fuzzy510

One of my biggest culinary regrets is not going to Dinosaur either of the two times I was in Syracuse. It'll be practically the first thing I do the next time I'm in Syracuse, but I don't exactly see myself going up there anytime soon.

Apparently this place is now going by the name Copper Canyon Grill. Insert witty comment about how the food still sucks *here*. http://ccgrill.com/

At first I was going to post asking how it was even possible to screw up a Caesar salad, but then it occurred to me that the worst salad I've ever had was, in fact, a Caesar.

I ate at the Laurel location for a while, and enjoyed it quite a bit. Then on subsequent visits, just as in the OP's experience, the quality tumbled. By a lot. It's gotten to the point where I've sworn off Red Hot and Blue altogether, which is a shame, because it was a decent option there for a period of time. I haven't eaten there in nearly two years, and I never plan to again. With that said though, if you put a gun to my head and made me choose, I would choose Red Hot and Blue over Famous Dave's any day of the week. I guess it has that going for it?

I am SO tempted to quadruple space this post and call your bluff, Rocks.

Oh, and I plan to, but I've dropped more than $7.95 on a regular basis for far worse meals at lunch.

Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait WAIT. Lunch is buffet-style? And only $7.95? And within easy walking distance of the Rockville metro station? I officially hate anybody who knows me and didn't tell me about this place.

*perks up*

I'd actually like some recommendations as well, but I am heading tomorrow for lunch, not dinner.

Had RW dinner last night at Art & Soul, and I know that the biggest sticking point has been service (or, more accurately, the lack thereof). Maybe I got lucky, but my service was pretty damn impeccable. No issues whatsoever with dishes coming out of the kitchen, either timing-wise or accuracy-wise, and there was no confusion over who ordered what. My Ahi tuna with fried green tomatoes as a starter was fantastic, if a little lacking in the tuna part of things. The pork shank gets a particular nod from me as I loved the collard greens served with it, and I never, ever eat cooked greens. Not to say that the pork itself wasn't any good - it was. The banana bread pudding was a great way to end the meal, served with a vanilla ice cream that had a really pleasurably intense vanilla flavor. My companion started with the Capitol Hill salad, which she enjoyed, but I wasn't terribly fond of - too intense on the blue cheese, which isn't my favorite, but eating all of the components together really made it work. Her main was the pecan-crusted chicken, which was far less sweet than I had heard it was or than I thought it would be. She ended with the almond cheesecake, which was really intense on the almond flavor, but nicely paired with the raspberry coulis on the side. Still, I have to say that something felt off about the whole meal. It was enjoyable, no doubt, but somehow the whole experience was less than the some of its parts. I don't quite understand it. I'd still recommend Art and Soul to a friend, but there was something holding the place back from being one of my absolute favorites, which is odd considering I didn't really have any issues with the meal whatsoever.

Naturally, here I am posting a review of my meal two months after it happened, and since it was so long ago, I no longer remember the details well enough to comfortably give a good review. Crap. The one thing I do remember with stunning clarity, though: the tasting of pears for dessert featured a Seckel pear sorbet that is, bar-none, the greatest ice cream/sorbet/sherbet/gelato I have ever had. My friend's wife wasn't the biggest fan, and my friend and I both wanted to have her committed for not liking it. There were other highlights too, such as a fantastic tuna tartare with soy air and chicken that is sous-vide and then finished on the flat-top, causing the whole thing to be both evenly cooked and moist while also having a fantastically crispy skin, but like I said, the memory is foggy. Plain and simple, if you haven't been to Volt yet, especially with all of the attention Bryan Voltaggio has gotten recently, you really don't have any excuse (and don't say that it's too expensive - I'm a college student, and somehow I managed to scrounge up the $80 it cost me for my meal without a subsidy from the parents). Rocks is right, it's easily the best restaurant in Maryland, and it's really an unmatched dining experience overall. Go.

I feel that I should point out that this weekend, anybody who's on the fence about trying Kora (or, if you're like me, can't afford to eat out nearly as much as I try to......) Groupon is offering a $40 certificate to Kora for only $20. Normally, the deal is only on if a certain number of people buy in, but seeing as how they've already had 780 people buy and they only needed 125, it's not an issue...... http://www.groupon.com/washington-dc/area/dc-metro/deals/kora-restaurant-bar-lounge

So five months after asking about it, I finally dined at Adega, and in the chain-restaurant hell that Downtown Silver Spring is, it's now probably my favorite option for a quick meal in the area. Two words: Eggplant. Fries. The food in general was good, but the fries were worth the trip. Deceptively light, not mushy like a lot of fried eggplant preparations are, and really ridiculously tasty. A nice variety of sandwiches and wraps, although I wasn't terribly fond of the amount of mozzarella on my sandwich (not that it was excessive, I'm just not the biggest fan of the texture - I shouldn't have ordered it in the first place). Started off with a mini Roma flatbread, which was perfect as a starter. Oh, dessert also needs to be mentioned. Being the sucker for all things fried that I am, I ordered their funnel cake fries. Yes, fried funnel cake sticks. Better than the genuine article, if you'd believe it.

