Marty L.

I've really enjoyed the versions at Taco Bar in Gaithersburg and Distrito Federale in Silver Spring; they're much better than others I've had around here, but I can't say whether they're up to par with Sireneta, which I haven't tried . . . and I'd be willing to bet Zora's is better than all of them!

Statement against interest (since within days it'll be impossible to get seats at lunch): I've now had the miso and shio for lunch, and am inclined to agree with spaztic1215 wholeheartedly. Deeply satisfying, with a distinct preference for the miso. I don't know if it's better than Ren's, but it surely is right up there; and much closer to my office. Haven't tried Toki for cpmparison. Only complaint is that I wish it were a couple of bucks less, so that it didn't seem like a lunch splurge. But in light of the high-rent real estate, I suppose it's reasonable -- after all, it's about the same as a single mixed drink at many places around town, and not much more than those scandalous $10 glasses of juice!

Any thoughts on what the best not outrageously priced Sushi in the area might be? Not Taro prices, that is, or Kotobuki on the other end -- something like Sushiko. (Lately I've sensed that Sushi-ko is resting on its laurels a bit - I've found it underwhelming; but perhaps I'm going on the wrong days.) Haven't been to Kaz in forever. Basically, I'm looking for the sushi version of Seki's sashimi. (And please, absolutely not a place that serves huge slabs of fish or disgusting Dragon-ish "creative" rolls!) What about Pabu in Baltimore? From what I've read that might be the closest fit . . .

How accurate is the following, from the website?: Our Omakase counter is an interactive tasting course; Sitting at the Omakase counter is an educational and fun experience that does not exist at any other restaurant in the mid-Atlantic region. The Omakase counter meal comes with 4 - 6 small dishes, followed by seasonal sashimi, and sushi. Other than these small dishes, the pace of the meal as well as what you like and want is completely up to you. After the Chef presents the selection of daily fresh fish, you choose what you would like to eat. Charges for the counter vary depending on what is available for your course and how much you actually eat. The average price for the Omakase counter meal is $145, (unless you have huge appetite or you intend to have our most expensive items!). Even at the maximum price we have charged, which was $220, Sushi Taro's Omakase counter experience is an about half of the cost of a similar experience in New York City. A few people questioned that why we do not set a "set price" for our counter customers. This is not easy to answer, but the main reason is because we have so many rare items that you won't find at any other restaurants. The availability and cost of these items varies seasonally. We do not want our customers to miss out on these rare delicacies by creating a pre-fixed menu. We prefer to interact and get to know our customers' culinary desires in this semi-course style. We take counter reservations only up to a month in advance to the date (June 10th for July 10th). Generally it is booked a month in advance. The Omakase counter is closed on Sundays & Mondays, also closed during "DC Restaurant Week" in August & January or February, from Christmas to 2nd week of January, and on some holidays. Operations start at 7:00PM, and we do not turnover seats, so there are no other parties before and after yours. We will take two parties at a night within our six-seat capacity. It is best to enter the Omakase counter experience with an open and adventurous mind - your taste buds will be challenged. Also, due to our style of cuisine, there will be minor restrictions that we cannot accommodate, including vegan, non-seafood, and gluten intolerance who cannot have regular soy sauce. We will try our best to entertain all other people with all other dietary restrictions. All cancellations made less than 72 hours before your reservation will be subject to charge of $30 per seat, and cancellations made less than 24 hours before your reservation will be charged $50 per seat. No-shows will be charged $100 per person.

The photo in collije's post reflects the fries I got last week -- nothing like the limp fare at Fast Gourmet.

Whoa! What was really notable when we visited TEE a week ago (just after opening) was that they had replaced the frozen, tasteless fries from Fast Gourmet with delicious, hand-cut, piping-hot fries at the new place. Hope they haven't had second thoughts . . .

Yes, I also was there last night and was fairly shocked by the inflation. The chicken started at $10 in the cafe, as did the burger. $14 seems quite reasonable for the burger -- but $21 for the chicken? And $17 for the consomme? When it began the Cafe was a virtually perfect neighborhood restaurant that I loved to visit on a whim. But now I'm afraid it'll have to be reserved for special occasions (albeit not as special as the main restaurant). It's unfair to single out Palena for this -- seems as if it's been happening everywhere (no more so than at Fiola, where prices have probably doubled since opening). Are food and labor coats sky-rocketing, or is this simply a matter of testing what the market will bear, in an era when folks regularly spend $10 for glass of juice and $15 for a cocktail?

