Sthitch

A chocolate tempering machine.

I'm amazed to see that Japan is ahead of us. 

Actaully, I am surprised that the Japanese were not at the top of the list. I used to do business all over Asia, and am still quite impressed by how much wine my Japanese clients would put away.

I have had a similiar experience there. But when I went the beer was really cold and served with a frosty mug and was not Corona.

Cashion's is about a five-minute walk from us.  When it first opened, it was our "go to" place in the neighborhood and we would take people there as a treat.  However, we became less and less enchanted with the food and, after a not-good meal there, we haven't been back.  We also went to Johnny's Half Shell ONCE and won't go back.  (That experience did, however, encourage me to make shrimp and grits myself.  That bottle of Tabasco sauce on the table should have alerted us.)

Make sure you get hominy grits. They are harder to find but well worth it. They are toothsome unlike the quick grits you find at most grocery stores.

A Coke and small bag of Peanut M&M's, the machine was out of Funyuns.

Round Robin at the Willard for old school DC

The Round Robin sucks. It is a cramped space with nothing alluring about it, and not nearly as old school cool as the Town and Country at the Mayflower or Off the Record at the Hay Adams.

Tom,

What would you say was the single best dish that you have had at any Washington area restuarant (or Baltimore for that matter)?

I think that 1 star is quite generous. My wife and I have given it a try twice for breakfast, both times were very disappointing. The service was as bad, if not worse than what Tom described. The six cups of coffee all arrived at our table less than hot (ranging from warm to cold). Both times we ordered a patry basket. I would think that filling a basket with pastry would take maybe a minute or two. They seem to want to make a career out of each basket. Yeah the pastries are good, but not worth the insanely long wait.

chilled corn chowder with lobster and avocado

They had this abomination last summer. I cannot believe they brought it back. The soup lacked any corn flavor, sort of reminded me of cold dish water, and while they claimed that there was lobster in the dish, it was presented as a foam, and like the insipid soup was revolting. This soup ranks at the bottom of dishes I have ever had anywhere.

However, the steaks are always good.

I think that I exceeded the average Italian by March.

1+1=3. A Spanish Rose from Cabernet Sauvignon. Good stuff and on sale this week at CW for $12.99

The wine maker Joseb Pinol was in town this weekend along with a number of other great Spanish wine makers. All were as wonderful as the wines that they make.

In addition to the 1+1=3 and the Mordoree I would also recommend the following:

2004 Pax Rose of Syrah - Sonoma

2004 Rose of Virginia - Austalia

2004 Coppola Sofia Rose - California

2004 Pavie Rose - Bordeaux

2004 Chapoutier Rose - Rhone

And just to include a recently released rose bubbly:

1998 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rose

For Thanksgiving I ordered a heritage bronze turkey from Townline in Pennsylvania. The turkey was unforgettably good, and will oder another this Thanksgiving.

I was going to suggest Luna Grill as well.  I had one there not to long ago that was pretty good.

Here's hpw their menu reads:

monte cristo 7.95

ham, turkey & swiss on batter dipped sourdough

This is the only really disappointing thing I have had at the Luna in Shirlington. I found the bread too dry and flavorless.

I would third the Bennigan's recommendation, as embarrassed as I am to type those words.

I know a number of people who went to Bordeaux for this year's tasting. The three who's palettes I trust the most were not impressed. Most of them commented that they had a great nose, and a good finish, but lacked any middle. The structure is also suspect. Not surprising the Mouton did not impress people, but this was also the case with the 2000 vintage, and it is currently showing the best out of the first growths.

I would not buy any ’04 futures, there is still too much ’01, and ’02, floating around to pay the elevated prices for ’04.

I have seen it at Balducci's. They do not always have it.

The '04 Roses coming out of Europe are a great steal. Most are under $15, and you should seek out Pavie, Mondree and 1+1=3. The three are very different in style. The Pavie is elegant, the Mondree is a classic Tavel, and the 1+1=3 is a fruity, yet dry wine.

Officials now say their decision to move Taste of DC to Memorial Day weekend from its traditional Columbus Day weekend was a mistake.

I guess these people have never been in DC on Memorial day weekend, and noticed all of the motorcycles.

I thought that Charleston had wine lockers. I am also familiar with a number of off-lines at various restaurants around Charm City. There is a loophole in the Virginia code. If it is a private party in a private room, the restaurant can allow BYOB (or something like that).

Nothing has been decided - there was some good reason I listed it as 1976; now I just need to figure out what it was.

If I remember correctly, it was reopened in 1976. There has not been a restaurant continuously operating at that location.

There are no BYOB's in Washington that are in the spirit of the great Philly BYOB's. To serve wine in the city, the establishment must have a license to serve alcohol, unlike what you find in Philly. There are many restaurants that do allow corkage, most for a fee. Here is a long, but by no mean comprehensive list.

If you want the recipe.

I have to agree with JG.  If the place needs jazzing up, does the food need it also?

The original one needs no help jazzing up the food. The steak is not quite as good as Lugar's, but as close and anyone has come. The rest of the fair is far better than Lugar's.

That said, this sounds painfully cheesy.

I generally go to an Indian store to get most of my spices. They generally have quick turnover of their stock and cheap prices. There was one right at the cusp of Ballston that had great deals. Unfortunatly the last time I went to pick-up some pepper not only was the store gone, but so was the whole damned building. Now I have to find a new place to shop.

When I lived in MoCo I would go to an Indian store on 355 right by Montgomery College in Rockville.

The only thing that annoys me more than smoking in a restaurant where I am eating, are laws and regulations that take away the right of the proprietor to determine if they want to allow smoking.

Did some quick research -

BUT, this does not include any of the excise tax or other accounting tricks that VA ABC puts into its liquor prices.

Overall pricing will require more testing. Not to mention to start comparing non-Montgomery County parts of MD.

It has been my experience that Virginia liquor prices are not that different than what you will find in DC, and no where near as high as MoCo.