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teddyk

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Everything posted by teddyk

  1. Following up on my earlier, somewhat mixed review above with an unabashedly positive one. I went back on Saturday to BGR Alexandria. A to-go order was perfect and easily survived the ten minute drive home. The temp on the burgers was dead on and the fries were still hot. Service was cheerful and quick. Only complaint is the high tech drink machine I swooned over in my post above was out of almost everything. I think I need one of those at my house.
  2. Been meaning to post something positive for awhile, but wouldn't you know it, it takes the negative to get me motivated. I am a Ray's Hell Burger worshipper. I want that on the record. I have been to the Old Town outpost six times now, over the past three or four months. The first three times I went on a Saturday around noon with the kids. The weekend rush starts about 1215 or so it seems and we beat it each time. The service was outstanding. Everyone there had a terrific attitude, determined to go the extra mile to make the customer leave happy. The grill chef is particular had a winning personality. The food didn't take very long (though I echo the comments earlier on this thread about the delay with shakes which, nonetheless, are well worth the wait). Burgers are really really good and cooked to your specifications. Medium rare is medium rare. The bun is the real winner. Sesame seeded brioche, but not overly sweet. The toppings are fresh and crisp like they should be. The kids sliders are good, maybe -- to nitpick -- a bit dry sometimes. The fries the first couple of visits were fine, but nothing special. I think they've changed. Now, they are really really good. After the first three visits, I was recommending this place to Alexandria friends. I went for a weekday lunch in January and all of the good things I said above were the same. Plus, they got a new high tech drink machine. It dispenses like a million different drinks and different flavors. Want a vanilla cherry coke? It can do that. Kid wants a watermelon hi-c? I think that is there. Now, the negative. The last two visits have been on weekday evenings and it is different. The first time, there was the same cheery, customer pleasing demeanor. I had called ahead and came at the designated time, but waited a really long time (while the spouse idled in the car outside with the kids). Then, my burgers came out but one of them was given to another customer in error. Before it could be repossessed, she had opened it and started to bring it to her mouth for a bite. At that moment, they got her attention. She brought it back. One of the employees starts to rewrap it and put it in my bag. Another employee makes sure that doesn't happen. They cook a new burger and I have to wait a long time again. I would probably just chalk this visit up to the fact that, in life, mistakes happen. Except the second visit was worse. The special burger this month is "the wiz." Like a philly cheese steak. The burger has cheese wiz on it! Who doesn't want that? (Ok, I expected more support on that. Moving on.) My wife calls to order and asks for that burger. The woman answering says "huh?" Then my wife explains that it is the burger of month. She hears loud conversation: "Do we have a cheese wiz burger?" More discussion. She comes back on the phone: "You don't really want that burger tonight." What did that mean? I don't know, but when someone says that, you take their advice. Still, that is strange. So we stick with the usual. I get to BGR to pick up the burgers and employees are just kind of standing around doing nothing while the very short line moves slowly. The cashier is making a shake and everyone else working there is just staring at us. I don't know how to describe it, but the attitude was just kind of apathetic. Everything is ready this time though. I get home and my wife's burger (ordered with nothing on it except blue cheese) has a mound of mushrooms. I have had them before and I like them. She doesn't. If you don't want them, you need a paint scraper to get them off of your burger. All and all, disappointing. Based on one bad experience (giving them a mulligan on purloined burger mishap), I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I wonder if maybe the weeknight crew needs a little more management. Or are standards slipping overall?
  3. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I like my odds now. Seriously, much appreciated.
  4. I am looking for french garlic sausage. Usually Balducci's in Alexandria is my go-to, but my go-to let me down today. Hoping not to go farther than 20 mins or so to find it, but will also be in georgetown and palisades area saturday morning so I guess I have some flexibility.... Thanks!
