lovehockey

The thought that most often runs through my head after the 3rd dish or so is "How many specials do you need to have?"

We visited last night as the result of an inquiry in the "Help Needed" section and in my graciousness I allowed the bill-payer to choose between here and Unum (I'm a nice person!). We arrived around 6:20 and did have to wait a while, but it was worth it. The bill-payer is a Jersey boy with an Italian mother. Does this sound like a stereotype? Yes. But he was a very happy camper. (As a note of explanation, the bill-payer is my boyfriend, and the occasion was a late celebration of my birthday.) A sure sign that it was a good choice: He ate the entire crust of the Il Canale pizza we shared (mozzarella, eggplant, prosciutto, tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes). He never eats the edge of the pizza crust. The middle of the pizza was a bit soggy and it was only cut into quarters, but otherwise it was a quality pie. I'm guessing it sat out a bit before it was delivered to our table. They also served free pizza to people waiting, and I think that our samples of pizza with simply the mozzarella while we were waiting may have had an impact on our ordering! We also had the meatballs (we both approved; don't tell his mom!). The garlic olive oil that comes with the complimentary bread was divine. He ordered a side salad which was underdressed so he had to ask for more dressing on the side. I wasn't surprised that the gentleman who delivered the salad held it in my direction first He had the Italian Margarita (amaretto, gold tequila, triple sec, sour mix), and I had the Primitivo "Apollonio" (Puglia) 2007, which I found surprisingly fruity. The wine-by-the-glass prices can be a bit of a shock at first (mine was $14) but it's an 8 oz pour. We would have had dessert if we weren't so full, but several of the choices were very tempting. Overall, it was an excellent experience. I'd like to go back to sample some of the pasta, which looked good based on what I saw at other tables and what has been mentioned above. Thanks to ericandblueboy for the recommendation!

The two of us are going to be in Georgetown Saturday evening and I get to choose the restaurant. We're thinking we may be able to get away without a reservation since we're going to be there on the early side. Caveats: It'll be khakis for him, maybe black pants for me; it cannot be seafood-centric because he does not like seafood; and I have enough sense and pride to avoid Cafe Milano. Otherwise, I'm open to pretty much anything. Thanks in advance!

Coming from a family of six split evenly between lefties and righties, a statement like "it should go to the left of the sink if the user is right-handed" raises my eyebrow because lots of homes have mixes of lefties and righties. That being said, as a lefty who has dealt with dishwashers on both sides of the sink, I think the bigger question with respect to dishwasher placement is whether you have a double sink and how you will use it. For example, if you have a double sink with the disposal in the left basin and you're thinking of putting the dishwasher on the right side, do you want to reach past the right basin to get to the dishwasher? If you don't have a double sink or don't care about whether you have a short reach to the dishwasher or a long one, then it doesn't matter. But if you have a double sink and one side will get most of the regular use, you may want to position the dishwasher based on that. I've never renovated a kitchen, so this is just my opinion based on years of washing dishes.

Another chocolate and peanut butter lover here, although these days I use dark chocolate to dip into my Kraft peanut butter (imported from Canada) because dark chocolate is good for you. The PB/chocolate combo pairs well with Malbec. I visited the original Thrasher's earlier this month and this is true. Vinegar and extra salt were available, though. I had them as they were handed to me and I thought they were great without any extras.

Have you ever tried ketchup-flavored potato chips? I've never seen them here but they're up in Canada and they can be found online too. Speaking of ketchup, I like it with cucumber.

Most of my dinner tonight was a bag of microwave popcorn and Smart Balance. At least you had protein! When I was in college I had a dormmate who would dump a bag of M&Ms in her popcorn when we went to the movies.

I'd like to recommend Thanksgiving Farm Winery, which I visited last Sunday. While it's only open from 1-5 on Sundays, it's only 20 minutes from DC. It is unique for Maryland in that the wine is only from grapes grown on the property. There are three wines for sale: A Meritage (59% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Petit Verdot); a Rose (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon); and the Franc Blanc, which is a white Cabernet Franc developed because people were asking for a white wine and the Cabernet Franc was the grape that worked best. There is also a Port that will be released soon; I was fortunate to taste it and really enjoyed it. The tasting room is small and you drive through the farm buildings to get to it. I'm glad I did. The owners were wonderful. They'll tell you all about how they make their wine if you want to hear about it and they're very enthusiastic. While I don't have near the experience of some of the posters on this board I thought that it was some of the best wine I've had in my 8 years or so of wine tasting in Maryland and Virginia. And in my wine tasting experience the prices can't be beat ($15 for the Rose, $18 for the Franc Blanc, and $25 for the Meritage).

