bookluvingbabe

I wasn't wowed by the lamb yesterday. It just didn't have much flavor for me. Still an amazing bargain and I'm hoping to sneak out of the office next week to see what magic is going on.Jennifer

I used to know this--it is some sort of truffled cheese with house made mayo. Anyone else?

So we had an amazing dinner at Craftbar on Friday. The highlight was morels with a roasted leg of lamb. They tasted like they were sauted in the world's most perfect butter. Isent Mr. BLB to DuPont this morning and he found a box for $20. Now what do I do with them? What is the shelf life? Should I cook them tonight or can I wait until tomorrow? I'm on the train now and would rather wait but not if they won't hold up well! Thanks! Jennifer

Expanded our Dino horizions slightly and split the manza (strip steak) entree after our cured meats and cheeses. Very nice! Thanks Dean! Jennifer

Yesterday, Mr. BLB and I played hooky from work in the afternoon as it was our 2nd anniversery. The plan was to go paddleboating (too cold) or play mini-golf at the ESPN Zone (which doesn't have actual mini-golf, I was misinformed.) But before all of that, I decided to suprise him with lunch at Eve. We were seated at a lovely table near but not next to the fireplace. I've never really paid much attention to the bistro decor--those skylights are amazing! We were pleased to be seated with Evan, whom we miss at Palena... He tried the special gin and tonic and I had an Eve's Temptation. Glad I tried it but boy is it sweet. Darn tasty though. We both started with the asparagus soup with crabmeat and shallots. It was rich and flavorful and the crabmeat had been grilled to give it some extra flavor. Mr. BLB had the pulled pork sandwich special--so very good but hard to eat. He finally deconstructed it. I snitched more than my fair share of tastes. I had the salad special--lobster with watercress, hearts of palm and grapefruit. The lobster was great, the salad did nothing for me but I am not much of a salad person. We split the birthday cake for dessert. It was a lovely way to spend time together on our special day. Jennifer

Heading to NY for the weekend, again... Many fewer definite plans this go-round. On the agenda: Shake Shack after I get off the train for a "light" snack. Dinner at Craftbar. (Not my first choice, I would rather have gone back to Hearth but since I'm not on the expense account this time....) Still needed: A dinner somewhere near the Theater District on Saturday night. Or not near the Theater District that can seat us very early so we can get to the theater. Sunday Brunch--Park Slope preferred... Any ideas? Thanks! Jennifer

Completely gone. It's a "bagel cafe" now. Sigh..

I'll echo the Duff's suggestion as well. Brunch used to be quite good there but I haven't been back in forever. I think the high school question is mostly innocous small talk in the same vein as asking folks what they do for a living or where they went to college. But the other thing is that St. Louis is a "small" big city and folks do know each other or know friends or distant relations. It's a nice way to make a connection. (I went to Metro, for the record. )

Depends on what you want. For old school St. Louis style pizza, get yourself to Imos. Seriously good pizza, even my non-native St. L hubby loved it. http://www.imospizza.com/ For me a trip to St. Louis isn't complete without a trip to the Hill neighborhood and an Amighetti's special. http://stlouis.citysearch.com/profile/5739187/ I'm sure Bilrus will pipe in with other suggestions--he gets back more often than I do! Jennifer

A CK virgin no more as I made my way over for dinner last night before yet another meeting. I started with the aspargus with goat cheese fritters. Four hefty aspargus spears in a light vinagrette with wonderful discs of warm goat cheese. So good! For the main course I had the meatloaf which came with green beans and cheesey pasta. I thought it was a fine example of meatloaf but too sweet for me. I thought the ketchup overwhelmed the meatloaf. (It didn't keep me from eating 75% of it though!) I finished with the pineapple upside down cake. Wow! Where was CK all my life? I will definitely be back, though I do wish it was open on Tuesday nights when so many of my meetings take place in the area. Jennifer

