Mark Dedrick

So, I'm going to be in Charlotte for about two weeks next month. Anyplace in particular I should be checking out for food or drinks? Curious about pretty much any price point.

There has been a fair amount of discussion about the upcoming closure at Seven Hill for renovations starting this coming Monday (July 9). Montmartre will also be closing after service on Sunday, July 8, but reopening approximately one week later. This has to do with the renovations to the building itself, and from what I understand any obvious changes to the restaurant will be minimal.

Talked to Anthony and others at Seven Hill yesterday. They'll be closing after service on Sunday, July 8, and reopening between three and four weeks later. It sounds as if the renovations will be somewhat substantial, moving the southernmost wall of the restaurant out approximately four feet, which will increase the indoor seating capacity by quite a bit.

The bar is really the key to getting a pizza, assuming you want to eat there, when they are busy. My wife and I frequently go on Saturday or Sunday for lunch, and the place is frequently slammed, with long lines. There are usually bar seats however, which means you can sit down and order directly from there, bypassing the line. Do we know how long the renovations will take?

That does make me sad. It wasn't a place I ate at often, but I always found it to be a tasty, affordable and reliable option near the Verizon Center before games.

Per Frozen Tropics on Twitter, the $3 corkage is apparently per person, not per bottle. Which is still a fantastic deal. We've been meaning to go to this place for years, but just haven't made it happen. Anyone have an opinion on the food?

I will say that the large number of recent posts on this board led my wife and I to try Sou'Wester this weekend for the first time (on a Groupon, sorry Don). And I'd like to add our voices to those others on here singing its praises. The patio is a wonderful setting for a meal, and we had nothing but positive things to say about the food and the service. Just a great experience all around, and we'll definitely make a point of going back. It is a slightly challenging location, as somebody mentioned above, in that it isn't right next to anything, and I never find myself in that neighborhood. But, if you've got folks from Virginia meeting folks from DC it just might be the most convenient location out there.

I like using mezcal subbed in for gin in a variation on the Negroni, although I've found that I prefer it with a bit higher percentage of mezcal than the typical 1:1:1 ratio.

I agree with the above comments on Mayahuel. I don't typically find myself ordering tequila and mezcal drinks on my own, and this forces me into agave spirits that I otherwise would not try. I need to try out Amor & Amargo, and I completely forgot about your post on the Experimental Cocktail Club while planning out this trip. Next time . . .

Another quick tip from my experience: go directly to the counter service, order and seat yourself. Do not sit at the waiter-only tables. It is likely based on random, small sample sizes, but my sandwiches have been much better when ordered from the counter. Plus, that first sample they give you gets me very excited for the sandwich to come.

Bierreria was actually our goal on Monday, as we were tired of walking and just wanted a place where we could hang out, have a couple of drinks and a little bit of food before catching the train back to DC. Unfortunately we were looking at about a 45 minute wait when we arrived at around 3 pm. Hence, the seafood counter.

I have to say we were a little underwhelmed by Baohaus. This spot came to our attention when they did a “pop-up” collaboration last fall with Toki Underground in DC, and we really enjoyed their bao there. On this New York trip we were arriving late on Friday night, and were looking for someplace where we could get a little snack, that wasn’t too expensive, and that was open quite late. In all three categories Baohaus delivered. It just wasn’t that great. Not sure if this is helpful at all. I wouldn’t advise you not to go, but I kind of doubt I’ll be back if that makes sense. If I lived in that neighborhood I’d probably pop in every now and then when I wanted bao, particularly to go, and didn’t want to wait in long lines for something from Momofuku. But when I'm in New York from out of town I think there are too many other good places in the East Village alone for me to stop in again.

Katz's might be my favorite place in New York. Their pastrami on rye is the best sandwich in the world. (Note: I have not been close to everywhere in the world)

Eataly can be an absolute pain to navigate through, and I sometimes feel like I'm in a weird amusement park of some sort when I'm there. It is pretty much always crowded (with the caveat that I'm essentially only in New York on weekends). That said, there are times when all I really want is a simply grilled piece of fish and a glass of wine. Sometimes, such as a Monday afternoon when I feel stuffed to the gills after a weekend of eating, this is more of a necessity than a desire. And the seafood counter at Eataly fills this niche. It isn’t cheap, and the food isn’t groundbreaking, but my grilled Montauk squid was fresh and delicious, and the wine was crisp and refreshing, and it was really a great way to finish our trip to New York.

