RickBarry

It saddens me to hear about closing of the Alpine in North Arlington last month. If it had to go, and it can't be La Chaumiere, I hope it is true that it has been bought up by Liberty Tavern, which is also a very good destination. It will be good news to learn that it won't be still one more local bank branch! The Alpine was a place that's inappropriate for the normal style dining review, because it was not just a restaurant. It was a North Arlington neighborhood institution. The food was actually more than just ok in my opinion though no award winning La Famiglia (Philly) or Spazzo Italian Grill & Wine Bar (Redmond, WA, the Microsoft bedroom community). But, in the day, Alpine had very good Northern Italian cuisine offerings on a quite large menu including Osso Bucco and Spedino (a very nice tenderloin spedino (spit). These did not appear on the menu in recent years, but you could always ask for them and they would happily serve them up for you; and one of my favorite Italian dessert, Spumoni with the traditional vanilla (or whipped cream), chocolate and pistachio ice cream layering cum candied fruit and nuts. August 21 is National Spumoni Day and should be a good time to find it at any self-respecting Italian eatery or deli. It has become somewhat bastardized in some venues in the US, but the Italian way is still the best, and that was the Alpine's way. And there was a fairly large wine menu with reasonable prices including some quite good Chianti Classico Reserva wines from Tuscany using the Sangiovese grape, as required by Italian law, as well as some very good "Super-Tuscans" that are allowed by a special law to blend Sangiovese with grapes of the Bordeaux (usually Cabernet Sauvignon) mainly for the American market. But for many regulars it was more than an eatery. It was a great place to bring children for a very good and affordable meal (I don't mean in the sense of how the Vienna Inn is a Little League must after games, because the Alpine guests were mostly adults) with something for everyone and welcoming, family-friendly service staff. We started going there not long after it opened. (Thank you, Juventino, for your 29-Feb-08 posting here on the very informative and interesting history of the Alpine.) There were a couple of particularly nice staff members at that time, Adriano a waiter who also worked for Marriott in the World Bank dining room and the maître de, Alfredo, a young blond Cuban man. Alfredo left the Alpine in the 70's (I believe along with one of the chefs) and opened the Marco Polo in Vienna, VA http://www.marcopolocaterers.com, not unlike the Alpine in many ways. I hosted a birthday party for my wife there many years ago and another for our extended family last Easter for their Sunday brunch which we all enjoyed. Alfredo is now in a wheelchair but manages to be all over the place nonetheless checking on this and that to be sure everything is just right. We have had very enjoyable reunions at the Alpine with dear friends who now live in Arizona whenever they make it back to the East Coast. It will sadden me further to have to inform them of the passing of a shared old friend – the Alpine.

Thanks for the invitation to post again, Don, which I haven't done in a long time. So let me do so again by talking about an incredible tasting event at the old Pearsons Wine & Spirits store next to the equally old (post-WWII) Old Europe Restaurant on upper Wisconsin avenue (2436 NW. It happened on Nov 2, which I learned about from the excellent PWS newsletter (call one of the new owners David and Helen Choi). David and Helen have continued former owner Steve Silver's practice of having the Tesseron distributor and a Tesseron representive put on a tasting of their finest old cognacs every 2 years or so. Last time was in 2007. These are not vintage cognacs, but rather a blend of Cognacs even older than the dates infer. There are four of them . . . Lot No 29, Lot No 53, Lot No 76 and Lot No 90 . . . which translates to mean that they are made from a blend of Cognacs from 1929 and older; 1953 and older; 1976 and older; and 1990 and older. Thus they are called "Lot" followed by the predominant year of the blend. Without requirement to purchase them,they are all opened for tasting. I had tastings of all of the above Lots -- 1929, 1953, 1976 and 1990, all of which were incredibly smooth and ranging in price from $350-$50 per bottle. I do have some excellent cognacs/armanacs, but I'm not really a collector as such. But I know when I really like them, and these were the best ever for my tastes. I did wind up purchasing the 1953 as a celebration bottle for the year of our first date. And learning a lot that I didn't know about cognac, which is admitedly a great deal, e.g., don't lay spirits bottles down; no need or don't evacuate them to keep them; NEVER drink them in a snifter glass (there were 2 Reidel cognac glasses with my 1953 gift bottle) and NEVER heat the glass/liquor up. Mark your 2011 calendar... Rick Barry Arlington, VA

My wife and I have tried, and liked, the Idlywood a couple of times for lunch. It is especially convenient when shopping around lunch time at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. We went there, just to go there, for dinner a few nights ago and were very pleased with the menu, food and nice wine selection for a neighborhood spot. I chatted a bit with the owner who seemed very personable. We found it overall a good place to dine. Having just now read the previous review, I would not hesitate to mention it to the owner if I see him again. It's important for him to know that customer reviews are read by many other people, so it pays to deal with a customer's bad experience right away and sensibly. To illustrate, a couple of years ago we were at one of the high-end local steak properties for an anniversary dinner. We didn't finish our meal or dessert so asked for a doggy bag, which the waiter provided. We had enough for a nice meal the next evening. When we brought it out, we discovered that they had not packed a good sized portion left from the rather expensive dessert. I called the restaurant and told them about it, and received an immediate apology. To our total shock, there was a knock on the door about 30 minutes later and there before us was the general manager of the restaurant with a beautiful full serving of dessert and a half-bottle of champagne in a lovely carrying case. We were stunned. Here was a bad experience in which the customer wound up feeling a bit guilty for having made a fuss about it. But of course we go back to that restaurant a few times a year now and are always greeted by that gentleman. I told this story to a French chef who was an old neighbor and friend. He said: You see, that would NEVER happen in France. They don't know how to deal with such things. But in America, the best places are the ones that respond promptly and generously to people who have had a poor dining experience. Even little neighborhood places can afford to be generous when something happens like described in the previous review. No excuses not to. Rick Barry