KeithA

Last week was in Vienna for a few days. Mostly stuck at a work conference but did have 2 really good eating experiences: Gmoa-Keller Very nice cozy place with mostly locals but they have an English menu. We were lucky to go during autumn goose season and chose the Martini Goose special which was excellent. I later saw that almost everyone in the restaurant was eating this dish. We also had a very good veal Wiener schnitzel and two glasses of recommended Austrian red wine. Very friendly and quick service - food came out very quick. We are around 6 and it wasn’t too crowded. Very close to the Konzerthaus too where we went for a show. They also take reservations. Neni in Nachsmarkt - I love Israeli food but didn't plan on eating it in Vienna, but we were wandering through the market and I had heard such good things. Happy we chose it. Food was so fresh and good. Hot from oven pita, great hummus, and the amba spiced chicken was really good too.

Just got back from NOLA last weekend. First time there and I wholeheartedly agree to go to Peche - now! The food was excellent - we started with the hushpuppies and the kale/spicy peanut salad special which were great and a nice combo. Then the baked drum was divine - one of the best dishes I've had in a long time anywhere - and nicely inventive with the crispy rice balls. Apple strudel for dessert was pretty good too. Service was friendly and great. We also had a celeb siting of Willem Dafoe. Apparently the place is a real draw for everyone - our waiter told us of at least 3 different other movie stars who had dropped by recently. That being said we got an online reservation pretty easily about 2 weeks out. Really great. Very jealous of a friend who lives nearby. We also had a nice dinner at GW Fins. They have several items on the menu where they use up the non-filet leftover pieces of fish in creative ways. I liked the Fins tempura (see pic on their website but not listed on accompanying menu - https://gwfins.com/menus/dinner-menu/appetizers/) where they do a korean fried chicken treatment to the tender fin meat. Very good. I had the John Dory entree which was on top of a bed of grits that paired nicely with the sauce. My wife liked her flouder with mini gnocci. We also enjoyed the great hot biscuits from the oven (they bring around a pan to serve directly from). We also had the cornbread with blackeyed pea succotash which was very nice too. One morning we went to the Ruby Slipper branch in the Garden District for breakfast. Much quieter than the locations closer to French Quarter. It has a huge menu of every type of breakfast item you could think of and then some including many with creole twists. My smoked salmon eggs benedict on biscuits were good and messy. It is not a very fancy place but food is hearty and good. I'd go back but would probably see what else is available on my next trip. Lunches were at Bayonna and Shaya. Bayonna is a lovely location with a really pretty courtyard (apparently best to call and request that - we ate inside which was still nice). Service was kind but a bit kitschy with the upsell. I started with the baked goat cheese toasts with mushroom madeira sauce - it was tasty but I think they burnt the bread a bit and choice of bread wasn't the best - tasted like a seeded healthier bread whose flavor was zapped out of it by toasting too much. For main I had the recommended smoked duck PBJ sandwich - it was on the same toasted bread as the app which I think is why I only kind of liked it. The duck as advertised was cooked in the peanut butter sauce and had some pepper jelly with it. All of the other items overpowered the flavor of the duck. I wouldn't get this dish again. My wife enjoyed her salmon but didn't think it too special. We may have ordered wrong here although I apparently ordered two of their most popular dishes. Shaya was really good. Big fluffy Israeli style pita fresh from the wood oven in the back. Great creamy hummus with fried chicken pieces (no bones), all of the other salatim were good too especially the baba. We ate so many salatim that we split the chicken schnitzel sandwich with harissa mayo - very good and better when you add some of the celery slaw that comes on the side. We were at a disadvantage going in since we do not eat most of the traditional creole food (no shellfish or pork), but we found some great eats still. P.S. - the NOLA airport is very nice (revamped a couple of years ago) and has a bunch of good national chain but even better a bunch of local food options. The MoPho - pho place in the middle of the B gate part of the terminal hit the spot with a pretty good and quick beef pho (rare sliced flank and herb beef mini meatballs) - not the best pho - but really good for airport food.

