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turbogrrl

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Everything posted by turbogrrl

  1. If diners have dietary restrictions (or allergies), they should always mention them upfront; Rose's handles this the best I have ever seen a restaurant handle it. They will take the menu to the chef with the restriction marked on it and they will return it to you, marked up clearly to identify what you can have, what you can have if altered, and what you cannot have. That way there is no worry that a waiter has forgotten the particulars of a specific dish, or diners trying to recall what they can't have when they want to order one more dish. Also it means I have no guilt over taking the menu home to remember what I had; that menu with dill allergy scribbling all over it is all mine to keep. (and i have a stack of them) I'm very sorry that happened, however.
  2. I've been twice in the last month. The second time there was a new-to-me server that was, yes, more mechanized. No inclination to chat or banter. Which for me, just goes to show that it is most definitely the whole package that makes Rose's what it is. The time before we had one of our favorite servers, and everything was just a little bit... more. More special, more flavorful, more enjoyable. The food, though? was just as excellent the second time. I just wasn't as over the moon about it. On the excellent front, we got the (off menu, but usually available) cacio e pepe. a brisket sandwich, rather than going for an entire family-style entree. everyone got their own pork-and-lychee salad since we share so badly. There was a tasty catfish. Grilled avocado. It was lovely. Standing in line can be amusing if you have good company or luck out in the people near you in line. Would I want to do it *every* month? No. But there is still magic going on here.
  3. A violently bad experience at meskerem in the late 90s sent me off ethiopian food for a decade. Now I will happily eat it at a few places: etete, addis ababa, zenebech.
  4. No lollipops last night, but some caramels that actually had a taste of rosewater to them even though rosewater wasn't mentioned. Honestly... rather than missing the lollipops, it made me miss the hot chocolate and doughnuts that he served once upon a time. I'm not a *frequent* diner; I've probably only made it in 10 times over the last decade, but I'd have to say that last night was the best I've ever experienced it. The goat was fantastic as always, and yet the lamb completely outshone it. (I'm not even really fond of lamb!) Served along with the mains there was a cinnamon-spiced yogurt (berbere spices, but cinnamon was the strongest note for me), and a hummus that was made with chickpeas that had been cooked in the lamb juices. my mother in law inhaled the bread-and-butter pickles. we ended up asking for more pita... twice. In the prelude there was a Maine scallop that was so soft and buttery that it just melted on the tongue. Aji with a citrus glaze. octopus with a green and custard that I asked about and completely mentally lost 5 minutes later. a puff with salmon roe on it. the fig with mascarpone, olive oil, and salt"”just as delicious as the first one I ever had. a mint ravioli. foie gras with a sesame palmier. Lots of microgreens and edible flowers that made each presentation very pretty and also delicious. The wine list has greatly expanded. The parents had brought two bottles to drink just because they hadn't been thrilled with the pairings the previous two years, but I think they would have been fine with a pairing this year. Friends of mine who had the next seating were quite happy with the pairing. I think the skill just comes from his vision of what he wants to accomplish, and he's just been growing and refining that over a decade of very hard work. The very first meal I ate at Komi in 2004 was a lunchtime pizza that had been had been showered in perfect baby basil sprigs. I *still* remember that fucking pizza. And those doughnuts. It's honestly been a privilege to experience the maturation of Komi over the last 11 years.
  5. Satsuma is quite pleasant, I used to go when I worked in bethesda. If I were making a drive I'd probably prefer Ren's, but that is the whole axis of effort issue.
  6. I actually go through and eat all of the peppercorns people leave behind. I ...may have a problem. But it's a delicious problem.
  7. I'm not sure it was all fat. Maybe some marrow? whatever it was, it was delicious. And no, it's not been served that way before in my experience. (I've hit at least half of the ramen days in the last year, maybe more.)
  8. It opened right after the new year. beer, sochu, and also sake, for those that were lamenting the lack of liquor license at sakuramen. They also take reservations. I've been once and sat at the bar, and had a perfectly pleasant experience. The short ribs were very tasty, as was the fried rice.
