cremefraiche

Shhhh, post retracted.

It'd be nice if he just went for pho.

I love Thai X-ing but I'm concerned that my wait will be 90 times longer than normal even if it's 2 blocks from my house.

I hope that everything in this beautiful restaurant falls into place! I went to the soft opening on Saturday also. All of our food was available, only in 45-minute increments. The ravioli that I ordered was salted to the point that it was unable to be eaten. The other 5guests at my table were happy with their entrees; we ordered all of the different entrees available. The service was friendly and attentive but this place still needs more staff adjustment.

This is my favorite restaurant in DC. I go here once every week and every week it seems to be perfect. On Tuesday, I had a freshly made papperdelle with pesto and tomatoes, an item that is occasionally on the menu.

As always, I over-estimate the amount of food that three people can eat on a Wednesday night out. After eating at CommonWealth, we are beginning to feel our muffin tops expand a little more. We started with a lot of sides: Headcheese, Scotch Eggs, Bucket Of Chips, Jacket Potatoes, Mushy Peas With Mint, and Green Bean Casserole. Our entrees were: Smoked Tofu Shepherd’s Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, and Fish ‘n Chips. These were all very savory and comfortable. We were happy.

Our service was excellent. The courses were timely and our glasses were always filled. We only had one quirk. Our server was friendly and eerie. Imagine that you had this wonderful meal and everything was timed perfectly and this guy walks up to you while you are talking with your friends. You unintentionally ignore him. He says, “Don’t worry about my hands, I’m not rubbing them because I’m sinister. I’m rubbing them because I just put on lotion. They are moist.” The words, “moist” (!!!!!!!) and “hands,” concurrently being said while our dessert was place on our table is the only outstanding memory that I have of this place now. We nervously laughed.

Wait… Moist?

Moist.

Please keep in mind that our service was excellent but that remark was so weird.

Does anyone know anything about this restaurant? I found this ad on craigslist.

We're opening a new green vegetarian restaurant in Washington DC, financed by a successful local entrepreneur, though without extensive restaurant experience (thus this posting). It's called Elements, and you can visit its collaborative groupsite here. It has a 'beta community' of 350 (and growing) passionate, collaborative and dedicated future customers who will do what it takes to make this restaurant a people, planet, profit success. You can read about it in the Washington Business Journal here. The idea is that in order to compete with the chains who have an established national advertising-grown customer base from opening day, Elements will have an established 'crowdsourced' community customer based from opening day.

What is Elements?

We are Elements. At the heart of the Elements experience is community: a “third place” between home and work for people of all ages, preferences and backgrounds to meet and nourish themselves, the people around them, and the planet. Our growing Elements family embraces authenticity, diversity, conscious living, and fun. This family has crowdsourced Elements from day one, and our continued participation will ensure it stays fresh and progressive. As Elements evolves, we are guided by a few simple ideas:

We encourage balance in life. All of life is interconnected, thus our actions can have a great impact. We balance our needs—health, enjoyment, vitality—with the needs of others and the Earth. As an independent local business, Elements endorses the triple bottom line: we measure success in not only economic, but environmental and social terms as well. We support balance in our community by serving organic vegetarian food grown our own garden in a building that exceeds environmental standards. We support balance globally by cutting our waste, composting, and recycling, and by neutralizing our carbon output with offsets and green energy.

We nurture growth in our community. As important to our lives as the four elements is an essential fifth: people. Look around you; friends, neighbors, and visitors meet here to share ideas, spark new friendships, and renew old ones. We nourish the local economy by partnering with local growers, vintners, brewers, artists, musicians, and community groups. We offer classes and lectures to foster exploration and discovery, and sponsor events to nurture sharing and collaboration.

We are dedicated to stimulating all five senses. Taste our fresh seasonal dishes. Smell our organic fair-trade coffee. Hear talented musicians perform every day. See the work of area artists. Feel the afternoon sun. Hug a friend. Be alive.

I walked by the Grand Hyatt on Friday and noticed a new plaque on the building calling out "Cure." Metrocurean's list of openings, which is long, notes that it refers to cured foods. Worth checking out or is it a boring hotel restaurant?

I would wait...

Went to the Glover Park location and the food was of ventworm quality. Deep fried nastiness (ok, the onion rings were good)...the tater tots and sweet potato things were a study in diminishing marginal utility.

