christopherc

One of the best crabcakes I've had in a long time was at El Napolito in the Plaza del Mercado shopping center in MoCo. You would not expect a Mexican restaurant to have good, much less wonderful, crabcakes, but then they do specialize in seafood. Wonderful cakes, large lumps of crab, no filler, and broiled, not fried. Two fairly large cakes for $24.95. Very good and filling too. Another reason for me to believe that this is one of my very favorite restaurants for seafood, regarless of the fact that it is a Mexican restaurant.

Another place you would not think of as having good crabcakes is Landini Brothers in Old Town. No filler just two good size crabcakes. At $29 they are on the high end. What was the Atlantic Hotel in Berlin, Maryland had exceptional crabcakes too but the hotel changed hands. On our last visit (March 07) it was being operated by the new owners. On a Friday we ordered the crabcake sandwich but were told they didn't have any seafood because their delivery had not come in.

Weren't they part of the Lebanese Taverna empire? (Which, BTW, will soon have a new outpost at the Inner Harbor end of Aliceanna street in Baltimore. Bear down on a 4-iron well enough, and get a good bounce, and you can get to Pazo from there. Good luck, LT.)

100 King is up for sale.

We're going next weekend. Hasn't anyone from this board been there who can report on dinner with some detail? (A gelato cart?!?) For myself, Francesco doing seafood is a dinner to look forward to. Some of his strongest dishes over the years at I Ricchi and Cesco were seafood based. Someone must have been there who can help steer us to some of this new restaurant's strengths.

Haven't been myself but this is what a friend wrote me about her experience: "The format of the restaurant is like a fresh Italian seafood market. They have stuff on the menu, including a hand cut Porterhouse, that was fantastic, but what they really want to do is show you their fresh seafood, you pick whatever you want and then tell them how to prepare it.. We had ocean scallops with truffles, a large platter of grilled seafood including langoustinos, baby octopuses, clams, mussels, shrimp, the best lobster pasta we have ever tasted and then the main course, John’s porterhouse, Missy’s Dorado baked in salt (which was the bomb) and I had more shellfish in a tomato/fennel broth that was spectacular. We had no idea we were getting so much food but since we were there for more than 3 hours, we weren’t uncomfortably stuffed….of course we had some great bottles of wine as well…Doug, the bald former bartender of 100 King works there and he remembered all of us as we came in….turns out that he also got some customer of 100 King a job there as well….and we sat and chatted with her after dinner….

Their grand opening is supposedly tonite…they did have a couple of service issues, but nothing as bad as Indigo Landing…just some kinks that need to be worked out….I can’t guarantee that you all will have as great a meal as we did, but I am definitely highly recommending this place for those who love seafood!"

I am editing to add that I received this review January 23.

Does the cafe take reservations?

Oooooh...nettle soup! I know where I'll be tonight!

Dinner Saturday night of a soft shell appetizer, black cod with morels entree and friend's steak tartar with warm pumpernickel appetizer and soft shell entree was exceptional. The side of Swiss Chard wasn't bad either. The malted chocolate crème burlee was perfect. As always fantastic service from Tammy, filling in for Ken who took the evening off.

Can anyone offer a quote-versus-reply tutorial?

Sorry about that.

They officially opened at 11:30am today for lunch.

Had dinner at Overwood Saturday. I can't say a lot about the food, mostly overcooked, bland, and lukewarm to cold. But if we could only get the kind of service at Bebo that we had at Overwood Saturday, Bebo would earn a lot more respect. The service was not only good, it was excellent. If for no orther reason we will go back. The bar was packed and everyone seemed to be enjoying. A burger we saw being served at the bar while saying hello to some friends looked very good so maybe that is the way.

Note it is my bold above. Come on JoeH, why should I have to introduce myself to the chef and have them order for me to get a decent meal? I don't have to do this at other restaurants.

I have had a few meals at Bebo and they have all been inconsistent with some dishes being good and others not so good. And the bar service is only slightly better than sitting in the dining room, which is by far worse than any board icon.Actually, I've never had olive oil or butter there, either. I believe that Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill and Carrabba's have spoiled many to believe these are expected. For that matter I don't remember Maestro ever serving these either...or Tosca, Obelisk...

I have never eaten at Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill or Carrabba's but I have been served olive oil in many fine Italian restaurants, including the kitchen of my very Italian uncle and in his neighbors (a Grandmother, Grandfather, Uncle, Aunt, Mother, Father, and daughter) kitchen. I have also been served butter in some Italian New York restaurants. I should add that on the part of family and neighbors I am talking as long ago as forty-five years, not something new. As to the difference in the two dishes I can only say again, that it was like they came from two different restaurants, it wasn't a slight difference but a tremendous difference. I agree that I have often had something in a restaurant, returned another day and the dish was different but not to the point of the two plates of linguine and clams that I was served at Bebo.