  9. I've been getting their bialy sandwiches and homemade bagel chips for... 12 years now? (uh, maybe 14. eeek.) same folks. Yeah, the bialy's aren't authentic, either, but man they make a satisfying sandwich. If I go in I'll ask where they're made. I suspect that they make them themselves, just off-site.
  10. Nick braved the elements and stood in line so we could celebrate me getting older with some tasty food and drink, and a lovely present it was. Started dinner with a brown butter bourbon, the pork and lychee salad, the grilled avocado with tomatillo, poblano, and cotija cheese. We also ordered a plate of the cacio e pepe off-menu. Next up was ricotta stuffed gnocchi with crispy sunchokes and mushroom butter (they made it without dill for me), followed by a miso-glazed pork blade steak with sauerkraut. (and here I thought I hated sauerkraut...) The pork and the gnocchi were both outstanding, but I'm not sure anything could dethrone the pork+lychee and the cacio e pepe for me. They are both just perfect. Nick ordered a second cacio for dessert. I chose the pea-cake (I'd had it before or might have been scared off), and they also brought a dish of avocado ice cream with a small candle in it for me. Beautiful and delicious evening. Love this place.
  11. Looks like Mandalay to me! I believe I spy the addictively delicious rice salad just out of focus. Please tell me about the dish in the foreground!
  12. Braved the cold tonight for some fantastic dishes at Seki: fried baby octopus, an amazing made-to-order omelet, aji tataki, ara yaki, a salmon roe rice ball, and a glass of the Nikka Coffey Grain whiskey. Also, the soundtrack tonight was kickin. <3
  13. All I know is that the moment I tasted the pork and lychee salad that first week they had a pop-up at Hogo, I was in hogo nearly every night for the scant few weeks Silverman had the kitchen there. I'd never heard of Silverman, and I was worried that Rose's Luxury might go the way of Suna, but that didn't stop me from adding him on every social media I could think of just so I would know when Rose's finally opened for real. And they did, and it was even better than the pop-up, and it's lovely, and even my in-laws fell in love with it, and I really wish I had more free time to stand in line. There's magic in those dishes.
  14. We escaped up to nyc a day early to try and avoid the (first) storm, and on the way up I decided to see if there were any seats available. There were! So we ate in the dining room this past Saturday evening. I would been more heartbroken about not being at the bar, except that Chef Nakazawa is only behind the bar Mon-Fri. I hadn't planned on dining quite so upscale on this trip and so my wardrobe was a bit lacking, but in the end our attire wasn't too terribly casual nor did it stand out. Some people were dressed up to the nines, some people were in sweaters and jeans. It was all good. We arrived on time, and were immediately led to our table. Staff gave us the option of still or sparkling water, a warm cloth was brought to us, and then chopsticks, house-pickled ginger, and a damp finger-towel were laid out. This left us the option of using chopsticks for the sushi or using ones fingers. No soy sauce here! Nick elected to go for the standard sake pairing for $40, which is quite a reasonable value. I believe he had significantly-sized pours of 5 different sakes. I went with a single glass of a nigori ($17). The dining room is $120 for a 20-piece omakase; in general the pieces were brought out two or three pieces at a time, to be eaten from right to left. The standouts, for me, were: spanish mackerel with yuzu and an explosive peppery flavour; an intense hay-smoked bonito; and the otoro. I got an second of the mackerel and nick got a second of both the bonito and the otoro. The iconic tamago was tasty but not outstanding; the anago that was served on the same plate had a lovely texture and taste. Dessert was a delicious lychee sorbet served with tea. I'm sure we'll want to return and go to the bar, but the dining room experience was quite lovely and allowed nick and I to focus on each other and the delicious fish. We finished up a little over 90 minutes after sitting down. All in, it was $440 for the dinner, plus my lost hat. (my hat was in my pocket when I handed my coat over, but they were unable to find it.) Fortunately, the weather wasn't too terrible and I was able to buy a new hat on my way back to the hotel.
  15. aiiieee! It is my tastebud tragedy to discover that Grace Garden will be closed for the next two weeks, reopening on 19 Jan.
