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DPop

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Everything posted by DPop

  1. DPop
    I ate there last night and I agree with Rocks, this is the best Thai food in the area not coming out of Little Serow. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for properly prepared Chinese broccoli, and both dishes I tried last night (Pad See Ew and Kana Moo Krob) were loaded with delicious, mustardy chunks of it, but overall the preparation, quality, and overall ambiance are far superior to any Thai place I've been to recently.
  2. DPop
    Have a disappointing blind date recently, Don?
  3. DPop
    The Brisket Champ may very well be the best takeout sandwich in the District right now. Only caution is that you will need a nap 30 minutes after consuming it and a side of cumin fries.
  4. DPop
    Just prior to my dinner at the Grill Room last week, I read what DanielK, a poster who I enjoy and tend to agree with, had to say about his experience. I have to say, I was a bit surprised by some of the things he had to say regarding his dinner, particularly the piece about Grill Room not delivering considering the price point. The majority of the individual dish reviews seemed positive, so how could he come away with an even somewhat disappointing feel for his meal? Maybe he was having a bad day or his expectations were too high? I didn't give it much thought until we were on our entree courses and I realized that I felt the exact same way about my meal as he did about his. In short, the Amish Rabbit en Porchetta and the Trio of Suckling Pig are every bit as good as described above. Clearly the work of a chef of Frank Ruta's caliber and reminiscent of some of the outstanding dishes I had at Palena over the years. I would order both of these again in a heartbeat. Shockingly, the Oxtail Consomme was the lowlight of our meal, and unfortunately the one we were most looking forward to when we were ordering. Maybe it was our mood, or maybe we were fondly remembering the Autumn Consomme from Palena, but this did not resonate at all with either of us (particularly my SO). Her feeling was that this was a punched up version of pho, with the slightly tough beef and floating julienned vegetables giving off a vibe of something you might find in a strip mall in Northern Virginia for $7 rather than $18 at a very posh hotel in Georgetown. I feel like it was the ingredients moreso that the execution on this dish, so it might be unfair to beat it up, but I really wish this had been better. The Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi was similar to the one DanielK had, with the addition of some very firm fava beans. I liked this dish, much like I did at Palena, but found the whole thing quite bland, especially if you didn't get one of the delicious little salt-bomb shimeji mushrooms in your bite. The fonduta and reggiano were very much underscored here, present to the eyes but not so much on the palate. "Well crafted, perfectly cooked, and a bit boring" would be my one sentence review of this dish. The Dover Sole was a miniscule dish, a barely 2 inch long piece of sole stuffed fairly liberally with cod and lobster. I didn't love the sauce as much as PoolBoy, finding the whole dish to be a bit understated and lacking in texture outside of the deliciously firm and plump oysters sitting in the bottom of the bowl. This was not bad but did not meet expectations based on what I read. 5 dishes between us and while we wouldn't say any of them were not good and certainly well executed, I don't think we had enough to justify the price tag (and we didn't even have wine). This would have been a great meal at the prices we were used to at Palena, but is maybe a bit too big of a pill for us to swallow when considering the now fantastic number of dining options we have in DC. I can certainly see us coming back at some point, but maybe early Fall for a nice meal on the patio and a fully settled kitchen churning out the spot-on food that they are capable of.
  5. DPop
    That dinner menu looks a bit uninspired considering the talent in the kitchen. Maybe starting slow and building up to something more exciting?
  6. DPop
    ......and Langhorne and Chang..... 2015 looks to be a big year for new dining destinations in the District.
  7. DPop
    Once the word gets out this place will be packed with the see-and-be-seen crowd. Beautiful dining room and patio and somehow the chicken is even better than I remember it. Really looking forward to a dinner here next month.
  8. DPop
    What???
  9. DPop
    Awful news. Such a nice guy.
