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sheldman

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Everything posted by sheldman

  1. sheldman
    I went here for the first time today and enjoyed it very much. A small, low-key, friendly and informal place. Menu on Facebook here (for now at least). I wouldn't decree it to be categorically better than other good taquerias in town, but it was good and I will go back. Best, and also hardest to find elsewhere in my experience, was the huitlacoche quesadilla ($10) - a big folded tortilla with cheese, huitlacoche, etc. A little greasy, but nothing wrong with that! Also lamb taco, and chicken mole tamale, were good. Eat in, and you are presented with one of those three-bowly-things with three very good salsas. --- Huitlacoche Quesadillas (gadarene)
  2. sheldman
    Sounds like a great test, if I had a "rewind by one minute" button on my life. I have often wished for that. (By the way, if it matters for my original question of earlier today, I am indeed talking about eating them raw. I am less picky for when I am cooking, and will happily buy jarred oysters for cooking.)
  3. sheldman
    Am interested in others' thoughts about how picky to be about oysters, in terms of how good they must look upon being opened, in order to go ahead and eat. Bought 24 at $1 per, from WF in Glover Park. The guy behind the counter was great, let me taste a few, and told me that he was throwing in several extra just in case. It is a good thing he did - at least according to my calibration of what looks good enough to eat and what doesn't - because I tossed out about 40 percent of them. My rule of thumb is that there is no, or even just markedly little, liquor inside, then I will toss. Do others follow this rule of thumb, or am I too cautious? (I am not complaining about WF, though maybe I should be?)
  4. sheldman
    If you have access to Justified, i recommend it. Timothy Oliphant (who I guess was in Deadwood), as Deputy US Marshal in Kentucky. Based on Elmore Leonard stories and universe. The good guys are half bad, the bad guys are a quarter good, everybody speaks beautifully and poetically. Semi-organized crime in rural America. There were five or six seasons on FX network, and it's over now, but available through most streaming places I think. --- Breaking Bad (dz50)
  5. sheldman
    Oh Don, you are old like me. One of the most frustrating things for people of our generation is talking to a younger person - we say "the movie, Star Wars" and they say "oh are you talking about New Hope" and we say, "New Hope?!?!?! no I am just talking about Star Wars, the first one" and they say "what? you mean episode 1" and we say "yes the first one, where Luke meets the robots" and they say "no that's number 4" and we say "shut up and go to bed, young person, you are hurting my head."
  6. sheldman
    I paid for my food, on real-opening night, which gave rise to my first post. Then I went back two days later and paid for another meal. I have every reason to believe that Marty L paid for his meal as well. If you are saying that my post and his were not "substantive" then I am not sure what you mean. In any event, every dish I have had at this place has been stellar. I am not just talking about "good ingredients well cooked," but inventive and complex while still focusing primarily on taste rather than cleverness. And the service is equally good.
  7. sheldman
    Tail Up Goat opened tonight in Adams Morgan. As you can read here, it comes from folks associated with the Komi empire. It is at 1827 Adams Mill - where Lanier, Adams Mill, Calvert and Columbia all meet, on the Lanier side of the fancy new apartment building. I am not as expert as many here, but I think that (if the location is not a killer) you will be hearing much about this restaurant. Take, for instance, the "brown rice bread, fermented turnips, crème fraí®che" ($9) - sounds like remorseful punitive food, right? - but it is really darn delicious and not at all remorseful. Everything I ate was similarly multi-faceted - very complicated and good flavors. The bar staff was warm and friendly. Everyone involved has clearly put an enormous amount of thought and heart into the food and into the beverages. Check it out!
  8. sheldman
    I think that the problem is that perceptions of "good" service are infinitely variable. To get it right, for over 50% of the individuals that a staff member would encounter in a week, requires a serious skill set and it is probably a skill set that is better compensated in other industries. Just one example: we had dinner the other night at a restaurant that gets great reviews on DR and elsewhere, but I really don't like the food. (M_____ P____ in Adams Morgan). And again I didn't like the food. Yet I walked away happy with the evening, because the waiter had hit it just right with me. And I was watching, and his schtick was similar with every other table, and I feel confident that a substantial number of people would have walked away thinking the service was awful. He was very "touchy" - practically every sentence he said to me, he touched my shoulder, and culminated the evening with a two-hand touch. He pretty clearly forgot to order one dish, and came back with an elaborate explanation about how it was someone else's fault. But there was something about the overall vibe that was very positive, so I was happy. As I say, others would have walked away grumbling or yelping or Sietsema chatting. tl/dr: it's hard work!
