danfishe

"We have our reasons, and we're happy to share them."

Just not in this blog post.

Actually, in fairness, he expands a bit in the comments section. The "Ghetto Latte" bit is the only valid reason I can see for the policy.

I think there is nothing wrong with Cho running his business however he wants, but he can hardly expect community support, or bemoan the masses as uneducated *$ drinkers, when he is so un-customer-friendly.

Nick Cho has posted a response on the Murky web site

http://www.murkycoffee.com/

Bullshit. You can maintain high standards and not be a taste fascist to customers who make requests that can be easily answered. Elevation Burgers only selling well-done burgers is only the flip-side of all those chefs who climb on their high horse when an otherwise perfectly nice human has the temerity to order their beef "medium well." Dickheads one and all. Petty fucking power tripping.

I think there is nothing wrong with Cho running his business however he wants, but he can hardly expect community support, or bemoan the masses as uneducated *$ drinkers, when he is so un-customer-friendly.

One thing I am curious about, if Mr. Landrum feels like answering: Is the restaurant going to remain in operation and in its current location once RTS moves down the street to Courthouse? Obviously it must be much easier to shuttle people and goods back and forth between two places a few stores down from one another.

Nor am I, just stating a personal observation. I find the options steps from my front door dizzying and that is a fantastic thing. I appreciate and thank all of you for bringing the new places in and making the neighborhood that much better. Bethesda can go pound sand! Perhaps we can all join forces and get rid of "the place that shall not be named" with the gold dome down the street. Think of all the square footage you guys could play with there!

Plan to meet friends at Spider's this evening and very much looking forward to it. Question - is it non-smoking?

Though I share your dislike of CF, I might hazard a guess that it does the rest of the neighborhood (non-restaurant) retail a service by bringing in a lot of foot traffic, especially on weekends.

In truth, the lack of table service and cramped quarters makes it extremely unlikely to become an Arlington kids' place like Rio Grande, Taquiera or Pie-tanza. Not that it's a bad thing, just that I can't imagine parents looking for a relatively easy meal with, say, under-7 children would choose to wait in line, hope for a table, etc.

The burger place is a great value and as I said I had a great meal there, but with some of the more expensive toppings it can be a pretty pricey burger for what is essentially a cafeteria-style meal. Nothing wrong with saying that. Obviously if your 8 year old wants bacon, guacamole and taleggio you are going to eat cheaper elsewhere...

Why did you find this ironic?

Well, on the RTS thread and elsewhere there has been extensive discussion about the crowds that patronize Mr. Landrum's restaurants, and who he is and is not looking to attract as a customer.

I got takeout yesterday; had blue cheese with bacon, mushrooms and onions, cooked recommended with diablo. The entire burger was great; the bun was a little soggy but to be expected with a 10 minute drive. The blue cheese taste was a little sharp for me but that was entirely my fault for not realizing that in advance. Whatever you want to say about Michael Landrum he is serving a great burger at a very good price. I did find it ironic that the crowd was about 80% courthouse post-frats.

I agree it's not as good as Ravi Kabob (although my last Chicken Karahi at Ravi Kabob was surprisingly dry). I wanted something quick, the buffet appealed to me, and I wanted to give La' Jawab a try.

Do they have the buffet on the weekends also? You don't happen to have a takeout menu you could scan in do you?

Also the corpse of Red Sage that still sits there (or at least did last time I walked by).

I heard a bank was going in there, but that is some prime real estate to be sitting like that. It is a huge space.

Oh, I am sad!

I had a few really nice evenings there.

Between B9 and the former Mexican place across the street, that little corner of downtown is hurting for dining destinations.

So sports bar should automatically equal crappy service?

Quoted from the Wash Post: It's a little distracting for a bar that has grand culinary ambitions. Thirsty Bernie aims to be more than just a place to knock back a few beers. The chef is Jamie Stachowski, formerly of Restaurant Kolumbia, who made a name for himself downtown with homemade charcuterie and sausages. "The whole idea is that it's pub food but at a higher level. I don't have the mental fortitude to do fine dining," Stachowski says with a sigh. "I want something fun right now."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8062400471.html

From the handful of grumblings here and my own limited experience (aka one visit with medicore food) Bernie is a work in progress, but it is a place that appears to have high aspirations, which apparently are not currently being met in its young life, hopefully any issues are fixed soon. In the Post article Jamie is quoted as saying he wants to get things "shipshape" for a July 4th's "Grand Opening"...that's one short week away.

Jamie might have high stature on DR but lets not get all sacred cow.

Honestly I can't figure out why I'm not supposed to relate my actual experience--i.e. the food has the potential to be great but there are serious service issues. I went in the other saturday, there were 3 other people at the bar, took the bartender 7 minutes to ask my if I wanted anything b/c she was busy chatting with preferred customers. If we can't relate our actual experiences b/c Jamie is one of the "DR Blessed" then might as well lock this thread along with Ray's and move on to discussing somewhere we are allowed to criticize.

I'm calling bullshit on your entire post, tool.

Don, while that post was over the top, to be fair the several times I have been there I have noticed the bartender totally blow off customers to gossip with the waiters, or pay attention to favored bar customers at the expense of everyone else. The food is great but there are structural service issues that Jamie should fix.

I went Saturday also. Definitely made a good first impression for a new place. The sliders and lasagna were great. I was disappointed not to see the charcuterie plate but Jamie said it would be coming soon. If I could make a couple of suggestions, it would be:

1) Don't ask for a credit card at the beginning for people having lunch at the bar. I thought this was odd also. It is totally understandable when the place is crowded but there were five people there.

2) They didn't have iced tea--that would be a key addition.

