VenerableBede

you can get yellowtail for around $8 or so in most grocery stores- at least here in the washington, d.c. area. and you're right, the shiraz is sweet and inoffensive. although, i can't remember the last time i bought a bottle of yellowtail.

sorry, this isn't technically a reply for dining recs, but more just a musing on previous posts from last year (i don't remember reading them last year)- 1) i love john stevens. although, last time i went (june-ish?), i learned they got a new chef and changed their menu a bit. their crab soup was not quite as good as i remembered it, but their steamed shrimp and mussels, and crab cakes were still good. haven't tried the sushi though. and there are some good beer options, but for me, see number 3, below. 2) berger cookies. a friend who lives in fells brought some one time and the mrs. and i fell in love with them. they are fantastic, and if you run across them in a balmer store, buy them. 3) natty boh. i don't know what i can say about this that will do it justice. maybe i do have a soft spot for heileman beers (love me some old style when in chicago), or just for "local" beers (see old style, iron city, rainier), but there's something comforting about natty boh. maybe it's the sickly sweetness of the water, or mr. boh on the can. . .or maybe when i'm out in balmer, i like that i can walk into a bar (and say ouch), and have a great night out and spend only $10-15, all drinking natty boh. (aside- when i first moved out here from college in texas, i loved that asylum had a saturday night countdown with shiner bock. starting at 6, shiner was $.50 and price increased by $.50 every hour, topping off at like $3.50 or something like that for the rest of the night. sadly, shiner is no longer the beer used for the countdown, i don't remember what it is anymore. but, it was great, just being out of college, not having much extra money, but, get there early, and your done early and for cheap) 4) blue moon- they have some damn fine chorizo and eggs, and i do enjoy their biscuits and gravy. while they do seem crunchy and granola, you can find some fairly decent cooking for breakfast (note- their hours are weird, like, they aren't open in the afternoons, but are open all night).

pepsi says that pitch black was highly successful. that being said, i barely got through one 16 oz. bottle of it last year- course, it also means fall is approaching, and i love me some fall.

i know that the cake bible has a recipe for it too- berenbaum says great things about it. while i do not doubt the tastiness of the cake, i just can't see myself putting it into a cake mix. i know, get over my own irrational self.

first off, it might be a bit cold to be sitting outside with a lunch. . .you'd probably do better hitting something like the bar at old ebbitt (or the lunch area inside the building), bar at firefly, something along those lines. secondly, is the bureau of printing and engraving open? i know it was closed, and was under the impression that it was still closed. alternatively, the archives recently reopened after a 3 year refurbishment. thirdly, go to the spy museum. . it's tons of fun, plus, its in penn quarter where there's a ton of places to eat. finally, if you like ice skating, the sculpture garden on the mall has an outdoor skating rink that i love going to.

i wish i could find a link to the commercial, but there was a victoria bitters commercial (also from australia) that was absolutely hilarious. . .i'll try to track it down.

mmmm, clam chowda in a sourdough bread bowl. when i finally got my own car and was able to drive on my own, i would go up to s.f. on a saturday afternoon and just eat clam chowder in a bread bowl, and drive back to san jose. now living in d.c., while i can get clam chowder in a bread bowl here, something is very different about it than when i was growing up. course, i always liked the clam chowder better in monterey. that being said, my lovely wife has decided that she must live in san francisco, so, this fall, we are moving to s.f., and i'll be back in the bay area, able to enjoy one of the finer things in life at my leisure.

the article can be found here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5042200653.html note: you may have to have to log-in to read it.

there was a section on northern california cheese tours in the washington post travel section a few weeks back. . i'll try to track it down.

well, the web page is up and running: http://www.sonomadc.com/

if i remember, there are actually 2 anita's in vienna, within a mile or 2 of each other. both on 123 through "downtown" vienna.

isn't that illegal?? but yeah. . if i remember correctly, govt. won't allow the sale of cheese that is aged less than 60 days, unless it's been pasteurized, or something like that.

man, i can't remember the last time i was the times. . i wonder if pete is still playing music on friday and saturday nights. . .he had a real creepy grin at random times during songs. as for dive places. . .can't beat tune inn. high life on draft. . .they used to have busch lite on draft too, if i remember correctly.

as for crabcakes, i'm a big fan of john steven's in fells point. . .they also have a good crab soup.

was in phoenix-area last week, and wanted to go to barrio's for dinner. unfortunately, i was unaware that for this particular evening, there were 13 people coming out for dinner. we got to barrio's around 6:30, and was told that it would be at least 1 1/2 hour for a table that big. the hostess was kind enough to actually call around to several restaurants in the area that could hold our party. . .eventually sent us to tomaso's, who treated us well, and put us up in a private room in the back. nevertheless, i was totally looking forward for mexican. a side note. . i was with my fiancee's family who are from chicago, and when the hostess found out that they were from chicago, she said "what am i doing send a family from chicago to an italian restaurant!?!" all that this really means is that i'm gonna have to make another trip to phoenix.

i went out to drinks with a friend of mine that lives in wisconsin, and he said they make old fashioneds with brandy there too. . . i try to have a drink of the summer every year, one summer it was an old fashioned, and i always had problems with old fashioneds. . .i once ordered an old fashioned, and the waitress returned with a shot of bourbon. i said, ummm, this isn't an old fashioned. the waitress took it back, and came back emptyhanded saying, we can't make that here. the next year, i chose a harvey wallbanger. i gave up on that one pretty soon.

1) jack daniels. .. can never have enough jack in my opinion. i'd make jack and ginger, jack and coke, old fashioneds or just pour it over 2 ice cubes. plus, it's a fine meat tenderizer and goes good in burgers. 2) vodka (i like skyy and ketel one - yeah, i bought into the hype, i guess). . .vodka tonic, harvey wallbanger (need galliano for that though), screwdrivers. . .and it's, in my opinion, a very flexible mixer 3) i'd say a good single malt scotch, i'll let others more knowledgeable offer their suggestions. . .although i want to say a nice bottle of port, but i don't think that counts here. i know. . not to high-brow, eh?

so, where can i get a good old fashioned in chicago?? had one at the hancock building- not too bad. had both a whiskey and brandy (my friend said that in wisconsin, they make em with brandy, not whiskey. . .to my horror) my one aesthetical complaint was that it wasn't served in the obligatory old fashioned glass, it was more like a regular wine glass.

i've enjoyed the churros con chocolate at andale as well. . .

it's definately getting better. . .on a side note, fiancee went to tapatini's last night and loved it. .course, it could be that wednesday night is ladies get free wine. nah. . .that couldn't be it.

from today's Roll Call: New and Coming Soon. The owners of Georgetown's Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar are updating the space formerly occupied by Barolo and Il Raddichio at 223 Pennsylvania Ave. SE and expect to open Sonoma there in late March. Co-owner Jared Rager said the new spot will offer casual, moderately priced dining on the first floor, with fine dining and an intimate lounge area upstairs. Mendocino Executive Chef Drew Trautmann is designing a New American menu that will reflect Italian influences with pizza, handmade pastas, wood-grilled meats and fish, and a few favorites from Mendocino, including a Kobe beef burger. The menu will emphasize local, organic and naturally raised ingredients. The restaurant will also offer an impressive 60 wines by the glass - more than half in the casual downstairs dining room.

<ears perk up> good chorizo?? hand-made tortillas?? please tell me they are corn, and not flour.

going to corduroy on thursday. looking forward to it.

this month's bon apetit had a blurb on eric ziebold.

yeah, it probably would have helped if i had even bothered to click on the link in your original post. i'm so stupid. . stupid <think chris farley show from snl>