Damian

Skip breakfast and have lunch at Mrs. Wilkes'. Can't remember where it is, but locals and guidebooks should be able to tell - or just look for the line of people on the street. They take 10 people at a time from line and seat them together at a round table in the bottom floor of a historic house. For a fixed price ($10-12 - it's been a while, so can't remember but it is cheap), you get dish after dish of Southern classics (fried chicken, ham, spoonbread, okra, greens, biscuits, corn, and on and on) and eat until you are ready to explode. An unbelievable meal.

Washington DC - Monday nights at the Reef in Adams Morgan. There is a local brewer who brings a small cask of his ales and other brews on Monday evenings which sits ont he bar and is then sold until gone. Ask Brian the owner/bartender/beer guru what's on for the day. Last time I was there he had a delicious and strong barleywine on offer. dba's sister establishment of the same name in New Orleans is also a good bet for ales.

Lots of good information here. I grew up in DC but my family also has a house on the Eastern Shore. Catching and eating Chesapeake blue crabs is a hallmark of Summer, and a way of life. For cakes, there are two authentic styles, broiled or fried - which to order or make is purely a matter of preference and most crab houses will make either style on request. In their best form, as others have explained, crabcakes simply are big portions of backfin lump meat that is left in its natural chunky state (not over-handled into a stringy mess), seasoned (Old Bay is a classic seasoning, but everyone's got a favorite recipe), and held together with minimal binder (most typically light egg and sparse fine breadcrumbs). These are then sauteed in butter, or lightly broiled, on both sides. For picking crabs buy males only. Better flavor, and, without getting into the whole raging debate, generally better for the population. You can tell a female from a male by looking at the underside - females (sallys and sooks) have a triangular apron while males (jimmies) have a t-shaped abdomen. There is no grading standard for crabs in the Bay, with "jumbos" in Virginia tending to be smaller than "jumbos" farther north in Maryland. If you ask for "Number One Jimmies," you will generally be given the jumbo category of male crabs that the purveyor sells (or as often happens now, unfortunately, you'll be told they're out but have No. 2's). Jumbos generally should be 6 inches or more across from "point to point," the widest part of the body. Any crab smaller than 5 inches is not worth eating and may be illegal. Mid-week is better than weekends for getting good crabs, early is better than late. Some places will let you reserve Number 1's in advance if you call in the morning or a day or two ahead or are flexible and simply say you'll take them whenever they come in. Weight, not size is the main factor to judge how good they are. A bushel of No.1's in mid to late-July after the crabs have grown into their molts is a world of difference from No.1's in early to mid-June. I'd rather eat heavy "large" No. 2 crabs than light No.1 "jumbos" anyday. It is a lot of work to eat hardshell blue crabs, and that's why its such an event. Good crabs, picnic tables, newspaper, mallets, knives, melted butter (some also like vinegar), cold beer, fresh Maryland "silver queen" white corn on the cob, and friends adds up to a few hours very well-spent by the water on a late summer afternoon. To cook them, steaming is better than boiling, use salted water or beer, vinegar, white wine or a combination, and sprinkle the crabs generously with Old Bay or your preferred seasoning just before putting the steampot over the boiling liquid - 20 minutes usually does it. Here's the battle-tested method for picking crabs that I've honed over a lifetime of summers: Remove claws by twisting at the base, set aside. Turn crab on its back and use a knife to lift the "key," break it off at the base with fingers or knife. Turn crab back over so that the "face" is away from you and hook thumbs under the top shell at the rear in the hole left by the key. Press down on the back legs with fingers and simultaneously lift up with thumbs to gently pry off the top shell in one piece. Use knife to cut off the mandibles (face) and to scrape off gills (devil's fingers) and the organs out of the middle. After this, you'll have a fairly clean crab with two large sections of meat covered by white cartilage and the legs sticking off. Don't worry about a small residual of the green stuff; it's slightly bitter, but fine in small doses. Twist and break off all legs except the rear backfin swimmers (die-hards suck meat out of the legs). Break the crab into two halves lengthwise down the center (one backfin on each half). Gently squeeze one half a few times, by pressing the top and bottom together to break the cartilage and loosen the meat. When somewhat looser, twist the rear swimmer at the base and pull out of the body. This need not be done in one motion - do it slowly and with feel, pausing to break cartilage as you go if necessary. If you do it perfectly, you will extract most of the back of each crab half on the end of the backfin in a large clump of succulent meat- savor it, this is the best part! To offer one of these treats to someone else is the height of crab feast genrosity. Finish picking the rest of the half by dividing it on its hemisphere with fingers or knife if necessary (separating top and bottom) and picking out the meat. Repeat with the other half. Note, no mallets needed to this point and hammering away on the top shell with a mallet is the sure sign of an amateur. For speed, some expert crab eaters will save all claws until the very end - they are not the best part anyway and are hardest to pick. If you see someone doing this, you are in the presence of a professional - stake a claim to some good crabs early, because they're going to go fast. It is not largesse when someone offers you a few of their saved-up claws towards the end of the feast, it is pity and guilt - don't be fooled. Also, it is generally bad etiquette to pick crabs out of the communal pile and weigh them in your hand to scout out the heavies. If you see someone doing this, chances are it's the same person saving up the claws for the end, and you're going to get stuck with the lights. Good natured ribbing usually cures this unethical practice. Of course, if you accidentally happen to pick up a crab or two when getting one for someone else, and can surreptitiously find a heavy or two by doing so - well then, you're halfway to native. Real experts can tell a heavy from a light just by looking at them - new looking white shells are light and ivory or rusty shells are the heavyweights. When you can do this, you are a master, indeed. To pick the claws, turn over so that bottom is facing up. Place the sharp side of your knife on the bottom edge about half and inch back from the pincers. Use a wooden mallet to gently pound knife about halfway into the claw. Twist the knife to break the shell, then gently pound the remaining shell near the pincers and pick it away with your fingers (often grasping the pincers and twisting them apart at this stage will separate the shell). If done right, you'll be left with a "lollipop" of claw meat atop one or both pincers. Turn sideways, put it in your mouth and slide teeth down the inedible cartilage sheet in the middle to scrape off the meat. The halfway knife and mallet trick also works for the other segments (large "biceps" and the small "elbow").

