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Ripple, Local and Seasonal in Cleveland Park - Chef Ryan Ratino Replaces Marjorie Meek-Bradley - Closed June 24, 2017


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I am bothering to post, only because it has been a while since anyone posted in this thread. What I will say has been said better, upstream: very well-conceived and very well-executed food, somewhat small portions, not inexpensive. I think that there is a little psychological disconnect between the location and the cuisine - on the strip with a weird old grocery store, a store with vacuum cleaners in the window, etc., etc., a restaurant at this price range is a little funny, potentially leading to a feeling of "I didn't expect to spend this many $." The tiny ice cream sandwich annex (Sugar Magnolia) adds to this potential for confusion, I think - as do the hip t-shirts on the staff. But when I think specifically about the food and the very good service, the price is certainly fair. And the food was delicious.

Sheldman, I agree- I just wish they'd increase portion size to make it a better value. Is it a matter of principle or something? Or dollars and cents? Plenty of other high end places offer a better value, IMO.

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We will miss Logan. He is a wonderful chef, co-worker, peer and friend. And he sacked Michael Vick. Twice. In college.

Our loss is Seattle's gain.

Is this true? I know Logan went to Appalachian State, and I remember that he was a high school standout at - Defensive Tackle, maybe? - and I think it was at Woodson High School, the same high school where my son Matt, who has embarked on a four-year varsity tennis career, attends, but I'm not sure.

Did he really sack Michael Vick twice in college?

Logan, would you please chime in with details about your football career?

Jeff Heineman of Grapeseed was a Washington Post *First Team All Met* for the great Seneca Valley High School, and if you've ever shaken hands with him, and have literally seen your hand disappear inside of his as if you were shaking hands with André the Giant, you'll know why.

You know, it's funny, I've seen Logan at his lowest moment, when he mistakenly sent out some ramekin of inedible, garlic-ridden, pre-prep mixture; instead of the correct sauce that was supposed to go with my entree. He texted me the next day, apologizing with profound sorrow which bordered on "God almighty, what the Hell else can I do wrong" depression, and I replied in kind, essentially saying that I totally believed in him, and that I recognized great talent when I saw it, and that this simple mistake was one that I regularly make three, four times a day, and that he was a great talent and a great chef in whom I believed. I stood by Logan early on, and I stand by him today just as I did then. He is a fantastic talent, and someone whom I respect, admire, and wish I knew better. I'm proud to have picked him out early on as a chef who would be a star (please remember this post of mine from 2009).

God love you, Logan. You are destined for a long, great career as one of the ambassadors of our nation's new generation of cooking.

With all my respect, admiration, and friendship,

Don

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Jonathan, thank you soooooooo much for clarifying! This easily was the highest point of my life, not serving Thomas Keller, Michel Roux, and Heston Blumenthal at the same time, not being invited to cook at the James Beard House, and certainly not losing my virginity. Sacking Michael Vick. Twice. Surpasses all of these by far!! -I can't wait to prank call your purveyors from the west coast. When you receive 10 cases of bananas, you'll know who to thank. :)

Don, thank you so much for the kind words. It's hard to leave DC but I believe that an opportunity where I can drive across this awesome country, stage and eat in some of it's best restaurants on the way and then spend a summer working in wilderness lodge (that doesn't have a road leading to it) foraging from the sea and land, harvesting oysters from the bay it's connected to, and receiving fish the day it is caught- is a very rare opportunity. Especially when it's for a max of 16 people! Thank all of you for your continued support and passion for food, this website/message board is always a great read especially because it's so focused on cuisine and what the actual diners think of it! LOVE TO ALL THE DONROCKWELLIANS!

p.s. remember when my Dad posted on here a few years back, man that was weird!

