Wine Flight for Virginia Wine Week

I see there are already two wine bars that have special wine flights for Virginia Wine Week:

Screwtop Wine Bar (which is someplace I really need to get out to) has a an offering of: Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay, Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay and Chester Gap Cabernet Franc.

Oya (I can't mention often enough how great their fried oysters are) is offering Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay, Dave Matthews' Blenheim Vineyards Viognier and Boxwood Topiary (Right bank Bordeaux style).

Thibaut-Janisson is really benefitting from the exposure at the White House dinner :).

So, the big question is, "What would your Virginia Wine Week wine flight be?"

The Post on Virginia Wine Week

Dave McIntyre has an article in the Post about Virginia Wine Week. In the article he mentions a couple of DC restaurants that feature Virginia wines, and admonishes more to do the same:

This is a worthy effort, and dozens of restaurants and shops have signed up across the state. However, only a few are in the close-in D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia. Majestic restaurant in Old Town Alexandria (part of the Restaurant Eve group) is participating, as is Raw Silk, an Indian restaurant, and Seagars at the Old Town Hilton. The Mount Vernon Inn is honoring the General's local vino, and Whole Foods Market in Vienna is staying true to the company slogan of great stuff "from around here."

He leaves out one of my favorite restaurants, Oya, which is featuring Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay this week.

Fearless Critic

No, not me. It is easy to be fearless when no one cares what you think :). I am talking about Fearless Critic. They were nice enough to send me a copy of their Washington Area Restaurant Guide, so I thought I would share my thoughts with you (plus, I kind of promised them I would ;)).

First some of the unequivocally good things about the book: The writing is tight and interesting -- definitely not traditional stuffy reviews. Robin Goldstein, the Editor in Chief, does a great job of taking the different writing styles and smoothing them out so the book reads evenly. I also really like the fact that they rate the food and the atmosphere separately.

The lists of the beginning of the book are also nice, in fact it would be great if they included them as a separate "pocket guide." Some of the more useful lists include which restaurants are open late during the week and on the weekends, which ones are date friendly and kid friendly, and, of course, their top 100.

But how are the reviews? The easiest way to test this is to check the reviews on some of the restaurants I like and see how they stack up. As most of you know, my favorite place in DC is Bistrot Lepic, so I looked that up first. No review.

Next I checked out the review for Chef Geoff. CK rated Chef Geoff's downtown location a 6.1 (on a scale of 10) writing, "It's not entirely unfair to call Chef Geoff's an upscale bar -- with decent bar food -- masquerading as a restaurant." Obviously, I disagree :).

On the other hand, WS says this about Dino, "..is that vital ace up the sleeve when you’re in need of a good, no-frills meal that consistently hits the mark." A spot on review!

FC says about Oya, "Oya is cool—perhaps too cool. White marble, white leather chairs, frosted white glasses, a waterfall blurring the view into the kitchen, and a red leather bar..." which is right on, but FC goes on to say, "The most disappointing part about Oya is the laughably slow, inattentive service..." I've never had that problem at Oya.

One more: Vinoteca, a wine bar on U Street is rated a 7.3/8.8 by JC who writes, "Even so, Vinoteca is always a party." This is true as is, "...Vinoteca is better suited for small bites and many libations then it is for a big meal." I couldn't agree more.

Overall, I think the book is absolutely worth the $16 (or $11 if you order it from Amazon through their website).

But, for the next edition, I hope they add in Bistrot Lepic!

Oya

I went to happy hour at Oya with some friends a few months back.

We stuck to small plates and everything we tried was really good. The fried oysters were especially impressive. They weren't so weighed down in batter that you couldn't taste the oysters. The calamari and the braised short ribs were also really good.

The wine list is mid-sized, but impressive with wines from all over the world -- including a couple of wines from Virginia and Maryland. it also rotates by season, which means there is always something new to try. The Angeles Crest Cabernet Sauvignon and the Bitch Grenache were excellent.