jasonc

Word on the street is that the pho 75 in Rosslyn has slipped considerably over the past year? Can anyone corroborate this story?

Good call on Toronto Dave! I knew I was forgetting an East coast city. Some of the best Sichuan food I've ever had in Toronto.

I'll disagree with your disagree. There's Shanghai Cafe in Potomac for Shanghainese. Bob's Noodle 66 and it's companion Bob's 88 Shabu Shabu turn out some excellent Taiwanese food. Peking Palace has Hunan cuisine. And I've had excellent Peking Duck at Spices in Cleveland Park, and Peking Cheers in Gaithersburg.

Save New York, I don't know of a better metro area for Chinese food on the East Coast.

I'll have to take your word for it on that Shanghainese place, but when I posted a few months ago asking about a place for good xiao long bao, the consensus was that it was pretty much nonexistent in the DC area. Now this is just my opinion, but when I was in Shanghai, I found these soup dumplings to be pretty much the epitome of my culinary experience there. They were everywhere, full of flavor, and the pure physics of them were mind boggling. If they indeed are so impossible to find in the DC area, then your assertion that Shanghainese is readily available is suspect. I'm also suspicious about ordering hunanese at a place called Peking Palace, for obvious reasons. It's also important to note that you listed a handful of places spread over a large area. You are right that this is quite a tall order, and DC isn't bad compared to the rest of the East Coast. But I do think the demand for regionally specific Chinese cuisine is there, as we saw with that Chang guy. And if you all thought his Sichuan was hot, then boy you are going to love authentic hunanese.

Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis? In this area, our modest spread of Chinese restaurants include northern (A&J) and southern dim sum (see dim sum Sundays thread), several expressions of vegetarian (Yuan Fu, Vegetable Garden, Sunflower), the mysterious duck epicenter of Falls Church (Marks, House of Peking Gourmet) and from time to time, credible Szechuan. All in addition to the usual namby-pamby Americanized crap.

Ahh, you say, but you want Eat, Drink, Man, Woman food. Who doesn't? Even Ang Lee spliced together the work of maybe a half-dozen chefs to illustrate Chef Chu's mastery. Alas, in the DC, the closest thing I've experienced would be a banquet at the embassy. All the more reason we need Peter Chang back.

I disagree. I have found DC's Chinese scene extremely lacking, except for Cantonese, which is pretty well represented with some top notch dim sum, noodle and congee joints. There might be one or two good szechuan places, but depending on where you live, it could be quite a hike. Shanghainese is virtually absent, and i've found the Taiwanese places (a&j) very lacking. Hunanese is also impossible to find. The peking places you mention in Falls Church are also poor imitations, especially wrt the crispiness of the skin. If I'm in the DC area and fancy east asian, it's vietnamese, korean or thai for me.

Sounds like the principal-agent problem in full effect. I'm sure the owners of the business would love your money, but some of the staff would rather not work as much and/or enjoy being bitchy.

Did anyone catch the comment today in Sietsema's chat about confirming reservations?

Link?

that is kind of a strange name for a sichuan restaurant. good thing i read this post or i would have never pegged it as such!

I tend to agree with you Michael, that there should be a substantial amount of time between a restaurant's opening and review. Unfortunately, where I live there isn't a dominant paper like the Washington Post that can afford to wait it out. There are two daily newspapers and several weekly rags that all employ somewhat popular restaurant critics. As a result, three for four of them will often publish "reviews" of a high profile restaurant that opened a week ago. One can only assume that these reviewers visited on opening night or a couple of days afterwards. None of them want to be "scooped," and it leads to reviews that are helpful to no one. As you say, restaurants evolve and this is an extreme example. I doubt a single meal in the first week of operation is ever a reliable sample, indicative of what is to come. Then there is the other issue of none of these papers having a budget that allows multiple visits.

I hate it but it's a product of the market here and I don't see it changing anytime soon.

It sounds like your client was Michael Scott from The Office.

I don't know, sounds about like what I'd expect from a place with no kitchen. And I'm assuming this place doesn't have one.

Are there any good places in the area for Shanghainese soup dumplings (xiao long bao)?

OK big guy, what is your ideal martini?

It's pretty much been nailed here already. What I've been drinking a lot of lately is tangueray, dry vermouth and a dash of bitters. i've been playing around with different bitters - regans' orange is good, but i've been messing around with peychaud's and fee's. maybe not the classic, but i will report back when i decide on what i like best. i would like to try some other gins, but unfortunately liquor is ridiculous expensive where i am, and i'd rather not be stuck with something i don't like.

