I think I liked the idea of the Berghoff more than the heavy German food there; the history was palpable, with the inner lobby showing an ancient menu and Liquor License No. 2 (the men-only history of the bar wasn't mentioned, and I didn't learn of it myself until I read about it today), and I took too many dates there who didn't appreciate the history as much as I did. Even as trends went away from the carb- and fried-food-heavy cuisine there, the lines continued to be out the door for the huge dining room at lunch. It's a family decision; the third generation of Berghoffs is calling it quits, and the fourth generation wants to turn the place into a trendy bar and opening a catering business on the side. It seems like a poor business decision to turn the lucrative location into a catering business (Tribune; NY Times; LA Times): that's a hundred years of goodwill to throw away for nothing, and the opportunity cost of using a prominent site in the heart of the loop for a catering business that could be located anywhere seems foolishly huge. But freedom of choice includes the choice to make bad decisions.

I am surprised to learn that the Web has absolutely no pages commemorating Cajun Sparkle, a strange mixture of salt, pepper, cayenne, and MSG that Popeye's Chicken (once? still does?) distribute[d] in little Sweet-N-Low-pink packets, which, when added to the restaurant's side of dirty rice, made the side edible. (I did find an image from a completist, but, alas, no concomitant photo of the back with the entertaining ingredient list.) This makes me think I need to track some down and hoard it for future sale on Ebay. This site claims it's been discontinued, but my best recollection is that I had some at a Popeye's at a Maryland or New Jersey rest area driving up to New Haven within the last couple of years—plus, a 2004 Popeye's manager training guide (!) includes it in the model inventory worksheets.

Update: A commenter scoffed, but never doubt my abilities on a quest, especially when I have a helpful facilitator.

1. The turducken breast was tasty; the 22-pound box was indeed the Complete Calvin & Hobbes; other gifts included the new Lincoln biography and DVDs of Dodgeball and the fifth season of the Simpsons; we went through three bottles of excellent wine and over a pound of superb cheese (Humboldt's Fog, Roomano, an aged Mimolette, and a forgettable and forgotten Spanish cheese) and a good time was had by all. Thanks to those who came, and it was a pleasure to see diverse groups of friends from different sources getting along so well.

2. Slim and I went to Cityzen (L'Enfant Plaza) the night before. I won the coin-toss so I got to be the one to blog about it. The service was exceptional, the food was... very good. Slim had a loin of venison that was a beautiful deep red and quite tasty, and I had a snapper that was somewhat overwhelmed by the gratin it was served on but was very good. Slim won the appetizer derby as well, with a salad of fish and apples that put my clam/artichoke/bacon mixture to shame. They made the mistake of describing two different butters to us with our bread service, which raised our expectations unduly for a condiment I wouldn't have been able to distinguish from the good stuff at Trader Joe's. A cute touch was the wooden box of platonically pure bite-sized dinner rolls; a misstep was a small cup of an eggy custard-with-olive-oil that we agreed was positively foul. I wasn't happy with the glass of Riesling I ordered (at a ludicrous double-digit price), but they made up for it with, in honor of my birthday, a complimentary Moscato d'Asti that was the best dessert wine I'd ever had (I need to call them for who made it). All in all, a very good experience, but, given the opportunity cost, I'd want a great experience: I can get equally good or better meals with only a slight degradation of service and environment at any number of DC and Virginia restaurants at half the price; I can get a much better meal for only slightly more at Maestro; and my dining budget is no longer expansive enough to encompass an American contemporary restaurant that isn't Pareto efficient.

Other than that, I haven't been to new restaurants in the last few months, sticking with old standbys Sushi Taro, Bombay Bistro, and the secret Thai restaurant, saving my nickels for a Martin Luther King Day weekend in Las Vegas.

3. Sesame Street biography on A&E Dec. 21-22.