FranklinDubya

1 hour ago, Bart said:

Thanks for the article Jim!  I wonder if things have changed heat-wise since it was written or if the Alexandria location is still getting some things worked out?  I say that based on Tim's comments and the sandwich I ate.  Here's what Tim Carman said in the article above:

To me, the level-two Sando is everything you could possibly want from a hot chicken sandwich, save perhaps for the insane amount of Scoville units necessary to prove your alpha-male indifference to pain — and your complete disregard for flavor. 

I ordered the Level III Sando sandwich and while it was hot, it wasn't that hot.  My eyes didn't water, I didn't break out in a sweat, and didn't need any liquid at all for relief.  Based on my one sandwich, I would never go below Level III. It was a good sandwich, but if I didn't know that the heat was the thing here, I would have had no idea it was anything other than a spicy chicken sandwich.

The one interesting thing with their levels is the seasoning is actually completely different each one, rather than the same base with more chili added.  I think this actually makes the level II worth trying for what it's worth even though I'd normally tend to go hotter.

Happy to see they started incorporating meats into their menu!  Tried the lamb souvlaki pita and waffle fries last night and both were very good.  Excited to try out the pork shoulder pita next time too.

For me this has easily been the highlight of quarantine takeout - I just wished they offered a more convenient delivery service than Skip the Line.

23 hours ago, Mark Dedrick said:

I've been wondering that as well. Just a couple of weeks ago Kevin had said that they would not be opening to in person dining until a vaccine was found. Then last week Emilie's announced they were opening. 

They reposted a story on their Instagram mentioned "new chef, new staff" which makes me think a lot of the formal chef may have followed Kevin Tien out.

29 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Don't assume Hamilton Johnson is a downgrade just because he doesn't get as much press - "Hambone" (as his friends call him) is really good.

Regardless of skill I associated Emilie's with Kevin Tien's unique food style.  I'm interested to see how it goes but like new iterations of Mirabelle and Himitsu this is gonna feel like a completely new restaurant now.

The main thing I wonder is if the seeds of this were sowed a while back or whether the issues came out because of the pandemic.

I know people generally complain about restaurants being too loud but with Inn I already had the opposite problem.  When I ate tgere last year I got seated in that back hallway area and it was so awkwardly quiet I found it hard to enjoy my conversation because literally everyone in that hallway would hear 100% of what I was saying.

Anyways I don't know if sitting in a room of mannequins is less awkward than an empty one but it certainly is an interesting idea.

I'm wondering if someone on staff got COVID... I've seen a couple places (Centrolina, one of the Sfloglinas) temporarily shutdown after someone tested positive.

Kurzgesagt is amazing - this one was especially good.

I had both the spicy vodka pizza and the white pizza with ramps this weekend... I wouldn't consider myself a pizza aficionado but both were the best pizzas I've had in memory.  The only pizzas that I would compare them too would be ones I've had in Italy.  Not sure how to describe the style - they were very thin but perfectly sturdy with a light crisp on the bottom. 

Got the pork ribs for takeout - even after a 17ish minute walk home... wow, haven't had them in a while but still feel like they're one of the best dishes in the city.

20 hours ago, Pat said:

There's this for delivery (presuming they haven't changed things and not changed the website):

https://www.exploretock.com/rosesathome

I've got Rose's at Home 2 night package coming tomorrow.  Pumped!

3 hours ago, Bart said:

They started their delivery service last night.  The lychee bowl is on the menu for $15.  I couldn't find any info about delivery area or delivery charges though. 

I'm seeing carry out but not delivery yet.  Hopefully added soon but I imagine there's a rush of places all trying to do this at once.

You probably only have a matter of days to get takeout / delivery from a restaurant and there's certainly some cool places offering these services that normally wouldn't.  *I'm on doing this for places that have stopped allowing in house dining - shout outs to Tail up Goat for leading the #shutusdown trend on social media and encouraging action from DC rather than putting the onus on the restaurants themselves.

I don't care if it's gonna cost like $15+ to deliver to Adams Morgan - if I can get a pork sausage lychee bowl delivered to me I'm absolutely going to do that.  I think this kind of thing is a good measure to take but not sure if it'll matter in a matter of days / weeks if we end up like Italy in a lockdown mode.

