Mark Dedrick

FWIW, we had no trouble finding seating for four when I arrived on Wednesday (at around 6:30), and there were at least a few seats open at any point during the three + hours we were there. On a weekend night, of course, it is a totally different story.

Spent a wonderfully enjoyable evening here last night with a couple of friends. Just a great place to spend a sunny and pleasant couple of hours. The beers are interesting and good, the service is great, and the barbecue (last night the brisket sandwich) is actually quite fantastic. I always enjoy myself when I'm there.

When it is just the two of us that's our preference as well. My service when at the bar is always fantastic (it is typically good when at a table, but always good at the bar), and you get more knowledgeable/better beer advice and recommendations there as well.

Just thought I would add my two cents in on this topic. I basically agree with the views expressed above. We were in this past week for the first time for food (had drank here before), and I'm glad it is on H Street. I went with the Great Chicago Fire, which is described as a chipotle dusted burger with fire-roasted chili & mango salsa, topped with habanero jack cheese and chipotle aioli. Given that, it didn't give off as much heat as I was expecting, but it also understandably left the burger itself a bit in the background. My burger was cooked perfectly to medium rare, the bun held up nicely, and the fries were quite good. Beer list is solid if not exceptional. Our service this last time was only ok, but on the two previous occasions when I had been in here for a beer our service was quite good, so certainly possible that this was an aberration.

I would tend to agree with this. It really depends on the specific day, with little rhyme or reason to it, although it also often depends on whether or not you're willing to sit at the bar. On a recent visit my wife and I were told that it would be a two hour wait (probably around 8 pm on a Friday), but were able to walk right upstairs and sit at the bar.

RIP Thang Le. Sad news indeed. http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-arts/2012/02/tonight--14541.html

In my opinion, I'd just order things you like from the regular menu. Last year for my wife's birthday we did do the tasting menu, and while everything was very good I don't think it was the best way to dine. For one thing, we got way, way too much food. Also, everything we got on the tasting menu was on the regular menu. Of course, YMMV.

Per Frozen Tropics, they open on Monday. Some photos of the not-yet completed interior are in there as well. Looking forward to this place, and hope it lives up to my expectations.

Somehow I had never made it to Wagshal's before, probably because it is about as far from my house as possible while still remaining in the district. Now I'm just angry that I hadn't made a special trip out there before. We got two sandwiches, the Mikey's Special ( smoked turkey, muenster, oil and vinegar, lettuce, tomato, sweet peppers) and the smoked brisket. The Mikey's Special was good, although nothing special. The smoked brisket sandwich is the best sandwich I've had in the city. Smokey, fatty, peppery and delicious. Didn't need more than the mustard to compliment it. I will assuredly be back.

I'm a native Oregonian, and find myself in Portland for work several times per year. Le Pigeon and Pok Pok are both fantastic, and I strongly recommend them both. The Whiskeysoda Lounge, across the street from Pok Pok and owned by the same people works nicely as a waiting area during your inevitable wait for a table there. I typically stay at one of the two Kimpton hotels, which are very near the Benson. Clyde Common is a very short walk from your hotel, on the corner of 10th and Stark, and they do phenomenal cocktails. Jeffrey Morganthaler, who runs the bar there, is justifiably well known across the country for his work, and they do a wonderful job both with classic cocktails, and with different and unique inventions. The food here, however, is a bit more hit or miss. I wouldn't tell you to definitely not eat here, but I think you can do better, and would recommend just drinking here. I'm a huge fan of Park Kitchen, located on the park blocks about five blocks north of your hotel (and please note that Porland blocks are absurdly short, something I always forget when budgeting my travel time walking around downtown). I'll typically go there solo when I'm in town, sit at the bar and order several of their small plates. I've never been disappointed there. Voodoo Donuts is about six blocks away, on the corner of 3rd and Ankeny. It is insanely popular, has been on a number of Food Network shows, and at times attracts big lines of people waiting to get in there. It isn't worth waiting in line for longer than five minutes, but they do have good and interesting donuts, and it is at least somewhat notable. For coffee near your hotel I'm very partial to Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which is on 3rd between Ash and Pine, and is just a couple of blocks from your hotel as well. I always buy some beans from there to take home with me. That said, you can find a ton of good coffee all over Portland, including Stumptown's beans at a number of spots throughout town. For beer, you have a ridiculous number of good options very close to your hotel. The lists will skew very heavily towards Oregon and American beers, but they will be good lists, and the beer will be shockingly cheap coming from DC. On 12th and Burnside, just west of Powell's Books (which you should visit) is Henry's, which has something like 50 different beers on tap, and a pretty decent happy hour if I'm remembering correctly. Many of the Oregon microbreweries have their brewpubs in the Pearl District, which is just a couple of blocks north of there, and definitely walkable from your hotel. I've been to Deschutes, Rogue and Bridgeport, and have enjoyed drinking at all of them. Deschutes is probably my favorite, but they all have positive things about them. Also in the Pearl, I enjoy Andina, which is a Peruvian restaurant at the corner of 13th and Glisen. Small plates, good food, cocktails and wine. And finally, in closing, there are approximately 18 million food trucks around Portland, most of them stationed permanently together in pods on parking lots. I'm not there often enough to know which ones are the best, but many of my friends and family love them. Might be worth a gamble. Hope that's at all helpful.

