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Shaho

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Everything posted by Shaho

  1. Minnow is probably closer to Coastal Flats than fine dining, not that there's anything wrong with that. Pros are free valet parking (a necessity in this neighborhood), a bustling environment, and helpful staff. Food is fairly priced and mostly executed well. Cocktails are strong, including an Old Fashioned that comes inside a smoking chamber. A few dishes stand out, like crispy tofu with great flavor, texture, and heat, or pickled mackerel with creme fraiche on a slice of pumpernickel bread (a steal at $5). Others are forgettable, like crispy oysters 3-all-too-similar-ways, or beet carpaccio that failed to excite in appearance or taste. Entrees felt like they were trying to make sure each protein had enough veggies for a balanced diet, rather than using them to enhance the dish. For example, a solid lobster quiche (slightly lacking in lobster flavor) was paired safely with some salad greens, and an oversalted but otherwise well-cooked merluza filet with an excellent black garlic & turnip puree was coupled with overly acidic broccoli that subtracted from the dish if anything. A burger with squid ink bun was just that, although we just wanted a burger and were satisfied. If I sound pessimistic, it's because I too had heard lots of good things about Minnow and was hoping it would be a neighborhood gem. Minnow is a place I'd be happy to take family and friends for a nice meal, but not necessarily to showcase Baltimore's culinary talent. Some pics here (ooh, fancy new embed feature):
  2. Food report from Hanoi, where we ate extremely well around Old Quarter following recommendations from blogs (Thanis Lim) and locals. I loved that most restaurants we tried only served one specialty dish, which was likely best in class or close to it. All of these places were packed with locals, but turnover was quick due to the small menus encouraging relatively quick meals. Chả Cá Thăng Long (31 Đường Thành) - Grilled fish with turmeric, dill, and other herbs. Pre-grilled and finished tableside in a hot pot, then assembled with cold noodles, peanuts, green onions, and chili fish sauce. The fish was melt in your mouth tender, and combined with the fresh vegetables was incredibly light and fragrant. Bún Riêu & Bún Bò Nam Bộ (7 Phủ Doãn) - Street stall serving Bún Riêu (seafood noodle soup) and Bún Bò (beef noodle soup) in the southern style (Nam Bộ). Only had a sip of the Bún Bò, which was similar to Bún Bò Huế and nice and funky; wish I had made it back for a bowl of my own. The Bún Riêu was loaded with crab and tomato flavor, and was perfectly hearty for the cold drizzly weather outside. Fish balls, blood cake, tofu, and pig’s foot provided a range of flavors and textures to complement the noodles and herbs. Lotteria - Our stomachs were a bit unsettled at one point so we played it safe with a fast food chain. Lotteria is like a cross between KFC and McDonalds, with slight Korean influences. We got a value meal with 2 pieces of chicken, a bulgogi burger, a shrimp burger. The bulgogi burger was more of a mystery meat patty with a cloyingly sweet sauce, but the shrimp burger was excellent, perfectly fried shrimp with light mayo and crispy lettuce. The fried chicken was great as well, even the breast meat was juicy, and the fries compare favorably to McDonalds. Rounded it out with a fried banana cake from a street vendor outdoors, incredibly greasy but delicious deep-fried goodness. Bún Bò Nam Bộ (67 Hàng Điếu) - Beef Noodle Salad. Similar to typical bún salad, but two things made this stand out. First, the beef was stir fried to order in a huge wok just before serving and was juicy and fragrant. Second, rather than the traditional dry noodles with nước chấm on the side, this was layered on top of a bed of lettuce and a small pool of soup/beef stock. Topped with some dried shrimp, this dish really didn't need any extra sauce and went down in a flash. They also had a Chinese herbal chicken soup, which packed a serious medicinal-flavored punch, but with shockingly tender meat. Not sure if coincidental or not, but my friend's bout of diarrhea that had been lingering for days was completely cured after this... Miến Lươn Đông Thịnh (87 Hàng Điếu) - After Bún Bò Nam Bộ, we walked a few doors down to check out this restaurant serving a variety of eel dishes. I only had enough room to try a small bowl of eel soup, but I’m glad I did. The soup was starchy, similar to Chinese takeout Hot and Sour Soup in its consistency and use of chewy mushrooms and tofu. The flavor was heartier and paired well with the chunks of eel floating around. Again, dried shrimp on top provided a