Wine and restaurant reviews
Gabriele and I recently had an excellent dinner at the Majestic, in the heart of Old Town. Last year Cathal Armstrong and his wife Mechelle took over the Majestic, along with a few other partners that include former Governor Mark Warner. The long time landmark delivers good food, strong service and a fun vibe: http://www.majesticcafe.com/maj_new.html […]
Most of us enjoy expensive wines for special occasions, but most of us have mortgages as well. My wife Gabriele and I are always on the look out for wines that deliver value as well as enjoyment. This weekend we found two such wines. Saturday we had dinner at Rustico, one of the restaurants of […]
This weekend Gabriele and I got back from a short vacation at Whistler Mountain, in British Columbia. It was a bit of a family reunion, with a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins I don’t see enough of — can’t wait until next year everyone! We flew into Vancouver, and then drove about 2.5 hours […]
For a couple of years Gabriele and I have frequented a cheese shop in the Del Ray area of Alexandria. I lived in Del Ray from 1993 to 1998, and the neighborhood has undergone quite a renaissance in the past few years: http://www.weta.org/community/neighborhoods/delray/ The cheese shop we like is Cheesetique, a place that offers a […]
Saturday night Gabe and I had a very enjoyable experience at Restaurant Eve in Old Town Alexandria. Eve is the crown jewel of the restaurant group owner Cathal Armstrong and his wife Meshelle have built in Alexandria over the past three years. http://www.restauranteve.com/home/index.html We’ve eaten there once before, and originally intended to just have a […]
Lately Gabriele and I have been impressed with some wine from Courtney Benham, part of the the Martin Ray family of wines. http://www.martinraywinery.com/about/index.html Recently we’ve had the 2006 Mendocino County Petite Syrah and Pinot Noir. Both are good wines at very good price points — $11.99 and $15.99, respectively. The Petite Syrah was surprisingly light […]
Gabriele and I got back recently from a short San Francisco vacation. We spent Saturday 5/3 in Napa county, after being given some really good advice on what wineries to hit. Of course we didn’t get to a fraction of the original target list, but still had an incredible day. Chateau Montelena (www.montelena.com) is justifiably […]
Gabriele and I are just back from a visit to San Francisco. Of course we did a Napa Valley day, and that will soon provide content for a nice long post. We finished a fun day of vineyard visits and tastings with dinner at Greystone restaurant, a fantastic place operated by the Wine Spectator and […]
Saturday night Gabriele and I had a very enjoyable experience at Evo Bistro in Mclean. It describes itself as a “tapas and wine tasting bar” and was recommended by a friend. Here’s the Post’s take from last November: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/21/AR2007112100830.html It was clear something was up as soon as we arrived. There was an air of conviviality about […]
Last night Gabriele and I had dinner at 2 Amy’s. It’s a well known place in NW Washington but one neither of us had been to previously. We’re big Pizzeria Paradiso fans and that’s where we head when in the mood for top notch pizza. We still are, but 2 Amy’s is excellent as well. It’s […]
This past Saturday I attended the DC International Wine and Food Festival, held at the Ronald Reagan building. It was a last minute game time decision — I was getting over a nasty head cold. The event was packed, and I was not at 100%. So the following are some high points, not in any way […]
Ok, so a week after saying this job doesn’t often mix business and wine it happens again. Tuesday night we conducted a kick-off meeting with Scott and Jennie from our new client GovDelivery. With relatively little fanfare, this company has become the dominant provider of email and digital subscription management services delivered. These services are made available via a software as […]