Wow, have NYC slice standards really fallen this far? Had two slices today -- meat lovers and "margherita." Both entirely generic, mediocre . . . no character at all. Cost was more than $4 a slice, which is at least twice as much as it ought to be. For something resembling, say, DiFara's, I would pay such prices, gladly. But this was cafeteria quality. They'll make a fortune there because of all the students and other young people living within three or four blocks . . . but what a rip-off.

According to the man himself, 66 will be in the old 88 space, and the current 66 will be turned into a Xiaolongbao joint. Within a month.

The bass w/hazelnuts was excellent. As was the linguine with uni. Roasted potatoes can be skipped, and so can the lobster macaroni, which is good but not worth the $18 or the calories.

Two recent reports: The banh mi at the new Sprig & Sprout in Glover Park, like the pho there, is good, not great. The banh mi at Cork Market, with pork belly -- which I believe is only available on Saturdays -- is fantastic.

That's what I was told, too -- the "bar" seats around the stations are reserved. The fifteen or so (?) seats at the bar proper, by contrast, are first-come/first-served. Not surprisingly, the bartenders report that those seats are easiest to come by very early and late.

We have to coordinate our Seki outings sometime, Sam! I have noticed one distinct trend in recent meals that might be helpful for those who haven't tried it yet: The specials have been much stronger than the menu items. Some of the latter can be hit-or-miss or merely ok; perhaps they're starting to go through the motions more on those (except the arugula-based salad, which has been a hit every time). Virtually every single special, though, including the sashimi of the day, has been fantastic.

I was thinking more of the pour-overs, which I think are closer to $5 at CC, if memory serves. But perhaps my recollection is faulty.

What darkstar965 said. That's exactly right, based on my initial visit. (And I had the cortado -- excellent.) Except it overlooks one other important point: If I'm not mistaken, TCP's prices are much more reasonable than we're accustomed to seeing from some of our better coffee shops, such as Chinatown Coffee. That's no small thing. (Compare my rant about drink price inflation over in the Puree thread.) Here's hoping it stays that way and that it turns out to be a successful business model.

Couldn't agree more -- my meal at Zahav this year, as a solo diner, without even trying the lamb shoulder!, was by far the best meal I had anywhere. Just one swoonworthy dish after another. If only DC had a a place like this. (OTOH, my meal at Osteria was very good but not life-changing.)

I must respectfully dissent from the encouragement for this and related concerns. The fact that so many people are willing to spend $10 or more for a glass of juice is, I'm fairly confident, the end of western civilization as we know it. Yes, yes, I agree that it's very good juice. But I got an even better glass for approximately $2-$2.50 at the market in Jerusalem last summer (still swooning about that one), which is approximately what these should cost, too, even accounting for the fact that the fruits and veggies can't be sourced locally in the winter. Not blaming the proprietors -- they're running a fine business and they know the market will bear it in these parts. But we've gone collectively out of our minds. P.S. Yes, the $10 8-ounce frozen margarita from the swirling machine at New York Avenue Beach Bar is nuts, too. This didn't start with juices. I think it started when Starbucks discovered that people were willing to spend $5 a day -- every day -- for something that costs a few cents to make . . . and was exacerbated by the new cocktail craze, which is very welcome but also absurdly price-inflated.

I'd second all of that -- very welcoming and enthusiastic about their wares. Terrific new spot.

They're closed on Mondays. BTW, the braunschweiger sandwich is indeed very good -- and like most of their sandwiches, large enough for two.

