dirtymartini

Ahh, the flying monk..that one was on the chateruse web site for a bit. It had a different name, the last word or, something like it. Try the angry dragon for knocking the last remanents of the day from your head. 1 oz charteruse, 1 oz tequila. Serve VERY chilled. I think that one spured the conversation that became that sparkling drink.

The sparkler I mentioned is quite perfected thanks to Jparrott. 1/4 oz chateruse 1/4 oz falernum 1/4 oz tequila finish with sparkling wine in a flute and savor the layers of flavor.

While I can't say that $185 is a "price point" for most buyers, Corduroy is offering d'Yquem 1995 for just that. I do believe that maybe a record price for this ledgendary chte. I've been busy trying to convince Tom to do it by the glass ( then even us service indusrty types could afford a sip ).

The Corduroy staff will be back from vacation on the 6th with a new drink menu due shortly there after. Some highlights include the French 75, the Aviation cocktail and, a couple innovations. One that I'm dying to unleash on the drinking public is a sparkler with charteruse that Jparrot helped me out with.

If I read the memo correctly it will be the 6th that we reopen.

Black Maple Rye 18yr is available at Agraria. But, only on Sunday and only if you tell um the password. Which is 'password'. Just kidding, it's there all the time. But, you still have to say 'password' to get it.

Not for the faint of heart; 1 1/2 oz bourbon (old weller antique in this case) 1/2 oz green chartreuse 1/2 oz velvet falarnum juice of 1/2 lemon 2 DROPS (umm, not dashes) peyshunds bitters This is to the appletini what godzilla is to bambi.

The 2003 Dogtown vineyard from Turley. Unequivcoably( at 7 am its a f@#cking word ok?) the Old English of wines. Gotta love those raging 16.9 zins.

Old Weller 7 yr. Cause I like my bourbon like I like my women,sweet, southern, and with enough kick to leave shoe print on your soul.

So, Derek has the cocktail list for Agraria complete. There are some great classics and some new twists. Now we have to create the rolodex for all the fun stuff that we don't have on the menu. Since we are all cocktail geeks here I thought it would be fun to have a cocktail party that everyone would bring their favorite(s) recipies to. Maybe early next week? I have to check with Derek about the logistics.

One of the great things about the wine list here is that there are some really good half bottles available. So, you can pair by the glass per course or, go with half bottles( 1/2 bottle= 2-3 glasses of wine) that go well with a couple courses. Since Tom Power selects each wine on the list personally I'm sure you will recieve great recomendations whether you opt for by the glass, bottle, or half.

9 kinds of bitters. Yes nine. And none of them named Jager. Thanks for the corpse reviver #2. Can't say it'll be on the list but, mental note taken.

Being one that earns a living from the gratuity of others I can say that I base my performance on the percentage of the check that is left. When I recieve a tip that is less than 20%( after tax) I feel as if I may have let someone down. I do understand that there are many ways that people calculate tips. I am not sugesting anyone should change their method or that one way is better than the other. I do know that gratuity is just that. A gracious way of letting someone know you appreciate a job well done. PS tipping above 20% is a sure way to earn VIP service at those places you frequent often

Last night started out in a way I hope most others do not. The office had called for my assistance so, I stepped out side for a quick smoke before heading in. Upon my attempt to reenter my abode, I was struck by the horrific realization that my door was locked. And of course due to our spring time weather I was in not much more than my boxers. Did I mention I live in Columbia Heights? An up and coming neighborhood no less. The lock would not relent so, my frustrations were taken out on a happless pain of glass. A quick call to my understanding supervisor left me free to venture up to the hardware store for a replacement pain of glass. Its funny how they make more than one size though. Only adding to the infra dignitatem was the fact the it wasn't just ONE more trip back to the hardware store. Needless to say by 10pm I was less than at peace. I headed out to grab a quick bite before picking up the Misses. Cafe Saint-Ex is near her work so, I settled in on the patio. Which closed at ten. Seems that being good neighbors is important to them. Adam, the manager must have seen the fluster in my eyes. The dinning room was packed but, he quickly got a table ready in a corner. This was saturday night by the way. Adam even asked me for my drink order. Not,"I'll send someone right over" but," what can I get for you?". A real classy move. If they kept this up I might actually end up in a good mood. Which they did. I had the tuna over rissoto with a bottle of El Chapperal old vine grenache. Tuna was top notch. Barton knows fish. Wine was good bordering on great and, a steal at @ $30. Chocolate tart for dessert rounded things up nicely. Service was friendly and attentive.( Scarlet even ran out of the resturant after the me to return my credit card ) The thing that I like most about this place is that they exceeded my expectations at every turn. I went to a bar for food and was given a meal that was better that some "fine dinning" dishes I've had. Even during a peak hour I was given personal service. The wine was very good.( I don't expect $30 to go far on a resturant wine list). The whole staff managed to work in concert to eliminate the memory of my early evening. Isn't that what dinning out is all about? Cafe Saint-Ex has the whole package. You can even dance off those extra calories in the club downstairs! (don't tell the misses!) I will be going back at every opportunity.

