Escoffier

I may be eating Italian on the 10th..otherwise, I'm so there.

I've been there, you'll like it..(I'm in Dubai at the moment but Paris sounds really good...especially that Alain Ducasse place near the Opera Comique)

Okay, we've reached the magic 14 mark. I'll start a waiting list and will also talk to Chef Will about doing another Farmer's Table dinner in March or April. Dinner will be on Feb 27 at 7:00pm at Planet Wine which is next door to Evening Star. We will have the entire place for ourselves. Come hungry and be prepared to eat and drink very well. Attendees: Escoffier Grover Walrus Tripewriter StephenB TheMatt MeMc dalaii aaronsinger nashman1975 walrus +1 (for the friends) aqm NotQuickDraw

If we run out of room on this one, I'm sure we can talk Chef Will into doing another one... Attendees: (Only 2 places left) Escoffier Grover Walrus Tripewriter StephenB TheMatt MeMc dalaii aaronsinger nashman1975 walrus +1 (for the friends) There's still room for 2 more and it's getting close. Don't miss out.

Nope, the dinner will be on Feb 27th. I'm really looking forward to this dinner and glad you can join us.Here is the tentative attendee list: Attendees: (Only 6 places left) Escoffier Grover Walrus Tripewriter StephenB TheMatt MeMc dalaii

A bit more info on the menu for the Farmer's Table dinner at Evening Star. The beef tartar that Grover and I liked so much will make it's formal debut on the menu. This is prime beef with apple and crispy burdock. (I also heard something about bone marrow ravioli and lots of bacon). Here is the tentative attendee list: Attendees: (Only 7 places left) Escoffier Grover Walrus Tripewriter StephenB TheMatt MeMc

Don't be telling people about Hong Kong Palace. It's hard enough getting a table now and you're telling all these people they should join us. Half the Chinese families in Fairfax are going to be mad at you when THEY can't get a table either.

And every bite of it was totally wonderful.

NO, it's called bori-cha and is indeed barley tea..it's not hot water...

We spent some time talking to Chef Will Artley this evening and after a glass of wine or two (or six, but who's counting), he's agreed that $60 and $70 sound reasonable. I think I heard something about venison but that could have been the merlot...so now, the pricing is $60 without wine and $70 with wine (and I don't think there''s a better price for the amount and quality of food you'll be served anywhere). Thanks Chef Will, Grover and I are looking forward to another excellent meal.

Okay, I've managed to worm a bit of info out of Chef. Dinner will be 5 courses (and probably a few surprises as well). Pricing is going to be $65 or $85 with wine pairings (if you went to the last dinner you know that the wine pours are generous and often). I can't emphasize enough how extremely good and plentiful the last dinner was. Here is the tentative attendee list: Attendees: (Only 8 places left) Escoffier Grover Walrus Tripewriter StephenB TheMatt

Ha! Chef Will thinks he can keep a secret. Well, I know one thing I really hope is on that menu...we had some of the best steak tartare I've ever had last night...I'll just keep mentioning the excellent food we get served and eventually he'll tell me what he plans to serve (and then I'll tell you). As Grover and I beat up on Chef Will for details, we'll post more information. I can guarantee that you will definitely enjoy this dinner. Just ask any of the lucky people who attended the last one. Attendees: (Only 10 places left) Escoffier Grover Walrus Tripewriter (I think)

And if you're still kicking yourself because you didn't come to the first Farm Table dinner, take note that Chef Will and I have been talking about doing another one soon. Once again, it will be limited to 14 lucky people, it will be multi-course and it will be excellent. Stay tuned, more information will be coming shortly.

You missed out on a great time. Not only oysters but Nathan's great hot dogs. I can't wait until he opens his butcher shop (how come meat shop sounds so strange?). There were a lot of people there but everyone seemed happy and well-fed. The oysters were plentiful, there was wine and beer and a large heated tent to sit in and indulge.

Actually, it's to be expected. Unfortunately, it's a reality. You charge what the market will bear while you can. Next week, things will be back to normal (and there are a lot of places with $44 menus (Vermilion for one) who aren't overcharging clientele)

Nope, it was a totally forgettable experience at Spices..which (for that night at least, should have been named No-Spices) required repeatedly asking for tea, chopsticks, the food we ordered and other niceties ..

Hmm, if I'm going to Cleveland Park, I'm usually headed to Dino (specially after the "Chinese" experience we had there a couple of years ago).

Interesting that you should have gone to La Roma. La Roma is owned by a friend of mine and I had the interesting experience of being in the restaurant one night when Pierre Trudeau (who was then Prime Minister) came for dinner. The restaurant in the old location only had about 15 tables and there was a crowd at the door. Steve noticed the fuss at the door and made his way there to find a bunch of undercover RCMP officers and Trudeau. He told Trudeau that if he didn't have a reservation, he'd have to wait. Trudeau waited 25 minutes before a table came open, talking, passing out autographs, drinking a glass of wine (on the house) and having a good time. This was before he married Margaret so there was a rather attractive young lady accompanying him. They ate, the RCMP ate (a lot from what I remember), and then they got up, left a large sum of money on the table and left. The original La Roma (which burned in the late '70s) was on Preston near the bocce field in the park, just up the street from a Italian pastry shop that made the best cannoli I have ever had. Eating in Ottawa can be a joy or a job...I followed my Italian friends, they never led me astray (well, when it came to food anyway...)

Go to the Byward Market down at the National Arts Center end of Rideau Street. There are a number of good restaurants in the market. Unfortunately, one of my favorites, Nates Deli closed just after I left last year. People who can't eat well in Ottawa either haven't tried or don't know where to go...Beckta Dining & Wine (613-238-7063), Juniper (613-728-0220), Signatures (613-236-2499), Domus (613-241-6007), Restaurant 18 (613-244-1188), Castlegarth (White Lake Village; 613-623-3472), Sweetgrass Bistro (613-562-3683), Urban Pear (613-569-9305) and El Meson (613-744-8484). Just across the river in Hull, Le Bacara (819-772-6210), Le Tartuffe (819-776-6424), Sante at 45 Rideau Street (613) 241-7113, Navarra Street, Signatures by Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts, Eight8teen. Now it's possible that some of these places are long gone, I haven't seriously dined in Ottawa in a number of years (2006 to be exact) but when I was last in Ottawa last Winter, I checked the phone book and all of the places above were still there. YMMV.

Yep, I hadn't noticed...The only time I get to that end of Mt Vernon, I'm looking for a parking space so we can go to RT's...

Last time I was by there, the name hadn't changed (or I didn't notice).

I was thinking about either the one in Arlington or the one on Glebe Road near RT's.

Grover and I stopped by Great Wall on Saturday. If you're looking for veggies, I'd suggest you go elsewhere (even Giant). Green peppers WAY past fresh and into deterioration. Oranges that had seen better days three months ago. Mold on misc. veggies...yuck! This was still going on last Saturday even though the price had increased by $2. Even $6.99 is a good price. We stopped at the Annandale Super H and got 4 really nice, feisty lobsters who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

hmmm, LRT to 495 towards American Legion Bridge, get off on Rt 50 W, take the Gallows Rd exit on right. Go to third stoplight and turn left...avoid 7 corners at all possible costs especially on a rainy night.

I think you should try metro to the Farmer's Market..a split pigs head should cause a bit of a sensation on your return to your parked-in-the-metro-lot car.