Jump to content

schulju

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    292

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Everything posted by schulju

  1. schulju
    I think the problem is people using the term "pizza" as a single, ubiquitous word for what is really many different genres of food product. There's the (IMO) quintessential 'NY Style Pizza' to which DanielK refers. There's the purist 'Italian Style' pizza that one finds at a 2-Amy's. There's that 'Deep Dish Thing' that no East Coast-er would ever call pizza that they serve in Chicago. Then there is the 'I've just gotten home from work/school/errands and don't have the energy to cook...what can I pay someone to deliver to my door for me' pizza. THIS is what we speak of when we talk of PJs, Domino's, Pizza Hut. It's simply NOT the same thing as the others, and cannot be judged next to them. I have enjoyed each of these food types in turn and willingly admit that PJ's shows up at my door on at least a monthly basis.
  2. schulju
    First visit to the Germantown outpost last night. Let's start by level setting expectations: This is a chain restaurant in a strip mall in Germantown folks. Okay, that said, I was actually pretty pleased with our meal. Decor: As described by TomS. Lots of dark wood, red pain and gold accents. Italian map mural on the wall, red leather banquettes along the walls, and a few too many tchotchkes about. The pizza oven is front and center when you walk through the door. Given the temps last night, it was a welcome site. Not sure how I'll feel about it in August. Service: Nathan was great. Yes, there's a spiel about the menu and their best app/pizza/entree at the beginning, but hey, his Manager tells him he has to say that. Once that was over, he was great. Very accommodating, attentive, and genial. Drinks: The "seasonal craft beer" was Blue Moon. Neither seasonal nor craft. They did have a local DC Brau 'The Corruption' on tap, which gave Hubby something to order. I ordered a vodka based cocktail. Was it great? No, but it was better than a lot of the crap cocktails they serve in chain restaurants these days. Beer was $5, cocktail was $9. Pretty much in the ballpark for MoCo. Food: Bread service was a basket of small round "rolls" served with a spiced olive oil. They came out piping hot, but I thought they were pretty flavorless. Hubby started with the mussels They were traditional white wine and garlic, served with two bread "sticks" for lack of a better description. Hubby pretty much always orders mussels when he sees them on a menu. These were better than the last several variations he's had. He thought there was a strong taste of lemon, I didn't even notice it. I really like the bread they served with the mussels. Entrees were pasta for him and pizza for me. The pasta was one of the Chef's recommendations: Penne in a cream sauce with sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pine nuts and Mascarapone. The pasta is quite al dente. A bit underdone for Hubby's tastes, but the flavor was good. I like the fact that the pasta is not swimming in sauce, it's fully dressed with sauce, but there's no puddle at the bottom of your bowl. I was really pleased with my pizza. It was a generous size, maybe 14 inches. The crust is very thin, cracker-y at the edges, nicely blistered. Very reminiscent of the pies we had in Italy. The eponymous Tagliatella is served with a very light portion of sauce, mozzarella, fried eggplant (so thin, you can't even tell it's eggplant), Parmigiano-Reggiano drizzled with a honey balsamic reduction. I would absolutely give it an A. All in we were at $65 before tip. Not bad for a nice meal out with a couple of drinks these days. We will definitely go back.
  3. schulju
    Tried the Ping Pong at Dupont Circle this weekend, and took advantage of their Restaurant Week menu. It was certainly a substantial amount of food for $20. 8 pieces of dim sum, a small salad, a small plate (tapas size) and a mochi ice cream dessert. I thought most of the dim sum were good; the honey roasted chicken puff, spring roll and spicy chicken dumpling were very good. They must have been out of one of the items on the RW menu because we received a beef dumpling instead of the advertised garlic shrimp dumpling. I don't eat beef, so I wish they had mentioned the substitution and given me a chance to ask for something else. But, given i couldn't eat it all anyway, that's a small quibble. Cocktails are inventive and in the $12-$15 range. I expected the restaurant to be crowded, and it was pretty empty at 1pm on Saturday. There is a large bar area (no customers at that time) and a number of tables. The only seats that have backs are along the banquet. Sitting on a backless chair for any length of time doesn't seem very comfortable, I think this might be an issue for some people. Overall, I thought it was a nice alternative to the usual fare, but this is not a place for serious dim sum fans.
  4. schulju
    Harney and Sons makes the best chamomile tea I've ever had. I use to order it all the time. Lately I've fallen in love with Mighty Tea's African Amber organic which isn't so much tea as it is rooibos root. I also like Revolution teas..but the Harris Teeter stores have stopped carrying it and their shipping costs are more than their tea!
