Keithstg

10 hours ago, The Doctor said:

Is there any high-end place in the city that currently makes you feel like the expense was worth it? Of all the extravagant meals I've had in DC, Komi left me the most satisfied -- both in terms of the length of the meal and the amount of food offered. It's been 14 years, but I can't forget how the meal never seemed to end. After the series of small tasting courses, the pasta was served, which nearly put me over the top. Then they come out and say, "Here's your suckling pig..."

Kinship, Metier, Marcels, Bresca, Fiola (original, NOT Mare)

On 2/24/2018 at 11:38 AM, DonRocks said:

Can you believe how *different* Komi was when it first opened, with Sebastian Zutant getting his start, and those beignets you'd dip in hot chocolate?

---

BTW, here are the original internet posts on Komi - this is when I was active on eGullet, but just before I agreed to become Forum Host (I resisted for as long as I could, but the third time he approached me, Steve Klc wouldn't take no for an answer - one thing's for sure: Steve Klc is the person who changed the course of my life).

For those who care, my very first eGullet post is here (I was a sarcastic little snot even then; this was less than one year after Karen died. My goodness, Isabella must hate my guts: my second post is here); all my stuff there can be found here (not in order; the oldest stuff is on page 31). That said, I got my start posting on one of those rec.dc.restaurants newsgroups on Usenet in the 1990s - ironically, a friend of mine wrote me then and said, "In all seriousness, have you ever thought about being a restaurant critic?" 

Totally different! The beignets were fantastic, and brunch was a big focus...

On 11/13/2022 at 2:28 PM, Tweaked said:

Went to get some Happy Ice Cream scoops this weekend.  Anne Marler was helping out at the scoop cart so I asked her about Komi:

Happy doing Happy.  Done with fine dining.

Sadly, it appears the Komi days are indeed over...RIP Komi thread.    

 This is a bummer, as someone who has been to every iteration of Komi since it took over the former "Vivo" space above Happy Cleaners, and who isn't interested in takeout.

That said, I'm thrilled that the Monis/ Marler team has found fulfillment, even if not in fine dining.

On 11/9/2022 at 6:31 PM, Bob Wells said:

I'm guessing they made Chef an offer he couldn't refuse.

Had a super date night dinner there with Mrs. W a few weeks ago, and our now college lad (GMU) tagged along and loved it too. He's pretty picky but he is a bolognese connoisseur and loved it. He even tried the goat cheese ice cream and deemed it tasty.

I recommended it to a friend who took his wife for their anniversary last week and they loved it too.

The word is getting out!

I hope that Chef was made an offer he couldn't refuse, AND that the word is getting out. Was pretty crowded when I swung into the bar last night. My son has declared Red House his Sunday post-game meal spot (for home games).

What if I told you that there was a fantastic restaurant lurking in the suburban hellscape that is Haymarket? What if I told you that the restaurant had “Corduroy vibes”, from the old Four Points days?

I’m willing to bet you’d be as surprised as I was to hear and interested in checking out the Red House Tavern – Joel Valente’s new restaurant. Joel comes to Red House from the Inn at Little Washington. Good friends told us about the Red House on Saturday night, and we headed in after a hockey game in Haymarket on Sunday.

The space is beautiful – easily the nicest build out of a Hilton Garden Inn I have ever seen, and a real surprise. I don’t think anyone would have described the Four Points build out as “beautiful”, but the great food in an offbeat location had me drawing the Corduroy comparison, which is high praise.

The wine list skews industrial, but the restaurant just opened so here’s hoping that improvements will be made. We had a bottle of Primitivo, which was tasty enough and reasonably priced.

The menu is divided into small plates (to share) and larger fare (to share) – though we approached the menu more traditionally with each of us having an appetizer small plate and some larger fare.

Small Plates were Roasted Bone Marrow, served in the traditional St. John style with Parsley Salad – some citrus added acid and grated horseradish provided a nice bite. Charred Octopus was presented similarly to many charred Octopus dishes I have had before, with roasted potato, celery and lemon zest but was punched up by the addition of a peanut romesco sauce and giundilla peppers, which I had to look up. Mussels were also traditionally done with leek, garlic, shallot, and parsley with a slight departure in the cider making up the broth base. All were very well executed and plated with care.

