KenzSailing

The Chez takes a Night Off, Part 2: Or: Adventures in dining here in the DMV(District, Maryland, Virginia) The Salt Line Bethesda: First, some background. An outfit called Profish is one of the largest, if not the largest, distributor of seafood to restaurants in the DMV. More than a few years ago at this point, they went into the restaurant business with a place called The Salt Line. And yes, the restaurant specializes in seafood. It is located in the District, across the street from Nationals Park. So one year on Opening Day we made a rezzie for lunch, followed by taking in the game. We were immediately impressed. Great food, solid service, attractive decor. Eventually they expanded to NoVa, with I assume the same level of quality. Well, several years ago they announced they were coming to Bethesda in a location literally 5-10 minutes from our house. We watched and watched and watched for an actual restaurant to open. Then, about 8 months ago, lo and behold there was activity. Finally, happily, about 8 weeks ago they opened. Hoo boy, was this worth waiting for. Absolutely gorgeous space, same great food, attentive service, all at a price point that won't break the bank. And it's not a 30-45 minute Uber ride away. We've already been twice, and it's just been great. Last time we were there OLoPP had the scallops and had me try a bite. Utterly perfect(I know from sea scallops.) Absolutely top shelf U10 scallop, perfectly grilled, with a body of meat that was almost silky in texture. Think aquatic foie gras. These folks can cook. I started with the oysters: fresh, clean, briney, expertly shucked. (Vince, c'mon, Bethesda's not that far. Get down here and the first 6 are on me. You too Roy, although I don't think you're exactly a bivalve slurper.)😁 For anyone who knows of Kincaids from back in the day here, Salt Line is an ever-so-slightly down market version of it. It's that good. They have a massive bar area and they're doing late night hours with specials. Getting pretty big city here in sleepy BCC. (We realized that when we discovered we could see the Marriott HQ corporate signage from our front yard.) Table 22: OK, not a restaurant, but still dining related. There's this Table 22 outfit that is basically offering a one-stop-shopping service to restaurants for take-out/delivery orders. Essentially, what restaurants were doing to survive during the pandemic, but with a "you cook it, we'll take care of the rest" model. They handle the on-line ordering front end, delivery(inside the beltway), probably provide ancillary services like packaging recommendations, etc. They appear to be continental US wide, but they are really big in DC. You sign up for a restaurant and it's one meal a month, cancel anytime(I really like that no subscription is required.) It's a way to get high end meals delivered to our home, with just a bit of reheating involved. We're signed up for L'Ardente and The Dabney w/Petite Cerise. To give you an idea what I'm talking about, here's our last menu from The Dabney/Petite Cerise: Chilled summer corn soup, shrimp, poblano and vadouvan Heirloom tomato panzanella salad, ricotta salata, red onion and basil Duck leg confit, ragout of white beans, herbs and peppers served with peach gastrique Nectarine rice pudding, orange lavender honey, tangerine lace, white chocolate Some assembly required(this meal came in 16(!) containers of various size.) Now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

Sugar beets? Too sweet for you, Golden Delicious.

Well, our first Regent cruise is coming up fast and I'm packing my cravat. Dashing, I dare say.

I have no idea what the Kool Kidz are talking about. I'm flashing back to high school.

My hips(which are of the opinion that they are 10 years older than the rest of me) thank you.

Great post. Let me try to translate the bolded point in terms my slower firing synapses can process: Essentially, cruise lines collect monies from potential pax. These monies become non-refundable on a sliding scale prior to delivery of service(the cruise.) At the same time lines are paying out from accounts payable for goods and services attached to each and every cruise. The disconnect, however, is that these payment schedules and receivable inflows do not perfectly align(and probably far from it.) Most problems that might arise from this discontinuity can be patched over by the various mechanisms you outlined. However, the pandemic was what economists call a "black swan" event. IOW, everything stopped, and there were way too many entities vying for way too few chairs in this game of musical chairs.

