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Showing results for tags 'Cocktails'.
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Quench has been open a few months now and I finally got the chance to enjoy it. The pedigree is there with personnel links to Bucks F&C, Volt, Black's and others. The menu is clean and appealing and there's a strong focus on mixology. The space is pretty much an open single room with a bar centered along the back wall and tables along the sides and front. So why in Rockville? I'd say they're swimming against the tide here, given how the MoCo rules around bars work. Don't get me wrong though - I'm glad they're here and I hope to support the effort as it is worth it. I'd swear the MoCo rules make it so the only way a bar can survive is to sell burgers and 2lbs of fries with it - a la Greene Turtle, Applebees, TGI Fridays, etc, etc. Quench is NOT that. They're right across from Cava. That's nice and maybe together they'll turn that little area into a better-than-average restaurant/bar desitination place. Maybe they already have. I enjoyed brunch, where I had a perfectly cooked omlette (I'm picky about that) with apples and bacon, with a simple side arugala salad with small, sharp bits of shaved reggiano (or parm, I'm never quite sure.) You can see the influences: my favorite breakfast ever was at Black's Bistro, where the eggs were the best I've ever had. The menu looks like and includes things seen at Voltaggio's places, such as deviled eggs. The service was good/efficient and the folks I spoke with were very nice. They are all-in with neighborhood involvement, social media, etc. It may take that kind of effort to overcome the tendancy to have the bar be the star and then MoCo brings it down. But if they can do it like Cava, where the food is excellent AND the bar is hopping, then they should do just fine and are a welcome addition to the area. -
Lipstick lesbians sipping cocktails next to Narragansett-drinking Lumbersexuals. Dim lighting, dark wood, low slung couches, big glass windows overlooking the street, and a scent that I would describe as Dune Spice. Cocktails come with a kick and a friendly vibe. I suspect that late night could get a little Williamsburgy, but early in the evening an enjoyable place to meet up with friends before heading out to dinner. Dram 177 South 4th St. Brooklyn NY 11211 -
My sister-in-law, a denizen of Cleveland Park, asked me if I had heard anything about a new place called Ripple in the old Aroma space in Cleveland Park. She said the posted menu looks interesting. Metrocurean has the scoop. A bit surprised that this seems to have gone unnoticed on dr.com given the pedigrees of the team behind it. Anybody go on a scouting trip this past weekend? [ETA: oops--looks like the tag line got cut off in the title of the thread; should be "from our back yard." I assume Don will change the title of the thread anyway. ] -
"Rooh Brings Modern Artistry from India" by Michael Bauer on sfchronicle.com -
My husband and I were walking in Clarendon Saturday night looking for a place to stop for dinner (we had planned to get a salad at Northside Social, but squatters who weren't eating were still taking up tables for work at 7:30 p.m.). We walked past Bar Bao, which we've been looking forward to trying once they opened, and saw activity inside. It turned out they were having a soft opening and it was their second night open. Because it was a soft opening, I won't report in any detail other than to say we enjoyed our meals thoroughly. (We liked the music, too - it was loud, but it was not EDM which can set off headaches for me, but rather a good mix of some '80s/'90s/'00s energetic music). They had a more limited menu than they will for the true opening, but there were still plenty of things on it and we were quite happy. It's mostly Asian-inspired street food / bar food (including several kinds of bao, steamed dumplings, and at least one vegetable side). We had one of the nicest and most attentive (in a non-annoying way) servers we've ever had, too. We definitely plan on going back and may become semi-regulars. -
"Where's your brother?" I demanded, looking directly into his eyes, my hand impatiently tapping the bar. "I don't know." "WHERE IS HE?" "I DON'T KNOW!" I put down my glass, and inched closer towards him. "Is it open?" "Is what open?" "IT!" He shrugged his shoulders, and muttered something. "Maybe. I don't know." I took my pen, and instead of gouging it into his eye, signed my check (2007 Chateau Magneau Graves Blanc, $8), walked out the door, turned left, and headed up the street to find his brother. --- Salad Days Sour ($12) - Celery-infused Macchu Pisco, Lemon, The Bitter Truth Celery Bitters, Burnt Cinnamon Rhum Manhattan ($14) - Neisson Rhum Agricole Reserve, Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth, Walnut Liqueur, The Bitter Truth Orange Bitters Sazerac ($8) - Old Overholt Rye, Peychaud Bitters, Kubler Absinthe. Cheers, Rocko.
