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DPop

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Everything posted by DPop

  1. DPop
    The idea here is to stay basic; the salads are excellent (great dijon vinaigrette), the short ribs were better IMO than the ones at Central, and the wine list is easy for the average person to sift through as it had a lot of American names that one would recognize as good (Ridge, Shafer, Argyle, etc). Tasting the food, I could definitely see how you could come away disappointed if you ordered a ribeye or filet as I feel like a lot of what you would get here would be better elsewhere (like right down the street at Ray's or in Georgetown). However, a tasty scallop app, salad, a couple sides, the short ribs, and a nice bottle of the Ridge zin for $110 was certainly something I would look forward to coming back for. Also, the service was wonderful and the environment does a very good job of finding the area between 'too casual' and 'too snooty'.
  2. DPop
    I swear this shopping center is cursed, so I wish them the best. I called the number and they said that they would be opening some time next week and serving a variety of different Mediterranean items along with pizza. As lizzie mentioned, parking is always an issue here, but if this place is even halfway decent, I could see them doing all right as there are no real decent dining options in the immediate area outside of Restaurant Vero.
  3. DPop
    If "amateur" is your current level of performance, please keep it up until at least next Monday when I come in with a few friends. Nothing needs changing, from my standpoint, especially not that lentil soup .
  4. DPop
    Did you get your picture taken and/or an autograph with this titan of the DC food scene?? I'm sure it was hard to even catch a glimpse of him through the swarm of young ladies surrounding him....
  5. DPop
    Finally made my way to Liberty Tavern last night for an early dinner. I was happy that we got there when we did, as HH ends very early (6:30) and I was able to order a very good glass of Nine Stones Hilltop Shiraz, which was a bargain at the HH price ($4.50). The wifey got herself a surprisingly strong Industrial Marguerita, which was way too sweet for me but she loved it and was very buzzed by the time the ice cubes were poking above the liquid. To start, we ordered the Little Tavern Salad and the Fritto Misto. I'll say now that the salad was our favorite dish of the entire night, as it was well dressed and very fresh. The Fritto Misto was hit and miss, with the haddock and calamari varying between the perfect firmness and crunch on some pieces to a soft, soggy feel on others. Also, the fennel does not work for me here. The accompanying creamy dip was good enough that we asked for another bowl to dip our pizza crust into later, though. For our mains, we ordered the Americano (grilled chicken, smoked cheddar, mozz, tomatoes, arugula), which sounds better than it tasted. The cheddar just seemed out of place and my high hopes for the arugula were quickly dashed as it added too much bite to the pie. I love arugula salads, so much so that we even picked off the warm leaves and ate those separately with a fork, but I thought they were all wrong for this particular dish. The crust was very good, however, and we still got through the whole pizza with the help of the Fritto Misto dip (which I firmly believe could make anything edible if enough is applied to it). We also got a half order of the Gnocchi, which was well plated and very good aside from the presence of the butternut squash, which I never seem to understand as part of this or other pasta dishes that are otherwise salty and oily. I understand the contrast, but when I'm having a salty and/or creamy pasta dish, I just do not feel that anything sweet needs to be added to enhance the flavor, the pasta and accompanying sauce should cover that. Again, I like butternut squash by itself, so I pushed that aside and ate what turned into a gnocchi dish that I enjoyed, with the healthy chanterelles being the star of the show. For dessert, we chose the recommendation of one of the servers and regretted it after the first bite. The Cinnamon and Sugar Krullers with Amaretto Brown Butter Ice Cream were dry and only carried a faint taste of cinnamon, with the overly firm dough dominating the rest. The krullers were only edible for me when covered with a scoop of the ice cream, which came in a tiny cup and was not enough to cover both of the donuts, so we wound up leaving them and wondering if that Boston Cream Pie was as good as it sounded. Overall, I thought it is a nice restaurant that served fresh, well prepared ingredients, but I can't help but be a little disappointed that our favorite dish was the tiny, simple side salad that we ordered as an appetizer. It sounds like the cod fritters and chicken should be on my list of dishes next time, as everything that we had was pretty good, but nothing I would come back to on future visits. Also, it's hard to justify hitting this place for HH when I can go down the street for comparable deals and 1.5 more hours of discounted food and drinks at Eleventh. ETA For full disclosure, the experience was tainted by the incredibly agitating couple sitting next to us, who argued throughout the entire meal, cursing at each other and basically having a public breakup at their table. I understand that that kind of thing happens, but it was annoying to hear F-bombs and the like for a full hour and a half while I was trying to eat.
