eatruneat

I was in New York for to run the NYC Half Marathon last month and the one thing I really really wanted to do was to get bagels, cream cheese, and lox at Russ and Daughters. I stayed with my cousin who had moved from the Bowery to Tribeca since my last visit and he convinced me to go to Sadelle's instead as he had a friend involved in the business side of the place so I agreed and asked a Jersey City dwelling friend to meet me there for brunch on Saturday.

My cousin's friend had graciously called in my name ahead of our brunch trip so my friend and I were able to get seated as soon as we arrived around 11:30am despite a 30-45 minute wait for others. Despite recommendations to get the sticky buns, I wanted to stay on the healthy side and ordered the whitefish salad with an everything 2.0 bagel while my friend had the smoked scottish salmon with a plain bagel. While we waited, the restaurant brought out two large glasses of mimosas for my friend and I and we toasted to our reunion.

Our smoked fish came out on a tiered platter along with lightly pickled red onion, cucumbers, cream cheese, and capers so we decided to share the fish so we could get a taste of both. The bagel was fantastic (the New York Bagel of my dreams) and the smoked fish and accoutrements were good as well. I haven't been to Russ and Daughters for two years so it may be nostalgia, but I do remember the salmon at Russ and Daughters to be quite a bit better.

It was great to catch up with my friend and I am glad to get my NYC bagel fix. Next time, I do need to get to Russ and Daughters because the Super Heebster is still calling my name.

Given the abundance of Asian restaurant options in California, specifically San Diego and the Bay Area, I was surprised my brother and my cousin wanted to go to Maketto during their short trip in DC from California. We ended up having a late dinner there Friday evening a few hours after their arrival.

Between MichaelBDC, my brother, my cousin, and myself we split the wok fried chinese broccoli, spicy laab over bone marrow, fried chicken, and New York strip bao platter. We enjoyed it all even though the laab ignited a fire in my mouth that was difficult to drown and the fried chicken itself was not as spicy as I remember it. We all thought it was great, especially the fried chicken.

MichaelBDC and I were also surprised to see Erik Bruner Yang clear our dishes from the table. We were both impressed that he would bus our table when he could have directed another member of the staff to do it.

DC may not have the sheer number of great Asian restaurants like other city but some of the ones we have, like Maketto, are really superb. This would be a great restaurant anywhere in the country and I think we are lucky that it is in DC.

Alta Strada opened three weeks ago and MichaelBDC and I have already stopped in twice for two very good dinners.

After returning from a quick trip to New York, starting a new job, and facing an empty refrigerator, I convinced MichaelBDC to go to Alta Strada for opening night. We were surprised that the restaurant was only half full, but one of the GMs told us it was by design in order to allow the restaurant to ease into business. Michael Schlow was on hand to expedite and do some quality control.

We started with the grilled octopus with chickpeas, calabrian chiles, and parsley. About 80 percent of the chickpeas were blended with the chiles to form a hummus like consistency and spread in a crescent shape on the plate. This was topped with the perfectly cooked octopus (which was poached and then grilled) a few whole chickpeas, and parsley. MichaelBDC and I both enjoyed this dish, especially the spice from the chiles. We also had the crunchy meatballs to start. MichaelBDC enjoyed this dish a bit more than I did, though I thought it was very good. I agreed with him that the outside of the meatballs were very crisp but did not result in a dry meatball. The restaurant also gave us an order of whipped ricotta to start. This was a luscious and great dish MichaelBDC and I both enjoyed. The only downer was the gratis bread and olive oil. The Italian sesame bread was average and the olive oil needed some salt. But since MichaelBDC and I enjoyed the starters so much, it was easy to overlook this part of the meal.

We were already pretty full after the appetizers but had already ordered the Maltagliati with rabbit, fresh fava beans, and pecorino. This was my favorite dish of the evening. I really enjoyed the bits of rabbit and the fava beans. The pasta was lightly sauced, enabling the ingredients to shine through. We also ordered the broccoli rabe and spicy sausage pizza. It was good but not great pizza. There was nothing wrong with the dish, I just felt that the other items on the menu were much better. However, the pizza is perfectly good for an Italian place trying to offer a bit of variety. MichaelBDC and I each had a slice and asked for the rest to go.

