DaveO

The Strasburg deal has $80 million deferred and paid out 2028-2030.  

When mlb calculates for spending over the max is that based on actual spend or face value of contracts?

It also suggests to me they have the money for Rendon.

Lastly the opt out in Strasburgs 7 yr $175 million contract really paid off. He got extra years and $10 million more a year.

11 minutes ago, TedE said:

It would take a miraculous opening of wallets for Rendon to be in a Nats uniform next year.  With the Stras signing they would be well on the way to the double secret probation phase of the luxury tax penalty ladder in the next decade, and I can't see the Lerner's going there or Rizzo mortgaging the future for those two roles with Soto/Robles on the horizon.  I think the consensus has been "If you can only get one, get Strasburg".  There are more free agent possibilities at 3rd this year.

Yeah....but I like Rendon.  

What is the worst that would occur?  Ticket prices, beer and food costs go up.  If you haven't noticed they have been on the rise in the last 10 years.

What the hell.   Its not my money to spend on a baseball player.  Your big money long term gamble on a ball player could play out such as Scherzer  (great free agent) or Chris Davis (orioles horrific long term signing)

Report today is that Strasburg and the Nats have a 7 year $245 ;million dollar agreement.  Earlier in the post season owner Mark Lerner suggested the Nats cannot afford both Strasburg and Rendon.   I guess we'll have to wait and see.  One down, one to go.

On 11/25/2019 at 3:50 PM, Genevieve said:

We had a lovely meal at the Rosslyn location a couple weeks ago.  The tastiest thing I had was the small plate of grilled spicy wild calamari in romesco (not too spicy, since my husband who doesn't do spicy was fine with it, but it was so flavorful).  I was going to order it, but they gave it to us free because they had offered us free prosecco to celebrate (we were there for a big anniversary and also a birthday) and we don't drink so we said thank you but declined.  They gave us mocktails instead, which was nice of them, but I didn't expect them to also give us a free appetizer.  I will get that wild calamari anytime it's on the menu there.

The one thing I didn't care for was the farro salad (Tuscan Grains, Plums, Roasted Butternut Squash, Pumpkin Seeds) - the plums were unusual in a salad, tasty, and plentiful, but apparently the one way I do not like roasted butternut squash is cold. If you don't mind that, you may like this salad.  

From the mozzarella bar, we shared burrata and strachiatella, and both were luscious.  Also got marinated eggplant which was good but not extraordinary. 

You can get a half order of the pasta dishes even though it doesn't say so on the menu, and my half order of Squid Ink Linguine (Lobster, Roasted Tomatoes, Chilies) was the right size given all that had come before, and was delicious.  My husband got the lasagna and it was extremely good.

I've dined at Sfoglina Rosslyn 3 times now, twice at the bar alone and once with a companion for dinner.  Its convenient.  Specifically its the most convenient bar for me in Rosslyn.  My gut is that it is good not great.  They will "get you" with the fancy touches, significantly very attentive service, all presented in a pretty pleasant dining room, but the mark ups--oh the mark ups they are high.  I agree with the above on the squid Ink Linguine--very tasty--delicious.  Calimari--also quite good. Other dishes a step below--but good. 

On 5/21/2017 at 8:41 PM, The Hersch said:

International Square is two conjoined buildings, one fronting on the southern side of the 1800 block of I St NW (just above one of the entrances to Farragut West Metro Station), the other fronting on the north side of the 1800 block of K St NW. It is not an attractive edifice, although it offers many thousands of square feet of office space, a great deal of which is rented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, along with another building on the other side of K St., where I believe Dr. Yellen now delivers her perorations, while the Martin Building (one of the three buildings the Board actually owns) at 20th and C undergoes a massive remodeling (I'm afraid nothing they can do to it will make it pretty).

Well it was actually 3 conjoined office buildings, constructed between 1977-1982.  The food court was the subterranean unified element of a 1.1 million square foot office complex.  When built and for a long time it defined ground zero, for location, location, location in downtown DC, both for office and retail space.  On the retail/restaurant side for a long time it was located in the densest most occupied portion of downtown Washington DC.  The food court was available for breakfasts, lunch and up to about 5 or 6 pm for dining.  It was a fast food emporium, never really distinguished with better quality dining, but certainly had a healthy number of places that pleased lunch customers.  You could access the food court directly at 18th and I via metro, walk through the food court to 19th and K, all under cover and enhance the walk portion of a daily work day commute during bad weather.

