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Showing results for tags 'Wine Bar'.
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Metropolitan Coffee House and Wine Bar is great. Federal Hill, not Inner Harbor, but close by. Casual, coffee shop atmosphere, but nice friendly spot with good breakfast foods. 902 South Charles at Henrietta. -
This restaurant serves Tapas and Spanish style food on 14th Street. The service at this place is impeccable. While waiting in the bar, there were so many servers and bussers going past and instead of making you feel like they were in their way, they made you feel like they were in your way. The bartenders actively make eye contact with the patrons, instead of you fighting to get their attention. And, in case you didn't know, this place is packed to the brim nightly. I came tonight, on a cold DC Thursday expecting the absolute worst. I've walked in and walked out because I was told there was a 2 hour wait. They don't do many reservations, and I actually don't know their rules for doing them. We were told 1 hour and it ended up being close to 1 hour and 30 minutes. When I went up as the annoying guest asking "are we there yet?" they took the time to tell me why it was taking longer and then let us know an updated time, which was fairly accurate. We were seated by a vivacious and energetic hostess that had been dealing with impatient and likely rude guests all evening, and she never broke her smile the whole night. I came with 7+ a high chair for a 21 month old. We were placed at a cozy table and I'll tell the truth, we told them 6, and added one at last minute. We were those people. They added a chair and we got very close. Waters delivered immediately, two waiters introduced themselves, and took drink orders. They also told us that specific dishes took a long time (paella and grilled meat platters), which got us to put those in first. We ordered 2 patatas bravas, 2 asparagus with aioli, seafood paella, a churrasco, multiple hamachi crudos, gambas ajillo, 2 tortillas, blood sausage, 2 chorizo with fig, scallops, lamb chops, 2 lamb burgers, 2 beef empanadas.. I think that's all of it. The pacing was impeccable. Rarely were we overburdened. Service was slowed down when it needed to be, but with attention to whether we needed more drinks. The food quality was high - highlights included lamb chops, churrasco, chorizo, hamachi crudo... Paella was not like Barcelona the city, but tasty in it's own right. Not one dish was bad. I never order patatas bravas because stateside it's essentially French fries and hot sauce, but here the fiery tomato sauce and aioli made it impressive. I can't really get thinking about the food, even though it was fabulous, I'm just so impressed at the way the restaurant presented itself. A prince amongst men... I hated the idea of this place - a Connecticut chain, the hottest gals and guys in DC, a hostess that could be a model, a fancy bar and terribly long wait times. But, sometimes the execution and the effort overstate any potential negatives. If the food gets any better and the service stays the same, this place will last a long time. And, final caveat - I freaking hate tapas state side.- 13 replies
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Dropped by (apparently) the first non-airport location of Vino Volo on Bethesda Row. The left side is a cafe, the right side a wine shop (honestly, I didn't walk around that side, but that's what it looked like.) We sat at the bar and just barely made it in time to order a few tasting flights ("Malbec Madness" for her, "Spanish Armada" for me.) It's a cute little space. Seems to try to be an urban farmhouse - there's some wooden crate decorations, retro filament lighting, like that. We were just nibbling, but tried a nice plate of pitted seasoned olives and the pork tacos, which needed the lime wedge that garnished it. From what I gather, their big thing is the "vino chart", which is a graphic representation of the wine's flavor profile. (For wine dummies like me, I admit to appreciating the effort.) "Complexity" is the x-axis and "Fruit" on the y-axis; the graphic is also divided into four quadrants, so from (x,y=0,0) clockwise, it's: "light", "bright", "rich", "brooding." (Better visualization below - this is the general one on their website, but each wine ends up with a dot on the graphic.) Soooo ... seems nice. Happy Hour is half-price off "bites and flights", and runs 4-6pm, which is a nice deal if you want to try some different things. I ended up also trying a flight of rosé (and discovering the Boxwood 2012 is really pretty tasty.) I guess we'd go back.