Sliders esp. the crab cake were not good...the bagel on the bagel sandwich was hockey puck hard...the club sandwich looked...gross.

The patio waitress clearly didn't want to be there...but considering it was Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend, I guess you couldn't blame her.

I suppose if I lived in the hood I might frequent the joint...but not worth the trek from the Hill.

The Adams Morgan location is significantly better. I feel the same way about Glover Park in general. You should give Bourbon a second chance.

I guess they’ve calmed down with the overloads of Anne Geddes babies in flower costumes over the years. That used to scare me.... Transitioning from teenager to adult dining, my favorites at Sunflower:

Lam Tofu: A little more mild with the same kind of white sauce as the macro plate. Lam, manager/owner of the Falls Church location, created this dish. (Obviously)

Mini Sukyaki: Ample amount of vegetables and clear vermicelli and mushrooms with bowties of thick seaweed.

Mizuni Sansai Noodles: This is a healthier version of lo-mein with udon or soba noodles. This dish is best served without soup and with the Buckwheat noodles.

Cold Basil Roll: A Vietnamese inspired roll with rice paper, veggie bacon, vermicelli and basil and a peanut dipping sauce.

The Jujube drink is not too sweet and it is good to order with heartier plates such as General Tso’s or Songbird.

Lemon Tofu Cheese Pie: This is the only dessert you should order on the menu. Get a spoon, the lemon sauce has tiny rinds and bursts of tang!

Do they have an actual happy hour with specials?

I think so...not sure what's on discount...

Miniature adventures from last week and transitioning into this week…

Recently went to Bistrot Du Coin for fairly quiet Sunday brunch. I ordered the tartine with vegetables and olive tapenade alongside a Bloody Mary. The Bloody Mary tasted like a watery V8 with a small amount of horseradish. Regardless of the cocktail, the food is always tasty.

On the exact opposite of the spectrum, Busboys and Poets surprisingly made the best Bloody Mary in the city. I had no idea that Busboys and Poets offered a vegan option. I ordered the tofu scramble because the menu mentioned potatoes. Who eats brunch without potatoes? My dish came without potatoes. I was puzzled and I didn’t mention anything until the end of the meal. The waiter informed me that the potatoes were not vegan and put a discount on my check without hesitation. That is great customer service in my opinion for the somewhat apathetic 14th Street area. I always thought the environment reminded me more of places in Arlington and less of DC.

Jyoti on 18th Street is always consistent. The curries always come out hot and the service is always responsive and friendly. My favorite dish is the Chana Masala with Garlic Naan that isn’t modest on garlic…

Amma Vegetarian in Vienna,Virginia also has the Onion Chili Dosa for 7 dollars. Did anyone try the Aditi Bistro a block away?

I also dined at Bar Pilar twice last week. Needless to say, the food is still great there. The potatoes are crisp and hot: perfect. Dinner and Happy Hour over there is the best value that is competitive and comparable to more expensive restaurants in the city. Bar Pilar is also creating the great gourmet cocktails. It’s a wonderful balance for this city.

I went to the busy Sushi Taro last night at quarter until 10 and ordered the vegetarian sushi dish and all of the vegetables were fresh and beautifully crafted. The bell pepper nigiri looked exactly like a tuna with a similar fatty texture.

I went to Rock Creek at Mazza Gallerie. We had a good time. The wine was decent - I had a Cotes Du Rhone.

We chose the pre-fix for $35: Bibb Salad, Sweet Pea Ravioli and a couple desserts. The pineapple cake was the most memorable.

My friend had the Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi with Bacon, Seared Scallops, and Banana Ice Cream.

Delicious! Remind me to leave my house more often on rainy days...

I don't want to go far off topic, but I love the Jasmine Pearl Green Tea at Big Bear Cafe. A pot with a baby sized hour glass. It's always perfect, hot and not with the nasty acidic aftertaste...great for a post-terrible work week hot beverage.

The place has good food but the upstairs is kind of creepy if you're alone for lunch...

New Orleans Cafe serves crawfish but it tastes frozen.

Are they still doing small plates. I used to love Bar Pilar when Josh and Bart were working there, but stopped ever since he left for hook. I have the urge to return

You are truly missing out! The small plates at Bar Pilar are cooked from the same stuff that dreams are made of.

