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Where Did I Dine? A Photograph-Based Guessing Game


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12 hours ago, reedm said:

Wanted to see people dogpile on the wine list. And go!

Some (most?) of these wines are sold by the "Gotham Project," which is an ambitious program to put wines in stainless steel tanks - they take fairly humble wines, and serve them on tap in large containers. This keeps the price down, eliminates corked bottles, and is a time-tested way to buy and dispense cheap wines in Europe, i.e., there's nothing wrong with it in theory - I've been to places in Europe where wines are sold in bulk out of barrels, and customers walk in with empty 1.5-liter water bottles, fill them, and pay ridiculously cheap prices for table wine. Often the wines are sold using generic names such as "Unoaked Chardonnay," "Oaked Chardonnay," "3-Year-Old Gigondas," etc. - this is a form of that, and the wines I've had using this method are simple, pleasant wines made to have with meals - I have no experience with these exact wines, but recognize them as being wines sold by the Gotham Project. If I were dining here, I'd use "variety" to drive my by-the-glass decision - if I wanted a Pinot Grigio, I'd get a Pinot Grigio, etc. If this project wants to succeed, they'll be selecting wines that are true to the grape varieties; not wines that someone would lay down big bucks for to age, and not even wines that care all that much about the nuances of terroir (that said, they *are* being sold with their place of origin listed).

For the producers, it's an *easy* way to sell *lots* of their wines without the hassle of the traditional bottling / distributor / wholesaler / retailer system.

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Hahahhahahha I was going to guess the Lil Man's favorite spot that you lament.  I did a quick google for potato tot cubes in Arlington and looked at the images and it came up.  I was going to guess this earlier, but the steak doesn't look half bad for them, how were those tots? (I could name names but once you know the backstory you should be able to guess.)

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1 hour ago, bookluvingbabe said:

Yes.  The 9 year old loves it.  I'm over it but the lure of the Thursday night TV dinner special wins out once in a while.

The steak was fine.  The tater tots were okay and were an upcharge over the french fries.  

Are those tater tots homemade and sheet-baked? I can't tell if they're really good or really gross - what are the rice-looking things, and what makes them so brown?

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44 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Are those tater tots homemade and sheet-baked? I can't tell if they're really good or really gross - what are the rice-looking things, and what makes them so brown?

I think those rice looking things are just minced potato.  Like pressed hash browns more than tater tots.  That said I have no idea where the picture was taken.

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11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Are those tater tots homemade and sheet-baked? I can't tell if they're really good or really gross - what are the rice-looking things, and what makes them so brown?

I think they are homemade and I don't know if they are baked or fried.  I think they "rice" the potatoes to make them and they lean closer to good than gross.  I should have subbed a green veggie of some sort but BL-4th grader had promised me the Brussel sprouts from his TV dinner (which were underdone and inedible) so I went with comfort food instead.  

If anyone is keeping track, the Downtown Crown area has 3 edible choices in my opinion. Chop't, Coastal Flats and Ted's Montana Grill.  The 9 year old would add La Madeline, Ted's Bulletin and Pour House.  

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1 hour ago, Al Dente said:

Wow. You are correct! Did the Dulles hint give it away?

For me, it was the hint, and my vivid memory of the last time I got a pizza there a while ago (which I did not find to be very good), thinking "this is nothing like the pizza that the original Generous George's used to make!"  I don't think I would have even made the guess, though, without the hint, since there are very few posts on here about places beyond Reston.

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1 hour ago, Al Dente said:

Wow. You are correct! Did the Dulles hint give it away?

30 minutes ago, JBag57 said:

For me, it was the hint, and my vivid memory of the last time I got a pizza there a while ago (which I did not find to be very good), thinking "this is nothing like the pizza that the original Generous George's used to make!"  I don't think I would have even made the guess, though, without the hint, since there are very few posts on here about places beyond Reston.

Bravo! That's a pretty awesome guess.

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On 9/7/2016 at 2:22 PM, Simon said:

Where did I dine?  This was in DC, to narrow it a bit...

FullSizeRender(1).jpg

Alas, I'm hearing crickets.  Probably too nondescript.  Here's a hint, in the form of the dish name/menu description: 

Birds Of A Feather…..Rolled Together     $13.95

Braised Chicken & Duck Cannelloni, Herbed Ricotta, Spinach, Sweet Corn Leeks & Parmesan Cheese

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2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I assure you that's one of the things throwing everyone off! This is clearly a mid-to-upscale Italian restaurant, and I'm wondering if that's a communal table, but it's not Centrolina.

I edited my post to add the descriptor "slightly chipped counter top."  And it's a counter with bar stools, not a communal table.  And I'd re-think your Italian assumption.

ETA: Don, you've sat at this counter before.  Maybe not recently, but it hasn't changed since you did.

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