Alan7147

Admin: threads merged. So I am headed up to NY from DC for the weekend and have reservations with some friends at Strip House on Friday. I searched the forum and really did not find a thread solely devoted to this place. Has anyone been lately and can comment on the overall picture of the restaurant (food, wine, service and ambience)? Also, if any dishes in particular stand out, I would love to hear what is good. Thanks for the help.

A co-worker is heading out to Lodi, CA for a couple of nights and I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions as to what are their favorite vineyards/wineries were out there. Any help would be most appreciated.

Does anyone know the details of Corduroy's happy hour(times-deals on food & wine)? Thinking about meeting a couple of friends there after work. Thanks.

Another great dinner last night at 2 Amy's. Split an order of grilled asparagus that was drizzled with balsamic and olive oil and topped with fresh ground pepper and sea salt. So simple yet absolutely delicious. We then ordered a Margarita Extra and a Porcini Mushroom pizza, YUM! We ordered a bottle of the Gragnano, but our waitress forgot to bring it to us, when we asked about it she replied that she honestly forgot and comped us a dessert. The wine (red sparking aglianico-based blend) was served chilled and was delicious and very easy to drink. Could have ordered another bottle. It is also very reasonable at $20 a bottle. Dessert was a fabulous vanilla panna-cotta that was served with a caramel sauce and a ginger-bread like cookie. BTW, does anyone know if any of the local wine stores sell this Gragnano (Grotto del Sole?)

May I ask who put on this dinner? Sounds great!

Had a wonderful lunch at Palena this past Saturday. Came in at about 1:30 and only three other tables were occupied. I had the BLT panini, which was composed of house bacon, spinich and a tomato confit served with a side salad, excellent!! Dining companions had the artichoke and fontina panini and crawfish bisque. For dessert we had the donuts and hot chocolate..... two donuts (one glazed and one sugar) were the best I have ever had. Hot chocolate was excellent b/c it was not overly sweet and when dunking the donuts into it they tasted even better.

Going to dinner at the Bistro section of Eve tonight. Anyone been recently and can tell me what is a must have on the menu? Also, what is the dress like for the bistro section of the restaurant, Am I correct in assuming more casual than the tasting area?

Heading to Ray's tonight too @ 8 with g/f and mom. Looks like an Egullet convention tonight

Funny, I was thinking about eating the same two sandwhichs today, but as I have two meetings this afternoon, I figured I would spare everybody and just eat the pork shoulder

Enjoyed a great dinner this past Friday at Pazo. When we got there the entrance was roped off and there was a bouncer complete with clipboard and earphone to ask us if we had a reservation. I found this funny since, after all, this is Baltimore and not New York and South Beach, but hey, at least they are trying. ← I think the bouncer with clipboard and earphone is there on weekends because the place gets so packed they probably have to take care not to violate fire codes. I don't think it has a whole lot to do with "trying" to be like New York and South Beach, at least I certainly hope not. Believe me, Baltimoreans are under no illusion that we are in ____ (insert your favorite city here). And, most of us are ok with that. ← Yes, but velvet rope, come on.... a little too much show. Also, he acted like he was doig us a favor by letting us in.

Enjoyed a great dinner this past Friday at Pazo. When we got there the entrance was roped off and there was a bouncer complete with clipboard and earphone to ask us if we had a reservation. I found this funny since, after all, this is Baltimore and not New York and South Beach, but hey, at least they are trying. We had a drink at the bar while we waited for our table. The bar area was pretty crowded, with quite a few single 40 something men with receding hairlines trying futilely to scope out their "prey" Upon sitting down we were greeted by our waiter, Ben, and ordered a bottle of a 2003 Falanghina from Campania which was the perfect accompaniment to the several small plates we ordered. Ben was very helpful in answering our questions and candid in telling us which dishes he preferred The small plates are divided into three categories: Land, Sea & Field, and we sampled some from each. From the land category we had the pappardelle with ragu di carne, a homemade pappardelle pasta with pork and lamb ragu and shaved pecorino. This was my favorite dish of the night, the pasta was perfectly cooked and the pecorino provided a wonderful sharpness that rounded out the dish. Also from the land section we had the veal cheeks over what I believe was a pumpkin puree, the veal was fork tender but I found the sauce overwhelmed the dish a bit. From the sea section we had the shrimp with garlic & tomato drizzled in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with a few red pepper flakes and the involtini di tonno which was tuna stuffed with capers, raisins & pine nuts. Normally, I wouldn’t order something like this, but we gave it a try and it all the components worked great together. The Field courses were a chickpea pancake which was just average and a special fougasse with peppers baked in it. The fougasse was almost like a pretzel, crunchy on the outside yet dense and moist inside. This was fantastic. Our last small plate was an orange, endive and pine nut salad with basil, fresh chevre and EVOO. Ben suggested that this be served last because of the goat cheese and the sweetness of the oranges and basil. For dessert we had an order of Cabrales cheese, which was served with some sort of twists. The cheese itself was fantastic, as I love Cabrales, but the twists did not fit for some reason. I had a glass of a dessert wine from wine from France which reminded me a lot of a Taylor Fladgate 20 year old port I had recently. This made a wonderful partner to the cabrales. Total for the evening with tax and over a 20% tip was $100 on the nose. Excellent value for the food and service. My only gripe is that it does get very loud and sometimes it makes hearing what your server is saying quite difficult. I would gladly come back to Pazo even though I live in Bethesda.

Does the Herald ever review any restaurants in Del Boca Vista? ← Not that I am aware of, I beleive that is a culinary wasteland

I can equate this to my years living in South Florida. The Miami Herald would frequently review restaurants in Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton and occasionally some as far north as West Palm Beach. In this spetrum you have three counties (Miami-Dade, Broward & Palm Beach) covered. I always found these reviews interesting and a helpful tool for finding new restaurants with in a 30-60 minute drive from me. Much the same can be said about Sietsema's occasional reviews of restaurants not considered to be within DC proper and the surronding burbs. I find no problem in driving up to Baltimore for a great meal, and coincidentally, I am headed up to Pazo tonght for dinner.

I am actually headed up to Pazo tonight from DC for dinner. I will report back on the overall experience

CW has the 2000 Pinot Noir by Sanford Winery (of Sideways fame) as one of their wines of the week on sale for $14.99. It normally sells for between $26-$30. I opened a bottle last night and found it had a nice flavors domintated by red fruits with a peppery accent to it. Found the tannins to be firm but even. A great buy