Jump to content

Marty L.

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    856

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    14

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Marty L.

    Really Nice, Upscale Takeout Wanted for the Evening of Our Anniversary, Thu, 03/26/20 (Love in the Time of COVID-19)

    in Help Needed

    Posted

    3 hours ago, DonRocks said:

    I had takeout from Convivial two nights ago that was really good. Kinship is offering their famed roast chicken (!), Komi is doing Happy Gyro and it's terrific (I bought two bottles of Moschofilero white wine and they were worth getting). Reverie in Georgetown is offering their duck for two.

    Washingtonian has compiled a list which touches on these and more.

    Don:  How does one choose the bottles at Happy Gyro?  (Or is the idea to leave yourself in their hands?)

    Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) - Legendary Director Responsible for "Dr. Strangelove," "A Clockwork Orange," and "2001"

    in Film

    Posted

    5 hours ago, DonRocks said:

    I watched this (amateur-ish) Top 10-Ever listicle of Stanley Kubrick films, and came to the following conclusion, with which some may disagree:

    Of the Top 10, exactly 3 were on my "Best Ever" list: "Dr. Strangelove," (1964) "2001," (1968), and "A Clockwork Orange" (1971).

    The others - all of them - were on my "Really Good" list, but not my "Best Ever" list (I haven't seen "Lolita" (1962) or "Barry Lyndon" (1975)).

    What do others think?

    (The list itself is unimportant, and nothing more than a starting point for this thread.)

    I've long thought "Barry Lyndon" is his best, but haven't seen it in years and need to revisit it.

    Kabobistan - Afghan Kabob House in Bradlick Plaza, Braddock Road in Annandale

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    6 hours ago, deangold said:

    Picked up after orderig online. Paid and tipped online so Kay just went in and grabbed the bag. 

    Got the three kabob combo: beef shish, chicken, lamb. All were juicy and tender. Sides of rice and chickpeas

    Also got a veggie platter which was potato, spinach and chick peas, w/rice. The potatoes should have been eggplant so the platter was a bit of disappointment. The spinach and chickpeas were very good, but hte chick pea portion was two times that of the other two, maybe more. So loads and loads of chickpeas. The potato was eh.

    Got bread and a salad as well, plus white and green sauces.

    They are definitely hurting for business. I hope they survive.

    I'd do the Kabob combo with an eggplant appetizer, a spinach side and a veggie kebab side for about the same price as what we got, which was $33 with 20% tip. We have leftovers.

    Dean:  Is it significantly better than Arlington Kabob (which is much closer to my house)?

    Dining at Union Market

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    The Maketto pop-up, discussed five years ago, is long gone.  (James Wozniuk now has his own Malaysian joint at Makan/Thirsty Crow.)  District Fishwife has been my go-to for a while (I'm partial to the Donburi bowls).  (Alas, Onwuachi's cheesesteak place is no more.)

    The choices at Union Market have recently improved dramatically, however, with the additions of outposts of Fava Pot, Indigo, and Lucky Buns, as well as Alex McCoy's Thai street food counter, Som Tam, and a new location of Laoban, a dumpling place with other locations (I haven't been) that recently brought onboard Tim Ma as "culinary director."  

    Of these, I've only tried Indigo and Som Tam, both of which were very good.

    Like everything else at Union Market, these aren't cheap lunches--everything is at least a dollar or two more than it should be (and would be in many other, lower-rent spots).  But at least now when I'm over there buying seafood from District Fishwife, I've got plenty of options for lunch, in addition to D.F itself.

     

    Union Market - Public Market on 5th Street and Neal Place NE in Brentwood

    in Shopping and Cooking

    Posted

    Just a head's up that the choices at Union Market have recently improved dramatically with the additions of outposts of Fava Pot, Indigo, and Lucky Buns, as well as Alex McCoy's Thai street food counter, Som Tam, and a new location of Laoban, a dumpling place with other locations (I haven't been) that recently brought onboard Tim Ma as "culinary director."  (Alas, Onwuachi's cheesesteak place is no more.)
     

    Of these, I've only tried Indigo and Som Tam, both of which were very good.

    Like everything else at Union Market, these aren't cheap lunches--everything is at least a dollar or two more than it should be (and would be in many other, lower-rent spots).  But at least now when I'm over there buying seafood from District Fishwife, I've got plenty of options for lunch, in addition to D.F itself, at which I'm partial to the Donburi bowls.