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Finally, Ron Tanaka is going out on his own, and will be running the kitchen at Cork Wine Bar. Cork will be opening in mid-January, and will be focusing primarily on old-world European wines. It will have 67 seats, and the opening menu will be written by co-owner Diane Gross. But the news here is Tanaka, who is widely admired among insiders as one of the greatest kitchen talents in all of Washington, DC. He's spent the past three years at CityZen, the past two as sous chef. Before that, he spent five years at Citronelle, where he rose through the ranks to become saucier, then sous chef. Sous chef at both CityZen and Citronelle! Tanaka is downplaying all of this, emphasizing that his opening role will be one of execution. "We're doing small, Italian tapas-sort-of plates," he said. "We're going to be doing simple things, like a Caesar salad. It's going to force me to use a different type of creativity." I nudged Tanaka to start thinking about some of his own dishes to slip onto the menu down the road. 'It will be a couple of months until things get into full swing,' he said, imploring me not to make a big deal about anything. Then he added that "all I'm going to be doing is running the kitchen." Maybe so, but finally, after years laboring in the shadows of giants, you've got your own kitchen to run. Congratulations, Chef Tanaka, and we'll see you next year. -
I'm excited, since I'm something of an Fairfax City cheerleader. I've only been able to find a few reviews online, but they're all raves. I tried Sweet Life (the former occupant of the historic Moore House) once for dinner and it was sorta 'meh'/hit-or-miss, so I'm not surprised they didn't make it. Choices by Shawn seems to focus a lot on gluten-free baked goods, and they even have a few vegan offerings. The web site is here. Has anyone tried this place? Any thoughts? -
I'd like to put in a plug for Bar à Vin, Chez Billy Sud's cozy wine bar next door. Warm atmosphere. Friendly bartenders. Interesting small plate menu. Wine. Cocktails. What more can you ask for?-
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"Tredici Enoteca: Standout Wines, Hit-or-Miss Food" by Craig LaBan on philly.com
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Looks to be in the early stages, but Sebastian Zutant is stepping back from The Red Hen and All Purpose (but will remain a partner) to focus on opening a wine bar with his wife, Lauren Winter, and expand his wine making business. He is hoping to release his first production in 2017 (250 cases made in 2015 and 350 cases made in 2016). City Paper with the story -
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. -
Sadly, The Corkscrew closed on Jun 28, 2016 as a result of being unable to renew their lease.
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I guess this should become a new thread. (There also should be one in restaurants, though it's mentioned in the openings thread.) Today I stopped in at Sona, which is now open its regular hours, which I believe are 11AM to 10 or 11 PM. I bought some of this cheese from New Hampshire since I thought it looked interesting. The taste of it was a mild cheddar-ish flavor. They have a lot of unpasteurized cheeses. Everything seemed to be sourced externally, so I should have asked when they will start having cheese they make on premises. It reminded me of very early Cheesetique, but there are a lot of $30/+ per pound cheeses, which seems gasp-worthy, even if they're great. They do have tables and a counter for eating (and a chef), so they're way ahead of where Cheesetique was at the beginning. They have two cheese cases. The bottom shelf of the one facing you as you come in the door is all blue cheeses, including Roquefort and Stilton. They also have charcuterie and things like marinated white anchovies. It's located (can't remember if it's directly adjacent) near the Sapore olive oil store. A good "gourmet" combination. It will be quite a destination spot when the Italian gourmet store that's supposed to be going into the old Marvelous Market (still Silver Spork and still open) location around the corner opens -
Never even heard of this place until Sunday night, when I was taken there. It's a combination wine store/bar/restaurant in Columbia off Rt. 108 in a pleasant location across from a huge field. They have a menu of small plates items (with a few almost entree size things too), most of which we tried were very good. However, the main draw is, of course, the wine. Glass prices were about on par for this area, but the real deal is the bottles. Any bottle from the wall shelves around the restaurant (this is basically the entire wine list) are only $5 corkage. Prices and selection are pretty nice. After sampling a couple of glasses, we had a Torbreck 'Woodcutter's' Shiraz ($22 + $5= $27) at our server's suggestion that I thought was quite good. A couple of highlights from the small plates we tried were a pancetta and asparagus tart and a marlin steak with a chipotle-corn-cream sauce. Definitely something to consider if you're out that way for Merriweather-- or even worth a trip if you aren't. -
Funny, I had an Americano (a large comes with four shots - they use a California roaster with a multi-syllabic name beginning with "D") in Del Ray just two days ago, at the pleasant Emma's Espresso and Wine Bar. I didn't try any of the baked goods, but the Americano was very well made, served in a ginormous (that didn't activate the spell-check alert?) mug, and was quite a good cup of coffee. The first few moments of service were addled, but instantly rectified themselves, and the staff there was as pleasant as can be. They have free WiFi, and Emma's is well-worth a visit if you enjoy independent coffee houses. They own the entire house, right off Mount Vernon Avenue, so there's ample parking.
