DCMark

Steve, thanks for that interesting link.

South Bethany Seafood in the shopping center next to the McDonalds on Rt 1 has them for $5 each and they were HUGE and excellent. Of course thats at the beach!

Ohmigod! Go to the 'Gallery' and hit 'Next' (right corner) 19 times. That hen is me! He does love those shiny shirts doesn't he?

Ouch, from today's chat: Silver Spring, Md.: RE: Today's Dish. With all due respect to you and Nectar's Jarad Slipp, but who are we kidding here? Going great lengths to appease a mere diner? I bet you this 'lawyer' is someone 'important' in how people are measured in DC. That is, very close to 'power'. I can't imagine Slipp doing all this if he couldn't 'announce' it to the whole world and expect some good PR for his restaurant and many repeat visits from the 'lawyer' and his elk. I go to a restaurant to eat food. I don't expect the restaurant to spend 1000% of what I spent on the food to find me my umbrella that another diner mistakenly took. Nice try Mr. Slipp! washingtonpost.com: Today's Dish. Tom Sietsema: I don’t think Mr. Slipp was doing anything just for a couple inches of publicity. I mean, think of all the time involved in solving the problem! What I didn’t report was that the restaurateur paid for the umbrella out of his own pocket, to the tune of $500.

I'm not sure if she has sold them all off yet. When we first heard this news a couple of weeks ago she had not yet sold them. I also know she had something like 75 babies born this past winter so it could be possible that they haven't all sold yet. I mentioned in another thread that right before she made the announcement to quit making her cheese she won two awards (sorry - not sure in what competition) that placed her cheese 10th in the world and 3rd in the nation. What better time to get out than when you're on top? But man will her cheese be missed .... :( Well those kinds of competitions are pretty meaningless. Budwieser beer has won a ton of medals too. I seriously doubt that Rucker farm chevre is better than most of the chevres farm-made in France. I am sure it was great though. Can anyone make any comparisons to existing cheeses? Was it sold unaged in the log form? Was it the small disk chevres or perhaps the aged pyramids?

It smells like the cheese plate: GREAT~

I must defend L'Auberge Provencale. The food was wonderful for our visit there. If possible, stay in the remote guest house with a divine pool.

I wonder if anyone else has recent experience there. It turns out I an old friend works for the hotel so we are going to be enjoying a wonderful room there for our 1-year anniversary. I am leaning towards staying in the same building. Any other thoughts on Cafe 15 would be appreciated.

I would suggest San Marco in Adams Morgan. We recently had our first delightful meal there. They specialize in Rissoto. Family-run and not crowded like Pasta Mia up the street.

I can't believe we are reviewing Eastern on Egullet! I love it. Its not the best but certainly not bad at all. They are nice as hell there too when you get to know them. They often drive by as I am driving my motorcycle out of the alley and sometimes we chat about bikes. This year they gave me a 'Chinese Food Supply' calender for Chirstmas complete with pictures of Chinese hotties! Love the grape soda too.

Does anyone have recent experience at Cafe 15 in the Sofitel? I have found a glowing review from Tom S. but its quite old. Is the chef the same? How about the 3-star consultant from France? How does it compare to Nectar (trying to decide between the two). Thanks Mark

True, I did learn that at Darden.... However, a good strategy is to come into the market with lower prices, gain market share then let them creep up. This is what Kuna did on U St. Now they have me hooked as a regular.

Straights of Malasyia was a Dupont Staple until it closed 4 years ago. With Wazuri come and gone, Larry has decided to reopen the restaurant. The food is not Malaysian per se, but more Singapore style. As a result there is a good deal of Chinese influence. We had the Curry Puffs which were quite nice. They could have more meat in my opinion, just a morsel in a great big puff. The Five Spice roll is more like a slice of sausage then a roll. For main courses we shared "Straights Chicken Curry" which is quite spicy. The curry sauce is infused with galanga which is a type of ginger spice with rumors of hallucinogenic qualities. I sadly experienced no melting colors but this dish did stay with me all day the next day, so perhaps I have been experiencing flashbacks? I usually have an iron stomach but this dish has caused a bit 'o trouble below. We also shared the Cha Kway Teow which are flat noodles with bean spouts and chicken. This reminded me a bit of the beef noodle dish Table 2 ordered at Full Kee. This was Delphine's favorite and cool my mouth down. Wine was an agreeable Nero d'Avola which complimented the spicyness. I am usually not a wine drinker with Asian food but this may change that. Prices are not cheap. 2 apps, 2 entrees and 2 glasses of wine came in at $68 all inclusive. This is a high-rent district but that seems a bit absurd for what we got. Service is fine considering this was the third day. The place should do well and is a nice addition to the neighborhood. Reduce prices by 20% and I would be there more often (Larry owns the building so there is no rent to pay). Sorry to offend any Lauriol Plaza fans (you do deserve it though!) but while enjoying some nice $5 margaritas at next door Larry's Lounge (same owner) it was so much fun to watch the suburbanites flock to what we like to call the 'Ant Farm'. If you watch the place for a while it seems like one of those glass cutout ant farms from your childhood. People/ants scurrying up and down the different levels, queing to get in, blocking rush hour traffic. I am not sure why these people think they can block traffic for 10 minutes on 18th St waiting to turn into the LP parking lot. There is more to this city than that place you know! Have a nice weekend egulleters.