Take that helicopter tour out of Princeville - incredible.

Wilfrid - you are, indeed, a jolly swagman. Are you eating this meal near the New York municipal billabong under the shade of a coulibah tree perchance?

Our family has a chinese take-out story. My dad called up our then favorite Szechuan local and placed an order that included a dozen egg rolls. Stunned silence on the other end of the phone. Then some vigorous discussion in chinese followed by a very calm and deliberate voice saying, "Excuse me, sir, but you want a thousand egg rolls??" My dad repeats, "No, a dozen, a dozen." A very excited voice this time, "YOU WANT A THOUSAND EGG ROLLS!?!?" Dearest dad: "No! No! twelve! twleve!." Voice (calm and friendly again): "Twelve. OK, no problem, see you soon!" I can picture the poor guy reaching for his heart medication after he hangs up the phone.

Dom Ruinart NV - might be out of the $50 category, but to date has been my favorite. Am excited to try Selosse now though.

Hadn't thought of Wagshal's, Malawry, good call. Did not realize there was one in the West End. The only one I know is out Massachusetts Avenue in Spring Valley just before Westmoreland Circle and the Maryland line. That one is my favorite deli in DC, and you're right, their "market" might have a Smithfileld ham or know how to get one. Maybe they'll even ship one to England (might take all of the fun out of the smuggling op however!).

