mnebergall

I think DCMark hits the nail on the head with this comment. I don't see enough restaurants (if any) adopting this suggestion that it is likely to build any broad expectation among consumers that they are somehow, sometimes entitled to a free bottle of wine.

A couple of things: One evening last week I was sitting at the bar at Restaurant Eve and one the staff brings out this plate of what looks like some fried little fish things. He asks the bartender who they are for and it turns out that one of the bartenders was having for his dinner a plate of the fried fresh sardines that was one of the specials that evening, so they set them on the counter behind the bar for "Ken" to have (he has stepped away for a monemt). A couple of minutes later, Chef Cathal comes out and he is craning his neck to see who ordered the sardines. One of the bartenders points to the plate sitting behind the bar and says "Ken" is having them. The chef says no, no no, give them to my friend here (me). Well, my only experience with sardines is with the tins you get at the store that you have to use a key to wind off the lid. It hard to resist when the chef who prepared the sardines is standing right next to you waiting for your reaction. Well, these were nothing like what I was expecting and they were delicious. Lightly fried with just a hint of batter and drizzled with a garlic aioli. "Ken" comes back and gives me the hairy eyeball when he sees me eating his dinner. Not to worry, they brought him some more. After a few minutes, the bar filled up and everybody at the bar started ordering the fried fresh sardines. The guy sitting next to me had two orders. It turns out that the folks sitting at the bar ate all they had and no one eating in the restaurant got to have them. The moral of that story is: if you are in Restauant Eve and they have the sardines on the specials menu that evening, order them you will not be disappointed. Next: Last Friday evening I was sitting at the bar again (I seem to be doing a lot of that lately) and I get a strong whiff of basil. I said what is the basil odor that I smell. Well Todd Thrasher happened to be making some drink that he was serving in a martini glass that looked sort of purple/pink. Todd had made some sort of drink with purple basil and he poured the left-over from the shaker into a shot glass for me to sample. Totally unexpected, a very basily drink, and very good. Last: New menu. Need to get down there to try some of the new stuff. H'mm, perhaps another trip the bar is in order this evening.

If you peruse OpenTable.com, the restaurant descriptions usually tell you if they can accomodate larger parties and the size of the party they can handle. I suggest that you get some ideas from that website and then come back over here and run them by the eGullet critics.

Well, I got to do a sort of back-to-back "compare/contrast" with Ray's the Steaks and Charlie Palmer's. I had dinner at Ray's on Sunday evening and Charlie Palmer's on Tuesday evening. I won't comment on the differences between the decor as everybody already knows about that and could care less. Chef Michael brought us a couple of his famous grilled scallops that were about as good as they get: fresh, sweet and juicy. I had the "petite" 24 oz. bone-in rib eye steak cooked rare. The massive steak that arrived was cooked perfectly and was accompanied by the shaved garlic, crumbled blue cheese, and the grilled red onions. Absolutely heavenly. At Palmer's, I had the New York "shell" steak which is a bone-in strip. The paltry specimen that adorned my plate would have crawled away in humiliation at the site of the monster that I had on Sunday at Ray's. Palmer's' steak was just ordinary. Of course you expect hoity-toity appetizers at Palmer's and one of the guys I was with raved about the soft shell crab and my tuna sashimi was excellent. But I don't go to a steak place for the appetizers, I go for the steak. At Palmer's, they seem to spend more time worrying about the book-ends rather than what's in between. The appetizers and the deserts are stellar; but the focus of the meal should be the steak. The quality of the appetizers and deserts is not carried through to the cernterpiece of the meal, the steak. Ray's the Steaks is just the opposite. His appetizers and deserts are very good but ordinary (I'm treading on thin ice here because Michael's crab bisque and his scallops are out of this world, but they are not sashimi tuna with soba noodles etc., etc.)(I'm sure Michael will recall this post the next time I'm in there) and his Key Lime Pie (my favorite by the way) is one of the best in town. But the point is that Michael puts all of his energy into what you go to his restaurant for: The Freak'n Steaks. He definitely has his eye focused squarely on the ball. Others could learn from him.

We can do 16. 20 doesn't work. Thanks for the thought though. Your website said 18, I thought you might be able to squeeze in a couple of extras.

Firefly appears to have a private dining area. There is lots of discussion on eGullet. Also, the chef has a Q & A going right now.

John: I stopped by for the wine happy hour last friday and ran into two other eGulleteers. The Champagne was excellent. I wish there was a way you could keep us informed of what wines you plan to pour on a daily basis so that if something interseting came up those that were interested could stop by. It is an innovative program that you have there. spelling edit

Apparantly, at Eve, all you need is your restaurant business card.

I understand that Restaurant Eve in Old Town Alexandria has declared Mondays as "Industry Night." Restaurant industry folks are entitled to a 15% discount on their checks (excluding liquor, illegal to discount in VA) by displaying a business card. Does anyone know of other establishments that have similar attractions for restaurant insiders?

I don't know, this discussion of "smoking one's own sausage" brings to mind a limerick about a certain gentlman from Nantucket.

Zagat's rates the food at Ray's the Steaks at 27 out of 30, one of the highest in town. Michael is might proud of that accomplishment.

Rosebud" Welcome to eGullet. Glad to have you aboard and looking forward to meeting you at the CK event on the 7th.

Perhaps also we should all show up in our Caps and Gowns and someone can play Pomp and Circumstance as we walk in and get seated. You know, being over-educated and all. That would depend on the level of fortification.

I think Chef Gillian preferred 7:30. Is anyone interested in perhaps checking out John W.'s wine happy hour before hand? I could be coerced. I would like the following wines for, say..., $5 a glass: '94 Coulee de Serrant '95 de Vogue Musigny '89 Chave Hermitage Is that doable Mr Wabeck? No. Maybe $50 the glass. Well, I tried... I'll sort something out to send youse off to CK. Thank you John. Those of us that decide on some fortification before whitening the doorway of CK appreciate it in advance.

There is an article in today's WSJ about Chateau Pavie and the extensive mareting efforts the proprietor has undertaken. I think we can all agree that the following winemaking practice is what put the wine ahead of its competition:

I think Chef Gillian preferred 7:30. Is anyone interested in perhaps checking out John W.'s wine happy hour before hand?

How did you know that Al has boy/girl ambitions?

What time does the happy hour start?

There could be even more precedent. Could Mo Pho Noodles qualify?

Welcome to eGullet Wino.

The usual suspects will have lobsters such as Oceanaire, Old Ebbitt Grill, most of the steak places will have lobsters as well.

I have never heard it called that before. What is the origin?

Well, I guess I don't need to stop by the bank and pick up a supply of $1 bills.

Is anyone free for a club meeting at the Mad Hatter after work on Thursday?

There is an attempt to track the Supreme Court litigation on this issue over here.