KeithA

Hour and half in Philly Foodie Tour (aka a love letter to Michael Solomonov) 12:30pm – waiting for my “lunch” meeting to end so can begin my lunch adventure. 12:40pm – finally, meeting over, I head out in Center City (aka business district) to my first stop. 12:45pm – back track because google maps sent me the wrong way. 12:48pm - Steve’s Prince of Steaks off 16th St. Despite Eater, Philly Magazine, and Yelp reviews – this is probably the worst philly steak sandwich I’ve ever had in Philly. There is a lack of well-known/dedicated philly steak places in Center City. The problem here I should have known was how my sandwich was ready in only a few minutes. The cashier was calling out names of others so I figured like past experiences, my sandwich’s meat was being cooked to order. Nope, it was pre-cooked and not good. On top of that this place (and apparently the well-known Geno’s among others) doesn’t chopped up the meat after it is mostly cooked but rather give you big rubbery slices of steak. I guess I’m more traditional in line with Pat’s that chops. Also not enough onions. The only saving grace was the good Amorosa roll but every place in Philly uses those. Not worth a return trip. 1:03pm – I walk the few blocks to Sansom St, the foodie mecca where Michael Solomonov has packed in 5 of his restaurants within a short 2 block radius. Today, he is my savior and redeemer (almost all of the rest of the restaurants here are part of his group). First stop, Federal Donuts. It is a small shop with limited seating but just enough. I order a 3 piece fried chicken basket (drum, thigh, and breast) with optional zaatar dry seasoning which comes with a honey-accented cake donut. I also want to bring some donuts home for the family. I am disappointed when only the made-to-order hot and fresh sugary donuts are available because apparently they sold out already of all the fancy glazed donuts in the morning. So I only order a half dozen. Well while waiting for my chicken, I’m pleasantly surprised to see the resupply delivery come in. The very nice cashier is now happy to sell me another half dozen glazed donuts. The chicken is fresh, hot, crispy. I’m not sure if I’d go for the zaatar spice again as it only added a bit of extra flavor – maybe one of the KFC-like glazes next time. The honey donut is spot on and nice contrast to the chicken. 1:30pm – I walk across the street to Dizengoff humuseria but decide to pass today. (We already have good humus at Little Sesame in DC and in my/your kitchen.) 1:32pm – I go up to Goldie looking to get vegan tehina milkshake but the line is out the door. No worries, I go to its basement into the Rooster, which is where the leftover Federal Donuts chicken parts go to make delicious Yemenite-spiced matzo ball soup. It is actually a quaint Jewish deli with a nice bar and small tables. (note almost none of these places are fit for a group – better for 1 or 2). The soup hits the spot with a nice soft matzo ball (despite what my wife and her family say – real matzo balls float and don’t sink). Still thinking of ending on a sweet note I head back up to Goldie and my luck struck again, no line. The friendly lady explains the shakes are made from soy and almond milk with added tehina. She offers me a taste. They have a softserve machine that they mix up for shakes and if desired add more flavored syrups too. I’m sold on the original plain tehina shake. It is cold delicious and I’m not missing the dairy. 1:45pm – I jump in a cab and finish up my shake on the way to the train station. I will note the fafafel and fries at Goldie would be a great option too. Also the sandwiches at Rooster looked scrumptious. The one Solomonov place on the street I didn’t mention is Abe Fisher, upscale nouvea eastern European Jewish cooking, is right next to Dizengoff but only open for dinner. I almost got some soft pretzels from Philadelphia Pretzel Factory to bring home but passed as I heard their only good hot and I was already burned by one Philly classic dish today. For those more pretzel-inclined, they are ok (I’ve had them before), and it is a chain that is also right nearby the other places on Sansom St and there is a stand near the train entrances in the main hall of 30th St station. The only thing missing from Sansom St is Solomonov’s Israeli upscale restaurant Zahav which is a short drive away in another part of town. 2:05pm – I make it to the train station to find out my train is 15 minutes delayed. I guess I could have gotten those schwarma spiced fries at Goldie. 3:00pm – I pass out with mini-food coma nap on the train.