Just got back from a long weekend in Acadia National Park/Mt. Desert Island - cold but beautiful. We only ate out at a few places: Bar Harbor Fudge at Acadia Country Store on main street in Bar Harbor was rather good. Lots and lots of choices and they'll let you buy however much you want in whatever flavors. We tried 6 or so different ones and liked them all. Havana - very nice and delicious but pricey. Warm, quiet and good service. The amuse bouche was bland but luckily that was the only miss. The bread basket had good wheat bread and blueberry bread (sweeter but mellowed a bit by the cornbread?) with 3 good dips, very hot chili oil, cinnamon butter, and white bean dip. Our entrees were really good - the adults got the halibut that was rich but lighter with nice accompaniments, one child got the filet mignon which was very nice (they offered to remove the coffee-rub for her too) and came with great potato side (crispy on outside and decadent, whipped inside) and other child got the roast chicken which was great with nice basil sauce and pineapple salsa. For dessert, my wife loved the blueberry bread pudding with Mt. Desert caramel ice cream scoop, kids got the same ice cream, and I enjoyed the good tres leches cake (big piece). Best meal we had on the trip. Worth making a reservation for in advance. McKays Public House - loud, slow service and ok food. It was decent but nothing special. Better than the super touristy places or fast food but probably would look for other options instead of returning. Bangor Timber Restaurant and Bar - very nice setting which is probably better for drinks. We went for lunch after our plane landed before heading to Acadia. Service was sloooow and food was good to ok. Nice pizzas in the wood fired oven and very good, ample haddock fish and chips. The beet, goat cheese salad was so so. It is a surprisingly nice decor for a restaurant connected to a Residence Inn. Also bonus it is across the street from the Paul Bunyan statue. Mason's Brewing Company across the river in Brewer was great. Big selection of food options, friendly staff, and nice view of the river (indoor and outdoor seating). I had a good footlong hot dog and great crispy brussel sprouts, kids' menu was good, and wife liked the mediterranean madness chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. Big cocktail and draft menus. Yes, I did try the blueberry cider and it was exactly what you think - a bit sweet and ok.

Anyone have any current recommendations? We are headed up in a few weeks. Thanks.

I have canned other things, but never pickles. Usually we end up eating half or more within a few months and then eat the rest over the course of the next year. Fermented pickles last a long time in the fridge. But if I did can them you are right, I could free up fridge space. Maybe I'll try that next summer if my harvest is as abundant as this year.

Agreed. They made wonderful pickles in lots of great varieties. I used to buy from them regularly before I started making my own. Such a shame.

My wife has started to regret that when we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago and added a separate wine fridge that we didn't also add a pickle fridge. My backyard cukes have been prolific this year. I am now claiming a good 6th of the fridge space with my 16+ quarts of pickles. I'll have to have some pickle parties soon to share with reduce shelf-space. This year, I mostly fermented all of the jar and almost all are cucumbers. I got a bit casual with recipes and kind of threw in a little of this or that to have some different flavors - about half have garlic, 2/3 have mustard seed and coriander seed, some have dill seed or fresh dill (or both), many have peppercorns, a few have bay leaf or allspice, I tried adding cardamon and ginger to a few, a few have dried chili de arbol peppers for the spicy pickle lovers, and one has a layer of olive oil on top per a recipe I saw in Joy of Pickling (you get a oil coated pickle when you pull in out of the jar). My only real innovation this year was the use of pickle weights, which I think made things easier. In the past I mostly tried to jam as many pieces of veg as possible real tight in the jar as the way to avoid floaters who get above the brine and potentially ruin the batch. That way in the past worked 80-90% of the time, but I found these pretty cheap glass weights that fit perfectly into the wide mouth quart jars I use and then no longer the need to worry - but I still recommend using the tried and true cram them in tight method for extra insurance.

