JPW

#396 Contrary to the high school rhyme, it doesn't matter if you have liquor or beer first. If you drink too much you puke. #962 If you are over 25 having a party, do not open the bottle that a friend brings over to your house while everyone is there. It's a present for you, not a contribution to the general store of inebriating liquids. PS - sam, love #214. Truly Esquire quality.

To reiterate what I had earlier said about Chez Sophie - you should go if you have the chance. It will compare well to any "country" French restaurant you will find anywhere, including the French countryside. Fried Chicken at Hattie's - quite good. Tastes even better due to the atmosphere. Never tried Springwater. Perhaps next year.

Chef Cesare, Never been to Tosca, but hope to before too long. As a follow-up to Nadya's question ... Where I grew up (Pittsburgh) you could find a decent "red sauce" middle-to-low price Italian restaurant on every corner. However, Pittsburgh also has a much larger Italian-American community than DC I have yet to find an acceptable one in or around DC. What are your local favorite Italian "comfort" food places? (if any) Joe PS- As the proud parent of a practically newly present Peanut, I find your kids' camps to be prodigously praiseworthy for their potential to positively prod our progeny towards the proper use of produce and other pantry products. (Translation - keep up the good work, my new born daughter and I will see you in about 4 years)

No double entendre was intended. It's my favorite cocktail. Next time I see you Eunny, I'll buy you a bourbon, but I'm not Don. Or am I? It all gets so confusing sometimes. Then I start seeing streamers. Then I continue to return to restaurants just so I can complain how miserable they are over and over.

I was giggling through most of it, but the straw that broke the camel's back was the third from last one titled "PLEASE POST: I PUT SO MUCH TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS QUESTION. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE POST IT! " Just one gem - "Despite having eaten and Johnny's Half Shell several times, I have yet to enjoy a single bite past the cold oysters." OK just one more - "My final gripe is on Citronelle. I have never enjoyed a single meal there. The food is more pretty than it is tasty." Tom, you're a saint to put up with chat. I hope you sit there with a bourbon on the rocks and have a good laugh.

ROTFLMFAO All right which one of you is responsible? Will have to surreptitiously flip now water-logged and crumb spattered keyboard with guy in next office.

Squid of the marine variety that is. It should be left where it is found -- in murky backwaters. My dislike of calamari has deep psychological roots that go beyond its generally disgusting texture and lack of innate flavor. Don't make me angry Mr Reed, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

Great pics mdt. Very bummed I couldn't make it. But I'm glad he served you all the re-engineering of fried mozzarella sticks. My favorite dish in a long long time. Must go back for more.

I saw the article even before i brought the newspaper in this AM. WooHoo! The one from NW (?) India with the yoghurt looked quite interesting.

Has Todd ever been in Olives since the opening?

Welcome DCDelMarVa Meredith. So by "East Coast" I presume you mean "the east coast of Adams Morgan"

I always knew that I could be obsessive about things, but groceries have become my top thing to be super-organized with. Step 1) Plan out weekly menu for dinner Step 2) Write out all necessary ingredients on separate page Step 3) Cross out all things that are already in the house Step 4) Re-write items remaining on list on another piece of paper Step 5) Repeat for all lunch items Step 6) Repeat for all breakfast items Step 7) Scour cabinets for staples and paper goods running low Heaven help Mrs JPW if she starts talking about TP while I'm working on step 1 or wants to revise dinner menu while I'm already on the breakfast stuff. In review, I am a complete neurotic.

Well, malawry and al_dente joined me for happy hour yesterday. The last beer that I couldn't remember on tap is Allagash White. The Young's is the triple ale. The bar area is very cosy and a good time was had by all. Edemuth, Squids, Mr Squids, Mrs JPW and Peanut joined me for dinner. Salads were very good if just a little bit uninspired. The smoked Rockfish smelled excellent, but we'll let edemuth comment on that. The hit entrees were the duck breast and the lamb (my favorite taste of the evening). Overall, the food was quite good and more than reasonably priced. The beer prices seem to be a little on the high end, but the short well-thought out wine list shows a great deal of consideration and is very reasonable, especially with MoCo taking its cut. Of course, being brand new the place has some rough edges. But with Jackie and Patrick on constant watch last night, I am sure that these will be smoothed out before long. Most importantly is that it has a great space and shows a tremendous amount of promise. I wouldn't want to give a brand new place a real review, but I think that if you spend your money there, you'll be happy that you did. And once the restaurant has had a chance to mature you will most likely be even happier

Right oh! I've got a table for 6 at 7 PM. Joining us for dinner will be - edemuth squids + Mr squids hillvalley JPW + Mrs JPW + Peanut More will be showing up for happy hour. We could probably aqueeze in a couple more for dinner if you want. Just show up for happy hour and I can talk to the hostess. [Rocks - feel free to delete all of these planning posts later tonight if you wish]

Well, until Peanut starts crawling it'll stay where it is now - on the floor in the corner of the family room.

