Rovers2000

My go tos are:

- Pizza: I usually lean towards their seasonal offerings but my favorites of the mainstays are the Etna and a 2 Amy's with Sausage and an egg. 

- The aforementioned porchetta is incredible

- I love their burrata, deviled eggs and the salt cod croquettes

- Many of the antipastos (dinner only) are wonderful.  I also love the salmon and goat cheese crostini. 

Thank you for sharing - this is a pretty cool look into the VA winemaking process.

I actually recently downgraded away from my Amex Platinum in favor of this - its a much better deal, particularly as Amex seems to really be swinging and missing with some main partners (Costco being one).  

I'm heading to Austin in November for a conference and was wondering if there are any recommendations for a group dinner (6 folks) in the $75 a head (all in) range?

Also, as I'll have an evening there basically solo - any recommendations for bourbon or craft beer bars?

Thanks in advance!

I did mine at the Reagan building and if you showed up shortly after they open - I would almost guarentee you could walk in.  When I did it I think there were 3-4 walk ins and they were in and out almost as quickly as those with appointments.

1 hour ago, pras said:

If you do not have the VIP ticket, CBS might be hard to get a pour.  Last year, rare beers like that had a cattle call as soon as the gates opened.

I have VIP tickets.  My goal with Snallygaster is normally to get in and get out after tasting what I have earmarked to try vs. trying to stick it out for the whole day.

Tonight I opened a 2010 Hodder Hill, which I purchased a case of based on Joe H's recommendation and still have a few remaining.  The wine sings.  We are very lucky to have folks like Jeff and Kelly running such a wonderful vineyard about an hour from DC.  

I am going and if I get to taste CBS and / or BA Abraxas I will consider it time and money well spent. 

I think this listing might be Sorriso based on the gas and wood cooking hood comment.  Though the 8 year statement throws me off.   If so its another sad loss. 

7 hours ago, crazeegirl said:

gosh...i so can't wait...thank you for the dreamy recommendations.  wish i could fast forward to end of August.  Did either of you stay overnight?  Would two days be sufficient?

We spent a day there.  Drove from Florence early.  Got to our B&B in Manarollo (stumbling distance from Billy's restaurant) and threw down our bags and changed.  Took the ferry to the end of the trail (where we had the above meal for lunch).  Then started the hike.  By 5 we were at the end of the trails we could access (and candidly tired).  We went to the B&B, showered and napped then had a great dinner.   We got up, had an espresso and pastry and walked to our car to leave.  

All that is to agree with Don that while Cinque Terre is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been - staying much more than a day is probably not worth it.

44 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Somewhere, at some point in time, I must have waxed poetic about the Gnocchi al Pesto I had in Spezia, which is where I stayed in 1989 while my buddy went on to Nice - I took the train from Spezia into the northern-most town in Cinque Terre, and hiked about 3-4 of the towns (they get progressively less interesting as you head south). If I had to pick one, single day as "the best day of my life when I was alone," it would be this one. I met an old lady on the goat path, so old she was hunched over, but still tending to her olive trees - or were they grapevines? It doesn't matter - this hike was the greatest thing I've ever done alone.

That evening, after training back to Spezia and taking a shower, I had dinner al fresco at a local restaurant - I have no idea which - with a carafe of Cinque Terre white wine (they make *great* white wine in Cinque Terre for everyday drinking), and to this day, that remains probably my second favorite meal of my life (okay, maybe third, but definitely *first* when I was alone). Get a gnocchi al pesto in Spezia, or Cinque Terre, and have a carafe of whatever white wine they're serving - over 25 years later, and this still makes me smile as one of the greatest memories of my life.

H/T - Rick Steves, without whom I would not have known about Cinque Terre. 

I had a similar experience to Don, but we ate in Monterosso (the western most town of the Cinque Terre).  We ate at a restaurant with a patio looking out over the ocean, just before the entrance to the trail, and it is the best gnocchi al pesto with a carafe of cinque terre white wine (from the owners vineyard) I've ever had. 

