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CrescentFresh

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  1. I thought this guy was only some weird freak found to do TV commercials. Had no idea he had a TV show. I was equally shocked when I found out that guy doing Ford commercials was the same thing. Just another clown with a TV show. (insert chicken and egg question here). This paragraph alone, Don, says one thing to me. Your next round is on me.
  2. I realize this doesn't help anyone who went to Cafe Pizzaiolo over the last two to two-and-a-half years, but.... It's funny to look back at that original post I made on CP over five years ago. Sometime after the expansion to all the other locations was going on, the Crystal City original fell off the cliff. We ate at CP pretty regularly. We dined in. We had delivery. We would call ahead and order paninis for pickup that we could eat for lunch in the car on a drive. We'd show up and have a beer or glass of wine while ordering something to carry home. I can't recall exactly when it happened but CP pretty much slid into uselessness. Service in the shop became nonchalant or absent. The food quality became inconsistent--in flavor (the same thing could taste wildly different from one day to the next) and in the cooking (one day your pizza was cooked through, the next it was raw and doughy in the middle). Delivery was horrible. A joke really. They would forget an entire item, or leave off a topping, or put on the wrong topping. Every time. Not kidding. We were on their "make up list" that they posted by the phone to track delivery errors all the time. They were good about comping us for the errors and sounded sincerely apologetic. But it never changed. And you get tired of reporting problems that never get corrected. Finally we just had enough and never went back and never ordered again. I should note that for many, CP was probably still fine. Particularly for familes with young kids. It was a great place to go out to eat for them. But for me the place just fell apart and I really have no idea why. You used to be able to see owner Larry or his wife in the shop all the time. But after the expansion it was less and less until finally almost never. When they were hands on, the place was the best around (see post #1). I've never eaten at any of the other CP locations so I have no idea what they're like. About six months ago I moved out of Crystal City. I don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to go to the new Hearthstone place that replaces Pizzaiolo. If they can find a way to correct the massive flaws that developed at CP they should do fine.
  3. InBev just gets better and better. Three cheers for "American" beer! "The Plot to Destroy America's Beer"
  4. So they hung up a sign that basically said "Eat Me, DC!" for the last three years. People probably would have yawned if they ever had opened.
  5. Hmmm. That's usually what I say to their regular/standard beers. I don't dislike, just nothing to rave about. I don't buy them anymore. Many more choices, even of local beers, that are better and less money. But I have been regularly impressed with their specialty/seasonal selections. I thought their Tartan and Derecho Common were outstanding. They'd be crazy not to try to brew the latter again, even though there were strange circumstances for how they got it in the first place. Will have to try the Marzen to see if it echoes what you found.
  6. Frostburg Years ago when I lived in NY and would travel down to western MD to visit my wife's family, it was a regular thing to bring a load of Hen House ribs back in a cooler. I'd even task my father in law with bringing some back if he was going on his own. In countless times at that place over the years I never had the fried chicken. I'm heading up for a few days next week. Will have to try it.
  7. I've eaten there two times in the past two months. The menu changed in between them and I'm told it's changing again. They're going to do a "small plates" format. I hear that's all the rage. Really good appetizer of black pudding with an egg that finishes cooking as it's brought out to you. I also really like the soups. I can't recall exactly but I think I had a corn soup with plenty of crispy bacon bits in it along with a touch of some kind of herb oil. It was very good, it's just that my memory isn't serving very well for what it was, exactly. I'm less impressed with the entrees. I think I opted for a fish special a couple months back that I very much enjoyed. The menu-listed lamb rump that I had on my last visit was nothing to write home about. I always have to get a seat in the back at this place. Far too noisy up front such that I can't hear anyone I'm dining with.
  8. I love the name of the joint. And the humor on their website is great, too. That's enough to consider checking them out if I find myself in Columbia Heights.
  9. Yeah, I'm in total agreement about the chicken. I like mine tasty and juicy so I'm definitely a thigh man and not a breast man. But this dish is one that can make me think of varying my repertoire. Can't forget the leg confit with it too. LOVED having pork ribs that I could eat with fork and knife and didn't leave my fingers all goopy so I'd have to hunt for wetnaps or more napkins or my tablemate's clothes or the cat or something. The gratin that came with the ham steak was sweet and creamy and delicious, but too soupy. We told Dave afterwards and thought about it for a bit and considered that making it with some egg so it could be more custardish or puddingy might do the trick. I'll be looking for that next time. Which will happen since I'm told there's a keg of Port City Derecho Common ready to be tapped there. Very pleasant evening, both company and meal.
