ATS

I've eaten at Ovvio a handful of times over the last three or four months, and the food is really good.  Some room for improvement, but i have not really disliked anything I have had here.  The prices are a bit high, but not excessively so.  (The bruschetta could use a pinch of salt, and i wish they had salt and pepper on the table.)  The pizza is solid, and I'm picky.  The fritto misto is pretty good, but I wish they had some veggies other than carrots.

My complaint is the wait staff and the floor management.  They seem really out of control on some days.  Today was particularly bad.  Other days, not quite as bad.  But never a solid performance - always some problem.

I do appreciate the follow-up call to apologize; the manager on duty did apologize as well.  (I would have appreciated it more if the MOD had comped us something.)  I tipped a normal amount despite the really bad service, but they didn't deserve it.

I hope they figure this out because I do like the food.  I'm willing to try one more time.  Maybe i'll get take-out next time and bypass the service problem.

Now, please fix the rest of the restaurants in the block (both sides), and fix whatever is wrong with Cleveland Park,too.

Thanks! Yes, we have been a too well-kept secret for years. We hope to do a soft opening in late July or early August, and "un' apertura grande" in September.

Olio2go is opening a store in Merrifield (Fairfax, VA) and is now hiring for store staff, including a store manager. Please contact Luanne at luanne@olio2go.com with resume and cover letter.

Olio2go sells Italian olive oil and related Italian products. In business since 2000, the company has sold exclusively through online channels until now, but we are opening a bricks-and-mortar store this summer, and we need to add staff for retail operations.

You must be able to speak Italian, and you must have a strong interest in Italian food, especially fine olive oil. Customer service skills and a friendly attitude are essential. Salary is negotiable, Hours are flexible. Part-time and full-time are possible.

This is not a fusti franchise, but a serious independent company with a strong commitment to high quality products. See www.olio2go.com for more information about the company. We expect to be fully open August 1.

Well, the reason I ask is because I have ten acres sitting idle and don't want to grow soybeans or corn. I do grow on a very limited scale, olives, lemons, and limes, plus lemongrass. Sesame is a good idea. Ginger is not that interesting to grow. Bananas are difficult but very tasty. I'm open to suggestions if you have a hankering...

What do you wish you could find at the local farmers markets but can't? I'm interested in what other produce are people looking for that you can't get. For example, if you want fresh, local lemongrass, could you find it?

And those who go online and bitch about it but do nothing else also exacerbate that pain. I suspect that most of us who took advantage of the offer feel neither pride nor shame that we did so (I mean, it's not as if we all don't give our money daily to known scoundrels, just not as locally infamous as Donna). If it really bothers you and others so much, why not start a fund to benefit those G3 employees who were most seriously hurt by Donna's misdeeds? Ask those of us who benefited from the DR.com offer or who has otherwise patronized the restaurant to donate the cost of our meals, and find others who did not to match that amount. I'll give the, what? $95 I spent, gladly. Get a socially minded chef who shares your views to get together a dinner to help them, make that a DR.com event; I'll show up. It probably won't make much a dent in what they're owed, but at least you'd have done something substantive, and given us poor sinners who bought and ate Donna's food a way to atone for our ethical lapses. And you'd actually have done something worthy of your self-congratulation.

Here's my opinion, without any knowledge or factual basis: First, Carrado is the real problem. He runs the money. Either Roberto owes him something bigger than blood, or Roberto is just really really stupid. In any case, Roberto is a horrible business person and can't run his own show. Corrado seems to know something or at least how to manipulate the poor guy. Second, there's a warehouse somewhere in South Arlington full of expensive wine. Follow Corrado and you'll find it.

I would also agree with that.

I love Peking Gourmet. The duck is the best. The H&S soup is the best. Years ago, then prez George the first sauntered by our table and remarked that the crispy beef was his favorite too. The owners care about the place and the food is worth the trip. At least for me.

one of my favorite places in Rome is Armando al Pantheon. It is a classic trattoria and a lot of fun. Right around the corner from the Pantheon, which is my favorite building in the world.

