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Josh

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  1. Josh
    Why on God's green Earth would he compare it to a Perdue chicken? I apologize in advance in that I am crankier than usual tonight, but this sort of thing is better suited to a Mythbusters fan-site rather than one devoted to discussing food. People legitimately enjoy the pleasures of fine dining. It's true. No debunking needed.
  2. Josh
    Here's the thing though. As far as I can tell, the chef never claimed Kinship would be "neighborhoody," or "accessible," or "approachable." The restaurant was consistently described as the more casual of a pair of places he would open, one of which would be a "jewel box" of a restaurant with a set 7-course menu. Ziebold himself explained in the Post that "Kinship isn't a bistro. We're trying to make it more accessible from a standpoint of being a la carte." That is, it is more casual in comparison to the other place downstairs...not in comparison to TGI Fridays. That is a far cry from him claiming it would be some quiet, rustic, neighborhood joint.
  3. Josh
    This is a tiresome discussion. Eat there or don't eat there. If you do, report on how your experience was and whether you felt you got what you paid for.
  4. Josh
    Your discussion of bias spurred me to write up my experience at China Chilcano. It's nice to be proven wrong sometimes.
  5. Josh
    I admit that I was fully prepared to dislike China Chilcano, even as I made our reservation for dinner with the in-laws yesterday. As Don and Waitman have mentioned, I snottily had my nose pre-elevated, sure that this corporate behemoth would fall far short of my scrappy neighborhood favorite, Ocopa. About halfway through the meal, I shook my head, turned to my wife, and said it out loud...we were being served fabulous food that was on par with, and in some cases better than what we've eaten in our last few visits to Ocopa. We ate through a good chunk of the menu, and frankly everything hit. Stars of the evening were the Pegao Norteí±o (lamb potstickers with a crispy cumin "lattice"), the Hawaiian sunfish ceviche, and the Concolí³n (fried rice with a variety of meats). A salad of hearts of palm served as a nice cool, acidic foil to the umami bomb of the fried rice. If I had to replace anything, it may be the Aeropuerto (vegetable fried rice), if only because we were doubled up on the rice with the Concolí³n. The scene is decidedly not small and comfortable, and the service is of the "may I explain Chef's concept" variety that annoys the shit out of me, but that aside, we had a very strong meal that I could comfortably recommend.
  6. Josh
    Has anyone been for dinner recently? After our meal at brunch today I'm in no hurry to return. A broccoli rabe "frittata" was more of an omelette, albeit one that was dry and salted as though it were meant to be cured for the Winter. The fried chicken had leathery skin, no crunch to be found, and was served with potato salad that may well have been bought from Giant down the street. My son ate his $5 scrambled eggs without complaining, as though he understood without me saying how annoyed I was at the cost of his dry bowl of protein. The cider doughnut was delicious, but not enough to make up for the sad portions on offer elsewhere. We were with family and friends, and put on a good face, but damn was I embarrassed to have brought out of town guests to this restaurant today. I hope this brunch was an aberration.
  7. Josh
    We had a version of this today, confusingly served with a "spicy bitter sauce." Definitely not a tartare, as the beef was cooked, though still with the delicious tripe throughout. Even though it differed from your description, it was an enjoyable dish, though maybe not my favorite of the laab offerings (which would be either the duck or fish). The Lao papaya salad (from the Jungle menu) was delicious and spicy enough to qualify as a religious experience. I love that dish. The gaeng phet rockfish (red curry) off the "Invasive Species" menu was rich and satisfying, rife with chunks of deliciously smoky eggplant. We're slowly making our way through the entire menu, but does anyone have any personal favorites that haven't been discussed yet?
  8. Josh
    I'm pissed that I stopped by Bub and Pop's today on my way to see Spotlight in Georgetown with the wife. I annoyingly had the roast pork with rabe, and a few bites of my wife's Italian hoagie. My potential walkable lunch/easy dinner options near home on H St. NE just shrunk as I'll never be able to justify buying a sandwich at Taylor Gourmet again after the deliciousness I had today. Dupont is a schlep, but I'll be back.
  9. Josh
    Via twitter. Sounds like Cooper is heading to Charlotte. (I don't know who the author of that tweet is, but based on the back and forth between him and RJ, they seem to have a history.)
  10. Josh
    When I've cooked a whole pig in the past, I used a kitchen torch to burn off the hair. Do it outside because of the smell, but it's much faster.
