squids

Beautiful! You've been so great about getting the pictures posted and I can't wait to see more. It's nice to see the development in stages, and while it's looking great now, it's going to be phenomenal once the painting is completed! I'm also anxious to hear how you like your new wall oven (we are also considering the GE Monogram) Maybe the kids can sway you to bake some cookies for them?

Bumping this up, as I've been searching for info on the GE Monogram line, and came across Fif's post from Jan '04 in my search for info on a new wall oven as part of our kitchen renovation, I haven't heard this anywhere, and unfortunately the link where you had seen this is not on your post. Do you recall where you saw that? Also, was it just the range, or the wall ovens as well? We're knee deep into our kitchen renovation, and need to decide on a wall oven. We are considering the same oven Varmint chose, but he isn't at the stage yet where he's started using it! Any recs would be appreciated, also, what is the difference between true european convection, and reverse air convection? Any one have any experience with the trivection? The most important feature is the baking aspect, as we will have an all gas range. RE: the title of this topic, we were told by the store manager of a dealer in our area that Viking was raising prices as of April 15, and he would sell us a Viking Range at a very good price to lock it in before the increase. They would then bring it into their warehouse and hold onto it until December at the very latest. This is the main branch of this local chain that is attached to the warehouse...now when we stopped into a different branch yesterday, that manager hadn't yet heard about a Viking price increase? My husband said it is a very good price for the range, but I'm hesitant whether to purchase it now or not. Some background info...we have picked cabinets and are choosing appliances and getting quotes to see how much of the renovation we will be able to accomplish. The Viking range is a definite, as my husband, the cook, had one in our last house and absolutely loved it! (unfortunately we had to sell it with the house)

I caught it on MPT (Maryland Public TV-22) Saturday morning...I had completely forgotten that I read this thread, and was thinking the concept sounded familiar... I agree the format is enjoyable to watch--even makes me want to go out and buy the cookbook!

Well, at least the weather is supposed to be nice...But, it is a women's perogative to change her mind, and she has...Darn, I was looking forward to drinks outdoors tomorrow At least I have some good ideas for the next time!

Thanks chefbrendis---I didn't see your post until I had already posted mine...I actually thought of Circle Bistro but when I checked on opentable, it did not mention "patio dining." Since I've not had an opportunity to go to Circle Bistro yet, I didn't know about the veranda. I will definitely call tomorrow to check it out! We'll be a party of 13 looking to arrive around 4:30ish.

Thanks for all the ideas...S&W is closest, but my boss wants the kitchen sink...close by, and not alot of traffic noise to distract. I'll propose these to her tomorrow to see what she thinks. Tabard Inn would be great if it were just a bit closer. Your assistance spurred me to go to opentable to view the restaurants to see exact locations, and I will also look into David Greggory. I myself thought of Firefly, but knowing her, she'll think it's a bit too far a walk for some in my office...! I'll keep my fingers crossed for good weather, though.

My office was planning to go to Morton's on Connecticut Ave for drinks and to celebrate 3 birthdays and a work anniversary on Tuesday. I just found out that the patio's been closed for renovations, and it may or may not be open again by Tuesday. I'm blanking out on places in the neighborhood. Can anyone think of a courtyard or patio that's nearby? Office is near Staples, and no one likes to walk too far. (I know, I know, I'm asking for a lot, but you never know what little gem one may have forgotten about...)

I LOVE that place! ← Ditto...we always go there to get Egg Nog--it's very dangerous stuff!

In the shopping center off Shorefield Rd, the GA Ave entrance into Wheaton Regional Park. It's between Arcola and Randolph, kind of across the street from the Popeye's.

I finally got to read this week's chat this evening, and I'm actually surprised no one has commented yet. I, for one, give kudos to Michael for his response. (Must've been murder, though...I'm sure a wry, dry, sarcastic retort was just waiting to burst out!)

I just eat the noodles raw--and leave the seasoning for my husband who likes to use two packets per serving!

