CrescentFresh

FYI, just as a point of restaurant sloppiness, I've not yet received a response to my email requesting more information.

How does Coldstone compare with Maggie Moo's, which I think is in Pentagon Row, and probably a handful of other places around the country, just like Coldstone?

Nice one! Gilbert O'Sullivan couldn'ta said it better.

Not even for happy hour? Seriously, had a great meal at Corduroy last week. I enjoyed the lobster salad greatly with a pinot gris glass as recommended by the server (whose name I sadly forget). Others at the table similarly had a caesar salad and the sorrel soup as starters. Everyone smiled and licked their chops before and after. Rissa was kind enough to share with us a tasting of the softshell crab. Which we all loved. Definitely going to be a conscious selection next time I'm in. Entrees were of the meat variety, as there were no scallops on the menu. (BTW, there was also no Tom Power in the kitchen. He's got a GREAT supporting staff.) Wagyu striploin for me. Delicious, but I think I preferred my wife's lamb sirloin in red wine sauce with the side of goat cheese ravioli. But I had had the lamb sirloin at Firefly the night before. I will no longer hesitate to have the same meal twice at two different restaurants. Father in law had the beef cheeks. Tender Tender Tender. And osso buco style as noted by someone earlier in this thread. Great stuff. Washed it all down with a bottle of Tikal Malbec, which after a couple of trips to eat and drink my way through Argentina, I never encountered. We shared a couple of desserts. (I gotta stop waiting so long to post. I can't remember what we had!) But I know there was nothing on the plate when we left. They were washed down with the Framboise Eau de Vie. Keep away from open flame! Really good meal. As we walked out, we asked Rissa to put us down again for another dinner when father in law is in town again for Father's Day.

What are the grape tasting hours, Jake?

Have you walked through there to see if there is any action going on? A buddy of mine who works at the Alexandria TJ's says he's heard nothing of anything in Crystal City. But he's not really in a position that I would have expected him to know.

Agreed. Excellent story. Great to see it on the front page. Too bad the Food section still sucks.

I was there near the beginning too, and the strawberries did seem to be flying. Haven't been to Arlington market yet this year so I can't comment on the prices. I do think that $4 for 8 spears of asparagus is mighty freakin' steep, though.I had problems today with the fragile stuff. Seemed one of the eggs we got from Cibola had a slight crack, which got larger by the time we got to the car. They kindly swapped that dozen out for us. But what really killed me was the half gallon of chocolate milk. That glass must have had a slight crack too. Got home, placed it (gently) on the floor, and that crack got larger, shattering the bottle with the chocolate milk forming a huge pond on the kitchen floor. If it wasn't for shards of broken glass, I was quite tempted to get down on all fours and start lapping it up, like the woman in that old Quizno's commercial that sees the empty wrapper in the trash. Well, maybe not. But I was close to crying over the spilt milk. And secretly wishing that it was the half gallon of whole white milk that broke instead.

I think if you ate early enough in that MCI Center neighborhood you'd be fine at a number of places. You're in a tourist hub there, so I don't think it's unexpected to see shorts making an appearance. But, because we do care about fellow diners, that's why I suggest going earlier.

