JennyUptown

5 Guys right BEFORE a dentist appt. Thankfully for your dentist you did not get the jalapenos!!! I brushed and flossed before heading over. But upon returning to my office...oh the stink!! It reeks of fried, greasy things in here. I feel sick from the smell. Now that I think about it though...the burger and fries were good, but maybe two steps above any of the area QSRs. It's not like when you go into a dive bar and are pleasantly surprised by the quality of their burger or anything. It was tasty but for $6.69 ($4.29 for the burger, $1.79 for a regular sized fry and tax) definitely not all that.

Sitting here at my desk, having my first Five Guys experience (wow, that sounds...dirty). I called ahead to order, kind of envisioning that it'd be sorta like Matchbox and that if I just showed up, there might be more of a wait than I could handle today. Clearly I did not do my due dilligence. Five Guys is, uh, more casual than I expected, but not in a bad way. Walking back with my burger and fries in a bag, I got a lot of looks. Probably because the grease was oozing from the bad at a remarkably fast pace. What I'm eating: The regular cheeseburger with cheese, mayo and ketchup cooked medium Cajun fries Lesson #1: I could have made do with a "mini" burger because what I thought, at first bite, was a loosely packed burger turned out to be two thin patties. I'm not saying I CAN'T or WON'T eat the whole thing. I might. Lesson #2: The "five guys" fries are simply salted. I got the cajun ones and like 'em just fine. They're a lot like you'd get on a boardwalk in that they're not skinny and are definitely a little greasy. Time to stuff it down as I have a dentist appointment shortly...

Slightly OT here: At Cornell I was friends with a guy from the Romano family (of Romano's Macaroni Grill). He was in the well-regarding School of Hotel & Restaurant Management. I wonder if he was there to learn how to bilk more suburbanites of their hard earned dough or to figure out how to break free and start his own quality establishment. We aren't in touch anymore (although I'm certain I could track him down easily) so I might just have to start googling to answer this very important question. Even more OT: I went to the Romano's in the Raleigh-Durham area...maybe eight years ago? I can't remember a thing about the food because I was too busy drinking most of one of their massive jugs of wine. It's a night that lives in infamy among my friends. I shall never be allowed to forget what I cannot remember.

I was in Bethesda for work today and had a really tasty late lunch with a client at the local Jaleo. I tried to break away from my usual dishes...but as usual, I sorta caved. Client had two seafood dishes which I did not taste (surprise, surprise): Salmon con pisco manchego Squid with caramelized onions She seemed to like both - they both disappeared by the end of our long lunch - but as she is not very familiar with Spanish food, I think she was a little disappointed by the lack of spice. We (the waiter and I, that is) tried to prepare her in advance, but I don't think it got across; she still seemed to expect the spice of, say, some Mexican dishes. Anyway... The asparagus with Catalan romesco is a common choice for me, and the client and I shared it. It was tasty as usual, but the spears weren't as firm as I would have liked. Instead of my usual chorizo skewer over garlic mashed, I had...the pork sausage with white beans (butifarra con 'mongretes'). OH. MY. The sausage is, ahem, large, shall we say, so when it arrived, my client (also female) and I giggled like embarassed schoolgirls. It was served atop a heaping helping of white beans with tons o' delicious garlic. The beans were like buttah, I swear. I'll be craving them for the next week or so (and perhaps smelling of them too I fear). For my other dish, I also tried a new twist on an old favorite. Instead of the patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce), I had the patatas con Cabrales (you guessed it: fried potatoes with a sauce of my favorite blue cheese). This dish is on the seasonal tapas menu so I'll have to go back before it disappears. Loved it. We each had one glass of sangria, but were too full for dessert (sorry, Steve!!). Total with tip: $52ish Oh, the service. We were among maybe five tables of customers scattered between the indoor and outdoor seating areas, so there was only one waitperson on duty when we arrived. Still, he was great, making adjustments on the fly when he realized that we weren't sharing most of the dishes (he had originally brought out the two seafood dishes first, intending to bring the rest as a second course). He was knowledgable and friendly, but mostly unobtrusive; in short, a real pro. As for the decor, I'm much more enamored with the Bethesda location than the downtown one (although the latter is typically more convenient). It receive tons of lovely natural light and the decor somehow seems fresher and cleaner. Tables aren't as tightly packed either.

