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Josh

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Everything posted by Josh

  1. Josh
    It's surprising to me that given all the attention their Lao menu, and Chef Seng have received, they still put out what, from all accounts, is a pretty middling lunch buffet. I guess there must be someone eating it. Of course, with the age of Obamacare now upon us, no buffet is safe. (Sorry, but I had to!)
  2. Josh
    I respectfully disagree. The reasonable explanation is that the buffet was losing money, and they couldn't afford to lose money.
  3. Josh
    Can't say I'd heard of Filomena before, but stunts like this seem likely to do more harm than good. Que ridiculo!
  4. Josh
    I think for the fast-food, thin patty style burger, Shake Shack is good at what they do...At least at the original in Madison Square Park. The beef blend they used back in the day was anything but flavorless. I can't comment on what they use now at all of their various franchises, but I would presume it's not the original Pat LaFrieda beef. The only other Shake Shack I've eaten at is the one at Nats Park. The line is in no way worth waiting in, but if it's short, the burger you'll get there is better than the others in the park (not saying much). And until last year, they were using frozen fries that really weren't worth ordering. I was glad to see they finally made the switch to fresh cut, but I haven't actually tried them yet.
  5. Josh
    That's unfortunate.
  6. Josh
    In Laurel, I think you've found all my faves (Pasta Plus, Curry Leaf, RG's BBQ, Taqueria La Veracruzana). In Beltsville, I go for Yia Yia's, Pho 88, and Da Rae Won. I was very much not impressed with the lunch buffet at Gah Rahm. There's another Korean place in the strip mall where the CVS is that is OK, but nowhere near the quality of DRW. I haven't tried Sardi's yet.
  7. Josh
    A post just to "bump" this place back into the collective consciousness. The jjajangmyeon here ("noodles with fresh black bean sauce" on the menu) is ridiculous. I've found myself shunning all my other Beltsville/Laurel favorites lately and heading straight in for another bowl of delicious noodles that I can hear being beaten to a pulp in the kitchen right after I order. I am always self-conscious when I struggle to get all the bits of pork belly and raw onion into my maw with the chopsticks at the end of the bowl, but I still go for it wholeheartedly every time. I've explored the menu a bit beyond, and the only other thing I come back to (when dining alone) is the spicy seafood soup. I once went with the "extra" spicy version and almost died, so caveat comesor. I long for lunch companions so I can go back to the amazing mandu and try out the fried chicken.
  8. Josh
    I know where I'm having luncheon tomorrow...
  9. Josh
    I don't believe I suggested otherwise, and a quick look back at my posts would illustrate my agreement with you. I brought it up to demonstrate that crowd-funding is not something done by amateur, fly-by-night operations. I know of their crowd-funding because I took part in it. My experience with Dino suggests that it too is a restaurant worth supporting.
  10. Josh
    Most every business venture requires outside investors. The crowd-funding model is newish, but Dino's is by no means the first restaurant to use it. Critics' darling Rose's Luxury is a recent and notable example.
  11. Josh
    I had the original Hell burger a few times, and just last week we headed over to The Third. It's still a hell of a burger, cooked perfectly (med-rare), with a nice big grind and loose texture. I think this latest one was a bit undersalted as compared to the ones I remember from the past, but the amount of time in between those visits brings any real comparison into question.
