mighty quinn

mediterranean cafe is about a 5min detour off the beltway - take 395 north like you're going into d.c. but exit duke street in alexandria-take duke street east to pickett street and turn right. this store is in a strip mall (surprise) with a home depot-it will be on your left about 2 blocks up pickett. it's an international food store with a middle eastern flair-you can get a pretty good gyro on homemade pita bread. great assortment of baklava, olives, condiments, teas and coffees. i'm driving back to richmond today from penna and i'll make a point of stopping there to stock up on feta and yogurt. good luck!

didn't realize this thread was already in progress... have been to 6 burner-had a ceasar-type salad and the romaine hearts were kind of brown around the edges. braised pork cheeks were pretty tasty, if not a little heavy on the glaze. the side was roasted asparagus-done nicely. i can't quite put my finger on it, but it seems that the menu/ wine list didn't quite add up to the fan location- when i was there it almost seemed like a student hangout. julep's- nice atmosphere. i had a southern-style boulliabaise (sorry about my spelling) heavy on the saffron and the scallops were cooked into the next century. however, my beau had rack of venison- VERY TASTY!! wish i had ordered this. the meal was served with an amuse bouche-nice touch but it was some kind of cold mango soup and it didn't particularly mesh. kitchen table- i really liked this place and i'm looking forward to going back for dinner. had sunday brunch-crabmeat quiche, lobster bisque and champagne. all good and the restaurant space is really asian-cool. the chef/owner, Sosie, told me that they're expanding the dining room and from the looks of business they need to. hill cafe-has become my second home. blue plate specials before 6pm. had a good center cut pork chop with mac n cheese the other day. they were good about substituting collard greens for fries with a burger. yummy!! kept my jacket for me when i left it there after the basketball game. good real estate advice from the bartenders. what more can you ask for? i've heard that acapella in church hill is good any thoughts? and please, wegmans or freshfields or harris teeter take over the market in church hill if it indeed closes. the "u" is ridiculous AND DRY!!!!

download the map for the area and go to as many as possible! pearmund is closest to the d.c. area and one of the best so i'd make this a first stop. veritas is my fav in the charlottesville area. don't expect a drop of anything if you get to barboursville at 1655- they adhere to the abc laws like crazy. i think that the smaller vineyards are nicer- a personal touch, wine after closing time, and some cool stories about virginia wine.

my mom served all those veggies from the frozen form and i fed them to the dog under the table. i thought that pickled beets were from another planet and wouldn't touch them. strange now how i seem to have cravings for limas or peas smothered in butter, salt and pepper. brussel sprouts took a bit more time- now i love to buy them on the stalk and eat them steamed with lemon. and pickled beets- i go to pennsylvania in the late summer to put them up with my best girlfriend. my reward is usually a few jars, but this year she gave my a mandolin for christmas. is that a hint or what!

i'm the youngest of 8 and my mom didn't know how to boil water when she got married-this made for some kitchen disasters and a pretty repetitive menu. once she tried to pawn off fried eggplant as veal parmesan ("mom, i know that veal is a cow and doesn't have seeds!") we had mac and cheese with stewed tomatoes and zucchini every friday for supper- to this day i can't deal with stewed tomatoes!! the worst, though, was the time she burnt beef and rice soup- mom was going through a very difficult menopausal spell- she insisted that we shut up and eat it anyway! (to this day she vehemently denies this legend but we all know it's true) strangely enough, we all grew up to be pretty good cooks in our own right and quite competitive in the kitchen and we count in our ranks a former restaurant owner and a butcher. we all love to eat!!

Personally I think the Rheingaus are the hardest to get, simply because of their limited production. However as to Germany being underrated -- fundamentally I agree with this but even among publications like Wine Spectator rieslings very frequently get top marks, and at good wine stores I've seen some pretty big markups on the top rated ones. $30 rieslings are not so uncommon anymore. germany won't export the best wines because these are produced for germans to drink-unfettered. german winemakers don't want to mass produce and ruin the quality of the wines. my recomendation is to spend the money on a plane ticket and go right to the source! i rather enjoy spatburgunders as well.

i sincerly hope you're not drinking out of those, or using to filter your coffee! i drink out of various mugs collected as gifts from NPR pledges- my fav has signatures of classical composers. i also have the ubiquitous "cafe du monde" mug. another fav is one i ordered from "the onion" which reads "you are stupid" -perfect for hangovers. my work mug is an insulated metal "buck's county coffee company" mug purchased in d.c. definitely have to get an eg mug now!