     

    New Orleans, LA

    in The Intrepid Traveler

    Posted

    18 hours ago, dcandohio said:

    I’m in my hometown with friends. We are not doing a proper eating tour (finicky eaters, one of whom is scared of spicy). However, I offer the following brief reviews:

    Liuzza’s by the track is still reliable. Great turtle soup and fried catfish. Anything fried here is a winner. Tiny, cramped, worn. I love it. 
    Napoleon House makes a decent muffaletta, a great Pimm’s cup and the patio is delightful. 
    Marjie’s on Broad near Canal is a treat - Louisiana classics with Asian touches, smoked meats, pig knuckles, ears etc. The restaurant is In an old house; it is casual and unpretentious. Prices are good. Portions are generous. Big flavors. 
    The Sculpture Garden in City Park continues to amaze. This is a must-do (it’s FREE). The Audubon Zoo is fantastic even if you are not a zoo fan. The setting is magical, among centuries-old live oaks. It’s well curated with lots of shade and places to sit. Take a picnic and make a day of it. 

    Loved Marjie's Grill the one time I was there. Your description is just right.

    • Like 2

    Sichuan Jin RIver (巴山蜀水, was Sichuan Pavilion), Hungerford Drive in Rockville

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    3 hours ago, deangold said:

    We were 9 for a stunning dinner at Sichuan Jin River. We ordered 6 small plates and 6 large. I am in pretty much of a food coma so I might not remember all 12, but here goes:

    Husband & Wife slices: here the infamous husband and wife were actually a throuple. Beef, beef tendon and tripe in a rich, spicy sauce with a dose of Sichuan peppercorn for a great balance of ma and la. Really stunning version, probably as good as I have ever had, reminded me of the one at Grace Garden but a unique twist on a Sichuan classic. Our waiter described it as the most popular cold dish and it is easy to see why. 

    Fungus Salad: wood ear, pickled peppers, some shreds of garlic in a sprightly, vinegar dominated sauce. Really good.

    Spicy Bean Jelly Noodle {not sure of it is the Northern style or the one just listed as chilled.} Just a top notch version with a big dollop of mala sauce: chile oil, crispy chiles, sichuan peppercorn, garlic, ginger, green onion. You need to be sure and stir this well to coat the jelly with the sauce as the jelly is purely a texture element. Absolutely top notch.

    Anchovies w. Roasted Peanuts & Hot Peppers: a big plate of peanuts with a  few chiles and a tangle of tiny white salted and fried fish. The fish were the length of a basmati rice grain but 1/4 or less in diameter. They were strewn in abundance over the peanuts. Again, one of the best takes I have ever had and a unique twist on a ubiquitous dish. 

    Sichuan Beef Jerky: traditional recipes I have seen for this dish involve stewing a tough cut of beef in a sauce until absorbed, then leaving at the edge of the stove to cook slowly from residual heat until the meat is chewy but not the chewiness of American, Thai or Indonesian styles. I think I have only had this at Joe's Noodle House and this version really blew me away. Sweet, salty, beefy, dense and chewy but not tough. Again, a unique twist on a traditional dish.

    Smoked Duck: fine but standard version. Probably would have been really good anywhere else but it got lost in the brilliance of the other dishes. 

    Mains:

    Beef Belly: brilliant dish of thin slices of beef belly in a brown gravy with some veggies. It was spectacularly good but some of the details  got lost in the abundance.} The dish comes on a surprise bed of thin noodle. Once the meat and veg is gone, the noodle and the sauce make fine slurping. This is not on the English menu but is the dish on the specials board listed only in Chinese. Unlike my visits under the old ownership where getting recommendations was difficult and finding out what was on the menu from the white board is hard, Jimmy Lee our waiter was a gem at helping out. They also make a cold dish with beef belly so be sure to distinguish.

    Lamb Hot Pot: Another brilliant dish. This was lamb meat with veggies like carrots, peppers in a spicy but not mala sauce. It was soupy, the sauce came up to the height of the ingredients. So good.

    Dry Pot: lotus root, flounder chunks, shrimp, greens, carrots, other stuff in a well spiced dry fry showing off mala spicing as well. Several people at the table ate at the old Wang's up Rockville Pike and we all agreed that this was as good or better than Wang's. We need a meal at Wang's to compare. Superb.

    Flounder with vegetables in Fiery Soup: This is usually referred to as Boiled {main protein} in Fiery Sauce or Water Braised {Main protein} and the main protein is typically beef or flounder. The protein is marinated in egg white, cornstarch and flavorings. The proteins usually gets a quick fry to set the marinade into a coating but not cooking the ingredient fully, and set aside. Then a sauce is built with green onion, ginger, garlic, Sichuan hot bean paste, soy, and after these ingredients are cooked into a mass with a slick of oil on it, broth is added, then glass noodle, cabbage and bean sprouts, and finally the protein.  This example with flounder was again superb. The flounder pieces were plump and juicy and the coating gave an interesting texture: nowt soggy but wet. The sauce was super with a high quality broth used I suspect it was a chicken/pork broth so pescatarians beware. The pork version I had at lunch last Friday and this version were both fantastic  and worthy of slurping up the soup. Joe's is justly famous for this dish and Panda Gourmet makes a killer version. This version is equal to the other and is more refined, not better, just more refined.

