Eddiebosox

An underrated beer, simply because people don't always know what their getting. Not a true Berliner Weisse (and not just because it would have to be brewed in Berlin), it is a really great take on it. I've had some faux Berliner Weisse's  (weissi?) at some homebrew meetings and they are a unique, and tough to pull off style. Since they include the fruit in the fermentation as a subtle counterpart to the acidity of the lactic acid, as opposed to just doing a straight Berliner Weisse , which, as was pointed out, is usually flavored with syrups in Germany (they end  up looking like people are drinking cherry soda and mountain dew instead of a beer), it makes a subtle finished product. 

 It's not for everyone, but it's a great summer quaff. Nice and tart, and the acidity makes it pair well with strong cheeses, or as a palate cleanser between courses. It reminds me of their 120 minute. First time i had it i gagged. That's because i was drinking it wrong. Quaffing it like a beer instead if sipping it like a liquor (I've since had a number of vintages of 120 and they age beautifully).

Interesting trivia, even in Berlin they don't really make this style anymore. Technically a true  Berliner Weisse  has to be brewed in Berlin, Germany, and right now there is only one, Berliner Kindl Weisse. but that's like saying a can of Bud is the same as is a true classic BudÄ›jovickí½ Budvar czech style lager. It's not....

A craft brewer is crowdfunding a project to recreate the classic Berlinner Wiesse style by extracting yeast from a bottle from  Berliner Weisse  from a long defunct brewer Jurassic park style, and brewing it the exact way it should traditionally be brewed. 

"Born Again In Berlin" by Evan Rail on allaboutbeer.com

I know this is kind of old territory, since Jaleo has been around forever, but I just wanted to pipe in and talk about my recent experience. I go here fairly frequently but recently I brought my mom who hasn't been to DC in ages, and her restaurant choices in Hartford are OK, but not spectacular.

I gotta tell you, Jaleo is still my favorite restaurant in DC. Just everything about it is great. I still love Zaytinaya, but the décor is starting to get some wear and tear that takes away from the experience (worn tables that wobble) and the space can be really noisy, which is why I usually go in warmer months on their patio.   That is why I am glad Jaleo had a makeover so it looks great again, and with that whimsical/spartan Andres style.

The food is simply fantastic. Yes tapas isn't as buzzed about in DC anymore, but I love it and no one does it better. It's the combination of classic Spanish tapas (patatas bravas, flautas, etc.) but also the eccentrically inspired Jose Andres takes (liquid olives, Spanish mini burger). Also, his 5 different gin and tonics are absolutely inspired. I also love reading Andres's menus. The way he writes about his menu choices really inspires you. For instance, read this and try NOT to order a paella:

When I was a young boy, I used to help my father cook the best-known dish in Spanish cuisine: paella. He would put me in charge of the open fire where we would cook for our friends and family. This is where I learned the art of controlling the heat, a skill needed by any chef. While heat is important to creating the perfect paella, the real star is the rice. Bomba from Valencia or Calasparra from Murcia are the best to absorb all the amazing flavors and to keep a perfect texture. Â¡Buen provecho! - José Andrés

I almost forgot why I loved this place so much until I took my mother. The wonderment when she put a liquid olive in her mouth, or the amazement at trying  the oysters with lemon, gin and tonic reminded me of when I first tasted it, akin to the 7 year old me watching star wars for the first time.

I also kind of like that it's not as "trendy" as say Roses Luxury, or even China Chilcano, as you can almost always find s spot at the bar, order a handful of tapas and just enjoy yourself. I always say to myself, if my wife and I move to New York, wed be excited about the world of food opening up to us, but I would miss Jaleo most of all. 

Interesting; so perhaps seating eight at the six-top is in fact a common practice? I doubt they put two four-tops together (or four two-tops). I guess, then, that if you really want to try this, be sure you can have all of your party there on time, hope there aren't any other large parties ahead of you, and have a back-up plan. (But don't cancel an eight-seat reservation on OpenTable at the last minute, unless you want Dean Gold to hunt you down and fry your ass on his grill.) But why take a chance on a special occasion? Better to relax, and let your group of friends determine what makes for a happy birthday, not the specific venue. (And DO have a happy birthday!)

Well, I am getting of work today at 4 PM and getting in line. I am hoping to get the 730 seating for seven people, or even the last seating, around 9ish. We'll see how it goes. I don't have a backup reservation because, like you said, I don't want to cancel a big reservation like that at the last second.

Great review - thanks for writing with such detail!

