bookluvingbabe

And it's really, really, really good....

Still reading, just massively envious..... Jennifer

Okay kids...It's RAINING IN my office right now. (Don't ask...) I need a decent lunch. I have my car so I can drive somewhere nearby but I can't go far because the office is short-staffed today. I don't want to walk and get soaked.... Anyone been to Levi's on 8th Street SE on the other side of the freeway? This is the kind of day where I need Sonoma to be open already. Sigh... Jennifer

I believe the time fram to call has changed in the last few weeks--it was 12-2 but the last few times I've called it was 2-4. And yes, Michael is talking WAY too fast on the machine to understand what he says unless you know what his spiel already is. No conspiracy theory here! Jennifer

Last night (and the previous Monday) at Two Amy's-- Very crowded; large groups of people looking at us eagerly as we wind down our meal. Me: The lamb meatballs and fontina stuffed pizza. Who knew meatballs could actually have flavor????? Plus enough left over for lunch (which is still sitting at home--totally spaced on it this morning...) Mr. BLB: The Two Amy's Pizza with proscuttio (sp?) and onions. I snagged a slice or two and it was pretty darn good. Last week we had the deviled eggs--I thought they were awesome. This week we skipped starters but ended with the cookie plate. Good but not Ann's cookies. Of course, I freely admit that I don't usually think a dessert is a dessert unless it has chocolate in it. We did have one celeb chef spotting last night but I resisted the urge to gack! Two Amy's isn't quite in our neighborhood but it is close enough to become a regular in our dining rotation. Jennifer

I think it's during the week between 2 and 4. Good luck! Jennifer

Another fine evening at Ray's on Friday night. Scallops, hanger steaks, chocolate mousse, cava and pinot noir. What isn't there to like? The best part (aside from the amazing food...)???? The food was splendid and I don't think Michael was in the kitchen! I'm always happy to see that, especially in small places. Service was fine, although I wish they would notice empty wine glasses a smidgen sooner. But that's mostly trivial and I had a second glass of cava by the time I had moved on to the second scallop. Time to call for another reservation!!!! Jennifer

8 hours until scallops.... 8 hours until scallops.... 8 hours until scallops... My boss has this odd idea I should be concentrating on work...But how can I when a trip to Ray's is so close and yet so far away???? Jennifer

I think that if you call and reserve 6:00 pm before those evil people try to get the 7:30 slots, you don't get the 90 minute spiel. At least I haven't... But I book well in advance...

I've been thinking/daydreaming/drooling over the prospect of the Silver Spring Ray's lately. Can I put in a vote for Sunday lunch???? Please?????????????????????????????? We're in the area most Sundays and it would be real nice to trundle over for a nice lunch. Perhaps we might see a return of the storied burger???? (I didn't get myself over to Virginia until after the burger was history...Sigh...) Thanks! Jennifer

I just find it hard to believe that if you call Michael (or Jared) and said "I've got a special occassion coming up. I need a table for 120 minutes or 150 minutes. When can I come?" that they wouldn't give you a reservation. Would it be for this Saturday night at 7:30??? No. Flexibility is key. I made our reservations for Friday night at 6:00 pm 2 1/2 weeks ago. I fully expected to be told we had to be out in 90 minutes and we were. Fine by me--we've timed it and we are usually in and out in 72-75 minutes. There are plenty of other hard tables to get -- I think I booked a dinner at Citronelle three months out last year and couldn't get a table until 9 pm (on a Thursday night...) I don't get why people are so bugged by the Ray's policy. Sigh... Jennifer, counting the minutes until those scallops....

Dinner on Friday at Firefly: The great: Bourbon Slipp--a damned fine cocktail (and despire Derek's claims, it lives up to the hype...) Cornmeal Dumplings--Wow!!!! Spring rolls--still as fine as ever. Bittersweet panna cotta -- as near to perfect as a chocolate dessert can get The good: The roasted chicken--absolutely perfect chicken and frites; the mushrooms and bacon didn't work for Mr. BLB. The "Why did you change it????": The lamb sirloin--it was nice but it was noticebly smaller than the old lamb minute steak, I missed the chard, and I thought the new version of the mac and cheese was too soupy. Please note that this reaction may simply be ME reacting badly to change.... Despite that, I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday evening after a particularly lousy week at work. Jennifer

Marlon was our driver for most of our trips into town. VERY nice guy! Jennifer

I'd love to get reports on the cornmeal dumplings. Hubby and I have Friday night reservations.... Jennifer

Yes, but if I hadn't read Tom Power's response then Corduroy would still be on my let's pass list. I would have assumed that the listing in the Post was correct and headed elsewhere. So I think this actually did Corduroy a pretty good service. Jennifer

