genericeric

The risk in being featured in an article like this is that it becomes difficult to give a restaurant a pass. While I'm a frequent visitor at the downtown location for a pretty good happy hour, last weekend was my first visit to the CG's Tysons outpost, and my first dinner at any of his restaurants since I read the article in the August Washingtonian. So with the piece as context, I couldn't help but think, this burger is SUPPOSED to be this under seasoned - its recipe is one of the metrics. And this seafood pasta fra diavolo is SUPPOSED to taste of too-old seafood in a sauce that had none of the advertized spice. And these fish tacos are SUPPOSED to taste of too-old oil in a soggy 'tempura' crust. And we were SUPPOSED to have three billing errors out of four drink orders at the bar while waiting for our table, which wasn't ready until almost 30 minutes after our reservation. To be fair - I did have a very good sashimi appetizer with Tuna, wasabi sauce and sesame crackers. I normally would have chalked this up to a tired kitchen during the holiday season... a chef running back and forth between two cities still trying to find the balance... I wasn't exactly expecting gourmet when walking into Chef Geoff's, but was hoping for exactly what was advertized in the article - inoffensive food that would hopefully satisfy the tastes of a few unfamiliar dining companions. In this instance, Tracy's goal that we not remember our meal two hours later (seriously?) failed, and I'm guessing this wasn't the type of memory he was hoping for.

On the one hand I applaud the CF for trying to add at least a few menu items to their menu that won't cost you 3 days worth of calories, but on the other hand, I find it somewhat embarrassing as a grown man to order an item by the 'Skinnylicious' moniker. When there are two versions of the same item on the menu, its difficult to get around using this identifier when ordering. Or maybe I just need to get over myself... or eat somewhere better.

After reading comments on this thread that seemed less than enthusiastic about several Rick Bayless restaurants, I was a little unsure as I headed toward his block of downtown on Saturday for brunch. We stumbled into Frontera Grill of the three - not necessarily on purpose, Xoco was a zoo and just picked one of the two doors within the Topo/Frontera entry way and found ourselves at the bar. As others have noted, this was one pretty great bowl of guacamole. Having said that, for $9 I do wish there had been a bit more in the bowl... We then split the Gorditas, which was a large dish of three small corn cakes, each topped with either chicken, chorizo or scrambled egg set in a pureed black bean sauce. This wasn't my first choice on the menu, but as we were splitting I just went with it and was glad I did. The chicken and eggs were both good, but the chorizo - which had a great depth and slightly sweet flavor among the spice, was excellent on its little masa cake. I wish I could have gotten a whole order of those little chorizo cakes of flavor. Better yet was, surprisingly, the pecan pie. I thought the dish was a bit odd in the setting, but came highly recommended so I gave it a whirl. With a flaky crust and finely chopped pecans, it reminded me strongly of a sort of southern baklava. The only real miss of the day for me was the Mexican Hot Chocolate mixed with Mezcal - the smokiness of the mezcal didn't play well with the hot chocolate.

Working downtown, I've always been a fan of Ebbitt's half price raw bar from 3-6, but lately as the price of oysters has shot up (I was told by a staff member they were losing several dollars per dozen during the 1/2 price time), I've found myself walking around the corner to Hamilton's half price sushi happy hour from 3-6. Sushi Taro this is not, but certainly better than average, large orders of sushi for around $6.50-$7.00. I prefer the Tuna Cubed (three kinds of tuna with cucumber topped with a jalepeno sauce) and the Dynamite roll (tempura with spicy tuna wrapped in rice paper). I've also enjoyed the sashimi that I've tried, including the Chu Toro. If you can get past the train station-like ambiance of sitting at the bars here, this isn't a bad deal for a happy hour meal.