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Because there hasn't been recent commentary on Ripple, I thought I'd drop in a quick post. I discovered Ripple through this board. So much good commentary about a restaurant I'd never heard of. I gave it a shot and was amazed: I really could not have imagined such a seamless blend of innovation with earthy, homey cooking. I remember sitting there and just thinking about how much talent there was in the kitchen. Ripple has remained one of my favorite restaurants in DC. And I've remained surprised that it never became as popular as other DC places, some of which are nearby. I was therefore sad to hear of Logan Cox's departure. Last week I glanced online and saw that the menu had changed a bit in format but seemed to have kept the same basic philosophy. Time to give it a try. I had a great meal, though I think I see some differences in the approach. We had three appetizers that all felt like the Ripple I know: Spice roasted beets with smoked egg and frozen yogurt (and a pickled vegetable I think . . . ); Tuna crudo with kohlrabi and pickled raisins; and a sunchoke soup with razorclams and roe. The first two were just fantastic. Really innovative but oh so tasty. The soup was strong and certainly interesting. For entrees we had halibut with favas and spring onion; and spaghetti with tuna, breadcrumbs, and chili. These were both very good but seemed different from the old Ripple. The halibut was a good, simple spring dish: well-cooked fish over spring ingredients. The spaghetti had a nice, rustic feel and flavor. It was interesting that entrees were so much simpler than the appetizers. I don't know if this was just a product of our ordering but seemed notable. I enjoyed Ripple and will certainly keep going. I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

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I went to Ripple with a group this week.  It continues to be strong but higher variance than in the old days.  One huge improvement is the beverage program.  Ripple used to have interesting-sounding cocktails that often disappoint.  Now, the list seems focused on twists on the classics.  We sampled three, and they were all good.  (And the wine by the glass program remains very good).

In terms of food, excellent items included Spice-roasted beets with smoked egg, frozen yogurt, and pickled radish; Sweet corn soup with smoked mussels; and perhaps the table favorite was Spinach tortellini with hon-shimeji mushrooms, garrotxa, and pine nuts.

We also enjoyed crispy rappahannock oysters with yuzu shiso, sour gherkin, and pickled radish, but the yuzu and shiso got lost, and one person's fried oyster had some bits of shell in it.

Several dishes were unfortunately weaker:  Carrot cavatelli with lobster, oyster mushrooms, and fava beans was one of the most disappointing pastas I've had at Ripple.  The dish was fine, but I barely tasted carrot or favas.  It tasted like an Italian pasta dish with a ton of shellfish (and there was a bit of acid or garlic that nudged it towards an almost-Chinese flavor).   Well below the great pastas I've had at Ripple.   Dukkah crusted tilefish with eggplant and roasted heirloom tomatoes was a nice idea, but just didn't work.  And seared duck breast was unfortunately overcooked and cut with the grain, making it tough.

We split two desserts that were very good.  The star was basil pound cake, with sweet corn ice cream and cayenne cashew brittle was great.  The basil was subtle but came through.  The corn ice cream was surprising, even by standards of corn ice cream; it was not very sweet, and had bits of fresh corn.  We were hoping to get ice cream sandwiches but were told that they are only served at the bar.  Given that they make the ice cream sandwiches, I don't quite understand why they aren't served on the menu too.

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Since Logan left, Ripple has received little love here.  Chef Meek-Bradley has received some glowing press lately, esp. from the Post.  We stopped in last week on a Sunday night and had a good-to-very-good meal, not quite excellent, but very interesting.

We started with the Bacon Roasted Pecans, very addictive; Roast Squash, Burnt Honey, and Pickled Chard Stems; and the Kale Salad, Marinated Mushrooms, Apples, and Sunny Egg.  Both the squash and kale played to the restaurant's seasonal menu.  Both need a touch of salt and/or acid to perk them up.  Enjoyable dishes, just need a bit more punch to elevate them to the very good level.

Entrees were Seared Ahi Tuna, Concord Grapes, Turnips, Sweet Potato Puree and Pompano, Sunchokes, Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Grapefruit, Bacon Vinaigrette.  The ahi tuna was presented like chunks of bone marrow, sitting on end, seared golden brown on the outside, rare in the middle, and tasted very meaty.  The two fillets of pompano, skin crisped, sat on a shaved mass of brussels with cubes of sunchoke and pumpkin, the vinaigrette was smokey but not overpowering in its bacon-ness.  The grapefruit was not needed.  I will say, the pompano was one of the best cooked pieces of fish I've ever had, buttery, tender, perfect.

