Choirgirl21

Timely. I got a discounted Hello Fresh box recently. I have very mixed feelings. I had a bit of a rocky start. I'll spare you the details, but with a little more time to sit on it (I've now cooked through most of my second box), I will say there are a lot of things I like, but it's not for me right now. Things I like - the convenience. The meals are easy to prepare (most have a time of about 35 minutes and the times seem accurate) and clean up is relatively easy (not lots of pots and pans like the above experience with Blue Apron, at least so far). I really appreciate not having to think much or spend much time to make nutritious meals. Most of the meals have been very tasty with some exceptions and I will actually save a few of the recipe cards because they gave me new ideas. They do also give you a few meal choices (there are 5 each week, you pick 3 - if you forget, they just send you the default 3). There is a vegetarian box option as well, but right now you don't get meal choices.

On the downside, Hello Fresh at least seems to be very stingy with the veg. The protein portions seem appropriate (it's generally 3/4 lb of protein for one meal for 2 people), but then the rest of the meal is either stingy or very carb heavy. For example, a chicken breast with panko-parm crust was paired with potato salad that was made from one very small white potato and one scallion per person and I kid you not, 5 1/2 roasted tiny grape tomatoes. Also, the packaging is of course very wasteful (every single thing is individually wrapped, so for instance the 2 scallions that came with the chicken weren't just in that meals larger bag, they were also in their own individual bag). I also think the cost to value ratio is a bit off. Finally, the lead out time to make your meal choices is a lot - it depends on which delivery day you pick apparently, but mine was 9 days out. I had thought I would actually have the chance to try my first box before making decisions about the next one, but that unfortunately was not the case so I got stuck with a box with meals I would not have chosen (including one that was predominately pasta, which meant a lot of waste for me since pasta makes me sick ).

Bottom line, it's not for me right now because of how I eat. If they starting offering a primal or even better paleo option (the meals seem to always have a dairy component), I would definitely use it on weeks where I knew I wouldn't have much time or energy for cooking.

If it works for you, I say enjoy it guilt free! I sort of wish it did work better for me. Frankly I have really enjoyed the convenience and I still have the weekends to do something on my own.

My Hangry tale involves not having eaten all day, several hours of intense exercise, no food in the house whatsoever, and a large Italian Store pizza at 9:30 PM.

Having picked it up earlier, and allowing it to get cool, I reheated it in the oven so I could scarf it down with zest and gusto. Ten minutes after heating it to the perfect temperature, I thought I'd never been so hungry in my life. Prepared to eat the entire pizza in one sitting, and having a bottle of wine open, I opened the oven door, burned my hands on the hot tray, and the pizza flipped out, and onto the floor - face down.

The neighbors down the street most likely called the police, but they had no idea which house the noise was coming from.

That sounds more like a Sneaky Hate Spiral thing.

I would know, as I am quite familiar with Hanger. In fact, I am quite confident that another member of this board invented the term to apply to me many many years ago and it just caught on.

My pescetarian gf has eaten at Cochon several times and enjoyed it...so you can eat well at Cochon and not eat pork.  Although clearly that is one of the draws!

Yes. Please don't avoid Cochon because of the pork thing. Everything I've had their has been amazing. Or you can always just do Cochon Butcher for a less expensive way to squeeze it in.

After years of phone calls, emails, and other searching, I FINALLY acquired the Maraska Maraschino Liqueur today.

http://www.maraskausa.com/individual-products.html#maraschino

Been after this since, oh, at least 2008.

You have me interested. I'm a huge fan of the Luxardo - it would definitely make my top 10 list from that other thread if I ever got around to making it. How do the two compare?

Unfortunately I never get into DC.

Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond; the one indispensable rye for your bar

Bulleit Rye is currently made at MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  For less money, I'd rather have the Redemption Rye, which is the exact same mashbill as the Bulleit rye, but it is slightly higher in proof, though the whiskey itself is slightly younger.  Biggest differences between the two for me?  Bulleit Rye is too "soft";  Redemption Rye has the trademark forward rye spice that I love and look for in my rye whiskies

This may veer slightly toward the off topic, but the Redemption High Rye Bourbon is my go to for many "whiskey heavy" cocktails at the moment. Really enjoy the flavor and not too pricey that I feel overindulgent making a manhattan or something similar with it on any old night.

