Antonio Burrell
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Everything posted by Antonio Burrell
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Alright, as promised, the 7th of July, the scallop with watermelon and avocado will make its triumphant return. Thankfully it will be accompanied by a 98% menu change as we move fully into summer and the bounty that is our farmers. All I can say is that it's great to be able to talk to a person who is as passionate about their products as you are about what you'll do with them. Steve Turnich, Bev Egg, Brad Parker and Lisa from Path Valley are such people. I highly encourage you folks to go to your farmers markets and meet the people who grow, harvest and sell you food. Not only will you find yourself talking to great people, but you may begin to develop wanderlust for the Rhappahanock or Tuscarora Vallies....or you might just find some great artichokes, arugala or great cheese....who know's? I would post menu highlights, but I'm gonna make you come in and check it out, if you're interested that is..... -
Chinese in Chinatown
Antonio Burrell replied to KeithA's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
Chinatown...Chinatown....sad sad Chinatown. There are a few places worth eating. I like Kam Fong (next to the CVS) for its crispy pig and dim sum at all hours (good black bean spare ribs and good steam buns). I like Chinatown Express for the fresh noodles, esp with roast duck, and the soup dumplings. I like Full Kee for the Stirfried Chives, the soups, esp the tripe and hong kong shrimp dumpling, but then again the Full Kee in falls Church is closer to my house. I absolutely adore the crispy pork chop at New Big Wong. I also like the razor clams with chilies, ground pork and crisp garlic, this is a special and is similar to the Minila clams, Causway style at Marks. The sad reality is that most of us could name four restaurants in other areas that are Asian that we'd rather eat at anyday of the week for every one in Chinatown. -
congrats to Nathan, very deserving individual.
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I went last week, got some to go, late lunch. I got the rib plate with corn bread, collards and mac and cheese and also the quarter dark chicken, green beans, candied yams and hush puppies. (yes, I did in fact order all that for me...but I didn't finish it all ) I smelled the hush puppies as soon as I closed the car door, so.....I ate them. And they were good, very good in fact. When I returned to work I sampled the rest....the cornbread...eh, the yams had to much nutmeg for my taste but tasted exactly like my mothers, so I loved em. The green beans were some of the finest I've had in that style, not mushy, but just right before they get that way, flavored with garlic and bacon, delish. The chicken was lightly floured, not very crispy and it wouldn't have been if I'd eaten it at the restaurant, that and it had a HUGE cut through the thigh and leg to insure it was done quickly. I know that trick and I despise it. If you're going to cook chicken, you should at least know when it's done without cutting into it, very amatuerish, and a pet peeve of mine. Anyway, better chicken can be had at both Flavors and Ohhhs and Ahhhs. Then there was the so so stuff, collards with no vinegar, discernable flavor and they were still GREEN, Ribs were tough and covered in a gloppy sauce. I did love the mac and cheese. Overall, a place I could go in a pinch, and will try again in a month to see if they get better. Was also discouraged by the lack of Carolina style chopped barbacue, it is afterall named...A Taste of Carolina....On the very plus side it is very, very, very much like the food I grew up eating and perhaps I am being unfair because my mother did such a great job with the same stuff.....
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I love the dish personally, I think it makes a great statement about the restaurant and my way of thinking about food. Semi classic, slightly off beat, but engaging none the less.... I do want to bring it back and will very soon before it pops up everywhere Look for it in July when we change the menu after the holiday. On another note, we are now starting a 1/2 price bottled wine night on Tuesdays, so come on in and try some of our wine for about what it cost us.....Also we are going to have a wine dinner the 7th of August, I'll keep everyone posted about details, but keep your calendars open, it should be a doozy. (one day I hope this shameless self promotion pays off) hehehehe OHHHH almost forgot, I AM at the Dupont Market this Sunday, I'll have my kids in tow and will be demoing Pickled Shrimp, Artichokes, Blueberries and Arugala for the masses, come say hi!!
