MichelleW

The Roma! And the old, original Zebra Room... and O'Donnell's and Heller's Bakery and Crisfield's and Hot Shoppes. And, of course, the Tastee Diner (my preferred location was Bethesda). I remember Sherrill's too, and Swensen's, which wasn't a Washington institution, but I was sad to see the one in Tenleytown go. I went to Stone Ridge in Bethesda, and grew up in Upper Northwest. The Tastee Diner was the preferred hang out in high school; by the time I was in junior high, places like O'Donnell's and Hot Shoppes were already "Old Washington" -- of my mother's generation (she grew up on the Virginia side). Crisfield's (two of them -- quite different from each other) is still in Silver Spring. I ate at both about two years ago, when I was staying up that way during a family emergency. The old, original divey one was as phenomenal as I remember it being. The nicer of the two was good too, but the dive atmosphere seems necessary to the enjoyment of the total experience. Oh god, and I just remembered. I know these two places are around -- they're such classics. A-V Ristorante (is it as good as I remember? Is the calamari really that yummy?) and its sister restaurant, Fio's. I always preferred the food at Fio's, but the atmosphere at A-V. A-V is like every Italian restaurant in Jersey -- what's not to love?

mehmeh, I was dreaming of Wegman's when I shopped at the Godawful Safeway (and we won't even go into my guilt at shopping at Safeway at all these days...) at Fairfax Town Center this weekend. Can't wait for Q4 2004!

Silver Thatch and Guadalajara were around in 1998 when I was a graduate student at the university. Reputations were good, but I never actually ate in either place. In terms of good dining out in C'ville at the time, it was basically Metropolitain or C&O. C&O was, in my opinion, solid but overrated and I never got the opportunity to eat at Metropolitain. The rest of the city -- at least at the time anyhow -- was largely student fare and fern bars, with some exceptions. (I was but a poor grad student, but I was fortunate to work on a well-endowed grant, so I did get so eat out.) Anyhow, if you're going to be in C'ville, I'd recommend Barboursville and Jefferson as the two vineyards to visit. Barboursville is, bar none, my favorite Virginia winery. Prince Michel is vile and wrong. Seriously, it's bad wine. Maf, Crozet Pizza survives AFAIK. There was a location in Barracks Road Shopping Center in 98.

Mr. Cutlets, what are your thoughts on the less expensive cuts of lamb, like shoulder?

Whitey's closed about a year ago due to long term issues with the IRS, apparently. It was a day of great sadness for me -- that place was my favorite neighborhood dive. Clyde's and Wollensky's Grill both make a great burger.

I'm a DC native, but my friends from Rochester tell me that the more swank Wegmans include olive bars and cheese counters. If that's true, you could most likely get your Kasseri and Kalamatas at Wegmans. I'm sick to death of the packaged Kasseri I buy at HT when I'm too lazy to drive into Bailey's Crossroads or Baltimore for good Greek stuff... The real test, of course, is the taramasalata and grape leaves (just the leaves, mind you) and other goodies. I'll accept that I'll probably still have to go to Aphrodite for real egg dye at Easter, but the rest would be really nice to have nearby.

This is interesting to me, since both of the major chains with significant footholds in the area are now part of major multinational corporations. Giant, of course, is part of Royal Ahold and Safeway is obviously Safeway. I don't see Wegman's running either one out of business in the area, but I do see their concern as a positive thing, since it hopefully will result in some real changes in the stores in this market.

Batgrrrl, I think you have a valid point, though it's one that most Seattleites don't like to hear. To me, a native Washingtonian (DC), Seattle is a fairly provincial city and it's largely a result of where people are coming from and why they're coming to the city. My mother has lived in Seattle for about three years now, on the east side (she has no love lost for the east side) and she agrees. Y'all are just starting to get the upscale chain onslaught, for better or for worse, that we've had on the east coast for a number of years now. Even cities like Denver, which I think of as second tier (and definitely a third tier restaurant town, which is probably why they have so many chain restaurants!) have had the upscale chains for some time. It was bound to happen sooner or later, although why it's happening now, when the Seattle economy is so deeply in the toilet, is anyone's guess. One thing about Seattle in general -- and this extends beyond restaurants and to just about everything worth finding in Seattle -- is that if you live on the east side, you have to go into the city to find it. I live in northern Virginia, yet I can choose from multiple enormous pan-Asian supermarkets and mom-and-pop ethnic joints in my happy little suburb. I can find multiple French bakeries, middle-eastern bakeries, and even a furrier within 5-10 miles of home and none of them actually in downtown DC. Sure, all of those things are downtown too, but I don't have to cross the bridge to seek them out.

I live right in that area and can vouch that it's an ideal location. The Safeway at Fairfax Town Center is a nightmare on a good day. It's picked over, the produce is nightmarish, and there's never enough checkout staff. The Giant in Fairfax City involves a drive through Fairfax City and the Giant in Greenbriar is just a little too far to be convenient. The same goes for the Harris Teeter in Fairfax City, although I often go there (and pay more) and then make the trip to Annandale to Trader Joe's. Food Lion isn't even worth discussing. I can't wait! I do love Super H, (and still dearly miss Super Fresh), but Wegman's and Super H together should meet almost all of my needs. With a little luck, I won't have to make runs to Bailey's Crossroads for various Greek sundries anymore.

I am another Broadway diner fan; that place was magical, or at least it seemed magical in the middle of the night when you were hungry and the vending machines in the dorms were empty. I live in the DC area now and we have one or two NJ-style diners around here, but not on every corner -- it requires actual effort to find a real diner.