After our dinner Saturday I am afraid the memories of our very good dinners at Bebo and only at the bar are not quite, but almost forgotten. My entree was an item I haven't ordered at Bebo before but usually love elsewhere, linguine with clams. When the bartender brought my dinner I took two bites and told my fiancée that it was about as dry and overcooked as it could possibly be. The pasta and the clams were inedible and had no seasoning at all. After sending back my entrée (something I never do) fifteen minutes later I received the same dish but I swore it came from a different restaurant. It was wonderful, cooked perfectly, tender juicy clams, and seasoned just right. I asked the bartender why the difference but she didn't want to answer for whatever reason. By the time I received my dinner I had already ate half of my fiancée’s entree and wasn't hungry. I ended up taking two bites of the pasta and eating the clams. I was asked if I wanted to take the rest with me but I declined. Roberto was on the floor the whole time we were there, talking to guests and employees. At first we thought this was a good thing but we now think Roberto should head back to the kitchen until he can trust whomever was back there Saturday night to serve a dish as well the first as they do after it has been sent back to the kitchen. I give our bartender Stephanie credit, she took the entree off the check and for the first time in five visits we were given bread after we ordered, although we never got olive oil or butter. We had a $100 check before tax and tip without being charged for my entree. I am very temped not to try again.

After e-mailing a note to Roberto about this dinner I received a reply that apologized for our problems and asking us to give them another chance, also offering free appetizers when /if we return. I was also told that management is looking into the problems and are very aware of the service issues.

When I was there about a week ago, I was told by one of the bar staff that they are waiting on a permit from the county/state for the oven. All they can do is wait. Sucks for us.

After our dinner Saturday I am afraid the memories of our very good dinners at Bebo and only at the bar are not quite, but almost forgotten. My entree was an item I haven't ordered at Bebo before but usually love elsewhere, linguine with clams. When the bartender brought my dinner I took two bites and told my fiancée that it was about as dry and overcooked as it could possibly be. The pasta and the clams were inedible and had no seasoning at all. After sending back my entrée (something I never do) fifteen minutes later I received the same dish but I swore it came from a different restaurant. It was wonderful, cooked perfectly, tender juicy clams, and seasoned just right. I asked the bartender why the difference but she didn't want to answer for whatever reason. By the time I received my dinner I had already ate half of my fiancée’s entree and wasn't hungry. I ended up taking two bites of the pasta and eating the clams. I was asked if I wanted to take the rest with me but I declined. Roberto was on the floor the whole time we were there, talking to guests and employees. At first we thought this was a good thing but we now think Roberto should head back to the kitchen until he can trust whomever was back there Saturday night to serve a dish as well the first as they do after it has been sent back to the kitchen. I give our bartender Stephanie credit, she took the entree off the check and for the first time in five visits we were given bread after we ordered, although we never got olive oil or butter. We had a $100 check before tax and tip without being charged for my entree. I am very temped not to try again.

Don't know about the pizza but I am surprised not to read any comments on the article in the Washington Post about Roberto and the food critic for the Washingtonian.

Ditto

You beat me to it!

We haven't ate at Pasta Plus in ten years but still hear wonderful things about it. We stopped in Saturday night. We were in line at 4:50. About 5:07 they open the doors. First thing we noticed was that the usual wonderful smell was not there. We were seated in a matter of minutes and our waitress came by almost immediately. She, Natalie was great. Not Eve great but for the location and kind of restaurant absolutely wonderful. We shared an order of mussels in a white wine sauce that were okay. Plenty for two people. Ken's lasagna was cool, dry, and not good at all. My seafood and pasta dish was cool and all of the seafood was overcooked but the pasta was fine. Our starter salads were very good with the house dressing. We shared a piece of ricotta cheesecake that was also very good. Considering our check and Natalie's great service it wasn't an awful experience but the food was a disappointment. For the area I am sure it is still one of the better places to eat but we won't make a special trip again.

I have not been in years as the chili has never done anything for me. I never understood the raves, although I am not sure that folks were proclaiming it the best around.

Folks do enjoy the wings as I think they finish them on the grill.

Four years ago on our last visit of the three chilis we tried the only one that came close to being good was the vegetarian. It was good for the price and service.

it seems to me, and this may be totally out there, but perhaps some restaurants take credit card numbers not intending to ever charge no-shows, but simply as a deterrent.

As a costumer who does call to cancel no matter what the reason I think it fair that a restaurant take a credit card in particular on an evening like New Year's Eve, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, etc. I know of several spas that do the same depending on the number of services you are having and implement so many hours to cancel in. I think this is becoming the norm for a lot of businesses.

