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Nick Freshman

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  1. Nick Freshman

    26 yrs old, first gig as exec chef, resume mostly Top Chef. I'm #skeptical at best. Good luck. #cutyourteethfirst https://t.co/NNsBQTuovH

  2. Nick Freshman

    Happy for these guys. Great product. Ready for success. #pizza https://t.co/FhbEXCCFtT

  3. Nick Freshman

    I mean, the fact is, eggs are kind of gross. Awesome taste aside. #chefintraining #summer… https://t.co/D3RhfLz6KQ

  4. Nick Freshman

    Who's the next top talent and who wants to join us and invest in them? #entrepreneur #chef #restaurants #cocktails https://t.co/gsVhvoe5rk

  5. Nick Freshman

    "I've got a question for you.." @old97s @TheNationalRVA @ The National https://t.co/IZ3MQpGCvM

  6. Nick Freshman

    "I've got a question for you.." @old97s @TheNationalRVA @ The National https://t.co/IZ3MQpGCvM

  7. Nick Freshman
    This place will be great. The team behind it is rock solid, but I am biased. The three main operators all spent time together at Eventide. Tim Irwin managed the bar, Jeremy Barber was our GM and Justus was the opening Executive Sous. They all left and went on to better things, but we were a better restaurant for having them when we did. Now, they've reunited, and I am confident they will kill it.
  8. Nick Freshman
    It is largely the rent, but that isn't the only factor. Saturation is the other. The rent is so high for new tenants and those renewing leases, that it limits the type of places that can open up. Startups, independents, small local chains--the kind of places that elevate the dining scene--are priced out at the start, and you are left with national and even giant international chains (Tagliatelle) that turn the strip soulless. It's hard to blame a landlord for getting as much as they can as opposed to looking for an interesting concept, and from the County's perspective the tax revenue is the same either way. Then there is saturation. This is more among the bar-oriented businesses, I think (ATR was in that camp, recently shuttered Ri Ra and Hard Times as well, of course). I swear the conventional wisdom is open a bar in Clarendon, and you're guaranteed to make cash. The reality is far from true. While we are a mecca for twenty-somethings with good jobs, there are only so many people that can come out every night. With the amount of options in Clarendon, it is impossible for everyone to do well. I'd also add to the conversation that Boulevard Woodgrill, much as I liked it, had a good run, but it is now dated. Menus and tastes have changed, and it has not evolved. I would guess it has been open 10 years? That's a long run for a restaurant, and now it is being replaced with a well regarded, innovative local success--Ambar. That could easily be seen as a both a natural evolution and a sign of good things for the neighborhood. Granted, it is one example, but it could be great example to offset Oz.
  9. Nick Freshman
    I second this recommendation.
  10. Nick Freshman
    Cash Only. So annoying. Every time I am there, I see someone shocked at that info. And having an ATM that charges a transaction fee that is more than the friggin' bagel is no compromise. 15 years now--time to get over the swipe fees. Then again, I still go there regularly, so what do I know?
  11. Nick Freshman
    It is exactly an independently owned restaurant. You can reserve judgement on the 'nice' part, but it meets all definitions of an independent, locally owned place--one of the owners is an actual DC native, right? You can pre-emptively judge it on its glitz and glam factor, and on the fact that they are not "chef-owners," a class so beloved here, but they are certainly different than the multi-national monsters that were previously in the space. To be clear, it's the probably the last place I will go to as it doesn't suit my tastes, but at least it isn't another big ass chain.
  12. Nick Freshman
    I've heard mid-October. If you look inside, they are all but done.
  13. Nick Freshman
    Maybe they will be better at coffee than pizza. I have a lot of respect for Nora and St. Elmo's as an institution, but the coffee leaves a lot to be desired, so they will benefit from a low bar.
  14. Nick Freshman
    If I didn't care about coffee so much, I would be at a diner every morning. However, coffee standards at true diners are one step above gas stations, so I'm stuck. That said, the Bob & Edith's on 23rd is such a titanic improvement over the last two diners in that spot for food, that it's in our rotation now. Living right up the street, we are mired in the wasteland that is 23rd and Crystal Drive, so Bob & Edith's benefits from the lowest bar in Arlington. Clean, great service, good food, fair prices. Silver Diner's committment to ingredients is impressive, as is the menu variety (their coffee still sucks), and I like the omelettes at Pain Quotidien (good coffee) even though I can't afford to eat there, but B&E does a good job of staying right in their lane. And going there with my daughter instead of as a blacked out teenager is, I must say, a lot more fun.
  15. Nick Freshman
    Tazza Kitchen is good. I didn't understand why they scrapped Cafe Caturra, but they did a good job with Tazza. I have been for brunch a couple times and drinks a few times. Atmosphere is good, service as well, and I like the food. Simple menu, most done pretty well. The pizza ovens put out good pizza but better bread. They have invested heavily in the drink program and have some good cocktails. But for the bartenders just going quite a bit overboard on the mixologist/hipster angle (suspenders, really?), hanging out at the bar is a good time. So good you forget that you are in a strip mall on South Glebe Road across from a Giant and an ABC store...Besides, what else are those of us in that neighborhood supposed to do, go eat on 23rd Street? What a disaster that strip is. A fact my neighbors remind me of daily. Hey, I tell them, I'm working on it...
