wahoooob

Asked yesterday about PX, was told next Saturday for the opening.

Oo.. sweet! What time are ya'll setting up?

Hello all.. will be making the trip across the Potomac this weekend for a mini-getaway, staying in Tysons Corner. Can anyone reccomend a dinner spot? Looking for something either ethnic, avant garde or just that d*mn good. No huge meals please, as we will be doing Sunday brunch (and along those lines, ideally under $100 tax + tip but no alcohol).

Willing to venture (via car) outside of Tysons for food of course. Any additional info needed?? Thanks!

Back in college, this guy down the hall was planning on becoming a rabbi. As he cooked his cheesesteak one day, he explained that in his interpretation of "cooking a kid in it's mother's milk", there was no way that his steak was from the same mother that made the cheese...

For NY:

MarieBelle is great, and has a fabulous presentation as well. Unfortunately haven't seen them much in the area.

Kee's Chocolates is a nice little shop. Everything is made in small batches, so if you get there late (as we did) there won't be much left. Very nice however.

Of course there is always Jacques Torres. Personally, I find the actual bars lackluster, but the truffles are up there among my favorites.

In the metro DC area:

Balducci's does carry a selection of Vosgues bars, with relatively decent prices. They do also have a selection of the Michel Cuizel single origin bars. Curious Grape is my stop for chocolate though. Their Valrhona single origin bars still remain my favorties.

For truffles, Dean and DeLuca has a nice selection of Christopher Norman, Chocolate Moderne and Rechhiuti truffles. They come out to ~1.25 each, which is about what they cost out in the Ferry Building of SF.

Been twice for lunch now. Food was decent, but not great. Oversalted fries the first time. Service was still a little unpolished. I will add that the general comments from co-workers were:

1) while the interior isn't *bad*, it has a somewhat ikea-ish, haphazard feel

2) the private dining room walls (they look like plywood from fruit crates) are a little too "rustic"

I certainly don't think that is how they intended the coupon to be used. That being said, I do plan on using it more than just once. However, I wouldn't advise flagrant purchasing either.

Hey dolcezza, welcome to the forums! I was the one who stopped on Saturday and had the chat re: capogiro and coffee. I am definitely looking forward to some olive oil gelato.

If you are on Balducci's mailing list, they just sent out an email with a survey link. At the end of the survey, you are direct to a 20% off coupon. Methinks it's time for some Capogiro gelato!

(I can post a link to the coupon, but not sure if that is allowed or not?)

edit to add link: Here is the link for the printable coupon

Okay, so as someone living in an small apartment, hand crack/rock salt/ice isn't too practical for me.

Does anyone have any good reccomendations for a good ice cream/gelato machine?

Personally, I found the apple normandy WAY too sweet. Excessively so. The almond chocolate croissant was very nice. I did enjoy the spinach quiche, although the bottom was expectedly soggy.

"Artfully Chocolate"

"Premium Chocolates, Inspiring Art and Beautiful Orchids"

116 E. Del Ray Ave

Alexandria, VA 22301

703-635-7917

www.artfullychocolate.com

Walking back to my car from the market today, I spied Artfully Chocolate. It opened Aug. 3. It is a lovely space with chocolates, confections, art and gifts.

The chocolates are from Kingsbury Chocolates, and Artisan Confections. There's much more too!

Macaroons from Mother's Macaroons. I also glanced fudge and chocolate covered pretzels to name a couple.

The owners seems very excited about thier addition to Del Ray and besides me, there were two other bloggers in the shop anxious to spread the word of thier sweet wonderful offerings.

Any updates on the store hours? I've been wanting to go to Artisan Confections, but the store hours aren't very convenient.

Our August menu featuring heirloom tomatoes and some fabulous new fresh cheeses (burrata, tomino and mozzarella di Bufala) is notw posted on our website.

Wine madness, 33% off wines $50 and over is on thru Labor Day.

Restaurant week is filling up but we still ahve ressies available. Full menu! August 14 thru August 24 (4 extra days!).

*drool* burrata is the BEST. Methinks I will be returning to Dino very soon. Thanks Dean!

