Thomas P

The outdoor seating along the canal at Grill Room is beautiful and perfect for two people. If I remember right, though, the tables only really fit two, so it might not be good if you have a larger group. Monmartre isn't exactly new, but Brian Wilson helming the kitchen is new-ish.

I hate talking about things that aren't there any more in discussions like this but CityZen had a phenomenal Maine Lobster Cassoulet. It was one of the most memorable dishes I've had in DC, so rich in flavor and intricately layered. I wound up setting the lobster aside and eating it separately, even though it was interesting texturally I thought the more delicate flavor of the lobster was completely dominated by the rest of the stew. Every bite of that stew, though, was divine. I hope Eric Ziebold brings the dish back to the menu at Kinship.

As I mention in the Lotus Cafe thread, after one stellar experience, 2 alright ones, and 1 truly awful, I can no longer recommend it. I also realized today that the two places that pop up first in my mind for pho, Pho Tau Bay where I experienced my first bowl, and Lilly's which I discovered about a year ago (both in New Orleans) were also the two "hidden food treasures" in New Orleans mentioned by Tom Colicchio after filming Top Chef there. He also mentioned that the area has some of the best Vietnamese food in the country, so my view on what constitutes good pho might be a bit skewed. "Padma, Tom, and Gail on 'Top Chef, New Orleans': 'We Were All Sad To Leave'" by Marissa Conrad on greatideas.people.com I had a Vietnamese friend from this area that was in New Orleans at the same time as I was and said that the pho there was alright, but she still liked the pho here better. When I moved here I asked her for recommendations, and she told me she never went out for pho and always just had it at home. \o/

That looks like a really nice setup. I have a Frieling Stainless Steel French Press but the SterlingPro looks nice (I don't think they were making it when I was in the market for a stainless steel french press). Does the double filter make a noticable difference?

I think this ties in nicely here and with the EZY post, zoom down to the Planck scale or out to the entire(?) universe: "The Scale of the Universe 2" by Cary Huang on htwins.net

Wow, some great ideas. I've been to Izakaya Seki and it was lovely. I've also tried Sushi Taro and several other sushi places in town, but I have a soft spot for Kintaro in Georgetown. I think I'm about sushi-ed out, though, unless there's a seriously mind blowing "must go to" place I've missed. I won't be doing any Chinese food, unless I can figure out where Peter Chang is going to be and catch him in the kitchen. Thip Khao has been on my shortlist of places to try for a while, I think I'll bump it up in priority! Fiola Mare is lower on my list just because I've already had Fabio Trabocchi's food at both Fiola and Casa Luca (all really good, but not things I'd think I missed out on if I hadn't tried it while here). Keren is another place that's been on my shortlist, this breakfast sounds like something I should try! I've had my share of drunken jumbo slices and Amsterdam Falafels to last me a lifetime, I was born and raised in the South, and I've been to Medium Rare so much pretty much everyone there knows my name, so those are all out. Also, anywhere I can't get to by metro or bus is out, but I have been known to go on hour and a half bus rides in search of good food. I was actually hoping to avoid tailored lists and just get a "must have while in DC" bucket list. Of the places I've been, my list would be: Little Serow - really outstanding food and a unique experience Daikaya/Daikaya Izakaya - there aren't many ramen houses this good in the states, and the Izakaya has some really inventive dishes and drinks Ray's Hell Burger - one of the best damned burgers I've had in my life Grill Room - damn my less than stellar experiences the last few times I went, the food is still great and that chicken is life changing The Derek Brown Trio - specifically Mockingbird Hill for sherry and sliced meats and Eat the Rich for oyster happy hour Rose's Luxury - Seeing as how every time I see the line I turn straight around, I don't think it's worth the wait (but I do think Little Serow is worth the shorter wait), but plopping your name in the list and grabbing some drinks at Beuchert's Saloon or Harold Black until you get called up is a damn fine way to spend the night while also experiencing one of the most creative restaurants in the country And less culinary excellence/one of a kind places and more "only in DC" things: Weenie Beenie - okay, I might like the half smokes at DC-3 better, but... Foo Fighters! Also, I think Ben's Chili Bowl is overhyped and mediocre and refuse to recommend it. Any place for fried chicken wings with mumbo sauce - why don't more people know about mumbo sauce??

