hmmboy

Consomme on the menu tonight - to say it was spectacular hardly does it justice.

To the Boss on his 60th for all the joy he's provided through the years.

Having eaten dinner at both their own restaurants, I have big doubts about that. I honestly think it should come down to Mike I. and the brothers V. And on any given night they are all capable of winning. Hell, Robin is still there and Hector - a talent despite the deep fried steak- is gone. Anything can happen.

May I ask why?

My law firm bought out Marcels last Saturday night for a special dinner. All I can say is WOW. Chef Wiedmaier was in the kitchen and he again demonstrated that he is a true maestro. One expects greatness from the legendary boudin blanc and the amazing roast chicken (the only serious competition to Palena for DC's best), but every single thing I tasted this evening was utterly sublime. My date's salmon ravioli and loup de mer were both sensational, as was my lobster risotto. Perhaps the most eye opening pleasure of the night was the cheese and tomato pizza passed along with several other awesome hors d'oeuvres. There has been a lot of recent chatter on this site about the best pizza in DC . My two personal favorites have historically been 2 Amys and Sette, but I would take the pie Chef Wiedmaier made last weekend over all of them. And this extraordinary quality level was maintained even though the restaurant was serving 75 people at once. Kudos and thanks to the Chef and his entire team for an amazing and delicious effort.

Went yesterday on my way up to the Baltimore Antiques Show. Awesome sandwich (RB rare w/mayo, horseradish, onions and BBQ sauce) and excellent fries. Can't wait to go back. Also discovered an impressive wine store in Fulton, right off Route 29. Called IM Wine - great selection, good staff, in a beautiful store.

Breezed through Frank Bruni's "Born Round" over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Though I grew up in a Jewish household in Monticello, NY (as opposed to an Italian household in Westchester), I completely identified with the relentless food culture that surrounded Frank's upbringing, as well as his constant, and ongoing, struggle with weight. I was on every one of the many diets he details in the book and then some, bouncing back and forth as I grew older until I topped out at 320 pounds just before my 40th. (Over the next year I dropped 100 pounds and 15 years later I can report that I have managed to keep 75 of those pounds off.) The book was poignant, funny, and a quick read - I couldn't put it down once I started. For us who love food but still want to look halfway decent, Frank's weight struggles and how he managed to overcome them even during his tenure as the Times restaurant critic made for a delightful read that I highly recommend to all of you.

Proof is looking to hire an experienced bartender. Please PM me if you are interested. MK

Actually, he stopped by Proof with his lovely wife at about 10:30 PM and had cocktails in the lounge. He was very gracious - and tipped well!!

Last night, Chef, Ruffino (our sous), Michael, Sebastian and I dined after service to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. Chef whipped up some crab salad, tomato salad, porterhouse steaks and rapini, and I brought the wines: 2001 Peter Michael Cuvee Indigene Chardonnay 1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Pucelles 1986 Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2001 Usseglio Chateauneuf Du Pape Deux Freres 2002 Bryant Family Cabernet 2001 Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz I won't bother giving detailed tasting notes - anyone so wishing can contact me directly. I will say that they went from strength to strength - not one was less than spectacular. For me, the wine of the evening was the Usseglio Deux Freres - as good a Chateauneuf as I have ever had, and I drink a sh*tload of CDP. It was followed closely by the Roennfeldt Road, a stunning and truly unique expression of syrah and unlike any other wine I have tasted. Cheers!!

I want to add some general observations. Undoubtedly a lot of time and effort (hence costs) go into maintaining a good wine program besides just flipping a bottle. Tasting, ordering, stocking, storing, staff training, maintaining the list on a current basis, and of course, stemware, all result in significant costs, albeit some of which are hard to quantify. But Pool Boy's point is correct. Even if a chef maintains food costs below 30%, there are significant costs in terms of labor and equipment maintenance that quickly and radically reduce the true margin on food sales. In my analysis, I allocate 100% of BOH labor costs (excluding dishwashers) to food sales as well as a percentage of FOH (and dishwasher) labor costs to food sales that corresponds to the percentage of food sales over total sales. Haider consistently delivers food costs below 30%, while our raw wine cost is approximately 44% (our bottle pricing averages 2.25 X our cost). Nevertheless, and consistent with Zora's original contention, after labor costs are allocated as described above and all other costs are reasonably allocated between food on the one hand, and wine/spirits/beer on the other, the latter provides a more attractive profit center. Moreover, I have not run the numbers but I strongly suspect that if our raw food costs approached the 55% Michael mentioned it is hard to imagine that our kitchen could be a profit center.

