Rextopher

On 1/26/2017 at 3:51 PM, Marty L. said:

In light of the problems that plagued them early on (see upthread, discussing waits of well over an hour for food), this passage is downright shocking:

"Like greyhounds out of the gate, the food at Dolan Uyghur races to the table. Order a few dishes at a time, then, to prevent your entire meal from showing up in minutes."

If true, good for them for figuring out how to fix what might have been a fatal failing . . . .

Dined here earlier tonight and can confirm that the service is significantly faster than in their first few days. It was a full house early on Sunday evening, probably a post-Sietsema effect. 

10 hours ago, mdjordy said:

The amount of money recently lost by restaurants in this mall is incredible... Naples, Met, Blaze, Lobster Place, Jamaican Place, Dumpling Place, and I'm sure there are many more. Crazy rent- too much food in mall- bad concepts -or a combination?

I suspect there's a mismatch between the retail and food options. I wouldn't call Montgomery Mall's food court high concept, but the average shopper seems to be younger than, say, the Tyson's or previous White Flint crowd, and some of those places certainly were on the more expensive end of mall food (not necessarily prime high school open lunch destinations). Cava Grill and Sarku seem to perennially be the most popular destinations there.

Takeshi Nishikawa to Lincoln

Looks like Chef Nishikawa may have found a new position. Any scoop on his potential replacement at New Heights?

That's too bad. I picked up pizza slices a few times at their food court counter area, and the food was always tasty and quick. Never got a chance to try actual restaurant area, though.

Strange, I walked past their storefront a few days ago too and it was shuttered with signage advertising a new restaurant...

9 hours ago, silentbob said:

Loved the broths, "flavorful with being overly rich" written above is the right description for both the traditional and chicken.  Noodles (we got thin) were disappointing though.  No real bite, possibly overcooked even when we first got them.  Not worth a special trip, but totally fine if you're already in the area.

I had the Tonkatsu Black broth, which was not bad. On the fattier side of the spectrum, and flavorsome enough to clean up the bowl. The noodles unfortunately were the weak link. I had the thick noodles, which were the same general form as normal ramen noodles, but critically overcooked to the point of Qlessness. Adequate and easily satisfied my ramen craving but, as silentbob said, not worth a trip. And I'd definitely pass on the formless, spongy and salty pork buns. 

I recently dined at the bar with one other. We had the tataki tuna, turbot, duck confit and whole chicken. Needless to say, this was a bit overzealous for two people. The tuna, as has been previously described, is fantastic. The turbot is served with the fin, which is fatty and flavorsome, as well as a thick broth. I'm surprised more has not been said about the duck confit. The sauce contains hazelnut and some kind of sweet, seasoned bread - a perfect and unexpected combination of flavors that somehow complemented the bird perfectly. 

I'd also agree that the coffee service is an unexpected and indulgent surprise.

Alas, the words of the sober minded can be so incisive... nevertheless, a still-pricey $95 is comparable to several other (established, respected, time-tested) restaurants here that aim to provide the experience to which Chef Kwame seems to be aspiring even if this is part of a cynical "long con," which, as Don has said, may not at all be the case. But I think I may not be quite so eager beaver to be an early adopter of the new menu format with that in mind. 

1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Oh my god, they axed the price!

"The Shaw Bijou Dramatically Slashes Price, Dials Back Concept" by Missy Frederick on dc.eater.com

Enough of a price drop to bring me in, that's for sure. And doubtless many others.

Nice decor and vibe, and friendly waitstaff. I didn't eat much when I was here a few nights ago, but the bar food was not bad - I had tater tot nachos, which were perfectly good for a late night snack. The wine selection is excellent for a laid-back "hangout"-type establishment though the beer menu was somewhat thin. Cocktails were definitely above par for Bethesda. I had a martini which I believe was made with Hendrick's and an Old Fashioned, which they make with bonded Old Grand-dad. I'll certainly make a return trip to try the food. Overall a fine addition to the area and definitely somewhere I could relax for food and a few drinks with friends.

On 6/1/2016 at 2:25 PM, CapitalGourmand said:

Don,

It's pronounced kyear-i(short i)-sahn.

Interestingly, the menu states the restaurant is named after Tim Ma's three children, all of whom share a common character (identified as "kun") in their chinese names - a common, traditional naming convention within generations of siblings. Yi er san means "one two three" in mandarin, so it seems that Kyirisan is a loose translation of "Kun-yi-er-san." 