  12. Josh
    I've been eyeing the porchetta in the butcher case, but haven't pulled the trigger. Today they had a porchetta sandwich as a special, and I jumped on it. I was so shocked at the presentation that I very nearly sent it back thinking they gave me the wrong sandwich. My only prior porchetta sandwich experience was from the eponymous porchetta dealer in the East Village in NYC, a sandwich that is filled with warm, roughly chopped chunks of meat with tooth-cracking bits of crunchy skin. (I dug on this sandwich enough that I even made my own porchetta with a whole belly from Eastern Market shortly after moving to DC just so I could recreate in our new hometown.) The Red Apron version is served with very thinly sliced, cold pieces of meat, topped with aioli, shredded lettuce, and spicy Calabrian chiles. A stranger sitting across from me had ordered the same sandwich and seemed put off by the amount of fat in the meat, but hey...it's porchetta after all. This is certainly a rich sandwich, but I found the acidity of the pickled chiles offset the unctuous fat nicely, and the simple addition of shredded iceberg gave a satisfying crunch. Given the differences in preparation and construction, it isn't at all useful to compare the sandwiches, though now I'm going to have to buy a bit of RA's porchetta to roast at home. The sandwich paired nicely with a Ballast Point Dorado, a strongly hoppy-but-not-too-hoppy double IPA.
  13. Josh
    I highly (and non-sarcastically) recommend the "slutty cakes."
  14. Josh
    Oh Shopsins...what a crazy crazy place. My favorite visit to Shopsins was when one of the Shopsin daughters (don't remember her name) came to us as we waited in line and told us we would be the last guests to be served and to inform anyone who came after us of that news. Our group got to chatting and lost focus, and 3 or 4 more people got in line behind us. The Shopsin returned, stopped our conversation by yelling "What the fuck is wrong with you people? I told you not to let anyone else in line!" She dismissed those behind us telling them to blame us for wasting their time...but then we had a lovely meal, and plenty of joking around with her and her dad. I should note that we weren't regulars by any stretch...that's just how things rolled at Shopsins.
  15. Josh
    Unconfirmed, but I heard Taylor Charles Steak and Ice may be closing. Has anyone heard anything more on that?
  16. Josh
    Christmas dinner: Leg of lamb shawarma over bulgur with harissa and tahini, chopped salad. Last night: Rigatoni carbonara. I actually prefer pancetta in my carbonara...terrible, I know.
  17. Josh
    I made the leg of lamb shawarma for Christmas dinner this year. I figure, what the hell, Jesus was born in Israel, so it kind of makes sense, right? Followed the recipe as written, and took the suggestion to add some cubed potatoes to the roasting pan. Absolutely fantastic. The lamb turned out wonderfully, and we've been enjoying leftover shawarma sandwiches for the past few days. The potatoes end up crisping up a bit, and soaked in the lamb jus and rendered fat. These potatoes will haunt my dreams...that good.
  18. Josh
    That's too bad. I watched this project with interest, but must admit never eating there. Seeing as one of the owners admitted they didn't get the concept quite right, the thing I would point out that kept me from going was the focus on the "Cause" aspect and not the "food" aspect of the restaurant...something evident from the name alone. Whether fairly or unfairly, this led me to assume that the food was a secondary concern, and probably not something worth seeking out.
  19. Josh
    Gotcha. That's very nice of her. I asked because as astrid has pointed out, the area where Red Apron shines is in their pork and beef preparations. They offer a grilled cheese at the UM location, and while I'm sure it's a fine sandwich, I can never quite figure out why I would order it over one of their meatful delights. (If meatful isn't a word, it should be.) As I've learned on these very boards, "value" is a tough thing to nail down, and opinions regarding it can vary widely between folks. As for me, I'd rather split a sandwich, chips and one of the side salads at Red Apron than have my own anything at Potbelly, so I see Red Apron as a good value. And just because this is the internet, and I feel like we're not doing the internet commenting thing right, F#&k you and your sh*##y opinion.
  20. Josh
    I don't want to sound combative, but why go to a butcher for a white meat chicken sandwich? I think I've had all the options at the Union Market location, and I'd have to go with the Italian beef, or maybe the meatball as my favorite. The only one I didn't care for was the cotecchino "burger." Waaay to heavy for me. Lately I find myself going just to get more of the chickpea salad.