I noticed the upcoming season has Mike Isabella (Zaytinya) and Bryan Voltaggio (Volt) among its contestants (as well as local born Michael Voltaggio - chef at Bazaar in L.A. and Bryan's brother). Should be fun for the locals.

My daughter and I had a late lunch at INOX today and it was, from start to finish, sensational. My daughter had the iceberg wedge - the best version of this classic salad I've encountered in some time. She followed that with the patty melt (w/bacon). I had read the hype on this burger and it delivered on all counts - I will return often for this dish. I chose the prix fixe 3 course lunch - starting with a perfectly grilled large chunk of yellowtail tuna, accompanied by lightly grilled and dressed romaine, followed by a perfectly cooked and seasoned flat iron, and finishing with a delicious flourless chocolate cake - a yummy and flawless $28 bargain for the 3 courses. Add to this Mal Krinn's excellent breads and some fantastic fries (served with the burger and the steak) that were reminiscent of Central's (my favorite in DC) and you have yourself a spectacular lunch in Tysons. If this lunch was any indication INOX has really hit its stride.

Michael Bichenall is reporting on facebook that Breadline is closing for good - considering the volume of business they do that is very hard to believe?? ANyone know something?

BlackSalt fits the bill and is 5-7 minutes from AU. Danny uses beautiful veggies and the fish counter in front puts Whole Foods to shame in quality and freshness.

Fries are so subjective, but I agree with Joe that Central has the best fries in the DC area. Those, and the fry plate at Palena (which I order as much for the Meyer lemons and onions as for the fries) are the only ones I would go out of my way for. Not sure about the best anywhere - that would require much more thought than I can muster this rainy morning, but nothing is as memorable as the french fries in the original Coney Island Nathan's that my dad took me to when i was a kid - a long time ago.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/200...t=nytimesdining

We have strong philosophical differences in child rearing. You should have pointed out your GF's favorite harness.

I have eaten at Fossett's and every other place named in this thread. My first choice for dining in C'ville is Mas - not fancy but excellent and fun tapas place. I will be there myself Monday night. For lunch I would go to Marco and Lucas for dumplings - a dive, but cheap and delicious dumplings. I will likely be stopping there on my way out of town Tuesday.

He's not talking

A memorable night by any standard. After cleansing the palate with a split of NV Krug, we drank the 2003 Plume du Pientre from Mordoree - the finest CDP I have ever tasted, followed by 2 California cab legends, the mind blowing 1997 Bryant Family (for me, the wine of the night) and the amazing 1994 Harlan Estate. I am a very lucky guy.

For the 99.99% of you who have no clue what waitman is talking about he is referring to the magnum of Domaine La Barroche 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape "Pure" (a reference to the fact that it is 100% grenache) which I poured at the awesome DR.com wagyu tasting at Vidalia. Sadly, Parker anointed it the wine of the vintage in a rereview a few months later - since then, it is impossible to find and when it does appear the price is prohibitive. (http://www.winecommune.com/lot.cfm/wine/2005-Domaine-La-Barroche-quot;Purequot;-Chateauneuf-du-Pape---Like-Rayas-and-Saint-Jean--MAGNUM---RP-99-pts!/lotID/6345109.html That said, if chef wins, I promise it will flow like water.

Click

Don knows better than some taped message! (I'm assuming it was taped yesterday)

I needed incentives this afternoon/evening while doing inventory in the cellar. First up, an amazing Cote Rotie - the 1997 Guigal La Landonne - all licorice and bloody game, and satiny. And then a 2005 Mordoree Reine des Bois CDP - needed an hour in the glass to blossom but finally revealed a lush, thick, tannic monster with absurd concentration. The Guigal is close to peaking, the Mordoree won't be for at least 10 years.