Whoops, sorry I didn't post this first to Help Needed. I'm always checking this forum so I just stuck it here without thinking. Thanks Don for the awesome recommendations! In case anybody is curious: I've not done any of these (but have had a lot of dumplings and noodles at Ching Ching Cha and they've been delicious) and added them all to my list! Any recommendations? I've been to Dukem before and have been meaning to try Zenebach and Abay Market. I'm thinking I'll bump Abay Market into somewhere I definitely go and maybe skip Zenebach, but I'm sure I can be talked into another course of action. This brings up something else I've been interested in - I know very little about African cuisine aside from the tiny bit of Ethiopian I've had, and was wondering if there are any standout places that do other types of African food. There are about a zillion Ethiopian places in town but seemingly very little from the rest of the continent. I was recently hunting for a Kenyan restaurant and discovered that what sounded like the best place (Masai Mara) both opened and shut down pretty recently. I'll be trying out Safari DC soon, which I understand used to be more Tanzanian/Kenyan and is more pan African now, and was wondering if anyone knew of other places for non-Ethiopian African cuisine.

I'm moving away in about a month and there are a bunch of things here I'm going to miss when I leave: Little Serow, Daikaya, Ray's, Frank Ruta, 2 Amys, getting beef jerky from Red Apron, this community, to name a few. I would never have discovered half of the food I love if it wasn't for you guys here, so I'm turning to you all for help compiling my DC dining bucket list. Before I leave I'm definitely going to Rasika (I have no idea why I haven't made it there yet) and Rose's Luxury's rooftop garden (I have no idea how I actually got the roof booked). I'm also going back to Little Serow and Grill Room for last meals. Are there other places I absolutely have to go before leaving? What places would you go in your last month here?

I trekked by here the other day and have to say the pho I got was pretty decent. I got their four season roll appetizer, the roasted quail, and a bowl of pho with eye round, tendon and tripe. The tofu and shrimp rolls were exactly what I expected, decent and excellent vehicles for transporting peanut sauce into my mouth. The spring roll was fried well and had a good crunch and texture, and I thought the grilled pork roll was pretty tasty. I never had roasted quail before, and when I saw them I thought about how easily it could go really poorly. Because they're so small it seems like they'd be insanely easy to overcook. In addition, I had no idea how to eat them and wound up cavemanning the quail apart with my bare hands and teeth (I needed extra napkins). The legs and wings were a little dry, but not too bad, and the rest was nice and tender. The lemon pepper sauce they serve with it packs a huge wallop of citrus and salt and nearly overwhelmed every other flavor when I tried to use it, but overall I enjoyed this. The pho had a decent mouthfeel. My first few sips I didn't get much flavor at all, but it starting coming out after that. For me it was more subtle, not so deeply flavored but with enough of the right elements to be satisfying. Still, after a bit I found I needed the hoisin, sriracha and basil as a crutch to prop it up, but that's been true almost universally since I've been in the area, and this broth was better than most. The noodles were perfectly done, the meat was good but somehow a couple of random pieces of fatty brisket and well done brisket snuck in the bowl. Nothing to really complain about, and overall a nice bowl of pho, and definitely one of the better ones I've had in the area. The server was really nice, but there were some issues with the timing. The rolls came out first, and before I was halfway done with those the quail came out. So I started on the quail, and before I was 1/4 done with that the pho came out. I'm not sure if me being the only one in the restaurant makes it more understandable, since the kitchen only has my orders to go through and just quickly rolls through them, or less, because there's no excuse for a server not being able to tell the kitchen the proper time to fire up the next dish when there's only one table to look after, but my table was full of partially eaten dishes because I didn't have enough time to finish any of them. If this was close to me I would probably go here for my pho fix, but it's not so good that I'd take a 40 minute metro ride each direction for it.

