TomA
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Everything posted by TomA
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Two recent meals were very good, including a fine pizza with smoked mozz, wild mushrooms, artichokes and really good braised pork shoulder...A Margherita with added smoked mozz was also excellent....the crust here has both some crunch and a soft, chewy interior..good char and smokiness to it, also...excellent ingredients. Other highlights include a surprizingly moist and fresh tasting salmon burger with great fries (added truffle oil and parmesan) and nice swordfish prepared with olives, tomato and capers. A desert of homemade cannolli was incredible, particuarly the brittle and not-too-sweet shell. The owner and servers are very gracious and take pride in the product. This place flies under the radar right now, but in Crystal City it is far superior to Kora or Pizziaola (which still still quite good IMHO, especially for delivery and reheat).
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Have not posted much since the demise of Bebo Trattoria, but this place is a sleeper on the 23rd St "row" and deserves a shout out in the age of Orso and Pupatella. Both the Funghi and DOC Margharita were excellent if not authentically "wet"; for purists, the structural integrity of the "sliced" (the horror!!) pie might cause heart palpitations but this is a tasty pie using fine ingredients, restraint and balance...the crust is light, chewy, with cheetah, if not leopard spotting, and a nice smoky after taste..the char is there also. A house-made pasta dish of flat noodles, tomato, basil, and olives topped with marscapone cheese was also outstanding. The pizzialo is George, formally of Bebo, who served the best pies at that place this side of RD himself at the oven. Staff is friendly and service prompt..a good alternative to Cafe Pizziola and much better pizza than Kora. BTW..don't we all look back fondly at the slings and arrows on this board about Bebo's "pizza soup"..Well soup has come of age since Pupatella and Orso have explained to the masses that it is cool now to drink your pie and eat it too!
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Highly recommend the bar-lounge menu "$5 at Fyve" deal..we have been there 5 times to square the deal so to speak..highlights....excellent mini-pizza (more like Turkish Pidas in shape) with blistered crust and quality toppings (this crust is an upper echelon crust by DC area standards..smoky, crispy, lightly chewy but much more ethereal than most)..two or three of these minis makes a nice meal..also the risotto balls with an excellent tomato sauce and mini meatball sub on chiabbata are first rate bar food...in short, this is the bar menu Bebo could never master or retain...edible jello shot cocktails make a nice dessert...and yes the slider is great, also.
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http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/grill-w...rchive/?chat=71 detailed chat on Morou's (ex Farrah Olivia) new enterprise to make us forget (hopefully) about the dismal failure of once promising Bebo.
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The Original Pancake House, Three Area Locations
TomA replied to DonRocks's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
agree with Hannah..the omeletes are outstanding (even egg white), as are the potato pancakes....the more exotic seasonal pancake choices can be good (like pumpkin pancakes..regular breakfast items are undistinguished...compared to IHOP, this is haute cuisine breakfast food.,,,first went in Delray beach, which is the best one I have been to... -
We, too, have been to Rustico at least six times in the past sveral months for lunch...mostly highlights with the pizzas being well-above-average..the basic magherita-style is well balanced with crispy-chewy crust and no "wetness"; the aforementioned park ragu is sublime, the lastest special, scallops with sweet pea grits is a great buy at $15.00 for lunch..avoid the gluten-free pizza crust....the chicken salad is also first rate, the tuna burger solid but a bit bland...All in all, a great neighborhood place that has found its comfort zone...and the beer, of course..and real ale.
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Just in from Chowhound "DON'T Thank me.....I got REALLY Bad Information and opened my mouth when I shouldn't have...... I can Tell you this.....Bebo is not Closed, but is in a legal fight to keep his doors open. The person whom told me they were closed was ill-informed and didn't know what they were talking about.......Thus....I am an Idiot. But, the real news is that they aren't doing well at all, and seems likely that they will close soon. I know that Jaleo is doing better since last year, thats from an inside source. I personally varified with a couple people involved with the Bebo thing...it's real. He is having major money issues."
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Well..CH has been had...walked by Bebo at lunch and the place was open and even half full!! Reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. I hope I am wrong on my previous post, but as a loyal patron, I still see a slide to oblivion if things don't turn around for Claudio and Roberto on this enterprise. A lot of good will needs to be relaunched if this place is to survive.
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So what is the "rumor" of the new opening? I have defended Bebo on this board in the past, but the past four months or so has seen it really slide in all areas. Its a damn shame that Roberto couldn't focus on this place enough to make it work. His reputation, at least as a businessman, has been really hurt by this misadventure. Some Chowhounders assume the whole deal was a cyncial placeholder until he got his new space nailed down. If that's the case, in these hard economic times, he will have a hard go of it rebuilding his reputation. Hopefully, he is up to the task, but as a CC resident, I am profoundly disappointed in his lack of committment to Bebo. Hopefully the pizza oven will either find a good home or the new place will utilize it well.
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Where did this info originate?
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last night , Jaleo (CC) featured fava bean stew with "pork", which was several types of chorizo, pork belly, and pork ribs...very hearty goodness
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Gaius Caligula, you will succeed me. I will nurse you like a viper in Rome's bosom...we will eat supper at Jaleo and make a list, a longgg list!!
