schulju

It's opening day at the Gaithersburg Location. I arrived just before 1pm, at the tail end of what appeared to be a late lunch rush. It's a tiny place, and opening day pains were in evidence on the faces of the people who stood around the small, crowded dining room waiting for their steaks to come up in the window. No ice, no plastic carry out bags, there must have been 10 people behind the counter tripping over each other. Fewer folks back there may have made things go a little smoother. There was lots of confusion on which sandwhiches were for dining in, and which were to go. As I waited, I watched as many sandwhiches get unwrapped and put on trays as I saw wrapped up to take out.

I ordered a provolone steak, 9 inches, to go. The steak does come on a traditional Amoroso roll (the menu calls them "imported", but really, they're imported from the Fleet Street bakery of North East Foods in Baltimore, so it's a little hard not to laugh). The steak was chopped a la Jim's Steaks, it could have used a little more seasoning and a more generous amount of cheeese. That said, it was a pretty good sandwhich, certainly one of the best cheesesteaks I've had since moving to MD. Since it came wtih a $2 coupon, I'll probably be back for another fairly soon.

I did not order any fries, they seemed to be cooked to order, but since the sandwhiches were taking so long to come up, they would up sitting under a heat lamp for a while.

Try the fried pickles and the sweet potato fries.

Anything in a bread bowl is good.

Mead and ale are best enjoyed out of a goblet or flagon, available from your local potter, wood-, or pewtersmith.

The desserts are great.

Cheesecake on a stick WILL kill you.

See my friends perform in Shakespeare Skum and The O'Danny Girls.

Cheesecake on a stick is the best reason to go to the Faire! Love that stuff, even if it's not of the period. Other goodies not of the period but available at the Faire include funnel cake, dirt cake (really a pudding), and chocolate chip cookies!

Hubby's favorite restaurant is Outback, so I too need a defenisve menue strategy. I have found the chopped blue cheese salad to be pretty good. It is only offered on the menu as a side item, but they are happy to make it in a dinner portion if requested. I usually accompany this with a baked potato. I do actually like their bread, so all together it's plenty of food.

I'd had Idylwood recommended to me before by a charming young woman I'd gone out with yet never made it there until last night. With my brother's fiancee looking to celebrate, and the three of us starving, she suggested it, and I was glad that she did.

When we first got there the first wine we ordered, an Australian called Tintara (a cabernet sauvignon if I remember correctly) was out of stock. My brother was sorely disappointed - that's been one of his favorite wines for a while and he hasn't been able to find it anywhere. (I've been telling him to write it down for me or come with me out to Ace but he can be forgetful.) We changed to a Chilean Haras cab sauvignon that we enjoyed a good bit.

Meanwhile, his fiancee ordered sparkling wine - and perhaps to make up for the lack of our first choice the waiter brought her out a complimentary second glass. It wasn't the house sparkling wine, either. It was an asti that we hadn't heard of before, and he wrote down the name for us. She thought it was the best alcoholic drink she's ever had (she's very preferential to sparkling wines). Matt and I thought it was very good and will be looking to hunt it down as well.

We started with an appetizer of Idyl-Calamari, calamari sauteed in a tomato broth. The actual pieces of calamari were a bit tough, I thought, but still the dish was very tasty. I wish we'd had more of the crusty, slightly salty bread we'd started off with to sop up the broth. I guess I could've asked for more...

For our main entrees, my brother went with the NY Strip, rare, with gorgonzola on top, and he loved it. I went with the rack of lamb provencal, medium rare, and it was the best lamb I've had in quite a while. It was very tender, with a nice zip but not overwhelming of mustard, and I used the potatoes to sop up the sauce. The potatoes and asparagus were also quite good.

All in all it was a very good meal. The owner came by to say hi, something that according to my brother and his fiancee say he does every time they've come in, they've really been happy with his service and attitude.

What was the name of the asti? I too love slightly sweet sparkling wines.

I have been to the Idylwood on several occasions, the owner is a "friend of a friend". We've always had a lovely time and have felt that the meal was a good value for the area. They have a number of Austrian red wines on their menu. If you've never checked one out, please do. They're quite enjoyable and at around $20, a great bargain.

