EllenH

Oh, cool! Thanks for taking charge, Malawry. Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th are out for me. I'd vote for Thursday the 9th.

Hey, I was there for dinner Saturday! It was a full house by 6pm, I'm really glad they're doing so well. Was there with 3 friends so could sample a nice variety of stuff....the aforementioned ginger salad, gram fritters (basically asian hush-puppies), and squash fritters (yeah they're greasy, but I like 'em). Then a noodle dish with 5 types of noodles and potatoes (great), another noodle dish with flat noodles & pork & romaine lettuce, a pork dish with a really dark sauce that reminded me of massaman curry, and finally a tofu with hot peppers that I couldn't even wrap my lips around it was so spicy I second the motion put forward by Al_Dente for a Burmese Mandalay egullet outing.

Many years ago, I got food poisoning from a restaurant. When I called to tell them & get the charge removed from my credit card, the first thing the manager did was offer me a gift certificate for my next visit! I found it amazing that I had to explain to him that I would not be returning. Sheesh.

An "anonymous" post on chowhound says nectar is closing. Is this for real? Say it ain't so!

Was just in Delaware this weekend and had dinner Saturday night at Deep Blue in Wilmington. This wasn't my first visit but its been about a year since the last time so I was curious to see how it's held up. Turned out to be a very pleasant dinner! The overall atmosphere is aiming at "hip" but is low-key enough not to be annoying. The dining room decor is minimalist and pretty classy; my only complaint is some of the tables are a tad too close together. It's a shame that the big glass windows look out on....downtown Wilmington. Not much people watching to do there. Our food was all very tasty. Starters included micro-greens with beets, stilton, pears and walnuts (way too huge pile of greens, but delish cheese & pears at the peak of ripeness); lobster bisque (really creamy and yummy with big chunks of lobster); shortribs (this was my least favorite, meat was very bland and almost tough); and calamari (light breading, good calamari, sauce wasn't quite zippy enough for me). For mains, we had seafood risotto (generous portion of really top-class shellfish on a fairly bland serving of risotto); veal chop (didn't taste this one, but my husband cleaned his plate so it must've been tasty); and wild salmon (the winner! salmon was perfect, flaky & flavorful, on a delicious bed of mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables). Desserts were good but not unusually so. My mixed berries were very fresh & had a big dollop of homemade whipped cream on top. Husband got an orange panna-cotta with a layer of chocolate/espresso pudding on top, served very elegantly in a martini glass; I don't think he was thrilled with it but I loved the chocolate & orange flavors. Service was friendly & impeccable throughout. Pricewise this wasn't too painful (although from a DC perspective, seemed just a little expensive for Wilmington). Dinner including app, entree, dessert, glass of wine & a coffee came out to about $65/pp including tip (no tax in DE). I will be back & wouldn't hesitate to recommend Deep Blue.

I agree, the salads here should be explored. My favorites -- the squid salad and the ginger salad.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Mandalay!! I loved this place in College Park and am thrilled now that it's so much closer to home for me...went in last night to see how the transition has gone. The new space is about 3x the size of the old, and a step up in "decor" (ie carpeted floor, spiffy textiles on the chairs & booths). What really matters at this place though is the FOOD and that hasn't changed a bit (a good thing) Started with the spring rolls; a generous serving (4 rolls) of very crispy little cigars filled with cabbage, pork etc...the dipping sauce is a rather alarming neon orange and adds a really yummy zip. Then we had "chicken with vegetables and brown sauce over rice" and my favorite, the "vegetarian number 6" which is flat noodles with chickpeas, bean sprouts, tofu, and romaine lettuce. Both dishes were full of flavor and nicely spiced (we always get medium heat; ordered spicy once and spent the whole meal hyperventilating with our eyes watering). The noodle dish is a wonderful unique creation; the chicken reminded me a bit of chinese but without any heavy gloppiness. Finally, dessert was the signature "Golden Swedje" which is a nice thick slice of cream-of-wheat cake with raisins. This place is a very unpresumptuous, friendly, family owned and operated restaurant that serves up delicious burmese food at incredible prices (above meal clocked in at $24). Between this, Adega & Jackie's, Silver Spring is really turning into a great place to eat!