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I've seen Geppetto in the good old days, back when there was a branch going strong in Georgetown. However, it's been almost five years since my last meal there, a pleasant lunch in what is now Oakville Grille and Wine Bar, a restaurant with the same ownership (Karol, has it really been that long?) Now relegated to an alleyway entrance to what used to be a back room, Geppetto no longer feels the same. When I walked by a table, I saw a pretty decent-looking roast chicken, which is a good sign for Oakville Grille, but I was there for the money item - the Sicilian Deep-Dish pie that Geppetto has been famous for since 1977. I've had it numerous times in the past, and have always enjoyed it, even as recently as five years ago I remember walking out thinking how impressed I was with it; no longer. Oh, the old, bent deep-dish pans are still there, and the pizza is as thick as it has ever been (they claim one-inch, but it seems even thicker than that). A large Meat Lover's ($25) was one of the heaviest pizzas I have ever seen, a 15-inch monster cut into six slices, each weighing perhaps two pounds. The base of this pizza is cheap, bready crust that reminds me of bad frozen industrial-white bread, the bottom of which was somewhat golden, but not enough to make it exciting. The toppings were simply excessive, a sweet tomato sauce countering all the meats, including pepperoni, sausage, bacon, proscuitto ham, and ground beef. The ground beef smelled like well-done ground beef, which isn't a surprise, but how often do you actually get that scent in a pizza? The pepperoni was bulk-quality, curled-up slices, and was so dominant that when the pizza arrived, it looked like a Matthew's tomato pie - I honestly thought at first glance that these were plum tomatoes. We each counted around 50 slices on half the pie, which meant there were fully 100 slices of pepperoni on six slices of pizza. It was a nitrate festival gone wrong. I washed it down with the only beer on the list that interested me, a bottle of Mendocino Red Tail Ale ($6), perhaps a nod to the days when this restaurant group owned Mendocino Grille, although I don't know if Charles Lenkin is involved any more or not. I got into a lengthy discussion with my young dining companion about the pie, originally stating that it had no redeeming qualities other than it was cheap, and that it was bulky. He disagreed, correctly pointing out that it could have been a lot greasier, and that Pizza Hut is much, much worse than this. I can't vouch for Pizza Hut, but I do give Geppetto credit for draining the grease off their ground beef before piling it on; the overall impression was: sodium-ridden, yes, but grease-ridden, not as much as it could have been. Regardless, this was not the Geppetto of old. However, if you want a lot of pizza, for not a lot of money (I only wanted to eat 1 1/4 slices, although I could have eaten 2), then this pie might meat (sorry) your kneads (sorry). I won't be rushing back, and I even have a twinge of sadness as I write this, because I used to love Geppetto. Cheers, Rocks.
