DonRocks

I was also there the following week, and had a fabulous lobster risotto (on Galileo's regular menu, but available at the Osteria). Every time I have something like this (which isn't often), I wonder why I bother going to so many different places. And unlike so many other casual front-rooms in town, the wines will not break the bank. Like the bar at Taberna del Alabardero, people feel like they "shouldn't" come in here for lunch, or for a casual meal after work, because these are traditionally revered as special-occasion restaurants. But this is precisely the place where you want to come and unwind - an amazing value and a great addition to the Washington dining scene.

I dropped in on two, shall we say, Very Well Known wine personalities yesterday, and both of them said that Mr. Giliberti is a good person and a nice guy. If people here are going to criticize, it's imperative to criticize the work itself, and not the person behind it. With that in mind, the antenna coming from these two people are long and far-reaching, and there is apparently near-universal condemnation of both pieces, the second one having hurt the cause made by the first, resulting in a sort of "he still doesn't get it" reaction.

Tonight it began at the end, and ended at the beginning. And when it had ended, one question remained: At what point does the soul of the chef depart from the body, swept down into the green rush of current while struggling to look back over his shoulder, trying desperately to twist and turn and right himself and paddle upstream, seeing the rapidly fading party of skeletons behind him, sitting around the bar, smiling and laughing, clanking their glasses, not even knowing they’re at his funeral, not even knowing they’re mourning his loss, not even hearing over their own merriment the vanishing cries of the soul that is being swept away.

But restaurant wine pricing is distressingly high in the United States - you can often find a decent bottle of wine in a European bistro for $10-15, or a half-bottle for $5-8. The unfortunate truth is that domestic wines in the United States are generally not worth what they're sold for, and the multi-tiered import system makes imported wines almost as expensive. Certainly nothing but the best and most cutting-edge wine journalism from Frank Prial though, right?

I'll throw my hat into the ring for 15 ria. Jamie Leeds serves fine "Meat and Two" specials consisting of one meat (their choice) and two vegetables (your choice). There is also a $16 vegetable plate that consists of choosing five items from the side-order list, and this came up a strong winner tonight. Seasonal, organic, local vegetables, fixed up on an attractive plate in large portions - it's a pretty darned good plate of food. Highly recommended, in a down-home southern way. 15 ria is a restaurant where it pays not to stray too far from the obvious, and if you stick with these simple items, then you'll leave feeling satisfied both with the food and the money you spent. Cheers, Rocks.

Ringgg! Ringgg! "Hello?" "Rocks, what's up?" "Nothing, what's going on?" "We're meeting at Bistrot du Coin tonight." "What time?" "We'll be rolling in around 1." "I'll be in bed by 11." "Pussy!" "I can't do it, dude." "Pussy!" "I've got to get up in the morning." "Pussy!" "All right, I'll stop by for thirty minutes." "See you there." Keep your eye on this thread for what really happens when ... John and Derek go to White Castle.

[note: it would be perfectly appropriate for any restaurant professionals to chime in on this thread and mention any discounts they might have to offer]

Judging from what this "reporter" from Fox wrote, he simply got hold of the Washington Post piece, and culled what he thought would make good copy. It was lame.

I had dinner at L'Univers in 2003, and left thinking that it just barely merited its one-star rating from Michelin. The atmosphere is nice without being overly formal, but what came out on the plates was somewhat gutteral. I don't remember that much detail, but one meat plate in particular showed the worst side of garlic, both in terms of quantity and cooking quality. Again, this is only one meal, and it wasn't bad, but still really pushing it in terms of having a Michelin star. The surrounding areas of Nice have a lot of good restaurants (though only a few truly extraordinary ones), but Nice itself seems to be underrepresented in this arena. Cheers, Rocks.

