StarStraf

Pooch plans on making up some ribs for the picnic

I'm there with my +1 Pooch I'll have to ask him what we are bringing but he made a macaroni salad last night that was wonderful so I'll suggest that.

Grandma's assisted living took a trip to Mount Vernon last Friday and she LOVED it - still going on about it

We have eaten there twice - I'm a sucker for dry aged Kanas Beef. Front bar is VERY loud, but restaurant is thru a closed door and much quieter - though tables are almost touching. Staff is friendly, food is yummy. On the topic of web pages - I was having a conversation with some (much younger) friends and they were ranting about restaurants using PDF menus and how that is not mobile friendly and shouldn't be done for a variety of reasons. ... here is the comments from one of the young (20 something) folks in the conversation. "First, if you're changing your menu weekly, you're not redesigning the entire thing or adding fancy graphics. You're copy/pasting it into a template. Which means there's no excuse not to be also copy/pasting it into the HTML on the site. If they're small time, they probably have a simple CMS like WordPress, which is incredibly easy to update. If they spent the money on a designer to create a fancy site, or they're a chain, they better damn well have made sure that either they have someone to keep it running or that they can make changes when the designer leaves. And I don't mean people are searching for menu items. I mean people are searching for restaurants nearby. They don't necessarily want to download a PDF to their phone or laptop. The bigger the file (i.e. the bigger the menu), the more data needed to download it, the longer it takes, etc. It is, in short, obnoxious when you want a quick answer. Unless they're properly optimized, PDFs aren't readable by Google, and even if they are, it's a very limited capability. Which means Google can't read the information, which Google really hates. It wants to pull data from your site to display. If the site isn't designed to be mobile friendly, it's going to get dinged in search results, which means fewer people see the link. And the ones that do? if they don't want to download a PDF or can't, they're going to leave, which hurts bounce rates, which can also lower website rankings. Not to mention those potential customers are not going to go to that restaurant, because they're already annoyed that they can't get information."

For me having the bathroom at ground level is important when i take grandma - In old town Alexandraia a lot are on upper floor - but if I call ahead they will clean out the kitchen bathroom and let me use that with her.

Long time no posting - Last week we at at Los Cuates (http://www.loscuatesrestaurant.com/) on King Street in Old Town. We have been on very restricted doctor controlled diet January - last week and thus not eating out except a few steak places and stayed off the board as it was just to tempting - Diet (Ideal Protein) was a success we lost 87 pounds between the two of us and more important my blood sugar numbers are normal. But once done we had to choose where to eat - and I knew that Mexican food was going to win out as the idea of cheese and carbs combined was the thing I missed the most - I had the Seafood Burrito Veracruz and he had steak tacos, we split a guacamole it was wonderful - even on Cinco de Mayo we only had a 15 minute wait cause they were being great about extra staff and getting food to table quickly.

Have tried this twice now and were quiet happy both times, looking forward to going back now that we can have a better range of food (We were limited to lean meat and veggies for a few months) - Great atmosphere, staff recognized us on second trip. Steaks cooked perfectly.

We are back on the board (Pardon the absence but doctor controlled diet I didn't need to be reading about food) June 21 works for Pooch and I so I think we can be there

We ate there last week. He had the Carne Asada special, I had the Wild mushroom pizza. Big microbrew selection (bottles). Nice layout, plenty of parking, close to the house. Sturdy chairs / tables and large tables so don't feel smashed in. Friendly staff, general manager stopped by to chat. Not going to be in high rotation but will be in our rotation since close and good food but nothing great. I say if you are in the area give a try I like it more then the others of the restaurant group.

The drink is "Suffering Bastard" Though when we get tiki drinks at Peking Gourmet they are usually in tiki glasses Originally was 1 oz gin 1 oz brandy 1/2 oz Rose's Lime Juice Cordial 2 dashes Angostura Bitters 4 oz ginger beer (chilled) but now more often found made with rum 2 parts Light Rum 2 parts Gin 2 parts Ginger Ale 1 part Lime Juice 2 dash bitters OH how I miss Hala Kahiki in Chicago

My step-mom used to ask me for a food I liked that Pooch didn't cook and then the gift to us was recipe, tools, ingredients for that item - for example Creme Bruele : Torch, ramakins, high quality vanilla... Each year at thanksgiving I ask our friends what the newest kitchen gadget / tool they got that they can't live without. Epicurean washable cutting boards, ball bearing whisk, stackable cooling racks, jelly roll pan/wire rack combo for making bacon...

Duck and Garlic Sprouts, and strong tiki drinks. The staff is very polite and always makes a fuss over grandma when I take her. unless you are going on week day or early you probably want reservations.

My annual trip to the Tribe gathering in central IL - and the weekend eating event Wed night - Del's deep dish pizza Thurs AM - donuts Thurs PM - traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mushroom soup, butterhorns, and pie pie pie Friday PM - Risotto from the turkey remains Sat am - cream puffs homemade Sat pm - Bongna cotta and cheese / meat spread Sun am - cinnamon rolls Sun pm - out to the cook your own steak place

We eat there probably once a month, Agnes is our favorite waitress, Thursday night is Prime Rib night. It is our go to place when meeting folks in oldtown as there is something for everyone on the menu, good beer selection, and able to have a good conversation.