  5. After many years of thinking about it, I finally went to this place to see what all the fuss was about. I mean, some burgers are good, some not so good, but how in the world could this place live up to the hype? Simply put, everyone else is playing for second. I had the big punisher (Pepper Jack, Jalapenos, Onions, Piranha sauce). Best Burger I have ever had. I had it three hours ago and here I sit at my desk wanting another. The first thing about it: the size. It is a big burger, not a pancake like burger that is swallowed up by the bun. Perfectly cooked mid-rare as requested. The bun is excellent (brioche?), perfectly sized for the burger. Unlike some other comments here, I found it held together well. The heat was just at the sweet spot (for me at least): pretty darn hot, but not overpowering. The kind of spiciness that creates a craving and makes you want to take another bite. The fries were really good too, but I found it difficult to care when I had that burger. The staff was courteous, smiling and unfailingly polite. Frankly, it was striking how good the overall attitude seemed to be. One question: over at hell burger too, they have a sign in the window that says "butcher." Why is that?
  6. Ditto to the review above. I would just add that I also had the potato pizza and, with the exception of some rosemary flavor, it was really quite bland. I also had the buffalo chicken pizza which was also lacking in flavor, heat, or much of anything. The house made soda (I got the orange something) on the other hand was really, really great. It was like a creamy tangy orange crush. Delicious. But, all in all, there was nothing really memorable about this place. By the way, as an indicator of either my lack of bias or lack of taste, I like Good Stuff and I am not a Spike hater -- maybe a fan. .
  7. I strongly agree with the Blacksalt recommendation. I have made puchases there three dozen or more times a year for the last four years or so and they have never failed me.
  8. The Keller recipe has become my go to. The key is that he uses a very small (no more than 3lb) chicken. You break it down into legs, thighs, and cut breasts in half. The pieces are small enough that the coating gets crispy in the same time it takes the pieces to cook. The brine also provides insurance against overcooking -- the meat won't dry out quickly. Unlike his recipe, I deep fry at the temps he suggests and I find the time/temp (different times and temps for white v. dark) he suggests produces perfect results every time. For the poster above who ends up with a burnt exterior, are you using fresh oil? I also recommend leaving the chicken at room temp for an hour before brining. If the bone isnt as cold, you don't need to cook the chicken as long to reach 165. As always a good meat thermometer helps. I use the thermapen.
  9. Anyone know where I can buy some? I usually get it at Alexandria Balducci's, but they do not have any this week....
  10. I have been to the Blacksalt seafood market a few times in the last month or two -- most recently on Friday. While I was a big fan of Scott (the fishmonger who left) and I was concerned that quality might suffer with his departure, they haven't missed a beat. The fish is crazy fresh. They have a great variety, and the staff is incredibly helpful. You do pay a premium for all of this. But with the choices in the area from sketchy (Slavin's) to iffy (Whole Foods) to uneven (Balducci's), this is hands down the best place to purchase fish or seafood in the area. Anyone know what Scott is going to do next?
  11. That's funny. Had the exact same thing happen when they served entrees. They managed to put the wrong dish in front of all four of us. Being a statistics buff, I was tempted to calculate the odds of that happening if dishes were set down randomly.
  12. Four of us ate there last weekend. Parts of the meal were great, parts were not so great. The waitstaff was very good, but the kitchen was brutally slow. For starters, two of us ordered the hoecakes ("the pantry"). These were stellar. The other starters (capitol hill salad and gazpacho) were also good. Entrees were a mixed bag. The pork chop tasted like it had been brined (in a good way) but was a little dry and overcooked. While the description said there was a sweet onion broth, I could see or taste it. The salmon was properly cooked, but the risotto underneath was a goopy, gummy mess. The rockfish was very good, as was the ribeye. Desserts were also very good. The baby cakes were a favorite. So the food was a mixed bag. But, man, did it take forever. We ordered at 810. Apps came slowly (about 30 mins) and mains came almost an hour after that. In all, this meal took 2 1/2 hours, much of it spent staring hungrily at the kitchen doors. While the service was fine, at no point did we receive any explanation, acknowledgement or apology for the slow kitchen. All in all, not worth it. I won't be going back.
  13. What a shockingly political thread for a new Hill restaurant! Putting that aside, I and two friends ate there today. I had the smokehouse burger (great quality bacon, good ketchup with a kick and sweet onion rings), Village Fries (a little stubby, spices were good, and dipping sauce -- particularly sriacha, were very good) and Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake, so good it should be illegal. The ordering system remained chaotic, but I think once the celebrity factor lessens and the crowd reaches a more reasonable size, it will improve. All told, about thirty minutes from line to food service. We will happily return.
