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Genevieve

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Everything posted by Genevieve

  1. Genevieve
    Had an excellent meal at our celebratory dinner, with very good service. Three of us arrived first, and they seated us without us asking to be seated. Steak was delicious as always (I had a taste of others'). I had the scampi for the first time, and they were really delicious - that's what I'll get in future rather than the scallops (which are good, but I liked these more).
  2. Genevieve
    Last time we went to a show at the National, we ate at Pinea in the W Hotel beforehand, and had an excellent meal.
  3. Genevieve
    I really like Ice Cream Jubilee, and it will be an excellent addition to Ballston. The Coconut Lychee Lime, Thai Iced Tea, and Banana Bourbon Caramel are very good, and I love the smell that comes from their fresh-made waffle cones.
  4. Genevieve
    We're going tomorrow for a belated birthday celebration. Hopefully will be as good as always!
  5. Genevieve
    We still miss them in the Clarendon location, where we went weekly when my kiddo was little. Great family restaurant. We've been a few times in Falls Church and still like it very much. Good fresh fish, good service, nice vibe.
  6. Genevieve
    We were big fans and will really miss them (and will seek out their new location, hoping they won't go too far). They had interesting flavors (lucuma!) and good variety. On warm evenings, there were always happy people outside the shop eating gelato, including folks on benches and children in child-size chairs Boccato had out there. Always put me in a good mood walking by (and getting gelato there was a favorite way to end an evening). They were good neighbors to the neighborhood, too.
  7. Genevieve
    My issue isn't that he refused to seat the second party until they were all there, it's that he kicked them out of the restaurant. They had a reservation. He disagreed with them about a policy, and he was within his rights to do so (I imagine he was regretting having made the exception for the first party when it led to this). If he'd just done that, I wouldn't have a major issue, even though he'd made an exception for one party and not the other. But then telling them he wasn't going to honor their reservation seems like a big and unwarranted escalation. They'd planned and made a reservation, had people arriving there to meet them, and now they had to go find someplace else on no notice. We will still go there sometimes, and I appreciate having such a great steak place so near, but I'm worried that if one of my party gets frustrated about something before we're seated, that we could get kicked out when we'd planned a celebration. Edit: I agree that the customer was pressing the host when he'd already said no. That must have been annoying for the host. But I'm sure customers do and say annoying things while waiting, and part of customer service is being patient and diffusing that kind of thing ("I understand that you're frustrated, and I'm sorry that I can't seat you yet. I made an exception which I really shouldn't have, and I can't let it become a change in policy for everyone. As soon as your party is here I will seat you.") Not kicking people out who have a reservation. Edit #2: Customer service is really really difficult and I don't have to do it in my daily life. I feel badly when I see customers treating waitstaff or hosts (or retail workers, etc.) rudely or blaming them for policies they don't have control over. I make a strong effort to treat waitstaff/hosts/retail workers with courtesy and I know it must be extremely frustrating for them when customers don't do that. In this case, I would likely have asked to be seated (since an exception had been made), would not have pressed the point as far as this customer, but would have been annoyed at the inconsistency. However, I could have people in my party who would be more upset about the inconsistency and would have pressed this far (though they would not have raised their voices, and this customer said that she did not do that either). And I agree on the lateness. Last night we went out for a belated Mothers' Day celebration, and I arrived on time but the rest of my party missed a train and arrived a full half-hour late. After 15 minutes of waiting at the table by myself with a drink and reading the menu, I went to the host stand and said that my party was late and was still going to be a while, and asked if he needed the table. He said no, they were fine, but he appreciated me asking.
  8. Genevieve
    I hear you, and I usually don't make my decisions based on one data point, but this was a pretty extreme one. I'm just potentially reconsidering it for a specific celebration where I would not want a damper put on it by this kind of behavior by the host. Not for all time. It is one of my son's favorite places, so we may still go. Edit: I just hope Michael Landrum takes action so this doesn't happen again.
  9. Genevieve
    Wow. I feel like Michael Landrum would want to know about this interaction. That is not the hospitality that Ray's has shown over the last how-ever-many years it's been in this location, and it does not sound acceptable. Did your friend email the restaurant to describe this? (I understand if she didn't, since she may have figured that she'd never go back there if she'd been treated like that - an offer of something like a free meal might not be that welcome if she had to face that same host.) This is one of our go-to celebration spots, and I thought we would likely take our son there to celebrate his graduation next month. But not if I have to worry that we'll make a reservation and then be kicked out if the host feels we're "getting frustrated" by treating his different groups differently, and/or doesn't like an expression on someone's face. Edit: I can picture a host being frustrated that he'd made a change in policy for one party and now regretting it. But taking it out on a customer who wasn't being disruptive or raising her voice when she asked for the same change in policy, and immediately jumping to 'I don't have to seat you...I can refuse you service...I am not going to seat you tonight" is a huge escalation, and sounds completely unwarranted and a far worse precedent to set.
