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Choirgirl21

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Everything posted by Choirgirl21

  1. Choirgirl21
    You know, I've never made it there, which is shameful. Maybe we should have a little DR outing in Laurel. How many VA folks do you think we could get up here?
  2. Choirgirl21
    I recall many many years ago when a certain member of this board (ahem, Toogs) asked me to join him at this "really good Mexican restaurant" in Laurel. At the time I believe I was actually exercising and more careful about how often I ate out, which only added insult to injury when I tasted the food at Gringada. Thankfully his tastes have improved since then. Gringada is still in business btw.
  3. Choirgirl21
    The weather dictated that tonight was the night to try Barrel And Crow. Too tired to post details now, but consider this a placeholder. In the meantime, I will say there were little misses, but all in all especially given how new this place is, Barrel and Crow is a star.
  4. Choirgirl21
    Well, do try it and see what you think. It's possible my absolute love and adoration of Royal Taj is skewing my opinions of all other Indian food unfairly. Although I will admit I felt emboldened by a Yelp reviewers comment that the food was on par with the frozen meals you get in the grocery store. There are also multiple comments that the naan is more of a flatbread than actual naan. I've never ordered it, but one reviewer's photo does seem to support that.
  5. Choirgirl21
    Those restaurants have been gone for a long time now, nothing to do with the new Town Center imo. Don Pablo's held out for a long time, but that other location had restaurants cycling through it quite regularly. Can't remember what it was last time around, a chinese buffet possibly. Can't say I'm disappointed about either although I did appreciate being able to walk to Don Pablo's and have a margarita on a nice day. One of the few places in Laurel with outdoor seating. Would love to see something of quality go in there, but I imagine it's too large of a space to attract anything like that. By the way, I think you mean Burtonsville. Thanks for the info about the Konterra development. I maintain hope that all of this development is going to do something good for the value of my POS condo.
  6. Choirgirl21
    I've had food from the Indian portion of the menu delivered twice now. Orders have always been correct and delivery timely for what that's worth (I've ordered through Eat24 and been able to use a coupon both times). The first time around I ordered the samosas, chicken saag and matar paneer. Here were my comments to a friend (possible I had had a glass or two of wine at this point ): Pretty subpar, but not inedible. Samosas had decent flavor but an indistinguishable mush inside. Everything had a mild pleasant heat. I could probably make better but it would not be delivered to my door without effort. The second time around I ordered the samosas again along with the chicken tikka masala and the moo gobi and enjoyed everything a little more than the previous time. Basically, the best I can say is that the food is not offensive in any way, portions are what I would expect (the rice overly generous), and I am happy to have a different delivery option available to me, but I would not seek the restaurant out otherwise. Can't speak to how the Italian is shaping up under the new ownership.
  7. Choirgirl21
    I am grateful to Kliman for writing the article although I was left feeling quite saddened by it. This may in many ways be an old struggle, but the article personalized it for me in a way that I haven't experienced before. I never knew as I sat at the FishNook counter on more than one occasion getting to know and very much like Ferhat that he was struggling so much in his new location and receiving the type of condemnation that he apparently has been. I think I can understand the fierceness with which people defend what they know and how it must be difficult for them to see their neighborhoods being gentrified, but that doesn't justify the treatment Ferhat has received. That aside, it must be so difficult to be putting out a good product - sustainable, high quality, fairly priced imo given the latter - and food that is close to your heart and not have it be well received. Ferhat, I'd gladly have you transport Fishnet to Laurel. Possibly a place where you might in the past have expected similar confusion, if not the outright hostility, but we've got this fancy new town center y'all and Fishnet would I think fit right in. Well almost.
  8. Choirgirl21
    Attended Zoofari last night for the nth time. A few dishes stood out, including Sugo's. Simple, but executed perfectly - a veal & beef meatball served over perfectly cooked homemade papparadelle with a fresh marinara and a small amount of pesto. It was good enough to stick a business card in my pocket and take a second plate, which is saying something.
  9. Choirgirl21
    If you're interested in ethnic food, Royal Taj in Columbia is not far off of 95. Food is outstanding, service is even better and it's really a beautiful dining room. Not sure about that time of the evening, but there is often a short wait. Not sure if they accept reservations.
  10. Choirgirl21
    How is this getting glossed over? WAAAAAAA!!!!
  11. Choirgirl21
    Hmm, I was in a bar in Chicago this weekend that had a cocktail with this as an ingredient. Not sure if they just had a store of it or the supply issue is local. Totally not helpful I know.
