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I’m surprised there’s no thread on Tastee Diner (that I can find, anyway). I understand it’s an institution? I visited the Silver Spring location for the first time last night (my first time at any location). My toddler was asking for pancakes at daycare pick-up, so my husband and I decided to check it out rather than drive to the Silver Diner in Rockville. Our other possibility was the Original Pancake House, but they were already closed for the day. I had very low expectations for the food at Tastee Diner, and they were not met. We started with chicken tenders that were clearly formerly frozen and in a bag. Four chicken tender-shaped hockey pucks slapped on a plate with nothing else. Our waitress asked if we wanted honey mustard or barbecue sauce, and we asked for both. They came quickly in little plastic containers with lids. I ordered meatloaf, which was dry and had some kind of tomato substance on top but was also served with gloppy brown gravy (thankfully on the side). The cole slaw wasn’t awful (not drowning in mayo). The fries were fries – nothing special, not that I expected anything different. My husband said his reuben had more sauerkraut than corned beef. As for some positives, the service was very friendly and (as far as I could tell) very understanding about my toddler, who wouldn’t stop screaming at the beginning of the meal. “Do you want to color?” “NOOOOO!” My toddler seemed to enjoy her pancakes. I had a bite and thought they were OK – they had a corn taste. (They were actually listed as hot cakes on the menu – not sure if hot cakes are different from pancakes.) Kids eat free (from the kids menu) during the week from maybe 5pm-8pm. The food came fairly quickly (important when dining with a toddler). The bill was small. I don’t have a lot of diner experience. I didn’t really grow up eating at diners, and recently my diner experiences have mostly been at the Silver Diner, which I’ve enjoyed overall. The Tastee Diner makes the Silver Diner look like the Inn at Little Washington. Maybe we should have been more drunk or hungover when we ate there.- 20 replies
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Just thought I'd start this thread since people were asking about it in the WLO thread. My parents got some take-out when it first opened and said it was pretty good. We tried going there a couple of weeks back and the wait was over an hour. Definitely liked the vibe when we first walked in and it reminded of being in Seoul. Anyhow, did some research and was able to find a website although it's mostly in Korean but the menu is translated to English with prices. After looking at the pics and menu, I think I'll have to stop by again soon and this time wait until I'm seated. Anyone been yet care to give us a review? http://kt411.com/adf/detail.asp?Blobid=81 -
I could have sworn there was a thread for this. Please merge if there is one. Went with some friends last week. It was....good. Not great. The space is nice. Got seated at a booth (a little tight). The thing I did not like about the initial experience is that you cannot make reservations -- it is first come, first serve....period. So you go and you wait. On a mid-weeknight, with an early dinner time (6 was the target), you would think there would be little, if any wait. Wrong. 40 minutes. FEH! The calimari was good, bruschetta was acceptable. Some kind of shrimp thing on bread (good) and a carpaccio (heavy on the salad, light on the carpaccio and accompaniments. I had a pizza, which was tasty and good, but the crust was very floppy in the middle. They either did not properly handle the dough when shaping, or made it too thin in the middle. Or they were not keeping the oven temp high enough. Or I made the mistake of getting toppings on my pizza instead of going for the classic margherita. Still, the toppings were very, very good (sausage, pancetta, etc). Service was good, except when they brought out the wrong bottle of wine later in the meal. I didn't notice it until after opened/poured, but the mistake bottle was good, and cheaper. My friends had dinner salads of sorts and/or pasta with fish and they all seemed to enjoy their dishes. I'd go back, but would focus on a later or even earlier start time to the meal -- I hate waiting. And next time I will try the margherita. -
