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liamdc

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Posts posted by liamdc

  1. Our anniversary is next month and we had plans to go up to Philly, but it looks like we would rather stay around here. We are considering Hay-Adams, but I remember somebody mentioning a historic Inn somewhere in Virginia (not Inn at Little Washington) that sounded perfect. I just can't find the thread that had that post.

    Would somebody help and share some suggestions/experiences so I can suprise my wife and make our 1st anniversary a memorable and romantic one? I would like to make it under $400 for meal and room. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

    If you're still looking for an inn with a very good restaurant, check out The Inn at Easton (Maryland)

  2. I am addicted to Diet Sierra Mist. Is there any grocery store around here that has it???

    Georgetown Safeway had it last night.

    Anyone know where I can find a 20-pound tub of sasspirilla and 12-count packages of pre-wrapped dried mutton strips? Damn, I got quite the hankerin'... and Safeway just ain't gettin' the job done. :raz:

  3. Ocean Avenue Seafood in Santa Monica, CA has a nice selection of half bottles. My girlfriend and I recently enjoyed a half bottle of the 2001 Rafanelli Zinfandel there. Wonderful.

    Ocean Ave. features a terrific happy hour deal, 7 days a week: 6 different oysters and a flight of 3 oyster white wines for $8.95.

  4. I enjoyed a very pleasant lunch at Zola today. I had the Wild Mushroom Sticky Rice “Risotto” w/ tomatoes, garlic, mascarpone and lemon-basil tempura oyster mushrooms, along with a glass of the 2003 Fox Creek Verdelho from Australia.

    My colleague had the Pan Seared North Atlantic Salmon with creamy ruby chard, roasted butternut, saffron and pickled ramps, with a glass of the 2003 Duck Pond Pinot Gris from Oregon.

    It was the first time I had eaten there in a year or more. Service was prompt and courteous. Entrees were relatively reasonable, $13 and $16 respectively. The risotto was rich and delicious. The piece of salmon I had was fantastic--very fresh and flavorful.

    http://www.zoladc.com

    http://www.heatherfreeman.com/webpage/zola/zola.html

  5. Was that snarling Dennis Miller lookalike working behind the bar? He has been there the last couple of Saturday's I've been, and I suspect he wouldn't care much about wine pairings. That said, I'm not sure a Chardonnay of any type would be a wise selection with this cuisine ... well, maybe a chilled Blanc de Blancs Champagne with a Saag Aloo, or even a Grappa (yes, there's Chardonnay-based Grappa) to neutralize the heat of the Lamb Vindaloo?

    But I've always been happy with those sneaky-strong tamarind torpedos.

    On the,

    Rocks.

    No Dennis Miller lookalike this time - unless he was in drag and shaved his facial hair. :wacko:

    I agree about those tamarind torpedoes. Ready? Aim. Fire! Seemed to work for sara. The Covey Run gewurzt was a nice match w/ the calamari appetizer as well.

  6. LiamDC and I had a very nice dinner at Indique last night (my first time there, not his). We arrived early, at 6, but still couldn't get a table in the dining room , so we sat in the bar area instead--which was actually quite nice, since it was light out and they have big windows and a view of the street. I had a tamarind margarita (ok, I had two), which was wonderful-- very cool and different from a typical marg, and soothing with my hot food; and Liam had a glass of Covey Run gewurtz followed by a glass of spanish wine that was just mediocre.

    We started with the calamari, which was really terrific, nicely cooked little pieces of baby squid in chilis, and the salmon cakes, which were only ok. For my entree, I had the lamb vindaloo, which I asked for extra hot (and boy did they follow directions--it was kickin!), and Liam had the shrimp curry. Both came with lentils and rice, and we had plenty of nan on the side. I eat a lot of vindaloo (usually chicken tho), and this dish was particularly good, and particularly hot. Yum!

    Now for our amusing moment of the evening-- towards the end of dinner, a new couple was seated next to us (and the tables are close together in the bar area, making for great eavesdropping), and when the server approached and asked for their drink order, the woman (approx 45 yrs old) responded "I'll have a glass of chardonnay." Ok, we both contained our laughter, wine snobs that we are, but busted up as soon as we exited the building. "A glass of chardonnay"??? Any glass? That's like saying "I'll have an entree" or "I'll have a soft drink." Is it too hard to open the wine list (which is ONLY two pages long) and pick something, or ask for a recommendation? Does she care so little about what she imbibes?

