ctay122

Hi everyone, it's been a long time since I've been here, but glad to be back. Has anyone dined at the Inn at Little Washington or the Goodstone Inn lately? Hubby and I last ate at the Inn at LW 2 1/2 years ago for our anniversary. Hubby was felling bad which subsequently ruined dinner (I still had a good time and one of the best meals I've ever had). I am trying to decide where to go for my birthday the beginning of Dec. We usually go to Marcel's when we have an occasion like our son's birthdays or ours, but I am in the need of a change. Though I am disappointed that the Washingon/Middleton B&B accomodations are so high for a Thursday night stay (I think the prices have gone up since we last stayed at the Middleton Inn, $425/night for the Gamekeeper's Cottage? Ridiculous!). I've never been to the Goodstone Inn, though it was recommended by a friend, I am wanting to know if there are any opinions out there as to if the Inn at LW is still a good pick or if the Goodstone is something to consider. Thanks for the help!

I've heard mainly bad reviews of the restaurants here. However, I am surprising my hubby with tickets to see Cirque du Soleil there in Sep. Due to time constraints we will have to have dinner there and I have no clue where to eat. Taking the water taxi to Alexandria is not an option, so we mainly will be stuck there. What is the best place to eat there? I thought about McLoone's Pier House mainly because I see they have Shepard's Pie which hubby loves, but don't want to be disappointed (though after reading reviews I am not very positive about dining at the harbor at all).

We went last night and sat at the bar and had a cocktail before dinner. Hubby had a whiskey sour and I had the Titanic (I think the bartender said elderflower sorbet, juice, grapes and champagne). It was really refreshing and wonderful. I probably could of had another, but at $13 a glass decided to hold off. The tab came to $22.58 without tip. I did notice that the bar menu seemed to have a lot of things that appealed to me. The restaurant itself is gorgeous and has a wonderful atmosphere. We met many of the locals dining there, and everyone was friendly and seemed to be having a good time. There is also an outside dining area that is beautiful, but because of the storms that blew through were not in use. For dinner we decided on the tomato water risotto and vanilla pork belly. Both were awesome. I could have eaten more of the risotto. Not sure if the bread is made there, but it is really good and served very warm. There were two young men who wandered around the room serving the bread and water and seemed to keep our bread plates and glasses full. For the main course I picked the tempranillo braised lamb shoulder and shank served with a tomatillo salsa, olive oil bread and chimichuri verde. The lamb was cooked perfectly and the salsa with the oven roasted tomatoes and tomatillos was outstanding. My husband had the filet. He ordered it medium. It came I would say between rare and meduim rare. Also it was stone cold. We tried to get the attention of our server, but she was no where to be found. The owner, Stephan, noticed me looking around and he immediately came to the table and asked us what the problem was. I give him kudos for being so observant. I think the server should have stopped by our table when we received the entrees to make sure things were ok, but she did seem to have a lot of tables. The dish was returned to the kitchen and I little choice but to eat my dish alone while hubby waited for his. By the time he got a new order, I was finished with mine. I really am at odds what to do in this situation, as it's very awkward to be eating when your partner has nothing in front of him, but I didn't want my entree to get cold. The rib eye was perfect the second time around. For dessert we ordered the strawberry terrine and the two vanilla ice cream (yummy). We were also served a complimentary brown butter pudding (it was so smooth and very tasty), complimentary glass of dessert wine and a taste of one of the bartender's new cocktail, a margaritini (I think he called it) which is blended with agave and watermelon. Oh, and we also had a sample of the coconut sorbet wih blueberry sauce. Other than we both thought the entrees were slightly over seasoned, we enjoyed the meal immensely. I think Trummer's will really bring something special to Fairfax and we're glad we don't have to drive into DC anymore to experience some fine dining. I can see that it is going to be quite a busy place in the future. We will definitely return. Our tab for dinner, which in addition to the above, included a glass of wine ($9) and 2 coffees was $108.15 without tip. I was really surprised and delighted. We normally spend twice that or more when we go into DC. I can't wait to go back and try something different. I'll have posted some pictures on flickr since I can't figure out how to add them here. Search and use Trummers as the tag.

Thanks for the review. I made a reservation there on Thurs night for my husband's birthday. Chef Miller has worked at the French Laundry under Thomas Keller and for Daniel Boulud, so I have high expectations. Living in Woodbridge, we need some decent restaurants within a reasonable driving distance besides these awful chain restaurants (my husband refers to Woodbridge as a cultural black hole. I am really looking forward ti it.

I attended the cake show today in Burke and posted photos of some (about 93 photos) of the cakes on www.flickr.com Search for National Capital Area Cake Show Check out the Jimmy Buffet Cake (pics 416-423). It has elements from JB songs and was really awesome!

Michael and I celebrated our 10th anniversary at the inn last night. I have posted pictures on flickr of our dinner if anyone's interested (look under ctay12254). Sadly I forgot to take pictures of our amuse bouches...we had 2 different ones consisting of a four spoon portion (beet mousse, shrimp, risotto and pear wrapped in proscuitto) served before the appetizer, one before the second course (rutabaga soup)and then cucumber sorbet before the main entree. We had a wonderful dinner and the service was outstanding.

Looks like a possibility and that the little Georgetown connect bus runs along there. Thanks.

Husband and I have a 730 reservation tonight at 1789 and we're looking for a place to hang out in Gtown for an hr/ hr 1/2. Any suggestions? We don't want to hang out downstairs in 1789. Thanks.