crunchy texture and boost of umami. For some reason, I haven’t really seen the same thing used in Vietnamese dishes the U.S., though it seemed to be popular throughout Vietnam. Phở 10 Lý Quốc Sư (10 Lý Quốc Sư) - Best bowl of phở I’ve had in my lifetime. Phenomenal broth and tender medium rare beef. Didn’t really need any accompaniments besides a squeeze of lime juice to be addictively delicious. Bánh Mì 25 (25 Hàng Cá) - Clean, professional shop running a brisk takeout and delivery business. This was a little disappointing, perfectly decent bánh mì but not really a standout. In fairness I had left it in the bag for half an hour before digging in. Giảng Cafe (Ngõ 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân) - Famous egg coffee cafe found through a narrow back alley. Note there’s another shop next door facing the street that shares the same address number and also advertises egg coffee (seems like shameless piggybacking to lure in confused tourists to me). Egg coffee uses egg yolk in place of cream, a byproduct of a time when milk was hard to obtain in Vietnam. I’m not a coffee drinker myself, but a sip of my friend’s coffee was rich and invigorating. I had a drink of egg yolk and mung beans which was great, though the sweetness was a little overpowering by the end. King Roti (34 Hàng Gai) - Bakery serving oversized pastries hot out of the oven known as “coffee buns”. I was confused by the term “roti” and the “coffee” in the name, but this are fluffy buns with a crispy flavored topping and either a glaze or filling in the middle. Incredibly delicious and lighter than the size suggests. We came back 3 times in 2 days to try most of the flavors: coffee with chocolate filling, matcha, and vanilla, the last 2 glazed in the center. Pics at https://www.instagram.com/p/BflUY1rlZv-/
  3. You got me, somewhat of a lazy comparison based on size and skin color I see a little bit of Ginobili in Sato's smarts, athleticism, ability to run an offense and defend, though he obviously lacks the creative flair and knack for doing the seemingly impossible that have defined Manu's storied career. And sadly, I and probably a lot of Wizards fans fully expected them to beat the Cavs and lay an egg against the Hornets. Seen this story enough times this year...
  4. Water for Chocolate is an ever-popular brunch spot in Upper Fells Point. It's a pretty tiny neighborhood cafe that reportedly gets very crowded on weekends. When I went for a Thursday lunch, it was pretty quiet. The menu is full of classic comfort food staples with some slightly elevated touches, like shrimp and parmesan grits, risotto fritters, and mac & goat cheese. I had the Italian sausage meatloaf with jalapeno cornbread and roasted seasonal vegetables, and finished with sweet potato bread pudding. Everything was prepared excellently, and the portion sizes were substantial. Definitely a spot that deserves all the popularity it gets.
  5. Great restaurant. Standouts to me were the pastas (spaghetti carbonara and crab taglioni). Really made me regret getting the small portions.
  6. New (Lunar) Year, gonna try this food blogging thing again while I have the energy... My account handle is shahokun, I'll be posting reviews here and linking to pics on IG!
  7. Sato is a beast. I've liked him since watching his Euroleague highlights. Took him a year to get his shooting up to snuff but he's really making an impact. Reminds me of a less creative version of Ginobili (both scoring and passing wise). The upside is he rarely makes mistakes and plays much better defense than I expected. The Wizards are looking good for 80% of recent games. The hardest part to watch is the Beal at PG lineup. It made no sense keeping Sato on the bench until 3 minutes left in the game last night. The ball movement that's giving them success completely bogs down with Beal running point, and Meeks is a negative NBA player so I don't understand the fascination with playing him. I have a bad feeling the infamous Scott Brooks 4th quarter iso offense is going to be our undoing in the playoffs (though credit him for the significant development of Wall, Beal, Sato, Otto, Oubre). When Wall gets back, I'd like to see him play reduced minutes and try to apply more energy on the defensive end and trust his teammates to continue the excellent ball movement without dribbling out the entire possession. The Wizards would be really dangerous with John wall playing 30 minutes a game at max speed. Long term the Wiz have a collection of strong young guards and wings, but declining and limited big men. We really need to hit on an athletic Capela-type in this years draft to continue our success. The Mahinmi contract is killer but at least he's been playing somewhat serviceably recently.
