crazeegirl

My wife really enjoyed the cucumber gazpacho, saying that it was very nicely balanced with acidity as well as salt.

I love this soup! It makes you forget the dreadful heat and appreciate it for providing you the forum to enjoy such a delightful soup!

This is going to be short because I am swamped at work... but I will elaborate later this week.

At Emmanuel and Fabio's courtesy, my husband and I dined at Maestro last Saturday. IT WAS BREATHTAKING...the food, wine service and table service. Fabio must have been reading our minds, as we were talking about the to-die-for foie gras at Regalade in Paris, Fabio presented a Fish (from Brittany) dish with foiegras...the evening was full of surprises, course after course. My favorite was the tuna crudo--a whimsical yet straighforward execution with different textures (lime, caviar, oysters and parsely foam) and salt. Fabio's lobster is better than Per Se's rendition.

Maestro is definitely next on our fav list after Tru in Chicago. As some of you may know, I had just an "okay" experience last time but clearly that was an off night. We are extremely sad that we hadn't tried the place again earlier than last weekend. We are rushing to make up an anniversary so that we can visit one last time before Fabio leaves.

How packed is Central these days? Will I have trouble dropping in for lunch at the bar?

I was there on Monday for lunch at 12:30 and was able to get a table without a reservation. The place was pretty packed but it wasn't as busy as it is during dinner hours.

Mark's recommendation re: corned beef was spot on!

Not sure how I missed this. Any one out there still interested in splitting a case?

I would love to split a case with you.

We then went on to have some of the tea sandwiches, a croque madame, and some mussels and herbed frites. The tea sandwiches were cute and pretty good (not soggy), the croque madame was very heavy on the ham and prosciutto (not necessarily a bad thing) and had 2 perfectly cooked over-easy eggs that oozed when cut into,

This place is now my go-to brunch spot. I love their grilled asparagus and frisee salad! YUM!!

I have been fortunate to have experienced a number of outstanding dinners over the years: Maestro is the equal of any restaurant I have ever been to anywhere. It is not just the best restaurant in the Washington area (sorry, Citronelle) but as good as any-anywhere. Maestro, today, is an extraordinary experience that one can experience without crossing an ocean or travelling to New York. For me, it is better than anything in New York.

I hesitated posting about my recent birthday dinner at Maestro as it was so not the experience you would have at the best restaurant in DC. We had the 5 course tasting menu...each described to be a suprise. As we had one person at our table that had dietary restrictions--no raw food, we advised him of that fact and that otherwise we were all game. Each course was good, well executed but just ok...I usually remember my dishes pretty well and now as I type, couple dishes that come to mind that were served were:

mozarella with 5 types of dipping sauces (the sauces were pureed root vegetables which did nothing to pick up the favor of mozarella) and luke-warm potato soup

gnocchi with grilled calamari

pork tenderloin with beef cheeks

some other dish

desserts (cheese from the cheese cart and some type of sorbet)

For the restaurant folks out there, when you have a tasting menu and one person has dietary restrictions, do you modify the menu and serve the entire table the same course or just modify certain dishes per restrictions for that one person?

Food aside, I think what bothered the table most was the service. Not to be picky, but the bread was tossed on each of our bread plates w/o being asked if we wanted bread, the food came out so fast that we had to ask them two times to please slow it down, we had no explanation of what was being served, etc.

We opted for the wine tasting and the best part of it was that their pours were extremely generous. One pet peeve was that I like to know what I am served to drink and whether I am going to get another wine for the next course...after my first course which was paired with a riesling...thirsty me finished the wine and had no wine to drink when the second course was served. When my +1 prompted our waiter about the fact that the birthday girl is without anything to drink, he said, oh, you were supposed to drink the first wine with this course too. URRRGGHH!~~ Another funny fact...the person with the dietary restriction asked whether the bar could fix her a non-alcholic drink and the response was, there is juice, orange, tomato or cranberry!

I will not cross out Maestro from my list of restaurants, but I hope that this was an way off night.

The "hostess" in question is actually the manager whose duties include expediting when necessary, presenting checks and running credit cards, clearing, resetting and reconfiguring tables, dealing with the occasional service issue or vituperatively insane guest, as well as running, planning the seating and seating the floor to accommodate the intense and challenging demands of a large crowd looking to be seated in a small restaurant.

I thought the way Danielle handled the crowd pushing through the doors, waiting to be seated, asking to be seated, checking in how much time it would be before they could get seated while resetting and seating the table was a work of a master conductor!

The Volnay 2004 and the Jordan were perfect way to bring closure to my otherwise madness week at work.

Anyone have any additional recommendations? I will be staying at the Ritz Carlton in Naples Florida third week of March with my in-laws and will be renting a car...my preference is to not venture too far, but will drive for good food despite Crazeeboy's no sense of direction.

I couldn't get through to Babbo to make reservations

If you are keen on going to Babbo, you should be able to snatch a spot at the bar if you get there when the restaurant opens. Most of my visit have been w/o reservations.

