Rovers2000

Vace, Nanny O'Briens, and Ardeo/Bardeo are open in Cleveland Park

While not Joe H, I would encourage you to go out and buy it. Based on this post I cracked the first from the case I purchased over a year ago (Jeff's instructions were to lay it down for 2 years, so making it this long without opening one is a victory for me) to see how it was tasting. Super smooth with predominant fig / cherry / licorice flavors - coats the glass nicely. A very nice wine for such a gross day outside with snow and sleet. Tasting this, it makes me that much more excited for the Petit Verdot vertical my wife and I are doing at the vineyard in April.

Cap egg and cheese! Though, this is a great example of something that may lose it's luster now that I don't have the metabolism of a 21 year old like I did when I was attending Pitt.

It's interesting, I always thought this was a portion of their business that might be somewhat sustainable - vs. the continued peddling of cheap / discounted meals and/or drinks. I suppose if things are really that tight (and by the number of people on the finance and accounting side that appear to be jumping ship, I guess they are) the rent probably isn't something they can continue to afford.

I think in the same one he talks about it being optional as when he was at the Russian Tea Room his cooks would have "assassinated me" if he'd asked them to peel all the asparagus. As someone who watches a lot of his PBS stuff as I relax at the end of the day - he does the same thing with green peppers.

Out of Town: Alinea (Chicago) - special evening (1st wedding anniversary), transcendent dining experience from top to bottom (food, wine, service, atmosphere) DC Based: Roberto's 4

I've also seen the D'Artagnan ones (along with duck fat) at Brookline in Cleveland Park from time to time.

It looks to be available on Amazon if you can wait the two days for it.

Kickstarter and sites like it (such as Indiegogo) have been responsible for quite a few excellent products - from sous vide circulators to the portholes the Aviary uses for its cocktails being made for mass production. Most of the sites even have a "food" category where restaurants all over the country leverage them. I think its an excellent way for a small business (particularly one with a solid following locally) to avoid having to leverage 3rd party "investors" who may want more say in restaurant matters while keeping the funding in house so to speak.

So I've hunted around on winesearcher.com as well as looked at the actual producers website (which didn't have anything around importers) with no luck, so I'm wondering if anyone might know what would be my best place to start to try and find if I can order this locally somewhere: Paxxo Rosso Del Veneto, Stefano Accordini 2010 I had it at Lupa this past weekend while in NYC (see the Help Wanted NYC Thread) - the sommelier brought it out as a replacement and it was truly delicious. He'd mentioned it was an off menu wine that he'd just gotten his hands on. I would REALLY appreciate any help.

This strikes me as a bit over the top - I didn't take the post to be "protecting" a sacred cow (I'd argue that Dino wouldn't fall within that category anyway, as I believe for almost as long as I've been a member of the board the subtext under the restaurant in the guide said something about "Ordinary cooking") but simply saying that "the jury being out" on a closing restaurant based on a poor meal was/is a reach. I wholeheartedly agree with you that folks are allowed to have their own (at times wildly differing) opinions which is what makes much of the discourse on this board so rich - but I do think Jen's post was targeted more along the lines of how do you judge a place that is in its twilight on the verge of transition with a qualifier such as "the jury is still out" vs. shutting Joe's opinion down.

Ilaine covered much of the highlights from last night, but I wanted to chime in as well. Last night was a great example of what I love(d) about Dino in it's current form. Well done food and great Italian wine in a relaxed environment with gracious hosts and good company. Katelin and Dean did a great job with selecting the menu that epitomized some of Dino's "greatest hits" and the food delivered on all fronts in both quality, taste, and quantity. Dean also spent quite a bit of time with us and I really enjoyed hearing his thoughts on opportunities for the new place - which, while I will undoubtedly grumble that its no longer walking distance from my home, I look forward to trying and continuing to support. I still hold firm that the 50% off bottles over $150 is a steal and it allowed me to indulge in two nice bottles of Brunello...also on the booze front, I am going to figure out how to steal one of the jars of Dean's house infused apple cello before they leave CP.

As I mentioned above, I love Great Lakes Christmas ale - but for me its approaching Hopslam levels of absurdity when getting priced. Cleveland Park Liquors had it for 16.99 a six pack which for this beer is insane. Yes its rare. Yes its delicious - particularly for those who want the warming spice flavor of a traditional Christmas ale with a bit lighter body and a more crisp finish, but at that price it's not worth the tariff. I will say, having had this every year for the last 3 or 4, they do an excellent job at keeping the recipe stable as there is almost no taste shift year to year (unlike what I experience with Schlafly seasonals). Ginger, Honey, Cinnamon are the main flavors here, none so overpowering that it feels like you're drinking a scented candle. It also avoids any cloying sweetness, and the above mentioned crisp-ness allows for you to drink a few without getting totally overpowered by the spice.

