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A little more about Dino's Grotto and our campaign on Indiegogo

Out here is the "country" the co-owner of Fireworks, Patrick Dihn, opened Oak Stone Pizza in Winchester. It is a wonderful addition to the city. with of course great pizza, and surprisingly good wings. Hopefully its success with encourage other restaurateurs from NoVa to make their way out here.

"At Mimi, French Food is a Celebration of Appetite" by Pete Wells on nytimes.com Mar 8, 2016 - "Blood, Guts, and Glory at MIMI in Greenwich Village" by Zachary Feldman on villagevoice.com

The Confident Rabbit.

From what I've read here, this is coming from the owners of the Limerick Pub, Squire's Rock Creek Chop House is opening just across the street on Price Ave in Wheaton. The concept reminds me of Ferdinands. I don't expect a destination restaurant, but perhaps a local watering hole where family can gather? Will be interesting to see how it is priced as well.

Anyone been / have any opinions? (Their website is here.)

I'm taking my kids to NYC for a quick trip later this month. I think I've got our schedule roughly mapped out, making our meals my next step. I'm looking for any recommendations y'all can offer! I'll be with my 6 and 8 year old boys who are, on the whole well behaved and fairly adventurous eaters for their age but we won't be at Le Bernardin. 1. Sunday Brunch, either near our hotel in the Upper East Side or near One World Trade. I was thinking maybe Balthazar's. I used to love this spot in the late 90s/early '00s but 20 years later, is it still worth a stop or is my nostalgia getting the better of me? 2. Sunday dinner. No real restrictions in location here but I'd like somewhere with great food since its our only dinner. We may go see a show that night so perhaps somewhere near Central Park South? I don't want to eat in Times Square. 3. Monday morning Best NYC Bagels. The kids haven't really had bagels (other than Bodo's in Charlottesville) because we don't really eat them around here so I'd like to introduce them to a really great bagel. I greatly appreciate any recommendations! Many Thanks!!

After an absence of a few years, my wife and I found ourselves in our old Adams Morgan haunt on Saturday night. A few times around the block looking for parking, a conversation about whether this or that was gone or new, and a stop at Fleet Feet for running shoes, and we were ready for dinner. Between the snow and Valentine's Day, I suspect the opening of Roofers Union had escaped many peoples' attention, so we were able to get a last minute reservation despite it being Saturday night in Adams Morgan. First, a word on the space. It's beautiful. The second floor facade of floor-to-ceiling arched windows provides the best possible view of the bustle below on 18th Street. The room is wide open with a rustic chic feel nodding to the blue collar namesake of the restaurant. My wife thought that the roofers' jumpsuits hanging on one wall was a bit too literal a nod, but that's a minor complaint. The ceilings are high and the surfaces hard, so this is not a quiet room but that's excusable given the bar vibe of the restaurant. (One oddity: the two-top tables are too long, making conversation a bit difficult. As a consequence, the couple next to us were sitting at a right angle to each other rather than face-to-face. Again, not a major complaint, but these are not cozy, romantic tables.) As for the food, we enjoyed everything we tried (I'm going off of the menu that I found online, so some elements we actually had may have been different). This is not life-changing, transcendental food, but it is well-executed upscale comfort/bar food. We started with two "Snacks." First, deep-fried brussel sprout leaves with lemon and honey. These were very tasty, though primarily because anything deep fried is good. I didn't taste much lemon or honey, but I did taste lots of good oil. I thought they were a bit over-fried, but I could have eaten a lot of these. Then, we got the roasted cauliflower with mint and pine nuts. There was also a crumbled cheese in the mix--perhaps ricotta--that was not on the menu. Again, I'd say I mostly tasted the very good roasted cauliflower as opposed to the other elements of the dish, but that wasn't a bad thing. Roasted cauliflower is a great thing, and this is a fine rendition. We skipped over the "Stuffed" (i.e., house-made sausages) and "Stacked" (i.e., sandwiches) parts of the menu to get to the "Simple." Here, we opted for the beer-steamed mussels with andouille and chili served with a pretzel roll on the side. The mussels were fine, but I thought the broth was had a bit of a one-note chili character I like spicy food, and the level of spice was moderate but I didn't detect much andouille. Again, I was happy eating this, but it could be even better with a bit of tweaking. (The pretzel roll, on the other hand, should not be tweaked at all. It was great.) Finally, we tried the 1/2 brick chicken with smashed fingerling potatoes and arugula (there were also some roasted tomatoes on the plate, though I don't think they were listed on the menu). This was a very satisfying plate of food. The chicken was perfectly done with the nicely charred skin that one expects of chicken under a brick, and the potatoes were a terrific side. The greens were a bit over-wilted from sitting directly under the chicken, but again, I think that's something easily rectified. We closed the evening by splitting a sundae of vanilla ice cream with fudge and pretzel praline. What can I say? It was a good sundae, but I don't encounter t many sundaes I don't like. Unfortunately, their coffee/espresso machine is not yet installed because I sure would have loved a double espresso with that sundae. For drinks, we both had cocktails to start. I don't recall their names, but I had a rye based cocktail (loosely resembling a Manhattan) while my wife had a bourbon/fruit/soda concoction. Both were the creative, delicious concoctions that we've come to expect from the Ripple team. I also had a glass of sauvignon blanc with my dinner that was perfectly fine, if not perfectly memorable. Finally, service: the service was terrific, and it was clear a lot of effort went into training up the staff before the opening. If anything, the service was too good. Food arrived very quickly, more quickly than we frankly would have preferred. I suspect that service will reach an excellent equilibrium once everybody settles in a bit and exhales from the initial rush of opening. All in all, we concluded that this is a place we would definitely visit again, even if we won't necessarily go out of our way to deal with parking in Adams Morgan to eat here. If we still lived in Adams Morgan, I have no doubt that we would visit Roofers Union frequently. And perhaps that's what Roofers Union ultimately is: a very good neighborhood joint (one of the best in this particular neighborhood) that doesn't need to be anything more than that to be an excellent addition to the dining scene.

