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Waitman

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  1. Waitman
    Just trying to figure out a simple side dish to complement some fish mueniere that may or may not be occurring tonight. Sauteed spinach with garlic, and mashed potatoes seem obvious and are pretty tasty, but I thought I'd see what the resident culinary elite might recommend. I'm reserving mushrooms for another fish course later in the week, so they're out. And, did I say simple? It is Tuesday and I do get up at 4:30 these days, so long preps are out. Grazi.
  2. Waitman
    Kind of what I suspected ("semi-family style"). Interesting to hear about the counterpoint strategy, I will look for it next time. Our meal was described as -- and came out as -- a progression, from hot to mild and -- arguably -- from complex to simple. Thanks.
  3. Waitman
    I ate there the other day and I actually can't see any attempt to pace the meal based on the diner's pace. When you get two or three courses piled up on the table like commuters in a rush hour merge lane, that's generally a sign that things are coming out more quickly than they are being consumed, but is seems to slow service not at all. I think the default is semi-family style or, simply get-em-in, get-em-out. What the heck, It's not like the chairs are comfortable enough to lounge around in anyway. That being said, it was a very good dinner overall. I miss the country music. And I stand by my earlier comments that, while there is not-insignificant heat, it's not overwhelming (not like Nava Thai's Floating Island Soup back in the day, and that the flavor palate is a bit narrow (per Hungry Prof, perhaps the timing contributes to this). But it remains a good time and a good bargain.
  4. Waitman
    Anything we should know about, Don?
  5. Waitman
    Well, for all the good advice, my friend got roped into an obligatory work happy hour and we ended up just getting pizza from Pete's. Oh, well -- next time.
  6. Waitman
    Already consulted it (of course). But I do like to hear from the peeps. I feel like they're more likely to throw out something that catches my eye, than if I just go down the list. Dino is a definite maybe -- it's been far too long. I like Marvin, but after Wilco/Dylan last night, from the mosh pit, I think something less frenetic would be more to my taste.
  7. Waitman
    Good idea. But there's a movement towards rooftops, or at least sidewalk cafe. Otherwise this would be great (and still may be).
  8. Waitman
    Anyone have any experience with trying to get more than four people accommodated? I's been a while, and I can't recall if the room is laid out so that a deuce and a four-top could be moved together.
  9. Waitman
    Feel like wandering through the deliciously temperate summer evening that appears to be in the offing, starting in Adams-Morgan and ending up at a quiet-ish dinner at roughly the tablecloth-but-no-sommelier level of refinement. Something new-ish (at least to me) or nearly forgotton, thus eliminating Ripple and some other fine contenders. The Tabard might have been a thought but, while I have no dog in the current tussle, I do worry that the quality might have fallen. It nonetheless serves as a decent benchmark. A-M, Dupont, Foggy Bottom, Cleveland and/or Woodley Park, 14th/U. All suggestions respectfully considered. Thanks. (Don: might cab it over to the bar at CZ, thus my query).
  10. Waitman
    Apparently Ken Cuccinelli was a participant in today's discussion. Partners and suchAt the same time, some of your loyal readers do not support sodomy or its promotion, so perhaps you can stick to the food in your writings? A restaurant critic should not be part of the editorial page. Tom Sietsema : Yikes. I'm at a loss for words.