Any sign of their Blackberry Cabernet sorbet locally, perchance? Wicked tasty stuff. I just haven't been able to replicate it at home, even starting with this recipe.

Just got back from the SS WholeFoods, and as my purple tinged lips would confirm, they do indeed have the Blackberry Cabernet.

Also picked up a 'mexican style' sweet corn ice cream (tastes like sweet cornbread ice cream) and goat's milk Molasses Tipsycake ice cream (which I have yet to taste...tomorrow!).

This is all very nice, but is it Metro accesible?

I feel like having ice cream for dinner.

Actually, if you walk from the SS metro, you *might* burn off a sliver of that butterfat =p

In all seriousness, I'd say it's a little over a 1/2 mile from the SS metro..

Huzzah!

Now the next question.. reservations?

Yum. I could go for one right 'bout now. I think the closest to me is Shilla in Rockville. Oh, I do recall seeing a GIANT version being served up at Bob's 66 as well.

Personally, I'm a fan of Parkway Deli. Always a good solid breakfast, but you can make your own call on the Reuben.

Red Dog cafe next door is worth a try too.

I've heard decent things about Tiffin (http://www.tiffinrestaurant.com/) but havent' made it out there yet.

It's not as convenient as it seems like it would be prior to deeper consideration of the logistics involved, and despite the deceptive geographical proximity of the two states and the District, mass transit options, and highway infrastructure.

That pretty much sums it up for me. I live in downtown SS, so getting to DC isn't that big of a hassle. But going to Virginia really does tend to be time consuming. We're all so oblivious to it, but really, should it take me 30 minutes to drive 5 miles?

Parkway Deli (whether you consider their Reuben "authentic" or not)

Sabang (Indonesian)

You could make your own

Seriously, I would love to know of a local source to get me some olive oil gelato if anyone knows.

Mm Capogiro... makes me drool thinking about it. When they first launched it at Balducci's they sent out $2 off coupons. At $9/pint it's not an everyday indulgence. Some of the Vosges stuff is good and not as expensive. Limited selection though.

Anyone know a good source in the downtown SS area?

So for someone fairly new to SS (and never having tried the pre-jackies Quarry House), is there really no reason to bother checking it out?

I realize this is a hackneyed request, but here goes.

I am looking for a restaurant in which to celebrate my upcoming birthday with the +1. It can be anywhere in the DC/MD/VA area and cost is not a determining factor. Neither of us cares much about wine, so the wine list is, essentially, irrelevant. What I'm looking for is a good food and, preferably, a more neighborhood-y, intimate feel. Our restaurant of choice for special celebrations in the past has been Palena. I still like Palena a lot, I'm just looking to broaden my horizons. I'm a fish-a-terian, so steak houses/meat-focused restaurants are pretty well out.

My first choice was (sniff) Komi. They're on vacation the weekend I want to go (Labor Day weekend). For a variety of reasons, I can't easily shift the weekend I want to go. The three remaining restaurants on the list are Restaurant Eve with the tasting menu (sounds good to me, it's a bit far from where I live, but do-able), Blacks (it's gotten such glowing reviews here in its current incarnation, but somehow, I'm not sure it's what I'm after), and Maestro (it has many years' worth of positive reviews under its belt and I would love to try it; I'm wondering about the atmosphere).

Any thoughts on the winner among these three? Recommendations for a place that I'm overlooking and should really consider? Thanks for reading this far in a request that I know is kind of tedious.

I would say go for Maestro! This seems like a perfect opportunity to visit. I guess it might not have the "neighborhood-y" feel, but it's not as frou-frou as one might think. And the open kitchen is always a treat.

As a semi-regular Thai outpost for me, Ruan Thai is a good solid Thai choice in the neighborhood.

The menu really is a hit-or-miss. Some dishes are, as one might say, yum. Others are simply meh. To that end, my main complaint is that once you get down to the good stuff, the menu isn't quite as extensive as I'd like. Portions to tend to be a little on the smaller side as well.

note: as small as the parking "lot" out front is, I've never had a problem getting a spot.

side note: another Wheaton favorite to try is Sabang