  10. Skip the restaurant. Make a picnic and head up to Sacandaga. Unless you're willing to drive 40 or more miles, which for lunch seems kinda silly (and even then you won't find something great). A picnic will be a million times better than anything you'll find in the area.
  11. Eric, Thank you for the thoughtful addition. And you're right. I have no doubt there were many issues that she tackled on behalf of DC restaurants and did so for the true benefit of restaurant business and clientele. But unlike you and those who know her and her work, I'm not familiar with those things. From where I sit, she was and always will remain the poster child for a hare-brained effort to ensure that cigarette smoke can freely flow through dining rooms. Unlike people who choose to supersize their meal, those who light up in a restaurant damage the health and atmosphere for everyone around them. You and I simply see her from differing vantage points.
  12. And lets never forget her tireless efforts to endanger the health of diners and industry personnel by ensuring that cigarette smoke be permiited to billow through DC's dining rooms. Good riddance!
  13. I don't know why I don't eat here more often. I absolutely love the fresh pasta. Had the black linguine with clams, shrimp, and scallops in a spicy sauce last weekend. Great flavor on the sauce with a light red pepper kick. Very tender seafood. But the pasta rules. Just enough weight and chew to the noodle. Sopped up the sauce with the tasty focaccia. Wines by the bottle may be okay, but I knew I was going by the glass the other night. And the wine by the glass selection is unimpressive. Oh, but that pasta....
  14. I saw those Candy Onions on Saturday evening and they looked mighty tasty. Unfortunately I had just finished eating or I would have arranged for dinner to go!
  15. You are a short cab ride away from City House (see above) and Germantown Cafe, two gems in Nashville. You could easily walk it if you wanted to, but it's not the prettiest of walks. Downhill on the way there, big uphill on the way back. Slightly longer cab ride (but not killer) puts you in the 12 South neighborhood where there's good food, bars, coffee, galleries. I'm a fan of Fish and Company for seafood. And Burger Up is there, too. If you're a fan of Hellburger you might like to see what Nashville has done with the burger concept. For music just start walking. You'll find dozens of places to pop in for a drink and hear some live tunes. If you want a recommended venue, hop in a cab to the Station Inn.
  16. I've spent a lot of time in Nashville over the past couple of years. If you go, don't miss a meal at City House in Germantown. Unfortunately, their prices have been going up as they've been gaining popularity. I was consistently amazed at how they cranked out such deliciously good food at such scandalously low prices. It couldn't have been sustainable. But you can still eat well there very affordably. Pasta is wonderful. Creative cocktails. Frankly, I'm partial to the Jack Daniels, root beer, and cream for dessert. Reservations are pretty important. Not critical, but make one if your time in Nashville is short. This place is a real treat. Low key, tasty, and fun.
  17. Burger Up! on 12th Ave. Local, sustainable meats shaped into attractive circles and cooked until freakin' delicious. Garcia's in Cool Springs/Franklin. Best fish tacos I've ever had this side of the Rockies.
  18. This is nice to know. It's not that often I'm eating seafood these days and haven't been to Sonoma in quite some time but chose to go there for my birthday tonight because I really wasn't in the mood for the multi-multi-course or giant portion thing. At least now I know I'm having fish. And I hear they have a couple of wines, too.
  19. Dear Jaleo, I had no idea that you take private parties and close your restaurant on a walkup basis! What a wonderful convenience for those of us looking for a spontaneous way to put together a meal for 30, 40, 50 people when it absolutely, positively has to be done right now! How else can it be explained that the restaurant was closed for lunch today and I didn't know anything about it until we hiked all the way over in the strong wind and pulled up to the door and were informed with a sign that said "sorry for the inconvenience." Naturally, if this party was planned in advance, you would have made mention that it was closed on your website, which I just so happened to check right before I left to go to Jaleo today! That would be the same website that has an "events" listing that would have told people you were closed for lunch today. (That is, of course, if you had known in advance you were going to have a private party that would close the restaurant.) That would be the same website that encourages visitors to sign up for your email list. The same email list that I'm signed up for where you give me news of happenings at your restaurants. I'm sure if this closure was planned in advance, you would have let me and your other interested customers who like to stay in touch with Jaleo know that you were going to be closed for lunch today via email. I gotta say, I feel terrible for those restaurants that don't have the strong web presence and ability to communicate with their customers in advance about closings. I wonder what they do? You're closing today without me knowing allowed us to sample some of the other fine restaurants in the Penn Quarter area. I was actually pretty pleased where we ended up. (I'm sorry, but it wasn't Oyamel, Atlantico or Zaytinya). I may have to go back to this place a few more times to try other things on their menu. And Wagamama is opening soon, I guess! That will be a great new spot to go to for lunch. I'll miss the superb bocatas that I've raved about for quite some time now online and off. But next time I need to have a party and close a restaurant on the spur of the moment, you can be sure I'll be back at Jaleo! After all, what's a little inconvenience to customers? F 'em, I say! Buen Provecho!