Another good middle eastern/Lebanese place to add to your rotation is Bacchus of Lebanon in Bethesda. I wrote a review in the thread for that. Also, DC is about to get its 2nd meat kosher restaurant when Oh Mama Grill opens in AdMo in the near future: https://www.popville.com/2022/08/oh-mama-grill-dc-adams-morgan/ I've never been to the Rockville location, but it looks to have typical israeli street food - shwarma, falafel, schnitzel, etc. Probably not a destination dining unless you want to eat kosher, but I'm sure I'll give it a try eventually.

I went to the Bacchus yesterday for lunch for the first time in probably a decade or more. I was looking for middle eastern in Bethesda and since my old go to Lebanese Taverna closed, we decided to check out this place which I had remembered fondly (apparently they have been open since the late 70s). The restaurant is still fancy/over the top with lots of columns and a big chandelier in the center. They also now have a huge covered patio - probably doubling the size the restaurant. They are only open for lunch 12-2 and then take a break till dinner. I mention this because we ate at 1 and as we got closer to 2 the waiter asked if we wanted to order more as he wanted to let the kitchen staff go. The other surprise was that it was empty - while we were there for over an hour, we saw one other table for 2 and otherwise we had the place to ourselves (despite several other nearby restaurants with lots of people eating at the same time). This was nice for us in that we got private dining, but a shame for the restaurant and everyone else missing out on what was a really good meal. I'd recommend going and I hope they are busier at dinner time. Onto the food, our party of 6 enjoyed: Complimentary large, thin (no pocket really) hot pita and olive oil with lots of zaatar - great for dips and good zaatar. Not my favorite though as I prefer thicker flufflier pita but in my experience lebanese pita tends to be thin. Hummus - really good (and I have high standards for hummus) Baba ganoush - also very fresh and good. White beans - least favorite, I wouldn't get it again as it was pretty bland. Only really miss of the meal Tabbouleh - very flavorful mostly parsley salad but nicely dressed and served with pieces of romaine lettuce to scoop Malouf bel zeit - vegetarian rice filled cabbage leaves with mint and cooked with pomegranate molasses. Sleeper hit. 4 small finger sized rolls packed with herby, sweet-sour flavor. Maybe not for everyone, but I loved them Salmon mechwi - grilled chunks of salmon with grilled veggies and rice. I only tried the veggies which were good, but those who had the salmon really enjoyed it. Shish Taouk - grilled chicken breast and rice. Heavily spiced chicken with lots of flavor and very tender. It comes with some labneh with mint on the side that was pretty good. I think I would have preferred toum though. Fetteh Bel Djaj - pulled boneless roast chicken breast on top of fried lightly spiced pieces of pita and covered with garlic yogurt. This didn't look so pretty but was very tasty. I would get it again for sure. If you are in the area, I would check it out.

My wife and I went last night for the first time to Apero in Georgetown and really enjoyed ourselves. We wanted champagne to celebrate a special occasion and the sommelier did a great job with suggestions and helping us select a bottle that was a good fit for us. The food was very good. We have gotten a bit jaded after covid where when we go to a restaurant we really want the food to stand out as something special and not simply a good rendition of a dish we could make at home. We were not disappointed. We started with a nice cheese plate with 3 less common cheeses with some sliced apple, crostini and fruit spread. Then we enjoyed their black truffle gougeres (really nice small bread puffs with a nice amount of truffle flavor/aroma) along with the two best dishes of the night: hamachi crudo with asian pear and radish, and heirloom tomato carpaccio with ribiola cheese and basil. Both were elegant, so fresh, and delicious. Our large plates were the pappardelle with lemon riccota cream and a small amount of caviar and the chicken piccata. The pasta was delightful and not too heavy as the cream was light. The chicken was very lemony and very good. We finished by sharing their caramel bread pudding with vanilla gelato. The bread pudding was rich an yummy but the gelato was only so so. We agreed it would be fun to come back and enjoy some more drinks and share some plates with friends for a happy hour or light meal. They do have actual happy hour during mid-week. It is also tucked away on P St in a less busy part of Georgetown in an old townhouse that they have decorated very nice plus they have a back covered patio plus a few tables at a streetery.

