We're headed to the beach next week - South Bethany, to be exact. The partner is craving a cheeseburger club. Does anyone know of a place between north OC and Rehobeth that serves them?

Relatives, including a 5 yr old, will be in town next weekend and we'd like to go to dinner on H st but I'm a bit wary because every place we're considering does not take reservations.

Does anyone have any knowledge or opinions of what the wait is likely to be like on a Friday night around 6:00 pm for a party of 5 at:

The Argonaut,
The Liberty Tree,
or
The Queen Vic?

Or is there another similar priced restaurant on H St that does take reservations that I'm not thinking of?

Yes, I've already considered Ethiopic, but that's more then they can handle!

So I just got back from Christmas Eve dinner to find that my dog has eaten the challah bread that was going to be our Christmas morning french toast. I'm around 97 & 100. Any idea where I can get some in the morning?

Third or fourth Ethiopian. I prefer Etete and Ethiopic - both for their food and atmosphere/decors. Etete is small and the tables are close together. I'm not sure if they take reservations. Ethiopic does and their is more space around their tables, if that matters to you.

In any case, get a vegetarian platter and add a meat dish. That's enough for 2-3 people.

-----
Etete
1942 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

Can anyone recommend a cooking class in Baltimore? I'm looking for a gift for my brother and his gf.

I've looked at the catalog of the Culinary Arts Center. It's interesting but I was looking for something more along the lines of what Roberto Donna used to do in the old Galileo. I took a class there about 5 years ago - a group of about 10 of us cooked about 5 courses. Roberto was a lot of fun. Lots of wine flowed during the cooking. Then we sat down for a massive lunch with more wine.

I see that he is still offering classes out of his home in Virginia. That is probably too far but has anyone been?

I saw classes at Dogwood. They look promising but they're just once a month and none of the upcoming classes really interested me.

Are there any other restaurant/chef led classes in the Baltimore area?

If it wasn't such a pain to get from NE DC to western Arlington in the evening, I would happily go there for a sub and some cookies!

Any idea where I can get them in the DC area? Live in Brookland, work in Bethesda. I need to put them in a holiday box to send to an ex-pat in London.

Thanks. I was thinking I could make it myself but when I googled it, all of the recipes said "do this if you absolutely have to but it will be nowhere as good as the real thing." And who wants that?

Any idea where I could purchase it in DC?

I'll be in New Orleans with a group of about 15 in mid January. We're staying at the Ritz. We'll be tied up in meetings all day but I'd love some dinner suggestions.

I'd prefer that they be walking distance from the hotel but I can be convinced to get a bunch of cabs for a good dinner.

We''re there for 3 nights. I'm looking for one dinner at a nicer place. $50-60 a head? I have no idea what NO restaurant prices are like.

One of the dinners should be a more casual place.

At at least one of the dinners I should *know* I'm in New Orleans - I can get italian or chinese or neuvo latino anywhere. I want be able to close my eyes take a bite and know where I am.

Any suggestions?

That looks close! Too bad we're in DC and shipping is $60!

I'll second Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen! We hit it every time we're in Chapel Hill visiting relatives.

My boyfriend was recently dreaming of an ice cream novelty from his youth. He doesn't remember the exact name but we searched the web for variations of it with no luck.

The novelty in question was called something like freezee burrger or maybe chilly burger. It was ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies. Possibly covered by chocolate.

He grew up in NC - Raleigh and Greensboro areas and would have been begging his mom for money for this in the late 70's.

Anyone have any idea what he's talking about?

Bistro Lepic on Wisconsin in upper Georgetown usually has it on the menu.

What do you think about El Fenix? The reviews I've seen have been all over the place. Location and price wise, it would fit for the Friday night dinner. Tried Mi Cocina but they don't take reservations.

Sambuca might be great. It looks like it's across the street from the RItz. Might be a good place for dinner Thursday - people can join us as they arrive.

Any idea what time the bands go on? I didn't see that on the site (of course, I could call....). We would be going more for the food (& location), less for Tiny & the Kingpins....

A trolley? Cool. I work for an association in DC and am used to being in a very walkable area for these meetings and hate to have to deal with cabs. A restaurant along the trolley would be great.

Is that the pesto that is sold in the refrigerated case with the fresh pastas? The description of the jar sounds right. Whatever it's name, it's by far my favorite prepared pesto.

S&D looks interesting but it appears that they don't do reservations and I don't want to have to wait for 45 minutes with a group of 15 on a Friday night....

We're in at Fearings for Saturday night and I'm considering Mi Cocina for a smaller group on Thursday.

So just one more not terribly expensive place for Friday.

If we can get in to Fearings one night, the second night can be more casual. Less than $50 a person including a drink? I am open regarding cuisine but nothing too exotic, I suppose, since I don't know the rest of the group that well.

Sorry! I forgot this was a statewide board. That's the Ritz on McKinney in Dallas.

I'll be at the Ritz on McKinney Ave with a group in mid August. Fearing's sounds good but I can't afford to feed 15 people there for 3 nights! Any suggestions for something in the neighborhood (what IS the neighborhood?) for dinner for a group?

Thanks,
Stacy

We went last night and were disappointed. I like the idea of that restaurant in that neighborhood. I liked the deconstructed interior. I thought the mussels themselves were good quality. The service was fine.

But the food? eh. We got the frommage bleu and bierre mussel preparations and they were both completely without taste - which seems hard to do, considering bacon was in both and blue cheese in one. The frites were tasty but we were served a giant bowl of bits. Most pieces were just two inches long. Makes it hard to dip into the sauces (we got the truffle aioli and curried mayo. The mayo could have used more curry but I'll chalk that up to personal preference. The aioli was tasty.)

We really wanted to like this place. We live in NE and there are not a lot of options. Since the chef is back from his stab at being a food network star, hopefully he will get the kitchen back in order, we'll hear good things again and will be able to give them another try.

My go-to sick food is the grilled chicken soup from Nooshi. It's in the West End/Dupont area but they delivered when I lived in Glover Park.

I was in town from DC last month and was able to stop by the wonderful farmer's market at the Ferry Building. While there I bought a shortbread cookie topped with caramel, sea salt and chocolate. The vendor was on the side of the builiding and was some sort of non profit that helped women start small businesses, I believe.

Oh dear god, that cookie was good. Can anyone help with the name of the vendor?

We ended up getting two dozen males @ $15 per dozen. They were small but tasty and we had enough leftover to make a couple of crab cakes

sorry - should have been more specifc. I'm looking for something inside the DC beltway. I'm too lazy to drive too far tomorrow!

Where can I get good crabs inside the beltway? Preferably Md or DC. Eat in or take home. I haven't had them all summer and I can feel my Marylandness slipping away......

I will be in Chicago with a group August 18-20. We're staying at the Hotel Burnham at Washington & State. There will be about 15 of us.

I am looking for 3 restaurants for dinner, preferably within walking distance. I'd like to keep entrees around $20, though I could go higher one night if I can balance it with something less expensive another night. We don't need a separate room, though it would be fine if that is where we were sat.

Really? Every time I (admittedly not Ethiopian) have been there, I have been in the minority. Most of the clientele seems to have been youngish (20's & 30's) Ethiopians. I have not found their prices to be any more than the other U St/Adams Morgan Ethiopian places. I thought the restaurant appeared cleaner and, most importantly, I thought the food was better.