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Sonoma Cellar (website) has recently opened up in Old Town Alexandria at 207 King Street The downstairs is a wine tasting bar and the upstairs is a restaurant (the kitchen is part way upstairs and you pass on your way up) They had just been opened a week when we went there and I'll take that into consideration. The owners and chef are very enthusiastic about the new place and that energy shows. The wine menu is divided up into standard and select, you can order 5 one oz pour flights or a two ounce tasting pour or a glass of any of the wines. We each had a flight and you can pick which of the wines you want in your flight. All was average, and hopefully they will improve to good in the future. Wines were pretty middle of the road, food needs to even out, staffing is still learning. Tables are very close together and the accoustics make it so you can hear every table (we actually joined in conversations with everyone else there) We started with the Brie and Fig Jam Crostini which was yummy, I had the Beef Estouffade which parts of the beef were dry and parts were good, the noodles also had parts that were under and over cooked, sweetie had the Petaluma Chicken au Jus which was okay but nothing special. Next table had pork chop that was to dry but enjoyed their Bodega bay Shrimp (and were amazed with their spaghetti-cut zucchini and I told them they can often buy them pre-cut at Whole Foods). The dessert wines and the Lavender Crème Brí»lée were the high spot - very smooth with a lavender taste that was not overpowering. OverAll we left feeling 'meh' as there is so much better in the area, but maybe a good lunch spot to take a break when we have someone there as a tourist or someone really wants to do some wine tasting of california wines. Grandma review: Nope - restaurant is upstairs and stairs up to restaurant so not an option for her, the wine tasting is all at tall stools/tables/bar so not an option either.- 4 replies
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I am on a mission to taste my way through southern Fairfax County and I've contributed some Springfield reviews over the past year. I have eaten a few times at Pane e Vino in what appears to be the Lorton Town Center, if that's what it's called, but it sure looks like it's trying to be one of those now ubiquitous Town Centers popping up everywhere. DR will have to expand the restaurant guide to include a Lorton listing now. Pane e Vino is family owned, and therefore checks the box of not being a chain, so that's the first positive sign. It has its own pizza oven, so that's the second positive sign. It has become so successful that it bought the Americanized Chinese place next door and expanded into it, so that's the third positive sign. And I haven't even gotten into the food yet. As for the food, well, there are many family owned Italian places from Burke to Lorton, all of them pretty good, from Rafagino's in Burke to Vinny's in Lorton, with Victor's next to the Springfield Whole Foods and San Vito down on Rolling and Braddock. All very good and all very reasonably priced, and none of them near the quality of Pane e Vino. This place is now my go-to Italian restaurant south of Fairfax. Dinner starts with an almost-amouse of a three tastes to go with the fresh bread basket. In one ceramic rectangle was three mini-bowls of olives, olive oil with parmesan, and marinara that tasted fresh made. With the warm breads, this was a hearty start. We accompanied this with a bottle of chardonnay off the daily special list, and since they didn't have the one we ordered, they gave us a more expensive one for the $22 special price. Tonight we ate off the specials, more or less. Girlfriend had the blackened rockfish, covered with marinara, spinach and olives, which to this day is the best rockfish dish I have ever eaten in my life. Absolutely cooked to perfection. I had the chicken frescia, which is a boneless breast of chicken pounded thin and covered with tomato sauce, spinach and mozzarella, served with a side of pasta and red sauce. To die for, and cooked to a juicy and tender doneness that is difficult to achieve for white meat of chicken. This place also has a pizza menu that looks tempting, and with the aforementioned pizza oven, it is one of the specialties of the house. I am torn here, because pizza would make a nice noon meal when split with a friend, and across the street is the Fireside grill, which has some tempting grilled sandwiches and is the subject of another review. And when I think of pizza in the southern part of the county, I am drawn to Delia's....oh well, maybe pizza is another topic for another time. We couldn't have left more satisfied, and a dinner for two (without dessert) with a bottle of wine and tax and tip came to just over $60. I will continue to treat this place as my go-to Italian restaurant this side of Dolce Vita, Da Domenico, Mama's or Bonaroti. -