So onto plan B: It's between Po, Olives, English is Italian and Hearth.

I would take Olives and English is Italian off your list. They are both Todd English's chain empire. I haven't been impressed with either one. If you are keen on trying Olives, there is one on 16 & K Street.

Po and Hearth are both good choices!

SO excited!!! Got reservations at MASA on one try! The price tag is $400 before tip...it better be worth it. Has anyone been? Can I justify paying so much on a meal? I thought Per Se was pretty gluttonous, but this is sort of pushing it.

Django was once the hottest of the hot, but I have heard rumblings -- ownership changes etc. Not to say it's not still great (I haven't eaten there), just recommending due diligence. Some inconclusive back and forth here.

Django is not the same animal it was when it first opened. I would try other byobs mentioned here...or my favorite dive mediterranean place, Dmitri's on 3rd & Catherine. Crazeeboy and sis decided to drive up to Philly to eat at Dmitri's today for dinner, while I am stuck at work. My only consolation, they said they'll bring back left overs.

If you do go, get their baba ganouj and hummus (1/2 and 1/2) fried smelts, greek with greens, any whole grilled fish they have as their specials, scampi, appetizer portion of their fried calamari and grilled lamb and arrive early! Grilled oysters if they have it as a daily special.

Can you give a little more detail about the omakase? How much was it? How many courses were there? What was included? Thanks

I don't remember the exact $ amount...but it was in the range of $55 to 65. We had started off with grilled kunamoto oysters, sashimi assortment consisting of tuna cheek meat, toro, squid with squid guts, abalone and abalone guts, fatty yellow tail tuna, raw shrimp with scrambled (?) eggs, couple other daily specials, uni imported from japan and fried shrimp heads. We generally don't like to stuff ourselves with rice (more space for sashimi) so we requested that no sushi be served.

The picture attached is what was served for 2 people.

It is not the small course by course offering like Makoto or Kaz, but for those who want to go straight to the fish, it's a good deal!

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Omakase at Sushi Taro chased with 1.8L of sake...

Do try it at the sushi bar...although their a la carte can be medicore at times, I think that their omakase is best in town.

The fried oysters I had at the bar the other night were wonderful - the best I've had all year: crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Just what I wanted.

Agreed. The truffle french fries was the perfect accompanyment to the fried oysters. It was my first time since the summer and it seemed like the prices were hiked up considerably...is it just me?

Thank you for coming. I am sorry that the service was not consistent.

However, the owner was really concerned that you enjoyed the food.

The menu I posted earlier was not exactly the same as the food we had so I am correcting it.

-Fried dumplings

-Chicken/Veggie salad with Korean mustard sauce (special order for donrockwell members)

-Baitop shell (conch) /scallion with vinaigrette

-Bossam (fresh oyster, steamed bacon slab and kimchi stuffing with brined cabbage)

-stir-fried Octopus

-Kimchi and Pork stir-fried

-Soldier stew

-Kimchi and Dumpling stew

-Spicy noodle

-Watermelon

From my quick scroll through this DR outing, the emphasis was "spice," one should really try the assorted steamed beef parts platter, parts including, tripe, plank, tendons, tongue [mo-deum pyun yuk]. The platter with soju last night food was comfort food a la coreanne.

Christmas Eve dinner at Citronelle was amazing thank you Mark, Derek and our server, whose name I cannot recall right now. Prior dinners, we were seated at the wine cellar area of the dining room but thanks to Mark, he saved us a table in front of the kitchen. We opted for the 3-course menu as our reservation was at 9:30 and the tasting is not available after 9pm...or more practically speaking, "we would be at Citronelle until New Year's Eve" (to quote our waitress). The 3 course was perfect. We opted for the black truffles for one course, which was +40 per dish. Mark's wine recommendations and charm, as always, made us confirm again the reasons why we love this institution so much. The wines (Burgundy and a Chateau Neuf du Pape Viex Telegraph(?)) passed with stellar points under Crazeeboy's binary wine tasting (I like it, I don't like it) system.

Amuse Bouche: Half of Mushroom Cigar, [blank], and finely sliced haricot verts with dressing that tasted like it had pickled Japanese ginger--YUM YUM YUM

Me:

Mushroom Soup with Souffle and more than expected shavings of black truffles...decadent, creamy...the cheese on top of the souffle was just crispy enough to add another level of texture without being too empowering. It was the perfect medium to devour the truffles.

Veal Two Ways. I didn't care too much for the fried veal cheek...similar to the chicken nuggets served at the bar.

Buche Noel: Reminded me of my childhood days.

Crazeeboy:

Mosaic: Our favorite of the night...the plate encapsulates Michel's extraordinary talent. I could hang that plate on my wall.

Chateaubriand with Truffles: Good as always...the truffle did not stand out as much as we had anticipated.

