Andelman

That certainly doesn't read like a 1.5 star review. Another reason why I kind of dislike the "star" system.

Is it just me, or does it seem like there is a lot of restaurant closings over the past 3 months? Seems like everytime I tune into DR.com, Facebook, Eater, etc... there is another announcement of a place closing down. More so than I can ever remember in the past.... I can only offer my sentiments to those that have had to close up shop....

I have a Caja China you could borrow. I am the co-owner of the apparatus, but I am sure you could borrow it. Just send me a PM for the details.

Looking back at this question, I think the real issue I was getting at is the notion of it being 'better' if it is made by hand. Going back to mdt's comment about the pasta. Is the fresh pasta better if it is kneaded by hand by an 80-year old Sicilian grandmother, or if it is made by monavano in her food processor (I am of course assuming monvano is NOT an 80-year old Sicilian grandmother ? Is the ice cream that Joe H is always talking about in his hand-cranked, rock salt ice cream machine, better than ice cream churned by a Taylor machine? And I am not talking about actually tasting or being a better product, but what the customer is led to believe. I keep thinking of this Lindt advertisement on TV, where they show this master chef looking dude hand-dipping a truffle. Really? I think the last time something was hand dipped at Lindt was probably many, many years ago. I believe many people have a pre-conceived notion of things being intrinsically better if less 'machinery' is involved. (which is often not the case).

Wasn't quite sure where to post this query, so feel free to move it if necessary... What is your definition of 'handmade'? I was thinking about this today when a customer asked "Are these all handmade?" My first reaction, was well, yes! However, at the same time he asked, Marissa was in the back enrobing chocolates with our enrobing/tempering machine--so, technically no, right? I mean we use our hands to pretty make everything here, or at least operate the small machinery. I am under the impression that most folks think that "handmade" (i.e hand dipped, hand rolled chocolates) are somehow superior to everything else. In my opinion, I don't think that is really the case. I used to dip everything by hand, and hand temper the chocolate. However, now we use equipment to help with those tasks. And rest assured, the product produced by the enrobing machine is far superior than anything I used to do by hand. It also holds true with other equipment we use in the shop. I don't know, it is just something i have been thinking about. Where do you draw the line at 'handmade"?

Ended up going to Hard Times. Good game-watching scene and Heavy Seas "Loose Cannon" on tap. Chili dog and fries went down easily, though I was feeling the pain this morning. Great game also! Caps in 7!!

Thanks for all the tips. My friends are going to meet me here at the shop and maybe we will check out EatBar or Spider Kelly's. I am bummed it is going to rain, as watching outside at Westover Beer Garden is some good, old-fashioned fun.

Looking for a place to meet up with a few friends to watch Game 6 tonight. Ideally, we'd like to avoid the Mr Days/Velocity 5 sports bar scene, but are looking for something with a bit more interesting food and beer. The only caveat is that the sound for the game MUST be on (which eliminates places like Rustico, Green Pig, Screwtop, etc...) We were going to watch outside at Westover Bee rGarden, but the forecast calls for rain (and hopefully some Rangers "pain") I know I live and work in the area, but I usually watch the sports at home. Any help is appreciated.