  8. Had some great food in Toronto over the weekend. Started with a late snack at Kinka Izakaya Original. This place would kill it in DC, great energy from the moment we walked in, with the entire staff yelling out in greetings to any entering customers, waitresses leading sake bomb chants, and lots of buzzed (not obnoxiously so) twenty-somethings having a great time. Salmon Tataki was an excellent start, perfectly seared with ponzu sauce, scallions, and garlic chips. In contrast, the Sashimi Salad was the one miss, 5 sad small pieces of some forgettable fish drowned in a mountain of typical Japanese salad and dressing. Kaarage righted the ship. This came simply accompanied with some salad leaves, mayo, and a single slice of lemon, but was some of the juiciest chicken I've had anywhere, with the lemon juice and some leftover ponzu sauce providing just enough balance to keep it fresh. Finally, Grilled Saba (Mackerel) with garlic chips, onions, tomatoes, and lemon served on a hot plate was another divine example of simple ingredients executed well. At <$10 a dish, this is the kind of place I would hit every week if it was in my neighborhood. On recommendations above, I visited Bar Buca and The People's Eatery for lunch and dinner the next day. "Intensely delicious small plates" sums up Bar Buca well. I had a fantastic Crudo of steelhead trout, pickles, citrus, oil, and yogurt where every bite just worked together seamlessly. The same could be said for a wonderful dish of roasted beets with honey and pistachios. I was hoping to finish with the vanilla pudding, but they had run out, and I ended up with an order of Gnocco Fritto, which were 4 puffs of savory pastry with a cunza, pistachio, and honey spread similar to the beet dressing. While fresh and delicious, this was a bit too filling, and the spread started attracting a few gnats, which was a little bit of a sour note to end on. The People's Eatery was a spot that appealed to my personal sensibilities, small, dark, hard to find, and out of place in the middle of Chinatown, but with a very cool laid-back style. The soundtrack (The Cinematic Orchestra) was chill and jazzy, which fit the atmosphere perfectly. I sampled a few small plates, a Fried Tongue Sandwich on a pretzel bun, Potato Latkes with pastrami-smoked trout, and General Tso Fu. All were tasty, with the General Tso Fu a standout, cubes of tofu with crispy skin surrounding a fluffy custardy interior and slathered with a rich, spicy, and complex General Tso-style sauce. The Bone Marrow with tortillas and salsa was a bit of a letdown, fine but one of the weaker renditions I've had. A well made faux-Cosmopolitan carried me through the meal. On our last day, we ended up back in Chinatown, and rather than waiting for Rol San, decided to try August 8 a few doors down, a newly-opened All You Can Eat dim sum and sushi place for $20 at lunch. I had tempered expectations going in, but this place vastly exceeded them. Food was ordered in individual quantities off of a tablet and came out quickly, with everything solidly above-average. The dim sum menu was small, but the classic dishes like tripe, chicken feet, spareribs, shao mai were all very good. Sushi was nothing special but fairly good quality as well. Due to an initial mixup, we started out with our tablet set to the dinner menu and got an order of dinner-only crispy calamari, which was legitimately excellent and made me contemplate paying the extra $10 just to get more. This was a meal I was happy to end the trip on, and the packed house as we left made me think it might not be so easy to walk-in the next time we come back.
  9. I assume Fu Shing just changed ownership, as Yu Zhou kept most of the same wait staff and menu, just added some dishes that skew spicier. I'm more a fan of their Sichuan dishes than the old stuff.
