winger1930

I too take advantage of this place for their lunch special, and it really is a good deal. I do think it's funny that their lunch deal is 2 rolls for $6.50, and 3 rolls for $9.95. If you do the math, it's actually more expensive to get the 3 roll deal than the 2 roll one, on a per roll basis ($3.25 VS $3.32). This is my go to sushi lunch place, and Yoyogi is my go to sushi dinner place. Both serve above average, and most importantly inexpensive, sushi. You won't get blown away with the quality, but you also won't go hungry afterwards.

We're heading out with a few friends Saturday night to celebrate my wife's birthday. Normally, this is an easy request - we start at Hogo, maybe sneak into the Passenger, and wander down to the street to a new restaurant we haven't had. Grab a little to eat, a drink or two, and move on to the next place. However, this year, my wife happens to be 17 weeks pregnant, so we need to get her some non-alcoholic beverages. Are there any places out there where they have some exceptional, non-alcoholic drinks? We were thinking of starting at Hogo still, as I'm assuming they'll be able to whip something tasty up for her to drink. After that, I wasn't sure where to go. We don't HAVE to be down in Chinatown, as long as we can have a couple places we can go to. I know when we went to Dino a couple weeks ago, she enjoyed one of their shrubs, so that gives you an idea of what she's into. Any ideas would be much appreciated!

For those that want to fight the crowds, Costco will have the 5200S for $349 on Black Friday. Here's the actual ad. (WARNING: This link does lead directly to a jpg.)

Blackfish is nearby in Conshohocken, about a 10 minute drive from KOP. I haven't been, but heard good things about this little BYOB. It was all the rage in Philadelphia a few years ago, and it sounds like they're still pumping out good food.

On a related note...as a child, my godmother (who was Pennsylvania Dutch) used to give me a pound of sweet lebanon bologna (sliced thin) and a tub of Philadelphia Smoked Salmon flavored cream cheese as a snack. I would smear some cream cheese on a slice and roll it up. It's one of those childhood memories where you remember exactly where you were standing in the kitchen, with the fluorescent light under the counter and a butter knife in my right hand that I used to smear the cream cheese. The best part of the whole thing was the last roll up. Once I filled it up, I'd dip the knife in the tub and scoop up a little cream cheese and eat it right off the knife.

Just to close the loop on this... We ended up getting all 7 of us (and an unexpected 8th person) into the Gibson. I think the reviews are mixed from the party. On the one hand, I thought the service was efficient but not really friendly. Honestly, we had a tough time navigating the menu with all the obscure (at least to us) liquors and ingredients. We tried asking questions, but between the really dark lighting cause us to have trouble reading the menu, and being stuck in the corner where it was hard to talk to the server if you were seated on the back side of the table, we had a couple of drinks that were misses for us. But, we did enjoy the Bren on the Patio and the Gibson Gamble was pretty fun for some of us. One big miss for me was, when I made the reservation, we were told the table would be ours for the rest of the night. However, around 10:45 or so, our server told us that there was another party booked behind us at 11:30. It wasn't a big deal because we were ready to move on, but it was disappointing because we did have to rush through our second round of drinks, and some of us didn't get a chance to finish them off. We were sufficiently lubed up at that point, and my wife wanted to go to Saint Ex to relive our city years, so that was fun. Not exactly the type of place to talk to one another, but good times nonetheless. Thanks for all the recs everyone, even if only to give us places to go next time we head out downtown!

Sounds like you'd like Euclid Hall. Great beer list with good bar food. The most notable items I had there were the sausage sampler, marrow, pad thai pig ears (best thing I ate that night), and hammed pork chop. I'd stick to the small plates, as my co-workers didn't really like the "Steak N' Sauce". But then again, they didn't find the food all that "accessible" either. Since you're going out there for work, just keep that in mind. I also went to ChoLon Bistro while out there, which I really liked, but didn't find all that unique. Lots of pan asian food that is well prepared, but nothing that really stood out for me.

I was thinking Pilar and Black Jack, and maybe one more place. Not sure what we'll do for that last one, but at least that gives me a plan for the first 2 places...