    Eggplant Yu Hsiang style {listed on the menu as Eggplant w/Ground Pork in Spicy Garlic Sauce} Several people said this was the dish of the night and I would not argue. This dish is ubiquitous on modern Chinese menus and tonight's version was as good as any other I have ever had. If I need to quibble, the sauce was the slightest touch too strong with vinegar but this sauce is known as fish fragrant and was originally designed to go with an oily fish, so the vinegar is there to cut the oiliness. The eggplant is fried in oil first so this dish can become an oil bomb or the eggplant can get creamy but heavy with absorbed oil. Not here. This was perfectly cooked eggplant. The dish was a standout and Kay thinks I am crazy to quibble it and she is probably right. But Kay thinks I am crazy without any restrictions on the crazy so I leave it to you to decide. But I usually agree with her wisdom {or say I do to her face, I sleep more than she does!}

    Pea Shoot Leaves Amazingly good. Much better than standard versions. 

    Whole Tilapia with Pickled Peppers: this dish suffered as being merely good in a sea of incredible. I didn't have much so I can't comment more than to note the ratio of sauce to pickled pepper seemed to favor the sauce. Next time I get a group together, I will see in advance of they can get a more interesting whole fish like snapper or fluke, and as well a larger one.

    A large bucket of rice was served and it again was outstanding. 

    If it seems like I said unique or best a lot, I did. Not since the infamous meal at China Boy where Claudia and Scott met have I had a Sichuan style meal so good. It ranks as one of the great Sichuan meals of my life. the word refined comes to mind a lot. Not fancy or gussied up but just incredibly balanced. This was the outstanding meal I htink we all were hoping for when we had a plain old good meal at Mama Chang's. This meal was the same price and much much much MUCH better. The flavors jumped yet balance was the overriding feature.

    Next I need to shout out at the outstanding service. Jimmy Lee seems to be the head waiter and he is generous with his recommendations. He not only pointed out dishes but helped us assemble a meal with no repeating flavors. He made a great meal even better. Often getting a wiater in a Chinese restaurant {really

    any restaurant these days} to give recommendations is difficult. But Jimmy kept saying "we do different Sichuan dishes and nothing Americanized. He was truly a prod ambassador of a really outstanding restaurant. I did not get their name but the runner and the busser were hard working and always jumping in to make the meal extra special. The warmth of our reception was on par with the outstanding food.

    I must admit I was skeptical when MartyL brought up Sichuan Jin River but I usually agree with his on Chinese food so I decided to put this outing together. He is right and my life is better from his recommendation!

    If you love spicy foods in general and Sichuan food in particular, you need to go here.

    So glad it lived up to my hype.  I haven't even had half those dishes--can't wait to try them!

    Anju, Chef Angel Barreto's Modern Korean on 18th and S Street, East Dupont Circle

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

    Here's a small order of Chikin ($14) at Anju. (One piece, with a lot of sauce, had already been removed from the top - that one piece (two bites of it, anyway) was the difference between what was delivered, and what was discarded.) 

    AnjuChikin.jpg

    Harsh!  (FWIW, the only thing I've had there is the branzino, which was much better than I expected.)

    Fahrenheit Asian - Chinese Hot Soups and Noodles on Dolley Madison Blvd in McLean

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    12 hours ago, deangold said:

    I went once. Nice enough food but I am not a fan of hot pots that come with all ingredients put in the pot. I prefer to add my ingredients one or two at a time. 

    The service was jarringly bad, so much so that I did not even finish my meal. I did contact them but they cut off replying to me without resolving my issues. 

    The hotpot is not the thing to get here (even though most do).  The "specials" listed on the board are where it's at.

    Fahrenheit Asian - Chinese Hot Soups and Noodles on Dolley Madison Blvd in McLean

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    38 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

    I've been to all three (Springfield and Palisades multiple times), and both Springfield and Palisades are putting out better cuisine then McLean (although I'd still say Bistro Aracosia is the best restaurant in McLean). Springfield is casual, whereas Palisades and McLean have clearly seen some money pumped into the decor.

    (Disclaimer: I haven't been to either Springfield or Palisades since McLean opened, so there may be some internal shuffling of the staff - see third sentence above.)

    I wouldn't be surprised if BA is the best restaurant in McLean (I only frequent Palisades), but have you been to the (very small) Fahrenheit for Sichuan?  Just had an excellent meal there.

    East Dumpling House, Forty Kinds of Dumplings and Kabobs at 12. N. Washington Street in Downtown Rockville

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    I, too, had a very good meal based upon Dean's suggestions, albeit not as wonderful as our recent Jin River meal.  The place is unrecognizable compared to its previous iteration.  Worthy of further investigation: The table next to ours ordered a preposterously large platter of (reportedly quite spicy) steamed crawfish, which they loved (and had ordered before).  The Bayou comes to Harbin, apparently.  (I believe it's on the order of $40-50, but it easily fed three.) 

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...