Lydia R

After reading the threads about supporting independant and mom/pop restaurants I hit the "Independant Restaurants" button on Open Table to spur some recommendations for the coming weeks.

Hey - is there an extra charge to be listed as Independant?

If not, would Dino, Notti Bianche, Corduroy, Dahlia and Galileo please get themselves added to that list?

But the size of this restaurnant and its capacity means that it will never be able to produce the broad range of authentic dishes produced by Chef Peter Chang at TemptAsian and China Gourmet.

How many can its dining area fit? From the CityPaper profile (bullet proof glass partition) I had initially visualized it as "carry-out only."

Is it big enough to handle a $20 Tuesday invasion?

Lunch today was the carne asada special, beans/rice and a tamarind drink (just under $9 before tip). The meat was spiced and piping hot with a nicely arranged lettuce, tomato, cuke, radish, lime and avacado on the side.

Entertainment was, of course, World Cup (USA v. Czech Republic). Both of the little HD-TVs had Univision's coverage, but only one had its sound on. It was loud enough for the kitchen, but not blasting for me. Didn't have a chance to ask whether they'd have all the games on, but it's a safe bet.

Colorado Kitchen's summer hours.

Closed: Mon, Tues, Wed

Open: Thurs thru Sat for Dinner 5 to 10 pm

Sunday for Dinner 5 to 9

Sat and Sun for Brunch 11 to 2:30

Looks like no Friday lunches this summer...

WashPost Food Section (can someone provide a link to the article for me?),

They've been getting a lot of press lately:

Post wine column

Seattle Times

Thanks for pointing me to the Post food section today. I need to make sure have Copper River salmon before I fly back east.

It's fun to eat with people who appreciate good food AND have brain cells to spare for other things.

I'm not sure what makes anyone a "serious foodie." Maybe it's someone who knows the outcome of the Top Chef finale and knows nothing about American Idol - Britney Spears indeed.

I tend to shy away from eating with serious foodies, by the way; I'd much rather talk about books, politics, the price of gas, Britney Spears -- ANYTHING other than what I'm chewing on at the moment.

Ask and ye shall receive.

Oh Boy! Another Lebanese Taverna!!!!!!!!

Thanks Joe. Does anyone know which "upscale grocer" they're referring to in the press release?

In the near future we expect to add an upscale grocer, a health club and day spa, along with a home décor store, women’s clothing stores and more restaurants.

Is this one of the places with longs waits? Do you get there right when they open? Macaroni Grill has a similar deal, so when the kids want spaghetti and I don't want to cook it we head there.

I've eaten at the Germantown location a few times with non-foodie friends. Agree with Joe H's post about the chicken. Pollo Rosa Maria has Fontina/mushrooms and the Chicken Bryan has goat cheese/sundried tomatoes. This is in a shopping area near a multiplex so the lines can be horrific. On the bright side, they have:

Call-Ahead Seating

Reduce your wait time with Call-Ahead Seating. Just call your neighborhood Carrabba's before you come in and we'll add your name to our waiting list. When your party arrives please let our hostesses know and we'll seat you as soon as possible

Area Locations

I don't think they have a website yet. Here's a map.

After reading about it in Tom's Weekly Dish about two weeks ago I wondered if it was worth the detour. Thanks for the map, it's off the main arteries.

Bump.

I'm heading back to Seattle for a lazy week and wonder if there are any new places I should check out.

I'll be exploring new parts of town because my friend moved from Belltown to Magnolia and I can't just walk a couple of blocks to Pike Place Market.

ETA: We're trying to get into Crush- anybody been to Jason Wilson's place?

I'm going to be in town on Thursday and will have about an hour to kill starting abound 4:45-ish. If anyone is up for hh I'll be at Corduroy. Despite Rocks' last post no one needs to buy me a drink, but some company would be nice.

If anybody's lookin' for somethin' doin' HH today...

I am a food writer for the Washington City Paper--thanks to mdt for posting my last piece. Even if I did get a YAWN. [WINKING EMOTICON] Anyway, I'm doing a piece on the effects of takeout on food--particularly from upscale places.

Looks like Anne's piece is in the May 12th City Paper.

Did anyone catch the April 30th NYTimes article about San Francisco's take-out friendly Ferry Building on the Embarcadero? OK, another cool dining option we don't have in metro DC. More info in the Ferry Building's web site.

The meat in the tacos is in my opinion much better than the meat Ive had in Riverdale, I would be interested to see how the people who have posted negatively about La Sirineta ect think this place stacks up. If I could get a mole sauce here I wouldn't feel a need to go back Riverdale. It is worth noting that both El Tapatio & La Sirenita have broader menus (Enchiladas, Mole, Seafood ect). The guy said they may offer some of these things as specials. I also think the tacos here are better than the ones at Oyamel, again the difference is the meat (although Oyamel has better tortillas). I'm neither Latin or from California, but I imagine it is only a matter of time before this place gets a huge reputation in the Latin community and is always packed.