(The mash-bill in the high rye is 38.2% Premium Rye 1.8% Barley Malt 60% Corn for anyone who's curious).

I've had the Bulleit Rye, but don't recall well enough what I thought of it.

Menu looks enticing. Certainly look forward to trying it once open.

New rule (a la Bill Maher? ): If you post a photo asking "Where did I dine?" you cannot drop off the face of the earth and leave all of us who have posted guesses hanging.

This has been killing me because I know I should know where those are from. I have seen them somewhere!

Had no idea this place existed until a work friend suggested we try it for lunch. Having now been there I am excited this place is so close to my office. Nelumbo did a nice job of describing the place so I will keep this brief. I had the curry chicken with curried cabbage and plantains. Also got to taste a bite of my friend's jerk chicken. Everything was excellent. The jerk chicken was oddly spicier than my curry chicken despite me ordering mine "spicy" and my friend ordering his "medium". I'm not sure if they got them mixed up or more likely just didn't believe me. They did automatically bring out a side of hot sauce for me in case I didn't find it spicy enough. The hot sauce was definitely spicy but also had a really good flavor - not just burn your mouth so you can't taste anything hot. I'd actually like to be able to buy that stuff by the bottle. Cabbage was nicely firm rather than the overcooked mush I've had in other places.

We did wait a long time for our food, but the chef was out to our table several times, including to let us know it would only be a few more minutes for our food when some time had passed. In fact, he literally hopped around and waved to greet me when I came in (the kitchen is a bit elevated and he's back behind a bit of a wall so the hopping was so I would see him ). I would want to come to this place simply because of the owners, but the food was excellent and for $10 + tip I left stuffed.

This is definitely going into my regular lunch rotation. I would also love to get here to try the breakfast, which they only do on Friday and Saturday mornings fyi.

Where did I dine? I think this one is going to need a clue.

This is local, correct?

I swear I either saw that dish or saw it on a menu recently and it's killing me that I can't remember where. I guessed Kapnos because I've only been there and to Acadiana recently and that dish is more Kapnos-y (as is the table), but I don't think that's it.

Where did I dine? I think this one is going to need a clue.

I'm sure this is wrong, but Kapnos?

Yes, my friends are forgiving. Much more so than I am of myself. As an aside, I actually came across a photo from my trial run after I posted this today and I did not use cast iron, I used a stainless pan. When I made it for dinner club I think I did use cast iron, but I'm not positive. 

Guessing you made this last year?  How did it turn out?  I think we're going to try it so wanted to learn any tips you picked up the hard way.  Also, do you think it would matter much to use KerryGold rather than the Plugra.  I haven't checked on the butterfat difference but we've generally gravitated to only using kerrygold unsalted in recent years.  It's full fat, grass fed and, Cathal Armstrong's favorite but guess you can call him biased. :-)

Yes, I made it twice. The first time I did a trial run for myself because I was making it for a dinner party and didn't want to totally flub it and the dish turned out nearly perfectly. It wasn't quite as good as when I had it there, but it was damn close. I can't remember if I hit it with the grill beforehand or not, but I did everything else as I planned to, including using the egg (and I cooked it in my cast iron).

The second time was for the actual dinner party and I totally flubbed it.It was later in the night, I had had wine, I completely forgot to coat it in the egg. Here's a tip: if you remember that you forgot the egg coating half way through cooking, don't pull the chicken  out, dip it and put it back in the pan. :lol Everyone still said they liked it and it wasn't a total disaster, but I knew it wasn't the heaven that the dish should be.

Anyway, I can't speak to the butter other than what I've already mentioned above. I used the Plugra in both cases.

Instead of going to only one restaurant, a stoner could attempt a Louis CK-style bang bang.

Buffalo wings/Thai food, 3 bangs for the price of 2. 

