sacrilicious

I like the idea of blind tasting but it was unnecessarily long and drawn out, repeatedly showing a disembodied hand deciding between the two buttons, Nigella waffling about whether to hit yes or no, etc. At least The Voice has a song that the audience can listen to and enjoy or not during the judge's deliberations. Here there didn't seem to be much to say about one bite of food. Plus the repeated cycle of sob/inspiring story - swallow bite - meet the cheftestant - rejection started to feel tedious after a while. I made it through about 45 minutes before getting bored. I haven't deleted it from the DVR yet, but maybe I'll just wait until they start the actual cooking competition.

Thanks to sandynva and yfunk3 for summarizing my thoughts better than I could. Responses to the effect that the offendees are too hypersensitive and just need to lighten up, since the Fojol truck [offends a bunch of different ethnic groups, doesn't think it's racist, is so over the top that it *can't* be racist, etc.], in particular, were bothering me yesterday, but I couldn't articulate my objections in part due to time constraints and in part due to the "sick of fighting it" phenomenon. (I've been hearing the "chill out" excuse or some variation thereof for my whole life.) Maybe the Fojol truck food is good (and I would love to find some good Indian street food), but as a person of Indian descent who does find their "theme" unnecessarily offensive, I'll just spend my money elsewhere.

I'm sorry to hear this. I never went to the wine shop part, but the kitchen was one of my favorite places for lunch. I was just there Friday and didn't see any indication of a place in trouble. Perhaps they decided to pull the plug before it got to that point though.

I can't vouch for it personally, but one of these days I want to try to MGM Roast Beef - it's near the Arboretum and Home Depot. Unfortunately I'm never in the neighborhood during their open hours, but it kind of seems like one of those those no-frills deli/sandwich shops that are common in the Northeast but for the most part absent in DC. (I don't eat meat anymore, but they have a veggie burger, so I can just go and inhale the roast beef aroma...) I think it may have only counter seating though, definitely not a sit down for a group kind of place.

$19 for lunch is more than I can typically spend on my government drone salary, but I would happily return for the pre fixe bar lunch at Elisir. The spinach / ricotta cannelone was full of creamy goodness, but nicely complemented by the mushroom ragu, which added some body and kept it from being too rich. Well it was still a bit too rich for me to finish, but that was only because I was saving room for the mini almond cake with a melon ball size scoop of mascarpone gelato. My lunch companions had the salmon with mustard sauce and the saffron fettucine, and both really liked their dishes as well. I guess if I had to find a flaw, it was that the cake was a touch too dry and crumbly, but I've never had zuccotto before, so maybe that's what it's supposed to be like. Since there was a nutella-like sauce on the plate, it wasn't a fatal flaw. Also, a big thank you for having three (!) items on the menu that are suitable for vegetarians, as they say in the UK. Not often that we have more than one choice on a menu, especially a fixed menu. (PS - If there's beef broth or something in the cannelone, don't tell me, I don't wanna know. )

DItto, hate to pile on, but I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. I got takeout a couple of times when I was really craving Indian food (before Masala Art opened) and it was meh to awful. The place always seemed dark and unwelcoming and there was rarely more than one table occupied. However, I will say the staff was very nice.

This morning I saw a sign that Cava Mezze Grill is coming to Wisconsin Avenue near Van Ness, the former Jandara space (which was followed by a succession of other Asian restaurants, but none of the names have stuck with me). The building had been basically razed so I was wondering what was going on. Good news for the neighborhood, IMO. Any estimate of when it will be open?

I love the black and white shake too! Never found it too sweet, but I'm usually getting it with fries and a (veggie) burger, which I'm guessing provides way more than the RDA for sodium, so maybe that's why. To me a black and white is just about the hint of chocolate, so it's perfect. Heresy, I know, but I actually like the prefab crinkle cut fries too. I've had too many inconsistent orders of fries from the other vendors like Boardwalk -- they can be great, or they can be limp, greasy, and cold. At least the fries I've gotten at Shake Shack have been consistently hot and crispy. I don't go to SS every time I'm at the park, what with the line, the calories, and the price - but I think it's a great addition. PS for vegetarians - Boardwalk Fries offers a decent handmade type veggie burger - black beans and rice based. A little mushy but very passable and spiced up with chili powder, so it's not bland at all.