OMG, that is ONE block north of my office! Originally a Philly girl, I'm a loyal Jim's Steak's fan (the Pat's vs. Gino's thing..it's for tourists) and looking forward to a reasonable MD facsimile of a steak wit'!

I drove by on Friday, one of the owners was there with the contractor. They tell me they're shooting for a Mid-September opening.

I have a friend in town from London and we're having dinner at Dino tonight. It's my first time, and I'm excited to finally get a taste of Dean's food!

I see the pig and wild boar have gotten a lot of rave reviews. Both sound awesome to me, but my friend is a less a carnivore than I am. What are some other "not to be missed" dishes we shoudl look for?

Dean, I hope I get a chance to say hello!

We had a fabulous dinner at Dino on Friday night! Dean, thank you for putting up with my very tardy friend and accomodating us even though we were almost an hour late for our reservation!

Three of us shared the burrata and squash blossoms to start. The burrata was wonderful, my comapnaions had never heard of it before. As an avid lurker here on DR.com, I was able to impress with my burrata knowledge

Dean stopped by with a sample of a new melon salad which included several types of seasonal melon, tomatoes, salami all in a vinagrette. Very interesting texture and taste. Thanks Dean for that extra treat.

I ordered a half order of the wild boar pappardelle, it was amazing! My friends were so jealous! They ordered the gorgonzola pasta and the mahi mahi in parchment. Everyone enjoyed their entrees.

The house made black peppercorn vanilla gelato was wonderfully received too.

I also appreciated being able to order 3oz pours of several wines which allowed me to have three different wines as the evening progressed without spending a fortune or getting a DUI on the way home!

Is there tasty, authentic mexican cuisine in the greater metro area? What about tex-mex? What about in northwest DC? I've been to lots of mediocre places, and read about lots of mediocre places here, some of which even suck ventworm nut... Suggestions?

Alex

It's already been mentioned, and it's not in DC, but the Blue Agave in Baltimore is a great Mexican (not Tex Mex) restaurant. It's a very short ride south of the harbor just past the Cross Street Market, so if you're ever doing the Harbor thing up there, you should check it out!

1032 Light St

Baltimore, MD 21230

I have a friend in town from London and we're having dinner at Dino tonight. It's my first time, and I'm excited to finally get a taste of Dean's food!

I see the pig and wild boar have gotten a lot of rave reviews. Both sound awesome to me, but my friend is a less a carnivore than I am. What are some other "not to be missed" dishes we shoudl look for?

Dean, I hope I get a chance to say hello!

FYI their second location appears to be getting very close to opening in Gaithersburg at 12207 Darnestown Rd, just north of Quince Orchard Rd (MD124). It's in the new shopping center behind the Chevy Chase Bank, next door to a new location of California Tortilla. The signs and window decorations appear to have gone up this week. Hot dang.

OMG, that is ONE block north of my office! Originally a Philly girl, I'm a loyal Jim's Steak's fan (the Pat's vs. Gino's thing..it's for tourists) and looking forward to a reasonable MD facsimile of a steak wit'!

Hubby loves, (as in eats a whole pan), orzo risotto. Made exactly the way you would make any other risotto, but is much more forgiving. To a half pound of orzo I use a quart of chicken stock. The stock can be added in two additions, and I add it right from the pantry..no preheating necessary. Comes our creamy and soft. I usually serve it as a side to Chicken Picatta...lots of similar flavors: wine, lemon, garlic. Okay, now I'm hungry!

I suppose my point was that the food stylist for this shot is most certainly some kind of mix between Bob Guccione and Hannibal Lector, and that by pointing out the shocking breach of taste--wordlessly, as to my mind none are necessary, so self-evident is the intention of said food stylist--I would myself be committing an equally shocking, even horrifying, but in character, breach of taste that I would surely secure my well-earned place in hell, and that no further participation on the board would be necessary.

I guess I was wrong. Oh well, what else can I expect from a group of people who, when they say they are going to Sushi Ko, actually mean--they are going to Sushi Ko!?!? And then actually make it there.

