake Soft Shell Crabs (corn, tomatoes, escarole) - I love soft shells, so I'm biased here, but I thought these were cooked with a even hand and were quite large. -Bread pudding with roasted bananna ice cream Everything is delicious with the standouts being the gnocchi (legitimately one of the best versions I've ever had) and the meaty soft shells. The entire meal really summed up what "summer" dishes should taste like. Also, our waitress was just a pleasure (and I'm beyond annoyed that I can't remember her name to attach to the praise...) all evening, showing a deft touch at balancing being attentive yet giving us plenty of space. I will be returning, particurlay to snag a few nibbles around the bar in the near future.

Thank you all for the responses (and Sebastian for taking the time, which I'm sure is at a premium with a newborn, to chime in)! We do have a table and I look forward to putting all the advice give upthread to good use this evening .

The new fiance is taking me to Proof for my bday tonight (its been a busy week )...its been on my list to visit for longer than I'd care to admit, a couple questions: -Any must haves that I shouldn't miss? -Any recommendations on how I should order (small plates, shared mains, etc)? -Any wine flights / cocktails that I should go for (I'm a red wine guy but I've read a lot about how great their cocktails are too) Thanks for any advice!

I've used Wagners (on Wisconsin Ave, right at the top of Gtown by the "Social" Safeway). They have a pretty solid selection and were helpful in procuring a keg of Oberon for the DR.com picnic awhile back.

Your first line here about being "too cool for school" sums up my thoughts pretty much to a T (from the longer post upthread) from my last visit. I've been to Ripple 3 times since the new chef arrived and twice I haven't been super impressed with the food (the 2nd time I visited on a Tuesday night when the restaurant was almost empty, and had a fabulous meal with 2 other guests). Maybe hitting Ripple on a less busy evening or for a seat at the bar with some wine or for a dessert is the key?

Had my first pretty disappointing meal at Ripple last night. While there were some very good points to it, overall, it might make me reconsider this as a spot to have some delicious wine / cheese / charcuterie at the bar vs. bringing a group in for dinner in the back (or at least in the future, I will request a table not in the back of the restaurant, which I will get to below): The Good: -Excellent wine selections from the sommolier / bar manager, the cos nero di lupo was delicious and light (and unfortunately the last bottle they had in stock) -Cheese and charcuterie are a good value here. Good portions of cheese and meats and a really, in my opinion, excellent "chicken liver parfait" -The corn soup, mentioned upthread truly tasted of corn on the cop in chilled soup form. The octopus was fine, but probably an unnecessary component to the wonderful corn flavor. -Deserts were excellent, both the butterscotch toffee pudding and their take on a smore was really really great (I could've eaten just the scortched marshmellow component and been thrilled) The Bad: -I will comment on the service first b/c I got the sense that they may have been short staffed last night (folks running around, what looked potentially like a chef actually bringing the food out vs our waitress). While Ripple is certainly a fine place to hang out, the meal lasted almost 3 hours (there were 6 of us) which I felt was excessive (the time between the first course and the main was almost 45 minutes). Additionally, we were seated in the very back of the restaurant (not the "newer" space) which was totally fine initially, but once we realized it was literally FREEZING I actually considered asking to be moved. We mentioned it to the waitress who said she would try to remedy it, by the end of the meal, I was literally shivering. -I had ordered the soft shell crabs, but they were out so I went with the duck breast. On the menu it was described as "crispy" which had me excited for some crackling duck skin...unfortunately the duck skin was so limp, lacking any sort of crackle, that one of my dining companions actually cut it off their portion saying "if its not going to be crisp, I'd rather not waste the calories". I got the feel that maybe this dish spent some time sitting while our other mains were prepared. -The agnolotti was, in my opinion, an embarrassingly small portion and probably should be moved to the second course options on the menu b/c I really disagreed that this was enough for a main. All in all, for a meal that clocked in (with two very accessibly priced bottles of wine) at 450 for 6 of us, I left disappointed and as I mentioned above, will probably center future visits to Ripple around their excellent wine selection and friendly bar service vs. an actual sit down dinner.

Sabores has closed, their are "for lease" signs in the window.

Took the +1 to Fiola last night for a spur of the moment celebratory meal (for finishing year 1 of her masters, and for me just surviving another week at work ). Arrived about 30 min before our 815 reservation to a basically empty bar (the patio outside and restaurant below were full btw) so we ponied up for a few drinks: she had the negroni and I had the something mule (a riff on the moscow mule, but clearly I haven't had enough caffeine this morning to get he brain firing), both well executed. Once we were seating (right at 8:15), Theo stopped by to ask if there were any specific wines and, as I had done previously when he was at Ripple I asked him to find me an interesting Italian red from the list that might be flexible enough to go through the tasting menu we were considering. He came back with a delicious sangiovese blend (I am cursing myself for not remembering the name) that in my opinion worked well with what we ended up ordering, particularly the short ribs. For the tasting menu the lineup looked like this: -Amuse - melon gaspacho with a duo of SF Bay oysters topped with some caviar -Starter - Ahi tuna over tomato with meyer lemon -Pasta - Lobster ravioli -Seafood - Olive oil poached brodetto with peppers and red wine reduction -Main - 72 hour braised short ribs -Dessert - Chocolate / Cherry "bomb" with pistachio gelato They also offered the option to swap things out, and I waffled on going with the crab pasta that was much discussed upthread, but decided against it and in all honesty, I was really pleased with the entire meal. I would say each course really hit a home run with the short ribs in particular being knee knockingly good (I could have eaten multiple orders of this). Also, as a pistachio gelato fiend, their version is particularly good. From a cost perspective the tasting menu was $85 and in all honesty, I think its a great deal considering the prices across the rest of the menu (clearly I had not yet wound down from the work week as I was running a "cost analysis" against the tasting menu vs. ordering a la carte in my head... ). All in all, an excellent meal, great wine, and solid service...we will certainly be back.

In my experience (albeit limited) they are traditional nachos with the tortilla chips being swapped out in favor of waffle cut french fries. Where the "Irish" came from is anyones guess....

I would suggest checking out World Market (they have locations in Pentagon City, Friendship Heights, and Falls Church). Here is an example that might fit the bill for about a buck a glass: http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3876368

It definitely happened, one of the bartenders I was talking to last Saturday when I popped in mentioned Logan being there. I've only been at the bar for wine and charcuterie (both excellent) so don't have enough since the new chef came in for a full writeup.