jparrott

I wish Kaz had Sushi-Ko's wine list. Of course, then you might never get in :-).

Not entirely by itself, but I like to poach the rhub in weak sugar syrup until it just falls apart, then mash it with some black pepper, olive oil and diced mild chiles. Serve sparingly alongside olive-oil poached (or seared) scallops. Yum.

I am an organizer and participant in several wine offlines in the DC area. We do our best to relieve the burden by going to places where we know the staff, preferably on their publicized "no corkage night" (e.g., Mondays at Lavandou). We bring out own glasses, our own decanters (I bring 6, usually we have at least 8) and our own corkscrews. We order a lot of food. We share wine liberally with the staff. We tip generously, plus leave our (ample) leftover wine. All we ask for is 1 dump bucket and 1 ice bucket. They love us. Anybody who tries to run an offline whilst imposing any more than we do is asking for an awful lot of trouble.

That sounds like it's worth a trip. How is it served? Do you specify the cut that you want? Definitely worth a trip. It's rich, rich stuff--I was verrrry happy to be drinking the new Xinomavro rose they were pouring by the glass, rather than a thick red, with the lamb. It's served as 4-5 generous-sized nubbins. I wasn't given the opportunity to specify a cut--but I'm pretty sure I got a shoulder, leg and saddle piece, as well as one I wasn't sure about (maybe foreshank?) It didn't seem that they were from the same part of the animal. Also a little bit of skin (?!). A rich sauce that felt like a stock reduction with some pomegranate molasses finished the plate. Nothing fancy. Definitely built for sharing (very rich). Apparently from one of the local farms, not from Colorado or Jamison Farm in Pennsylvania.

Transferring over from the Matchbox thread, Zaytinya is doing one (1) whole spit-roasted lamb (about 40 generous meze-size portions) for Sunday lunches. Jake

This could become a real problem. I support Arsenal, and it seems Real Madrid is looking to steal Arsene Wenger from them. <OT><french> Really? I did not see it. </french> West Ham here. I know, I know. </OT>

Wanted to go yesterday. Closed. No hours posted on the door. No website. Grrrr. Had to drown my sorrows in the excellent dry rose being poured at Zaytinya--and a plate of the spit-roasted lamb they're doing at Sunday lunch now.

I've followed Jorge from Catalan West to Colvin Run to Zaytinya (he was the reason I first went to Z.). Raconteur extraordinaire (though he is a Real Madrid supporter).

Freezing point depression? That's the word for the phenomenon--not for the mixture. There may not be a word. I'm not losing sleep over it.

Of course :-). Such a cool word. Mixture chemistry is fun. I forgot the word for a freezing-point-lowered mixture. I forgot most of the chemistry I got my degree with. I'm at peace with that. Can I have another mint julep?

Let me be the first to say the word. Azeotrope

That's it...I'm starving... eG field trip next year!!

Yes. Sometimes, at the end of the evening. Sometimes. Depends on how many. If we bring a bunch, we usually let them.

I've never seen these things on display at Springfield Butcher....do they consistently have them "in the back"? I haven't been back to Springfield Butcher in awhile...after the guy showed me his "prime" beef....looked like select.

My experience has been consistent over at least a couple of years. Food's always been decent.

And red burgundy. Finally, someone says what needs to be said.

Maryland law is set at the county level, I believe.

Don't, don't, don't order anything at Evening Star that wasn't shipped very recently. The storage conditions at Daily Planet Wines are abysmal, and I've had enough cooked bottles that I don't bother anymore. In addition, they pull wines off the store shelves, which means even reds need a decent chill because of the heat in the store (and whites a bit more), yet they push you to order food and bring it far too quickly. Result: you're only halfway through the wine by the time you're done with your mains, and there's a crowd waiting for a seat, and they not-so-subtly push you out. And no cheese available to drink with the remnants of your wine. Sorry for the rant, but this place baffles me. Jake

Sure. But I'll still sit at the bar.