Union Market actually sounds like a great idea - but they close at 8 and we're looking to go out at 9. However, you do make a good case for my wife and I to head there for a long afternoon/evening. Doesn't Birch & Barley get really crowded though on a Saturday night? I've tried to go there once, but it was so packed, we had to go somewhere else. I thought about Bar Pilar and Cork as possible places. I was able to score a reservation at The Gibson for 6, but I'm probably going to be a party of 7, so I might have to find something else. Any other recs or ideas would be appreciated!

I'm trying to put together a birthday celebration for my wife for this Saturday night. We'll have about 8 people with us, all in our early to mid thirties, and are aiming for a post dinner outing at about 9pm. We are coming from Rockville, but can go to DC, VA or MD. I'm not just looking for 1 bar, but maybe 2 or 3 that are with in walking distance (like the Passenger and Hogo - but I'm just worried that we won't be able to get in with this many people). Everyone drinks cocktails, but some prefer beer. We are hoping to find places where we can sit down, but at least where we can all talk. I just don't know the bars in DC like I used to, and am hoping you all can help. Maybe some places on 14th St, but anywhere is fine. I realize as I'm writing this is that I used to look down on all these people who would come into the city on the weekends and invade "my neighborhood". I'd curse them as they forced me to get home before 6pm on a Friday night just so I could have the privilege of parking my car 6 blocks from my house. Alas, now I've become one of "them"...

Damn, I'm going to miss this one. I've gone to 3 now, with last week being my favorite - partly due to the company. My parents were with us, and as my dad said, this menu was "popularly priced". It was his favorite meal he's had in DC. This, coming from the man who has a freezer stocked with marked down meat, who spends his new found time in retirement going to a different grocery store almost every day to find the best deal on 5 pounds of carrots (and he enjoys this), who find ways to outsmart Wegman's coupon book so that a bag of frozen bagels will still ring up as $1 off, even though the coupon was waffles. So, Jeff, you have my father's "popularly priced" seal of approval. P.S. If the fried quail and shrimp and grits are ever offered again, special pricing or not, you have get them.

My wife and I are going tonight - we can't wait. I mean, how could we not go to arguably the best restaurant in Bethesda and take advantage of a deal that's better than anything on Groupon, LivingSocial, etc. As long as this deal is offered, and I'm in town, I'm going (I already did the vegetarian one).

I've had a great meal at Matyson maybe 3 years ago on New Years Eve, but I've also wanted to go to Cochon for a while. From my limited knowledge, I'd say if you want something lighter, I'd go with Matyson. For something heavier, so with Cochon. My wife and I love Amada, and we usually get their tasting menu. It's always plenty of food, that's well executive, has a good cross section of their menu, and we leave satisfied. That being said, I had a buddy of mine do the tasting menu at Zahav and said it was his favorite meal in Philly. It's been on my list for a while now, but if you can fit in both, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Another restaurant on my list (have you noticed a trend - I need to go to Philly more), but I've heard nothing but good things about Blackfish. It's BYOB, and I have had many people tell me that this is THE BYOB to hit in Philadelphia. I've actually been to the space to get a gift card for my parents, and I know it's a nice little restaurant space right in downtown Conshohocken, which is about 20-30 minutes outside of Center City. It's actually on the way to Longwood/Winterthur if you take the Blue Route via I-76.

Thanks for the recs...right, 2 o's. Force of habit from living in DC for 10 years... Those arepas sound great though!

So I'm heading down to Medellin next weekend for a bachelor party, and besides trying my hardest to stay out of trouble, I was just put in charge of finding places to eat. I did a very brief search, and beyond a No Reservations episode in Columbia, I haven't been able to find too many reliable sources. Anyone been? If all else fails, there's always Hard Rock. Actually, I'll probably try to avoid anything in Columbia having to do with rock...

And also don't forget that Chubby's is on the way to Liberty if you want to go ski on a downhill ice skating rink (like we did last weekend).

I'm thinking I might head down to Calvert Woodley and see if they might do it, since I also need to pick up some cheese for this platter. My other thought was swinging by Whole Foods as well since it's right by me. I'll have to think of someplace that might have a meat slicer near me...I'm sure I could find something in Bethesda too. If all else fails, I'll go see you, Dave and maybe even give you a couple of slices of this stuff. It's pretty damn good!