Just returned from Belgium. Thanks to all for the advice. Here is basically what I ate/did: -Flew into Brussels Friday morning and made a beeline from the airport to the town of Kortrijk (on the French border, near Lille). I was going there to pick up some chocolate supplies from IBC and to visit with a small chocolatier named Geert Vercruysse. He is in the middle of renovating his shop, so we had plenty of time to chat and share mutual interests. He makes a wide variety of bon-bons, using a variety of different couvertures. Also pastry. Great little shop if you ever to happen to find yourself in Kortrijk. -From there i received a ride to Antwerp from one of Geert's friends and went two chocolate shops (The Chocolate Line and DelRay). Chocolate Line store was nice, and the chocolates had some interesting an unusual flavors (bacon, fried onion, black olive and tomato, sake, etc..) Some were interesting, others pretty disgusting IMHO. The shop was nice, but the chocolates were a bit beat up and I am pretty sure he uses either Belcolade or Callebaut (as do most chocolate shops in Belgium). Nice to visit and one of the better places in Belgium. DelRay was industrial/moderately priced. ho-hum kind of stuff. -Took the train to Brussels and stopped in to see Laurent Gerbaud and his shop. He is probably one of the better chocolatiers in Brussels and we had some time to chat and I got to see his workshop and taste a lot of his stuff. Another reason his chocolates are so good is that he uses mainly Domori (an Italian chocolate manufacturer) in his bon-bons, bars, and dipped fruit. Nice, young guy doing some great things in Brussels. ANd that was the end of day !. Ate food in a crappy, no name restaurant near my hotel that night. Overcooked and dry rabbit with so-so frites -Spent Saturday in Brussels. Great breakfast at Charli (a very small boulangerie neat St Catherine). Definitely worth a stop if you are there. Visited Frederic Blondell's chocolate shop in St. Catherine, which was a very nice shop and tearoom. Chocolates were just okay, again, mainly Callebaut stock type stuff. Some interesting flavors. Also went to Marcolini and Wittmer on the Grand Sablon. Wittmer was not that great and the Marcolini shop was very nice and very expensive. However, new to the Sablon is Patrick Roger, an excellent French chocolatier with a beautiful shop. By far my favorite shop of the trip. Yes, in my opinion, the best chocolatier in Belgium right now is French. Had dinner that night with friends at Les Brassins in Ixelles, which was really good. Simple brasserie preparations with decent beer list. Not expensive and the service was pleasant an efficient. After more post-dinner drinks, we got frites from the famous Maison Antoine in Place Jourdan. So, so good! -Sunday in Bruges was nice. Did the brewery tour at DeHalve Maan brewery and then had dinner at Bierbrasserie Cambrinius. Food was decent, but the beer list was extensive. Sat at the bar and drank and ate. Chocolate shops in Bruges were mostly geared for tourists and not very impressive. -Monday we headed to Ghent, which is a very nice town if you ever get the chance to go. Just ate simple soup for lunch, but the town is great, definitely recommended. Headed back to Brussels that afternoon and had beers at Moderer Lambic (sp??) on Place Fontainas. Great, great unusual beer selection. Cool place. Definitely worth a trip. That was followed by a return trip to Maison Antoine for more frites and dinner at a great Thai place (Deuxime Element, SP??) in Ixelles. Flew back this morning. Great trip and good food. As for the chocolate scene, well I will elaborate more on that in another post.

We had a couple of last minute cancellations for our chocolate making class this Sunday (4/15) at 3 PM. If anyone is interested, please give me a call at 703-524-0007 ASAP. The class is normally $75, but we are discounting it down to $60 in order to fill the spots. It is a lot of fun and you go home with a bunch of chocolate. A great way to spend 2 hours on a hot, Sunday afternoon. Thanks, Jason

For obvious reasons, I am very excited that they are up and running. Everyone should definitely check it out. They have really done an amazing turnover of the space and it really bears no resemblance to its former existence (AF). Very, very nice beer selection and the small sampling of food I had the other night was really tasty (octopus included). Best of luck to Scot and the rest of the team!

I just wanted to thank everyone for coming last night. I hope I didn't babble on too much and sorry for the later than usual finish. I hope everyone learned a little something and enjoyed the chocolates. Also, thank you very much for all of the gratuities. Much appreciated and very kind. Hope to see you all in the shop again soon. Best, Jason

@booklovingbabe: Thanks! @Joe H: Thank you! Yes, The Chocolate Line was on our list of chocolate shops to check out. Though the cover of that book is a little, um, weird... We have about 4-5 places picked out for Brussels. However, I am a Francophile when it comes to chocolate, so we'll see how this measures up. @SVT: Awesome! Thanks for all the recs. Looking forward to trying some of those places out. I am not sure of the exact location of our hotel, but it seems like it is pretty easy to get around the city. Bier Circus sounds like a given. Great intel, much appreciated.

Has anyone been lately? I am going for a work related trip at the end of April (just for a 3 nights) and we are looking for some good recs. We have 2 nights/2 days in Brussels and 1 day/evening in Bruges. Nothing fancy, just some good, solid, un-touristy cooking. Bars and other food-related establishments wanted also. Much appreciated!