  5. schulju
    I went months ago and never thought to post. Dumplings were forgettable, but we found the kabobs to be very good. The lamb was especially good. I recall it being a bit spicy, but on our visit it wasn't dry. Same platter mentioned above with 2 lamb and 2 chicken on a huge bed of fried rice.
  6. schulju
    Wish we could join the party, but we're out of town till the 7th. I command all 30 of you to drink a toast to Dean and Kay on my behalf!
  7. schulju
    Second visit to Range for dinner with one old and several "new to me" friends Tuesday night. An evening spent in good company is always enjoyable, but I don't think Range will be on my list of dining rooms I want to visit again any time soon. I just re-read my post above from my first visit back in July, and am finding it hard to believe this was the same restaurant. This time we had nothing but service issues which began right from the first and continued through paying the check. Our server was disinterested at best. When asked to provide a recommendation bewteen two menu items, her first response was "no". Really? Haven't we all asked a server to help us break a tie before? Thereafter she was simply not around. Dishes went missing, entrees were delivered cold, water glasses were in need of refilling and no one was ever asked if they wanted a second drink although empty glasses were evident. I noticed that table near us who were also in her section were having the same experience. It's possible that she had a number of tables on the other side of the restaurant that were outside of our field of vision, but she certianly never appeared to be "on the floor". Since we weren't sharing plates, I won't detail the food, I will note however that four out of five at the table commented that their food was served far below ideal temperature. I actualy sent my pasta back. It had arrived in a piping hot plate, but when I actually tasted the pasta it was completely cold. I understand that their shtick is multiple kitchens and items come to the table as they are prepared. I think this works fine when you have a table of communal diners. In our case, everyone was pretty much odering and eating individually and the result was that some mains weren't even delivered by the time others had finished their entrees. Similarly, we ordered three items of the "bakery" section of the menu to start and two were delivered together. The third item wasn't delievered until after the mains started showing up. It's awkward to always have a few folks eating while others are sitting looking at empty plates. I still think the prices are in line with the area and I don't have an issue with them. But at this price point, there are lots of other options where you can count on really good service and meal pacing that is a bit more coherent. I get what ktmoomau means above when she makes comparisons to Blue Duck Tavern. There are certianly dishes here that share an ethos with BDT, but the service and execution at BDT is so much better it's hard to compare the restaurants at all.
  8. schulju
    Dean and Kay will be sorely missed in Cleveland Park where great Italian in a great atmosphere was readily available to the MoCo crowd. We will make a point of coming in before Dino closes and will certainly follow Dean to his new location. Best of luck and thank you Dean for all the great meals and great memories!
  9. schulju
    Don, please move if there is a thread elsewhere, I searched both the dining guide and the forums and was unable to find one. Although open for more than a year, Friday was my first visit to the Not Your Average Joe's in the Kentlands Square Shopping Center. NYAJs bills itself as a creative, casual cuisine. It definitely delivers a more imaginative menu than the ubiquitous MoCo chains in the area. The menu offers something for everyone and I appreciate the long list of bottomless non-alcoholic offerings. This place is definitely family friendly. We were sat immediately at 5:30 on a Friday night, we had reservations but there was no one waiting when we arrived. By the time we left an hour later, there was a large crowd waiting to be seated. We began with an order of the Asian Chicken Dumplings, which we found to be a miss. The order of 5 dumplings were filled with an unseasoned chicken paste floating in an overly vinegary sauce. Hubby had the meatloaf, which arrived looking more like a deconstructed shepherd's pie. He loves shepherd's pie, and did like the meatloaf. I had an excellent spinach salad off the special's list. The salad was dressed in a warm maple vinaigrette, and while a bit on the sweet side, went really well with the pears and goat cheese. I also ordered another app for my main. The forno baked chicken quesadilla was enormous. This dish, like all of the plates that came to the table, suffered for being over-garnished. It made taking home and reheating leftovers a bit of a challenge. Here they seem to treat onion straws like parsley as they adorned both the salad and the meatloaf. By adorned, I mean they blanketed both plates. Frankly, they're kind of greasy, and just not that good. I wish the kitchen practiced a bit more restraint with their use. Overall, a good value, nice venue and lots of options that appeal whatever mood you might be in. A good addition for MoCo and to our rotation. We will be back.
