susanmab
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Everything posted by susanmab
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I went there with my parents when I was a kid. Old Town, yes?
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Nooooo!!! Won't someone think of the milkshakes??? -
It's not necessarily traditional, but I am hard pressed to find anything that I enjoy more than Two Boots.
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This place is one of the few real restaurants that delivers to my office. I'm always happy when it's a Pita House day.
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Another perfect evening at Palena last night. I didn't know that Mondays they do one menu for front and back rooms. Coq au Vin. I might not have enough superlatives for this one. Just...get it if you see it. Wine has been bothering my stomach lately, so I've been partaking of much bitters and soda over the last few weeks. I was offered a choice of bitters and requested "something fruity". What I received was a lovely peach cocktail - still just bitters and soda, but on a different plane. This place never disappoints. I can't wait to see what happens with the new expanded space.
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not really a propos of any of Emeril's restaurants, but during my six years there I did dine in close proximity to him once - at Le Crepe Nanou on a random Tuesday night. So the big question: what does he order when he's at someone else's restaurant? Big ole plate of frites. I haven't lived there in almost ten years now, but I can safely say that a Thanksgiving-weekend dinner at Delmonico (after Emeril had bought it, but before it became "Emeril's Delmonico" or whatever they're calling it now) was easily one of my top five meals there, and hands down the best service I ever encountered in New Orleans. I returned to NOLA time and again, the food was creative, good, and reliable. Brought lots of out-of-towners there. The flagship joint was a place to experience, but my visits there were always marred by an overly-noisy atmosphere and overly rude/inattentive service. But wow, the desserts.
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I've always bought sausage - Andouille or other - at Eastern Market. Metro-accessible! Only kind of a tangent - the last homemade gumbo I had knocked my socks off. Andouille/duck (although the chef, who is a legitimate Cajun who grew up in Louisiana eating the stuff regularly, swore that Andouille in gumbo is the exception not the rule, and "any kind of spicy sausage" is what you need). Anyway, I think the key was using the rendered duck fat for the roux. This was hands down the most amazing gumbo I've ever eaten - and I lived in NOLA for six years.
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I finally made it to East River. That was the best ribeye I've ever had. Ever. That place was great in all the other ways as well, service was attentive but not obtrusive, atmosphere was lively, and I love the albums on the walls - that's a nice touch.
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Road trip from DC>Boston>Portland>Montreal>Toronto>Niagara Falls
susanmab replied to redline's topic in The Intrepid Traveler
I've found dragon's beard candy in Montreal's Chinatown - I assume there is some to be had in Toronto. Anyway, if you haven't tried it, worth your two quarters. -
Road trip from DC>Boston>Portland>Montreal>Toronto>Niagara Falls
susanmab replied to redline's topic in The Intrepid Traveler
I just returned from a week in Vermont and can't get over how amazing most of my meals were. One of the best dinners in recent memory: Storm Cafe, Middlebury. Someplace I'll go out of my way to go back as soon as I can. http://www.thestormcafe.com/index.html Just in case you're driving through that way. -
I've lived around the corner from Highlands Cafe for about a year and started going to brunch every now and again. The brunch menu isn't terribly creative, but it's solid and very reasonably priced. I happened to stop for coffee this morning (gotta support the local establishments, you know?) and managed to chat with the proprietor/chef. So the scuttlebutt is: - their liquor license just got approved (I can't wait to add mimosas to those omlettes). - the bus barn across the street has been sold to developers and is planned to be condos/retail. This is welcome news, since it's a cute little block (14th between Critten & Decatur) and I've been hoping for a while that some more neighborhood-y joints would spring up.
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Back in the high-flying 80's, my dad & stepmother would occasionally send a bottle of wine or dessert over if they spotted a young couple who looked like they were having a special occasion and didn't necessarily dine out at higher-end restaurants too terribly often. How could they tell? The "he" usually looked really nervous. I thought it was super-cute. Apparently seeing young people out on dates reminded them of when they were first dating. (sorry, that wasn't really relevant) Honestly, I perceive a little more of a slight when I'm dining with a few women than anything else. I remember from my table-waiting days that groups of women at lunch were always the least generous tippers, I'm assuming that's the vibe I'm picking up.
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ahhh, that's a great way to put it. Which is not to disparage the remarkable burger at Palena, but that's a different experience than RHB and other burger joints.
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The friend that took me there and I took advantage of the half-price pizzas - we really enjoyed the lamb sausage one that we had chosen completely at random. I was well enough pleased to want to go back for a full meal next time around.
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just back from a long weekend in NOLA. I must give some mad props to Kim at Domenica (Roosevelt Hotel), for preparing the most wonderful Sazerac. cheers!