  12. Choirgirl21
    Darkstar, this is for you. Drinking my $8 cup of coffee at Intelligentsia in Logan Square:
  13. Choirgirl21
    An aside but as I was reading this I thought of Pasta Mia and wondered if it still existed and if so, if it is still any good. I haven't been for well over 10 years.
  14. Choirgirl21
    One more (final?) question - the season finale of Best New Restaurant and the fact that I was in Italy this time last year have me REALLY craving Italian food so I checked to see what was near the conference. Quartino and Coco Pazzo both turn up. The menu appeals more at the latter - anyone have any feedback on either? Thank you for this!
  15. Choirgirl21
    Thanks.
  16. Choirgirl21
    FWIW, part of the reason I have never come despite having the desire to do so is the location. It's far enough to make it a lengthy time commitment to attend. On a nice spring or fall day that's easily an hour drive each way for me despite me living not far outside of the beltway. But perhaps there aren't many of us for whom it's inconvenient.
  17. Choirgirl21
    Does Sotto not have its own thread on DR? I can't seem to find one.
  18. Choirgirl21
    Well at the risk of being the only person who posts in this thread, I thought I'd report on a recent dinner visit. Outstanding food as always. The chicken tikka masala never fails to be delicious and the baigan bharta, which I hadn't had here before actually tasted of eggplant. I hadn't had the complimentary chutneys since my first visit since I have been taking advantage of the lunch buffet, but I could eat them with a spoon. The food alone would draw me back repeatedly, but the service...nothing beats being greeted as if you were their favorite customer, then treated to a complimentary glass of house wine and one delicate delicious ball of gulab jamun to finish off your meal. When/if they move to their new location, I will be sad for the additional drive although hopefully they will have more space, which will limit the waits (on our last visit, we were there before they opened for dinner on a Thursday evening and by the time the doors were opened we were 2 of about 10 people already waiting!)
  19. Choirgirl21
    Thanks. That's good to know. I definitely did plan on walking home (alone) after dinner Saturday and Sunday since it's less than a mile from the conference and restaurants we'd be at.
  20. Choirgirl21
    Huh. Well that solves that puzzle. Portillo's it is. Much more convenient since it's 2 blocks from the conference.
  21. Choirgirl21
    So the Chicago trip is quickly approaching (2 1/2 weeks)! I have reservations the night I arrive at The Girl & The Goat and at The Publican the following night. That leaves Saturday & Sunday. I will be at a conference all day both days. The conference is here: Best Western River North Hotel 125 West Ohio Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654 And I am staying a few blocks from SE of the Clark/Division metro stop. Since the conference days are long, I will want to stay close by. I did some searches into farm to table type places and also researched good cocktail/wine places and found a few ideas that I haven't really seen mentioned here. Highest on my list is probably BottleFork. Boarding House also interested me. I was thinking I might hit up BottleFork for cocktails and snacks and then head to Boarding House to finish out the night, but I may have people from the conference joining me. If that turns out to be the case I should probably just pick one place. A lot of places are closed on Sundays, which limits my choices. Purple Pig is open, but Tippling Hall really interested me. Cafe Iberico was also recommended to me. Thoughts/experiences with any of those? I was also thinking I might spend some time on Friday just walking through neighborhoods and grazing/drinking along the way. I will still have dinner at The Publican that night so I don't want to stuff myself, but suggestions for places to go that are easily metro accessible? I was thinking I might start the day in Wicker Park at Wormhole for coffee and go from there. Violet Hour and Big Star are nearby, Longman & Eagle is an easy metro ride up, and then from there I could potentially get to Hot Dougs. That may be too much though as I have to be back downtown at 2:30 for a boat tour. Anyway, any suggestions, even of the neighborhoods that are worth walking through because of cool shops, architecture, etc. are appreciated. Thanks!
  22. Choirgirl21
    Just for fun, Littorai is the US winery and one of the places where Sara, the co-owner of Black Ankle went to "intern" to learn about winemaking before opening BAV. I had hoped to visit the winery on my last trip to CA, but it didn't happen.
  23. Choirgirl21
    Report back. I am becoming more underwhelmed with Hello Fresh as I go (finishing the last book I was committed to). One thing I have noticed, they are garlic lovers. Garlic in every dish and I often use only half of what's provided and still think in some cases I could have used less.
  24. Choirgirl21
    Yeah, I've had some of their dishes and have ordered occasionally from CustomFit, which is a similar company but drops off closer to me. Different concept because they do the cooking for you and you just reheat, which means they tend to be even more expensive and you have to pick up somewhere.
  25. Choirgirl21
    Huh. I definitely did not know this one. All of that angst for nothing.
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