  11. Josh
    Back again today for what has become our Sunday ritual. We steered clear of our standard orders today (laab, crispy rice salad, grilled pork, moak fish) and were rewarded. We started with the sausage platter with grilled sticky rice. Same great sausage as the standard appetizer, though maybe a bit larger portion. The grilled sticky rice was ok, but I wouldn't pay the upcharge for the "platter" next time. We ordered the tapioca dumplings vegan style, since our son loves the version from Baan Thai. These were essentially the same, and I can't say one is definitively better than the other. Chewy/gooey, filled with a sweetish mix of chopped nuts. I like that Baan Thai serves theirs with tiny (like really tiny) Thai chilis to break up the sweetness. Next up, a round of 3 dishes: raw shrimp marinated in a spicy fish sauce, fermented dorade with mushrooms and peppers, and the crispy watercress salad. We unwittingly stumbled into a very well-balanced meal flavor-wose, with the acidity of the shrimp and the sweetness of the salad balancing the umami bomb of the fish. I only wish we had ordered something with more heat to add that note to the meal (the lao papaya salad with shrimp paste would serve well here). We finished with sweet avocado rice...a nice diversion from the standard mango and sticky rice. See you next week.
  12. Josh
    Bring out the Hellmans...
  13. Josh
    I watched this movie a while back, and loved it both from a pure-horror perspective (I found it scary as shit), and as a psychological thriller. I'm gonna watch it again tomorrow and see what else I pick up. I honestly think I was too into the "horror/thriller" mode the first time I watched it to get into any deeper analysis.
  14. Josh
    Just finished a delicious lunch from Manila Mart. While I generally dig on Filipino cuisine, my knowledge of the names of dishes is pretty limited (adobo, sisig, pancit), so I'm afraid I held up the line a bit while having the nice lady behind the steam table explain each dish to me (sorry, not sorry). What I ended up with was a Combo #2 for $7.99 which is rice with a choice of 2 meats. I initially went for the kare kare (oxtail stewed in a peanut sauce), but that was not included in the combo deal. No worries, I switched it up to the chicken adobo, which was delicious and mild...a nice place for a newcomer to this cuisine to start. For the 2nd meat, I went with dinuguan (pork stewed in blood), much to the surprise of the server. She asked twice if I was sure before ladling the thick, dark stew into a to-go container. It was a nice dish, actually milder in flavor than even the adobo. Basically a blood sausage in stew form. If you fed it to someone and told them it was Filipino mole, they'd eat it up without complaint. There were some great looking skewers of barbecued chicken and pork that I'll be back to try soon.
  15. Josh
    Reading this thread is making me hungry...except for the licorice. And caraway seeds.
  16. Josh
    I had a great family birthday dinner here tonight. We are so totally spoiled that this can be our wander in without reservations with a baby and a toddler neighborhood joint. The menu is substantially different than on my prior visits. We started with the tofu and 100 year egg and Taiwanese fried oyster. The tofu was light, with chopped black egg on top along with a julienned cucumber and herb salad. The sauce below had a recognizable fish sauce component, but was not terribly funky. A nice bite but not overly spicy. The egg looked aggressive, but really wasn't. Overall a nicely balanced dish that even your reluctant non-food friends would probably enjoy. The oyster dish was a take on the standard Chinese oyster omelette. The fried oysters on top could have been more crunchy, though they weren't bad. All the flavors were there from the standard version, but with a healthy kick of spice and acidity that I really enjoyed. We shared the rib eye bao platter and the vegan wok fired noodles. The bao platter sounds big, but can easily be taken down between 2 people (plus a toddler). It comes with 5 bao (an odd number to choose for a dish meant to be shared), a generous serving of sliced, medium-rare steak, several types of pickled vegetables, herbs, a savory paste of some fermented thing, hoisin sauce, and ma-la chili oil. Every component was excellent, and you couldn't go wrong building sandwiches to your own tastes. I could go for hair on fire numbing spice, and my son was happy with his hoisin/pickle/beef bao. The wok fired noodles are a giant portion of wide noodles with greens and mushrooms in an umami-bomb mushroom sauce. So damn good. Reminiscent of really good pad see ew, but definitely not the same thing. Service was gracious (as always), from the first encounter at the front, to the moment we said goodbye. I know some people are intimidated by the "cool factor" of the space, but the staff there has never been anything but kind and accommodating. Go go go.