Cocktails:  The crabtree & evelyn was excellent, both old fashion and sophisticated in presentation while modern in taste with the right balance of bitterness.  The two turntables & an apple phone was terrible, with an overpowering vinegary flavor, like when apple cider starts to turn.  Plus it was served in a mason jar, which for me, basically discredits any cocktail/beer.  It was a cute idea, once, like 10 years ago.  Enough with the mason jars.

Ripple was a lovely place to spend a Sunday night as the chill of Fall settled in.     

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Since Logan left, Ripple has received little love here.  Chef Meek-Bradley has received some glowing press lately, esp. from the Post.  We stopped in last week on a Sunday night and had a good-to-very-good meal, not quite excellent, but very interesting.

We started with the Bacon Roasted Pecans, very addictive; Roast Squash, Burnt Honey, and Pickled Chard Stems; and the Kale Salad, Marinated Mushrooms, Apples, and Sunny Egg.  Both the squash and kale played to the restaurant's seasonal menu.  Both need a touch of salt and/or acid to perk them up.  Enjoyable dishes, just need a bit more punch to elevate them to the very good level.

Entrees were Seared Ahi Tuna, Concord Grapes, Turnips, Sweet Potato Puree and Pompano, Sunchokes, Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Grapefruit, Bacon Vinaigrette.  The ahi tuna was presented like chunks of bone marrow, sitting on end, seared golden brown on the outside, rare in the middle, and tasted very meaty.  The two fillets of pompano, skin crisped, sat on a shaved mass of brussels with cubes of sunchoke and pumpkin, the vinaigrette was smokey but not overpowering in its bacon-ness.  The grapefruit was not needed.  I will say, the pompano was one of the best cooked pieces of fish I've ever had, buttery, tender, perfect.

Cocktails:  The crabtree & evelyn was excellent, both old fashion and sophisticated in presentation while modern in taste with the right balance of bitterness.  The two turntables & an apple phone was terrible, with an overpowering vinegary flavor, like when apple cider starts to turn.  Plus it was served in a mason jar, which for me, basically discredits any cocktail/beer.  It was a cute idea, once, like 10 years ago.  Enough with the mason jars.

Ripple was a lovely place to spend a Sunday night as the chill of Fall settled in.     

I've only been to Ripple once since Chef Meek-Bradley became chef - a few months ago - but I had a wonderful dinner. Unfortunately, it was too long ago to recall any meaningful details, but that dinner got a big thumbs-up from me (I'll probably delete my post tomorrow, just because I *hate* non-substantive writing by me, but I'd like to leave it up for a day or so).

I also heard, from an insider, that during the cooking phase of the interview, she really impressed everyone.

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Today, Ripple was reviewed by a poster on the notorious and often provocative Cleveland Park Listserv.  I have cut and paste it here for your bemusement and comment.

----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2013 2:32pm
To: cleveland-park@yahoogroups.com
Cc: 
Subject: [Cleveland-Park] A visit to Ripple

I'm glad that there seems to be unanimous agreement that it is a good thing to support our neighborhood restaurants, and I frequently do so.  By the same token, occasional criticisms should be tolerated. 
 
After hearing a lot of good things about Ripple, we gave it a try yesterday and were frankly disappointed.  It was early, and the bar was already nearly full but the small tables on the left wall were empty and to us appeared squeezed-in and uninviting.  The menu was in several separate sections and not reader-friendly.  We noticed that the cheapest 6 oz offerings of domestic chardonnays were $19 and $20, respectively.  Other restaurants offer decent US chardonnay for half that, why not Ripple?  The food menu appeared undistinguished and pricey for what was offered; we had the pasta for $14 which was tasty but served lukewarm.  Our bill for two dishes of pasta and two draft beers came to $55 including tax and tip.   
 
Service was spotty, and the decor along the bar was unappealing. 
 
We do wish Ripple well, and urge the management to do more to match food value with the prices, to instill more responsive service, and add good quality/good value wines to the wine list in addition to the pages of pricey wines in the $80-100 and up for a bottle.  Overall, we were disappointed in this initial foray and hope there will be improvements.       
  