Last Saturday went to lunch at Bantam King. I've been a couple of times before and just as before, we enjoyed the chicken gyoza a lot to start. Then, we tried the fried chicken for the first time. We had the kids who are fussy about spice, so we they made a big breast without the heat or Asian glaze. It was still very delicious. The kids are suckers for sticky Japanese rice and lapped this up. We also got an off menu kid's ramen soup but that wasn't the kids' jam - to be fair only one of them really likes chicken soup and she wasn't into the ramen noodles and the broth was lighter but rather salty. My wife and I really enjoyed our soups. I had the miso ramen which was almost creamy without dairy and my wife had the shoyu ramen which was almost meaty with the umami burst from the soy sauce. I actually liked hers better and will have to remember that next time. Last time, I had the chintan (lighter) broth and really enjoyed it too.

Love this thread. My 2 elementary schoolers lean toward the picky side but over the years we've been able to expand their diets a bit. I always am thankful they are better than me as a kid - I only ate about 10 things including my only vegetable was raw green peppers along with chicken, hamburgers, and bread plus desserts of course. Tonight my kids shared with us homemade turkey meat sauce and rigatoni. The kids had to have them separate on the plate. They are big pasta eaters but usually want it with only butter or olive oil and salt. They also took great pains to dissect the sauce to pull out the big chunks of crumbled turkey meat and dab off as much sauce as possible. Oh yes, they had baby carrots for an appetizer - by far their favorite vegetable.

We used to go decades ago when I lived in MoCo. Usually had one of the sandwiches with golden sauce. It was a fun place with a fun menu - food was ok but usually good value.

I went a couple of weeks ago during weekday lunch and it was rather busy. Line moved quick though. The pita and the #4 sweet corn hummus with Salt Roasted Onion, Pickled Fresno Chili, Taalia & Cilantro was very good. I also had a side of the cucumbers which were ok - nothing to special. The let down was the vanilla soft serve with halva crumble. It was a tiny portion and rather expensive plus it wasn't very good. I had thought it was made with tahini but it is actually dairy-free coconut based ice cream. Skip it, and stick to the creamy hummus.

I realized I haven't posted on Dino's in a long time. While we miss having them in our neighborhood, we usually still visit in their current location a few times a year and every time it continues to be great. Last time about a month ago, we started off with some great cocktails, then always good wines (love the small, medium, and large pour options). Appetizers really shine and great pastas. Also finished with a very well balanced asian pear-cello digestif. I don't recall all of the exact dishes, but wanted to bump this up again as this place deserves to be in your regular rotation as it is quality food and service, not too crowded, and so many options on the menu that you can go for a light bite, drinks, or a full multi-course feast.

Sushi is ok but not the strongest items on the menu at Spices. Their salads and main dishes are usually better - still a fan of the Big (Peking) Duck. What Japanese Garden nearby are you referring to?

Well Chipotle lost the burriot battle in Cleveland Park. After many years with both Chipotle and CalTort about a block a part, the Chipotle abruptly has closed. Luckily CalTort is our family go to since the kids didn't like the flavoring added to the Chipotle chips.

Recently tried the Megastuff variety - seemed like 2.5-3 times the original or 1.5 double stuff filling ratio. They were good no doubt but seemed a bit much, I'll probably stick to double stuff. I like the original but double stuffed are more of a good thing. Also yes you have to eat at least one with pulling off the cream, but I like eating the cookie whole too so I tried to do both.

Had a delicious lunch today during my first visit to Bom on 18th st in the heart of Adams Morgan. It has a rather large menu for a korean-fried chicken place with a similar menu to the BonChon chain plus a bunch of other appetizers and entrees and sides (sides may be identical to BonChon). The food is legit tasty. We started with pickled radish and kimchi. The friendly waiter asked whether we preferred fresh or old/sour kimichi and when we couldn't decide he brought both. Both were very good - I liked the fresh one better while my friend enjoyed the more sour/funky one better. Next we were served a large stone bowl of bibimbap while we waited for our wings. The bibimbap had a nice over easy egg in the middle surrounded by a mix of fresh veggies and our choice of protein - spicy chicken (there are 3-4 other choices including a vegetarian option). It was very flavorful served with gochujang spicy sauce on the side. It was ample for 2 to share or would make a whole hefty meal for one. Very fresh and well made - the stone bowl was great to get the crispy rice on the bottom. Finally our wings arrives - we got a mix of wings and 2 drumsticks - half spicy and half soy. Very similar to BonChon and equally yummy. The spicy had some real heat but an enjoyable amount, not melt your face spicy. They also have an ongoing 20% dine-in deal because I guess they get a lot of carryout. It was mostly empty during lunch. I will say the decor was an interesting mix - they have a clubbish bar, then a ton of TVs like a sports bar, and then a bunch of tables for more of a sitdown restaurant vibe. Regardless, we both thought the food was great and a good price for the neighborhood. We plan to add it to the lunch rotation.

