Junction Bakery (Jan 2, 2019) We enjoyed the two loaves of bread purchased at Junction Bakery so much that we decided to have our first dinner of 2020 at the Del Ray outlet. While I can’t recommend that people dine here, I purchased another loaf of White Bread ($5.95), and can urge people wholeheartedly to buy their daily bread here. Dinner here is counter service, with wines purchased from bins while in the checkout line. A lovely Bacci Ciccio Toscana (DOG) ($20) did the trick with the modest cuisine enjoyed here, but the small selection of wines is by no means a guarantee of success – a litt ..read more

For my final restaurant meal of 2019, I had an exceedingly disappointing dinner at Evening Star Cafe, doubly so because I’ve had such good food at the hands of Jonathan Till in the past – I suspect the date, Dec 30, had something to do with things, as the next two days were holidays. As the old saying goes, “The food was really bad, and there wasn’t enough of it!” Here’s the menu offered on that evening: Before dinner, we stopped into Planet Wine next door and put a bottle of 2017 Kermit Lynch-blended “Tiercerolles” Crozes-Hermitage ($36) on hold – everyone should know that all wines purchase ..read more

A last-minute Christmas dinner at Corduroy. They weren’t offering the typical, $30, 3-course bar menu on Christmas, but they were serving at the bar, and everyone in the restaurant had only one menu from which to choose: A $65, 3-course Christmas dinner. The wine, the bread: First Course: Kabocha Squash Soup Salad of Beets, Carrots, and Goat Cheese Second Course Peppered Rare Big Eye Tuna with Sushi Rice and Hijiki Roast Free-Range Turkey with Sausage Stuffing, Giblet Gravy, Root Vegetable Mash, Potato Purée, Bok Choy, and Cranberry Sauce Third Course Bread Pudding, and you know what? We ..read more

It’s amazing we don’t have a thread on The Shrimp Lover (website) a Thai-owned quasi-seafood shack, located in a strip mall just off Route 28, very convenient for Washingtonians traveling to Dulles Airport. I went for lunch today, had wonderful service at the bar, and a kick-your-butt shrimp plate that’s worth knowing about. Seated at the bar, I was asked what I’d like to drink – I wasn’t drinking alcohol, so I got a Diet Coke ($2,50, unlimited refills) while I waited for one of the most interesting raw seafood dishes I’ve had in quite awhile: Shrimp Nam-Pla ($12) – five (the menu said six, bu ..read more

I was in Arrowine (Lee-Heights Shopping Center in North Arlington) last Saturday, buying some wines, and going a little crazy stocking up on cheeses and charcuterie. As soon as I walked in, I saw some magnums of Terry Triolet Champagne on my right, and then Arrowine President Doug Rosen noticed me and came over to say hello. I also saw and said hello to Vice President Shem Hassen. I told Doug I was going to be needing some cheese, and he walked me over to an eye-popping, new cheese section, twice as big as it used to be. “My goodness,” I said. “This place is huge.” Doug replied, “We’ve doubled ..read more

Junction Bakery served me well towards the close of 2019: A dear friend dropped by for a visit on Dec 28 (and was forced to suffer through the LSU-Oklahoma game), and we purchased two Junction Bakery Baguettes at Arrowine (Lee Heights Shopping Center, Arlington), as well as an armada of cheese (more on that later). The baguettes from Junction Bakery are just about perfect, and are sold both at the outstanding (for wines and cheeses) Arrowine, and the outstanding (for meats and produce) Organic Butcher in McLean, as well as at the three locations of Junction Bakery itself (Del Ray, Chevy Chase ..read more

I don’t often go to coffee houses in South Arlington, but when I do, I go to Idido’s (pronounced, I believe, like a Spanish word). Their website is here. At this point, I’ve probably been here over a dozen times, mostly for carryout, but sometimes to use their WiFi. Just this morning, I had a fresh-baked croissant (I suspect their croissants are purchased made, but not yet baked, from a vendor). The Spinach Croissant was a bit on the heavy side (it also had a bit of cheese in it), but it’s a better product than you’d expect from a single-store coffee house who isn’t baking from scratch. A Larg ..read more