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B.A.R.

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Everything posted by B.A.R.

  1. B.A.R.
    Jose Andres. Call your office.
  2. B.A.R.
    Had a great lunch yesterday, a big thank you to whomever was it the kitchen! The calamari ala plancha with salsa verde was one of the most flavorful and well executed calamari dishes I have ever had and it was cooked perfectly. Just perfectly. Loved the Fava Bean and Almond Spread, the Croquetas de Jamon were melt in your mouth delicious, and the splash of sherry on the red kale was a wonderful touch. There was one incident, however, that marred my experience- I was almost blinded by my lunch! The roasted baby chorizos are delicious, but they are slightly larger than one bite. So you need to either pick 'em up and bite them in half, or cut them. When they got to the table, they were still very hot, so I opted for utensils. These little babies are plump. As I gently pressed the tines of the fork into the sausage, I applied just enough pressure to further engorge the little fella without puncturing the skin. As my serrated knife slid across, an explosion of hot, spicy, orange oil sprayed out and arced, directly towards my face. It was one of those moments where your brain can slow everything down and I actually saw the droplets rolling and changing shape as they made a beeline for my eyes. I got strafed; eye to eye, across the bridge of my nose. Several of the drops made a direct hit on my left eye. Burned like a mother. The pain only lasted for about 3-5 minutes and in no way negatively impacted my meal. Quite the contrary, it gave my wife a good bit of schaudefreude. So, be careful when you eat those little guys, and do eat them, because they were excellent.
  3. B.A.R.
    Velveeta Shells & Cheese mixed with a can of Hormel Chili. Hurt so good.
  4. B.A.R.
    Velveeta Shells & Cheese mixed with a can of Hormel Chili. Hurt so good.
  5. B.A.R.
    I'm thinking Estadio. I thought they were only open for weekend brunch, so this is a pleasant surprise.
  6. B.A.R.
    The wife and I have an unexpected day off tomorrow. She's getting her hair cut and we thought we'd have lunch. Anywhere within 15 minutes of 16th and K works for us. Looking for great food and an atmosphere that is conducive to conversation.
  7. B.A.R.
    Three Stars from Tom. Sites terrific team, but doesn't name them all. I virtually never find myself in this part of town, but need to figure out a way to get there.
  8. B.A.R.
    According to my FB feed....Sushi Taro (lunch) and Toki Underground
  9. B.A.R.
    Th Fairfax Wegman's is selling live Diver scallops for $8 a piece today. I had them shuck one for me and just ate it raw. It was great. Each scallop seems to weigh between 3-4 oz. Never seen live scallops in a grocery store before.
  10. B.A.R.
    They are having a special Laotian dinner with the chef from Bangkok Golden, this Sunday, reservations only. Judging by my meal at Bangkok Golden, this should be a good time!
  11. B.A.R.
    Here are some pictures (if this works)
  12. B.A.R.
    There is "all you can eat" nigiri sushi at the end and this is the one part of the meal I wish I knew more about. About halfway through, we were presented with 6 or so laquered boxes loaded with seafood. Masa went through each box, explained what it was and where it came from. Thenhe made several more courses (including the infamous Shiroka and a live sea scallop with fleur de sel that was just so damn good). When it was all done, that is when Masa said "choose" for the sushi part. I thought the meal was over at that point and the sushi would be priced per piece. My wife had about 5-7 pieces. I kept going and maybe had 12-15 pieces. I could have had more, but remember thinking that if this is priced ala carte I am going to be broke. There was no surcharge. I ate so much food but left feeling light and happily sated.
  13. B.A.R.
    Spot on accurate, except for a few things: 1) I was able to get a reservation for a Friday night with 7 days notice. You cannot infer anything from this other than, if you want to go in two weeks just send an email. There are some restaurants that book in a similar 30 day out fashion that I just "know" would not have been able to accommodate me. This was not one of them 2) There is a sake pairing for about $80 a person. I am no sake expert but know more than most (not much) and enjoy sakes. Jin (the sake sommelier) served me three of the best sakes I have ever had. Great. 3) The price range is just what they said it was. We got "everything" and they gave us "everything" and it was priced accordingly. There is absolutely no buyers remorse from this patron; rather, most of my thoughts are "time to rearrange the budget so we can do that again" 4) Six stools. Private room and kitchen. There were four of us (other couple we started chatting with halfway through). The other couple was a regular and were attended to by the owner. We got Masaya, who is the Executive Chef. Masya was excellent, joked with us, deftly answered our multiple questions, was playful, and provided us with just amazing service. Our meal lasted a bit over 4 hours and was riveting. There was something going on the whole time, and I was surprised that it was that long. Money well spent, and time well spent.
