Unfortunately for us, Leah has moved from DC to San Francisco. The good news is she is keeping up the good blogging work at Slow Food, Taste Life. Check it out.

Post-Veramar Leah and I went to dinner at Ray's the Steaks steakhouse. The atmosphere was sparse, but the food was excellent.

We started with a bottle of Pinot Grigio, keeping up the trend of white wines for the day. The wine was fresh and light, which was good because the food was plentiful and filling. the steaks were absolutely mouth-watering well-marinated and cooked perfectly and the sides were a good match.

To top it off, I had my first DC-area celebrity siting -- Chris Wallace was eating only a few tables from us :).

A good way to top off a great day.

It appears that Sonadora and Leah have not posted about last night yet, so I will attempt to go first. The wine club met at Piola's for happy hour and half-priced wine. I was intrgued by their house wine, Rosso Piola a blend of Merlot Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The blend was smooth and the wine was supple. It had hints of dark cherry and chocolate and was very easy on the palette. The wine went over so well that the group wound up sharing 3 bottles of it, in addition to individual glasses.

I am bummed that I was not able to grab a bottle on my way out. I'd love to know more about where the wine is grown and if it is their own vineyard or if they re-bottle someone else's.

Overall, the wine list was small, but large enough to complement the selection of food. The food itself was very good, and they have a large number of unique pizzas.