  16. So, we happened to need to be in Severn tonight, and thought, "ooooh, we'll have grace garden for dinner!" Sadly, no. They are closed for the next two weeks and will reopen on 19 Jan, according to the note on the door.
  17. I really really want to like this place but OMG does it trip all of my introvert issues. There are no clear signs to tell you how anything works. (do you sit down whereever? do you pay first, or can you open a tab? will they bring you your drinks/food? are the items on the shelves all that is for sale, or do they bring you a new one of the floor model? what are all of these spices? can you get chai to go? do the sell the chai mixture?) the answers (i *think*): 1) yes, 2) yes (pay at the end if at the bar, pay first if sitting elsewhere) 3) if you aren't at the bar they don't bring it to you, you have to listen for them to loosely shout what you ordered at you when its ready 4) whats on the shelf is it. 5) who knows, I never ran into anyone on the spice side. 6) not really 7) no Can you get the chai to go is a bit of an unsolved mystery-- they sell a travel mug for $17, but it's about 3x the side of a typical chai order. I have no idea how full they make it, or if they'd serve you chai in your own to-go mug. That said, the chai is delicious. And I guess I'll have to research all of the indian names for spices to see what I might need. I figure I'll just need to work on my introvert issues. It is very much like another world; I felt like I was a foreigner in a strange land, completely unfamiliar with all of the customs.
  18. so, did anyone ever start a thread for Mellow Mushroom? We had a craving for pizza last night, Pete's wasn't picking up their phone, and so we bundled up and sat at the bar at Mellow. And it is, in fact, mellow. Decent beer list, TVs on but quiet, not slammed. Yes, all of the pizza names are hilarious if you're easily amused. I had the Kosmic Karma, which was a red-sauce pizza with pesto, tomato, spinach, mozz and feta-- though I had them hold the feta. The crust is brushed with dried cheese, as well. Nick had a calzone. This is not couture pizza, it's college-town pizza. Really nice bartender, and it hit the spot.
  19. went here Friday night; it was completely jam-packed. We put our name in, couldn't get within 10 feet of the bar, so went out for a drink and came back when they texted us. Our choices: Lamb Kefta Khachapuri Pescadito Fritos Squid Three Drips and Fry Bread Khachapuri was of course my favorite; Nick was all over the Kefta like a house afire. The small fish were delightfully crunchy, though Nick was disappointed by the lack of heads on the "whole" baby fish. (Heads are the best part, guys! why are the heads missing?) The squid was splayed on a skewer and chargrilled. The three drips and fry bread was probably the least interesting. I gravitated toward a curried dip, and nick toward the hummus; there was a honey-and-pomegranate (and maybe eggplant?) dip that neither of us could really get behind. Nick like the spiced cider here, I could have used more cinnamon. It's a cute space, we'll probably try it again on maybe a quiet rainy tuesday
  20. Went last night, we both had the chef's tasting menu-- small deviations were that I went for the risotto with truffle, and Nick went for the wine pairing. We had a great view of the kitchen. The risotto was the standout course for me. The truffle was exquisitely pungent, so that one would have another cloud of truffle envelope one each time someone nearby ordered it. The salmon sashimi with curry was delicious; the lamb carbonara was all savory and sweet and warm heady flavour that popped on the tongue. And, of course, the rolls. Most wine is pretty bad for me-- I'll get itchy and flushed and my mouth will get all puckery; more often with reds, but still a lot of whites too. I generally take a very very small sip of whatever Nick is drinking, to see if we come across a wine I can drink. It's amusing for him, because the faces I make are generally hilarious. This time we found two wines that didn't prompt an immediate flinch-- a 2011 Schloss Johannisberg Reisling Spätlese, and a 2006 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe "La Crau" Cháteauneuf-du-Pape. I ended up stealing the latter from him, just because I haven't been able to have a glass of red wine in forever. All of the staff did an amazing job, it was a lovely night.