I only got carryout a few times and it was only ok. Others may have more indepth experiences eating in there. However if you are looking for a kosher option it may rank much higher in your opinion considering the extremely limited options in the DMV.

I think this comment is meant to be respectful but think it needs to be put in a broader perspective. Each country in the middle east has it own "traditions" or more accurately variants on commonly-found dishes just like every country in every region. They are all influenced: by their neighbors (e.g Nepalese is often a combo of what we often think of as Indian and Chinese cuisine with its own unique variations), and the immigrants/visitors from other places that settled in them or brought their new foods with them (e.g. Texas BBQ was influenced by German immigrants, Italians didn't have tomatoes until they were imported from the Americas). So focusing on years of "traditions" is largely unimportant similar to the search for "authentic" anything. All of that being said, I think it is helpful and informative to point out that Israeli cuisine (possibly more than other middle eastern current cuisines) is more of an amalgam of far flung influences. This is explicit in Israeli cookbooks, like the Israeli Soul one I recommend above, that not only has recipes for pita, lavash, hummus, local vegetable salads, but also Bulgarian style kebabs, Yemenite spiced soups, Schnitzel, etc. Regardless though, most of the Israeli restaurants in DC and America focus on common middle eastern/Levantine dishes that you would find in Lebanese, Palestinian, etc. restaurants in the same US locales. They still have Israeli variants though just as there is differences between Syrian and Lebanese food. For example, the pita bread is often different - sometimes thick fluffy (Sababa (Israeli-influenced), Yafa Grille (Palestinian-American), and other times thin and chewy (Lebanese Taverna). All of them are delicious, so I'd recommend you try everything and see what suits your taste.

A few additional good places to check out- mostly Israeli: Sababa for modern Israeli, Little Sesame for great hummus bowls (also the best store bought hummus, almost as good as homemade), Tatte Bakery (while it has European pastries, it also has Jerusalem bagels, arayes and other Israeli goodies), Taim (falafel and hummus), Shouk for good fast-casual vegetarian food with Israeli inspirations. I haven't been to Yafa Grille in a while, but last time many months ago they were no longer making their great pita in-house so it wasn't as good. Hopefully they will start again as they are nice Palestinian-American brothers who run the place. Another place to go is Shemali's to stock up on Middle eastern ingredients. I'm less enamored with their prepared dishes but the fried kibbe are good. Also for anyone interested in Israeli cooking at home, get the Israeli Soul cookbook by Michael Solomonov - it has so many good recipes that are meant for home cooks and not as fussy of his also good Zahav cookbook. I especially like Israeli Soul's extensive section on hummus toppings and salatim.

I wholeheartedly agree. Recently went to Zaytinya and ate half the menu per a review I posted not long ago - food is very consistent and very good. I wouldn't say it is fusion though but rather pan-Mediterranean. They don't really mix cuisines so much as cover many different regional dishes. Still have to get out to Arlington to try Me Jana.

Always remember to check your old posts! 4 of us went last weekend to BK and the food was excellent.We got the Shio, Shoyu, and Miso ramen and wouldn't you know it, we all liked the shoyu best. Miso was second best followed by the shio. We also had really good huge breasts of fried chicken which comes with a spicy green sauce on the side that was really good. Unlike several years ago, my kids now were willing to try the ramen but only 1 was into it. She also liked the Shoyu the best. Their small charafe of house sake chilled was also good. The place was packed but not too long a wait. We really need to get this in our regular rotation now that we have re-emerged.

That is a bummer about LT. We have always enjoyed their food so much. In fact in March, they did a great job catering a dinner for us from the Woodley location. Hopefully, things will perk up. As for other places to check out, I agree with Zaytinya and also recommend Sababa (I wrote reviews of both in their separate topics based on meals last week).