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Dinner this past weekend produced some extraordinary dishes, but some unfortunate misses as well.

Gribiche deviled eggs had a delightful pickled taste and made for a nice little snack while we reviewed the menu.

Salmon gravlax with smoked egg yolk, whipped creme fraiche, pumpernickel was excellent with lovely cured salmon.  You're basically making little salmon sandwiches here and loving it.

Bone marrow with house bacon and strawberry thyme jam was inspired.  Slather it all on thick slices of grilled bread.  My friend actually moaned.

Housemade ricotta, baby heirloom carrots, raw honey, black pepper was a solid dish, the ricotta was decadent, rich, and creamy, the carrots a little dull.

Mushroom ravioli with ramp pesto was fine, the ravioli were nicely prepared but the pesto weirdly watery with little punch.

Green & white asparagus, parmesan-basil flan, morels, couscous was a flat out miss.  The green asparagus was good, the rest of the dish was not.  The white asparagus was overcooked and stringy, the flan had little flavor, and the couscous tasted like it hadn't been seasoned at all.

Roasted halibut, green garlic skordalia, spinach, preserved lemon was all around a good dish.  The halibut was excellent with a nice golden seared crust and the preserved lemon gave little bites of intense flavor. The skordalia and spinach were decent, perhaps a different green, like chard, would have rounded out the dish better.

The southern zing - temptation bourbon, cayenne-espelette honey, lemon - made for an excellent cocktail.

Overall it was an enjoyable meal with an old friend.

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We have been enjoying Ripples late night grilled cheese bar of late (after 10pm at the bar, also for happy hour).  Pick from a handful of their creations or make your own from a list of cheeses and toppings.

The infidel (pork rillettes, surryano ham, taleggio, pickles) is their tasty spin on a cubano, while the smokehouse (house pastrami, sauerkraut, smokey blue) makes for a messy riff on a reuben.  Sandwiches are served with a side of potato chips.

Each sandwich is going to run you in the $10 range, add in a glass of wine or a cocktail and the bill will add up fast...but it's a decadent indulgence.

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Jason and I went to Ripple for dinner last night - 9 years ago, when it was Aroma, we met for the first time at the bar (and the rest was history, as they say).  The meal and the service were very good - I think the only minor quibble of the night was that the prices seemed a bit high for the portion sizes, but that was more true for some dishes than others.  The cocktails (Cytrus Hystrix and Southern Zing) were delicious, and we were both able to find beer and wine that we liked after that.  I would love to go back and explore more of the wine list - so many choices!  The bacon roasted pecans were generously portioned, but I didn't care for them as much as Jason did - I felt they needed a bit of sweet, maybe from honey or brown sugar, to counteract the fatty salty bacon.  We put together a cheese plate, which came with a delicious blueberry jam.  For entrees, we got the rockfish (with octopus and tabbouleh) and the pork (with warm potato salad and purple beans), both of which were really really flavorful and cooked PERFECTLY.  Yum.  Jason loved his baked butterscotch pudding for dessert, and he's not usually a sweets person.  I enjoyed the bread pudding with peaches and sweet corn ice cream - the bread itself was surprisingly fluffy, and the corn ice cream was super.

We ranked Ripple just a hare above our meal at Beuchert's (which was priced similarly), so it's right up there with our recent favorites.

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I have always enjoyed dinners at Ripple (under both Logan Cox and Marjorie Meek-Bradley) without its being quite exciting enough for me to crave it regularly (the way I do Rose's Luxury).  Nevertheless, I've never understood why Ripple hasn't caught on more, but the ease of getting a table is convenient.  A late Sunday dinner was the perfect opportunity to check it out again.