Excellent report, FG. My only complaint about Zaytinya is that the waiters on the floor tend to be inconsistent, even when the restaurant is mostly empty. I do enjoy the bar area, however, with good keeps (some of whom I knew from past restaurants) and relatively quick service, given the crowds. Also, the excellent selection of ouzos/rakis/araks is much easier to explore at the bar, as the service requires three vessels. But the araks especially are brilliant matches with some of the food--Al Massaya (blue bottles) with fish and dips and Ksarak with heartier dishes and cheese. So I end up eating at the bar most of the time, and going by to drink at odd hours when the keeps can talk a bit more. I've also had the keeps order my dinner for me, and they do a pretty good job of choosing . But I love the food, love the desserts, love the room, love the wine list (and the prices are okay). I do think the turkish coffee isn't, well, coffee-y enough compared to other specimens, but it's a nit-pick.

I don't recall hearing what the corkage was...do you know?

Here are some winesearcher droppings from mogsob's post, plus some other clunkers I dug out. Remember, these are retail, not wholesale prices, and NYC is very competitive from a wholesale price perspective: LALANDE DE POMEROL Château l'Ancien 1999 $98 $33.14 (SAQ, Quebec) SAINT-ÉMILION GRAND CRU Château Faugères 1999 $92 $21 (Spec's, Houston) $31 (Old Village, NY) SAINT-ÉSTÈPHE Château Montrose 1997 $280 $44.95 (Sherry-Lehmann) PAUILLAC Château Pichon-Longueville 1997 $248 Lalande? $50 (Wine Library) Baron? $26.95 (Sherry-Lehmann) MARGAUX Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux 1997 $164 $45 (DiCarlo, Chicago) $48 (K&D Merchants, NY) SAINT-JULIEN Château Léoville-Barton 1998 $194 $41 (Binnys, Chicago) $44 (Garnet, NY) $45.95 (Sherry-Lehmann) HAUT-MÉDOC Château La Lagune 1998 $98 $28 (Sherry-Lehmann) MOREY-ST-DENIS Georges Lignier, "Les Chaffots" 1999 $248 $63 (Wine Library) SPATBURGUNDER August Kesseler, Assmannshauser Hollenberg Spatlese 1999 $220 $68 (Sam's, Chicago) BRUNELLO Castello Banfi Riserva "Poggio all'Oro" 1993 $350 $80 (Tonnelle, NJ) $100 (All Star, NY) CONCA DE BARBERA Torres "Grand Muralles" 1997 $250 $76 (Sam's, Chicago) PELLOPONESOS Skouras "Megas Oenas" 1998 $62 $15 (Astor, NY) CHARDONNAY Chalk Hill Estate 1999 $128 $29 (K&L, CA) $32 (Wine Library, NJ) CHAMPAGNE Ruinart Rose, NV $204 $45 (All Star, NY) SYRAH Lewis Cellars 1996 $262 $60 (301, CA) SANCERRE Thomas "Ultimus" $98 $27 (Calvert-Woodley, DC) $29 (Chelsea Wine Vault, NY) (edited to add the ones I dug up)

I guess the core question I have is "does $35 represent a better-enough value than the old $20 brunch to make it more of a special occasion rather than just a nosh before the Georgetown game?" The only real way to answer that question is get a specific idea about what dishes come out in the new degust, clearly. Jake

Now it sounds intriguing...do tell

Steve: Are the components from the tasting (for mortals, not you two Steves) taken from the regular latin dim sum menu? Is the tasting AYCE (as before) or limited? I suppose these and more will be answered in FG's exhaustive review that's soon-to-come? I'd say about three-fifths to two-thirds of the a-la-carte dimsum menu are carryovers, or quite similar to the kinds of offerings of the "old" brunch. And the resto certainly hasn't done much of a job publicizing a ramp-up in ingredients/conception on the brunch.