wdcbrucefan
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Everything posted by wdcbrucefan
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Was into Zengo for lunch yesterday, after a long layoff. Lunch scene there is dead now. The downstairs bar is closed, so you walk in and are greeted with a single (generally unfriendly) host. Once upstairs, not many tables were full, and this was 12:30. I learned the (possible) reason for the slow business: construction next door.... drilling, hammering, and banging echo thoughout the whole dining room. They could be at least seating folks away from the north wall, but instead, they continued to seat groups and pairs in that area. The Bento box was decent. And at $20, priced fairly. But no atmosphere, unless you're into earthquake noises. -
Having enjoyed a few late night currywursts in Berlin, I believe the appeal comes from consuming über amounts of weizen prior to ordering your wurst.
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We experienced Citronelle last night for the first time. And it really is an experience. First, a huge compliment and thank you to Azie, who 10 days ago saved my hide. I made my reservation months ago on OpenTable for our anniversary dinner. Last Friday, I get the standard "reminder" email from OT and realize I've made the res for 1 week too early. Of course, there's nothing available for the proper night, but she was able to open up a slot for me and bail me out of a major "oops" moment. We had a 9pm reservation on Saturday night. Read a little on DR and Tom Sietsema about the experience, but in a lot of ways, we were going in without any clear vision of what we were in for. Arrived a bit early, spied Chef Richard dining on the sidewalk with a francophone couple. This seems to be his appointed spot, as we've seen him out there often while passing by. Ordered a drink in the lounge while we waited, and were seated pretty quickly. A suggestion: If you're getting the tasting menu, you really don't need to have a drink before-hand. You're about to consume copious amounts of wine, so save yourself for what's ahead. We both went for the tasting menu, with wine. 10 courses, 6 full glasses of wine (1 champagne, 2 white, 2 red, 1 dessert wine). The first thing to cross our lips was escargot "flan," with garlic butter and parsley. The smell was exactly as you'd expect, and it was a highlight of the whole meal, even though it was 1 of the 3 amuse bouche. Other highlights were the lobster (mini)burger, veal (both steak & sweetbreads, in a morel sauce... superb), & the dessert chocolate trio (including a choc covered grape truffel). I wasn't as taken by the apple sorbet palette cleanser, and the potato cubes with the rockfish were a bit chewy (although the rockfish skin was salty perfection). The wine accompanyments were superb, even the whites, which I don't gravitate towards as much. Especially liked the Mollydooker Australian Shiraz w/ the cheese course. Its as much a show as a meal. Although each portion is relatively small, its a lot of food. Yet, you don't leave feeling like a stuffed turkey, since its spread out over about 3 hours and well paced. Dining room is, as Tom Sietsema's new dining guide says, "a bit dated." The changing light panel, the (faux?) stone wall, etc. But, the open kitchen is a treat to see & watch. As the night went on, the chefs went from toque's to bare-headed, as they shined the stainless to an amazing polish.
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I've been to Sonoma twice this week & didn't notice it on the menu. Am curious to know.... For those interested, looks like DC bars wine doggie bags, but VA & MD both have laws on the books allowing it. Here's a website on the laws.
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Monday at Sonoma, the cup of oyster chowder was excellent. The oysters were huge, the veggies cut small, and broth was in right proportion. Excellent. I may return & order 4 of them for lunch.
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DCist reviews Jordan's 8, giving the sushi a big thumbs up, and the steakhouse side a poor review.
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Got to EatBar again last night, and after a very good first visit, I was disappointed. I figured the menu changed regularly, but everything looked the same as my June visit. And, I went for a lot of the same items. The figs weren't as tender, although the mascapone sauce is good enough to drink. (I'm trying to come up with a reason to buy those tiny cast iron skillets. What usage around the house, I wonder.) The chorizo stuffed pepper was tasty, and the night's highlight. The Mac & Cheese was pedestrian, although I love the tiny Le Crueset (see a theme here?). The onion rings were nothing short of abysmal, and I regretted getting them when I remembered that i didn't like 'em much last time either. Ones on top were stone cold, and rest were greasy mush with most of the breading fallen off. Should have gone for the tomato & corn bread salad again, which I remember most fondly. Are they always short staffed? First time, our waiter noted that he was actually a bartender but was filling in in-house. Last night, bartender noted that they were short a bartender for the night. (Maybe he was waitering?) This actually didn't make any difference, since it was pretty quiet until groups came in to watch the 'Skins game. Service at the bar was friendly and smooth.