Last weekend, my brother and cousin were in town to run the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler with me and we decided to have our pre-race dinner here. We ordered everything that MichaelBDC and I had at our previous dinner minus the ricotta and added an order of tagliatelle bolognese and local striped bass with rosemary, white beans, escarole, and lemon. I only had the tagliatelle and thought it was very good. For dessert the table split the lemon sorbet, which was delightfully tart, and the nutella tarte, which was delightfully rich.

MichaelBDC and I had two very successful visits to Alta Strada and are looking forward to more. It's so great to finally have a solid and decently priced Italian restaurant in the neighborhood.

Is there a secret password and/or handshake to identify ourselves as from the DonRockwell.com boards?

I wasn't excited about this place when it was first announced, but walking by it frequently and seeing it come together has changed my mind. I hope this place can be a good Mexican restaurant because DC sorely needs one. 

On 3/3/2016 at 1:10 PM, funkyfood said:

Couldn't find a thread here for this place, opening Tuesday.  It looks promising: they are importing all their masa and making everything in-house daily.  Menu looks interesting and ambitious, but expensive for Mexican food.  

"PoPville Preview: Espita Mezcaleria Opening Tuesday, 'Showcasing The Best Of Mexican Southern Cuisine'" on popville.com

Dinner 

While I agree that $20 for three tacos does seem expensive, I object to the idea that Mexican or any other ethnic food should be inexpensive or cheap. There are plenty of overpriced restaurants throughout DC regardless of cuisine but it is rare to hear someone say that a place is "expensive for Italian/French/American food."

The goat cheese and herb biscuit I devoured after a long run today was absolutely delicious. I've been quite happy with the vegetarian options here.

Devouring one of their biscuits while waiting for a pour over after a long run/workout would have been my ideal Saturday morning until a few weeks ago. That's when I finally ordered the savory oatmeal with kale, caramelized onions, smoked ham, pecorino, and a poached egg. Add a few dashes of hot sauce and there is almost no other way I would want to refuel after a long run.

Signing up MichaelBDC and myself for dinner.

Had a very good dinner with eight former co-workers at DBGB on Friday evening. The restaurant was a bit on the empty side and I think many people opted to stay home due to the weather. 

Overall, we had a great dinner and the restaurant handled our large group well except for my missing entree that arrived several minutes after everyone else had received their entree. It didn't ruin the evening and everyone seemed to have a great time, partially because the drinks were flowing. I ordered the grilled kale salad and the sherry glazed duck. The kale salad was served with sweet potato, brussels sprouts, pickled water chestnuts, and a buttermilk dressing. There were probably equal amounts of kale, sweet potato, and brussels sprouts so I am not sure why it was billed as a kale salad but overall the salad was very good. Our table had six orders of duck total and everyone seemed to enjoy the duck a lot. It was perfectly cooked seasoned. The duck was served with berbere spiced kasha, which I enjoyed but others found to be too aggressive (either spicy or salty) for their taste. I agree that it was overpowering at times, but I liked it anyway. The spinach cigar added a nice crunch to the entree. For dessert, I shared the rocky road profiterole with two others. The profiterole itself was one humongous profiterole with coffee-cardamom ice cream, marshmallow, hazelnut, and chocolate sauce. It was a really fun dessert but the marshmallow got lost underneath the decadent chocolate sauce. I especially liked the ice cream and the hazelnut. 

Glad I got a chance to go back here. It's a wonderful place for a large-ish dinner party. They have two private rooms for parties of twelve or more, but since we were just nine we got tables pushed together in the back. A little fancy, but not too fancy. Everyone enjoyed the food and the drinks, and especially the company. 