The photos provide a good sense of what John and Karen were up to at TH: http://townhouseblog.blogspot.com/

I don't usually post on this board and don't know if it's the right forum, but couldn't think of where else on dr.com this might be appropriate, so here goes . . . Be curious whether anyone else shares my impression that Pete Wells's NYT review today of Talde is important, and potentially devastating, not only for the restaurant reviewed, but for others as well, at least if other critics were to take the cue. It'll only take you a couple of minutes to read the review, but here's the gist: Dale Talde opened a hot (eponymous) restaurant in Park Slope. Wells went early and had a great meal. The kitchen was hitting on all cylinders, and Talde's business partners were present and making sure the place ran like a charm. Talde's reputation soared on the great early word-of-mouth. It became impossible to get a table. Wells then returned a few months later. Place was hopping, of course, but by this time Talde himself was no longer present in the kitchen (he was busy expanding to a new venture); nor were his partners there. Wells' second meal and service were atrocious. OK, these things happen: perhaps it was an off-night. So Wells returns for a third visit. This time, he was recognized by the staff by the door, who "immediately jumped into action, buzzing with that nervous energy produced by the sight of a restaurant critic." Once again, Talde was not manning the kitchen . . . for about 15 minutes. Obviously, the call went out, he arrived, made sure that Wells was served another great meal, on par with the first, and then he "retreated to a spot by the bar with Mr. Massoni [his partner], who had materialized in the dining room at around the same time." Wells's table then orders another dish. Their server turns from their table to Talde, who then walks "from the bar to the kitchen pass. Once the pad Thai had been delivered to our table, Mr. Talde left the kitchen again." Wells closes with this: "[M]aybe the presence of a critic had recreated the atmosphere of Talde’s opening weeks. If so, then Mr. Talde and his partners should be able to keep conjuring that environment every night. It would be good for their customers, and a welcome return to the way restaurants used to operate.” Ouch. It just so happened to be Talde that bore the brunt of it, but of course the victim of this harsh review might also have been one of a number of other restaurants, in New York or elsewhere. It's fair to say, I think, that this has become a familiar phenomenon: We are wowed by a new restaurant. So is everyone else. It becomes a difficult reservation to secure. At which point the chef, no longer needing to impress, delegates many of his or her functions to assistants, with the basic instruction to keep things moving as is. The chef goes off to attend to greener (often equally impressive) pastures, or in any event no longer attends to the details of the first restaurant with anything like the obsessiveness and care that characterized those heady and exhausting first few months. The spark gradually goes out, and the kitchen becomes much more pro forma. Yet no one does much about it, because the customers continue to pour in. Don't get me wrong: I think this remains the exception rather than the rule. And it's a pattern that's hardly limited to the restaurant business. But it does seem to happen more often lately, doesn't it? (I couldn't help but think here of our recent discussion in the Jaleo thread, especially since today's Times also has a story about the growing Andres empire. Some Rockwellians have written that Jaleo has lost much of its luster as Jose Andres has devoted himself to more far-flung projects. I agreed that from time to time the downtown and Bethesda Jaleos seem tired; but to Andres's great credit, IMHO, he usually does something (I assume installing a new chef) that revitalizes them.) Will restaurant owners and chefs, in New York and elsewhere, be chastened by the Talde review and do more to retain consistency over time? What would the effect be if Sietsema and Kliman were to run similar reviews here? Another obvious lesson: We should be very grateful for the terrific restaurants that don't succumb to this problem -- the ones that make great efforts to keep their quality at a high level year after year, long after they could have simply continued to rake in profits by exploiting customer habits developed in the early days. Proof, Corduroy, Ray's the Steaks and 2 Amys come to mind, but I'm sure you all could list many others. Consistency and reliability are precious things; we shouldn't take them for granted.

Don: I don't know about 3.5 stars, but I'd urge you to try the Downtown Jaleo post-renovation. My experience has been that the downtown and Bethesda Jaleos have had their ups and downs over the years, appearing to depend upon who Jose has assigned to run the kitchens at any given time. At times, the inconsistency was maddening -- the main problem being that the cooking could become palpably pro forma -- but there were usually distinct periods in which one location or the other would be reliably top-rate. Since the renovation, under the supervision (I believe) of Paul Yeck, who was recently the chef in Bethesda during one of its high-water marks, I've had nothing but terrific meals at the downtown location.

Yes

Just to keep expectations in order-- there's no sushi here. Indeed, Chef Seki insists that he is decidedly not a sushi chef. (his St. Louis restaurant served sushi as a concession to the market there.)

Cautionary Note: Don, please don't put too much stock in my rave, because I was last there several months ago. I'd be surprised if things were significantly different now under Justin Bittner's watch; but if he has recently left then my assessment is surely obsolete.