Ericandblueboy

As much as I like a raw piece of fish, the hamachi was a bland fish and the sides did nothing to aid the flavor of the fish. The ricotta gnocchi is just ricotta cheese roughly in the shape of gnocchis. We ordered 3 apps and they split the gnocchi voluntarily, which is a nice touch but I'm not a big fan of big dollops of ricotta cheese. The seared foie gras was expensive but we received two huge slices of foie gras, and it was seared perfectly. The duck breast, even at medium rare, was a tough piece of meat. The lobster was served in a bouillabaisse veloute, which was quite good. Excellent service and the dining room is very comfortable. I love the plush leather seats but I really this is a dumbed down version of Ducasse.

Monitoring is one thing, but I think you're also saying that it's not your job to complain. If you were working, and you did a bad job would you want someone to tell you what you were doing wrong so you can remedy it or would you prefer them to just fire you straight away? And if you're so competent and perfect that you NEVER EVER make a mistake and would never be in that situation, kudos to you. You're magnificent. (Though you might want to learn that it is whose and not who's.)

I can see how it would have been an ire-raising situation. The management should have been aware of the situation, but it sounds like it wasn't. And I know some people are shy or don't want to cause a scene, myself included. It didn't do you any good to hold back. Yes the delay was their fault, but both parties are still culpable for the end result. That's like saying I got trounced in a fight, but I didn't think it was my duty to punch the guy back and the police should have pulled him off.

It usually benefits everyone to say something... unless you're in a Chinese restaurant, because boy are most of my people ornery...

Complaining takes time and effort and subjects you to further aggravation. If a restaurant can't hire good help, then that's enough cause for me to not bother going back. Why go back if you have to have a talk with the management to get good service? Especially at high end restaurants, they get one shot to make you happy and develop some goodwill. BTW, no amount of complaining is gonna get you 90 minutes of your life back.

Um, why not? That is the actual Chinese New Year day according to my lunar calendar.

That's a good reason

Respondeat superior. I've never once asked for a manager's help at a restaurant. If I'm not satisfied with the service I received, then that reflects poorly on the restaurant's hiring policy and training. On that basis alone, I can withhold my patronage and I will blast the restaurant. It isn't a client's job to monitor the staff, it's up to the restaurant to make sure its staff is knowledgeable and well trained. If I had to wait 90 minutes for no reason (as is this case since they ended up with the same table they could've have right away), who's fault is it if not the restaurant's?

The Four Sisters dinner was good but not extraordinarily so. I'd like to return, but not anytime soon.

I'd stay away from the set menu. If anything, their seafood looks much better than their land-meat options.

Chinese new year is early this year. JNH Owner/Manager Audrey tells me she will concoct a special Year of the Ox dinner on January 26 for $30. Any takers?

Why the 26th? It's a Monday.

I can't believe a top chef contestant did fish tacos and then told us she's really creative!!

Does this place still do a lunch buffet? When I use to work in G'town (1997-2003), they use to do a 5 item buffet: fried rice, lo-mein, veggies, chicken, and spring-rolls (cha gio), AYCE for about $8 or something like that. They made really good spring rolls, but for everything else, it was better across the street at Miss Saigon.

REMEMBER - BRING CASH!

Wednesday January 7th, 7pm, Four Sisters (Vietnamese), Merrifield, VA

website, DR.com topic

DanielK

TheMatt

Scott Johnston

cucas87

catharine

MBK

Ericandblueboy +1

aaronsinger

StephenB

LuvTeddyBears8

Fun Guy

ema+1

Escoffier

grover

Might want to split into 2 tables of 8. We can't fit everyone around 1 table and the chef isn't likely able to prepare 16 dishes each able to feed 16 people without losing some serious quality control.

I know Komi is good (best meal in DC I've ever had) but I've heard the Chef's table at Teatro Goldoni is better. When I called last month, I was told 2 people can sit at the Chef's table at TG. Of course my next best meal in DC last year was at Eve.

It's not just about eating the duck meat. One duck can be shared by 10 people because it's stuffed silly with 8 different items. Of coures if everyone just wants to eat duck meat, you might need two ducks. We're in Vegas for MLK Jr. weekend otherwise I'd be all over it. In fact, if this is done on Monday night (Tuesday is inauguration), I'd be all over it.

I like Bistro du Coin and I really like La Chaumiere. I'll just add Cafe du Parc as another alternative. Bistro du Coin reminds of the people watching in Paris while du Parc reminds of dining in the south of France.