  21. Right. So--- first things first, the Duty Free whiskey shop at the Dublin airport carries Yellow Spot. Also the duty free cart past US Customs to gates 401-406 also had yellow spot. So for now, you don't have to worry about getting over to Mitchell and Sons when they are open and then have to check luggage to get some of the golden elixir home. Speaking of whiskey, no visit would be complete without a visit to the Dingle Whiskey Bar (44 Nassau St). It opened in October, and is connected to the Porterhouse Brewing Co. bar next door"”but is a charming oasis of calm and whiskey. On the cocktail front, I followed the labyrinthine directions to get to The Blind Pig, a speakeasy near Trinity and Grafton St. The cocktails were definitely very good, but one would probably be better off eating first elsewhere. The downstairs space (one approaches through a dark alley and a back door) is romantic, and would be fun as a date or with a group of friends. Dining alone with a kindle, though, was just a wee bit sad. After extensive scientific taste testing, the best scones in the city appear to be at Voila (14 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2), though The Cupcake Bloke's (Coppinger row market, next to Powerscourt Townhouse) scones were almost as fantastic and were *huge*. Hansel and Gretel (20 Clare St., Dublin 2), a patisserie near the free Archaeological Museum was quite charming even if it didn't win my scone olympics. Also in Powerscourt (59 South William St.), Pygmalion Cafe is quite good for brunch. My meal at The Pigs Ear (4 Nassau St, Dublin 2) was incredible, and worth the two-year wait. (I'd walked by on my last trip, smelled a bit of heaven, but they were completely booked.) Beet-root and pickled onion salad with goat cheese. A succulently tender maple-glazed pork belly with toasted oats, black pudding, parsnips and prunes. And an amazing buttermilk custard with sorrel leaf, cherry sorbet, and winter berries. Also worth a two-year wait to try were the chocolates and macaroons at Cocoa Atelier (30 Drury St). Dublin is really not a late-night town. Thus, after getting stuck at work until 21:00 one night, I was ecstatic to be rescued by a pot of ginger tea and an aromatic bowl of pho at Pho Viet (162 Parnell St, Dublin 1). There is better pho in the world, but at 9pm on a cold, rainy, lonely evening in dublin it was pretty amazing. You can't take it home with you (hell, you can't even take it on the plane if you have a direct flight to the states, thanks to clearing US customs in Dublin), but if you make a stop at Sheridan's Cheesemongers (11 South Anne St., Dublin 2) you can buy some pieces of cheese heaven and make multiple picnics out of it. Some Brin d'Amour, an ash-rind St. Tola raw-milk goat cheese, some mozzarella, biscuits, olives, and roasted tomatoes served as dinner over two evenings. Yes, my hotel room smelled like cheese for days. I have no regrets. Crispy pork belly and traditional roast duck were both quite tasty at Duck (15 Fade St); the pre-made duck pancakes were a bit greasier than I would prefer but were still enjoyable. The noodles the meats were served on were not to my taste, and I gave them away. The vegetables might be a better choice. The Guinness pours at The Barge Pub (42 Charlemont St Dublin 2) were quite good and reasonably priced, and it's a very cozy place to accidentally get completely shit-faced if one, say, forgot to have any dinner other than very good pours of Guinness. On the craft beer front, The Brew Dock (1 Amiens St.) is an amazingly friendly pub with an extensive bottle and draft list. Malahide is an easy train ride from Dublin, and has a charming waterfront, shopping district, AND a castle. The castle has a pleasant cafe and the outdoor play area is great for kids to burn off excess energy. If you're in dublin for any length of time, you won't want to have the hotel do your laundry at 4 euros per pair of underwear. Temple Bar Laundry, (13 Aston Quay, Dublin 2) will wash, dry, and fold 5kg of your laundry for 12.50 euros, in less than two hours. Open 8-8 M-F, and 10-6 on the weekends.
  22. the smelts and peppers are quite tasty, calamari and peppers as well; if oysters are your thing I hear they are good. The cheeseburger with egg and taylor pork is on the model of five guys or shake shack in terms of thickness and cooking temp. I probably prefer it to either of those, but I only get a craving for that style of burger a couple times a year. I haven't had the lemon stick served the same way twice; I'll probably give up trying to recapture childhood. The "ice cream luge" I think requires me to be a good decade younger or a good deal drunker than I get nowadays; N is fond of the orange crush mixed drink.
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