Michael, is it the "Georgia O'keeffe-ness" of the photo that disturbs you?

Has anyone found a shop in the area that carries Dolfin Chocolate?

Dolfin is a Belgium chocolate with fantastic flavors. My favorite is 'Hot Masala'. It's not spicy hot, but warm with cardamom, cinnamon and clove. It's fabu! I have found it online, but not at retail.

If you are ever in Baltimore look up Albert Kirchmayr. He used to be in a tiny, almost invisible from the street, brick building next to where the Eddie's supermarket is on N. Charles St. just across the city/county line; I think he moved to Towson somewhere after he expanded. The old place was literally a shack. The "line" would be out the door if there were more than 2 people in it!

These are the real deal, hand-made European chocolates and truffles. My mother used to get custom chocolate bowls from him for desserts at dinner parties.

You can get them boxed at various places in Baltimore (Belvedere Market comes to mind), but I would strongly suggest heading to the source; never know how long the boxes have been sitting around. I haven't had any in a few years, and it looks like he's doing a lot more corporate work, so hopefully the quality hasn't suffered. Seriously some of the best domestic chocolates I've had.

Edit: link for A. Kirchmayr Chocolatier. You used to be able to hand pick your assortments at the shop, don't know if that is true anymore

Kirchmayr has moved to Timonium, in an industrial strip mall right off 83. In the summer, his chocolate covered strawberries are worth waiting in line for! But get there early, they usually go on sale on Saturday morning and are out by Noon.

Here's my birthday dinner report...

Of course, Porcupine is correct that Hubby was very sweet to plan this for me. We had a wonderful time! Great setting, great company and great service!

We went with Hubby's Sister and Brother-in-law, a reformed chef (wanted a life, can you believe it? ). I can honestly say there was only one dish I was disappointed with but Brother-in-law actually liked it, so maybe that was just me.

We had a lovely table in the back near the fire and away from the larger, more crowded tables. We each ordered something different, and since everyone was willing to share, I was able to sample a lot of different things. Here is how the four of us ranked the dishes sampled by course, most favored to least favored...

Appetizers:

foie gras - scrumptious and generous, but an upcharge of $18

braised veal cheeks - really tasty, Hubby's favorite dish

skate - the fish was well prepared, but I don't find skate to have that much taste

puffed pastry with warm roquefort cheese and candied anjou pears - a little too sweet, could have done duty on the dessert menu

Dinner:

pork medallions - I know, pork tenderloin? But really, it was the most fabulous dish on the table!

choucroute - sausage and sauerkraut, but as only the Alsatians can

cod (and other seafood) in a puff pastry shell - creamy sauce, wonderful flakey pastry

scallops and shrimp St Jaques - this is the dish I least liked. The shrimp were well seasoned and tasty, the scallops were tough and didn't taste particularly fresh

Dessert: (No souffle)

cheesecake - very creamy and soft, won two of four votes for first place

hazelnut cake - great flavor

chocolate cake (house cake that night) - too rich, chocolate cake with chocolate ganache

cheese plate with a glass of port - three of four cheeses were creamy and flavorful, the basque cheese was just so-so.

All this and a nice bottle of Alsatian white came to $480 including a very generous tip. This works out to slightly less per person than a recent trip to 2941. The food is probably better at 2941, but nice as that dining room is, the atmosphere and service at Chez Francois are far superior.

Thanks Rocks for the encouragement!

You have all made me so depressed!

Husband has made reservations at Chez Francois this weekend for my birthday! Having never been, having read the Washingtonian's readers annual recommendations, and being a devout fan of the fare at Bistro du Coin....I was so looking forward to the meal!

I must say, that even a great restaurant will not show it's best colors on a holdiay. In my experience, Thanksgiving is usually the worst restaurant meal of the year. (Unless you go to to a big city Chinatown...really, Chinatown is a great place to get a good meal on Thanksgiving)

I will remain optimistic that the atmosphere, service, and companionship will serve to make this meal a happy memory....but I don't think I'm going to be ordering the soufle.