After another return trip I'm going to sadly retract my recommendation. If this most recent trip was my first, I would have thought the place was awful and never have returned. This last time everything seemed to go poorly, except for some chicken skewer appetizers that were tasty enough. I never really got around to the vermicelli salad they were sitting on for reasons I'll mention further on. The summer rolls are cut in half and stood up together in a column, cut end up, in the middle of the dish. Unfortunately the rice paper stuck together pretty badly making them really hard to pull apart. This had the side effect of loosening them up so all the fillings dump out if you try to dunk them in peanut sauce. This wasn't an issue the first time I went, when I was worried about this exact issue when I saw them come out but yet they pulled apart easily and remained tightly rolled. Aside from the sticking, though, they were fine. The pho this time was not good at all. Diametrically opposed to the flavorful, well balanced broth, good cuts of meat, and well placed toppings from my first visit, this time I had a really thin, watery, nearly flavorless broth, maybe 7 or so small slices of overcooked, rubbery eye round, tough pieces of tripe that were cut way too big, and unevenly sliced onions dumped all over the top. After several sips to make absolutely certain I wasn't going to discover any more flavor, I grabbed the hoisin and, to my slight dismay, squirted out a clumpy, dried paste of hoisin sauce that had been left out too long. The Sriracha was fine, but the basil was covered in black spots. Aside from two bowls I've had that were actively unpleasant to eat, this was one of the most disappointing bowls of pho I've had. And to boot, while I was eating it I spotted a baby cockroach trying to crawl up a dish and snack on my peanut sauce. No, that's MY peanut sauce, damn it. >_< I pointed it out to the waiter, and he tried to get it with a towel, but it got away and made a return trip a little while later. I think it was antennaeing out the vermicelli noodles that the chicken skewers came on, but I wasn't in a sharing mood and didn't let it have any. Which was really just me being a curmudgeon, because at that point I didn't really feel like eating anything else and left it unfinished. In four trips, Lotus Cafe has given me (1) the best bowl of pho I've had in the DC metropolitan area by a landslide, (2) two bowls of decent pho that weren't really worth the trip, and (3) one of the worst bowls of pho I've had in a long time. Granted, four data points isn't that many and any one of these experiences could have been anomalies, but the wild inconsistency I've experienced there really bugs me and I doubt I'll be heading back to give them another shot.

On a couple of return trips to Lotus Cafe the pho wasn't quite as good, but it has still been one of the better bowls I've had in the area. These wouldn't have been worth the trip for me, though, over other options that are closer. I need to collect more data points to figure out if they're more consistently good, consistently okay, or consistently inconsistent. I really do like the place as a whole. The food isn't mind blowing, but they use good ingredients and everything else I've tried so far (steamed pot stickers, fried wontons, Vietnamese crepe, summer rolls, beef skewers) has pretty much hit the spot.

The other night I swung by to try the fry plate at the bar because I noticed it came with fried lemon slices. After seeing others talk about them, I realized they were a staple at Palena that I had somehow missed, and my first and only encounters with them were at lunch and dinner during the Grill Room's Restaurant Week where I thought they were amazing. The ones during RW delighted and befuddled me - uniformly thinly sliced with a delicate citrus flavor and fried to a perfect crispness. I suspected they were blanched (a few times) to tone down the flavor and had some magic faerie wand waved over them with a special incantation to make them so lovely. The ones the other night were a far cry from those, and unfortunately I didn't really care for them. The lemony citrus flavor was there full blast, I don't think anything was done other than slicing, breading and frying the lemons. The slices were of pretty uneven thickness too, which I thought was a surprising lack of attention to detail from a Ruta helmed kitchen. I'm not going to give up, though. I'm determined to make it back here with a more positive report, damn it.

