Corduroy Dinner for DR.com Members

[Halloween]

Corduroy continues to blow me away, and i'll tell you why. The meal was wonderful, playful and creative, but I was really touched by Corduroy's obvious delight in taking care of us last night. It was clear that it was a special occasion for them, too. Rissa in that glamourous dress and her warm remarks about the dinner, the restaurant and how she's been at Corduroy since day 1. Pichon and Tom with their fresh haircuts (ok, maybe this was just a coincidence). Ferhat made cookies and Rissa prepared the lemon meringue (right?).

I had such a good time and so enjoyed the food, the company, and the Corduroyness of it all that I felt like I was at a dinner party at someone's home, not a restaurant, which might explain why our table (now described as the rowdy table ) had such a fabulous time!

Thank you, Corduroy!

And, thank you MDT, Hill Valley, Rocks, and everyone else who makes these events happen!

[cucas87]

Thank you MDT, Hillvalley, my lively tablemates and Corduroy. I had a lovely time. Last night was my first time at Corduroy, so I had to balance my mixed emotions of delight at the special menu and disappointment that I could not taste all of the dishes I've read so much about.

I appreciated the staggered service, but for whatever reason, our table seemed to receive inconsistent service. The night was still wonderful and I'm so happy to have gone, but it's a reminder that even a polished restaurant has its human moments.

I loved the wine pairings (especially the Riesling paired with the shrimp tartare) and I loved the progression of flavors in both the wines and food over the course of the evening. I was amazed by how much I enjoyed the pork cheek and venison and duck rillettes, and while I liked the concept of the squash tart, I ended up preferring the tart to the squash.

It was terrific to meet Rissa and hear from the Chef and speak with other of the restaurant's staff. Those moments added so much to the experience and made the night even more fun. I hope our appreciation came through. In any event, be forewarned, I will be going back to Corduroy and plan to work my way through the menu. As soon as I can eat again.

Edited March 2, 2006 by cucas87

[bookluvingbabe]

A quick posting from Wednesday night:

Wow!

Loved everything but dessert. As I said to Rissa as I was leaving, dessert for me means chocolate. I'll come back and have my kit kat bars one night and be perfectly happy.

The wine pairings worked very well and I was very impressed by the service.

Thanks to Tom P, Rissa, Ferhat , Tom B. et al for a wonderful evening.

And to MDT for taking the ball and organizing it!

Jennifer

[dcdavidm]

I certainly hope the Wednesday crowd had as good a time as we did on Tuesday. This was our first attendance at a function with the group and it was wonderful. Thank you, MDT, for setting it up and for the enjoyment of being at your engaging table.

The food was terrific (except for the squash tart, I am afraid) and exciting because it did not repeat the normal menu items. That said, the pork cheeks and the venison deserve an occasional appearance on the regular menu; they were unbelievably good--perfect textures; rich, elegant flavors, and pretty presentations.

The soup was a perfect excuse to clean the plate with a swatch of bread. The shrimp tartare was a refreshing bite of the sea. The mercedes with bergamont was a finely flavored cloud. The wine pairings were perfect. Chef, Rissa, and staff were gracious hosts.

We slept well that night....

[Sthitch]

Tonight was fabulous. Unlike the person who posted on the other thread, I would have to say that the service tonight was nothing short of spectacular. The sqaush dessert on the other hand was a miss. I really loved every thing else. As to the texture of the shrimp, that is the way that raw shrimp feel in your mouth, it is almost like glue. I am sure that I will post more in the morning, but now I must go to bed.

[DanielK]

Quote of the night on Wednesday, courtesy of Chef Power:

"I guess that, in a way, last night was the dry run for tonight..."

[DonRocks]

I feel like I'm staying up late to watch the election returns.

[mdt]

Here is a copy of the official menu.

DR_Corduroy_2006.pdf

And the winner of the Booby Prize, a copy of an old worn WP Express dated Jan 6-8, 2006 and signed* by none other than Rocks himself, was MeMc.

