stickmoon
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Everything posted by stickmoon
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But I want it to be my Dad's coffee shop. Well, I suppose what I really want is for the new place to be just like Murky.
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We had a lovely dinner at Liberty Tavern last night. EvilKim wanted to try the new "Early Spring" menu, which features two vegetarian entrees: a gnocchi dish and a shepherds pie. It's a rare treat for her to have a choice among entrees. The gnocchi with a fava bean succotash, trumpet mushrooms and a nice little mound of fresh chevre on top ($17) was really good. The chef likes his gnocchi small, which is not my preference, but the dish tasted great and had some lightness to it that the winter iteration lacked (I believe it included smoked cheddar and root veggies). I had the Branzino ($22), which was served filleted open, nicely charred from the wood-burning oven, and on top of a mound of yummy spaetzle. On top of everything sat two pieces of maple-juniper bacon, which were great, and around the plate was a smoked pepper sauce. It was probably my favorite fish dish I've had at Liberty...better than the skate wing, which tasted very good, though I couldn't help but feel bribed with butter whenever I had it. In this dish, the branzino shines and everything else on the plate accentuated the fish. The only disappointment was the dessert. An unfortunately tough streusel marred the rest of our Caramelized Apple "Vol Au Vent" with vanilla ice cream ($7). This is an entirely different dessert menu from even a few weeks ago, so maybe they are still working out the kinks. The ice cream was fine, and so were the apples, but the streusel was so tough we could barely cut through it with our forks. EvilKim even asked for a knife. Overall a very nice meal at one of our favorite restaurants in the neighborhood.
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The prices in the Clarendon location are indeed high. And they're not keen on substitutions either. I watched as a family walked out because they were not allowed to substitute fruit in place of a side salad (the fruit was probably for their young child). Speaking of fruit, I ordered the steel-cut oatmeal ($5.50) with extra fruit (+$2) and there was barely any fruit at all on the dish. Turns out by "extra" they mean one more strawberry, several blueberries and a blackberry. Lame.
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I'll be traveling to Des Moines next week for work, and was wondering if anyone on this board has been to any restaurants or pubs worth going to in the area. Thanks-
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I keep coming back to Spider Kelly's for their Grilled Veggie P.E.T.A ($7), which is everything I could ask for in a veggie sandwich. The generous assortment of grilled veggies retain some of their crunchy freshness, they get a light touch of a tangy vinaigrette, some feta crumbles, and are wrapped in a warm, chewy pita. The sandwich comes wrapped in paper which keeps everything in place, and none of the yummy drippings from the veggies drip down my arm. The fries ($5), which I usually order without the rosemary and garlic, are the right size for two people to share. They have always been crispy and hot, except once, when we notified our server who graciously replaced them with a fresh batch within minutes. Ask for some of their zesty "fridge sauce" on the side if you like a little spice. I tried the Buffalo-style chicken wings ($9 for ten wings), and thought they were pretty good. The sauce has just enough honey for the sweet-heat effect without being cloyingly sweet. They were plump - bigger and better than the wings at Four Courts or Clarendon Grill. The service has always been friendly and efficient. On Mondays all bottles of wine are half price, and on Tuesdays all their burgers are half price. Pretty good deals...for us, it's a nice mid-week, quick night out.
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We had a lovely RW dinner here. This was our first time to Vidalia, and it did not disappoint. The standout dish of our meal was the crispy pig tails...they were slow-roasted, and then pulled. Then, it was breaded (or something a home cook like me might mistake for breaded) and fried, to create a crispy, golden-brown crust, the size and shape of a small, picturesque egg roll. When I cut into it, the inside was all wonderfully flavorful pulled pork. Wow.
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Y
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You're correct, it was down when I stopped by this morning.
