starfish

had some really good ones at blacksalt about three months ago.

i will be there and bringing some booze of sundry sorts.

is PS7 open sundays &/or mondays for dinner? i looked on the website, but couldn't find that info.

PS 7's is closed on Sunday's. We are open for dinner Monday through Saturday - 5:30 is the first seating available. In about a month, we will be open for lunch Monday through Friday.

The bar looked nice but I don't remember whether the bar stools had backs or not. The lounge tables are low and far away from the chairs - anything with a sauce would blaze a trail from the table to your blouse.

The bar stools have low and firm backs. We are committed to making PS 7's one of the best bars in DC to have dinner - but Heather is right, the low tables are best for cocktailing, snacking, and lounging.

Not sure what to make of this place after dinner last night. I am not even sure I understand the concept or the menu. While the prices are decent, although the portions amount to what you would receive with a tasting menu. The wine list is small, and loaded with small producers mostly from California, and the prices are very reasonable, although when I ask the waiter for suggestions he pointed me to one of the most expensive bottles on the list, a $85 dollar bottle of Cabernet. I hate it when they do that! I really like the idea of a small wine list though, I really dislike looking through those 80 page wine books and trying to decide what to order. On to the food.

After looking at the menu on line I decided we would order one of the tasting menus, however they were not available last night. I started with the Warm Foie Gras custard, which I thought was fine but I did not like the texture, and the Roasted Duck Gelee that topped the custard tasted like nothing. At $12.50 I was expecting to be blown away. My wife ordered the Oxtail Consommé, with oxtail dumplings, this was the undisputed best tasting dish of the night! The bread at PS7 is excellent, made in house and served warm. I sampled the cottage cheese roll with dill and it was almost on par with the parker house rolls at Cityzen, I am so glad they are not serving that overrated bread from Breadline, that seems to be the standard now in DC.

The main courses did not fair so well in our opinion. I order the Trio of Veal, it consisted of a veal loin, not so crispy sweetbreads, and a veal breast with wild mushrooms. What sounded good on the menu did not translate onto the plate, the veal loin was under salted, the sweetbreads were so not even close to being crispy, the breast was moist, the most flavorful portion of this trio. My wife ordered the beef two ways, this was a mistake. This was the first time we have ever encountered a dried out piece of short rib at a restaurant, It may have been under the heat lamp too long, the noisette of rib eye, was no better.

You have two options for dessert; little sins and big sins. We selected one little sin, doughnuts with a chocolate and raspberry sauces which were excellent, and a big sin, a peach dessert with too dry Tres Leche cake, peach sorbet and gelee showed up again, this time with a burst of peach flavor.

Overall, not a good opening night for food at PS7

DLB,

Thank you for you candid feedback. We found some of it truly valuable.

While I am not a fan of restaurant professionals criticizing anyone for expressing their opinion in any forum, I find your criticisms a bit disconcerting thus my public response.

If your evening was so marred by the food and service you received, why did you not indicate such on any of the three visits I made to your table?

If you wanted the advice of the “wine steward,” why didn’t you ask your server to get the “wine steward?” The gentleman serving your table most likely recommended the $85 Robert Craig Mount Veeder Cabernet, because we had just tasted the staff on it that evening. Other good reasons for recommending it: it is a bargain at $85 – most restaurants in this area that carry this wine charge $100 and up for what happens to be a 91 point WS & WA wine.

I am sure that your motives are nothing but genuine. However, going to a restaurant on opening night or any night for that matter, and then writing negatively about your experience, though you were asked on three occasions about your satisfaction, strikes me as fishy at best and dishonorable at its worst.

p.s. the wine you drank was the Pelligrini Cariganne, and it would be my pleasure to offer you and your wife a glass or two in the company of myself and Chef Smith to discuss this further.

i have never been to the standard, but i would nominate cafe st. ex, and sibling bar pilar, and tonic as the bars the do a very good, and occasionally great job with comfortable classics.

I can think of at least two. The Notti Bianchi issue referred to above and I think someone from Dino's got the boot for something posted here, wrangler guy I think.

that notti bianche guy was not fired because of the breast feeding incident - there were other reasons why it was time for he and notti to part ways. in fact, the parting of ways did not occur until at least three months after that incident.

i would also like to mention that the gentleman that made the unfortunate reference to breast feeding has grown into a very good restaurant manager and one with whom i would be proud to work again.

Maybe this was already mentioned somewhere else in this thread, but how close to the metro will it be? That was one of the nice things about it's current location, it was a short walk from Metro.

the second location is less than 200 yards from the dupont circle metro.

I'm going to get to try this on Friday, and I should also have it in the store, too:

http://www.copperfox.biz/index2.html#

I'm VERY intrigued. A friend told me that it smells more like wood-aged grappa than Scotch, but that it is very smooth, and shows its 96-proof alcohol well.

i have tasted it and was extremely impressed. does it stand along side the greats from across the pond? the question is moot. it is an extremely interesting excercise for the palate, and a cheap one at that. we will proudly have it on the bar at ps 7's.