I am going to write a rewiew later today but the old/new Straits of Malasyia may fit your needs. They could probably handle a group at this late moment where other may not. I was not thrilled with the food but we are talking last minute here. I do have high hopes for the place. Its at 18th and T, across for Lauiol Plaza. Their phone number is listed under Larry's Lounge I think.

I would avoid the all you can eat crabs at all costs. The damm things are SO tiny its not worth it. I agree with everyone on the sad state of affairs with the Bay. I remember easily pulling in 10 crabs an hour with a few chicken heads in Bethany Beach. Now you would be lucky to get 5 all day.

Nice one Bill! Reston, Va.: On the food Web site eGullet.com, there has been some discussion about whether your cooking can be considered "Italian" in its truest sense or whether what you are doing at Maestro is something different from or beyond Italian. What is your personal feeling on this? I am looking forward to having a first chance to judge for myself at my birthday dinner next month. Fabio Trabocchi: What is Italian food? This is always a tricky field. Anyone of us has a different opinion of what Italian food should be based on our cultures, education and eating habits. I believe when I check my passport that I am still Italian :-) and that I grew up there and I studied there and I lived there and I have smelled and breathed sources, origin and historical references of this great Italian food.

His English is almost perfect. I wonder if his answers are being translated by someone?

I just called and they do not have space for 2 on June 5th before 930PM. Totally my fault. Does anyone have connections there that could help me make this happen? THanks

Hey, I just need a little encouragement before I pluck down $400 for dinner and $200 for the room for my one year anniversary. My biggest wig-out is that I am paying to spend the night in TYSON'S CORNER!

What's the name of the restaurant again? WD-50.5? Color me stupid...but I don't get it...explain?

Went to Komi for the first time this weekend. We live at 17th and U so something decent is welcome in the area. Wonderful food and a real asset to the neighborhood. I hate to use this comparison, but the restaurant felt New Yorkish in terms of its setting, service, patrons, etc. The meal started out with a cold cucumber soup. Not a great start as it was heavy on the salt. We started the table off with the chicken pate with pistachios ($8) which was devoured in a matter of minutes. The pistachios were added a nice crunch to the pate, which tasted remarkly like duck pate. My wife then had the Endame soup with parsely oil. ($7) The oil added a nice flavor to an otherwise so-so soup. My appretizer was fois gras covered with white anchoivies ($9). The fois gras was as good as any I have had recently in the US but would not be something special in France. I was looking forward to tasting the melange of anchovy and fois gras but the combination did nothing to enhance either. My sister had a mackrel dish which was somewhat like a tartare of mackrel. She loved it. For our main courses both my wife and I had the steak/veal combination with ??? mushrooms and whipped potatos. My steak was cooked as requested (rare) and the combo of steak and veal went together well ($25?). My sister had the skate on a bed of greens which she was unable to finish as the portion size was quite generous (all portion sizes were fine in my opinion). For dessert I had the rhubarb/pecan pie which was surprisingly good (as I am not a huge fan of rhubarb), topped with crispy oatmeal and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My brother in law had the doughnuts with a side of hot chocolate. This dish was not nearly as good as Sette Osteria's. The culprit was the chocolate sauce which was almost devoid of sweetness. Actually, the dougnuts were better on their own rather than dipped. This trend of desserts without enough sugar is not one that I like. We started dinner with a few Muscat mojitos ($6) which I loved. The nice taste of a mojito without the intoxicating effects of rum. Perfect for starting a meal where we wanted our palette awake and not drunk. Personally, I have ruined too many nice meals by starting out with a couple of martinis. Wine was a Nero d'Avola ($26), the best bargin on the wine list. The wine arrived about 10 degrees too warm but that was quickly corrected by our waitress. Service was outstanding. Komi practices the 'swarm' technique of serving. Plates arrive to the diners all at once as 4 arms place the dishes in synchronization. Local DC water (lead and all) was cheerfully served. All in all I very much enjoyed the restaurant. Don't take my complaints above about the food too far. The restaurant is quite good and is significantly better (and pricer) than Kuna, the only other decent restaurant in the neighborhood. At $120 per couple (tax, bottle of wine, 2 glasses of white and 2 mojitos) it was resonably priced too.

Hi, this club used to be known as the 'watering hole' for the local ladies of the night who ply their wares on K/L St or wherever they are these days. The upstairs bar was open late (past closing) and the girls would go there to pick up tricks or avoid police presence. Not sure if the ownership has changed.

My colleagues and I just returned from another wonderful meal at Heritage India on Wisconsin. That place is not to be missed and the lunch special is a deal. Soup: Muli Gantani: Lemon and lentil soup, just to tickle the pallet Main course: Goa Fish Curry for me. A yellow-based curry with serious heat filled with chunks of nicely (not over) cooked grouper. Accompanied by rice, Dal and an eggplant dish that is a bit sour with a nice tamarin (sp?) flavor. On the side: Nan and garlic Nan Dessert: Rice, pistachio and grape pudding. $13.50 apeice, a good deal for a fully satisfied stomach

So, has anyone been to Vida?? That pretty much failed as a nightclub. If its still there I would be surprised. When a club does a 'Playboy Bunny' night its usually a sign that things are going south...

I would agree it does not taste like liver. I love shad roe but hate liver. Shad roe is very dense and flavorful with a distinctive texture. If cooked right you can feel the eggs in your mouth. I think you are pretty much out of luck. Slavin and Sons in Arlinton would have it if anyone does.