Josh Radigan
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Posts posted by Josh Radigan
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The bubble has already started to leak. Rents are going up, which in turn makes margins razor thin. Add to that the population at least within the city lines has started to decrease.
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I, as well, attended several rally in the alleys in the late 80's. Back then D.C. Had a wild bar scene. Loved it.
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The restaurant formally known as Poste, but don't know it's new name
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Typically Aglianico is a big style red, high tannins, black fruit, baking spice, ample acidity. A wine made for heavier foods, stews, heavier red meat dishes. Sounds like you had a great meal.
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Not surprised about the OT location. The reports I heard were 'solid' when it first opened to 'going downhill' shortly after it opened. Then again I am not sure with that rent and square footage that even a great place consistently could keep up the monthly rent.
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I believe they have not started menu service at the bar during dinner hours.
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You need acid and fruit, but be delicate. Stay away from Northern California at the moment. Think Burgundy like a Mercurey and maybe a touch up a Nuits-St-Georges. You could look towards California but head south towards Sta. Rita Hills or Santa Maria Valley. Or you could go towards Alsace for some beautiful whites. Just my two cents, but what do I know, I have to pair wines with Chicken Fingers and French Fries, along with Cobb Salads.
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Leave it alone. The guy was there as a member of small business association. Again I agree with the above, its not like Casey walked in with a Trump shirt on, but yet was trying to bring to light the regulations that often drag the little guy down.
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It was a part of the thread from up top. Pras quoted John Kelly's article which mentioned the pop-up. Move as needed. Get that second cup from Emma's, still digging that place.
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Different styles of Pickles from No1 Sons Pickle Company, Smoked Salmon and Bagels from Bagel Rising.
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The Pop-up was packed as of 9:00am this morning. If you swing by and see a big, goofy guy in glasses working the No1 Pickle station give him a hearty shout out "Hey Chef Will Ham! Josh says get back to work."
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I moved into the neighborhood shortly before she opened and remember the confusion with the name. My sons will be so sad come springtime, along with their little league baseball teams, when the doors don't reopen.
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heard about it not too long ago from a colleague and said to myself "why wouldn't she get out?' Of course there are lines out the door at certain times of the day of the week, but its not like you are selling $20 cups of custard but custard at a low price to attract people of all sizes. this place will be missed dearly. One of my favorite pictures with my youngest is sitting on the red picnic benches next to stomping grounds in the dead of August eating custard.
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Bingo! Your memory is far better than my Mr. Rockwell. That was when Clarendon started its boom. Now I am afraid the boom will be for another reason, minus those who are great restaurateurs and know how to run a business.
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Massive space, delayed opening which forces restaurants to spend cash that they don't have, a concept that has an above normal overhead costs in payroll, and a location off the path. It's tough to open restaurants in this day and age and with the world of Uber making it easier for people in the burbs to travel into the city, Clarendon has had its fare share of struggles in the last 12 months. Where Mister Days sits now used to be a brew pub, and I just can't remember the name but it started with Blue. That restaurant bubble is about to pop.
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So I typically don't post reviews of restaurants because, well, my wife and I don't go out that often. Ever since the little one came into the world almost 4 years ago (this upcoming Wednesday) we really have been homebodies. As well work keeps me pretty occupied and that in part is not a bad thing at all. Since we have grown so accustomed to eating at home we try to make our dinners at home feel like we are eating out. Sometimes it works, and other times we fail miserably. That being said we had an opportunity thanks to our awesome neighbor to go out and dine, by ourselves like grown ups. Take this into factor, our youngest eats anything (vegetarian) and he really doesn't like it when someone else puts him to bed (neighbor was the first person ever outside of my wife and I). So we rolled the dice and decided to try this place. My in-laws went last weekend and loved it.
We made 8:30 reservations and headed out. We stopped into Bourbon Steak for a drink prior and I realized how fortunate we are in this city to have Hotel Restaurants that aren't feeding the masses like other places. That they have character, style and feeling that the Hotel needs them more than the other way around. Now I know that background and all but still we are fortunate. I won't get into much detail except that the Cheeseboard was massive, drinks were solid (still need a better Champagne Flute) and the service was solid.
We left and walked the 4 blocks to Chez Bill. We arrived minutes before our reservation and Sam ( I believe the GM) told us our table was in use, and very calmly asked if we would like a drink at the Bar next door. I like the fact that he did not have the panic attack look on his face yet assured us that everything would be ok shortly. Let that be a note to anyone who works the door in this business. If you act panicked, the customer will pick up on it and do the same, but do the opposite and they will follow your lead. We went next door to the bar which I thought was pretty cool. First thing I noticed and pointed out to my wife, no TV's. Just conversation. The bar, much like the restaurant, are designed to make you relax, feel comfortable and at home. I got a glass of Faugere's and my wife bubbly. They served her bubbly in a coupe glass which I totally dug (look, Blanc de Blanc in a flute, the aromatics are not as expansive, but Brut Rose enjoys more air time, so a coupe glass works, IMHO) and she and I compared a price difference. Nothing against Bourbon Steak but they charged $9 more for a glass of Brut Bubbles than Chez Billy, same producer. OH well, they are in the business to make money and I understand and agree especially if you can get away with it.
