brr

any truth to this?

Congratulations Chapter One on attaining a Michelin star!

Bistro Bis, Charlie Palmer Steak and Johnnys Half Shell are all within a 5 minute walk of the hotel....and are all in the price range you mention

anyone been recently? we'll be staying at the Renaissance Chancery Court in Dec and wondering if Pearl is worth the $$?

great pictures - thanks!

Hello there! We visited Chicago from DC last week and wanted to share our thoughts on Custom House...... We had lunch there and prices are reasonable, $6ish for apps and $10-15 for entrees which range from sandwiches to 'proper' entrees. It also seems clear from reading this thread that the lunch and dinner menus are very different. I had asparagus soup with creme fraiche which was ok - it just seemed a little lacking in taste. I then had hangar steak with duck fat fries - both were excellent and the fries were among some of the best I have ever had. My wife had the steak sandwich with caramelized red onions and horseradish which was also very good and a side of polenta, which while not being as thick as I would have expected, was creamy and delicious. Service was a little subpar. Our first server was a sullen young French (?) lady who did little to hide her contempt of us, our child and our stroller. We were not apprised of the lunch special, and waited an age for her to take our order. After she took the order she dissapeared and it wasn't until towards the end of the meal we were informed her shift has ended and she had gone home. We reluctantly relayed our concerns to the GM (we're really not the complaining type but are slowly coming around to the realization that unless you say something you'll just end up all piseed off) who responded with concern and some comped desserts, a delectable mint choc chip ice cream sandwich and a very dense and chocolately brownie type thing and a trio of sorbets (mango, rhubarb and coconut) - we literally licked our plates! Notwithstanding the service issues I think we'd be tempted back for dinner the next time we are in town.

no pork or shellfish - how unfortunate in an area that treats these two ingredients with reverence we were in Bilbao for 2 days last month the restaurant in the guggenheim is quite good - for lunch you can order a E20 menu or site in a back room and order a more adventurous E45 or E55 menu - we ordered the E45 menu and generally enjoyed it although we felt that some of the young chefs dishes did not quite hit the mark (yes, the restaurant is a part of the Martin B group but to my knowledge he gives Josean Alija a fairly free rein and my guess is Martin B is rarely there) - time permitting, I will post a more complete review of this meal complete with photos I also echo the recommendations for tapas in the Plaza Nuevo - we did not try Victor Montes because we fell in love with the tapas at a place called Naga (I think) which is nestled in one of the corners of the square have fun on your trip - Bilbao is a great little city and they have clearly worked very hard to spruce it up over the last few years

clicked through here from the other thread - I also have a great cellear space underneath my front porch that I'm thinking of moving my wine into my question is this: I know wines like cooler temps but is there a threshold temperature below which you should not store wine on an extended basis? I'm worried that on those night when its hovering around zero that this uninsulated spot may be too cold is there such a thing as too cold when it comes to storing wine?

from todays Post - Q&A w/ Todd What are you working on now? A special gin and tonic. It's made with a syrup of honey, yuzu juice and quinine from a Brazilian rain forest. I'm even making my own tonic, using a seltzer bottle, and the ice cube will be long and narrow like a test tube. This sounds delicious

hmmm, my memory is a little hazy from our happy hour there - but I recall $3 or $4 dollar pints and $5ish lumpia?? We got there shortly after 5 and happy hour was in effect

we got there at 2 on Friday and were surprised at how busy it was - almost every table was filled not the greatest meal we've had there but good nonetheless we had meatballs, the fried risotto ball special and the goat cheese w/ fig jam - theye were all good - some of the meatballs weren't fully heated through but thats a minor quibble we shared 3 pizza's - margarita, arucola and pancetta, and a special with 'two amys sausage' - I really like the arucola and pancetta pizza although on this occasion they skimped a little on the arucola for dessert we had the orange panna cotta w/ caramel sauce and shortbread cookie - dessert is quickly becoming my favorite part of a meal there - this was divine! and a nice gesture - a free scoop of the mint choc chip for our 4 yr old - absolutely the best mint choc chip ice cream I have ever tasted - truly exceptional - the taste was akin to what you get when you pop a mint leave into your mouth - it made us want to order a full serving but by then we were ready to burst

we have a real soft spot for the Tabard Inn, esp the outdoor courtyard for brunch - love those fresh made doughnuts!

inquiring minds need to know.....what were the other two?

it is indeed, I am quite partial to their 'Plain' Porter...as the old song goes, "when times are tough and you're feeling down, a pint of plain is yer only man!"