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Last night Bebo was featuring a new 3 course fix price ($34.95) with an appetizer of cold thin sliced Pork topped with Tonnato sauce, Risotto with Shrimp and Marscapone cheese and a thick cut Pork tenderloin wrapped with bacon and sided with Port wine sauce and a small serving of polenta...all were very good-to-excellent with the risotto being a particular highlight..we split the dinner, added a fine Marinara pizza and a new $7 wine flight they are featuring. The pork loin was done medium and was very tender and moist..Claudio has brought a nice consistency to the kitchen lately and plans to add future specials to the regular menu....they evidently did record business the night before the Marine Corps marathon and seemed to being doing well last night (we ate very early) as we left. No this isn't Galileo but the service was very good at the bar and this place seems to be maturing into a fine neighborhood restaurant at this point in time...it does seem to be flying "under the radar" after all of the expectations, service issues, etc., but it is one of our local favorites and always delivers to our expectations...in the early 90's we were always more fans of I Matti than Galileo anyway.
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Wehad lunch at Bebo..yesterday...diito rocks on Pizza, the artichoke pizza was the best we have had at Bebo...perfectly fine linguini pomodoro also and a really good Italian custard with bourbon/fig sauce for dessert...servic at the bar was excellent amd RD was in good spirits
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Tried La Strada in Delray on Monday night and was impressed with the two entrees we ordered...very good homemade "angel hair" (more like very thin, firm spaghetti) with wild mushrooms and truffle oil..a very earthy dish, in a good way...also a great pounded veal chop milanese with arugula and tomato...very sweet tasting veal and nicely flavored crust. Good service.
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Al's does serve a chicken and cheese option....their subs are huge and tasty in the DC steak-and-cheese sort way..the rolls are not the greatest, but then what DC steak and cheese joint serves great rolls? It is a neighborhood institution, but unlike Philly places, the service is painfully slow and Al is a notorius curmudgeon. Not a place for a quick bite, but the wait is worth it if one is in the mood.
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Just saw this article in The Winchester Star about a new place of interest in my old hometown.... "The Tropical Island Coffee and Cafe features Blue Mountain coffees, Jamaican cuisine, and an owner who runs his business on traditional 'island time' Island Getaway by Mary Huntsberry
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How is Violina in the the downtown mall area these days? About five years ago we had a fine lunch there and talked to Dan Akroyd, whose band was playing locally (his brother-in-law lives in the Winchesrer area)..he bought us a few drinks and we all had a great time. Used to be a nice Bulgarian restaurant south of town which has long gone out of business (Cafe Sofia). Can't think of anything else there except for the greasiest pizza in any town at Enrico's..a great place to get the munchies in high school!
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Had two really good pies at Bebo last night...an artichoke, mozz and tomato, and a marinara with smoked mozz...perfect crust with just a little char, thin but firm bottom, and great balance of toppings. Service at the bar was great with the only glitch being that the taps were still locked on the kegs early in the evening, but they have added Pilsner Urquell and Peroni to their draught list, a much needed addition to a sparse selection of beers. Our check was our check, unlike the bizarre experience mentioned in the previous post!
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Farrah Olivia, The Source, or Indebleu?
TomA replied to diddy's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
and Farrah has possibly the best quality and prepared brunch in Alexandria/Arlington..a great way to sample this gem on the "cheap" --$22 for 3 courses -
On the credit card issue: we have eaten three meals at Bebo (all fine, with improving service evident in the dining room) this month and been able to tip on the credit card. I do know that those participating in the poker tournament can get discouned menu items ($10 pizzas). My only problem these days is the shortness of the menu; the items coming out of the kitchen and pizza oven have been good-to-excellent with an emphasis on simplicity and good ingredients..hopefully some more diversity in the menu will occur as Claudio gets comfortable in establishing his style for the place.
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I took my deep breath and apologize for the jihadist label, BUT the bartender is one of the few rude and unhelpful bartenders we have ever run into in this area..the waitress was gracious and rolled her eyes at that guy, then had an argument with him over the refill issue. Normaly, bartenders are among the most eager to please of wait staff....that is why we eat at the bar most of time in many places. ..BTW.. I take issue at "Kill" anybody t-shirts
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B&P in Shirlington for Lunch Saturday..first off food and politics don't mix..the food: very good veggie burger with a side of cpmpetent fries; wife had great buck wheat waffles; service....good waitress but lousy, surly jihadist bartender wouldn't refill our tea and water glasses when we move to the bar..peace and love, yeah sure!! The politics: best decribed as the mainstreaming of radical chic, a very troubling trend in Democratic Party politics these days (check out the Obama-with-halo painting!)..."Kill Bush and Cheney" T-shirts for sale, waiter with untranslatable Arabic script on their black tee shirts...don't dare, as my wife did, to bring one of the books into the dining area, you will be chided with a shark's tooth smile and warning....any right wing nuts out there want to open a restaurant: call it Stormtroopers and Blackshirts and serve killer (literally?) brats..just joking! as the Soup Nazi said..NEXT!!
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"Jerusalem" I believe..it has really great Chicken Schwarma as well as the usual Levantine faves
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Wife and I went to Los Tios last night with reasonable expectations based on past experiences, but were shocked at how good the dinner special, Lamb Fajitas, turned out...cumin scented, well marinated and wonderfully smoky chunks and slices of lamb..this dish would not have been out of place at a very good Indo-Pakistani or Afgan place..a real surprise for this modest but certainly better than average neighborhood Tex-Mex/Salvadoran...better than average fat pupusas as an App, really good Tres Leches cake for dessert and two giant happy hour sangrias and one giant margarita made for a very nice meal...the service here is really good and the place is emaculate..I can see why it is a nieghborhood favorite.