So, I was over on Georgia Avenue this morning where there's a newsstand,where my husband was picking up the Racing Form to handicap the Derby, when I spotted this place called Pacci's Neapolitan Pizzeria - http://paccispizzeria.com/ - opening today. I had to run in and check it out, and there was the wood-burning oven and the pizzaiolo from Naples. I had a brief chat with the owner who assured me that this would be the real thing. They're making fresh mozzerella - and hopefully this will be vera pizza Napolitana. We were going out of town for the weekend, but I hope to check it out on Monday. Looks so promising! -
Details from Sietsema & Metrocurean -
I've kept this quiet for weeks out of professional courtesy, but you'll hear about it very soon anyway, so you may as well hear it here first. Breaking News: Brian Zipin will be GM (and a partner) of Medium Rare, a sub-$20 American-style steak frites restaurant opening in late February in the old Yanni's space. Behind the operation? Mark Bucher of BGR was one of the creators, and none other than Michel Richard was (quietly) involved with developing sauces and desserts, but Brian and Tom Gregg (past President of Cuisine Solutions) are involved as non-silent partners. Cheers, Rocks PS Don't ever underestimate Michael Landrum - the guy gets around. But I've been told ... no sous vide (and I asked "are you sure? about ten times). So you weren't quite right, Michael!- 135 replies
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Anyone have the inside skinny on this restaurant? Click -
Overall a good impression on a lovely Saturday night at Denizens. Outside they have a large patio with picnic tables with seating for 200 people. The vibe is urban beer garden. Inside are various rooms over two stories. To be honest, most of the offerings they have on tap right now aren't really in my beer wheelhouse, but the Lowest Lord English-Style ESB was solid, perfectly fine to quaff on a late-summer night. The veggie burger with cheddar was actually pretty tasty and the fries were on the thinner match-stick side. The patio was busy all night, but it didn't feel crowded. They certainly seemed to be doing good business. I've sampled a couple of their beers now, not sure I would rank them in the top tier of DC area breweries, but they are probably squarely in the next tier down and put out a solid product. If it wasn't such a trek out to Silver Spring, I'd be back more often. -
We've been ordering from Lost Dog fairly often this week (simultaneous kitchen and bathroom updating will do that to you...). I love their tomato-feta pie (light on the feta) -- it has rosemary and toasted pine nuts. Yum. I also love their Big Dog sandwich -- messy but filling and delicious. Their milkshakes really vary -- if they listen and make them "extra thick," they're not usually evil. "Regular" thickness isn't worth it. We tried their brownies this week -- perfect, with chocolate chips and no nuts -- and I tried a peanut butter pie thing last night that really didn't do it for me. We've eaten in a few times and like their onion rings, but I honestly (even with the ridiculously poor communication skills of almost every single person manning the delivery line) prefer delivery. PLUS, rumor has it that by the end of the summer, they'll be able to deliver some of their fabulous selection of beers again -- woo hoo! -
Just announced. If my googling is correct this will be in the new mixed development/apartment building along Connecticut Ave currently underconstruction. And given the size, 2,800 sq ft plus 1,000 sq ft patio, that's the only location that would make sense. The developers are going big on this one! Looks like it will be pasta focused with salads, antipasti, salumi, cheese, and meat/fish entrees. Bread Furst on one side of the street and the Trabocchis on the other. "Fabio and Maria Trabocchi are Opening a Van Ness Restaurant Devoted to Pasta" by Becky Krystal on washingtonpost.com
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Rock-n-Roll Sushi is at least better than the flyer Nooshi mailed out last year advertising "Funky Sushi" at happy hour. Funky sushi. EWWWWWWWW. -