I bought some excellent cured meats from Cochon Butcher last week in New Orleans, with the idea of putting together a little charcuterie plate for the Christmas guests. Well, I realized on the way to the airport that I have no way to slice the meat. I mean, I could just take a knife and cut it up, but I don't have the knife skills to ensure thin and uniform slices. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do? I have a mandolin, but I have my doubts that it will work. Has anyone ever taken meat to a deli to have them slice it? Would I just walk into my Giant across the street and ask them? I'm up in Gaithersburg, but would be willing to drive somewhere that could take care of this. Thanks!

Don't forget about the beef jerky!!! And the tripe and tendon, which I have convinced a non-offal eater to try and like.

Well, I can give you what I liked and didn't like, and what stuck out. There are a bunch of cuts that just some weren't very notable, so I didn't bother mentioning them. As a general comment, ordering rare usually gets you about medium rare on all their cuts. Eat it -Cordeiro - Lamb chops and leg of lamb. The chops were cooked to about medium. Meaty and gamey, plus eating about 10 of them makes me feel like I'm getting my money's worth. Leg of lamb was also good, and you can ask for rare to get it medium rare. -Fraldinha - Bottom sirloin. I think this was one of the best things I had there. Really flavorful and juicy, and sliced thin - a little gamey too, it's really good. -Costela de Porco - Pork ribs. Meaty and cooked tender, these were just about fall off the bone. I didn't really catch much of a rub or sauce on them. (They say it's "A careful blend of our wet and dry rub keep the ribs tender and enhance their natural flavor." I really just think it was flavored with salt and pepper.) -Pão de queijo - Warm cheese bread. Yeah, I hate to admit it, but I really liked these. We went to Central for lunch and had the gougeres, and these REMIND you of them. They're not as light nor as flavorful, but an imitation of a Central gougere is still pretty damn good. -Caramelized bananas - I thought these were plantains until about 2 minutes ago when I saw on their website they were bananas. Probably explains why they were so sweet. I liked these, and were my main go to dish to break up the meat fest. Sweet and soft, so if your jaw hurts, this is a great break. -Smoked salmon - This is a throw back thing from when I was growing up, going to brunch buffets with my dad. He'd always get a huge plate of smoked salmon, sit down at the table, and proclaim to everyone, "Gotta get your money's worth." Don't Waste the Space -As mentioned above, don't get anything bacon wrapped. It is tempting, and even after a warning, both my wife and I got the bacon wrapped filet and chicken breast. Both were overcooked, bacon was flabby, and we didn't finish them. -Picanha - Top sirloin, both plain and garlic. Both weren't great - they were just under seasoned and just not really very tasty. -Salad Bar - In general, it's tempting, but really, it's not nearly as good as I thought it'd be. Yeah, there's lots of cheese and meat, and some greens to break everything up. But, stick to a small side salad when you need to take a break and that's all you really need. Everything else looks a lot better than it is. -Garlic mashed potatoes - Fine, but not worth eating. You can get them ANYWHERE! Don't be tempted. During dinner, I had to explain to my wife what the meat sweats were. It's great that I can go out to dinner, have the meat sweats, and still go home with a woman. Hooray for marriage!

Ended up at Central for lunch (a good call) and then took a very touristy route and went to Fogo, because it was close to where we parked and we had never been. I can barely lay on my belly right now... (and it was better than I thought it'd be). Thanks for all the recs everyone!

Rasika is a great idea! I STILL haven't been there yet...

Fiola is definitely on the short list. On a related note - are there any good bars open around lunch time, or at least before 5pm? Gotta take advantage of the day off...

My wife is off tomorrow, and I've been traveling a ton recently, so I thought I'd take the day off and spend the day as a tourist in DC with her (museums, Arlington Cemetary, MLK memorial maybe?). But, I don't want to eat like a tourist...any ideas for good lunch and happy hour? I'm thinking of places I wouldn't normally go to for dinner or lunch (so no Greek Deli, for example) and are really good deals (like Vidalia, but I've been there for lunch quite a few times already). Anywhere that's pretty easy to get to in DC works for me. Thanks!

Just call them "subs" now...