  10. DPop
    For anyone who has enjoyed the HBO series The Wire, arguably the best American television series of all time, you'll remember the show for it's dark honesty and tremendous character development. One of the show's greatest characters, Marlo Stanfield, had several outstanding scenes in the last 2 seasons of the show, and perhaps the most famous is in the clip below (some harsh language in the clip below, although nothing worse than what you would see in a late night Rocks post that he deletes several hours later). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0K-tfJLiFE "My Name Is My Name." That phrase has stuck with me since I watched that episode. What Marlo not so elegantly stated rings true in all aspects of life for me, no matter what business you are in. Your reputation, your "name", should be something that everyone takes pride in and guards throughout their life, as once your name gets tarnished, it's hard to erase that memory from the people who know you and your work. Which is why I continue to be shocked that Bobby Flay, Michel Richard, Jose Andres and even pseuo celebrity chefs like Todd Gray seem so willing, even eager, to sully their names for a few dollars. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for these talented individuals profiting off of their hard work and achievements, but always within reason. In the case of the Watershed, it appears that Todd Gray, a chef whose talents I admire, has severed all ties with the restaurant except for one thing; his name. According to an employee of the restaurant that I spoke with the other night, Chef Gray has discontinued his direct association with this restaurant and has accepted a fee from the hotel/owners to keep his name on the front door. Now, I know that this is exactly a new practice, but I have to wonder if whatever the hotel is paying Chef Gray is worth having his name associated with the food I have had in my 3 visits here since I started working in the area 5 months ago. Each time I have been for lunch, so I can't speak to the offerings at dinner, but my colleagues who have dined here at night say that the dishes are of a consistent quality to what we ate at lunch. Which is to say, they are entirely mediocre. At my most recent experience, the Butternut Squash Soup was watery and did not taste like butternut squash. I wasn't sure if it was the excessive water in the soup or the spicing, but I was actually more focused on trying to decipher what the taste of the liquid in the bowl was rather than extracting any sort of enjoyment out of eating it. Things did not improve with the arrival of the Steak Salad, which was ordered MR and arrived somewhere between M and MW. One can't expect much when ordering this dish unless you are at a steakhouse, but it's also safe in that it takes effort for kitchen professionals to mess up something so simple. They managed it here, clearly putting the warm steak onto the lettuce before giving it sufficient time to cool, wilting the lettuce beneath and killing any sort of enthusiasm I had for enjoying my lunch. NoMA continues to be underserved considering the number of people living and working in the area. Todd Gray and Watershed had the potential to be the one place in this neighborhood where one could go for a moderately upscale sit-down meal to break up the trips to Five Guys and Roti, but if he really has parted ways (almost) completely with the hotel, I don't see this being the answer for people who frequently find themselves down here.
  11. DPop
    Unfortunately, the noise is still an issue, or at least it was on Saturday night at 9 when my wife and I stopped in to dine. It wasn't as bad as Le Diplomate or Two Amys at its peak, but it's not a quiet relaxing dinner. That said, Massimo was in the kitchen on Saturday, and much to our delight, Jon (former Tosca bartender) has come along with him to work the bar and floor. While in many ways, it still felt like the Posto of old (packed to the gills, loud, somewhat slow service), Jon helped bridge some of the issues on the floor by stopping in to see us and the tables in our vicinity and Massimo has definitely turned around the pasta menu from what we had experienced previously. Don't come here expecting Tosca Part Deux, though. There are no pasta dishes featuring uni and caviar, or lobster risottos, or even carrot pappardelle. The pasta menu here fits what I think was the initial concept of this restaurant; approachable, simple ingredients executed by a deft hand. Only now, unlike 5 years ago, there is a deft hand in the kitchen. The Pappardelle (tomato sauce, pecorino cheese, carmelized onions, house-cured pancetta) was not going to knock anyone's socks off. The flavors in this dish are very familiar, but for me this is not always a bad thing as some of the best pastas I had in Italy two summers back were simple with great ingredients and execution. While I wouldn't say this dish was "great", it was certainly better than anything I had in my prior visits to Posto. The pasta special of the night, a Tagliatelle with Rabbit Ragu was much more Fabbri and certainly to my taste. The ragu was light and subtle, only slightly buttery with the well seasoned rabbit packing an herbaceous kick to wake up the dish a bit. A really nice winter dish that wouldn't weigh one down, this would be the one thing I would recommend to someone (if they still had it) heading to Posto. All in all, this was a nice value ($85 after tax, tip, and corkage), especially when you consider that you can get half orders of any of the pastas for $10-12 like at Tosca. I think they will continue to pack this house with the weekend 14th Street crowd, but if the kitchen continues to trend positively, I can see myself becoming a weekday regular.
  12. DPop
    Huge news for Posto, this puts them squarely back on my radar. Massimo is a fantastic cook.
  13. DPop
    Based on my 3 visits, I think that comment is dead on. I had the fried chicken the first 2 times and just loved the dish despite it being very expensive for a 3 piece chicken dish with a biscuit. I had the Chicken Pot Pie Fritters and the Hamburg today and they were both dry and disappointing. At these prices there are simply too many good lunch options within a .5 mile radius to justify going here unless it's for a quick fried chicken lunch.
  14. DPop
    What??? This place was always full slinging what I would think would be big moneymakers (beer at $6-9 a glass and wings around $1 apiece).
  15. DPop
    If there is a better rendition of Chicken-Fried Steak than the one on the Gypsy Soul brunch menu, please direct me to where I can get it. Thanks. Also, Bay Crab mac & cheese. For God's sakes get a side of that when you go.
  16. DPop
    White truffle risotto and free corkage? Sign me up. See you on Sunday, Dean.