*This was done under extreme duress.

[mame11]

First, thank you to MDT for arranging the Corduroy tasting. Second, thank you to Chef Tom Power for challenging our taste buds with a range of flavors and textures. Third, to Rissa and the staff for taking care of us. Finally to my awesome tablemates thanks for a great evening of conversation and laughter.

To my shock and surprise (and likely will stun everyone who knows me in the real world) my favorite dish tonight was the venison. The meat was delicious. I can't describe it that well because I only recently began to eat meat after a 16 year absence. The chesnut souffle was a treat as I enjoyed a dish very similar to it in Italy a few years back.

Thanks!

[zoramargolis]

Quote of the night on Wednesday, courtesy of Chef Power:

"I guess that, in a way, last night was the dry run for tonight..."

It sounds as if he did the squash tart again wednesday. I thought he might do a different dessert after seeing how much of it was left on everyone's plate on tuesday night.

I loved the intriguing background note of anise in the unctuous duck rillettes--was it tarragon? Pernod? Chef revealed that it was star anise in the broth. Duck, foie gras, butter. What's not to like? I could have eaten a lot more of it. My bouche was majorly amused.

The celeriac soup with lobster carpaccio didn't have much celery root flavor, but who cared? It tasted like lobster and cream and was so smooth.

The shrimp tartare with Meyer lemon was a little flat. It needed more lemony tang. More acid would have changed the mouthfeel of the raw shrimp. And then it would have been ceviche, and I might have liked it a lot more.

The pork cheeks with egg noodle and black truffle was one of the best dishes I've had in years. The texture was just perfect. The flavor of the meat and the sauce was over the moon.

The venison was perfectly cooked too, tender, juicy and as flavorful as farmed venison loin can be. But after the pork cheeks, it was sort of anticlimactic. And dessert was disappointing. We were happy with "wine by the glass" and enjoyed our tablemates.

Ferhat was amazing, a dervish in constant motion. I asked him, kiddingly, at the end of the evening how many miles he thought he had done in the course of the meal. He told me that one night during Restaurant Week he wore a pedometer during dinner service, and he had done eight miles by the end of the night. I believe it. Everyone was welcoming and friendly, and kudos to Mike for doing a superlative job of organizing a terrific event.

[Skysplitter]

For me, this was a bit of a culinary adventure because 1- I don't usually eat shellfish, 2- I had never eaten venison before and 3- I don't like licorice.

The shrimp tartar I thought was pretty good. Keep in mind I've never had tartar in any way shape or form, but I was shocked I was eating shrimp. And not hating it!

For me, and I think our table, the star of the evening was the venison. The rock star dish even. The syrah sauce with the venison was an amazing combination, and the vegetables were welcome accompaniments (sp?)

As for the controversial dessert, well, not everyone likes licorice. I still don't. But I think I would have liked it alot sans the sauce. I liked the squash, I loved the ice cream. Nuff said.

The meringue dish was the Brazo de Mercedes and was outstanding. Very light, the strawberry slices and sauce were also light and everything came together nicely. I wanted more damnit!

But did Tuesday get the cookie plate? How could there be no comments on the cookies? Yay for cookies- candied lemon peel (I think), pistachio lace cookies and Ferhat's little cookies that had no name, but were made of some combo of flour, cornstarch, maybe sugar, and with a dusting of cocoa on top. Tasty.

Alright, clearly I need sleep. But it was a great night. Nice to finally meet some of the people behind the screen names.

[ctay122]

All I can say is I'm fulll!

Thank you mdt for all your hard work.

Thank you Rissa for being such a gracious hostess.

Thank you to the servers for your impecable service.

Thank you Chef for an amazing dinner.

Thank you tablemates (Pat, Barry and Steve) for your wonderful company.

Going to bed now, very content ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz......

Edited March 2, 2006 by ctay122

[Barbara]

Where to start?