Anyway, it is closing at the end of the month. 

That is nostalgic for me.  I lunched there a healthy number of times for close to two decades when I worked in that area.  Can't say that any one of those meals was memorable.    I also knew the original Italian food/pizza operator from a retail leasing perspective.  Nice guys. 

Anyway, famous old Oliver Carr built International Square as part of his "empire of office buildings" in and around DC.  At his peak he had to have had more office space in DC than any other developer/owner/landlord.  The commercial real estate depression occurred in the late 80's /early 90's and he put most of his buildings in a REIT (real estate investment trust)-- and later sold it to Tishman Speyer in the latter 90's.  Tishman Speyer still owns the property.  Well I'm sure old Olly and Tishman Speyer both made a lot of money off that property, and I've got to add that my lunch purchases for about 2 decades contributed to those earnings. 

Can't say that its demise will alter or diminish the Washington DC food scene.

On 11/19/2019 at 6:12 PM, DaveO said:

He's baaaaack.  

Not only is he back, but he won ....(okay its not that big of a deal)  NBA Western Division Player of the Week.  What is interesting is that his +/- has been running positive and the Blazers are winning.  Hmmmmmm

45 minutes ago, Count Bobulescu said:

I too take it cum grano salis.

One possible explanation for the review number discrepancy might be that the avenues have more (or a higher percentage) of corporate (if not chain) outlets, that have a bigger footprint, and more walk in foot traffic, that results in many more daily covers. 

I suspect the above is completely on target for the review # discrepancy.  The Avenue restaurant at which we dined was large w/window lines on an avenue and street and beaucoup seats w/ lots of bar seating.  The street restaurant was mid block and dramatically smaller.

25 minutes ago, Count Bobulescu said:

25,000 Yelp reviews confirm what I suspect most people on this forum already knew. In Manhattan, street restaurants are, on average,  "better" than avenue ones.

One thing that puzzled me, with so many fewer avenue restaurants, (1,500 v. 18,000) they appear to be racking up reviews at many times the rate of the street restaurants, or am I missing something? Even allowing that the avenues are busier.....

Full disclosure, I have never used Yelp, to find or rate. 

 

https://blog.labsbell.com/img/StreetsVsAvenues.pdf

 

That article left me cold and unconvinced.  Additionally the difference between those two averaged ratings seems insignificant to me, if not to the statisticians.  OTOH, while in NY City a couple of weekends ago we ate at a street restaurant and an avenue restaurant (not that the characterization would ever have struck me as being significant).  The "street restaurant" was far better than the "avenue restaurant".  I'd rate the difference as being significant.

Sad to report that the region lost what I considered one of it's technically best bartenders, Michael  who worked behind the rail at Carmines and several other places.

He was recruited to work there by a manager of his at a prior restaurant.  A different manager described him as an 11 on a scale of 1-10, and co- workers appreciated and learned from him.  He was great at masterfully handling and satisfying a large crowd, while also recognizing every regular.

Florida just got a winner.

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

I wonder how many people know that the Big 12 Conference consists of only 10 schools.

If you'd like to visit all ten by car, here's the shortest route (that I could think of):

 <--- This is a trip down I-35, with West Virginia University at the beginning, and Texas Tech at the end.

Imagine being a WVU Mountaineer, and having to play road games in this conference.

So things have quieted down for the time being from the period when college conferences were growing, shrinking, changing members and dissolving their historical regional basis into a basis without logic.  Adding West Virginia to that conference is the illogical step if one considers regionalism important.  Additionally the historic names of conferences with numbers of members have changed...though the names have stayed the same.  By example the Big 10 now has 14 full fledged members.

Speaking of the Big 10, I've been chatting with an old friend who lives in Joisey, and along with his wife has been a Rutgers fan.  Well Rutgers and Maryland joined the Big 10 the same year and their football teams have been destroyed by other members.  My friend finally had it.  He has been a fan and a  contributor, knows the newish dean a little, and has exploded on the Rutgers mess (they are worse than U Maryland).

Its all about the money these days.  It has ruined the spirit of the old conferences.

Great deal for the digital Washington Post:  Black Friday--$30 for a year.  That is $0.60/week. 

Meatballs the other evening.  I like the @TrelayneNYC recipe, though substituted bread for breadcrumbs.  Hmmm   now I have 4 bags in the freezer of tasty meatballs for future consumption.

