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Maple, Small Gastropub at 11th Street and Park Road in CHE


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Am I right that no one has written about Maple? Named after the big slab of maple wood that makes up the bar (not pancakes!), this place is right on 11th st.

We went for the first time last weekend and were very happy we did. It's a small space and you can tell that the same designers who did Cork did Maple (although I found Maple more comfy/cozy). Lots of wood, grey, etc. and the bar ends in one of those peninsulas that can be a table for four. Outside tables too.

The menu is small, and so is the kitchen. That said, everything was delicious. To start we had a summer special cocktail -- gin with limonata, blackberry juice, and blackberries. Refreshing and I am now totally addicted to this drink.

We had two of the crostini (I don't remember the price for two, four were $10) and they were tasty -- one with white beans and anchovies and one with prosciutto, fontina, and fig. I give the edge to the white bean one though.

I had the short rib panini, which was delicious. Hearty, rich, and just fantastic. My partner had the lamb bolognese, which was also great -- just gamey enough, but not too ripe. We shared a bottle of forgettable Montepulciano, but at $20 for a bottle, it was fine. There were plenty of other choices that were a little more expensive, but we went with the waitresses wine recommendation. We thought it was interesting she suggested the cheapest bottle!

Dessert was a special -- cobbler with peaches and blackberries from the farmer's market with dolcezza vanilla gelato. YUM!

A few things I loved -- first of all, it is not small plates. I am so tired of small plates! Second, the prices were great. For two cocktails, a bottle of wine, the crostini, two entrees and a dessert our bill was $100 for two people including tax and tip.

Finally, they seem to have cool special events. We signed up for an upcoming Italian rare beer tasting.

Only quibble was that the wine recommendation was not great from the server, but otherwise she was super nice, efficient, and good.

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I agree. I think Maple is an awesome neighborhood addition. I had the gnocchi with pesto along with some other snacks a few weeks ago. Had a decently priced rose and thought the space was super cool. I can see Yelpers bitching about the close quarters, but I find it endearing.

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Went to a beer tasting yesterday at Maple, part of Beer Week. We tasted 6 different Italian craft beers (mostly from the north, but with a couple from around Rome and one from Sardinia) matched with snacks. The owner and the beer distributor gave interesting and helpful comments on each beer, and we had generous pours (the bottles were left on the table after the pours, so we could serve ourselves seconds). A lot of Belgian style beers, but the star of the show was a spontaneously fermented beer/wine hybrid that was absolutely delicious, called BeerBera.

Just the hybrid alone goes for $24 a bottle (12oz) retail, and we each had half a bottle. Coupled with the other 5 beers and the food it was a good deal and a fun afternoon for $40 per person. We stayed afterwards and ordered one of the remaining bottles of the hybrid to share and got $2 off -- they offer $2 off all Italian crafts on Sundays and 1/2 price wine on Tuesdays. They said they have some of the beers we tasted (maybe 2 or 3) on the menu usually, but that the others were specially brought in for the tasting.

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Really enjoyed a first visit to Maple last night. Had four good-size bruschetta for $10 (there are maybe six or seven varieties to choose from - all the ones we had were good, especially marscapone). Very nice salads (one w beets & their greens, one tomato), and puttanesca pasta. All very tasty and reasonably priced. Friendly and helpful server. Kitchen slightly slow, maybe, but nothing to worry about.

I had not been in this neighborhood for a while. It is full of restaurants and bars full of young people. Things change. (Used to live at 13th & Fairmont, 15 years or so ago).

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I really wish I wanted to come here more often. The mix-and-match bruschetta is awesome, and the antipasti is solid. I haven't delved into the rest of the menu, but every dish that comes out looks and smells terrific. Wines are $3 off during happy hour, the choices are interesting, and the bartenders knowledgable. The cocktails are well-made too.

So why don't I want to come here? Because the bar stools are god-awful. I honestly think I'd be there once a week for a post-work glass of wine and nosh if the seats weren't so damn uncomfortable. Petty I know, but there it is.

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So why don't I want to come here? Because the bar stools are god-awful. I honestly think I'd be there once a week for a post-work glass of wine and nosh if the seats weren't so damn uncomfortable. Petty I know, but there it is.

How do you feel about the stools at El Chucho, or Little Serow? I can tolerate them, but I prefer chairs over stools. The latter suggest short meals or an extended period drifting toward inebriation. It's a different experience toppling from a stool than falling out of a chair.