To Stompin' Tom Connors, country/folk singer, patriot, and unofficial poet laureate of Canada, who passed away yesterday. He's best known for songs such as "Sudbury Saturday Night", "Bud the Spud" (about a potato), and, most famously, "The Hockey Song" ("Hello out there, we're on the air, it's hockey night tonight..."). I raise a toast as I'm watching two hockey games courtesy of picture-in-picture and NHL Center Ice.

As of this typing, we're back in the bullseye. In anticipation of shoveling cement every few hours on Wednesday, the evening menu is going to be lasagna, garlic bread, butter pecan ice cream from Dumsers in Ocean City, and a bottle of wine that I collected from my wine tastings this past weekend.

I made a very off-season trip to Ocean City this weekend. The time I had for eating on my own was limited, and many places were still closed. My hopes to try Anthony's roast beef sandwich were dashed. On the positive side, earlier today I picked up fries at Thrasher's on the Pier; they were hot and fresh and had just the right amount of salt. I didn't add vinegar and there certainly wasn't any ketchup to be found. Thumbs up. On Saturday I visited Dumser's on 123rd, and tried the peanut butter and fudge and butter pecan. I had them without toppings and really enjoyed them both. This morning on the way out of town I stopped in at the location on 49th for a quart of butter pecan to take home. In addition, as mentioned by KeithA in an August 2008 post above, the location at 123rd makes all of its sodas the old-fashioned way, using syrups and seltzer water and made when ordered. Since I couldn't recall ever having consumed my usual Diet Coke in that form, I had to give it a try (free refills!). I didn't think it was as sweet as what I usually drink, but the fact I had been eating ice cream may have been a factor. But it was neat to watch.

An errand in the shopping center led us to try something new for lunch, and we ended up here after the SO mentioned he had heard about it. To summarize, the buffet was fine but the service was not. We walked into a restaurant about half full and were told we could sit where we wanted, just not in the back where larger groups would go. Water got poured and we were encouraged to eat at the buffet. We asked for menus since we hadn't been there before and wanted to see what else they offered. It went downhill from there. Several minutes later we had to ask for the menus again. The SO got up to look at the buffet and overheard a waiter telling other customers they should go for that option because the kitchen was backed up and slow. The food at the buffet was a decent selection of meat and vegetarian dishes, including standards like butter chicken and a few curries that had some kick to them but not anything strong. They also provided complimentary naan. We both decided on the buffet and stuck with water because the wine list was pedestrian and even if we wanted a beer, cocktail, or soda we decided it just wasn't worth it. The service was, at best, indifferent. If we needed something we had to flag down a person. I think our waiter was the guy who at the beginning poured our water and at the end noticed our table was clear, and asked if we were done and if we needed the check (which we had already asked someone else to get). It's a nice space and the buffet was $11.99 per person. But the service will keep us from going there again.

I can't give you a specific recommendation (sorry!) but a good resource is Digital Photography Review, at www.dpreview.com. It includes a buying guide with feature search, and you can compare the Canon SX40 to others in the 30x optical zoom (or more) category.

I'm glad to know that I'm in good company! It's been a while since I've flown through MSP but I'd be shocked if they don't still have the coupon books for shops and restaurants, listed by concourse. Look for them by the airport map displays.

Lexington Last year my brother took my mom and me to Malone's steakhouse. There are three locations, and since he was driving I have no idea which location we went to. We both enjoyed it. He likes going there because he enjoys steak and seafood and they also have a lot of gluten-free options. Good wine list too, if I recall correctly. www.bluegrasshospitality.com

A phrase that peeves me is "cooked to perfection". I would hope so, because I'm paying for it.

Drat. Just saw the Minneapolis question. I'm a huge fan of Surdyk's Flights in the Mall area (aka. the main concourse), which is both a restaurant and wine store. Love the food and the selection of wine flights. I enjoy getting a sandwich and a flight of wines, and people-watching in concourse seating area. MSP

Looking at the picture of the bar at the Washington Post link my first thought was that it looks like the living/kitchen area of one of those window-filled apartments that you see on Selling New York on HGTV. My second thought was how many beverages I could make on my own at home for the cost of a cocktail there.

Going strictly by the plates, is it Baja Fresh?