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We stopped by last night for happy hour and had a great time! We arrived shortly after 5 pm...it was quiet and we took 2 seats at the bar. The long bar is made of poured concrete, and has these uniquely rounded corners that make sitting at the bar with a group of 4 enjoyable. The ceilings are high, and the exposed original woodwork was quite impressive. By the time we left, around 730ish, the place was hopping (but not too noisy for us), standing room only...I was so happy to see this place doing well even on the 2nd night open. We had the house-roasted olives ($5) and the cheese plate ($8 or maybe it was $10, I forget), along with a few glasses of wine. The olive assortment was served piping hot, in a 2x3 enameled casserole, and were roasted with sprigs of thyme, thin slices of lemon peel, and probably other goodies I didn't catch. They were a great bar snack. We also enjoyed the cheese plate (one a cheddar, one a blue, the other I forget it but was semi-firm like a gruyere, but less nutty). The only drawback was the toasts...there were only 2 on the plate, and they were overly toasty and fell apart. We asked for a few more and the bartender quickly brought some for us. But here was our favorite part. After we ate, the bar manager, Steve, asked us how our experience had been thus far...I mentioned the toasts were too few, and too toasty, and he thanked me and said he'd tell the chef because that's exactly the kind of feedback they were looking for. A few minutes later, Steve came back out and said the Chef said thank you...as we were leaving, Dave - who greeted us on our way in - asked how everything was...I mentioned the toasts, and he had already heard! This underscored how thoughtful the service was from start to finish. It was obvious to us that this group pays attention to the details. We'll be back many times, I'm sure.
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This morning I saw a sign, posted on the outside wall of Murky Coffee, which read "Notice of Sale" and was written by the Arlington Treasure Department. It said that on February 19th, various materials, which included an espresso maker, 3 coffee grinders, a refrigerator, and an ice machine would be sold at auction to collect on owed taxes. Please, oh please...say it ain't so.
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Gina told me the price for 7 courses and 7 cocktails is $77.
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Well...let me say it another way. I did not like it. Neither did she. If I had wanted a bagel with cream cheese to start my dinner, I would have walked down the road to Brooklyn Bagel Co.
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We were so disappointed! We love this restaurant, and I'm sure we'll be back often, but last night's NYE dinner was not good. And the service made it worse. They served a four course menu ($50) and we ordered the wine pairings (+$25). Four times, our food was served before the wine, and we had to sit about 5 minutes at the start of each course for our wine to be poured as the food sat on the table in front of us. Then, as they cleared the dishes, they immediately served the next course and we had to rush through the end of our previous glass of wine as our new dish sat on the table. Twice, as our food sat on the table and we waited for our wine, our server said the wine director would be over to help us, but he never actually came over and the waiter had to come back a few minutes later to pour. For the first three courses, there was a runner holding our next plate of food as another runner cleared our plates, leaving us no time to simply relax and enjoy the experience. The restaurant was not full, yet the runners were...well, running around as if they'd never seen a rush like this. I don't know if these problems were caused by the kitchen or our server, but it was such a bummer because we really enjoy eating here, and the service, up until last night, has always been really good. This was a mixed of being rushed to eat the food, yet waiting for the wine. And the food? Well the standout highlights were the butter poached lobster, served with brussel sprouts and celery root puree with a champagne beurre blanc over the top. It was delicious - succulent and buttery - but then again, we're talking about lobster cooked in butter...the kitchen would have to really mess up for it not to taste good! The chardonnay (forget the name) paired beautifully with the dish. The other highlight was the frangelico creme brulee, served with a piece of biscotti and a citrusy whipped cream. They make a great creme brulee. But there were some big disappointments. It started with the amuse bouche, which was a smoked salmon schmear on a piece of homemade pumpernickel bread. It was reminiscent of smoked salmon cream cheese on a bagel; plus, my date Evilkim is a vegetarian...so, needless to say, we were not amused by the amuse. The three oysters served with a champagne mignonette were very small and practically tasteless. The mignonette was good...but I was confused because there was no little spoon to pour the mignonette over the oysters, so i had to clumsily use my fork to try and flavor the oyster. I don't eat oysters very often so maybe I was missing something about how to actually eat those little buggers. The biggest disappointment was the handmade tortelloni witth smoked mushrooms and grayson cheese inside, covered with a sage brown butter sauce. The pasta itself was...hard. Like, it was al dente if al dente was on crack. How does handmade pasta get hard and almost crunchy? It did not taste good. They were also obviously sitting under a heat lamp while we finished our first course and gulped down our wine. Then the pasta dishes sat on the table as we waited for our wine. Again. Evilkim's main course was a wild mushroom canneloni with a goat cheese fonduta and fried capers. Flavors very similar to the pasta dish in the previous course. Evilkim described it as "fine and totally forgettable." I'm not sure what went wrong here...Like I said, we live in Clarendon and we really enjoy going to the Liberty Tavern. We'll probably go back soon for a few glasses of wine and a pizza, just to shake the bad memory of our NYE dinner experience.