  10. Had a large group dinner in one of the private rooms last weekend. Didn't pay much attention to the main dining room, but the private rooms are nicely decorated, with space for 15-20 diners. Appetizers (Bubble Pancakes, Dry Fried Eggplant, Bamboo Fish) were good and largely the same as the Rockville location, maybe $1 more in price. Wasn't a fan of the Steamed Rice Flour Beef - the texture was mushy, meat was tough, and the flavors were more sour than savory - but the Peking Duck was solid and fairly priced, and came with a few exceptionally sweet orange slices that worked surprisingly well in the pancake. The "Veggie Box" dish Tom mentioned was fantastic, a wonderful blend of various diced vegetables wrapped in tofu skin and served in a brown mushroom sauce. Our waitress recommended everyone order an individual entree rather than the normal Chinese family style meal, so I didn't have a chance to try too many dishes. The Kumquat Beef was similar to Black Pepper Beef, but didn't really mesh well with the kumquats, which were extremely sour on first bite, followed by a mellow sweetness. The Beef with Dill definitely did not come on a sizzling iron plate, and along with the Shrimp and Scallops dish was just sort of bland. The Guai Flavored Chicken Casserole was essentially a spicy Thai curry with added sour notes, and was good. Friends seemed to enjoy the Coral Fish, though the bit I tried was more batter than fish. Presentations were definitely a step up from the Rockville location, with elegant-looking traditional Chinese pots used for several of the dishes. Overall Q was a bit disappointing for the price point, but there are definitely some gems on the menu. I plan to come back at some point to try some of the other more exotic sounding dishes and their dim sum menu.
  11. Note that the 5% bonus is only good for up to $1500 in purchases for each quarter. So once you go past that, it may be worth using a different card if you can get more than the base 1% back. Although I think it's possible to have more than one Freedom card if you're so inclined.
  12. I've been remiss in failing to mention that Pop Tacos has been back in business since July! Still the same great food made by the same great people - and even bigger portions, it feels like, since they switched to a different take-out container. They added bulgogi to the protein options and made some of their previous special bowls (bibimbap, cup bap) permanent menu items. Unfortunately, some of the more ambitious menu items on the new menu (kim-bab, etc.) got quickly axed before I could try them, but maybe they'll try to roll some out as they get settled in. Nice to have them open through dinner hours, though there isn't much seating in the restaurant itself.
  13. You need to have one of the "higher-end" Chase cards (Sapphire Preferred, Ink+, Sapphire Reserve) with an annual fee to be able to transfer points. Then when you log into Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll have an option to "Transfer to Travel Partners" under Use Points. The bonus is that if you have just one of these cards, you can combine your points from any other Chase cards (Freedom, Freedom Unlimited) to your high-end card and transfer the points that way. The idea is to get you locked into the Chase ecosystem with their various cards - which is pretty successful. Time to downgrade my Sapphire Preferred for the Freedom Unlimited and apply for the Sapphire Reserve...
  14. Kyirisan, Tim Ma's new DC restaurant. Seems like the kind of place people on this site would enjoy, but haven't heard any mention of it yet.
  15. Should be good news. There's definitely a big weekend dinner crowd they'll have more access to - the hours and seating inside the market aren't really conducive to a sit-down meal at the end of a long day. I'm sure there will also still be a loyal lunch crowd whenever they re-open.
  16. I haven't been to the market. From what I see, it seems to have a heavier focus on take-out (bread, dips, alcohol to go), as well as more of a small-plates approach to the dine-in menu. I would think of them more as separate entities.