Capital teas has one of our favorite teas - Russian Caravan a smoked Lapsang tea

Lasagna is all put together.

Noon it is

Either way is fine with me - I would like it to happen as I've turned down other invites to be able to attend this. Small group means we all get to talk more Looks like we are bringing pasta and red meat sause

Glad it was helpful. actually the Map link does help - tells me where and that also gives me exact address and phone . Thou an overall map with the sections numbered / identified so I know which list to look at might be helpful

My daughter lives down in Brixton with a 2 year old - they explain that most pubs are kid friendly for lunch

And cause I'm waiting for a program to run and have some time.... here is how i DO use your listing..... Say I want to eat somewhere new tonight but want local (Alexandria) (Not actually - going to Finn and Porter toinght for Grandma's 97th BD) Goto Old Town Alexandria section of Virginia page Restaurant Eve - ( out of my price range for tonight, do want to go there sometime) Bastille - ( been there, enjoyed it, may go back) Vaso's Kitchen - ( humm name sounds interesting - oh Greek he dosen't like greek but let me look No website listed so will follow link to reviews - scanned the first few reviews - okay maybe that will work next week when i go out with Granmda = but no location - so goto google search for Vaso's kitchen alexandria - humm 1225 Powhatan St, Alexandria, VA 22314 - that's not old town - go back read more of reviews - oh looking at header "Greek in North Alexandria - Chef Vaso Volioti in the Former Dixie Pig and Bistro Lafayette Spaces" dont' have any idea what those former palces are or where but the listing said old town - ah half way down (Glad only one page of reviews) there is second location on king street - back to google search "Vaso's kitchen king street alexandria" ah there it is - oh look a web page http://www.vasosonking.com/ 1118 King St - okay will keep that in mind for dinner with grandma back to dinner for tonight) Le Fefuge - (Our friends Brook and Andrea like that, it is their anniversary place, but we went there once the food was okay but not great and the service was awful to us, and really seemed to only want locals, so probally not going there, besides want somewhere new) Daniel O'Connell's ( been there decent fish and chips - oh fish and chips, maybe we shodul goto Eamonds no wait want something new, besides wasn't O'Connells closed - oh web site still active, must have just been for a refurbish or private party when I saw that it was closed one time walking by) A la lucia - goto web site, goto directions, look at map - oh he's meeting me at king street and that's a bit far off for him to walk/ trolly, I might be able to get him to goto Braddock - oh wait taking bus to king street - okay maybe some other time Casa Rosada - gelato - no I want dinner not gelato Fontaine - love it, but want someplace new - oh hey Alana is back in town (took her there) need to drop her an email and plan dinner) La Bergerie - goto web site - deal with music playing - gurrr - oh that is the place next to Overwood we keep meaning to try - okay -- So maybe making sure that there is a fixed post at the top of each review page with address or that it is included in review title

if I could have my dream app I would like to be able to also rank or select by: Noise Level (to high) Good for large parties Will split checks Lighting level parking metro accessible handicap accessible im sure there are more

main thing missing is a knowledge of the city and my hate of making phone calls. Example: If I'm driving my grandma home from the zoo and she says 'Can we get Italian dinner' (and the only restaurant I've ever been to in that area is Dino's and I know that isn't there anymore) I have no idea what neighborhood I'm in or what i'm going to pass thru or especially what is only a short detour. I've only been here 5 years and don't know much outside Alexandria, especially when I'm driving. So for the 'right now what is near me, open, and has seating' the list isn't very helpful for me, I would have to pull over, look at the map on my phone to find out what the area is called and what is close, then find the correct listing then pick a restaurant that sounds good, click to web page, find the phone number, call, see if they have seating, all why trying to explain to grandma that no I'm not talking to her right now I'm on the phone. And if it is a busy time I would have to do this 4-5 times before I find a place. Example 2: On phone with friend - hey lets grab dinner tonight - and being able to make and confirm that I have a reservation for us while they are still on the phone without having to call them back. When i do use the list - Friend is coming into town and staying at x hotel - I find that on map and find closest metro station and then use that to look at the listing of restaurants - pick 3-4 and send her the blurb and website link.

Where you comming from? If nothing else we drive right by Van Dorn Metro stop and could grab you there. Oh and what time are we starting?

So I'm curious if you could suggest what program you wish diners would use? I am often making my reservations for an upcoming evening in early morning when going over calendar with my sweetie - I have my phone but not my computer. Sometimes I know specifically what restaurant I want, sometimes I have just a location we will be and want to find a restaurant. Or sometimes I'm somewhere and I want to know what restaurant near me has an open table Open Table does those things for me. Yelp gives me a review but then I need to also call the restaurant to make a reservation, and can only do that when they are open and I'm able to talk.