Ann Lemons Pollack
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Las Vegas, Part 2
Continuing the Las Vegas adventure. . . . We stayed at the Mirage, and ate at several of the less-expensive restaurants there. The Paradise Café is the poolside restaurant, open for breakfast through about 4 p.m. The early closing relates to the practice of local hotels closing their pools early to encourage patronage of the
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The Grill at the Ritz-Carlton
Cole Porter sang about it in his usual witty, sophisticated style, so we thought we’d inquire about exactly what they’re putting on at the Ritz-Carlton these days. It had been a while since we visited The Grill, the elegant, stately wood-paneled room that serves only dinner. Breakfast and lunch are in the sunny corner room
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Artisanal Salt
The curious shopper can find the darndest things. Selected Schnucks are carrying some interesting salts, the best known of which probably is sel gris, a sea salt that comes in large creamy flakes. Beyond that — indeed, well beyond that — are a red Hawaiian salt, called Alaea, receiving its color from the red clay
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Las Vegas, Part 1
We spent some time in Las Vegas recently. It wasn’t an eating trip, despite the proliferation of yikes-high-end restaurants. It was the site of the annual meeting of the American Theatre Critics Association. (Yes, theater in Las Vegas, and Joe will have more to say about that eventually.) That meant two theater performances many days,
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This Week’s Wines July 2, 2007
Given recent developments, it almost looks as if the forces of ABC – Anything But Chardonnay – are winning a larger share of American drinkers in the battle for white wine supremacy. Spanish white wines from the Albarino grape are making a move into the market, and other white grapes – Pinot Gris (or Grigio,
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Oceano Bistro
Once upon a time, there were seafood restaurants just like there were steakhouses. Rather upscale spots sporting old lobster traps and fake life preservers, they gave a sense of occasion to what was mostly a pretty exotic category of food. And then came air freight, bringing halibut and mussels to the masses. Nevertheless, the new
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Ruckersville, VA
A few miles north of Charlottesville, Va, on the road toward Shenandoah National Park, sits Ruckersville. On the west side of the highway, Route 29, also known as Seminole Trail, among some antique shops, the Blue Ridge Cafe & Catering Co., waits behind window boxes of artificial flowers that line its porch—which has two gliders
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Washington, DC
Washington, DC, is an interesting food city. There’s tourist food, what we think of as lobbyist food, some really interesting ethnic food, and Big Name Chef food. But where do the locals hang out? We discovered Palena via David Rosengarten when he wrote about great hamburgers. Palena technically is a Big Name Chef spot, because
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Washington, DC
The biscuits were about to float away. No, the Florida Avenue Grill wasn’t flooding; that’s just how ethereal their biscuits were. The unpretentious spot on the edge of downtown Washington, D.C., has been around since just after World War II. One look at the interior shows how popular it is with everyone from its working-folks
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Dallas, TX
We tend to think of Dallas in terms of a high-rise downtown and suburbs that go on forever. In terms of food, high-end beef and Tex-Mex are utterly ubiquitous. But on a recent visit, we discovered a delightful spot in a real neighborhood in the city, a restaurant that excels on a number of counts.