u-bet!
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Eating at Nationals Park
u-bet! replied to Joe Riley's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
I brought in a container of turkey chili purchased from the On The Fly cart. No one batted an eye or asked me to open the container to see what was inside. When the team was playing at RFK, I brought in a sub from the Italian Store in its original brown bag. They did look inside the bag, but let me bring it in. Now THAT was some good ballpark eats! -
I would echo the sentiments expressed in post #92 above.
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I was there this evening and had my burger prepared Diablo-style with American Cheese (happy Independence Day!), lettuce, tomato, raw red onion, and Ray's Hell Sauce. I was not asked how I wanted it cooked, so I asked for it to be cooked as "recommended", according to the menu board. I would describe this as on the rare side of medium-rare. I usually ask for my burgers medium for safety's sake, and probably still will, except here, because now I know how good a perfectly cooked burger can be. They offer a nice selection of bottled drinks to go along with your burger. The corn on the cob was outstanding; tasted very fresh. Next time I'll remember to order the bacon (d'oh!). It's an extra bonus to be under the care of the friendly faces from Ray's. They simply know how to treat their customers, and you can tell that everyone is excited to be a part of this. I hereby pronounce Ray's Hell-Burger goooooooood.
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Hope Key (or was it Kee?) Unassuming Chinese restaurant which used to be in a storefront on Wilson Blvd. in Clarendon, pretty much right across the street from the Metro, from what I remember. I had my first Chow Fun and steamed dumplings there, and I remember liking pretty much everything I ever ate there. I liked the atmosphere, too, seemed like a mix of neighborhood folks and some of the poseur types who were just beginning to encroach on the area at the time, but no one ever made a scene or behaved too obnoxiously. I was introduced to the place by a Korean friend (who never introduced me to any Korean restaurants, oddly enough...)
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OK, so what was it and are there leftovers for tomorrow?
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Eating at Nationals Park
u-bet! replied to Joe Riley's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
I ran into an interesting phenomenon at yesterday's game - the lack of availability of food during extra-inning games. As I was walking around during the eighth and ninth innings, most of the concessions were closing up, cleaning grills, etc., although a few were still serving. It seemed to be pretty hit-or-miss. Can anyone pass along any tips as to which, if any particular concessions/food carts are more likely to keep serving into extra-innings? -
My experience last night was quite an improvement over my first visit a few weeks ago. It was not crowded at all when I arrived around 8:30 and found three or four open seats at the bar. They were well-staffed with two full-time bartenders, plus the manager roaming around, helping out when needed and chatting with customers. I experienced no service issues this time but, to be fair, they were nowhere near as crowded last night and had more staff, so it was easier for them to keep a handle on things. I will add my voice to the chorus of those who would like to see a greater variety of beers on tap, but they do have Red Hook Longhammer IPA, which I like (note to management: Dogfish Head 60 Minute on tap would be AWESOME). The revelation of the evening was the mushroom salad, which was intended to be my appetizer since I was fairly hungry. I'm not a huge mushroom fan, but this dish won me over. Wild mushrooms are sliced and fanned out along one side of the plate, drizzled with vinaigrette, and a mixture of corn, arugula, goat cheese, and what I believe were slivers of tomato is arranged next to the mushrooms on the other side of the plate. It's a very flavorful preparation, with the goat cheese predominating, but the vinaigrette does not overpower the mushrooms, and the fact that everything is not all mixed in together allows for full flavor regulation on the part of the eater. Really a very nice surprise, and highly recommended, even for non-mushroom fans. A bonus: the interesting presentation caught the eye of the young ladies sitting next to me, so if you single folks are looking for a conversation starter... I wanted to try the burger so I ordered one, medium, topped with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, and bleu cheese. The burger was huge and cooked to order. Overall, it was fine, but the bun fell apart a bit too easily. I won't go so far as to say it seemed stale, but I would have preferred something a little sturdier to hold the large burger and piles of "fixins" contained within. Fries were plentiful, hot, and tasty. No dessert, but maybe next time, when I intend to try the impressive-looking wienerschnitzel I spied on someone else's plate.
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When I last ordered the garlic mashed potatoes, my server handed me a hoe and pointed towards the garden out in back of the building. Now I know why.
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Or, I could just mix some spiced cashews in with my chocolate mousse and pretend I'm eating snickers pie... for that matter, I could dump the whole thing on top of my Steak Diablo and pretend I'm eating Carne Asada with Mole' sauce... hey, you need a sous chef?
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snickers pie - new dessert item on the regular menu or just a special offering on Sundays?
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Actually, she seemed to be pretty friendly to everyone there. If you consider that a substitute for knowing how to do your job, then you'll love the place. She walked away from me while I was in mid-sentence trying to place an order. Throughout the night, she went about her business taking care of patrons in a haphazard fashion, ignoring empty glasses (not just mine) and generally not paying attention. Good bartenders have their heads on a swivel, try to make eye contact with their customers as opposed to avoiding it, and eventually notice when someone's glass is empty (usually a cue that you might be able to sell them something). They also try to keep up with how long customers' food orders are taking and, if not proactively informing them if there is an inordinate delay, at least making an effort to see what's taking so long when asked about it. When they start paying me to come in, I guess I'll relax my standards; until then I don't believe basic competence is too much to ask.