Made my first visit to 2941 last night with a dear friend from London. If I were to give a grade based on my meal alone, it would be an A-, but taking into account my companion's meal I have to take that down to a B. (To be fair, she would rate her meal higher than I would.)

We arrived for our 8:30 reservations at about 8:10, and were asked to wait in the bar. Two glasses of mediocre champagne set us back $36!

We were seated pretty promptly at 8:30, and we were fortunate to have a really great server, Diane.

I believe our amuse was skate with a pickled radish. London was concerned it would taste fishy..it didn't, but the radish was so strong that's pretty much all you tasted. It reminded me of the pickled ginger you have with sushi.

I began my meal with "WINTER ENDIVE SALAD, Cabrales bleu cheese, walnuts, mustard vinaigrette 16". I must say this salad was really terrific. In addition to the mentioned ingredients, it also contained small round balls of apples that had been poached in red wine (perhaps port) and spices. London started her meal with the "CAULIFLOWER VELOUTÉ

langoustine, Romanesco cauliflower, chervil 14". She enjoyed this, I thought the soup tasted too strongly of the fish stock from which it was made. As a second course, we split an appetizer sized portion of "HAND MADE POTATO GNOCCHI *

pancetta, fresh black truffle, parmesan cheese 18/32" I've heard this described on this board as being too soft, this really did dissolve on your tongue. We both loved it, but I agree it's sort of a stretch to call it gnocchi.

My entree was wonderful, "BAY SCALLOPS, citrus, celery root purée, parsley 32". The three scallops were quite large, nicely carmelized but definitely not overcooked. The celery root puree was a little on the sweet side, and I loved it with the scallops. My only complaint was that there wasn't enough of it on the plate. The citrus was in the form of a strange slightly gelled gastrique. It might have done better with the scallops if the celery root puree wasn't also on the same plate. I just avoided it. It certainly didn't add anything to the dish. London chose the "CHICKEN BREAST “facon coq au vin”

bacon, Yukon gold potato, savoy cabbage 30". I know, I can hear Don groaning...and you're right. The chicken was quite moist, but the strong smoked flavor detracted from it. The plate was sacued with a dark brown truffle infused gravy. This was the best part of the dish. When the dish was set down we were told the chicken was on a bed of "fois gras sausage". Now, both our eyes lit up at that, but this sausage was inedible. It was thin slices of something that looked and tasted like particle board. (Dry fois..really ) I can't imagine the chef allowing something this horrid leave the kitchen.

For dessert we shared a "DARK CHOCOLATE PALET D’OR, cacao nougatine, crème fraîche". This was very rich, quite good. The fraiche had a hint of lemon and was a nice complement.

The total meal with two glasses of wine and a generous tip came to $188. Actually, for the quality and service, I thought that was reasonable. I've certainly paid more for less in DC.

Our server was really great, and most of the evening we were surrounded by a well trained staff, but there were a few that were so bad, they really stood out in contrast. There was a small shelf cut into the half wall behind me that one of the bus boys decided worked well as a place to stock extra glassware. So all night I was crowded by people picking up and putting down glasses. Come on..there are better places to put glassware than behind a patron sitting at a small deuce!

We were one of the last half-dozen or so tables that evening. When we went, there was NO ONE at the hostess stand. No one to get our coats, no one to ask if our meal was all right. Finally after 5 minutes, someone walked over to take coat check tickets for the several groups of people that were now waiting to leave. And although there was a stack of bagged loaves sitting on the hostess stand, no one actually offered us the bread. There was another couple leaving at the same time, we actually discussed if we were supposed to take a loaf as we understood that to be a customary take-home gift. We had this conversation in front of the woman who had brought us our coats, and she said nothing. We all felt odd just taking a loaf, so at least three tables of guests left empty-handed.

Hey gang!

Okay, call me a coward! I pass the Seafood in the Buff stand along 355 in Germantown (Between 118 and Middlebrook Rd) just about every day. There's always a line in front of this decrepit looking trailer by the side of the road. I'm just too much of a germaphobic to stop off and try without hearing from someone who has actually tried (and survived) their products. Please let me know!