I went for lunch earlier this week and liked everything I tried. The place was almost empty and service was pleasant. The complementary sparkling water was a nice touch. Here's what we had: Broccolini (spicy pepper relish, feta, walnuts) - really good with a strong lemon or other acidic bite. Warm Brussel Sprouts (pancetta, maple, egg) - I didn't try this because of the pancetta dressing, but it got good reviews from the table. Striped Bass (potato, smoked eggplant, pine nut relish) - also didn't taste this dish, my friends thought the fish was overdone. Chestnut Agnolotti (butternut squash, brussel leaves, brown butter) - a nice mix of sweet, but not too sweet filling, and creamy brown butter sauce. Brussel leaves didn't add much flavor, IMO. The dish probably would have been too rich if I were eating it by myself, but shared it was fine. Forager Pizza (mushrooms, braised kale, ricotta salata) - I'm not such a fan of chewy, bready neopolitan style crust, but somehow the toppings and the crust worked together really well on this one. However, this could be influenced by the fact that the small plates are, well, quite small, and I was still pretty hungry when the pizza came out. Cannolis (nutella, orange) - If I were not in public I would have licked the filling off the plate. 'Nuff said. At $6, this was the one dish that I thought was a good value. I fully appreciate that they are using good ingredients and the flavor combinations were interesting. But I'm also in the camp of unlikely to be back regularly. I paid $26 for lunch, water only, and I was still hungry. (And I consider myself to have a fairly small appetite; I can make 2-3 meals out of normal restaurant servings.) I believe the server said they recommend about 3 small plates per person. At this price point that puts it into the "special occasion" category for me.

Well that in itself is a positive change from the places that preceded it in that location. Thanks for the report, and looking forward to trying it soon. I have only peeked through the window while walking by, and it's a little hard to tell from the facebook photos: are there any seats at a bar, or is it all dinner seating?

As a vegetarian, I had fairly low expectations for Medium Rare but a meat-eating friend really wanted to check it out. In the end, I liked it more than I expected to. The bread was very good, and the salad reasonably good. At first I wasn't too thrilled with the fries, which weren't that hot. But they were crispy and, despite being slightly cool, not greasy at all, so I ate the entire 2 servings. The portobello mushroom alternative isn't going to win any awards, but it wasn't horrible either. I'm pretty sick of restaurants slapping a thick slab of bland fungus on the plate and calling it a vegetarian entree. I liked that it was sliced thinly so I didn't have to saw away at it, and that they attempted to infuse some flavor into it with some kind of balsamic marinade, and a roasted red pepper sauce. The desserts (apple pie and sundae) were so good though. I loved the fact that menu consisted entirely of simple, classic desserts. I was especially happy to unexpectedly find chocolate crunchies in the ice cream! Loved it. Sadly, my sundae was big enough for 3 and I had already eaten a lot by that time, so I could barely make a dent. I wonder if I could go at an off time and just order the sundae. The atmosphere is really nice too. We got there around 6:30 pm on Saturday and there was no wait. I like the way they've opened up and brightened the interior. (When it was Yanni's I always preferred to eat outside, even with the Metrobus fumes.) We had very pleasant service from the hostesses and all the servers. The first serving came out maybe a bit too quickly after the salad, but the second serving came out just at the right moment. The only thing that gave me pause was that my meal was the same prix fixe $19.50. Now I don't know the economics of steak served at large volumes, so maybe the cost of prepping only a few vegetarian entrees works out the same. But given that portobellos are at Safeway this week for $2.50 ... just saying I was a little surprised. While there's no reason to for me to go back, I would be fine tagging along again if carnivore friends all wanted to go. Which, for such a meat-centric place, is a pretty good endorsement from me.

I'm bummed that the Shake Shack etc. won't be open yet, looking forward to some Belgian frites! With all the new food trucks in the last year, seems like there's an opportunity for some better pre-game snacks than in the past. Setting up a designated area outside the stadium for a couple of carts on a rotating basis would be awesome (but would also cut into the concession profits, so maybe it's a total nonstarter). I used to stop off for a pre-game empanada at the On the Fly cart. I'm hoping the rain holds off, but then again sitting in damp "40 degrees almost about to rain" weather for 3 hours isn't much better. But anyway, go Nats!

Living Social deal ($30 for $60) for Grapeseed in Bethesda today. I've never tried the place but have heard good things. (And I have family coming this weekend so can already see a use for it....) It can also be put toward their upcoming Saturday wine classes.

Has anyone given/sold a Groupon or Living Social coupon to another person? It has my name on it but I doubt the restaurants care who's using it, right? I have one that's expiring soon, but I won't be able to use it and thought I would offer it up on the neighborhood listserve. I just don't want the user to run into any issues.

I've only been there for brunch in recent years, including a few weeks ago. It's fine, nothing spectacular or memorable, but the basics are done well, and the service is pleasant. I haven't been there for dinner in years (since Jenna Bush used to hang out there yes I did see her there once) so I can't comment on the dinner menu. I think of it as a decent neighborhood option, but I wouldn't travel across town for it.