AlexC

Though I'm sure it's been a great business and lifestyle decision, but I'm a little bummed that the Fojols have gone the lunch route and stopped serving late-night on the weekends. With 2 AM lassipops, everyone wins.

I'm in. This sounds delicious.

I was there last week, and I think it's the best restaurant on or around 17th St... that you can walk out of for under, oh, $65 a person. Clearly, you can get out of Hank's for much less than that. The oysters are fresh and varied, the entree standards (lobster roll, fried seafood, etc) are reliably excellent, the specials deliver more refined presentations and exotic ingredients (I'm a sucker for the pork belly), and the "meat and two plate" remains an oversize, delicious plate of food for under $20. The brunch is good, too! The hangtown fry (a thin omelette over a bed of fried oysters) is a favorite. Yes, clearly, I'm in the tank for this place. Check it out!

The new Dupont Circle location is officially opening up on Saturday, though they'll probably be serving pizzas for a day or two before, too.

/throws self in front of train of criticism hurtling towards Steak & Egg. I've had more frequent misses than hits at Kramerbooks of late. Cold breakfast potatoes, salsa that tasted a little too acidic/over the hill, and food that had such promise on the menu but just wasn't that remarkable when it was served. Alex

I roasted a pig in my oven on Saturday. It was the first time I'd cooked a whole mammal. Plus, I managed to seat 20 people in my two-bedroom. It was a very fun night. The pig was 24 lbs. We brined it overnight and roasted it for 8 hours in a 300-degree oven, basting with olive oil every hour or so. There are nits to pick -- the skin wasn't quite as crispy as I hoped (might blast it with high heat to start next time), the pig kinda slumped down during the cooking process (will seat the next one more firmly), and the skin split on one side of the pig (might have to cut some incisions to release some of the moisture). I would love any tips/insights/advice! All told, great success.

The semi-secret back deck at the Big Hunt would be a great spot for afternoon beers today, and it's just down from Kramerbooks. Or reverse the order and from Kramer you could head down towards U st area (stop at St. Ex) and then go by the Saloon. If U St was the last stop on the tour you'd be right at the green line for a straight metro ride to the stadium... /jealous Alex

...and given the amount of noise, dust, motion and people, I'd say that someone has decided to get this place open. Finally. A month ago, Tim Carman reported a September opening. Seems ambitious.

Agree on the beer but disagree on the chicken wings... there was a point when the cost of a $.15 chicken wing (Tuesdays @ Big Hunt) was enough to sell me, but I just don't think those tiny mutant 70-count wings are worth the trouble. Their Frank's-based wing sauce, however, is legit. Yes, the beer is great and the vibe is great, but I have trouble with pretty much all the food here... in that I think it pretty much sucks, particularly the cooked-through frozen puck burgers and the floppy, bland pizza. Am I missing something? On the subject of horribly misshapen wings, the worst offender I've seen is McFadden's. Their $.10 wings (during football games, I think) are the most freakishly tiny I've ever seen. They shouldn't be served... well, maybe if the Palace of Wonders had chicken infanticide Tuesdays... Alex

Antonio Burrell has left Commonwealth. Abigail Fellows, the former executive sous chef, has stepped into the role of Chef de Cuisine. Best of luck to both Antonio and Abigail!

I strolled in with a friend close to 830 on Saturday and the place was jammed. We got a pager and headed to the less-crowded upstairs bar, where we waited it out with a draft Dogfishhead 90 minute (is this really an IPA?) followed by Boont Amber. The guy next to me was quite pleased with the scotch selection, but I don't know from scotch. We were seated around 915 and lingered past 11. The dining room is an enormous, open room with a beautiful copper tile ceiling and large, bright murals on the walls. The place was buzzing, packed with folks gearing up for a night out on U St. Great energy. We split the "Cheddar Tart" ($7) to start. The dish was presented under a huge mound of microgreens. The pastry was thick, flaky, buttery and, for me, entirely dominated the dish. I understand the appeal of simple and rustic and that Eatonville's tart is an entirely different animal from the onion tart at Central... but I couldn't help but wish for the latter as I was eating the former. Our entrees were the "Fried Catfish with Jalapeno-Cheddar Grits, Collard Greens and Tomato Butter" ($16) and the "Shrimp and Crawfish Etoufee with Long Grain Rice and Fried Okra" ($15). The generous slab of catfish had a thin, crispy, shell-like crust -- must have been cornmeal, now that I think about it. The grits, though not very spicy, were creamy and delicious, and the collards weren't soupy or mushy or flat, or any of the other things that can go wrong with collard greens. Like the rest of the dish, they were simple and good. The etoufee was not as well-received. Marketfan nailed it up thread, calling it a "soupy risotto". The dish was rich, creamy and pale yellow, the color of a light corn chowder. I expected something far darker and nuttier, with more significant spice and complexity. Still, pushing aside my expectations of an etoufee, it wasn't a bad dish, just kinda blah. The seafood wasn't overcooked, and I liked that the okra had been cut into strips and fried without breading. For dessert we drank bourbon. Our waiter was pleasant and the service was simple and efficient, unnoticed like a good left tackle. Though I really dug the atmosphere, I wouldn't race back for the food, even though the low prices make it more tempting. Alex