Otherwise, I look forward to going back.

Okay everyone, I normally wouldn't chime in here, but I happened to be at the bar also, and u-bet is describing the situation accurately. Personally, I wouldn't have mentioned the bartender because she was well-meaning and simply overwhelmed - I can easily write the service issues off to a new restaurant being slammed. (A second bartender would have helped enormously, but who knew that half of Arlington was going to be without power and camping out at bars? As an aside, Idylwood Grill was PACKED last night at 9:30 PM for precisely the same reason).

The beer and wine selections should be better.

And yes, the lasagna with homemade noodles, spinach, ricotta, fresh mozzarella, romano, and parmesan may have been the best I've ever eaten. It takes awhile to bake, so make sure you get something first.

It will be interesting to see how this establishment is faring two years from now.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Sounds like a great place and I look forward to checking it out this weekend. We'll test the limits of their tolerance when I ask to put on the NASCAR race...

And, as I mentioned, they were willing to accomodate and quick to tune in the game I requested (once I found the right person to help me).

Are the TVs good (flat screen, big, HD)?

I can confirm it is non-smoking. Everyone tonight stepped outside to smoke.

Overall, my first visit this evening left me with mixed emotions. I'm excited there's a nice place to go get a beer and watch a game nearby (within walking distance). I'm disappointed because I don't think it will be a place for the family. No highchairs, no kid menus, no milk. There were service problems tonight (one entree arrived 25 minutes later than the other 2, charged for items we didn't order), but they did just open Sunday so ok. And, they tried to accommodate for the kids (pointed out what was kid friendly, brought a side of peas though not on the menu). The food was fine (kielbasa, wiener schnitzel, grilled cheese), but not spectacular. Total bill with tip was over $80 (1 app, 3 dinners, 2 beers). I know it's called a sports bar and grill, but I had hoped it would be family friendly. As a man with his 2 young daughters at the table next to us said, "This is not Clarendon..."

I'm really surprised it is not kid-friendly; that seems odd and not a great business move. I know it is a sports bar but there are a lot of fathers in North Arlington that pull daddy duty on weekends for whom this place would be perfect. I assume that will change shortly.

Is the restaurant non-smoking? That may be too much to ask.

The location isn't THAT odd.

Seriously, if the food is good it will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. I do wonder what kind of crowd it will draw, as the demographic up here tends to be a little bit older (myself included) than down in the Clarendon/Courthouse/Rosslyn area.

Jason, that's exactly what I was talking about. It will compete with pie-tanza, taquiera, etc. and so I hope it has some element of family friendly.

That menu snapshot only captures half of the menu though. He's missing the right half, which has most of the entrees. My memory isn't complete, but I recall seeing a red snapper dish, a hanger steak, and a roast chicken among other things. Looks to me like this will be quite a step up from a typical "sports bar" in the food category.

The place looks great, and I will definitely check it out, but it is in a bit of an odd location; I hope it is able to succeed. Did anyone see whether it would be non-smoking? In North Arlington, that would definitely help, counter-intuitive as that may be in a sports bar.

This isn't quite the right thread but what restaurants in the area, particularly in NoVa, serve Cherrystones raw on the half-shell? The only place I have found so far is Kinkaids. Thanks.

Had an excellent Mothers Day brunch here this morning. This is the second time we have been for Sunday brunch and they do an excellent job. They offer a wide variety of items at a buffet, including smoked salmon, fresh sliced ham and lamb, mussels, pizza and traditional breakfast food. There is also a small ala carte menu. It is not the most creative or exciting brunch in the world but at $17, $7 for children, it is a lovely meal with great waiters and a very nice space. Frankly, I was surprised it was not more full this morning.

Honestly, the only good parking advice I have is to get there well before the opening bell, park on a side street, grab a cup of coffee, and make the circuit around the market so that you know what you want to buy. That also allows you to position yourself to be first in line for whatever dainties are available in limited quantities.

I had to meet someone at the market at noon last Sunday, and at that hour there is almost nothing left worth buying.

Thanks.

Ok, so you walk in and they immediately start pushing the alcohol. Then, they feed you exceedingly salty food, so you keep drinking more alcohol, and get buzzed enough that you don't notice or mind that hey- the food is a flavourless salt lick! The servers all have to wear awful outfits, and I'm doubtful that the restaurant provides them for free. (I run into staff from LP all the time, and they never look happy. Except when they're sneaking beer into a coffee cup on their smoke break.) Then there's the fact that the people that go to LP invariably *drive*, and are the cause of interminable traffic jams because OMG, they have to block the middle of the intersection to get into the valet lot because all those other cars on the road are clearly trying to just jump in line for the valet lot. And then there are the oblivious dingbats that think the sidewalk exists only to allow them to stand around and smoke and wait for a chance to get a margarita at the bar. And then there are the snailspacecruising doubleparking cabbies vainly hoping to lure one of those drunk patrons into *their* cab, when those same people are clearly just waiting to either get a table or have their SUV brought around.

LP is a blight on the landscape. Even if their food were decent, I'd hate them for the awful crowd they attract night after night after night. And there's no upside. At least the people going into Madams Organ are scantily clad.

That's just an enormous amount of tolerance you show in the last paragraph. And while some patrons do invariably drive, it is a huge restaurant and the young Hill and K street crowd definitely does not drive to LP. I've been there many times for lunch with friends from Texas who know real Tex-Mex, and while it clearly is not the greatest attempt ever made, it more than passes for decent, and makes for a pleasent time.

Again, I have no idea why this place inspires the vitrol that it does; I guess is the prejudice against the type of "crowd" that goes there but that's just unfair all around.