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squidsdc

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Everything posted by squidsdc

  1. squidsdc
    In my new neck of the woods, Devon & Blakely and Dickey's Frozen Custard.
  2. squidsdc
    From the Golden Triangle BID newsletter: Most Creative Sandwich Special Bub & Pop's 1815 M Street Submit your best sandwich creation for a chance to win free sandwiches for you and a friend. Plus, get a special feature on Bub & Pop's menu. Drop-off your written entry at Bub & Pop's to enter to win. Don't forget to name your sandwich creation, and include your name with either your telephone number or email.
  3. squidsdc
    Good to know, but Cava is a differrent type of food if someone is looking for seafood. Unfortunately Cava is a bit too difficult a menu for me to navigate with my allergies, and I find it pretty rare to find a good mid-range seafood restaurant in the area. Bonefish is okay, but a chain and has extremely long wait times. And a different atmosphere entirely. This place has a friendly vibe and also has the sandwiches as well as higher priced entree's. We must've just been there at the best times as neither time was busy. And our weeknight dinner was during the holidays when many people were possibly out of town. But both times the service was friendly and efficient. (Both times we ate on the early side, and the second time I did use Open Table but still dined around 6pm.) It looks like you ordered mostly from the casual side of the menu and I can't speak to that since both times we ordered from the entrees. Probably a very different experience and since I know you dine out often, I trust your opinion. We did try the fried calamari, and it was well done but didn't stand out as you said. For me, it would be fine if I was craving it that evening, but for the most part I look for well prepared fish entrees and sides to be my marker. And to have the fried calamari at half price for happy hour I would defintiley have it again in that circumstance. I reiterate this is not a fine dining destination, nor is it a "best" or "5 star" place to be on someone's radar. It's a fun, good food, family place that would definitely draw me to return. A place I wouldn't mind stopping for dinner for a nice well prepared piece of fish on my way home from work if it was near where I lived. And since those places are few and far between, I thought others would also want to know about this place. Freddy's is similar but Bethesda is not easy for us to get to, and for those in Gaithersburg/Northern Rockville may also be out of reach for a weeknight dinner. So, more of a neighborhood spot to know about. (hm212--how about posting about what you like about Sugo--and what your experience was at Nantucket's. I don't even know from your response what type of food Sugo serves and if they even reach out to the same type of customer)
  4. squidsdc
    Definitely! Different type of place entirely than O'Donnells. This is a casual place, and if you eat on the early side like we do, you can avoid a lot of the noise.
  5. squidsdc
    I have been negligent in posting, but have been super busy if that's any excuse! We went here by accident on my birthday in December, and liked it so much that we've already been back once. And we will be back more often; just wished it was closer to where we live! I recall reading somewhere that this place was in the works as it is run by a relation of the people who ran Fred and Harry's in Four Corners. I think it is a nephew? Anyway, they apparently opened in October. It was a snowy evening and after seeing the Hobbit in Silver Spring we were looking for a casual spot to try something new. Decided to check out Quench in the same shopping center, but as we were parking I noticed Nantucket's Reef further in the center. If we had parked on the street I would've totally missed it! But recognizing the name as having read about it, and remembering I wanted to try it, we decided to give it a go. And we are very glad we did. Mr. S noticed they had short smoked salmon on the menu and he has not seen it on a menu other than Artie's, which is too long a haul to frequent for us. The fish was cooked perfectly and was just as flavorful as the Artie's version. The mashed potatoes are skin-on, lumpy and delicious. He had the in-season veggie medley which was grilled and well prepared. I had a special fish of the day, but can't recall which one at the moment. It was a white fish that again was deliciously well prepared. I had a spinach side that I have never seen before--it was red and I thought perhaps prepared with beets. But it was just a red spinach! The service both times we were there was friendly and not obtrusive. We were almost too full for dessert but decided to give it a try. Loved my bread pudding (which is toted by the servers as one of the favorites, for good reason) and Mr. S also enjoyed his pumpkin cheesecake. But we knew we wouldn't be able to order a dessert the last time we were there since the serving sizes were generous and we were too full with the calamari appetizer. Those of you in the northern Montgomery County area should definitely give this place a try. Dining in Gaithersburg/Northern Rockville is definitely looking up between this and the opening of Brasserie Beck in the old O'Donnell's space. http://www.nantucketsreef.com/
  6. squidsdc
    Just read this on the WaPo website and was going to paste the link but you glad to see you got to it first! Congrats on signing the lease and good luck with the new venture. Hopefully with the extension we'll be able to stop by before you close.