  9. sheldman
    I got a very nice rejection letter from Mad (signed by Nick Meglin maybe? certainly not Gaines himself) after I submitted a cartoon to them at the age of 9 or so, in the early to mid 70s. What a great publication in those days.
  10. sheldman
    I am writing here, surprised. We were heading to another neighborhood (by car) to find a nice dinner but the traffic along the way was just too ridiculous. So, after sitting through several cycles of traffic light without movement, I grumpily ditched the car at 19th and Q and we were stuck with the question: "ok, where can we walk from here, on this cold night, that might be good and lively and warm?" (and appropriate for a vegetarian). Stopped into Obelisk as a longshot, but no luck. Ok, darn, and we were getting cold ... so, ready to just get something/anything to eat and head home, went into Urbana. First, the limited bad news: crowded, loud, bartender was swamped and therefore drinks took a while to arrive. Second, the middle-of-the-road news: the pizza was good but not wonderful. Third, it was actually very nice. Burrata salad (Burrata, pickled butternut squash, escarole, cider vinaigrette, pepitas, vincotto, $15), and sides of vegetables (Caramelized Cauliflower, almonds, golden raisins, caper berries, $9 and Braised Kale, caramelized onions, crushed red pepper, $8) were quite good. Drinks and wine were good too. And, sitting in front of the pizza oven (a "bar"-type space), found ourselves in conversation all along the bar with friendly people from various places because it is, after all, a hotel restaurant. Will I go again, in a situation not driven by automobile frustration? Yes, by golly, I probably will. But certainly if I ever need to ditch my car near Dupont Circle again and find some vegetables to eat, this is where I will come.
  11. sheldman
    Plus, all Drury Inns (website) are dog-friendly.
  12. sheldman
    With power going out: Kind bars, Pop Corners, apples, nori seaweed snacks, and plenty of Jim Beam With power staying on: various beans from Rancho Gordo, stuff to make soup out of (kale, butternut squash, lentils, etc.), and plenty of Jim Beam
  13. sheldman
    I guess it's time for a little update of the places I like in PSP - Jiao, discussed above, is closed. But the folks who own Cheeky's and Birba (which are still awesome) have opened Mr. Lyon's, fancy retro and very good if you like fancy retro. Taqueria Tlaquepaque, discussed above, moved and is not as great as it was. Oddly, it is hard to find good Mexican food in PS proper. The best place to sit at the bar (or outdoor table) and eat a fish taco is Shanghai Red's - a really nice place that is frequented by the locals - friendly and funny guys working the grill behind the bar - delicious and inexpensive especially at happy hour - Rooster and Pig is a really amazingly good Vietnamese place - I'm not talking about "good for Vietnamese in some random city" but really creative and delicious, like if it was in DC it would be my favorite not-perfectly-traditional Vietnamese place. And I had a delicious burger at 849. --- Rooster and Pig (Sundae in the Park)
  14. sheldman
    I was there on Monday at 1:00 (with reservation) - there were open tables for 2 at that time, and maybe a table for 4 even - was told that it is generally easy to walk in as 2 at that time - and the hozon ramen was still incredibly great.
  15. sheldman
    Daikaya not included? Or am I being stupid?
  16. sheldman
    Dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious. Service was extremely friendly but not on fleek. Maybe just a little understaffed. Momofuku food is not subtle. But it is deep in flavor, and sometimes complex in flavor. I call it "new American stoner cuisine" although I am not a stoner - but, like many stoners, I appreciate an unsubtle flavor bomb. The menu is largely as posted here a couple of weeks ago (see previous page of discussion) but with some changes; the website's menu is current. "Pepper and egg" ($4) is a delicious soy-sauce-marinated egg with jalapeno and with lots of fried shallots. It is a rare treat to be given enough fried shallots that you can just eat all the remaining ones out of the bowl when every other ingredient is gone. Spicy cucumber ($7) is, as mentioned above, a hard dish to figure out exactly what's in it - there is bite-sized-cut cucumber, and (I think) Korean pepper powder, and a little fish sauce, and then I don't know what but it's great. The vegetarian ramen ($14) is orders of magnitude better than any other veg ramen or other veg noodle soup dish I have ever had. The broth has good fatty mouth-feel (icky word) and depth of flavor, and the noodles are very good. If tonight was representative, then if you were to wander in at 8:30 or 9 on a weekday as a party of 1 or 2, I expect that you could be seated immediately at the bar or likely even at a table. [Editing a couple of minutes later just to add this: Momofuku, at least in my awareness of it, came along just as "hip" good food was becoming especially pork-obsessed, and was (to my eye, and I think correctly) a strong part of that movement. The cult of Alan Benton. This grew tiresome. Credit to Mr. Chang, for the fact that even while he is still happy to push the Benton pig in some dishes, he has figured out that it is possible and even fun to create the same fatty smokey goodness through vegetarian methods.]
