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Marty L.

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Everything posted by Marty L.

  1. Marty L.
    The sandwich at 2 Amys is always scrumptious. Had excellent specimens at Chez Bill Sud last week, but at a much higher price point (I recall that it was about $30 for two very large crabs).
  2. Marty L.
    Inspired by this, a query: Where's the best Bún Chả in the D.C. area? I've had plenty of decent but mediocre versions, and would love to know where it really stands out.
  3. Marty L.
    Don: I agree in general -- every workplace will have inappropriate and thoughtless employees from time to time (well, other than a place run by Jonny Monis and Anne Marler!), and that's hardly a reason to hold it against the establishment, or to make a big deal about it publicly. The difference here wasn't what the employees did -- I'll bet something like it has happened in almost every restaurant -- but the outrageously inadequate and thoughtless reply by management, in an official statement to the press!
  4. Marty L.
    Woo, boy. Tone-deafness 101: "They always do that. I've told them so many times," [Manager Qian] Cheng said. "And they did it again." It gets worse when it comes to the remedy: "Cheng said he has cut back the servers' hours. They will not work prime weekend shifts in the near future." And then worse still: "He gave the diners a $20 gift card for their troubles."
  5. Marty L.
    Yeah, it's a very good spot. Lamb brain karahi is said to be the specialty, but they were out when I was there.
  6. Marty L.
    What a tease -- don't keep us in suspense!
  7. Marty L.
    That ol' pastime standby, Babka 'n' Ice Cream. Color me dubious, but I suppose I'll try it . . .
  8. Marty L.
    The was a day, not very long ago, when this entire list would have consisted of three words: Horace and Dickie's. Do they continue to belong on the list? Also, Shawafel was excellent when it first opened, but I haven't been in a while. Still worthwhile?
  9. Marty L.
    Ashamed to say that I simply microwaved them; they'd probably be even better if properly reheated.
  10. Marty L.
    We also had a wonderful meal there on Friday. Be sure you order the oysters and a (newish?) stuffed tofu dish. Believe it or not, both the wok fried chinese broccoli and the beef curry -- both of which were *very* good at dinner -- were even better when reheated the next day.
  11. Marty L.
    I sat at the bar for lunch a week ago and, in effect, had an omakase: We told Chef Yu two or three things we wanted, and asked him to supplement with whatever was good that day (but not the really pricey o-toro). At ten pieces, we'd had enough: bronzino, medai, hamachi belly, another hamachi of some sort, char, three types of salmon, walu, aji; approximately $37 or so -- not cheap for lunch, but in NYC it would've been twice that.
  12. Marty L.
    Is there an omakase at Seki?
  13. Marty L.
    This banner now on the website: "Chef Omakase Sushi Bar $80 up and Table $60 up. Ala Carte Menu available at Table." A bit disappointing, since it'll almost always price me out of the sushi bar; but understandable, I suppose.
  14. Marty L.
    Ordinarily, I wouldn't want you to take my word--or even mine and Sam's word--for it, Don. But in this case, with all deference to Mintwood and Donburi, I think your newly christened #1 is a very, very safe bet: that's not a very high bar to meet, especially now that Cedric is devoting his efforts to Convivial.
  15. Marty L.
    Word to the wise: Go now. Within a month, it's gonna be impossible to get in. It's running on all cylinders on day three . . . and, I'm sure, on day one, too, per Sam's report. Maltagliati was scrumptious; and the almond cake was the best dessert I've had in ages. Feels as if it's been a neighborhood institution for years. And that's because Jon, Jill and Bill, and their great, carefully chosen staff, have been working really hard, for a really long time, to get up to speed. They love what they're doing; they love making their customers happy; and it shows. Possibly as welcoming as Komi and Little Serow--like those spots, from which they came, you know you're in good and welcoming hands as soon as you walk in. Wish I could afford to go every night, or that, when I am there, that I could afford to always order the Selbach-Oster Spätlese they're offering at $18/glass, which Bill modestly describes as "The Greatest (White Wine on Earth)." Thank god it's impossible to find a parking space (I circled for 20 minutes on a quiet Thursday), or else it'd be as hard a table to snag as Bad Saint--and it's about five times as large. Oh, and the bread? (I bought a brown rice loaf that we've been savoring all day.) Better than Bread Furst, that's all.
  16. Marty L.
    I haven't been in several months -- and so perhaps what I'm about to write is also affected by a possible slackening at lunch described above -- but I've always found that their Bari chirashi at lunch is the best in town.
  17. Marty L.
    Looking forward to that, Simon -- I've been underwhelmed by the other items I've gotten there, and I'm a longtime Ssam Bar fan. (The rice cakes were probably the best, but nothing all that special.) I did very much like the Tonkotsu for carry out, though. FYI: I'm informed that the fried chicken available today, and every Friday, for carry out, is not the same as the Wu's braised version -- it's a traditional buttermilk fried recipe.