MDT organized things to a T. Those name tags were a HOOT and only a real techie could have come up with them. (I could complain about the tendency to "shadow" the list of people, making it a little tough for those of us with aging eyes to see things quickly; however, I have no doubt he will learn that stuff in due time, Inshallah.)

It was only after I got home tonight and was able to read the comments from last night's group that I was aware of ANY service problems. I thought it a little bit peculiar that Rissa spent so much time (it seemed to me) briefing the staff prior to our dinner. Maybe she heard or spotted something last night. These people have PRIDE, let me tell ya.

Tonight's dinner only confirmed my belief that Tom Power has a real way with soups and sauces. For everyone who thoroughly enjoyed the venison with chestnut puree: I remembered having venison with two purees, one chestnut and one parsnip, at La Colline many years ago. Neither came close to what we had tonight. I don't know what was in it, besides chestnuts, but it was just gorgeous. Don't get me started on the pork cheeks. That kind of food almost makes one sorry to see winter come to a close.

I really could not eat another bite and was a little bit dismayed to find that there were cookies. Some made by Ferhat, some made by Rissa, and some made by Tom Power. I just made sure I got a doggie bag. I'll sample the cookies tomorrow.

Dave made it his business to tell me about the Tuesday night group who had a particularly good time celebrating Mardi Gras. I took names. (Just so I won't be left behind whenever said persons get together again!)

My only regret was not being able to spend time with the folks whose company I had enjoyed on previous occasions and not being able to get to know the "new" folk a bit better. Fortunately for all of us there will indeed be other get-togethers. Can't wait for the Spring picnic.

[rbh]

Had a great meal on Tuesday. It was good to start matching some names w/ faces and it was good to get to know biotech and Billy DeLion and their wives. Thanks to mdt for organizing everything; thanks to Chef Power and his staff for the outstanding meal and all the work that must have gone into it; thanks to Rissa and her staff for keeping everything in order and making sure everyone was happy.

The pork cheek was just so good.... it almost melts in your mouth, it was so tender. I liked the soup and was mopping up some of it w/ the bread. The shrimp was tasty - the only dish that made me think I should have gotten the wine tasting... a riesling would have gone real well with that dish. loved the venison also. I too thought the syrah sauce was great and was trying to douse every bite of venison or chestnut with it. In some ways, for dessert, I wanted chocolate, in others, after all the creations, I just wanted something simple. The cookies and the candied orange peel satisfied that quite nicely. mmmm, to have had a bowl of the ginger ice cream with the cookies to dip into it.

[Heather]

Big Thank you to mdt, Chef Power, Rissa, Ferhat, Tom, Kat, and the rest of the Corduroy staff whose names I don't know yet. I had a lovely time and ate a lot of delicious food. Even the dish I didn't care for (the shrimp, it's a mouthfeel thing) was interesting and paired perfectly with the wine. The pork cheeks with truffled pasta was over the top delicious, as was the soup. I liked the tart, and the Brazo de Mercedes.

We had no service issues at all. The wait between courses was longer than if we had ordered an individual dinner, but it was no big deal. Getting 50 people their dinner at roughly the same time is a big job. If I needed anything last night I asked for it.

[ctay122]

Had a great meal on Tuesday.  It was good to start matching some names w/ faces and it was good to get to know biotech and Billy DeLion and their wives.  Thanks to mdt for organizing everything; thanks to Chef Power and his staff for the outstanding meal and all the work that must have gone into it; thanks to Rissa and her staff for keeping everything in order and making sure everyone was happy. 

The pork cheek was just so good.... it almost melts in your mouth, it was so tender.  I liked the soup and was mopping up some of it w/ the bread.  The shrimp was tasty - the only dish that made me think I should have gotten the wine tasting... a riesling would have gone real well with that dish.  loved the venison also.  I too thought the syrah sauce was great and was trying to douse every bite of venison or chestnut with it.  In some ways, for dessert, I wanted chocolate, in others, after all the creations, I just wanted something simple.  The cookies and the candied orange peel satisfied that quite nicely.  mmmm, to have had a bowl of the ginger ice cream with the cookies to dip into it.