Yes, though it has been going on three years. Based on my two experiences at both establishments, Black Olive's whole fish reminded me a lot of Al Tiramisu's near Dupont Circle: great fresh fish (last time at Black Olive I think I had Bronzini), that was overcooked and somewhat dried out, expensive, and maybe even a little boring. Their big hunks of spinach pie also came across to me as a little too homey, if that's possible - they'd be great for takeout, but for a sit-down app, it was rustic and enormous the one time I tried it (the second time, they "looked" the same in the display case, so I didn't order one). Don't get me wrong: despite the above paragraph, I enjoyed both of my meals at Black Olive and would return. It's a charming atmosphere in a great location, and I remember finding a reasonably priced Greek white wine on the list, but the fish isn't all that cheap, and it's only going to be as good as who's grilling it at that moment. My guess is that if it hits on a given night, it could be a really nice dining experience. Cheers, Rock(fi)s(h). P.S. Another place I've always sort of liked is Greek Taverna in downtown McLean. They sometimes have a lamb shoulder special in a lemon sauce with fried potatoes (mmmm), and it has been a great dish every time I've tried it (more so than when it's served with orzo in a tomato-based sauce, which to my palate lacks the citrus needed to cut through the fat of the lamb, but that's personal preference). P.P.S. I just found this thread on Simple Grilled Fish, Greek Style

I recently had lunch at Mykonos in Rockville, and thought it was okay, but just okay, although I know an older gentleman from Greece who swears by it. Have you considered heading up to Eastern Avenue in Baltimore?

A friend of mine had dinner at Bouchon two weeks ago (and said that he enjoyed his meal very much). One thing he had noticed on the menu was that they were featuring Farm-Raised Atlantic Salmon. Given that wild salmon is so plentiful on the west coast at the end of July, he was curious as to why they would be bringing in farm-raised salmon from the east coast. And so he asked the waiter about it, and when the waiter came back, he informed my friend that this is because they wanted a consistent product. Cheers, Rocks.

John, are you going to toast Julia Child this evening?

[Note: daSto (the thread, not the actual store) is closing early this afternoon in a moment of silence for Julia Child, and will reopen later this evening or tomorrow.] [Edit: daSto is back open for business.] Play nice, Rocks.

So at this point in the thread, we're faced with two things: 1) 8Track's accusation that Gillian is "Madonna sly" 2) Gillian's stirring "day-in-the-life" vignette Of course, if Gillian is so sly, her latest post is all part of her Evil Master Plan and we shouldn't fall for it anyway, right? Give me a break.

I used to be a Big Brother to a black American child whose family moved to San Diego. About a year after they moved, I flew out to visit them, and he was pumped that I was going to drive him and his family up to Los Angeles to go to The Spike Lee Store (which I remember as being annoyingly mainstream-commercial and overpriced). But on the same block, there was this hamburger place - and I'm not making this up - called something like "Mo Betta Meaty Meat." And it was good, too. So there is precedent! Rocks.

Hi chefvinod, and welcome to the forum. (I was a gnat's eyelash from having lunch at Bombay Bistro yesterday, but traffic diverted me toward Woodlands). Besides, with the giant prawns you serve at Indique, why are you even worried about lobster? But if you are, a certain sommelier has informed me that Citronelle is serving a new lobster dish: a whole tail, slow-roasted, with a gratin of knuckle and claw meat, and a lemon verbena sauce. I haven't had it, but you just know it's gonna be good. Cheers! Rocks.

With Friday just around the corner, could you talk about the Wine Happy Hour that you're featuring now at the restaurant?

[Postings removed about the wrong date per request of the group - sorry, very busy today and no time to contact individual posters] But remember, it's on the ... 7th! 7th! 7th! 7th! 7th! 7th! 7th! All I can say is, after the last two days I've had... this food had better be good. Otherwise, I'm leaving town on the first stagecoach. Cheers, Rocks.

There's actually a lot of truth to this statement. But you might as well buy Tom Sietsema's Dining Guide instead - one thing people fail to mention about Tom is how militantly attentive he is to detail in his work, and I have literally worn out the cover of last year's dining guide, keeping it in my car for not only his reviews, but also for phone numbers and hours of operation.

P.S. I've had people tell me that, try as they might, they cannot remember the name of this restaurant. Just think how easy it would be if you were dyslexic...

Think this thread's about to die down? Think again...

What is the funniest thing (kitchen incident, customer request, etc.) that has happened to you in your career?

John, one thing I've gleaned from you is how important you think it is to pay your respects to other chefs and restaurants in town - you seem to view it as a matter of honor as much as anything. Would you expand on this?