I met with a former co-worker for a pre-job interview lunch at The Hamilton earlier this week. I had only been here twice before, once for a lack luster post Cherry Blossom Ten Miler brunch and once for a raucus happy hour, so my expectations were pretty low. There was a lot to choose from, but I ended up going with the Blackened Blue Catfish Sandwich ($11). I was surprised sides didn't come with the entree but I would have rather saved a few dollars over getting some fries I didn't really need. The sandwich itself was a substantial size and was quite filling. The catfish was seasoned cooked well and served on a potato bun with lettuce, "pickle back" mayo, red onions, and tomato. The only unfortunate part was that the catfish did not stay inside the sandwich and made for messy eating. I ended up using a knife and fork. Fortunately, I was with a friend and not on a business lunch or that would have been embarrassing. 

MichaelBDC and I made our much anticipated return to Convivial for a birthday celebration. Thanks to reviews by my fellow Rockwellians, we ordered very wisely and all of our dishes were outstanding.

I started the evening with a Seelbach cocktail, which combined two of my favorite alcoholic beverages: sparkling wine and bourbon while MichaelBDC had a glass of Syrah. We ordered the much talked about leeks dijonnaise and the pickled rockfish. The first bite of each dish made me say "wow." I would happily order either of them again, especially the rockfish. For entrees, MichaelBDC ordered the fried chicken coq au vin again while I ordered the scallop boudin blanc. I thought there was less sauce on the fried chicken coq au vin than what I remembered from our previous visit but MichaelBDC did not think there was a difference at all. In my mind, the smaller amount of sauce actually made the dish better as the stickiness and richness of the sauce did not contrast as much with the crunch of the chicken. I ordered the scallop boudin blanc for my entree and for me, it was the dish of the evening. The texture of the dish (kind of mousse-like) did not bother me at all and I loved the flavors of the dish, especially the contrast from the richness of the scallop boudin blanc and the sourness of the sauerkraut. I was a bit too full for dessert but decided to forge ahead with the key lime and speculoos pie. The pie sated my sweet tooth and also got the thumbs up from MichaelBDC who generally prefers tart desserts.

Last time we were at Convivial, we had two great dishes and two good dishes. This time, I would say we went 5/5 in outstanding dishes. Can't wait to try more items on the menu that others on this board have raved about.

My wife and I went last night and had a fabulous time at the omakase bar chatting up Chef Ogawa, who might be one of the nicest people I have ever met.  I have to agree with Simon, I thought everything that came out of the kitchen was average at best, and I would even say that the Miyazaki Wagyu, while good, was not worth the extra space in my stomach that could have been occupied by the absolutely delicious, perfectly prepared sushi.  The chutoro and otoro were exemplary, perhaps two of the best versions of each that I have ever had, summoning up memories of that glorious time when Kaz got the Kindai Bluefin Toro 7 years ago.  We already have reservations to go back and sit in one of the private rooms with a larger group in a couple weeks, but next time we will stick with sushi and sashimi and eat our hearts out.

Say hi next time.  

MichaelBDC and I capped off a week of gluttony with an omakase extravaganza at courtesy of Chef Ogawa and Can. After a parade of delicate and decadent nigiri, we finally had to tap out. Chef Ogawa seemed to revel in watching each person at the omakase bar proclaim the deliciousness of the pieces of nigiri he served them. Highlights for us were the salmon belly, gizzard shad (which he served us after overhearing us talk about it), the fishes ending in -jack, horse mackerel, and a piece of wagyu beef served nigiri style with a delicate swipe of uni between the rice and the beef. We couldn't have asked for a greater experience at Sushi Ogawa and look forward to visiting again soon.

Congratulations to Chef Ogawa and Can, a most gracious host. Now, the hard part will be deciding how to split our time, stomachs, and bank accounts between Sushi Ogawa and Sushi Capitol. Not a bad problem to have.