    Anyways, don't mean to be harsh, but when I think back to this, our first evening at Indique, that drink order is what I'll remember. Ok, that and then our subsequent fabulous 6 hrs at Atomic Billiards, where I received the pool-shooting lesson of my life from an elderly former air-force captain. And then that lamb vindaloo and those margaritas. Yeah, I'll be back. :raz:

    Being at the table with sara, I must admit that I found the whole chardonnay incident humorous. Perhaps it was the slightly snobbish tone in which said "glass of chardonnay" was ordered. Perhaps it was the 2 glasses of wine I'd consumed, I don't know. But Jenny, I don't think we were laughing at someone for being uninformed, but simply reacting to the context of the situation.

    I agree with bbq that often a customer will not care and simply go with the house wine. But I do find it interesting that many of the same folks who will walk into a restaurant and order something like "white" or "chardonnay" would never walk in and order just a "beer" or an "stout". Just one of those Seinfeldian observations, I guess. :raz: At Indique, there is no house chardonnay per se, but a number of choices. While I would hope that every customer would peruse the selections and perhaps ask the server for recommendations, I realize that some don't want to and that a list itself often does not help the customer make a decision. At that point, I guess the ball is in the server's court. Does he/she make a recommendation? Leave it up to the bartender? give the customer whatever is opened? give the customer the cheapest one? give the customer the most expensive one to pad the bill? I honestly don't know what occurs in these situations.

    Putting wine aside, however, the dinner at Indique was excellent. Sara’s review captured our experience. It was my 4th trip, and I'll be going back again.

  7. I give up, WTF is "bubble tea"?

    Good to know LiamDC isn't the only one until recently unaware of bubble tea--guess this, like many things, has come late to DC. (He tried it in LA with me recently).

    Hmmm. :blink:

    And I thought bubble tea was created by blowing through a straw. I stained way too many white shirts with that approach, let me tell ya. :raz:

    What I had in LA was OK. I didn't love it, but I'd try it again. Next time I'm around Metro Center, I'll look for the mysterious bubble tea place.

  8. Also, for haute barfood, you can't beat Johnny's Halfshell which I imagine was the inspiration for Palena's offering a top notch hotdog in a linen tablecloth-type setting (I know, I know, neither of them have linen tablecloths but you get the drift).

    Johnny's rocks! (Not to be confused with Johnny Rockets). :unsure:

  9. But not until I've tried the Flying Scotsman first.

    I went to the Flying Scotsman last Thursday after work. Despite the fact that My Brothers' Place next door was bristling with business, this delightful pub was near empty. Whadda those government bureaucrats know anyway???

    The woman tending bar was very nice with a delightfully thick Scottish accent. The bar serves food, including some really yummy Scotch eggs that my friend had. Their fries were perfectly good as well. It has about 8 beers on tap, including a house amber which was very good, and a good selection of scotches.

    233 2nd Street NW

    Edited to include web site

  10. My eGulleteer girlfriend, another eGullet friend, and I will be touring the Santa Ynez Valley one Saturday in mid-April. We're looking for a nice dinner spot somewhere between Los Olivos and Santa Barbara.

    Based on a review of past recommendations, is there any reason to consider places other than the Wine Cask in SB or Brothers in Los Olivos? Both sound wonderful. Any thoughts?

    [edited addition] What are the best sushi places in SB County?

  11. I think we may stay in La Jolla one evening on our way back up to L.A. to take advantage of what it has to offer. Any other La Jolla recommendations would also be appeciated, in addition to LAX recommendations for sara.

    Thanks for the recommendations so far!

  12. The DC boyfriend speaks:

    As we won't have access to a car while staying in town, we are also looking for a few places to have a nice dinner in the downtown area/Gaslight District. We'd also consider heading to a "must visit" type of place as long as it is accessible by cab and not too far away. (Do you all have cabs in San Diego?!?!) :shock:

    A few interesting places I've read about in earlier San Diego eGullet postings: Bacchus Wine Market/Tasting Room, Blue Point, Chive, Prado, Taka. Comments on any of those? Worth a visit?

    And--has Cafe W recovered from its fire?

    Thanks in advance!

  13. Just back from trip.

    We ended up eating at Trattoria Delia- A great wine bar and the food was unusual Italian and delicious.

    Went to Single Pebble at 5 and lucked out with a 7:15 reservation. The best chinese food I ever had. Garlic eggplant and chicken dumplings were superb.

    Glad you enjoyed Trattoria Delia. Thanks for the report on Single Pebble--I'll have to visit when I'm in Vermont in May.

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