Zaytinya (701 Ninth Street NW, 202-638-0800) a Mediterranean tapas restaurant, that serves fresh Middle Eastern plates in a bustling setting of candles and soaring ceilings. “It feels like New York,” a friend said at dinner one recent night. Precisely.

This quote speaks to the myopic vanity of people who espouse a NYCentric world view.

It also weakens the premise of the article – escapes. When I want to get away from DC, I the last thing that I would want is to dine in a place that feels like DC. But unlike the author, 36 hours away from the city that I love is not long enough to make me seek the soft pink blanky of familiarity.

1)In an average restaurant, the one entree will sit on the table while the other is prepared.

2)In a good restaurant, one entree will dry out under a heat lamp while the other is hastily prepared.

3)In great restaurants, both entrees will be remade.

Generally speaking, you are unlikely to find many restaurants that even know #3 is the proper recourse.

Now, where should I put that lemon?..........

option 2.5: remove offending entree, have the kitchen produce a small salad so that neither party is forced to eat by themselves. canabalize another table's order (more than one table ordered the "blank") and let the kitchen catch-up. minimal impact to the guest, minimal additional cost to the restaurant.

Did they change the name of "Constitution Gardens?"

if memory serves, the entire area is known as constitution gardens, the island itself is the d of i memorial.

I was thinking about taking the girl on a surprise romantic picnic. I know one of the other strings has picnic recipe ideas but that doesn't really help. Any ideas from the peanut gallery on a good spot, good wine/bubbly, and good menu items I could pick up from somewhere with takeout or prepared foods? I am thinking more classy than sandwiches and potato salad but I don't want to cook anything as spending an hour shut in the kitchen before we leave might be a bit suspicious. I would rethink sandwiches if only Breadline was open...

the declaration of independence memorial is my all time favorite picnic spot in dc - preposterously romantic, rarely visited, and rather secluded.

eta: it is a small island on a man-made lake between the washington monument and the vietnam vets memorial.

I'm a member of egullet.com and dr.com, and travel frequently for business and pleasure. When dining out, is it a faux pas to identify myself as a member of one of these communities to a restaurant?

this is a matter of context, imho. informing a member of the staff that you "learned about your restaurant through blank.com and are very excited to try it" is very different than "i am so and so from blank.com". the former informs management of a source for guests, the latter seems to be asking for special treatment. but the larger question, in my mind, is to what end? what is the purpose for identifying oneself? introducing yourself to an active participant in this forum or another seems only polite, however, name-dropping for other purposes...

my $0.02.

Doug Jamal has been working on that one for years. My take is that, whatever it finally turns out to be, nothing much is going to influence its course at this point. But who knows???

yes, he has been working on that space for a while. imho, there are three reasons it is still on the market:

1 - the deal is contingent upon taking an akward adjacent space.

2 - the build-out would be cost prohibitive to all but the deepest of pockets (i smell a chain coming) and no tenant improvement allowance is offered. some down the line incentives sure, but this still makes for a very large initial cash outlay

3 - the cost/square foot is, in my estimation, 15-25% higher than it should be for comparable properties

damn shame, beecause the space could be stunning.

New restaurant – slated to open late August – seeks an assistant manager. This fine dining restaurant will be located downtown, and will have a busy bar scene as well as a stylish dining room, patio, and private dining area. Experience is preferred but passion is essential.

The management team will consist of two assistants and the general manager. Responsibilities will be determined by the relative strengths and weakness of the individual selected for this position. We are looking for poise, charm, knowledge of fine dining service, ability to run a room, quick thinking, and passion for the business. This is not a zero responsibility paper tiger position. There will be significant operational responsibilities.

Salary is flexible relative to experience. As an organization, we place high value on the quality of life of the staff. We expect everyone on the team to work like hell in the run-up to opening but expect that schedules will level off to a 50-55hour week.

Send me an email. Please attach your resume but, most importantly, tell me about yourself.

Even better, tell me a story.

the potomac restaurant group and i have parted ways. i wish i could be more gracious at the moment and wish them luck, but i am not there yet.

thanks to everyone here that helped make my run at notti successful.

don, please change the name of this thread.

i am partial to sparkling shiraz for picnics. and good ones can be had for under $15 (there is no retail availabilty for the wines that are coming to mind right now but i am sure that your wine shop can help you).