Got there for a quick, late lunch away from the office today.

Had the aforementioned three tacos: chorizo, goat and al pastor. Fresh, tasty and only a bit messy. Got a side of beans & rice - topped with a nice slice of queso. Rice was right taste though not steaming hot. I agree with Mt PleasantEater that, when the timing is right, I'd welcome a broader menu.

I do feel comfortable comparing the noise level to most of the Riverdale places. I thankfully didn't get my ears blown out today. I saw the CD stereo set up in the back corner - silent. There are two small flat-panel TVs. One set to Spanish TV (appropriate volume level for the size of the restaurant and tile walls) and the other on English programming (silent with closed captioning). Today, the English show was 1994's Little Giants with Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill - perfect as an away from the office EEG smoother.

Thanks, nice find y'all.

Also, they'll be closed on Mother's Day.

From yesterday's eNewsletter:

Overall, Colorado Kitchen will be closed:

- Sunday, May 14th thru Thursday, May 18th

- No lunch Friday, May 19th, but open for dinner

- Thursday, May 25th

Didn't report earlier, but we were able to get a reservation for Easter Sunday Brunch and had a nice, relaxed meal - the staff seemed more relaxed too.

After reading this newsletter, I'm looking forward to the salads, small foods and fresh corn.

Hey Everyone,

The corn is green  But while we wait until Chef's favorite time of year when the smell of fresh corn being pulled clean dominates her little kitchen, there is still so much to enjoy.

This time of year is the best for young spring lamb.  And Chef will be roasting it slowly with rosemary and little creamer potatoes.  Buffalo will be back.  She'll take the hangar off of that big beast and marinate it Korean style before she slaps it on the hot grill. 

Chef also plans to include some new cool salads and small foods like a Chick pea salad and steamed shrimp.  When we can get them we'll also be serving Soft Shell Crabs. 

We sure hope you come in and join us and see what has sprung this late spring at the Kitchen.

There's a lot going on in a couple of weeks, so unfortunately we will not be open this year for Mother's Day (May 14th).  Colorado Kitchen will be closed from May 14 thru Thursday, May 18th.  We'll be open for dinner Friday, May 19th and resume our regular hours for the weekend.  But hold on to your hats because Spring means big time Mommy duty for Chef and another closing on Thursday, May 25th.

Mark your calendars and be sure to squeeze in a little time to stop in for some great food and to sip one of our great new wine or beer offerings.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Chef & Robin

Colorado Kitchen

5515 Colorado Ave. NW at 14th and Kennedy Streets

Wed-Sat 5pm - 10pm, Sun 5pm - 9pm

Fri lunch 11:30 - 2:30, Sat & Sun brunch 11 - 2:30

202/545-8280

www.coloradokitchen.info

I pdf-ed the menu but cannot seem to upload it.  I suspect the error is my own.

Here's a scan of the two page menu. Great meal and wonderful company.

ETA: Sorry, still having trouble uploading even from a different network...

So, porcupine and LydiaR and I dined this evening at Dino. We had the cheese plate (among almost everything else!). I don't remember the name of the cheese, but there was a blue on the list that was described as screamingly sharp.

The description was very, very accurate. The sharpness felt like it kept building for minutes after I'd finished each bite. Holy crap!

It was pretty tasty, I must say... If you go there and have the cheese plate, and like screamingly sharp cheese, you should give it a try. And the 7-year-old Parmigiano was quite tasty (and sharp) as well.

Thank you for decloaking or really just shifting down from warp speed Mr. Porcupine.

He's correct about the Guffanti Eborinati Di Pecorino. The menu states: "Screamingly strong, cave aged blue served with honey." Be sure there's honey on the plate or the screaming will be all you. Even with the honey, this pecorino will command your full attention and wipe any other thoughts that may be bouncing in your head.

The two goat cheeses we had were really solid. The Buche has a white mold skin and snappy taste- you know it's goat. The Brunet is described as being "not unlike a double cream brie." It was soft, velvety and more like brie for grown-ups.

The Reggiano is about to be seven years old and has been a good little cheese. It definitely deserves a birthday party (May 11th).

This was my first visit to Dino and it lived up to the expectation driven by posts on the board. Mr. Porcupine was polite and didn't inventory the Cinco de Mayo potent potables, the Tonno (seared tuna), Funghi e Gorgonzola (mushrooms/blue cheese), Fettuna (sounds like more tuna - but it's grilled garlic bread), Polenta con Salsiccia e Angello (polenta with sausage and artichoke), the Strozapretti Gorgonzola e Peperoni Rossi (strozapretti is a relaxed, gemelli-esque pasta), desserts, and most dreamy Asparagi e Prosciutto (no translation necessary).