Varmint, I've been trying to play "catch-up" and read from the beginning, but more keeps getting posted before I can get through the whole thread! My husband and I will also be doing our kitchen, so I wanted to pick up on as many pointers as I can...but I just had to tell you, that our house was built in 1957, and we have almost the EXACT same tiles in our front entrance; the color, the size and very similar design. And, since the first thing we did when we moved in was to remove the 47 yar old carpet, we now have visible the same "mortar" where the tile adjoins the stairs going down into the kitchen/living room. (Similar to you, although we didn't purchase my in-laws house, we purchased the house 2 doors away from them this past December) I'm anxious to keep up with your project, as we have a contractor coming in on Monday to take a look at our space. Since I am a little behind, can you point me to where I can find your finalized budget in the thread? I'm excited for you and hope your project continues to go as smoothly as can be expected...can't wait to see more pics of your progress! And I thought our kitchen was bad until I saw the pictures of your maze! At least you were able to cook in it, though...our ovens don't really work, and the stove, well, ever try to bring a pot of water to boil, and watch as it starts to boil...then stops, then takes another 20 minutes to get back to almost boiling....

Thanks for all the suggestions...How far is "not that far?" 5 or 6 blocks will be too far, I'm afraid, due to the time constraints.

I will be either taking the Metro or cabbing from Farragut North area to the Folger theatre on Thursday--while there's lots of places to eat around my work, I'd rather eat in the neighborhood of the Folger, as I'll be meeting some folks around 6:45 or 7 to pick up our tix. Is there anything close by where I can get a quick bite before the show?

Do they have an additional location across and somewhat down the block from Galileo (Though it might be a block over...)? I think I might have been there once or twice when I lived in the dorm near there. It was pretty good! I'm asking because I'd go back if I knew there were a bounty of tzaziki to be had. ← yes--21st street, between L and M (closer to M)

We went here Monday evening and had a very nice meal--although I phoned and was told that they do not take reservations. Since news of the restaurant has been gathering steam, we arrived just at opening at 5pm. And thankfully so, since the tables filled up rather quickly and there was a line awaiting as we were leaving out the door. I'm certainly glad we went before Tom's review came out as while the service was very friendly, the timing was a little off. I can only imagine it will be much worse after the review. My father-in-law and I both had the burgers-his with maytag blue cheese, and mine with maytag blue cheese and smoked applewood bacon. Delicious, AND perfectly medium rare, just as ordered. Both husband and mom-in-law had the chicken, and while I know they enjoyed it, I'm not certain how much as I was too distracted enjoyng my own meal. We shared three desserts; the orange flavor-of-the-day creme brulee, an apple tart, and a special of the day, blueberry cake with chantilly creme. Both the creme brulee and apple tart were tasty, but we were disappointed in the blueberry cake. Nothing to write home about. While I agree with Tom the the brulee was on the thin side, I must admit that it was quite tasty. We will definitely return, but probably not for awhile now that the restaurant has been "outed"

Thanks for the link! I drive past the Lee Buidling on the corner of Georgia and Colesville every day, and I was just wondering what would be going into that space that Crisfield had occupied. This is great news! But are 120 seats enough?!!

Thanks Fifi, I keep reading about Sub-Zero problems but everyone who I know that has one, is very happy. Maybe it depends which model. Also, I don't think any other manufacturer makes a 27" counter depth unit. If I did Ikea, I could definitely afford a larger range or an extra wall oven. I will keep Ikea under consideration. Thanks! Azlee ← We're just beginning a kitchen renovation ourselves...re-did our kitchen in our former house 5 years ago and were so sad to leave it We went with the Miele dishwasher, and absolutely loved it! So much so, that we took it with us! It is sitting in our laundry room awaiting for the renovation. The house we bought has a Kenmore Elite dishwasher that I would definitely recommend, and if I hadn't experienced the Miele first, may have been convinced to go with. The Miele is much quieter, however, cleans better, and does have the option to run a cycle with just the top rack, which we found helpful as we are only two as well. As far as the refrigerator, we splurged and went with the Trio, by Sears. Sub-Zeros have a terrible reputation here as well. Love the bottom freezer, and the French Doors were great. They now make it in a counter depth version, and Maytag and LG also make the French Door version, but I think Sears is the only one with the counter depth one. Look at Sears online for their outlet and you can sometimes find the scratch and dent appliances you're looking for... edited for spelling, or lack thereof...

