youngfood

A few notes from a couple recent trips to Madrid.  

La Castela is as excellent as unpretentious and excellent as Gerry Dawes describes above.  You can sit outside, hang out in the front bar, or eat in back.  There's lots of good seafood here.

Casa Lucas is a favorite for tapas on Cava Baja.  Get the squid with bacon and squid ink.  It's delicious and a fun show.  Let the bartender pour you wines by the glass.  Make a reservation or show up early.  You'll be among the only tourists in a place full of locals.  Casa Lucio seems similar, but I haven't been able to snag a seat yet... next time.  

Roostique is excellent for a wood fired oven dishing out artichokes, clams, pizza, and as good of a steak as I've had in Spain.  

Vides is a cool, little wine bar off Gran Via.  

StreetXO is currently closed pending a new location.  I thought it was a must visit before it closed and expect it will be again once it reopens.  

Balangay has been operating out of Bullfrog Bagels on H Street for several months and I'm told serves pretty delicious Filipino food.  

We have not been yet, but Tim Carman's recent write up prompted me to book a table.  Has anyone been?  Anything we should be sure to order?

Any recent recommendations for Willamette Valley?  

On 11/23/2020 at 3:33 PM, curiouskitkatt said:

I don’t question what Chef does. His soup creations are the best, bar none. 

Im thinking he may have a better technique at the restaurant with more tools, and the impromptu format of recording may have jumbled his mind a bit😅

And, his soups were just the thing to keep us warm and happy in the alley space over the weekend.  Alas, I'm afraid this past weekend may have been the last chance for folks to enjoy Chef Power's work at Corduroy for a bit.  It sounded and looks like Corduroy may be on an extended winter break starting now. Hopefully, they'll be back under better conditions early next year. 

Chef, let us know if you and your team have food available or other options for us in the months ahead and thank you for all your delicious food and the always warm service at Corduroy.  I feel like a Tom Power Soup & Filipino Spring Rolls Truck could be just the thing we need to make it through this winter...  

20 hours ago, Mark Dedrick said:

Grilled soft shells and asparagus last night. It was delicious. 

 

Thank god for Fiona.  We've enjoyed these sautéed a couple times recently and picked up sandwiches she's made with them too.  It's never occurred to me to try grilling them though -- any tips?  

On 5/20/2020 at 5:16 PM, DonRocks said:

Here are some photos from Apr 24 (Date Night dinner for two) and May 16 (a simple two-course). Both the steak and tuna were great; the photos of them not so much:

Apr 24: 

May 16: 

And a dessert: 

These look amazing, remind me of our first Kinship to go, and have my mouth watering for the dinner we just ordered for tomorrow.  

I think I forgot to post about our first Kinship to go.  I'll just say that the chicken travels very well and that the personal touches that make Kinship so special somehow come through with the take out experience including some really detailed and thoughtful instructions for how to easily reheat and plate the meal at home.  Kinship has always been one of our favorite spots and it continues to be so during this period of take out only.  

On 5/18/2020 at 8:34 PM, Pat said:

Might as well post it here too. Closing permanently, along with Montmartre.

Such a shame.  Great people, excellent pizza, and the veggie sandwich was probably our favorite sandwich in the neighborhood.  I'm sure they'd be doing a lot of business with so many folks needing takeout while at home on the Hill during the pandemic too, but can see where they might feel like this is the right time to stop.    

On 4/3/2020 at 12:02 AM, DonRocks said:

Pickup only, Wed-Sat evenings. They sell out early (they're probably sold out for this week), so it's best to reserve early in the week.

Ugh, I went to pick up my food a couple nights ago, and it was so sad to walk inside - only one young cashier working in a darkish restaurant, and boxes of wine piled on top of the bar.

That is sad.  Our last pre-lockdown meal was there.  We didn't have a reservation, but had a feeling it we might be able to sneak in for an early meal at the bar and were right to think it might be a while before we were able to have another night out.  It looks like they're sold out for tonight, but can take a couple more orders tomorrow.  Kinship is a treasure and has an exceptional staff -- I hope they're all doing ok and can get back to regular business before too long.   

Do they have any delivery options or are they pickup only?  

