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Gadarene

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Everything posted by Gadarene

  1. Gadarene
    They noticeably raised their prices a little while back to the point where I couldn't justify spending (for example) $9 on some spinach leaves, egg whites, crappy grated cheddar, onions, and Cholula (which I see is now absent from their menu entirely at the Farragut Square location nearest my office) for breakfast. Maybe they had to raise their prices because they weren't getting enough customers, or maybe they weren't getting enough customers because they raised their prices; in any event, it's sort of a sad commentary on DC rental prices and their impact on dining when even the bland, overpriced chains in supposedly high-traffic areas can't stay open. We still have (literally) a dozen Au Bon Pains and probably half a dozen Prets within easy walking distance of my office, though! So, y'know. Bleah.
  2. Gadarene
    Went back and had the mole tamale with chicken, and it was really, really excellent, particularly with the guacamole. I'll be getting that again. (I do wish their salsa verde and salsa roja had a little more flavor)
  3. Gadarene
    Super Taco on Columbia also has a very good huitlacoche quesadilla.
  4. Gadarene
    Yeah, I want to be clear as well: I'm a big fan of Kwame's from Top Chef and from Dinner Lab, and I was really looking forward to Shaw Bijou opening. But that's an absurd amount of money to charge relative to his experience level -- even without considering prepaid service fees, beverages, tax, and tip, to the extent those are distinct -- particularly when it seems to be a point of pride that the food will not be "a paean to jaw-dropping innovation or technique" (I recognize that's a quote from the article, but they got it from somewhere). For $150+ per person, a little jaw-dropping innovation or technique would be kinda nice. I'm also more than a little skeptical about the disclaimer re locally-sourced food. Not everything needs to be "farm-to-table" (which isn't a particularly meaningful term anyway), and certainly there is nothing wrong with sourcing your ingredients from somewhere else -- I don't complain about Sushi Taro airlifting in fish from Tsukiji, or Dean getting his baby artichokes from the Santa Monica farmer's market. But to the extent that "don't expect all of it to come from local producers" translates to "don't expect a focus on fresh ingredients and seasonality," I have a huge problem. More and more I've come to believe that seasonality should be a foundation of thoughtful modern cuisine. Without innovation, technique, and seasonality, what are we paying for? Caviar and a somewhat recognizable face? Come on. (The idea of moving diners from place to place during their meal is surpassingly silly as well, but I can't imagine that they stick with that for long.)
  5. Gadarene
    Will do!
  6. Gadarene
    That is bananas. We're going to Barcelona in April and trying to narrow down which of the many, many Michelin-starred (or similar caliber) tasting menus we will be booking; there are plenty of options that are half what Shaw Bijou will be charging, or cheaper (and no "prepaid service fees"!). D.C. is its own planet.
  7. Gadarene
    Say hi next time! Thanks for everything you do for the DC dining scene. You make this city a materially better place to live, and I wish there were a dozen more like you that shared your perspective.
  8. Gadarene
    And for everyone who wants to see more of those type of amazing, small, chef-driven restaurants in DC, rather than fewer. We have few enough of those restaurants in DC as it is.
  9. Gadarene
    That is really depressing.
  10. Gadarene
    "Restaurant and Lounge" never bodes well.
  11. Gadarene
    Their lomo saltado was really good a few years ago. Haven't been back for a while, though, because the price point is kind of high for my personal comfort relative to the food/ambiance.
  12. Gadarene
    I'm surprised more people haven't commented on robyn's post. If true, that's pretty egregious, particularly for a restaurant with such a high price point.
  13. Gadarene
    Kinship has great food but the decor is quite antiseptic. I'd recommend Crane & Turtle or Tail Up Goat.
  14. Gadarene
    That's awful.
  15. Gadarene
    I'm enthusiastically in for a dr.com dinner.
  16. Gadarene
    You'll be missed, Chef.
  17. Gadarene
    The pork chop salad here is one of the tastiest small dishes in the city. Everything I've had has been very tasty, but the pork chop salad hits me right in my wheelhouse. (And yeah, I like this place WAY better than Beau Thai. Most of Beau Thai's dishes are always weirdly sweet.)
  18. Gadarene
    To be fair, I have not tried the sope de carnitas. :-) And they were out of pozole the last time I've there, so I haven't had a chance to try that yet. A delicious pozole will paper over a LOT of deficiencies elsewhere, as far as I'm concerned. (Also, it's certainly possible that they're just having consistency issues as a new restaurant; I haven't written them off by any means.)
  19. Gadarene
    Man, I've sort of been really underwhelmed by everything I've had there (pancita de res, tacos of lengua, cecina, cabeza de puerco). Not much flavor, dry meat, etc. Which pains me to say, because I would love to have an awesome little Oaxacan taqueria in my neighborhood, but so far it's been quite disappointing. Maybe it will be better the next time I try it; they've also seemed quite overwhelmed by the demand. The salsa verde is tasty.
  20. Gadarene
    This place is incredible.
  21. Gadarene
    So much mediocrity.
  22. Gadarene
    That's not good news.
  23. Gadarene
    This place is...fine. Chicken adobo is decent, sisig at brunch is really good and should be on the dinner menu, most of the rest of the menu is either kinda bland in my experience or uninspired bar food. The non-brunch drinks program could also use a major lift.
  24. Gadarene
    My girlfriend and I are going to Taipei for five days at the beginning of September. She's got family there and has been before, but this is my first time. Very excited! Will try to report back with my favorite food stops of the trip.
  25. Gadarene
    Barcelona has most of its very nice wine list half off on Mondays.
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