Escoffier

I'm sure glad you two weren't pissing at each other over the table during lunch!

John and I have been doing this probably longer than you've been alive . We both have a huge amount of respect for the English language and lob dictionaries and style manuals back and forth at each other. (Incidentally, it was great meeting you, David).

Both spellings are fine for the meaning I was going to according to my OED. But people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Quick example -- If you add something it's automatically new, and to say you "can't add anything new" is a pleonasm. You can look it up. But I do complement you for an effort, even if unsuccessful in the instant case, to raise the level of adherence to proper use of the language.

OED: Complement: Noun -

1 a thing that contributes extra features to something else in such a way as to improve or emphasize its quality:

local ales provide the perfect complement to fine food

2 [in singular] a number or quantity of something, especially that required to make a group complete:

OED: Compliment: Noun -

a polite expression of praise or admiration:

she paid me an enormous compliment

an act or circumstance that implies praise or respect:

it’s a compliment to the bride to dress up on her special day

(compliments) congratulations or praise expressed to someone:

my compliments on your cooking

Oh, Don, you're so blissfully behind the times.

Somehow, I just have this feeling that there was a bit of gentle spoofing in Don's post. Not sure why I should feel that way...put it down to my having a finely developed cynicism detector circuit. Zimmern was easy to talk to and entertaining and would be a good dinng companion (not overly demanding, appreciates good food, and knows an interesting story or two).

Now I have to buy a TV so I can figure out who this guy is.

And what is "Instagram," and what is that little heart with 1,877 next to it?

Well, you're not so far off. I had to Google him to figure out who/what he was. Considering I never knew the "Travel Channel" existed before last weekend, and having grown up with nothing but the "Big Three" networks, i was a bit underwhelmed. Is it my imagination or are there now more celebrity chefs than people who spend their time in a kitchen actually doing....oh, you know, things like cooking?

Anyway, Dr. Gridlock had promised a plethora of I-95 south closings, plagues of locusts and 200 mile backups, I decided it would be in my best interest (if I wanted to get to Richmond the same day I departed Alexandria) to leave early for a 11:00am shoot in Short Pump. Twenty minutes and a cup of coffee later, I trudged wearily to the car for that long excursion. Lo and behold, the previously cited construction zone apparently had disappeared completely from the face of the Earth. No sign of work (what a surprise THAT was ), no 200 mile back-up, just the usual high-speed romp through NoVA. Naturally, I arrived at 10:00am. A bit of a wait for anyone to show up so, book out, window down, settled in. Around 10:45 or so, Peter and crew along with a TV production crew showed up. Spent 15 minutes or so chatting with various crew members and then entered a empty restaurant to wait for everyone to set up and the fun to start. Shooting took place in the kitchen first as Peter was doing the prep work for an exclusive lunch for six. Not being star-struck like some people, I sat and waited, bored, on the bench at the front of the restaurant while others, in general, attempted to make nuisances of themselves. Honestly, I came for the food and to see Peter once again, the presence of a TV crew created somewhat of a distraction from the food.

I'm not going to comment on the food because I don't think I can add anything new to what has already been said at least 100 times. The food was as expected. Complex, multi-tiered layers of flavors that played off of each other, surprising tastes and, from the beginning, waves of heat that slowly increased as the meal went on. The gathered company was quite pleasant, the conversation flowed, and the food arrived to be ooohed and ahhhhed about (and with good reason). Some of the dishes (in no particular order), the whole roasted duck, cumin fish (my particular favorite), crispy pork belly, an amazingly complex, home made sausage, the stew of tripe, intestines and other assorted offal bits, and rabbit in a stone pot. While not really a suitable dish for a day when the temperatures are in the 90's, we managed to suffer while devouring it. The rabbit was spiced up with some locally grown peppers which extended the top of the Scoville scale considerably. There was more (there's always more) and every bite was better than the previous bite and every wave of tender, loving spiciness was just a bit higher than the previous. After three hours of non-stop food, conversation, and television cameras, everyone was in a wonderful food coma. All in all, a most pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning/afternoon.

(Oh, btw, it's compliment not complement. One says nice things about how well you've done something and how nice you looked while you did it, the other gets along nicely while it's aiding and abetting your efforts )

Yamazato was our 'go-to' sushi spot for quite some time as the sushi is always good as is the service. Lately, the title of go-to sushi spot has been take over by another spot, but Yamazoto is quite good.