Sorry to hear about the pipe issue. A couple of weeks ago, I had the prettiest and probably tastiest pizza ever at 2Amys after having eaten here countless times in the past decade or so. It was perfection - squash blossoms, roasted baby zucchini, tomato puree, parsley, cherry tomatos and a big piece of burrata in the center drizzled with olive oil. I usually enjoy the pizza and love the other stuff but this was so seasonal and delicious. Hopefully, the repairs are quick.

Finally got to Sababa last night with friends and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very nice cocktails to start - a bit on the sweet side (which I like) - I had the gin Phoenicians Frappe and tasted two of my friends. I noticed though that the cocktails are basically spiked versions of the house-made sodas and juices. Next time I may try the non-alcoholic versions. We also enjoyed their light white Georgian bottle that paired well with the food. Servers were friendly and knowledgeable about the dishes. The complimentary small dish of pickles was very nice with a variety of cucumber, carrot, and also radish I think. We started with the salatim which came with nice whole wheat pitas and also the hummus tahina which also comes with 2 pitas. Hummus was nice and passed the taste test of the 4 diners, all of who have lived in Israel at some point in our lives. The salatim were explained to be side dishes to eat along with other dishes and not really meant to serve as a separate app. I think you could do it either way, but were nice grab a bite of later in the meal so I'd probably order them again at the start to whet our appetite but only eat half and save some to eat throughout the meal. We then had the charred eggplant which was one of the standouts. Big rounds of charred outside, creamy inside that paired very well with the pomegranate seeds and herbed green sauce. I would definitely order this one again. Next was the hallomi which was good but not too excited (it may be that hallomi is just not my thing). We also got the Not for Faint of Heart - hot sauces and chili pepper dish which really is blow your mind hot. The green zhoug is very nice and the red harissa is pretty hot, but those chili peppers has us all tearing up and my dining companions are some chili heads. We were pretty stuffed at this point but gluttons that we are we also ordered the lamb shank and veggie coucous tagine big plates. These are both sizeable dishes that could be shared by 2 people as a sizeable meals or like us enjoyed by more. The lamb shank was really excellent - crispy in places on the outside, super tender inside - lots of great meaty flavor balanced with the sweetened red cabbage. The tagine was only so so - the charred veggies in it were charred a bit too much that a lot of their flavor was lost and overall the dish lacked flavor. Our friends had been once before and thought we ordered better this time as except for the above noted couple of less flavorful dishes, it was all really good. It is a very welcome addition to the neighborhood and now my tough choice will be whether to go to Bindaas or Sababa.

I recently had this new sandwich and it was good, but not as good as other items I've had here in the past. A few weeks ago I ended up going there for back to back lunches with several work colleagues. Everyone was very satisfied. I still love their Shouk salad - perfect combo of fresh and cooked veggies with good crunch. Sweet potato fries and polenta fries were spot on. Also still great cardamom chocolate chip cookies. My real lament is that they seem to have taken the beet tahini dip off the menu when it was SO good. I hope they bring it back. I'm also excited that Doordash will now deliver to me in upper NW - stupid Ubereats said I was outside the deliver zone for a long time.

I haven't been to Mama Ayesha's in a long time. I wasn't very impressed on my prior visits. What do you like there?

All are good and slightly different. I recommend trying all and figuring out what you like. Naf has the most options, then Yafa, then Little Sesame (which is really hummus focused).

Now this means that there will be three good quality eats casual places to get Israeli/Palestinian/Middle East food within 2 blocks when you add in Naf Naf and Yafa Grille. Lucky people who work downtown.