dayum, those salt air margaritas are good! chips (incl plantain chips) and salsa were also tasty place was mobbed at 6.30 on Saturday - I didn't eat there

well, we had a fantastic meal at Eve a few weeks ago that I'm still trying to find the time to do justice to in a lengthier posting.... ....but I also stopped by there late Saturday, as we were winding down a bachelor party and bellied up to the bar for a few - Ken took great care of us and we enjoyed some top notch beers - also chatted briefly with Cathal on the way out....a nice relaxing end to the evening

thanks again everyone I'm also hoping to pick up some wine while I'm there - good vintage stuff - I saw this recommendation for wine shops in Madrid on the forum "Reserva Y Cata and Lavinia", but would rather wait until Bilbao when we'll have a car (we are bussing from Madrid to Bilbao). Are there particular places in Bilbao/San Sebastian that are good for wine? Or am I just as well served by stopping at a large supermarket with a big selection. I had originally wanted to incorporate a few days in the Rioja region but I don't think our schedule will permit that. Niall

um......what Heather said I dunno, people are just rude - we do take your 4 year old to restaurants but shes a pretty mellow kid and we always try to eat early and quickly....and its amazing what the promise of ice cream at the end of a meal can do to foster good behavior!! But we'd never take her to Citronelle, Maestro or Eve....Bucks or Zaytinya yes, but when I go to a really nice place, as much as I love my child, I was the evening to be about us (and the food), not her Did anyone see the story in Toms chat yesterday about the parents who brought a portable DVD player into a restaurant, plugged it in and let the child watch Toy Story, while they ate a meal - poor kid....

thank you all for such helpful and informative replies - docsconz - I just found your photo report from Arzak - all I can say is wow! I'm drooling and thanks for the tips on kid friendly stuff in Bilbao malika and the driving tips Bux! I am really looking forward to this trip - I think the only problem will be a lack of time to visit all the places I want to

yes, ljr - an excellent and informative post - I have only 1 question Are you talking about the a la carte menu? As a former Dubliner who still gets back there once a year, I always try and make a stop at Rolys - in a town full of overpriced restaurants I find their 20 or 25 euro prix fixe lunch to be the single best culinary value in Dublin. Wonderful food at a very reasonable price. I really need to get to Caviston's one of these days. Have you ever travelled down to Cavan to the McNean Bistro? One of my favorite places to eat anywhere!

Hello everyone I will be travelling from Washington DC in July on a self-described 'Attention Deficit Disorder' itinerary. I will of course be trawling through the forums but also wanted to throw out my itinerary to see if anyone thinks theres a particular 'not to miss' place. We'll be travelling with a well behaved 4 year old who is used to eating in restaurants. We'll be in Madrid, Bilbao, Elizondo, and San Sebastian for 2 days each. We have nothing on our radar screen for Madrid so suggestions would be most welcome. For Bilbao, we will probably just meander through the old quarter and try the pintxos and also try the restaurant at the Guggenheim. Any other suggestions? We'll be driving from Bilbao to Elizondo (just outside Pamplona) - any suggestions for a good place to stop? We also have nothing on our radar screen for Elizondo (we'll be at a wedding so some of the meals will be taken care of) but any suggestions are welcome. Finally we drive from Elizondo to just outside San Sebastian. Obviously I'm interested in getting a reservation at Arzak. The "'cazuela' (small earthenware pan) of sautéed baby eels followed by a grilled 'a la espalda' sea bream at Kaia, Elkano or Kaipe, the fine fish 'asadores' in Getaria near San Sebastián" from another post sounds delicious. Finally we'll drive back to Bilbao for our flight - I was thinking of trying lunch at Eneperi Jatetxea in Bakio on the way. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

you're right - the steak is very expensive - everything else is in or around $20 though, right?

hmmm, I think the bill was $116 incl tax but not tip - I think we tipped $20 so yes, that pushed it much closer to $150 than $100 so my bad but also take into account we ordered 2 desserts - a strawberry rhubarb pie to take home to the grandparents/babysitters - given that I didn't taste it I didn't write about it! Just curious, brr. $100 sounds pretty reasonable for 2 apps. 2 entrees, dessert and wine. Were you including tax and tip? Thanks! ←

Thanks - I've been lurking for quite a while and intending to post as I've had a run of great meals in the last month (lucky me) but never carved out the time to post. My mother just got back from SA with a few great looking wines which I am eager to sample

a quick note on Buck's which we ate at on Friday night We eat here relatively frequently (well, as frequently as $$ permit) as we leave only 2 blocks away and its sooooo convenient Friday was probably our 8th meal there I know Carol has a reputation for being 'mercurial' but we just like the way her food tastes and to be honest have always had decent service there On friday night the place was absolutely hopping - we waited 30 minutes for a table and others were waiting longer For apps we had the fresh mozzarela w/ her 'famous' home made pesto and beets - top notch, olive oil and balsamic drizzled around the plate adding to the taste - I don't know how she makes the pesto (pistacios?) but its damn good - we also had chicker liver pate on toast - nice, but just makes me wish she'd actually start cooking whole chicken livers so I could pretend I lived in Egypt again! Mains were two battered, deep fried Georgia softies for me and the shrimp and grits with an andouille-ish sausage for my wife - both excellent - I've had the shrimp dish in the past and its not enough food for me but you can't argue with its flavor - softies were excellent but then again its hard to screw them up Dessert was a salty oat ice cream cookie sandwich - ice cream had melted a little too much by the time it got to our table and when they said salty cookie, they really meant it - we had wanted the chocolate devils food cake but they were out of it All in all a nice meal - incl a half bottle of barbera I think it was a shade over $100