I managed to sneak in for a soft opening meal on Friday night. It's tough to attach much weight to anything that happens under those circumstances; the wrought iron fixtures with naked light bulbs, dark wood ceilings and light, unfinished wood tables created an austere, Whistler's Mother farmhouse vibe... but the dining room hadn't been fully decorated, and it may look totally different now. They could certainly pack a few more tables in to the spacious dining room. Similarly, some decisions were still being made about plating and garnishes and myriad additional minor details were to be settled over the weekend. As such, I don't really want to break down all the specific preparations, as any of them could have been altered in part or in whole in the interim. Eh, except for the chicken pot pie, which I thought was excellent, and a good window into what drives this restaurant. It's a one-pot dish served in a cast-iron skillet, with a single drumstick standing straight up in a thick sauce studded with biscuits and shot through with shredded chicken and diced carrots. The sauce was rich without about being heavy, oily or greasy, filling without making me feel loagy and the simple, well-dressed (and seasoned) green salad balanced out the entree well. I'd go back for it. Overall, we left with the impression that Blue Ridge is a neighborhood restaurant without serious pretensions, serving simple, healthy food at a sub-$20 price point. It's not Hook, and it clearly isn't meant to be, though both the sustainability ethic (fish on menu: two kinds of trout, catfish, and farmed arctic char) and the grilled octopus with pesto were more than a little familiar. I'm looking forward to another visit in a few weeks... though, as our meal on Friday was comped, we may have to order less than two appetizers per person the next time. Oh, and I asked about brunch when I was there... they hope to get that up and running as soon as possible, but it is probably a few weeks away.

Their kitchen put on a respectable showing on Sunday at the Cochon 555 event, though I thought they were outclassed by Commonwealth and the winner, Vidalia. If that 100 lbs of heritage pig turns out to be their swan song (and there is certainly no reason to conclude that is the case), then they went guns blazing.

They only serve Fried Chicken at Hank's Oyster Bar (DC) on Sundays. It is worth the trip.

It was a sad but delicious goodbye. The relative productivity I can look forward to next Wednesday morning is very small consolation. For what it's worth, the winner of the "ordered so many sea foams that they ran out" award was my table, but I really enjoyed the first light. Alex

I was heading to Darlington House to watch hockey last night, and on the way I met the Fojol Brothers. Well, two of them, right outside the metro at Connecticut and Q. Indian music was blasting from a cool, brightly-colored vintage Airstream-looking bus, and people just kept wandering up, curious and confused, to order "merlindian" food. Chef was right -- they're not frat guys, technically, and their enterprise is a little closer to absurdist theater than the tasteless Kappa Sigma Halloween party I was imagining. The whole venture smells like some sort of late-night drug-fueled brainstorm that, against all odds, was actually executed. As such, I approve. They were offering chicken masala, chicken curry, a spinach dish and one other, each served over rice, in three sizes. The smallest size, just a taste, was $3, but the larger sizes would have made an actual meal. I tried the chicken masala and the chicken curry. The Fojols reported that they'd worked with a local indian restaurant to get their recipes down, and I believe them. The masala was surprisingly tasty, with real heat, good enough that I'll go back when I run into them. The curry was good, too, but the flavor wasn't as punchy. The Fojols have been consciously remaining "under the radar" as they get their operation underway, but next week they're gonna get some "serious press", so lingering questions will soon be answered.

The Fojol Brother's hot truck came across my radar screen this week. Their website is ridiculous: http://fojol.com/ They seem to have jumped on the twitter food truck bandwagon (See: Kogi BBQ) and are serving an indian grab bag, including chicken masala, chicken curry, etc. The truck runs nightly from Thursday-Sunday and, based on their twitter feed, they roam from Glover Park to the U St corridor. I haven't been able to indulge in their "traveling culinary carnival", but am understandably curious. Anyone know anything?