12 hours ago, DonRocks said:

In the email, La Tasca ownership says that La Tasca Alexandria and La Tasca Rockville remain in business and they will "accommodate inter-company transfers to those locations." It continues, "Further, we can make recommendations and facilitate interviews and securing similar job positions." 

Yeah, right - check's in the mail.

I read elsewhere of the stunning impact of an immediate closing that shocked employees.  They knew nothing of it.  The offer to have jobs available in Alexandria or Rockville is probably valueless to most employees.  Commuting is entirely different.  These are not wealthy workers.   Meanwhile in a different thread I saw immediate offers from other establishments, one being Medium Rare (that is the second time I've seen Medium Rare do this vis a vis closed places). 

On an entirely different note Java Shack had its last day Sunday, November 24.  In several different ways they pre announced their closing.  Still potential patrons were surprised at the closing in the last week and on yesterday.

The owners of Java Shack were probably the exception rather than the rule with regard to informing employees of a closure.  One long term employee knew of the struggling (going nowheres) negotiations with the landlord as far back as last December.  This past June they announced the closing to all employees, basically 5 months in advance.  They provided employees with severance pay.  Consequently their employees stuck with them to the end.  Needless to say Java Shack was making money and not in a horrible situation.  They simply couldn't make a new deal with the landlord that was satisfactory to the ownership. 

And on another somewhat related note;  I saw an article about a very small Manhattan hardware/everything store closing.  I believe it had operated in the realm of 20 years.  The store is at 26th and 9th Ave, less than 1,000 feet, packed with merchandise stored to the ceiling.  The tenant was paying $120/foot.  The new rent demand was $200/ft.  

$120/ft--$200/ft.  Oh my my.  I used to lease retail space in the DC area ranging from the priciest areas to areas renting at steep discounts off the prime.  $120-200/ft.  Those numbers confound me.  I simply can't conceive of how business works with those fees.  On the other hand I never leased space with a density of potential customers that might be 15, 20, 30, or 40 floors above the store.  Completely different.

38 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

I've been around too long.  When food boards started (about 20 years ago now?) Yonah Shimmel was already off everyone's list.  They had opened (& closed) ill advised branches around the city and the product was less than acceptable to those of us who a)considered ourselves experts on artisanal &/or ethnic food & b)grew up & still lived with knishes everywhere.  So, having read your (pras) posting here, I started figuring out what to say in response, how to let you down easily, how to.... well, you know.  Then, a bolt of light inside my head (someone tripped on the dimmer switch I guess) and it occurred to me that I couldn't recommend a better knish place in NYC.  Not in Brooklyn, where I was raised (in a Jewish neighborhood), and not in any other part of the city.  Yes, there are glatt kosher neighborhood places that I know of (& tried), but YS is probably not worse.   It is one of the last remaining vestiges of something we all took for granted.  I'll have to go back.  You did good.

The above reads like a wise post.  I "overlap" with Steve R a bit;  about the same age.  But I grew up in Joisy, not NYC.  I visited some of those neighborhoods when I was a kid and teenager visiting relatives in NYC.  I heard about some great restaurants, and great ethnic fooderies but I was a poor kid and definitely not a foodie.  Then from my teenage years into my mid 20's I spent a fair amount of time on the Lower East Side (what is this LES crap), sometimes working at a family business that must have started in the (I'm guessing) 1920's.  It was on Grand Street, about 5 long city blocks South of Houston and about 3 blocks from Orchard Street, the busiest most crowded commercial street in the Lower East Side.  This was the mid 1960's to latter 1970's.  It was still a busy time for that area but it was probably already changing from its heydays in earlier decades.  Clearly over that period I noticed the ever increasing expansion ) of influences from ChinaTown.   

Back to reference those "5 long blocks", I mention that because good ethnic food was part of the experience and there were dozens of great places infinitely closer and possibly better if not as well known or famous.  Easily one to three dozen all far closer than 5 long city blocks and when you are working one doesn't have time to meander around. 

All of which to say that I knew nothing of Yonah Shimmel, but like Steve I knew of many fine places to get knishes back in the day (In NY and Joisy).  But it seems to be a lost art, (with quite a few crazy miserable alternatives).   Now one of my closest pair of friends relocated to NYC.  An ever diminishing number of friends live in the area.  Some are getting ill.  I'll be up there to visit a number of times.  Yonah Shimmel will be on my list of places to visit.  There are very few places that stick to old recipes and dishes.