I'm trying to think of a place where you can go and sample a decent "pulled pork" sandwich in central DC. The only place coming to mind is Rocklands in Glover Park (a neighborhood just North of Georgetown). Rocklands website Actually, in looking at the menu, it seems that that they indeed have pork sandwiches, but only choppped and sliced, not "pulled." You might be able to call them in advance and request some pulled pork, they're pretty accomodating folks, generally. Very small eating area at the Glover Park location.

weinoo, We had the same server in the front section of Blue Smoke on Saturday it appears. We were seated about an hour after you in one of the tables by the window. (You're right, cold up there by the door!) Meal was very good, the St. Louis ribs and smoked chicken were very satisfying, sides were also good. Server was a big-time upseller. Everytime I'd ask questions about something she'd tell me we had to have it. Devilled eggs, I asked about them and said I was thinking about them but that we had already ordered plenty of food - my wife says she doesn't like 'em to the server. Server says "Oh they're small, it's only two eggs, you can definitely eat that, I eat them all the time and never have trouble finishing." No thanks. "Are you sure, they're very good and they're not that much, really." Not this time. Back off already! Probably more poor technique (right out of Service That Sells) than anything else. Definitely did not feel like she was on our team, however.

i like the Southern Indian take-out counter in the Old Post Office Pavilion for dosas and the like. I also like Delhi Dhaba in Arlington for cheaper-side fare. I've always had good (and huge!) meals at Bombay Club for more upscale, the guy who runs the BC is also behind the Oval Room and Ardeo/Bardeo in Cleveland Park. Never a big fan of the Oval Room, but I've had two very good meals at Ardeo.

Even more handy is to open one beer bottle with another. Similar to lighter in principle, just use the side edge of another's cap where the lighter should be. Learned this one as a bartender. Handy for those times when no opener ... and no lighter.

My mother-in-law celebrated a recent birthday there. They have a beautiful and cozy private room up a few steps from the main dining room. The food was good to very good, but never broke through to being excellent for me. I think I had softshells which is never a bad thing, but did not blow me away. Very interesting Spanish wines on offer. I also recall the desserts being very good, but was not excited about a mango ravioli thing, that I felt did not work. Sitting at the bar and eating bread with some jamon serrano and queso manchego with a nice Spanish wine sounds about perfect right now actually.

I lived in London about ten years ago as a struggling actor / hardworking waiter. I absolutely loved it. I lived right off the Cromwell Road near the Earl's Court / South Ken. line. Cannot speak to fine dining as that was not an option for me then. But some other comparisons. 1. Subway v. Tube - Highly similar, both great for getting anywhere one needs to go. Both dirty and crowded, especially during the rush. As for prices, doesn't London have a weekly or monthly pass giving unlimited rides? I found that incredibly cheap at a time when a few pounds made a real difference to me. Of course, pre-tax Transitcheks are great in NYC. 2. Racism - Never really encountered any in London or NYC other than the occasional slur heard from some unknown person in both places (London vs. Pakistanis and NYC vs. a few groups), but then I'm a pampered white boy so it doesn't exactly come looking for me. I did get the sense that black folks in London, the several I knew and occasionally dated, were much more at ease about the race thing, and there wasn't the us/them that is such a part of American culture (I mean this in a nonjudgmental way, i.e. not saying one way to be is more right than the other, just that it is what it is). 3. Fun - Londoners, depsite all the bad press about being cold, formal, etc. they get over here are far more welcoming and fun than New Yorkers. I made friends easily and quickly in London and have had a much harder time of it here in NYC (working insane hours at 30-odd may have something to do with that however, as opposed to the freewheeling life of a 21 year old). I found the Brits to be far less restrained by posing and attitude and far more free to scrap convention and let loose. 4. Parks - Central Park is an absolute masterpiece of urban planning and is rightly the envy of all cities in America and much of the rest of the world. Frederick Law Olmstead was a certified genius. Hyde Park, Green Park, Hampstead Heath et al. are none too shabby either, but CP wins. I'll leave discussion of Pelham Bay and Van Cortland etc. until I actually have a chance to see them (other than one 5 1/2 hour round of torture puncuated by the occasional golf shot at Van Cortland Golf Course). 5. Theater - comparing London and NYC for theater is like comparing white truffles and caviar. Both are the best of the best for what they are. In fact, they are the only two cities worth comparing since everyone else is far far below. You want Strasberg and American emotional reality and power? New York. You want exquisite use of the human instrument, language, and perfect timing? Nobody executes like the Brits. You want Shakespeare? Brits. again RSC is where it all happens(and the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington for second place). You want musicals? Either really, nod to NYC probably. Dance? New York. The point is that either city is theater heaven, just that one may be Nirvana to the other's Valhalla. 6. Pubs - Bars - Clubs - This has been said. Wine bars and pubs, London. Cocktail bars, nobody beats New York. Clubs, it's been so long, but London had some amazing venues that lasted until noon the next day, I'm sure NYC has similar - I've got no desire to do that anymore, however. Enough for now - this is too long already.

