Keithstg

Sometimes after a long day one just wants quiet. Quiet, and a good meal. After leaving drinks with a friend I had every intention of walking around the corner to The Modern for a quick meal. I took a spin through, but the bar was PACKED. Fortunately I decided to walk across the street to Chevalier. Shea Gallante is the chef at Chevalier - you may remember him from Cru. Chevalier is a high-ceilinged, rectangular restaurant. Booths are well spaced and the whole operation seems luxurious, but understated. Looking at marketing materials after the fact, Chevalier seems to be marketed as a "Brasserie Luxe", whatever that means. I don't find anything brasserie-ish about the menu, but I guess YMMV. Started off the meal with an amuse of a gougere stuffed with black truffle. Very good. A second amuse followed, this time cured salmon topped with salmon roe, sitting on a blini, which was resting on some creme fraiche. Also very good. I ordered a sancerre to start off - didn't catch the producer, but it was solid, if unspectacular. On the waiter's recommendation I started with scallops, which were paired with roasted beets and soubise (some horseradish added to the usual onion). The scallops were cooked perfectly and were well seasoned. I didn't think that the beets added much to the dish, but the soubise had a pleasant kick from the horseradish. At this point I was ready for my main course, but the waiter instead brought over a portion of fusilli pasta with an octopus bolognese. The dish was topped with some breadcrumbs which added a nice textural component - the octopus wasn't too assertive in the sauce, and although the dish was mild I enjoyed it. The sommelier suggested a Rully for the main course, and it was again solid, if unspectacular. Main course was the butter poached lobster, served with ricotta gnudi and a lobster emulsion. The main course had a generous portion of lobster, and some artichokes were included along with the gnudi. The gnudi were a good match for the lobster and this was the best dish of the night. No dessert for me, but a pair of macaroons were dropped along with the check. There has been some talk on the site lately about what constitutes good service. For me, the service at Chevalier was excellent. The servers were professional, knew the menu, made suggestions when asked and offered to answer any questions. They worked as a team to bring and clear dishes, kept water refilled and were very unobtrusive. A manager came by and asked how everything was when she picked up the bill, but that was about it. I didn't feel fawned over at all, just that I had come to a professional establishment and that the staff to care and pride in their jobs. All in all Chevalier was a good meal in a serene setting. Shea Gallante is a fantastic chef, and I admit I expected more from the meal - this was a very solid ** or ** 1/2 star meal, but given the meals I had at Cru previously I was expecting to find a bit of a diamond in the rough (well, not exactly rough, but you know). If in the neighborhood again I would stop in, but wouldn't base a trip around it.

RdV is in Delaplane, not Middleburg. Just an FYI. Nectar was truly fantastic, as were the "legacy libations" happy hours that the Notte Bianchi folks threw in their early days...

I've really enjoyed Fedora the times I have been. Very good food, totally unpretentious, if a bit hipsterish. A former tennis teammate of mine is the chef there. Also, Don - Fedora is gratuity-free!

Yes and yes. I didn't find the paperwork or cost onerous at all. I will say that global entry is more of a time save than pre-check. Pre-Check is a time save at airports with fewer business travelers (like Orlando, for example) and less valuable at airports like Reagan and LGA- Marine Air. Other smaller airports (like Portland ME and Bradley - Hartford) aren't even really set up for pre check. Between the tickets I usually buy and a credit card program I generally end up in the "fast" line anyway, but fast can be a relative term at some airports.

I end up looking at the following things when booking a flight 1. Is the flight direct - unless it's impossible to get to my destination from either Reagan or Dulles without a layover, I will pay a premium for a direct flight. I generally use Expedia to get the largest number of airlines in one go, but will check individual airlines for international travel. 2. How are the options rated for on-time performance (I use flightaware to review on time %) 3. What's the carrier - I am airline agnostic nowadays, although I try my best to avoid American and will try to fly Virgin America from IAD to the west coast. Seems like chasing points or perks in a pre-check and global entry world are pretty diminished 4. What type of plane are they flying - for longer flights I will look at seatguru to determine configurations and look for the newest options I've gotten this whole process down to about ten minutes or so, and when I don't book my own travel have a handy note spelling out these options. Has worked well thus far.

Clyde's? Runner up guess would be Daily Grill.

Exactly. Thanks Josh. Apparently I wasn't as clear as I would have liked in my prior post. I absolutely loved Bart's review of Kinship, for what it's worth (the snarky reply, not so much). For the sake of clarity, I will add that what I am reacting to and find enervating seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon, at least as I can remember from my 10 + years of reading this site daily. Pricing, economics, salaries etc. seem to have taken over threads, diverting discussion from the topic at hand - namely the food being served in each restaurant - and yes, that restaurant's value proposition. In an effort to be as clear as possible about what I mean - please see below - these comments are all in ONE restaurant thread. Of course, by posting the below I am derailing the discussion, so Don, please feel free to move wherever. or start another thread entirely. Sorry I haven't mastered the multi quote function. Again, each comment below was posted in a thread about ONE restaurant. And Finally...