Ooooh.  I like that.  I'm going up to NYC a couple of times this Winter.  I'll note this to stop by. 

8 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Along with every other person in the world - nobody could have possibly foreseen this. I'm still not exactly sure of the timeline of disasters, and how this all happened.

Last night in the first quarter, Luka Dončić out-scored, out-rebounded, and out-assisted the entire Warriors team in the first quarter. That's just nuts.

I believe the published prognosticators had them ranked around the bottom of the playoff teams (i.e.  7th or 8th) or out of the playoffs.  I had them higher.  Of course I thought Curry, Green and Russell would be playing. 

In any case the Warriors are starting a team of unknowns and undeveloped players.  They do stink it up right now.

Well..a couple of years have passed a few things have changed....and this aint your '15-'16 all time best NBA regular season team.  This year's version of the Warriors are terrible.  REALLY TERRIBLE.  Curry out with an injury for a good part of the season, Durant now signed to play for a different team, Klay Thompson out all or almost all of the season, Green currently injured and out, Iguadala no longer playing for the Warriors.  Even their big signing this year: Deangelo Russell is out with injury.  This most definitely is not the team with the greatest record in NBA history.

Last night they lost a little regular season game.  Against the Dallas Mavs, currently not the best team in the league, but one with a winning record and high hopes.  Meanwhile with that loss the Warriors are a miserable 3-13.  Worst record in the West, worse than the Wizards, worse than the sad-sack Knicks.  The Warriors have plummeted from ALL-TIME BEST to current worst. 

They didn't just lose--they were crushed.  In the first period and it only got worse.  142-94.  A complete smack down.  Never close.  Never a chance. 

When the season started and predictions were being made most of the experts suggested the Warriors would be real bad.  I silently thought they would be competitive and in the playoffs.

I was wrong.  Big dead wrong.    Well for the time being so much for what was once amazing Warrior basketball.  

26 minutes ago, deangold said:

Scandia was our favorite restaurant for holidays and birthdays.....

 

 

Dean:  Great great story.  Worth 5 or 10 stars. 

He's baaaaack.   Possibly he'll  play today

Not much to say about Dock's Oyster Bar.  I was there with a large convivial chatty/talkative group.  No foody conversation among us.  It did look to me though that everyone cleaned their plates and nobody complained.  On the service side of things are original table of 9 was reduced to 7.  The staff quickly and agreeably switched us from an oblong table to a round table, all the better for conversation.   That was nice.

My choices included crab cakes.  Hmmm.  Certainly not Maryland Blue Crab.  These were large crab cakes, nicely done, but overwhelmingly tasteless.  (reminder to self--always stick to Md Blue crab).  On the cocktail side I saw something called a Rusty Sail, asked about it and was told it was a Rusty Nail.   Now I like Rusty Nail Cocktails.  Scotch, drambouie, very strong very tasty.  This had neither taste, drambouie, or a scent of liquor.  That one really disappointed me.

On the other hand 6 other people left looking satisfied.   It appears to be a typical sort of upscale business/visitor type place.

24 minutes ago, Pat said:

I felt so bad for Haskins, pleading with the offensive line -- what do they need from him to succeed -- and they're totally disinterested. He got drafted by a nightmare team. This is about as far from the Nationals 2019 team chemistry as is humanly possible.

And then there's the Nicholson thing. Unbelievable that he started the game! He's had two bad character off-field experiences in less than a calendar year and one happened in the week leading up to this game. It's a different sport and I sometimes take issue with Rizzo's handling of personnel on things he takes issue with, but there is no way that would have happened with the Nats.  No way.

While I watched a little I didn't see that play.  In any case Morgan Moses responded for the lineman here.  It was a 7 man defensive blitz.  The Skins had 5 men blocking.  It occurs.  An experienced QB would probably have gotten rid of the ball quickly.  I suppose that suggests it is part of the learning process. 

Thomas Boswell either joined the bandwagon or put an exclamation point on past commentary with his WaPo article stating that the Skins had lost Washington DC. 

