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Marty L.

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  1. Marty L.
    Tonight, in addition to the toasted almond/honey ice cream (good enough to warrant a visit in and of itself), specials include: baby white beets with cumin, fennel seed, citrus, and Amy's créme fraîche prosciutto wrapped roasted rabbit with white asparagus and vincotto artichoke braised with lemon, olive, and pine nuts with sheep's milk ricotta shaved dairy cow breast with tuna spuma
  2. Marty L.
    Dishes that are especially great right now at TuG: stracciatella, seeded crackers, trout roe, pickled shallot [16] capunti alla puttanesca, white anchovy, pepitas, candied olives, parmesan [21] [If there's a better pasta dish in DC now, please let me know ASAP!] whole bronzino, swiss chard + caper stuffing, roasted shallots, black walnut praline [49] cheese course, grayson, sicilian pistachios, honeycomb, meyer lemon + suze jam, cilantro [16] Yes, as at many DC places, the prices are creeping up a bit, owing to the (welcome) increase in minimum wage and rising food costs. Even so, you can put together a great meal here without breaking the bank. (And of course Bill Jensen's wine list and recs are as creative and interesting as just about anywhere. And I haven't even mentioned the breads, which are, along with those at Elle, about as good as you can get around here.) [Full disclosure: My son has worked there and they know us well. I don't have any reason to believe, however, that that has affected the quality of the food they've served us--this is a very consistent kitchen, with great attention to detail.]
  3. Marty L.
    Had the ribeye tonight--the last from the first of the milk cows that they've recently purchased. Really delicious, and a great deal, too ($35 for over two lbs.). If I'm remembering correctly what they were telling me, they might have a strip steak or two remaining for tomorrow. Then, onto (nine or so?) filets from the second cow. Then it'll be 45 days or so before the ribeyes and strips are aged and available from that second cow. If this all works out, it might become a much more regular thing.
  4. Marty L.
    and carciofi alla giudia!
  5. Marty L.
    What's the consensus 'round here on Lucky Buns? --- Lucky Buns (arlingtonkabob)
  6. Marty L.
    Gabba gabba hey!
  7. Marty L.
    This is a great, long-overdue development. The poached dairy cow breast tonnato tonight only has four exclamation marks, if you're counting.
  8. Marty L.
    It's not steak, but the almond honey ice cream the other night was sublime.
  9. Marty L.
    Don't forget to order (and tip) at the counter.
  10. Marty L.
    Yes
  11. Marty L.
    Nothing in almost five years, eh? St. Louis food scene almost unrecognizable since then. Went to two great spots over the weekend: -- Soup Dumplings. Yep, that's the name. And basically all they serve is xiao long bao (plus three or four cold Shanghai appetizers). Excellent version, even if not life-altering. -- Olio. Apparently part of a Ben Poremba burgeoning empire. Israeli. And--I kid you not--(Philadelphia) Zahav-level quality. But much more low-key and much less expensive. The labne (with the bagel), the hummus w/lamb shoulder, and the cauliflower were especially good, but almost everything emerging from the kitchen looked fantastic.
  12. Marty L.
    Great post, Julien. Just to be clear: I didn't mean to suggest that Tosca was, uh, fleecing anyone--merely that it's become *very* expensive to eat out at many places in DC, even as compared to the inflation-adjusted past. For many places, including, say, Tail Up Goat (speaking of lamb ribs), the prices are completely fair, in light of costs (labor, food, etc.). (Perhaps that's even true of Fabio's joints -- I don't know.) And these places presumably aren't having trouble filing the seats (even at, e.g., Bros. & Sisters and A Rake's Progress, where the prices seem to reflect the hotel setting). Even so, it means that for many of us such dining out is, by necessity, only a special-occasion thing. Just a guess, but the spots that seem to be much better bang-for-your-buck (e.g., 2 Amys; Seki) probably have somewhat more reasonable rents, by virtue of their quirky locales.
  13. Marty L.
    Rack of lamb at Tosca currently $44
  14. Marty L.
    Full list now here. A lot of low-ball surprises, e.g., Kinship (27), Fiola Mare (30), Little Serow (absurd at 33), 2 Amys (equally absurd at 39), Hazel (46), Maketto (47), Bresca (53--haven't been but have heard great things), Mirabelle (59!), Rose's (66--ouch), Bann Thai (84), Afghan/Aracosia Bistro (95).
  15. Marty L.
    Oh, you've got it all wrong, Kevin: It's a bar with some coffee and baked goods! ;-) Actually, I think the idea is to be a neighborhood place to hang out in, whether for breakfast, snack, drink or dinner. Tres post-gentrification, I suppose.