We just got back from our blowout vacation in New Orleans (also known as, "How Much Money Can You Spend in 4 Days")! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Unfortunately, in the hectic last-minute running around, I forgot to print them all out Anyway, here is a recap: Jacque-Imo's - we arrive before 6pm and are lucky to get the very last table! The atmosphere is so much fun, and every bite of our meal is amazing. Starters: fried green tomatoes w/ shrimp (me), duck & andouille gumbo (husband). Mains: chicken pontalba (husband), crab cakes with crawfish cream sauce (me). My tomatoes were incredible, I had to force myself not to finish every last bite so I'd have room for the entrees! Husband's gumbo was also delish, served in a bread bowl as big as your head. Husband's chicken entree was pretty tasty, but MAN oh man my crabcakes. Wow. My only regret of the evening was, no room for dessert. Brigsten's - I was a little surprised by the ambiance...a bit more dumpy/eclectic than I'd imagined. However this was more than offset by the fact that the food was the best we ate all trip! Starters: duck gumbo for me, sweetbreads for husband. Mains: panfried drumfish with crab (me), rabbit (husband). Dessert: trio of sorbet -- coconut, strawberry, and something else I can't remember. I think the star here was the sweetbreads! This is something that I would probably never order on my own, but DH made me a try a bite and it was well worth it. My fish was divine, every bite just made me want to lie down on the floor and scream. Don't worry, I didn't. Herbsaint - another stellar meal! By this point, I was thinking that it would be impossible to have 3 incredible dinners in a row, but New Orleans really hit it out of the park. Starters: mixed greens w/ walnuts, figs, bleu cheese (me); gnocchi w/ wild mushrooms (husband). Mains: rabbit w/ homemade pasta, mushrooms & artichokes (me); muscovy duck w/ dirty rice & green beans (husband). Dessert: banana brown butter tart (me), homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream (husband). The gnocchi and duck were the standouts, however everything was great -- every last bit of my rabbit was devoured before I let the waiter repossess the plate. Also that banana tart truly is Sinful. Anyway, had a great time, ate some amazing food, and really appreciate the pre-trip advice. Thanks everybody & Mayhaw especially!

Stopped by for a drink & light meal this evening, and had exactly the dishes mentioned by Malawry.....yum!! Those riblets are SO tasty The salad was nice as well, very simple but quality fresh greens, pinenuts & cheese. Met & chatted briefly with Jackie & Patrick, what nice folks! My husband mentioned that they've been getting a lot of good chat here on egullet and Patrick seemed really flattered. I may have spotted JPW at the bar (with Mrs. JPW & Peanut in tow?) but didn't want to act like a complete dork by going up to a stranger and saying, "hey, are you JPW? you know, on egullet?" Anyway, yay to Jackie's, my new favorite neighborhood spot

As you're going down sligo towards Georgia Ave, when you see the restaurant on your left there is a tiny sidestreet (more of an alley almost) to your right; turn right into this and there is a big municipal parking lot right there. Free after 7pm and on weekends.

Aw shucks, thanks!! I'm an architect so I think I spend more time staring at floor finishes and light fixtures than most normal people

redfox, both the apps we tried last night were veggie. I'm sure I noticed a couple of vegetarian entrees, unfortunately can't remember exactly what they were. sorry! hopefully their website will get updated to show the full menu....

I am definitely in the "no topping" camp...my mom, from SE Kentucky, made it that way -- also homemade pudding only. Thanksgiving's coming up & she hasn't made banana pudding in years....maybe I can talk her into it! Yum, that and pumpkin pie, my lord -- dessert nirvana!

Wow, I lived in Scotland (edinburgh) for a year back in the mid-90's and didn't even realize there WAS a "cajun invasion"! This was my junior-year-abroad for Tulane University too, so I hope I would've noticed if there were a lot of Louisiana folks running around opening cajun restaurants I do have one memory though, of going to see Steve Riley play a gig in Glasgow; the place was packed! A lot of folks dancing but I have a feeling that the ones who knew what they were doing were part of the Mamou Playboys entourage.

Ate at Jackie's last night and thoroughly enjoyed it! In the spirit of JPW (not wanting to give a real review to a brand new place), suffice to say that any gripes were minor and attributable to the place being 3 days old. We showed up at 6:15, no reservations, seated immediately; the res book only had about 4 entries but the joint was packed full with people waiting at the bar by 8pm. I'm guessing reservations will very shortly become a necessity. The decor is GREAT -- sort of retro-industrial-rec room chic via Urban Outfitters. It's clearly a converted warehouse-type space...exposed brick walls, concrete floor, open wood joists with a/c ductwork & electrical wires snaking around, old-fashioned garage worklights (the kind with a bulb in a cage) providing ambient downlight. Pair that with indirect pink lighting washing the walls (pink is definitely the dominant theme here), piles of pop-art pillows at the booths, chairs that look like hard candy, and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" being projected on a giant translucent screen between the bar & restaurant, and you've got an atmosphere that practically wrestles you to the ground & forces you to have fun! Richard was our server and did an excellent job of making us feel at home. Jackie herself also greeted us at the door and stopped by our table; I was really touched by a very clear effort to make people happy enough to come back. As for the food -- YUM. Husband & I both had the Allagash White on tap -- a very creamy tasty beer with a bit of a bite. We started with a bowl of mushroom & rice soup and a plate of batter-fried veggies with parsley dipping sauce. Both items were nice without being particularly dazzling. Fresh ingredients, well executed, but I would probably sample something else next time. It was the entrees that really made a mark with me; duck breast with greens & spoon bread was amazing! Also had one of the "Nostalgia Plates" (one featured each day of the week), last night was meatloaf/mashed potatoes/green beans. The loaf was flavorful, the potatoes were perfectly fluffy & creamy, and the green beans were tiny haricots verts that were still a little crunchy and perfectly cooked. Finished by sharing an order of "sunshine cake" which turned out to be lemon pound cake with blueberry-white chocolate ice cream. Topping off a really fun evening was the fact that the bill was VERY reasonable; the whole meal above came to $78 including tax & tip. This place is an exciting addition to the neighborhood; I have a suspicion that living 5 minutes away means that I will be seeing a LOT more of Jackie's.