Rappahannock River Oyster (RRO) is totally overdue for its own topic here on dr.com. Of course, that assumes it doesn't already have a topic on here somewhere? I only found scattered mentions in other topics like for Union Market or under shopping as an oyster source. Bet many of you didn't know: - RRO dates all the way back to 1899 and is still owned by the same family? - Rappahannock has an amazing 8-10 seat shack in Topping, VA by the bay with super, interesting and incredibly fresh and local seafood. Has anyone been? - They just opened up their latest and most grand restaurant in Richmond at 320 East Grace St.? - That said restaurant managed to pry open (pun intended) the Columbia Room enough to get bartender Katie Nelson to consult on a drink menu paired with RRO's seafood? - That the Croxton cousins, the owners, plan to open more places to slurp, eat and drink in/around DC/VA? - That these guys really are among those leading the effort to restore the Chesapeake oyster industry and claw back market share from those pesky west coasters, canadians, kiwis and gulf coast types? - That you don't have to go all the way to Topping (or Richmond) to slurp some fine oysters since they're up and running at Union Market (okay, most already know that ) I've now eaten my way through most of the menu at the very popular RRO Bar at Union Market. Wonderful oysters whether raw or grilled. I especially like the Stingrays and Rappahannock River oysters. Raw oysters sell for $2 each. Likewise on the tasty clams. Oh, and that oyster chowder which I think is made with Olde Salts (one of the four varieties they cultivate)! And, the more substantial meals: - the crab cake is both ample and packed with blue crab (served with a very nice celeriac salad); perfect for lunch ($14) - wonderful, large, sweet sea scallops with a healthy peppery arugula salad ($14) - an interesting and satisfying "lamb and clams" dish with sofrito, fingerlings and one other ingredient I'm forgetting. ($14) The bar at Union Market also has a short but nice wine list and friendly servers. Need to get a report from someone on the new Richmond outpost as soon as a rockwellian makes it there. Maybe it'll be me...but probably not knowing how far-ranging dr members are. Nothing stays unreported on long around here. Finally, An interesting Food & Wine article about the company and it's history written by Tom Colicchio Washingtonian's coverage of the new Richmond restaurant RRO's nicely done website- 55 replies
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OK, I couldn't find a listing for this restaurant, so here it goes... I have tended to only go to the take out place in Arlington and the new "cafe" in Silver Spring recently, but Friday I found myself at the Lebanese Taverna in Woodly Park. I used to go here all the time in years past, so when were were looking for a quick bite to eat, we thought we would give it a try. I would say the food was ok, but not as good as I remembered. I think ultimately knowing you could go to Zatinya and have similar food, but prepared in a more inspired way, you would pick Zatinya. We ordered a bunch of the mezza. Some items were fine (the Kibbeh and hommus), one item was very good (sharaht ghanam- which was sliced lamb), and others were average to not very good (the lamb kabob appetizer was terrible, the pieces were so fatty my piece was impossible to eat as it was all fat). I know that its location near the hotels means that there are many tourists, but I think they may have dumbed down some of the food for them. I used to remember this restaurant as a fun and interesting place to go. I still like the take away in Silver Spring, but if I want to sit down and eat, Zatinya is the winner, with better food and atmosphere. I wonder if they are successful with the 100 King restaurant in Alexandria, they will go back to to Woodly Park, and give it a much needed update. -
Over Christmas Mr. MV and I visited Osteria. In a word: fantastic. We started with the bread- two kinds of rustic bread and grissini, served with a light fruity olive oil. The salted bread was soft, chewy and fresh. The pizza was simply the best I've ever had. Seriously. We had the Lombarda which has mozzarella, bitto cheese, cotechino sausage and a baked egg in the middle. The pizza dough was thin and done perfectly throughout the pizza. The crust had some nice blisters and the egg was immensly rich. The size is about 12 inches around, in case anyone goes and wants to gauge how much to order. Pizzas are cooked in a 700 degree wood fired brick oven. We will be back for the pizza alone, let alone the rest of the menu. We also split a lobster spaghetti special, which has a whole lobster with meat taken out, shell on bottom topped with spaghetti and chunks of lobster in a light tomato sauce. This was a big dish. Next