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Another note to all to let those of you so inclined to dine with us that we have changed the menu and again slightly expanded it I really feel as if the kitchen and the dining room are finally starting to show marked improvement, but we will continue to strive for a complete dining experience, from the food to the service. Mrs.B...we are very happy you enjoyed our chairs..I also think that they are very comfy. Some highlights of our new menu: Asparagus terrine with pickled mushrooms, garlic and meyer lemon sorbet Fluke duet: lobster stuffed roulade and seared fillet with melted leeks, roasted corn grits and lobster relish Sea scallops with figs, chervil flan and fava beans BBQ duck breast, sausage, foie gras with tat soi and blackberries and as always our stellar desserts Come on and give us a try...(shameless pandering) ohh and always you can see the full menu at www.viridianrestaurant.com
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I forgot about the scallion pancake, had that also, very good with short ribs smeared on it
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Went to A&J on monday with the wife. Not the first time for me, but the first for her. Loved everything except the dumplings. Had both versions, beef and pork, but just weren't doing for me. I did however LOVE the pork dumpling, I can't remember which one I ordered, that had the soup in it. I wasn't aware that that's what I ordered, but was delighted none the less. A large dumpling that looked like a sausage patty wrapped in dough, steamed and pan fried. I picked it up and bit into it and received a large squirt of juicy pork goodness I wasn't prepared but luckily I didn't take it in the face......I loved the cuke salad, the shredded pigs ear, the shredded chicken with cucumber noodles, the fried pork chop rice and absolutely loved and could eat allllllllllldayyyyyyy long-the steamed short ribs. I wasn't sure about these at first because they looked like they were covered in steamed bulgar wheat, but one melting taste....ohhhhh I was so mesmerized, I stopped talking to my wife for the 5 minutes I was eating them....then ordered another one..... Upon reading the earlier post I realize it wasn't pork in my bun but beef....even better
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I've eaten at the Falls Church Location, It's right next to my house. I wasn't very impressed, good chocolate shake, nice drop biscuits, foul "smoked" ribs special. All I could eat St. Louis style ribs, that were tough and lacked any good smokey flavor, but DID have the distinct flavor of burnt wood, like when you first tried to smoke something in college and thought wood from the yard would work...that flavor....so all I could eat was three ribs, I hoped the second batch would be better but no such luck. I have however had an excellent brisket and pastrami sandwich with coleslaw and fries at the Celeberty Delly next door, now that I would definately return for as well as the Pho at Pho 75 across the street.
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I, personnally, will email recipes for dishes to customers who want them if they leave their email address with their server. But, it is like Micheal says, sometimes it's a result of special techniques. The other problem that happens is that in a home kitchen it is often difficult, if not nearly impossible to replicate a particular recipe. I even have problems with replicating the same food I serve in the restaurant at home, either the stove doesn't get hot enough, there's not enough room to mise en place properly, little things that can affect the outcome. Also, when teaching classes, I realize that some of the stuff I do without realizing it, doesn't get into the recipe. It's difficult sometimes to translate the stuff that comes naturally into a step by step process. Also, most recipes from restaurants are probably not tested for home kitchens....
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We have recently expanded and changed the menu slightly which you can see by going to www.viridianrestaurant.com where we should have the Mother's Day Brunch menu up by midweek. Hope to see some of you soon, come check out the food and the space and say hello when you come, I'd love to put faces to names:)
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A good friend of mine works in the kitchen at the Oval Room and he said that although it was a very unexpected departure there were many things that figured in to Chef's decison to leave, none of them having to do with Ashok, which caught me by suprise because that was my first thought, creative differences. "But Sebastian, it's not like Mathew pulled a Bobby Beard, right?" I find this comment absolutely ribcrakingly, fart while you laugh funny!!!!!! but seriously, the situation at New Heights was bad for any chef to be saddled with, I know he was miserable everyday. I was very happy for him when he got the job at Vermillion where I hear he's doing well.
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when?
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Nooshi = noodles + sushi. Yeah....I get that part.........
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I know that this is alighted upon in several other threads but I am looking for REAL BBQ. I'm talking about Memphis style ribs, dryrubbed and smoked for hours till the meat is almost falling off the bone but not quite. The kind of ribs that are smoky, spicy, slightly caramelized....you know the kind that haunt you for days and result in you becoming a rib addict, fiending for them constantly. Ribs...the heroin of meat Texas style beef brisket, spiced and smoked, the fat almost all gone but there's just the thinnest layer over the top, the meat's juicy.........ummmmmmmm. NC style pork BBQ, the whole pig chopped after cooking slowly for 16 hours, mixed with that vinegar and chile flake sauce that my Grandma made....with coleslaw (creamy of course!!) These are all the things that I search for in vain. Nothing I've had anywhere meets the criterea. The ribs at Rocklands sometimes lack smoke and the rub never imparts enough flavor. Red Hot and Blue....don't get me started there. Famous Dave's are okay in a pinch but are almost always to chewy. That place in Chinatown should serve good brisket (the guys from TEXAS!!!!) but it doesn't...So you see my predicament??? After the closing of Ben's Whole Hog I feel like I've become encapsulated in my own personal BBQ free Hell. All I want is some good smoked meat, lovingly prepared by someone whole preferably has been doing it their whole adult life. Not all of these things has to be in the same place, I've been know to drive to my parents house in NC for the night just to have the chopped bbq at the Skylight Inn, so I don't mind driving up to an hour for good eats. Somebody please help me!!!!!
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I used to eat here alot when it was oodles of noodles and I worked at Vidalia. I loved the Teppinaky Udon, the Phucket Noodles and the Curry Laska. I haven't been since they changed the name....don't know why.