I am a huge Citronelle fan, though I can't afford to eat there often. My first experience with Michel's work was in LA at Citrus in 1996. I think I had to change the reservation 3 times. I was sure they thought I was a total flake. I went with 2 very good friends, one a foodie; the other not. It was the best dining experience any of had ever had--me a 26-year-old blonde Marilyn Monroe wannabe, one friend weighing in at 350+ at the time and clad in tie-dye, and the other friend an average suburban mom. We didn't look like what you expect at a fining dining place and not for one second were we made to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. For years afterward the three of us were still talking about what a great evening it was. Fast forward to 2004 and my upcoming wedding. The three of us would be in the same city at the same time again for the first time since 1999. I secretly made a reservation, told them not to make plans and rubbed my hands gleefully together. The day of the reservation as I picked them up at the train station and airport, I was compelled to tell them the plan as they had immediately started to reminisce about the Citrus dinner. It lived up to all my expections and built-up memories of the wonderful evening. It did for my friends as well. The food was wonderful, the wine was great and it was the perfect kick-off to a weekend of wedding festivities. Mr. BLB and I went last May for the one year wedding anniversery dinner. Again I was a flake who had to cancel the reservation due to an awful cold. I did post that we were going and Mark did take care of us. Truthfully though, aside from the warm and wonderful chat we had about the food world in general and the very new world of dr.com, I experienced the same level of terrific service that night that I had on my previous visits. (I haven't told Mr. BLB yet, but I made a reservation for dinner in June for our second anniversery.... Shush!) Jennifer

Wait until tomato season--I make an amazing BLT with thin slices of that smoked mozzarella. Yum!

Were you at a bar? It only works at a bar....

I lickety-split lunch today--asparagus soup and a duck confit salad, both were the specials of the day. The asparagus soup was terrific. Full of flavor, not too heavy and just the right start to lunch. The duck confit was amazing and I did debate picking up the bones to fully get all the meat. The salad itself was good but I would ask for less dressing next time--it's a very strong sherry vinegarette. Todd said they served 75 birthday cakes over the weekend so new ones were just coming out of the oven as I was leaving. I toyed with having another dessert but decided that I would survive until another time. Service was good; the bar was mostly empty. A good start to the week! Jennifer

Go to Palena. Do not pass go or collect $200. Just get there while the morel mushroom veloute is still on the menu. Chef Ruta's soups are always a wonder to behold but this one was beyond amazing. (It's on the tasting menu so not likely to be available on Monday nights...) Mr. BLB had the Piatto Unico Abruzzese--the little taste I had was good. Beyond that we had the usual cocktails, burger and desserts that make Palena my favorite go to place when I don't want to cook dinner and can't bear to order Chinese again. Jennifer

We went to Dino last night for a little wine and cheese. The Brunet was wonderful cheese. I can't remember the other two we had but there were distant seconds and thirds in my heart. The new dipping sauce for the calamari fritti is good though the calamari are still a bit over-salted. But the best news was the arrival of a traditional tiramisu! Finally! We had a lovely, unhurried meal and as always left happy. Thanks!

I heard somewhere that there were health issues for the owners.

May I ask about the reservation policy at Sonoma through Opentable? I have noticed that when I try to secure a table for 1 person, it says there are no tables available. When I try to make it for 2 people, there are tables available. Opentable oddity or Sonoma policy? Thanks!

Jetties has the best turkey sandwich. http://www.jettiesdc.com/about.html

We had ours at McCormick and Schmick's in Bethesda on a Saturday night. 60+ people. (Everyone was invited...Don't ask...) They blocked off the front room for us. Your best bet is to know how much you are willing to spend, if you want a private room and how many people you are realistically going to have. An idea of geography is good--we need to be within walking distance of the OOT hotel. Then start making calls. A Saturday night is harder. We booked ours 10 months before the wedding and had a difficult time finding anything that would work. Good luck! Jennifer

Bump!

The ravioli and tortilini's aren't bad. Some of the gourmet sausages are nice.

We did takeout from Palena once when Derek was still working there. It was a few days before our wedding and it was our last dinner at home (plus the results show/finale of American Idol 3). Mr. BLB called and while Derek said they didn't like to do it (for all the above stated reasons) they would do it for us this one time. We ordered the burgers plus some other things I don't remember. Damn fine meal and it all traveled the five blocks back to our apartment without damage. I can't think of any other upscale takeout that I've done in recent years.

They did just pull out of their agreement to open a store at Penn Quarter this week....

We didn't do any of the tours. Too lazy and we both get motion sick so we tried to stay in one place as much as possible. So my coffee sampling was limited to the local breakfast places...