Thank you, this is very timely for me. My wife and I are headed to Charleston for the first time in two weeks, and right now I'm sitting on reservations for Fig and Husk for our two dinners, and I was wondering if we should stick with that or consider other options.

My wife and I hit this place up while en route to another gathering this past weekend. While we weren't able to give the place a full, legitimate shot, we were both impressed. Granted, this may be because our expectations were lowered by the owner's other establishments, but I'd say those biases were more than offset by my excitement towards oysters, chops and booze. The oysters and clams were fantastic, and served properly. The steak tartare was only ok. The pork chop was outstanding, very juicy and flavorful, served over polenta with brussel sprouts. The wine list was solid, and the bartender, who served us, was excellent. We will definitely be back sometime soon.

Makes me sad, although I'm intrigued at what little we know about her new venture, and selfishly happy that it will be on Capitol Hill (apparently 6th and Pennsylvania, possibly the old Ba Bay/Locanda space?).

I like the Public all right, but I really like the Corruption (their IPA) and the Citizen (their Belgian-style). I tend to prefer hoppy American beers, however (like the Corruption). Have not yet seen the Thyme After Thyme, but looking forward to trying it.

Nothing much new to add here. Met some friends at Duffy's on Sunday to watch some football. They have a solid beer selection, and I enjoyed probably at least one more DC Brau "The Citizen" than I should have. I'd heard wonderful things about their wings, and after this experience they may be the best I've had in the city. Due to the consensus of the table we ordered ours medium, and they were both spicy and flavorful. Really delicious. The pulled pork sandwiches we used later to sop up the beer were nothing to write home about. But those wings were fantastic.

Little Miss Whiskey's is certainly an ommission on my part. I do like it, they have a wonderful beer selection. I enjoy going there earlier in the evening for exactly the reason you mention. Most times if I find myself there later at night on a weekend I realize that I'm simply not cool enough to be hanging out there on a regular basis. I'd also like to agree with you in your comment on Toki's cocktail list, which I didn't address earlier. I like it a lot. Limited, but inventive, delicious, and reasonably priced. Strongly agree with your assessment. In particular I like the Toki Monster.

No need to get violent! As a result of this post, my wife and I decided to venture back to Church and State this weekend as we realized we hadn't been in quite some time, and I wanted to re-think my previously stated opinion. Based on my most recent visit I have to say that my opinion now pretty closely aligns with DaRiv18's above. I had never sat directly at the bar before, having only been before with a group of friends elsewhere in the bar, but this time sat directly in front of the bartender, who was very friendly and engaging. The drinks I sampled, however, were very substandard. The Manhattan is as described above, a free pour of rye and the juice from the cherries and vermouth. It was borderline un-drinkable, and the "homemade" cherries were far worse than those that I put together on my first try last spring. If you poured it for me blind I wouldn't have been able to identify the Martinez. I was distracted by my conversation while that drink was being made so I didn't catch what ingredients they put in it. The Martini was probably the best drink I tasted there. Given the low bar set earlier, however, I don't for one second want anyone to see that as an endorsement. It was merely ok. They used Cook's "Champagne" in my friend's Champagne cocktail. In conclusion, I'll concede the point to DaRiv18, and withdraw my earlier, more positive comment. The space is nice, and the service we had was solid, so it can still definitely be fun if you're with a group and you actually want to be able to have a conversation. But certainly not worth going to if you're going out of your way to find a great cocktail. Go to the Passenger/Columbia Room, PS7, or the Atlas Room if you want to stay on H Street.