Still having trouble comprehending last night's first ever visit to Komi. Don't know how I could have waited so long to go there. Single greatest meal I've had since moving to DC 5+ years ago. Tasting menu. Four hours long. Two companions. First, I must agree totally with Nadya about Anna. She managed our entire meal and was an absolute charm. The entire service personnel of Komi moved with grace, precision, attentiveness and professionalism. And their work in the front of the house was just as spectacular as what was coming from the kitchen. We ordered bottles of wine. Starting with Anna's recommendation of Solar de Sael mencia 2003. In her description she used the word "tomatoey." "Tomatoey," I asked? "Yeah, tomatoey." I didn't taste tomatoes. But I did like what was in the glass. Melissa agreed with Anna that it tasted earthy, and she does say she tasted a hint of yellow tomato. A glass of brut to accompany our Malpeque oyster w/pomegranete vinegar and greek yogurt. Then came the king salmon pastrami in two styles. One with avocadoes and pine nuts. The other with a quail egg yolk. Another shout out to Nadya here: "Unexpected combos of ingredients that work together in an amazing fashion." Cauliflower-Taleggio Panna Cotta w/Osetra. Yes. You can put cauliflower and taleggio together. No one will arrest you for committing deviant acts with food. Although you may get kidnapped and forced to make it regularly for the kidnappers. Amazing. Housemade crackers: asiago and thyme, toasted sesame, and something with paprika. Then the charcuterie. Chef's take on a gyro, with lamb proscuitto, homemade pita and yellow beet tzatziki. This also camed with cappicola, cured beef, pickled vegetables, and white wine and fennel mustard. Then things started getting blurry. Notes getting less precise. More wine. This time we got a bottle of Tikal Patriota 2003, Mendoza. (We had a bottle of Tikal malbec the night before at Corduroy and decided to stick with the Tikal theme. They make the heaviest, standard size bottles of wine my companions and I have ever held....and the servers at both Komi and Corduroy thought so, too.) Black tagliatelle with heirloom cherry tomatoes, cod roe and chives. Next, Zucchini dolma w/gorgonzola crema and house cured bacon. Next, Speck-wrapped white tuna over farro salad (farro, zucchini, red onion, pomegranete molasses, garlic, applewood smoked bacon) w/salsa verde (parsley, mint, anchovies and capers). My God, there's more. Is this the course where we get to take a brisk walk around the block and then return to our meal? Stuffed quail Cheese: durras, morbay, fosterkase (our favorite), valencay, epoisses. Dessert. Donuts w/chocolate mascarpone pudding. (the best chocolate pudding I've ever eaten.) Three chocolate terrine with spearmint infused olive oil. Strawberries w/balsamic wrapped in phyllo. Chef came by with lollipops for us. Was nice to meet him. Can't believe what we had ingested. Outrageously fantastic. There was not a chance that we would consider taking the subway home that night. Maybe it was fear that we'd get stuck and not be able to please stand clar of the doors. Right into a taxi (only to be screwed by cab driver saying it was over 7 miles to get home when it was actually less than 5. Meters need to be mandatory for these cabs. I HATE DC CABS!) If you haven't been to Komi yet, don't be like me and wait forever. Go now. Seriously. Call them. Do it.

Boy, there's so much here to chew on. I'm thinking particularly of some things that Jonathan and Nadya had to say. 50% of the time, I'm one of those people who say, when asked how my meal is, "Oh, fine, thank you." That's usually when I'm not expecting that the server nor the kitchen gives a shit. The other 50% of the time, I give a serious answer about how I am experiencing the dish. That doesn't mean that everyone is going to think the same thing that I am. But I think there are certain restaurants that we all eat in where they really do care what the guest thinks about it. I mean, why bother spending the time to use certain ingredients, to put said ingredients in certain combinations, to put it on the plate with "oh-so-much-care" if you didn't give a shit about what you were doing and hoping that the diner understands the forethought that went into the dish. All of us here rave or pan certain dishes, restaurants, etc. We don't do it because we're snobs. I don't think I'm a snob. But I do know that I eat out a lot more often than the average bear. And I know that I eat a larger variety of food styles than John and Jane Doe. And I know that I drink wine regularly with my meals, which is more frequently than Joe Sixpack. Is a surgeon a health snob because he knows how to clean out your arteries or do a better kidney transplant for you than the dude at the 7-11? No. He's studied it and he spends more time doing it than the average bear....(not to mention that school and licensing thing). The other night, I'm at one of our favorite restaurants. I asked for a wine recommendation and went with it. It didn't hit me as well as it did my companions. When I was asked about it, I was up front about my impressions. I didn't dislike the wine, but to MY taste, it didn't match what I was expecting. Taste is individual. I know that the person who recommended that wine to me has excellent/superb taste. 99 out of 100 things this man can offer me will knock my socks off. This one didn't. I don't feel that this person is any less qualified to offer me suggestions because I didn't like this one item. At the same time, I'd have felt I'd be doing a disservice to him if I decided not to share my feelings about it. I would like to hope that service personnel really do want to hear honest opinions about what's being put in front of them. I don't believe for an instant that I'm a food snob if I tell a chef that the ingredients in a risotto didn't marry well. Hell, Jared from Sonoma is asking us for our true thoughts on the meals ready to come from that kitchen. Would it be helpful to Jared to ask someone who regularly eats nothing but McDonalds and Cheesecake Factory? Probably, but maybe not as much as someone with a finer tuned palate whose had more experience eating a wider variety of ingredients in wider combinations. I'd hate to see the point where restaurant personnel are such "artistes" that "if you don't like it, then fuck you." Or diners are too wimpy to speak their mind about their true feelings about a dish. I know that when I share my feelings about a meal, as I did with that wine the other night, I don't do it to show off or to make others feel bad. I do it because I believe that in the kitchen there is a chef who takes pride in his/her work and I am respectful and serious about what they do. If I don't share my opinions on something, then I feel like I'm doing them a disservice. And if you don't like it, then fuck you! (and with homage to Al Dente, with that, I'm a grouper. Do groupers have nuts? Salted or roasted?)

