Cooter

I'm heading up on Saturday and would love to know the grocery store situation. We plan on hitting the Del Ray farmer's market on the way, but it would help to know if we need to hit Whole Foods, or the like, as well. Thanks in advance!

The grandparents-in-law live close by, so we often do family things at the Irish Inn at Glen Echo. I don't really have anything to add to MelGold's post; the food's not bad, but probably a bit overpriced. What is strange, though, is the pricing on their wine list. Looking through it last night, I noticed that a $7.00 bottle of Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir was $48! Ouch! The only other wine that I recognized and knew the bottle price off the top of my head was a Cakebread Chardonnay that retails for around $36 and was $86 on the list, so I guess that the 600% markup isn't standard.

Holy crap, you ain't kidding. Went to the tasting room on Saturday and this appeared as part of the Eastern Shore corn dish. Absolutely the essence of corn. Delicious.

Interesting. I haven't been a fan of the Big House Red or Big House White for a few years, but I love love love the Big House Pink.

Yay, another Banana Slug! This is off topic, but In-N-Out just isn't the same now that it's moved up north. Sure, a double double animal style is still awesome, but there was something special about having to drive at least to Santa Barbara to get one. I guess that King Schuan's didn't cut it for you in Santa Cruz proper?

You know what would be a pretty good place to open a bagel store? Pretty much everywhere.

That's what makes it so perfect! He satisfies the people that whine about how he never reviews restaurants towards Baltimore (hello! It's the WASHINGTON post) and satisfies the folks who say he rates everyone too high.

Would he bother with a new outpost of a chain? Vin in Baltimore has been open about two months and has been getting awful reviews on chowhound.

Before the game, I hit the Hard Times stand for the chili nachos. I think that they were around $8.50, which wasn't too bad a deal for the ball park. I'm actually not that big a fan of their chili; too much cinnamon(?), but these really hit the spot. The nicely minced onion and jalapenos that you can add yourself are pretty nice, too. I love cluck-U, but I can't imagine eating buffalo wings at the ballpark. My shirt would be red before the first pitch. Does anyone know where you can get the knishes? I didn't see them in the food court terrace.

I've had bottles I didn't mind spending $4 but, most bottles I felt absolutley ripped off. Considering that they're getting their juice from all over the place, there will be quality control and consitency issues even under the best of circumstances. I find that the Sauvignon Blanc ain't bad if you just feel like getting drunk (it happens), and the merlot ain't bad to cook with if you get a dryer bottle, otherwise, you probably have to hope to get lucky.

If the worst food in the world is bad uni, then the second worst would have to be good uni.

The wife and I did mini-bar for my birthday in December and loved it. It's amazing that over the course of ~30 exceedingly challenging and experimental dishes, there are only maybe a couple of straight up misses, IMHO. I have little to add to what everyone has already said, but did want to mention a couple of things I hadn't see anyone yet say. First, I didn't like the wine pairing that much. Were we to return, I think that I would stick with champagne for the entire meal. Second, the chefs and the hostess/server are absolutely fantastic. Despite being in the middle of creating so many dishes, many of which are pretty detail oriented, each chef was happy to explain every ingredient that went into each course as well as the eclectic presentation (soap dishes!) and unique methods of preparation. Often the chefs seemed excited to let the diner in on their food magic secrets. I am anxious to make the olive oil drop that the meal begins with when the appropriate situation arises.

Do you guys really like Aditi? I find it absolutely flavorless. I work in the new office buildings right next to Union Station and going out for lunch is terrible. I don't mind the gyros and falafel at the greek place downstairs, but they're certainly nothing special. I also go to saladworks quite a bit, which is fine, if not expensive. There is a little informal Italian joint across the street from Schneider's; not the Mass Ave side, but the other one. It's in a rowhouse and has one waiter. Service can be a bit slow and some of the pastas aren't too good, but the sandwiches are alright and the pizza looks good and it's really really cheap. I'm not sure how it stayed in business before the SEC came to town, since I recognize everyone in there when I go to eat.