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They were giving out menus at the H St. Festival this weekend and saying the opening is now planned for December.
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Was up to GM's the the 4th or 5th time last night. Have gravitated to the DeKonincks on tap and have found splitting one moules & one other item make a good and generally healthy meal for 2. Of course, when I gouge myself on both orders of frites anyways, the healthiness washes away, but that's my issue.... Last night, the frites were the best I've had yet. Crispy, cut long. And the mussels were the largest I can recall, and there seemed to be fewer of them as a result. Only 2 of the whole bowl were unopened (the fewest "dead soldiers" I've encountered). The menu's grown upon each return. There's a new "Navigateur" moules variation, with chipotle, coconut milk, cilantro, lime. It wasn't too spicy, even by Ms. WDCBruceFan's palette. Also, the croque monsieur has returned in the past 10 days. Still haven't tried it, but would like to hear from someone who has. The burger & the steak are both bison. I don't recall that my steak was bison about 10 days ago, but I may not have been paying close enough attention when I ordered. And more press for GM's: Washingtonian's Feed/back has 4 groups reviews from earlier this week. They gave it 9, 8, 9, and 7 (from someone who spent time in Belgium) out of 10. Great scores! Things continue to look up for the good Doc! Looks like I'm headed back twice next week to introduce various friends to the culinary delights of H Street NE.
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I have found a new favorite dish at Montmartre. I have long been a huge fan of their hangar steak, although I'm not the sort to order the same thing over & over. But today, I switched it up and ordered the veal skirt, which was tender and superb! I can't emphasize enough how nicely the meat was cooked... each piece was like a pillow. With an array of onions, tomatoes, and a sauce similar to the hangar (plus a side of fresh greens), it may be my new obsession there.
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Tom's piece in today's Washington Post Food section, very positive.
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Sticky Rice will be the 2nd new sit down place on H St., after Granville Moore's, and tonight there's a free sushi tasting at Rock & Roll Hotel.
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While bad, I don't believe the food could actually cause a seizure.
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Oops. Meant to say "no oven." I have edited original post above.
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Got to GM's last night for the first time.... actually, went Sunday night, but the kitchen was closed. [Note: Kitchen's being closed Sunday was an anomaly. Chef had a fire at home and was hospitalized for observation. So its not a change to their schedule. Chef is ok.] There were 2 of us, and we arrived about 6:30, plenty early to belly up to the bar. Pat the bartender (who you'll also recognize from Schneiders) was friendly and helpful in picking a beer from the very lengthy list of choices. We each had a bottle of La Chouffe, which Pat recommended since we were looking for something dark. Was smooth with only a little carbonation. I had the the Belguim Trippel moules (with thin slices of elephant garlic in the broth) and frites with curry sauce. My friend had a burger with frites and the sea salt & malt vinegar sauce. We both really enjoyed the curry sauce, but he eschewed the vinegar... acquired taste, as my grandfather would tell you. My mussels were excellent. They arrive piping hot and you dig in. Most were open plenty to get the flesh out. Dipped in the broth, they were garlicy goodness. I couldn't resist drowning a bunch of bread in the broth once the shells were emptied. Frites are not overly crisp, but in the sauces, wow! Pat recommended the Maredsous Trippel 10 for my second beer. Also quite tasty, and its a trippel so its high in alcohol (10%). Beers by the bottle are $7-10, generally. The whole experience is a bit surreal, when you think that you're sitting on the 1200 block of H St. NE. But, its what the stretch needs. We left around 8, and there were lots of occupied tables & barstools. They have the advantage now as being the only sit-down game in town. Its a risk they've taken, and its clearly paying off. A few things that I've seen in writing that I can confirm based on my conversation with Pat: space was a free doctor's clinic (not sure how recently); the kitchen has no oven and no freezer (only thing that arrives canned is Heinz ketchup, since Joe Englert is from Pittsburgh); chef was at French Laundry; there's upstairs & back patio seating. For now, they're opening around 5 or 5:30 daily. Long term, they may add weekend lunch. Bottom line: get up there and try the mussels, frites, and beer! [Edited to change "stove" to "oven" and add name of La Chouffe as 1st beer.]