Called a moment ago to check on status. Adam says they're no longer doing any preview service and that they're planning on opening for business on Tuesday.

When I was in on Friday for dinner, Eli seemed to think they'd be open officially this week. Does anyone know the status?

I'm kinda out of touch re: paying attention to what DC Chophouse does. (that happened after they stopped pouring from a cask of anything but the stout) but I find it fascinating that they're providing firkins elsewhere but not pouring them themselves? What gives with that?

It's really just their stout, however it's held in old bourbon casks, giving off that vanilla-y bourbon-y tang.

District Chophouse has their Vanilla Bourbon Stout on the beer engine. It's far too sweet for my tastes and I miss the rotating cask they used to have on the handpull. John Harvards serves some of their beer on the beer engine also.

I was told no. And it didn't taste like it had ever been frozen.

Last night's dinner consisted of hanger steak I bought from Jill at Cheesetique. Cryovacked in about a 3.5 pound bag. First time I ever prepared it. Trimming it was a bit of a pain in the ass....non-butcher that I am....(except for the English language sometimes). Would love to find this cut already prepared for those "get home from work and want to throw that steak on the iron right away" moments. As for quality, it was superb. The Mrs. pronounced it one of the best I've ever made! Add the Cheesetique meat selection to your list of quality supplies.

That is so wrong. Some time ago, I had a pint of hand pulled Newcastle at Finn MacCools on 8th SE. It didn't taste right at all, and I wonder if this may be a reason. Should be the subject of another thread, though.

Bang On!

Perhaps mdt will add it to the June 4 pasta class menu?

Quick! Somebody get me a pint!

Honestly, Matt? I'm not counting on it.

I’m negative because it represents yet one more example of dumbing things down for Americans. I’m negative because they utterly miss the concept of the British pub. The pub is a neighborhood fixture that represents the community it is in, the people who work there, and the people who frequent it. It is not prepackaged in a corporate office and plunked down in a place where people are crying out for a “warm, friendly smile.” A real pub should be local. In fact, they’re referred to as “the local.” And even if they’re corporate owned, odds are good that it’s run by a family, making it a quasi-family business.From what I can see online, there is nothing British about Elephant and Castle. (Perhaps I'll at least pay a visit to confirm.) It’s as Canadian as apple pie. And it preys upon people who think that the British go around eating nothing but fish & chips and bangers & mash. Meanwhile, some authentic British pubs are pulling in Michelin stars: The Fat Duck outside London and The Star at Harome outside York. (Yes, they're an exception.) I hope that sometime someone will actually re-create the concept of a British pub in DC, and adhere to the authentic as best as possible. Washington deserves better. It’s clear that you can take a foreign concept and transplant it here and be true to the concept. You don’t have to dumb it down to the Elephant and Castle extreme. Bistrot du Coin is perhaps the perfect example of how to do it right. Although not perfect, even Les Halles next door to Elephant and Castle is another example. Perhaps, someday, more people will be interested in buying from local producers and supporting local restaurants and bars. Maybe someday there will be more members in Slow Food than there are in Chi Chi’s Chicken Fiesta Club. Maybe someday there will be success in booting McDonald’s out of a foreign nation for ruining their culinary heritage. Maybe someday pigs will fly. Preferably Jacques Gastreaux’s smoked butt onto a plate near me!

Unfortunately, some wineries don't allow buses or large groups. Linden is included in that group, and it would be a shame to miss. We'd probably also want to consider picking wineries based on our own experiences, rather than something pre-packaged. I'm sure renting group transport would still be affordable. Of course we'd have to have a picnic on the grounds of one of them.