Very interesting, and tailor made it is...I just returned home from the grocery store and was looking for oil for popping corn, when I saw Enova on the shelf. I hadn't seen the commercial or heard of it before so I was intrigued, but dismissed it for myself since I'm allergic to soy (and therefore CAN'T eat microwave popcorn as it all is made with soybean oil. ) Enova is a not just a cross between soybean and canola oil, and seems like it might be a great product for those who can use it. From the website and I'll try to post a picture of the label from the site as well...although this is a first for me and I'm not sure what I'm doing! "What is Enova™ brand oil? Enova oil is a new premium cooking oil consisting of high concentrations of diacylglycerol (DAG), a type of fat already found in small quantities in conventional cooking oils. The predominant form of DAG fat in Enova oil is metabolized differently by the body; instead of being stored as fat, the majority of DAG fat is immediately burned as energy. " Sounds like an "engineered uber fat" to me, although it may not have the high smoke point. But as mentioned before, Grapeseed oil can always be used for those instances.

I went to 1789 last RW on Sat. PM with a 900 reservation. They couldn't have been better. They had our table read whhen we arrived(4ppl, ten minutes early( I have a late for reservations phobia). Everything was unreal, from the bread and butter(some of the best butter in DC(I am also a dairy freak) to the lamb to the scallop martini, it was unreal. There was no rush, noone hovering, and no craziness. My only recomendation is to get your res. in early, as they will probably fill up. As far as the menu, everything was available, with certain surcharges for specialties, but nothing unreasonable. ← Thanks, that sounded perfect, but I just checked open table, and 1789 has nothing before 8:30 We're limited a bit by location, and of the restaurants that I see that have openings around 6:30, New Heights (on the way home,) Circle Bistro (not too far from my work, but a good hike from my husband's work,) and Palette (across the street from hubby's work and only a five block walk for me) are all available...anyone have input on any of these? I'm going to check into Komi, and perhaps Palena, although since we've just been to Palena I wanted to try someplace we'd never been, or hadn't been to in a long time...Thanks for the suggestions!

Unfortunately, my husband's birthday falls on the Tuesday during Restaurant week..I had originally proposed taking him to Corduroy or 1789, but am hesitant to go to any participating restaurant during "restaurant week" due to the craziness, and possibility of not dining in the best of circumstances. I, of course, suggested Citronelle, but he nixed that since we've just bought a new house and can now be lumped into the "house poor" category. Anyone have any recommendations?

Since our recent move, Mr. Squids and I don't drive past it anymore, so I innocently suggested we make a detour to fill up the gas tank last night at our favorite Shell station in Wheaton, with the ulterior motive to check out the progess of the Pollo Campero...and it is OPEN for business. Must've opened very recently, but at 8 at night, the line was just outside the door. The problem is, there is no place to park! If the lot next door wasn't full, we probably would've swung by and stuck it out in line, but neither of us were in the mood to drive around and mess with parking after a long day of work. I hope to try to get there sometime this weekend. I checked the website for hours, but to no avail. I believe someone wrote in earlier that the Herndon hours were from 10 to 11:30, so I'll just take my chances and try to squeeze a trip out between pulling up old, ucky carpeting and toasting in the New Year! And a safe and Happy New Year to all!

It could, but I believe that's owned by the Group that owns Artie's. I've always wanted to try it, but we usually are waaay too hungry when we're passing by to wait 90 minutes to eat. Plus, we usually have a group larger than the amount that they say they can seat--at least they say they have a limit at Artie's. I also thought they didn't take reservations?

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions! We're still in the early stages of planning, but I'll definitely post updates as we get more details planned. Now, if someone could just find me some time to do the planning... ... !

Thanks for the input--I will look into both of these options!