Silky creamed cauliflower soup with saffron, blue crab, cucumber, and radish was excellent, with spots of sweetness from raisins (a classic with cauliflower), subtle vegetal brightness from the cucumber, and a nice portion of crab.  I was surprised by how much I liked a simple-sounding salad of heirloom tomatoes, housemade ricotta, peaches, and cashews.  The cashews were a great, unexpected addition to the more standard combination, and well-seasoned, quality ingredients made for a winning dish.  My only complaint was that there weren't more peach slices; I loved their sweetness with ricotta (see Rose's recent salad) and as a foil to the tomatoes' acidity.  The smoked eggplant agnolotti was a bit disappointing, because the tasty pasta, chanterelles, and cheese (burrata?) were overwhelmed by a perfectly-fine-but-still-just-pesto sauce.  I would like to see what a subtler sauce (and/or more eggplant outside the agnolotti) would have done.

The better of the two entrees was the delicious, Louisiana-evoking seared shrimp, flageolet beans, fried okra, tomato, and basil.  A vegetarian entire of crispy squash blossoms (breaded and stuffed with creamy chopped chard, I think?), quinoa, wild rice, beets, and a Greek yogurt tzatziki was good but needed a bit more salt and acid.

Ripple does a great job of offering interesting, unusual wines by the glass, and we enjoyed our server's recommendations of Fernando "La Torrazza" Erbaluce and a not particularly oaky Chardonnay.  (Staff at Ripple is always very nice about offering a taste of the by-the-glass wines for the indecisive; we opted for full glasses of these two out of three that we sampled.)

For the first time, we finished dinner both at an appropriate hour and with sufficient appetite to check out the limited-hours, bar-only grilled cheese menu.  We paid our dining room check and switched to bar seats.  I subbed out the proscuitto in the rich e rich for the seasonal bluberry jam, which sweetened the combo of morbier and truffle butter on brioche enough to satisfy both dessert and grilled cheese cravings.  My boyfriend's choice of the Greek-themed sandwich (I think it was called the Helen of Troy?) of feta, olive tapenade, tzatziki, cucumber on ciabatta (sans bressoala) was tasty but not as satisfying as my order.  A dry Wandering Aengus cider made for a nice light accompaniment.

Ripple continues to be the reliably enjoyable place that keeps us coming back.

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I keep meaning to come back here - note to self. Thanks for the updated write up.

I heard some insider info that when Ripple was looking for a new chef to replace Logan Cox, Marjorie Meek-Bradley really impressed people with the cooking portion of her interview.

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Sat at the bar on Tuesday for Happy Hour, half price draft beers and wines by the glass until 6:30...also the grilled cheese bar runs until 6:30.

We ordered a round of very tasty gribiche deviled eggs.  Next up was the crunchy lady, a grilled cheese sandwich of bayonne ham, sunny egg, gruyère.  The egg is served on top of the sandwich, so I opened up the bread and slide it inside, smearing the yolk all over the ham.  Wrapped things up with stuffed bone marrow, house bacon, chimichurri, apple butter...this is such a mind blowingly decadent dish.  My friend who had never had bone marrow before actually moaned.

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After showing up for reservations at one place for my wife's birthday in late July only to find the restaurant unexpectedly closed, we made our way over to Ripple.  We were kind of in a bad mood after that experience, but the folks at Ripple graciously took care of us and never rushed us through dinner at all, even though we were one of the last ones there that evening. It turned out to be a great meal, and it makes me want to go back again and again.  The folks, the food and the drinks melted away our frustration and annoyance from the earlier in the evening experience. The food was so good.

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Ripple was humming this past Friday.  Even when we left around 10:45pm, the bar area was mostly full and the dining rooms were half full.  Not bad for Cleveland Park.

We started with a lovely fresh and creamy burrata with stinging nettle pesto, pickled green strawberries and benniseed-almond brittle (benniseeds seem to be the local seed of choice these days); a plate of the gribeche deviled eggs (solid and tasty); and some very nice hand cut fries (I would bet they fly under-the-radar on the local fry scene). 

For a main course I had the lamb saddle with mint-pistachio pesto, charred scallion, bulgur and fiddlehead ferns.  Lamb saddle was a dish Marjorie cooked on Top Chef, and it was perfectly cooked at Ripple, although the meat could have been a bit more lamby.  The pesto was fresh and bright and the bulgur with the fiddleheads dressed on top was excellent.  

