KeithA

It is Griffin Tavern and I ate lunch their last month and it was just ok, which is why I didn't recommend it. The food is decent, but nothing more special that your local cafe/bar with a full menu. Price is ok though. So like pax said if you need hot food and no other options, check it out, otherwise I'd seek greener pastures.

I forgot to update my post from awhile ago. Very soon after I made the restaurant aware of this minor service problem (I did so through a means separate from this board and more as an informative note, then a big gripe seeking reparation), the manager called me and profusely apologized (which was not necessary and I told him so) and thanked me for letting him know of the service problem and proceeded to offer me an unsolicited freebie on my next visit. I point this out to show that BDT's management clearly takes service seriously and is seeking to avoid any future issues. Kudos to them for going above and beyond to leave this diner with all good feelings about the restaurant.

I've never been but L'Aubege Provencal is probably within about a 30 minute drive and it is supposed to be another good, fancy kind of place. During the day you can also check out Rappahanock Cellars/Winery which has some pretty good stuff and its fun for a tasting - it is only about a 10 minute drive away. If you go to the winery, I recommend you skip the Oasis winery down the road which is very commercial and just plain sucks IMHO. Also, I'd check the other thread here that is called something like small towns in Virginia that may have other recommendations within a short drive: http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=3048

Congrats Dean. We were originally sad when Yanyu left that space, but now have been very grateful ever since that you opened Dino in its place!

Had a pretty good burger for lunch on July 4th. It was similar to Five Guys, but the 2 onion rings on the burger (you can request it for 75 cents extra) were crispy and good. Also, the chocolate peanut butter shake was excellent. The 50 or so kinds of shakes on the menu will probably be a bigger draw for me than the burgers. Hmm Hmm good.

FWIW - Yesterday I saw an empty storefront along CT Ave, south of Dupont Circle with a big sign saying Nandos and peri-peri chicken coming soon. No idea when it will be open.

Went last night to Dupont location. We had 3 different small pizzas which were all ok. Mostly veggie pizzas which were cook well but seriously lacking in seasoning. First I tried a pinch of salt, no good, then a pinch of dry parmesan, nope and then the olive oil which was getting better. Ultimately I finally got some taste when I added all 3. But this should not be necessary when I ordered their Siciliana which has a ton of fresh vegetables, capers, etc. My 2 dining companions agreed the crust especially had no taste. Oh well back to 2 Amys.

So how is the taste compared to Tangysweet and old school froyo like TCBY? Is it more of a soft serve ice cream flavor or more like normal yogurt?

Since the menu is small, how about posting the prices - at least for the burger? Some of us not in VA who may want to drive for a tasty burger need to make sure it is worth the gas expense,

Great lunch at BDT today. I had a bite of the green lettuce and walnut salad which had a very nice nutty, mustard-based vinagrette on it. For main I had the very good braised beef rib - which is essentially very tender steak. It could have been a bit more fork tender, but once you splashed it with the steak sauce it was plenty moist and flavorful. Also shared the excellent and rather filling goat cheese grits and the very good mixed mushroom side which had what looked like a few big porciinis, morels, and another type with very skinny stems and a small button on the end. Both went very good with the beef, especially the mushroom which became even better with a drizzle of the steak sauce. The last side we had was the white asparagus with almonds which was pretty good - a good lighter flavor after all the heavy, earthiness of the other dishes I had. Other had and enjoyed the scallops which look large and nicely sauteed and the veggie gnocchi with an egg and what looked like morel mushrooms. For dessert we shared an apple pie which is wonderful - just the right amount of spice, not to thick crust (although not really flaky for those that like that kind) and tasty apples and some vanilla bean ice cream. Overall everyone raved about the meal. Service was pretty good except toward the end of the meal all of the wait staff disappeared as our lunch extended a little later than the typical lunch hour - which wasn't so bad except for a few waits, but my one gripe is I was left with nothing to drink, just an empty water glass for most of our dessert till I snagged a waiter for a refill. If not for these minor service problems, a perfect meal.

