TheGut

I am rooting for Kwame and his team. I hope they succeed and earn some Michelin stars. 

I do have a question. Are there currently any African American chefs with Michelin stars?  I have not done the research and was wondering about it.  If Kwame is able to earn a Michelin star that would be huge.

Also, does anyone have any pics from opening night at the Shaw Bijou?  Would love to see what diners ate.

38 minutes ago, horafeliz said:

Washington Posts critic praised their Goat Biryani to no end in the original Fairfax location and that got to Asad's head. All that press made him overconfident and executed without a plan and without a reality check.

Had food at 1947 as well and have to say the experience is similar to what Don describes with London Curry House. 

Asad also had chef problems at 1947.  His original chef left within the first month after arriving from India.

Just now, Jonathan said:

Were there any dishes that were more Mexican? Seems an odd choice to put what amounts to eggs benedict at a Mexican restaurant (Mexican culture has a rich breakfast/brunch tradition).

most of the dishes are mash up between American and Mexican style dishes.

1 minute ago, Jonathan said:

Perhaps the photo is misleading, but this looks like quite a small portion, and a bizarre ratio of broth to fish.

it is an appetizer portion but you are correct that the dish could have used more broth.  It was one of the better dishes of the night.

1 hour ago, Simul Parikh said:

Definitely people get store made paneer in bricks. Most indian stores have them. Most buffets use the store bought stuff. You can tell when they use it. Mom used to cheat with that once in a while, but it just takes some milk and lemon juice and some time to make it. Pretty easy, all things considering with Indian food. In dissent, i had a decent meal there the other night. Chicken vindaloo and another chicken dish.

I hardly get paneer dishes out any longer, rarely is it that good. 

I myself have never been a big fan of paneer.  I do not like seeing it in palaak. 

19 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I'm downgrading London Curry House - the food I had this evening was bordering on inedible, and delivery took nearly an hour longer than I was told. Out of about ten meals here, this is only the second horrific one. If anyone can confirm that I'm wrong, and frequents the restaurant on a semi-regular basis, I'll adjust accordingly, but after this, I wouldn't send my worst enemy here. Even the damned sauce that came with my tandoori chicken - which I was going to pour atop my rice - smelled spoiled, and I threw it out.

Asad opened a new place in Sterling called 1947.  It has been open a few months but I think he might close it down due to lack of diners. 

My issue with Asad is that he is always in expansion mode.  He should be focusing on ensuring that his restaurants are financially stable before deciding to expand.

The Wife, the little princess, and myself stopped in for brunch on Saturday.  We had high hopes going in.  Meal and service were flat.  We were not impressed. Also, how can a place not have any high chairs for kids?  All they had were booster seats.  Normally, I would not care but now that we are trying to get back out there on the dining scene, we have to take the little one into account.  We felt like this place was sending out the vibe "yea, some kids are okay, older kids.  Don't bring your kid if they are less than a certain age...."

With that said here is the one dish that I guess made the cut.

1.  Biscuits & Eggs: jalepeno biscuits, slow poached eggs, arbol hollandaise (the biscuits were like rocks)

now that I got your attention with desserts.  Lets move on to the appetizers.

1. Shabu Shabu: skirt steak, foie gras, wild mushrooms, shrimp, baby fennel, and barley miso broth (the broth was the highlight of this dish)

2. Kumamoto Oysters: ginger mignonette, ghost pepper jam, opal basil.

3. Grilled Eggplant & Bufala Mozzarella Salad: beet greens, tomato confit, cherry tomatoes, and roasted peppers

4. Bouillabaisse: little neck clams, gulf shrimp, roasted peppers, braised corvina, savvoy cabbage, potatoes, and grilled crostini

Here are some pics of my most recent meal at Clarity.  Tucked away in Vienna next to a country club.  I felt like I was dining in McLean.  Meaning, the clientele was older, and the place cleared out at 9pm sharp.

1. Ricotta & Sour Cream Cheesecake: glazed huckleberries and pistachio ice cream

2. Bittersweet Chocolate Devils Food Cake: Dark Chocolate ganache, brownie cookie, pudding skin, and chocolate ice cream

3. Concord Grape Panna Cotta: Concord Grape sorbet, whipped cream, and lemon curd (my FAVORITE dessert of the night)

made a return visit to Smokehouse Live yesterday.  The beef rib was not good yesterday.  Was sub par.  The brisket though was singing.  Delicious, moist, proper pull on the brisket and did not need any sauce.

11 hours ago, Ferris Bueller said:

I am a sucker for a decent steak and cheese in NoVa.  I went by and tried Jimmy's NY Pizza yesterday for a late lunch.  Great stuff.  This place is nothing as far as atmosphere, but the steak and cheese was worth the trip.  The person cooking and who greeted me said they do a lot of carryout business.  If you blink, you will miss this place.  Tucked away in a very small strip mall off in an obscure commercial area of Sterling.  Next time I will try the pizza - thanks for the recommendation.

no problem! I plan on going back and trying some more items.