  17. Josh
  18. Josh
    We went last year, fulfilling a goal of mine from when I was a penniless med student in NYC. Aside from the sentimental attachments, I'd still say for you have the means, it's worth it. Is it the "best" meal in NYC? No, I don't think so...but the whole experience was fun. We did not do a wine pairing because there is no set price, and the sommelier puts something together for you. We opted to do half bottles, and did well. The wine list is crazy expensive, so I say if you have something that is special to you, that you want to enjoy at a special dinner, who cares what anyone might think. (They are also consummate professionals and wouldn't blink an eye if you brought in Yellowtail and a sixer of Yuengling as long as you paid the corkage.)
  19. Josh
    I mean, when you say it like that, now I'm mad.
  20. Josh
    Haha...I was trying to be "measured," but go for it. (And don't get me started on the fact that they were asking $13 for a pour of Fernet.)
  21. Josh
    Lovely lunch today with the Missus and baby. Feeling fancy and had a well-made Hendrick's martini. Not much to say other than it was made well, and was a very generous portion. It was nice to pretend to be an executive for a minute. The grilled sardines were a nice start. Butterflied and deboned, topped with a medium dice of lightly pickled fennel and golden raisins. The fish were fairly small (even for sardines), and there were only 2 to the order, so the value (at $15) wasn't quite there. With a larger, meatier sardine, I'd be cool, but with what they were working with today, 3 or 4 to an order would be more appropriate. I had the Schnitzel a la Holstein, and my wife had the Chopped Salad with an addition of (a ton of) grilled chicken. The schnitzel was a substantial portion, definitely not pounded too thinly as has happened upthread. Taken as a whole, with capers and a bit of anchovy in each bite, smeared with some of the runny yolk of the fried egg, each bite was perfect. If you happen to run out of the salty accompaniments near the end, you may find the batter slightly under seasoned (though I get the reason for that). The side of potato salad was a hit, with pickled onions, and a minced bacon jus situation on top. Again, a healthy portion that disappeared quickly. The salad was...a salad. My people love pickled things, so the roughly chopped cornichons in the housemade Thousand Island were nice. With the $6 addition of grilled chicken (nicely cooked, not too dry, served as a large dice), I'm not sure it comes close to warranting its $20 price tag. Service was pleasant and professional. The space is sharp. I would definitely recommend it to people as a nice place to enjoy a bit of nostalgic cuisine. I'm not sure I'll be rushing back for more (but who knows...that schnitzel/martini combo was pretty damned good).
  22. Josh
    I'm surprised that no one seems to know that Thip Khao serves their standard menu at brunch on Sundays. We went for I think our 4th visit today. While it was just a bit busier than other times, there were still empty tables throughout. The alligator laab was fantastic, and could easily be served to any squeamish person as long as you didn't tell them what it was. I've had some bad alligator experiences (culinary and otherwise) having grown up in Southeast Texas, but this was well prepared, not chewy or greasy in the least. Of course we had our standard crispy rice salad (I love the addition of the steamed pig ears), as well as catfish mok, and a boneless, fried chicken leg stuffed with mushrooms and water chestnuts. This last one was new to me, and was a hit. On it's own it was fine, but combined with the accompanying sweet chili sauce, a winner. Next time (which will likely be next Sunday), we'll go for the beef tartare/tripe laab. Anyone have that yet?
  23. Josh
    I wonder how long Delgado has been transitioning out and not fully at the helm there. It's really disappointing to see him go (with all due respect to the new chef, whose work I have not yet tasted). And just to toss a little debate bait out there: Ocopa had a ton of unrealized potential...the food they were putting out was miles ahead of how the restaurant was run from a FOH perspective. I would, with a straight face, put some of Delgado's best dishes up against some of Silverman's at Rose's, but the experience of eating at Rose's is on an entirely different level. This restaurant could have/should have been a smash hit with 2 hour waits like Toki & Maketto.
  24. Josh
    It only takes 40 minutes of "active time" to make Momofuku Milk Bar's Crack Pie. Just saying. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/crack-pie-360771 (My wife makes it a couple times a year, and it tastes just as good as the one at the store.) Even at it's height in NYC, during which time I lived across the street, I can't remember long lines. Amazing how the brand has grown over the years.
  25. Josh
    I've had some of their vegetarian options for lunch (from the Howard U. location). Solid, but nothing I would go out of my way for. It's been nearly a year since I've been there though...
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