chiefdc

I'm pretty shocked it's lasted this long.  It's never particularly busy.  To me it's not a good value proposition compared to the competition. 

28 minutes ago, DIShGo said:

Has anyone been to the second location that opened in Georgetown last July?

I went last night.  The décor is just as cool as the original on M Street.  Great vibe and friendly service.

We started with decent but unexciting chicken potstickers.  There were other, more interesting appetizers available (including a couple of octopus dishes) but we didn't want anything deep fried to keep the health resolutions in check.  The big winner for me and my fiancé was the curry noodle bowl topped with chicken karaage and crispy noodles.  Rich, spicy, absolutely delicious!  The karaage gets soggy pretty quickly but is still delicious and an ample portion.  We also had the kimchi ramen, which was solid but not the best rendition of a Korean kimchi stew. 

The dessert (Japaense waffle enclosed ice cream sandwich!) and drink menu was also pretty cool for a casual restaurant like this, albeit brief.  Overall, this place has never disappointed me, especially at the price point.  I wonder why it's not more packed since the quality, style, and value are nearly in line with Toki across town. 

My +1 and I had dinner here Sunday night.  Despite living near Barracks Row for 9 months now, we keep gravitating back towards NW DC... but on this beautiful "winter" day, we decided to check out some of the neighborhood standbys and this is a pretty well-rated place.  Despite being fairly hungry not long after a 4 mile run, we were pretty disciplined in our ordering.  I decided to try something a little bit different than usual, a soup I had never seen anywhere else served in a fairly large entree size and labeled "hotpot (but NOT a hotpot like you're thinking):

Tom Sabb - choice of meat/fish, mix veggie, lemongrass, shallot, chili, scallions, cilantro and shrimp paste.  This caught my eye and when I asked who I presumed to be the owner/manager, he urged me to order this instead of the usual tom yum / tom ka.  This was an outstanding soup!  Such complex flavor.  No discernible coconut milk, lots of lemongrass but it didn't overpower the flavor like it can in Tom Yum.  VERY spicy, but acceptably so.  I even found a few chucks of galangal in there.  This tasted every bit as good as most of the dishes I had in Thailand and I think it's because of the high quality, fresh ingredients they used.

Green Curry (Beef) - My +1 ordered this. It was standard beef green curry... but it was pretty darn good.  But it is what it is.

The service was excellent -- we benefited from being one of about 5 occupied tables on a slow winter Sunday.  That said, they seemed to be doing an extremely brisk carryout and delivery business, with the phone ringing off the hook.

All in all, I would definitely recommend Nana Thai as a notch above your average Thai restaurant. And if you go, definitely try the Tom Sabb!  (While a different name, I can't help but think it is the same dish as the Aom described by acgator?)

I'm excited for my first Dino's Grotto experience (I loved the old Dino in CP).  Any new favorites or "must orders"?

I finally got the Porkstrami sandwich last night at the Union Market location-- typically I get their excellent burger.  It was tasty, but I was a bit surprised at the (smallish) size.  I remember previous Red Apron sandwiches being more "meat bombs" (in a good way).  At a place like this, you are not expecting finesse or tapas portioning.  But I digress.  The sandwich itself was good.  I got kraut on the side, and a few bites in my companion remarked at how good the kraut was, so we loaded it on which added a lot of flavor to the sandwich.  Sometimes you have to trust the chef and go with the sandwich as-conceived...

(Another must-have at Union Market- the fish & chips at District Fishwife.  And anything at Neopol Smokery)

Hey all,

I was wondering if any stores or distributors offered keg delivery in DC.  I have a bad ankle and we have 100 or so thirsty people to quench this Sunday.

Any suggestions are much appreciated!  I don't mind paying a delivery fee, obviously.

-Chief

I'll be honest, as an avid coffee drinker, I've had better coffee experiences at Starbucks than I do most independents.  (The exceptions: Cafe Amouri in Vienna, Peregrine, and Bakehouse at 14th and T, which serves a Zeke's blend, and Filter).  Starbucks delivers good quality coffee and consistency.  It's never going to blow you away, but I rarely leave disappointed. 

I hear you and I sort of understand, but I just today read an article in the NY Times, no less, talking about electronic cigarettes being marketed to the "skinny jean set." A demographic is a demographic, and the Reston Town Center directly markets to a demographic.

Yes- even Sietsema is guilty of it.  It's just become so common for people to throw out labels like hipster, frat boy, geriatric, ghetto, expense account, "ethnic", etc., and they tend to never have good connotations- and shouldn't necessarily be relevant when discussing things like restaurants.  But enough about that... I am by no means obsessed with political correctness, believe it or not.  Hopefully I didn't obnoxiously soap box.

