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Mark Dedrick

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Everything posted by Mark Dedrick

  1. Mark Dedrick
    If it were me I'd do the Columbia Room. Both the outdoor space and the library bar are great, and the drinks are incredible.
  2. Mark Dedrick
    It's still great. This remains my favorite sandwich I've ever had.
  3. Mark Dedrick
    Our go-to summer cocktail is probably the Southside. 2 oz gin, 3/4 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, mint. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.
  4. Mark Dedrick
    Anybody been recently and have any good recommendations? We're going in August, as well as to Jakarta and Bali (exact itinerary getting figured out right now). Thanks in advance.
  5. Mark Dedrick
    Really disappointing to me. I absolutely love this place, and really enjoyed the fact that it was completely different from anywhere else in the city.
  6. Mark Dedrick
    I can't believe I haven't posted on this restaurant yet. Love the food, but the service is absolutely incredible. Jill is wonderful.
  7. Mark Dedrick
    They still exist over by Farragut Square and on 12th Street NW, between F and G. They were at Prequel for a short period of time during which they closed both of their carts, but the carts are back out there again. In talking to them at Prequel they indicated that they were trying to open a brick and mortar location, and were using the Prequel space to try out that concept (which appeared to be an expanded version of their food trucks. They also indicated that they would be back at Prequel later this summer (not sure when) for a full month. Also, not sure if this is new, but he also had four of his own varieties of sauces available for sample at Prequel.
  8. Mark Dedrick
    Really enjoyed our meal here on Friday. In the dining room the setup is four course tasting menu for $55, my understanding is that you can order a la carte at the bar. They start you off with a (gigantic) gruyere popover and foie gras soup. The four courses are appetizer, pasta, meat, dessert. I don't remember all of the specifics on what we had, but everything was at least very good, and service was also good. It also seemed like a very reasonable value at the time. I'd talk a bit more about specific dishes, but the menu online isn't exactly what we had, although I will say that both of our pasta courses, the risotto with peas and chanterelles and the rigatoni with pork shoulder were fantastic. Sorry this isn't more detailed, but my quick review is that it was good, and I wouldn't hesitate to return.
  9. Mark Dedrick
    We spent last weekend in Philadelphia to watch the USMNT play Paraguay in the Copa America. After our roast pork sandwiches from DiNic's for lunch, we weren't really hungry before the match, and decided to wait until after before grabbing dinner. Monk's Cafe, fortunately, serves their whole menu until 1 am, which allowed us to metro back to our hotel, take quick showers to wash off the beer (throwing beer is perhaps my least favorite soccer tradition), and sit down for dinner around 11 pm. We really enjoyed it. It's quite similar to Granville Moore's in a lot of ways. Fantastic beer list (I had both a Pliny the Elder and a Cascade Apricot), and great mussels. Fries could be a little bit better. I'm going to be spending time in Philly next month for the Convention, and I'm looking forward to posting up here a few times in the evenings.
  10. Mark Dedrick
    Had one of these (with broccoli rabe, long hots and provolone cheese) on Saturday for lunch. It's one of my favorite sandwiches ever.
  11. Mark Dedrick
    Ever since the smoking ban I feel like this place is even smokier and harder to handle than before (note: this could also be because I'm older and have less tolerance for smoky bars). My last trip there (a few weeks ago) I shed all of my clothes in the guest bedroom and had to shower because I was making myself sick. And I didn't smoke a single cigar.
  12. Mark Dedrick
    They're very different. But if I wanted a very special occasion experience I wouldn't think twice and would book Pineapple and Pearls.
  13. Mark Dedrick
    Just wanted to drop into this thread briefly to say that Bar Pilar remains fantastic. Great food, and wonderful service (as usual, we ate at the bar before a show at the Black Cat).
  14. Mark Dedrick
    We did Beuchert's Saloon, and I'd definitely recommend it. Barrel also does cocktails well.
  15. Mark Dedrick
    My wife surprised me with dinner here last night. Good lord. It's absolutely outstanding, and probably the best meal I've had in DC, top to bottom. I'll go over it a bit more later with the menu so I can better remember exactly what we had. Our meal was quite similar to jca76, with some differences (our caviar course had potato ice cream rather than avocado - and was incredible). We sat at the chef's table, facing the kitchen, which was very cool. Service is fantastic, in the was that Rose's has always been able to pull off. And while I was confused about the space, with the coffee shop in front and fine dining in the back, I think it works very well in practice. Just an incredible experience.
  16. Mark Dedrick
    I don't know all of the specifics, but it seemed like there was a slight downturn, probably around 4/5 years ago or so? Menu was stagnant and execution seemed uneven. This might be completely off, but I think the owners and Teddy the opening chef were getting involved in a number of other spots (Capitol Lounge, Vendetta). They then brought in a new beverage manager (Matt, who has since left) and a new person to run the kitchen (who has also left, IIRC). Since then, I think it's been as good as it's ever been perhaps even better. The beer list is much smaller in terms of total number of beers, but I think it's better because of it, and more interesting on the whole. Erin currently does a great job managing their beer list, and the staff really know it, inside and out. With the exception of Rappahannock Oyster Bar we are at Granville's more than any other restaurant in the city, and we are never disappointed in choosing it. If you go on a weeknight you can always sit down immediately at the bar, and get great service. Only somewhat related, I strongly recommend any of the beer dinners that they do. Years ago they used to do them regularly, and I think they're starting to do so again. We went a few weeks ago to one with Right Proper, and it was fantastic, and what I felt was a very good value ($60 per person, inclusive, for five courses with beer pairings). Their kitchen is tiny, and their ability to execute lamb loin and Cornish hen for the entire upstairs was impressive.