We'll be there on Saturday afternoon, Tom. Heading back from Gettysburg. Save some of those ribs please.

Daikaya Izakaya is a Japanese izakaya viewed through a modern, American lens. It serves what are essentially bar snacks, meant to be consumed with drinks in an approximately 1:1 ratio. It's not really any more "serious" a restaurant than the ramen shop downstairs. If my one visit was any indication, it fulfills its basic mission fairly well.

Daikaya shouldn't be compared with Izakaya Seki, which is a serious, but casual, Japanese restaurant. The two restaurants are apples and yuzu.

Somebody should notify the people on Friday night who were sitting around us that it's not a serious restaurant. They were doing very little drinking. The only alcohol I saw being consumed on the side of the house we were on was one bottle of Sake.

It's missing the salary-men and the late nights and the smell of cigarette smoke and booze. I agree it's not "really any more "serious" a restaurant". If it's not a serious restaurant, the pricing certainly is close to "serious restaurants" and viewed through only the lens of pricing, it promises much but delivers very little. When Katz was at Atlantico, the food was very good and (almost always) worth every penny. Here? Not so much.

In a somewhat weakish attempt at rationalization for the food here, I'd suggest this is Japanese food for people who have never eaten Japanese food (okay, maybe sushi) and want to try something different....but not TOO different. If the diners who were around me are any indication, I believe with the exception of Grover, one server and a nice lady three tables away, there was an astounding lack of Asians.

<Cliche ALERT!> It was the best of times, it was a dark and stormy night. Okay, so it wasn't dark and it wasn't stormy but it definitely was a Good, Bad and Ugly experience. We selected 6:30 because, well because we could. The after-work denizens would be safely snoring on metro and we could enjoy a leisurely dinner in relative peaceful quiet (well, so we thought). We arrive at 6:30 and find our way blocked to the upstairs by muttering parents and unruly children who apparently have never seen either a restaurant or an upstairs entrance to a restaurant. After a slight muttering on our part (okay, a bunch of "excuse me"s followed by a quietly spoken naughty word or two, we managed to squeeze by the offending parties. We made our way up the stairs (after being greeted by a "Hello Kitty" (SanRio's virus like visage seems to be everywhere, and at no great benefit to mankind that I can see) floormat (doormat? catmat?). Up the stairs we plodded to be greeted by the official hostess (no, she wasn't blocking the stairs). We were led to a "two-top", presented with too-cute menus (menus printed on colored paper and then skillfully Scotch-taped into Japanese versions of Better Homes and Gardens). Foods in the front (which is really back if you happen to be Japanese) and Drinks in the back (vice-versa re: Japanese). Our server approached and rattled off a number of specials, none of which (to me) were particularly enticing. We decided we'd stick with the menu and he went away. After going through the 3 or so pages of appetizers/mains/etc, we decided on the following:

I ordered:

1) Cold Steamed Chicken Breast

2) Wasabi Octopus

3) Chawanmushi

4) Crab Croquette

5) Onigri Rice balls

Grover ordered:

1) Chawanmushi

2) The Fish (Mackeral?) Special

3) Spaghetti with Roe

4) Crab Croquette

We both opted for Yuzu Lemonade.

The first dishes came, the Steamed Chicken and the Octopus. Other than being slightly less than completely cooked (steamed?), the chicken was one of the better dishes of the night. The Sesame/Tofu sauce had a nice touch of Wasabi and was probably the hight point.

At the same time as the chicken, the Octopus was delivered. I think it was the octopus because some of the 1/4" cubes were chewy and some were crispy(ish). There were also small round things in a rather viscous liquid. The menu said it was olive oil, I'm going with Mobil 1 5W-30.

Next up was the Chawanmushi. Between the version served at Korean restaurants in Annandale and the version here...sorry, I'm sticking with Annandale. What should have had a hint of egg flavor, had zero. For some reason, I had a problem connecting this version with what we had eaten in Tokyo. It was soupy and had a tendency to slide off the spoon. Grover told me that the brownish things resting on top of this interesting dish were mushrooms but, as far as I could tell, they may have been minute slices of pork from downstairs.

