dirtymartini

Boilermakers, one after the other. Budwieser, Jim Beam, Budwieser, Jim Beam, etc....maybe a Jim Beam, Jim Beam mixed in for effect

IMHO there is way to narrow translation of the word 'terroir' going on here. Terroir does not simply mean place or land in fact, there is no literal translation. In my understanding terroir means, local conditions including, percipitation(intervals and amount as well as timing) site orientation and angle, slope, drainage, altitude, temprature, and the amount of sunlight and time of day that sunlight occurs. Terroir also includes the local clones, wine making practices, yeasts and viniculture methods. Terroir includes soil type, drainage rate, fertilization (amount and type and frequency). Terroir can also mean local vegatation interactions with the vines, including but not limited to, pollen deposits, mulching and non-vine vineyard plantings. This is not all of what terroir is, anyone could add more. If you think of wine as a storybook with pictures, with the taste of the wine being the words and the smell of the wine being the pictures, then terroir is the story of a place, and wine, the medium.

Heads up, Corduroy will be extending the restaurant week promotion August 13th-18th. Plenty of prime times available, so get while the getting is good!

The Red Eye is a great brunchy kind of cure...Derek and I often put a few down at Bourbon

Palace of Wonders serves Micky's (it's a freakshow theamed bar,go figure). The "big mouth" helped to get it down quick. In Georgia there was Stag beer ( yes it had a ten point buck on the label) four of us had to pool our lunch money but, we could get a pack of smokes too I think the grand total was about $4.79. It tasted like summer days, 17 year old chicks and a 1976 Buick..........

Oddly enough, one of the Turley wines hails from Mexico. I picked up a bottle at the Wine Specialists over on M st. It may have been a blend and, I don't remember the vineyard name but, it was defiantly from Mexico.

Man, the rumor mill is cranked up to 11! Truth is 6 months is a lifetime for some restaurants. Where will we all be next year? Hopefully enjoying good food with great friends! The prospects of change may be in the air but, don't forget that your business has been an integral part of Corduroy's success and your continued patronage will be important to our future...where ever that may be

Umm, guys, how 'bout maybe, Corduroy? Willing to give the kids a shot and see if they got what it takes. Contact Rissa or Scott at 202-589-0699

Wow. Sherry dinner tonight was beyond the eloquence I possess. At 20 something courses, I cannot divulge all the details but, some highlights....lamb tongue with fava beans and raviolli....wild boar blood sausage....flourless chocolate cake with olive oil jellato.....If somehow I was stricken with a horrible malady, and could taste no more, I would hold this meal in my mind as what food tastes like....

Old Weller antique in the morning coffee. Ummmm... 'you can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning'.

I'm going to be experimenting with some cocktails for the spring menu on monday. If you want to come by, have some fun, and even have some imput on the process, come by. Please get a seat at the bar though, if you are at a table the trainee/ cocktail waitress will be your server

A redifining moment has come for the the Rob Roy. If you please, shaker in hand, mix 1 1/2 oz Bruickladick(Rocks/Mione Mor/10 yr all work) 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, a drop or two of angustora, serve up with a twist. The catholic in me says 'God has worked though my hands'. The agnostic in me says 'if there really is a higher power do you think he/she/it would mind if I took full credit?'. Either way, it dosen't suck.

I have to say, the reason my 'panties are in a bunch' about this is because I spend 55-60 hours a week giving 100% to a fine dinning resturant. To be nominated out of catagorie is a slap in the face to my co-workers that put in just as much, if not more hard work. We get enough grief already from people showing up in shorts or flip flops when they are told about our dress code( yes there is a dress code). Many of our patrons complain when they see jeans in the dinning room.Maybe the white table cloths, prompt and attentive service, and attention to detail from chef to busboy mean nothing? What are we all working so hard for if we are a casual concept? Chef Power leads a team of people that have made the resturant industry a career, not part time actors or students. And we have been collectively told by RAMW that our best is casual dinning.

For those willing to let fed ex do thier smuggling for them, King of spirits gold is a modern absinth made with a 200 year old recipe. The thurjon count (phyco-active ingriedient) is 100pp/ml. More than most from 'back in the day'.

While it is possible to slide in at under $49, that is the exception, not the rule at Corduroy. My single guest(dinning alone, hotel guest) average is somewhat more than that. At least I find this nomination to be offensive and at worst I belive it shows RAMW to be out of touch with it's members.

So, your just back from vacation and you have that tanned, smug, grin on your face. Customs totally missed that bottle of absinth/"under-the-counter" rum/moonshine/opium tinqure/etc. What to do with it now? You could drink it neat or you could try to make a native cocktail or you could try one of these recipies The wicked illeagal cocktail- 1 1/2 oz rye 1 oz absinth 1/2 oz opium tinqure 2oz pineapple juice dash angastora bitter. SHAKE WELL serve up with a cherry. This is the perfect start/end of the day drink and, just make one for each person, more than that would just be excessive. Manhatten by dawn- 1oz rye 1 oz absinth 2oz sweet vermouth dash peyshund bitters. Stir and serve up with a cherry. I like this one as a last drink of the night, usually at or, just past, dawn. Blackberry brandy-1 gallon jug of moonshine( the southern type, made with 100% corn, also known as corn liquor) 1 quart black berries 1/2 cup of sugar. Add all ingriedients together, marinate for days and days then, marinate for days and days.