I'm putting this on here as a single topic, not as a series of individual posts because that's what made the most sense to me. Feel free to change that, obviously. First, a few caveats. I have not been to all, or even most cocktail bars in New York (most notably I have not been to Angel's Share, or Milk and Honey, etc, and I'm very curious to hear people's takes on the spots I'm missing). Others know far more about this topic than me, and certainly have more to offer. In some cases I have only visited the bars listed below a single time, although in most cases I've been at least a few times, and in a heroic effort to crystallize my thoughts on the matter I hit five of the six over one 48 hour period this past weekend. Second, if you visit any of these places I'm pretty confident that you'll have a good experience, and that you'll get a good cocktail. My main takeaway from this weekend was that, at least of the first five bars, I'd go to whichever is closer and/or has the shortest wait time. Anyhow, here goes: 1. Death and Company This is my favorite cocktail bar in New York, and perhaps my favorite that I've ever been to. The staff is friendly and courteous, they only allow as many people in as they have seats, which means that you can actually have a conversation and don't have to box people out to preserve precious bar space, and the cocktails are exceptional. I also just love the feel of the place, they play music, and it is loud enough that it doesn't feel stuffy and dead. Finally, although I'll speculate that this has just been dumb luck, I've yet to have exceptionally long wait times to get in when I've stopped by. 2. PDT For those who don't know, this is the "speakeasy" attached to Crif Dogs, a hot dog place in the East Village. To get in you can either make a reservation, which required repeatedly calling right at 3 pm on the day you're hoping to drink there, or showing up and trying to secure one of the small number of seats actually at the bar. When you arrive at Crif Dogs, you enter a phone booth, pick up the phone, and wait for the panel to pop open to talk to the hostess. In my experience you'll then likely have to hang out in the hot dog joint for a few minutes even if you have a reservation. Anyhow, I'm of two minds on all of that. On the one hand, the whole exercise is kind of fun. On the other hand, sometimes I just want a drink without going through all of those steps. Phone booth aside, the bar itself feels rather secretive when you're inside, it's small, has low ceilings, and has many taxidermied animals hanging on the wall. Again, service was fantastic, the cocktail list was extremely interesting, and I thought all of the drinks were great. 3. Booker and Dax This is the bar attached to Momofuku Ssam Bar. I'd been here a number of times under its previous name, Momofuku Ssam Bar Bar, and went this weekend for the first time under this new moniker. The place looks exactly the same, but still has a different feel than before. Before it served essentially as a waiting area for the Ssam Bar, but now they only allow folks in if they have a seat. Also, while before they made excellent drinks, they now are doing all sorts of crazy stuff as well. This includes using liquid nitrogen to chill their glasses, and centrifuges to clarify the grapefruit juice for one cocktail. Whether or not you care about these touches (I enjoyed them on the whole), this is a cool spot for an extremely well made and inventive cocktail. 4. Mayhuel Mayahuel is different than the rest of these spots. Owned by the same folks as Death and Company, they focus on tequila and Mezcal drinks. I really like this place. It feels kind of divey, and has a menu roughly the length of a Russian novel. Even if you don't like tequila I'm confident that there's a drink on here that you'll enjoy, and the staff is knowledgeable enough to walk you through the ridiculously long list of selections. 5. Pegu Club The Pegu Club felt much more staid, quiet and reserved than any of the rest of these spots. I've only been here once, however, and it was on the early side (although no earlier than my trip the next day to PDT), which might explain that impression. The bar is much larger (or at least feels much more spacious) than any of the others, and is just "fancier" in the way that it is laid out. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, cocktail menu is extensive and interesting, service is great and knowledgeable, and the drinks are killer. If I were trying to have a quiet conversation, and wanted to do so over an extremely well made cocktail, this is probably where I would go. 6. Employees Only It probably isn't fair to include Employees Only in with the rest of these bars, as there are a number of key differences. All of the places above will only allow folks in if they have seats available. At Employees Only they'll pack the place to the gills. When visiting on a Saturday night, as I did this past weekend, you have to fight your way to the bar to place your order, and work hard to carve out space to sit our stand to enjoy your drinks. I left quite impressed, however. Despite my initial concern at any bartender who doesn't measure when mixing a drink (free pouring is apparently one of their core beliefs here), our drinks were very good. And everybody in the bar was drinking cocktails, and you didn't have to wait long to get them. The guys behind the bar were really moving. Of the six spots this is probably the one I'm least likely to return to, but that doesn't mean it's bad. If I had a larger group and hadn't planned in advance this is probably where I'd go. --- [The following posts have been split into separate threads: PKNY (Gadarene) Dead Rabbit (SeanMike) Amor y Amago (cheezepowder)]

I agree with Don pretty much 100% here, my wife and I were commenting as we were finishing up that we didn't think there was a place in DC quite like Fatty Crab (and not just because we were dining next to two bit players from 30 Rock). We went to the West Village location. Very hip vibe, kind of divey, no pretension at all. Tiny spot, but while it definitely felt happening while we were there it never felt overcrowded. The Soft Shell Crabs were delicious, as was the Watermelon Pickle and Crispy Pork mentioned by several folks above. The Trumpet Mushrooms were fantastic, possibly our favorite thing we had on the night. The only thing close to a disappointment for us were the Jalan Alor Chicken Wings. I think I would have liked a bit more spice on them, but that's quibbling. Definitely enjoyed our experience.

My favorite pizza in New York is Di Fara. My favorite pizza in Manhattan is either Motorino or Co, and I’m not sure which. This weekend we ate at Co, and it was great. I agree with the other folks here, the crust is a bit different from what I think of as “New York pizza.” A bit thicker and doughier, but still crispy on the outside and with a nice pull to it. Toppings were great (in particular loved the Popeye with spinach and sea salt). I'd have no problem recommending it to people, particularly if they were going to be in that part of town.

