pras

Went here many times for special occasions, the memories I have will last forever.  Sad to see this quaint space go away.

15 hours ago, DonRocks said:

There needs to be one of these restaurants owned by a Jamaican called "Poke Mon."

What about "Poke you in the Bigeye"?

As told by Bethesda Magazine.

Bethesda Magazine published a nice profile on the founders.

On 11/22/2018 at 2:58 PM, DonRocks said:

My guess is that this isn't about succeeding; it's about minimizing losses. How, I don't have a clue, but letting things sit vacant probably isn't the optimal path. Does the Lerner family own Tysons Galleria? If so, I suspect they don't spend a lot of time stewing over this.

Galleria is no longer owned by the Lerners.  According to google, it's owned by Brookfield.

20 hours ago, DaveO said:

Awww....   Ventnor's announced that it is closing at the end of this month.

As stated previously Scotty is a very good friend.  This news is truly bittersweet.  For 14 years, he worked nearly every day to make the place successful and it was.  Whatever the next chapter is, he will be successful.  Good news is that I can invite him over anytime and we can make nachos.

17 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Wow, I didn't even realize that I'd removed Alberto's from the Dining Guide (mistakenly), many years ago.

Mar 2, 2011 - "Alberto's Pizza Closes in Adams Morgan" on popville.com

Does anyone remember which of the three locations was the last standing? I only ever went to the West Dupont location (it was the only thing open after a night at Bistrot du Coin), and their slices were really good.

You were hungry after you ate dinner?  I applaud your dedication to eating! 

1 minute ago, DonRocks said:

Nope. It's just that winemakers who care enough to make biodynamic wines usually care enough about the other things that go into making a quality product.

 <--- "I owe it all to L'Oréal:." 🙄

This makes a lot of sense.

Is there a difference in taste when a wine is biodynamic verses non-biodynamic?  I understand that this may be impossible to answer, but maybe I am wrong.  

K-Pot Website.

FYI, there is also a Bethesda location.

On 9/21/2018 at 9:23 AM, lion said:

That doesn't make me feel bad about still not setting up the water leak sensor for the past year! But had started the smart home process with some light switches and recessed led lighting last weekend.

Think will slowly start adding some smart home features this fall. 

I have an ecobee thermostat and a few wemo light switches.  All work very well. 

On 10/10/2018 at 12:24 PM, TedE said:

Snallygaster is back this weekend, now in a different location on Pennsylvania Ave by the Mall.

Everybody else in my regular Snally crew is out of town this weekend, so I didn't get tickets to make an early day of it.  Since it's now in walking distance I might stroll down when general admission opens to sample the 3 or 4 beers that really pique my interest and then bug out.  This year was going to be the year I volunteered, but alas there are too many other obligations that day.

Apropos of this, I did a column count on the number of times "hazy" appears in a beer description from the spreadsheet posted on the site.  Roughly one out of every SIX beers being poured this year is a hazy IPA/DIPA.  A full 2/3 (!!!) of the total number of IPAs being poured are "hazy" 🤨

Getting to this post a bit late, but I volunteered at Snally and somehow got put at the table for Alchemist.  We had 4 different beers all in cans.  In addition to Heady Topper and Focal Banger there was about 4 cases each of two different stouts (one an American and one an English).  What is interesting, is that the sign printed by the Snally crew identified Heady and Focal as "Hazy IPA".  Alchemist sent two reps to help at the table.  The first thing they did was take the sign and cross out "hazy" and replace it with "American".  Regardless, from the time the event opened there was a line, and we "sold" 90 cases.  It was fun, but opening that many cans really sucks!  The reps (and volunteers) were amazed at how fast it sold out, at times the line was probably 100 deep (no joke).  It was there for most of the day, but always a line!

On 10/20/2018 at 2:40 PM, Marty L. said:

Just wanted to post a reminder that this small, oddly-placed spot, although nothing earth-shattering, remains incredibly consistent and probably has the best food to be found in all of Gaithersburg, with the possible exception of Tortacos.  (Am I overlooking anything?)

They have a second location on Frederick Road (also Gaithersburg) called Ixtapalapa.  The menu is very similar when it comes to tacos, although they are smaller (and less expensive).  Aside from that there are some items at Ixtap that aren't on the menu at Taco Bar.  Either way, both are really good and highly recommended. 