Went by the Annadale branch for lunch when my brother and his family dropped by on their way home. We had two tofu soups, one with kimchi and beef, one with seafood. We also ordered the seafood pancake, and two orders of BBQ shortribs. The seafood pancakes were good, as good as I've had anywhere. The BBQ was fine (not my favorite part of Korean cuisine). The tofu soups were good but I don't really think the soups were anything spectacular. My brother also didn't think it was anything special. The banchans were few and the kimchi sucked (not spicy and not marinated long enough). The entire menu has about 16 items, 9 or 10 tofu soups, 2 bbq, 1 pancake, and 3 or 4 squid dishes. For me, I don't see any particular reason to ever go back.

Want to organize a $20 Tuesday?

I'm up for a $98 Friday

Sterling Brunch at Bally's is a must do, at least once in your lifetime. It's only on Sunday. Not cheap by any means but the best buffet you'll ever have. Unlimited lobster, caviar, and champagne (well, you may have to ask for the caviar, but it's there), along with lots of other good stuff.

We usually stay at Bally's and I've been tempted to do the Sterling brunch but I suspect that I will be more or less useless for the rest of the day if I do it....

We just got back from Venice and I think I'm Italian seafooded out right now (so probably no Bartolotta).

Alle Testiere was closed for vacation and maintenance.

The first evening, we signed up for a bar crawl. At our first stop, we sampled smoked salmon (good), a steaming plate full of boiled tripe (tender but not very flavorful), and a platter of cold-cuts (ham, mortadella, salami, and cheese). At our second stop, we had baccalà, a very fishy cod spread that was delicious to me but appalling to Annie. At our final stop, we had a skewer of fried vegetables (artichokes, cauliflower, mushroom, etc.), a delicious hashbrown (tasted like a Spanish tortilla), and a kibbeh type of meat dish (fried dough with ground meat in the middle).

For dinner on our second evening, we went to Vini da Gigio in the Cannaregio district. This is a good restaurant off the beaten path. When we arrived at 7, we were told we could have a table only if we were done by 9. I started with a plate of mixed Venetian specialties as an appetizer, which consisted of a scallop with coral, two little clams, schie (tiny shrimp) with creamy polenta, fried baccalà, and fried polenta square. The schie and baccalà were good, the rest not so good. My first course was tagliolini (thin pasta) with crabmeat in a light tomato sauce, which was very good. My second course was eel grilled until its skin is crisp. It was a simple dish but cooked perfectly. Annie started with a Caprese salad, then had arugula ravioli in parmesan cream sauce, and ended with a Venetian duck. The duck was positively medieval. It was stewed in a red-wine sauce until the meat is red and falling off the bones. Neither of us really liked it. €155 for dinner (with a €45 bottle of wine and dessert).

While we were in the San Polo district, we saw a pizzeria that had New York style pizza by the slice (on Rughetta Ruga). They have both thin crust and Sicilian style thick crust pizza with various toppings. We of course had to get a slice (for a very late afternoon lunch). It looks much better than the pizza served at local bars but isn’t as good as the pizza at Bebo or even Church Street Pizza.

Finding a good place for dinner was nearly impossible on a Monday night during the off-season. We first went to Fiaschetteria Toscana, which claims to close only on Tuesdays on their website, but it was closed. We then went to Osteria di Santa Marina (which is open according to Rick Steve) but it was closed. So we settled for Osteria il Milion for dinner on our 3rd evening, a good restaurant according to Rick Steve that’s next to where Marco Polo used to live.

I started with a Venetian classic, sardine with onions. The fish was served cold, topped with some sautéed onions and black pepper. My first course was spaghetti with clams (my favorite Italian pasta dish of all time). This version came out dry, with tiny Venetian clams. The flavor was good but the tiny Venetian clams left me wanting something more substantial. My second course was seppia (cuttlefish) sautéed in its own ink. The flavor is quite nice but the seppia itself was rather chewy and overcooked. Annie had the artichoke soup, which consisted of pureed artichokes baked with some cheese. It was a thick and hearty soup. She then had gnocchi in a vodka sauce. These gnocchi were large and firm, which I find less than appealing. She ended with veal scallopini in white wine sauce, which neither of us really cared for. We also shared some grilled vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant brushed with olive oil – bland). Il Milion is a moderately priced restaurant, €100 for dinner (with a €25 bottle of wine and no dessert).

On our last day, after a chilly ride around Venice in a vaporetto, we went back to Fiaschetteria Toscana for lunch. They officially open at 12:30. We arrived a little earlier and were allowed in to have a seat but weren’t served until the waiters arrived. This place is expensive but they had stuff on the menu that I couldn’t find elsewhere. I started with a spider crab cooked with a little olive oil and butter and served in its shell. A very simple preparation but the flavor of the crab shines through. I followed with another spaghetti with clams, this one with a little sauce at the bottom. I finished with tiny fried soft-shell crabs (much smaller than the ones we get in the U.S.). Annie had a bean and pasta soup, and lobster ravioli with broccoli sauce. We also shared some fried zucchini, leeks, and radicchio. This is by far the best meal we had in Venice. €118 (just 3 glasses of cheap red wine for me and no dessert).