I got Adam's email about Tuesday night being an awful night, but when I was there in the later part of the evening my wife and I had mostly a very nice time (with the only minor problems being few longish waits for dessert and our check). On last Tuesday night, my wife and I had a very nice time at Enology for the first night of its 3 nights of invitation-only opening. The wine bar is a nice space split half into a cozy bar with comfy stools (with backs - always a pet peeve of mine) and a bunch of two tops and half in a more airy dining room with nicely spaced 4 tops and larger tables. The menu is similar to its sister restaurant, Veritas, with a large selection of wines by the glass, bottle, and flight including a number of dessert wine choices for drinks (plus some beers and cocktails) and a variety of cheeses, meats, flatbreads and chocolates. The staff was very friendly and pretty well informed as could be expected on opening night. Service started off well, but as the evening went on we had some significant waits for our dessert order and our check, but these seemed like opening night bugs that could easily be fixed. Looking around the room the wine flights and flatbreads seemed to be most popular. We had the a flatbread, which like all the flatbreads looks like a large uncooked pizza (1 is enough for an entree or easily shareable by 2-3 as an appetizer) . The bread is thin and very crispy - a little too tough in my opinion. The Puget Sound flatbread we had was a very nice combo of salmon, crème fraiche, snipped chives, and very thin sweet, raw red onions. Other flatbreads had different combos of cheeses, meats, and vegetables. However, I've since heard that the flatbreads may not be currently on the menu while the kitchen works out the kinks. My wife also had a small cheese plates which was pretty disappointing. First the cheeses are served on tiny, overcrowded plates with fluffy breads. Toasted bread or crackers would have been much better to spread the cheeses and to get the flavor of them. We had the purple haze goat which was really good, a camembert which we didn't like, and the fleur de lice, also a very creamy cheese which I didn't like at all, but my wife thought went well with the quince jam that came with the cheese plate. The only other accompaniment for the plate were 2 cornichons and 2 green olives. As for the wines, we each had a flight. The GM Jamie, I think, well especially knowledgable, friendly, and helpful in finding ones that fit our tastes and the flavors of the food. I had the the red "Lighter Side" which was pretty good, especially mondeuse, au bon climat, santa maria valley, california, 2006. My wife had the white Flight 3238 and really enjoyed all 3, especially the crisp, less fruity chardonnay, pine ridge, napa valley, california, 2006. We also stuck around for dessert and enjoyed a sampling of all the chocolates (6 in all) which are great 1-2 bites each. The coconut-lime was the best, followed by the caramel and the classic. The montezuma with chili peppers was fun and different, but actually too spicy for me. We had them with the "Don’t Forget the Chocolate" red dessert flight - which was hit and miss. The sherry was a bit too strong for us, but we really liked the quady elysium and other mara zinfandel (but it looks like these last 2 have been changed on the current webiste: http://www.enologydc.com Overall a fun night. Thanks to Adam for giving us an opening deal and for bringing a new place to CP.

The same building also has a Ritas - italian ice/ice cream place located in it, so the gym goers have several temptations.

Went today for the first time for the lunch buffet in Rockville on a friend's recommendation that he goes there with his family all the time. For those who don't know where this a bit off the beaten path place is, it is right next to Kosher Mart (used to be Katz's grocery store) down the road from what used to be Lotte asian supermarket (now a latino supermarket) - note unlike some of the places in this shopping center Mem Sahib is not kosher to my knowledge. Anyways, it was an excellent buffet with a large selection of different dishes and cheap at around $11. There are the usual chutneys (although the mint was labeled hot and did have a kick), yogurt sauces, homemade pickled veggies, naan bread, but also puffed poor bread, rice pilau, several chicken dishes - butter chicken, flavorful and moist tandoori chicken, a handful of vegetarian dishes including a really good eggplant bharta, and for dessert -very good rice pudding (and I'm not usually a fan) and a carrot dish labeled raita (although unlike any yogurt/cucumber sauce raita I've ever had). The service was quick to refill drinks and take away plates. Also unlike posts above on the dinner, you don't eat with your hands, there is silverware provided. I highly recommend this place, great food, quick, and cheap, what more could you ask for. And the atmosphere is fun too with the bollywood movies and the couch-like seats.