Thankfully, the food and company were comforting enough to cushion the loss of one of my big foodie crushes - he looks nothing like he sounds...and the drumbeat thumps got slower and then faded to silence.

Mr P and I will be sampling Chris' concoctions at Dino for awhile.

For those who missed Chris'/Happyguy's list o' concoctions in celebration of the holiday...

De La Dino indeed - my grandmothers are weeping.

VERY stoked to have Vegman's within a decent driving distance. Especially since it's not Monkey County and they'll probably sell wine.

Hope you're right, but the Wegmans in Hunt Valley (north of Baltimore) doesn't have a wine department - it might be a Maryland thing...

Peter Chang is Keyser Soze!

Not Kaiser Sosa, but his evil cousin Rolo Tomasi.

After reading Todd's piece about Chef Zhang in the May Washingtonian I had little sympathy for Jerry. He'd been watching Zhang for years and planned to bring him to his restaurant - but he just couldn't implement correctly. I'd gone through the DR Sunday dinner disaster (too many tables, not enough restaurant) excusing the issues by thinking that Jerry didn't know what he had on his hands (a chef with a following).

This is better than a soap opera or a B-school case study (or B-movie).

Logan's Mexican chorizo, crumbled up

One of my favorites! Finding it at Shoppers Food Warehouse and not Giant was the turning point in my relationship with Giant...

Did you get there? If so, how did you find it? We are planning on going there in a few weeks, and I would welcome your input.

A girlfriend and I had lunch on a rainy Saturday April 8th at Addie's. It's an old favorite (from 3+ years ago) and we went in a nod to nostalgia and in spite of the comments above.

The most memorable issue was the poor service. Personable server, but I don't think diners were "cared for" in a way we'd been in past years. I felt horrible for the elderly (75+ y.o.) women sitting next to us. We ended up reading the menu to them because the server was MIA for an extended period of time and later had to give them our creamer/sugar because their coffee was delivered w/o condiments (for >10 minutes they tried to flag down some coffee help). OK, I've seen service in small places where servers notice that you're missing a utensil before you do or anticipate when you might need, oh say, cream/sugar - not here.

The creepiest thing was that the tall busman wouldn't indicate his presence behind me before reaching straight down in front of my face to clear plates - it's really startling - even the third time.

Foodwise I have to confess that my previous steak at been at Ray's (Farewell Dinner Version 1.0) and most places' Steak Frites would pale in comparison -- but hey -- Addie's steak was sliced down like London Broil, close to room temp (over-rested?) and coupled with hot fries that were soggy in au jus. The dessert was OK, but can't remember what it was...

We'd eaten at Black's Market nearby (in Garrett Park) a couple of months ago and would choose to eat there in the future.

Hopefully Addie's dinner service is ready for primetime.

I included the wine web shopping info from WSJ upthread because some members of this community live where the grapes roam relatively free (compared to Maryland & DC). I hope we can spin the wine shopping via local purveyor v. the internet posts into a separate thread.

Back on topic: I’m interested in splitting a case of a wine Joe Riley recommended here and I subsequently bought at Ace Beverage - Altos Las Hormigas Malbec. “Ant Hill” complements beef and someone who shared this wine with us in January remembered (!) and pointed out that it's ranked # 42 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 Scoring Wines 2005 list. Wine Spectator lists it for $24 / bottle. Joe sounds a bit slammed (busy at work), but I’d like to approach him/Ace for this buy.

Anyone game?

Afteer this week I need a night out NOW! But I guess I can wait until next THrusday.

It's been that kind of week here too. Could NOW mean Legacy (Last Friday) HH at Notti Bianche? CresentFresh posted a similar question in the NB thread:

If I'm calendrically inclined this evening, I believe tomorrow is the last Friday of the month.  Anything to report from the bar at Notti Bianche?

For what may be the highest volume internet store consider the Wine Library in Springfield, NJ which is a 60,000 square foot store (I've been to it) and generally gives 30% (Yes, I said THIRTY per cent) off on everything.

Community group purchasing might include internet ordering by those most geographically blessed among us.

The Wine Library site will be in today's WSJ wine column - interestingly it's also enthusiastic about web wine shopping. The full article includes an additional eight specialty web sites. Has anyone ordered from sites other than Wine Library?

TASTINGS By DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER

A Fine Year For Web Wine

Following major legal changes, online wine sales are flourishing. Our columnists on pitfalls, ordering strategies and their favorite sites.

April 28, 2006

<SNIP>

Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

There's a interesting article in today's NY Times about Fiddlehead Ferns and Ramps (both foraged & as an early cash crop for farmers).

A sidebar to the article has a good looking ramps & potato soup recipe (with bacon & cream) NY Times food section