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I went to a get-together with a large group at Homestead last night (my first time eating in Petworth). We were on the top floor of 3, where there was a bar and some tables, and they handled us well (large group of various people showing up anywhere between 6 and 9 p.m.). I like the space and the host was friendly and welcoming. I only had a small taste of the menu, but it was excellent. The things I ordered aren't on the online menu at http://homesteaddc.com/starters/ because their menu changes daily, although a number of items on the online menu were on the menu last night (quail, raclette, catfish, buttermilk hot chicken, half roasted chicken, Homestead burger). A salad of berries (blueberries and strawberries), goat cheese, hazelnuts and greens was great - very fresh, interesting greens that weren't the typical "mixed greens," though I can't tell you what they were. Good goat cheese and fresh, tasty berries. Large serving, too. Grilled squid was tiny tiny whole squid (baby squid, but much smaller than baby squid I've had before, about the size of a thumbnail), with drizzles of a delicious yellow sauce that tasted of Spain (I don't recall what was in it, maybe saffron?), and bits of diced fruit (pineapple? don't recall), on top of salad greens. Not what I expected, but very good. There was a saffron soup on the menu and I was very curious but didn't end up getting it. My husband got the half roasted chicken with vegetables and he was happy with it; someone else got the burger, and I snagged a few fries, which were good. Someone else was very happy with her tuna tartare over avocado, which looked appealing. There were many interesting cocktails on the menu (drinks menu isn't online). No mocktails, but I got a nonalcoholic version of a drink that had blackberries (or maybe blueberries, can't recall), cardamom syrup, and lemon. Very nice. Followed it with a ginger beer. There's outdoor seating on the second level (maybe 8 tables) and lots of space throughout the building. I'd definitely go back. -
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Brohim and I went to Emilie's last night (Friday). We had a 6 p.m. reservation but arrived at 5:30 p.m. They promptly seated us at the counter and gave us the menus but it was a little while before someone came to take our drink orders. The cart menu was a little confusing and we had to have it explained twice. No bread comes with the dip, so you have to order bread (focaccia or sourdough) from the kitchen menu for $9. However, if you order a bread, it comes with your choice of one dip. Each additional dip is $3. In our case, we ordered focaccia - 4 pieces of rather chewy and dense foccia. We ordered the chicken liver pate and sichuan honey butter but due to their delay, they gave us all 6 dips (babaganoush, apple butter, seaweed butter, and mascarpone & jelly). I thought the chicken liver was fantastic. For apps, we ordered SCALLOP CRUDO - crispy okra, curry leaves, chili oil. BEEF TARTARE - cured egg yolk, crab fat mustard, pecorino. The scallops, after swishing around in the sauce, are fantastic. The beef tartare were even better. Mixed with egg yolk and pecorino, it had the texture of almost cooked meat. The combination of ingredients were new to me but the best that I can think of. Finally, we shared the PORK BLADE STEAK vermicelli, nuoc cham, peanut sauce. This is a straight up Vietnamese dish with a different cut of pork. The pork was tender, well seasoned, but fatty and sinewy which made it hard to chew. You can get almost the same dish at 1/3 of the price by going to Eden Center but that's an entirely different atmosphere. So I recommend you try both and see which you like better (just order grilled pork w/ vermicelli at any Vietnamese restaurant for comparison). This place will be a winner, similar to Rose's Luxury. Great, seemingly creative food that's really not, served at hipster prices for those who have disposable income, who rather stay in the city instead of venturing out into the burbs for authentic food. The lighting was awful. The only light source is the fluorescent light in the display kitchen. I also used a iPhone 6....and couldn't hold still while taking the tartare shot.