  11. Waitman
    Just a brief lunch at Má Pèche, so no major conclusions to draw. It's essentially a big, white, shoebox sunk into the midtown topsoil, cement walls softened by white canvas hanging like massive Elsworth Kelly works on three sides with a bar on the fourth. Cool music -- some old, some new -- hip servers in t-shirts and stubble, wooden tables. Very minimalist. I just had two dishes. The raw striped bass with soy, angelica, seaweed was strangely compelling, as though the angelica-spiked soy sauce favored the impeccable fish with some umami-laden sorcery. More minimalism, but with an aftertaste of extraordinary half-life. The Nieman Ranch hangar steak with rice and egg was pretty OK. I sent the first version back when it turned grey and the second stayed appropriately pink. By this time, the waiter -- who was initially gruff and maybe hungover, as it was a Monday lunch shift -- had warmed up and acted as my carnivorous advocate in this matter, in addition to pointing out some decent red by the glass in a proper Queens accent. For dessert, I grabbed tasty a slice of Candy Bar Pie -- toffee, nougat, a chocolate cookie crust and mini-pretzels -- at the Milk Bar in the hotel lobby. Hardly enough to make judgments, but it I had a bunch of rowdy friends who appreciated good food and Modest Mouse, I might be tempted to head back to the basement, knock back a few bottles and work my way back and forth through the menu. It might be a pretty good time.
  12. Waitman
    I can only assume that this is purest sarcasm.
  13. Waitman
    A fair question, but I gather from "They would not let us into the restaurant until 5:30," that someone affirmatively acted to say no. Also, the fact that someone was moved to write to Tom.
  14. Waitman
    I, on the other hand, assume that the hospitality industry would go out of their way to be, you know, hospitable -- particularly a place like Mintwood, which seems to have aspirations to rise above the run-of-the-mill. This is perhaps a challenging situation -- the last minutes before opening can be challenging for a restaurant. On the other hand, in exceptional weather, when dealing with people for whom one would expect exceptional courtesy as a matter of course, Mintwood's response seems a little low-rent. This reminds me somewhat of the whole "should restaurants have contracts" discussion, where much was made of the fact that airlines demand contracts and provide non-refundable tickets. Most transactions are purely economic, a simple swap of goods or services for payment. I don't expect much from my dry cleaner, the Giant, or United Airlines. Restaurants of a certain class, however, offer up the illusion (or, the reality) that you are someone special to them -- a "guest," not a mere "customer" -- and this feeling is a large part of what persuades you to spend in their establishment many times more money than you actually need to spend to get or make a decent meal. Not picking on Mintwood here, especially as there is almost always a second side to any story of this type. But I do think that any restaurant that traffics in image and service should be inclined to err on the side of courtesy. Just out of courtesy, of course, but also for the purely business consideration that grateful customers come back, and write very different notes to Tom.
  15. Waitman
    Really? In 30 years of showing up for reservations, my conscience, which can be very active -- though mostly because I give it so much to work with, not because it's so highly developed -- never once suggested to me that I show up early. It does nag me if I'm more than ten minutes late, but that's almost always due to matters far outside of its -- or my -- control. Have I missed something?
  16. Waitman
    Silver Queen is far from the sweetest on the market these days, it seems to me. It seems odd to think that there's one single way to cook corn to perfection. Among the ways we serve it is this (discovered and favored by Mrs.B. ) corn "pudding" with lime and cayenne (but no milk or eggs). we used 18 ears to cook for eight the other night, but the season is early so the yield is low. And grating corn is the perfect task for friends who ask "can I help?" but whose cooking skills are suspect.
  17. Waitman
    Thanks you for this. Like Monavano, I've enjoyed Toigo's in the past, but I seem to recall it as a late-season variety.
  18. Waitman
    We would have gone to Zenebach last night if they hadn't been full already, so we haven't given up hope. My assumption is that somebody's mom (who also may be an owner) is in the kitchen most nights but some nights she takes off (I'd avoid Sunday) and so the Aunt or a neighbor or somebody takes over. At this point, I'd hesitate to choose between the two, but Zenebach at it's best is probably the better.
