Marty L.
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Everything posted by Marty L.
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Bolts of "lightening," indeed . . . for those of us who regularly *eat* more than half our burgers! If only . . . -
There is take-out, as well as about two or three dozen seats for eating in. And, as I wrote over on Chowhound, it's not only delicious (an assessment admittedly based solely on one gratis burger last night), but also the best deal in town.
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Sakana Sushi, Vienna VA - Closed
Marty L. replied to dwm4p's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
Thanks, Dan -- I'm looking forward to trying it. Have to admit, however, these descriptions frighten me: "the proportions extremely generous" (such as in American-style huge pieces of nigiri? yech) "Bubba roll" "Spicy Tuna cream puff" "Barber Pole Roll" What are the prices like? In the Sushi-Ko/Sushi Taro range, or more like Kotobuki? -
Thanks for the vote of confidence and for taking me up on it, Don -- really glad you liked it! (I was as surprised as you to find such a great pho house in such a glitzy, mall-bound package.)
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Not taking my own advice to skip the Maine Meal (because I wanted the shrimp, which appears only to be available in the MM), I got the fried shrimp with sweet potato fries and grilled corn. Excellent all around. The corn, of course, will be even better come late July. Also ordered the lemonade (a bit too sour for me, and I like sour -- and much too expensive at $4), and the blueberry pie, which is scrumptious and will be amazing come late summer when Maine berries are fresh. The pie slices, however, are enormous -- I'd cut the price to $3-4, and the size of the slices accordingly, if it were up to me. All and all, this continues to be a real winner -- the main issues are portion size (going both ways) and prices S9ome very reasonable, others less so). And Chef Bechtold insists he has improved the hush puppie recipe, although I haven't tried it.
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I did not mean to suggest that there would be a single, set menu, or that there would not be choices among the courses in the prix fixe, as at Palena. I did not inquire on that question -- I was simply told that there would be a prix fixe menu, i.e., a single price for a set number of courses.
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As I posted over on CH: This will be a very tough table to secure once Kliman and Sietsema write that it is Tom Power's previous high level of cooking in a much more comfortable and more appropriate setting. (Except that, for reasons explained below, those reviews might not appear for a while, until after a shift to a prix fixe menu.) We had a braised duck special with a delicious duck egg, and the oysters, for apps. The fluke and scallops for entrees. All excellent or better. Alas, no pineapple tart this night -- but the pistachio bread pudding was very good. And the wine, bread, coffee, etc. -- all top-rate (and yes, the wine list is very reasonably priced). It was a bit on the quiet side -- but that was very relaxing. A *very* comfortable room, and fairly intimate, too. (I'd estimate about 50 seats downstairs. Another couple of dozen, at most, upstairs.) Note, however: Apparently Chef Power intends to transition, in the near future, to a prix fixe menu, at approximately an Obelisk/Palena price point (i.e., a bit less than Komi, but this restaurant isn't aiming at anything so elaborate). This will encourage nice, long, leisurely dinners, with a menu that might be quite different from the current one, which largely reflects some of the old stand-bys from the Sheraton. I'd bet it will be a very successful change of pace, and reservations will be even *harder* to come by (especially with the Convention Center next door); but in the meantime, the current incarnation has all the pluses, and none of the minuses (the room) of the "old" Corduroy. Highly recommended.
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Pho Hot. Annandale.
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Joe: Excellent comparisons. Based on *one* meal at the TB, I'd say the clams are *almost* as good as the ones at Bob's in Kittery -- probably as good as you can get in this area, due to the requisite travel time. But you get more of them at Bob's than in the Maine Meal here -- understandable, in light of the rents, but still. That's why I advise on ordering a la carte here. I only had the clams once at Kinkead's, about two years ago, and they were not nearly as good as Bob's or the TB (greasy, not especially flavorful); but I have no idea whether that was an abberation or was typical of Kinkead's (at least at that time).
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What I wrote over on CH: Was there for lunch yesterday. Has the potential to be a great, and much needed, spot, so long as Barton Seaver closely superintends the quality and consistency, which I imagine he will, since it's right next door to Hook. (Great frying, for example, is a matter of perfect timing and lots of changes of oil, either or both of which could slip very quickly without constant vigilance.) The belly clams were terrific, if not quite as plump and fresh (understandably) as what one gets at the best clam shacks in New England. Even better was the grilled calamari, which had a wonderful smoky flavor. Very good, if not life-changing, collards, too. Mac & cheese was ok -- nothing to write home about. I also heard others raving about the steamers and the lobster roll, which certainly *looked* good. My only complaint was that in the "Maine Meals," the portion size of the seafood is a bit skimpy for the price -- certainly far less than one would get in those aforementioned crab shacks (which do not, of course, have to deal with Georgetown rents). The "sides" of seafood, on the other hand (labeled as "appetizers," I think, although I might be misremembering), appear to be at least as large as the portions on the MMs, and are considerably less expensive. So, for now anyway, I think I'd advise ordering one or two seafood dishes, standing alone (and depending on your hunger quotient!), and a side of, say, greens, if you are so inclined.