I happened to watch a little of the game while waiting to return to DC.  The Skins of course were horrible.  Their offense is the worst I've have seen; Replacement level QB, weak line protection, mediocre at best receiving corps, mostly mediocre running backs.  Essentially no talent on the 2019 version of the Skins.  Meanwhile, the defense, acclaimed at the beginning of the season, is porous.  They are weak, giving up a lot of points and putting the Skins in a hole virtually every game. 

The proof of "having lost DC" was not in Boswell's article but in the continued terrible attendance and incredibly low prices on the resell market for tickets.  That has been going on for a while.  Possibly this was the "worst case".  Possibly its been this bad or worse earlier, possibly it will get worse in the next 6 games.  Its a completely futile team.  Meanwhile other local teams have won championships. 

Blame it all on Snyder.  If he isn't the worst owner in professional sports its because other owners are inhabited by the Devil.  Snyder needs to sell.   Sell, Dan, sell.   Retire to Florida.  Get the H out of DC.  Or wake up!!!   Its been 20 years of stinkeroo.  Don't you realize you are the cause!!!!

On 7/10/2017 at 7:12 PM, Steve R. said:

I'm just about 65.  But a young 65 .

That block of Eldridge ain't exactly the pinnacle of dining activity, but it is better than it was in the '80s.  Its still dirty, grimy and full of warehouses for various things, but there are maybe 2 or 3 other places to eat there as well. Not at all "wondrous".  If not for Vanessa's (which was once just called "Eldridge St Dumpling House" and now is one of three or four places with her name around town), I can't think of a reason to be on that block.  Some things change very slowly.

---

Dumpling Galaxy (Steve R.)

I was there this past weekend.  Eldridge Street, is a side street in a secondary less developed pretty ethnic neighborhood.  Not much going on there. 

Still, even at its minor upgrade of some commercial activity it appears to be about 1000% more developed than what I recall from the 1970's/80's.  It has a tinge of attractiveness versus bluchchchch.  Sorry.  Didn't get to try any dumplings.

While visiting in NY we ventured down to the Lower East Side (LES)/Chinatown to check out what had become of the buildings that once housed my paternal grandfather's and his relatives business.  My first cousins and I will be getting together next spring and I thought I'd bring photos of the old neighborhood that housed that business, the "store" that all of us visited, worked at, and knew intimately in our childhoods and beyond.

The area/neighborhood is of course completely different and is mostly a function of the ever increasing Chinatown in NYC.  The building that must have housed our grandfather's business for about 4-5 decades is now evidently owned by a Chinese gentleman.  Upper floors are now apartments.  The first floor is a restaurant, Noree Thai Bazaar, operated by a tenant.  The restaurant markets itself as featuring Thai street food.  My friends and I ventured in. 

Street food it is and utterly delicious.  We didn't stay long, but shared Pad Thai and skewers of chicken and pork and a few beers.  My goodness it was delicious.  All of us were blown away and my upper East Side friends said they would come down there again.  Light, extremely tasty.  The young chef/cook came out (it was quiet) and asked us how it was.  He got big hoorays and a high five.  The place has terrific reviews on the standard web review sites.  I can't speak for the entire menu but the small plates and apps we had were way over the top and very inexpensive.  Stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

2 hours ago, FunnyJohn said:

Renegade is now open in the former Mr. Days space in Clarendon

"

“You can’t swing anything in Clarendon and not get nachos,” says Crump, a 25-year industry vet (Eventide, The Ashby Inn & Restaurant) and currently the executive chef at Clarendon Ballroom. “I wanted to get away from that.”

His casual menu borrows from a dozen countries and regions, from Vietnam to Egypt to Hawaii. Find curried collard greens with coconut milk, roasted harissa chicken, Filipino spring rolls, Egyptian fava bean falafel. Nothing is more than $10, and many of the dishes Crump learned how to cook from watching his fellow chefs over the years."

I asked Pat how he wants his food concept to be described -- avoiding the over worked "street Food".  He said consider it food from in between the Tropics, in other words "equatorial."  Anyway Pat is a talented chef and technician -- he can fix almost anything, and he sharpens my knives on his home made grindstone.  The food is top quality.  He has outfitted the Mr. Days space with a state-of-the-art soundstage and will be having live music there, perhaps as early as this Friday, which, since IOTA closed, will fill a void in Clarendon night life.   He has retained the upper deck seating area so it will be a good venue for easting, drinking and listening to local musicians.

Please stop by and give it a try.

Nice story.  Large space, probably a lot of rent.  I'll give it a shot.