Although I have not been there in months because of my geographical restriction, these are my all-time favorite dishes coming out of this establishment:

Potatoes

Sautéed Green Beans

Marcona Almonds

Sautéed Mushrooms

Baby Carrots

In addition, there always seems to be a beautiful crisp layer of skin to any fish that I’ve ever ordered there. Get the scallops too.

There are not a lot of good options for Hu tieu in this area. Little Saigon is better than Hai Duong for sure. You can also try Viet bistro. I made them myself

Liver in Bun Rieu ? What's next ? Pasta for lomein ?

Sorry, I have to correct myself once again because it's actually huge blocks of bone marrow. I have always requested to have it removed from the soup because it reminds me of liver (not in a good way).

Anyway, here is the recipe:

Bun Rieu - Crab Meat Noodle Soup

3 qts. chicken broth, 2 qts. water

1/2 lb. Shrimp (peeled, devined and cut into small pieces)

3 1/2 oz. Crab paste (even better with real cooked crab meat)

4 large eggs

1 pkg. rice noodle (bu'n)

3 1/2 Tbls. cooking oil

1 bundle green onion (chopped)

1 medium onion (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

4 large tomatoes (each cut into quarters)

1 cup ketchup

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup hot chili sauce

1/2 cup Vietnamese fish sauce

1/2 cup Shrimp sauce (ma'm to^m)

1 pkg of Bu'n (Vietnamese rice noodle)

1/2 lb. fresh bean sprouts

1 head green lettuce

2 Limes (cut into wedges)

1 bundle of fresh mint

**This internet recipe forgot to add: FISH PASTE. That is the most important ingredient to Bun Rieu.

1. In a large pot, combine 3 qts. of chicken broth with 2 qts. of water. Bring to boil. Meanwhile, peel and devine the shrimps. Chop it into small pieces. Add 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt and sugar and mix well. Chop green onion into small pieces. Place in a bowl and set aside. Also, chop the white onion in small pieces. Cut each tomato into quarters. Mince the garlic. Clean bean sprouts and green lettuce. Cut lettuce cross-wise about 1/4 inch wide. Also cut the mints into small pieces. In a bowl, mix bean sprouts, lettuce, and mint together. Set aside.

2. When the broth boils, reduce heat to medium and add ketchup to broth. Then, in a frying pan, heat 2 Tbls. oil. When oil is hot, add garlic. Mix for 10-20 minutes and add shrimp and chopped white onion. Saute the shrimp for about 2 minutes. Place the cooked shrimp in a bowl, add eggs and crab paste and mix well. Slowly pour the shrimp mixture into the broth. Add tomatoes and turn the heat down to low. Let it cook like this for 10 minutes and then turn the heat up to high. Do not try to stir up the shrimp mixture or else it will not form nice chunky clusters. When the broth boils, it will mix everything up.

3. Mean while, cook the noodle in a boiling water for 7-10 minutes or per directions on the package. When rice noodle is cooked, add 1 tsp. of oil, stir well so the noodles don't stick. Rinse noodles with cold water and drain well.

4. When the broth returns to boil and shrimp paste floats to the surface, taste the broth to see if more salt and sugar are need. If needed, add more salt or sugar depending on your taste. Add the green onion pieces and 1/2 tsp. of oil to broth and turn off heat. Cut the lime into wedges and set aside.

5. Put the vegetable mix on a plate along with wedges of lime. Place noodles in a bowl and pour hot bu'n rieu soup into the bowl on top of noodle. Serve hot with hot chili sauce, shrimp sauce, and fish sauce if needed.

Sorry. You're doomed. Hu Tieu is never good out in a restaurant, in my opinion.

You should try the Bun Rieu (Tomato Soup with Crabmeat, Shrimp, Liver, and Vermicelli) on the West Side of Eden Center diagonally across from the Gift store. I also like Thanh Long in Saigon East for almost everything except the Banh Xeo.

I went to PS7 last Friday for the very first time and I was so impressed. I had so much fun. It was a perfect experience. From the bartender to my perfect salad to the way the place smelled - I left with a happy stomach and a happy heart.

There are some vegan options at Le Pain Quotidien.