I gotta say I really liked what I have had off this new menu so far. The tartare duet, ahi tuna and steak, was served with violet mustard, caper berries and a cucumber thing. It worked very well but, like hebrew, I had to go left to right. Main course was again tuna, big eye this time. I can't recall the menu descriptions but, raisins and cous cous were there, adding subtlely to a very good cut of fish. Monday also has 1/2 price wine so, a bottle of declassified condrieu washed everything down. Over all I have to say my first impression is very positive and I look foward to future visits. The new menu will take some exploring....

In days gone by bitters were made in wide variety for medicinal purposes. A couple dashes added to tea, water, or liquor was prescribed for stomach ailments, diarrhea, and the like. The British may be the first to have invented the categories of "cocktail" with the addition of bitters to gin to make "pink gin" for soldier's abroad. Again, the medicinal qualities being the mother of invention here. The flavor was not the motivating factor in these concoctions so much as their healing and restorative qualities. Often roots and herbs known for being medicinal were mixed with citrus peel and other fruits to disguise the bitter flavors that could be produced. Angastora bark (which, as irony would dictate,is not in Angastora bitters), snakeroot, cardamom seed,and quinine were all well known as aids to digestion or appetite enhancers and, all are very bitter. Of course it took an American to improve the flavor to the point of drinkability. The sazurac cocktail, the first written instance of adding bitters to liquor to produce a favorable flavor profile, is the first cocktail published in Jerry Thomas' bartenders guide. As modern medicine produced pills, shots and tinctures to replace the snake oil, tonics and bitters of the folk healers, the roll of bitters has changed. Now used almost exclusively for enhancing the flavor of drinks, some more modern brands have abandoned traditional recipes in favor of creating a more universally accepted product. As we all well know, that's just not acceptable to a Rockwellian. Authenticity over mass appeal! So, after much research on the subject, I've set out to make my own bitters. Using a blend of herbs meant to excite the palate, enhance appetite, and aid in digestion. And, I did consult with a Chinese herbalist, so expect it to improve erectile functions also. Stay tuned for more.

A bonnes mares that reminds me of just why it is I like wine....

No one mentioned Miller's Westbourne strength gin. That is some fine gin for a martini. If you do add bitters (as every educated drinker should) the recipe is measured in DROPS not DASHES. Like salt excites the palate, so does bitters and it should be used accordingly. A DRY martini describes a drink made with DRY vermouth not, a shot of gin chilled. Try the martini recipe with sweet vermouth, it is an interesting contrast and, the perfect martini ( equal parts dry and sweet vermouth) is sublime. Garnish these latter with a twist and, do twist, it releases the oils from the skin.

IMHA It should be noted that in the resturant biz we refer to customers as 'guests' and ourselves as 'hosts'. Just as ettiquette dictates the behavior of guests and hosts at dinner parties/parties, etc..so too would those rules apply to resturants/clubs, etc. With certain exceptions of course. A guest in a resturant is free to send a sub-par meal back and, although as a host I would most likely bounce someone's head on the pavement for insulting me in my house.. a much more subversive approch is called for at work

A sauzurac made with Jake's Willett and absinethe from the Czech republic. I'd tell you what it tasted like but, then I would have to paint you green, boil you into mist and play you though a french horn.

Bloody Marias for breakfast Mmmm..Nothing quite like tequila to start the day off.

yeah. I continue to get good food and great service at Rumberos. Maybe you caught them at a bad time or whatever. Maybe they where reserving the better cuts for more worthy customers?

Columbia Heights, while not known for it's culinary excellence, is known for it's cultural diversity. A wide range of people from differing social, economic, cultural, and racial backgrounds, live side by side engaged in the daily struggle of life. So far our dinning options have been limited. Some good take out, a couple pzza and burger joints but, no place that you would look forward to spending an evening dinning with friends, sharing good food and quality time. And then I discovered Rumberos. Right on 14th, in the mist of all the construction, is an oasis. Driving by, my curiosity had been aroused by the sleek looking bar and mood lighting coming from within. Stopping in for drinks with a friend, we were exploring the possibility of a nieghborhood drinking hole. This place ended up being so much more. With a menu that offers mostly central and south american regional small plates, it is so easy to share, explore, and let the food become the focus of social interactions. A wood fired grill lends wonderful flavors to grilled calimari. The caps are intact and quite large, this bold presentation and bold flavors might not be everyone's cup of tea but, I loved it. Smashed fried plantains come with a "mojo" sauce that is ok but, the key to these plantains is to use them to try all the sauces that come with all the dishes. Duck taquitos were well made with shredded meat, and, the cerviche (tuna, red snapper and more) had the perfect texture with a balanced approach. A dessert made with pears marinated in maderia and served a la mode finishes things very nicely. The wine list is exclusively south american with good values but, I think it could use some more diversity. Then again, $18 for a bottle of nice 'table red' that is perfectly drinkable is not bad at all. Finally the atmosphere is great. With live, latin american music playing at just the right volume, the understated lighting encourages you to explore the nooks and crannies for maskes, art, and pictures tastefully scattered about.This place is not the the tacky poser, it is the authentic, sexy, real deal. From ownership to the busboys, the entire staff was genuine and gracious. Batenders whipping up very tasty mojito are happy to be there, foodrunners dropping the plates with a smile even if there is a language barrier. True enthusiasim and professionalism. If you define terrior as the ability to convey the soul of a place then, Rumberos has brought the terrior of central and south america to Columbia Heights for us all to explore.