  14. B.A.R.
    First off, let me get my bias out of the way. I don't particularly like fish, but I do enjoy sushi. I have had far too many tasting menus that failed to meet my expectations, so am leery of spending the time and money to experience them; I have stated so here, several times. It was my Anniversary, and I fully understand that a persons mood will skew their perceptions. That out of the way, it is inconceivable to me that there could have been any meal more perfect than the Omakase counter at Sushi Taro that I experienced last night. Equal to? Sure! Fiola, Ashby, IALW, Rogue24, Oval Room, Palena, CityZen, all may have provided a superlative meal to someone last night. But better? No chance. The Omakase Counter at Sushi Taro is a progressive Japanese menu that was far and away the most extraordinary tasting menu I have ever had. My meal was spare. Raw (literally). Exposed. Nothing was done to manipulate the ingredients in order to highlight anything but the ingredients themselves. I have debated over the day whether it was the best meal I have ever eaten. To that, I am unsure. But it was the most compelling. I have never been served such pristine seafood in a restaurant before. Hell, there are sea lions that have never seen this! Over the course of four hours, yes four hours, that whizzed by in flashes of superlatives and exclamation points, we were served: sea urchin, tiny squid, baby eel, multiple livers/stomachs/roe, cheeks, toro, wagyu, fugu, hamachi, blah, blah, blah. I had to have 50, yes 50 different preparations of fish, fish parts, and beef. I attempted to catalog the carnival of delights but about halfway through I stopped paying attention to the cavalcade of treasures and just rolled with it! Most of the time I thought, after eating another revalation, "Wish I would have taken a picture first!" Rocks posted above that he thought maybe it should be bold after seeing my pictures on Facebook. I could not agree more. Dont have the time to copy and imbed them here, so I made them publicly available. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200329187288157.2192054.1108629166&type=3 This is a very expensive meal, know that at the outset. But it was just amazing. Absolutely amazing. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200329187288157.2192054.1108629166&type=3
  15. B.A.R.
    I'll post more later tonight, but it was phenomenal.
  16. B.A.R.
    Last night, my wife and I dined at the Omakese Counter in Sushi Taro. Executive Chef Masaya took care of us through a spectacular meal that skipped from superlative course to superlative course in a fun and interactive atmosphere. It has been a long time since I have had a meal this pure, this vibrant, this intoxicating; it really was a revelation. Spectacular. On a side note, the doors of Little Serow, Komi, and Sushi Taro are separtated by perhaps 50 feet. This has to be among the greatest stretches of dining sidewalk in the country (even if you average in CVS).
  17. B.A.R.
    The late Christopher Hitchens wrote about this very issue http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2008/05/wine_drinkers_of_the_world_unite.html
  18. B.A.R.
    Tippy's in Fairfax closed a few weeks ago. I am *almost* positive I have eaten in this place before. The name escapes me, because it was relatively unmemorable.
  19. B.A.R.
    Tippy's Tacos in Fairfax is no more. Some kabob house now.
  20. B.A.R.
    Could they actually make Corona any worse?
  21. B.A.R.
    I look forward to dining at Range and don't see the accumulation of talent as some sort of short-term PR boost. Rather, the few times I have met Bryan Voltaggio, before he was Bryan Voltaggio, and he struck me as a very smart, very shrewd, very capable individual. These hires speak more to that, in my humble opinion, than anything else.
  22. B.A.R.
    What is that plate made of? The bottom right looks like wood, but the top right doesn't resemble wood at all. Looks like reptile skin (but I am sure it's not)
  23. B.A.R.
    Winner, winner, chicken dinner! It wasn't so much a piece of art as it was a poster, and pretty much the only aesthetic flourish in the whole joint. But I took that picture specifically for this thread; for this website. I've lived in the vicinity of Woodlands for 10 years. The first 5, I never even considered stopping in there. Shitty strip mall, decrepit interior- no thanks. But then Don at some point wrote a post about the Special Ravi Masala Dosa he had at Woodlands, and how fabulous it was. So i gave it a shot, and have been there 30+ times since. (PS - there is no $10.95 better spent than their weekend lunch buffet). I love the Woodlands, and recommend it to all of my friends. Thanks Don.
  24. B.A.R.
    Had lunch here today. Really great and the waitress was so sweet when I ordered everything "Lao Spicy". "Are you sure?" she asked. And then she checked back on me a few times to make sure I was happy. They had a fermented Lao sausage appetizer special, which was outstanding, served with a dipping paste of fire roasted chilis ground with lime juice and fish sauce. Really good. A salad of bamboo shoots, cilantro, lime, chilis, etc was just fabulous. Very spicy and cooling in the same bite. Loved this. Orm Pork - a hearty portion with a spice component that builds. The broth was delicious and this stew really hit the spot on a chilly, windy day. Larb Pork - My favorite dish of the afternoon, very spicy and really bright flavors. I didn't ask for extra lettuce as I was more than happy to utilize my sticky rice as the delivery vehicle. A delicious lunch, and enough leftovers for dinner too (and probably lunch tomorrow)!
  25. B.A.R.
    Isn't that the point? My hint is that you (DonRocks) should recognize it. ETA - Actually, this is a good point. Posting a picture of just the decor (or an element of the decor) minimizes the culinary sleuth work and does turn into a guessing game. Although I am not the first to do this, I think that going forward it should be pictures of a dish, but not too tight of a shot that eliminates subtle, background hints. Rather than delete my post above, I will give more hints: Rocks likes this place, in Virginia, Indian BLB's is interesting. The carrots and potatoes are not cut with much precision, and the chick peas seem like an afterthought. You can see the oil glistening atop the demiglace, and the herbs (IT Parsley?) seem haphazardly draped across the meat. But the meat appears to be roasted beautifully. Thinking....thinking......
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