Was just about to post this very link. I definitely see this in my future. Hopefully my very near future.

I hadn't been to 2 Amys for several years, just because the location is not remotely convenient to either my home or work. But when we found ourselves at an event earlier this week at Sidwell Friends we went in for a late dinner. It's still pretty great. I'm not sure whether I prefer their pizza or Seven Hill, but the 2 Amys pizza is damn good. The wine list has some interesting offerings, and the whole thing is quite affordable. I wish it were more conveniently located for me, because I'd frequent them all of the time.

I essentially agree with Don on this. I really liked Zaytinya when Mike Isabella was there, and all three meals I've had at Graffiato have been very good. Spike isn't in the same league as Isabella from what I've seen them put out. Mike has certainly used his fame to further his professional ambitions. Graffiato probably wouldn't exist without Top Chef, and it certainly wouldn't have generated the same amount of hype leading to a second (and third) restaurant this quickly. But I can't really hate on him for that. I'd do the same thing were I in his position. At least his popular restaurant is good.

Just got back yesterday from a long weekend in Miami with some friends. Just a couple of notes on some of the more memorable meals we had there. Michael's Genuine Food and Drink was our spot for dinner the night of our arrival. We had very high hopes going in for this meal, and I would say that the restaurant delivered. Very cool atmosphere and great service. We started out with a selection of starters shared by the table. Everything we had was good, but the standouts here were the Wood Oven Roasted Double-Yolk Farm Egg, the Crispy Sweet and Spicy Pork Belly and the Crispy Pig's Ears. Books and Books - We were looking for a breakfast/brunch place relatively near our hotel and this delivered the goods. Nothing spectacular or groundbreaking, but a good spot for eggs, sausage, pancakes, etc. They don't have liquor, just beer, which is a slight hurdle if you're looking to go on a continuous four day long bender. Pubbelly - This was the standout of the weekend. There were six of us, so we managed to take out most of the menu. Everything was ridiculously good. I would say there was really only one dish that wasn't just absolutely awesome, which was the Buffalo Sweetbreads, which were simply very good rather than awesome. The bacon wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo, the short rib tartare, the cochinillo and the Japanese amberjack were probably my favorite dishes of what we ordered. From what I understand this place can get quite crowded and hard to get into due to its small size. That said, we showed up with a party of six on a Friday night at 8 pm and were seated immediately. That's probably just dumb luck on our part, however. Puerto Sagua - We really wanted some Cuban food while down there, and this place delivered. Great ropa vieja, tostones and Cuban sandwiches. A couple of other notes. Dinner at The Dining Room was really disappointing. Sloppy and inconsistent service and only decent food from a place that came strongly recommended and for which we had high hopes. I also didn't really find much in the way of decent cocktails in this town, primarily just too sweet beach drinks (which tended to cost north of $15 a piece), although the Manhattan at Michael's Genuine was pretty fantastic. The Raleigh served me perhaps the worst cocktail I've ever had, in the form of a supposed Manhattan, which was the first drink I've sent back in a very long time. They somewhat made up for it a couple of days later with a very solid Negroni. The Mondrian is a great place to get drinks at sunset, more for the view than for the drinks, but definitely a good experience. Also, I'd strongly recommend, both there are elsewhere, ordering your drinks at the inside bar and carrying them outside. Noticeable quality difference. And finally, to end a too-long post, beware that essentially every single place we went in Miami adds an automatic 18% gratuity.

From what I understand, the owner does not own the building. This is based on vague recollections of some activity a number of years ago when the for profit college over there (Strayer?) was going to take over the building and expand their operation. Summers was going to have to move as a result, or close down. There was a bunch of outrage among certain types, mainly soccer fans, and several public meetings, after which Summers remained where they were. Agree on the NFL, or on other college football games, as well as March Madness basketball games. They'll post your games on a television, and you can pretty much guarantee that you get to watch the game that you'd like. And that is a positive.

I'm at Summers a lot during the fall, because they're the main bar for my college football team, and when I first moved to DC about fifteen years ago I used to go all of the time to watch other sporting events and such. And while I don't want to defend the place, I don't really think they've slipped. I think the faults you mention (frequently bad or at least inconsistent service, terrible food, extremely mediocre beer selection) are very real. And I think they've existed for as long as I've been going there. They didn't used to bother me, but now they do, which I'll chalk up to my caring more about what I eat/drink now than I did when I was 22. I'll still go to Summers to watch the Ducks (for which they're typically packed), and it is a great place to go if you want to watch a specific game (particularly a game in any other sport during an NFL Sunday) because they have tons of televisions and they'll always put your game on if you ask. But otherwise there is no reason to go here.

I think your concerns are well founded, and I had similar issues with wine delivery when I worked for the government and couldn't receive packages at my work. On at least two occasions I had wine theoretically held for me at the UPS warehouse in Beltsville, only to find when I arrived there that it had made it back on the truck to attempt delivery again, or had been sent back to the winery.

Agree 100% on the cecina. No matter what else I order, I'll always get at least one of those. I'll also typically get lengua and chachete.