we had suckling pig which was brined and braised. It was intensely flavored with fennel and a hint of garlic. We ended with a cranberry and hickory nut tart/cake toppped with zabaglione gelato. All meats (except proscuitto which is cut to order on a killer Berkel slicer positioned among the tables), gelato and many pastas are made in house. I am now in search of cotechino sausage. It's flavored with cloves and nutmeg. The space is warehouse meets warm tones and wood on a red wine stained concrete floor. There are 2 bars- one around the L-shaped kitchen and one in the back. For the above meal plus two glasses of prosecco we paid around $150. We were stuffed. I can not wait to go back. Between the pizza, antipasto, primi, secondi, contorno, dolci and daily specials, there are too many ways to enjoy this gem to go only once. And...of course we had a roast pork with sharp provolone and rabe at DiNic's in Reading Terminal Market. -
Great, just what we need another Clyde's. -
A coworker is touting the quality of Vace's pizza, saying it's the best slice in the city. Having never been, and not seeing a thread for it here, I ask for your opinions. There's also a Bethesda location. http://www.vaceitaliandeli.com/ 3315 Connecticutt Avenue (202) 363-1999 (Cleveland Park) 4705 Miller Avenue (301) 654-6367 (Bethesda) -
Tried out the newish Duke's Grocery today for lunch over in Dupont on 17th street. First a few odd things: 1) it is not much of a grocery - they have a few baskets of produce for sale, but it is really a restaurant, 2) its menu consists solely of sandwiches, a few sides and a bar menu - but for now they do not offer carry out sandwiches (concerns about too long of a wait when they have a tiny open kitchen and basically one (maybe 2 sometimes cooks), 3) it looks like it'd be a place for counter service, but they have bartenders and waiter?/food runners so it is unclear whether tipping is expected. I sat at the bar where you order on the ground floor when you enter - but they have an upstairs with tables and some other ledges and stools around on the first floor too. Overall, I think they are still trying to figure out what their concept really is. Nevertheless, the bar is nice and 2 young bartenders were very friendly and nice explaining the menu and chatting. Now onto the food. So the price/value is great here. All of the amply portioned sandwiches are just under $10 with tax included and despite my gluttony of finishing my whole Brick Lane Salt Beef monster, it easily could be shared by 2 people. The other couple of sandwiches I saw come out were equally well-made, fresh in the kitchen using mostly homemade ingredients in small batches and likewise large. The sandwiches come on a variety of breads from Lyon Bakery including rye, ciabatta, etc. I've never been to the UK nor had Salt Beef but it was described as less salty corned beef. It had thick cut soft white bread that was good and then piled high large chunks of tender beef (not melt in your mouth, but soft). The sandwich is slathered with sinus-cleansing Colman Mustard (think horseradish or chinese spicy mustard without the heat) and house made dill pickles with bit of onion laced within. I said next time I'd get the sandwich with less mustard and more of the good pickles. The sandwich was good and definitely well made with quality ingredients - but I think the mustard overwhelmed the somewhat lightly seasoned meat. Probably go back and get something else or maybe the salt beef on rye with sauerkraut and dilled mustard (Ruby on Rye). Besides these 2 options there are several pork ones, a chicken salad, and a vegetarian aubergine/eggplant sandwich - but check/call before you go if you want something particular as most of the menu changes according to the staff. -
From the sounds of things, it seems that Little Sesame is a separate entity getting its start in DGS's lower-level, with a common co-owner in Nick Wiseman. Thus, it will also get its own thread. Congratulations to the whole team, Nick, Robin, and everyone else - please stay active here and let us know when you expand beyond lunch, get a beer and wine license, open another location, etc. All these pop-ups and restaurants within restaurant are parallel to recent college graduates living with mom and dad for a couple of years because they can't afford to pay rent (heck, I did it for a year - I think it's a great idea, and it can even bring the family closer together).