To circle back, we took the advice above and it was spot on. Tried to walk in at Babbo and at 5:10 it was 90 minutes. Walked a few blocks over to Lupa and a glass of wine later were seated at a large communal table. Before diving into the meal specifics, I have to call out the restaurants in the Batalli/Bastianich empire as excellent places to stop during the holidays. There is something about the way they're decorated that really strikes me as nice for the holidays (low key lighting, wreaths, etc). Couple that with the exposed brick walls and smaller spaces and I find them to be very cozy (this may be a bad thing for some, but for us it's worked for 2 years in a row). Between positive experiences at Otto and now Lupa, I will look to return to some of their other establishments in future trips. We started the meal out with a bottle of Langhe Nebbiolo which as I've commented before I find myself drinking more and more of as a cheaper food friendly Italian red. In addition we had their charcuterie sampler and an order of their sweetbreads. Both were tremendous. The sampler had the standards (proscuitto and other cured salumi) as well as some excellent head cheese. The sweet breads were on skewers with apple that provided a nice contrast to the perfectly cooked sweet breads. An excellent Montepulciano came out between courses to aid in our decision making . Around the table were orders of the "pork porterhouse", gnocchi with bolognese, ricotta gnocchi with ox tail (mine), and another pasta dish that I can't remember as I was busy demolishing the gnocchi with ox tail. The meat was fall apart tender and the gnocchi (bigger than normal) were perfectly done. At the mid point during the meal the sommelier stopped by and suggested a few nice valpocella that ended the meal nicely and transitioned us into dinner. For desserts we had the tartufo and coconut gelato both of which were nice but not extraordinary. The one thing I have to call out is how appreciative I was that the sommelier kept the 3rd wine in line with the other two. I was very pleased that we didn't have a bottle over 60 dollars and nobody at the table had anything but raves for the selections. I felt like it was a small win to be able to hunt through the list and find 2 (with a recommended 3rd) that didn't completely destroy our budget for the meal. So all in I would definitely head back to Lupa and recommend it to anyone looking for a more casual wine focused place in NYC. Again, appreciate all the helpful suggestions above and in the future, will look more along the lines of a month out as I try and book a place - but its helpful knowing that there is hope if you're looking last minute

I sincerely appreciate all of the help / advice. I sent Steve R.'s list to the couple I'm meeting and to say the response was enthusiastic would be an understatement - thanks!. Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly with the short notice), Lupa along with Hearth were both booked solid for Saturday. I made an early reservation at Maialino (2:30) but may end up trying to pop in somewhere as a walk in. We'll see.

As someone who has debated going for one of the high end espresso machines this is something I've been considering for awhile: ROK Manual Espresso maker It received high marks from America's Test Kitchen FWIW

Sorry about the lack of detail - didn't have enough coffee in the system apparently Date: December 7, 2013 Timing: Open - we can do a late lunch, early dinner, normal timed dinner Diners: 4, ages 30-35 Number of Meals: 1 Price Range: Entrees anywhere from 20 dollars up to 60 dollars - probably wine in the 50-90 dollar range per bottle Environment / Noise Level: Something that would be fine for men in slacks / button downs / sweaters (no jackets) and women in dresses or skirts. I don't worry about the noise level (Otto last year was a bit like being in the train the front room is designed to depict). Cuisine: No Sushi, No Steakhouses I had mentioned Otto b/c it's where we went last year (and I've used it before with my wife, who enjoys it - but mocked me at my lack of creativity) and it served the group well. We had thought about Babbo b/c it was within the Batalli empire and one of the group is Italian.

Every year I head up to NYC to visit family (who come in from Northern NJ) and see the tree. Yes its touristy, but its tradition so it is what it is - and we're heading there this coming Saturday (the 7th). Last year we visited Eataly and Otto - Otto being one of my favorite low(er) key spots for food in NYC. This year I'd been assigned the task of finding something new and had tried to get a reservation at Babbo for about a month. Since I'm apparently on the waiting list at this point, I need some backup options (or options that replace it all together). A couple notes: -Italian is fine but not looking to go up to the Del Posto price point -The family loves the traditional NY steakhouses, but I'd like to stay away from those -I had thought about Gramercy Tavern (the Tavern vs. dining room) but don't know if I want to chance not getting a seat - even if its on the early side -We're wine drinkers but good beer is fine as well in terms of drinking options I'm pretty much open to anywhere in the city but am somewhat limited in my knowledge of NYC dining.

I saw some at Cleveland Park Liquors as well as Total Wine in McLean.

The wife and I called and confirmed today - excited for the 9th!

Also, I'm in for the 9th +1. Will call and confirm tomorrow.

My +1 and I can do the 9th but not the 10th.

I'm going to switch over to the 11th as the wife found out she has to take a surprise visit to Dallas for work the entire week of the 4th. Thanks to Daniel and Katelin for all the coordination!

I'm in for 2 (my wife and I) - with potentially another +2

I didn't realize Dean was moving out to LA