I also tried bites of the duck breast (chewy) with smoked yogurt (excellent).  Yukon gold vindaloo, which had a nice curry flavor, but really just looked like a restaurant trying to riff on Indian food in an attempt to make an interesting vegetarian dish.  The carrot cavatelli with Maine lobster was also declared excellent, my one bight of the cavatelli was good.  

For dessert we had the  dark chocolate cremeux with salted caramel, which was pretty much everything you would want in a rich chocolate dessert to end a meal.

Drinks-wise I had: Rye Whiskey with cardamon-ginger soda and elderflower (really good), domaine sorin "terra amata" rose (an enjoyable rose with just a touch of fruit), and the Avery Tweak bourbon barrel-aged coffee stout (17.5% abv) which was ridiculously good.  

Another fun night at Ripple.  As always its a restaurant that can produce some excellent food, but is perhaps a touch more expensive than you feel it should be.       

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We had a great meal here again in March. I still need to hit up the bar for their grilled cheese sandwiches, but I love their dinner menu so much I don't know when that will happen! Sopme of my wine buddies and I are trying to pin down a date to try to come here together to crack open some great bottles soon.

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Went here this past week with some of my wino friends to crack open some bottles. Discovered that if you walk straight past the bar to where the bathrooms are, there is a whole other dining section in the back that I never knew existed (having always been seated by the dining room off to the right before you get to the bar).

Anyway - great service the whole night.  We all ate well, but here is my own personal run down--

  1. Veal carpaccio with pistachios, dill, pickled onions and house made pita.  - This was good, but I think the pita overwhelmed the dish. The dish was out of balance IMHO because there was not enough veal, and it could have used a couple of bits more of onion. Still, a solid dish.
  2. Sweet corn soup with tiny bits of house guanciale, tomato confit and creme fraiche - WOW. Go. Order this dish and try to tell me this is not summer in a bowl. So good. I could have consumed a gallon of this. Wow. Just wow.
  3. Goat with andouille, tomato confit and schmears of eggplant - Really good. I think it was some of the saddle of goat mainly with was well roasted and then crisped up at the end. The eggplant I think had been smoked and then purreed and pressed in to a fine schmear that provided deep, earthy tones to the dish while the tomato confit totally brightened the dish. A really, really good dish.

It continues to amaze me that this place does not get more love here. It is always pretty busy when I go, which is good, but there's not much chatter here is all.  I spied the chef behind the bar as we were leaving. We all departed, and were kind of blocking the doorway area, I heard an 'Excuse me.' from behind me and as I apologized and stepped out of the way half turning, it was she that was leaving herself and was totally relaxed about the whole exchange.

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Regarding the back dining room, it's best to avoid.  In addition to having no windows, the acoustics are truly awful.  I hardly ever notice such things, but it's difficult even to hear the person sitting across from you, let alone anyone in a larger group.  

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Just now, lotus125 said:

Regarding the back dining room, it's best to avoid.  In addition to having no windows, the acoustics are truly awful.  I hardly ever notice such things, but it's difficult even to hear the person sitting across from you, let alone anyone in a larger group.  

The back room was not full when we went. I think it has seating for maybe 20-25. We made up 5 of the about 10-12 people at any given part of the evening that were back there and had no problem with noise or being able to hear or be understood. That said, we had a goodly amount of wine in us.

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20 hours ago, Pool Boy said:

The back room was not full when we went. I think it has seating for maybe 20-25. We made up 5 of the about 10-12 people at any given part of the evening that were back there and had no problem with noise or being able to hear or be understood. 

This is all cyclical - ten years ago, Cleveland Park was one of the very best neighborhoods for restaurants in all of DC; then, everything shifted east as we emerged from the recession, and now it's Petworth and Shaw, with their younger, more casual demographic. Cleveland Park will be back as the rents fall, but it sometimes takes years for stubborn real-estate owners to admit that their properties aren't worth what they were several years before. The closure of Palena - which was their existential anchor - didn't help things.

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43 minutes ago, Tweaked said:

Marjorie Meek-Bradley is departing in December to focus on Smoked & Stacked.  Post article.

I rated this in Italic with Logan, and Marjorie was good enough to keep it in Italic - could someone make a mental note to remind me a few weeks down the road if they haven't replaced her with a first-rate chef? I'll need to downgrade them out of conservatism (but that means nothing).