  16. Nick Freshman
    We get them every summer in the OBX, and they are pretty damn good. I wondered, however, when I first heard they were moving up here (which I thought was brilliant) if they actually were good, or if they were yet another product super dependant on context. They are essentially made to order which I think helps a lot--what's worse than a stale donut?
  17. Nick Freshman
    RIP. My first job in the restaurant business which turned out to be the first job of my career, though at the time you never would have convinced me of that. 1993. It was a great job, and Jay and Kathy were great bosses.
  18. Nick Freshman
    Funny, I just looked back up the thread. A couple of years ago, it was a better beer. The other beer that I look forward to, but that changes from year to year, is Sierra Celebration. Sometimes awesome, sometimes a dud. Maybe it is the fresh hops they add and the variation in the quality of the harvest. At least I am consistent.
  19. Nick Freshman
    I agree. Our annual keg just came in at SK. I tasted it and thought this is another monster IPA meant to scorch my taste buds and make it impossible to drink anything else. It is good for what it is, but 100/100? I don't understand the beer geek websites. Plus, 10% ABV? Anything over 7-7.5%, and I have mostly lost interest. Side by side, I don't see why anyone would want a Hopslam over a Bell's Two Hearted Ale. In my opinion, the Two Hearted, Bell's standard IPA, is nearly perfect. On the other end of the spectrum, we also got Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA in. Another 99/100 beer with a highly anticipated release. We were supposed to have it a month ago, but demand is outpacing supply. I had such high hopes from such a highly regarded brewery. And I thought it was...flat. Beautiful nose, but washed out in the glass and aftertaste. So, one burns my mouth and makes me hand my keys to my wife, the other makes me long for a Lagunitas or something with more strength and body. Am I the IPA Goldilocks? Maybe. It's the same for me with wine. Big, Cali cabs and zins bore me, but I need more earth and spice and body than a lot of 'lighter reds' can offer. Fuck it, I'm picky, and I know what I like. And what I like are the beers that have the balance. Two Hearted, Lagunitas IPA, New Holland Mad Hatter, Brooklyn East India Pale Ale, and of course Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I don't care what anybody says, that beer is near perfect. I tend to want a little more hops these days, but that was the beer that got me to love beer and hops, and it is still awesome. They have done a great job with Torpedo IPA, and I love the Ruthless Rye IPA, but when the original (30+ years!) Pale Ale came out in that beautiful green can, I was in love again. Balance, pure and simple.
  20. Nick Freshman
    I was there as well. I had a chance to meet Robert, who is taking over. He has a roasting company that is doing pretty well and looking to expand. This will be a chance to gain some more exposure in a good market. Their coffee is in Water & Wall and some other spots in VA. Nice guy, and the shop seems like it will be in good hands. Best of luck to Dale.
  21. Nick Freshman
    I don't think that is entirely accurate as far as the costs of storage and the purchasing power of having space to store wine. Schneider's maintains at least 30,000sf of storage in far NE DC where the rent for it is probably nothing. I know, because I have seen it. It's way up off Rhode Island Avenue. They bought the entire lot from Eventide. 130 cases, our entire inventory, disappeared instantly in that warehouse. It was amazing. They have the ability to not only buy at a volume from distributors that most restaurants could not, but they also actively buy large inventories from collectors and restaurants. They run a truck constantly from the NE warehouse to the store to keep the inventory rotating. It is a very impressive operation.
  22. Nick Freshman
    There is more to come from me, but right now, we are still in the thick of it. To that end, I have a substantial wine inventory to get rid of. I know there are lots of oenophiles on this site, and this is a chance to have an instantly impressive cellar. Likewise, any restaurants looking to fill out their collection at a great price, here is your chance. We have about 1400 bottles with a wholesale value of $25,000. I want to sell the whole thing at once, so if you are willing to do that, I will drop 20% off the wholesale price that we paid. This is a steal. If you want to split it up among different people, that's fine, and I will help coordinate, but I would like one transaction. I might even be willing to deliver it. It is all cataloged on a spreadsheet with the prices we paid, and it is all being stored at temp. Interested parties, please send me a private message or e-mail me: nickfreshman@gmail.com. Some highlights: 2009 Quintessa, 6EA, $79.99/btl 2012 The Prisoner, 14EA, $23/btl 2010 Beaux Freres, Upper Terrace, 2EA, $60/btl 2012 Ken Wright, Freedom Hill, 2EA, $30.93/btl 2011 Plumpjack Estate, 4EA, $56/btl There is, of course, a lot more. And if you are concerned, this is cleared by the ABC.
  23. Nick Freshman
    Fish Place=Gaffney's
  24. Nick Freshman
    I don't anything about Fairfax, but Arlington has a supplemental meals tax above the state sales tax that makes it 10% instead of 6%. My guess is that the Starbucks is in a jurisdiction with the same--Fairfax city maybe? Or is that part of Falls Church? Some places create two line items--one for state and one for local--to clarify.
  25. Nick Freshman
    They're having supply issues. We have had it at SK for two weeks, but we haven't been able to get anymore. Our distributor has no idea if there will be any more. This happens from time to time with the seasonals; especially the smaller breweries. Frustrating.
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