  16. Marty L.
    Had an excellent almond/chocolate cookie yesterday, with delicious coffee. Purchased a mighty fine loaf of bread, too. Not inexpensive, especially for the neighborhood--but that's hardly unique to this place these days. There are now evening cocktails at the bar, and soon there'll be dinner service, too, apparently.
  17. Marty L.
    This is mostly right, Don. But I wouldn't preclude the possibility that one or more Chang establishments could continue to be great--even revelatory--from time to time, depending on who he hires to run the kitchens. I can't wait, for instance, to return to the Ssam Bar in light of this.
  18. Marty L.
    It does not matter on what day it appears or whether it's labeled a "Review" or a "First Bite"--regardless of date or title, it will deter countless readers from choosing to try R Family Kitchen, and therefore will accelerate its failure. And so the question is: To what end? After all, I am very confident there are more than 60 places in Bethesda alone (probably more like 200) that are worse than R Family--or worse deals, anyway--and Tom does not bother to harshly critique them. And if Tom is eager to review places with different "price points"--which would be a *very* welcome development--there are dozens of wonderful, family-run joints that would benefit enormously from a Sietsema rave. It's to his credit that Tom has posted here, and offered his reason for this particular column. It's evident that he did not publish it out of hostility or spite or glee, or to take down a sacred cow (see, e.g., Nobu). Rather, he did so "because it's run by the same owners of the previous restaurant in that space, TapaBar, which I liked and considered to be a solid, two-star establishment." In other words, because he was understandably disappointed in what he considers a misguided change of focus by the owners. That is to say, it's a lament. I understand the impulse to register such disappointment in public. But if that's what motivated the column--because he so admired what they did before--then that's simply another reason not to bash them in public. After all, the owners ain't reverting to TapaBar. And it's not as if there are throngs of TapaBar fans out there who are clamoring to know how the new place is and who would not try it out themselves (indeed, the family abandoned TB because there weren't enough customers). All of which is to say that the column was not a function of bad motive, or insensitivity. It was simply a case of bad judgment, IMHO. All of which is water under the bridge now --the damage has been done (and if Tom's right about the quality, they probably wouldn't have thrived in the long run, anyway). So let's put this controversy to good use: In the last year or so, we have really dropped the ball on this site in terms of identifying the unknown, family-run places that truly shine. (There was once more of that sort of thing on Chowhound, but that site is now but a shadow of its former self.) If we can find such places, and tout them here, perhaps we'll inspire Tom to check them out . . . and rave about some of them.
  19. Marty L.
    It is an interesting question whether a critic with Sietsema-level influence should bother publishing such a slam on a small, family-run place of little renown, which is sure to hasten its demise. Shouldn't he save his very scarce slots for the many places that deserve raves and the big-ticket, well-known places that deserve a take-down or a warning to the hordes who are dropping their $$?
  20. Marty L.
    Pho 75 -- Rockville. Consistently solid.
  21. Marty L.
    As mottos go, you could do a lot worse than "Humility and Ice"
  22. Marty L.
    It's all good. Now very crowded. And the "double" burgers are enormous, so plan accordingly.
  23. Marty L.
    for what it's worth. Nice to see recognition for TuG and Seki. I've only been to 10 of the 25 in recent years (mostly because many of them are out of my price range). Is Whaley's as good as they say? Been meaning to try it. Conspicuous (I'd say absurd) omissions: Little Serow; 2 Amys; Thip Khao. As well as Arroz, Kinship, Daikaya Ramen, Hazel, Sushi Ogawa (and Takumi, and Mirai).
  24. Marty L.
    Stopped by this morning, figuring that things would have become more regularized after a couple of months, only to learn that they apparently have decided they will only sell bread from 1-4. I assume they know what they're doing--and selling everything they bake--but this seems a bit absurd to me. It's an enormous place--presumably the rent is very high, and they'd sell countless more loaves if they were available from, say, 8 to 6. When I registered my disappointment, they recommended that I ask someone who lives in the neighborhood (and does not work away from home!) to purchase me bread whenever I'd like it, and then pick it up from them. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is not going to go to such lengths -- and wouldn't do so even if I knew someone who was nearby between 1 and 4, which I don't. Is this sustainable?
  25. Marty L.
    Sorry to disappoint, Don, but it's pronounced "Ellie"! Had a very nice coffee and scone today. They are gradually easing into things over the course of several weeks.
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