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Brought two of my younger colleagues to dinner here last week. We were looking for a casual spot that was fairly lively and had good food. One of my colleagues read somewhere that the Mermaid Inn on MacDougal was something of a "baby bernardin", so off we went. First of all, the notion of comparing the Mermaid Inn to Le Bernardin, baby, toddler, adolescent or full grown version is crazy. Totally different set up and vibe. This is a casual restaurant with a bustling oyster bar that makes a solid effort to turn out good seafood dishes at a fair price. Our group started with "escargot style" lobster knuckles, charred Portuguese octopus and blue crab tostada. The lobster knuckle escargot were really interesting - the kitchen used a very deft hand with the garlic so as not to overpower the knuckles. I'm a sucker for any charred octopus, and this rendition was good - the hot peppers in the dish were reminiscent of Peasant's "Polpo en Purgatorio", although Peasant's version of charred octopus is superior. The tostadas were a miss - for whatever reason we didn't find a whole lot of flavor in them. My main was a yellowfin tuna with sauce gribiche - seared rare as requested and served with some local asparagus. My colleagues also enjoyed their meals, but the details have been lost toi time at this point. No dessert, but with the three entrees, three appetizers and two bottles of sancerre (blanc et rouge), we had a great time and spent well less than expected for a "nice-ish" dinner out in NY, especially for a menu featuring seafood. While our experience was at the MacDougal location, you could do worse than happen by here or one of the other locations for a quick oyster fix or casual meal. -
Hey everyone--I hope you'll forgive this little plug for a friend of mine. I live in Columbia Heights and can attest that new blood is sorely needed over there, as our dining options are pretty limited. James O'Brien (former owner of funky-but-defunct music venue Staccato in Adams Morgan) has changed venue and flavor. His new venture will focus on brick oven pizza and other cafe fare at the corner of Park Road and 11th St. NW in Columbia Heights, near the Tivoli and the new Giant. The new place is called RedRocks and is scheduled to open in February. Besides brick oven pies at a reasonable price-point, RedRocks will also feature a full bar with tasty beer (look for some good Belgians), a brunch menu, and outdoor patio seating. -
I've been watching progress on this place for the last few months; PoP reports today that it is opening this week. Menu looks to be strictly standard American Thai offerings, but here's hoping that it will be tasty and fresh (good pad thai is good pad thai). They will be takeout only until they receive a zoning change to operate as a sit down joint. I'm certainly not expecting Taw-like levels of quality or deliciousness, but if they serve up decent Thai it'll be a hell of a lot more convenient! Good to see more options around my 'hood. -
Chef Jamie Leeds had left 15 Ria a month ago. Her own, Hank's Oyster Bar, is slated to open on May 15th. It's a cute bistro-looking place in the corner of 17th and Q Streets. I'll be trying it real soon. Wishing her well"¦. -
[i'm surprised that there isn't yet a thread on Teaism, but in case I just missed it, please re-file.] Five pm. Sustenance thus far today consisted of a bag of Fritos. Awful day at work. About to meet a friend for drinks. And then I turn the corner and see Teaism, and something about the place draws me in. Nothing about my tuna bento box was extraordinary, but everything was Good. Soft sweet potato in peanut sauce. Crisp cooked broccoli in thickened ponzu. Warm rice, seared tuna were just fine. Delicate cold mint tea. I've got no standing to judge this meal relative to others in the DC area. All I know is that this was the first meal in a month that felt nourishing and tasty and satisfying and relaxing. Thanks, Teaism. ETA: In case there's anyone in the metro area who doesn't know it yet, the salty oat cookie sold at Teaism is one of the great triumphs of baking. I've been able to mock up a reasonable facsimile at home, but there's nothing like the original, eaten out of wax paper on Connecticut Avenue with a ginger-lime tea. Sublime taste pleasure. -
I went here with my family. We ate at Buena Vida. The complimentary chips and salsa were excellent (tomatillo, some kind of smoked red salsa and picked veggies) were excellent. We had elote off the cob, a bunch of tacos and ceviche. Even the beans and rice which we ordered for the kids was great. My favorite tacos were the lengua and the duck carnitas. Service was okay, not the most attentive server. --- Tacos, Tortas, & Tequila (ElGuapo)- 17 replies
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Urban BBQ in Rockville opend back up on Tuesday, Sept. 6. The place has expanded, there are now tables and chairs instead of just the stools. They now serve sodas from the fountain (don't worry, they still have the great root beer), have a beer and wine license, and have three TVs. When I was in there one was on the Food Network, one on CNN, and one on the game. The food is just as good as ever. (I just had to get some of the dirty wings, I'd been jonesing for them ever since they closed for renovation.) Stop by, I'm sure Lee and Dave would be glad to see you.