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is Alan Yu involved in any way....I read earlier that he was going to be the Chef after he left Zengo.... Anyway, it's a damn shame that a person lends his name to something but has nothing to do with it. I specifically go to Philly once a year for Morimoto and cheesesteaks, Pats to be specific (again). I love Morimotos and have had some of the most mind bendingly good food there Grilled King Crab with spicy aioli and tabikko fresh tofu with accompaniments (made at your table) a trio of fresh made noodles, one was green tea sushi (obviously) lemongrass rice pudding brulee with mango salsa japanese eggplant with minced chicken, red miso and american cheese to many good things to remember them all, great sake and martinis also......probably why I can't remember everything It's just to bad that he put his name in with something that reeks of mediocrity......I wouldn't do it....
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I, personally had eaten 3 different times before I met Jamie and I loved the food every time. The mussels were great, the rockshrimp and calamari great and I'm in love with the pork chop and collard greens and mac and cheese, got that to go one night and ate it an hour later and, cold, was an wonderful late nite snackie. After I saw the size of the kitchen I am amazed that they are able to do what they do (and do well more often than not). Folks, that kitchen is not much bigger than yours at home, as a professional myself, I can only marvel at her ingenuity...the foods pretty good too
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i've eaten at Uni several times, each time swearing not to return and having only the memory of Sushi Ko and Kaz to console me, but yet I return....I can only say that the sushi is okay and I've never been tempted to eat anything else. It's definately not first rate but it IS convenient and it's not bad...it's just okay and if that's something you can live with....There are definetly better sushi restaurants around, just none on that part of P St. If you go stick with the sushi.
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looking for someone with a passion for food, good skills and ability to communicate. Experience in fine dining a plus but not necessary. The kitchen is loose but organized and I have a great bunch of people working with me. People not willing to roll up their sleaves and work as hard as everyone else, don't bother. We are a team here and those are the kind of people I hire. Culinary degree prefered, salary/pay rate based on experience. Call me at 234-1400 or pm me.
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I don't know if this will explain it well, but when the restaurant was opened, no real attention was paid toe correctly pricing the items. In other words, the restaurant lost money everytime someone ordered food. Not good. So, in reality, we are finally charging the correct price for the food we are serving. The presentation, as well as the quality have improved significantely from before, from what I can gather our regular customers. But think about it, I serve you the same food you can get at three and four star restaurants, sometimes better, but it's healthier for you because we don't use alot of fats. Also, the food, while more expensive than before, is still a relative bargin when you look at what I served at Bis and Vidalia and Gabriel, same quality, perhaps better.
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Hello everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know about some changes at the restaurant. First, we finally opened our outdoor patio this weekend, which is great for those who enjoy dining al fresco. We also have changed our lunch and brunch menu, both style and substance. We still use eco friendly farmers from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and the surrounding areas as much as possible. While not 100% organic, we strive to use as many organic items as possible. The restaurant is still vegetarian and vegan friendly, but, and I stress this, it is not a vegan/ vegetarian restaurant. We do use butter and cream, just alot less than other restaurants The dinner menu is a tightly focused menu of 6 appetizers, 6 protiens and 6 side dishes. The protiens come with a small, well chosen accompiement that is meant to enhance the main item but we still encourage you to construct your meal with the inclusion of side dishes. I change the menu every two weeks to stay as seasonal as possible, but to also encourage everyone to visit as often as they want. So I hope everyone will give us another chance, I think the restaurant has great potential and we are striving toward that goal. You can see our menus for last week at www.viridianrestaurant.com.
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I took a girlfriend to Citronelle about 2 years ago, when Alan was there and all I can say is that the praises heaped on this particular restaurant are all well deserved. We were seated right in front of the kitchen and, being a chef I loved watching the pace and execution. My girlfriend of the time was a fish eating vegetarian so we had a wonderful 9 courses, with wine with each of her courses differing from mine, very nice. The food was excellent, the wine amazing. It was easily one of the best meals I've ever eaten, better than Aquavit, better than Tru and almost as good as CT's and I definately felt it when the bill arrived, but well worth it.
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I love Mark's Duck House. I have never had the Dim Sum (owing to working every weekend ) but if the rest of the food is any indication, it should be very good.....try the crispy pork there, ask them to warm it up a bit, I think it's the best crispy pork in town. Anything "duck" is also very good. And I hear if you call ahead (I'm not sure how long in advance, maybe 3-4 days) you can request a roast suckling pig. Thanks for the info on Fortune, I live close to both these restaurants and always wondered if a restaurant in the Home Depot parking lot could be any good.
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Ohhhhh, the Gumbo, I forgot about the Gumbo.....very tasty, especialy on a cold night like last night.