DCMark

How was the snow? I heard they have had something like a meter of snow in the Rhone-Alps recently....

Mark, Blue Diamond is the most bland and boring Chinese food I have ever tasted! The Bicyclette of Chinese food.

Yes, a colleague asked me to find out, since I am 'on Egullet and they know everything'. Anything particularly special about this rum? ←

Does anyone know if any DC-area stores carry Old Monk Rum from India?

Oh yes, anyone can shop there. They have quite a range of products, from small copper saucepans to huge kitchen pots. It is quite easy to find. Take the highway exit in the direction of St. Geoire en Valdene. I think its right off the main road there. A few questions about Bourgeat whioch DCMark may be able to answer. Is the factory outlet easy to find? - Les Abrets does not seem very large and even has a rue Adrien Bourgeat which might be a good place to start. Do they have any objections to non-professionals dropping by? - Some places can be a bit snooty about this and whilst it seems not too far from the Lyon - Annecy motorway, there's little point in a detour if there is a liklihood of being turned away. ←

Lucy: While not in Lyon, Bourgeat has its factory and an outlet in Les Abrets (near Voiron) which is probably an hour from Lyon. Great stuff there Bourgeat

Well this is one restaurant that lived up to its hype. Mark N. was kind enough to organize a wonderful dinner there last night. Here are some of the pictures from this 'on the whim' event. Our fearless leader Mark, with MDT Barbara and Craig Stretch, aka Andrew The star of this picture are those mashed potatoes! 20 oz house special (brandy cream sauce w/blue cheese) A man and his castle Le chef {Insert clever comment here}

Not to be pedantic Nadya, but ESL most def. does not play anything resembling progressive. Jesuki1, what kind of club/lounge scene are you looking for? Red is without a doubt the best club in DC but you have to be into dancing and very late hours! Don't be dissin' ESL. It's definitely a classier way to while away an evening with progressive music and beautiful people where hearing each other is still a possibilty. A plus is that you actually need to know where it is to get there, so it's low on the clueless. Cover of $10 (or $0 if you are a girl) kicks in around 10 pm. ←

Thank you everyone for your ideas. I will check out these wine stores this weekend perhaps.

I am interested in tasting and learning more about wines from the Bandol and Languedoc-Roussillon regions of France. I like what I have tasted from Mourvedre grapes (mostly blends). Does any local shop show specialization in these regions? Does anyone here sell Kermit Lynch wines? Thanks

Anyone interested in the topic may want to check out French Colonial Cooking: A Cooks Tour of the French Speaking World by David Burton. I just picked up a used copy but have not had the chance to open it yet. French Colonial Cooking Edited to include: I just checked the Amazon offer in more detail and see that their used booksellers want a ridiculous $58 for this book. I found it on www.half.com for $10 so if you are interested search a bit. mk

I highly recommend the Lapin (rabbit) with spaetlze. Had it last night and it was delicious.

If anyone is up for such an outing (egullet sanctioned of course, complete with guest list, photos published on egullet, and of course a pitch to support the Egullet SocietyFor Culinary Arts and Letters) we could organize something. Perhaps one food item at each place? My little secret is called Royal Palace. Much more organic cuisine than what is served at Camelot. Camelot certainly uses growth-enhaced meats in its burgers. Don, I am hopping any donations to Egullet we raise can be paid in one dollar bills?

Thanks Mark. I think I will pass then.

My Parker comment came from the entire vintage in the entire southern rhone region, not just this particular wine. That Andre Brunel CdP usually is at $39.99 in other vintages which is a typical CdP price point. So I am wondering if Pearsons discounted this since its plonk (its $21.99)?

Peason's had a 2002 Andrel Brunel Ch. N de Pape (Kracher selection) on sale for 21.99 which seems to be a good price. But in looking at vintage charts, 2002 was terrible in Southern Rhone (floods, hail). Is this wine gonna be crap?

Thanks. I wish he had a store here.

I have found Robert Kacher wines to be a good standard of quality, especially when I did not know the wine. From this website http://www.robertkacherselections.com/bobby-kacher-bio.php he seems to have an office on V St, NE. But the website has no information. Mark? Anyone?

I just got an email newsletter from my local shop (Pearsons in DC) advertising a ANDRE BRUNEL CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE 2002 for only $21.99. Its a Robert Kacher selection which is usutally good. But I checked the Parket vintage chart here : Vintage Chart and 2002 Southern Rhone gets a 58 Caution, the lowest score from 1990-2003. What is going on? What happened there in 2002? Is this going to be junk?

The one thing that is guaranteed to be the worst is the music. As someone a bit involved in the DJ/house culture in DC, these places play terrible music. It will be a 'naked records' CD on repeat no doubt.

Yeah and Acropolis did so well (not). More BS pseudo-cool places for people to drop $250 on a bottle of Cristal. So f**king boring!

<<At both stops, William A. Hanbury, chief executive of the tourism group, made the same pitch. "If you think Washington D.C. is all about politics, think again," he said. "Recently, D.C. has developed a personality beyond its federal core." >> The racism and ignorance implicit in his second statement is staggering. I am hoping he is being taken out of context. If not, he is poor representative for a city with a rich history that extends beyond our association with the Federal government.

I really don't think you need to respond to these very silly posts on Tom's chats which are probably coming from one of your competitors. Can't wait to visit your restaurant. Why is the DC area so full of crybabies? Once again, the common sense and acuity of the darling, darling Morela rule the day. Occasionally we temporarily run out of the free to everyone hot chocolate (in the winter, other treats in the other seasons) and may not have a sufficient window to bring it to an isolated table or two. It gets busy in there sometimes. I'm more non-non-plussed by the poster, on Tom's chat that I "only" stopped by once and therefore must have dissed them. Perhaps they were expecting a private audience performance of my famous roller skate tap dance routine while juggling flaming knives. Sheesh. Everyone who is in the know knows that if I visit a table a second time I run the risk of having them stay for an unacceptable 91 minutes. And no hot chocolate after the 85th minute. Ever. ←

Great point and this is the reason more French wines are being put in 1/2 bottles for sale in France. The blood alochol limit is even lower there than in Virginia and the fines higher.

My question to Tom revealed his review for this week: U St. Washington, D.C.: Have you dined at, or heard anything about Opera, the place that replaced Kuna? Thanks Tom Sietsema: Your timing couldn't be better. My review of Opera hits the news stands this Sunday.