I didn't care for the shrimp (the texture thing) but it was served with a German Reisling (Donnhoff) and let me tell you, the wine was absolutely amazing with the shrimp! It tasted totally different than by itself. Somehow the shrimp brought out the sweetness in the wine, it was really one of my favorites.

Edited March 2, 2006 by ctay122

[Gastro888]

The meal was fantastic. I really enjoyed the egg noodles and the venison. And the soup and the tartare. Hmm. That would be almost everything! Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the desserts. I was disappointed by the desserts. I would've preferred any of his chocolate or apple desserts over the squash tart. Although, I must say the ginger ice cream and the ginger decoration on the tart were quite tasty.

I forgot to say thanks to all who were involved, especially mdt, Chef, Rissa and the staff at Corduroy.

Edited March 2, 2006 by Gastro888

[JPW]

This is a version of a note I sent to Rocks yesterday so that I wouldn't forget anything (edited for polite company).

Well the highlight was having a table of just myself and four beautiful ladies -- Mrs JPW, Gastro888, Gnatharobed, and butternut. Easily the luckiest guy in the room.

The duck rillette was a perfectly competent amuse. The vya was an excellent aperitif and I'm not a big vermouth fan.

First course -- Celeriac soup with lobster carpaccio -- Tom Power's soups, what more needs to be said? Although the lobster could have come through a little more for my taste. I enjoyed the Chassagne-Montrachet pairing.

Second -- Shrimp tartare -- More of a ceviche than anything, perfectly sauced with Meyer lemon. Easily the star of the night. Made even more so by the perfect matching with a Donnhoff Riesling. This is a great dish, add in the pairing and I think that it's world class.

Third -- Braised pork cheek -- another favorite of mine, but I'm also a sucker for braised anything. More beefy than anything I've ever tried off a pig. Nicely paired with a Corton Perrieres.

Fourth -- Venison loin -- I'm not a big venison fan, but this was superb. Perfectly cooked and not nearly as gamy as most venison. Came with a braised (?) brussel sprout, a nice chestnut puree, and a syrah based sauce. Granted I'm a Rhone addict, but I loved the 2002 St Joseph that this was paired with. Not as flabby as many 2002 Rhones, but still fruit powered. The lighter than average tannins further contributed to this being an excellent match.

Fifth -- tart with kobacha squash and ice cream -- a disappointment. The squash needed to be much more caramelized and cooked a little more. Oh well. The ice cream and tart were good. The botrytised riesling was a nice dessert drink.

Sixth -- Brazo de Mercedes -- an egg meringue type thing. Nice second dessert with a hint of nutmeg/cinnamon.

Service was excellent. Pacing was very good up until second dessert when attempting to set up coffee service caused a real drag.

Food was a nice value, but the wine pairing for what we got, especially since the pairings made a substantial contribution to at least two of the dishes, was a steal.

All in all, the meal showed that Corduroy is to my mind the best restaurant in its price range in the area and why we spend the largest part of our entertainment budget here. I'd even put it up against anything in the next price range (thinking Vidalia, 1789, or Kinkaed's).

Now I just need someone to explain to me what I heard as "19, under 100, with boobs" means. I might have heard wrong as my ears are still ringing.

[mdt]

For those of us there on Tuesday night, Rissa forgot to announce that there was one dish on the menu that was an experimental dish. That is right, it was the squash tart. While it was not my favorite dessert, I am glad that he took the risk. I am glad that he and his staff had fun putting the dinner together.

It is really hard to pick my one or two favorite dishes, but if I had to it was the venison and the shrimp tartare. I agree that the shrimp with the wine pairing was spectacular.

The decorations on the tart were kabocha squash chips and in talking to Tom each plate of pork cheeks was one pig!