  10. Genevieve
    Has anyone been since last summer? Restaurant Eve's closing reminded me that this is a Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong venture and I should go. We're going to Chloe (first time!) for belated Mother's Day dinner tomorrow, but Hummingbird should be on my radar for the next occasion (or just nice meal out).
  11. Genevieve
    How long has Tracy O'Grady been at 1789? I've been there once long ago and wasn't especially interested in going back, but my whole family loved Willow and we miss it, so I'd definitely go there for O'Grady's cooking.
  12. Genevieve
    I had the eggplant sandwich and it was extremely good and very filling. The condiments were very bright tasting. I thought when I ordered it that I would try it this once, and then go back to my cauliflower or mushroom pitas in future, but it was so good that I will probably alternate.
  13. Genevieve
    I don't stand in long lines for restaurants and I wouldn't stand during an entire meal, either.
  14. Genevieve
    That makes me very happy!! I will be delighted to have lunches at Chaia during the week. Everything there is so delicious.
  15. Genevieve
    That looks and sounds so good!! Will definitely go there when we go to the ballpark. Hoping it's so successful that they also open one in Penn Quarter/Gallery Place/Metro Center and/or Rosslyn/Courthouse/Clarendon/Virginia Square.
  16. Genevieve
    I believe they made the filling on the grill and put it in the wrap - not sure if the wrap itself was heated (I did takeout so I ate it a few minutes later). The filling was nice and warm. I just don't remember if the outer wrap was also warm. It wasn't out-of-the-fridge cold, but could have been either warm or room temp. My only minor issue with the sandwich is that the avocado was mostly in the top part that I ate (the center of the wrap, sliced in two), and I would have liked it all the way through. No biggie.
  17. Genevieve
    Definitely interested in trying a Taco Bamba in DC! I think it's a bit of a stretch to call 7th and I Penn Quarter, isn't it? I'd just call it Gallery Place, but I may be defining Penn Quarter too narrowly. Either way, I'll try to get there soon.
  18. Genevieve
    I had the special with eggs, potatoes, cheese, avocado, crystal sauce in a whole wheat wrap yesterday. Excellent combo.
  19. Genevieve
    I have a cousin in a band called Sababa that plays "cool Jewish music." Restaurant sounds intriguing and I will have to bring him there if he's in town.
  20. Genevieve
    Ooh, will have to go there with my husband. He misses casual little Italian joints in RI and MA.
  21. Genevieve
    I had the Southwestern Breakfast Burrito (available all day) for dinner the other night and it was delicious. Eggs, home fries, provolone cheese, red peppers, onions (I substituted mushrooms), and chipotle ketchup. Will definitely get that again.
  22. Genevieve
    Thank you, we will follow this advice!
  23. Genevieve
    We're going to do Fogo - thanks!
  24. Genevieve
    Also, Serious Eats has a number of pressure cooker recipes that sound appealing, but I haven't tried yet. They do seem to be more complicated that our quick weeknight meals. I'd like to try their pho ga. http://www.seriouseats.com/2017/03/pressure-cooker-recipes.html
  25. Genevieve
    My son's favorite is this one, which I freely admit is not the healthiest thing we cook. I have modified it lately by adding a little rice vinegar and a little toasted sesame oil, but I'm sure the amount of ketchup could be cut down, or tomato paste could be used. 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic (we use bottled chopped garlic)3/4 cup soy sauce3/4 cup ketchup3/4 cup honey2 tablespoons cornstarch2 tablespoons water1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (optional)DirectionsAdd garlic, sauce, soy sauce, ketchup and honey to pressure cooking pot. Stir to combine. Add chicken to the pot. Cover pot and lock lid in place.Select High Pressure and 9 minutes cook time. (It will take about 10 minutes to reach high pressure.)After 9 minutes cook time, turn off pressure cooker and use a quick pressure release.In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water. Add cornstarch mixture to the sauce in the pot stirring constantly. Select Simmer and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. After sauce thickens, add fresh basil to the sauce.Serve over rice. As discussed in a previous post, for this and the previous recipe, we've found that using the Poultry setting instead of Manual has been better - when we were using Manual, some of the chicken would stick and burn. This might be because of the honey in the recipes? Hugh Acheson has an IP cookbook which I will get from the library when my number comes up on the waitlist. We made hard-boiled eggs in it this weekend and they peeled much more easily than when we make them on the stovetop. I have a number of recipes we haven't tried yet (including something for wild rice that supposedly gets creamy like risotto?).
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