Large plates included the Tavern Burger, made with beef from our neighbors at Ovoka Farm. The burger was large, well-seasoned and cooked to the specified medium rare. The burger does not come with fries, but rather a salad. Just an FYI as our hockey player wanted to add fries after the fact. Scallops came with a bacon broth, mushrooms and beans. Well seared, perfectly cooked. Pork Cheek included a sunchoke and cider puree. Carried out a pappardelle ragu – all the pastas are made in house.

We are in Haymarket quite a bit for hockey – very glad to add Red House to our rotation. I’d say similar to Corduroy in that it’s excellent food in an unexpected location (on two counts in this case), dissimilar in the wine list and cuisine (Corduroy was/ is more refined).

4 hours ago, Bart said:

That's exactly the reason he got rid of the stars......to force people to read the review to get the true story he's trying to convey, rather than just look at the star rating and move on.

I liked the stars as well, but it gets messy when you are rating a super high end place on the same scale that you rate a tiny mom and pop place.

 

He was going for "value" this time.  He was trying to read the room I suppose.  Inflation, higher restaurant bills, lots of changes due to the pandemic, etc.

He had some $100+ places included because he felt they gave a lot of bang for the buck.

As attention spans shorten, it's anachronistic to think that people are interested in the "true story" without a summary bottom line.

Also obvious - small "mom & pop" places can be high end. See: Blacksmiths, Three; as one easy example.

I'd wager that while largely interested in shorter form content, most readers can calibrate the difference in one star for El Pollo Rico and one star for Art and Soul (examples only, no clue of what stars each had/ has).

Yeah...I understood the focus on value. He just missed the mark.

14 hours ago, genericeric said:

I think it was for comparison purposes.  BTW I just checked and there are EMP reservations available for 2-3 weeks out on weekend nights, days after the renewed 3* Michelin rating, which would have been unheard of 2 years ago.

Agreed that the vegan bit limits customers. Does seem as though EMP may now be the easiest 3* reservation to secure in NY, so should probably have tempered my timeline, which holds for IALW, btw, which is still a vastly different restaurant hundreds of miles away.

On 9/6/2022 at 3:25 PM, DonRocks said:

The Inn at Little Washington’s menu is now $328 ($556 with wine pairings), independent of additional beverages, service (20% is $110), and tax (5.3%) is $30).

Dinner for two, with pairings, will cost about $1,400. Stay overnight, and you’ll spend over $2,000.

Monday nights may be the way to go here, as hotel guests get a complimentary dinner for two at Patty O’s (the main restaurant is closed).

 

Not sure what any of this has to do with EMP, which has somehow maintained 3* for another year. Weekend reservations at both EMP and IALW remain hard to find or nearly impossible less than several months in advance.

11 hours ago, reedm said:

While I understand his Fall Dining Guide is not supposed to be a "best of" list, I agree that some of the selections are odd. I live 5 minutes away from Himalayan Wild Yak, and ordered delivery once. I don't judge a restaurant on their take-out, but nothing made me want to try it again. Yak is a stone's throw from Ahso, which I think continues to be the best restaurant in the Ashburn/Leesburg area, bar none, but the place doesn't get a mention. 
 

The best restaurant in Ashburn/ Leesburg is a very low bar, but Ahso is criminally underrated imo.

I think the "budget conscious" focus of the guide was a great idea. Tom just mostly forgot about the good food piece of it.

I read Tom's reviews, and am generally a fan. But no more stars is a massive cop-out.

And it's now reopen (presumably has been for a while). Had a simple, and simply lovely, meal last Thursday. Seafood tower, seared Halibut, chablis. Was very pleased to see at least 100 other diners with us even at a late lunch (2:30pm) hour.

A little surprised that Tom Sietsema (foolishly, IMO) decided to drop stars from his reviews and no discussion of it on Dr.com...

15 hours ago, Shaho said:

Lotus of Siam, Raku, and Chengdu Taste are our go-tos for authentic Asian food off-strip. Lotus of Siam still has their chef's meal which is something like a "best hits" tasting menu as of a few months ago. Just a note that some of their dishes with higher-end ingredients and higher price tags, such as their Garlic Prawns and Crispy Duck Khao Soi are on that menu (not that they aren't worthwhile, but just a warning in case you're looking for something more moderately priced).

I'll third Lotus of Siam. Fantastic place, wine list is still excellent. For my money the best off-strip option. May also want to check out Eater Las Vegas - one of the better updated Eater sites and will have Henderson recommendations as well.

To Richard Keane and Bill Meehan.

On 8/20/2022 at 2:59 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

I hear they're thinking of expanding the Acela Club fat Union Station rom it's current underwhelming configuration to something approaching at least half of New York's Penn Station layout. 

