fuzzy510

That is weird....I was at the Rockville location last tuesday for lunch before a business meeting and found it to be really good. I don't know why the locations would be different, unless they haven't gotten the smokers right. Urban BBQ I think is one of the better BBQ joints around.....But I haven't been to the Hillandale one.

Is it bigger and is the menu the same?

If there are any differences in the menu, they're minor. They're largely the same place in terms of food offerings.

It's also a much bigger location; there's actually places to sit most of the time.

I think the most frustrating thing is that the quality at the Hillandale location, in my estimation, has dropped off since they opened. I could understand if they just needed some time to get it right, but that hasn't been the case. Instead, I thoroughly enjoyed it about six months ago, and now it's pretty much out of my rotation. I just don't get it.

So I keep going back to Urban in Hillandale, and I keep ending up more and more disappointed each time. Sometimes it's dry meat, sometimes the brisket is fattier than it should be, but whatever it is, I'm leaving unfulfilled. Am I the only one experiencing this? Is the Rockville location also dropping off?

Do they sell the last chicken I'll ever need to buy?! Stop throwing your money away, call NOW!

You know the Peruvians make good stuff!

Chalk up the College Park location as another victim of the economy.

http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/med...y-3716981.shtml

Had my first RTC experience tonight, and I was thoroughly impressed. Went with a friend for Butcher Burgers in the Bistro, and I finally see what all the fuss is about. Got mine au poivre, and it was fantastic, cooked just how I like it and, most importantly, tasted like meat. It's refreshing to get a good burger (especially at that price) which is that tasty, and to see such care put into it instead of just treating it as if it's a lower-class alternative to a "real" meal.

The two of us decided to splurge for dessert since we paid so damn little for our meals. I loved my key lime pie, and my friend, who is picky about his chocolate mousse, was also happy. They didn't end up on the check, though, and after we pointed this out to our server, he came back and told us dessert was on the house. Sweet!

Bravo, Michael, for bringing an outstanding, affordable alternative to the chain-restaurant hell that Downtown Silver Spring has become.

All of the posts in this thread have been very informative, but I am not sure they are really answering the question. I know that everyone says that one should never use soap and water on an iron skillet because it will ruin the seasoning and may rust the skillet if not completely dried. Believe me, I get it. And if I checked a thousand web sites on the subject, I am pretty sure that I would get a thousand people telling me never to use soap and water on an iron skillet. And I understand that the seasoning is what makes an iron skillet special. That is all stipulated.

BUT, we are told by all the experts that every (other) piece of equipment in the kitchen needs to be cleaned with soap and water because of the danger of contamination or cross contamination. I just don't understand why the iron skillet gets a free pass. (And all one thousand web sites that tell me not to use soap and water will not, I predict, explain WHY the free pass for the iron skillet except that it may ruin the seasoning.) I don't understand if there is some special quality about cast iron that makes it less likely to transmit bacteria or if there is something else going on. In other words, forgetting about the taste of the food produced in it, is there a scientific reason that makes it unnecessary to clean an iron skillet in the same way we clean other kitchen utensils?

Thanks to all!

Personally, my cast-iron pan is always so hot by the time I'm ready to cook with it that there's no way anything that could be living on it still would be toast once I was ready to use it. If I'm cooking steaks, say, my pan is sitting in a 500-degree oven for a while, and that's going to do a much better job of sterilizing it than any soap on the market could ever do.

Maybe try Tommy Marcos' Ledo Restaurant (or whatever it is properly called) instead? They make pretty good, not-so-fancy pizzas.

Ledo (the restaurant, not the chain) doesn't have it's own thread here?!?!?! Mon dieu!

Lunch at the bar today, totally intending to chek out the Reuben. Forgot it was RW, rolled with it. Mussels in a creamy curry broth were spot-on, braised short rib likewise. The dessert options are pretty wild...I ended up with Orange Cake with cilantro sauce and anise-brittle. Manager-type said the new pastry chef is all about using savory ingredients in dessert, very interesting. I wasn't crazy about the dessert, but it was certainly the most interesting one I've had in a while, and that counts for something. Nice glass of $8 Côtes du Rhône with the beef. Win.

Actually stopped by myself last Friday during lunch for RW and had the exact same dishes to start; the excellent mussels and the braised short rib. The short rib was a little bit fattier than I prefer, even for a short rib, but I also ate the whole thing rather greedily, so I couldn't have disliked it that much......

Dessert was the banana crisp with the rum and Coke ice cream which was......interesting. The ice cream tasted very good, and was something I'd like to try and reproduce myself, but I wasn't as impressed with the banana crisp. Lacked something for me.

Overall though, impressed with the place in general, and I'm intrigued to go back to check out the lounge menu.

Bumping this to the top to point out that the Elkridge location is participating in Howard County's RW. I have no words.

Color me anal, but I was actually feeling guilty for never having tried Ratsie's, and was planning on doing so the next time I was near College Park.

But if THIS is what awaits me (note inset picture), then I may be better off remaining a flawed, incomplete restaurant persona with gaps in my experience and holes in my knowledge (*)

(*) like not knowing how to boil an egg, but that's another issue, I suppose.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Having eaten there (while drunk after an unknown large number of shots at Santa Fe Cafe, but hey, cut a college kid a break!), I can tell you for certain that neither of those are the pizza at Ratsie's. The picture on the right looks like a poorly photoshopped slice of Papa John's, and who knows where the one on the left came from, but it's not from Ratsie's. Grocery store freezer case does sound about right for that one.

I'm a fan of The Bagel Place in College Park. Whether that's because they're that good or because they're a five-minute walk from my apartment is up to you to decide, but I've always been pleased by the bagels I get there. They must be doing something right anyway, because on Sunday mornings the line will go out the door, and you will NOT be able to find a place to sit inside. I especially can appreciate getting a hot breakfast sandwich there in the morning before classes. Yum.

In fact, I think I'll head over there now......

Stefan is still going to win it all.

And it's not even going to be close, at this rate.

I have every intention of making bacon ice cream in the coming days. I'll be certain to report back on how it is.

Stopped in to the Wheaton location for dinner tonight, my first visit since they moved. The chicken was better than I remembered it, and still easily the best pollo a la brasa of the many different options in Wheaton. Fries were good and crispy, and the cole slaw was the cole slaw.

One thing that I did find somewhat weird, though, was that their menu was displayed on an HDTV monitor on the wall. Quite different from the old hole-in-the-wall location I can remember going to growing up.......

Hey folks,

My name's John, and I'm a student at the University of Maryland. I've taken up cooking as a hobby, and I'm becoming more and more of a foodie along with that (at least, as much as I can be on a student's budget).

Pleasure to meet you all!

I have yet to indulge in soul rolls, but am sorely tempted each time I visit.

You haven't?!?!?! That's possibly the best reason to go!