durwoodx

Well I can certainly add another place NOT to visit in Luray - the Brick Oven Pizza place just to the west of the intersection of 211 and 340. Crust rivals Papa John's, cheese was the bad kind of chewy, and it had (the horror) powdered garlic all over the top of it. We ate a couple of times at the Speakeasy and Circa '33 in the Mimslyn Inn (since we were staying there and got a surprise free voucher with our package) which was not terrible. The wings were actually all right, but the taps in the bar need to be cleaned something fierce (skun-KY!) Sadly what was (by all accounts) the only "real" restaurant in town, the Artisan Grill, has been shut down due to a fire for a good while and will be for the foreseeable future.

I've stopped in a couple of times. Good coffee, but more notably one of the best scones I have ever had. May have to come in and check out more of their "real food" menu.

I was trying to be polite, but point taken.

That is pretty cool. However, it is also possible that you are a bit of a pizza nerd.

A Sunday double date became a pillaging of the menu this weekend. Between the four of us we pretty well covered 40% or so of the menu and it was very, very solid. In general, however the appetizers well outshone the entrees. Started with a pregame Plate of House Made Pates & Terrines which was great. The Pho Terrine had just been returned to the menu (so tasty with the hoisin sauce), and the Pate de Campagne and duck liver varieties were equally good. Even my wife who generally doesn't care for pates and terrines enjoyed it. Wife and I then shared a serving of the Chilled Avocado & Cucumber Soup. The soup itself was pleasant enough (who doesn't love a chilled soup in August in DC?) but perhaps a lacked a flavor core. The shrimp chunks really outshone the soup itself, however. Excessively flavorful without any kind of fishy edge. Everyone at the table ordered a starter. The star of the show was the Ahi Tuna Tartare. Possibly the best I have ever had. The tuna itself was remarkably good - the presentation stunning. The tuna mixed with a few chunks of avocado and was cradled within crispy pieces of nori (seaweed) tempura, which provided a great crunch against the tenderness of the fish. A very light smattering of a wasabi sauce on the plate gave it just the right amount of bite. Pan Roasted Veal Sweetbreads were very nice. Well cooked - tender and delicate without being fatty - mixed with small pieces of bacon and halved red grapes, all topped with a perfectly poached egg. Dipping the sweetbreads in the egg = nom nom nom. Sautéed Potato Gnocchi were light yet with a slight crust on the outside - an interesting variation. Served with ricotta, tomatoes, spinach and basil in a butter sauce that made it elegant comfort food perfection. My wife and I could have gone home happy having just this. Roasted Beets with Pea Shoots & Kaleidoscope Carrots Beets are not really my thing. That said, the beets were very good. The aged goat cheese served with it was better. The "Kaleidoscope Carrots" were a bit underwhelming, however. The mains were a bit less of a smash however. Probably the best of the bunch was the Vadouvan Spiced Alaskan Halibut, which had a lovely light and crispy coating and was accompanied by a simply terrific coconut-curry sauce (very Caribbean.) The Crispy Sweet and Sour Tofu with various vegetables (sorry the notetaking was getting a bit loose by this point) was a solid entry with good presentation, but the sweet and sour aspect got a bit cloying after awhile. My selection, the Grilled Berkshire Pork Chop, recommended by the waitress, ended up being a bit flat. To be fair, we had been warned that the chef was away that evening, but while well cooked this particular cut of meat seemed excessively fatty and grisly. It was so much work getting to good bites of meat much of the intention of the dish was lost. We ended at the bar with a nice selection of cheeses and the cookie plate, which ranged from inspired (ah the oatmeal crispy!) to blah (chocolate chip.) One final note - for a place that is all about wine, they have a striking beer list. The regular selections are well thought out and surprising, but the "reserve" list is astonishing (if ridiculously expensive.) It contains such near-impossible to find selections as Descutes' The Abyss, Alesmith Crand Cru, and Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi. We split a bottle a couple of Russian River gems. Damnation (the essence of what a Belgian Blond should be) and the exquisite Supplication - a belgian sour revelation.

Dropped in for a quick solo lunch today and (inspired by Don's last post) ordered the Cotto e Funghi . He's right - that's a damned fine pizza. The cream just adds a suppleness to the flavor and the mushrooms are quite good - great texture and a variety of shapes and sizes that add both visual interest and the fun of trying to corner the tiny ones while they're all helpless (MUAHAHAHA!)

I've got to imagine perception plays into a lot if it, the same way with wine and screwtops/boxes.