Depends what you mean by nearby. I lived in Isla Verde for two years. There are not a lot of great restaurants within walking distance of the Ritz, if that's what you are looking for. There is Metropol across the street which I enjoy for PR/Cuban food. (gallinita rellena is my recommendation). It is good, not great. The restaurant at the Ritz itself is delicious and one of the better upscale restaurants in town. Other than that, if you are willing to travel as far as the Condado or Old San Juan, the usual suspects come into play (Augusto's, Ramiro's, Bella Piazza, Chef Marisoll, Compostela, Picoteo, Pikayo in the new art museum, Ajili Mojili on a good night). Casita Blanca is still good for downhome per Bux's recommendation (don't hang out in Barrio Obrero at night, however). Of that ilk are El Pescador, El Jibarito, Metropol, Pescaderia Atlantico is not a bad option at the other end of Isla Verde, Casa Dante and Che's are acceptable in that area too. Go to Plaza del Mercado in Santurce on Friday evening around happy hour for the street party and drink cuba libres or batidas and eat empanadillas and pinchos from the street vendors. Are you going to be there for Festival de San Sebastian? If so, Old San Juan will be the place to go - it is a complete zoo, but is lots of fun all day and all night long during the festival. The Saturday night scene is at the nearby Hotel El San Juan - it is practically a parade.

I second Sandra's recommendation of Puerto Rico's Yauco Selecto and would add another Puerto Rican, Alto Grande, for premium coffees worth trying. Gramercy Tavern serves press pots of Yauco Selecto, or did the last time I was there. Cafe con leche extraordinario!

erie and John have hit on it. While I am a fan of Sierra Nevada's pale ale to the point that it is generally my default purchase along with Guinness in the new bottles, Anchor's Liberty Ale is superb. Liberty probably gets my vote over Sierra.

Haven't noticed a great difference between Guinness as served in the U.S., Ireland, UK, or Italy for that matter. I have noticed flavor variations in all of these places (OK, except Italy), mostly along the lines of a fresh and slightly sweet taste versus stale and somewhat mustier taste. Temperature has been pretty much the same, cool to fairly cold but never warm nor icy. I think there is such a thing as a place that serves good Guinness versus bad Guinness, but it is far more likely to be a factor of how clean the bar keeps its lines and equipment and how much of the stuff it turns over than of more subtle differences in water or brewing. Not that I totally discount water and brewing, just that I think one would need a decent size sample from outlets serving from a given brewery or water source to overcome more intrusive flavor factors. Any volunteers? Actually, the Irish brew I wish they would import to the U.S. (in addition to me beloved black) is Smithwick's.

We rely on Mughlai in that neighborhood for pretty reliable Indian takeout.

Glad to hear it, Zeb.

Of course, you're right, Mike, the manager may have done nothing. I don't take your posts as sarcastic or obnoxious, just legitmately curious. As to your inquiry of what exact value I would expect in terms of compensation for the deficient service, it is hard to say. I'm not trying to be coy here. Obviously, we would have been happy if he had taken the uva off the bill or the wine or comped the whole meal, or invited us back on the house. Do I feel that this what we deserved? Well, probably not, much of the food was good. How about going half price on the uva? How about half on the wine? I don't really know what would be reasonable "value" - which is part of the reason I am loath to complain and get into discussions like that; one inevitably feels like kind of a whiny beggar (at least I do). In general, my feeling is that you get what you get with wine unless it is off or otherwise undrinkable. Doesn't prevent me from being disappointed that a captain (not a sommelier as I would have, and did, expect him to be) recommended a wine that wasn't all that good for its price (not a high-priced wine to be sure).