[Gastro888]

The decorations on the tart were kabocha squash chips and in talking to Tom each plate of pork cheeks was one pig!

Really? They were kabocha squash chips? Wow, very neat. We were wondering what they were - I thought it might be young ginger. Did Chef put some ginger on the chips prior to cooking them? Or were my sleepy tastebuds misleading me?

Actually, if Chef did the ginger ice cream with the (lots and lots of) kabocha squash chips as a dessert, I know JPW and I would be happy campers.

[JPW]

Actually, if Chef did the ginger ice cream with the (lots and lots of) kabocha squash chips as a dessert, I know JPW and I would be happy campers.

Indeed.

Or, I was just thinking that they'd make a great bar snack to go along with a Smithwick's (or two)

[qwertyy]

I am SO disappointed that I missed this... a cracked rib has had me confined to the couch for the last week and codeine made me space what day it was.

But a big thanks to David for being so cool and understanding when I called. On short notice I expected to have to just write off the cost, but he gave me a full refund and some nice sympathy. I will definitely plan a visit once my brittle bones allow!

[collije]

Had an great time last night at Corduroy.

Rissa, & the rest of the staff were excellent as usual. As for the food, I echo many of the earlier comments that the soup [Tom's soups are excellent] & cheeks in particular were great. I didn't setup to do the wine pairing, but added that option for a charge as soon as we sat down [the pairing really complemented the dishes well]. Not as in love with the desserts [they were just OK to me, rather have had the chocolate or apple desserts]

Thanks to mdt & Hill Valley for coordinating this. Glad to meet a number of the DR folks at my first dinner event with you guys. Will be attending more

[porcupine]

If one more opinion counts for anything: I liked the squash tart. And why not? We eat sweetened pumpkin all the time, don't we? It was different and interesting (okay, the veg could've been a bit more tender). It wasn't overly sweet. The ginger ice cream was a nice complement. I never even noticed the licorice flavor, which is odd because I hate licoricce and therefore expected to hate the dessert. Props to chef for being willing to experiment like that. I'd order it again.

[jm chen]

Kudos and thanks to all involved for a wonderful evening. The delicious pork cheeks and the delightful company were both highlights.

And now, thanks to my raffle luck, when I toast "To Rocks" in my own home, I can do it with rock-shaped ice!

[Camille-Beau]

Excellent job by all! Chef, Rissa, Ferhat -- I think we all know how difficult it is for a restaurant to prepare and serve a dinner of this type to a large group of people so thanks for offering these two evenings for dr.com. You guys were great. Loved the food & wine and loved the company (sthitch and ctay122+1, thanks for sharing a table with us. You guys were a lot of fun )

MDT -- Thanks!!

[mdt]

And now, thanks to my raffle luck, when I toast "To Rocks" in my own home, I can do it with rock-shaped ice!

Here are the "On the Rocks" ice trays...

Click

And for those that did not attend, I decided to have a little fun and 'raffle' off a couple of fun items.

Edited March 2, 2006 by mdt

[ustreetguy]

So what tickled me last night?

1) Tasting the dishes that definitely had the “Power” style yet were composed of ingredients I’ve never seen used at Corduroy.

2) Watching the person at our table who hates shellfish chow down every piece of raw shrimp in the tartare and the other person at our table who had just started eating meat again proclaim the rare venison the best dish ever.

3) A talented staff that performed flawlessly

4) mdt’s continual insistence that it pained Rocks to autograph the photo of himself in the Express

5) A laid back and casual table that was there to have fun! Who knew conversation would go from food to Oscar predictions to documentaries to travel wish lists to favorite contestant on Project Runway?

[clayrae]

Just chiming in with my many thanks to all who helped pull off this wonderful dinner.

I will echo the raves for the food and service, (the soup and cheeks being favorites, and the squash, well, not so much). And the company at the table, gary, noah, marni, grace, and debra was great.

Thank you all for a fabulous night of food and conversation!

Where are we going next?!