Honestly I wish wish wish (strongly wish) more brewers would get into the can thing. Environmental and shipping issues aside, as a consumer they are so much more compact and convenient. I rarely drink from the bottle (or can) anyway (having a bunch of ludicrous beerware tackily displayed in my china cabinet.) Once you mix in the number of outdoor destinations that don't allow glassware of any kind it just makes so much sense. To date, however, I only know of three "craft" brewers (i.e. non-ImBev/Anhauser Busch or Miller/Coors conglomerate crap) that offer cans, and only one do I really care for, that being Oskar Blues out of Colorado, purveyors of Dale's Pale Ale, Gubna, Ten Fidy and Gordon to name a few.

Indeed transcendant, indeed. Anyone in DC who considers themselves a foodie and hasn't taken advantage of the Cityzen Lounge menu needs to put it at the very top of their list. I know it's been said about 80 times on this thread already, but bang for the buck this is absolutely the best deal in the city, hands down, not even close. Heck even if the meal was twice as much I would have felt ok about what I spent. Just a few things to add to leleboo's post: We were started with an amazing amuse bouche of a vichyssoise panna cotta with lobster meat piled in the middle of it. Imaginative and inspiring. Individual flavors (some of the best lobster meat I have ever had) and textures (panna cotta gooey goodness mmmmm) were distinctive and pronounced while still working together quite well. The corn chowder was one of the two best I have had in the city (the other being at Equinox two weeks ago.) The only thing pushing it over the top to the #1 position were the sweetbreads. I have had bad sweetbreads on a couple of occasions and was left wondering what the big deal was. Last night I found out why sweetbreads exist - lightly crispy on the outside without a hint of greasiness, the crunch yielded to little perfectly textured puffs of goodness. The veal breast more closely resembled a short rib in appearance and texture than anything else I can think of, but with a lightness that no short rib could match. Fork tender, subtle and simply delicious. Great service, great food, great fun.

Because that's less interesting.

That IS interesting. Mainly I am interested in seeing a sommelier's reaction when I pour part of my water glass into the wine he just decanted for me.

Stopped in for a quick post-work bite this evening. I have been jonesing to give this place a new look after hearing all the hype about how it has been rejuvenated. This may not be entirely fair, as I only got a couple of bar menu items fairly late on a Monday evening, but I am sorry to report that what I experienced was double plus un-good. Ordered a Vodka Gibson and got something seemingly completely devoid of anything but vodka, except for the puny, shriveled, sad looking cocktail onions giving up their wilted layers into my drink. Asked the bartender for recommendations and he steered me to the Crisp Calamari. When it was my first impression was "Wow, what is that smell?" After the first bite my brain somehow connected the smell and taste to bacon. It all tasted like bacon. I wondered if they fried it in bacon somehow. Turns out it had smoked paprika in/on/around it. A lot of it. After 3 or 4 bites it became really overwhelming and started to emphasize the fact that it was fried in a rather unpleasant way. After 6-7 bites I was done (and I wish I had stopped earlier.) I thought perhaps a cheese plate. That couldn't be screwed up could it? Four slices of what might have been good bread once, but was sadly quite dry and well on the road to full-on stale. Five cheeses (fairly pedestrian selections) served way way WAY too cold. Cheese plate. Screwed up. Total cost (with tip) for this enlightening expedition - $58. It will take a whole lot more hype before I duck in here again.

A mini-invasion by dr.com folks at the lounge last night. It's a great place to relax with some people until around 8:00-8:30 when it turns a bit meat market-esque. Some good eats there, some passable but unremarkable, but either way a great space and a great bartender - friendly and helpful without being obsequious. What we tried (basicly from meh to YEAH!): Santa Fe Shrimp were fairly tough (seemed overcooked a good bit) served in a "spicy smoked tomato sauce, poblanos, cilantro and avocado" that bluntly left me pretty flat. Not much chile flavor. Not much spice in general. Side note: perhaps it is because I am from New Mexico but it bugs me when restaurants throw a "Southwestern" or "New Mexico" or "Santa Fe" label on something and toss in some diced chiles and think that covers it. There's a whole lot more to the flavors of the state than that, folks. Mexican Torta - OK I blame myself for not reading the description thoroughly enough. "Served on a white roll" while I had some sort of tostada-like arrangement in mind. Basicly a BBQ sandwich. Again, not much of a chile flavor here - perhaps a bit of the chipotle coming through the sauce but mostly: BBQ! There was a bit of interest in the "refried cranberry bean" spread that was found at the bottom of the sandwich but overall good but not moving. On my last trip I tried the English Pea Risotto Fritters. I know, I know risotto fritters are on the trite food list now, but the pea and mint flavors gave these a bit more interest than most, and the texture was great. Porcini Mushroom Tagliatelle: now THAT'S what I'm talking about. The pasta itself was great - wonderful texture and very fresh - while the sauce (wonderfully earthy and comforting) and the various veggies mixed in (the fava beans in particular - just enough crunch without being tough) really came together. The inclusion of the argula pesto on the bottom made for a nice change of pace as you worked your way through the dish. Only downside - eat as soon as possible. As the dish cooled it became increasingly cloying and greasy. Not recommended for extensive bar conversation. Overall, though, a space I would love to come back to again. I had a great meal in the main dining room a few months ago and the lure of the roof is quite strong. Oh yeah, and the gist of the beer dissertation was this: it is very hard to get a good Bavarian-Style Weissbier in the states.

