DonRocks

I'm actually surprised you guys don't know this, as it's pretty common knowledge in the wine world: the original owner of the vineyard had a strong affinity for Chateaubriand, and the name Chateau Haut-Brion is actually a pun on this. ... and if you believe this I have some swampland in Florida to sell you

You refer to Manolo, and he is one of the best, most conscientious bartenders in all of Washington. Mo from Cafe 701 is another bartender that seems to have born into the profession. There are many others that I could think of (and am thinking of), but these two are old-school in the absolute best sense of the term. Cheers, Rocks.

[Ah, ah, ah, he says, shaking his finger disapprovingly and with scorn... this will either need to be submitted as an eGullet Calendar Event, or if it's within seven days, to be posted on the ISO DC Dining Friends thread and organized via private mail. Sincerely, Luca Brazzi. ]

I actually just read Michael's comments in last week's chat for the first time. How anyone could take exception with his reservation protocol is beyond me - what is unfair about it? Nothing that I can see. Maybe he could offer two seatings only, like Inn at Little Washington? That's the only viable alternative that I could think of to what otherwise appears to be a perfectly equitable and reasonable seating policy. (Or perhaps he could have a no-reservations policy and accept a monthly payment from Guajillo for spillover traffic?) Cheers, Rocks.

[All comments about Tom's chat / Ray's from today have been moved into the "Tom Sietsema's Online Chat" thread. Cheers! Rocks.]

Mein Utz, oar per haps eye wood beam or rack you writ tin say ying, "Mein Utz sand Marc Snutz," aargh go wing tube bee inn gassed Rhone Nam Mick ex'd us see tomb mar roe, beek cuz whee r ho ping too win joy the Phil lip Pinots pring Rolles witch Ken bee oared herd fore rum ear pit Insat Cord uh Roy. C ewe their aft her work missed her neb burr gal? Phone net tick Lee KNOT lack king, Rox.

Kanishka, I wasn't going to comment on this because it hadn't been propagated into Corduroy's own thread here, but now that it has, I'm going to go ahead and address it. It is not fair to Corduroy that you published that piece, and then linked to it here for all to see. Based on what I've read, Corduroy has done nothing wrong, and does not deserve the negative attention you've drawn towards it. This piece, coupled with your recent "decline of Tom Sietsema" essay, appear to be overly enthusiastic exercises in misguided muckraking, a troubling tandem of turpitude attempting to ignite and explode a mote of noncombustible dust. (In Tom's 2003 Dining Guide - the book - do you know how many three-star restaurants there were in the area? Thirty.) I suspect your intentions were not harmful with either of these essays, but perhaps you should exercise some caution in the future before highlighting a non-issue such as what happened to Corduroy. Cheers, Rocks.

Because the consumer can get the exact same wine in a retail store for half the price that it is in most restaurants, and this is after factoring in the markups from the importer, supplier and distributor. Lots of people in-the-know grouse about markups by importers, suppliers and distributors, but since the average consumer's entry point to purchase wines is at the retail level, he won't be familiar with the interim markups taken by middlemen, and so he doesn't view them as evil profiteers. Cheers, Rocks.

Not that Total Wine is on the list of Best Wine Stores (it's the Crown Books of wine stores), but one will soon be opening in Annandale, in Pickett Shopping Center where the Zany Brainy used to be, saving local residents the odious schlep up Little River Turnpike to the Landmark store. Cheers, Rocks.

94, 95 (very acidic right now) 96 (except the Norheimer Kirschheck Spatlese which was inexplicably dilute), 97 (brilliant), 98 (need more time), 99 (a miracle), 01 (long-term classics), 02 (also brilliant). I'm not a huge fan of the 00s, not even the great Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese (the auction Oberhauser Brucke Spatlese somehow managed to overcome the problems of that vintage). Terry Theise swears up-and-down that the best 03s are going to be better than the best 59s, but I don't plan on being around to find out. The QbA Riesling used to come entirely from the Niederhauser Felsenberg vineyard, but is now blended with a second vineyard, the Oberhauser Kieselberg. This inexpensive gem is, in-and-of-itself, sufficient reason to believe in God. Cheers, Rocks.

There's nothing at all wrong with Nordstrom Cafe - it's one of the best-kept secrets in Tysons. Now, if you had said Rainforest Cafe, well, then you would have been skewered. And speaking of skewered, Joe H is right about Shamshiry (also about the delicious boneless chicken kabob at Moby Dick). [beavis] He said "dick," heh-heh-heh... heh-heh... heh-heh [/beavis]

Mike was so adept at laying cable that they hired him to circumnavigate the equator the day after a particularly heavy meal at Oceanaire. Here he is at the beginning of his 25,000-mile odyssey.

[careful...]

Certainly one of the best lapsus revelateurs I've come across recently: Robert Kacher is the local wine importer, and Alois Kracher is the Austrian wine producer, known for his over-the-top, cloying, heavyhanded TBAs. Coincidentally , both Kacher and Kracher are adored by Robert Parker. Anyone going to Mondovino on Friday?

Robert Weland is serving the best food around MCI Center right now, with the exception of Le Paradou (which is too far away (and expensive) to count) and maybe Indebleu (the jury is still out after only one full meal there). Suggested meal: the mussel appetizer is just about perfect, and the Boeuf Bourguignon is a lesson on the greatness of winter vegetables in the hands of someone who knows how to prepare them (the vegetables are also available as an outstanding $4 side dish - it's possible to eat very inexpensively here with a combination of apps and sides). Go to Poste and you'll be happy you did, Rocks.

One must hope that this information was conveyed by letter rather than telephone.