The fried chicken looks overly sauced but what was wrong with it outside of that?  I was hoping it'd be sort of like Himitsu's original Gochjuang fried chicken which I thought was incredible.

^Hmmm when they announced it previously I'd thought they'd said it was either 35-40 dollars per person for dinner and a drink.  Maybe Sfoglina upped their pasta sizes a bit - I enjoyed the place but I remember having to order quite a bit to reach a normal meal's level of fullness in the past.

8 minutes ago, curiouskitkatt said:

I may suggest taking a short ride to Fells Point.

Thames St Oyster House 

Peter's Inn

Bar Vasquez (Tony Foreman & Cindy Wolf )

If you are interested in roaming through a food hall, I may suggest Broadway Market as well.

I most definitely suggest Ekiben for lunch, but they may be doing a pop up at the Music Fest, cause they run several throughout the summer. 

Great looking choices Katt, thank you!

And I had definitely picked out Ekiben as a must-try lunch spot when I'm there, regardless of whether they're at the festival or not 👍

I'm gonna be in Baltimore for a weekend in May for a music festival and am looking for some food recs.

Mainly would like to hear about good dinner spots (although lunch suggestions are still welcome) - Nothing too fancy or formal, although I don't mind if it's moderately expensive. Preferably close-ish to Inner Harbor, but don't mind a short car ride.

*I've been to Alma Cocina, Woodberry Kitchen, and Charleston before.

Elle has a bunch of interesting breads in their weekly lineup currently (from their website) :

Baguette - AVAILABLE EVERYDAY
Country - AVAILABLE EVERYDAY
Olive - MONDAY
Polenta Fennel - TUESDAY
Sesame Emmer Wheat - WEDNESDAY
Deli Rye - THURSDAY
Maple Oat - FRIDAY
Brioche Loaf - SATURDAY
Seeded Multigrain - SATURDAY
White Sourdough - SUNDAY
Spelt Sandwich - SUNDAY

I've had the Sesame Emmer wheat and it was phenomenal.  The  Country bread is so damn good it makes the other sourdough varieties disappointing  (to me) by comparison.  Really interested in trying the Olive, Polenta Fennel, and Deli Rye if I can make it over there for them though.

Dabney has them on the menu fairly often and to echo Tweaked I thought they were delicious.  Definitely recommended when going.

4 hours ago, DonRocks said:

 I really *love* the simplicity of the websites at both Reveler's Hour and Tail-Up Goat (clearly something Jon, Bill and Jill took with them from Komi). Both restaurants do have Instagram pages (see Dining Guide), but the websites don't tout them.

There's something quietly confident about having such simple-yet-elegant websites. I find them all close to perfect.

They also update the menus daily on both which I love.

Washingtonian Picks Anju as Its #1 Restaurant

while it is certainly more expensive than Annandale places the prices are honestly pretty good for a restaurant in DC - so hopefully the ingredient quality and cooking makes up for the price jump.  Charging $3 for an individual Banchan does feel kind of wrong though still.

Went last night - if you love TUG (you should) you'll probably love this too.  The main difference food wise to me is that at TUG dishes are a little wilder with ingredient combinations, whereas at Revelers things lean a bit more classic (especially notable with the pastas).  Not to say that it's less tasty, just different - pastas are actually like small entree sized too which is nice.  I'm definitely gonna swing by the bar during and attempt to not spend too much money drinking.

For the tasting menu I'd highly recommend Benu if possible  : I think that was my favorite meal I've eaten in the US and the style of food at that level is something you won't find anywhere else in the country.

1 hour ago, Keithstg said:

I've been half a dozen times, never waited in line. If interested: http://www.taskrabbit.com

They also offer same day reservations opening at 9am each morning : https://www.rosesluxury.com/reservations/ 

It's definitely worth checking out at least once if only for the lychee salad and the cacio e pepe

This whole concept is honestly like too cool for T2.  My 60 something parents mentioned they tried Sen Khao on a Friday and felt weird eating there in a largely empty mall.  If the Tiger Fork place ends up being good between them, Donburi, and Sen Khao/Laowhich you honestly might have an overall higher quality set of food offerings than "The Block" in Annandale... I don't know if that's to draw in sizable outside traffic though.