Warning: This review is almost a year old, but in my defense I wasn't a member of this fine establishment a year ago. That being said, it was partly because of this thread that I ended up at Food for Thought for an early dinner last March. The other two reasons were the proximity to my hotel and the introduction to the "undercooked and raw" disclaimer, which is as follows: "With its omnipotent wisdom our government requires that restaurants reprint their menus and post the following shocking information. . . ." Further snark is added after the disclaimer. That kind of sarcasm is right up my alley. Since I arrived rather early for dinner was practically the only person there. I remember having the Shrimp Boat, because the idea of breaded shrimp in a potato skin was intriguing. It was excellent. I know I had something else, but I can't remember what it was (either another appetizer or a salad). But I do remember that I ended up full and happy. Service was nice and attentive, and after I was done eating I finished my glass of wine while watching the NCAA tournament at the bar with various staff members. A few hours later the whole area went nuts after Norfolk State defeated Missouri. I was elsewhere when that game ended, but I bet I would have been having a good time if I was still at the restaurant.

Last night we went to Monty's to check it out. As others have mentioned, the staff is very friendly and aim to please, so while there were a couple of service slips here and there they weren't a big deal. Donna (the owner) was walking around asking people if they liked the food and service, and it appears that they're building up a group of regulars. Our dinner took about an hour and a half (entrees + shared dessert). The SO enjoyed the Malbec while I tried the Riesling from Washington State (sorry, can't remember the names). I liked my wine but I'll admit I got it mainly because of the mention of Alberta peaches. I have since learned that there is a such thing as an Alberta peach but at first I thought it meant the province and I know for certain that they don't grow peaches in Alberta (go next door to BC). The excuses I have to try wine... One thing that I appreciated right off the bat was that the bread came with soft butter. It drives me crazy when bread is presented with cold, hard butter so I was very happy to use the soft butter on the rolls and (excellent) banana bread. The SO got the petite filet with pommes frites and broccoli as the sides, and I got the salmon with potato gratin and grilled beefsteak tomato. They accidentally gave me a baked potato along with the potato gratin but the waiter brought out a piping hot tomato for me when I pointed out my problem. Both entrees were cooked well and the SO particularly liked the wine sauce that came on the side of his petite filet. Of the sides, I liked the potato gratin the best. The grilled tomato was something I don't recall I've had before so it was nice to try something new. I appreciate the options that they provide for the sides and I'm sure that if we go back we'll give some of the others a try. The one slip-up for us was dessert. We got the creme brulee trio but unfortunately after breaking through the crust two of the three were more soupy than custardy. But I'm glad that we split the trio, though, because they were rich and I don't think I'd have gotten through them on my own. I'm sure we'll visit again because it's' not too far away, the food is good, and there are a number of menu items I'd like to try. Thanks to everyone above for putting it on my radar!

This doesn't qualify under "extravagant" as defined by the above two posts, but it does work under "outrageous" and certainly expensive. The most expensive meal I ever had was actually a Restaurant Week lunch at Capital Grille. While eating bread an already-in-trouble molar decided to break for good, and I therefore spent some quality time on the phone booking a trip to the dentist before I had a chance to eat the salad course. Therefore, the lunch was $20.12 + beverage + tax + tip + crown. And I wasn't overly impressed with my steak either.

Today I gave Dangerously Delicious Pies a try for the first time as the food truck was nearby and the weather so nice it would have been shameful not to walk outside. I got the chicken pot pie, which was accompanied by mixed greens with balsamic dressing. Cost was $7.50. Not surprisingly, I had to reheat the pie in the microwave after walking back to the office. The filling practically spilled out of the crust: huge chunks of chicken, along with potatoes and peas, in a slightly sweet sauce (sorry, can't think of a better word!). The slice was generous to my eyes and it filled me up. My only quibble would be that if the chicken was chopped a bit smaller it might pick up more flavor, but they certainly didn't skimp on the quantity.

Anyone have anything new to report? I may be going there next weekend and I figure I'll keep my expectations low. Since I don't drink beer I'll be exploring either the wine list or how well they make mixed drinks.

Apparently the changeover is complete. I went to Tacqueria Nacional a few times over the years and found the food to be good although the portions seemed to be small. I'm sure I'll eventually try the new incarnation. Considering the location in the Hall of the States Building, John and Ann would be crazy not to have something in that space to serve the people who work in that building and are looking for a quick lunch (along with Senate types who are willing to walk a couple blocks). But I wonder if the weekday presence of food trucks along Mass. Ave. will have any impact on them.