We had a nice, late supper at A.O.C. back in May. Lots of nice small and medium size plates of Mediterranean dishes, good cheese and charcuterie and of course, wines. Picture a not-quite-as-Italian Sonoma with lower lighting and aspiring starlets at the table next to yours. -
Who we are: La Jambe is a new French Wine bar in the Shaw neighborhood of DC scheduled to open in Spring 2016. We strive to expose patrons to the French palate through carefully selected menu of wine, charcuterie and cheese. La Jambe is a neighborhood bar where you will experience the best of the old world in our little corner of the new world. What we are looking for: Seasoned bar professional with extensive knowledge of wine. Strong leadership and management skills required. Candidate must be proactive and be able to motivate a team. Eager to learn and grow professionally. The Job: A little bit of everything...seriously. Manager will work very closely with owners to shape and manage the La Jambe team (hiring, training, discipline and ongoing staff development) as well as manage bar operations and ensure that patrons receive the highest level of service at all times. A Must: 3 plus years of bar management experience Extensive knowledge of wine Team player - no job is ever below you Bonus: French speaker Knowledge of Charcuterie & Cheese Compensation: Based on experience. We are an equal opportunity employer. Please send resume and references via email to Heather@LaJambeDC.com Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster. do NOT contact us with unsolicited services or offers -
I've been wanting to try this place out . Has anyone tried it and if so, what did you think? -
Stumbled across this on the Post's site today: "Raise a Glass to Vinoteca" by Fritz Hahn on voices.washpost.com A very brief blurb on one of the blogs mentions 68 by-the-glass options, cheese and charcuterie We were planning on giving Marvin a go tonight and may just have to drop by here first to see what's what. Edit: click here for a glimpse at their retina-searing website . Nothing much substantive yet, just a link to various press pieces. -
I just read about this in Ashburn Today. I'm going to check it out soon. I wonder how many Loudoun/Reston denizens are on this board. There was an aborted attempt to have a gathering out Loudoun way, I wonder if there would be renewed interest? Here is a blog post from the owner: http://thewktable.bl...ng-earnest.html -
Has anyone been yet? We went on Friday night on a recommendation from a co-worker. We thought the sushi was a great value (pretty tasty and very cheap). Plus they had half priced wine, with no restrictions, and the wine list was extensive for being a hotel restaurant. Just wanted to see if anyone else had an opinion on this place. -
I was walking up 18th St. NW yesterday, and noticed the renovation of a storefront just past Mandu. The awning is pink and reads Cherry (or Cherry Hill, can't remember exactly), and announces a new sushi bar/ Japanese restaurant. Interesting! No opening date posted. Anyone know anything about this? -
Had dinner with the wife and friends at Grandcru-Wine, which is located next to big buns and behind the Westin in Arlington. It is a store restaurant combination with an interesting concept. You can buy a bottle and enjoy it with dinner for a $5.00 corkage fee. The wine selection is interesting and all over the place. For me there seems an overall lack of direction in the collection. We found a decent Burgundy to settle on, after looking for a while. We had a few apps before dinner and had a hit with the mushroom tart and a major miss with the cheese and meat tray. It was a misdirected combination of hard cheddar, smoked Gouda, and salami, all could have been purchased at the local Safeway. By far the worst I have ever had. For dinner the wife had the white truffle orzo, which was well prepared and flavorful and well priced at $10.00. I had the duck breast with sweet mashed potato. The duck was well prepared, tender and flavorful. A simple well prepared duck breast is hard to find, they did it well. For desert we had port, which they let us sample before we purchased and the chocolate fondue, it was decent, but not great. Overall the food was good with some major misses along the way. I think if you are careful with your selections it could be a decent experience. My hope is that they tighten up their wine selections and provide more focus. -
Has anyone been to the new Trummer's Coffee and Wine Bar yet? It's a spin-off of Trummers on Main in Clifton located in Gainesville, VA. Apparently it opened late last week, but so far I can't find a menu. Anybody been there yet? WR