Have been to this place a couple of times, and it is one of the best restaurants in the neighborhood, of which there are a growing number that are worth visiting. The bruschettas have shown off the kitchen best for us so far, with four slices of ciabatta for $10 allowing a nice assortment for two to share. One of the best is the eggplant, but I have no complaints about any of them. The caponata is the highlight of the antipasti plate. Depending upon how you order, you could encounter more bread than you actually have room for. Haven't had totally conistent luck with the entrees, however, and there are not many of them, so you would expect better. The flat iron steak was as well prepared as they were cooking them in San Francisco when they were becoming popular a few years ago, but on our second try even a dog would have had some questions about the cut. Linguini with clams leans to the boring side, nothing especially wrong with it, but I remember how AV used to make funk a virtue in its version of this dish, not that it was outstanding. The Arctic char is better though the saucing can get a little soupy. This looks like a reliable place to try local heirloom tomatoes lately, but we have been gettng more than our fill of them at home. I do like that there are inexpensive grappas on the menu, one infused with fig is a sweet dessert. I have noticed more of this around lately, including at Menolame (where the center of a good pizza can be just as limp as those that raise complaints at 2 Amys). The Plymouth martinis here provide a nice change from those made with the increasingly ubiquitous Hendricks gin (which you can now find at the E Street Theater, as a supplement for an even more complete nap than what David Cronenberg is already providing in his latest arch movie ).

We travel out early, or other times when not as many people are around, and have always found chairs here. I think there are almost two dozen chairs inside and there are chairs at tables outside as well. I would ask the servers if I didn't find a comforable place to sit; there is no attitude here, and they aim to please. They seem pretty good at making the most of what is a hole-in-the-wall space.

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How do you feel about the stools at El Chucho, or Little Serow? I can tolerate them, but I prefer chairs over stools. The latter suggest short meals or an extended period drifting toward inebriation. It's a different experience toppling from a stool than falling out of a chair.

I am an equal-opportunity stool/chair person, but when I go out alone for a glass of wine, I prefer to sit at the bar. I haven't been to Little Serow, but Maple's bar stools are significantly less comfortable than El Chucho. Apparently the owner designed them. But presumably never sat in them. The seat has no padding, nor the butt-shaped carve-out usually seen in wood stools, so it's dead flat. Also, the seat is fairly small (at least for my size butt), its edges sharp, the foot rest low, and the back so short that it is rendered meaningless for any other purpose than sciatic irritation. The combination makes for falling-asleep legs in under twenty minutes. So the likelihood of me sitting at the bar on any regular basis is pretty thin.

Thus concludes my somewhat creepy assessment of butt comfort at Maple.

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Thus concludes my somewhat creepy assessment of butt comfort at Maple.

This made me laugh. I am really short and there are places I absolutely avoid because the seats are uncomfortable or they hurt my back. If I am sitting at a bar, thinking about how bad the seat is, I am not going to enjoy the rest of the experience. It's like running in bad shoes.

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I am an equal-opportunity stool/chair person, but when I go out alone for a glass of wine, I prefer to sit at the bar. I haven't been to Little Serow, but Maple's bar stools are significantly less comfortable than El Chucho. Apparently the owner designed them. But presumably never sat in them. The seat has no padding, nor the butt-shaped carve-out usually seen in wood stools, so it's dead flat. Also, the seat is fairly small (at least for my size butt), its edges sharp, the foot rest low, and the back so short that it is rendered meaningless for any other purpose than sciatic irritation. The combination makes for falling-asleep legs in under twenty minutes. So the likelihood of me sitting at the bar on any regular basis is pretty thin.

Thus concludes my somewhat creepy assessment of butt comfort at Maple.

This made me laugh. I am really short and there are places I absolutely avoid because the seats are uncomfortable or they hurt my back. If I am sitting at a bar, thinking about how bad the seat is, I am not going to enjoy the rest of the experience. It's like running in bad shoes.

We stopped into Maple while walking around Columbis Heights Day. We passed on a visit to the German Biergarten hosted by Meridian Pint because it was so crowded. We had a drink while listening to the German band doing beer hall favorites (chicken dance, anyone? ). The space is cool but those bar stools are definitely not the greatest. I would like to return for a meal. It's very interesting to see how that 11th street area has become such a dining and entertainment destination,

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Had dinner last Sunday night at Maple - wow, has that whole neighborhood changed since I lived in DC! We ordered four of the bruschetta, and my favorite was the white bean and anchovy (but the eggplant was a close second - it had a great meaty flavor and texture to it). The pastas were really fantastic - the tagliatelle with lamb ragu was pure fall/winter comfort food (even though it was unseasonably warm outside), with a lovely spicy sweetness to the meat. The basil pesto over gnocchi was full of flavor, and the dumplings themselves were really nice. Wine was good, service was good, and the space was cozy and not too loud, even though it was busy for a Sunday evening. Prices were really reasonable for what we got, I think. If I lived nearby, I would definitely be a regular (and I would have to adjust my exercise regime accordingly).