Had another great meal at Sababa last week. Really enjoyed the hummus of the day with chopped vegetable ratatouile on it along with their usual fresh zaatar pita. Then, we had the good salmon kebab and the better steak kebab along with the excellent fried cauliflower and a bit intense but very good grilled broccoli. We also tried the non-traditional corn falafel and really enjoyed it. It was all washed down with a delightful Zephyr Breeze cocktail. We didn't get it but I saw they have the Mixed grill large plate on the regular menu now. Years ago I got this as a special for father's day, I think, and it was a lot of really great grilled meats. Service was a bit quirky though as it must of have the waiter's first day. She was so soft-spoken we could barely hear her and she seemed somewhat unfamiliar with the menu when we had a question. That being said, once we got our food orders in, it was very enjoyable.

We had a group of 8 last week for a great dinner at Zaytinya. The place was packed on a Wednesday night and loud as usual, but they put us at a great circle table in the back of the ground floor with a large lazy susan that made it great for sharing. We ordered a lot of mezze to share and I can't recall them all. My favorites were: Htipiti - red pepper and feta chunky dip that has always been good falafel crispy brussel sprouts with yogurt sauce Hummus with ground lamb Seared halloumi cheese with roast chunks of dates Smoked mushrooms Cauliflower Grape Leaves Crispy Eggplant Salmon Kofte beef kebab Hunkar begendi - lamb over pureed eggplant. It was good but I remember it better in the past. I like this dish so still would get it again. Mezze I would skip next time (not that they were bad, but just not anywhere as good as ones above): Taramosalata Smoked Beet Salad Tabbouleh Imam Bayildi - this one I liked a good deal but the crispy eggplant was much better. Very different dishes though. Branzino - nicely cooked but bland Chicken youvetsi Beef meatballs ***** Also, I didn't try to scallops but they were a big hit with the others.

Any recent recommendations (above looks pretty outdated)? We are going memorial day weekend for a few nights. First time there. Staying close to the downtown mall area and plan to check that out and other nearby sites plus Monticello. Thanks.

My father just texted me that we just missed it when we went last weekend. It's back baby - it's back! 🙂

Wash. Post actually reviewed Parkway Deli: https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/04/29/parkway-deli-restaurant-review/ We had a time lunch there over the weekend. Indoors is pretty much the same but now they built an nice outdoor deck with a full rain cover (still open to breeze on sides) in the back parking lot. Two separate checkins though - one inside for inside and outside for outside. We enjoyed some of the usual fare - deli twins (two onions rolls - one with hot pastrami and one with corned beef) hit the spot. One of us followed Tom's review and got the pretty decent fish and chips. Other liked the milkshakes, breakfast pancakes, waffles, and omelettes. The only real change is lack of pickle bar. You now ask your waiter for pickles and when we went they only had dill spears not the usual 6-8 different item variety. We got more dessert to go - good/not great rainbow cakelettes and black and white cookies. The big cakes still probably take the cake but we'd didn't indulge.

After being closed for several years, Sichuan Pavilion is back open. Nothing has changed which is a good thing. Still very solid Chinese food catering to both Chinese-American and more authentic Chinese tastes. They have now integrated the menu so there is no longer a separate authentic Chinese dish section but rather everything is together by type of dish (app, chicken, beef, etc.). We really enjoyed mother's day lunch - sticking to my wife's faves of szechuan string beans (really fresh and great), veggie lo mein (heavy on the garlic, which I thought was good as usually I find lo mein to be rather bland), sesame chicken (nice white meat), and chicken with broccoli. We also had pretty good pan-fried dark meat chicken dumplings and so so scallion pancake. Very good service on a not so busy day - about half full with many other families celebrating too.