  17. DPop
    Had a nice lunch here today. I wasn't as impressed with the space as others, I found everything to be a bit cramped in the dining area, making it challenging to have a private business conversation. Also, not a fan at all of all the signed chef plates and Boulod-aganda covering the walls, it comes across as kitschy and a bit lazy TBH. Thankfully they can make a mean sausage and do not have to rely on the decor to please the diners. I went safe and ordered the Sausage Duo, opting for the Boudon Blanc (pork, apples, mashed potatoes, pork jus) and the Vermont (pork and cheddar, hash browns, red onion creme fraiche). The Vermont was pleasing in the way that something with pork, cheese, and fried potatoes tends to be. It was a nice sausage and would satisfy pretty much any palette, although I thought that the creme fraiche was unnecessary and a bit distracting. The Boudin Blanc, however, was worth coming back for. I knew as soon as my knife sliced easily through the plump link that I would be in a for a treat. Texturely perfect and porky in flavor, this should be one of the sausages you order if you get the duo. One of my dining companions got the Beaujolaise (pork, mushrooms, onion, bacon & red wine link, with lentils du puy), which he loved and would probably be something I would give a try at the next lunch. Service was extremely attentive, maybe a bit more than one would like at a meeting, but that is a minor quibble. This place will do well if they keep the focus on sausages and other upscale pub food (which was the majority of the menu today). This is NOT, however, an upscale dining experience, even if some of the entree prices on the menu might suggest such. DBGB is what they advertise it to be; French brasserie meets American tavern. Do not expect to be wowed by the food, you will be disappointed as they are not putting out anything that you haven't either seen before or that is going to change the way you feel about a dish or ingredient. Go expecting a really good, straightforward link of pork or hamburger (which you will eat approximately 6 inches from diner seated at the table next to you).
  18. DPop
    I see it's no longer on the menu, but if next time you visit Fiola Mare they have the Gnocchi (Foie Gras Reduction, Chanterelles, Shaved Black Truffles), ignore the preposterous price tag ($50!) and treat yourself to one of the better pasta dishes you will ever eat. Based on the description I was worried that it was going to be a bit too much of a good thing(s), but Fabio pulls this dish off with finesse and grace.
  19. DPop
    I don't typically love these types of dishes, as they tend to be a little sticky and cloying (which is how I found the Crispy Shredded Beef, just too sweet for my palate). This dish is a garlic lovers dream, as it burns right through that sweet tastes really sings with a bit of chili oil dumped on top.
  20. DPop
    +1 on the Insalata Forte. Refreshing and light but still full of flavor. I could eat that salad once a week and never get sick of it. On that note, does anyone know a local store or farmers market where one could procure Path Valley Farms products? Everything else ranged from 'fine' to 'very good' last night. Wine Madness is also a great deal. I see myself spending many Sunday and Monday nights here in the future.
  21. DPop
    Any word on a free corkage night potentially making an appearance at the Grotto?
  22. DPop
    Ray's Retro. Say what you want about this shrinking franchise (empire?), the Bistro Special at $23.99 for a bowl of the incredible crab bisque and a hangar steak is still one of the best deals you will find anywhere. Wine prices are up, but probably around where they should be after years of being so low.
  23. DPop
    I saw the Carman piece and knew the secret would be out on my favorite neighborhood spot. It was fun while it lasted......
  24. DPop
    It's definitely darker, but I didn't find that it was chewier than Two Amy's (although I admittedly have not been there in years). It had a lot of character, was not oversalted unlike some of the upscale pizza places in the area. It was very much to my personal taste.
  25. DPop
    Don has been on his soapbox for several months about Ghibellina (and rightfully so), but I'm not so sure that it has the best pizza within a .25 mile radius. I've been to Etto 3 times now and feel safe saying that it's my favorite pizza in DC, which isn't a slight towards Jonathan and the fantastic work he has done at Ghibellina, or even the folks at Il Canale and Menomale. It might just be that Etto reminds me of the great pizzas I had at Two Amy's several years back before their issues with wet pizza started to crop up. Peter Pastan has figured out a way to move some of that early magic to a small spot (with a lovely patio) right into the heart of 14th Street, and I'm better off being able to choose from two excellent places only a block away from each other. I've tried several pizzas, including the Cotecchino mentioned above, and have loved them all, but none more than the Calabrese (tomato sauce, basil, red onion, spicy salami) I had the other night. I think I feel a bit differently that some regarding char on a pizza, so maybe I'm in the minority, but I love that this crust captures so much of the smoke and blister from the wood burning oven. When you have high quality tomatoes, cheese, and charcuterie, it's hard to differentiate oneself in a pizza like this unless you nail the crust, and for me, Etto absolutely does. We also tried 3 small plates on our last visit, one coming highly recommended by both the bartender and waitstaff, whose exact name I forget but was absolutely wonderful and took me right back to my trip to Italy last summer. The dish consisted of bell peppers that had been soaking in olive oil and other herbs on the bar laid flat on a plate and liberally coated with a thicker version of the Tonnato sauce you get with a Vitello Tonato, and then covered with peppers to make a kind of sandwich. This was rich without being heavy, delicate without being bland, and just fantastic. If they have this dish the next time you go, do not pass it up just based on the description on the menu (which does it no justice), it is right up there with the best that Two Amy's ever produced in its day. I usually do not tout desserts, but I would recommend not stuffing yourself too much so you can have a few bites of the Etto of Chocolate Salami while you polish off your liter of '12 Ballard Canyon Syrah, a lovely "chunky monkey" that is Pastan's creation out of the New Vineland Winery and only available on tap at Etto and Two Amy's. I'm happy only having to wait 20 minutes for a table here at 8:30 on a Saturday night, but this restaurant deserves more attention from discerning diners.
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