Was seated at far end of bar so I did not see. I'll investigate for you.

Random thoughts on Rocks comments. - Ella's? Matchbox?, Pizzeria Paradiso? Sette Osteria? no, no, no, and no. Fine places in their own right but on a list of favorite 52 RESTAURANTS? No - Laboratorio and Minibar are on the list. Are they really "separate" restaurants from their overarching organizations? Would that mean that Osteria Galileo (which, let's face it, hasn't received the best reviews around here) should be on the list with the other parts of Galileo? Perhaps even the lunch grill? - haven't been to Kinkaed's since the redesign/renovation, but my last experience there was pretty disappointing. Random thoughts on my own -Personal feeling is that the Jaleos are on the decline. Why? I don't know. Proof? a certain *edge* that the dishes used to have seems to be fading. Why? I recall a recent thread referring to the corporatization of certain places. That said, I haven't noticed the same problem at Zaytinya and the new places seem to be starting off to high praise. - I don't think that Guajiro, while good, is even the best Cuban in downtown Silver Spring, much less the best Latino food you can get in SS. Then again, this guide is specifically about "favorites" not the "best". To each their own. Hearty congratulations to those from our little forum who made the list.

Right now happy hour at 5:30 ish followed by a seating for dinner around 7ish sounds like the plan. All interested in dinner, let me know and I will call in a reservation. I'll show up for happy hour and then Mrs JPW and Peanut will be coming down for dinner. As I was on my way home yesterday, a little birdie told me that they were actually going to open at 5:30 so I stopped by and had a beer at the bar. First customers were mainly Silver Spring dignitaries from the chamber of commerce and like organizations. The place looks great. I didn't eat because Mrs JPW was expecting dinner on the table at home (what a slavedriver!), but I saw and smelled several dishes including the now ubiquitous mini-burgers. Smoked monkfish appetizers looked to be among the hits. The taps haven't been hooked up yet, but they will have Jever, Chimay, Guiness, Young's, and one other that currently escapes memory. Patrick promised to do his damnedest to get them on by tonight. See you all there. Joe

Yeah, How the heck could he rate Charlie Palmer (***) above Ray's the steaks(**)? Oh yeah, he probably expects atmosphere. Not me. Other than that, on a quick glance, I think Herr Sietsema did a bang up job as usual.

This list is amusingly bad. Fortune Star isn't even the best Chinese in Rockville MD, much less one of the best around DC. Same goes for the one restaurant in DC proper that I saw, Mr. K's.

Old Knickerbocker. Cost $4.29 a case in the fall of '88. Paid for with one dollar bill and the rest in change. I think that I can still feel the aftertaste. Haven't seen Mickey's (esp. when warm) mentioned yet

How the hell does this restaurant slide to page 14? I, too, actually like the room, especially the bar area. The service is elegently understated. The wine list (even to my amateur eyes) is a joy to read. The food is ..., well the food is ..., I mean it's ..., the food is ..., Bloody Fuckin' Spectacular For the specifics. Mrs JPW started with a lovely mixed green salad. I started with the "Buffalo Mozzarella Porcupine". "What's that?" you ask. I did. It's a reengineered version of fried cheese sticks with marinara sauce for dipping. In Tom Power's hands it is luscious warm buffalo mozz with fried shoestring (but even more fine) breading placed on top surrounded by an absolutely amazing tomato coulis and a couple of dashes of basil oil. It was so good, I almost ordered another one (or four). For mains, Mrs JPW had the salmon with creamed spinach. Now, I hate salmon. It causes involuntary gagging reactions. But a taste of Tom's salmon made me almost understand why people like this odorifous slimy thing. I had something that is appearing on the eGullet event menu - the buffalo strip loin. Here accompanied by what I'm guessing was a demi-glace based sauce and a potato gratinee cake. Just perfect. Luckily we were sat off in the corner so nobody had to watch me sopping up the remnants of the sauce with my bread (also very good btw). Dessert was a coffee and a poire william for me and an apple tart for Mrs JPW that definitely met with approval. Wine was a very reasonably priced Brooks "Runaway Red" Pinot Noir from Oregon one of two options selected for us by Tom with an interesting story as told by Maitre d'/sommelier David ?(I got his name at the end of dinner so understandably I'm a little hazy on it). Final verdict - the buffalo mozzarella is simply the best dish I've had in DC. Corduroy has taken its place as one of my favorite joints in DC. We'll be going back soon and often. I suggest that you do the same.

Unfortunately, Mrs JPW, Peanut and I cannot attend the event. A long dinner like this is a little too much to ask for Peanut. On the plus side, we decided that, since we had free babysitters last night, we needed to try Corduroy for the first time. Oh my. If you're not converts yet, you will be. For more, see the Corduroy thread.

Why don't we start planning for dinner Friday at 7:30. Maybe a happy hour before for people like Al_Dente who work around downtown. If we organize quickly enough, I can drop a line to Jackie and Patrick and give them the heads up on the size of the party. Any takers?