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We're going to The Liberty Tavern, our favorite restaurant in the neighborhood...they have a special 4 course menu with wine pairings...menu posted here. And I'll probably be asleep on the couch by 10:45 pm.
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Coppi's Organic should probably make the list. Their website claims: Our Green Pledge * Sustainedly (sic) sourced fish * Local Organic Produce * Grass Fed/Free RangeMeats/Poultry * Good Burning Oven * Wind Power Electricity * Low wattage light bulbs
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I walked by last night and there were a bunch of people working on the ground floor...great to see!
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I regularly enjoy their coffee...but the 2nd floor has been "temporarily closed" for months, and so have two bathrooms...so, they used to have 2 floors and 3 bathrooms, and now they have 1 floor and 1 bathroom, with no sign of getting back to their usual facilities. What gives?
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Two of us had dinner at the mostly empty bar at Food Matters last Saturday evening. Overall we enjoyed our meal and felt like if we lived closer it would be part of our regular restaurant rotation... The Smoked Paprika Deviled Eggs ($6.95) were very good...creamy yolks, not grainy or chalky at all, with a really pleasant smoked paprika flavor. I know they are showing up on more menus, but I tend to think of deviled eggs as something aunt Matilda brings to a thanksgiving potluck. I would order these again if I was in the mood...Six pieces make this a good dish to share, as six for one person could be heavy for an appetizer, no matter how yummy they are. I really enjoyed the Carrot Soup (6.95), which was carroty and creamy without being orange colored cream and butter, and the rice hiding in the bottom of the bowl added some contrast in texture. The fresh baked, warm roll was great for dipping. This soup warmed me up on a cold evening. Nice little bowl, not a cup size, and not an entree sized bowl. For dinner I had Roasted Spaghetti Squash served over a veggie-herb stew with shell beans, butternut squash, fingerling potatoes and leeks ($16.95). I thought it was good...the beans in the stew were quite firm, almost a little chalky but just fully cooked, the potatoes were sliced into very thin disks, and overall the dish had an earthy flavor. Though I had to add salt, which I usually don't have to do. The spaghetti squash itself was ok, but I didn't think it had a lot of flavor. Maybe some grated Parmesan or something would have helped. Overall the veggie-herb stew made the spaghetti squash better. My companion had the Grilled Portobello Sub with marinara, provolone, crunchy onions and french fries ($9.95). I didn't taste the sub, but my date agreed with an earlier post by Don Rocks, who said the sub is reminiscent of a really good eggplant parm. I tried the fries, which tasted like they had been sitting under a heat lamp a little too long. Dinner overall was quite good, made better by the service. We were pleasantly greeted at the door coming and going, and the bartender was attentive and easy to chat with. If I lived nearby, I'd be a regular...next time I'll probably try the roasted chicken.
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Mr. Yalcin, the general manager of Corduroy, just told me they can accommodate vegetarians on Thanksgiving. Looks like we've got a winner!
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No, she's the real deal...no fish. Actually, I meant to post this in the "help needed" section...maybe a mod can move this thread over?
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I'm looking for a nice restaurant to have Thanksgiving dinner...But, there's one caveat...my partner is a veggie and while I will be pleased to have turkey, mashed potatoes and all the fixings, she won't be...any ideas? Thanks!
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I have eaten here a handful of times since moving to Clarendon in June. The food has always been terrific. But yes, it's noisy. Save room for dessert and order the duet of creme brulee...two perfect little pots of custard, one a rich, dark chocolate, the other vanilla bean with fennel pollen. They are delicious.
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That's good to know. Given the choice they faced, it's totally understandable to go with the bottles. Thanks for your clarification.
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Oh I see...Sthitch was saying that Spider Kelly's does not have enough space for a draft beer system by referencing Corduroy as an example. I suppose a neighborhood bar doesn't require a draft beer system, but I think it helps a lot. At least for me.
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Fair enough...although, I'm not sure Corduroy is trying to be a "neighborhood bar." Spider Kelly's most surely is.