Mike, I agree that there were certain good aspects to the service, especially the bartender, as I have acknowledged, making the wait much more bearable. Being comped on a dessert was a decent gesture, but did not make up for my disappointment at being served an appetizer for a main course that was utterly different than described and cost $85 in itself (mostly as a premium for the truffles, granted, but when you spend that for a truffle experience, you want it to be worthy) and the other glum aspects to the service (ignoring us, forgetting coffee, recommending a mediocre wine). I am not sure what the manager would have done had I done the correct thing and complained to him, but it probably would have been a lot better in the sense that he probably would have ensured that I was happy or happier. Again, I shoulder some of the blame for my dissatisfaction for not complaining to him. The main point is that I would gladly trade the two glasses of wine and the free dessert for a satisfying experience the first time around with attentive and intelligent service. My post was not intended as a rant, and I hope it did not come across that way. Nonetheless, I still feel CB let us down.

I beg to differ that it is a consistently excellent performer, Wilfrid. We had a disappointing meal there on Saturday night. The saga follows (warning: probably way too long). We arrived on time for our 8:30 reservation. Originally we had reserved for four, but family from out of town had to cancel so we called the restaurant the day before and told them we would only be two. Upon speaking to the hostess, she said, "There are four of you, right?" We told her that we had cancelled, and she appeared momentarily concerned - the Maitre d', however, quickly told us that it would be no problem and pointed us to the bar a couple of feet away. Bartender was very friendly. We asked for two glasses of a Cote du Rhone or similar if had any. He steered us to two glasses of a syrah, Cornas - 1997 . This was great, bright but with enough complexity to be interesting. We complimented him on the choice. Waited at the very cramped bar area for about 25 minutes, while some other two tops were seated. Mildly annoying, but we were enjoying the wine and the bartender came over and poured us two more glasses on the house without even asking, just because he saw us waiting for a while. Very nice move, and made us happy. A table opened up right in front of the bar, closest to the door with people kind of crowding over it and around it, clearly not a great table. The maitre d' offered it to another couple who declined it and we also declined, figuring that we'd been waiting this long, a few more minutes for a better table would be OK. A third couple was seated and the maitre d' brought them a bottle of champagne on the house (they eemed to be regulars and it was unclear if the champagne was for the unfortunate table or for another reason, if the former, another very nice service move). Another table opened up near the bar about 10 minutes later and was again offered to the other couple who declined it - we decided to take this one as it was not at the crowded end. We finally sat down (around 9:10), ordered wome water, and the first person by was a captain ( the "trufflemaster") with a gorgeous, fist-sized white truffle. He described some of the truffle dishes available and held it to us for a deep, heavenly inhale. It smelled so wonderful, that I was sold. He described three dishes available with truffle shavings, a risotto, a gnocchi, and third called "uva" which he described as large ravioli containing poached egg that oozed all over the plate when it was cut into. He then said that main courses were $110, and appetizers $85 leaving the impression that all were available in either size. The "uva" sounded perfect. Our server came by next and began to launch into the same spiel about the truffles, but stopped when we told her that the other guy had already come by and showed us the truffle. "She said, did he describe all of the dishes for you?" And we assured her that he had. We looked a the menu, so many good choices as always. I was tempted by a traditional salade de frisse avec lardons for a starter, but noticed that it came with poached egg and I was already pretty set on having the uva for a main, so was set to order order a lobster bisque to start instead. I found that my wife was to order a squash soup and a roast chicken dish and turned to the wine list. Amuse came, a spoon with smoked salmon and a tiny potato chip topped by caviar. This were dropped off by a runner with no description or ceremony. We flagged someone down to describe them (salmon and caviar was obvious enough, I suppose). The amuse did not work, the potato chip was not crisp and thus provided no texture contrast. Caviar was barely there. This tasted like a piece of smoked salmon - fine in itself, but not an expression of any kind of skill. Did not see any Bordeaux that I recognized for what we were willing to spend (around $100), so when we were approached by someone I thought to be the sommelier, I asked for some advice. He recommended a wine for $79 (can't recall the producer "Meynau" or "Meynard" perhaps? 