OK, if Zagat’s time is over, as Y&H argues in tomorrow’s cover story, where do you turn for reliable commentary and ratings on restaurants? Yelp? Chowhound? Urban Spoon? DonRockwell? Or some other outlet?

I don’t think we’ve reached any sort of consensus yet, but the early response to my question this week is leaning hard on the standard media over the online newbies.  That’s right, the Toms, Todds, and Tims have it (even Tyler, who’s online but hardly new media).

The first person to respond to the question was Richard, who wrote in quickly and succinctly, if sloppily: “Hands Down, it’s Tom Sietsma [sic] at Brand X.” I asked Richard to elaborate on his choice, and here’s what he wrote back:

Read More “Which Sources Do Readers Trust for Restaurant Commentary? The Ts Have It.” »

What started as a simple request on the DonRockwell.com board has blossomed into a full-fledged Indian crab dinner/book signing/general-foodie-wonkiness dinner at Spice Xing in Rockville on Sunday, July 12.

Sudhir Seth, chef and owner of both Passage to India and Spice Xing, will team up with cookbook author Monica Bhide to offer a three-course dinner completely focused on blue crabs. The feast starts at 6 p.m. with crab tikkis, which are essentially Bhide’s take on Maryland crab cakes, and moves on to pollachi crab masala (crab sauteed in fennel, cinnamon, pepper, and poppy seeds) and crab gassi mangalorean (crab in a curry gravy).

Sandwiched around these courses will be an aperitif called “pomegranate delight” — Bhide’s rum cocktail with pomegranate juice, lime, and grenadine — and a dessert called shrikhand, which is a strained and flavored yogurt with fresh strawberries, kiwi, and mango. The opening course will be in audio form: Bhide will talk about her latest cookbook, Modern Spice, and sign copies.

The whole shebang will set you back $60, which includes a copy of the cookbook. So what’s the catch? You have to go through DonRockwell.com to get your name added to the list. Sounds worth it to Y&H.

Alex Nicholson over at BrightestYoungThings got bored and decided to put together a Google map on where the Obama family has eaten since they moved into the White House. As Nicholson writes, “If you tell your boss you are making an ‘Obama Ate Here’ Google Map, and she says it’s a good idea, it’s okay to do it at work.”

Read More “Obama Ate Here: The Working Map” »

Maverick meat man Michael Landrum — I just love saying those words together — informed his many Rockwellian followers yesterday that he’s temporarily shelving his plans to open Ray’s The Catch in favor of expanding his tiny Ray’s Hell Burger shop. You can blame the president for dry-docking The Catch.

Read More “Landrum Releases ‘The Catch’ to Bring On More Burgers” »

While Y&H was peeking into civil court records and poking around a chef contest, others were actually hunting down news about restaurants that are opening and closing. Here’s a quick run-down of what we’ve missed — or what I’ve missed:

• Tom Sietsema reports that the guys behind the mini-Matchbox chain are planning a small, personal comfort food restaurant on Capitol Hill.
• Sietsema also has the scoop on the Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s latest offering, a chop house in Old Town.
• Metrocurean breaks the news about Cork Wine Bar opening a new market on 14th Street NW, not far from the popular restaurant.
• A poster on DonRockwell.com notes that the Gaithersburg branch of El Tapatio has closed down.

Following my mea culpa yesterday about this year’s Best New Restaurant pick, the indefatigable Don Rockwell hopped into his car and headed to Eventide to form his own opinion about the upstart Clarendon operation. He walked away disappointed, but perhaps not for the reasons you might think.

Rockwell explains on his eponymous board:

Read More “Rockwell on Eventide: Don’t Go to the Lounge and Expect a Dining Room Experience” »

Rachael Harriman, the sous chef at CityZen in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, has been fielding questions of various weight and sophistication over at DonRockwell.com for the past couple of weeks. I was particularly interested in Harriman’s response to this inquiry:

With all of the time you spent in Thomas Keller’s kitchens, it’s obvious that he had confidence in you. What was it like at the beginning, when you first went to work for him? What are some of the most important things that you learned, in order to be able to survive and thrive in that milieu?

Say Harriman:

Read More “CityZen’s Rachael Harriman on Her First Days at the French Laundry” »