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Oh, yeah. I don't have such at home, so I'm always blown away by a good HD picture.
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And, as I mentioned, they were willing to accomodate and quick to tune in the game I requested (once I found the right person to help me).
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I walked in at about 6PM on Tuesday and was seated immediately. I like the Australian Merlot by the glass. I ordered the House Special, which was awesome as usual, and specially requested the garlic mashed potatoes for the first time. I am never going back to regular - these are SO good - with actual garlic slices on top, no less! The dark chocolate mousse for dessert was served in a smaller glass that usual. I couldn't tell if the portion itself was smaller, so maybe they just ran out of the larger glasses or decided to change the presentation and are still serving the same portion size. The texture of the mousse was also much firmer than before, as if it had possibly been overly chilled. The intense chocolate flavor was as good as ever, and I walked away stuffed to the gills. When is the big move?
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My experience there last night was pretty abysmal. It was crowded at first (but not packed), and the crowd gradually thinned out as the evening went on, so if the kitchen was slammed, they had to have been seriously understaffed to begin with. The bartender (Lisa, I believe) was obviously out of her depth; her skill set appears to be more cut out for the local neighborhood dive. I think with a more competent, aware bartender, things wouldn't have been so bad. When I sat down at the bar, she approached me and asked what I was having. I asked her if they could turn on the DC United game, and she said "I think we can work something out". As I started to order a beer ("I'll have a..."), she inexplicably walked away to some other task. She eventually made her way back to take my drink order. After about 15 minutes went by without her making any effort to turn on the game I asked the manager, who promptly turned it on one of the TV's (which theretofore had been displaying nothing but a DirecTV screen saver floating about). She flew past me way too many times without casting a glance (much less asking) to see if I needed anything - tunnel vision is NOT a good attribute for a bartender in a busy place. I ordered the wings, which came in a reasonable amount of time and were tasty. The burger I ordered after the wings was nowhere in sight after about 1/2 an hour, however, and when I asked about it, she replied with a terse "It's coming". In the meantime, I had already witnessed another customer come up to the bar and cancel her order which had taken too long. After about 10 more minutes I canceled the burger, paid the check (after a "sorry about that" from the manager), and left an unhappy customer. I don't subscribe to the "they're new, go easy on them" school of thought. You know you're going to be busy; have more that 2 people behind the bar, for crying out loud. If you're not ready to open, then don't open.
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Actually, Grevey's in Merrifield does a passable job with their Beef-on-Weck (from what I remember; been awhile since I've had it). Apparently, the salted Kummelweck roll is what differentiates it from the standard roast beef sandwich.
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Dino's Bisteca Fiorentina and the Texas Rub Bone-In Ribeye at Restaurant 3 are two examples which come to mind. (Not sure if you are referring exclusively to NY Strip, in which case these examples obviously would not apply... but they're still pretty frickin' huge cuts of beef).
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If that's not a line from a hip-hop song, it should be.
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Sounds like I picked the wrong time to move out of the North Arlington area.
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I recently had the Primanti Bros.-style sandwich with the fried egg on it and potato salad on the side. After 4 visits trying different things, this is my favorite menu item so far.
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Downward, and to the right... downward, and to the right. When I was a little girl dreaming of what post #30 would be like, this is not how I imagined it.
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This may not help you much (since it's lunch), but I had lunch there two weeks ago. The tuna sandwich was slightly fishy-tasting, but the bread was tasty. Frites served with the sandwich were good. Service left something to be desired; took awhile to be greeted by our server after we were seated, she forgot to bring one of our drinks, and she was generally inattentive throughout the meal. This was my first visit there. I was somewhat underwhelmed.
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Eating at Nationals Park
u-bet! replied to Joe Riley's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
The "On the Fly" cart (the one with the big wings on it)? I had the turkey chili and brought it with me into the park. It was tasty, a little on the sweet side. I think it was around $5 or 6 for a 16 oz. container, so it's a good deal. After a few visits, my general tip for ballpark dining is to get whatever food you are going to get (but no drink), then head to the Gifford's stand and get a milkshake to go with your food. -
Me too. Although I didn't stay long enough to experience the poor service or watch my team suffer a humiliating defeat. I sat at the bar and was quite put off by the lack of cleanliness and the paper menus sitting on top of the bar soaked in puddles of... something. Plus, the place was way too smoky, so I beat a hasty retreat to Gordon Biersch in Tyson's. Had some good beer and a decent burger (plus I have a soft spot for their garlic fries), and never looked back.
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Eating at Nationals Park
u-bet! replied to Joe Riley's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
Food I ate, in order of goodness (most good to least good): 1) Hazelnut Chocolate gelato 2)Swiss Chocolate milkshake from Gifford's ("You're not waiting for hot chocolate? Step right up to the front of the line, sir!" ) 3) Potato & garlic knish from Kosher Sports 3) Hard Times wings (line was long but moved very quickly) 4) Ben's 1/2 smoke (not from the Ben's stand, but said it was a "Ben's" on the menu board. Not as piping hot as it could have been, and "all-the-way" was a bit too much of a gloppy mess for me.)
