🚀 go-pugleaf

bwalsh@access.digex.net (Bill Walsh) writes:
>In article <94188.091615BCULLIN@auvm.american.edu>,
>Bridget Cullinan  <BCULLIN@auvm.american.edu> wrote:
>>Bill Walsh said the Calvert Grill had nice BLAND American food. Perhaps I read
>>him wrong, but I've been there and found the food very good.
>Please excuse my gross generalization. As I said in my post, I haven't 
>been there and I was just relating what I had heard, and on top of that I 
>didn't necessarily equate "bland" with "bad," but then again I probably 
>could have found a better word to express what I was trying to say.

Well, Bill, you might have found a better word, but I doubt you'd have found
a more accurate one. The food at Calvert Grill _is_ bland American. It's
plain, rarely seasoned at all beyond salt or pepper, and the veggies are
consistently overcooked by most contemporary standards. We go there often,
so I'm not opinionating from hearsay.

They do have one room which is usually thought of as the "family room", and
a small area with toys for children, so it is a somewhat family oriented 
place. The main dining room, however, is immediately adjacent to the bar,
and is probably not well suited to unruly children.

I hope this doesn't sound negative - the Calvert Grill is a valuable place,
because it serves excellent beer on draft (Dominion, Anchor, Wild Goose,
etc. rotating through) and in bottles (SNPA, Anchor Steam/Porter/Liberty Ale,
Dock Street, etc.). The owner sponsors periodic beer tastings, which include
coordinated food prepared to a considerably higher level of quality than
the normal restaurant fare. We go there often, but we don't expect to get
food that is the equal of, let alone better than, we prepare ourselves at
home. We go for the beer, or when it's late, we're pooped after tennis or
volleyball, we're too lazy to cook, and we just want to relax in a
neighborhood place.

(BTW, IMO their ribs are of ordinary quality, and considerably overpriced,
being almost twice the price of anything else on the menu. The daily special
are usually much better buys.  I'd much rather have ribs at Bare Bones in
Gaithersburg, or H.I. Ribster's in Annandale.)

Larry