Stop by yesterday to beat the heat. The space is kind of a funky cave atmosphere - different, not bad, just different. There was a long line to the door and people seemed to really like it especially the "healthiness" since most got berries and granola as toppings as opposed to the chocolate chips. Once I got to the front of the line I had a taste of the pomegranate since I'm a big fan of poms, and I quickly thanked them for the taste and left. It was not my cup of tea, because unlike the fro yo of my memory (ICBY, Columbo, and TCBY) that tasted like soft serve ice cream, the Tangysweet tasted tangy, really tangy like yogurt in soft serve form. Now I like yogurt and I know this may sound silly, but don't go if you are expecting old school fro yo, this is not artificial, but real yogurt in soft frozen form. Personally I'll save my yogurt for breakfast and smoothies and stick to ice cream for dessert. So try it for yourself and see, but don't be surprised like me.

This differs a lot from my usual experience dining in there and I almost never do carry out. More often than not, the service is on the slow side, than fast.

I disagree, the food is pretty much the same it has always been in the last 3+ years that I've lived nearby and eaten here at least once every week or two. The food is about a 6 out of 10 - good, not great, but the prices are very good - large bowl of different types of pho for around $7-8 or other meat or seafood entrees for $10-15. Also some dishes are better than others - most of the chicken dishes are alittle overcooked, but the beef dishes are usually spot on. My two favorites besides pho are the lemongrass skewered beef and Nam-Viet special stir-fried noodles with tofu, and mixed vegetables, which is like a vietnamese twist on pad thai. I will agree that the service is somewhat chaotic - you don't really have a server, the whole team waits on you or doesn't. However, I do think as a regular, service may be bit better because they know me. Nonetheless, the servers are all very friendly and willing to explain dishes. My thought is that it is a great neighborhood restaurant and one of the few metro-accessible pho joints in the District.

You are probably correct about it being fried, I did see the scoring which made me think grilled.

Last time I was there the table next to us ordered the vegetable fasting platter with the fish and it is not chunks of cooked fish that I would have expected, but rather a whole, small-medium, grilled (I think) fish which looked plenty meaty. Another reason this place is a great bargain.

Lunch was very good. Started with the salmon rillete - good size portion of creamy salmon chunks mixed with smoke salmon and probably lots of cream or creme fraiche and nicely seasoned. It was more than enough to share as an app for 4 of us. Only complaint is they need a few more pieces of toasted bread with it, we resorted to spooning it on the regular bread, which was still good, but toast was better. For main I had the special lamb panini which tasted great. At first it looked kind of like a cheesesteak, but once you bit into it you realized it was definitely high class cooking. It is a crusty roll with layers of thin sliced juicy, but well done lamb, goat cheese spread, and some bit of cooked tomatoes. On the size was a nice semi-thick tzatziki sauce, which was good, but not really necessary because the cheese and lamb already made the sandwich juicy and moist. Also it came with a side of very good crispy, but still potatoey fries with a bit of parsley and other seasoning - all for $14 I think, which was a steal at this pretty fancy restaurant. Everyone also thought the decor was nice and a bit swanky. Only downside of the decor is the open kitchen, which we sat near. I'm usually a fan of open kitchen, but even with a view directly into the kitchen, all I saw was the dishes come out and the chefs yelling orders - no actual cooking or preparation which must occur farther back in the kitchen and out of view of the dining room. So we got the noise (which still wasn't too bad) of the kitchen, but none of the real action.

Any truth to the rumor spread by Tom Sietsema today: "owner Dean Gold -- who, rumor has it, is doing the cooking there these days. True? We wait with bated breath for the answers."???

So one of my super nice neighbors revived the herb garden behind our condo buildings and filled it with about a dozen herbs that are doing fine, EXCEPT the basil which is being attacked and nibbled on by the alley cats, birds, squirrels or some other little critters. Anyone have an idea how to keep the basil intact and ward off the snackers? Thanks.