A running pal and I did a post long run happy hour at Ghibellina on Saturday. Weekend happy hour starts at 3pm now and the place was nearly packed when we got there around 3:15pm. We had a few cocktails and ordered the quatro formaggi pizza. The pizza tasted as good as I remembered it, though it was a little soupy in the middle. That did not matter much to either of us though as we quickly scarfed down the pizza, topped with as much of the hot peppers as we could handle.

MichaelBDC and I continued to make our way through the Baan Thai menu last night. The restaurant was quite busy when we got there a little past 8pm, so we were seated at the bar. We ordered the chicken stuffed in tapioca skin, spicy stir fried pork picnic, and the spicy stir fried chicken in bamboo shoots, the last item a repeat of our previous visit. Happy to report that the spice level is still quite high but not in a gratuitous way. We haven't had a miss on the menu yet. 

On two of my last three visits to Sushi Capitol, my dining partner and I received a blow torched slice of wagyu nigiri style. On Thursday, MichaelBDC was with me when we received this as part of our omakase and I turned to him and said "This is probably the best piece of meat we will ever eat" and it sure was. I will probably never splurge for kobe or wagyu at a steak house, so this might be as good as it gets. Chef Aoki showed us the cut of meat our nigiri came from and it was so incredibly marbled. I described it as a lot of fat held together by the slightest amounts of muscle.

The rest of our meal was amazing as well. Other than the tuna, which I always look forward to, we had a great piece of saba as well. Can was up at Sushi Ogawa getting ready for the grand opening but Mourat and Gabby kept the place humming along. This was the least busy we have ever seen Sushi Capitol, and I was a bit bummed for the team but selfishly happy because we had a great time conversing with Chefs Ogawa and Aoki.

Little bump bump on this thread.

What are *THE BEST* items / dishes at Eden Center (any spot in the complex) for $10 or less? Heading there for a massive food excursion and want to try as many options as I can. Seriously...as many as I can. All suggestions welcome - food, drinks, snacks, etc.

Thanks!!

I enjoyed the stuffed grape leaves at Rice Paper. One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes is Com Tam Bi Suong Cha, which is a broken rice dish with various meats and doused with nuoc cham. I've had a good version at Huong Viet.

And don't limit yourself to what you can eat in one day or afternoon. Go to Banh Ta Deli and take a few things to take home with you. Get the banh chung, which is special for Lunar New Year. I bought one a few weeks ago and just finished it off this weekend. Just as great as I remember eating growing up. I don't know if it is less than $10 but it is great and something you can only get once a year. Also, get a to go box of banh cuong (the Vietnamese rice crepe). Very good and makes a nice light lunch.

I live about one mile from Baan Thai and they won't deliver to me, so I think the delivery radius is pretty small.

MichaelBDC and I stopped by Baan Thai later Thursday evening after a few drinks at Left Door. We had the Spicy Crispy Tilapia Salad from the Winter Specials menu, the Northern Thailand Pork Curry, and the Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken and Bamboo Shoots. Everything was terrrific. If being slightly intoxociated dulled the heat on those dishes, we couldn't tell. My mouth was on fire after three bites, but it was all so good I couldn't stop.

After lunch at Rice Paper, MichaelBDC and I headed to Banh Ta Deli. I was so delighted the various authentic looking Vietnamese food, I went a little nuts. We started by ordering six banh mi (buy 5, get one free!) to go. The trick to getting banh mi to go is to ask for the veggies on the side. Then you heat them up in the oven (putting a sandwich open faced in the oven while it pre-heats to 350 usually does the trick for me) and add the veggies yourself. I had two of the banh mi thit nguou which has four different types of meats and is usually the only kind of banh mi I will get. I also had a banh mi pate cha, which only has pate and the Vietnamese pork loaf that is similar to bologna. MichaelBDC ordered one lemongrass pork banh mi, one pork belly banh mi, and one banh mi thit nguoi. I heated up one banh mi thit nguoi yesterday and it was great. I would have liked a little bit more meat in the sandwich, but overall the taste was there.

