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Lisa Fricano

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Everything posted by Lisa Fricano

  1. Lisa Fricano
    The Skyline Stone Hot has been there a long time (true about the chaotic parking lot) and is a go-to pizza spot for Muslims because it's halal. And also very very good. Saw the Clarendon on the other day and thought that was an odd location, and still too far from me for delivery :(.
  2. Lisa Fricano
    Ate there for the first time last night for my mom's 89th birthday. Beyond our expectations even with all the rave reviews. We both had the tasting menu and were accommodated for our exclusions- mine pork and any form of alcohol, my mom shellfish. Basically 6 courses (they don't count the soup/salad as a course!). Tuna Tartare, Red Snapper, Duck Confite, Prime Rib, Apple Fritter or for me Flourless chocolate cake. Amazing on every level- quality, quantity, variety, service, price, and ambiance. Absolutely now part of my rotation and has jumped ahead to number one for special events.
  3. Lisa Fricano
    Maybe that's it. Just because I knew of Albisu, the press this place got, my mom is a big fan of fish tacos, and it was in an interesting area in that odd little mall there was an appeal (maybe) that the food didn't warrant and it took a while to figure it out. A new location doesn't appeal to me (again the black garlic aioli all over my hands). Like I've said I'm no foodie I just eat. My perspective is that of a landlord watching our own tenants grow or not, watching certain decisions be made in their business models that excite or disappoint us etc. So it's not Taco Bamba specifically it's about running a successful restaurant and the perfect storm of varying ever-changing factors, including the fickleness of customers.
  4. Lisa Fricano
    My mom and I used to use every excuse to head out to Tyson's area to go to Taco Bamba. We were in the area yesterday and looked at each other, shrugged, and drove right past Pimmit Dr. My mom said "The bloom is off the rose" and I agreed. The though of the parking lot, squeezing onto that little wall table, and getting our hands covered in black garlic aioli from our meal of choice outweighed the recollection of the tastiness of the food. What an uphill battle restauranteurs face when they change absolutely nothing and still interest can wane. Or is it the tricks (?) our minds and tastebuds can play on us that a food is amazing when it's just new. I used to gag from the taste of jameed (middle eastern dried yogurt) now I love it. The science and psychology of taste is not something I've thought about before. Do chefs have an instinctive, or learned, understanding of this? This post has sort of taken on a life of its own and maybe somebody will know what the heck I'm getting at (though I don't)...
  5. Lisa Fricano
    Well the delightful dslee (hi!) and I are apparently both regulars and bumped into each other a few days ago there at Green Almond Pantry and had a wonderful lunch and conversation. I had, as always, the Braised Elysian Fields Lamb on Hummus with fresh bread. I guess that makes me not a foodie because I eat the same thing each time but that meal is so so good. It was followed by a 'local corn flour olive oil cake' topped with whipped cream and candied blood oranges. Superb meal. Disclaimer- I'm the landlord/owner of 1314 1/2 9th and thrilled to have Cagla as a tenant.
  6. Lisa Fricano
    Comment moved to Green Almond Pantry post. Typical!
  7. Lisa Fricano
    I don't know why Isabella doesn't sell the business. I thought it was $28,000; well now it's $54,000, and is still not that much to keep an eviction at bay. Just keep the restaurant alive till it sells. The terms of the lease could be an excellent selling point, if they are transferable.
  8. Lisa Fricano
    I'm the owner/landlord of 1314 1/2 9th. If Can wants to respond about the future Mirai sushi schedule I'll let him do it, but it is not currently being offered. In the meantime opening soon in the Mirai space will be Green Almond Pantry, which is the trade name used by Chef Cagla Onal- a veteran of Obelisk and Etto. She will serve light Mediterranean/Turkish fare; dining options are counter seating and take-away. She's currently at farmer's markets. Washingtonian had a good article about her a while back.
  9. Lisa Fricano
    Four or so years ago when the owner was just beginning the change of focus (and quality) I tried to get them to rent a space from us in Shaw but my requirement was that it be Indian buffet. He was more interested in the bar aspect and when I shot that down I didn't hear any more from him. The appeal of liquor profit is hard to resist. Back then, granted as an infrequent customer, I got the feeling he was trying transition the bulk of his income and customer base from the very successful buffet to formal dining with alcohol. I took a friend not that long ago for the lunch buffet and I thought it was edible but my friend didn't like it at all.
  10. Lisa Fricano
    As a landlord the financials and what comes next is interesting to me. Who has lost here, financially? I assume a corporation paid for the renovation, which will then declare bankruptcy? And the owner is left with a fully outfitted restaurant assuming he did not sign a personal guarantee with anybody, though given his lack of gravitas on this closing one thinks he's not on the hook. This closing is with neither bang nor whimper, more like a shrug. Odd all around. "He’s not yet sure what he’ll done (sic) with the building, which he owns." He=Kelly Gorsuch.
  11. Lisa Fricano
    A much favored portion when I travel overseas to Jordan and the celebrated Mansif is presented with sprigs of parsley shooting out of the mouth of the erstwhile lamb is the brain, with rambunctious cracking of the skull. And the tongue is prized as well. Were they not present in this Shaw Bijou head?
  12. Lisa Fricano
    The new restaurant occupying the old Rogue 24 space has been announced (Monkey King) and it caused me to wonder what Chef RJ was up to now. He's going to be Executive Chef at 5Church, a Charlotte-based restaurant, in Atlanta - hope it's a great fit for the Chef.
  13. Lisa Fricano
    While DC figures quite highly in the 2016 JBF Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists, I am most pleased that Cedric Maupillier, Convivial, Washington, D.C. is in the running for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. I feel proud, though without investment other than being a long-time commercial building owner nearby, because he's such a nice guy and has brought such a quality restaurant to this section of Shaw which for some reason being so well-located was and is still one of the last to be...respected. Edited to dispel notion I'm involved with Convivial.
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