---

On a tangential note, when I speak of being "conservative," this is exactly what I'm talking about; it has nothing whatsoever to do with politics. It's actually one of the things they teach you when you study accounting, and is exactly why I downplay everything about this website (even though some people probably think I don't).

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On 7/30/2016 at 3:27 PM, lotus125 said:

Regarding the back dining room, it's best to avoid.  In addition to having no windows, the acoustics are truly awful.  I hardly ever notice such things, but it's difficult even to hear the person sitting across from you, let alone anyone in a larger group.  

What was the reading on the decibel meter, Tom? :P

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5 hours ago, jca76 said:

I tend to find TS whiny on the subject of noise levels, but I've also found the back room to be acoustically unpleasant. 

I wish he'd comment more on the (low) lighting levels, which I find much more annoying than the volume problem.  What's the point of serving beautiful food if you need a flashlight to see it?!?!?!?

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Well, take off the "New American" tag on this thread because -- if the meal my friend and I had there the other night was an accurate indicator -- Ripple ain't that no more. Think in terms of (as the manager put it) "Modern French."  Whether or not this is a good thing will depend on your point of view.  

Laura, who had a tasty set of trout-flavored latkes and one of those Frenchie-style entrees where they scatter little rounds of lamp tenderloin, shreds of leeks and dabs of sauce picturesquely around the plate, was pining for the more robust preparations (and great soups) of Chef Meeks. She did, it should be said, enjoy the meal.  She just found it a little "precious" which -- at lease as far as the lamb was concerned -- it probably was.

I began with fabulously, ludicrously, rich concoction of lightly poached (goddam near raw) hen's egg buried -- along with chunks of sauteed sweetbread -- in a snowdrift of foamy mashed potatoes which was, in turn, shingled with a couple of slices of black truffle. It was the sort of over-the-top dish that Donald Trump would want to slap his gilded name on; borderline bad taste that, nonetheless, tasted very, very good. Fortunately, my veal loin was comparatively austere: pink, served with a reduction and (I believe) something duxelle-ish and simply delicious.

It strikes me that the prices remain somewhat restrained. The night we were there, a number of entrees were pushing towards $35 and over, but the hen's egg orgy was only fifteen bucks.  

The manager says that he's encountered somewhat less resistance to the style change than expected ("maybe five percent object") and I suspect that that's because the cooking remains quite good.

Bonus points to the manage for pouring us a nice-sized swig of Domain Tempier after I somewhat facetiously asked if it was really twice as good (and not just twice as expensive) as every other Bandol rose.  It just might be.  

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7 minutes ago, Waitman said:

Well, take off the "New American" tag on this thread because -- if the meal my friend and I had there the other night was an accurate indicator -- Ripple ain't that no more. Think in terms of (as the manager put it) "Modern French."  Whether or not this is a good thing will depend on your point of view.  

Solely because of your review, I just downgraded Ripple behind Indique.

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3 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Solely because of your review, I just downgraded Ripple behind Indique.

I'm not sure I would do that -- it was fine meal (and my recent Indique experiences have been good but not great). I think the quality is still there, it's just a different style. 

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The manager says that he's encountered somewhat less resistance to the style change than expected ("maybe five percent object") and I suspect that that's because the cooking remains quite good.

 

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3 minutes ago, Waitman said:

I'm not sure I would do that -- it was fine meal (and my recent Indique experiences have been good but not great). I think the quality is still there, it's just a different style. 

1 minute ago, Simul Parikh said:

Yeah totally read that as a positive review. Sounds delish.

Noted and appreciated - honestly, I was going to do it anyway as a conservative measure - it's still in Italic; I think Indique doesn't get the respect it deserves anyway, so it's all a matter of which type of cuisine you're looking for, I guess. Really, it was Marjorie (and Logan before her) that had Ripple above Indique.

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I went a week or so ago, the new menu had just made its debut.