3 of us tried out the Henri last Saturday. It had several pluses and some minuses. Parking -The website and reservation emails very nicely point out that they validate 2 hours of parking in the garage next door - but it is a bit confusing to get from the garage to the restaurant and back. (we got up to ground floor fine into an office building lobby but it took us around the block and then that same door was locked when we tried to leave and the staff suggested we walk down the long driveway into the garage, which worked but not ideal). Still the fact that there is parking available next door downtown is a real plus. The setting - The restaurant is cut in half by a center hallway with the open kitchen on one side and the nice bar on the other. In both of these 2 rooms are the tables for the regular dining room too. We started with cocktails at the bar. The bar is pretty big, with comfy chairs which we saw several people getting food there. It looked like they have a special bar snack menu plus the regular menu available. Then we moved to a oddly shaped oval table with one chair and backing up to a wide bench with various pillows. I don't know how they would have seated more than 3 people at this table. A few other parties were seated at similar tables nearby and then either left or moved to other tables. There were also several tables like this in the dining, plus regular tables. It was also rather loud in the restaurant as the tables aren't too close together but the space is very open and sparsely furnished in a nice modern way but sound really carries. Food/Drink - we each had one of their riffs on classic cocktails and really enjoyed them. Then, we started with a cheese plate. My wife and her friend picked them but we had good sized portions of 6 cheeses along with some cranberry mostarda (not the best), pear sauce (ok), and another fruity/sweeter sauce that was good, plus cornichons, and a basket of softer french bread. All of the cheeses were enjoyed a lot. However, the server couldn't tell us which one was which but we figured it out. They have a whole section of their menu for their special rotisserie grill so I order the lamb entree and cauliflower appetizer from that section. The rotisserie entree do not come with any sides so you need to order those a la carte. The lamb was good well cooked meat but nothing special. The cauliflower appetizer was surprisingly cold and not that tasty - very plain without much flavor. Much better was the crispy spinach side - kind of a french take on Rasika's well known and much beloved dish. My wife had the entrecote steak frite and said it was cooked well but rather grisly and fatty. I didn't try it but I did steal some very nice fries. Our friend had the barracuda filet which I tasted and thought it wasn't great - also very plain and surprisingly so as it came with vegetables, a sauce, and what we all thought looked and tasty like not great vegetable kugel wedges. Dessert was better. My fave was the rich but not too decadent chocolate hazelnut dish whereas others liked the chocolate brownie. I also really enjoyed the fruit tart which was unexpected in a good way - a very thin crust topped with a white chocolate mousse and rings of pineapple on top of that. We also enjoyed a good sauvignon blanc with dinner and a couple of us enjoyed the "dry" port with dessert - which was actually semi-sweet but nice. Overall it has the makings of a really nice restaurant which is trying to really make the most of its location near the theaters and downtown (they have a lot of private dining rooms in the back too), but they are still new and need to rethink those odd tables and work some more on the entrees to justify the high prices.

Glad to report that Julia's is still going strong. Stopped by the Admo location earlier this week and grabbed two yummy saltenas - juicy, nicely spiced roast chicken with hard boiled egg, olives, raisins (i think), and potatos on that great just thick enough to contain the juice but still soft dough covering that is their hallmark. They had a sign that their card machine was down so it was cash only.

Always been good food and still is. A few weeks ago when I was downtown, I got their pastitio. As with all of the order, huge portion of very tasty pastitio which comes with an ample portion of green beans with tomatos, orzo, a hunk of bread, and a good sized greek side salad. Definitely enough for 2 meals, maybe even three. All of it was very good except the bread was super plain - so good for mopping up sauces. Definitely, worthwhile if you are downtown and only a few blocks walk south of Dupont metro. I will also say it is sad to see how many places downtown there have closed - even the Chipotle closed. But it looks like several good indies are holding on like Greek Deli, Donburi, Bub and Pops, Yaffa Grille, Little Sesame, plus others. Some of these do delivery so show them some love even if you can't make it downtown.