  19. Waitman
    My fav spot, Zenebach, has been a little hit-or-miss lately. And, let's face it, the only reason people go to Etete is that it's the closest thing to a standard American restaurant in decor and service in Little Ethiopia -- the food there hasn't been exciting for a while, but your Aunt from Cincinnati won't be put off by random service strategies, suspect (to her eyes) sanitation, or a too-fiery wat. So we dropped randomly into Axum (1934 9th) for a snack last night. Didn't get much, just a vegetarian assortment for the young ladies and a spicy dried beef/injera preparation and a lamb wat for us manly men. Came away favorably impressed -- assertive but not ridiculous spicing marked by depth as well as heat, tasty vegetables and legumes, friendly service and an owner that cared enough to send me an extra gin and tonic and wave goodby. I won't get into ranking the place against other establishments, but I'd definitely drop in again. And the kids, who have consumed restaurant criticism and Ethiopian food since they were old enough to cram a fistful of injera into their gap-toothed mouths (since Zed's was the benchmark establishments, in the old location), came away enthusiastic, as well. Give it a shot.
  20. Waitman
    I thought we at Donrockwell.com violently rejected the notion that the Superstar Chef had to be in the kitchen, thus freeing Jose, Tommy K., Buben all those chefs from New York opening DC outposts etc. to run their own restaurant empires without quality falling off. Or maybe that was the old eGullet crew.
  21. Waitman
    So, dropped into the Richmond location the other day with a crew of post-adolescent degenerates and I confess, while I really liked the place -- better than anything I've had in DC in a while, even Joe's Noodle, where I'd eaten the night before -- I was un-transported. Scallion Bubble Pancake, Dry Fry Eggplant, Hot and Numbing Dried Beef, Bamboo Fish, Double Cooked Pork, a couple other dishes. All well-prepared, properly spiced, using fine ingredients and quite tasty. And yet, seemingly lacking the sort of exotic nuance I'd been led to expect. Is it me? Again, quite a good meal, but perhaps short of the hype.
  22. Waitman
    Great ideas -- given the limited time before dinner and the lack grape leaves at the local bodega, I worked along the lines of Banco's suggestions only the real "Indian" part of the spicing arose from a jar of Tandoori seasoning or something equally authentically sub-continental that I used as a dry rub. The sushi I was thinking of is Tomago sushi, though one place or another uses similar ingredients in futomaki, which is what I was picturing as I was typing. Ultimately, I sauteed some shallots, reduced a bunch of Jim Beam, pitted some (sweet cherries) and threw them in, added chicken stock, balsamic and brown sugar, and then cooked it until it tasted OK. The vegetarian got leftover white gazpacho. Pretty delish. Thanks, all.
  23. Waitman
    So, picked up some pork chops at the market yesterday and my friend said, "so, you can have B and me over for dinner tomorrow and serve them with the cherries." I was touched by her confidence but momentarily clueless regarding the pairing. I'd pictured something tomatilla salsa-ish, maybe a lime marinade, but whatever. So when I got back from practice this morning I noticed that my kid had left a bottle of Jim Beam lying around and so in the shower it occurred to me that reduced bourbon with cherries, brown sugar, maybe some chicken stock or fake balsamic and some brown sugar might be pretty tasty -- especially if there was some vaguely complementary rub to apply -- and (given my larder this week) pretentiously locavore-ish, not that it's that kind of crowd. And then, my second best idea of the day was to toss this out for tweaks, adjustments, heartfelt criticism or subtle variations and than take credit for any and all improvements you suggest, since no one eating tonight is on DR.com. Also, more complicated, one of the diners may be a communist vegetarian and I'm wondering if there's some egg thing-y that might match custardy with sweet like those weird sushi rolls you get sometimes. Maybe a savory baby souffle with shallots slow cooked to sweet and then the whole thing slathered with cherry/bourbon jam. I don't know. Maybe she can just eat the cheese course.
  24. Waitman
    Next time say hello! Is Ejeon the energetic guy with the modified Van Dyke beard? He's quite intense.
  25. Waitman
    I like Tom as a food critic -- though, less these days -- but that article was theft: some poor freelancer (or, half the people on this board) could have used the $500 (if I remember correctly) check and the byline to feed their friends and advance their career, and written a wildly more interesting and informative piece than this. There hasn't been so much yawn-inducing navel gazing in the Food Section since Joe Yonan compared his "coming out" as a vegetarian to coming out as gay.
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