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- Capitol Hill
- Capitol Hill South
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Not sure if my google skills have departed, or if I have really started two threads tonight. We are always looking for a place that is open late. So one night at 10pm, we tried it. The decor is a.... melange of styles and motifs. The meal as a whole was quite nice. It was one of the more plesant dining experiences we have had recently. But when I think back to the actual dishes, noneof them stood out as superb with the exception of a pate but the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. A decent, small beer list with about a dozin an tap, more in bottle and cans. Wine list did not interest me. I asked the waiter to ahve the bartender riff on a Sazerac, and I got a pretty straightforward Sazerac, nicely done but not outstanding. Kay's Goose Island IPA was very nice. We tried two cured meats {duckbreast and fennel sausage} and the aforementioned pate {pork with cranberry IIRC.} The pate was superb and would have been better still if served with something as simple as a little mustard or mostarda to go along with the pate, a small pile of cornichons and a hunk of grilled bread. The duck breast was fine, but I have had better product from Dartagnan. The fennel sausage had a very odd, crumbly, dry texture that was borderline unpleasant. This was unfortunate as the flavors were nice. A salad of chicories seemed to be a conventional produce item, which surprised at a place that makes all their meat items in house. There was a nice smattering of very good blue crumbles from a US artisan cheese maker, candied walnuts and orange sections. The other dish we ahd was a total miss.... grilled calamari with salsa verde. Not one part of the dish worked. Desserts were a baked apple which was more of a apple shaped applesauce with a brulee crust in a creme Anglaise. I was not a fan of the texture, but the flavors were super. My maple & bacon gelato was shy on both bacon and maple, and was ice cream int he extreme and not gelato, but it was a fun, large portion. Kay's apple came with a large wad of spun sugar and my "gelato" has a stained glass dripped sugar thingie on top. There was more sugar in the garnishes than one person should eat in a week. The spun sugar shattered when I tried to take a taste and it took overnight and several applications of shampoo to my quite bushy beard to get it out. We chatted witht he GM and the Chef di Cusina who were very nice. We cut off our waiter who introduced himself with the line "I'm Jason and I am here to guide you thru the menu tonight" We said we had made our decisions and had a couple of questions... what is your favorite pate and what are your favorite two cures. He had answered at hand which I appreciated. But this is not a menu needing GPS or hand holding to understand. Appetizers, entrees and lots of charcuterie. If I had the free time, or on a night in the future when I do, we will return for a late bite. The dinner was about $70 with tip.- 38 replies
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- Silver Spring
- Metro
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Last week, I went to the Rye Street Tavern, NoHo Hospitality Group's latest foray into Baltimore. It was on a Sunday evening, so we naturally gravitated towards their "Southern Fried Sundays" - a fried chicken dinner, served family style. Keep reading, because I'm going to tell you a little secret about ordering this meal that wouldn't be at all obvious to a first-time diner. and it will make the difference between you "liking it," and "loving it." The cocktails were somewhat expensive, but were well-made and delicious: And a little loaf of cornbread comes out just before everything else arrives: Then, the family-style dinner: Everything about this meal screamed "Repeat!" - everything, that is, except the price: We paid $70 for those two little assemblages of food that you see just above (plus the cornbread). "Geez," I said, "$70, and we got *four* pieces of chicken!" I mean, it was great and everything, but as you can see, there are three starch-heavy items: the cornbread, the biscuits, and the potatoes, and we both paced our dinners so that we finished everything at the same time. We were mildly full, and yes, the richness of the cooking made everything satisfying, but come on! I wanted more chicken, darn it! So, just as we were winding down, our server came up to us, and said, "Would you all care for some more chicken, or side dishes?" "Wat?" Okay, so ... spending my money so you don't have to ... we asked for some more chicken, potatoes, and collards (made with delicious bacon, btw), and got a healthy second portion; the rub is that we had *no idea* it was coming, so we filled up on starch, when we would have really preferred a better balance with another piece of chicken. Remember: Those second portions are coming your way, but not a word was said about them until we had almost finished the meal - if you take *that* into consideration, and use it to your advantage, then $35 is a very fair price for this meal. Also, the restaurant gave us two spice muffins "to have with breakfast the next morning," which is always a nice touch. To Rye Street's full credit, they offered to box up the second helping which we couldn't finish - we felt sheepish about this, since boxing up all-you-can-eat meals is something of a shady practice, but they would hear nothing of it. Keep in mind: I don't know if this is all-you-can-eat; I suspect you get two helpings, and *maybe* a third helping if you really do a number on everything, but I wouldn't count on that. Still, in no way did they seem like they were trying to skimp on things, so this was merely a lack of knowledge on our part - learn from our mistake! Go here on a Sunday night, get this exact same thing, and *remember* that it's essentially all-you-can-eat - I can't guarantee we'd have gotten a third helping, but who knows? There's no need to stuff yourself with carbs, merely so you don't leave hungry. Furthermore, the restaurant, and the grounds it's on (it shares acreage with a distillery) is beautiful - there's even a battleship in the background! And that is damned good fried chicken!