1 hour ago, ktmoomau said:

I think the problem likely is that they don't sell a lot of them, so they aren't being baked from fresh as often?  It seems like the main complaints above is being hard or dense... which may just be that they are a day old or being re-heated?  Looking at how you make them, it doesn't seem to be terribly complicated, so I am surprised no one could find a good one- unless NY City water or something makes a big difference in the dough taste.

Even in NYC its hard to find a good bialy.

On 10/15/2018 at 10:44 PM, DonRocks said:

Where can I find the best Bialys in the DC area?

(Asking for a friend. )

Go to NY and get them from Kossar's, then drive back here.  They will also ship them.  If you go there, in eyesight is the Pickle Guys.  Before you turn around and head back get smoked fish at Russ and Daughters.  

Kentland's location closed last week.  Supposedly not related to the Cava purchase, however, there was no way that both a Cava and Zoe's would remain in eyesight of each other, so at least in my eyes, this was a foregone conclusion.

My favorite was the good cold sandwich.

On 9/14/2018 at 9:22 AM, dslee said:

Forwarding this announcement for the Union Market location for a reoccurring event beginning Thursday, September 20, 2018:

I'll need to find my set which I purchased at a Shouk, dust it off, and get back up to speed.  Then head over on a Thursday!

Opening at Pike and Rose in North North Georgetown in early 2019 as reported by Bethesda Magazine.

I am amazed I never knew this place existed and I can walk from my office in about 5 minutes.  My office buys lunch on the last two days of the month, and today's choice by the office manager was M&N.  When I looked at the menu, I was amazed.  Choices range from pizza, to wings, to sandwiches, to curry.  No pork is served here so anything which you would assume to be pork is either beef (pepperoni) or turkey (ham and bacon, etc.).  Although I was intrigues by the spicy curry chicken pizza, the price was outside of the limit (you can only get this pie in a large).  I settled on the spicy Szechuan chicken pizza (extra spicy).  This pizza is no joke.  I can't even explain the flavors, but they work and the spice level is high, but adds a good depth for me.  Next time, I have to try the curry chicken.  BTW, I am told that the other India fare on the menu is very good.

Xi'an Gourmet, opened in the ashes of the former Bob's space.  Tim Carman wrote about it in the Post today and seems to like it.    Has Anyone tried it yet?

Where did you purchase your kitchen countertops from and were you satisfied?

21 hours ago, TedE said:

Built-in glycol chillers have been standard for at least a couple of decades now; it's the best way a small operation can cost-effectively control fermentation.  And those things really work!  Last year I was at a nano-brewery outside of Tampa and their entire brewing system was outside, with nothing but a corrugated metal roof protecting the tanks from the South Florida heat.

The brewer was telling me about a contraption he has at his house to maintain temperature during fermentation--a temperature probe which also activates a freezer that kicks on when temperature rises.  He said there is a new glycol home brewer rig that costs about $400, which would be better and based upon the price, he may consider it.  

As another aside, we discussed the hazy IPA rage, and his answer was brewing a pilot batch of glitter beer with purple glitter (in honor of the Ravens).  Not to worry, he used food grade glitter and "pitched" the beer at a marketing meeting--needless to say his "pitch" didn't go very far!

On 8/2/2018 at 2:18 PM, DonRocks said:

I have a simple question: Is the difference between an "ale" and a "lager" still that the former is fermented top-down, and the latter is fermented bottom-up?

That's the way it used to be, anyway.

---

I had forgotten all about this.

Yes, that is true, however another way to think about it, is that ales ferment at room temperatures, while lager ferments at lower temperatures. 

I had the privilege to guest brew (or maybe you would call it help) at Flying Dog today.  We brewed a kolsch on their 15 barrel pilot system (which generates 30 half kegs)(this is the size of the main system at many of the new breweries sprouting up!).  The brewer that I worked with doesn't just do this because it is a job, he does it because he is an enthusiast and enjoys the science of brewing and monitoring trends, etc (he home brews on the weekend!).  It is his opinion that the industry is making a turn towards more traditional styles.  Also, as an aside, something I learned today was that all of their fermenting vessels are jacketed and they can pump cooled glycol through the jacket to maintain temperatures.  The brewer told me that there is a need to maintain temperature to some extent in all of their fermantations be it a lager or an ale (kolsch yeast is actually a hybrid as the characteristics of the resulting beer have both lager and ale qualities).