That may have been your experience, and overall I really like this place, but there was absolutely nothing subtle about the tartare I was served this week.

Grabbed early dinner here twice in the past month or so due to having some work stuff in the area and, you know, what the heck. The food experience ran from meh to holy-crap-epiphany. For my first visit I started with the Goat Cheese Caesar Salad - interesting but more exciting on paper than on the plate. Didn't really get much from the goat cheese. Perhaps it is sacrilige but I was seriously underwhelmed by the Lobster Burger - the flavor of the meat didn't really seem to have much of a chance to come through the excexxively creamy dressing it was formed with. In general this whole dish came off as non-descript. Closed with the Creme Brulee - perfectly functional example of the dish but again, not blown away really. Second trip - this time with a friend from work - was much more successful. We went nuts on the appitizer menu and had an impromtu tasting feast. Opened with the Gougeres which were delightful - a lovely light texture with just a slight amount of give/crunch on the outside and a nice bite of cheese flavor. Leleboo claims she can make better ones. Personally I think everyone on the board should hold her to that. Then the barrage of appetizers begins: Crab Cake with Leek Tartare Very nice - the leek tartare was slaw-like. The leek slivers themselves were very tender and the acidity of the vinegar with the tang of the leeks played very well against the sweetness of the (very good) crab meat. Also of mention was the outer texture of the crab cake itself. Yellow Tomato Gazpacho with Lump Crab Meat Wow. Bursting with slightly unripe tomato flavor (in a good way) and crab meat that tasted like it was still kicking 15 minutes earlier. Mushroom Pearl Pasta Risotto The highlight of the meal. A very earthy creamy mushroom flavor is a "faux risotto" made with (per the title) pearl pasta rather than rice. One of the most striking dishes I have had in a good long while. Tartare of Filet Mignon and French Fries The fries - outstanding -served with a mayo that looked and tasted like it had been whipped up in the kitchen 5-10 minutes earlier (which it may well have been.) The tartare - one of my biggest dining disappointments all year. I have no idea what the meat tasted like as it was completely overwhelmed by vinegar acidity and a whole heaping LOT of mustard flavor. The only dish of the evening that didn't get polished off (infact over half of it was left uneaten.) Finally (as if that wasn't enough) we finished off with the Tropical Meringue, which has got to be the quintessential summer dessert. Frozen coconut confection alternated with delightfully crispy meringue and topped with various tropical fruits. Yum yum. All in all while the misses were striking (seriously did NOT like that tartare) the rest was more than enough to make up for it.

Has anything here improved at all? We will be there Aug 13-15 for the Luray Triathlon (wife is doing both days crazy woman) and while we got reservations at Inn at Little Washington on Sat we still need sustenance on Friday night. Any ideas at all? Anyone? Really. Good food in Luray? Anyone?

You are on a diet and got the three course bistro special? I want your diet.

A thought I have had many times - Dogfish Head is A+ adventurous and B- quality. Discuss.

Honestly I am rather impressed at the seemingly endless variety of ways ML is able to combine business opportunism and social activism into free advertising. And I mean that in a very good way.

Well, we are here. One of if not THE most beautiful places I have ever been but holy crikey is it expensive. As put so timelessly in The Blues Brothers, "The soup is f%$#ing ten dollars!" (Although really it's more like $12-15.)

Any other quick recommendations? Wife and I are headed there Monday for 7 days of beachy bliss.

Any other quick recommendations? Wife and I are headed to St Martin Monday (staying in Grand Case for 5 nights after a week in Anguilla.)

There goes my slender (sic) waistline.

Some of the worst money I've spent in the DC area. Run fast. Run far.

Pish tosh. I gave up on caring about such things when spinach started killing people. I figure there's no winning at this point so just eat what you want, you know?