So, it looks like we have a full house for the event tonight (20 PP) so it should be engaging. I think the parking questions were answered above, but yes, there is free parking in the building. The entrance is just past our space (coming from Clarendon Blvd) on the left. It is the garage that goes down UNDER the building. Please don't use the small parking lot near the self-storage, as you may get towed. Additionally, there is street parking in the area. I'd like to start this event on time at 7 PM, so please try and arrive on time. I don't like to start these things until everyone is here, as I lock the door at 7 PM. That being said, please don't show up at 6:30, as I really don't have to big of a 'waiting area". The tasting should be about 1.5 hours long at the most--it really depends on how in-depth we get and the number of questions asked. Since the shop is pretty small in the back, everyone will have to stand. I do have a couple of chairs and stools if anyone needs to sit, but be prepared to stand for the duration of the event. Water will be provided as well. If you have any other questions, please post them here, otherwise I will see everyone tonight! Best, Jason

I'll also add that we still have spots available if anyone is interested. Like I said, the more the merrier! Invite a friend if you like! I have plenty of chocolate to share. Please let me know by Wednesday morning if you'd like to add yourself to the the list. I think we have 13 people at this point.

I was thinking it would be about 1.5 hours at the most. It really depends on questions and how in depth we get. You can certainly bail early if you have to....

Thanks to all those that have signed up already. We do still have some spaces available if anyone is interested. I think I'd like to cap it at 20 people so it isn't too cramped in here, so sign up soon! I'm looking forward to this....

Thanks, Don. Yeah---it should be a lot of fun. I am ready to geek out on some chocolate talk. Looking forward to meeting everyone in person.

WHEN: Wednesday 3/21 at 7 PM WHERE: Artisan Confections shop in Clarendon (1025 N Fillmore St.) WHO: only DR.com members. I (Jason) will be conducting the tasting. WHAT and WHY: Well, I really just want to share with you all what we do here at Artisan Confections. The plan is to have a quick discussion about how chocolate is made and we'll taste a bunch of different Valrhona chocolates to get a feel for the stuff we use here. After that, I'll give a demo/talk about how we make our bon-bons and caramels and we will taste a multitude of products as we go. My goal is to have everyone walk away with a better idea of what we are all about. In that same vein, I would like to have an open discussion about the business side of things and how we operate. Look at the evening at as a 'behind the scenes" look at what we do here, both on the production and business sides. I am only inviting Dr.com members to this event because I am looking for some lively conversation from people that really, truly care about food and (from what I can tell) small businesses in general. I think it will make for a fun night and my hope is that other businesses would follow suit down the road. COST: I am going to go all Radiohead (I will probably even be playing Radiohead over the sound system) for this event and just say pay what you think it was worth. I'll leave discreet box in the shop, and when it is all over you can pay want you want. I am honestly not looking to make any money on this event and am planning on doing it for free. However, if you want to contribute to cover costs, please feel free to do so..(it is not expected though!) HOW: Please send me an email at jason@artisanconfections.com or PM to confirm your spot. No phone calls please. I really only have room for 20(possibly a few more) people maximum, so once it is full I'll start a wait list. The more the merrier, so I hope we can get a full house! If you have any general questions, please post them here I will answer as promptly as I can. Best, Jason

That is a tough one. I would take Don's advice and head to Liberty Tavern or perhaps Lyon Hall. (or even Northside Social, though it may not have the ambiance you are looking for) Bayou would be a good choice as well. I guess another option would be Buzz in Ballston, or Rustico (the ricotta fritters are pretty good and you can get some fine beer on draft). Good luck!

In regards to expansion, I am under the impression that the timeline for expansion has shrunk a great deal over the past few years. Just as the quick rise to chefdom, so will there be quick expansion. Everything just seems to be sped up these days. Not to speak for other chefs, but I am am pretty sure they see a lot of young folks come on the scene with a sense of "hey, I just graduated from culinary school, I am now a CHEF". I just think the learning curve has shrunk and there is more a sense of instant gratification in said career. I'll also add that this phenomenon is probably not just in the restaurant business, but in most industries, as I hear the same thing from friends (of my age group) in their various jobs. That being said, I can't begrudge these guys for taking advantage of their situation and doing what is best to expand their empire. Will the food suffer? Maybe, maybe not. I think their are plenty of chefs out there with multiple establishments that do it quite well. I guess it depends a lot on your vision, team, etc... It's my assumption, for someone like Mike Isabella, the opportunity in Georgetown presented itself and he jumped on the situation. It is not like it would be difficult for him to get financial backing and move forward rather rapidly (especially in a location that used to be a restaurant). It seems like a smart BUSINESS move to me. Will the food suffer? Only time will tell...

