Al_Dente

Died in her sleep... So sorry to hear this.

Thanks to this thread and the accompanying controversy, I've now begun incorporating "da Sto" into my every day vocabulary. As in when I call my girlfriend on my way home from work: "Hello my dear, I will be departing from the office shortly. Whilst driving toward our abode, methinks I shall encounter the opportunity to drop by da Sto for any comestibles we may require. Might there be anything we simply must obtain?"

The gospel according to eGullet is infinitely more valuable and informative than just looking at a menu. Tell him he must go. Period.

Crunchy frog.

Is Market Inn worth going to? I believe they have lobsters. I've never been.

Don could you remove this post to cut down on the confusion? Thanks! Don-- could you also move the autumnal (not the vernal, that's spring!) equinox to the 7th? The 21st just won't work for me.

Here's the website. I'm GOING. Just Lobsters

"H"? I'm being dense today. Can I get more clues? For the record, I haven't been to any of those joints in a long long time. Aren't they all kinda frat-boy-backwards-baseball-cap type places?

Can't do it tonight. Gotta get ready for my trip to CA.

Had 3 courses at the bar last night with wines picked by Derek. I can't recommend the roast leg of suckling pig enough. Oh my. It puts a smile on your face. And the Roman bread soup was downright luxurious. Had a sidecar too!

Okay, sit back and relax. Close your eyes. Now imagine Donald Rumsfeld. Then imagine Colorado Kitchen. Next, imagine Donald Rumsfeld there in the kitchen, back behind the counter, sweating over the stove and cooking your delicious dinner instead of Gillian Clark. Funny ain't it?

If it's the 7th I'm in. If it's the 21st, I dunno yet.

Hi John-- it's been too long, I need to drop in at Firefly sometime soon. Thanks for doing this Q&A. I'm off to California for a longish vacation. I won't get the chance to go to Napa/Sonoma, but I'll be driving through the Monterrey area and Big Sur on my way from San Francisco down to San Diego. Are there any wineries you'd recommend? Also, what kind of chef are you away from your professional life? What do you cook for yourself at home, or for a small dinner party? Or do you avoid cooking altogether?

Nah, I'm betting Sietsema's gonna saddle up this dead horse. I'm thinking it will either be Al Sharpton or Bill Cosby.

There should be. I think somewhere in Charles County should be next. Fort Washington has a lot of picnic areas, perhaps a group of us could head down to some of the bbq joints, pick up a mess of stuff from 2 or 3 different places, and bring it up to Fort Washington where more of us could meet. I'd be willing to do a pick up. I went to a place near Indian Head that had fantastic ribs called Dale's Smokehouse this past Sunday. It was all about the smoke and the pork-- fatty, but excellent. It was on the left about 2 miles before the entrance to the naval station in Indian Head. I stuffed myself on nearly an entire rack.

I'm on the edge of my seat...

I'm in for 2. Given all the hoopla about Gillian vs eGullet, it would be cool if we could get some of the eGullet big shots to come from out of town for this one, wouldn't it?

Well put-- I agree. Wow, it's getting crowded in here.

How does Chef look bad?

Pork.

I second the Yellow Brick Bank nomination-- though the menu could use some refreshing, but if you've never been there before... Also, in Shepherdstown you'll find 3 Onions. Good service, attractive space, and great food. I think they're giving the Yellow Brick Bank a little competition.

She reads eGullet regularly. Besides, what have I done that can be construed as the least bit objectionable?

I can't plan that far ahead. But I'm interested +1. Lemme know what date you decide and I'll do my best to make it fit my schedule. Unless there is a major calamity, once I commit, I'll be there. But if you need my credit card number, here it is: 4567 8901 2345 6789 Exp 9/06

I feel hungover this morning. Yes, I had a bit to drink, but this is mostly a hangover due to remorse-- remorse over my lack of judgement. I should have known better when I walk up to the restaurant with my GF and only one table is occupied at 8 on a Saturday night. I should have known better when the waiter asked if we had a reservation despite the space being virtually empty. I should have known better when the waiter immediately started pushing the bottled waters (I like DC lead in my water, thank you very much). It's such a shame. It has such potential to be the neighborhood joint a few blocks down from where I live. As it stands, maybe I'll go back in a year to see if it's changed at all. The first thing I'll do then is look at the prices on the menu and decide whether or not to stay. I can't believe how much $$$ we spent last night-- at THAT place. And for what? The risotto was fine, quite good in fact. But it wasn't as though there were exotic ingredients and we had only a few tablespoons worth of it for $12. I didn't think that was too bad, but the entrees just seemed to have even less value. My GF's filet mignon consisted of a few 1/4 thick slices of beef atop a small pile of vegetables with a narrow line of mashed potatoes and a handful of strips of sweet potato chips. It looked nice, most of it tasted nice, but it was meager at $25. Especially when we saw someone at another table get the same dish with what appeared to be 50% more meat. For kicks I had ostrich. I was happy with the flavor and amount of meat but it was accompanied by what amounted to 1/3 of a baby artichoke, the better part of a small yellow beet, and the odd piece of this or that sitting somewhere on my plate. And their chocolate mousse would have been better had they left the stale old whipped cream off the top. I can think of many places in town that would have knocked our socks off for the same amount of dough-- Nectar, Palena, Cafe Atlantico, etc. Hell, we coulda probably sat at the bar and had a fine introduction to Citronelle. Oh well, live and learn.

did you have a special soda too? did you like the wallpaper in the bathroom? I had a Boylan's Cream Soda. I didn't get a chance to check out the bathroom.