  17. SoBo Cafe has been mentioned a few times in various threads dating back to 2006, but it's high time it gets a listing of its own. SoBo is, to me, the perfect neighborhood restaurant, offering elevated comfort food at an affordable price. For lunch, they offer various soups, salads, flatbreads, and sandwiches, that are all well-balanced, filling, and delicious. I'm a fan of the smoked salmon salad and the BLT on a biscuit. For dinner, you can get some incredible deals during happy hour (5-7 pm) at the bar or outdoor tables. A few select appetizers, like Mac-N-Cheese and mussels, are roughly half priced ($4-$5), and 2 or 3 could easily constitute a meal; I'm not sure if they are smaller than the full-priced versions, but the portions are plenty generous. And you certainly won't break the bank if you go with the regular entrees, the most expensive of which sits at $24. Most of the food is pure comfort (burger, chicken, steak, salmon), expertly prepared but with just enough of a twist to keep things interesting. The one dish that got me off my lazy behind long enough to write this review was the Mushroom Stuffed Chard with quinoa, beech mushrooms, herb spätzle, and porcini jus. Visually, this isn't much to look at, resembling two oversized dolmades in a thin layer of brown soup. But my first bite instantly invoked (and I don't say this lightly) two dishes I recently had at Kinship - the torchon of white mushroom, for how deliciously meaty I never knew mushrooms (and quinoa!) could be, and the Kinship stroganoff, for the rich heartiness of the entree, as well as the spätzle/mushroom pairing. The chard was wrapped around a mixture of minced mushrooms and quinoa, which gave the sensation of a light and fluffy vegetarian meatloaf. The flavors were rich, mushroomy, and meaty, not particularly subtle but incredibly satisfying. This was so much food and so filling that I could barely finish my plate, and at just $16, may be my greatest enjoyment to dollar cost ratio in recent memory (I also started with a $6 bowl of very good carrot soup and some bread with incredible whipped butter). I have yet to leave room for dessert, but I have high expectations for one of these days. For a more than fair price, you can get real food prepared with expertise and care. It's no wonder SoBo Cafe has been going strong for the past 10 years and counting.
  18. Pop Tacos is moving out of the Cross Street Market to a storefront right across the street. This will allow them to extend their hours past the typical Market hours, as well as expand their menu. I'm eagerly awaiting their re-opening, estimated to be in June.
  19. It's been a few years, but Tortacos is still going strong. Tried a bit of everything and it was all very good. The big pluses were the chicken, al pastor, and the fresh fixings bar with a tasty salsa verde and various toppings. The lengua was pretty flavorful but a few pieces were dried out. The only negative was the steak, which was oversalted. I preferred the tacos to the burrito and quesadilla, but all were prepared well and a great value.
  20. I happened to be right next door a few months back and luckily recalled this thread. Dropped by for a quick lunch and ordered the Beef Chow Fun and fried fish filet Hong Kong style. Really, really good. The best comparison I have would be East Pearl in Rockville, just really solid Cantonese cooking and great use of fried garlic as a garnish. Thanks for the tip!
  21. Same for me. Need to drag myself into Swahili Village instead of driving past every time, and El Quetzal sounds interesting. I would argue that Seoulia and even Gah Rham (no thread?) deserve mention ahead of Myoung Dong for Korean, although I may need to give the "new" items that Tim referred to in the article a try.
  22. They've changed the layout a bit so that there's more of a distinct waiting area, with a couple of bench seats. You can order drinks while you wait, and the FOH occasionally brought out a complimentary juice or soda for particularly patient kids. The wait for us was about 30 minutes at 6 pm on a recent Saturday. The Burrata and Brussels Sprouts with Pistachio Pesto and Speck were excellent, although the Mixed Greens salad was forgettable. The pizza was still very good, though not quite as magical as my first visit. Part of the issue may be general busyness, since there are a good number of take-out orders competing with the dine-in customers for the one oven. This led to some pacing issues, as well as our pizzas being slightly overcooked. A few of the pizzas had huge burnt bubbles along the crust that we had to eat around, and the egg on the one pizza was fully cooked through, rather than the deliciously runny yolk from before. The Ember Roasted Potatoes & Onions pizza (& Bacon!) remains a perfect blend of textures and flavors to my taste, but the mushroom pizza was the table's favorite this time around. They do cut the pizzas now into four parts, though you'll still have to do some work if you want to share smaller slices (they do take care to avoid the egg yolk, although in this case it was unfortunately unneeded). We left happy and too stuffed for dessert.
  23. Here's part two: "Homemade Milk Bread Part Two" on msn.com
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