I've thought all of the dishes have been good, a few have been excellent, but only one so far has been truly memorable for me, being the ravioli. I'm saying good things about the food because, well, it is good. It just hasn't been wowing me like I'm used to from Chef Ruta. My meals so far have pretty much been 1 or 2 dishes I've really liked but not been floored by, 1 or 2 dishes that have been good yet somehow disappointing, and a nice dessert. My second meal there, which was the Restaurant Week lunch, had almost all of my wow moments, from the salad to the chicken to the black eyed pea soup. To be honest, and again it kills me to say this because I love Chef Ruta, I can go to several other places in the city right now to get more consistent meals with more memorable dishes than any of my experiences so far aside from RW lunch. With regards to the price mention, that was in reference to the chicken. I would tell anybody any day of the week that Ruta's chicken is worth it, from $8 to $30. But the chicken I had that night was just a really good roast chicken, not a sublime roast chicken. If it was the same as I had before at Palena or during RW, the price would be not be an issue. But I have a hard time gambling $28 on a dish that might be the chicken of old or might just be pretty good. I've been wondering the exact same things. It's a shame, because I think during Bread Feast he didn't have the kitchen to be able to do what he's capable of, and at Grill Room it still feels to me like he's having to work under constraints that really limit what he can do. I don't know if that's actually the case, and I will keep making trips back in hopes that my last few experiences were anomalies.