I haven't had a chance to check out World of Beer yet, but I'd assume I'd do so only for the beer aspect.  Was the Ballston location able to add a vented kitchen, or are they just microwaving and/or using a sandwich press?

I'm with you, Joe. The Reston Town Center is mostly for the 20-somethings that swell the ranks of theTech companies and enjoy "happy hour quality" food and drink. Jackson's is perfect for them, as will be World of Beer. Most of them think that Blue Moon is a wonderful microbrew.

Those of us with discerning palates and who enjoy ambitious, creative and adventurous cuisine must look elsewhere. Even the IT executives with expense accounts seem to think that Morton's and McCormick and Schmick represent fine dining. For me, quality Reston dining can be had at places like El Manantial, not the Reston Town Center.

KN- truly no offense, because I respect your posts greatly... but you might want to consider how generalizing and even pretentious this sounds.  Whether generalizing about "20-somethings" or ethnicities, it would be nice to avoid doing either and stick to food.

I have to come to the defense of Founding Farmers - I've enjoyed my meals there. While it is not in the wheelhouse of many on this board (nothing truly innovative on the menu), I think it's mostly tasty, good quality American comfort food done affordably. For a lot of people, that's more than enough!

Just had lunch here. The chicken masala pasty was very good, and the surprise of the meal was an incredible chilled spinach, pea, and parsley soup. It sounded odd and unappetizing to a meat lover like myself, until they insisted I sample it. It was excellent! Nice strong garlic flavor, so be warned if you're unfortunate enough to dislike garlic.

I will be come back frequently. (Note: For a nice day like today, head down Church St. to the old Freeman's House, and you'll find three picnic tables nestled in a bucolic pocket park. Otherwise there is a small table and what appeared to be a "breakfast bar" for dining in.)

kirite, say hi next time!

Unfortunately, I have to echo a level of disappointment with my meal. My rockfish was well cooked and tasty (very simply prepared). The corn and black eyed pea side wasn't particularly good- it tasted like something a vegan friend could prepare in a few minutes in a pinch. My dining companion's shrimp was bland. His pancake-like sides were just odd, and the pimento mac n' cheese didn't taste much better than what you'd get with a box of Kraft. It was watery and lacked any discernible pimento flavor. My other dining companion's BBQ chicken with creamy grits was outstanding- by far the class dish of the meal. I can see the place having a high ceiling when everything's clicking, but it would tough for me to go back in the near future with so many other places I have yet to try (Mintwood Place and Boundary Road being at the top of the list). And here's to a worthy replacement for Mr. Moran being found to ease the considerable time drain that I'm sure Mr. Ziebold is having to deal with right now!

Funny, I was just looking at this place... I took special note at how it's killing it on Yelp, which intrigued me. Glad to hear some corroboration on DR. I'll have to check it out next time I'm in the neighborhood.

The Super Chicken in Tysons, which my coworkers and I are obsessed with along with Food Corner Kabob House, makes a mean lomo saltado, carne asada, and even a good quesadilla. I also think they have the best sides of any peruvian chicken operation, both in variety and quality. As you can tell, I'm a "Super" fan.

I am bothering to post, only because it has been a while since anyone posted in this thread. What I will say has been said better, upstream: very well-conceived and very well-executed food, somewhat small portions, not inexpensive. I think that there is a little psychological disconnect between the location and the cuisine - on the strip with a weird old grocery store, a store with vacuum cleaners in the window, etc., etc., a restaurant at this price range is a little funny, potentially leading to a feeling of "I didn't expect to spend this many $." The tiny ice cream sandwich annex (Sugar Magnolia) adds to this potential for confusion, I think - as do the hip t-shirts on the staff. But when I think specifically about the food and the very good service, the price is certainly fair. And the food was delicious.

Sheldman, I agree- I just wish they'd increase portion size to make it a better value. Is it a matter of principle or something? Or dollars and cents? Plenty of other high end places offer a better value, IMO.

I love Standard. DPop is right that the only problem I have with it is that they're *too* successful. And I do wish it was open at night in the offseason (Dec 1-Mar 1) even if just for carryout or delivery. I had many a night this winter when I craved their brisket sandwich. It's good, honest, well-priced food. It won't be a mindblowing culinary experience, but I don't think they're trying to be at those price points.

I am excited to try Curtz's Italian place he's opening down the street in 2013 (the old Well Built space). He used to be a line cook at Two Amy's, I believe, so perhaps he'll draw his inspiration from his time there.

Slightly off-topic (since they're Liberty Tavern and Northside are owned by the same group, perhaps not), but I had the best "pitcher" of French press coffee of my life there last week over a leisurely lunch. A great value, too, given that our whole table was able to share it without finishing. I think it was Counter Culture as well.