  14. Thanks for the reply. I actually do mean "truffle juice" (like this). None at Balducci's. I was thinking Dean and Deluca but it is hard to get anyone to answer the phone there. Again, thanks for trying to help.
  15. I'm looking for truffle juice, preferably in DC or NOVA. Any sightings?
  16. One of my favorite things to make and eat is fried chicken. Occasionally, however, it comes out a little subpar. The crust is a little overdone and the skin looks too dark (and it tastes just a little charred). The latest such event was when I tried to Thomas Keller lemon brined chicken recipe in food and wine (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/lemon-brined-fried-chicken). I use a deep fryer, rather than a cast iron skillet. At 330 for 20 minutes, as the recipe suggests, the outside seems a little overdone. I could go for less time, but I am worried the chicken might be done on the inside. I used new oil as well. Tips?
  17. I have to give this place a rave review. Went with a group of seven early saturday night (among the seven, my two year old). In sum, this was very simple, unpretentious food -- done perfectly. The service was stellar (two people helped us, our main server was a woman named Joey, I think). For apps, among us we had the fried green tomatoes, sardines, terrine, asparagus soup, and ceasar salad. I ordered the terrine and it was excellent. So good, in fact, that my mother, who has spent some time eating her way through France, thought it was comparable to one she had in Lyon and ordered it as her main course (did I say I was with a high-maintenance group?). My wife loved the tomatoes. Every plate was clean. For main course, they had a pasta special -- with some kind of pork bolognese sauce. Three people at the table ordered that and really liked it. I had the salmon, which was nicely sauteed and served on top of a seafood risotto with some mussels surrounding it. It was all cooked perfectly. My wife had the roast chicken, which tasted like it was lightly brined (it had a nice lightly salty flavor). The skin was a bit soggy for her taste (but she is used to the Thomas Keller Bouchon version which is a favorite we prepare at home). Of course, I had to order fries on the side. They were quite good and were served with a very nice garlic aioli. I have to underscore just how accommodating the service was. We had my parents and my in-laws and all the starts and stops and changing of minds that goes with that. Our server just rolled with it in good humor. This is not fancy food. It is not Restaurant Eve. But for near perfect neighborhood restaurant fare -- classic and rustic American -- it is great.
  18. I got mine at the Organic Butcher in McLean. You can also get at at Whole Foods. The Organic Butcher has a larger, fattier cut. Both will tie and/or french the rack for you. You should call ahead if you go that route. Thanks for the responses. My sense was that the recipe was way off....... I tied it. Thanks for reviewing the recipe. I read it and reread it and kept thinking I was missing something.....
  19. I made the brined roast rack of pork in the Bouchon cookbook this weekend. In the end, it was really good, but something was wrong with the timing. Recipe calls for 4 1/2 lb roast. Mine was just a bit over 5lb. Recipe says let roast sit at room temp for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Sear roast. Put in oven and lower temp to 325. Roast for 15 mins. Baste. Roast another 15 mins. Take temp. Should be 135. I wanted to go for 140-145 (just a personal taste thing). I used convection because I have had really good results with Keller's roast chicken using it. I was surprised (and my schedule was thrown off quite a bit) that it took about an hour and a half to get the roast to that temperature. So I have been scratching my head. Where did I go wrong?
  20. Balducci's in Alexandria has some nice smoked sea salt, but it is not Maldon (which -- if I recall correctly -- is flaky sea salt). It is more of a coarse sea salt.,
  21. Thanks for the suggestions. Reheated at 350 and results were passable but not spectacular. In hindsight, I probably bit off more than I could chew. But I am that way when it comes to french fries.
  22. Hi! This is my first post. I am making frites for about 10 people tonight. I think I have the two step frying thing down pretty well. The problem is capacity. I have a one basket fryer. In the past, when I have made them for 4 or 5 people, the second step was short enough that I could do two or three batches and all were done before the first batch got cold. This probably is not going to cut it for the volume I have to fry tonight. Is there a good/acceptable way to keep them warm or reheat them that won't result in soggy or overdone frites. Thanks for any suggestions....
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