8 hours ago, KeithA said:

I just got back from lunch at Dolan. I had great service and delicious food. It was about 1/3 to 1/2 full and they had at least 3 waiters. I had scoped out the menu in advance and knew I wanted the Mom's Lagman (hand-pulled noodles with skinny stir-fried lamb strips and chopped vegetables). I quickly ordered after being seated and my food came out in 10 minutes. It was a large portion of lo mein shaped noodles but slightly thicker and with more chew to them - really good.  It comes with a thin but flavorful brown sauce with a good amount of cumin flavor.  The dish was similar to Chinese cumin lamb (one of my favorites) but slightly different seasoning and the really good noodles. My guess is the earlier services issues are new restaurant kinks that are being worked out. They also had a sign that they are still hiring staff.  Also, they now have clearer hours - 12-3pm and 5-9 or 10 (sorry can't remember) - the key thing is they take a couple of hour afternoon break in service but are open everyday - including lunch (yeah more options for me in my neighborhood :-)).  I would recommend checking it out and I'm looking forward to trying some of the other dishes. 

Looks like I was too late in my response, but I'm glad you liked the food. I also had the Lagman, which was as you described a flavorsome variation on lo mein with a satisfying "QQ" to it. I also had the steamed beef buns, which were unexpectedly (though perhaps traditional in Uyghur cuisine? I neglected to ask) served without any sort of sauce. Nevertheless quite good. The weakest dishes were the lamb and chicken kabobs - bit overcooked and while the lamb had a pleasant spicy bite, the chicken was bland. 

On 12/11/2016 at 7:29 AM, Marty L. said:

Stopped by for carry-out yesterday.  All of the food looks delicious, both on the large menu and coming out of the kitchen.  Alas, in the 20 minutes or so that I waited for my food, several different seated parties walked out, having been waiting an hour or more for their food.  It's a very small kitchen, and they simply haven't yet figured out how to keep up with the demands of a full-service restaurant.  And that was with the place only half-full.  (Seeing that others were still waiting who had been there far longer than I, I cancelled my order, which they had not yet begun preparing, in order to ease their burden.)  

This is a shame.  They must have paid a fortune for the space; and the (extended) family running the place seems lovely and very hard-working.  I hope they do figure out how to operate--which would probably entail consulting with others who have done this sort of thing before.  (I don't know if more prepping is what's required, or if there are simply some things on the menu that are unrealistic given the logistics of the kitchen.  Or something else.)  As I said, if the food is as good as it looks, this could be a wonderful addition.  For now, however, you might want to tread gently--go, if at all, at non-peak hours, until they've figured it out.

I had a similar experience during lunch here. The service was earnest and the food good, but there was a single, clearly overwhelmed waiter scurrying between seven tables on two floors. It wasn't enough to detract from the quality of the cooking, probably because delays were minor, but I imagine the confusion could lead to exasperation at busier times. That being said, I haven't been to any other restaurant in the DC area that offers this type of cuisine, and I can easily see Dolan entering my carryout rotation in Cleveland Park.

I'd have to say that in the several times I inexplicably decided to go and return here, sometimes with out of town friends but usually due to some indescribable and undeniable enthrallment, I haven't had a single memorable meal. The beef noodle soup and ramen are particularly disappointing, the former being a watery, unappealing mess featuring a bizarre combination of disharmonious flavors and the latter usually oversalted and overcooked to the point where noodles verge on instantaneous disintegration upon gentle contact with chopsticks. 

That being said, the next time I find myself at momofuku CCDC perhaps I will try this fried chicken meal. 

Wonder what that portends for Chef Kwame & co. Has anyone tried dining at the Bijou's bar?

Had happy hour and dinner here today. Quite delicious. Mrs. Trabocchi was very kind and the staff were hospitable and efficient. Happy hour specials were inexpensive and good, and the pasta dishes (tried the tonnarelli and agnolotti) were both excellent - very rich and flavorsome. Hopefully the new apartment building will attract further redevelopment of the Cleveland Park/Van Ness area.

On 5/22/2015 at 8:16 AM, DanielK said:

Eric, I'm with you. Shanghai Taste and JDS are good (I love A&J for other things, but their XLB never have any soup), but they are not as good as Bob's.

Porcupine, glad to hear that Bob's stands up against some of Seattle/Vancouver's best!

Agree - for XLB, Bob's is second to none. However, Shanghai Taste's weekend-only fried buns are easily worth the long journey out to Maryland, inconsistent XLBs notwithstanding.

Hello,

My name is Rextopher. I'm a Maryland native who moved to D.C. four years ago. I've been lurking for a while and figured I would finally reveal myself to the world. My favorite restaurant in the area is Temari and my favorite dish there is the curry rice. In fact, I would say that curry rice is my favorite dish overall. I'm very excited to become a member of the community.

Rextopher