  6. DPop
    My coworkers are all asking me why I'm drooling on my desk while staring dreamily at my screen. All I could get out was "...lentil soup....fried....chicken....". None of them have ever been to Ray's, making my joy impossible to fully explain to them. Michael, you are my hero.
  7. DPop
    I can't tell if that is one hell of a condemnation of the service in Chicago or that you have just had much better experiences with servers in DC than I (and apparently many others).
  8. DPop
    I can't understand that move. Going from one chef who never truly caught his stride for 3 years to another who missed at a different place for the last year? And this one doesn't even specialize in the type of fare you are offering??
  9. DPop
    I had different dishes, but this pretty much sums up my two experiences at Portabellos. Food seems ambitious and sounds quite interesting, but it has not lived up to the descriptions on the menu. The nice part about Portobellos is the service and the neighborhood atmosphere, which I appreciate and respect. I think if they can ramp up the food quality and maybe lower some of the prices on a couple of the dishes ($12 for a salad with a couple strips of chicken and a small lump of brie and $10 for a small plate of fried calamari is not something that is going to bring me back), I think this will be a fine restaurant on the perimeter of the Ballston/Virginia Square area.
  10. DPop
    Which muscle was it? Biceps? Triceps? Glutes??
  11. DPop
    I thought it was pretty cool. I got there briefly after 6 and there was already a line to the door at the bar of people waiting. It was pretty cool to see such a response to Harr's invitation (which I will caveat was very generous and creative), even if it was a little annoying to wait in a long line in front of small bar with servers bumping their way past you every few seconds. When we finally got to the front of the line, Harr said hi and asked where we had heard about the event. I told him DR.com and with a chuckle, he asked "What did you think of what he said?" I didn't know how to take this, it was hard to tell whether he was bitter or just laughing it off, but it took me by surprise and I came out with "Well, he said they were good, so we'll see....." I didn't think it was worth discussing with him as there was a long line behind me and he might have been sore about it, so I took my ribs and strolled to an open spot on the floor. The verdict: Good. Not the best I've had, but still a worthwhile dish (and a great free one ). I thought that the ribs were tender and easy to pull apart, but I thought the accompanying gravy was a little overpowering, not letting me get much of a taste for the actual meat. The grits were a little creamier than I typically prefer, but that is just me and I thought the flavor was very nice. The carrot was actually my favorite part of the dish, with a slight butter taste and cooked to a perfect soft crunch. I don't think I would go back for the short ribs specifically, but I think I will be back to give the place a try to see what else Harr has to offer.
  12. DPop
    Outstanding post. This might just prompt me to break my no-fine-dining-until-after-Thanksgiving resolution to head to 2941 for an orgstastiffism.
  13. DPop
    Anyone have a URL? A copy of the menu? Are they open for lunch?
  14. DPop
    The good news is that they are certainly not feeling the effects of his departure yet. We went last night and had a great happy hour meal and a couple drinks for $50 not including tip, which was a hell of a deal considering the quality of the food we got. We started with the Burrata Buffalo, which was a creamy, salty treat that was nice prep for our pizzas. She got the chicken and broccoli and I got the pesto with roasted chicken (she does not eat pork, so I got something I could share with her). While I love the porcine on my pizza, I did not leave regretting that I did not get any last night. The chicken was flavorful and generous, liberally spread around the pie and meshing perfectly with the ingredients on the pizza (mozz, pesto, cherry tomatoes, ricotta, and parm) and giving me a more flavorful pie than any of the non-meat versions that I have gotten at 2Amys. Also, this is my favorite crust of any of the places that I have been to (haven't tried Comet yet). A little salty, a little sweet, nice and crisp with a small soft spot in the middle, and just thick enough not to have the texture of a cracker. Hers was an interesting pie, although not quite as flavorful as mine, and the broccoli was really not needed on the pizza. Either way, they were both well cooked, and with the happy hour special of getting a cheese pie or a panzarotti for 1/2 off along with $3 house wines and $1 off drafts and rails. The location and lack of parking might keep me from becoming a regular here, but the quality of the pies will make sure that I make it back at least every so often. I love 2Amy's pork, but overall, I think this is a better pizza.