Downtown Greenville and the Falls area of it is one of the prettiest, most unique downtown areas I have seen anywhere in North America or Europe. Not an exaggeration; for a smaller city this is an absolute benchmark. Soby's has been an annual stop of mine during business trips for ten + years. It is an excellent restaurant whether for Greenville, Atlanta or D. C. I have not been to Devereaux but look forward to visiting on a trip over the winter. Greenville has a lot going for it right now.

Greenville has changed a lot in the last ten years. For a taste of the Olde South, go to North Gate Soda Shop and order a grilled pimento cheese sandwich and a sweet tea. For a taste of the new Greenville, try the ones mentioned already, plus High Cotton and Rick Erwin's.

I'm going to disagree with that, bordering on taking offense to it.

Edan is, without a doubt, the man, but we have a good crew and he is certainly not the only person on our team whose pizze I've eaten, including my own (Dr. X-mus, I'm probably the guy "normally at the oven that's not Edan."). Keep in mind that we're a young restaurant and the kinks are still being worked out- things are not yet exactly the way that we want them to be, but that's a daily challenge for us, and one at which we are improving every day. The same goes for the food timing issues- it's been difficult to train servers to execute that exactly as we need, but that definitely is a concern of ours as well.

As for the expediter issue, we have realized that and just hired a person specifically for that position. We're confident that's going to be remedied in the near future.

I'm curious about your "crispy to the center" comment regarding the pizze in question as well, because usually the issue is that it's too moist in the center, due to the moisture content of the cheese. I've never seen our dough to the cracking point in the crust, let alone the center.

Well, I like the pizza here a lot because every time it has been cooked perfectly, but the appetizers are also quite good. My #1 complaint is the color of the paint on the walls - it just doesn't work. It is too "hot" and it doesn't match the rest of the decor. A softer yellow would be good, or a burnt siena. The orange just doesn't work.

My favorite? the eggplant appetizer.

I'm doing a presentation in Italian class Monday on chocolates and chocolate shops in Turin (aka Torino). It seems unfair to show slides of chocolate candy and not bring some in to share with my classmates. Does anyone know whether any chocolate shops in the area carry chocolates from Italy, and particularly Turin? I'd love to find some gianduiotto , a chocolate hazelnut candy. The teacher also asked me to cover bicerin, a drink made popular in Turin that layers espresso, hot chocolate, and whipped milk or cream in a small glass. Bonus points for anyone who knows if there's anywhere around here that carries it. I found a NYT article published during the 2006 winter Olympics that discusses the drink and mentions that "One of the few places in the States offering bicerin is Laboratorio del Galileo in Washington, where ...

try Piazza Italian Market - they have a variety of Italian chocolates. They're in Easton, MD

Here are some online sources for paccheri:

Honest Foods and Amazon grocery.

But I want to say that I saw some at Harris Teeter or even Whole Foods, but am not proof positive. Used to see them at Giant, but I am also wondering if World Market might have some.

I don't think they have paccheri, but for Italian ingredients, try Piazza Italian Market, which sells online and has a pretty wide selection of hard to find ingredients. www.piazzaitalianmarket.com

for olive oil, the best place in the US (IMHO) is Olio2go

Seems like a good source to search for the farm that can provide you with what you need. Utilizes Google maps too.

www.marylandsbest.net

Also useful for their link to the Maryland online farmer's market.

I agree - this is a fantastic restaurant, well worth a trip.

I went truffle hunting in Tuscany recently - what a lot of fun. The truffle dog goes crazy with the scent. We got to the forest just after a family of porcupines had been through there, rooting around, but we found some nice black truffles. Now I get my fresh truffles by special order from Piazza Italian Market in Easton, MD.

In downtown Easton, MD there is a place called Hills Drug Store with a lunch counter in the back. The food is pretty good and pretty popular. It's a good place to meet the real locals and get a handmade sandwich.