Now, in hindsight was a meal of gnocchi and a full carafe of necessary the best lunch before embarking on a hike that spanned the next 3 towns (the leg to Manarolo was closed due to floods that had happened earlier in the year), maybe not - but it was still damn delicious

I drove when I was there 2 years ago (well, 2 years come October) and did Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice and Verona.  We used the car purely to get from place to place, parking and walking / using trains once we got to our destination.  I rented through Hertz and purchased "Neverlost" and kept a small international data plan for my phone so I could fire up google maps if needed.  The Neverlost actually had built in alerts to the speed cameras and as long as I was paying attention, found that it gave me a pretty solid warning.  I ended up getting one ticket for like 35 euros billed to me over a two week trek that head me driving across most of the middle / northern part of the country. 

To Rieux's point above, there were places in Tuscany and Verona that I would never had access to without a car.  For Cinque Terre, we drove into the area, parked above Manarola and walked down into the town (we also had a great meal at Chez Billy's there).

Yes - the permits for Total Wine are up in the window.  

I will put this here since the email kept bouncing back on Metiers website - I tried to order a gift card for a wedding gift (triggers an email to the restaurant) and kept getting errors sent back. 

I am going to call directly today or tomorrow but figured it was worth the FYI for Eric. 

(Don please delete if this isn't appropriate to put here).  

I get the same thing every time:

-Salad bowl with super greens

- Tzatziki, Crazy Feta and Harissa

- Chicken (I used to get the pork gyro but they discontinued it , at least at the Tenley shop I most visit)

- Tomatos / Red onions, Pickled Onions, Cabbage slaw

- Sriracha Yogurt Dressing on the side

The one thing I absolutely LOVE and it addresses the whole "holding up the line" thing - you can place your order online and walk right up front and pick it up.  I find it to be amazingly convenient during crazy lunch rushes.

I've really enjoyed Kenji's food lab book - though it comes with the caveat that I've been a pretty avid follower of him on seriouseats for a couple years now.

I also have been getting quite a bit of mileage out of the Jacques Pepin "Heart and Soul" - there are a lot of stories in addition to some interesting recipes.

Since this is a variation on "Where Did I Dine?" I went ahead and merged this thread into that one.

Here's the list of hams in alphabetical order:

1. Iberico pata negra (5 jotas), Spain

2. Johnston Co. Curemaster's Reserve (Smithfield, NC)

3. Lady Edison County Ham (Chapel Hill, NC)

4. Serrano (R. Iglesias) 18 months, Spain

Now, name them clockwise beginning with the one at 11 AM.

HamChallenge.JPG

Hint: It should be easy, and is.

Starting at 11am:

- Iberico

- Lady Edison

- Serrano

- Johnston

My logic is the two I named as Iberico / Serrano have very different marbling.  The Iberico in particular really made me think about the No Reservations episode where they go to El Bulli as it's getting ready to close.  They stop at a tapas place and Jose Andres shows this perfectly marbled piece of Iberico (so if I am wrong, its Jose's fault!  ).  Admittedly the other two are guesses since they are less marbled and the Johnston appears to have a more "leathery" texture that some US based cured meats can have.

It took me almost 3 to drive the 9 miles out of the city to my house in Arlington.  Route 50 was literally at a standstill.

What frustrated me was that when I hopped off 50 onto 10th St. N, there were two plows literally just sitting there idling.  They salted the hill eventually and moved to wait in the traffic to get on 50.  That was at about 9pm.

I normally give the benefit of the doubt to these types of things - but in my mind this was a pretty egregious mistake.  Were they waiting to use all the salt for tonight to prepare for tomorrow?  Seriously?

DDOT and VDOT should both be embarrassed by how poorly they handled the dusting we received last night. 

Amazon has it - but 17.99 for a 16oz package of pasta is probably a bit excessive...yikes.

Agree.

I have a running catalog of his PBS shows on my DVR (Fast Food My Way, Heart and Soul, Essential Pepin)...after particularly hard days, there is nothing I enjoy more than watching one (I've seen them all probably in the 10's of times) with a glass of wine in my hand.  He is pretty high on my list of folks I'd love to share a meal with.  I hope his students at BU and NYC realize how fortunate they are.

I'd also recommend Screwtop - while wine focused certainly, I've gone there with young family members and they've loved the food.  B/c it's on the simple side it tends to be quick too and is very much walkable from where you are.

Ichiban in McLean

Whoops - didn't see the post in the guide. I think your comment re: McLean office workers is spot on. When I used to work in Tyson's it was a go to.

I agree - I would do just about anything for a Ballston location.  Maybe when they revamp the mall...

Backyard BBQ?