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Agreed -- that treatment was inexcusable. But I think it's important to add that it's anomalous. Generally, the servers and "managers" (the hosts?) are extraordinarily gracious and helpful, and friendly, often under great pressure. It's part of what makes 2 Amys such an (almost) perfect neighborhood restaurant. Which is not to say that they're perfect -- no one is. And your experience last week actually reflects the restaurant's primary fault -- that although the pizzas are *usually* fabulous, there is too much inconsistency in both directions (over- and under-baked) in the post-MacQuaid era. I think the variables are (i) how slammed the restaurant is and (ii) who is manning the oven. There are one or two guys there who are reliable, and when I see them I'm confident of a good pie; others seem not to be able to regulate the timing and temperature adequately.
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Bethesda: Chicken on the Run. And the same folks will soon have another location, named "Don Pollo," in the space on Wisconsin where Chesapeake Chicken used to be.
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Joe, with all respect, I don't quite understand this. In the ordinary course, both "Cherry Blossomers" and the rest of the public would not be able to walk into Komi off the street and be served -- it is booked with reservations for every evening it is open, especially on weekends. OK, so in this case a single party -- presumably many, many weeks or months ago -- booked all the tables for one evening, rather than having those tables booked by three or four dozen distinct parties -- again, well in advance. In both cases, if you had called up for a reservation a week ago, you would have been told "Sorry, we're booked; can I interest you in a table for [first available date]?" What's the problem? The distinction?
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The rack of lamb chops at Ray's the Classics, with a glass of their Australian shiraz. Truly, perhaps the best lamb chops I've ever had. Still, it's hard not to recommend one of the bar specials, which are ridiculous deals.
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The Bar at Palena -- but then, it's across the street and therefore presumably there's some reason you haven't chosen it yourself already.
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There's no comparison. Mendocino is a very good meal. Blue Hill is several levels beyond that (and more expensive). If you're in DC, I'd say Komi or Palena (or CityZen, presumably, but I haven't been there).
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I agree about Teddy's, but I'm fairly sure it's closed for now (and he didn't last long in the new location near the SS Metro). Negril is also good. But perhaps the best I've had recently is at a hole-in-the-wall on North Capitol, Jam Doung Style. jamdoungstyle.com
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Well, yes. When Edan MacQuaid was pizzaiolo, his pies were almost always perfect. There's less consistency now. Some of the folks manning the oven know how to manage the pies; others, less so. I don't know whether there are particular days or times of day when your odds are better. In light of his track record and the fact that he cares about how his pizzas are served, I wouldn't be surprised if Peter Pastan achieves the proper consistency soon. In the meantime, it's a good excuse to focus more on the bar items, meats and small plates, which are generally superb.
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Yes, they're now unrelated in the sense of no common management or kitchen. Obviously, however, they derive from common owners/chefs, and so the menus and recipes are largely similar. Of course, as with all such splits, differences will become more pronounced as time goes on.
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A friend just called for reservations and reports being told that RTC would be reopening in a couple of weeks after some freshening up. Let's hope that's correct!
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Michael: I hope everything's ok. Can you perchance answer this? Last week I gave someone a gift certificate to RTC. Are they safe holding onto it? (They live a few blocks away from RTC, and therefore RTS is something of a schlep.) Or should they try to get a reservation for the next couple of days? Thanks
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Dean. was this at 88 Shabu-squared, or at 66?
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Perhaps this thread should be split in two. There are no longer any connections between the Bailey's Crossroads and H Street Full Kees. They are both derived from a common owner, but except for some obvious overlap in the traditional Cantonese menu, there is not any reason to think the food, service, etc., at one will be representative of the other. (Nor is either related to the "Full Key" in Wheaton -- except, again, for a common ancestor.) I haven't been to the Virginia locale in a while. The H Street location has been very consistent of late, however.
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I finally tried American Flatbread tonight. Nice place, good pizza -- excellent choice for dinner if you're on your way to or from Dulles -- but, on this night at least, not in the same league as 2 Amys. (And definitely skip the brownie for dessert.) I've now had pizza from six of the majors in the past few weeks. 2 Amys remains clearly supreme, I think -- and the pizzas aren't even the best things there on most nights (sometimes not one of the five best things there -- the ice cream; the rabbit; the goat cheeses; the meats; the panini; etc.). Pizzeria Paradiso Georgetown has actually been pretty good for me the few times I've been there -- and the Atomica remains a singular fave. Tried Red Rocks once, on a night Edan MacQuaid wasn't there -- and I thought it was very good, almost in the 2 Amys class for crust; not quite the same level of quality toppings. I've had an excellent pizza at Comet -- and an execrable (way oversalted) one. I think we have a consensus that it's the least consistent of the frontrunners. And my pizza at Bebo (no, RD was not there) was horrible -- crust had no taste whatsoever, and arugula and onions on top were insipid. I do not doubt for a second that Roberto Donna can make a world-class pizza. He's great at so many other things, too. But the service and consistency at his restaurants -- i.e., everything over which he does not have immediate, personal control -- is laughable (as in, I actually laughed because I thought the staff was trying to outdo its bottom-dwelling reputation). When he's hands' on -- Laboratorio, the Galileo lunch sandwiches, pizza for Joe -- there may be none better. But what are the odds you'll be so lucky at Bebo?
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The web site suggests that the "Joe" is the chef from the *original* Joe's (before it was sold to the Sichuanese folks), specializing in Shanghai and Taiwanese food, not Sichuan. So is it Hunan cuisine? Sichuan? Taiwanese? Inquiring minds want to know.