I've always found it difficult, and very personal, to assign a value to these sorts of meals - when you wander that far into triple digits it becomes difficult to justify the indulgence when so many need so much.  Having said that, they are both, in their own way, revelatory experiences.  Komi, which typically runs about $600 for two by the time all is said and done with wine pairings, etc is more valuable to me than the Inn, even if the Inn were the same price.  The more relaxed service model (while being nearly perfect) at Komi combined with cooking that has a bit more edge to it than the Inn is just more my preferred style of dining.  Is that worth the shockingly high sticker price?  That's the very personal part - I still remember vivid details about my first experiences at both of these restaurants, so for me, both are.

Of course I do agree wholeheartedly that with that price point, the service should be flawless, and unfortunately it sounds like that wasn't the case for you.

I agree. IN looking this over again and thinking about it some more, the only real "beef" i had with the place was the price, or more specifically, the price to value ratio. TO me though, the cost of a meal and the meal itself are both important parts of a "review". neither exist in a  vacuum, so it has to be a part of your overall impression of a place.   I Love' Rose's Luxury for many reasons, one of which is the insanely reasonable price points that go with his ingenious food. Would I be on here complaining if Roses luxury was 8 minutes late in delivering me a bottle of wine? Of course not. That's because i'm not paying 700 dollars for a meal at their place.

I've been going back and forth on whether to try the inn, and found this review extremely helpful. do you have any additional comments on your wife's meal? As a vegetarian i was interested to read that you weren't as impressed by her meal.

I had bites of everything she ate, but only bites, so its hard to really give an in depth take.

She started with the Blistered Baby Brussels Sprouts with Honey Crisp Apple, Spiced Pecans and Madeira Soaked Raisins. It was lovely, but like all dishes there, small. 

The Carpaccio of Marinated Matsutake Mushrooms Accented with Local Asian Pears was next and was the one she was most disappointed in. She felt the mushrooms, thinly sliced and laid out like a bed of beef carpaccio, lacked a depth of flavor that she was looking for.

The Three Cheese Cannelloni with Sicilian Eggplant and Tomato Sauce was great, and very rich, and then she had a bean dish with a topping of panko bread crumbs that really shined. Rich deep flavor, and the panko bread crumbs contrasted the creaminess of the beans nicely.

Her biggest dish was the Cauliflower "Steak" with Yellow Indian Curry, Green Grapes and Candied Walnuts. She liked it but she has never been a big fan of cauliflower, so she wasn't blown away. I liked it, because I love cauliflower, and it was ingeniously prepared, by cutting the clailflwoer down the center into almost a large "steak cut" and then seared like a steak. And the curry sauce was ruich and buttery.  

You know, been here a few times. It's fun to wander through food porn land. We occasionally buy stuff to slog home (salt pack anchovies most recently) and often eat at the seafood bar (usually very good, but we're also usually early for lunch, too). And it'd be great to have the option of this kind of place in DC, but you do need to be picky about what they have on the shelf and how much they want to charge for it. There are a few easter eggs throughout the whole place, you just need to pay attention to that and find them.

Exactly! Its food porn shopping, until you look at the prices. We've enjoyed the restaurants within for the food, which was very good (and not cheap), and more  for the ambiance and people watching, but I will never pay that much for dried pasta, or any other italian foodstuff, when I can just get on the 7 train to queens and get it at the source for 1/5th the price. Batali to me has always been about packaging.

We got a very generous gift certificate for our wedding we are eager to use (enough to cover two full dinners and a bit extra). Talked with my wife and we decided we have a few nice bottles we've been sitting on that we will bring and just pay the corkage fee. If we're going to eat their food, we're not going to skimp on wine, which is a part of the whole experience,  but we also don't want to pay $200 plus for a bottle. And DonRocks was right, a $85 corkage fee for two bottles is not that bad when you consider the setting, and the alternatives.

For those interested, this is the list from the website.

To be fair, they really do have a lot of reasonable price points, but when you compare them to  what those wines should be retail, it makes you shake your head.

I have not been to Union Market in a while. Anyone been to the fish place that is there now?

One of the things Red Apron sometimes carries is pork secretto. OMG.

The District Fishwife. It's fantastic. It really is. But it comes at a price. A price, to be honest, I'm willing to pay. There are virtually no good fishmongers in this city. Yeah you can get good stuff at a few places, but you have to know you're stuff, and its a lot of luck. Her stuff is always great, and fresh.