Funny I thought I said I liked vodka martinis a few posts ago, and got railed on for daring to mention a vodka "martini"....

Fine, I'll handle that.

I like my martinis extra, extra cold with vodka, not gin, light vermouth, a single olive (with maybe a blue cheese stuffing), and shaken. Talk of bruising and aligned molecules aside, I find they get colder this way.

In other words, you don't like martinis.

I tried Diego in May of 2006 and it was pretty good, especially for the price relative to other restaurants in the MGM and Vegas in general. I had a braised pork dish with some kind of habanero salsa. They don't shy away from spicy and bold flavors, which is nice. Strong margaritas as well.

I thought it was juniper berries that do the mouth numbing, not the peppercorns. And about that meat and noodle dish, were they dan dan noodles?

Let me be the first to offer Michael and Michael congratulations on a stellar review in the Washington Post. 2 1/2 stars after being open such a short time is an achievement. Bravo Michaels.

Yes, but the careful reader will note a blaring factual error in the review. The devilishly good eggs are not a Hartzer creation, but a Landrum original.

During its existence it stood out as one of the best, if not the best burger in the ara. If memory serves, Landrum used various steak trimmings to put it together. there was a lot of chatter about it on one of the message boards.

avoid the hardware store at all costs, unless it's just to pick up a pie. the food there is terribly misguided, uninteresting, over-priced pub fare.

do try out continental divide on main st.

When we last left our hero.........

seconded. i can't wait to hear what happens next!

what about good ol' rocklands? i've always had good barbeque there. you are a good person for taking your boyfriend for ribs on his bday.

Allow me to join you on the head of this pin. The barkeeps dispense simple syrup from the same flasks-cum-pitchers used for juices, which makes it awfully easy to over-sugar a Saz. Coupled with the use of the "barely legal" (51% rye) Wild Turkey rye, this nit-of-a-nit can lead to a bit sweeter drink than is desired (and insufficiently distinguised from the supposed-to-be-a-bit-sweet, wonderful Agraria Cocktail).

They could solve this by using a sugar cube instead. i do it all the time - no grit if mixed correctly, and it's more of the traditional way of making it.

Hi gang,

I'm eating my way through China right now, thought you might be interested. i'm documenting it on my blog:

http://www.eatvancouver.net

I imagine you guys saw the aforementioned Regan's, along with Fee's and Peychaud's. I'm anxious to try this place out - and Mrs. BLB, it's not surprising that you found these cocktails to be quite strong, as prohibition era cocktails often are just that. They work with the natural flavor of the liquor, instead of hiding it among various mixers as more contemporary ones do. The revival of classic cocktail mixing in Washington is indeed good news!

I don't know who to believe when I read this hard-hitting report from the Palm Beach Post, entitled Italian Eatery Serves Great Food.

Italian Eatery Serves Great Food

Palm Beach Post

3/29/06

I’m pretty picky about folks eating off my plate, so when it was suggested by friends that we join them for dinner at a family-style Italian restaurant, I envisioned several forks stabbing at the same piece of Chicken Parmigiana on a plate.

I must admit, I wasn’t thrilled at the thought. I recall as a child eating at a family-style restaurant while vacationing in the north Georgia mountains, and I always got stuck with the fried chicken leg when what I really wanted was the thigh or wing.

But Buca di Beppo in Wellington might have cured me of my evil family-style memories. I’ll share a large plate of Calamari, a small Caesar Salad or a small Spaghetti and Meatballs here with anyone. Or perhaps even the small Linguine Frutti di Mare, small Chicken Marsala or small Pizza con Pollo. It was all wonderful.

What you have to understand about this great place, which takes you on a tour through the kitchen while you are being seated, is that the small size is designed to feed two or more and the large size serves at least four. Everyone gets an empty plate and scoops from the large servings put in the center of the table.

Buca takes reservations, and there’s even one booth right in the kitchen if you want to watch the food preparation up close.

While there wasn’t a complaint about any of the six dishes we ordered, I’d have to say the Linguine Frutti di Mare (with shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari) was my favorite - great pasta, great seafood with a great red sauce.

The only bad part was having to share it with five others.

Hi all,

I'm taking my girlfiend to vegas for her birthday this coming weekend, and on Sunday night I'd like to take her somewhere nice, since it's that's her birthday, but the tirp is costing me a lot, so price is unfortunately an issue. I'd love to get out for under 250, including wine/tax/tip. any ideas?

Thanks!

-Jason