Escoffier

Put me down as definitely interested.

Though they may be small, after 5 courses, I'm generally done. I did the 9 course one time and had to be carried home (of course, that could have some connection with the wine pairings). I find the 5 course to be very satisfying especially when coupled with the wine pairings...and I tend to tell the waitstaff to "surprise me" and let them arrange my 5 courses. Haven't been disappointed yet. A fine restaurant that we've been going to since the first week it opened.

Grover and I have to beg off...we have a theater date on the 25th that I completely forgot about.

Grover and I and our soon to be departing neighbor took ourselves to Tallula last night for a 5 course tasting menu. I must say, the menu has been updated quite nicely. Following are the courses and the wines that accompanied them: Starters: Chilled Asparagus soup w/creme fraiche Adam Cremant Sparkling White Second Course: Black Fig Galettes - The most interesting dish of the evening. Figs in a delicate pastry shell with cheese (which unfortunately I didn't note). An adventurous dish with contrasting flavors between the figs and the cheese. Excellent. I could have made a meal of this by itself. Peter Stoller's Riesling Third Course: Sea Scallops on a bed of Carrot Risotto. I never thought that carrots and risotto would make such a nice taste combination. The scallops were crusty on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside and were just right. Fourth Course: Garlic encrusted Lamb: Two very nicely done, tasty pieces of lamb. Done to medium-rare perfection. The garlic crusting was very well done. Fifth Course: Dessert!! a sampler of Peanut Butter Pie, Cinnamon Sorbet, White Chocolate Mousse and Cheesecake with Strawberries and Lichee sauce. Needless to say, even after everyone was complaining about being full, there was very little left. We finished with coffee and made our way home satisfied and full. Many thanks to Josh for planning the menu, Matt for putting up with us and the excellent service he provided and to Elizabeth who managed to keep everything running smoothly. BTW: Josh, the little one is quite a handful. Congratulations.

As I was Grover-less this evening, I set out at 6:00pm for Ray's...other than the horrible traffic it was a totally uneventful trip to Arlington. One circuit through the parking lot to determine there was no parking, out on the street and et voila! a parking space less than 2 blocks away. Walked to RTS, entered through the throngs waiting at the front and found Michael and asked for a table for one. "Give me 10 minutes"...sat in front in the glider watching the traffic for about 5 minutes and was seated. Michael looks totally relaxed and very laid back. I think the Hawaiian shirt and Bermudas and flip-flops had something to do with it. I ordered the $20 bistro hanger steak. Dinner started with the spicy cashews and the extremely good bread, followed by a very smooth glass of California Cabernet. Out came the first course, the crab bisque. What can you say about this bisque? It's wonderful, creamy and packed full of very good crab meat. This was followed by the house salad which is somewhat pedestrian (what else would you expect for a house salad) but was rescued from mediocrity by the dressing which was just a tiny bit spicy and very good. Then came the piece d'resistance, the hanger steak was a perfect medium rare. It was accompanied by the creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, the veggie portion of dinner was somewhat ignored in favor of the steak. I tried, I really tried, to save some for Grover but my taste buds overwhelmed my resolve. So there were no left-overs in the steak department. Accompanying the bill was the demi-tasse of hot chocolate. A great ending to a great meal. If you haven't been to RTS since the DR dinner, you are missing an excellent meal and a tremendous bargain. I almost felt like I had stolen dinner it was so inexpensive. Thank you Michael.

actually, that was "The Dude", "Duder" or "The Dude Himself"...(as someone who has watched that movie more times that I care to admit...and still laugh at all the wrong moments)Don Don Noodles

See my note above. The ones I got from the Alexandria store weren't bad, just not NYC good. (not enough onion for me personally). Without a trip to NYC, those have to satisfy my bialy hunger.

Wandering through the Alexandria Whole Foods the other night and came across bialys. Not NYC bialys but not bad at all. (there, now we're back on topic).

and lots of snarly students with paving blocks outside no doubt

Well, they are losing their chef and Bastille is supposed to be opening in Old Town Alexandria which isn't exactly at the Watergate...some changes are coming.

From: The List, Are You On It. Christophe Poteaux, currently Executive Chef / Food & Beverage Director for Aquarelle at The Watergate, will open this new restaurant in Old Town Alexandria by September, featuring a moderately priced, modern French/Mediterranean cuisine with a blend of world ingredients. So does anyone know where and when this is going to open?

Only way I've been able to get the real thing is to have someone bring it back when they go to NC. Hmmm, Raleigh isn't that far away...

I (and about 80% of the NC State Troopers) happen to agree with you. Lexington, NC is BBQ heaven.

Well, them and the hamburgers...I think I prefer my beef and females a bit more aged now...

ROAD TRIP!!! (just wanted to see what it felt like to be a frat-rat again.. ). Sounds like a trip to the Shenandoah is in order with a stop at Dairy Rite.

Now that brings back memories of Mary Baldwin and the girls and going down the road and eating across from Western State Mental Hospital and burgers and milkshakes from Dairy Rite...yummy!! (I wonder if they are still as good as they were when I was 18 or 19 years old?)

Right you are. Must be that senesence sneaking in. Checkers (and I'd forgotten about Rally's until you mentioned it). Now that I think about it, Checkers hamburgers aren't that bad either...especially on a nice warm Spring day when you can sit on the patio (you and the pigeons) and eat a burger and try to keep the napkins from flying away.

Hmm, now it makes me wonder what drive-in hamburger joint that was...do striped Red and White (metal) umbrellas ring a bell? Arghhh, now I'm going to have to drive to Suitland just to find out..

True dat!! and I believe there's a Sonic in MD near the Census Bureau or in that general area.

Grover and I are disappointed that we got back to late to participate in this dinner. Someone please post afterwards and tell us about it (so we can hate you ) (actually, just kidding but please do post about it)

Just wanted to start planning on when to stop eating so I can pay proper homage to the food.

Can we go for a time? 7:00PM good? 6:30 PM too early? We can make it anytime after 5:30PM so almost any time is good for us.

Has April 25 become the official date for the Minh's dinner? No one seems to have seriously set a date as of yet.

Hmmm!!! good question. I tend not to use anything on steak other than a bit of salt and pepper...(mentally pondering the list of foods eaten in his lifetime).....think I'm going to have to get back to you on this one. That's a big list of foods...I prefer my steaks uncondimented (sic?). There are too many other foods to catalog as to tarted or untarted up...

exactly...a bit of salt, freshly ground pepper...and nothing is finer. Even makes ground beef taste good.