1986). Turns out he was not the sommelier but our capitain. Server came to collect our orders. we ordered, and I said I'd like the "uva" specal, but wanted to make sure I understood what it was called and was comprised of. So I asked her if this was the ravioli egg dish and what is was called again. She had to repeat herself several times before I could hear her, but assured me that's what it was. I had forgotten how noisy that restaurant is, we had trouble hearing each other and could almost never hear the staff on the first try. She left, and that was the last time we spoke to her until the bill. Our soups arrived literally about a minute after the server left and before the wine arrived. (I am ordinarily not one to order soup as a starter, but I had been tempted by a corn chowder on my last visit to CB that had blown me away.) We discussed whether we should send the soup back until the wine arrived, but decided to overlook this and go ahead. The soups were both delicious (good plus on the Cabrales scale), chunks of lobster meat (tail and claw) in the traditional rich brown soup, and puree of squash with sliced apple to garnish. Wine came and it was not so great, a flat one-note wonder. Hoped it would improve with some air over time, but it never really developed into anything special. Again, should have said something, but did not. Mains came, and the uva was placed in front of me and was indeed a ravioli, and nothing more, about 4 inches across; the captain immediately shaved truffles on top, very aromatic, but papery, feathery thin slices to the point that they even curled up to a degree. Paying more attention to the truffle being shaved, it did not occur to me that the dish was frightfully paltry until the captain left. The dish was not as advertised, and was an oily (white truffle oil?) concoction filled with spinach, ricotta, and possibly some poached egg whites, but certainly not the runny, egg-tasting experience I had been thinking about. In fact, there was no real egg flavor to it at all and no evidence of yolk. My wife's chicken dish was superb, flavorful moist chicken with tiny brussels sprouts and other sides - lovely. No one came to check on us or was receptive to hailing for some time (acknowledged, I should have gotten up again and said something), so I ate what was in front of me and was disappointed. Our server was chatting with people at the bar, and we exchanged a look where I nodded that we needed some attention. She pretended that she didn't see (you'll have to take my word for this, but this was clear) and continued her conversation. Finally, I caught the attention of the captain when I was about almost finished the tiny dish and told him that I found it contrary to my expectations and rather small. He informed me with some disdain that the uva was available as an appetizer only and that I was therefore served an appetizer portion. I was not happy with this and made that clear. We recognized that what had happened was the original "trufflemaster" never mentioned portion sizes in giving his description leaving the impression that all were available as appetizer or main, and then we relied on his description in cutting off the server while she was repeating him. There is no such excuse for his failure to mention spinach or ricotta or for describing at as an egg dish that "runs all over the plate" when cut into. The out-to-lunch captain offered a perfunctory "I'm very sorry for the confusion" and then comped us a pear soup to go with the New Orleans potato cake we ordered for dessert. Ho hum. (soup was just OK, the potato cake was good plus) I also ordered coffee which never made an appearance, and this point I was ready to go and so did not complain. Our server returned with a dour look and dropped the bill on our table without a word, she picked with the same grim silence when I put a card in it. I should have asked to see the manager, but am naturally averse to making a scene and loathe more than anything being put in a position where I have to complain, and did not. I recognize, therefore, that I did not give management the proper opportunity to deal with my issues or give me satisfaction. All in all a very disappointing experience in what had been a favorite restaurant for me. The food was generally very good, as usual, and it is even possible that I may have liked the uva more had I not been expecting something totally different, but probably not. Overall, the service was a tremendous let-down, despite some bright spots (bartender); however, even admitting that I shoulder some of the blame for not asserting myself more strongly or in a more timely way, I expect a lot more for this price point. Lesson learned that I will just have to be louder and more assertive about making sure I get it. Sadly, it will also be some time before I am tempted to return and sample Chef Carmellini's excellent fare.

Wow, Stella, I was there with you just by reading it. Priscilla, that egg yolk brain thingy has stuck with me, too. I absolutely know that feeling, unfortunately .

I've had good meals at Bis - nothing fancy, just very well-prepared hearty food in a relaxing modern room. I went to Johnny's Half Shell the other night for drinks with some friends. All I had was a dozen oysters, so can't comment on food preparation, but those oysters were fresh and delicious. Nice casual atmosphere, a little noisy sitting in the booths.