Lol

Who serves cheap ass frozen pizza off the floor? Cause that's where I'd be headed. Cheetos an added bonus.

I had forgotten about this game. So glad it's back! Even though I too rarely know the answers.

Ferhat, did the article in the Washingtonian ever run? I thought it was supposed to come out late January, but I don't have my hands on a printed copy and I think they don't put as much of their content online, at least initially.

Any other recent recommendations? Has anyone been to Alinea that hasn't already written about their experience? 

Was it 5 courses that equaled 5 plates? Or was it 5 courses in which each course consisted of multiple plates?

When I first went there (July 2013, post #11) my recollection was something like:  the first course was 3 or 4 different dips/spreads, the second course a couple plates of something (fuzzy memory), the third course was a few different fish dishes, the fourth course was 3 different meat plates and the fifth course was 3 different dessert plates.

It's been a while and my memory is fuzzy,(the details aren't really important)  but we ended up with a lot more than 5 courses or dishes set in front of us. Is that still the way it is?

Are you talking about a RW experience specifically? I admit I'm a little confused by your description but what we got was 5 courses, one dish per course. The dishes were all straight off of the regular menu (you had an abbreviated list to choose from for the RW week menu, but there were plenty of selections and all of my favorites were included) and were the same portion size you'd get without RW. There was also a 3 course option that I didn't really look closely at.

Ah, I just saw you referenced your post and see that you had the tasting menu. I don't know how they do the tasting menu these days, but it sounds like it's a different experience than what they chose to do for (extended) restaurant week.

Bottom line, I agree with the poster up thread who called this "fairly priced." It certainly isn't Fiola or even Stefanneli's Bibiana but wouldn't avoid it on future visits if convenient and the group wanted decent Italian.

I used to frequent Cinghiale a while ago (6 or 7 years ago at this point, which makes me feel old) and a large part of the appeal was the outdoor seating so I would add that to your list of "ifs". There was also a great sommelier back then who always made us feel special, but she is long gone I'm sure.

FWIW, I find the portions to be quite generous at Kapnos, which really mitigates the higher prices. My 5 course meal the other night was the eggplant dip, tuna tartare, duck phyllo pies, suckling pig, and baklava. I very reluctantly left behind portions of the dip, the pig, and the baklava and I can put down food, especially when my number of drinks are keeping pace with the number of courses. I could have easily passed on dessert and still been stuffed with my 4 savory plates, which would have run me about $50. Take that FWIW since I know nothing about Ballston or the Taverna menu/dishes.

Say hi next time. (we need a DR-member identifier!)

My wife and I were also reservation-less at the Red Hen last night at 6. We intended to get there a little earlier, but didn't and got the same 2 - 2 1/2 hour wait quote you did. She went to the bathroom, I tried to warm up from the walk from the metro and when she returned she noticed a couple at the bar who just got that phone call that their table was ready. We moved in and easily snagged the seats. I was a little worried that it'd be cutthroat and intense to try to get bar seats, but it was pretty easy at that hour. By the time we left, it was cutthroat and intense. A mini skirmish broke out next to us when two different groups were vying for the same seats. We ended up with a young couple parked right behind us for end of the meal and coffee and dessert, but they were very cool and not not giving us the stink eye or anything like that.

I did take a passing glance at the bar, but it already looked like there were couples hovering waiting for seats to open. We actually did try that last time and it was ridiculously cutthroat. With my friend now 6 months pregnant, there was no way we were going to try that again. And frankly I'm glad we didn't since we had such a fabulous meal. We will get to eat at Red Hen eventually, but I suspect it's going to have to be with reservations as I am not up for failed attempt #3.

Just an FYI, I arrived at about 6:05-6:10 this past Saturday to find the wait was 2 - 2 1/2 hours. When I asked the hostess with shock and dismay how this was possible, she told me they've been filling up by 5 pm on weekends. Some day I will eat at Red Hen, some day...

If you want to talk about underrated, after a second visit, I hardly feel that Kapnos is getting the attention and credit it deserves for what it's doing. And what it's doing is consistently putting out delicious, complex, well-balanced, and beautiful plates of food.