Hello, Not sure if this is even possible, but can anyone think of a centrally located brunch spot for a sunday brunch, able to handle a large crowd, hopefully not too expensive? And metro accessible? Will probably be about 20-25 of us, and this would be the first sunday of November (the 8th). Thanks! -daniel

Going there for a family dinner. I have never been there, but would like to know if anyone has any idea of what to order or if they do anything particularly well. I'll report back on our experience Sunday or Monday night. watch out for the wind this weekend.

Miguel's is a new restaurant from Michael Marx, former owner of Blue Agave and current owner of BBQ place Rub. I've been a couple times in the last few weeks, for both dinner and Sunday brunch. pics The menu is pretty diverse, and I like that it has an emphasis on stuff with mole sauces. I've had the Tacos El Pastor, the Carne asada empanadas, Queso Fundido with chorizo, Tostada de mariscos and the Jicama y Naranja salad. All yummy. I look forward to trying their Tostaditas de Chapulines with dried grasshoppers sometime. For brunch, my favorite was the Ibarra Masa pancakes, with chocolate, Ancho chile butter and Gran Gala orange Agave syrup It's nice to have this place within walking distance. Miguel's 1200 Stuart St. Baltimore, MD (443)438-3139

On the strong advice from a friend (and Pete Wells), we had lunch on Monday at Dirty French. One of the things I miss about living in NYC was how wonderfully empty the city was on long weekend holidays, and this Memorial Day was no different. We stayed in SoHo, and the neighborhood felt like a ghost town as we made the walk east to the LES. So for lunch at noon, we had the restaurant to ourselves. Our waitress was charmingly odd, recommending things not by saying "this is one of my favorites," but "Oh man, I totally want you guys to get this...it's just so cool," and then stopping by later to make sure we thought it was as cool as she did. She also wanted us to get a particular dessert just because she hadn't seen it before and heard it looked cool. Like I said, odd, but a little endearing. The grilled flatbread that comes out gratis with fromage blanc is addictive. It lasted about 90 seconds before we completely devoured it. The mushroom mille-feuille is as amazing as it was cracked up to be in Wells' review. The buttery mushrooms paired with a thick Thai green curry, crunchy snow peas, and lightly pickled red chiles and ramps. Go here and order this. (Paired nicely with a Loire rose.) A salad of kale with chèvre, fried sun choke chips, and pear was a refreshing counterpoint to the heaviness of the mille-feuille. A "banh mi" of foie gras and duck confit was totally ruined by being served on a thick, dense, sesame seeded roll. We ended up scraping out the innards, and leaving all the bread behind. We passed on dessert, planning to grab some gelato near the high line later, but the selections sounded promising.

With apologies if I've missed an already-established topic on this but what are members' favorite spots for Sunday Brunch between DC, MoCo and NoVa? Need to break out of a rut. Thank you!

Although I lived in the DC area for 2 years, it's been a few years since I've been back and I haven't kept up with local eateries much. Any suggestions for brunch sunday, hopefully not too expensive, for maybe 6-8 folks coming in from all over the area (so hopefully centrally located and easily metro accessible)? I know that's not much to go on, but I'm rather open to possibilities. Also we might be a party that will linger for awhile, so don't want a place that I'd feel rushed. Thanks! -Daniel Also, sunday morning I'll be coming in from a hotel near Dulles sans car, so hotel shuttle to Dulles-Washington Flyer-Silver Line, so probably meeting not too early, around 11ish.

The just opened restaurant, Vino Rosina, located in the Harbor East area of town is helmed by former Top Chef contestant Jesse Scandlin, formerly of Abacrombie. The concept is supposed to be a wine bar with tapas dishes. 507 S. Exeter (Bagby bldg) (410) 528-8600

Meeting an old friend for brunch on Sunday and I would like something nice where we can catch up. She loves French Toast - so I guess plan b is where have you had the best French Toast? Is Volt brunch worth it? Anything closer that would fit the bill?