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Finally made it over to Maple. Tonight, 3 of us had dinner at the bar served mostly by Sherman, the bartender, soon to open his own place btw.

HEADLINE

A wonderful neighborhood restaurant in a different (for DC) but comfortable venue with a simple but tasty drink and food menu.

CONTEXT

A friend who lives in CH suggested this and we'd been wanting to try it. We arrived at around 8 or so and it was packed but the staff helped to find us three bar seats. Oblivious to the bar stool controversy that had raged upthread, we hung coats over the very short backs and took seats.

VENUE

I'll say a few things here since still not a lot of postings on Maple. First, about those bar stools. They are pretty chic and don't look so comfortable but, to be honest, it wasn't an issue for us at all. No comments about them were made in our group and no fidgeting or looks of consternation were noted.

The venue itself is delightful. It reminds me more of places in NY, SF and southern Europe than of typical spots here. It's a bit raucous but not to the point where it interferes with conversation. The long reclaimed maple wood bar and shelves are beautiful and, along with rotating artwork on the wall opposite the bar, add to the warmth of the place. The current huge mural, in blues, whites and silver on paper, is gorgeous. Small kitchen, small dining room and focused menu with windows looking out onto the sidewalk. It all works very well, making even first-timers like us feel welcome and comfortable within minutes of being seated.

SERVICE

We were wonderfully served by Sherman, who patiently answered questions and managed to stay on top of all customer needs while impressively also holding up parts of different conversations ranging from art and his new, soon-to-open restaurant to skydiving and scuba. Great fun.

BEVERAGE & FOOD

At high level, I'd describe Maple's cuisine as comfortable, competently prepared, satisfying and a very good value. More specifically, we ordered:

Beverages

We all had wine chosen from a short list. 5oz pours of a white for our friend and a valpolicella for me at $10 and $11. Orangeiocello (sp?) and a couple of the cocktails looked interesting but we didn't try them. For coffee and espresso, they use a new, very small, local roaster called Vigilante. I don't yet have a view on the roast despite having tried the coffee a couple of times. The shot of espresso ordered at the end of the meal was bitter and left unfinished.

Dishes

Starters

House-marinated olives ($4) A very nice portion of maybe four different types of green, brown and black olives of different sizes. Perfect to share with the drinks to begin.

Affetati ($7) This is an all-meat (no cheese) charcuterie plate with maybe two types of ham or prosciutto and small salami served with toasted baguette slices and marinated olives. Nothing unusual but all good and great value for the money.

Salad with fennel, arugula, orange, grapefruit, shaved parmigiano-reggiano, citrus vinaigrette, fleur de sel ($9) We ordered two of these to share and they were wonderful with heavy (but not too heavy) citrus, a generous mound of fresh arugula and the perfect burst of greens and citrus to counter the salty olives and affetati. We all really enjoyed these.

Mains

Linguine with clams ($16): We didn't ask but I'd guess they're using a good quality dry pasta versus making the pasta in house but could be wrong. Our friend ordered this. She'd had it before and very much enjoyed it. I didn't try it but noted that there must have been 10 or a dozen cherrystones on it. Looked good.

Seared Flounder w/ kale ($18) Two of us ordered this nightly special.  Atlantic flounder that I suspect is probably farmed. More cooked than seared but not overcooked and we both really enjoyed this simple but well executed dish with nicely seasoned fish and kale.

BOTTOM LINE

At just over $100 with 2.5 glasses of wine, Maple is an excellent value with a formula that should work well sustainably. The food isn't anything revolutionary but nor is it trying to be. To the right of the bar they have a board with wine guidance pointing customers to 'lesser known' wines next to ostensibly 'better known' varietals. As an example, the board guides customers to choose a Nebeuil if one normally likes Pinot Noir. That, the staff, the food, the art and the venue all combine to convey a sense for a sincere effort to create a comfortable, unpretentious place to gather and eat decent food at fair prices. Maple does all that. While not a place to race in from Gaithersburg or from Reston to eat, I think most would be very happy to have this on the regular rotation if they lived in the neighborhood, which doesn't have many very good restaurants though more are opening all the time.

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Enjoyed a few dinners here, especially on a half price wine Tuesdays.

Solid cooking, great value. Octopus is wonderfully braised, and the crostinis always a good deal. The window seats inside provide a cozy nook - very comfortable to sit around and people watch.

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