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Mine is mesir wat. I can not even begin to tally the number of places I have eaten mesir wat over the years (20+, going back to heading to Meskerem in high school because we could order Tej and not get carded). The version I've had at Ethiopic is definitely amongst those that have been the most to my liking. I'm bummed that Waitman had meh food - the description doesn't match any of the (only a few) meals I've enjoyed there, and if it's one thing that I think really does any restaurant a disservice it's inconsistency.
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yes, yes it is. The very mention of it can make me shudder.
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I pass the OT BGR every day on my way to work. Our office picks up lunch from the place right next door to it from time to time even. Somehow, it wasn't on my radar. I'm not a huge meat eater, so for my few burgers a year I've found myself spoiled by Hellburger (although I did have a fresh-ground homemade charcoal-grilled one at a Memorial Day get-together, heavenly!) And by not on my radar, I mean I really didn't know a single thing about it until I read about the Strasburger. I wasn't too terribly jazzed when a friend suggested that we pick up for our weekly Thursday-night dinner. Read the menu online, decided it sounded good, but I really wasn't expecting anything better than Five Guys (which, to me, is a step above fast food but not by much). I'll spare the expletives...let's just say that I was wowed. Big time. I had the ahi. Rare. Pineapple? yup, it worked. hot damn, did I enjoy that sandwich. Friends had the turkey burger ("I swear, I think I like this better than their regular burger"), and the veggie burger ("I think this is the best veggie burger I've ever had"). My only complaint is that the fries were super-cold by the time we got everything home (Dupont to 16th st Heights - our fault, not theirs!) While I wish they had a Petworth location (seems more plausible than asking the heavens for a Petworth Hellburger, right?), I fear the effect that might have on my waistline.
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I'm back to this question again - I bought my first house last summer and I'm finally getting around to redoing the (awful) kitchen. Natura is still the way I want to go - if I can find a way to afford it I'm hoping to go with the Natura commercial model. Although I sure would be interested in a residential version that is a little more substantial than the countertop-dealies I've seen for sale.
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Dean, thanks for another fantastic wine class. Between Sunday's and the fizzy reds a few months ago, my friends and I are hooked.
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I was there for an early dinner last night, and I really liked what I saw. The place is both beautiful and cozy. I really *really* liked what I ate! I have had a lot of Ethiopian food over the last 20 years (pretty much once or twice a week for a few years there), and this was as better than 90% of it, and definitely as good as any I've had. We ordered the veggie sampler for two, and found that everything was cooked perfectly and appropriately spiced. All of the vegetarian dishes are vegan: I am going to say that this is likely the reason why each of them had a quality to them distinct from any other Ethiopian food I have had. The flavors of the vegetables came through more. I would never have characterized other veggie dishes as "oily", but by comparison these were far less oily. I have a tendency to eat the injera on the platter towards and then of the meal, and it was noticeably less greasy in the places it had been sitting under the food. The awaze was a little different than I'm used to as well. A little more flavorful, I tasted more spice that wasn't overpowered by the heat. I was really hoping that this place would be good. These hopes were well exceeded. I hope to go back with a carnivore friend and try some of the other dishes, but the veggies were so perfect that I'm already wondering when I can go get them again.
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I second the quiche + homemade granola. Maybe some yogurt with the granola if you don't want to make them into bars? Fresh fruit?
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I stopped by on a whim last week - on my way home from Nats Park (I had been foiled in my helmet-sundae-for-lunch attempt). Took a piece of spinach goat cheese quiche home for early dinner. The quiche was really quite good. Only drawback was that it's a little pricey (I make quiche often so I'm cheap on that scale). I really liked the place. Friendly staff, nice vibe. I could see it as a hopping place late-night. A 2am pie and coffee fix? I'm thinking that would be really swell.
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(Search returned nothing and I don't recall seeing a thread, so here goes) I had a lovely dinner (with a large group, none the less) at the new Liberty Tree last night. Pizza and small plates on H street, I believe they've been open a whole two weeks or so now. It feel strange to tout the virtues of a salad, but the "rare tuna" was pretty wicked. Spinach, Kalamata, white beans, topped with seared tuna with some pine nuts. Seriously, best salad in a while. And the salads come in two sizes, thank you very much (I hate not knowing if it's going to be huge or small...at least with two sizes you can have some idea if you're ordering as a starter versus a main). Margherita pizza with prosciutto, also pretty darned yummy. I snuck a bite of the bread pudding (didn't leave room for more than that) and it was seriously good. The kicker? Noticeably affordable. Our bill came and my friend and I had to laugh because her two bottles of Lambic ($12 each, which I think seems pretty normal since they're at TJ's for $10) came to a full half of our dinner check. I'm excited, this place is good. I think it's going to be crowded when word gets out.
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Last visit to NOLA was March '09. Bayona still has it. If you've never been, give it a go.