I was there for lunch three years ago. The food was laughably terrible, a sort of Sysco cafeteria Greek.

The fried chicken at Commonwealth's sister restaurant, Hank's, is back on the menu on Sunday nights. Though I haven't had it since they took it off the menu in the fall, the plate they put out then came with three pieces of chicken and two you-pick-'em sides -- tasty and a great deal. No scotch eggs though.

I went to the new Sushi Taro last night. I'm still reeling from what my favorite neighborhood sushi restaurant has turned into -- so sleek, modern and spacious. They have cut the number of tables in half, doubled the prices and added a bar. My father remarked that Sushi Taro had "gone Komi" and, well, there's some truth in that. They offer two $75 tasting menus and one $65 tasting menu, each featuring a parade of small dishes. I believe that one focuses on sashimi, another sushi and another cooked items, but I am not certain of the breakout. The a la carte menu offers a limited selection of appetizers, nigiri and sashimi, but no maki. We ordered a variety of items from the a la carte menu, due to time constraints. The tasting menus are clearly the better option. The total cost for 3 of us, including tax/tip/$40 albarino was $250. It was tough to watch the table in front of us open the menu, chat quietly, tell the waitress that it was too expensive and walk out, but I understand. I'll probably need to find a new neighborhood sushi restaurant, too. Oh, the food was excellent. The grilled arctic char included a cut of fillet and a cut of belly, a nice comparison. Our sashimi came resting resting on banana leaves, over a bowl of ice to keep it cool, and both the toro and the hamachi were as good as I've had. All the presentations were lovely, and the waitstaff (all familiar faces) has clearly undergone extensive training I was terribly jealous of the plates whizzing by to those who had elected for the tasting menu. I can't wait to try it. I'm just sad that my neighborhood sushi restaurant, my once-a-week fish joint, has turned into a $100-a-pop special occasion place. They plan to open for lunch on thursday or friday, but I'm bracing myself for a $25 bento box. Alex

According to a guy shuttling boxes of dishware into the restaurant, Sushi Taro will open tonight. They've been closed for several months due to renovations. Alex

Looks like Mocha Hut is getting taken over by new management. http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stor...16/daily37.html

Yes, I think the city has spent 20 years pushing for everyone to start calling the area between Dupont and the Farraguts, and extending a few blocks up K St, the "Golden Triangle". Their latest efforts include yellow-jacketed "Golden Triangle Ambassadors" lingering around metro stations and the above-mentioned signs. They'd have far more success if they simply ramped up the opium production. I find myself describing the area at 19th & I as "near the World Bank" or "across K St" or "near Farragut West." I've also been hearing that area around L/M/19th referred to as "Midtown", but I'm not sure how far that extends and, well, the only midtown in my world is a three hour train ride north. In an effort to keep this on topic, let me add that the Elephant & Castle downtown hosts a mediocre trivia night and I second (third? fourth?) the notion that the establishment should be avoided.

I ate here for the first time last night and it was better than any thai food I've had in DC. The tastes were bright and simple -- every component, every flavor was identifiable. The soups, in particular, were excellent. I was surprised to enjoy the salmon in red curry, because it's just not a dish I've seen done well at other places. I did find the duck a little fatty, and it probably could have used a little more time/heat to render that out. Still, I can't wait to eat through the menu. For the uninitiated (me), Taw appears to be the soup nazi of thai chefs. Two women had walked in just before me, without calling ahead, intending to dine in the minuscule sitting area cum dining room. They were told it'd be 30-40 minutes before they were served, even though they were the only people in the place. Then, when they tried to order a dish "mild", were informed that all dishes came with whatever amount of heat the chef deemed appropriate. My advice is to order well in advance, let Taw do what he does, and expect about 1:20 between the time you order and the time you walk away with your food. In related news, the new location is set to open "around Christmas" according to the woman who bagged up my order. The original location will remain open as a takeout (as mentioned upthread). Sadly, I was not given any details on the status of the Taw cloning effort. Alex

From sitting in the bar upstairs watching basketball and drinking longnecks to birthday dinners downstairs to nights that have gotten a little too late, Mark & Orlando's has treated me very well. Yes, the bar food upstairs is under-recognized (burger included!), but the real charm of the place for me is that Mark makes such a damn fine host. They're also very involved in various Dupont neighborhood committees and advisory boards, which gives them good neighbor points, at least in my book. Alex