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Second State, Chef Allen Javery and Owner Resse Gardner's American on 19th and M Street Downtown - Closed


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So my friends and I have been Mighty Pint patrons for over 5 years now, as in we were there pretty much 10+ times a month for 5 years straight.  Many relationships started and ended there, many friends gained, many memories lost.  So as a last hurrah for our beloved TMP, we booked a 15 person reservation for Second State on its opening weekend.

At first glance, "WOW."  They really revamped the entire place, we were all extremely impressed with the new decor.  TMP was pretty much the definition of dive, and to be able to convert from that to a fine dining establishment is no small task.  We're talking some major construction work completed in half a year.

The drinks were ok, pretty standard for a barstaurant; I ordered the "Second Statement ($14)" (a sazerac), which was pretty good.  Other table ordered a few bottles of wine.

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A sample of the dishes we ordered:
  • 2 orders of mac&cheese: very inconsistent, one was mostly noodles, the other was mostly heavy cream.  I guess if we had a pot to mix it together ourselves, it would've been pretty good.  We returned the heavy cream order.
  • Broiled sprouts: decent, farm fresh!
  • Bone In Ribeye ($36!!!): my friend usually gets steaks rare, the waitress suggested she get it medium rare because last time a customer complained that it was too rare.  Well, my friend's medium rare steak was actually a well done.
  • Ossabaw pork chop ($25): I ordered this, it was pretty good, the apple chutney was delicious.
  • Garlic-parsley fries: pretty good, this was their top item from the Alexandria restaurant though.
  • Oysters: unshucked (what?) returned.
  • Our appetizers also came either during or after our entrees.
  • We ordered a bunch of other dishes, but these are just the ones I remember most clearly.
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The service:
  • We didn't have waters for the first 25 minutes at the table, we had to request waters from 3 different waiters.
  • One person didn't have silverware until she got her food.
  • For most of the entree-eating, we didn't have water refills.
  • The waitress was very apologetic, I suppose they were busy/frazzled/in growing pains so they were unable to provide a "great experience".
  • The manager later came by to give the table whiskey+chocolate liquer shots (they were pretty strong/good).
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Overall, a disappointing experience.  I was very sad leaving the restaurant, for TMP was easily one of my most favorite bars in the city, I could always bet on having a great time there with the beers, wings, or shenanigans.

What does Second State have to offer?  They're just another "fine dining restaurant" in Dupont Circle, and a poor execution of one at that.
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What does Second State have to offer?  They're just another "fine dining restaurant" in Dupont Circle, and a poor execution of one at that.

Once again, I'm "Liking" this not because it was a negative review, but because it was a very thorough, well-written, thoughtful post. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us.

Ken, do you think you might have been biased going in, based on your affection for Mighty Pint? (This is certainly not an accusation, just a request for some thought and reiteration.)

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Well, we were all very excited to try out this new restaurant since we are friends with some of the owners and staff (and fans of Reese's other ventures).  If anything, we hyped it up too much for ourselves (we planned this dinner maybe 1 or 2 months in advance).

The dishes overall were just inconsistent (even the ones from Copperwood Tavern), maybe in a few months they'll have stepped out of the growing pains.

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I briefly debated whether or not to put this one in "The Spare Me Book," but since it doesn't involve original photography, I'll put it here.

"Second State Wants You To Dress Like A Proper Adult Lady Or Gentleman For Brunch" by Maura Judkis on washingtonpost.com

That's very nice, having a dress code, and wanting people to look sharp in your establishment. The author seems to be poking fun at the restaurant for no other reason than having a dress code, whereas I have no issues with it at all; in fact, this society could use a little more politesse - no, make that a lot more.

So, no problem with the dress code. The problem is that if you're going to ask me to wear a sport jacket, and then hand me a glass of mass-produced plonk, manufactured at the rate of *one million cases per year*, and gussied up with the oh-so-elegant sounding name of Veuve Clicquot, I will proffer a two-word response:

Sparez-Moi!

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"Girls who wear DRESSES..." Such a bunch of antiquated sexist crap. DRESSES? I'm all about dressing for an occasion, but in pants. I never wear dresses. Ever. And I can do glam. Just not in a dress. Seems the snarky tone of the article might bave been fueled by this absurd suggestion that for a "girl," a dress is the only acceptable garment. Can we WOMEN get bubbles while wearing pants, please?

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We had dinner here tonight. I chose it because it saw it on a list of best new DC restaurants this year. Frankly, we were disappointed. It wasn't awful, but there wasn't a lot that was really great. I liked the look of the restaurant and the service was friendly, but the food was inconsistent. My husband and I ordered the same thing: the ribeye steak. Mine was very good, but he received a poor cut--way too much large fatty pieces, and thus very little actual meat. I liked the Brussels sprouts. The creamed corn was fine. The salad we ordered sounded good; shame it never materialized. Given the plethora of restaurants offering this kind of hearty farm-to-table fare these days, I don't think I'll be giving Second State a second chance.

