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FWIW they've been using Taylor Charles branded drink cups at the H Street Taylor for a month or so now.

My experience with service (drowning) and food (fried, meaty, and just fine) was similar to others. However, I wasn't as blown away with the beers as I seem to see in most reviews. It kind of struck me as they were determine to have a huge opening draft list, quality be damned. The Ingenue and Butcher in particular were weird in a "aw fuck it, let's see if anyone will drink it" sort of way. In general my table quickly moved to the lighter, basic styles. Those were executed much better. Knowing the caliber of people behind this venture I know they will get things up and humming by spring (although this place is going to be perpetually slammed). I'm pretty happy staying away and giving them some time though.

I would add the Schlafly Christmas ale to the "run away" list, unless drinking a Potpourri flavored Yankee Candle is what you're aiming for. I enjoyed the Southern Tier Krampus last night although it was a little boozy. Can't imagine doing more than one.

This. 1000 times this. Four Roses doesn't have the buzz outside of the hardcore brown liquor community that some other brands do, but their limited releases every year just keep getting better and better. I find myself reaching for their stuff more and more when I'm out.

Family Wash in Nashville still makes the best one I've ever tasted - I would kill for that recipe. There are so many ways to screw it up (filling to topping ratio, meat to veg ratio, seasoning, meat grind) and it's way too easy to default into casserole mode on it. But when someone cracks the code... One time at Family Wash they accidentally gave me a vegetarian (made with lentils). The manager came over and sheepishly explained the mixup and told me a replacement was on the way. It was so good I refused an exchange. That's how good a good shepherd's pie can be when someone figures it out. People will get feral over it.

I really enjoyed both the Anchor Christmas Ale and New Belgium's Accumulation this weekend. The Accumulation was a white IPA with just enough citrus to remind you of the season, and the Anchor was the kind of daaaaark, dank winter warmer that really goes well when the weather turns like it did this weekend. Neither tasted like potpourri. I think I've been avoiding Christmas Ales for too long. The hit-to-miss ratio is much better than with pumpkin.

Interesting how little overlap there was on the lists - beer drinking really is subjective. Nice to see the Day Man IPA end up on both though - I really enjoyed that. Pretty excited to get to the NW this week and load up on as much of the breweries we don't have as I can.

2008: "The Italian bread, crusty on the outside, light and chewy on the inside, is delivered daily from Sarcone's, a fifth-generation Philadelphia bakery... [and] provolone that has aged for 18 months." 2013: Years since Sarcone's. Instagram photos mugging with Sysco house-brand provolone. (on an on day it's still a damn good sandwich, but don't waste your time with the 'sweet provolone' - sub it out. you're paying $11 for this hoagie, have some dignity)

As someone who's spent the last year stuffing my bags with CC cans after every work trip to Tampa or Orlando, this makes me giddy. Needs to get to Arlington though.

There are still cheap eats in New Orleans. Tons of them. I was there 10 nights for our wedding and honeymoon/decompression period, and many of the best meals we had were on the low end. Check out Luke's prix-fix menu, which will get you a cup of soup and entree for $23 and less at lunch. On Friday it is a court-boullion that has a full filet of redfish, several massive oysters, big gulf prawns, and crab claws. You'll laugh at how much seafood is in it. Oh, and one of the soup options is matzoh ball, and it's fantastic. 50 cent oysters 4-6 for happy hour as well. Even further past Elizabeth's is Bacchanal, which also is doing killer food at low prices. The interior is a wine shop where you can buy beer, wine, and even liquor for consumption out back. Out back you'll find live music and funky-yet-cheffy food served informally on patio furniture. I had a special of whole roast redfish with salsa verde, satsumas, and grilled veg that would have fed two if I wasn't being ridiculous for $20. A fried had a hangar steak with potatoes and veg for $15. It's incredibly informal, weather dependent, and the menu is very hit-or-miss (last time I was there I wrote on this same board it was probably not worth eating here) - but this last time holy crap it was good. We randomly ended up at Lucky Rooster two different nights. It would feel right at home among the places popping up in the Shaw area right now, but for the fact it would probably be protested out of our city for a complete and total lack of authenticity. The dumplings were overpriced and nothing special, but the noodle soups had great flavor and were comically overstuffed with veg, meat, and seafood (depending on the variety). Cocktails were all about house sodas and syrups and generally well done. Not sure it's worth planning for, but if you anyone ends up with a desire while down there and are curious - yup, it's pretty good. Imagine Sticky Rice if they gave a damn about the food. Co-sign on Adolfo's. and while not necessarily cheap, Irene's and Eleven 79. New Orleans is a world of hybrid Italian food all onto itself. Dominica is a bit of an exception and plays things a little more straight. I thoroughly enjoyed a long lunch there though. I would go back to the bar just for a few negronis and the whole roasted cauliflower. We did do a tasting at August and it was the best service I've had since the Tasting Room at Eve. Just a beautiful night there. If you have the time/means you should definitely do it. Also dined at Cochon and Commander's but really don't have anything new to report there. Still awesome. Rented out Mahoney's for our rehearsal dinner, and we there last night before they closed for a spell to remodel their kitchen. Should be up and running now with the ability to actually handle a lunch rush. Mother's has not fallen off the side a touristy cliff like many people claim (there were lines/waits equally as long of equal types at Butcher). Killer Po-Boys and Mahoney's were better than Mother's though. Butcher bows to no one. BEER: Tin Roof and Nola Brewing were two outfits that did not particularly impress me when they started up, but they have come a long way. Nola in particular... their Hopitoulas is the kind of delicious, not too bitter, sessionable (well, only 6%) IPA that I wish one of our local spots would start churning out. And you can do tastings at their brewery (just outside the CBD up Tchoupitoulas) if you're into that sort of thing.The Tin Roof Rougarou was a black IPA that paired great with a lot of the big flavors you run into down there. There are now a bunch of local area breweries besides the big boys and they have their sea legs... now they are hooking up, collaborating, and experimenting with one offs like they're a bunch of college freshmen. It's a fun time for the local beer scene down there and I look forward to DC getting to that point in the very near future.