Husband & I will be dining next week at each of the above mentioned places. What one or two things should we order that are the most unique/delicious on the menu? Thanks!

Wow! That is some list. I have so little it can't even be called a "collection"! Macallan single cask Highland Park (12 yr?) Recently had some gorgeous Cragganmore 12 that is top of my "to buy" list now.

I'm interested (for 2), depending on date & cost.

Ate dinner last night at Vidalia....definitely was not yahoo-assed IMHO Started with the grits & grillades as recommended by John W. and others. Yes, it was great -- meat was really tender w/ very nice cheesy grits and an incredibly rich sauce, thank goodness the plate was only a few bites! Husband got the foie gras, I had a bite but didn't try the greens. Nice but I liked my veal cheeks better. Oh yeah, and the bread basket is amazing! That cornbread is to die for. Entrees -- me: halibut over mixed veggies (cauliflower, green beans, tomatoes etc) with lobster; great flavor, very nice piece of fish. Husband: special - rack of lamb with polenta "napolean" (layers of polenta, goat cheese, and mushrooms). This was the winner in the entree category, the lamb was incredible. Dessert -- we shared the pecan pie w/ praline icecream and a Cragganmore 12 year old. The combination of pie & scotch was pretty amazing, unfortunately I was so stuffed at this point that I could only handle a few bites! The one flub of the evening though was that it took about 45 minutes after ordering to get our entrees! We did have appetizers in the interim but still... The waitress apologized profusely as did one of the wine guys (there were 2 last night), and when the food finally did come out my husband's lamb wasn't cooked the way he'd ordered it. Oops. It was actually rarer than he usually eats it though, so I think it was better than what he'd ordered (well-done, I know, yikes) Other than that, I was very happy with the overall experience. Not sure when I'd go back as there are still a zillion other restaurants on my "must try" list, but wouldn't hesitate to recommend the place to a friend. A friend with a fat wallet and no cholesterol problems.

To finish off dinner at a really lovely restaurant recently, my husband ordered pecan pie and I decided on the Cragganmore. Imagine our delight on discovering that a bite of pie followed by a sip of whisky made both of them taste even better! So, what is your favorite cocktail/spirit and food combination?

I have been a Tanq & tonic fan since day 1 -- actually literally had never tried another gin...that is until last week. Restaurant I went to only had Bombay & Bombay sapphire, so tried a Bombay & tonic. Ick! Definitely was not for me. So my [stupid/novice] question, what exactly is the difference between regular bombay & the sapphire? Regardless, I will stick with the old fave Tanqueray from now on.

Mayhaw, I'm one of those ducks leaving saskatchewan (figuratively speaking...) -- visiting NOLA in late October. I've got my eating schedule already pretty well planned out: dinners: - jacqueimo's, brigtsens, dick & jenny's, upperline or crepe nanou lunches: - figaros (one of my old neighborhood faves), napolean house/maspero My question is, what's the feeling on breakfast at the Quarter Scene? I lived in NOLA for 8 years back in the 90's and loved QSR on a sunday morning. But the B&B we're staying in for our visit is within walking distance of the Camelia Grille. Is QSR still worth the trek, or should we just hit the Grille? And by the way, I know this isn't a food question, but does anyone have a favorite cemetary tour to recommend? My husband wants to see the Cities of the Dead and I'd rather go with a guide who knows all the stories & history etc. Thanks!

Yummm, braised ribs So many knowledgeable e-teers can't be wrong! Thanks for the advice everyone.

Veal cheeks and grits. Order early and often. So here's my, um, naive question for you....is a veal cheek literally what it sounds like? Part of the calf's face?? Also reading it described as "gelatinous", not sure that is something I can put in MY face

DH & I are celebrating an anniversary at Vidalia shortly. Never eaten there -- menu looks lovely, I was wondering if any 'gulleteers had any favorite dishes to recommend? Thanks!