  18. Marty L.
    This modest list based on one short, four-day visit this past summer: La Boqueria is the main food market, off Las Ramblas. Inside it is a a little counter called Pinoxto Bar, which has great tapas and great atmosphere -- breakfast and lunch only, from 6 am or so until 4. Get the tortilla (omelet) and xuixu (custard filled pastry things) for breakfast; the chickpeas and any seafood you see, including baby squid and beans, clams, etc. -- all great, at lunch or breakfast. Decent coffee, too. El Quim, also in the market, supposed to also be great, for mussels and other things, but we didn't eat there. Within three blocks of the Picasso Museum, in "El Born," are at least three great tapas places -- Bar Del Pla (which we ate at), Tapeo, and El Xampanyet. Could get a couple of dishes at each, or settle in at one. Excellent shopping happening around there, too. For a slightly nicer meal (but not ridiculously high-end), Gresca, for lunch, in the Eixample (close to the Casa Battlo)--great value. (Good for dinner, too, but less of a value.) Make reservations. We also found that Gelonch was great -- some Peruvian influence. But it's far less well known -- less of a scene. Hisop also supposed to be excellent in that price range or a bit higher. For dinner, definitely make reservations at Bar Canete in the Ravel (not the restaurant but the bar portion). Fantastic. We also had excellent Pintxos straight from San Sebastian at Zeruko-- good value-- but it's fairly new and no one seems to know about it yet, so very quiet. For ice cream DelaCream is supposed to be incredible, especially the Pistachio ice cream, and also check their seasonal fruit flavors. Am told that for bakeries and sweets check out La Pastiseria on Arago Street and Takashi Ochiai, a Japanese bakery.
  19. Marty L.
    I had a very different experience on the same day. Tonkatsu perfectly cooked. Onions added a lot. And staff was friendly and very organized. Not saying creole7's experience wasn't very different -- I'm sure it was. So perhaps this reflects still-early jitters/inconsistency. The pupusas on Mondays are quite good, but really suffer a lot for being packaged and not eaten immediately off the griddle -- they should add those to the eat-in lunch menu, and choose something else for Monday take-out. Take-out on Tuesday is pho ga; on Wednesday, "sausage biscuit," and on Friday it's fried chicken (a thigh and a breast)--I haven't tried any of those yet.
  20. Marty L.
    Can you please post the list itself? Hard to discuss what you haven't seen!
  21. Marty L.
    Yes. I was underwhelmed.
  22. Marty L.
    Pete Wells carves up Per Se. Be very interesting to see what the fall-out is, at Per Se and other four-star places. If it has a possible dampening effect on the ridiculous price inflation in recent years, that will be reason enough to celebrate the review. I was just about to publish a post lamenting the prices at the D.C. places receiving such raves here of late (Kinship, Metier, Grill Room, the Source, etc.). I doubt I'll ever eat at these restaurants -- at a minimum, I'd feel deeply uneasy forking over such $$, an anxiety that would temper what I'm sure would otherwise be a great meal. But they don't even approach the NYC insanity. Like 99.9% of the population, I'll never eat at Per Se, or Masa, or Eleven Madison Park, etc.--let alone the most recent raved about NYC sushi spots that sound so enticing. Like the operations that charge $11 for a glass of juice, or $16 cocktails, apparently they've realized that the market will bear it -- there are enough expense accounts out there to fill the tables every night, apparently. So I don't begrudge them. Even so, the whole thing is rather depressing . . . and at Per Se level ("Can I interest you in some risotto with truffles -- for merely a $175 up-charge on your $350 plus alcohol and tax?"), positively obscene.
  23. Marty L.
    I have found this each time I've visited BC--the staff is well-meaning but not nearly up to the level of the (mostly excellent and fairly priced) food. And I suspect the principal problem is understaffing, perhaps in the kitchen as well as on the floor, which might be a bit of a chicken-and-egg issue: Until they attract a larger crowd, they can't raise labor costs, but until they hire more people, it'll be difficult to secure a loyal following.
  24. Marty L.
    Haven't been to Joe's in several months, but I can report that on Christmas Eve, Jin River was *slammed,* and yet we had as good a meal as we've ever had there--and every single item coming out of the kitchen to other tables looked more delectable than the last (and I didn't recognize several). Their ability to turn out hundreds of different dishes and keep the quality so high is rather remarkable. Continuity in the kitchen is the key, methinks.
  25. Marty L.
    This is the more "accessible" of the two?! How many Washingtonians does he expect will have "access"?
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