Marty L.

4 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Heartwarming story, yes, but look at this heartwarming soup!

Might be mistaken, but I think that's the hotpot, available only for parties of four and by reservation.

I will always have a soft spot for Sequoia because it's where Tripewriter and I went for one of our first dates The view was great, I was too entranced by him to pay too close attention to the food, and it was just a lovely spot to dine with a new sweetie

2 hours ago, dracisk said:

Same with me and my now husband. Poor guy, clueless about restaurants, thought he was choosing an exciting and swanky place. I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. Actually, I still haven't told him. Every once in awhile he says we should go back there. Thus far I've managed to steer him in other directions.

I didn't make the mistake of going there on any dates, but I did get married there in 1992, when it was fairly new, and at *that* time, anyway, the in-house catering operation (completely distinct from the daily restaurant kitchen) was actually pretty good--we had served a terrific meal.  And, as you might imagine, the setting was awfully nice, even if we did have to pause during the ceremony (on the deck) when the DCA incoming flights roared overhead.  I'm modestly surprised it's still going strong, over a quarter-century later.  Just goes to show:  Gazillions of yuppies (and then millennials) with disposable income and little discernment will go a long way.

21 hours ago, dcs said:

2nd Location of Lupo Verde Opening In The Palisades Tomorrow – Sneak a Peek Inside, by Prince Of Petworth  April 17, 2018, on popville.com.

Was excited by this news but then took a look at the menu.   Are the prices that high on 14th Street, too?  Worth it?

4 hours ago, DonRocks said:

That makes sense - I often come here late Sunday afternoons (thanks for checking, btw).

First real sign of Spring:  Ramps on the pizza tonight.  Plus fantastic braised fava beans with sheep's milk and a new wheat bread that they're milling themselves.  And strawberries from "Harry's Berries" in California (I was dubious about April berries--but sure enough, they're quite good), with gragnano, vanilla ice cream and shortbread.

5 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Really?! As many times as I've been here mid-afternoon, and I didn't even know this? Odd.

Is this true on Sundays as well? These are the days I usually come earlier.

Just checked -- I suppose it depends upon what you consider "mid-afternoon"!  ;-)   4:00 on weekends; 5:00 M-F.

3 hours ago, DonRocks said:

All day long, unless there's something I don't know. One thing people haven't mentioned about the wine bar menu is that the foods are largely pre-made - sometimes something will need to be warmed up, but more often than not, the wine bar menu features room-temperature items. If you aren't sitting at the bar, simply walk up to it, and take note of what looks good - I had a frtitata there last time that was the best I'd ever eaten (and I must surely have had frittatas (frittati?) fifty times in my life).

Go early, go often - you won't believe how much you enjoy it, even when it isn't perfect. Regarding the anchovies, get the cheapest of the three (Sicilian, I believe, and I think they're $6 (Iif I recall, the other two selections are $7 and $8)) - they're large, *and* they're darned good - put one on a piece of buttered bread (I think they come with bread and butter; if not, make sure something you order does). You'll think you're in heaven, and may just put in for a second order.

Actually, the wine bar menu is generally only available in the evening.

15 hours ago, DonRocks said:

If you haven't yet been to Little Serow, it remains one of the most important restaurants in all of Washington, DC, given its regional emphasis, its almost-humorously low price-point, its  impeccable service, and its consistently superior quality. I compare it to Tail-Up Goat or 2 Amys as much as I do any other restaurant, even though those three restaurants simply couldn't be any more different.

Well, you just named my favorite three restaurants in town.  I must be doing something right.

So would 8:30 also be a sweet spot?

OK, so let's rephrase the question:  Do they usually run out of dough and, if so, when?

39 minutes ago, astrid said:

On their website, hours are listed as:

Wednesday-Sunday:         5pm-Until the Dough Runs Out

Monday & Tuesday: CLOSED

Well, that's a horse of an entirely different color, then!

The DC location was hopping last night--running on all cylinders with a very large crowd--and the tacos are as delicious there as they are out in VA (I got a bunch to go), although some of the special tacos sound a bit over-the-top or too jammed full of oddly matched stuff.  I believe the prices are 50 cents higher per taco than in VA--$3.50 for regular tacos, $4.50 for the specials.  But they aren't skimpy tacos.  Three is easily a meal--two for most eaters.

1 hour ago, astrid said:

Yes, but you risk the dough running out.  

really? they don't prepare enough to last to closing?

Is there less of a wait if one arrives on the late side, e.g., 8:30 or later?

2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

[Somewhat incorrectly, Taco Bamba's expansion has precluded it from being included in individual neighborhoods in our Dining Guides. If a chain is good (and Taco Bamba is (or at least was) very good), I'm attempting to include a mention about them, but once a place opens its 3rd, 4th, 5th location, no matter how good they are, that's just too much for me  to keep track of. At this point, it's all academic, as I simply don't have the time to finish this project (which would only take someone a couple of hours, hint hint).]

I do wonder if this is a "finish the lease" type of situation - one in which the company is obligated to fulfill their lease, and is doing it the best way they can, but once the lease expires, they'll close up shop. Obviously, Taco Bamba is doing well, or they wouldn't be expanding, but up until now, they've done it in fairly low-rent districts - it's going to be a lot tougher to make a profit at 777 I St NW.

This might offer some explanation/context.

Surprised it took this long.

Bill Jensen is currently featuring some really tasty local wines at Tail Up Goat.

2 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Interestingly, we were encouraged to order in waves because once the order is placed, the food will arrive whenever it is ready.  They probably read Tom's  piece.