Sorry - I wasn't clear. I am familiar with DC's offerings (and Monica's recent roundup in Washingtonian put it all in one convenient document for us DC types); I was just curious to hear what YOU thought of DC's Indian scene.

I feel like Tommy might know this...there's a great neighborhood bar on the west end of W4th that just happens to be a lesbian bar. It's relaxed, not divey but not swank either. Can't remember the name. It's not the bars on Hudson, but on one of the side streets.

Yum, speedies. Like a gyro, but Binghamton style. Growing up, we always had Lupo's when we visited my cousins in the area.

Wonderful blog, Mongo. I'm relatively new to Indian cuisines (first tried it in London in '97 and loved it at first bite) and I'm really enjoying learning new stuff. I remember my first trip to an Indian restaurant so fondly. There was a large group of us - probably 16, 18 or so - with a few Brits who knew their Indian food, me as the lone American, and a troupe of Slovenes who had also never had Indian. One intrepid soul called ahead and arranged for a family-style banquet to be served. We received a fantastic variety of dishes - veg, non-veg, curries, spicy dishes and less spicy. I must have had three variations on lamb and loved them all. Upon returning to NY, I couldn't wait to introduce my similarly unacquainted friends to Indian food. What are a few Indian restaurants you know and trust? Have you tried any of ours here in DC?

I for one am so glad for Rehoboth becoming known as a gay travel destination. If the town had stuck to its roots (Bible thumping families having revivals on the beach), we might have nothing to eat but Thrasher's french fries and Grotto pizza. I truly credit the much-more-upscale-than-most-of-the-visiting-families gay crowd for the influx of high-end dining and great shopping too. Just my 2c. Dear old Dad has adjusted for the most part (we've only been going there for a decade or so), but there are times when he still think he's being eyed up on the beach or flirted with by waiters. Bless his mid-60s, hairy chested heart...

My best wishes to you and Mrs. JPW - when I saw you guys, the Peanut was still, well, peanut-sized. How did your healthy snacks go over with the group? I know one couple thanked you, but did the rest of them indulge or turn up their noses. I think laziness is definitely a factor here. Good for you, though, taking such good care of yourselves! A fruit, granola and yogurt parfait might be nice too... hmm, that sounds good right about now.

Although the ice takes up space, I for one am glad about the ice. I like a cold bevvy, not room-temp water.

Double no way!!! Eww, that's just awful.

You're a wise man, DCMark. I knew I liked you.

Where's JRage? Mendocino does wine tastings, but alas...they are Thursdays I believe.

The more important question Jenny is Are YOU going to enter the contest? It sounds right down your alley! Riiiiiiight. How about never? Never ever.

They're still loud and proud in MD. I heard them as we drove to the Beltway this past weekend.

I wish I were closer. I called Matchbox for takeout and no one answered the phone after, like, fifteen rings so instead I'm having (blah!) Subway. It was too muggy out to consider walking elsewhere.

Matchbox has updated their web site. The full menu is available online now.

Wait...I'm confused. You cook dinner and then your husband eats while playing video games?

Nah, that's cool for now. I was just doing a little research at this point. Are there places to eat these days need Journal Square? It was still relatively scary when I stayed there.

Four pages of posts and the event hasn't even happened yet!!

Lupa's so good (I used to live about three blocks away). I'll always remember the bavette cacio & pepe as the ultimate in simple pasta. It sounds like nothing, but tastes like heaven.

So no bar menu at dinner? ARGH...

I haven't yet been out and I've heard 95% good things about Eve. No need to worry about me - I was just reporting. Loved your prompt response to the poster though.

And more: Galileo: Hi Tom, I just wanted to let you know that Roberto will be doing the grill thing again. He got so excited about the beautiful weather last week that he jumped out there and fired up the grill, but we weren't able to post a regular schedule for it. As you know he's a very busy man so the grilling will not take place every day, or at least not until he's trained one of his cooks to prepare everything just the way he likes it. We will have a schedule up on our site by next week. Also, Roberto will be calling you today if your schedule permits. It's hard to get you two near a phone at the same time!; Many thanks, Alysa from Galileo Tom Sietsema: And thank YOU for filling us in!