It is different, and in French there's even a different word for it: théine (pronounced TAY-een) as opposed to caféine. Santé, Roches Acides.

I'm actually pretty pumped about this place. Look! "and the great favorites of American fare such as grilled fish, chicken, pasta and a wide variety of sandwiches."

Nick, I just buzzed through this entire thread and haven't seen anything you wrote that would be considered rude, offensive or unprofessional - did you edit them before I got a chance to read the dirt? More importantly, what do you think of Kill Devil Roasters (available at Arrowine in Arlington, or mail order from Front Porch Cafe)? I guess I should split this thread into two soon, Rocks.

Joe was having trouble uploading images, and so here they are - it looks like an awesome meal, Joe! [Anyone else asking me to do this will be stabbed! ] -------------------- 1. Fanny Bay oyster on the shell with champagne shallot mignonette and American sturgeon caviar 2. Boccorone, micro greens, lemon viniagrette. 3. Ceviche de Jalisco, bigeye tuna, salsa de jalisco, key lime syrup. 4a. Grilled baby octopus, smoked tomato viniagrette, white bean hummus. 4b. Close up of dish 5. Black sesame rare organic salmon, carrot ginger soup, red shiso, corn shoots. 6. Monk cheeks with chorizo, saffron, tomato, garlic (photo did not turn out). 7. Moroccan mussels. 8. Hudson Valley Farms foie gras, three ways. 9. Lobster ravioli, sage butter, lambs lettuce, jamon de Serrano. 10. Nantucket bay scallop risotto with Pennsylvania black trumpets, first spring favas. 11. Braised beef short rib & pepper crusted bigeye tuna, caramelized shallot jus, marrow butter. 12. Key lime tequila soup with coconut sorbet and almond nougatine (photo didn't turn out as clearly as hoped). 13. Orange chocolate mousse bomb with Grand Marnier truffle and chocolate dipped naval orange.

I've discussed this very issue with John W before, and John has told me that he has a strong personal preference for the creamy French-styled risotto, rather than the firm Italian-styled risotto (which I tend to prefer if only for calories alone!) - the creaminess is a deliberate choice and not a flaw in execution. A great traditional risotto should always (always?) arrive al dente, and then continue cooking for a couple minutes as the first few bites are taken. It sounds like your orders might have escaped from the kitchen too undercooked (it's very hard to time risotto in a busy restaurant), but I'm certain that if you had told them about it, they would have happily replaced it for you although I understand it isn't always comfortable or convenient to do that when other entrees arrive at the same time. Cheers, Rocks.

Q: What do you get when you drink too much red Chardonnay? A: Peenot Clear.

Is this the same Jenny's that was in Waterside Mall? If so, then think: corn starchy hot-and-sour soup, nasty eggrolls, greasy beef lo mein, and cold egg foo young with brown gravy. Assuming Negril carryout is open that late, make a beeline there, getting an order of curried chicken, a dozen meatloaf patties (they freeze and toast famously if you flatten them a little bit before freezing and/or have a bagel-width toaster), an Inca Cola (actually, this sort-of tastes like bubble gum), and sit and scarf in your car trying not to dunk your tie in the Satanic Matouk's hot sauce that you just poured onto your food. Or, you could try the Empress Lounge at the Mandarin for a drink and a couple small plates. I'd say hit The Apple Of Eve, but that's, like, soooo 1980s. Rocks.

There was lots of pre-prep and transportation, many of the dishes being cold or needing only simple heating, and each restaurant having their own little table. Pretty much anything you could want was there: dips from Oyamel, empanadas from Ceiba, raw bar from Colvin Run, smoked salmon from Restaurant Eve, leek tarts from Citronelle, curried soup from Majestic Cafe, wonderful shortribs from Equinox, delicious cold veal from Galileo, superb sliced veal cheeks from Charlie Palmer, the terrific lychee-grappa panna cotta from Maestro, free-flowing wine. At one point, Cesare called out "the risotto is ready!" and stood by the huge pot spooning out his unearthly mushroom risotto. Even without the charity aspect, this event would have been worth it for $75, although I suspect most people gave a bit more than the minimum suggested donation. I guess I should add that it seemed distressingly uncrowded, probably due to the early dusting of snow and pre-6:30 parking situation, although I'm hopeful that it picked up after I left (parties tend to do that ).

The food was amazing, and the atmosphere intimate and welcoming. Ambassador Devinda Subasinghe of Sri Lanka was there, and Mark Furstenburg deserves special recognition for having organized this. The participating restaurants went to great time and expense to put on this event, and should all be rewarded with your future business. In particular, the following chefs who took time away from their businesses to actually attend the event should be recognized and applauded (in alphabetical order; please contact me and let me know who I'm forgetting so I can add them): Jose Andres - Minibar, Cafe Atlantico, Jaleo, Oyamel, Zaytinya Cathal Armstrong - Restaurant Eve Chandra - Spice Lanka Mark Furstenburg - Breadline Todd Gray - Equinox Ris Lacoste - 1789 Cesare Lanfranconi - Tosca Susan Lindebourg - Majestic Cafe Kazuhiro Okochi - Kaz Sushi Bistro Jim Swenson - National Press Club Jeff Tunks - DC Coast, Ceiba, Ten Penh Bryan Voltaggio - Charlie Palmer Robert Weidemeier - Marcel's Larry Work - Caucus Room, Sam & Harry's You know, charity events such as this have become almost obligatory for high-powered chefs to attend, but there was a palpable feeling of philanthropy and community last night, and I was genuinely moved by these great individuals having joined each other under one roof to support this noble and important cause. It matters, and it matters a lot. Rocks.