jm chen

Asking on behalf of someone on behalf of someone. You know the drill. Is there a BBQ restaurant in the DC area that's appropriate for a date? In DC proper I can think of 3 places that offer barbecue. Capital Q has the best 'cue, but is crowded and small and undatey. Rocklands is the same way but without the great 'cue. And Old Glory has plenty of space, but inferior 'cue. I'm not sure why barbecue was offered up as a requisite for the date, and if I were the girl in question I wouldn't expect to mesh nice surroundings with this particular cuisine, but... anyway, I said I'd put the question in front of the experts. Experts? As if that's not enough of a challenge, I am not sure whether either of the people involved has a car. Jael

If your friend has already made up his mind about how "manipulat[ive]" these "absolute bastards" are, why does he want to give them his business? Vote with your feet.

Longish like... 20 minutes? 30 minutes? I think I'll try the butter method next...

Oh, geez, we accidentally rode through Deals Gap a couple months ago -- eat after you ride, not before! Too many twists and turns and twists on the "Tail of the Dragon" for my comfort. However, we had a delicious BBQ experience in a shack shortly afterward. I believe it was in Dillsboro, NC. I don't remember the name of the place, but it was in Dillsboro on the main street, and there wasn't anywhere else that fit the description. Good luck with the ride and the BBQ if you find some!

Does anyone know if Justin is still working at Ray's? He was an awesome waiter at Palena and I'm trying to get my boyfriend to make a reservation for us at RTS -- he'll agree quickly if he knows Justin will be there.

Heh. Certainly it seems to still be popular for business dinners, if the table of 10 middle-aged white guys in black suits I saw last time I ate there was any indication. I don't think there was a free table in the place, and that was a Tuesday.

Every time I grill an inch-thick steak on my grill pan, it gets all burnt up on the outside before the inside is warmed through. Is the pan too hot or too cold? Should I just put the damn thing under the broiler? Or just buy thinner steaks?

Gastro888 -- I was sitting at the bar from about noon to 1:30. Were you outside or in? Chatted with the bartender (whose name I never asked, should have done that) that I thought it would be more crowded. He said they always seem to be busier on rainy days and deserted when it's nice out, then added, "Well, Tom Sietsema promotes us some through his chats, and then there's always the people from eGullet," and I said, "Yeah, I always forget the whole world's not on eGullet..." and 'fessed up. He said he thought "the young lady out on the patio" was from the site. I haven't had the cheese plate lately but the fontina on the artichoke panini was rather incredible. Also, it sounded like they're trying to come up with something else to serve with the donuts now that it's getting too warm for the hot chocolate (which was like drinking a truffle) -- maybe an iced espresso?

Ahhhhhhhrtichoke panini. And the best iced tea in the world. A combination of chamomile and berry and "a seven-herb blend." Hot chocolate. Donuts. Ahhhhhh.

I don't own it, but I can tell you I saw a red tagine at the Le Creuset store in Charleston over the weekend and it is a beautiful piece of cookware. If you do much entertaining I'd buy it for that reason. Curious to hear what other folks have to say.

Ah, it seems Ardeo is having an event but didn't choose to advertise it through OpenTable. According to their website, it's 3 courses, $32pp, children a la carte. Here's the menu: APPETIZERS CHILLED ENGLISH PEA SOUP - Lobster Creme Fraiche CRISPY CALAMARI Harissa Aioli DUNGENESS CRAB & AVACADO SALAD - Red Pepper Jus & Micro Greens POACHED ASPARAGUS SALAD - Marinated Goat Cheese, Young Greens and Hazelnut Dressing SEASONAL FRUIT & BERRIES Organic Yogurt and Granola MARKET GREENS SALAD WITH FRESH HERBS - Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette ENTRÉES FRESH LINGUINI Tossed with English Peas, Serrano Ham & Cheese Cream EGGS BENEDICT Crabmeat, Asparagus, Hollandaise Sauce and Homefries ROAST ALASKAN HALIBUT -Pea Shoots, Shiitake Mushrooms, Ginger Carrot Broth ROAST CHICKEN - Shellbean & Pea Ragout, Spring Onion, Portobello Mushrooms BELGIAN WAFFLE WITH FRESH BERRIES Whipped Butter and Maple Syrup GRILLED ATLANTIC SALMON - Marinated Cucumbers, Fresh Herb Yogurt Dressing MARINATED LAMB STEAK - Polenta & Grilled Rapini Desserts RHUBARB CUSTARD TART PINE NUT ROSEMARY TART Raspberries, Confit Lemon, Lemon Sorbet ORANGE WATER CREME BRULEE - Pistachio Tuile CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE - Espresso Sauce SOFT STEAMED GINGER CAKE - Marinated Raaspberries and Butterscotch

Here's the list from Open Table; surprised that Ardeo's not doing anything special, their Easter brunch was delicious. Suppose you can go there even if they're not advertising "Mother's Day." Brunch entrees are between $10 and $15 if I remember right, and a good mix of savory (burger) and sweet (French toast.) Corduroy's doing three courses for $40/person; Cafe Atlantico's doing three for $25. (Wow, is that right? Well, that's what the site says!) Oh, shoot, I just realized my boyfriend's mom will still be in town Sunday. I guess I'm in the market for brunch suggestions now too! Edited to add: David Greggory is a buffet, $42. Edited again because: I just scored serious points for thinking of this before my boyfriend did. Sweet! 3 for Ardeo. The only downside of their Easter brunch was the required three-course thing, because following up French toast with bread pudding is just wrong. Delicious, but wrong.