The bar feels like a place that growing up you had a neighbor that had a cool house that made you want to just grab a drink and hang out inside and just chat the night away. Nothing flashy, nothing circus like, just low key and casual.
Sam came and told us the table was ready and walked back over to the restaurant. I won't bore you with my thoughts on the interior space except it makes you feel relaxed. The pace was packed at 9:00pm on Sunday night, now granted its not anything more than 50 seats at best but every other place we passed earlier was empty. My wife started with the Field Green Salad and I had the Pumpkin Soup. Both were well executed with the Salad being just the right amount of crispness from the Bibb lettuce, good acidity in a Vinaigrette with no hints of sweetness. My soup was pretty awesome. A dollop of Yogurt and Pumpkin Seeds with a chiffonade of pear in the center. The flavors balanced the soup and truthfully I am not a big soup dude.
We brought our wine, a 2009 Jonata Syrah, but we are not meat eaters, we occasionally eat fish. That being said no matter what we ordered the wine was going to be over the top. I didn't care nor did my wife and quite frankly as I tell all of my customers "drink what you like, not what I like".
My wife had the Trout and I had the Tuna. My wife said as she took her first bite that it was the best dish she had consumed in about 20 years. A good sear to the outside, accompanied with roots vegetables. I had the Tuna with White Beans, Fennel, Olives, Oranges and Watermelon Radishes. A pretty substantial portion that was again well played with the balance of sweetness on the oranges, to the salty olives and the fennel brought out the flavors of the fish.
we finished with the Apple Charlotte which again was beautifully presented and the flavors were perfect.
Overall, kudos to the chef, Sam and the staff. Our server was from Hungary and we chatted with her for quite some time at the end. My wife and her are both former Ballerina's so the conversation felt natural.
Like I said at the beginning we try to make dinner at home feel like we are eating out. What Chez Billy did for us was make a great meal in a place that makes you feel like home. Great job!
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If anyone is looking for a great photographer whether it be for a family shoot or wedding, this guy is awesome. Being in the business as long as I have been recommending purveyors has never been a top priority simply because I deal with so many of them on a day to day situation. Djenno was awesome to deal with and has always been highly recommended not because he is over the top but because of his approach. Photographers from what I now know have to read so many different cards before getting the right shot. Lighting, scene, the individuals they are shooting and so on. When it came time to take some pictures of my boys for the family, we had never used a professional before always opting for the iPhone shot. My wife having worked with Djenno before while planning events (which is what she does in her spare time) said she wanted him to do the pictures and she couldn't have been more right. He was great to work with, had a plan of places to take the pictures from that would be a good setting not just for me and my wife but my two little ones. He couldn't have been any nicer to work with when it came to getting a 3 year old and 10 year old to hold positions, get into certain positions. I guess having two little girls as he does helps to be able to communicate to children. The pictures were fantastic and like I said I would recommend him for any style of photo shoot. Djenno Bacvic Website
Josh Radigan
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Gift Card. Sorry. When being in the business leads me to shortening items.
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Well, we now know how this location and product were subsidized - this business (the actual coffee shop) couldn't possibly have been covering its rent. Think about it: How many hundreds of hand-pulled cups of coffee per day would you need to sell? Even 300 cups per day (which works out to about one every two minutes) is only about $1,000 in daily revenue, and they were often fairly empty.
The couple lived directly upstairs from my in-laws, for which they had the pleasure of meeting them several times throughout the last year. Sad story but I agree it explains a lot of what was really going on. I made a comment about two years ago after I went in and got a GC, I believe Don was in the shop at the time,' how in the world do they pay their rent?'
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St Elmo's was sold last year to Larry. He has done quite an extensive make over of the St. Elmo's space
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Market to Market has always been owned by Larry Ponzi, who now owns St.Elmos
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So Mark Medley and Joseph Harran used to work together at Vidalia way back in the day when the kitchen consisted of Chef Buben, Peter Smith, Cathal Armstrong, Joseph Harran and Lisa Scruggs on Pastry. What a Damn fine line-up. With Mike Nevarez running the front with guys like Mark Medley and Doug Mohr on the floor as servers. whew, talent! Good luck to both guys on this journey, both of them are really solid guys.
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Thank you Chef Ziebold and Jonathan for your insight. What I know is from an insider in their NYC store. As for the growing number of smaller to mid-size restaurants and companies that offer benefits you are right that much has changed over the last 8 years. That being said the companies that I worked for offered little to no assistance on benefits. They may have changed but my point originally was that often people forget that some of restaurant pricing can be affected by the cost of doing business outside of food and beverage costs. Such as real estate costs and benefits.
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Sister in law works at the original in NYC so info is on her down low. What I know is that he pays way above the average on kitchen $ and helps with insurance. When was the last time a non-corporate restaurant paid any part of insurance. I have worked for several in the past and not one did, and they were big guys.
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Pineapple and Pearls, Fine Dining Restaurant on Barracks Row by Rose's Luxury, $325 All-Inclusive Including Drinks - $225 (No Drinks) at the Bar
in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
Posted
That's odd- I just saw an article in the WBJ which stated that the D.C. Population has been shrinking for about 6 months due to people leaving to go back to their hometowns now that the recession has subsided to many. That being said D.C. Can support good restaurants but the ones in the middle will struggle simply because there are so many of them.