On 7/8/2019 at 5:35 PM, Mark Dedrick said:

I'll post more thoroughly soon, but we just returned from Portugal yesterday. Ate at Alma Saturday night. I'd definitely keep that reservation, it was quite delicious. His other restaurant, Tapisco, is also quite good. We stumbled in there one night when the line for Ramiro was completely insane. 

@Mark Dedrick & @Rhone1998, I'd love to hear your recs from your recent trips to Lisbon and Porto.  

On 9/19/2019 at 11:26 AM, Mark Dedrick said:

Not sure if this is the correct thread or not, I couldn't find a better one. My wife and I are going to be in Galicia later this fall, and we've never been. Anyone on here have any recommendations, suggestions on things or places not to miss, or even a city in which to base our operations? We have flights booked right now and not much else, so everything is appreciated. 

Haven't been to Galicia, but it looks like you are within a half day drive of Etxebarri, which means you absolutely must go.

Have you guys been to San Sebastian yet?  That's just a bit past Etxebarri and an amazingl place to visit and eat.  

On 8/19/2019 at 4:19 PM, Mark Dedrick said:

I can report that as of two weeks ago the Miami location was still fantastic. I remain a huge fan. So while I would much prefer a local stand alone restaurant here, I'm more OK about Yardbird than most other offshoots. 

Totally agree.  Have enjoyed the Miami location many times and often wondered why we didn't have something like it closer to home.  

Primrose has "Wine Wednesday" now with 30% off bottles of wine.  It was wonderfully quiet there tonight with folks either out of town or chasing restaurant week deals at other restaurants.  I'm pretty sure the discounted bottle of Sancerre we had tonight was a better deal than 9 out of 10 Restaurant Week dinners.  The brioche shrimp toast was pretty awesome too.  

Sietsema's First Bite review is very favorable.  Anyone else been?  We're looking forward to our first visit.  

5 hours ago, Marty L. said:

Anything worth purchasing this year other than La Casita? Anyone been to the Chiko or Hank's stands?

I like the shrimp po boy from Hank's.  

3 hours ago, Mark Dedrick said:

We ate there last night to pay our final respects. It was, as usual, a wonderful meal. I'm really sad to see it close. I'm excited about Thamee, but there are many other restaurants I'd have rather seen them replace. 

Likewise.  Only I still need to pay my final respects.  Loved just about everything about Sally's.  Mark, where will you guys go instead?  I think we'll probably visit Sospeso and Maketto more often.  

16 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I have several recent travel guides if you want to save yourself about forty bucks.

Happy to take them off your hands, but my experience has been that I get better recommendations here than I do in guidebooks.  

Did you go?  If so, please dish!  

Any recent reports from Buenos Aires or tips for Mendoza?

21 hours ago, reedm said:

Has anyone been to Métier recently? If all goes according to plan, we will celebrate our anniversary there next Thursday. Thank you. 

We went last year and had a wonderful time.  The food didn't wow me more than my many wonderful meals at Kinship have, but the ambiance and service were both special and memorable.  Have a happy anniversary (and post after you go)!  

On 1/23/2019 at 5:50 PM, Mark Slater said:

Thanks for the shout out, DaveO. I'm not at Corduroy anymore, but I will tell about my new gig at the proper time. 

GAH!   I can't believe I finally made a reservation at Corduroy only to learn you aren't there!  

On 1/10/2019 at 3:32 PM, Mark Dedrick said:

I'm going off of memory, so my details won't be quite as sharp. I ate there once with me and my wife, and then a second time with three friends. It's plates designed for sharing (of course, because every place is), but you could easily turn it into an appetizer-entree spot. There are about four larger, entree-sized plates, and then eight or so smaller offerings. Also, unlike a lot of spots like this, after you order they'll course things out for you, so you don't have the all too common problem of every plate showing up at the same time, or you getting your steak before the crudo shows up.Or at least that was our experience with two different servers. Service is also wonderful.

I don't remember what exactly I had, and I know that they change their menu frequently so the webpage isn't super helpful. The chicken dish on the menu, with truffle butter, brussels sprouts, and gnocchi sounds like what we had, and seem to remember it being mentioned as a signature dish for the restaurant. It was fantastic. But really everything was good. I'd happily go back. 