I agree that in finding a good bagel to one's taste you need to consider the size and hole/bread ratio. However, I've found all types of NY style bagels that vary on these parameters. The key difference IMHO is that a real Montreal bagel from Montreal is sweeter - it has honey water as part of its baking process vs. NY bagels do not. The few times I had bagels from the classic Montreal bagel shops, I thought eww that is so sweet. Whereas I know others love that style. It is a matter of personal taste. I will say though that many Montreal-style bagels in the US don't seem as sweet but without that sweetness, there isn't much difference in general regional style. The differences then fall to the particular bagel shop. In DC, you can get smaller, bigger hole bagels at Baked by Yael or Breadfurst or you can get good big chewy on the outside, but fluffier/thicker bagels at Bethesda Bagel in Dupont. For medium sized but really nice chew, Timber Pizza is a good option (not sure when the bagels are available, maybe not be all the time). Oh and the NY water thing is BS! I lived in NY and DC and it is such a blown out of proportion myth.

So I see there hasn't been a lot of posts on Le Diplomate in recent years and I too have made the mistake of not going there in a long time. I fixed that problem last weekend and you should too. The place is still packed but for good reason - great quality food, service, and huge portions. I was lucky and noticed a last minute opening for a reservation for an early dinner and we jumped on it and rushed over. Really excellent experience. The staff was very friendly and nice to our 2 young kids. Cocktails were good but leaned toward more classic then innovative. I had their riff on a French 75 and my wife had the vodka based one - hers was better. The bread basket is still really great - I loved that nut and cranberry bread. The good bread continued with a really nice cheese course appetizer - the goat with the spiced honey and marcona almonds went especially well with the blueberry nut toasts that came with it. The applesauce like spread in the middle of the cheese plate was ok but all 3 cheeses we had were very nice. The kids shared the half roasted chicken which is not only cooked nicely with moist meat and crisp skin but has a really flavorful pan sauce (went great with fries dipped in it). We subbed the mash potatoes that come with it for the excellent haricot vertes coated in butter. Perfectly crisp flavorful beans indulgent with butter - hmmm. My wife's main was the huge steak frite. The steak was charred nicely and cooked to a perfect medium rare. She really enjoyed it. It comes with a whole huge plate of fries enough for 4 people. I opted for 2 appetizers for my entree which was completely over-ordering. The apps are really large and depending on which one you get, 1 could be an entree. My luck - I ordered 2 large ones. The salt cod brandade whipped with mashed potatoes and served warm in a skillet with a baguette was very good. I saved the best for last and really loved the mushroom tart. It is basically a mini-pizza but on flaky tart crust spread with truffles, topped with small rustic mushrooms and heavily sprinkled with cheese. It was divine. I could eat this once a week. We were stuffed and skipped dessert but it was tempting. It was a pretty reasonable price too since I had the most amazing leftover lunch of the second half of my 2 apps the next day. So if you haven't been or haven't been in a while and like French bistro - head back again soon. The only word of caution is be prepared to have an awkward conversation with your kids when they see the naked lady photos in the bathroom.

I read through the thread but have never been to Convivial and now am bringing a large group of 17 for a business dinner in a couple of weeks. What are the best dishes/drinks/desserts to not be missed?

Lebanese Taverna is very consistent across their many restaurants. It is a shame the Bethesda spot is closing - it was a go to midway meeting spot for meals with family who live in upper MoCo and us in NW DC. The baba is still my favorite of anywhere in the area and the lamb dish with the lamb stuffed grape leaves is killer.

I would call it Big Deal Gadol but I like Sababa. CP is the coolest neighborhood in DC