  7. squidsdc
    That sounds so frustrating! Jeff's made many cakes mixing liquid with melted chocolate and only had the chocolate seize when he first started baking long ago. Cool liquid might be one of the issues, as Zora said as well. He says he would melt the chocolate and let it cool per the directions, then make the cocoa water slurry so that it does not have a chance to cool down to the point it is cold before adding it to the melted chocolate. He also adds that the instructions do seem to be out of order; his theory that the melted chocolate will retain its heat longer than the water mix is why he woud reverse the steps. And as Porcupine mentioned, a lesser amount of liquid is likely to make the chocolate seize. I've never hear of "tastebook" --is it truly showing the ATK recipe as written? Maybe it's just a crappy recipe, but even so, I personally find the way ATK details the reasoning behind what they do in the actual books to answer a lot of questions in process. Now I'm curious to look for the recipe in one of our own books!
  8. squidsdc
    Dang, how did I miss this. Wow, my office just moves from around the corner last week and there goes the neighborhood. In all seriousness, it is the end of an era on that strip of street.
  9. squidsdc
    Hey Don-Serious Eats has a roundup here. "The State of the Art: What's New in Coffee Equipment" posted by Nick Cho Dec 23rd.
  10. squidsdc
    I was thinking of going to Blue Duck Tavern for my birthday this year. Hopefully if he hasn't left yet it still may be an option...it seems like every time a celebratory event comes up, the restaurant I've been "eyeing" to finally try undergoes a change. (sigh)
  11. squidsdc
    drool.
  12. squidsdc
    Would so love to be a participant but aside from allergies being an issue my office is moving and I have no availability until after 12/16.
  13. squidsdc
    I think you omitted Ben Bradlee as well.
  14. squidsdc
    So these are just to last you until your delivery comes in next month?
  15. squidsdc
    A coworker ordered her own combo with scallops and hated it. She split one with me last week and really loved it. So based on previous comments, it seems the Original is not the way to go. I once again would recommend making one's own from the selection of ingredients and upping the spice level. I don't like real spicy and I always order it level 2. I also add extra veggies and they never seem to want to charge me for them. And I usually get chicken and shrimp, though I tried chicken and beef once and did like that as well. Two thoughts strike me: one, that there really isn't a place in this neck of the woods to get this type of dish. There are a few hot/cold food buffets, but I think those may be more along the lines of what one would find at a shopping mall. So no, not "destination" dining but for workerbees nearby a good option for something different for lunch. Two, maybe y'all need to order it without the garlic added like I do...the garlic must be masking the other flavors of the ingredients. I did get the fried shallot topping once and thought it totally overwhelmed the flavors of the dish. (Ha! Finally a benefit to my garlic allergy )
  16. squidsdc
    Trader Joe's Belgian chocolate. We buy the pounders for baking, and break off squares for eating. The milk and the dark are equally tasty and sometimes end up being entirely eaten by the square instead of in recipes!
  17. squidsdc
    Guess I'll need to dig out my recipe for substitute soy sauce! I figured the recipe probably had it so not a surprise. And glad to see I did okay with the eggplant...I just chose not to salt it this time since the curry is so highly salted. So after roasting or broiling the eggplant, you toss the cubes in the sauce...but do you saute for a period to integrate the flavors, or just toss-in.stir and that's it? And just eggplant or do you add any other vegetables?