That evening, we went to dinner at Da Pinto, a cheap restaurant known for good food near the Rialto fish market. Da Pinto was woefully understaffed that night. There was one waiter, the owner who was not particularly helpful, and a real numbnut of a busboy (who cleared the wine off a table of diners who went outside to smoke, but it was obvious that they’re still in the restaurant because their coats were still hanging over their chairs). I had a huge plate of Parma ham, shrimp and mushroom spaghetti (overcooked shrimp), and grilled sardines. I didn’t finish any of the food, partly because I was not very hungry and partly because it wasn’t very good. The shrimp was overcooked and the sardines weren’t flavored with anything other than olive oil. Annie’s lasagna reminded me of high school cafeteria food and her four-cheese pizza had blue cheese on it. €56 (3 beers for me and no dessert).

Looking back, I wasn't really crazy about Venetian food.

Just wanted to report that Founding Farmers was at least 90% full for the two hours I was there last night on both levels. I think the appeal has to be the varied menu and large portions of food? All of the plates I saw going by were gargantuan. Didn't try any of the cocktails, stuck with wine instead.

Sounds like a new Cheesecake Factory.

Definitely under the weather but still had work to do all day. So I went to Banh Mi DC/Pho 75 this moring. At Banh Mi DC I picked up a combo sandwich, 2 spring rolls, 1 chicken filled pastry and 1 pork filled pastry. Then I walked over to Pho 75 for a bowl of brisket and well done flank pho. I ate two spring rolls before the pho even came out, then I slurped down a bowl of pho. Thus fortified, I went home to work. Right after noon, I ate the sandwich. Not very good (not enough pate but nice pickled veggies). For dinner I had the pastries. They're kind of like croissant pasties. I'm still stuffed but not feeling much better though.

We got a free room for two nights at Bally's for MLK jr. weekend but no freebie show tickets.

We had the following dishes (not in the order it was served).

- Dae Gi Tang Su Yuk (korean take on sweet and sour pork)

- Khan Pung Sae Woo (Fried shrimp with garlic and pepper sauce) (really good with nice heat)

- Boo Chu Jahp Chae (Beef, leeks green pepper with soy served with steamed buns)

- Nu Reung Gi Tang (Deep fried rice with Seafood and veggie)

- Three kinds of cold dishes (shrimp and cucumber with chinese mustard dressing, jelly fish salad, and I think slice tongue but not sure)

- Jaeng Ban Ja Jang (Jan Jan Mein with lot of seafood and real jalepeno heat)

- Fried dumplings

Real interesting to try. Definitely Chinese food with a twist. I've had the Korean/Chinese sweet and sour pork before. The sauce is very different, the color of honey as opposed to red/orange sauce. The shrimp is kind of a kung pao but with almost a sweet & sour sauce of the red/orange type. The beef/leeks was excellent. The fried ricecake with seafood was another solid dish. The only thing I didn't like was the jelly fish salad, which really lacked flavor. The other things on the cold platter included 5 spice beef and 1,000 year old eggs. Overall, I think the prices are higher than the same items in a Chinese restaurant (but cheap compared to The Source). 7 of us with tax and tip (but no drinks) stuffed ourselves for about $25 per person.

A chicken tasting was suggested.....Bon Chon vs. Pollo Loco vs A&J vs. Crisp & Juicy.....

Their website really makes me want to go there.

seriously? I think I'm going to boycott fancy half-ass Asian food from now on. I rather eat real Asian food at a fraction of the price.

Yes to Four Sisters and yes to Hong Kong Palace!

1. Soup and I will try to find something for your wife. Jajang myun doesn't have any mushroom in it. It would be nice to know how much she can handle the spiciness.

2. The restaurant accepts credit cards but cash helps the payment easy. I would say that $25 per person will work.

3. I personally like sea cucumber though many people doesn't like the texture. I think that I won't be able to have an adventure for the dinner this time.

Don't worry about my wife. She'll try anything without mushrooms but she's picky. I'm happy to try their sea cucumbers. I haven't had them in years. Maybe I'll like them now (but I doubt it).

I'm not advocating sea cucumber unless someone's had them there and really loves them.

We're in (i.e., my wife and I). I forecast that she will hate the jajangmyeon and probably won't even touch the spicy noodle, especially if she spies any mushrooms in them. She will love the sweet & sour pork and the dumplings. Do we need to bring cash?

Do any of you actually like sea cucumber? We've always had them at banquets and there are always leftovers, despite best efforts to jam them down people's throats.