Had a nice weekend in Williamsburg with some decent and good eats. Best food was lunch Two Drummers Smokehouse bbq restaurant in Toano (this is 20 minutes outside of Williamsburg about 10 minutes detour off the highway on the way toward Richmond/95 - I found it on yelp). I had the two meat combo for $15 for a large amount of food includes good cornbread and choice of 2 sides. Brisket was spot on - nice smoke, juicy, a bit fatty, nice bark. Chicken was juicy breast meat, but a bit plain. Both went well with the red memphis-style sweet Rudimentary sauce. On the table are also a mustard vinegar that was ok, a hot red sauce that wasn't too hot, and upon request a bit too sweet peach bbq sauce. The Rudimentary was good, the rest were ok - although the vinegar may have been great with pulled pork which I didn't try. The sweet potato fries were delish and cole slaw was pretty good (not too vinegary and not too laden with mayo or maybe none at all if I recall right). Hushpuppies were ok - a bit plain and dry. Kids liked their chicken fingers and wife like the pecan crusted chicken. Place is cozy, a bit dark with a bar and waiter service but very casual. It looks like some evenings they have live music. I'd go again for the brisket, cornbread, Rudimentary sauce and value meal. Another place we went was DoG Pub, which was rather good and is in the merchants square just steps west of the west end of the historic area. We had a very nice 3 cheese plate, pretty good/not great fish and chips (good quality fish but both fish and chips could have been crispier), washed it down with a very nice Mead from nearby VA. This place was very busy and I recommend getting a reservation. They had a huge beer and drink list. Very friendly and quick service. Also, if you are in the historic area and want some quick snacks that are not "historic", the Williams and Mary B&N bookstore is next to the DoG pub just west of the historic area - they have a cafe with all kinds of snacks and starbucks coffee.

Trattoria Al Volo in Cleveland Park in the old Ripple space is a very welcome addition to the neighborhood. It is still working out some slow service kinks but overall food is rather good, prices are on point for the neighborhood, and service is very friendly. The homemade pastas and sauces are very good quality and tasty - this is consistent at their Cucinia at Union Market, Osteria in Admo, and in this locations - all of which in the past year I've tried several times (mostly in anticipation of this new place opening near my house). The menus at all of the vary somewhat and the current menu at the CP location seems to fluctuate slightly each time that I've gone (3 times so far in the past 2 months). They seem to do best with the ravioli/mezzaluna/stuffed pastas which are the most flavorful and for an added bit of fun, can be seen being made in real time in one part of the dining room. Instead of an open kitchen, they have a window ledge where a nice gentleman is busy assembling raviolis much to the delight of the kids and foodies. The caesar salad is presented nicely and is a bit non-traditional but very good. Burrata and tomatos was only ok. Friends liked the big plate of calamari. The meatballs are all beef (good for non-pork eaters like my family) but only ok. The only secondi I've had is the branzino daily fish which was large and delicious - simple whole cooked fish with lemon and herbs. The various meat options look huge and enough to share for 2. Which is the overall vibe of these place - good quality, nicely made food but nothing too fancy and also priced a bit less than fancier places. Portions are also on the larger size. Overall a good neighborhood restaurant, not a foodie destination. The several reds and whites I've tried by the glass have been good (I'm not too fussy about wine though FWIW) including a surprisingly good house red. Desserts are mostly a bunch of different rotating cakes that they told me are made on the off hours by a pastry chef at a restaurant in town. I've only tried 2 of the chocolate cakes and both were like everything else well-made, tasty. Two dishes I had that were only ok - a bit bland - rigatoni with mushrooms and the manticotti (too much mozzarella cheese without enough flavor). The only real hiccup has been that on 2 of the 3 times we went there has been a rather long wait between apps and entrees. I think they are still figuring out their timing in the kitchen. Overall, if they fix this last issue, they'll have a very successful run here (hopefully).

Definitely get the soup - it is good. Broth is flavorful but pretty clear with diced veggies. Matzoh ball is well made and is medium density - not super fluffy but not rock hard. This last point helps out families like mine where some like hard and some like soft. I still don't understand the allure of hard matzoh balls but some people are a bit meshugah.

I have always said that the pizza is good at 2 Amys but I usually find the appetizers/small plates to be outstanding. I used to love their crostini but they seemed to have moved away from offering them. Lately, I've been enjoying their various fish offerings - the anchovies and peppers on the regular menu are always nice and on Monday I had great pickled sardines with olive tapenade off the special menu. On two recent occassions, I had the same eggplant with smoky/spiced tomato sauce with the lightest, freshest sheep's milk ricotta. The suppli telefono and my perennial fave the salt cod croquettes were very good on Monday. The kitchen has a great way with the fryer. One new twist after years of being the same, now the salt cod croquettes come with a bit of lemon aioli and the usual lemon wedge. I think I'm still partial to the lemon wedge but options are nice. Lastly, the roasted olives are great to share as a app.