  18. squidsdc
    Would like to see your recipe--I would sub cashew for peanuts though. I'm interested in finding more ways to use eggplant, but need pointers and tips on how to actually prepare the egglpant in the dish. Last night we improvised using the hot Golden Curry sauce they always sample at HMart, with Costco chicken, fresh broccoli, carrots, peppers and eggplant added over rice. I cubed the eggplant and broiled it until golden on both sides. Very little oil used on bottom of pan and brushed lightly on top of eggplant...I'm not interested in frying--too much oil. And since it was very fresh I didn't salt it. I liked the eggplant, but Mr. S thinks it tastes too bland and is not really an eggplant fan. And I think I saw the book Zora was referring to Costco on Saturday. If Zora's recipes are from that book, I'll probably get it! (We almost bought it but Mr. S decided to wait--can't recall why, though)
  19. squidsdc
    Thanks for this as I hadn't seen the video. I haven't seen the movie yet, either. I watched the video only because of your disclaimer about the ending (Space Oddity, as classic a song as it is, has always given me the heebie jeebies and I have a pavlonian response to need to change the radio station as soon as it comes on) Still debating whether I'll be able to watch the movie or not...
  20. squidsdc
    I watch it and keep hoping it will get better. I think they start out with too many chefs and it's sometimes slow-moving thinning the herd. I do like a few of them, and am pretty happy with who's been culled thus far. I like the woman with the Rosie the Riveter hairdo, as coined previously, as she's from Minneapolis and likable but not infallible. I also am rooting for the guy from NOLA from La Petite Grocery--I think his name is Justin. Nina seems to come out on top a lot, and could end up in the finale. I just don't find her that appealing.
  21. squidsdc
    That sounds like he's laying down the gauntlet for a challenge...LOL.
  22. squidsdc
    Oh this makes me very sad! I wish the best for Kelli...she always took great care to make sure I would have a special meal even with all my allergies. It is the one place I felt the most comfortable being able to dine, because of her, and became our go-to place to celebrate our anniversary. Which is next Friday. Which means she won't be there. And I was just going to make the reservation today.
  23. squidsdc
    Ha! Stick by me next time! We do seem to circulate in the same 'hood. If the original Fuzu is bland, you may be able to ask for a different spice level. I'm not certain if that is just for the build your own feature or not...but if it is, then I would recommend doing the build your own. I can imagine without at least a spice level of "one" it would be quite bland as the "one" I had was barely spicy at all. Next time I will definitely try the "two" People who can tolerate spicy, I wouldn't hesitate to order the max. I tried the rice noodle--not sure how the dish would be with soba but it just doesn't appeal to me. At least not today... While I haven't had Mall noodle dishes in a few years, this did not remind me of them at all. Yes, fresher, but also not at all oily, overly sweet/salty with too much sauce. Who knows if I'll feel the same way next time I try it, but I do think it best to give them some time to work out the kinks. The Chef did say he was doing things differently by having a batch of sauce pre-made with the garlic in it, so worth it in my mind to wait until things calm down. Oh and that soda--if you had asked me I coulda warned ya. I'm not a fan of that brand of sodas and the diet one is pretty lame. I would go as far to say that I find it offensive. Chop't or Taylor I think have the same machine and I only had to try it once...
  24. squidsdc
    I'll try to get over there tomorrow to check, but maybe give them a call? And if that doesn't work for you, I suggest either Vidalia (they are often running their lunch special for $19.99) or Teddy & the Bully Bar around the corner.
  25. squidsdc
    Haven't had time to post but Mr. S and I were the "other" couple. Lunch is not nearly as loud, and I can see entertaining clients easily at that time. Dinner, not so much. One day I'm going to get over there for the raw bar. Thus far I've only had a salad to go--doesn't sound like much but the shrimp on top of my salad were quite tasty and impressive. I concur with everything Barbara wrote about our dinner--not much to add, except that I also had the opportunity to dine at Lincoln this summer. The food was also surprisingly good there but the din was deafening. Fortunately we sat in the back room with the doors closed, but as it got later even that did not totally help. I'd say that both restaurants are equally loud, neither one has the edge in that regard. Which is a shame. Michael Harzer is a talent--do go and try it out for lunch if dinner is too loud. I understand they've just started brunch on Sundays as well. Don't hold the Popovsky ownership against him--give it a try.
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