Yesterday, my co-worker asked me if I wanted to grab lunch and I said sure and asked him what he had in mind.  He said there is a hole in the wall place in Sterling, VA that serves good cheese steak.  I said I am game and off we went.  The place is a complete hole in the wall and I loved it.  Has less than twenty seats. 

I ordered the cheese steak and a slice of pizza, so I could get an idea on the pizza.  I was impressed with the pizza.  It wasn't soggy, was able to do a proper fold on a new york style pizza.  It was delicious.  The cheese steak was outstanding.  I was impressed.  It was juicy with the juices dripping down the sandwich and my hand.  I went through at least ten napkins while consuming that sandwich. 

I plan on going back and trying some more items.

On 10/19/2016 at 9:14 PM, Ferris Bueller said:

Check out Willards BBQ.

It will require you to drive out of DC proper but it is not a bad drive.

Highly consistent, no frills bbq and all the trimmings.  Hard to get a seat here at lunch time, but their stuff travels well.  

Also a relative newcomer to the retail storefront concept is Mookies BBQ in Great Falls. They are not new to BBQ, but this is their 1st shot at a permanent location.  From oversized salads, homemade sauces and everything made in-house from scratch.  BBQ is excellent and service is good.

I have been hearing good things about mookie's bbq in Great Falls.  Good friend of mine had lunch there this week and was raving about it. 

On 10/19/2016 at 11:45 AM, Al Dente said:

Is there anywhere around here where I can get some TX bbq'd dinosaur beef ribs?

May 23, 2014 - "Big, Bad, Beef Ribs: A Crash Course" by Steven Raichlen on barbecuebible.com

Smokehouse Live serves really good beef ribs.

made a visit to Smokehouse Live this weekend.  When it first opened, I thought the bbq was average but over time the bbq has improved significantly. Big fan of the beef short ribs.  You don't find that at too many bbq places

 Yesterday we got:

1. sliced brisket sandwich with mac n cheese

2. brisket nachos (really enough for 2-3 people).

Here are some pics of my most recent meal at Requin, located in the Mosaic in Merrifield VA.

1. Escargot

2. smoked catfish

3. prawns

4. bouillabaisse

Congrats to everyone at Tail Up Goat on receiving a Michelin Star this morning!!

Punjabi by Nature now has a location in Leesburg.

19405 Promenade Drive 
Leesburg, VA 20176 

One of my favorite brunch spots. We got the opportunity to take our daughter for the first time on Sunday.  Spur of the moment decision to go for brunch too.  We got there at 1pm and the place as still packed and buzzing.

1. Smoked salmon eggs benedict

2. Hangover Special: 28 day dry aged beef patty, topped with sauce, fries, melted cheese, and sunny side egg (I did not get the bacon)

3. The Egg Porn version of the Hangover Special.

Stopped in last night at Khan Kabob.  Had to finalize a menu for an upcoming catering event.  Afterwards had some chicken and seekh kabobs.  Along with some lamb chops

1. Chicken & Seekh Kabob

2. Lamb Chops

The owner of Khan Kabob frequently travels between Pakistan and Chantilly, VA.  Mr. Tariq Khan the owner mostly now handles the catering side of the business.  His other business partner can be seen there on a daily basis handling the restaurant crowd.  The karahis are usually on point but there are moments where they have dropped the ball.  We went for a big family meal.  My sister and her family were visiting from Dallas and we had hankering for some karahi. 

below pic of the chicken karahi from that visit.

Also on Instagram (IG) "The_Gut"

Here are my pics from my recent meal at Chase the Submarine.  About one month ago.  We tried going to the new Taco Bamba in Vienna, which just happens to be a stone's throw away from Chase The Submarine.  We were told there was a 45-60 minute wait to order and receive your food at Taco Bamba and decided instead to venture over to Chase, which we frequent and love the food too.

On this visit

angus pastrami – house-smoked angus brisket, whole grain mustard creme fraiche, carrot sauerkraut, pickled shallots, rye

steak & cheese – thinly sliced rib eye, peppers, onions, provolone cheese, diced lettuce, soft white

and French Fries in the background.

pics are also on Instagram (IG) @The_Gut

Corduroy is a great option for a 3 course tasting menu.  Another suggestion would be to ask a restaurant that you frequent and knows you to create a little tasting menu for you.  I do this on occasion when re-visiting a place that has gone through a menu change and typically does not offer a tasting menu.

Great day for Pho.  Going to hit up Pho 75 for lunch today.  Here is a pic from last week at Pho 75.

Stopped in at Ravi and had some choley for dinner.