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jrichstar

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  1. The "pillow" is a small homemade sesame biscuit. It is filled with spicy tuna. The pillow is topped with a piece of tuna sashimi and fresh wasabi. Very tasty for sushi lovers. What Neptune has to do with this, I have no idea.
  2. Surprising no reviews for The Bazaar yet. Note it is tough to get reservations: had to book 2 months in advance through the Capital One restaurants program to land one. Our family of 5 went this past weekend. All I can say was this was an outstanding experience, maybe better than Minibar and Jaleo. It's tapas based- some more traditional like Jaleo and some with molecular gastronomy like Minibar. The big advantage if you like a concept like Minibar is that you can order a la carte. There are over 50 items to order. We put together a menu with 23 unique items (some needed an order of 2-3 as they were individual-sized portions) which brought us to 30 items in total. Nearly every item was super-delicious and in typical Jose Andres style, beautifully presented. Expected to spend about $100/person without tax/tip, was just a bit higher than that. They do offer tasting menus with 12 items each which are more expensive. Recommend going with a group of 4-6 to maximize number of selections at a lower cost per person. I wish I had time to give you a review of all the items but will mention some highlights: boneless buffalo chicken wings, philly cheesesteak, potatoes pal gasol, conch fritters, onion soup, not your everyday caprese, neptune's pillows, spanish octopus, eggplant escalivada and oxtail croquetas. We also had 3 desserts which were great and had a delicious Ultimate G&T cocktail. Service was friendly and all this food was staged nicely so it came out in 4-5 stages and not all at once. Finally, The Bazaar is in the atrium of the Waldorf Astoria. It's beautiful in it's own right but the underrated positive is that with the high ceiling and essentially no walls, we could actually converse with each other in a normal voice. The Bazaar is another Jose Andres treasure in DC!
  3. I had many a pizza at "GJ's" when growing up when they were at the Twinbrook Shopping Center. It has been many years since I've been to the new location. Thanks for the reminder to head up and have me some of this awesome pizza to revive some memories!
  4. Assume your hint means California Grill at the Contemporary at WDW? Even if not, you evoked memories of fine meals we've had there!
  5. Went there a couple of days ago with another couple. Most of the items were winners. The French onion soup and shakshuka were excellent appetizers. Had the lamb dish which I thought was the dish of the night. Nice portion of lamp atop rice, crispy chickpeas and pickled veggies. Agree with above that it seemed overpriced. The lamb dish is $30. Though the food is good, given the competition at Pike and Rose is somewhat cheaper, Julii may have trouble at the price point.
  6. For the record, our family has been loyal fans of Surfside (in Glover Park) for many years. Until the last couple of times within the past year or so when there was a noticeable drop in quality of all the tacos we ordered. We've talked about going back but can't quite bring ourselves to go. Slapfish looks intriguing and we're looking forward to trying in the near future.
  7. Any recent intelligence on how early you need to get in line for a Saturday night first seating? Website says line starts as early as 3:15. Someone on the site went last summer and said they were in line at 4 and were the last ones seated. Restaurant opens at 5. Thanks for any help!
  8. In the third episode, it is mentioned that Meehan and Chang founded and ran Lucky Peach. So let's see---ending a magazine with no advertising and moving to a sparkling deal with the most successful streaming media company in Netflix. I see why they closed down Lucky Peach. Follow the $$$$$.
  9. If you liked Lucky Peach and have Netflix, Ugly Delicious is a must watch. The show has the same wit, fun and humor as the magazine. Even some cartoons and profanity mixed in as well, just like Lucky Peach! Also watched the first episode and loved it. Eight total episodes were released yesterday.
  10. I read the Bethesda Magazine article and re-read this thread. I've come to the conclusion that the main reason this restaurant will likely fail is due due to a poor concept and what appears to be below-average food. Not due to a bad review from Tom Sietsema. For what it's worth, the majority of the comments below the Bethesda Magazine article agree with my opinion. I'm of the belief that if a restaurant puts out good, creative food at a fair price point, it is more likely to succeed. That is the primary driver. Can an early review affect the outcome of success? Absolutely. These guys should concentrate on the food and prices and stop complaining about something they can't control (or maybe could have if they made good food?). The thing that I have not seen mentioned in the thread is though these brothers are by definition a family business, they have four restaurants in Bethesda. They are seasoned veterans and not some poor first time start-up. Bold Bite has been successful enough that they have opened two more in DC. 202 Donuts is always busy and is ranked highly. They also just opened TacoArepa in Bethesda. They look like they are making money hand and foot. These guys were not born yesterday and know how the game is played. Family business? I'd call it family chainlet. Looking at the menu of R Family, the cornerstone is "sizzle plates" of either salmon, chicken or steak with one side for $17-$20. Given that many us can probably make something similar for 1/3 the cost, this is not going to fly with the public, who want to go out for something unique and not something they can make at home. And when the long-time food critic says the food isn't even that good, well, shame on them. I understand that Tom is not perfect and his reviews have a lot of sway. But I don't think his reviews are the main driver on whether a restaurant succeeds or not in the vast majority of cases. He has reviewed many restaurants over the years in the first month or two of operation that have received stellar reviews. When you are open and charging full prices, you are ready to be reviewed. That these experienced and successful restaurateurs are whining because of a poor early review is a deflection of blame and disingenuous.
  11. Last there in September. Would love it if the black beans have improved. Forgot to mention the Cubano.....kids usually get it and I steal a few bites. It's good though I find the bread lacking. I really do like this place and you can't get better Cuban in these parts. Just have the reference point of Cuban food in South Florida in my head........
  12. Hard to believe my last post for Cuba de Ayer was 12 years ago! Still go 3 or 4 times a year. I've noticed a bit of degradation over the last few years. Mojitos used to be awesome---now fairly weak and not as flavorful. Black beans not as smoky or porky. My standard, lechon asado, has seen less succulent pork and onions and less of a bright garlic/lemon flavor. Empanadas, fried plantains and cafe con leche steady and good. Still, it is the best Cuban I've found in the area and like it enough to keep going. Looking forward to the best Cuban food on the next trip to Miami!
  13. An excellent article in the July/August 2017 issue of Bethesda Magazine on Peter Chang, by David Hagedorn, focusing on the debut of Q but also with many details on his life starting in China to the present. I've not seen some of these details in the many past articles written about him. Don't see the article online yet so at this point you'll need to purchase the magazine.
  14. Other than the Isabella triumvirate, Mussel Bar and SER are high quality. Rustico and Cafe Tirolo are good lunch places (also great beer selection at Rustico). Rus Uz has received good reviews for Russian/Uzbek but have not eaten there yet.
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