  17. Mark Dedrick
    My wife and I are here probably three times a month, and really my only complaint is that the mussels with chilis or some other spicy element in the title don't usually pack heat. But these definitely do, and are delicious. On the service front, we will sit at the bar probably 95% of the time, and always find the service fantastic (acknowledging that the fact that we're regulars may skew things). Everyone there has such a good handle on their beer lists, and are often able to steer people in the correct direction even if they don't really know what they want.
  18. Mark Dedrick
    So earlier this week we did check out Ten 01. My Manhattan was eyeballed, but stirred, and tasted pretty much spot on. My wife's mezcal margarita (can't remember the name) was actually quite good. Beer list was very solid, and the space is very cool. We only got two snacks to eat while there, the shrimp and half-smoke corn dogs (burnt, which ruined the fact that they otherwise tasted good) and the fries (eh). We then proceeded over to Queen Vic to have dinner. It was good! I'll put it back into the rotation. Solid service, good food.
  19. Mark Dedrick
    So, we've gone from zero to two "Fast-Casual Asian Bowl Places" on H Street over the past month or so. Last night I picked up carry-out from the brand new Pow Pow, which just opened this past Saturday. They don't seem to have a menu available online, so I can't remember the names of everything we ordered. This is refreshingly not a Chipotle-like concept, and instead has you just pick actual items off of a relatively small menu. They have bowls, with stuff served over rice, as well as gigantic, burrito sized fried egg rolls. We didn't go with one of the egg rolls, and instead got two bowls, Fugazi Osbourne (beef with hoisin sauce and a bunch of stuff) and something I can't remember the name of that had pork and a poached egg. Everything was solid, although I wasn't a huge fan of the coconut rice, in both flavor and texture. Between this and BAB Korean Fusion, I think I prefer BAB. But both are good, and I'm happy this is here.
  20. Mark Dedrick
    I've been meaning to start a thread on this for a while, but then Tim Carman's review today spurred me into action. I have been convinced for the past few years that this spot, directly on the SW corner of 14th and H, right next to Tony's Breakfast, would never open. There would be construction, and then it would stop for months. They'd appear suddenly close to opening, and then there'd be no action. The sign itself was actually up for I think at least a year before they finally opened earlier this year. I've only been there once, so Tim's review is much more comprehensive, but we enjoyed it. We much preferred the bulgogi over the spicy chicken, and by far preferred the house veggies to the backyard veggies. It's affordable, it's something different for H Street, and it's finally open, so I'm happy.
  21. Mark Dedrick
    Well that sucks (or at least may suck). We haven't been in too long, which could be part of the problem. The last couple of times we were there the food was still fantastic, but the place was nearly empty.
  22. Mark Dedrick
    This will not be terribly well written or potentially even comprehensible, but I feel like I should write something here. Ed and I were very good friends. And his death at such a relatively young age has hit me pretty hard. Ed was such a wonderful, kind and caring person. He had an incredible sense of humor, and was able to see the absurdity in situations even when they were at their worst, or darkest. He was the kind of person you wanted in your corner, and on your side. Everybody liked Ed, because Ed was always nice to absolutely everyone, and they couldn't help but like him and enjoy being around him. When I last saw Ed a few days ago, at Georgetown Hospital, he looked pretty bad. But we had essentially the most typical conversation I could imagine having with him from our years of friendship. He asked me what great new restaurant I'd eaten at lately (Tail Up Goat, and in particular I highlighted the lamb ribs). We talked about the Rogue One Trailer. We talked about John Snow. And we talked about soccer. Ed was probably one of the most passionate beer nerds I've ever known, and he was an extremely accomplished home brewer. We'd brought kegs of his homebrew to soccer games and other events over the years. When one of us would travel, in particular when I'd be in Oregon, we'd bring interesting or rare beers back to share. I'd been saving a Hopslam for Ed until he was out of the hospital and able to drink it. I cracked it open last night to toast him. RIP buddy. I already miss you a ton.
  23. Mark Dedrick
    We've had great luck on two occasions heading down post-Columbia Room (once tasting room, once library bar) to grab a late dinner at the Dabney. On both occasions we were able to just walk in and be seated immediately.
  24. Mark Dedrick
    Well, I had legit four or five horrible experiences, with truly terrible food and bad service, all in a row. Granville's is closer to my house and infinitely better, and other newer and better places opened up (Sally's, Ocopa, Maketto). It's one of three places I've basically crossed off of my list (along with the Argonaut and Sticky Rice), although I tend to revisit them after a year or so to see if they should still be avoided.
  25. Mark Dedrick
    Is the Queen Vic good again? We've basically not been back for about two years because our experiences there were so terrible. Also, Ten 01, listed at the bottom of the H Street list, is now open. I haven't been, but plan on checking it out in the next week or so to see if it's suitable for an event that I'm involved with.
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