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DGS Delicatessen, Chef Brian Robinson Running Takes Over for Barry Koslow in South Dupont - Closed


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I took my very picky 5.5-year old daughter here for brunch yesterday after wandering around the farmer's market. I managed to sell her on trying French toast for the first time by emphasizing that it's made with challah, which she loves. I took a few tastes and, I got to say, that's the best damn French toast I've ever had. It wasn't too eggy, and had a wonderful crispiness to it. I had the bagel and lox platter. My only minor complaint there was the way they piled up the fixings on the side. The capers were rolling around on top of the tomatoes and underneath the lettuce making it difficult to corral them onto a spoon and put them on the bagel.

Service was excellent. Our waiter was attuned to the particular needs of a young one and patient with her "bubbly water, no cranberry juice, no bubbly water AND cranberry juice, no not mixed together" indecisiveness.

The only downside was watching the TV over the bar and seeing Federer lose. I suppose that's not DGS's fault.   :)

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I agree with all the positive comments upthread about the matzo ball soup.  Rich without being overwhelming, and the matzo itself was fluffy/delicate.  The pastrami, on the other hand, was fine.  A bit on the bland-ish side, could've been fattier.  Not as good as Deli City IMO and certainly a cut below Stachowski's, still the gold standard for me.

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Took the family to DGS for brunch while they were in town - the Benedictburg is still my favorite thing on the menu, and the chopped liver and matzoh ball soup continue to impress my parents.  My mother requests a trip here every time she visits.  Great service as well.

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Last two times I was here I was disappointed.  I've been ordering the same things again and again and typically share and pick from others' plates.  In any case my two stock orders are the chopped liver and the pastrami hash.  Something's been off.  The chopped liver comes dryer than I recall and hence not as tasty.   The pastrami hash is plated differently.  I sense less potatoes and less of the mustardy flavoring, and the pastrami is not as tantalizing.

Ah well.  Time to change.  Other restaurants and/or other orders at DGS.  One thing I've favored with DGS if its a Sunday get together is that the food has "almost always" been great, and the Dupont Circle get together spot is convenient along with offering the simply amazing farmer's market that all relish.

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Lately, I've used the caviar delivery service a couple of times to get DGS matzo ball soup and sandwiches. Last weekend, the pastrami on rye was perfect. Their meats really are my favorite - moist, the right amount of fattiness, and the thick cut gives you all of that meat deliciousness. Plus they have great rye bread. Soup arrived pretty warm too. Kudos.

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A friend and I had lunch/brunch here today after seeing an exhibit at the Phillips.  She loved her Benedictberg and found it to be just the right amount of food. I thought my Reuben was good: balanced, not too stuffed, high-quality corned beef. It was too big for me, so I brought half of it home.  I was hesitant on ordering the fries, because they come with za' star, which I like as a seasoning but find too overpowering when I've had it on fries at Shawafel. The spicing wasn't that strong at all, so I'm not sure if that's what they used, especially since the menu says fries come with garlic yogurt, and these didn't. In any case, that worked out fine, as I liked the fries.

Service was kind of rocky, even though they weren't extremely full. They especially seemed to have trouble getting coffee orders out.  The latte my friend ordered first eventually came out after our food. The people at the next table had delayed coffee service too, and had to send back the cream because it was curdled. (The milk/cream my friend got was fine.)

I'd been wanting to go here for some time, but this was the first I'd managed it. I guessed it had been open 5 years, but it looks more like 6. I was tempted on the matzoh ball soup, but I figured even the sandwich was going to be a lot, and I wanted to get a well-made reuben.  Eventually I'll get back and try the soup.

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On 12/16/2017 at 4:52 PM, Pat said:

I'd been wanting to go here for some time, but this was the first I'd managed it. I guessed it had been open 5 years, but it looks more like 6. I was tempted on the matzoh ball soup, but I figured even the sandwich was going to be a lot, and I wanted to get a well-made reuben.  Eventually I'll get back and try the soup.

Definitely get the soup - it is good. Broth is flavorful but pretty clear with diced veggies. Matzoh ball is well made and is medium density - not super fluffy but not rock hard. This last point helps out families like mine where some like hard and some like soft. I still don't understand the allure of hard matzoh balls but some people are a bit meshugah. 

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Just now, KeithA said:

Definitely get the soup - it is good. Broth is flavorful but pretty clear with diced veggies. Matzoh ball is well made and is medium density - not super fluffy but not rock hard. This last point helps out families like mine where some like hard and some like soft. I still don't understand the allure of hard matzoh balls but some people are a bit meshugah. 

Love sinkers!

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37 minutes ago, dcs said:

DGS Delicatessen's Last Day in Dupont Circle is Feb. 11, by Laura Hayes, Feb 5, 2018, on washingtoncitypaper.com.

Damn.  I dined there a fair amount, including taking many an out of town visitor there for brunch.  Even as it appeared that over time some dishes had lost their highest quality zip there were still others that were quite good.  Additionally it has been the perfect complement to a Sunday visit at the Dupont Farmers Market. 

So many restaurants--such short life spans.  Startling.

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