Just got back from Grenada on thursday. Laluna is the best place on the island. It's an Italian restruarnt and the owner imports his own wine from small producers in Italy. The food was good, the service was great and, the atmosphere was stellar! I think they even did a Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot there. Its hard to find but, the taxis know how to get there and its a must do. Another place, Calabash, was ok but, expensive. The Owl has hermit crab races but, the Boat Yard has much better rum punch. If you plan to dive or snorkle, Dive Grenada is the snizzle. Phil is a blast to be around and a first rate guide. Its right next to the Owl. Nutmeg was a sandwich shop in downtown St George we ate at that was good and cheap. the view was cool too. Had a local dish called Roti there, a wrap of curried fish and potato, delish. The Beach House was another place we ate, I don't quite remember the food due to a flood of rum that night. We had much fun and plan to return often.

Everyone has thier likes and dislikes in the world of wine. Robert Parker liked the Turley to the tune of 95 points. Wine Spectator was in for 92 points. We also have 2000 Chateau Mongravey for $46 and many more. The point however was that the mark up on wine at Corduroy was much more in tune with the retail market than some other resturants. Hence my posting on the cheap wine list thread. The Turley was but one example.

Some insider info on Corduroy's wine list, you can get Turley Moore Earthquake 2001 for $73. If you google this wine you'll see it going for $79-$154.Plus shipping.

I have to start this post with a disclaimer,I am not speaking for Corduroy,(Tom Power,Rissa,etc)I am speaking about Corduroy. RW was an incredible experiance.I saw the entire staff work double shifts(around 80 hours!)to try and please everyone that came through the doors.For the most part it sounds as if we succeeded.There were some hiccups though.Kieth, I am sorry you were underwhelmed.As a waiter(possibly yours) I always want to give the best service.Some times I fall short.I would never be offended to here feed back on how I might improve.Several things that were mentioned are subjective however.Too much butter for some might not be enough for others(I have seen customers plow through butter as if studies on cholesterol didn't exist).The wines by the glass menu maybe physically small but, the are 8 offerings,1 champagne,1 sparkling,3 white,3 red,that cover a pretty broad spectrum.All the wines are French and listed as they are on the label,by region as oppossed to varietal.Our waitstaff goes through training on all the wines by the glass and is encouraged to taste each one.Any question(s) about the menu(wine or otherwise)are always welcomed.I hope you will give us another chance.Ask for me.I promise to give you my best. It was great to see so many people come out and give us a try.It was even better to see so many repeat guests.I feel like part of a family with Corduroy.And Tom Power has revealed himself as the James Brown of the restaurant biz...80 hours is a normal week for him.Thanks again,Tom Brown

Hey all you DC council members reading this thread, I'm gonna be dining in VA with my tax dollars when this ban takes effect. And I'm not alone.

Sorry, skills are learned.....Just wanted to make an amendment to Joe's post, serve your best wines first, it'd be a shame to serve a great wine to a fatiuged palate

I work at Corrduroy for the illustrious Tom Power.

The fact of the matter is,I feel I can say this as a resturant professional,almost no one goes into the buisiness for the money.Very few independently owed resturants make thier owners rich.Most of the owners I've worked for had a passion for food and wine(fine dinning being most of my experiance).If you really wanted to make a ton of cash there are better ways to do it.Now, if your goal was to do something you are passionate about.......