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- Port Covington
- American
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I thought I'd throw this out there after reviewing some year end activity. This past year the Professional Bartending School provided bartenders for over 130 parties, events, weddings, corporate events, holiday parties, etc. We don't aggressively advertise or market this service. The school doesn't charge for the service. We will connect you with our graduates and you pay them direct. We are currently in contact with over 1,000 graduates ranging from people with over 10 years experience to new grads. We have suggested hourly rates. Many of our grads already work for caterers, so you get the same personnel who might cater your event without the overhead charges. Hosts have hired our grads for bartending, serving, barbacking etc. We have staffed events with one to 12 bartenders in the past year. This year we additionally staffed up many caterers for the holiday season, with some having started their hiring as early as last summer. In past years we often last minute or over a rush two weeks would staff holiday parties and busy December weekends full of parties with up to 100 grads per weekend. While party season is dying down with New Years this is a year round opportunity as we always have available graduates for any events. You can contact us at http://bartending-school.com or see pictures of grads at our facebook page http://facebook.com/ProfessionalBartendingSchoolDC, Phone number is 703 841 9700 and the contact email for our placement director is PBSPlacement@gmail.com -
I'm admittedly a creature of habit. Each time I'm in New York, I tend to hit a few places from my list of "regulars" - though I try to squeeze in one or two new ones when I'm there. So it's with that context that I say that I've been to La Pecora Bianca in NoMad the last 4 times I've been to the city. LPB isn't the best italian restaurant in New York. And it isn't the best restaurant in NoMad (which, in my opinion, is the NoMad Restaurant inside the NoMad Hotel). But it fills a gap left by the closing of Craftbar (which wasn't technically in NoMad but close enough). It is a restaurant that serves good food that isn't super high priced where we can meet friends for dinner without a reservation 4 weeks in advance. It's always the place chosen on the dreaded text message chain the day before when someone asks "where should we meet for dinner." From the appetizers, I recommend Whipped Ricotta with truffle honey and country toast ($14) and the Meatballs ($14). Roasted Cauliflower with raisins, pine nuts and mascarpone ($15) is also good, but I'm not a big cauliflower person in general. From the pasta menu, Gramigna with house made sausage, broccolini and pepper flakes ($24) is a favorite, as is the Tagliatelle with bolognese ($24). And the Tiramisu for two ($15) is worth the caloric splurge. Fair warning, they are strict about the wine pours, which can change the glass vs. bottle mathematics.-
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- Local Chain
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On May 20, 2018, I enjoyed a very delectable lunch at Mikko's Café, which serves casual modern Nordic fare. See café menu. Seating is limited to 5 seats at the back counter and 4 at the front so take-away is a very quick and convenient option. Mikko plans to expand to al fresco dining with beverage service in the near future. I can't wait for the expanded café menu! I enjoyed the following: Pickled Herring Open-Face Sandwich with Egg, Greens, Mustard, Dill (Herring is pickled in-house. Mikko has a smoker for smoked fish. And for smoked mushrooms in a recipe for a catered soup, which I hope will make it on the expanded café menu!) Karelian Pastry (served reheated) Finnish-Style Fish Soup (this is a hearty dish and can be enjoyed on its own) Salmon Quiche (as take-away immediately enjoyed by reheating at home)
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This place has a nice large patio (indoor seating as well) and is an interesting addition to the strip mall on Massachusetts in Spring Valley. It doesn't take reservations, and the wait was about half an hour on a nice Sunday evening. Parking can be tough along that strip although I bet there is plenty in nearby lots or side streets. The food is a bit of a mish-mash of New England and California themes. I had the Eel Point tacos, which were good - rare tuna with a creamy slaw thing in flour tortillas (I usually like corn tortillas for tacos but they aren't trying to be authentic Mexican so I'll let it go). My companions had the Smith Point tacos (we decided the Eel Point were better) and the 40th Pole quesadillas. Dessert is served out of a standalone ice cream stand on the patio - lots of fun for kids. Everything was good, although the atmosphere is the real calling card. If the weather is nice I anticipate it being a popular neighborhood destination. -
I'm surprised that there's still no thread on Tico so I'm starting one. I've been there a bunch of times, and it's one of my favorites. Each time I've ordered a fried dish, I've been impressed by how well it's fried. The dishes have been crispy and not greasy (fried calamari, fried manchego, fried oysters). I've also really liked their mac & cheese with ham, duck tacos, salmon ceviche with almonds, and chorizo risotto. The few dishes that I did not care for were their fried chicken taco and black risotto croquettes - both tasted bland to me.- 3 replies
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- Massachusetts Chain
- 14UP
