Billy DeLion

Unfortunately I haven't been back to Dino after my experiences there and I did give them a second chance. I remember a pasta and boar dish we enjoyed but the service was so horrendous that the food was completely overshadowed and left no positive impression. Several years ago I went with my wife and we had a waitress that was apparently new (we didn't want to embarrass her by asking). All our dishes, and I mean all, were either not ordered or a different order was put in. As we waited for our appetizer, we were ignored, when we received the wrong appetizer we were assured the correct one would be right out but it wasn't, this literally continued for the whole meal. An experience that should have been an hour and fifteen minutes stretched to over 3 hours. Because the manager at the time had been a party to what we endured we were given 25 dollar gift card when we left. We felt bad for the waitress, we've all been young and in a bad spot before, so we left most of the value of the gift card in her tip and wished her well.

About six months after that we were in the area and gave a second chance. We ordered a meal which once again was okay, but I block the experience from my mind so I don't remember what I ate. At the conclusion of the meal we gave the waiter our AmEx and the gift card. Sure enough the waiter was back shortly, treating us shabbily because he thought we were trying to scam him with a gift card that he claimed, and I don't doubt, had 1 cent or so on it. I explained why we had been given the gift card in the first place, endured a glaring, tense standoff with waiter's said shabby treatment, paid the bill and left. I've toyed with the idea of going back because of the posts here, but my wife will have none of it and I value her opinion as I will tend to be over generous with my opinions and "let bygones be bygones" attitude and have suffered for that in the past.

Sorry to rant but reading about giving a second chance triggered me to post this after these years.

My favorite is Misha's in Old Town

Score:

Chef/Owners who respond to feedback with class: 1

Chef/Owners who view customers as the enemy: 0

Thanks Michael and Welcome Shannon !!

My infinite consciousness keeps confronting my finite existence, so I cook.

Well I've been hoping to keep it overlooked, but since I've been dieting a bit and not buying alot of steak, the Springfield Costco has had the prime regularly when I've looked. Strip and Ribeye. I thought it was a nice and tasty bargain the times I've purchased it.

Well this is neither here nor there but I used to go to a glatt kosher israeli falafel joint in San Francisco that was great and I couldn't wait to get back there back then !

It would probably cost you $100 an hour if you wanted a barista to bring an espresso machine to your house, plumb it in, and make you coffee while your toilet is backing up.

I remained unconvinced that the moniker "skilled craftsman" is applicable to the barista, but your usage is noted.

Good baristas are rare. They are skilled craftspeople and should be paid like one. Thats going to affect the price.

I'll agree good baristas are rare and that they have skills other people do not have, but I'm having a hard time making the leap to "skilled craftspeople". My plumber is a skilled crafts person and worth the 100 dollars an hour or so I'll pay him. I've pulled shots, am not a barista, and while not the greatest in the world, produced passable espresso. I would not try to weld a water pipe or work with the mains in my electrical box.

While I would support a good wage for anyone doing good work, I don't think 100 an hour would be applicable to a barista.

...Counter CULTure coffee company. I find there coffee to be good but not the best in the country by far

After multiple mail orders from Counter Culture, I agree with this. It's good but it's not all that.

If you like Mike's above Delia's and Malek's, I'm shocked.

Count yourself shocked. I've been to Delia's and Malek's and I would agree that they are certainly no better than Mike's. I've been really, really disappointed by Delia's more than once.

I'm just not figuring out where all this hate for Mike's is coming from. They are what they are. A chain that dishes out consistent, uninspired food in a raucous environment. I've been there several times as well as many of the surrounding restaurants that have been mentioned. If there is somewhere with transcendent cooking nearby I'd like to know.

As an example, I happily tried Trommer's in Clifton in search of good food, found hit and miss good food, but the service was so poor that I might reasonably have enjoyed a dinner at Mike's with poorer food but remarkably better service.

In short I find Mike's a reasonable option for that area.

I used to agree with this assessment. About 20 years ago, Savio's was a special place, with a Tunisian chef who knew what he was doing. My most recent visit, about 3-4 years ago, was a turn off, and not just because of the cockroach that ran across the table.

And the Afghan place used to be special, among my faves at the time. Right now, the only credible food in this plaza (in my opinion) is the palindromic Akasaka and Thai Lemongrass. But 20 years ago, this plaza was top-notch.

At one point more than a few years ago I ate at a nice Malaysian place in that Van Dorn Mall. The times I've eaten at Akasaka I've really enjoyed it, sit at the small bar if you can and speak with the Chef.

Welcome bhlo, interesting first post. You didn't really describe that competively priced lunch dish which was more than you could finish alone. Specifics are generally appreciated.

Billy

Had a spur of the moment brunch at Tallula on Sunday and really could not recommend this meal to anyone. It was our first time there and we were anticipating some good eats however it was very disappointing.

I ordered the omelet with the vegetables they had listed and no cheese, my wife ordered the fried egg sandwich and we ordered french toast to split.

The order took over half an hour to fulfill, despite a crowd of at most a third of the space. During the wait we had to chase down our waiter to receive a refill of coffee(which was good, if difficult to obtain). When the food did arrive the omelet was oozing cheese. When I pointed out that I had ordered vegetables with no cheese, they served my wife, left the french toast and said they would cook another omelet. Fair enough, but after the half hour wait with little coffee and no food we thought perhaps another wait wasn't worth it. The crowd had begun to increase and we didn't relish half a table of cold breakfast food with a hot omelet.