Looking for suggestions for a place to meet on a Sunday for brunch or early lunch near the Archives Metro. thanks!

Bassett's sits at the corner of Fisher Ave (aka White's Ferry Road, aka Rte 107) and Elgin Rd (aka Rte 109) in the middle of the old part of Poolesville. If you've driven through there, it is at the intersection where the old town hall building appears to sit in the road. If you are coming from Virginia via White's Ferry, this will pretty much be the first business you'll pass on the Maryland side other than the ferry itself. The restaurant is in a building that looks like it might have been a house at one time. The front has a three-season porch that is inches from the road, making for some nice "watching the world go by" on a clear day. The decor is country casual, leaning toward hunt-clubby. The clientelle are many of the local horse folks, Poolesville residents and those out on bike rides. I've been a few times for dinner and I'd say it falls between Baugher's or Hershey's (nicer looking and better food than those) and Monocacy Crossing (not quite there). The menu combines some country dishes like fried chicken and calves liver with more adventurous fare like kabobs and turkey burgers. My recent visit was for brunch and despite feeling under the weather, the trip was well worth it. My wife got the Eggs Chesapeake ($18), made with crab cakes covering either side of an english muffin topped with poached eggs. This was fabulous - the cakes tasted bright and seasoned but not too heavily - which sometimes happens and overpowers the eggs. I enjoyed the Country Breakfast ($10) with the highlight being the sausage links. I tend to like strongly seasoned sausage, especially sage. This sausage had a really nice, mellow flavor that was well below my norm and surprisingly I loved it. My kids each got omeletes ($9) that were good values though I prefer my eggs a little less cooked. The iced tea was really, really fresh and the side potatoes were nice and oniony. Adult orders come with champagne/mimosa after 10am. Worth driving a long way to visit? Probably not on its own merit. But if you're taking a leisurely drive across the ferry from Virginia, or out Route 28 from Rockville, what a nice way to spend an hour or two in a town that seems much farther away than it really is.

I haven't actually been, but will tell you that Talula's Garden was high on my list based on their website and recommendations from others, but alas, the rest of the folks in my group wanted to eat hand drawn noodles.

I had dinner here yesterday evening, and I'm strongly initiating coverage of Chef Harper McClure's "The Federalist" in Italic in the DC Dining Guide (members only). I had a wonderful shaken traditional Gimlet, the restorative (if a touch salty) old-school Turtle Soup, and a simply lovely Stuffed Pork Chop with a glass of Côtes Du Rhône. There is fine, old-school work going on in this kitchen, with fully reduced sauces rooted solidly in French technique. A wonderful addition to our city's dining scene, both for a potentially vibrant bar area, and also for a romantic or business dinner. Well done, Chef McClure, well done. Cheers, Rocks

We were in Philly last night for the Popped festival, and for dinner we went to Cochon on the south side, a French style bistro. It's BYOB and cash only, but the food was pretty good. Pics here. For first courses, we had the sweetbreads with haricot verts and seared scallops with a frisee, lardons, asparagus and fingerling potato salad. We actually were hoping for the crispy chicken livers, but they ran out. For dinner, hands down, the best dish was pork shoulder over lentils dePuy and roasted brussel sprouts topped with a poached egg. The pork was incredible moist and juicy. The duck breast with white bean ragout and pomegranate gastrique was also good. For dessert, we a simple but solid creme brulee and chocolate cake. We got comped the dessert in trade for the 3 beers we did not drink from our six pack. Not bad.

We tried the newly opened Marvin, on 14th just off U Street. The restaurant serves Belgian cuisine and a few soup-inspired dishes (shrimp and grits), and is named in homage to Marvin Gaye - a huge mural of Marvin is painted on a main dining room wall. I have spent quite a bit of time in Holland and Belgium and the restaurant decor gives some of the feel of a traditional local place in either country(the hard driving rain on Friday night added to the Amsterdam and Belgium-like atmosphere). Full disclosure - we are friends with the owners. The menu included 5 different mussel dishes, several hearty entrees, salads, apps, and more. I had a butter lettuce salad and mussels in white wine with fennel and garlic. This is my favorite salad and it was well done - simple lettuce and a dressing with a nice vinegar bite. The mussels were quite good - very tender and not too large. The fries were served in a paper cone and were nicely crisp and served with curry mayo, wasabi mayo, and ketchup. I thought the wasabi mayo could have had a bit more kick, but it was good to have the 3 choices. My husband had a pork shank over green lentils - he said it tasted like a deconstructed erte soup, which is the traditional Dutch split pea soup, and was perfect for the dreary weather. The bread was a crusty baguette. I had a Delerium (bottle) because the Duvel was not yet available on tap. The beer list had the most commonly seen Belgian brews, and was rather a short list, especially compared to other places in town carrying Belgian beers. But, I would hope that the list will be expanded with time. I did not look at the wine list. A lounge is on the second level and a rooftop deck. We did not stay for dessert (but we should have since we ventured to Busboys and Poets for a less than mediocre dessert in an atmosphere that smelled like the day after a frat party. )