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Was at Rockfish Saturday night with some girlfriends after a day at the salon. We normally go to Rockfish when we miss the deadline for brunch at Carrol's Creek and Chart House. But we had a really nice dinner. The wine selection is not huge, but we managed to find a good wine that was very reasonable. I started with a cup of MD crab soup, it was very good, had all the requisite flavors and the vegetables were not mushy. I really enjoyed it, it would have been even better last week in all the rain. I am really a big fan of MD crab soup when done right. It is one of my favorite soups. I then had the fish tacos- an app as an entree. There were three tacos with two very generous pieces of battered cod in each tortilla. On the bottom was a really good slaw with a little avocado puree. I thought they were good, although as I got full I ate the stuffing and left the tortilla. It had good flavor as was a little different from the normal entrees on a lot of Annapolis menus. My dinner mates had the crab and lobster pastas. The crab one looked incredible. The lobster smelled phenomenal, but you had to take the meat out of the shell and cut it and that made it really messy and difficult to eat politely, they should go ahead and take the meat out of the shell before serving the dish. Anyway this place is normally very solid, a little dark inside, but nice and a little more casual than O'Leary's or etc. -
Has anyone eaten at this restaurant lately or,has anyone cooked in the kitchen. I'm seeking opinions on the food or working conditions. -
First I should mention that on my first visit to a restaurant, I tend to go along with whatever they suggest, rather than requesting something else (another table, etc.), and evaluate the place based on the default experience they deliver. If it's bad enough I will tell them, and walk out and eat somewhere else. Tuscano West is one of those downtown restaurants (usually Italian) that I've walked by hundreds of times, but never really thought to try. You know -- once you've endured the disappointment of ballyhooed places like I Ricci, why bother? Wait until you get to New York, Boston's North End, Philly, or San Francisco. But a Groupon tempted me, so... I arrived at 6:00 on the Wednesday night following hurricane Sandy, well before my wife, who was coming from work, for our early (6:30) reservation. I checked in at the stand, and headed to the bar for a Scotch. The bar does not have a price list of its single malt Scotches. This is significant, since prices for the the same whisky vary wildly from place to place. (With over 100 single malts at home, why should I overpay for mediocrity at a bar?) My wife arrived at 6:25. We returned to the stand, which was staffed now by someone else, who had no idea who I was. We were not offered a choice of the nearly empty dining rooms, but were ushered immediately to the isolated front room, rather than the much more interesting rear room with views of the kitchen. And to the only microscopically tiny two-top in that front room. I observed that we wouldn't be able to order much with such a tiny table, but the woman either didn't get the jab, or chose to ignore it. In addition to being very, very small, the table was oriented along the long axis of the room, (the opposite of all the other tables), thus insuring that one person (me) would be able to observe absolutely nothing but the blank wall behind a wood service counter -- not the dining room, not the outdoors through the window -- for the duration of the meal. Already, Tuscana West had made a bad impression that it could not overcome. Normally, at this point, I would have gone elsewhere, but this was a Groupon night to try a new place... The wine list is not kept up to date; they were out of the wine we ordered. The waiter recommended a Chianti, Ruffino Ducale Riserva 2007, which he said was priced slightly higher, but would be provided at the same price as the wine they were out of. It tasted a bit astringent, of which I advised the waiter (there was no mention of decanting and no decanters in evidence), but opened up nicely by the end of our second course. A small plate of olive oil accompanied two breads: the usual completely ignorable, cottony, Italian Wonder Bread equivalent, and a Focaccia that my wife enjoyed. A shared appetizer salumi plate included one slice of a nice salami, three slices of a dull mild sopressata, one coarsely-cut slice of undistinguished prosciutto, three slivers of an unidentified hard cheese, and some excellent marinated peppers. It was good, but not excellent, and was more than we needed for a shared appetizer. Secondly, we shared a special hot appetizer of Italian sausage with sauteed onions in a sort of Italian barbecue sauce with stick cinnamon. The sauce was wonderful, but the sausage itself was quite bland and ignorable. My wife had a nightly special of duck breast in pomegranate sauce, with risotto. The duck was fine (though not nearly as good as the D'Artagnan breasts we cook at home), cooked medium rare as requested, but the risotto -- the same risotto with gorgonzola that was available on the menu as a stand-alone dish -- was a disappointment, somewhat dry and not at all toothy. I had a nightly special of pork loin with vegetables. The three generous slices of pork were overcooked, in a nice sauce of lemon and sage; potatoes were perfect, but the rest of the vegetables (carrots and beans) were barely warmed through,and not to my liking. We asked about desserts, and our waiter rattled off a list. I opted for cheesecake -- plain, so it could be the star that cheesecake deserves to be. A minute later, he returned, saying that he was told they were out of the cheesecake, so I ordered my second choice raspberry and blackberry tart. In a minute our waiter again returned, saying that they had only one slice, which I took to mean the tart -- until, ten seconds later, a server placed a slice of cheesecake before me. The cheesecake was a nice light ricotta variety, with a graham cracker crust flavored with cinnamon. We ordered double espressos, decaf -- but they don't offer decaf, so we settled for regular (I'm very caffeine sensitive, so I paid for this in lost sleep later.) What urban restaurant doesn't offer decaf espresso these days? How hard -- and expensive -- is it to keep a pound of ground decaf or decaf beans around? The double espressos, when they came, were of decent flavor, but weak -- more like an Americano -- and served in larger cups. At this point, we decided to have our after-dinner drinks at home, and paid the check. When we left at 8:50, the maitre d' stand was unmanned, so there was no farewell or opportunity to offer comments. To summarize: the table was horrendous, the food was interesting but also had significant flaws, the service was very good but hampered by the table location. For $200 on a Wednesday night, you can do much better.
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