Proof last Saturday for the first time was a treat. Our group of 4 all commented on how comfy and nice the decors is from the soft leather seats to the great wine bottle glass walls. Service was very friendly and helpful in picking out glasses of wine to pair with our food. Kudos to our server for matching the interesting white burgundy with the delicious sablefish. The food was mostly very good. We started with a nice cheese plate which again had great pairings of condiments to go with each of the 3 cheeses (ash-rind pipe dreams goat with green apple slices, a very nice guyere with a golden raisin chutney/jam, and pecorino with extra thick honey). Other apps were gnocchi, chickpea spread flatbread, and white tuna crudo. The gnocchi topped with mushrooms, bit of asparagus and little peas had a very nice flavor combo, but like some others have said the gnocci itself was rather mushy. The flatbread was very tasty with a different twist on typical middle eastern flavors with the addition of pink, pickled radishes (I think that's what they were), however the chickpea spread itself (aka hummus) could use alittle more zip like some lemon. The crudo was very light and rich tasty at the same time - all around a nice dish that others have commented alot about already. The hands-down winner for entrees was the sablefish as others have raved. Moist, flavorful with perfectly cooked bok choy. Only minor complaint was the mushrooms were too peppery (some of the other dishes were likewise over seasoned with salt or pepper). Very good dish, I wish I’d ordered it. Rather I had the alright duck breast, which was nicely cooked but lacked depth of flavor – I couldn’t taste the five spice and its bed of coleslaw was pretty bland. The pomegranate sauce with the duck added a nice punch but I thought it was too sweet. Others also had the rabbit and didn’t think it was so hot, but I didn’t try it. We also had the crispy cauliflower side, which I really liked. A very different flavor for this vegetable which melded well with its sauce. Others thought it was only so so, because it lacked a strong cauliflower flavor – which I think is a plus though as I’m not usually a big fan. For desserts we got the sticky toffee pudding, the chocolate cake, and the rhubarb pie-like creation. Desserts were great all around. The toffee pudding was rich, but not too heavy and could have used an extra swirl of caramel on top even. I really enjoyed it. My wife loved the chocolate cake and wouldn’t give me a bite, but I did try the really excellent hazelnut mousse that comes with it, which I think could be a dessert in itself. Didn’t try the rhubarb but its plate was licked clean. So some hits and misses, but mostly the former and overall a very nice dining experience. Can’t wait to go back and really dig into the wine list.

Saturday night - Proof, which was really good. I'll write a full review in the Proof thread soon. Sunday, pretty weak lunch at Taipei Tokyo "Village" (I guess new owners) on Rockville Pike. Eggy, not crispy and bland scallion pancake, also bland vegetable yaki-udon, ok california and yellowtail rolls, and ok vegetable/blackmushroom buns (part of their sunday chinese specials that used to be good, but now are blah). It is a shame the quality seems to have gone down here (although I haven't been in a long time and may have had an off-day). Overall the food needed more seasoning for fuller flavors. Last night big bowl of warm pho at Nam Viet to cure the late winter weather inducing blues. Lots of slices of beef, flavorful broth kicked up with a few drops of lime and sriracha. Also started with the excellent vegetable garden rolls (vermicelli noodles, slices of fried tofu, mint) dipped in the spicy peanut sauce. This app of 2 good size rolls is so good that my wife refusing to share anymore, so I had to get a second order to get a taste.

Please tell us more about this soup. It was my one regret about doing the vegetarian tasting recently, it sounds really good and creative. Thanks.

No reason to be insecure or to doubt your descriptiveness. This board is all about learning more about food/restaurants and sharing that knowledge with others. Also I think there is nothing wrong with simple descriptions of dishes - Its better to read a review and know which dishes are good then for the review to never appear because the writer doesn't have the time or inclination to say they loved a chocolate dessert because it was rich and creamy. So welcome to all of the newbies, please continue to post about your food adventures, whether they're long or short posts!