And the food at Liberty was superlative as well! Maybe the best meal I've had there yet.

My suggestions... all have Saturday brunch

The Hamilton does breakfast and brunch.

Agora- all you can eat and drink for $35.

Masa 14 - ditto

El Centro DF - ditto

Beacon Bar & Grill - Saturday brunch, with a less extensive menu than Sunday but also cheaper.

M Street Bar & Grill - pretty good food, decent ambiance. They used to have Saturday brunch, but not sure if they still do.

Kramer Books & Cafe - breakfast and brunch

I know these may not all be the best meal you've ever had, but they're all tried and true brunch options on Saturday.

As part of this demographic, I feel I can say this... Yelp is for 20-something wannabe hipsters on a budget. There is a bias towards perceived character, and divey vs. fine dining. Most Yelpers will rate something higher if they feel they've "discovered" it. If it's popular, they will probably try to take it down a peg or two. Hence, the outcomes you see on Yelp. I actually think it would be nice to aggregate the ratings from Yelp, Urbanspoon, and Opentable (which I usually go by since there's anonymoty and no real axes to grind) into a composite score of sorts. Of course, DR too, but since there aren't "numeric" grades as it were it would be more difficult.

Awesome, awesome news! One question, and one shameless request. First- is the first floor really going to be a carpet store? Second- as a nearby resident, I actually WANT this to be open til 3 am. I believe they have the full hours on their liquor license (might as well put it to use, right?), so I hope they stay open as a bar as Pilar does. As Pilar and St. Ex show, that doesn't preclude being taken seriously as a food destination. There aren't enough bars on this section of 14th, leading to long lines at the few there are.

No. But if you ever get to Golden Corral, I will gladly be your volunteer [ducks ]

I continue to enjoy Regent as my go-to, neighbhorhood Thai joint. It's fairly priced and pretty high quality. This is no Little Serow and not highly innovative- but it it is good, solid Thai in a pretty pleasant atmosphere with better than it needs to be service. Just wanted to put in a plug for a neighborhood favorite, and a place that you can usually get a seat even on a Friday or Saturday in "Upont Morgan" without major fanfare.

Off-topic, but has anyone tried the tiny Japanese place across the street- Plum Blossom? It's never crowded yet seems promising... but I've never actually made it in for a meal.

Amigos, Thank you for being patient! Soon we will announce our second location!! We hope to keep seeing you guys and keep enjoying our Mexican food!!

Gracias!!!

Please come to Dupont! We need some good tacos and casual food in this neighborhood.

Siestema's First Bite:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/bars-clubs/jack-rose-dining-saloon,1209257/critic-review.html

I'll be surprised if he does a full review in the Magazine, judging from this. Dame Edna and I went there for dinner last week and had some of the same things. I love me some Caesar Salad, but who in his right mind thinks it's a good idea to grill lettuce??? I didn't even finish it. Bizarre, and not in a good way. However, the skate I had was better than the skate I had at the Oval Room back in May. Really good. Dame Edna's sweetbreads were too salty and I thought had a strange texture, given the little bite that I got. He got the steak "Diane", which in no way resembled the classic dish, and ate every bite of a rather large steak. Thought it was pretty good.

Jack Rose is somewhat less expensive than Cashion's, our go to place for fine dining in AM, but the noise factor is just appalling. Given the inconsistencies in the kitchen, coupled with the noise, it won't likely be a place we frequent. I'll be interested to see how their basement "speakeasy" works out, whenever it opens.

I trust what you have to say, Barbara, but but I sure as heck don't trust what Sietsema has to say anymore. His reviews are all over the place- very inconsistent and often out of touch. I have said it before, but I think it's time for new blood at the Post. I think Carman is superior in just about every way, so let's hope he's the heir apparent. I normally don't like speaking ill of people, but when you're a critic, you open yourself up to it IMO.

Incidentally, I have not eaten in the dining room of Jack Rose. The food upstairs (on the grill) is fairly good, and decently priced. I usually get the "pit beef" sandwich. The scallops were tasty as well, though priced more like a formal entree. The cocktails are really, really good. They take their time and measure out the proper proportions.

Couldn't disagree more. DC is exactly the type of city that would usually not go for this thing (and I say that as a lifelong resident and unabashed lover of this city). I hope it thrives, but doubt it will. It's a little too Miami or Vegas over-the-top. But I don't think a little more atmospheric diversity is a bad thing at all. If the food is good (and I've heard it's borderline excellent), then even better.

That being said, it seems a bit too rich for my blood, price-wise. It would make for a very expensive night out. Even understanding that you're partially paying for the entertainment.