  20. In no mood to cook or clean, nor contribute to the work of the fine friends who invited us to join them for Thanksgiving this year, the Mrs. and I went to Commonwealth. It blew us away. You had two choices to make. Do you want the root vegetable soup or do you want the arugula salad, and do you want the turkey or the roast beef? We both opted for the soup which literally warmed our palates and then came the onslaught. We opted to split a turkey and a roast beef order and it came out sliced on one platter, family style. And it came in typical home-cooked Thanksgiving style.....more than one person can possibly eat. Add in a plate of mashed potatoes, a plate of sweet potatoes, a plate of green been casserole, a plate of collard greens, a plate of cornbread and sausage stuffing, a plate of oyster stuffing and, when that was all done, your choice of apple, pumpkin, or pecan pie. Every dish was delish. The turkey and the beef were moist, the stuffings and veggies full of flavor and, as Commonwealth does, the food was mostly sourced from local producers. The only thing missing was the cranberry sauce. But, we were plenty full from what we got. And what did we pay for it all? $25 per person plus tax and tip. I don't know how they did it all for that price but I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to make my reservation for next year's Thanksgiving now if they were taking them. And I'd invite family to travel to DC just to go celebrate the meal there, too. Amazingly good meal.
  21. Warning: My experience is three years old or so. Albeit more low key than Acapulco or Manzanillo, Zihua is still a beach town but it's one of those beach towns where you really can't go wrong with any of the offerings in front of the boats at the waterfront. Some may excel slightly more than others and all of them will hawk you with coupons or specials or this or that, but they're all pretty decent from our experience and much more chill for the beachside joint than the other cities. Never ate at Casa que Canta but there is another joint on the cliffs on the other side of the bay whose name escapes me that had beautiful views and tasty food/drink. If I think of it I'll let you know.
  22. If only the beverage people were as informed as your server. I have no doubt they'll eventually get the beer program right, but I think they need to find someone beyond the amateur level. Perhaps they wouldn't put on their signs "Constantine's Bluebird Bitter" when every bottle and case (and English beer lover) knows it's Coniston's, a former (and deserved) supreme champion beer of Britain. And I admit that this information came secondhand from a friend, but I thoroughly believe him when he tells me they didn't know a cask of real ale needs to sit and not move so it can settle and "drop" as they call it. If you're investing in a perishable product like cask conditioned ale, I would think you'd want to know how to treat that product. Then there are the beer prices. I think the cask prices are on par for both the US and UK pints. But why would a pub pushing English beers charge $4 for a bottle of Bud and $10 for a bottle of Riggwelter (one of the finest Yorkshire ales around)? Riggwelter retails for $4/bottle at Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck). What's with the 2.5x markup on the English ales they want to be known for yet they only charge $4 for a Bud? Sorry, Bud-swillers, but you losers should be subsidizing the rest of us who want to drink real beer. Aside from my bitching about the beer program (and I do think that in time they can straighten it out if their beer program employees study a little bit) I found the table service to be attentive and on target and the food to be rather good. The sweetbreads were delicious but the shrimp that came with them were overcooked and, frankly, did nothing to enhance the dish. Drop the shrimp and give me more of that sweet bread. But back to the beer. No one else in town to my knowledge is offering more than one option for a cask conditioned ale and I'm thrilled about that. I hope they can keep both engines operating and I hope we can see some great variety of beers, both local and UK, featured. The Victory IPA was a good pint but the stout was just far too sickeningly sweet for my taste. (Did anyone really think I wouldn't find reason to be critical about the beer program? ) I hope they can find a source for a great session ale. We need more around here.
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