mnebergall

The bistro at Eve does take reservations (recommended). I generally sit at the bar where the bistro menu is available. There are some small tables in the bar area where they will serve you as well.

Some good new stuff going on at Eve. First, and I'm surprised to find my self saying this, but the tripe (yes, tripe) at Eve is unbelievable. Chef Cathal says he cooks it for 46 hours, and I believe it, almost fork tender. And the stuff he serves it with: nuggets of sweetbreads, some white beans, some pearl onioins, some baby brussels sprouts. When Chef Cathal told me what he was bringing me, my skin sort of crawled because I have never had tripe before and would never ever dream of ordering it. But my trust in Chef Cathal is total so I held my nose and tried it. My eyes were opened as well as my taste buds. The blend of the texture of the tripe with the flavors of its accompaniments was perfect. I don't know how he comes up with this stuff, but it never ceases to amaze me. If you are in the Bistro, be a little adventerous and order the tripe. You will be amazed. Next on the hit parade, cassoulet, topped with a slice of seared fois gras. He makes his own Toulouse sausage and duck confit to blend with the beans. Exquisiste (but only for those entering the chamber of secrets (i.e., tasting room)). Chef Cathal says he will only make cassoulet when all of the ingredients are in alignment, as they certainly were tonight. Damn, Sam I am. The cheese course seems to get better and better. I ordered three cheeses and they came with a wonderful accompaniment of hazel nut honey, cardamom infused apricots and some apple butter. I can't remember any names of the cheese, only one was an Irish bleu. Plus a glass of vouvray. Last, I begged the Chef for the return of the fresh sardines (and my reaction to eating sardines, until I had them at Eve, was similar to my aversion to tripe). He said that he would email me if he was able to get them and that Thursday (yes, St. Patrick's Day, a special day for Chef Cathal as we all know), would be the day when the sardines would be the best. (I expect that the tasting room on Thursday will be tasing mighty fine.) He has only had the sardines twice before. I can't wait. My buddy and I have stools reserved at the bar for 6:30 on Thursday. Edited to add: Jake, was that you at the end of the bar? How did you get past me withoutl saying hello?

On the road to St. Michaels, about a mile or so after the turn off from Easton, there is an Exxon gas station on the right side of the road. Inside the station there is food service. Very good cheese steak sandwiches. The home made pies are very good as well. The meat case also has home made country sausage and smoked bacon.

Note: Ron Jeremy is not the sous chef at Corduroy ← who is Ron JEremy ? ← Ron Jeremy

Ahhhhh!! The scallops tartar. Like a big breath of fog from the Penobscot Bay. They're not on the menu but Chef Power seems able to make them if you ask. Thanks again Chef Power. The chicken confit was wonderful as well (muchas gracias). The Ron Jeremy spring rolls: res ipsa loquitor. We need to find out from Chef Shogun how the bread pudding went down. And, good to see all of the other eGulletteers at happy hour.

The PBS shows are designed so that you learn something, Food Network is designed to entertain you. The one exception is Alton Brown, who definitely tries to teach, but tries too hard to entertain.

I think the discussion of the alleged "90 minute" time limit at Ray's is now finally over with Michael's thorough explanation in this week's chat. Let's leave the steak in its heart.

Ask if the chef can make the scallops tartar, which will not be on the menu, but whichh he made for the eGullet dinner last year. Out of this world. He made them for me the last time I was in there for dinner. If he has scallops on hand, it should not be a problem. It is like tasting the ocean.

I would not have called them "cornmeal dumplings." They are three cornmeal disks topped with portabella mushrooms with some sauce underneath. You can pick them up and eat them sort of like a crostini. The green sauce underneath has a kick to it. I would rate them equal to the fried oysters. Damn good. Thanks Derek. And thanks Jake for the tastes of the S. African wines.

It also looks like the lamb minute steak has morphed into a lamb sirloin. JPW and I are meeting there for a drink after work this eveing and can report back more extensively on the changes. Looks like some new stuff on the appetizer menu as well.

Joe: In response to your 3rd point, my guess would be that Vienna would be a better choice than Herndon. Vienna is in close proximity to the Tysons area and is closer to DC. Herndon is much further out and does not have the office density. Also, it's closer to the bridge and traffic from Maryland. A model to look at would be 2971 (or whatever the heck the number is) in Falls Church. Where does the bulk of its patrons come from?

I just hope that the Whole Foods that they are putting in near Old Town Alexandria has a meat case similar to the one on Wilson Blvd. in Arlington. I'm always impressed by the selection of sausages and veal that they have at that store.

The grocery competition in Alexandria is about to heat up. I understand that there is a Harris Teeter and a Whole Foods going in on Duke Street. The Whole Foods, as I understand it, is going in near the King Street Metro where the Trak Auto used to be. Harris Teeter is going in up by Jordan street towards Landmark where the X-rated movie theater is and Magruder's used to be.