Totally agree - Julien, thanks for such an incredible post - I have to admit that the focus on prices and pricing/value independent of commentary on a restaurant's actual food in seemingly every thread lately has derailed discussions for me and limited my participation lately (it's beyond tiresome). In this thread between Julien and JohnB I can say I have learned something. Thanks!

This seems pretty obvious to me: This is the goal, at least"”a discussion of how a restaurant company can evolve. I'm so conscious of what a self-important jerk I can sound like, but that, to me, is worth exploring. No claim of paying more than he is, just a statement of what he'd like to evolve the company into. Kind of sad that a (totally mis-interpreted) offhand comment inspires so much criticism

Some of my recs upthread from 2006 (!) are still good ones: Max Downtown (Cityplace II) - still the best restaurant downtown. Bit of a walk from the Marriott though. Peppercorn's Grill (Main Street) - Higher end Italian since 1989 - the Cialfi family is still fighting the good fight on a commercial strip without many businesses. Sorella (Main Street) - Casual italian - wood oven pizzas and all pasta is made in house - we have enjoyed this relative newcomer recently. City Steam (Main Street - across from Sorella) - Casual Brewpub. Dish (Main Street - same owners as Sorella) - Modern american comfort food - nothing groundbreaking, but not a national chain. Trumbull Kitchen (Trumbull Street, across from the Civic Center Xcel Center) - Small plates from the Max restaurant group The Pepe's within driving distance is in Manchester. Would be a quick 15 minute or so drive East of the River.

Bryce likely has a large insurance policy (e.g. through Lloyd's or another specialty insurer) in the event of such an injury. This type of insurance is becoming more and more common among athletes.

While I agree that Harper won't sign an extension - how is it that the Nats won't keep him? While it's nice to buy into the Yankee narrative, the fact remains that the Lerners are among the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, owners in MLB and could pay Bryce whatever he asks for. Whether or not they choose do so is another matter entirely.

This is news? In the DC area?

To Richard Keane and Bill Meehan.

DC Coast (thinking Metro-friendly) - haven't been since Brendan Cox was there, though. Kellari Taverna maybe?

Fair enough, and you are right, I don't want to argue. BUT, I also wouldn't want to be accused of "selling out" ( a pejorative expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money - thanks wikipedia) especially if I was already rich and famous prior to a well-publicized IPO, walked the walk in terms of employee benefits and culture long before it became a "thing", lived in restaurants for over 30 years slowly building USHG and hadn't compromised morality, authenticity or principle to do so. Full disclosure: An immediate family member serves on a board with Danny Meyer.

That was when Kerry Heffernan was chef. EMP rebooted completely when Daniel Humm took over the kitchen in 2006 focusing on a more Michelin-star like experience. Not touching the Danny Meyer comment other than to say that accusing him of "selling out" (whatever that means) is a gross simplification.

Exactly. The one that comes to mind most for me was when a chef was doing a Q&A on the site and someone posted a (moderately) critical review of a meal at said chef's restaurant. That review was not taken graciously.

I was there about a month ago, and am late in replying to this - apologies. We really, really enjoyed the habanero fried chicken and the lobster and sticky rice (from the dim sum cart). The atmosphere isn't much - as the restaurant is basically a subterranean box, painted white. Can get loud in there as well. Betony is also close by, and is a good spot for a meal at the bar.

Nick Forlano will be taking over the kitchen from Chef Dunlap. Nick previously owned Forlano's in the plains, and worked at the Ashby under the prior owners. Nick has a solid local following, but his food is much, much different than Inn patrons have been used to. Much more rustic in favors/ presentation.

To BB King. His importance to popular music can not be overstated. I had the pleasure of meeting him several times and he was a true gentleman. Very gracious and humble.

I'd heard this a few weeks ago (not much goes unreported in Paris), and agree - what a crushing blow for the inn. I think Chef Dunlap is highly underrated, and enjoyed my meals at the inn under his tenure more than I did during Chef King's - solely considering the food. In fact, I've had lunch at the inn twice in the past two weeks and it was firing on all cylinders. Here's hoping the Leopold's find someone equally skilled to step in quickly. I am concerned.

This is (or was) true. Plume has a similarly updated list online, FYI.

My views on insurance are reflective of the personal insurance market - that said, I know at least a half dozen of private collectors with insured collections of six and seven figures, that exceed the value of 99% of restaurant lists. Asked one of those folks about their insurance policy last night. His reply was that with the exception of deductibles, etc the base outlines of his policy are identical to mine in terms of what was covered - and that the policy is no different than those for the restaurants he has investments in. Hope this clears some things up. And, in the FL theft example, that theft would have been covered by insurance - bad bottles, as mentioned above, not so much. And I agree, didn't see any issues with respect to civility at all - just a discussion (well, save the change in my member category).

I don't know what prior DC law has to do with current corkage fees/ law, and don't think that anyone is complaining about taking advantage of corkage where permitted. As someone who also has wines like you describe, I'll sometimes pay corkage. I'll often buy off a list. I won't bring (and ask to open) three bottles when the policy is for one, complain when corkage isn't waived if I share a taste with the chef, etc, etc etc. I'd imagine you, Pool Boy and others do the same. Just reacting to attitudes continually expressed on another board - as I mentioned. In my experience always true, but probably usually true.