I'll just speak for myself here, but honestly it was the other way around for me when I first started cooking. I found something I enjoyed doing and made me happy. I figured the money would follow. I think most culinary professionals going into the trade realize it is a hard, low-paying career choice, but you can make a living doing it. And by living, for me at least(now), it is a way to pay the bills, support my family, and hopefully have some in reserve to do the other things in life I enjoy doing. I think everyone's definition of 'wealth' is obviously subjective. Also, things change as you age. I have realized over the past few years that (again, speaking for myself), that being happy is far more important than any monetary wealth. I've been lucky that my business has been successful after many years of hard work on my part. And by successful, I don't mean that we make a lot of money (we don't), but we make enough for me to make a living, pay my bills, pay my employees, go on vacation, etc, etc...And you know what, I get up every single morning happy to go to the shop---to something that I created from nothing, and that is most rewarding and fulfilling thing of all. Of course, this may be different for others (and to get back slightly on topic). For guys like Spike and Mike I, they are still doing something they love, and started doing because they loved to cook. It just turns out that they are getting fame and wealth in doing so, and for that, I have no problem with how they go about doing it. Everyone 'pays their dues' in different ways. Some get lucky. Some work very, very very hard at what they do and still toil in the trenches in obscurity. It is a unfair world we live in, but to each his own and I can't be jealous or upset about what others are doing.

Don, please do not shut this topic down, I think it makes for a really interesting discussion. First of all, there is no doubting your enthusiasm in the defense of the DC dining scene, and for that alone, all of the chefs on your before mentioned list should be thankful. I guess what it comes down to for me, is that just because a restaurant, bakery, chocolate shop, whatever is in the spotlight and succeeding---that we should somehow look down on them for 'selling out', 'losing their soul', etc.... Of course we all love the story of the mom and pop restaurant that hasn't changed in 50 years, or the chef who is behind the stoves 365 days a year. And yes, those are great stories, but those types of places are few and far between. I think most chefs/restauranteurs (probably most of whom were on your list, as Heather stated) would welcome the opportunity to have more press, be in the spotlight, and in turn, fill more seats and make more money. How they go about doing this is entirely up to them and not for us to judge. Yes, you may get frustrated by it, by I don't think it is inherently evil to have PR folks, marketing teams, etc, etc.. to help fill seats. I guess for me the reason this topic is so interesting is that I have discussed it many times before with my wife, friends, and co-workers. Even though making food, cuisine etc.. could be considered an 'art' (I think of it more as a trade or craft, but that is another topic altogether), these people are also running businesses to make a living. I will just speak for myself, but I didn't get into the food business to make money. I got into because I liked to cook and bake, and I liked the feeling of sharing what I was making with others. I have to think the majority of food service folks out there are probably in the same camp. However, in order to actually make a living doing this, I DO need to make money in order to pay my bills (and hopefully myself). For me the money has never come first, but it is always in the back of my mind. I have no problem with a chef growing his business by whatever means they think is necessary. For someone like Mike Isabella, I think he should take full advantage of his status and do whatever he can to help out his personal situation. He has probably worked plenty of long hours at low wages, in hot kitchens, getting yelled at, etc...An opportunity arose for him and he, like most anyone, is going to use it to his advantage (both financially and socially).

I don't think that is my point. Everyone has different methods of advertising, PR-using, marketing, etc... But I don't think it is fair to berate someone for using their 'fame' to help drive their business. To each his own. Is it frustrating to see someone like Spike and Mike Isabella rise from obscurity to fame and fortune based on Top Chef? Of course it is. Are they bad people for doing so? I don't think so. What Don Rockwell does (or doesn't do) to promote the website is his choice. I agree the grass-roots approach is preferable, I mean, that is pretty much how we have grown our shop. (i.e word of mouth, no PR people, little marketing, etc). But I would never look down on another business or chef for taking another approach and striking when the proverbial iron is hot.