In general I am a huge fan of Tom's chat, but this week, it's just miserable. Very few actual restaurant recommendations; mostly long, detailed complaints that are just posted with little input from TS. And I felt this was a new low: It's a restaurant discussion, not the "I Saw You" column in the City Paper. Yeesh.

Well, to sum up: A lovely experience, as always. I waited at the bar for the rest of the group, and sipped a pickled martini in the meantime. I'd ordered it to compare to the pickled martini at Eve, but they're completely different animals: vodka v. gin, fancy v. clean. Poorly ordered, but well made. My boyfriend's parents had not had the pleasure of Palena before, so we steered them through. The gnocchi with nettles and Castlemagno cheese? Still to die for. The roasted beet salad, galettine (?), and bacon & egg were also very well-received. The kitchen was a little slow, but we were well set up with wine, water, and conversation, so it wasn't a problem. Incredible squab. Incredible Kobe beef. Incredible sablefish -- I inquired several times to make sure it would be mild enough, and in fact it was. Every bite was delicious. The best bite of the whole evening was my first bite of the lime tartlet, which is SO tart and pure it just... ahhhhh. My boyfriend's father, who was celebrating his birthday, made a point of telling the waiter several times that the strawberry shortcake would be compared to the shortcake his mother made. Of course when he actually tasted the shortcake he owned up to the fact that it was better than his mother's. And then owned up to the fact that his mother's was made with Bisquick. So I certainly hope Ann's was better. Boyfriend's mother will still be in town Saturday, so I'm hoping I can talk her into a repeat visit for Saturday lunch. Jael

I'm trying to get reservations for tonight but they're no longer on OpenTable and no one is answering the phone. Alas... updated to add: success!

No, I think McCann's is just an expensive import. Steel-cut is steel-cut as far as I know.

After visiting Charleston in May for the second year in a row, we've pretty much decided to make it an annual thing. It's always lovely... and the food is SO GOOD. Friday dinner -- wandered in off the street, sat at the bar at Oak. Short version: delicious traditional steakhouse food, don't miss the tuna tartare. Long version: I already wrote it up for the Oak thread. Saturday brunch -- Hominy Grill. Pretty far off the beaten path, but walkable from our B&B, so we gave it a shot. I got an immense plate of French toast, big diagonal slices of thick bread that covered an entire plate. I only made it about halfway through (had also ordered a side of housemade sausage and app of pumpkin bread, both of which were rich and tasty.) My companion had the lowcountry omelette, with shrimp and red rice. We were both very happy. Unlike most things in Charleston, this meal was cheap -- the French toast was $5.95, the omelette $6.95. A very good deal and a nice, homey spot. Apparently they have outdoor seating as well, and brunch both Saturdays and Sundays. Saturday dinner -- 7pm reservation at Charleston Grill, in the Charleston Place hotel. Quite fancy and very French. The chef, Bob Waggoner, has gotten all sorts of awards, and has cooked at the James Beard Award dinner, which we actually didn't find out until after (all the reviews are hanging next to the bathrooms.) After a slow start (we were left alone, ready to order, for at least 10 minutes after our wine was delivered) the service picked up and was very attentive and polite. The goat cheese and beet tart was sublime -- very rich and creamy, and then with a bite of roasted grape and sliced kumquat, a whole different experience. My main course was described on the menu as veal breast and veal tenderloin, although the tenderloin preparation was much like an osso buoco, falling apart in thick shreds of meat, rich sauce. My companion had the seafood tasting, which included lobster tail, a squash blossom stuffed with shrimp mousse, and several other things I can't recall. We had a side of fennel gratin topped with fried oysters. Everything was delicious. I took about half of mine home. We attempted dessert, since the pastry chef is also an award-winning kind of guy, and enjoyed the peach tart tatin with raspberry Campari sorbet. The dessert platings are very... flourish-y. Very big, lots of spun sugar drizzle. After ordering a bottle of water, we were alarmed to see that the waitstaff was pouring from our bottle at another table, but over time it became clear that they were not keeping track of which bottle went to which table, and we were only charged for one bottle at meal's end. We sat next to each other in a booth facing the outdoor courtyard, which was lovely, and probably in response to my Open Table note asking for a "quiet romantic table." Last thing -- there were four little extras delivered throughout the evening. First a warm gouchere (?) of cheese before the app, cold flounder on grilled cucumber before the entree, a small cup of almond panna cotta before the dessert, and then a little tray of six mini-desserts after the regular dessert. So much food! Wow, I didn't mean to write nearly that much. Sunday breakfast -- just wanted something quick, so we got bagels in the coffee shop, Pike City or Park City or something. Great iced coffee. Sunday lunch -- at breakfast I'd read a positive City Paper review of Fleet Landing, so we tried it. Very light and airy place right on the water, good for families. Companion thought crab cakes and poached eggs were just OK; we both agreed my Fried Green Tomato BLT (with gouda on focaccia) was far superior. Sunday dinner -- 5:30 reservation (made earlier that day) at McCrady's. I was SO glad we managed to fit this in. The food was just as good as it was at Charleston Grill, so I wouldn't be able to recommend one over the other, they're just very different in style. CG is very French, reserved, fancy. McCrady's was much more comfortable and warm. The decor is sort of ... shipping-house, wood beams, simplicity. Our waiter was a hoot: so enthusiastic, so warm, and he sounded so geniunely excited about everything he recommended, it was contagious. We didn't have time or stomach room for the tasting menu (8-ish courses for $65) but picked some wonderful stuff off the regular menu: incredible light shrimp rolls, soft rich gnocchi, perfectly moist miso-marinated black sea bass, and the special "Deckel" ribeye. Everything sounds so incredible when the waiter described it, and he was right every time. The sea bass came on a bed of lots of vegetables, and every bite I kept picking out a different note -- scallion, almost-raw green bean, roasted carrot. He was also very good at giving us several options for light reds among the half-bottles, and we were very, very happy with the Merry Edwards Pinot Noir. None of the desserts sounded irresistible but again, we asked for a recommendation and Andrew explained that the Strawberry Shortcake had berries soaked in x-year-old balsamic, and the housemade frozen yogurt was so delicious, and... well, we had to do it. Wonderful meals in a wonderful place. Jael