While I can appreciate the literary tools used by Mr. Wells and the point he was trying to make - his main goal is to serve the readers by informing them of his opinion of a restaurant and why he feels that way. I, personally, had to force myself to get through the review - and by the end came away with more knowledge of the format of the piece than of the information contained therein. Most of this conversation isn't based on food or service, but about the writing itself (perfectly valid). It seems that, in doing so, Mr. Wells fell short of that goal of information. Guy Fieri opened a bad restaurant and Pete Wells mocked him for it. I agree with ad.mich that I, as a reader, would have preferred to learn something new about a restaurant in a city that is filled with them.

It's an interesting comparison, but having purchased growlers of the in-house brewed beer from probably a dozen or so microbreweries (many with restaurants, a few without), they are almost always cheaper than buying individual pints or, where available, bottles at retail. For wine - most of the time, the restaurant is selling wine produced by a third party. This is similar to JBag57's example above of a growler of Port City being more expensive at Whole Foods - also a case of the product being sold by the 3rd party. Why does that matter? Not sure to be honest, but it does seem to. For many smaller breweries, their outposts are their primary source of distribution - it is in their best benefit to sell as much from the source as they can. If Dogfish is going to continue to claim microbrewery status, being compared to others seems fair. *Full disclosure I am an avid fan of Dogfish and not really an unbiased third party.

I completely agree about the bar staff at the Ebbitt. The trick about Ebbitt is most of their best staff work the bars on Monday - Thursday evenings. Weekends can be more hit or miss depending on the bar and day.Similar to JuneBacon, I've had some experiences at Gallery Place that were so bad that I won't return.

It does look they finally have their site up with menu: http://greenpigbistro.com/menu

Wegmans in Fairfax also had them last week, depending on where 'local' is for you

I would agree about accommodating differing tastes, but my brunch a few weeks back at the Arizona Ave location was an expensive disappointment. The eggs in my eggs benedict were far overcooked, along with the canadian bacon, leaving the whole dish to be pretty dry. I'm far from a gourmet chef but it seems to take quite a bit of mess up eggs benedict. My S.O. had the shrimp and grits which would have been much better had it not been surrounded by a thick moat of what tasted like pure butter. Lax service and tables WAY too tightly crammed together and we were ready to bail.I'm actually glad to hear others have had better experiences - this is an uber convenient location for us to have brunch on Sundays, maybe we just caught an off day (a really, really off day).

Lately I've been hesitant to stop into The Hamilton after a string of mediocre experiences - and that's mediocre compared to the Ebbitt. I'll also say that I'm not a huge fan of the main floor of The Hamilton - I do enjoy the Loft but its frequently closed for private events, which I understand but find frustrating at the same time. Having said that, Saturday night found no stools at the Ebbitt, so we trudged over to The Hamilton and found the Loft open, blissfully quiet, and staffed by a great bartender named Ken. I had a soft shell appetizer here a few weeks ago that was fried tempura-style and didn't really dig it. It wasn't bad per se, but thats a lot of breading for a small crab. On Saturday they had an entree that was 'pan fried' - two soft shells (on the medium-to-small scale) sauteed, and served with a sort of radish salad ($25). They were by no means light, but they weren't overpowered by breading, and were the best softshells I had so far this year. (note the menu online now shows a more deep fried option, not sure if this is out of date or if the menu changed since Saturday)

If I lived in the E Village, I'm sure I'd come to Ssam periodically just for something a little different. But after Saturday's lunch, I doubt I'll make the trip across town again. The pork buns were ok, but I found myself taking the meat out of the second one and leaving the rest. I'm not sure how its possible for a steamed bun to be stale, but this one seemed... past its prime. It wasn't bad per se, but nothing like what they used to plate up a few years back. The seasonal pickles were ok - it's hard to go wrong with pickles, but I got the same mix in April as I did in October (not quite so seasonal). All in all, an ok (if quite pricey) light lunch but not the stellar experience I'd had in the past.

