Sthitch

It reads FAR better than the Kinkeads review. By words alone, the two restaurants do not seem to be in parity. Yet there they are, each 2 Stars. A quick look at what a two-star rating means and you get:

I am not the biggest fan of the star system, but it seems as if we are stuck with it. That being the case, I like the way that SF Gate does restaurant reviews, each element is assigned a star rating, with an overall score given at the end. If certain reviewers were forced to show their work in such a way I have a feeling we would see that some would weigh window treatments on par with the food.

Do you mean The Original Donut Shop? I agree that this might be the best of the K-cups (some of which can be downright undrinkable).

After running this past my wife she confirms that you are right.

Both my wife and my father enjoy the Donut House and Green Mountain Coffee brands. Both are also hoping that the Dunkin Donuts coffee will be released soon.

Nothing annoys me more than an expat New Yorker who can't look at anything without comparing it to something in the bouroughs, which much be superior because... hey, look where it is on the map!

Then you are not going to like him taking ownership of Washington in his follow-up.

People are misconstruing Danny's interview and he would agree that my comments were not in the least bit disparaging to my DC.

Okay. So "the review" is Sietsema's write-up in the new spring guide. All I can say is that the menu I was presented on Sunday, May 8 stated that pizzas would be served whole and ours were.

Bottom line: Pizzeria Orso needs to work on training if its servers are slicing into the pie against best practices or without being asked to do so. OR Pizzeria Orso took a look at its quality and decided to stop slicing the pies between the time when Sietsema and I each visited the restaurant.

Seems that slicing is the least of Orso's problems.

Has this reopened yet?

Yes, I have not been to the new location, but it was busy two weeks ago when I walked by.

The jury is out.

When the Mango Mike’s owned Ramparts everything about the place was an utter disaster. Under the new ownership it is exponentially better – but it had a long way to go to even reach palatable.

You are bitter. I get it. I don't care to hear about it but you can post what you like and I can always choose more carefully what I read.

So someone that takes a dim view of ego-driven frivolities is by definition bitter? Glad you know me so well. I guess I will have to look elsewhere for tacos.

You could also just offer congratulations to the winners. That, in addition to being snarky and sounding jaded, is an option too, albeit one that is not exercised very much on this board.

Please feel free to congratulate them if you please, but I think that you are confusing snark with vitriol. Should we continue to act as if the Beard House is anything more than a bastion for wealthy New Yorkers to feast on the creations of chefs from around the country while not having to soil their shoes with the dust of such contemptible burgs such as Cleveland, St. Louis, Dallas, or Knoxville, but instead just focus on the self-aggrandizing awards show that they put on every year?

I am really not sure what is more useless to me as a dinner seeing that an absentee chef has won the culinary equivalent to an ESPY; you can call that snark if you like. Speaking of absentee chefs winning the big award, do you think that Andre would have won if they also included Café Atlantico as part of their rating as opposed to just chef’s table – albeit with a different name, but who are we kidding?

I believe that when George C. Scott said about the Academy Awards, [t]he whole thing is a goddam meat parade, I don’t want any part of it” rings true in our cultural morass dominated by the Oscars, Teen Choice Awards, Food Network Award Show, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions.

For a bit of non-musical culture, I bring you Rafael Nadal*.

*yeah, I know he lost the match, but that does not deminish this in the least.

Jose Andres won the 2011 Outsanding Chef of the Year last night from JBF for Minibar.

When was the last time Mr. Andres was at Mini Bar without cameras being present? The list of winners strikes me as a who’s who of the toque sniffing establishment and celebrity chef pop culture made so popular by Conde Nast/Food Network/A&E et al.

Rebecca Black and the Circle Jerks just made me have to escape into the bosom of Tebaldi.

I think brown sugar should still work - maybe because of the color it is difficult to see if it really melts into a sheet?

I have used both in the past and they do work. The brown gives a better flavor than the white, but as you mention it is hard to tell when it is done.

I was disappointed to not find morels at the markets this weekend, so was wondering if anyone has seen them in the Alexandria region. Whole Paycheck? Balducci's?, Weggies?Thanks!

The only place I have seen them is on offer from the mushroom lady at the Courthouse market (I know, not Alexandria, but neither is Weggies).

We were going to do a birthday dinner there last night but they were closing at 6:00pm for Mother's Day.

 
I believe they are generally closed on Sundays, so it is likely they only opened for brunch/lunch on Mother's Day.

*edit* "imported pepperoni" makes me snicker..

Maybe so, but it makes for a damn fine pizza. The only issue I have with the pies at Tagolio is that they go a bit too heavy on the flour, not in the dough, but on it.

You said the Tex/Mex place next door is doing well. Have you tried it? Or do you know of any good lunch places in the vicinity?

It used to be called Tabasco and from everything I heard was quite good, but when they changed the name (due to pressure from a certain hot sauce company) they also changed their suppliers and every report I have heard since has been negative.

3 weeks! I can't wait either.

I noticed some expansion outside of the area, including a location at Don's alma mater - coincidence?

Looks like Suaca is following a certain pizza cart's path and opening a brick and mortar restaurant in the old Bob and Edith II location (via ArlNow.com).

Maryland and Pennsylvania were the center of the rye producing universe prior to prohibition, but then I am not sure that governments of Maryland and Pennsylvania know that the 21st Amendment was actually ratified.

Finally an appropriate drink to go with the spring rolls.

Oh, and Mr. Faile's way with apertivos (full disclosure blah blah blah).

The Milan Mule was a throughly enjoyable way to kill time waiting for my dinning companion, and I was remiss in mentioning how gracious the bar staff was.

Best of luck Chris!

Yes Chris, best of luck...

I know that there can be quite a bit of turnover in the restaurant industry, but there were some red flags in this article that seem to suggest that the previous rumors concerning Galileo III returning to the ways of its predecessors may not have been unfounded after all.

Website

I am intrigued by a place that offers lanjäger as a side dish.

Anybody have an opinion on WD-50 (which seems also to be open Sunday)?

I would only recommend it to two groups of people, those that have never had a meal with molecular gastronomy, and those that still think that this trend is interesting – I doubt you fall into either category.