Next, the Crab Croquettes. Four small deep fried balls of....something. I managed to spot one (extremely) small piece of crab but I think it may have been a mistake because none of the other three showed evidence of containing crab meat at all. They did have a rather unusual creamy liquid inhabiting their interior (not filling, just hanging out casually). These were promptly declared "interesting" but without much enthusiasm. We looked in vain for the tonkatsu sauce and hints of Old Bay and found neither. Eminently forgettable, and at $2 each...well, the less said about that, the better.

The "fish special" was okay, sort of the thing you'd find at a good buffet. It held it's own, but, considering the competition, that's not really saying much.

At this point, we stopped sharing dishes (why add to the disappointment?). The highlight of Grover's dinner was the Cod Roe Spaghetti. Grover swore she could taste roe but I didn't see evidence of any in the dish. That may have just been me, she said of all the dishes she'd had, that was the best so far.

And for a final dish, the Rice "Balls" which I asked for with salted plum. I don't know if you've ever had this dish, but it's generally a salted plum (with seed still intact) wrapped in sushi vinegared (sometimes) rice and then wrapped in Nori (or seaweed if you prefer). This version was a triangle of steamed rice (no sushi vinegar) on a very large sheet of nori with a sparse reddish brown filling that represented salted plum. If I had been from the Salted Plum Association, I'd have been insulted. A four inch pyramid of rice, an interesting "reddish brown" center and a sheet of seaweed. The ultimate in fix it yourself food. The menu says Onigri rice balls and so do I. I'm trying to figure out how one pile of rice equals "balls".

Oh, about that yuzu lemondade? An 8 ounce glass with 2 ounces of ice and a slice of what appeared to be pink grapefruit rind. When we had emptied the contents, the glasses were unceremoniously whisked away without even a polite inquiry as to whether we'd like another. Interesting concept in not being bothered while you dine. Some semblance of lemon flavor (Yuzu? Maybe. It was somewhat hard to tell. Not particularly tart and if you've ever sampled yuzu, you know the definition of tart).

For this rather not very soul satisfying venture on Metro and into and out of Gallery Place, the tab was $76 before tax and tip or not quite $9 a dish.

PS: On the way home, we stopped in Del Ray and had dessert. That order was promptly taken, promptly delivered and service was excellent. The wine didn't hurt either and both the sorbet and the frozen souffle were outstanding.

Oh, my God, yes. While 'spot on' is one of my top 2 annoyances related to food writing, my greatest single annoyance is the phrase: "At the end of the day." It's been many years now since this odious phrase began being used in the popular media and it has spread like a virulent pest. Is there a talking head who doesn't use this phrase multiple times during an interview? In the very beginning it might have been charming, but it has become such a cliché that it has soared way beyond trite. It is the lazy person's 'go-to.'** And for me, the listener, it's the equivalent of finger nails scratching on an antiquated blackboard.

**(And, yes, I use 'go-to' ironically. It's definitely a candidate for the trite list.)

At the end of the day it's dark and so it is what it is (as if it could be anything else).

5 dollar miller lite is even worse

$1.50 miller lite is just as bad.

Okay, this is quite a statement - favorite *period*? Favorite from your house? Favorite in Annandale? Favorite ... what? I've been here and haven't even considered ordering sushi. What did you have and what is so great? I believe you, but I need more detail and scope.

So what part of "OUR" is vague? Try the small Omakase as we do practically every time we go. Runs the sushi gamut but the fish is always fresh, the rice is properly vinegared (is that a word?), and the things you'd expect to be there (shrimp, squid, tuna, etc) are. The wasabi is home-made (not that garish green stuff you normally see), and the ginger is fresh (and not neon yellow).

We were there Friday night for the Omakase Sushi. This is our favorite go-to place for sushi.

For King St. Blues and those menus, think 5 Guys. They may be owned (or managed) by different people/groups but they are similar to franchises so the menus are mostly identical.

(okay, no more thread hijacking)

The smallish Harris Teeter in Shirlington is going to be a madhouse for the next year or so.

Just go to Pentagon City.

See the enclosed pic of a murderer. The spicy sauce ($1) will kill you. I adored a dab here and there with the gratifying ramen, but even that small amount edged the broth into inedible for me. Buyer beware!

Which of the 3 spicy levels did you order? They go from spicy to nuclear. I usually get the spiciest which adds a nice layer of heat (no sweating, but a definite heat level).