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After voting this morning, MrB and I stopped into the newly-opened Slipstream on 14th Street. This place is just below Rhode Island Ave, very near Birch & Barley, in the space formerly occupied by Fathom Creative. They open at 7:00 am on weekdays (8:00 on weekends) and during the day their focus is on quality coffee and house-made pastries. At 5:00 pm they transition into a cocktail bar and a full-service restaurant. The interior design of this place is beautiful. Unlike your typical coffee house, it features ample table and bar seating. The wooden tables, chairs, and stools were custom-built for them by Amish craftsmen in Pennsylvania and not only is the furniture attractive, it's actually pretty comfortable. There are seating areas in both the front and back of the place and the very long, curved bar is esthetically pleasing. The walls are painted in a gray blue shade that is really lovely. A large skylight provides nice light in the back half of the restaurant. Music is playing, but it's not loud and doesn't interfere with a conversation. For a new customer, it's a bit confusing as to how to order and that whole process needs some work, but they've only been open since last week, so presumably they'll tighten that up over time. We ordered at the bar, then took seats at a table and the coffees and food were delivered to us there. The coffee was served in an actual cup(!) and not a disposable container. I'm not going to go into detail about the coffees as I'm not an expert. As I understand it, they are buying their beans from MadCap coffee. I ordered their one decaffeinated offering and while I found it a bit sour, I also rather enjoyed the taste. MrB had a bold blend. He also ordered their Monkey Bread from among quite a few pastry offerings, and it looked really good. They also have quite a number of teas on the menu and I'll try one of those on my next visit, which may be tomorrow! I really liked this place. FYI, they do not have Wi-Fi and do not intend to offer that, preferring that patrons 'engage with the experience' rather than their Twitter feed. I'm all for that -- hopefully that means that every table and chair won't be occupied by laptop zombies, as so many other coffee houses are. Their website doesn't have a lot of information yet (no menus, for instance), but their Facebook page has more detail and photos.- 5 replies
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- Local Chain
- Logan Circle
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No, but it's now open, and here are the website and current menus. Note that there's a pop-up window advertising heritage turkey dinners (complete dinners) to go for Thanksgiving this year - they're asking you to order early (note to NRG: That window is showing up every time you click on something on the website - it would be nice if you saw it only once). Dinner: Charcuterie: Beer: Drinks and Wine:
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With its nice long bar and large sunny windows, The Vanderbilt is the kind of place you want to go to for an afternoon drink. We enjoyed a glass of the Forstreiter Gruner Veltliner 2013 ($9) and the Aizipurua Getariako Txakolina 2015 ($12). They were serving a limited prix fixe menu because of Mother's Day but we did enjoy our plate of cottage fries ($6). The vibe of The Vanderbilt is more upscale neighborhood restaurant with prices to match. But not a bad place to spend an hour or so on a late Sunday afternoon after wandering around the Brooklyn Museum.
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Friends and I are trying to watch basketball tonight but can't think of a place that has both TVs and decent drinks. Somewhere in Logan/Shaw would be ideal, but relatively flexible. Ideas? Only place we could think of was Riggsby, but that's not really a sports bar.