That would be most welcome. The new Moynihan Train Hall and Acela Club are both fantastic.

On 8/18/2022 at 1:47 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

By the way, has anyone else noticed the near-total demise of Union Station just a few blocks away? Food options are limited in this neck of the woods.

Union Station is a debacle. Starbucks is on its way out. As a frequent Acela traveler I have been flying shorter distances and limiting the train or heading directly into the Acela club to avoid a very unpleasant experience.

The food court is about 2/3 empty, and Shake Shack is basically all that’s left in the main hall.

So, if your vacation was interrupted by work and you had to fly back to DC for two days, and had this Tuesday night (7/12) free for dinner, and price was not a consideration, where would you head for dinner for one?

22 hours ago, Bart said:

I'm not the sharpest bulb in the drawer so I need some help understanding this.

The first sentence seems like a put down, but I'm not sure why.  Is Miami/Coral Gables not a good restaurant market?  Or does it mean this place has morphed to just a generic outpost of a once unique restaurant? The line about "adjust expectations accordingly" seems like you need to adjust your expectations downward, but I don't get the Miami connection.

The second line seems like a compliment but I don't think it is.  I first took it to mean "that feeling I first experienced was fantastic" (as in, the restaurant was new and hot and firing on all cylinders with Fabio behind the stove).  But the addition of "seems all encompassing now" coupled with "adjust your expectations" makes me think otherwise.

What was the feeling you had in 2018?  I'm guessing it was not being overjoyed at an amazing meal and experience?

To follow up my own question, I found this (above).  [When you mentioned 2018, I went to the beginning the thread and started looking for your post.  Little did I know it was just upthread a few posts!]

And I think I understand the Miami reference now too:  People with more money than sense, over-paying across the board, to go to a hot place to be seen, regardless of the overall quality of the evening.

Seems like you worked through it! The Miami reference, as relates to food. Re: Cafe Milano, think Fiola Mare has always been better than Cafe Milano, and will always be - but DC isn't setting the world on fire in terms of upscale seafood these days.

13 hours ago, lotus125 said:

... Perhaps this was an off experience. But I fear that Fiola Mare may not be what it once was.  I'm curious to know if others have had similar or dissimilar experiences lately.   

 

 

Fiola Mare is now a Miami restaurant (well, Coral Gables) which happens to be located in DC - adjust expectations accordingly. Maybe it always was, but the feeling that I first experienced in 2018 seems all encompassing now.

6 hours ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

Renewing my occasional plea for a great soft shell crab dish in northern Virginia. I would prefer not to cross a bridge into Maryland or DC during the Memorial Day weekend. Any recent raves about soft shells in northern Virginia?

One of the best softshell crab dishes anywhere is the soft shell sandwich at Blue Water Kitchen in Upperville, VA. Chef/ Owner Mike Kozich has a serious pedigree and the soft shells are prepared Citronelle-style (stuffed with lump crabmeat and then tempura battered & fried). Fantastic. May want to call ahead and ensure availability.

Edit: and get there before Upperville starts in two weeks.

I've really enjoyed restaurant at the Clifton Inn (in Clifton), and Brasserie Saison, on the walking mall. Keswick Hall has reopened and their restaurant looks very nice. That said, It's a Jean-Georges outpost, so probably 65mph, down the middle fine-dining fare.

2 hours ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

The prints that came off the walls were from Richard McCooey's collection. Richard owned F Scott's, The Tombs, and 1789 until Clyde's acquired those restaurants in the late 1980s. Richard then went to work for Clyde's as the decorator of the new restaurants. Valuable stuff here.

Yes. The vanity fair prints will command solid prices, among others. 

I haven't been to a Clyde's for months, and it's usually just to grab a bite after my son's hockey games as an alternative to Buffalo Wild Wings or similar, but seeing this really bummed me out.

https://bid.alexandriaauctions.com/auction/the-clydes-of-reston-collection-may-25th-2022-310/bidgallery/

On 4/5/2022 at 10:59 AM, Tweaked said:

Sad to see Laura go, she left her own mark on the Young & Hungry column.  Shortly after she left, City Paper announced they are going all digital and it sounded like there were significant layoffs.  Seems like it was a good time for a new adventure.  

Agreed. Sad to see CityPaper continue to be gutted. So many great reporters have come through there - within and outside of food.

19 hours ago, dracisk said:

Annabelle?

Having been last week, would skip.

Bresca or Jont?