As Waitman mentioned, the smoked trout latkes are really good and a bargain at $9 for three latkes.  We also enjoyed the rainbow trout with new potatoes, mustard, roe and onion ($16) which was sort of a medium sized plate.  The farro risotto with bone marrow, octopus, shiso, and parmesan ($18) was decadently rich, no doubt from the bone marrow.  It was also a medium sized bowl.

I've always felt Ripple is a little more expensive then it should be, especially for the portion sizes.  The main entrees now weigh in at $27-$35 a dish.

My neighbors went last week and said everything they ordered was over salted.  I would say there's probably some settling in time needed.    

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Ripple currently offers a tasting menu option of 4 courses for $59.00 with optional wine pairing for $40.00 ( or just ask Jose Aguirre, GM and Beverage Director to customize within a price range)  I highly recommend to go now if you can since I'm not sure how long this will be offered.  Good introduction to Ryan Ratino's delectable food!

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On 1/18/2017 at 1:00 PM, Waitman said:

Bonus points to the manage for pouring us a nice-sized swig of Domain Tempier after I somewhat facetiously asked if it was really twice as good (and not just twice as expensive) as every other Bandol rose.  It just might be.  

Tempier Rose really is better than any other Bandol Rose, despite the price difference, is always worth the splurge

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Tried Ripple out a few days ago to see what we think of the new chef.  In short, I'll be back and happily so.

We tried some cocktails. Both were good, but I'd like to see some more options with rye or gin in them. I am sure this changes regularly though so no worries there. Nice to see some good deals as well as producers I like (like JK Carriere and Peay among others) on the wine list, too.

Started with the corned beef heart snack (on radicchio I think). So good. I'd love to see beef heart as an entree option in the future. Next up was the curried beet and fennel salad - Very good. Ocean trout crudo with 'scallops' of radish - dreamy. Then we had Brillat-savarin agnolotti with maitake (so damn good - super tiny cauliflower garnishes too). Then we had a variation of the aforementioned sous vide egg dish (this time it had the egg, smoked potato, sweetbreads, cured yolk, pickled mushrooms and another pickled veg as well) - unctious and rich, but lightened by the pickled bits. Very, very good.  The the schnitzel and spaetzle with root vegetable 'kraut' - wow. We tried the lamb next (lamb, housemade motradella draped lamb sausagey rondolet bits, salsify, leeks, and squid ink totellini stuffed with more lamby goodness (the last bit really being the star of a dish filled with excellent food)). Dessert was foie gras truffles served in a personal candy dish (so rich and good, but man almost too much for dessert - but fun!) and chocolate pave (not too sweet, just the way I like my desserts.

As a side note regarding Cleveland Park, it looks like the old Dino space is undergoing some renovation for a possible new tenant. The old Palena space is still empty (and I assume has been so since closing almost 3 years ago). I think it is great that Ripple is being re-interpreted and staying vibrant - it is good for that section of town.

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The old Dino space is slated to become a...7/11.  Needless to say the 'hood is not happy.

We stopped in to Ripple last night for a night cap at the bar:  kaffir lime vodka with cardamom and ginger.  Very refreshing, probably more suited as a summer cocktail, but tasty.

 

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On 2/12/2017 at 5:26 PM, Tweaked said:

The old Dino space is slated to become a...7/11.  Needless to say the 'hood is not happy.

Man the options in that neighborhood keep drifting downward. Wow. I'll be having Ripple in my semi-regular rotation for the short to medium future I think. But honestly, there is so much I have still not been to and even more that I have not been to in a while that needs to be corrected.

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55 minutes ago, Pool Boy said:

Well I gots ta know. WTH.

You've been watching too much Dirty Harry! (Make sure to click for Part Two (yes, Clint "knows" both times, and you (the universal "you") should spend some time on our Film Forum, where we discuss some of the best movies ever made.))

Thomas, I wonder if we went to the same restaurant. I trust your palate, and had two of the same things as you - I'm the one left saying "WTH."

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The egg dish was over the top and probably demanded better textural differentiation, but if you feel like a rich, over the top dish, it's what's for dinner. :)

But I am curious - were all the things you had the WTH variety or just some? Maybe we hit it on a good night versus a bad night? You are making me rethink my tastebuds!

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