While it isn't a "Christmas Beer" per se, Long Winter's Nap by BMB was really nice on a cold night earlier this week. Someone could make a lot of money with a latke porter. For reals.

Co-Sign 1000x with SeanMike on the Rogue stuff. Too much bad press from them for my taste, and that's from a NW boy who had Rogue as his training wheels into better beer. The best pumpkin beer I tried this season was actually two pumpkin beers... He Said, a collaboration/face off between Elysian and 21st Amendment. Each package was a 4 pack containing two different pumpkin beers -two cans of a white Tripel with pumpkin, tarragon, and galangal AND two cans of a Baltic Porter with pumpkin, Vietnamese, cinnamon and caraway. They ended up being very complimentary.

I got two bottles of the lower grade (10 and 12 year) this year via mailing lists and having a relationship with the spot near my work (which didn't guarantee me anything - just tipped me off to when they'd put it on the shelf). In DC it is like hunting a unicorn unless you want to spend a super premium - most places in the district hook up their big buyers or have a massive wait list. Ace is one of the exceptions. You might be able to obtain one still but it's a time-intensive process and you have to be able to come running if you find one because it won't last. I played that game last year because I wanted a few bottles for my wedding this fall. It's exhausting. The older, proper "Pappy" bottles (15, 20, 23) are very good bourbons and generally back up the hype. The 10 and 12 years are good but not worth paying some kind of crazy premium for seeing the name "Van Winkle" on the label. There's a lot of good bourbon out there.

Faile is such a great get for them. While the quality of food at the various NRG spots varies wildly, the drinks definitely aren't the problem.

I haven't seen anything even sniffing near the suggested retail price in years - except in counties that control pricing. As for that picture - kinda looks like Pauly from Darkman.

Family Meal is a diner environment. Family Meal also has a section of higher end entrees available. If you're trying to compare the $25 steak or $21 rockfish on the menu at Famliy Meal to a typical diner, yes, it is expensive. But the breakfast items, sandwiches, sides, fried chicken, and drinks are at nearly identical price points (or just slightly higher) than Silver Diner. If you're saying it is more expensive than Denny's, then yes. Otherwise, I don't think the majority of the menu is that bad. I would never drive there just to eat there, but when I end up in the area I'm happy to go.

August it is. No arm twisting needed there.

Mr. Fieri - any chance you'll be opening a branch of the Times Square spot in Dupont Circle? I'll hang up and listen.

Going to be down for almost half the month for my wedding and honeymoon. So many places to eat and actually time to do it for once! We are considering doing one blowout tasting menu though (we'll have the formal clothes and the time), although I'm not even sure it's necessary. Anyone have any good recent experiences doing tastings down there?

I got my hands on some NSFW last night and was very impressed. Looking forward to trying the others.

This made me look into the places where I first had some Delta Tamales. Manuel's in New Orleans? Closed. Mary's in Knoxville? Closed. At least Doris' in Diberville is still up and running. Making me sad the more I google this morning. Also: they're red hot. Also: while they are far, far, FAR from an exemplary version, I have always enjoyed the fact that Corky's BBQ franchises have tamales on their menu.

If you're asking about the crowd-funded element, this ought to clear it up for you.

I enjoy Olga's blog and have enjoyed meeting her in person. I truly hope whatever she is receiving from Zagat is worth it because every new listicle that comes out with her name attached to it seems to get a thorough trashing. As for Zagat, their decision to go in the list of top 10s makes no sense to me. Content must really be king, no matter what the cost.

Co-signing on all of the above (sodastream in general and always having a backup cartridge). Also love splashing a little fruit juice or bitters in there. Shrubs, both homemade and storebought - Pok Pok Pineapple with some bubbles is my jam during these godawful DC summers.

I also bought in on this. Just a word for those who purchased and don't have a lot of experience with Kickstarter: don't hold your breath on these actually shipping come November. They have already gone 2.5 times over their sales goal in less than a week, and lord only knows how many orders they'll end up with. They are also now looking into international voltage options, which will likely delay things as well. Then there are potential production issues. I back The Porthole cocktail infuser by the Aviary design team in August 2012, and it was scheduled to ship October 2012. I just got it last month. Hopefully this won't end up as delayed as that, but when these things go viral delays are inevitable. Don't send out invitations to your 72 hour braised short rib party for November just yet.