So we started with salatim, hummus of the day (with lamb), and halumi.  I loved a couple of the salads - beetroot relish with a strong hint of cumin, and the bright cucumber mixture.  I'm not a huge fan of red peppers in general, the carrot  was cooked until soft, and I don't like yogurt.

The hummus was smooth but tasted too strongly of tahini.  Zahav's is much better.  And I prefer the laffa at Zahav to the pita here (more dense).  But the lamb is delicious - reminds me of the mechoui I had in Marrakesh.  The meat is moist and flavorful.

I had a bite of the halumi.  I don't really eat cheese of any sort so I can't say whether it's good or not.

The second sally consisted of the grilled sardine, kofte kebab, chicken liver.

I thought the sardine was delicious, but there were only 3 small pieces.  The kebab tasted strongly of sumac (not as good as Maydan).  The chicken liver was nicely cooked; however, I can never take more than just a few bites of chicken liver as I'm not fond of all that liveryness.  On the other hand, I love chopped chicken liver.

My conclusion is the same as zgast's.  It's a pain for me to get to Cleveland Park so it won't be a destination joint for me.  But I can see taking the kids there after a morning at the zoo.

 

Please confirm that the $16 is for an order that includes all five of those very modestly sized salatim, not $16 apiece.

3 hours ago, MarkS said:

Going tonight.  Per Don's recommendation as my last dinner in Moco. What to order?  It all seems good.

NADRU-AL-YAKHNI, KUMBALANGA PAYAR OLAN, PALKACHI TAKATLI BHAJI, DAL KALONJI

43 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

10 Reasons A Rake's Progress is the Most Twee Restaurant DC Has Ever Seen, by Ann Limpert.

"My server hugged me after dinner and it was sincere, not creepy."  I believe "sincere" (maybe).  "not creepy," not so much.

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

Takohachi for the second time tonight.

The one thing everyone needs to know is that Takohachi is this generation's Kotobuki: They have $1.00 nigiri all day long, and not just a limited selection - most everything on their nigiri list is a buck a piece. And let me tell you: Both the fish, and the sushi rice, are better than anything Kotobuki ever had - and don't forget, this is ten years later.

Now the lesser news: On my second visit tonight, it was pretty crowded - word is getting out - and the sheer size of the nigiri was notably smaller than it was on my previous visit (it was also better). You can't make money on dollar sushi, so instead of raising prices, they're doing it by slicing their fish razor thin, and serving it with awfully good sushi rice. I talked with the sushi chef tonight, and he worked at Sushi Yoshi in Vienna, but this is better than Yoshi has ever been.

Off the top of my head, tonight I had hotate, hamachi, hamachi belly, tako, maguro, chu-toro (only seven slices remained), aji, sake belly, and both shiitake and oshinko maki. Order any of the Hakushika sakes (preferably Extra Dry or Junmai Ginjo, in the $13-15 range for a .375 bottle).

Dessert was impressive for $3.50: Paratha (yes, the Indian Paratha), topped with fresh whipped cream (and a pipped grape!), served alongside green-tea custard with freshly ground red-bean paste - it sounds busy, but if you mixed it all together, it was delightful - and inexpensive!

Go here - you may grouse about the portion sizes now that they're getting busy and popular, but you will not regret it. There is no need for any Virginia resident ever to go to Kotobuki again.

I should also mention to be careful about their uni - the uni I had on my previous visit was truly bad, as the turnover probably isn't what it needs to be (yet) - I was sitting right in front of it today, and it didn't look particularly compelling. I also strongly disliked the ankimo on my first visit, and steered clear of it tonight. Sit at the sushi bar, order what looks good, and ask the sushi chefs for recommendations (ours recommended the chu-toro, and it was pretty darned good).

Smaller pieces of fish is a good thing--the nigiri should be consumed, with comfort, in a single bite.

1 hour ago, JimCo said:

Minority of two. I thought the sauce made the breading soft and didn't really enjoy it.

three

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

I had a similar issue at Amoo's last week - we ordered Tadiq along with a stew, and the stew came *on top of* the Tadiq, which rendered it floppy and soggy, defeating its whole purpose.

Did you ask Seb or one of his family members about it?  Sounds like the sort of thing they'd gladly fix.

35 minutes ago, 2AmysDC said:

great idea!  didn’t even occur to me!!  will do starting today 

thx

thanks!

On 3/5/2018 at 10:20 PM, 2AmysDC said:

hello don rockwell community!

my name is tina, and i’ve taken over the social media interface for 2amys, hopefully in an informative, helpful way. (e.g., posting pics as often as possible on insta/fb, and keeping the website updated with all available menus, etc)  

a teeny bit about me:  i worked for peter at obelisk for 18 yrs as his DR manager.  what an amazing job that was!!!  i learned to cook passably by osmosis, dealt with a wide variety of ppl both on the industry/consumer side, and had a ball the whole time—even when i was weeded within an inch of sanity.

bc of this long term relationship, i (mostly) understand the quirks/awesomeness that 2amys presents.  

i will try to answer your questions (or get answers if i don’t know), convey your beefs, pass along your compliments...any/all things.

look forward to getting to know you!

Tina, thanks so much for performing this valuable service.  A small request:  Please include the date on the daily specials/bar items online, so that we can distinguish between what was available yesterday and what'll be on tap tonight.  Thanks

40 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I just did a Google Images search, and the dishes (especially the long-cooked dishes) look *much* better than what we had last July, so I attribute that to Opening Blues.

FWIW, Seng and Bobby have been encouraging me (and I assume others) to check out Padaek if we haven't been in a while--they're proud of the staff and offerings they've put together there.