  10. schulju
    Success! Got Hubby (and a bunch of the PGI dining clan) to go to Peking Duck for a Duck Throwdown! 7pm on a Saturday night and there were only three other tables in the restaurant. The restaurant itself could use a face lift...the entry way and rest rooms have seen better days, and the dining room is a bit dingy. That said, we were happy to be shown to a table immediately upon arriving...as opposed to the obligatory hour long wait one faces at PGI. The drink list is limited to 4 beers (2 Asian beers, Miller and Heineken) and a few Sutter Home wines. For seven people we ordered 4 appetizers, 2 ducks and 3 entrees which worked out to be the exact right amount of food. The duck was very good. Perhaps I would give PGI a slight edge, mostly for the carving skills, but given how much easier getting to said duck is, there's really no difference. In addition to the duck, we had a couple of bowls of duck bone soup which was declared very good. Pan fried dumplings were well received, although no one really liked the dumpling sauce. Moo shoo pork was a big hit, as was the triple delight. Crispy prawns were in an overly sweet sauce, not at all what I was expecting, I wouldn't order it again. Did I mention that all this food, plus 10-12 bottles of beer, and we got out for $35 per person including tip?? Service was attentive, the duck was excellent, other menu items were mostly well received and we were sat immediately upon arrival. I wish there was a full bar available and that the room was a bit less shabby, but I am happy to declare myself free of the hell that is PGI. Peking Duck House is the new family "go-to" for Peking Duck!
  11. schulju
    Very sad news indeed. I've enjoyed a number of really fine meals at Addie's over the years. There's certainly a lack of "fine dining" establishments in MoCo, Addie's was a reliable go-to for business dinners when my office was in Gaithersburg.
  12. schulju
    Whenever I've ordered the Big Duck at Spices, it's always been carved in the kitchen and brought to the table in the form of a tray of pancakes already topped with the duck. The duck meat is tasty, but I don't find the skin to be as crispy as it would be if carved and served separately from the meat.
  13. schulju
    I've been avoiding this place like the plague. I couldn't imagine what sort of precious portions of steamed/grilled protein and veg could make it to a plate and stay under 475 calories. I'd still be wondering if it weren't that a friend's dietary restrictions resulted in a group of us meeting up at the Tyson's location on Friday night. Hubby and I got to the mall early and had a cocktail and a bar snack across the way at BRIO in an attempt to stave off the starvation we were expecting to face at dinner. (Which by the way, at $5 cocktails and $4 snacks, is a pretty decent happy hour.) Honestly, for the most part, I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to get a decent glass of wine. The flatbreads were quite good. The six of us shared three: chicken, shrimp and mushroom. Hubby ordered the mussels, and they were absolutely awful. The sauce was flavorless, but since I couldn't get past the gritty texture of the mussels themselves, I barely noticed it. I had a tuna salad for dinner, and someone else got the tuna appetizer for dinner. It was the same serving of tuna, mine came with a mix of greens and grilled pineapple on top. The menu said it included almonds, but I never found one, I would have liked the crunch. Hubby got the salmon. It was well cooked and he enjoyed it. But the protein servings are quite small and if you have a big appetite, you might leave hungry even after appetizers and desert. Hubby wanted to hit up McDonald's on the way home. This was definitely not enough food for him. Service was okay, but the pacing was slow. Two and a half hours for dinner. We were enjoying the company, but there's no reason that the meal should have taken that long. Dinner at Family Meal the next night cost the very same $101, and we didn't need to hit a different restaurant before and after the meal to get enough to eat.
  14. schulju
    Our First visit to Family Meal on Saturday night and I expect there will be many more visits in the future. Good food, good service all in a casual atmosphere equaled a great place to catch up with old friends. We arrived right on time for our 6:30 reservation and they were kind enough to seat us even though the other couple we were meeting was running 15 minutes late. (The hostess was also kind enough to talk to our friends over my phone and provide turn-by-turn directions.) The wait, without a reservation was about 45 minutes. A note on service and pacing...we were in an out in 90 minutes even though the restaurant was completely full and we spent quite a bit of time catching up before we actually ordered our meals. Service was casual, but very warm. Our server was knowledgeable about the menu, checked back often, and kept a light banter up with the husbands. Water glasses were filled frequently and dirty dishes cleared quickly. You can't ask for more at a casual family restaurant. I had the benefit of the forum to guide my ordering. The chicken pot pie fritters were as incredible as everyone has said. We had two orders between the four of us, next time I'm getting my own! The duck fat fries were okay. They could have been crisper. It seemed to me that they were single fried and perhaps could have benefited from being double-fried. I wasn't a big fan of the onion rings either, but others at the table loved them. We had two orders of shrimp and grits. I didn't taste the shrimp, but the serving was generous and they looked plump and perfectly cooked. An order of the fried chicken got rave reviews. For some ridiculous reason I decided to have a wedge salad thinking it would counteract all the fried food on table. It was a mess of wilted greens slathered in too much dressing. What was I thinking? Right up at the top of the list of things you MUST order when you come to Family Meal, right next to the chicken pot pie fritters, should be the chocolate earl grey doughnuts. Golf ball sized mounds of dense dark chocolate cake, fried and rolled in cinnamon sugar, served with chocolate sauce and ice cream. These are amazing and not to be missed. Hubby had apple cobbler a la mode for dessert. He enjoyed it, and he ate the coffee ice cream that came with the doughnuts. Next time, I'll order the doughnuts with the vanilla ice cream that was on the cobbler..it was really amazing ice cream! Dinner, two beers and an "adult" milkshake with tax and tip came out to be $101. Exactly the same bill we had the night before at Seasons 52, but at least this time I didn't have to take Hubby to McDonald's afterwards.