I agree with Don. Whenever you see that a restaurant has been closed by the health department, you are inclined to think the worst (cockroaches, rats, etc). What happened to Power was not a reflection on the sanitary conditions at his restaurant and did not deserve the publicity you gave the situation. It took some drilling down in the article to get to Tom's explanation and thus the real story. In fact, the real story here is what a dope health inspector can do to your business and your reputation.

Sounds like the makings of a possible eGullet dinner at Woodfire Grill. Er, are we still allowed to do that?

So, get ready for a longer chain of "Ray's" establishments once Landrum gets the cash flow cranked up.

I find the claim that Donna had never before seen Iron Chef incredible. why would someon put himself on a natioinwide television show and not at least tune in to catch the show, which runs constantly, or have someone tape it for him. If it is true that he went ahead with the taping of the show without so much as a clue as to what he was getting himself into, then, to me, that demonstrates a lack of professionalism. A true professional is always prepared.

I happened to be visiting the Atlanta area on a business trip (stayed at a hotel in Buckhead). I doing some quick research on nearby restaurants, I settled on the Woodfire Grill on Cheshire Bridge Road. With 6 business associates, none from the Atlanta area, we proceeded to have an absolutely excellent dinner. Chef Michael Tuohy is a very talented chef. We started off with a couple of bottles of wine (excellent wine list): a Goldwater New Dog Sauvignon Blanc and an Arcadian Pinor Noir (CA). Both excellent. For appetizers, we all shared a woodfired pizza, a bowl of olives, the salmon and halibut tartar, the fritto misto, the fava beans, and I can't remember what else. I was especially fond of the tartar, the salmon and halibut were at the peak of freshness, and the flavors of the two different fish blended nicely. Most eveyone had the fresh salmon cooked on a plank of wood. I, on the other hand, ordered the duck breast/venison mixed grill with the sunchokes. Wow, beautiful duck and venison, cooked with rosy centers and a nice crust. At first, I thought the sunchokes were some kind of sauteed mushrooms, but then I remembered that the menu said sunchokes and I never remembered the things tasting so good. I guess the main reason I chose this entree is that the chef appears to spend a great deal of time sourcing his ingredients in order to ensure that he has the season's freshed and that they come from small local farms. DAMN, was it good. The fellow next me had the diver scallops with grits (he is from Memphis). He commented on how good his entree was and even though my mixed grill was stupendous, I was sort of jealous of the scallops it is one of my favorites. I'm sure the planked salmon was good, eveyone that ordered it seemed to enjoy it. One guy had the rib eye steak. He commented that it did not seem to have that "woodfire" taste. I commented that if he really wanted the woodfire flavor, he should have ordered the chicken because I suspect it would absorb more of the flavor of the fire. A couple of folks had the tiramissou (sp) for dessert. They commented that it was something special. I opted for the cheese course. The cheese course was unlike any I have ever had. I got three cheeses and it came with about three different kinds of fruit, a date, some sort of dried apricot thing, and one other that I can't now remember, a couple of different kinds of bread and some maracana almonds. It blew me away. You folks in the Atlanta area are lucky to have someone like Chef Tuohy in your midst. The next time I am in the area, I plan to go back.

Da Domenico's sort of reminds me of Vesuvio's on the Soprano's. But seriously, that veal chop is worth the trip out there.

I had a great dinner at Firefly last night with some out of town business associates. John W came over and made some great suggestions on the wine. We had the usual appetizers, spring rolls and fried oysters. I had the pork ragu with polenta and the others had the Michael's Ribeye diablo. The wines were an Elyse Vinyards petite syrah. Very extracted, inky black almost. Wonderful, full bodied flavor. That was gone before the entrees arrived. Rather than do another bottle of the Elyse, we went with a barolo that John W recommended. The contrast with the Elyse was startling. Two totally different wines. The barolo was more refined and lighter in body. It went great with the ragu and the steaks. The big news though is that a new menu arrives today. I have half a mind to wonder down there for lunch this afternoon just to check it out.

but you probably were not seated at table 7.

The reason it is the "Crown Books" of wine is because it was started by the Haft family, which owned Crown Books. Happily, they are no longer owned by the Hafts. That Landmark location is a real pain in the ass to get into and out of. Actually, since it is across the freeway from Landmark, technically, it might already be in Annandale. But I do most of my Totalling at the Sterling location.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Da Domenico's. I think they have one of the best veal chops in town. Turn off of Rt. 7 at the Orvis store and wind your way up the hill.

Is City Lights of China on CT Ave. above Dupont still as good as it used to be?

I'd be careful about heading downtown for lunch on a Saturday. Many places are not open for lunch. For instance, Oceanaire is closed and I think Ceiba is closed as well. Most of the places near the airport, except Oyamel, are likely to be open. Eve is an excellent choice, if you are headed the other way.