Softshell Crab and Egg Sandwich ($18) for brunch yesterday - loved the concept, could use a bit of tweaking on the execution. The sandwich was difficult to keep together and the pickled ramp relish was a bit overpowering, but overall I wanted to order 2. Would love to hear if anyone has found something similar closer to home?

I was driving home with my Crisp and Juicy last night and, while I'm not on that part of Lee Highway every day, was surprised to see a this place that I'd never heard of so close to home. No activity related to the food at all on this board doesn't leave me with a lot of hope, but does anyone have any reports?

Also coming to Pentagon Row next to Thaiphoon in the near future

I've been told previously by the staff working at the seafood cafe area in the Gainesville location that if a staff member is caught accepting a tip, they'll no longer be a staff member. To be fair to Wegmans, the staff seemed ok with this and indicated that they get paid more than comparable, tip-accepting, positions at other establishments to compensate.

That's exactly what I was trying to say

DaRiv18, I didn't acknowledge the paragraph you're referring to because I wasn't writing that post specifically in response to you. There have been many comments on this board, in many threads, (this thread, those about Xavier's restaurants in SE/Barracks Row, the Mike Is A Bella thread, etc) recently that have focused exclusively on food at the expense of the financial health of the restaurant. That isn't necessarily a bad thing if this is a food board, but I do believe its important to remember that these restaurants are businesses - if nothing else as an explanation for why they evolve as they do - for better or worse. Yes, there have been comments recently specific to Rays - yours and others. My intention was not to stroke anyone's ego - I, in fact, pointed out that my experience at Ray's last night wasn't that great. I was simply commenting on an issue that I've seen somewhat across the board on this site recently, and used Ray's as an example.

I'm going to preface this by saying, Don - if this is in the wrong thread, please move as you see fit. This does heavily involve RTS. I've noticed recently this site diverging between food and restaurants - both are valid topics. Specific examples include Xavier's restaurants in Eastern Market, Isabella and his baby empire, and Rays the Steaks in all of its iterations. Food and its preparation is obviously central to any discussion regarding restaurants - but its not the only factor. Restaurants exist as a business, and include ambience, service, food, and yes, the opportunity for the proprietor (or in this case the improprietor) the opportunity to earn a living. Concentrating on Rays for a moment as I believe it's the most pure example... Every member of this board is entitled to their opinions (Don included, re: recent Isabella/Spike post). But recent much has been made of Rays and changes both in Arlington and East River. Rays has both been criticized for a homogenization of Arlington/Silver Spring restaurants, while also being criticized for a divergence from this 'formula' at its East River location... I ate at RS3 tonight for the first time in awhile, and yes, it has certainly lost much of its independence from other Ray's restaurants since its opening. But you know what? I liked this version better, and I'm willing to bet my dinner that is why ML made the adjustments. Stepping back for a second, when I was a 23 yr old staffer on Capital Hill, my favorite restaurant was the Greek Taverna. Why? Because it wasn't filled with drunken staffers after hours. I could always find a seat. It was quiet. It was just me and Dennis Kucinich on more nights than I can count. I was furious with Spike when he bought the Taverna and changed it. But then I realized that the very reasons why I liked the GK were the very reasons why it closed - it was desolate on a Wednesday night while Cap Lounge and Hawk and Dove were busy. I'm sure the owners of GK appreciated that I enjoyed their restaurant, but they would have enjoyed the profits that would have enabled them to stay open more. Back to Rays - I don't know Michael Landrum. I've never met him, and don't know his motivations. Frankly, I didn't even have that great of an experience at his restaurant tonight. But he's a restaurant owner who cares deeply about his restaurants, his employees, and many of his customers - that I can tell. I invite him to disagree/correct me, but it seems evident what is happening. Michael Landrum has found a formula that works. Great food, great wine, good service, affordable prices. But how that formula plays out in Arlington is different from how that formula plays out in East River. East River customers want the same thing - good food at reasonable prices with service that respects the restaurant's customers. So after being open for a period of time, ML took a look at the business and cut what wasn't selling and added what was. That isn't a dumbing down of his business, its making sure the business aligns with the needs of the customer. I guarantee you I can still find an amazing glass of red wine at East River, but maybe the market doesn't support offering 5 by the glass. That's not dumbing down, that's being responsive to your customers. And when he changed the RS3 menu, I would guess a certain number of guests balked at eating red meat and fries in the same meal so he altered to be a more traditional menu in order to better meet the needs of his customers. Many local restauranteurs aren't trying to be a great chef, they're trying to open a certain type of restaurant that appeals to those who want an evening out more than a great meal. And they're making money. There is valid criticism of those approaches, especially if you live/work in those neighborhoods and/or working in those kitchens. And Michael Landrum is trying to tailor his restaurants so that a VERY wide range of customers (Silver Spring, Arlington, East River) are happy in a way that allows him to maintain his business. After all of his charitable acts, he isn't running a charity. He's running restaurants, and making a living doing it.