how about a tax break for non-smoking restaurants and license fees for smoking establishments? and while we're at it the district could legalize marijuana for use in coffee bars and open brothels too!

i think that this VERY ACCURATELY sums up the problem and really feeds in nicely to the "bad restaurant" thread. i couldn't quite sum up the worst quality in a bad restaurant, but i thinks it that pretentious feeling i get from some places. you expect it to be a good experience, then it really sucks, but they think that they can get away with it. sounds like alot of places around d.c.!

one day you see cats in the parking lots and the next you don't (lots of cats outside a bbq joint in fuquay, n.c., which shall remain nameless- inspired many jokes in my family)

you have to help the waitron uncork/unscrew the wine bottle.

i found some genny cream ale at a local grocery the other day and was thrilled-i hadn't had it since i snuck it out of the house as a teenager. my family would take cartons of cigarettes up to pennsylvania and bring back utica club and genny cream ale by the case- this was MANLY beer for a southern girl to drink!! to my surprise i still enjoy that bite that genny has. also found low carb rolling rock-i thought it was pretty tasty for water.

think that the license idea is good and would be an excellent source of revenue for the district. there is a semi-precedent for this... south carolina restaurants had to stop selling alcohol by 2400 on saturday nights. you could only get drinks in "private clubs" after that hour but generally those were open at the discretion of the management. the state realized that significant food revenue was lost on sundays and began to allow restaurants to purchase liquor licenses at an addtional cost for sale of beverages on sundays. i don't know what happens in s.c. now-we can only hope that some of these blue laws have been revised. now that the once powerfuil tobacco lobby has pretty much ceased to exist in d.c. obviously someone pushing wellbutrin in the pharmaH lobby has taken over the vacuum. just don't get me started on how i feel about the commonwealth of virginia taking away my grilling rights AND no live christmas tree for chrissakes!! most "fine dining " establishments here in norfolk have gone to smoking after 2100- a good compromise i think!

foodie52- i can tell that i post at obscene hours and don't edit. the name of the bakery would be la segunda central and it IS on 15th and 15th in ybor. also might want to visit naviera coffee mill on the main drag through ybor-you can smell the coffee roasting in pinellas county! come to think of it i'll be in tampa this friday-enjoy the weather! vq

carlo rossi chablis marked up 300%. i happen to like farm animals in overalls and condiments in packets generally don't get crusty!

bacon-rendered to fry up red onion, red and green bell peppers. cumin, thyme, black pepper, chili powder to the veggies. half ground venison/half ground pork. black beans, kidney beans, black-eye peas and chick peas.san marzarno tomatoes. simmer with lager beer. add chipotles for heat. gets better with age. sometimes add a little cinnamon and some mexican chocolate if i can get it.

i hated scrounging for bbq in s.c.- there must be some ancient blue law that says the pits can't be open sunday-wednesday. that's a pain in the butt when you need a pork fix! i've been to that place in brunswick georgia (mentioned earlier) i smelled the pork over the paper mill stench and i was drawn to it. i think i'll stop there next week !

vernor's isn't even the same class as blenheim's- the hot gingerale will knock your socks off!

think that the 'pig' is a safe bet. i'll have to drive back up on 17 and stop in georgetown to see. will have to take your word on the diet cheerwine- i'm not much of a soda drinker at all-except cheerwine and cream soda and prefer to have my soda with all the sugar possible.

agree with the high temp start-did mine at 500 x 20 minutes. also try using a roasting pan with low sides (almost like a lasagna pan)

we would eat at ghassan's-a lebanese restaurnat out by the coliseum- pretty exotic stuff for g-boro in those days. i rememger going to see the circus and driving past the bread company that had the revolving bread slices on their sign- and the smiling blond girl-can't for the life of me remember the brand-oh well brain cell attrition i guess!

have you been to tampa before? the only place i can think of that has flamenco is the columbia restaurant in ybor city. the food there is pretty good-it's very touristy, but if it's your first visit to tampa, i recommend it for just that reason! try tomake a stop at la seguna cetral bakery on 15th and 15th in ybor city- a must for cuban bread, guava pastries and other goodies. get there early- they get low on the good stuff by about 0900. estella's on davis island is a great place to hang out if the weather is nice. the food is cheap and the margarita are quite tasty. hope you have a nice visit!

this is so cool- i was going to suggest stamey's. i loved that place growing up and libby hill seafood (a little further down battleground avenue) i haven't lived in g-boro since 1983- going to ham's was also a big deal when i was in high school. guess that you must have gone to grimsley seeing as you lived in green valley.

ok now you've got me curious about this guy-is he on every day??