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Magnolia's on King - We went just after they started taking reservations. The bar upstairs is WONDERFUL - unique cocktails (range $12-16) I had not tried before with a range that everyone enjoyed something. We though of trying the appetizers upstairs but figured (wrongly) that we could get them downstairs. Know that they do not server the drink or bar menu down in the restaurant (To risky to carry down the stairs was reason given). Bar is well lit, easy seating that can adjust to different party sizes but I can see it getting to full fairly quickly. I highly recommend 'The Cure' black bottle scotch, ardbeg 10 year, domaine de canton, lemon juice, honey. Generous sized drinks and worth the higher pricing. The restaurant has some serving issues but those were all due to being just opened (wait staff not able to answer questions and having to go check), they seemed pretty inexperienced. Wine list is good, cocktails downstairs are pretty simple, but the southerner in our group was pleased to see the multiple Fanta options. Dinner was good but not great, my options were limited because of spice levels (many options are heavy on the hot side). I had the Bison Meatloaf which was good but not great. Others had Catfish (Very happy), Fried Chicken (good but not great (If you want great see my review of Tupelo's )) and Denver Steak. (Range $18-35) portion size was good. Dessert Cobbler was good as was the Smore's bread pudding but neither worth a special trip The Southerner with us said the corn bread was to sweet but the greens were wonderful, though the cobbler should have been double crusted. The chef came out and talked to us for feedback (though later on our Southerner wanted to add some more but there is no email address on the web page) he seemed sincere but also talked down other restaurants when we gave comparisons. Overall I'll be back for the bar and might give the restaurant another try in a few months once they settle in but not sure since so many better options in that area. Well lit and Grandma friendly but not sure will make the list to take her to.- 7 replies
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- Alexandria
- Old Town
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The New York Times' Pete Wells reviews Betony (slideshow). website
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Here is a press release describing Dino which will open in July in the old Yanyu space. Presently there are signs in the window advertising that they're hiring for all positions. -
Wife and I wanted to grab a quick lunch before the Hoyas/Cuse game so we though we would stop by Wiseguys. However as we walked by we say that the Carving Room was open (apparently for about 2 weeks now). We stopped in and decided to try it for lunch. The menu is basically sandwiches with their in-house roasted meats, a couple salads and soups. The restaurant uses Lyon Bakery breads, so the breads are quite good. We ordered a salad to start and a cup of matzo ball soup. The salad was good, fresh, no real comments on it. The matzo ball soup was good - a nice broth, lots of chicken, carrots and a sizeable matazo ball (hard for those that care). The broth was very good, though some dill would step it up a bit. Overall, not as good as what DGS is making, but rather tasty. For our main, we had the "Carving Room Plate" where you get some rye bread, bacon jam, tomato jam, mustard and pickles (cucumber, onion, carrot and cualiflower) served with your choice of three meats. The corned beef was not ready so we went with the pastrami, smoked pork and roast beef. All of the meats were quite good. The pastrami was chewier than I like it and not as spicy as I like it, but they cut it rather thinly, so it makes it pretty easy to eat. The smoked pork and roast beef were quite good. Both juicy, tender and full of flavor. The prices are reasonable in my opinion. Cup of soup was $5, salad was large and $8 and the carving board was $25 (though sandwiches are like $11 and under). Overall, enjoyable lunch and a good value at half the price of other delis in town (Stakowskis excluded). I'm sure this will be packed at lunch and other times. -
Kingfisher has been open since the summer. I went in shortly after opening, and the guy behind the bar told me that they wanted to build a neighborhood bar on 14th Street, and that they hoped to tune the TVs behind the bar to nerdier things (like Godzilla movies) than muted sporting events. After half a year of it open, I like just about everything but their happy hour: the free popcorn is great, the beer list (cans only, no drafts, like Red Derby) is pretty well-curated, and it's a really nice place to meet people for a drink, but the happy hour offerings (particularly in the way of beer) are pretty meager. Otherwise, it's a really nice place and a very welcome low-key addition to a perhaps overly buzzy neighborhood.-
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- Logan Circle
- Bar
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I wanted to start the thread here for a new spot coming to downtown Takoma Park. Seth Cook and Chris Brown, two coffee veterans who have been at Northside Social for years, are branching out on their own. They have a great location on Laurel Avenue, and construction is about to begin. TKBC (@takomabevco) will offer coffee, beer(draft) and wine as well as a great cocktail program. The menu will be designed by a chef you will all recognize. I love this team and this concept, and that is why I decided to back them financially and advise on the project. Keep your eyes out as the project progresses.