Orange Souffle

Crazeesis:

Lobster "Beluga Pasta." Such a fun fun fun dish! Yum!!

Lamb Loin with Porcini(?) crusting. We all decided that the spices on the crust overpowered the flavor of lamb, but it was perfectly cooked.

Ice cream & Sorbet

Topped off the night with port amongst wonderful company at the bar!

Blue Ginger, Wellesley

When Wellesley used to be quasi home for me, we used to frequently visit Blue Ginger. I really love their foie gras shumai with onion/beef broth...imagine the french onion soup, sans cheese and bread, instead floating foie gras dumpling. The Sake-Miso Marinated Alaskan Butterfish was also a favorite. Reservations are a must. I would just walk in and sit at the bar...as I like eating at the bar area generally.

Another place I really miss is Figs...a pizza chain, I think, owned by the same guy who owns Olives.

Does anybody have suggestions for a good/great prepared turkey? Due to lack of oven space, we have decided to outsource this particular portion of the dinner.

We feasted on Georgia Brown's fried turkey past couple years and have been extremely happy. It is $55 for the bird. I am told it is about 10-15 lbs. You just heat it up and the skin becomes really crispy. That's usually the only part of the bird I eat, but the breast and thighs are pretty juicy too. This year I ordered two birds for a party of 15 to 18. I don't love the sides offered as much so I usually order/pick up from other places. With the 2 boxes of wine...I am all set!!

Where? Served with what? How good? How much?

I had risotto w/ truffle shavings and tagiliatelle w/ truffle shavings at Tosca 2 weeks ago. The chef came out to shave the truffles...the shavings were pretty generous. IMO, the risotto was a better base to savor the truffles. It was $40 for the appetizer portion.

UPCOMING $20 TUESDAYS:

Anyone who wants to join is always welcome! Post here or PM me for updates.

Tuesday, 10/31, 6p, Bebo

JoeH

Jacques Gastreaux

Please add me to 10/31 dinner at Bebo! Thanks!

Has anyone tried this place? I've heard that they serve up some mean grilled octopus... Thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

I really liked L'Imperio when I was there in January and I thought it was a much better experience both food and atmosphere-wise than Babbo.

That said, I'd be hard-pressed not to go back to Hearth. They are doing some damn fine cooking there these days.

Jennifer

I'm in NYC until this afternooon for business...and returning back to NYC tomorrow for some fun. Past couple dinners were "ehh" at most. We had consecutive meals at Blue Fin at the W since we were too tired to leave the hotel after returning from work. I just don't get the concept...not japanese, not really american...but lots of eye candy, esp. at the Whiskey Bar!

I am planning to go to Límpero (any one been since bookluvinbabe?)...updates, must eats recommendations would be appreciated. Any good dimsum recommendations? I've heard Dimsum Go Go was good but anywhere else that serves up better delights than HEOTB or Mark's Duck?

Lastly Lupa again or Otto or Esca? or....?

Thanks in advance!

Two weekends ago, my 2 sisters and I tried Lupa and it was one of those places that make you wish you were living in NYC. We started with the oxtail appetizer and the cold seafood platter to share. The oxtail was not exactly what I was thinking of...I thought I would be getting braised oxtails, but these were oxtail meat pressed into thin round slices with all the gelatinous goodness dressed with orange slices and balsamic vinegar.... the cold seafood platter made me longingly look at the proscuitto platter on the table next to ours. The "fried" lamb chops were better than similar versions I ever had in Rome (until Lupa, I thought I would never eat a better version). The order of fried radishes with honey...yes, fried radishes. They had the most interesting texture...it still had the crunchiness and bitterness of a baby radish but somehow is was mellowed out by the quick swim in the oil. The two pasta dishes gnochii with sausages (pillowy heaven) and bucatini arrabiata could not have been any better.

With 2 bottles of wine, 2 appetizers (the seafood app cost around $22), 3 mains, 2 sides and dessert was $160 after tax and before tip.

Other meals in the city that weekend included Joe's Shanghai (twice), Balthazar and Willys.

Last Friday I had the honor of meeting Mark. Although somewhat a regular at the bar, I never had an opportunity to speak to him...as in his "costume" he is a tad bit intimaditing. Boy was I wrong...his explanation of the wines, sherry and scotch we had were truly inspirational. He is the epitome of professionalism. Now I have another excuse to treat myself at the bar...I am going for an educational experience.

If you want Korean food, I recently ordered 2 dishes (kimbap--korean version of rolls and jap chae--cellophane noodles with beef and vegetable) from Donga Grocery on Lee-Highway and thought it was pretty good. You can pick and choose from a variety of Korean dishes or have them pick for you. Unless you like cold pressed pig parts and jelly fish, I recommend that you go over the menu with them rather than giving them the green light to cook whatever. Couple of years ago when I hosted a party with a friend we got 8 dishes for 15 persons for $120 and ordered non-Korean dishes elsewhere for variety. If you are interested, let me know, I will dig up the phone number.