I've lived in DC for about fifteen years, and I've lived on Capitol Hill for that entire time (or essentially Capitol Hill, I never know what to call where I live now near H Street). Until this past weekend I had always been meaning to eat at Park Cafe, but had never actually pulled the trigger. This past Saturday my wife and I ventured the couple of blocks from our house with another couple who have also been on the Hill for more than ten years and who also had never been there. Our expectations were extremely low (by the way, at this point you might be right to question the entire logic behind our selection of restaurants for the night). Short verdict? The food wasn't terrible, but it was expensive. It also wasn't particularly good. Proteins were coooked properly (boar, steak, lamb chops). Everybody got the same relatively tasteless vegetables as sides, and the same sauce. The risotto for my appetizer was pretty horrible, although the scallop with it was cooked well. For some reason there was a tomato/basil/mozz salad on the menu, and my friend reported that it tasted as good as you'd expect tomatoes in January to taste. Our server was attentive, if unknowledgeable about the menu and the wine list. There were two other tables seated in the restaurant, and two dudes sitting at the bar while we were there. At this point I'd say my curiosity has been satisfied. I wish I'd simply remained curious rather than spent the money to investigate. The place looks great, they're very friendly, I'd really like to love the restaurant, but, particularly given the price, I see no reason why I would ever go back.

I've been meaning to eat more often here, but I can tell you that the pork cheek nachos are fantastic.

I've been in the Hamilton a few times since it has opened, but only at the bar, and only for drinks. Genericeric is right, the beer list is much, much better than at Old Ebbitt, although the place has essentially the same feel. The whiskey selection is also superior, and has some unique offerings. They've made a priority of stocking less-common American liquor options, including a number of smaller production gins, whiskeys, vodkas, etc, which is a nice touch. Finding a bartender who actually knows how to make a drink that doesn't just involve pouring liquid into a glass is definitely a challenge, as it is at Old Ebbitt. I agree that the Loft looks like the best place in the establishment to grab a drink. Unfortunately when we tried to settle in there the heater was operating so successfully that we couldn't give it a fair shot.

For those interested, apparently the restaurant will be doing a trial run for invited guests this Saturday, December 17, and opening for real on Sunday, December 18.

I walk by this place every single day as my office is in the building. Periodically I get myself excited as I see how the place looks/read about the menu and plans. Then I remember it's owned by Clydes, and remind myself that the food will almost certainly be terrible.

Chocolate City Beer is now selling growlers at their (very small) brewery on 8th Street NE near Catholic University. We stopped by this past Saturday, which was their first day selling growlers. They had only their Cornerstone Copper Ale available, but indicated that they hoped to have other beers available in the near future. They'll be open on future Saturdays in the afternoon going forward. Cost is $6 for the growler, $10 for a fill.

Just FYI, DC Brau are still doing their "Growler Hours" every Saturday, typically from 1-4. Don't quote me on that, and check their pretty active Twitter feed for updates. They're also open tomorrow, Wednesday, for growler fills (not sure on hours). Typically they will also have sales of the Public in six pack form. I've been up there a few times, and the beers available vary widely from time to time. This past Saturday they had four beers, the Public, the Corruption (IPA), the Citizen (Belgian style) and the NATAS, which is a Belgian-style imperial porter. The time before that when I went they only had the Public and the Corruption. To update the last comment, they are fully functional on the credit card side of things, are still giving tours, and they have had food options available each of the past few times I've been (typically grilled meats of some sort, this past week done by the fire department to raise money).

My wife and I ended up at the DC Jaleo last night on a bit of a whim, and had what I would describe as a good, but not great meal. We love Jaleo, but hadn't been in quite some time. The standouts were scallops with romesco sauce; grilled hanger steak; and flautas with Iberico ham and tomatoes. The last one was my favorite, and reminded me very much of a sandwich I ate at a little dive in Barcelona. My wife's favorite was the scallops, which were delicious, and the sauce was good enough to just spoon it into my mouth on its own. The two weak links were cooked peppers stuffed with goat cheese; and a squid cooked in squid ink with rice. The last one was decidedly mediocre. Service was very good throughout, and we didn't encounter the problem that we so often have with small plates, where everything gets dumped on our table at once. There was a nice pacing to the plates making it to our table. Anyhow, all in all a good meal, and I'm sure we'll be back. On our way out we noticed that Jose Andres was in the restaurant, although not in the kitchen, and I have no idea what impact, if any, that had on the meal or service.