MichaelBDC and I also bought a banh bao, steamed pork buns. I loved eating these growing up and the ones at Banh Ta were just as good as I imagined them. There was a chunk of ground pork, some woodear mushrooms, a few slices of Chinese sausage, and half of a hard boiled egg. MichaelBDC thought the dough to meat ratio was off (too much dough) but I didn't mind. I can't wait to go back and buy some more.

I also bought a container of banh cuon to take home and eat. The banh cuon are rice crepes filled with ground pork and chopped woodear mushrooms and garnished with some fried shallots and several slices of cha, the Vietnamese bologna. Nuoc cham is also provided. I had this for lunch yesterday and loved it. Banh cuon is a Vietnamese dish I can never get enough of.

I convinced MichaelBDC to get a small container of beef jerky. He shared a slice with me and devoured the rest in one day. I thought the beef jerky was very good, but could have been a bit spicier.

Finally, I took home an order of banh chung, a traditional Vietnamese rice cake made of glutinous rice stuffed with pork, mung beans, and other ingredients. It is usually made and served around the Lunar New Year. I have not eaten this yet, but am looking forward to doing so this weekend. Given how much I enjoyed everything else we bought at Banh Ta, I think this banh chung will be delicious!

MichaelBDC and I were in the area around lunch time earlier this week and bypassed our usual spot, Huong Viet, for Rice Paper. We were there around 11:30am and it was already nearly full. Luckily there was an open two top so we were able to get seated promptly.

We started with bo nuong la nho, which consisted of five rolls of seasoned ground beef stuffed grape leaves and grilled and garnished with sautéed scallions and peanuts. Pickled daikon and carrots as well and cucumbers and some lettuce leaves were served on the side. A small dish of nuoc cham for dipping was also served. The dish is traditionally made with wild betel leaves (and called bo nuong la lot), but grape leaves were used here, probably because they are easier to get a hold of. Growing up a fermented anchovy paste was generally used for dipping instead of the nuoc cham, but I never cared for the anchovy paste so I didn't miss it even though the nuoc cham didn't add anything to the dish. Overall, the dish was great. The meat was very moist and flavorful, though it was juicier than it should have been.

For entrees, MichaelBDC had the bun bo hue while I had the bun cha Hanoi. Unfortunately, the bun bo hue, was a big disappointment. I knew something wasn't quite right as soon as it came out and even wondered if they brought us the wrong order. One sip of the broth confirmed that MichaelBDC did get bun bo hue, but one in which the broth was oily, without much depth, and severely lacking in lemongrass. Still, it wasn't too bad and MichaelBDC ate about half the bowl before declaring himself full and tapping out. The bun cha Hanoi was really good. I really enjoyed the mix of the grilled pork, pork patties, rice noodles and herbs doused in plenty of nuoc cham.

To drink Michael had the soda chanh, fresh squeeze limeade with sugar and club soda while I could not pass up the café sua da, which did not disappoint.

Overall, we had a nice time and ate well but the subpar bun bo hue was the most memorable part of lunch.

My brother moved from the southern edge of San Diego to a more central spot in Bankers Hill so I was able to explore a lot of new restaurants over my trip there for Christmas. Unfortunately, much of it was mediocre but some of it was great. The standout of trip was Crack Shack in Little Italy, affiliated with and adjacent to Juniper and Ivy. The place specializes in chicken -- fried chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, lollipop chicken -- served with a myriad of different housemade sauces. A fun outdoors place to eat and drink the day away. I only had the chicken nuggets and the lollipop chicken on my one visit there, and really liked it. A similar place in DC would go gangbusters!

A few more details about Left Door are in this write up from Jessica Sidman at the Washington City Paper.

