Ericandblueboy

Are you telling me that places like Subway don't sell eggrolls and wonton soup?

Took a friend from high school to Mark's today for dim sum. We arrived at 10:30 and there was already a line even though several larger tables remained empty. My friend commented it can't be very good because there weren't many Chinese in there. The food was in fact pretty good but not much variety.

Lima has very little to do with the capital of Peru, but that shouldn't shock anyone who has perused their website. Nevertheless, we kept comparing Lima to our meals in Lima. Here's the outcome: Ceviche sampler of traditional with slices of jalepeno, tuna in ginger dressing, and salmon in chipotle dressing. I call them dressing because the fish taste like they were simply mixed with some dressing rather than soaked and cooked by the sauce. The fish were cut into small 1 cm cubes. While not really ceviche, they taste pretty good. Empanadas with chimichurri sauce - simply not as good as the one we got at a street cart at Mi Tierra in Adams Morgan. The filling was heavy on sauce, which reminded us of barbeque (so my wifed liked it but I gave up on mine). The chimichurri was another aberration, served in a little plastic take-out container, it looks kind of creamy and tastes nothing like chimichurri. Chicken croquettes - chunks of dark meat, with a hint of blue cheese - fairly tasty. Salt cod fritters - salty fish and potato (nothing special here). Razor clams - I finally get a chance to try them and I was disappointed. These were cooked, chopped into small pieces, dressed in olive oil and lime juice, and then put back in their shells. They were tough and chewy and the dressing did little to make them appetizing. Lime breaded shrimp - 3 nicely fried shrimp but we don't know how the lime fits into the equation. Assorted spanish cold cuts and a side of manchego cheese - good. The city of Lima prides itself on using the freshest seafood. Lima the restaurant prides itself on attractive nightclub goers. We're more likely to return to the city than the restaurant.

Out of town that week....

Including bone or is this deboned? If you enjoy gnawing on pig knuckle (I do), the diner at the back of Great Wall does a tasty version (braised with star anise). This probably answers my question. The tasty part of the pig knuckle is the skin and fat, so I'll be trying this.

The fish taco I had today was pretty good - a nice chunk of fish seared crispy with lots of cilantro sauce. The chilaquiles, on the other hand, came in an incredibly sour green salsa (ulcer patients should probably avoid this dish).

Prices going up is a general trend. The Narrows is good but it might take too long.

They're packed generally, all you need is a few extra tables to pack them to the gills. If I were to celebrate Mother's Day, I wouldn't treat my mom to dim sum...that's just an ordinary Cantonese brunch. 10 course banquet is more like it.

My guess is the place will be mostly dead on Mother's Day. As Asians, we don't really celebrate Mother's Day.

Any place good to eat along the Boardwalk near Showboat/Taj Mahal?

Talk to DanielK (or Grover) about organizing it. If you organize it, I will come.

I saw Andrew Zimmern eat fugu on Bizarre Food. They showed the fugu being sliced razor thin for sashimi. Does the fish in the stew still numb your mouth?

Any idea what market price for blowfish might be in the U.S.? Fried or sauteed both sounds good to me.

Sashimi? How 'bout a fugu me Tuesday?

I think one can be interested in both, i.e., the food and self-promotion. In Don's case, he may be more interested in the food than he is in self-promotion but there are certainly benefits to being well known. I see Joe as equally about promoting the food and himself. He's not promoting himself in the sense of getting paid but being invited to exclusive events. I don't read Metrocurean but Amanda (is that her name?) there the blogger admits to trying to leverage that blog into something more in a commercial sense. These are just my personal observations....not based on actual knowledge of the principals involved.

I think you're right that most people that go to high end restaurants do drink wine but is that who the reviewer should gear the review toward? Many people who read restaurant reviews don't go to high end restaurants on a regular basis and yet they still read restaurant reviews.

I did not intend to slight anyone by my post so if anyone's feeling is hurt, I apologize. I'm just asking what are the essential requirements of a restaurant review? As a counterpoint, let's say a restaurant has a superb collection of wines but only so-so food and it receives a rave review largely based on its wines. How does that do justice to those who don't drink wine? Doesn't your point require a reviewer's subjective determination whether a restaurant has devoted effort to its wines?

More than 1 person feel the review is lacking because it did not discuss the wine service. I always thought restaurant reviews should address the food, the service, and the decor. I didn't think a restaurant's availability of beverages should factor into its review since not everyone drinks and more importantly, not everyone drinks wine. So should a review mention the beverage program and factor that into the rating, just mention the beverage program without taking that into account for the rating, or not mention the beverage program?

Where did you end up? Little surprised that you did not receive any responses.

I blame it on its rather pathetic service, and it was definitely operator related (as documented on here and on CH).

Assuming you are securely employed, the best that you can do is spend like you have in the past. Spending generally would help bouy the economy.

Few people were dining at Bourbon last night (less than half full from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Sat. night). The lack of people and conversation made the music much more noticeable, so much so that the table next to us complained about the selection of music. Our waitress responded that the music was handpicked by someone (who selects all the music for all the Mina restaurants) and she's powerless in that regard. It was indeed an ecletic selection of music. As for the food, there are lots to choose from other than steak. We had the vichyssoise with a little bit of smoked salmon and the spring garlic soup with bits of confit duck to start. They were followed by a filet mignon, crispy sweetbreads, braised oxtail, and foie gras. I thought about ordering the lobster pot pie but my memory of that failed dish in Vegas suppressed the urge. To round out the meal, we also ordered sides of Chinese broccoli and truffle mac 'n cheese. The steak was great, as good as any steak in the area (but a pricier alternative to Ray's). The sweetbreads were also top notch. The downers were the oxtail (way too salty) and the Chinese broccoli (overcooked, resulting in a chewy texture). We couldn't finish the steak and the mac 'n cheese so we asked them to be boxed. Lo and behold, the mac 'n cheese spontaneously multiplied while in the box. We are still enthralled by this scientific feat.

There are 26 restaurants on Washingtonian with 3 or more stars. The only 1 that I really disagree with is 4 Sisters. I haven't been to Inox but 2.5 stars is a slap in the face? I suggest you people check yourselves. Adour only gets 2 stars, where's the bitching? Another forum favorite, Black Salt, only has 2 (which doesn't deserve 1 as far as I'm concerned). Where's the righteous indignation? As for the Post, the only restaurants with better rating are (based on Fall 08 dining guide): CityZen The Inn at Little Washington Komi Restaurant Eve's Tasting Room Minibar Rasika Buck's Fishing & Camping Central Jaleo 2941 Citronelle Obelisk Palena Proof The Source So Inox should be in the top 15? Maybe it is, may it isn't. I just don't see 2.5 stars being all that bad. If anything, Monterey upstairs deserves some serious recognition. They do fish better than Hook, Black Salt, and DC Coast.

The smell is very noticeable and unpleasant at first, but I got used to it quickly. I went there just before noon and it was nearly packed. It stayed packed while I was there for lunch (on Thursday). I tried the kimchi pancake (why is their pancake reddish in color?), spicy beef stew, and fried croaker. I gotta say I loved the fried croaker - simple home cooking, just salt and fry (beware of the bones), eat it while it's hot. The spicy beef stew has great flavor, but I'm more of a fan of the veggies than the stringy tough beef. Is there a place that uses oxtails The pancake tastes different than others as well. I will try the seafood version next time.

Scott Johnson mentioned La Caraquena. I'm up for that.