Finding out that Cathal, Meshelle, Shannon, Todd and Maria are taking over the Majestic is the best news I've had in a long time. There is no group better suited to carry forward and improve the Majestic...and this is from someone who gave years of effort and love there. I can't wait to walk in the door as a customer!

From the Former-Chef of the Majestic Cafe

I agree. This is good news. I liked Majestic for many reasons except the seating arrangements and sometimes the noise. Even if that doesn't change I am looking forward to March 31 or April 19.

I don't know if it was mentioned elsewhere, but I heard a rumor that Cashion's is on the block.

We were told by a bartender that Cashion's isn't closing but may be for sale. Nathan's is closing in about a year.

This is the same George who's daytime bartender at Kinkead's (and excellent at it), right? If so (well, even if not), I second that.

One and the same.

Saturday at Cashion's I asked about the rumors. I was not given a completely direct answer about a sale but was told that they were not closing. We had an early dinner with great service by George at the bar. They had steaks of various cuts on the menu which seemed unusual for Cashions so we decided to give it a try. The offered a strip, Delmonico, porterhouse and ribeye. The porterhouse and ribeye we were told could be shared. We ended up with the Delmonico. We ordered medium rare but the steaks were almost raw in places and were so difficult to cut we finally gave up. The people next to us with a strip and the ribeye had the same problem. We didn't complain (I know, we should have). Our bottle of wine, Frog Leap 04 Red Zin was very good. Desert was a shared ginger cake that was delicious. We took most of our steak home and fed the dog. It was our first disappointing meal at Cashions

By the way Geroge will be out for a while for hip surgery. Best wishes for a quick recovery.

Not at all. He was trying to make a subtle point that Bond was refined enough to know the difference, but iconoclastic enough not to care.

Try one at Eve made by Tammy no matter what your brand or taste. I have just begun drinking martini's again after a long ago bad experience so my experience is limited but in addition to loving Tammy's martini's I hear a lot of Eve customers rave about the martini's at Eve and, in particular, Tammy's. .

Actually, Todd Kliman just did a blog post about that calendar, complete with some pictures. It's pretty hilarious!

(Disclosure: I work at washingtonian.com)

This is just too funny for words.

christopher said:

Happened to notice on our way into Balducci's that Farrah Olivia is now open for Saturday lunch and Sunday brunch. We decided to give the bar another try. I had a very good Bloody Mary and my companion had the $12 chardonnay. The pour on the wine has improved, at least for this visit. The bartender/waitress seemed more personable than others I have encountered at the bar and seemed to know what she was doing. We decided we will go for dinner and try brunch 

We finally made brunch at Farrah Olivia yesterday. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. They were still doing Restaurant Week and offered a three course brunch. Some items had additional charges but were well worth the extra cost.

We started out with Bloody Marys which were excellent. I had the smoked salmon with corn cakes and my fiancée had the smoked trout with grapefruit slices and chorizo. I could not make up my mine which was better. The breads that are served before anything else were also so good that I ate one and wanted more even though I try to limit my bread intake. The spreads were lavender honey butter, a strawberry cream cheese, chili-pepper spread, and one made of cranberry. I like them all and loved the butter and cranberry spreads.

For entrees we both had the salmon and mushroom omelets which again were excellent. We finished with coffee and two of the chocolate mousse which were don’t with the mousse covered in something crunchy (could not figure out what) and topped with a dark chocolate sauce. We could eat half and should have shared like we usually do.

With the additional charges for the drinks, $2 for the smoke salmon, $2 each for the desert and tax our check was $73 before tip. High for brunch but I have had horrible dinners and spent that much. We can’t wait to try Farrah for dinner.

See you there I'll also be interested in hearing from anyone who might be there before Thursday.

Doesn't seem like a good sign that Bastille is offering 1,000 Open Table points for reservations during RW (well, it is just for those prior to 7:00 pm). Anyone been there lately?

We were there about three weeks ago and did the pre-theater dinner. Everyone enjoyed what they had but to tell you the truth we have ate out so much in the last three weeks I don't remember what we had. The pre-theater dinner for $35 gives you a choice of appeitzer, soup, or salad, an entree from among about four on the menu, and a choice of two deserts from the menu. The desert I ordered had run out so I was told I could have any desert of my choice. Don't sit near the door. It is quite cold every time the door is opened. I do remember the salad I had, endive, with cranberries, and a piece of goat cheese that was slighly cooked. The salad was excellent.

All of my favorites too.

I have fond memories of:

Cantina d'Italia

Duke Zeibert's

Jean-Pierre

Lion d'Or

Le Bagatelle

Rive Gauche

21 Federal

Jake, bartender at Eve and the PX is leaving at the end of the month for France. Ken and I wish you well and much success. We will miss your good humor and great service. Thanks to Ken, Tammy, and Clinton who will continue to serve us well.