Finally convinced my friend to go up to Frederick with me for dinner Wednesday night. Anything in particular on the menu that is not to be missed? We're eating in the main dining room, so I'd love to have some suggestions before tackling the a la carte menu.

Appreciation needs to be given for the Franklin's bread pudding of the day, especially when said bread pudding is banana rum. I'll actually plan my meal backwards around the bread pudding in some cases......

So the restaurant known as Nicaro is closing, and another restaurant, also called Nicaro, is opening in the same spot with a completely different menu and staff? My head hurts.

I legitimately don't understand the criticisms that the white meat is dry or not flavorful - in fact, the white meat is one of the reasons why I love the place so much. It's always well flavored and moist whenever I go.

Currently sitting here and eating a half chicken with fries and slaw that they delivered to me. First of all, for the sake of transparency, I'm a little bitter right now - I clearly wanted an Inca Kola with my meal, and I was given a Coca-Cola. Hmph. Anyways, as Don reported earlier, the skin is a tad on the rubbery side (which could entirely be a product of the fact that it was delivered to me and steamed up some in the styrofoam box), but most problematic to me is that the lovely spices that we love about pollo a la brasa are completely absent down near the bone. Yes, it's nice and juicy throughout, but who gives a crap if it tastes bland?!?!?! The worst thing about is that I know it's not great, but I still keep ordering in because it's better than 95% of the options I could have delivered to me, including Chicken Rico across the street here in College Park. Oh, El Pollo Rico, how I miss you even more.

Can you get a good one in this area? Can you get one at all in this area? I don't figure you can get an absolutely amazing one around here but I'm hoping, like a Cuban sandwich, that it's possible to get one that's at least passable.

Apparently Bryan Voltaggio will be on the sixth season of Top Chef, along with Zaytinya's Mike Isabella. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/television/local-stars-to-compete-on-top-chef-las-vegas.html

Doesn't keep Food Network from shoving "Big Daddy" down our throats any, though.

Walked by tonight - there's a sign on the door that says that the restaurant is closed for two weeks for renovations. At this point, I'm inclined to say that rumors of Nicaro's demise are exaggerated.

That's what I get for procrastinating on using my Restaurant.com certificates......

So I was at work today, hearing one of my co-workers proclaim Good Stuff to have the best burger in DC. As I felt the vein in my forehead starting to bulge, a voice entered my head - "You dolt, you've never actually BEEN to Good Stuff. Don't knock it until you try it!" So, with some time to kill after I left, I went down and had lunch at Good Stuff. The verdict? I was right all along! Well, sort of. I ordered the Farmhouse Bacon Cheeseburger, and I was disappointed from the start. First off, this thing is small, especially for a burger approaching a $7 price tag. The burger itself wasn't that impressive, either. I appreciate how it was cooked - there was still a little bit of pink inside instead of being cooked to well-done oblivion - but my burger was still a little on the dry side. I don't know if it's because they use a leaner ground beef than the traditional 80/20, but it was strange. Overall, the burger wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything that made me think "wow." Also ordered a small order of the Village fries, topped with thyme and rosemary, and they were disappointing. Good color on them, but they were limp and lifeless. I could clearly see the herbs on the fries, but they provided more of an aroma than a flavor. If you enjoy crispy and firm fries like I do (and I think most people do), you can safely pass here. So, all in all, a pretty forgettable experience right? Well, not so fast. There was the small matter of the toasted marshmallow milkshake. Yes, it's expensive (checking in at $5.25), and it's not overly large. But holy crap, this thing is good. Basically, it tastes just like you think it should - it seems like a liquified toasted marshmallow. What's really great about it, however, is that it manages to be really sweet (after all, it tastes like a marshmallow) without being cloying. I can't really say that I'd go here just for the milkshake, because it's really pretty far out of my way, but the trip is really the only thing keeping me from running here again for the milkshake. Overall, I think some of the criticisms of Good Stuff are overblown, but some of the praise is also undue. The fact is that while I didn't love my burger, I didn't hate it, either - it was better than some of the overdone burgers I've had at Five Guys recently, but it was inferior to a place such as Ray's. I'll be going back, because some of the specialty burgers seem interesting and worth trying, but it's not going to be part of my regular rotation.

Thanks again to Dean for organizing this - a really great experience. It was fantastic to meet so many of you, and I look forward to the next time!