Apologies for my confusion(I have to say that a lot.) Is it now possible to sit at a table for two in the Supper Club?

I find this thread fascinating. It started with an infrequent poster(as best I can tell) excerpting a general CC review(which I make a point never to read) of Crystal. And here we are with an extended discussion of the perceived social hierarchy within the transitory experience of the construct of a single cruise on a cruise line that has barely restarted. But to get more Cruise Criticey, hey, the mushroom soup is back(occasionally.)

Interesting. I remember when, during the hiatus, Explora was being talked up on this board.

My spouse Laurel, who lives in Maryland, appreciates your kind words. Also, I can assure you both Laurels are lovely.

Well, it's Cruise Critic, so here's my peanut gallery observations: 1) There was a pandemic. There was what I call "The Unfortunate Hiatus." It takes time to restart the engine after all of this, even in that little slice called the luxury cruise market. An occasional venue closing is a reflection of this. 2) The Venn diagram of people who want it all and want it now, and people who never held a real job in their lives, is almost a perfect circle.

Love it when The Historian reaches into the stacks. Also, have to admit I kinda like a swim-up bar and that Crystal Plaza look, even if it's easy to imagine Hef lounging there.

Whoa, shades of your Sandy adventure.

Oh my, to have a drink with the Voice of Reason in meat space(as the kidz would say.) Would probably go something like this: Question: why are you booking Serenity? (Kidding.)

Oh my, with that track record, could you please provide me with the next lotto numbers?😁

The Eternal Verities: AIDA Attention Interest Decision Action (Yeah, I'm borrowing from Mamet here, but he wasn't wrong.)

OK, I think that bolded part fits our experience. We once got a discounted offer to upgrade from verandah cabin to PH. I figured Crystal was trying to free up some verandah inventory they could sell, while still making a few more bucks on a PH. A deal but definitely not "complementary."

I didn't know Crystal did truly complementary upgrades, ever. Interesting.

Interesting observation. I'm probably in the minority, but I find buffets unattractive. Did one on our first cruise, that was enough. You can get the same thing, more comfortably, and much more safely in Marketplace(minus the ice sculptures.) However, I do think the age of Instagram and YouTube means the gala buffer is here to stay. For a lot of folks, more is more.

Yeah, that's my take. She described Serenity's Prego to a T. Hey, we were all newbies once.

From the article: “I walked into the Italian restaurant and I said, ‘Oh my god, how can you call this an Italian restaurant,’” Levis said over breakfast in the Symphony’s stylish new Waterside Restaurant. “It was a cliche of an Italian restaurant with the Roman columns, the grapes everywhere, the paintings of Venice. It was just awful.” Yeah, even the defender of the OG look has gone silent on the subject.

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed.

Crystal Society group page on Facebook.

Well, let's meet at Love, Makoto. We'll hit the BBQ, you can tell us about the sushi. Remember when the WaPo magazine title was at 90 degrees? Yeah, that was dumb. You aren't the only one confused by Capitol Crossing. Our first visit to the area was L'Ardente. As we're approaching, our Lyft driver follows his nav app into a tunnel. Following conversation ensues: Driver(in tunnel): my app says we're here Me: um, yeah, I think it's about 100 feet directly above us We got it sorted, but that was a small adventure. I wonder how many newbies and tourists know the great big office development they're standing at was built over an interstate highway. Ambitious project, and they pulled it off. Have you even been down to the Wharf yet, you slacker? 😁 (Honestly, I shouldn't josh. We've only been there once, but we did take in both dinner at Del Mar and The Decemberists in concert at the Anthem. I swear, for us, the Wharf is so successful its fallen victim to the Yogi-ism "no one goes there anymore, it's too crowded.") Maybe this winter.

Some articles of interest in today's WaPo: This should be of special interest to Roy(well, the QM2 aspect) https://wapo.st/45VMRxj And one just for Vince: https://wapo.st/3ZhEfiF