  21. Josh
    We stopped in for a quick dinner at what I suppose is a relatively new addition to the Capitol Hill sushi scene, "Sushi Capitol" on Pennsylvania Ave. SE between 3rd and 4th St. SE. This place is really bare bones - a small place with a handful of 2-top tables and a sushi bar in back. No real decor to speak of, and Japanese pop music playing on a boom box in the back. So far, so good, as it really reminded us of the places we loved back in New York. A pot of hot tea was brought out soon after we sat (a small thing, but not a guarantee since we were brought hot water and a lipton green tea bag at Hikari on H St. NE). We started with a nice version of seaweed salad inexplicably served over ribbons of romaine, and tempura vegetables. A couple of pieces of the tempura were ever so slightly greasy, but most were appropriately crunchy...no major complaints on either of these. The sushi was certainly a level above the quality at Hikari, Sticky Rice, and Nooshi. Based on this one visit, I'd put it below Sushi-Ko, but repeat visits may change that. It was served with freshly grated wasabi, which was a nice touch. A word of warning, the "spicy" rolls look to be served with a heavy dose of mayo, so if that's not your thing, steer clear. They have no liquor license, and I didn't think to ask about their BYO policy, but that is definitely something we'll be inquiring about before our next visit. Bottom line: I love hole in the wall Japanese places, and that may have inflated my opinion here, but I think of the sushi joints in the Capitol Hill hood, I'm putting Sushi Capitol on top.
  22. Josh
    I braved the crowds and took the little dude to Zoo Lights last night, and after 1.5 hrs of dealing with a sea of humanity, I was in desperate need of a drink, and the boy was hungry. We met my better half at DK, which was inexplicably and unfortunately very un-busy at 7:15ish despite the masses of families wandering to and from the Zoo. The food was a solid "neighborhood" level...which is to say, I wouldn't make DK a destination to drive across town for, but would certainly head back if I were in the area, and would happily recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Woodley Park. I sure wish it would've existed a few years ago when we first moved to DC and lived right off Kalorama Park. The crispy fried shitakes would've made a great bar snack if I weren't on call and stuck sipping on club soda to calm my frazzled nerves. The fried clams had a nice crunch, and paired nicely with the creamy sauce and pickled peppers, but ultimately were overshadowed by too much breading. (There were 3 pieces of half-dollar sized chunks of just breading masquerading as clams on the plate.) My wife's penne with pancetta and beans (I forget which type) was excellent, with pleasantly al dente beans, and no skimping on the pancetta. Nicely roasted brussels sprouts and caramelized onions and kabocha squash with duck bacon and chevre rounded things out...nothing to complain or rave about there. Unfortunately, the only downside of the meal was the service. The waiter seemed scattered or overwhelmed, or something. We mentioned that the squash was for our son, and he asked if it should come out first, to which we said yes. Later, I had to flag him down and remind him that we had ordered drinks other than water (my wife had a cocktail that she rather enjoyed, and I don't remember the name of), and they ultimately came out just after all of our food except the squash was brought to the table. The squash made its way out a couple minutes later, so ultimately no big deal...just not what I would expect from a dining room that was no more than 1/4 full, with only 3 people sitting at the bar. All that said, though, we all enjoyed the food, toddler included, so I can't really get too excited about the service snafus.
  23. Josh
    Say hi next time... Yeah, shit. We didn't realize the review came out today, and headed out for date night tonight. Quoted 1.5 hrs wait time at 8:45, but ended up at a high-table upstairs after about 40 minutes.
  24. Josh
    Just want to chime in about the chicken browning issues others have posted about. I made the chicken with arak and clementines tonight, and ended up with a dead ringer for the photo in the book. Fantastic dish. I used my normal roasting pan in the upper part of the oven, and followed the recipe as written.
  25. Josh
    I made the "open kibbeh" tonight. As it was my first go at the recipe, I made it to the letter. (OK, I added much more salt than was called for.) Excellent. The only thing I may change next time is to add a few chile flakes to give a hint of spice. I'll admit that I used a mild cubanelle pepper instead of a more potent chile so my toddler could eat it, so maybe if you use a jalepeno spice wouldn't be an issue. As I suspected, the spinach and date salad is in heavy rotation.
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