[Demvtr]

I wish to thank all of the management and staff at Corduroy as well as hillvalley, Barbara, and mdt (who went out of his way on my behalf). I specifically want to thank Chef Power for being flexible with my dinner and substituting chicken for the pork course and seared rare pepper-encrusted tuna for the venison course. (I don't dig on ungulates.) The tuna, in particular, was perfectly prepared: far more tender than chewy and brought alive by the assertive pepper crust.

Memorable food and great company. It was a pleasure.

[Cooter]

Thanks to all who put this together!

I have to say that I'm surprised that so many people are writing that they liked the shrimp tartar. At our table last night, it fared worse than the squash tart. For the four of us, the comments on the taste ranged from to . Absolutely no one was a fan of the texture. On the other hand, I thought that the squash dessert was ok. While no one else at our table besides myself thought it was ok, we all agreed that it would be better if the tart was half the size and the amount of ice cream remained the same. Perhaps pureeing the squash like a sweet potato pie would have worked? I think that everyone enjoyed the ginger ice cream.

I think that everyone also agreed that the pork cheeks were to die for, as was the venison with the accompanying chestnut puree.

Overall a great meal. Even though some dishes didn't work, IMHO, I welcome the challenge of trying new and different things. Thanks, again, to Rissa, Chef Power, mdt, hillvalley, Don and anyone else I may have forgotten.

[Demvtr]

The shrimp dish was not universally well-received at my table (though it was not as polarizing as the squash tart). Not only am I in the camp of those who liked the shrimp tartare, I can honestly say that it may have been the best shrimp preparation I have ever had. I have never tasted anything comparable, with the caveat that I am usually ambivalent about shrimp, and never bother ordering it for myself at restaurants.

The only thought I had about it as a course was that Chef Power may be better off slightly reducing the portion size. I found the dish to be rather rich and, separately, the unique flavor became overwhelming as I got to my last one or two forkfuls. The dish might also benefit from something else on the plate to offset the sweetness and richness. Pickled ginger, perhaps?

[bookluvingbabe]

My table was mixed on the shrimp. I thought it was too lemony. Jason (DCFoodie) said he didn't find it lemony at all.

The pork cheeks were the hit of the evening for me and a marked improvement over the already fine beef cheeks.

The squash tart didn't work for me but it might have had it had been sweeter, more pureed, more pumpkin-esque.

Jennifer

[Nadya]

If you haven't nibbled on the PowerSquashTart out of the best kittybag in the world on your long, lonely drive home after the midnight shift, scattering buttery crumbs and drops of cream on your lap and seat and NOT CARING;

If you haven't indulged in long, slowly, leisurely perfectly constructed forkfuls of bite-size venison pieces topped with a smidge of chestnut puree topped with a few drops of gravy, all savored under the baleful stares of your co-workers consumed with Lean Quisine envy;

Well then, my darlings, you haven't lived at all.

And thanks to everyone - you know who you are.

[MeMc]

I'm so framing my Rocks-signed Express and hanging over the door in my classroom.

[agm]

I don't like shrimp - I simply have never cared for the taste. I also dislike tartare - I like fire, and think it should be applied to food whenever possible. Texture is a major problem with tartare, flavor is also usually questionable. So, I should have hated this dish. But I didn't. I'm not sure if I actually enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I didn't. It was by far the best shrimp dish, as well as the best tartare, I can recall having.

A smaller portion size would have helped. Both flavor and texture were too strong for the large portion, and I stopped eating halfway through. Making a ceviche out of it would probably alter both taste and texture enough to make it the first shrimp dish I actually like.

As for the rest, the duck rilette was very tasty but nothing special. I'd happily make a light, casual meal of it, but it didn't stand up to what followed. The soup had me reaching for bread to soak up the last drops. The pork cheek was exquisite; the venison confirmed that I do indeed love the stuff (2941 started me on the path to venison fandom, after years of disliking what I had always found to be an overly gamey meat). The chestnut puree was good on its own, and with a touch of the syrah sauce was transformed into something special. Simply wonderful.