Solution-focused: other than suffering in silence, there are only two things you can really do -- address the parents yourselves, or complain to management. I would complain to management. That way, if you are not the only person complaining, the manager can roll up all the comments into one. Also, as we've seen ourselves, things can escalate between individuals and get very unpleasant very quickly.

A McCann's tin is about $6-7 here in DC, last I saw. I didn't buy it. Waiting for sale. I used to be a Cracklin' Oat Bran hog until I found out there is an insane amount of fat in it. Now occasionally I will snack Cinnamon Life. No milk, though. Although once every couple of years I get a craving for Rice Krispies in the bowl, with milk and so much sugar you can feel the grains on your tongue.

They didn't have it the last time I was there, but if they have the antipasti plate with housemade salami, fresh mozzarella, and roasted vegetables, it's incredible. Such simple food but so flavorful. But if you go for the gnocchi as your first course you will not be disappointed. Other than that, I usually just ask the waitstaff for recommendations and they have not yet steered me wrong. Yes, save room for dessert! I love the cashew dacquoise and the chocolate dessert (torte?) that comes with a little bitter orange jam on the side. Report back and let us know what's best these days!

A nice pro-CapPopping article (disclosure: written by one of my friends) can be found here. He makes a good case for why 6% is just silly in the current environment, but why it must have made sense initially -- beer was easy to get, liquor was not, so they decided to legislate what most people had easy access to.

I have luckily never had this problem, but I feel like saying something to the manager, asking if you can be reseated, is the most appropriate thing to do with the greatest chance of success. Speaking to the parents directly is less likely to get a result -- if they thought it was OK to bring the kids in the first place, they'll likely think the kids are a) either behaving just fine or b) on the verge of shutting up any minute now. Now, whether the restaurant can actually reseat you, they may not be able to. But they can offer to do something else, and you've made a concrete suggestion. Maybe they will comp something, maybe they will address the parents themselves and offer to wrap up their food to go. Just open the door and see.

Recently caught Battle Duck, Flay vs. Tsai, and was happily surprised that not only did Tsai beat Flay, the margin was pretty wide. They both did some pretty impressive work but I did think Tsai did more creative and varied things -- including a dessert. Foie gras creme brulee, I think?

I second monavono's suggestion of lasagne rolls -- I've always had good luck with this, and it's always novel to my guests. Good luck with your test runs and, of course, the main event!

Bumping this up since there hasn't been much discussion of Charleston lately and I'm going there on Friday! Peninsula Grill didn't have room for us so I reserved at Charleston Grill, the live jazz sounds lovely. That's Saturday night. We are flying in Friday afternoon so we don't have reservations for Friday night, figured we'd just wander and see what we can find. Of the lovely places recommended, can anyone suggest which are most likely to take us in off the street? We've done S.N.O.B., Anson, and Magnolia's on a previous visit, so something new might be fun. Any kind of food is good. Grits are optional. And -- any suggestions for Sunday brunch in particular?