I arranged my boss's retirement dinner at Bebo this evening. There were 18 of us and we were in the private room and ordered off the full menu with separate checks. Our service from Salvio was wonderful and the food was delicious. I and several others had the skewered quail with Roberto's homemade sausage, my husband had the pork chop, others had the meatballs and garlic bread, and several had the pizzas and calzones. We weren't rushed at any time and although we made reservations for 6 and it was well past 645 when we got around to ordering, we never felt any pressure to rush through our dinner and had a wonderful evening. Hats off to Roberto, Laura and Salvio for making it a memorable evening. Everyone enjoyed the meal and it for many it was their first time at Bebo. I couldn't have been more pleased as people thought I did a great job arranging things but ultimately the quality of the meal and service made the evening a big success.

I have given the reservation away, thank you.

I have a 7:30 reservation on Wed the 16th for RW week that we can't use (someone graciously gave me their reservation for Tues). If anyone is interested in taking it, please PM me. Made on Open Table.com

I inadvertently ate horse meat when I was in Belgium. I was in the Army at the time in 1977 and my platoon did a 3 day volksmarche. I was in a NATO unit with other Belgium solders participating. We got bag lunches everyday from the Belgiums. I thought I was eating a sandwich of rare roast beef, though it tasted a bit off. Later I was told that it was horse meat. They all thought it was a joke, but I was rather upset about it because I had a horse when I was in high school and would never consider eating one!

Thank you DR, for setting this up. Heather, the charcuterie was fantastic! Also the brats and dogs were great. Thankfully my husband allowed me a bite or two of the brats. Also, to our waiter, whoever you were, sorry we didn't get your name. Thank you very much, we probably ran you ragged, but you handled it effortlessly. It was a wonderful time, and I'm glad we finally got out to see a few familiar faces, it's been a while.

I've been brain dead lately. We're looking forward to it. We'll be there between 6:15 and 6:30. I'm hungry!

I'm still looking for a kick off time for this event. Since I work in DC I'll be coming straight from work. Is anyone going to be there prior to 6?

Count me in, as well as my+1

My husband and I ate at Bebo on Halloween Eve. We wanted to try the pizzas since I've read mixed reviews here about it. I had the Rolli di Prosciutto Ripieni and my husband had the Prosciutto e Funghi. I thought that the pizzas were amazing. The crusts were perfectly crisp and the toppings came together beautifully. We sat at the bar and the bartender (we didn't get his name, only that he was from Serbia)was friendly, efficient and gave us just enough attention to make a perfect evening. Chef Donna was not manning the pizza oven. I thought the pizza cook did a great job (and we told him so) and we definitely will go back for more pizza.

My husband and I are heading to Bebo tonight between 5 and 5:30 to try the pizza (and avoid the Trick or Treaters). We'll be sitting at the bar if anyone wants to join us (short blonde and salt and pepper haired guy).

Thank you for the insight into this event. I wasn't even aware that there is a participation fee. I'm sure this is news to alot of us. My husband and I have been very lucky, in that except for one instance in the 3 years we have been attending RW (both summer and winter) we have never been rushed through our meal. This is probably not the norm. I was curious as to how you are able to plan your reservations during this time, considering guests who like leisurely meals. I suppose this isn't the time to do it? Normally we are those diners who may take up to 3 hrs or more at your table.

I waited too long and couldn't get in at Corduroy at the time we wanted. The thing we like about Corduroy is they offer the full menu and full portions. So far I've booked Circle Bistro, Palette and Cafe Promenade (the last two we have never been to).

I don't know anything about them, but I think they looked utterly stupid and I agree seemed a bit pompous. Maybe next time we have a DR event, we can dress up also. We can start something up and have little ribbons and color code them according to how many DR events we have attended. Add little star pins for how many posts we've done. Add Twenty Dollar Tuesday bling bling (bronze, sliver and gold for number of events attended).

Chef, I can't see you offering a gazpacho that would be anything but ordinary. Why do restaurants participate in this event? Is there any kind of pressure to participate? I would imagine most places barely break even as far as the RW goes or even take a loss. Good restaurants such as yours probably don't need the additional headache. Is it all over publicity? What benefits do you get out of this? I am just curious, though I am glad you are participating because I have a reservation. By the way, have you decided what you will be offering yet?

I am at 346 cookbooks and still buying. And yes, I do cook from them. For good reading and authentic Sicilian recipes I suggest 3 books by Vincent Schiavelli: (deceased actor, and also host of The Chefs of Cucina Amore) Papa Andrea's Sicilian Table, (Recipes and Remembrances My Grandfather), Many Beautiful Things (Stories and Recipes from Polozzi Generosa) , and Bruculinu America: Remembrances of a Sicilian-American Brooklyn Told in Stories and Recipes. I never realized what a good storyteller he was as well as a cook. I think anyone who has a love of cooking will thoroughly enjoy these.

Rissa, Michael and I wish you the best of luck. We're sorry we will be out of town that week for the holiday. Please let everyone know where you're going, you are also part of the reason we enjoy Corduroy so much!

Cape Neddick As you drive up the coast from Portsmouth to Kennebunkport, if you can, stop at Flo's hotdog stand in Cape Neddick. The only thing on the menu is served with Flo's special sauce...Flo's is an institution in Maine and you can also buy the special sauce to take home. You won't be disappointed. Flo's was named as one of America's top ten hot dog's by Bon Appetit magazine. http://www.seacoastnh.com/pennygourmet/floshotdogs.html