squidsdc

I've never been to the Garden, and will be there for a concert over Columbus Day weekend. So, 9 years later, what has changed? I noticed on the MSG website that there are some very interesting vendors inside, such as Hill Country, Drew Nieporent, Jean George, etc. We just want a good bite, not exorbitant cost, and alcohol is not a consideration. (Unless there is a good cidery nearby!)  I do realize the vendors inside will be a rip-off, however convenient, and possibly tasty. I found a possible place for some good fish tacos at Tacombi nearby, and am considering that. Also trying to keep in mind that I'm saving up my big meal for Le Bernadin on Monday. We'll be going out with friends Friday night with a place yet to be determined, so smaller meals are preferred

On 6/24/2018 at 1:19 PM, DaveO said:

In a subsequent effort the local crab industry was unable  to secure visas for crab pickers.   

I suppose little local lump crab meat and/or high prices

Or both..and fraud. WaPo article on diluted crab

What about gas stations? They’ve been doing it for years!

I haven't been, but I heard Pacci's is in Forest Glen (as well as in downtown SS) They call themselves a "Trattoria" so not really a bar...but it is in Forest Glen!

Penciled in on my calendar as well. Bumping up the thread since we are almost a month out!

I'm just glad Grubauer did not get traded to the Islanders. I can live with the Avalanche!

I was going to link Tom Boswell's chat as well. I like his viewpoint, and his assessment "I give the blame this way: 40% Caps, 30% Trotz, 30% Life is a *****."

6 hours ago, MarkS said:

Nice.  I'll be at the viewing party downtown at the stadium tonight.  It should be madness and then some.  Since there are no assigned seats for the viewing party inside it should be insane.  Hoping to grab some Chinese takeout and take in to the arena tonight.

 

LETS GO CAPS

Good luck getting in to get a seat! LETS GO CAPS!!!!!  And any recommendations for a bar/restaurant to "be in on the fun" but not get clobbered, kind of near the Verizon Center/metro accessible?

wish I had seen this sooner!

On 4/25/2018 at 11:15 AM, silentbob said:

We miss the poke too.  No luck finding it recently at the Gaithersburg, Wheaton, Pentagon City, or Chantilly stores.

I'll always prefer Costco because they reportedly pay their employees much higher wages and provide better health insurance benefits than Sam's Club.  Plus they don't close stores with basically no notice to employees.

just saw Poke about a week ago at Beltsville

I just noticed that place a few weekends ago and wondered about it. Alas, they were closed when we were there.

💗

I get up eating fried egg Sammie’s WITH ketchup. It’s the perfect salty-sweet combo.

On 1/5/2018 at 1:35 PM, DonRocks said:

You know, they have a nice little bar area in front - almost like 2 Amys' bar, but somewhat dressier (not as dressy as the dining room) - you can get tapas, or the full menu, there, and the wines by the glass are sure to please.

Also, I had the wood-roasted polpo at Centrolina a few years ago, and it was *great* - here's my review.

Thanks Don. Taberna has memories linked to his first outing after his bypass so probably not the best venue. I did suggest Centrolina, so it's good to have your review for reference!

Thanks -just not sure he's going to go for Taberna. 

Help!  Hubby has a bday next week and is craving a really good smoked or grilled octopus. Any recent good suggestions?  He's already dismissed Iron Gate and Siren. Why, I do not know...

I would prefer close to the downtown business district, where we can walk to the restaurant and then drive home, or either in Maryland, or on our way home from downtown to SS.

TIA!

Is there a quality difference in the TJ's brand vs. Dufour? Because there is a huge difference in price! (Even with the recent price reduction at Whole Foods) I plan to make the Mushroom Wellington from Joe Yonan at the Washington Post. And no, making my own is not an option, unless hubby decides he has time enough to help.

7 hours ago, DonRocks said:

One to stay away from? Sketchy?

Hinky has always been used in my family in the "weird" or "off-kilter" meaning, as leleboo mentioned.

On 11/2/2017 at 11:45 AM, kitkatpaddywak said:

MealTribes

DCeater just recently featured this social community. It started last October. On November 17th I will be meeting with the co-founders to discuss the expansion of the platform to the Mid-Atlantic region. This is my calling. I invite all of you to check out the community. I know it’s geared towed millenials, but honestly all are welcome. 

Chief, 

kat

I'm confused as to why this is in the Philadelphia forum? I was hoping there was a Philadelphia branch, so I could direct my niece to it. However, the link only takes you to the Washington DC meet-ups.

I had heard it quite a bit in my youth, and can't recall whether it was my mother or father who used it...meaning the influence came from either my maternal mid-western roots or my paternal Brooklyn/Rochester roots. Either way, I thought it was associated with Jewish culture and never heard of the correlation with African American culture.

WaPo is doing a FB Live event Friday (tomorrow) with Jacques and Shorey, in advance of the Smithsonian Event and book-signing in the evening, where Joe Yonan is interviewing Jacques and Shorey. Will anyone else be attending the Smithsonian event?

From the chat yesterday,  "At 11 a.m. on Friday, go to The Washington Post main Facebook page, and check there Depending on news, we MIGHT be doing it on the Your Best Life page on FB (formerly known as WaPoFood), but between the two you should be able to see it. And please ask questions!"