Being a huge fan of Chef Ruta it kills me to write anything less than glowing, but I've been back to the Grill Room several times now and I'm chiming in to agree with a large bulk of what DPop and DanielK have said. The Restaurant Week Lunch was by far the best and most consistent meal I've had there, and my return trips have been consistently good with sprinkles of greatness. I've noticed inconsistency in the service as well - sometimes the service is spot on, other times I've had servers making awkward conversation and had problems like others have mentioned with my water not being filled up, noticing the rest of the dining room with empty water glasses too (and also witnessed a knocked over glass that the server kind of cleaned but someone else had to follow up because there was still water on the table). I'm really not sure what to expect now from one trip to the next, but I've never left unhappy, just not as happy as I'd hoped at times. Everyone is always very pleasant, though, regardless of whether or not the service was great. As to what I've thought about the dishes I've had so far: Starting bread - The first time they set a basket of bread in front of me I was really sad that they switched away from the small fresh loaves of bread from before. That sadness didn't last long. It looked like there were some slices of the previous bread, which I tried first. Still a lovely crust and a wonderful crumb. Next was some multigrain wheat bread that was also good. Then I had the biscuits - wow. These were so fluffy and moist and buttery and delicious I could have gorged myself on a basket of them and died immediately of coronary heart failure. The cornbread was last, which was some of the finest cornbread I've had at a restaurant, probably behind only Jacques-Imo's in New Orleans - a little sweet but not too sweet and perfectly moist with just the right texture. Unfortunately, it's been inconsistent on return trips (either that or my judgement is inconsistent). I've found the biscuit to range from the perfectly made bliss to pretty good but a little dry, and the cornbread to range from wonderful to pretty good but a little bland. Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Yukon Gold Potato amuse-bouche - This was a delightful and delicious bite, all of the flavors worked well and I was sad I wasn't at a table with people who hate fish so I could steal theirs. Rabbit en Porchetta - At first I was a little disappointed, but as I kept tasting it the flavors kept sneaking up on me, and by the end the bites were positively singing. The bits of pickled vegetables were delightful, as was the perfect little slice of endive on the side. This was an excellent dish. Oxtail Consomme from the tasting menu - This was a tasty soup, but I guess I was expecting the delicacy of the consomme I had (the one time I tried it) at Palena. Like DPop, I found it disappointing, although maybe that's just from the bar having been set so high before. The vegetables, mushrooms, and beef I thought were all a bit chunky and not nearly as tender as I expected. On a side note, they really need to switch to new spoons. The ones they're using are long and narrow and TERRIBLE for eating soup. It's like you're pouring things into your mouth with an ice scoop, and it's damn near impossible to get to the broth at the bottom of the bowl. Stuffed Veal Breast with Quail Egg - I had a similar experience as with the Rabbit en Porchetta, where at first I was okay with it but by the end it was wonderful. And, like the endive with the rabbit, the asparagus that accompanied it was absolutely perfect. Gnocchi - I have to admit that I was never huge on the gnocchi at Palena, and while I enjoyed it this time more than before, DPop pretty much nailed my thoughts on it. The gnocchi itself was perfectly cooked and ridiculously soft and velvety. The flavors were wonderful when I found them, but they were so subdued that most of the time I was left with that same feeling of blandness. I found myself savoring the small amount of broth at the bottom of the bowl to liven up the bites. The dish also left my mouth as soon as I finished it, which is unusual for a Frank Ruta dish for me. Typically, even if I was ho hum about a dish while eating it, the flavors linger around for a long time afterwards in the most wonderful way possible. I do think, though, that if you loved the gnocchi at Palena, this will not disappoint. Goose Egg Ravioli - Holy crap this was good. The ravioli were amazing, and the pork belly was insane. If I had any criticism, it would be that the pork belly was so tender it bordered on being spongy, but this dish has been the highlight of my trips so far. Roasted Chicken - After a perfect, amazing rendition of the roasted chicken during restaurant week, I came back and ordered it again. While it was still a delicious, flavorful, juicy chicken, it was probably the driest I've ever had from Chef Ruta. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't dry, but it didn't quite have the same moistness, succulence, and tenderness I've gotten used to. It was still just as flavorful and the skin was still perfection, but I wasn't sure any more about shelling out $28 for it. I've also noticed that I hear a lot of conflicting things about the brining: I've heard at least 3 days to brine, and I've had servers at Grill room tell me that the chicken is brined for at least 1 day, and this last time I was told at least 12 hours. In my experience with brining, 12 hours (or even a day) is not nearly long enough for a 3 lb bird to reach the proper level of salinity by normal techniques, but I have no idea if what they're saying is accurate. Angus Beef Oxtails Vaccinara - It took me a little while to figure out how to get the meat off the oxtails gracefully. Once again, on my first bite I was very so so about this dish, but as I kept eating it kept getting better and better until it I was really loving it by then end. My first impressions were that the beef was cooked too far, a bit bland, and the tomatoes weren't incorporated very well into the stew. Wrong on all counts, this was a wonderful dish. The asparagus (white, in this dish) was, again, perfectly cooked and the egg added a great thickness and flavor. I wasn't sure about the pine nuts, though. Just Say 'Ah' - I'm not a big dessert person, but I enjoyed this. The fennel sorbet was lovely, and the dish had a very earthy quality I loved. Baci Sbagliati - I enjoyed this one as well, the mousse was velvety and delicious. I was sad I had finished my coffee before it came out, they would have been lovely together. Parting trio - Chef Aggie sends out a trio of desserts to end the meal, a wonderful little macaroon, some of the most delicious caramel I've had the pleasure of eating, and... well, I don't know what it technically is because I'm a culinary idiot, but some sort of fruity, rich, delicious, red block of gel. All in all, I've left happy but not euphoric from my meals at the Grill Room. For the price tag that accompanies the meals, that's not a good thing. While everything's been good, I've found it moving farther and farther away from the level of what Chef Ruta was putting out at Palena. Inconsistency in the cooking and service are probably to blame, but it's unfortunately making me more and more hesistant to go back.

+1 to the insanely happy that consomme is appearing on the menu. I was a regular consumer of the steak, chicken, burger, and gnocchi at Palena Cafe but only managed to make it to the back dining room once - on the final night of service. One of the things I'll remember for the rest of my life was the beef consomme I had during that meal. Beautifully clear and so rich in flavor, with thin flakes of something floating on top that melted into little bursts of heaven as soon as they hit your tongue. I'm too much of a novice to know what they were, but I'd guess thinly shaved foie gras? I have a feeling my pocketbook is going to hate me for the next few months.