Taking the two slices of french toast for myself we began to eat. The french toast was horrible. It was completely damp and limp with no crispness whatsoever. The cinnamon sugar mixture coating it was gummy and left an unpleasant mouthfeel. The blueberry jam and maple syrup they served with it were not portions large enough to help. My wife's fried egg sandwich was a further disappointment. There were huge slices of raw red onion which obliterated any other tastes causing my wife to remove them after the first bite. On the next bite the bread began to crumble all over her plate. She described it as "stale and dry, yech". She then removed that and ate the fried egg leaving a pile of oversized onions and crumbled bread. there were potatoes with her sandwich which were cooked okay so they constituted the better part of our brunch with the coffee(when we could get it).

No one acknowledged the uneaten food, the interminable wait and the generally abysmal service. Oh well.

Sorry to deliver a poor report on what would seem to be a well liked place, but this was an experience which was sorely lacking and I would not wish it on anyone else.

BD

Congratulations Chef !!

May the new tastes ever delight !!!!

Thanks for getting the word out on this market ! I'll give it a try next Sunday.

I did purchase the Smith Family eggs 5/3 and when they didn't have them 5/10 I bought the eggs from the Mexican family that had them. Unfortunately, and this is no slam against either vendor, I felt they were not up to the level of what I had been purchasing from Cibola. Those were some darn good eggs and I really looked forward to them each year.

This week Smith Family did not have eggs and neither did the Mexican folks. Smith family told me they were out because of attendance at many other markets and that they would be purchasing 300 more egg layers to meet demand. I did get lots of nice chard, arugula, fennel, asparagus, spinach, and kolrabi. Some young potatoes also. Love the fresh garlic too.

If anyone has any suggestions about vendors from which to purchase plants, I would appreciate hearing from you as I'd like to get a few next week.

Thanks and Happy Shopping !

I've been to Delia's 3 times, once for Breakfast and twice after work. The breakfast was okay but I found the dinners to be very poor. I don't recall what we had as we hoped the first dinner was an abberation and after the second dinner we chose to do the best to remove the memory from our dining vocabulary. We did not try the the peruvian chicken and our quick dinners weren't greek if I recall. We'll pick up kabobs at the Food Corner in the Brookfield plaza roughly across the street if we need something quick on the way home.

Only ate at the Canton Cafe once and I liked it. Haven't been back because my wife shys from chinese.

Sorry if it's been mentioned elsewhere but thought I'd chime in. When I visited Cibola in Burke last Saturday they informed me they were no longer raising chickens. I had bought good eggs and chicken from them for couple of years.

I've often been lured by this link:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?...p=C&topnav=

(I'm really sorry if its length messes with the windows in this thread)

I'm curious as to what others think.

I've thought about having some friends over for dinner and trying this.

Do you think it's trustworthy with the "never frozen" part

I thought sushi was supposed to be frozen at some point.

Thanks,

BD

Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge !!

It was so reassuring to be able to consult those with experience with these wines. I ended up asking for the Dolcetto di Dogliani, Lemberger, Bordeaux Blanc, and the Leitz Dragonstone. I never would have been able to do this without you folks (short of throwing a dart at the list that is). I'll report back on the crowd response after this weekend.

Thanks again !!

BD

Help !

I proudly admit I'm a fool for a good beer but I'm in a situation where I need wine knowledge. I have to pick a white and a red to serve at a 40 person function and I don't have a clue. If any one can give me an idea what might be a good choice I'd appreciate it !! The lists follow...

Pinot Grigio, Riff, Venezie, Italy, 2004

Rosé, Domaine de Fontsainte, Corbières, France, 2004

Bordeaux Blanc, Chateau Magneau, Graves, France , 2005

Chardonnay, Four Vines, Santa Barbara County, CA, 2005

Bourgogne Blanc, Pierre Andre, Burgundy, France, 2004

Garganega, “Capitel Foscarino”, Anselmi, (~Soave) Veneto, Italy, 2004

Roero Arneis, “San Michele Vineyard”, Deltetto, Canale, Italy, 2005

Riesling QBA (off-dry), “Dragonstone”, Josef Leitz, Rheingau, Germany, 2005

Tempranillo, Finca Antigua, La Mancha, Spain, 2004

Dolcetto di Dogliani, “Ribote”, Bruno Porro, Piemonte, Italy, 2004

Lemberger, “Blaufranc”, Shooting Star, Washington State, 2005

Bourdeaux Superieur, Chateau Mothe du Barry, France, 2004

Shiraz, “Omrah”, Plantagenent, Western Australia, 2004

Cotes du Rhone Villages, “Champauvins”, Grand Veneur, France, 2005

Cabernet Sauvignon, Barnard Griffin, Columbia Valley, WA, 2005

Cote Rotie-Style (syrah/viognier), Black Chook, Australia, 2005

Bourgogne Rouge, Pierre Naigeon, Burgundy, France 2003

Either a crabcake or filet entree will be served at some point, but people will also be imbibing and grazing for awhile beforehand so something that can hold interest a little while will be helpful.

If anyone can help me please do !!

Thanks in advance

BD

I shop every weekend at the Burke market during the season. I don't think crackpot attends that one or I would have tried some preserves by now. Unfortunately the names of the vendors don't readily spring to mind, but I love the market. I get eggs and meats from the same bison people I've seen at dupont and then whatever is in season from many farmers from VA and WV. I don't hit the bread guy but go to the Swisss Bakery on Old Keene Mill instead. I haven't spoken with them but being a new homeowner I'll probably take advantage of the master gardeners Fairfax County has there each week.

All in all I would highly recommend this market !

Thanks for the review, I've been wanting to try this restaurant but had no idea what to expect. Your post has made me eager to stop in.

Thanks again !

That was a most pleasant post to contemplate, some of those modern improvements aren't what they're cracked up to be.

Thanks Barbara