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Wow. Sounds thoroughly unpleasant. That's surprising to me. NQD and I have been to Masa 14 several times since I last posted about it, and never had a bad experience. And the various friends and relatives we've brought have all loved it, so it's not just us. I'm not arguing with your post - I haven't ordered a martini, so I can't speak to that experience, and I don't think I've had the fried oysters, so I can't comment on that either. But I'd love to know which dive bars you're talking about, and I hope you'll have a chance to try some of the rest of the menu. We've had some great meals there. I will disagree with your comment on the atmosphere - soulless and corporate are not words I would have chosen, so I think that it probably can, in fact, be described other ways. I quite like it.

I order online from Hudson Valley. Great quality, and sometimes, if I order legs and fat, they toss in a large duck breast as well. I just have to resist the urge to buy foie gras as well. http://www.hudsonvalleyfoiegras.com/foiegrasmarket.html

They actually look better in the photo than in person Back ribs courtesy of Costco - great price, and very meaty.

It looks like it's a day for ribs. Here's half of one of the three racks I smoked today:

I haven't tried Adour. The Source, in my one visit, had very inconsistent food and poor service. And for steaks, I'd go to Ray's and save the big bucks for something else.

Some of the restaurants that would be on my list have lower-price options - Palena's front room, Corduroy's bar options, Eve Bistro, etc. - so I'd look elsewhere and go back to those later. Cityzen has a $50 bar menu; where that puts it is up to you. 2941 disappointed me, but it's been a while. I thought Komi was overrated and overpriced. Marcel's lived up to high expectations, but it's been a while. Oval Room would probably be my top choice. Minibar should also be experienced at least once.

According to the "Zagat Buzz" email I just got, Equinox is open again. "Back with a lighter, brighter, elegantly modern look, Equinox, the top-flight New American just steps from the White House, has reopened some five months after a pre-Christmas kitchen fire. New innovations on chef-owner Todd Gray’s menu include shareable starter renditions of his most popular dishes, plus über-seasonal sides to accompany a roster of grilled or roasted meats and fish, while the decor has been redone with soft pendant lights, textured tile walls and etched glass dividers. The wine room, popular for intimate private dinners, is now encased in art glass, and the new bar sports two beer taps. "

With lots of help from Scott with the pig prep, and from DanielK and many others with flipping, pulling, carving and serving the beast. Pig roasting is definitely a group activity. Maybe a goat next year?

"Have you tried the brisket?" "Have you tried the arancini?" "Have you tried the pound cake? The spring rolls? The kibbee footballs? The haggis? The wings? The other wings? The s'mores? The beer?" "Here, have some fava bean crostini." "Let me bring you some ..." There is always great food at these picnics, but I don't remember quite this much swooning and raving, and steering of others towards favorite items. Just one great hit after another, a seemingly never-ending parade of dishes. "I can't eat another bite ... ooooh, gelato!"

Scott and I finished prepping the pig a few minutes ago.

48lbs.

The pig's a little bigger than I was expecting, so bring your appetites and doggy bags.

All of it.

This is probably a good time to remind everybody that the picnic will go on rain or shine. The sheltered area is very large, and we'll all easily fit underneath, so the only thing to worry about will be the short walk from your car to the shelter. The food will be cooked and served, the company will be great - don't miss out just because of a few drops.

So, anybody else planning to come? The numbers are a bit lower than last year at this time. If we're going to do a pig, I'll need a decent headcount so I can order by this time next week.

OK, got it. In a word, no. It certainly wasn't a bad experience. A lot of very good dishes came out from a clearly very talented kitchen. There were quite a few items that I would happily eat again, and if I knew of a restaurant where I could order a simple appetizer and that goat, at a reasonable price point, I'd be calling for a reservation right now. Unfortunately, Komi isn't just an average restaurant. It's now frequently mentioned as possibly the top restaurant in Washington. More importantly, the overall experience - the tasting menu-only format, the calling one month out for reservations, the price point - says this is something special, something great. The food, sadly, didn't back that up. Let me repeat - it was very good. Nearly every bite gave me something to enjoy, react to, think about. But it wasn't great. There was no wow, no transcendence. I've had many meals where at the first taste of a dish, the logical part of my brain steps aside, and the reaction is pure emotion, pure pleasure. I've had that first taste push me back in my chair with closed eyes and a silly grin; or force out the words "Holy fuck, that's good" before realizing that I'm in a public place and perhaps should choose other language. No such moment for me last night; for NQD only the date approached that. That's not a requirement for a good meal, but for a great meal, it is. Komi is a good restaurant, clearly, but I've had many better meals in DC. Not being the best is certainly no crime. But it fell far short of the expectations raised by reviews, word-of-mouth, and the restaurant itself. And at over $200/person (with tax, tip and four glasses of wine for two people), that's a hard fall.

Just came back from our first meal at Komi (a late Saturday night seating). People have recently mentioned choosing their entrees. We didn't have a choice - we were presented with a rather delicious slab of roasted goat. I'm happy with the way that worked out, but considering that I would have ordered the pig if given the option I'm curious if the rules are different on weekends, or if maybe they just ran out of the other options. Any thoughts?

It wouldn't make sense to me. If Antonio can bring ribs, or brisket, or both, I WANT! Or jparrott's ham. Or any of the many other great meat dishes I've had at previous picnics. I don't think there's any need to limit the proteins to one pig - we've had some pretty big turnouts in the past - and, from my end at least, no desire to restrict the workouts my taste buds are going to get. A variety of sauces, however, would be greatly appreciated. Yes, we'll be using a caja china to roast the pig. If anybody wants to make marshmallows we can toast them over the hot coals while the pig cooks

What to bring... Some people seem to be expecting pig. The one downside is that it's a whole lot of food. That's OK if it's the primary protein, but that's not true at these picnics, with all the wonderful food available. We need a really good turnout to make it worthwhile. So that's the deal, folks. If we have a high enough headcount 10 days out, we'll bring a pig. Otherwise we'll do something smaller. (For the benefit of people who weren't around two years ago when we last did this at a picnic, it's a whole pig, roasted on-site, served hot and juicy, with nice, crispy skin.)

We'll be at the bar around 5:30.

Well, it seems there is some interest in this Friday, post-Tax Day. Since this is a strictly informal "event", how about those who can make it on 4/16 plan on being there, and we'll report back to people looking at next week?

Any alternate suggestions for a date for Kora? What does the following week look like? Also, it doesn't have to be a Friday.

How busy is the bar at Kora on Friday nights? Next Thursday is Tax Day - a Friday night happy hour would be nice.

What's the crowd like on a Friday night?

I was planning on bringing one to the picnic. Of course, it would be better if someone who has eaten it before, and knows how to pick a good one, did it (hint, hint). Otherwise, tips on what to look for would be appreciated.