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- Takoma Park
- Independent Coffee House
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Hat tip to Jake for nudging me to this "real good" spot: The Wallace. Smart crowd but decor is tasteful and comfortable. Started with a spinach salad with grilled portabellos and blue cheese which was very nice and straightforward. Grilled Japanese eggplant over lentils was next, and possibly my favorite dish of the night. Lentils were smokey and delicious! Spouse ordered the squid ink pasta with Uni bescamel and ikura. Tasty but a bit too rich for me. And yet hypocritically I loved the next course, foie gras three ways: terrine, mousse, and grilled. All fantastic, with the exception of the mousse which was spectacular. It was served over what looked like crumbled feta, but was actually dehydrated foie gras! We shared a carrot cake that delivered. Many tables ordered a mushroom tartine that looked really good. Cocktail was an apple brandy and a duck fat rinsed orange liqueur with bitters. Very nice. And the wine was all good as well. Fun place! Service got weeded here but we enjoyed ourselves and had no subsequent commitments. -
Last month we visited BlackTail, the new Cuban-themed bar in Battery Park from Sean Muldoon & Jack McGarry of Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog. We really enjoyed ourselves, and we're always amazed at how much attention to detail Sean, Jack and their team put into creating world-class establishments. http://blacktailnyc.com
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Convivial uses the same method to chill their cocktail glasses. It is a current trend. Nothing out of the ordinary. What about these below, filled with ice? Anyone used them? Do they keep drinks chilled?
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This is a few weeks late, but we visited Dickson Wine Bar at 9th & U, across from Nellie's a couple weeks ago for their soft opening. The wines are all organic, from around the world. There were a couple reds that the 3 of us liked, but alas its been 10+ days since our visit & I don't recall them. The menu's a mix of charcuterie, bahn mi sandwiches, flat breads and other small dishes. (I'm linking to Metrocurean's pic of the sandwich, which she posted on Twitter.) Since the food was free during the soft opening, I'll wait to return as a paying customer to give a review. But, the lardo is worth commenting on now. It was great, and reminded me of a Parisian restaurant last year. Thin slices, served with costini, sides of pickles & nuts. The space is split into 3 levels. You enter on the 2nd floor thru a door beneath the old Dickson Building sign, which they wisely kept & took as the name. Inside, the 3 small levels are dark, with candles & a wall of backlit empty wine bottles. Downstairs still awaits its bottles, but I bet the customers can drink their way thru a wall's worth pretty quickly if the foods as good as it all sounds on the menu. From some of the seats, you can even watch Nellie's big screens across the street... so while enjoying the chill vibe of Dickson, you can sneak a peak at the Final Four next week. -
Earlier this year, my friends Ryan Irvine and Stephanie Jansky launched Full Measure Bitters, a Cleveland-based purveyor of small-batch cocktail bitters (and Ohio's first legal bitters company!). They recently finished production on Batch 4 and have had great local success. They just started selling their product on Amazon and I couldn't be happier for them. Until they get approved for Prime, they're offering free shipping to anywhere in the Continental US. It makes for an excellent Old Fashioned; the recipe is on the label. -
Virtually destined to become an instant and epic temple of cocktail love, The Passenger breaks cover with Tim Carman's CityPaper interview here. -
The space housing the failed DC branch of Mandalay has become "a 1920's themed Japanese Restaurant and Cocktail Bar" called Chaplin's. It offers an assortment of appetizers (gyoza, fried chicken, "adult dumpling shooters") and seven types of ramen, and a very long list of cocktails, wines, and beers. The place is dynamic; it was hopping on a Monday night, lots of young people drinking (some of them were eating, too), loud music, friendly servers bustling about. It seems like the kind of place you'd go to hang out for awhile after work, and maybe get a bite to eat, too, while you're at it. The ramen was perfectly acceptable but nothing to rush back for. The Chaplin ("sesame paste and tonkatsu flavour") was actually quite a tasty broth, the noodles slightly overcooked and lacking the springiness of truly great ramen. I had tastes of two other broths and liked them, but can't really describe them usefully. I'm not inspired to write more about the food. This is the kind of restaurant I'd go to if I lived nearby, if I was tired and hungry and didn't feel like cooking and just wanted a bowl of soup for dinner. Perfectly acceptable, but not a destination. Sorry for the vagueness, just wanted people to know it's here. -
Has anyone her in DR Land been to Ivy City Smokehouse? They got a good write up in the Washingtonian (I can't seem to find a link on their website), and was wondering what the DR scoop is. -
Anyone have a short list of their favorite summer cocktails? Trying to expand my horizon for home cocktail making and stuck in a little bit of a rut. Kind of vexed by drinks involving topping off with something bubbly (champagne or similar, soda of some sort, seltzer/soda water, etc) as the bubbles never last more than a minute or two. Anyway, TIA for suggestions.