Now you've piqued my interest... who?

I also agree with the sentiment that these restaurants are all so similar that it's easy to get fatigued by the concept. Having said that, if he wasn't filling the seats, I'm guessing he would stop building/buying. In a similar vain to the Hamilton's original concept to be overflow capacity for Old Ebbitt, if, as a businessman, he is turning away 5 guests for every 1 who is able to get a seat, he's not competing against himself but merely expanding his capacity. The loser in this occasion won't be Xavier himself as when his places stop filling up, he'll stop investing the money to build them - but it will be the neighbors who are devoid of options. Why not deviate the concept more and provide different looks and menus? I'm guessing he can't keep up. With the number of places he's opening - its both much faster and much more affordable to stay within one's comfort zones. Suppliers of both food and decor at the ready, willing to deal at lower prices because he's such a prolific customer. Still doesn't make the people who live around 8th St any happier, but from a business perspective I can see his rationale.

Applebee's is the only bar outside of security at the Richmond airport, where I had the misfortune of eating last night. We all have differing experiences/tastes etc and I'm not a huge cheerleader of the GAR chain (I too have gotten GAR menu fatigue) but I've never had anything at a GAR that was half as bad as the ill-conceived, ill-prepared glop that was our pair of salads last night. I've found some of their fish specials to be pretty decent, and a lot of times their seasonal vegetables are better than average.

Be it through signage, staff, all of the above, etc. it does seem like there is a lack of communication about the two floors, and what is offered at both, that is leading to some problems for customers (as I quote myself...). Hopefully they can rectify this soon

I go through a similar birthday ritual, and for me this year, it was my first trip to the Inn. When I initially got the Inn as a gift, I'll be honest that I wasn't pee-my-pants excited like I was for Komi. I'm not much for bucolic settings, would rather have a smart server than a formal server, and want to experience my food in a new way. I suppose you can't change that the Inn is, in fact, a country Inn, but on the other points, it exceeded my expecations. Service was formal but quite friendly, even to two younger diners (well, not as young as I used to be, but its still an occasional issue with service). And certain dishes were quite memorable - the ceasar salad along with the macaroni were two standouts. I would highly recommend the cheese course instead of the pastries for dessert - my fiancee's checkerboard ice cream was whimsical and delicious, but... it was ice cream. The cheese cart guy (there is probably a much more technical term for him) was entertaining, extremely knowledgeable, and I tried cheese I rarely have the chance to. It was also, I'm guessing, a much bigger value for the buck (s). Except for one errant wine pairing that I had a hand in, it was a wonderful evening. I don't regret the Inn at all, and would happily go back if someone else was paying. I'm glad I got to experience such an iconic restaurant. But if I find $600 tonight on the street corner and am hungry, I'd go to Komi or go all out at Marcels. Happy Birthday wherever you decide.

All of the heat must be going upstairs - when I was there for lunch on Monday at the main bar downstairs I was surprised I couldn't see my breath it was so cold.