Left Door opens tomorrow but MichaelBDC and I were invited to a preview of the place on New Years Eve. I am not going to lie, I was afraid that Left Door would be a little bit too refined for me, one who loved The Passenger until that last drop of alcohol was poured and mourns its (temporary) closing to this day. However, after one very fun and lovely evening at Left Door, I am very excited about this place. Left Door's vibe reminds me of the early days of The Gibson (I haven't been in a long time) with the Tom Brown touch lending to a more relaxed and less pretentious atmosphere. There are a few tables, and one very cozy corner overlooking S St. The bar nice, long, and white marble. What impressed me the most about the space is the attention to detail throughout, from the speakers, to the lamp shades, to the glassware. Tom did an amazing job of the space.

For all the people who loved the Passenger but felt it could get a little chaotic at times, Tom probably had you in mind when he opened Left Door (though I can't speak for him). I'm looking forward to many visits here in the near future.

We had our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and stayed with the tried-and-true: Corduroy.

They were full, of course, but I knew that Matt and I would be able to walk right up to the bar and get a seat; what I didn't know is that, in addition to the $65 three-course Christmas Menu, Tom Power was offering his standard $30, three-course bar menu - so, because we sat at the bar, we were able to dine like kings at a pauper's ransom.

I began dinner with a glass of 2014 Haut Marin Côes de Gascogne ($9), a medium-bodied, somewhat aromatic white made with a blend of Colombard, Ugni Blanc, and Gros Manseng - it's a "humble" Vin de Pays which punches above its weight class. Normally, I would carp about paying $9 for a glass of wine from a bottle which you can buy for $9, but not in this situation - Corduroy continues to use excellent stemware (offering the diner a taste of wine before serving it), proper temperature control, and an extremely generous six-ounce pour. This, plus the fact that to find this wine required tasting through a hundred others - I'll pay nine dollars for this anytime, and a second glass took me the entire way through dinner. Matt got a non-alcoholic cocktail made with Ginger Beer and Lime ($4) as a base, and although I didn't taste it, he said it was wonderful.

After some waffling about whether to spring for the $65 three-course or stick with the $30 bar menu, we decided it made no financial sense to go with the Christmas menu - even though it offered more intricate and interesting courses, there was some overlap, and the primary difference for us would have been in the main courses - we were sitting at the bar, so we went ahead and took advantage of that fact. By the way, it's nice to see that some things don't change: Pete, the tall, handsome GM, is still at Corduroy - I'm not sure how many years it has been now, but it's been awhile.

We both started with Kabocha Squash Soup, which was also on the $65 menu. Essentially a pumpkin bisque, there was some type of bacon-like undertone coming out of these piping hot bowls, poured from a pitcher over some small garnishes - this simple gesture adds such an elegant touch to hot soups, and costs a restaurant almost nothing to do (except for prepping the garnishes). Every time I come across a restaurant that pours or ladles soup tableside, it warms my soul. As usual, Tom Power proved himself the peerless bisque-master - between Corduroy and Baby Wale, I almost can't imagine having a meal without soup, or chocolate, or both. Corduroy continues to have bread service, probably with Panorama baguettes, sliced, and served with lightly salted, high-quality butter. Needless to say, there was scarcely a droplet of soup remaining after the obligatory bread-swipe.

One big mistake I made was ordering the Filipino Spring Rolls ($6) in addition to the menu. It's certainly never a mistake to order these, but it was somewhat thoughtless because they weren't being served downstairs, and because only one other couple was at the bar (pssst - it'll probably be empty on New Year's Eve as well), we obligated the restaurant to use their deep fryer. It wasn't until after we were served that I realized: We were probably the only customers of the evening that got anything deep-fried, and Corduroy most likely lost money by serving these to us (sorry, Tom - I wasn't thinking). Well, anyway, they were just as wonderful as they always are, and Pete brought up two separate plates for us, each with a single Spring Roll, and he'd waited until after we had finished our soup, so it was like having another course each for *six dollars total*.

Matt got the Pork Belly with Tarbais Beans (from Tarbes, by the way), a scaled-down version of a cassoulet, and I got the Pan-Seared Salmon which was served just like Tom prepares his Big Eye Tuna - atop hijiki and sushi rice. We both traded small amounts, so I can verify that both of these courses were simple and delicious, the salmon in particular having a good, hot, crispy skillet-sear on the skin.