  15. schulju
    I agree with most of what lekkerwijin says. Yes, a reservation is only an invitation to stand in line and the crowds are unbearable. Yes, the service is awful. Yes, most of the food is "mall Chinese" at best. But if there's a better version of Peking Duck readily available in town, then please share the secret and spare the rest of us from ever having to go back here again.
  16. schulju
    I'll check today, I drive by on my way home from work most days. Hubby and I have been a few times. Usually a Friday or Saturday night when we want to eat out, but don't want to wait in a long line. We tend to go in the winter and sit by the lovely fire place. The food is okay, rarely good and never great. The wine, Don, is exactly what you describe. As for old school, if you pay with a credit card, you get a CARBON PAPER receipt back. Hadn't seen one of those in many years.
  17. schulju
    Rocks, that clip should have come with a warning label....
  18. schulju
    Anyone been lately? We have a dim sum Sunday coming up later this month and am hoping the current fare is better today than it apparently was in 2006!
  19. schulju
    Laura, while Buddakan is probably the most well known, my favorite is Continental Mid-town. I wouldn't suggest Parc, as it's the template for LD so you've pretty much already been there. Menus for all STARR restaurants are online at http://www.starr-restaurant.com/ Much like LD here, unless you're planning to visit at an off time, you will definitely need reservations whichever restaurant you choose.
  20. schulju
    Second visit to LD this weekend, again for brunch. Lovely morning with a dear friend was almost overshadowed by the inability to find legal parking within a six-block radius of the restaurant. Why doesn't someone put a parking garage up on 14th Street?? This time I ordered the quiche Lorraine that I had admired on a prior visit. This is a huge serving of the most ethereal, cheesy, custard filled goodness I have ever had! The very generous slice came with a small salad on the side and I ordered a side of potatoes (which wasn't at all necessary). At $12, this really is a steal. We did have to request a bread basket, but were awarded with a mix of baguette, sour dough and their cranberry walnut (my favorite). Service was not as attentive this time, but probably only seemed lacking given the excellent service I enjoyed on my last visit. Also, we were seated outside this time, so maybe that's part of the reason for less attention. I will continue to keep brunch here in my regular rotation. Not sure I will venture here for any other meal, since I don't think it will live up to the great experiences I've had at brunch.
  21. schulju
    So sad to hear this news, I was looking forward to bringing friends in the fall.
  22. schulju
    Like darkstar, I've never been to Occoquan, but it and Blue Arbor are now on my list of must see places. Thanks KMango!
  23. schulju
    Jason, thanks for a fun and informative evening! We had a great time. Getting to know you and your passion for what you do makes indulging in your amazing product even more enjoyable. I can't thank you enough for hooking me up with some Manjari, now I just need the time to get into the kitchen and bake
  24. schulju
    First visit for me to Regent Thai last night; it is the go-to of family members who live in the area. At 7pm there were only a few other tables in the restaurant so our group of six felt like we had the place to ourselves. Service was very friendly, pacing between appetizers and entrees was spot on, glasses were filled and dirty dishes removed promptly. I've been a big fan of another Thai restaurant in the area so had been resisting Regent for a while. Shame on me ! If Panang is your dish, then head to the corner of S and Connecticut, otherwise, I think the menu at Regent has more to offer. The menu isn't that large, but offers a nice variety of dishes, The first thing I noticed was just how beautiful every single dish was. We ordered a good mix of curry, noodles, rice and two of our party ordered the soft shell special. Everything tasted fresh, the veggies were all bright and still had some snap to them. I'm looking forward to having my leftovers for lunch today. I think prices are fair for the quality of the product and the location. Most dishes were in the $14-$18 category. I had the Thai fried rice, one of their signature dishes. It was an enormous plate of food, and so pretty! All in all, can't wait for another excuse to visit Regent Thai.
  25. schulju
    wck, welcome! A JC girl and I didn't see you mention Dickie Dees?? Or the round bread that they use which can only be found in JC Italian bakeries...just cannot be duplicated down here.
×
×
  • Create New...