Sorry I can't provide more detail, my memory isn't what it once was!

And now that I've been, I hearty concur!  Stubborn Seed might be my favorite of many very good to great restaurants in Miami.  I not only think it's outstanding for Miami Beach, but would gladly return there and add it to our rotation if it were in D.C.  Mark's sums it up well, the menu is interesting, but not large.  They are more committed to the sharing concept than most and push the sending dishes when they are ready and not necessarily as courses, but I like that and am glad to have tried most of their menu last night.  And the service was more precise and personal than I'm used to in Miami.  If you're going to Miami Beach and looking for a delicious meal out, I highly recommend trying Stubborn Seed.  

And, if you're nearby at the southern tip of Miami Beach, Cibo wine bar is a nice place for a glass of wine.  New to me, they have a happy hour of half-priced glasses of wine and cocktails prior to 7 pm.  

16 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I wouldn't randomly question a restaurant; we had dinner there last night (and leftover lunch today, and we have a calzone in the freezer for later emergencies). They were out of the first wine we ordered (the only Gragnano they had on the list), the Bruschetta (there were three; I asked them to pick one) with Burrata, tomatoes, and basil had, well, tomatoes and basil - it was "fine," but nothing I'd order again - especially not in January. The pizzas (a Capricciosa and a Patata) had decent toppings - albeit very heavy on the saltiness - and a nice char, but the dough (which was the fault of the person who made the dough; not the person who cooked the pizzas) was thicker than it should have been, and a bit too salty. I could go into more depth, but at half the price of a distressingly expensive and mostly *lousy* sashimi Omakase at Takumi the night before, Menomalé was still a decent neighborhood restaurant by comparison.

Also, both pizzas were *much* better today, after being slowly reheated (and crisped) in the oven.

So I feared.  I'll take this as a welcome excuse to return to Menomale again soon to further investigate.  

21 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I thought sure someone posted about Menomalé recently, but I don't see it - what do people think about the restaurant these days?

Based on what I've had recently, it would be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison of identical Menomalé and Pupatella pizzas now.

On a similar note, I'm wondering if DC's position as "Best Neapolitan Pizza in the U.S." has wavered, assuming it was ever there to begin with (and I believe it may have been).

Does anyone know what, if anything, happened to these folks, and when?

Pizzaiolo Ettore Rusciano
Beermeister Leland Estes

I've never been to Pupatella, but we continue to think Menomale has the best pizza in town and really anywhere we've ever been.  My kids think so (and have been harassing us for having not been yet in 2019), my wife thinks so, and I think so.  The Brooklandisima is amazing.  

@DonRocks, is there some reason to think Menomale is less than it was once or are you just wondering why there aren't more recent posts here?  

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 5:46 PM, Mark Dedrick said:

I just realized that I've been to Miami a few times since I last posted in this thread. Taquiza unfortunately lost their lease and are closed. Earlier this year we had perhaps our finest meal in Miami at Alter in Wynnwood, which is a neighborhood I hadn't spent any time in before that visit.  We also had a great time at the J Wakefield Brewery, who we've experienced before from their collaborations with 3 Stars here in DC. Also in Wynnwood, we had a fun lunch at 1-800-LUCKY, which is a food hall with a number of different vendors serving different types of Asian food, as well as a record store and two different bars. 

Habitat, which comes from the Pubbelly folks, is solid, but my favorite non-Pubbelly restaurant in Miami Beach these days is Stubborn Seed, from Top Chef winner Jeremy Ford. I've eaten there twice, and both time's it's been fantastic. 

Mark, any more detail on Stubborn Seed?  Your post is the first I've seen it, but wow sounds amazing! 

Also curious if you or anyone else here has been to Francis Mallman's Los Fuegos at the Faena.  I was fascinated by him from his episode on Chef's Table, but haven't had an excuse to go yet.  

I've been here a couple times and really like it.  The second time, we sat next to Common.  It is striking driving through Skid Row to end up here. 

They have a wood fired grill as a well as wood fired oven, which are fun to watch and both producing good eats.  I have fond memories of a lobster crostino on grilled bread and the pork tomahawk.  They also have an interesting by the glass program, from which I particularly enjoyed an Erbaluce and Kali Kovek..