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We got here for the first time last Thursday, and I'm sorry to say we were disappointed. It was past 9pm, and on the plus side, I was glad to see somewhere still serving until 10 during the week. A group came in at 10ish as we left and were seated. I had been told on the phone earlier in the day that the kitchen was open until 9 or 9:30, depending on the crowd, but they seem even more flexible than that. We started with the calamari, which was tasty, but not as crispy as I'd like. Admittedly, having it in close proximity to my squid at Hook last week definately put it at a disadvantage. I had a baked pasta with cream sauce pancetta & bread crumbs. Comes in a small Lodge cast iron pan. Was tasty and quite large and filling. Not much pancetta to be seen/tasted though. She had a pasta with eggplant and tomatoes, but the eggplant was also scarce, and she thought it was "soapy" and "mostly skin." Dessert was the peccorino fritters with honey. Despite the menu's billing as plural, its one. While I'm a big fan of anything cheese and anything fried, I found this dish a bit odd. The honey sweetened it up, but the it ran out quickly. The Sicilian wine we each had was tasty and big. Service was friendly, attentive and smooth. Bottom line of $100 with tip was more than I thought middling squid and 2 pasta dishes was worth. I'll plan to try it again, as I want to support good restaurants on Capitol Hill, but our first impression wasn't stellar. But, I can't say enough how happy I am to see a place serving "late."
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B. Smith's executive chef Rock won Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen last night. This is (honestly) the only reality show I've ever had much interest in. I figured for a while that Rock was gonna win, but the revelation a week ago that Rock worked at B. Smith's left me surprised. I have never been impressed with B. Smith's, despite multiple visits, since its the closest "good" restaurant to my office. A couple wks ago GR tested the chefs by letting them run the window and having a dish put up without all its ingredients. Rock passed the test; however, one of my most/least memorable dishes at BS's was a pasta with chicken that arrived without the chicken. Ironic. Hopefully Rock returns to the DC area after his stint in Vegas. Would be cool to see him bring what he's learned back to the area to open a top notch, GR-endorsed space on our doorstep.
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I went to Prime Rib for lunch yesterday. It was Restaurant Week, although that wasn't the draw. Party of 6 and most of us went for the RW menu. Sorry to say, but there was nothing to recommend from the whole meal or experience. A disclaimer here: I'm a big fan of steak, but not a big fan of steak houses. I'm more into restaurants that turn out something special that I can't make at home. I'm also not a fan of prime rib. I got the house salad to start, and the flounder. Flounder was cooked to nice enough brown, but no sauce or anything. Accompanied by sides of mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. I was excited to see those, as they reminded me of Ray's the Steaks. Alas, looks were deceiving. Potatoes were loaded with butter, and they were better after I added my colleague's "tiger sauce" (horse raddish) to them. Spinach didn't taste to have been made from fresh leaves. For dessert, we got a birthday cake for a coworker. That was a tasty cake, I gotta say. Soft and mousse-y. Kudos there. Service was fine. Nothing over-the-top either way. The atmosphere -- the whole look of the place -- is circa 1950. The leopard carpet, piano player, etc. Wow. Bottom line: Maybe it was the fact that its RW, but we all left completely underwhelmed, to put it mildly. But, its a better thing to learn for $20/head than what you'd probably pay regularly.
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Bupkis.
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The 1st fire was Aug. 24, 2005, about 1 year and 50 weeks ago.
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Article at Roll Call (subscription required) says Lounge will be open Friday. Insider report says that there's no real damage inside. Just fire smell. Could even be open tonight. Outdoors (back patio) is where the damage is. Apparently the Feds are checking the fire out. There was a small fire behind the Lounge on the night that Eastern Market burned down. All indications are fire yesterday was not suspicious, but ATF (not sure why them) is checking into the various incidents.
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Article on the fire at Roll Call (subscription required). Mostly talks about the Cap Lounge, but a bit on Sonoma, with Eli quotation, at end. To summarize, he's worried & troubled by the 2 fires at the Lounge in less than 2 years.
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Good to know. More managers should make their regular OT customers aware of this. I'm happy to go thru their website. Until now, I just saw it as an unnecessary step that made no difference to anyone.
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Another great review: DCist. Interesting fact I'd not heard elsewhere: Executive Chef comes from the French Laundry. That's some pedigree to live up to. And I am always looking for an authentic croque monsieur in the area. Will need to try theirs.
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Agreed, and that's not how I use it. The multiple users allows me to make a reservation for myself, plus others. For example, if I'm having lunch at Sonoma & my boss is going to Bistro Bis. We both get reservations in our own names. This is only possible with the "Administrative Assistant" option.