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I chose it because it saw it on a list of best new DC restaurants this year.

Ouch, do you remember what publication/site referred to Second State this way? It's a brand new place that really hasn't been vetted at all. What a shame you chose it over so many worthy others.

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It was a list published by Thrillist, which included some pretty noteworthy places (DBGB, Fiola Mare, The Partisan). 

That's what I was afraid of, sorry. Therein lies the problem (well one of them) with the ubiquitous Millenial "listicle." Everything is "awesome" or "the best" and a "must try."

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I hesitate to jump in, having not set foot in the place, but I'm from the Second State....Pennsylvania does not appear to be at the heart and soul of this restaurant.

First, a simple Web search doesn't reveal a Web site, unless I missed something. Opentable is where I found the menu....

There are some wonderful foods from Pennsylvania, none of which are to be found on the menu. At least shoofly pie appears on the dessert menu, but where's is the modern riff on the moon pie, or the Amish streusel cake or the apple dumpling? Why not source some homemade ice cream from the Mennonite dairy farmers who make the best artisinal small-batch ice cream in the country? C'mon, Pennsylvania is a dessert paradise!

Where is the Chicken Corn Soup, the hallmark of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and the most perfect dish created by a culture whose five food groups are chicken, sugar, flour, corn and dairy? Where is the Schnitz and Knep, the Hog Maw (Pig's Stomach), Pork and Sauerkraut, Chicken Pot Pie (which is a stew, not a pie), Venison Stew during hunting season, and even a shred of sauerkraut?

I hunger for a good Pennsylvania-sourced and influenced restaurant in this area....I'm still waiting for one to open.

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Pennsylvania does not appear to be at the heart and soul of this restaurant.

There are some wonderful foods from Pennsylvania, none of which are to be found on the menu. At least shoofly pie appears on the dessert menu, but where's is the modern riff on the moon pie, or the Amish streusel cake or the apple dumpling? Why not source some homemade ice cream from the Mennonite dairy farmers who make the best artisinal small-batch ice cream in the country? C'mon, Pennsylvania is a dessert paradise!

Where is the Chicken Corn Soup, the hallmark of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and the most perfect dish created by a culture whose five food groups are chicken, sugar, flour, corn and dairy?

I hunger for a good Pennsylvania-sourced and influenced restaurant in this area....I'm still waiting for one to open.

Pennsylvania is a big state (that I am not from) - a menu incorporating all these foods would be more of a county (or counties) specific restaurant than a state specific one, no?

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Menus contain:  Manhattan clam chowder, french onion soup, steak tartare, Carolina pork bbq, a banh mi, a cubano, and the dreaded truffled mac and cheese.

In fact the only item that appears to me to be an "elegant homage to Pennsylvania" is the cheddar Pierogies.

Wait! wait! The brunch menu does have scrapple.  Authentic after all.

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Looking at the menus, the PA items seem much more represented on the drinks menu than in specific food items, but they are drawing heavily on PA farms for the farm-to-table element.  For instance:  "All of our meats come from local farms less than two hours away, with a focus on Pennsylvania."

They have a hard cider from Biglerville, for heaven's sakes.  I have fond memories of Bigerville from my childhood.  Blows my mind that someone there is producing a cider for a DC restaurant menu.  The last time I passed through there, I was probably in my late 30s and they were having some sort of apple festival, so it makes sense it's a cider-producing area.

I've been intrigued by the concept and would at least like to try this place out, but I don't know when that will happen.

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So they sourced some beers from Pennsylvania, which in DC isn't exactly difficult...and it's not like they dug deep:  Yuengling, Rolling Rock, Victory Pils, some stuff from Troegs.  And then created some "signature" cocktails and gave them PA-ish sounding names.  Kinda weak.

 
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Menus contain:  Manhattan clam chowder, french onion soup, steak tartare, Carolina pork bbq, a banh mi, a cubano, and the dreaded truffled mac and cheese.

In fact the only item that appears to me to be an "elegant homage to Pennsylvania" is the cheddar Pierogies.

Wait! wait! The brunch menu does have scrapple.  Authentic after all.

The pierogies and scrapple were left over from Mighty Pint menu (might even be the same freezer bag, eww...)

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Hopefully a true Pennsylvania-inspired restuarant will open in this area. Until then, well, it's only a couple of hours' drive to Lancaster or Philly....four hours to Pittsburgh....

If you can get to Pittsburgh in four hours, I want to borrow your helicopter!

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