For dessert, Matt got the Flourless Chocolate Cake and I ordered the Pistachio Bread Pudding. I've had both of these desserts numerous times in the past, and I swear they were better on this evening than they've ever been. The cake was decadent, but weightless - for an eighteen-year-old not to finish all his chocolate cake during a holiday meal speaks volumes about just how much of a bargain this bar menu is - the pork belly in particular was an ample portion, weighed down by the tarbais beans. The bread pudding was just amazing - more like a soaked pound cake, I don't care how much you *think* you don't want bread pudding - just get this the next time you come. It's served with homemade ice cream and sabayon.

Corduroy's $30 prix-fixe bar menu is the best $30 meal in the DC area, and there is no real competition for this honor. To think that people still flock out during Restaurant Week to pay $5 *more* than this for inferior cuisine, well, the key word in this sentence is "think" - think about it. This meal was such an incredible value that I almost feel guilty for having ordered it. Almost.

MichaelBDC and I took Don's suggestion and headed to the bar at Corduroy for a New Year's Eve dinner. We arrived at 7pm and there was only one other couple at the bar. We stayed for three hours and I think only two other couples showed up. We were a little sad to see the bar so empty but it was nice to chat with Antonio and other Corduroy staff throughout our meal.

Both MichaelBDC and I enjoyed the three courses for $30 bar menu and supplemented that with three great cheeses -- a gouda (Beemster), a blue, and a stinky French cheese. The courses we ordered have been discussed on this thread before so there is not a need to go into detail about them. I just want to add that despite doing a lengthy New Years Eve tasting menu in the main dining room, our meal was perfectly executed and paced, a tribute to Tom Power and team. We had a great time from beginning to end. It was the perfect choice for our last meal of 2015.

MichaelBDC and I were able to grab two seats at the bar on a Friday earlier this month. It had been another long absence since our last time there and we ended up ordering too much food between our desires to order off the specials and re-visit some old favorites. Unfortunately, I can't remember everything we ate that evening but highlights include the carrot and kimchi Bolognese with udon noodles and a fried fish of some sort that was a play on fish and chips. Both enjoyable and fun dishes that show off the creativity and skill of the kitchen. From the regular menu we went with the usuals: grilled avocado, chicken kara age, abura miso onigiri, Brussels sprouts okonomayaki style, fried garlic, and the rocky. We enjoyed all of them very much, especially the chicken kara age. There might be places with better food, more refined cooking, or more hype, but in my opinion, Daikaya is the funnest place to eat and drink.

The post from pesenti (#4) had it first, and now the result of the Washington City Paper's FOIA request:

"Investigation Reveals Fig & Olive's Kitchen Relies on Pre-Made Meal Components"  by Jessica Sidman on washingtoncitypaper.com

If Luke is Luke Feltz, I owe a former intern from my days in the Senate a visit and a hearty congrats.

Louisville

I found myself in Louisville and only had time for one dinner, so I wanted to get a good one. Thanks to Don's post above, I decided to go to Milkwood. I already had a few drinks in me when I sat down but upon the server's recommendation, I ordered the "Big in Bangkok" cocktail with Four Roses bourbon, peanut butter, lime, and thai bitters and I am glad I did. The cocktail that came out looked like a gimlet and I was surprised it wasn't darker. Overall it was well balanced, savory, and light. I wish I could get this drink in DC. Next I ordered the pimento cheese with spoonball caviar which was served on light and airy pork rinds and sprinkled with ham salt. All of that sat on top of a scallion pesto. This was also a great dish and I wish I could order here in DC. I had perfectly wonderful fried chicken on top of a slightly too dense biscuit for my entrée. I don't even remember the last time I ate fried chicken and this dish made the wait worth it. Finally, my waiter was able to procure for me a half order of graham cracker macaron as a dessert. This is a wonderful restaurant. I am only bummed that this is likely my only visit.