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jblum

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About jblum

  • Birthday 01/23/1977

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  1. We just got a phone call from Palena cancelling our reservation tonight (our anniversary) due to a power outage. I've been dreaming of that gnocchi - we'll have to make a reservation another time! I wonder if all of Cleveland Park is affected, or just Palena.
  2. My +1 and I got out of the house on our first real post-baby date (8 months later, what a couple of losers) last Friday night. We went to a show at the Black Cat and decided to have dinner at Marvin beforehand. We got to 14th St. a little early so we ducked into Bar Pilar and had a cheese and charcuterie plate and a beer which was a nice start to the evening. After our pre-appetizer appetizer at Pilar, we headed to Marvin. I loved the space - it was very lively and bustling (and loud), but just what I wanted for that night. We started out with the moules frites with applewood bacon, leeks and ale. The mussels were great and I loved the hunks of bacon in the broth. I think we only had one that remained closed which is pretty good considering how large a portion we had. The frites were kind of limp - I prefer them more crisp - but well-seasoned, and I liked the dipping sauces (especially the curry one). I had the pork belly special as my entree and holy crap was it good. A giant piece of melt-in-your-mouth pork belly atop (I think - there was a lot of wine involved) root vegetable puree. My +1 had the crispy filet of sole with creamy grits and collard greens and it was also fantastic. The breading on the fish was light and airy and super crispy and perfectly seasoned. We had originally decided not to get dessert, but then thought we probably shouldn't miss out on dessert as everything else had been so good, so we split the pumpkin cheesecake. It was just okay, certainly not the star of the night - but we may have just been too full to really enjoy it properly. After that great dinner we rolled down the street and the Fleet Foxes rocked our socks off. A great date night - hopefully they are not so few and far between from here on out.
  3. Went to Kotobuki on Friday night (my first time there) because reading this thread had given me a serious sushi craving. Got there around 7:30 and had a 10-minute wait on the stairs which was shorter than I thought it would be. We were seated at a table and went to town. My husband and I can put away some sushi, let me tell you. I had the seaweed salad and he had the miso soup to start. The seaweed salad was just right - cool and crunchy. My husband seemed to like the soup but didn't comment that it was any different from miso soup you'd get anywhere else. Then the sushi - we had salmon, tuna, flounder, mackerel, white tuna, toro (which was amazing - melted in my mouth), and sea urchin nigiri, and the spicy scallop, spicy tuna, tuna with avocado, and yellowtail with avocado rolls (and two others that I can't remember). The fish was great - very very fresh. This was our first time having sea urchin - it had a very smooth, creamy texture and it tasted just like the ocean. Delicious. I like the fact that the sushi here is not huge - it is easily eaten in one bite. Some places make their sushi so big! My only complaint about the sushi was that the rice was a little overcooked and gummy but that is a minor point. We got out of there having had close to 30 nigiri and 6 rolls for about $75 after tax and tip. It was so inexpensive that I felt like I had stolen something. We will definitely be back.
  4. I found this on the Google: South Mountain Creamery I don't have any experience with it, but it looks like something I would love to try!
  5. This lunch news came at the perfect time. The +1 and I are closing on our shiny new house in Silver Spring on Friday at 10 am - I guess we know where we will be having the celebratory lunch!
  6. This is probably off-topic, but how do you bring 'quite a few wines' from Italy back into the States??? I went this past winter and didn't try to bring in more than 2 bottles, which was not nearly enough (and it was ridiculously hard to choose which wines to bring back - we went with Sagrantino). Just getting some tips for our next trip, although God only knows when that will be.
  7. Hi, I'm Julie, and I found this website maybe from a link from DCFoodies.com, or maybe through Google, I can't remember. I'm a scientist-turned-lawyer-type who thinks that cooking and science experiments are a lot alike - just mix things together in different ways until you get the result you want. I don't have a lot of time to cook, though, so I really enjoy eating delicous food. I have lived in Baltimore for 6 years, so I feel like I know that restaurant scene pretty well. But I just started a new job here in DC and need to start discovering the delicious things that it holds. I love reading the posts here on DR.com - the posts always alternate between making me hungry and making me laugh.
  8. I'll try to remember about the whimming, which I guess won't work tonight since Ray's is closed on Mondays... And if that was third-class service I am dying to see first class!
  9. I, too, went to Ray's for the first time this weekend - to celebrate my anniversary (as I've said, what better way to celebrate getting past the 7-year itch relatively itch-free than to eat some steak?!?). Since I had posted on DR that we were going to be there, Michael had a table waiting for us and sent over some champagne. Right away my husband and I could tell it was our kind of place - totally unpretentious but serving great, great food. Our server was very sweet and patient with us as we chose the right bottle of wine (we had the 2000 Jekel Sanctuary on her recommendation and were not disappointed). Then came the crab bisque and scallops (cooked perfectly - omg they were good) followed by the NY strip for my husband and the hanger for me. Mr. Blum had one bite of my steak and was immediately jealous although before he had that bite he said the strip was the best steak he's ever had. We split the chocolate mousse for dessert (for me, it's not dessert without some chocolate) then took a leisurely walk, full and happy and already planning our next trip to Ray's. So thanks to all of you for your suggestions, and to Michael for running such a great place.
  10. I have done this before. I think I started out with the Snickers volcano or some other dessert that was as big as my head. Then I moved on to the apple Napoleon and... something else - gelato, I think, since it fills in all the crevasses in your tummy. All while consuming copious amounts of coffee. I don't think I slept that night. At all. I wouldn't recommend doing this too often (it makes your clothes shrink) but... damn was it good.
  11. I have heard the Botanical Gardens (usbg.gov) are nice for this kind of thing - in fact, my husband and I are planning to go there this weekend for a picnic ourselves! Not sure about the wine, though, but would like to know about that as well! Good luck to your wife as she studies - you are sweet to take her out for a diversion.
  12. We are planning on going to Ray's next Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary - and it'll be our first time there! We are new to the DC area and have heard nothing but good things... so we can't wait to go ourselves. What do the Rockwellians recommend I get for my first-ever Ray's experience? (And this is the first I have heard of the tiger butter... that's definitely on my list now too!) Thanks!
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