bilrus

I think Meg was referring to the fact that there should be soap in a sushi restaurant (or any restaurant) so that the STAFF can wash up. THis is a tough crowd and I wouldn't exactly call tis group John Q Public. THis is a pretty discerning group that is more used to higher end service. As has been mentioned at other times, you expect differnet styles and levels of service at differnet levels of dining. If I was paying $200 for a dinner I would have much less tolerance for these missteps than if I was paying $30.

I am from DC and have only visited once, but I really enjoyed a meal at Breads of India in Berkeley. Enough so that will be going back there when I am in town in a few weeks. And the upstairs at Chez Panisse is very good.

Actually I said Firefly, but I hear Nectar is good too-- I haven't made it over there yet. Yes, I'm stunningly modest too Why Nectar came out of my fingers when I read Firefly and was thinking about Firefly I have no idea. I must have restaurant dyslexia. (Sorry John W). Repeat after me - Firefly, Firefly, Firefly...

Nectar is a very good recommedation from the oh, so modest Al_Dente. Another good spot for the next time you want to do that would be the bar menu at Palena - not even a block North of the Cleveland Park Metro. I haven't tried it, but it is on my short list and most say very good things about it.

It is pretty straightforward American cooking with a lot of Local Virginia ingredients. Nothing cutting edge but still very well done. The decor is a little frilly for my taste, but my wife loved it. I think they are able to charge the rates they do because there are so few rooms and most of the guests are there to eat in the restaurant. Washington Virginia is a VERY small town about an hour outside of the DC beltway. It has some nice, but pricey shops and a number of bed and breakfasts that have grown up around the Inn. My wife and I stayed in another B&B two blcoks away that was perfectly fine for $200 a night.

I alawys tend to get the thing I would not make at home - either because of the ingredients or because it is a difficult or imaginative technique or presentation.

My wife and I do the 50/50 thing that Vengroff describe most of the time. But she doesn't like some things like lamb and veal (something about baby animals?). I can only have these when we go out so I tend to order them when I get the chance. Then we just pass tastes back and forth. When I was a kid I would be very embarrassed when my parents did this (just like all children are embarrassed by everything their parents do).

I think our meal for two with wine for one of us was about 350. Didn't stay there, but rooms run 400+ per night. Very nice if a little stuffy.

I do want to make sure I don't pass out in my "Oysters and Pearls" that evening.

I would assume that they would need to clean them pretty frequently due to the high volume of poultry they are pushing out of there. That's a lot of chickens.

Couldn't the issue here be that BECAUSE things have changed so much since the late '60's (my entire life, as I was born in 1969) that the current comparisons are lacking. If there aren't any options out there to get fried chicken as it was made from scratch in the '50's, what is wrong with pointing out and praising versions that are good comapred with what is available TODAY? Just as some foods have gotten worse in the last 50 years, a great number of things have gotten better. I am sure that there is a wealth of more ethnic options. 50 years ago, would anyone have imagined that most of us would have Thai or Indian places within 5 miles of our houses? Or was there a culture of food that allowed for the variety of upscale dining that we have today? Isn't the upscale 'Modern American' food of today better than the upscale 'Continental' food of the '50s? And Joe, you have been on here enough to know that a thick skin and a good sense of humor are prerequisites for survival and enjoyment. That's my major complaint about that other site that I know you are familiar with. There isn't that sense of back and forth and open debate that I so enjoy here on eGullet.

My preference is to click on View New Posts. THat gives me everything that has happened since my last visit. That way I don't miss any of the interesting (or completely inane) stuff that goes on here. And I can choose what I want to read and what I don't.

I think there is more of interest to it than just whether the chicken is good. Part of the interest is curiosity about what makes it so special that people will wait for hours to eat it. People on this board are endlessly fascinated by food related issues and phenomena beyond what tastes good. That's not necessarily good or bad, that's just the way we are. I don't think anyone (on eGullet) has said that they are planning on going back next week to wait in line again or that this was the best fried chicken they have ever had.

I arrive in Oakland midday on a Tuesday and we are staying somewhere in Napa that night. Then all day for wineries. French Laundry on Wednesday evening. Then back to SF. Other than that, no specific plans at all right now. Someone recommeded Taylor's Refresher for lunch. I was looking at ZuZu in Napa for dinner on Tuesday.

Good. I am back in for two.

My wife has to be at a conference the next morning after the FL - so we are going to be driving to San Francisco that night. Needless to say, she is not very happy that we got the available last reservation that night. Our winery time would be during the day that we are going to FL. Are the bigger wineries completely overrun with unspohistcated tourists (like us)?

I am going to confess my total ignorance about a subject most of you know quite a lot about. My wife and I are wine neophytes. I have just acquired a taste for it very recently and she is still coming around. We know little about wines, generally trusting the sommelier (or waiter) to guide us in the right direction. That said, we have reservations at the French Laundry next month and are planning on spending one day and night in the Napa Valley and want to do waht is done there - i.e. go to wineries. We want to learn a little about wine, taste some good wines and see some interesting scenery. But we have no idea what to expect or where to go. I am looking to find out the basics here. What is the typical winery experience? How long do you spend at each? Do they offer tours or just tastings? What are the costs involved? And what are some suggestions for wineries that would work for what we are looking to do. (And if you have any hotel suggestions that would be helpful too.) Our only time commitments are that we are spending a Tuesday night somewhere in the Napa Valley and have 9:30 reservations at The French Laundry. As you can probably tell from this post I need some help.

If it is the 16th I will only be in for one and then only after 4. I am returning from San Francisco that afternoon and Jen is staying there for several more days.

I know what is for lunch tomorrow.

Onion Kulcha is my go to bread when I am at a restaurant that serves it.

Jen menitoned this weekend that she wanted to go back, so I know we would be in for two.

That was the case last year. To bring in an idea from another thread - how "geeky" am I that I remember that there were two Ask Tom Chats 365 days ago?

Anything would be good with that bacon it it.

Mel -- comeon -- post it online -- I have some interesting recipes for squash -- let me dig them out and post them as well Yeah - I love spaghetti squash, but I'd like to add some spice (no pun intended) to my life.

I did like last year's better. But if this is a jumping off point for future reviews, etc. Then I can see how it works.