  17. sheldman
    I see that it has been mentioned on dr.com a few times but no topic devoted to it if I am searching correctly - Keren, at the bottom of Adams Morgan (18th and FL, technically 1780 Fla. Ave. NW), is a smallish Eritrean restaurant. Eritrea is next to Ethiopia, and the cuisine is similar to Ethiopian but with more seafood (having greater coastal access) and apparently with somewhat more Italian influence in cuisine for historical (read: occupation) reasons. I say these things as though I am an expert, but I am not. I have only been to this restaurant once, for lunch yesterday, but loved it. There is a "breakfast, all day" and a "not breakfast, all day" menu. What I had was a big bowl of ful (long-cooked fava beans) with sardines and peppers, delicious, served with crusty bread. (I believe that injera is available if you prefer). If you are hungry, get the #20 on the breakfast menu - a big plate with some ful, some eggs, and some kicha (chunks of bread, fried I guess with spicy sauce). Inexpensive, friendly and delicious. I am told that the proper coffee service is great, but requires some time (I was told yesterday that it would take a bit more than a half hour to prepare - I don't know what that entails, but will find out next time with better planning.)
  18. sheldman
    Yes, the line moves very slowly here, in my experience. It will settle down, eventually, I bet (especially when weather is cooler and the novelty is gone). For those who are able to do so, the best trick is to wake up early on a weekend and be there a few minutes before opening at 7 am. And when you are there, pick up a canister or two of the cookie mixes. ($16 for ingredients that will make about 12 big cookies, add your own butter and egg). This weekend I made corn cookies (to which I added choc chips) and blueberry/cream cookies for a group of dinner guests - popped them in the oven after the main course - and everybody thought they were amazing. It is, of course, possible to argue that you can make better cookies cheaper by following your own favorite recipe - but these were really good and they made people happy.
  19. sheldman
    This is an outrage. Trefoils and Samoas are the one true faith.
  20. sheldman
    I live a half mile away, and find Civita to be a pretty fantastic neighborhood place. They care about the food, and they care about being welcoming. My recommendation to anybody who lives anywhere within striking distance would be: go, sit at the bar, eat and drink a bit, and be friendly. do that two or three times. I expect that, after that, you will feel a great loyalty towards the place.
  21. sheldman
    Another thing I forgot to mention, and it will sound silly unless you have done it: Be sure to remember to look out the airplane window while passing over Greenland. Holy moly.
  22. sheldman
    I was there in August for only about 40 hours or so, and absolutely loved it. No particular restaurant suggestions, but if you have time I suggest doing a day tour of the "Golden Circle" - geyser, waterfalls, astounding beauty, tectonic plate action, history (including the hill where they started having their annual parliament in something like 930 AD!). Very very cool. Also there is an alternative weekly newspaper, in English, that should give you some clues about where to eat, where to see music, etc - link
  23. sheldman
    the funniest thing I have ever seen - the Beach Boys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9-NpsXwotA
  24. sheldman
    I saw The Night Tripper at Landmark last weekend, and he was great. He shows his age in some ways - walks on and off stage on two canes, has large-print lyric sheets on the piano stand - but was absolutely fantastic. His band was really good, including trombonist (who was also musical director) as well as drums, bass, etc. Many of the "standards" - Iko, RIght Place Wrong Time, Such a Night, Gilded Splinters - but also other less-expected songs. And he (and the band) can be shaggy, or tight, or both within the same song, depending on the mood and situation. Sometimes they go off into a messy tangent and you're not sure that they'll stick the landing, but they always do. Also a fantastic green suit.
  25. sheldman
    Last night: collards with kimchi, inspired by recipe of Edward Lee (but vegetarian). Yum. Often: collards long-cooked in true southern fashion as mentioned above. Again, vegetarian. Add liquid smoke or smoked paprika if you need the illusion of smoked hog. If you want a thicker gravy rather than pot licker, then broil/char some tomatoes and onions and peppers and garlic, then puree them, and cook the greens in that plus a bit of water/broth. Add garbanzos if you want it to be a filling dish to put on brown rice. Occasionally (and very good if you can get good corn tortillas): a cross between "collard enchilada" and lasagna - meaning, alternating layers of tortilla, cooked collards with sausage (fake or real) or whatever else in the world you want, enchilada-appropriate white cheese, and enchilada sauce. Bake like a lasagna. Collards are the best.
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