I suppose you could ask, but, really, why? For such an overwhelmingly popular place that doesn't take reservations, Rose's is a very hospitable restaurant, but that doesn't mean that one should take unwanted advantage of that hospitality. If they really wanted to serve tables of 8 people, they would have a table for 8--but they don't, except when the roof garden is open, and it's likely not a precedent they want to set that other people will routinely expect if they accommodate you. And also don't assume that your spontaneous adding of two people to a table won't cause issues with their service, particularly in a place that is so routinely jammed (or even that their being "okay" with your crashing the six-top was anything more than mere politeness). Respect their hospitality, err on the side of common courtesy, and go elsewhere. Obviously, you want to be regarded as a good diner, not an entitled one. There are plenty of great places that can readily accommodate your party of eight (Red Hen? Mintwood Place?), will be glad to do so, and where that won't be potentially disruptive to the staff and other patrons.

Good points...

I'm curious what the effect of Union Market has been on the warehouse styled places that are its neighbors that have been thee for eons (like A. Litteri) - good? Bad? Indifferent? That areas is experiencing a tremendous building boom, one like I have never before seen, so it'll be very interesting to see how the dynamics of Union Market and the rest of the places around there evolve.

Good question. Litteri is a great spot for sandwiches at about a third the price of red apron 20 yards away. I wouldn't really trust their wine selection, which is big, but has been sitting there god knows how long with not a lot of turnover. They have great olive oils, pastas, cheeses, and the rest.  The rest of the market is a really a hidden gem. Yo can get dirt cheap produce (i'd stay way from leafy greens for sanitary reasons). Also, the restaurant supply store has good finds.  

I fear with the upcoming condos and the anjelika, these places will not be there for long. 

This our go to Indian place since we live close by. It is very good, and very affordable. The only problem is occasional inconsistency. Their "authentic" Chicken Vindaloo is very hot (they even sell t-shirts daring you to eat it). I've had it when it was really spicy, where its a slow building heat that by the end of the meal your mouth is numb, and you've got sweat dripping down your forehead. Just the way I like it. Other times, it is so hot as to be completely inedible from the first bite. pepper spray on a plate.

Their H street bread basket of all their different Naans is worth it, if you can take all those carbs.

They also  have a decent beer list, great outdoor seating, and their cocktails aren't bad. While I wish they could be more reliable from night to night, it is still a good place for a curry.

So my wife and I are heading to the Inn this weekend. Very much looking forward to it, especially since it's still on Sietsema's top list in 2014. Looking for any tips on what to eat. I plan on sticking to their "classics" selection since I've never been before. One thing I was warned about however, was their wine list. A good friend who is very knowledgeable (has his own cellar and is also an importer) was shocked when I sent him the list asking for advice. Not that lack of quality, but at the absolutely, exorbitant prices. He said they were priced at 3 times plus the retail price (A Virginia wine for $100? No thanks..) He saw a Bleasedale Shiraz around $100 that you can get at Schneider's liquor store on the hill for less than $30.

That being said I plan on buying a lower end cuvee to start and for dinner just paying the corkage fee for a nice red of my own for dinner. The $35 corkage fee is OK, but jacking it up to $50 for the second bottle is insulting. either you think your list stands on its own, or you don't.

 Not a good omen to start, so the food really better blow us away"¦

SO I was wondering of anyone could shed light on this. My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I wanted to get a group together and head to Rose's. Unfortunately, their roof garden is closed for the season. From what I gather, they only have a 6 top as their biggest table. We were hoping for a group of eight. How flexible are they, assuming I get in line early enough and claim the 6 top, of accommodating a few more? I've "Crashed" that table before when I ran into 6 friends as they were being seated and my wife and I were at the bar, but I haven't talked to the server about adding a few, we just kind of did it at the time and they seemed OK with it. 

I haven't had a chance to really eat the food but I can comment on the drinks. Since this was just my first time, it could be an off night, and I'm going to be going back but so far I was mildly disappointed, especially considering the owner.

 I first ordered a Moscow mule which was excellent, but served in a tumbler not  copper mug (which is fine since i read an article about everyone stealing them). i did have an issue with the Hemingway daiquiri. it also came in a tumbler glass and was full of crushed ice. i wouldn't mind except that it was advertised as a Hemingway daiquiri, so i was expecting it in a coupe with no ice. Also, the service was spotty.  They forgot my drink order and didn't even offer to comp it. They also seriously need to install some sort of drapes in strategic places as the noise level is off the charts. 

The only thing I would take exception to, at least in regards to their Union market location, is their beers. In my opinion, they are wildly overpriced. They have a decent selection, but the glassware they use is a 12 ounce pour (or smaller for higher ABV beers).  For around 8 dollars, its excessive (even for DC) since they aren't exactly selling rare finds like a Granville Moore's or Church key does. 

Hello,

My wife and I love eating and drinking our way through DC, and we have what we think are somewhat informed opinions on what we like and don't like. But Yelp is way to juvenile and shallow a place for me, and this place seems much more informed.