We were set on Red Hen. Finally we were arriving early enough to secure a table in a reasonable time frame. Alas, upon our arrival shortly after 6 pm the wait was over 2 hrs. Kapnos was the first place that popped into my head within a reasonable distance so off we went, calling on our way to secure a table. We were told there were only seats available at the bar or the open kitchen seating. Oh darn, I guess we'll just take those shoddy kitchen seats.

The only disappointment of our entire meal actually was the cold, well really absent welcome when seated. The chef at the station in front of us never acknowledged us, then or throughout the night, despite a 10 min or so wait before a server even appeared to take a drink order. However, Chef George did occasionally pop over to that station and made a point to check in the first time he did. Our server, after an initial apology for the wait was fantastic in terms of him feeling us out and pacing our meal accordingly, frequently checking in, making sure we had clean plates, and giving excellent food and wine pairing recommendations.

I won't detail all of the food we had except to say that the eggplant dip, duck phyllo pies, and charred octopus were all repeats for me and well worth it. The tuna tartare, smoky beets, suckling pig, and goat were all excellent as well. I'm most impressed by the chef's ability to always balance a bright, acidic note with even the richer of dishes. The only thing here that hasn't really moved me are desserts. Tasty and generous, but not memorable.

People have commented that Kapnos is on the pricier side, but sneaking in at the tail end of restaurant week, we left absolutely stuffed, having not quite finished a few dishes at $55/person for a 5 course meal. When I looked at the menu prices, that only saved us a few bucks with the addition of dessert so I believe you can easily leave here well fed for $50 before tax, tip, and alcohol. Even after my 4 drinks (yeah, we paced ourselves into an enjoyable slow meal) I came in around $100 inclusive.

I admit all of the expansion Mike Isabella is doing concerns me. I understand the new location in Ballston is a different region of cuisine, but our server also mentioned a ramen place in Ballston (wtf) and something in Reagan National, along with the Bethesda restaurant slated to open in the fall. Graffiato has always been a place where I've enjoyed good solid food at a reasonable price in a lively setting, but Kapnos is doing something unique and it's doing it well. I can only hope it stays that way.

Being in the belfry of St. Mark's Campanile at the end of the day when the bells started ringing was one of my favorite experiences while in Venice. Part of the joy in it was probably the surprise, although others who were up there with us didn't find it so pleasant (they are loud). Regardless, it's worth the trip up for the stunning 360 degree views of Venice.

I was sadly only there for one day and one night. We stupidly did not plan ahead for dinner so when we realized that anything good was going to be alarmingly expensive we decided to try Alle Testiere, which was of course booked, but they sent us to Osteria di Santa Marina where we had a lovely fine dining meal with excellent service.

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is supposed to be incredible if you like modern art and it does require a little boat ride across the canal. I wasn't able to do it unfortunately, but it was recommended to me by many people.

One must, enjoy an aperitif in Piazza San Marco at the end of the day and literally watch the crowds disappear. Then after dark, take the Vaporetto from at least Rialto to San Marco.

That's what I'm trying to figure out: I came out of the meal with more respect than love for what Iron Gate is doing in its tasting menu (in the dark, rather wintery-feeling main building). Part of me really wished we'd had a more substantive meal a la carte meal in the sparkly courtyard on a warm spring evening. I wanted to do more than simply admire what was being set in front of me; I wanted something to tear into and savor over more than a few bites. The tasting menu doesn't allow you to do much of that, and I am finding that is increasingly the case in other such offerings around the city. Perhaps the G Spot's menu is a bit more substantive; I'd like to try it, but overall, this feels like we're nearing the end of our trying out tasting menus.

I am seeing this quite late so I don't know if you'll see this comment, but I wanted to say that I appreciate these comments so much as you put into words precisely what I could not about my meal at Cityzen last month. I left feeling the same way, that perhaps my days of tasting menus were over. There was little if anything to nitpick over in the meal, but I left having admired the food more than savored it. My tasting menu at Marcel's last week changed my mind however so perhaps don't give up on them entirely.