This is probably the first time since I joined that this thread isn't on the first page. I suppose it's a good time, then, for another sparkling review . . . The wife and I decided to hit up Ray's for dinner on friday. We'd been three times before, but not for a couple of years. Even without Michael in the kitchen, Ray's is, of course, just as good as ever. My wife arrived at 5:00 and got our name on the list, so we sat at Guajillo and had a drink before the restaurant opened. Since everyone raves about the scallops and we had never had them before, we started with an appetizer portion. Perfectly cooked and delicious. At $8.95, IIRC, you get four perfectly cooked plump beauties for less than you would pay at Whole Foods for the same, uncooked. Speaking of bargains, we went for a bottle of Wente Reliz Creek Pinot Noir. I have a soft spot for Wente, as my parents like tasting in Livermore Valley, for some reason, and we usually end up eating at their delicious, if not overpriced, restaurant. In any case, the wine is good and Michael's price is quite a bargain, even before the 10% off. For dinner, the wife had the calotte (culotte?) special and I had the cowboy rib-eye. Both were perfectly cooked with a beautiful char and came in ENORMOUS portions. As I remembered, the spinach and mashed potatoes were excellent. Especially the spinach, which was not the goopy liquid-fest you get at some restaurants. For some reason, our server offerred us dessert on the house, so we opted for the dark chocolate mousse. I'm not a chocolate fan, but it was still pretty tasty. Unfortunately, we were too stuffed to eat very much of it. One little thing that I hadn't noticed before is that when they package up your leftovers, and there's no way I could get out of there without leftovers, they give you a new serving of spinach and potatoes. What a nice treat! Thanks for the wonderful neighborhood place, Michael, and thanks for the incredible prices. I can't wait to check out the new joint tomorrow night.

For those that don't have Costco memberships, the Trader Joe's in Old Town usually has pretty decent shaved beef. Can anyone reccomend where to find proper rolls for making real cheesesteaks? Back on topic, I live down the street from Al's as well. The steak are good, but are massively underseasoned for some reason. I bring 'em home and dump a fair amount of salt on them as I eat.

Please, be careful posting about poached eggs! Waitresses have been killed trying to prevent chefs from perpetrating this trite egg preparation.

Go for the Champagne, stay for the . . . prime rib.

We got the 2003 Il Circo: Montepulciano "Il Domatore di Leoni" on a lark from Total Wine this weekend. I think that I remember seein ght funambola there, too. I miss living in Santa Cruz.

During my senior year, my roomates and I kept a box of "burgundy" in the fridge.

The La Famiglia winery was sold and is now the property of Diamond Oaks. The picnic tables are still there and the view is still awesome! Congrats on the marriage proposal there . . . I couldn't think of a more beautiful place to do it.

If you want nice scenery, pack a picnic and head up Oakville grade, off of 29, to Diamond Oaks. They have a beautiful wooded picnic area that overlooks the valley. The view really can't be beat. You do need to buy a bottle of wine to eat there, but they have a couple of good reasonably priced merlots and chardonnays. As a disclaimer, my sister's boyfriend's family owns the place. I'm also partial to Cakebread and Grgich Hills which are close by on 29. Avoid Coppola.

Is this work safe? If it's in as bad taste as DLB says, I'd like to see it.

I'd also be interested, pending my wife's approval, but am guessing that my wine budget might be smallers than others', so my participation would probably be limited.

In-N-Out has a pretty extensive list of items that you can order that aren't on the menu. One of these is the innacurately named grilled cheese which is really just a cheeseburger without the burger. In addition, you can order the "four by four," which is four patties, and get your burger "animal-style," which includes extra sauce and grilled onions. I'm sure that some other ex-west coasters can remind me what else I'm forgetting. I love In-N-Out fries, but just as many people hate them. YMMV.

There was, like, a week when you weren't posing, Landrum. That week made me sad. You make a beuracrat smile.