Bon vivant, security engineer, disaster recovery director, former sports car (SCCA, IMSA) racer, mechanic, fanboy, Dragon driver, and Caffe REL attending dude (something that johnb is most knowledgable about).

Looks like the next occupant of the former Tiffany Tavern space will be a French Bistro from the owner of Bistro Lepic.

It's the return of Bistro Lafayette!

I would expect a bill with a reasonable amount (25%? 50%?) subtracted from the menu price. We've been to a number of soft openings and that seems to be the rule of thumb. We tip on the full price of the dish because the servers are doing the same amount of work, it's only the food that's been reduced in price. As to the number of dishes, that's also relatively common. You're expected to try a number of dishes and express an opinion. Think of it as a food survey, not a dining experience. If you want an experience, go back after the restaurant has been open for a couple of months.

After a considerable absence, Grover and I once again darkened the door of Evening Star. We decided to eschew the benefits of eating left overs at home and try the (not so recently) renovated Evening Star. We should have stayed at home and eaten those left overs. We had reservations for 7:15 pm (the only time Opentable said there were openings) but arrived around 7:00 to a mostly empty house and were assured that "we aren't too busy tonight". We were seated and presented with menus and an extensive explanation of the dishes being served. Nice but not really necessary as all of that information was on the two (plastic sleeved) menus, one being food and the other mixed drinks and wines. Grover, not being very hungry decided on two "Small Plates" (the menu description). One was the highly touted Fried Brie and the other the Arancini. I, being the adventurous soul, decided on the Grilled Oysters and for a main, Shrimp and Grits. First came the bread, two sweet potato muffins accompanied by two corn meal (?) muffins and s small jar of honey butter (okay, butter with honey layered on top). The sweet potato muffins were the best of the lot, definitely sweet but not dessert sweet, until the addition of the honey butter. The other muffin was dry, crumbly and might make a great substitute for a drying agent. And then, with much fanfare (okay, I made that part up), the small plates arrived. There were four oysters covered with what looked like industrial grade spacklling on the plate . No hint of oyster flavor, no evidence that they were ever plucked from any body of water. The taste was ... 'interesting'. I tried to determine what it might be but couldn't find words. One thing I did note however, the aftertaste (whatever it is/was) managed to remain through half a glass of wine (a Chardonnay that was totally unremarkable), dealing a death blow to gastronomy or gluttony, I asked Grover if she'd like to finish the dish (the aftertaste was still there). I'm going to assume that the Fried Brie was better because Grover ate most of it (she offered me some but at that stage, I was a bit hesitant to add even more flavors on the one I was trying to get rid of). Once the evidence of the first course was cleared, the "Shrimp and Grits" came. Five previously frozen shrimp in a circle atop what I assumed was grits with approximately 8 pieces of okra. I knew it was okra because it was green, round and internally segmented. it added additional color to what was essentially an Italian flag of colors, the red crushed tomatoes, the white 'grits' and the green okra. The shrimp looked somewhat out of place. The shrimp were edible, the grits the consistency of library paste (or perhaps kin to the spackling that covered the oysters). The dish was acidic enough to remove the wax from the floors and the tomatoes just added more acidity. Now, lest you think this is some personal vendetta against NRG, let me assure you that Saturday night, Grover and I ate (no, dined is more like it) at Rustico and every dish was tasty, well presented, and finished. I can't say the same about whatever we ate tonight at Evening Star. More food was returned uneaten to the kitchen than was sampled. For this dubious pleasure, the tab was $80 for three appetizers (excuse me, small plates) and one entree and two glasses of wine. Sorry, but for that amount of money, Del Ray Cafe or Los Tios would have been a much better choice (along with those aforementioned left overs).

We are now doing dinner at Herr's Ridge Tavern. Good but not amazingly so. Cross Keys Diner is well known in the area, serves decent diner food and is HUGE. I have yet to find a place there to do my usual Thursday night 'gourmet' dinners. If anybody knows of a place that serves excellent food around the $80 to $100 a person range, please let me know.

FREE trumps everything else. People would probably show up for a free terminal disease if you made it sound enticing enough,

Let's just do a three-fer....Brabo, Bastille, La Bergerie, Del Ray Cafe. Any of those.

Vermilion in Alexandria.

The bar at CityZen.