The squash tart was a close call. I would have preferred the squash itself to be softer, more thoroughly cooked; sweeter would have helped as well. Pumpkin in the place of squash might have worked better for me. More ice cream or less tart would have improved it, and I enjoyed the licorice sauce but didn't taste the licorice (I consider that a good thing). I did eat all of it, but would not order it unless changes were made.

The brazo de mercedes brought back memories of brazo gitano, which I had many times as a kid but not for at least 20 years, but was a much lighter variation.

[RissaP]

Mi Casa Es Su Casa—is how we like to treat our guests at Corduroy! It was actually fun breaking our usual routine. Great to meet new and old folks again!

A very sincere THANK YOU to mdt and Hillvalley for organizing and carefully planning this dinner with us and especially to Don Rockwell for making it possible for us to host a special and unusual 2-day DR Dinner. I’m glad almost everyone’s palate was challenged! We wanted to express our appreciation by showering back “The Love” (as Barbara, ScotteeM, crackers, Crescentfresh, logancircle and others have put it in the past) by adding some interesting treats at the dinner. Ferhat is now taking orders for those Turkish cookies! We hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. The entire staff was most enthusiastic about it all! Indeed the pleasure was ours.

Everyone toasted “To Rocks!” both nights.

The beat up WP Express with Don’s signature used for the raffle was hilarious and such a surprise! Congratulations MeMC!

[Tweaked]

So two of the booby prize winners were sitting at MDT's table....In fact directly to his left and right...I smell a fix...worst than the 1919 Black Sox Scandal if you ask me. I want a refund!

[DameEdna]

After the dinner on Wed. night ...

mdt --- glad to see the finish line.

Barbara --- really needs a drink.

Rissa and Chef Power --- still smiling!

Thank you, everyone.

[beerman]

Thanks to Chef Power, Rissa, Ferhat, and the staff at Corduroy for a wonderful meal and an enjoyable dining experience. The pork cheeks were outstanding and should make it to the menu. The soup was wonderful, and unlike others at my table, I resisted breaking off a piece of bread to 'clean' the remains from my bowl. Something that has not been mentioned was the tuna. A guest at the table did not eat red meat and was served tuna. It was so good she shared! (Why I still don't know) It was so simple that it was great. As for the dessert, I thought it was very good. The squash was not sweet by design and I thought it had the right texture to go with the ginger ice cream. The pastry was moist and flavorful. The only problem was that I was full and could not finish it.

[hillvalley]

mdt --- glad to see the finish line.

I don't know how mdt is feeling right now, but the next couple of days after an event always feel very strange. My brain is looking for the dr.com related stress (good stress, but still stress) and can't find it anywhere. I have too much free time at work and don't know what to do when I first get home at the end of the day.

[DanielK]

The soup was wonderful, and unlike others at my table, I resisted breaking off a piece of bread to 'clean' the remains from my bowl. 

I don't know how it worked at other tables, but I think they refilled the bread basket at my 6-top at least 3 or 4 times during the meal. Besides the 1 or 2 pieces we had at the beginning as a nosh, several of the dishes we were later served required using the bread to clean the plate. The guys washing dishes definitely had an easier time with the stuff cleared from our table...

[LoganCircle]

Rissa mentioned at the DR.com dinner that the Corduroy website was near completion. Dunno if it's finalized, but at long last..

www.corduroydc.com

[David M.]

Rissa mentioned at the DR.com dinner that the Corduroy website was near completion. Dunno if it's finalized, but at long last..

www.corduroydc.com

I like it. It reminds of the the restaurant - no gimmicks; just simple and elegant (if that can every really describe a web site). And it will make my task of persuading reluctant family/friends to give Corduroy a try a lot easier. On several occasions, I have warmly recommended Chef Power's place, but was met with blank faces. Now, I can point them to the menu, which should make it an easier sell.