I remember Dupont before the Starbucks invasion (And by my count there are at least 4 now...) My favorite example of the demise of the area in to grasping commericialism is what happened to the Newsroom. Remember when it was right on the corner of Connecticut and S? Right across from the Ruth Chris's? Then the landlord got greedy and thought they could get more money by evicting the Newsroom and upgrading the property. I've lost track of how many years ago that was but the former Newsroom space is STILL empty. The Newsroom moved up the street a block--it isn't the same but it's still there at least... My husband and I both still do a small gleeful smile everytime we drive past and see the space is still gapingly empty. To make this food related--I'm not chain averse, per se, but I'm not likely to find organic ingredients, locally grown produce and a minimal use of trans fats at a chain. Jennifer

I'm making this receipe for dinner tonight and realized I don't know what the difference is between sweating the onions and mushrooms and sauteing them is. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/231145 Any guidelines? Suggestions? Many thanks~! Jennifer

I'm a fan, along with Billy's Bakery. I've done taste tests along with Cupcake Cafe's and the Magnolia ones are so much better, IMO. They remind me of what my mother's cupcakes were like. I almost always manage to work in a visit to either Magnolia or Billy's when I'm in NY. Jennifer

Any word on when the new menu will be on the website???? Edited to add--It's up on their website now!!!! Jennifer

Lunch at Palena--a perfect Saturday afternoon--what more can you ask for???? It was love at first menu sighting. We ignored the usual suspects and concentrated on the lunch items. I had the artichoke and fontina panini (sp?) and Mr. BLB had the buckwheat blini with the poached quail egg. There was lots of muttering about this is how eggs should be cooked (my egg cooking skills are quite lacking...) and he was quite content. I was very happy with the panini, although I thought the artichoke was a bit overwhelming. Doughnuts...yum. Hot chocolate...yummier. The crepes were nice but I'm not a big a crepes person. A very nice way to spend the early afternoon on Saturday. It wasn't too busy when we got there but by 1:30 it was pretty hopping. Jennifer

I'm from the brown bits and slightly burnt school. We usually do 425 and flip the pieces every 20 minutes for an hour. I've noticed that a lot depends on the water content, how long its been sitting, etc. The organic Whole Foods cauliflowers cook up faster than the regular grocery store ones. The best were the purple ones from the farmers market but I've got a good 5-6 months before those puppies return to my world... Jennifer

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Sunshines, next to the 4 Seasons. Along with a few Killer B's... Simple food and the best chicken wings my husband claims to have eaten in years. I know that Nisbet gets raves but we weren't impressed with the food there. Good luck!

What specifically made The Church such a good experience for you? Have you ever eaten at The Belfry? We did get to Woolfy's last May and enjoyed a very pleasant meal. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the food wasn't "overly fancy" but was of high quality and thoughtfully prepared. It's about 20 min. from Stratford. ← We had dinner at the Belfry last year--it was decent but the service was sub-par, especially compared to the service downstairs at the Church. What makes the Church such a good experience? Either our waiter has photographic memory or their computer system is simply the best I've ever seen. He knows what wines we order from year to year. And what we ordered. (And which one of us ordered it...) It never feels forced. That's a HUGE part of it. The only similar type of service I can compare it to would be at Citrus in LA and now at Citronelle in DC. The food....the food is amazing. We learned our lesson after the first few years and try to schedule dinner there near the end of the run--otherwise the rest of the meals become a chorus of "it was good, but it wasn't the Church." The soups always blow me away. The foi gras (sp?) is great. The meat and fish dishes offer a wide variety. Oh, and the chocolate desserts are pretty darn fine. We tend to go on Saturday night, after the theater rush so it's not crowded and we can really relax and enjoy the food. I'll add Woolfy's to the list to check out! Thanks! Jennifer

I wanted to bring this thread back to life. My husband is coming to Stratford for the first time this summer--this will be my sixth summer of visiting. Definite dining plans: The Church--it is simply the most perfect dining experience, IMO. Sapori--divine food Boomer's--poutine. Need I say more? The New Dundee Emporium--Tea, scones and clotted cream. Perfection. The rest is up in the air-- Down the Street-- We loved it in 2003 and were disappointed in 2004. Way too much attitude and medicore food. Bijou--we had to go out to get more food after dinner there once. Bentley's Annex--there was something I didn't like, now I can't remember what it was... We had service issues at Olde English Parlor and the Sun Room. I'm willing to drive for a meal or two but Mr. BLB gets carsick so I want to stick to town as much as I can. Any ideas? Changes I should think about? Thanks! Jennifer

Are you sure it isn't what your mother used to make? I've had a number of friends discover later in life that some of their cherished childhood foods came from a box...