  15. DPop
    Got takeout from Thai Square yesterday and have to say that I was quite impressed. I think this place is right up there with 1Gen, which is one of my go-to places. Sun-dried beef was great, perfect appetizer-type food that I haven't seen other places. Must order dish if you like beef. Shrimp tom yum was the only disappointment of the meal, it was a little too oily for my taste, leaving a film in my mouth and taking away from some of the nice flavors in the soup. Chicken pad see ew was very good, not oily at all and in competition with the version at 1Gen, which I look at as the Gold Standard for my favorite Thai dish. Love the little bits of egg. And finally, the star of the show, the crispy honey duck with basil. Enough has been said about it above, it has the perfect sweet/spicy balance and the duck is just so tasty. Another must order dish if you come here. I think I saw Dean when I was in there eating a noodle dish and some sort of shredded meat which looked great (what was that, Dean?). I'm surprised I have not been here yet and I can't wait to get back, this is the perfect place to go to before a show at the C&D House.
  16. DPop
    Great call to keep it open until 8PM in the near future, but are there any thoughts on opening earlier for breakfast? I'm not complaining, 8AM seems more than reasonable, but there is a significant amount of people hopping on that metro between 6:30 and 8:00 that would probably love the idea of grabbing a croissant to take with them to work. Or, maybe that's just me....
  17. DPop
    I find it to be like walking past a backyard where someone is barbecuing. The scent is almost begging you to go in and grab the first piece of meat that you see.
  18. DPop
    After having been here a couple times now, my recommendation is to stick to the basics; cod, chips, chicken bites, and the fried candy bars and dough balls. I thought the prawns were very disappointing (too much batter, not enough prawn) and the ray, while good, did not measure up to the glory that is the cod. Also, if you enjoy curry, be sure to give that sauce a try, along with the hot chili and the one with capers and olives, which was quite good. Oh, and don't forget the Guinness and/or Harp's ETA: Haven't tried the grouper or the battered sausage or burgers yet, though.
  19. DPop
    I've passed you several times and like the idea you are presenting. Looks like I'll have to give it a try some time this week!
  20. DPop
    The slow-cooked pork panini is exactly what I'm looking for at lunch. Tasty, filling, and no more expensive than the crap down the street at McCormick's. The wine by the glass list is also outstanding, with winners in the Shiraz, Bordeaux, and Cabernet, with the only disappointment coming in the form of a dull Burgundy, which was promptly replaced at no charge. Great crowd and an awesome space, including the picture above the urinal closest to the door. That might be the most impressive thing I've seen all week.
  21. DPop
    I am not a transplant from any of the places you listed and have probably spent less time in Chicago than you or jpschust. I am just a firm believer that the Italian Store benefits from the fact that you cannot get a good Italian sub in the area and their average version is the closest people can get to what they have tasted in Philly, Jersey, NYC, etc. I agree with you that it is a matter of opinion, but my opinion is that getting a sandwich on a soft roll that tastes no better than what comes out of the Harris Teeter bakery with prosciutto so dry that upon biting into it the whole slice of meat comes out of the sandwich because I could not tear cleanly through it is not something I will miss when I move to a different area of the country. To each his own, though. Also, what category are you talking about? I was just talking about good sandwiches/delis in general, but I'm assuming that you are breaking it down even further to Italian-style subs. If that is the case, I would suggest Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company. Like I mentioned, I haven't spent a great deal of time in Chicago so I have not tried a lot of Italian delis there, but I would have to think that in a city with so many Italian food stores and restaurants that there would be plenty of other options. I may be wrong about that, though.
  22. DPop
    Chicago has significantly better sandwiches/deli meat as well. Go to Jerry's, Manny's, Perry's, or just go to Hot Doug's and get some exotic meat on a sub roll with duck fat fries on the side. All of these places offer better sandwiches than anything I have ever gotten at the Italian Store.
  23. DPop
    Why does this always seem to happen? I find that no matter where I am, if someone orders a reuben at my table I feel the need to trade plates with them. Such an underrated sandwich.
  24. DPop
    Did they ever actually have the beer that you selected? If so, you were luckier in your experiences than myself....
  25. DPop
    Couldn't agree more. Every time I have been I have wondered what the fuss was all about; for $20, shouldn't I be getting a 12" pizza that is outstanding rather than "good toppings, pretty good sauce, AWFUL crust"??? For the price, I'll go to 2Amy's, Comet, AF, Vace, Italian Store, or Bebo before I consider Paradiso. Shit, I think I would be happier paying $5 less for a Papa John's pizza that is much bigger and only slightly lower in terms of quality in my opinion.
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