Is the Tour de France being shown anywhere? I heard the Diner showed it last year. My cable doesn't have OLN.

when i had snacks at the bar of agraria on sunday night, they had oln on the tube. it was showing highlights of last year's tour. i took that as an indication that they would be showing this year's tour but it is always worth a phone call first.

as i told everyone during the last legacy libation, the wines that i can sell at those prices have been completed depleted – i can justify to my bosses the selling of some wine at just over cost but selling it at a loss is a little tougher.

we still have legacy bourbon, and a couple of random spirits as well. all of our wine by the glass, and beer are 50% off. and their will be a sneak preview of a new wine (it will be debuting to the general public tomorrow) from our own jake parrot. it is a stunning rose of cabernet sauvignon from south africa. it will also be half off the glass price.

i look forward to seeing everyone tonight.

I don't care for wine. Red sends me to bed and then paradoxically I can't get to sleep. White is all right but hardly something special in my gastronomic life. Funnily enough, champagne has no ill effects, and when that's an option I join the crowd. When I go to restaurants, this abstemiousness puts me out of step with most of my co-diners, although no one has any doubts about my affinity for good food. It also theoretically should cause a problem with the bill, although I haven't worried about that so far. Often I'm urged to have "just a little bit," or in the case of Notti Bianche, a "splash." These people mean well and I am almost embarrassed to decline. I am not an alcoholic, although if I were to plead that case it might mitigate the problem. Still, I like beer and I enjoy a good Scotch The idea that wine enhances the taste of good food is like a stoplight to someone who's color blind. Ironically, my chevalier de tastevin uncle left me a cache of 50 year old Burgundies, which I've been selling for obscene prices or giving as gifts to my friends. Is there anyone else around who, like me, loves food but doesn't get a charge out of mashed grapes? And what is the name of my affliction? Vinophobia? No, that would imply hatred or fear. More like vinhedonia.

the really good news is that there an increasing number of places that take beer and the food to be paired with it seriously. the next time you dine out i would focus on the places that have a good beer list. i would also be sure to communicate with the server that you are really looking forward to pairing your courses with some of their beer selections.

cashion's - dinner at the bar

capitol grille - dinner at the bar but only on sunday and monday nights

charlie palmers - late lunch on monday's at the bar

aroma (with carryout sushi from spices) - sunday and monday nights only

bistro du coin - when desperate for food after most kitchen's have closed

regent thai - solid thai in my hood, good first date spot - not that i know anything about that

need to get there more often but for my crazy work life

corduroy

firefly

vidalia

mendocino grille

circle bistro

damn why do they have to be on the wrong side of a river:

maestro

restaurant eve - either room

ray's

the thought just occured to me that this thread could be extremely useful to stalkers

If you're a fan of Cheez Wiz you'll love the nachos. Otherwise, you may be pleasantly surprised by the fried calamari (also served sauteed). While the batter was nothing to rave over I was impressed with the tenderness of the squid. Very nicely cooked.

But who in their right mind would eat anything more than a pub snack in that place? And even then, only if desperate. The rest room is a disgusting, piss-puddled, graffiti-strewn, rat hole. And you know what they say....if you can't keep the public spaces sanitary.........

i think that crescentfresh is being far too kind to this place. it was i who ordered the cheez whiz staturated nachos. twas the two of us that sat and watched the end of the france v. spain world cup match at this "restaurant" that is in my estimation devoid of a soul.

the nachos were terrible - whatever, it was my dumb ass fault for ordering them. what makes this place suck is that they have a clear mission and so routinely fail to make basic attempts to satisfy it. impressive beer collection sure, but try talking to one of the bartenders about the beer and you are met with a truly impressive amount of nothingness.

don't wear nice clothes to this place either, aside from the truly foul bathroons that were every bit as disgusting as crescentfresh made them sound, not a single time during the course of a few hours was the bar in front of us wiped down. this was after several beers were served with neither coaster nor bevnap, after the aforementioned empty calorie snacks had been pushed around thier plates. the bar was just waiting for someone to soil clothing. this is about basic pride in the work that one does, and they ain't got it.

during the entire time there, no bartender looked me in the eye, said thank you, or in anyway indicated that they were happy to have us at the bar.

p.s. the tartlets running around in clothes that would have made them more apropriate at hooters - that other soul sucking waste of space - didn't make it any better.

thank you to all of the people that sent me emails, pm's, and general good wishes. this is a classy bunch and i am proud to count myself as a member. as most of you suspect, sunday was big night for my staff and me. monday morning...well let's not talk about that.

congratulations to all of the winners.

good luck to all of the rammy nominees, but especially the ones that participate in this forum.

win or lose, we'll all be "celebrating" at the after party.

p.s. a word to the wise be careful where you dine tonight - many of the staff members at some restaurants will be at the marriot wardman park rather than staffing a post tonight.

NotQuickDraw and I will be going to Citronelle for the first time this Thursday (celebrating a wedding anniversary - yeah, I know, how original). We're planning to try the tasting menu, but the question is, just how generous is the wine pairing? NQD is still upset at having to leave a fair amount of wine in the glasses at Maestro in order to get us home safely. Should we plan on a taxi?

plan on a cab - deny yourself nothing.