Jose was a joy to watch in the Food for Thought interview.

WaPo interview

WaPo Food for thought with Jose Andres and Alice Waters

So it appears that the service issues that Tom Sietsema was experiencing are continuing... and to echo Keithstg, I have to punctuate that the food was spectacular.

My husband had that gnocchi dish-actually his first time ever having snails! He of course had to get the gnocchi, because, well it's Chef's gnocchi and it is always a treat. I had the SHIGOKU OYSTERS: Seaweed ~ toasted brown rice tea, pumpernickel canapé, yuzu mignonette. I'm showing the descriptions on the menu,  but I can't say if, or how, any of my dishes may have been altered for me. They were divine.  Next I had the BUCKWHEAT FRIED SPOTTED SKATE WING: Curry vinaigrette toasted grains and seeds, pickled capers. I don't actually know if I've ever had skate wing before, but this was a revelation. Crispy outside, but oh so moist on the inside, and full of flavor. Hubby had a salad for the second course, which never fails to please. My main was NAVARIN OF MAINE SEA SCALLOPS AND URCHIN: Baby leeks, tender turnips and fingerling potatoes, roasted sesame seeds, and hubby had the YOUNG BERKSHIRE PORK-BRAISED BELLY AND ROASTED CHOP: Roasted honeycrisp apples, Calvados, bread sauce, brussels sprouts.  We were both too full from our meals and pigging out on the delicious bread to have a full dessert, so we each ordered the roasted marshmallow ice cream, and I ordered a decaf to warm up. Unfortunately, the coffee arrived on the lukewarm side, so I had to ask the busperson to get me another, since our waiter was nowhere in sight. And then she comes later with the dessert plate, mentioned above, and leaves us with that comment about me not being able to eat any of it that just frankly left us with a bad taste in the mouth after such wonderful food.

I've enjoyed their burgers at the Silver Spring location...just too many calories for me so we don't get there very often.

On 9/24/2017 at 8:14 AM, MarkS said:

Reading these posts convinced me it isn't likely I'll ever eat here.  I lean toward fresh and different versus refined and rich.  Once you get into this price range it quickly gets to high end NYC dining which seems to have no limits.

Not sure I would describe it as "refined and rich" The food is definitely classic Frank Ruta. To me, fresh and different, and very well done. The only issue I had was with the service.

We had several glitches, and I did bring it the manager's attention after we left. Half way through the meal the a/c was coming down on us in buckets, and was intolerable. We were ignored, except for a busboy who sort of acknowledged as he was pouring water, that it was a known issue with where we were seated. (I was wrapping a scarf around my neck trying to stay warm.) This was at a point in the meal when the waiter was walking around to other tables and completely ignoring us. Our waiter also had some glitches dealing with my allergies, and even told me at the serving of the complimentary dessert plate that I couldn't eat thing on the plate, due to my allergies. (The feeling I was getting from her was condescending.) I proceeded to ask her what was in each item, and determined I could eat all of them.

The fact that I could eat the dessert plate was confirmed by the manager when I spoke with him afterwards as he said Aggie made sure to make the plate up so I would be able to enjoy them. His response was to apologize and say that the opening of the Wharf is really hurting them in being able to find good servers, as well as a lot of other restaurants in the area. In regards to the a/c, he said that unfortunately there was a private party dining in the adjacent room that was complaining of it being too hot. He said he hadn't been in the manager position for very long and hadn't known about the issue. I suggested that he sit in every table in the house so he could experience if there is a problem, and then take action to deal with the HVAC in how to fix it. But also, the real problem was that everyone could see how cold I was, yet no one acknowledged that a problem existed, to the point of avoiding us during that period.

Another issue with my allergies was not being able to get through on the phone, leaving a voice mail, not getting a return call, and then having the follow up mishandled by a different manager than the one who was on during our dinner, telling me she would speak with the Chef and call me back. She never called me back. I called her to follow up again and spoke with the manager who was actually on duty the night we dined, who told me the first manager had never spoken with the Chef, but Chef did have my allergy list. I then chose a few items in advance so they could let me know whether those would be able to be accommodated, and so they could be prepared knowing what I would order. Then the waiter, who said she had my list of allergies with her, instructed me to choose any protein and Chef would make it for me without any of my allergens. I told her I had reviewed this in advance the day before, but she claimed to not know anything about it. And then I asked which items were "pre-marinated" and not able to be altered, and again she said to just choose anything. So I chose the pork, which then of course turned out to be pre-marinated and unable to be altered.

I spoke with the Manager outside, when we were leaving, as to not make a fuss. They knew it was our anniversary, they knew of the glitches in trying to relay allergy issues in advance, and I'm sure they knew of the issues with the waiter, yet no efforts were made during the meal to apologize or even offer a complimentary glass of bubbly, amuse, or even coffee. (At Palena, we did not have any of these types of glitches and they always offered us a complimentary glass of champagne on our anniversary dinners.)

Our experience with the food was wonderful, as usual. But at any price, the service leaves a lot to be desired. I'm always aware to try to put the least stress on a restaurant when dining, as I know my allergy list is extensive. So aside from how that was handled, I have to say that the waiter was not up to the caliber of this restaurant at all. I'm sorry to say we will not be back unless we hear that the service has greatly improved.