JimCo

Had dinner at Salt Line recently and unfortunately left underwhelmed. It's an attractive restaurant with friendly staff, but there were flaws with every dish. I started with the rockfish tartare with pickled mustard seed, fried capers and 'crisps'. The potato chips tasted like they came out of a bag. The tartare was good but there wasn't much of it. It was a standard disc of tartare, maybe 4 inches in diameter, but it was only about 1/4 inch deep. The bartender recommended their New England Smash Burger. They're clearly modeling it after Shake Shack which is fine, except it wasn't as good as Shake Shack. If you can't beat the original, it might be better to go in a different direction.

My friend let me try the fried fish from their Waterman's Platter. It was well fried, but there wasn't nearly enough salt so it tasted bland. The onion rings we ordered never showed up (though didn't appear on the bill either). 

The other thing that through me off was watching their shucker shuck oysters throughout the evening then place them in plastic bins, cover the top with plastic wrap and place the bins in a refrigerator below the bar. To be fair, I also watched him shuck some oysters fresh for seafood towers and other orders. I just couldn't help but wonder where those other shucked oysters were intended to go.

I'm a fan of Hank's, and there was nothing here that was better other than the view. I don't envision going back.

Last week was my first visit to Charleston. I hoped the city would live up to the hype, but damn, it exceeded it. We were there four days and nights, and tried to pack as many restaurants as our schedule and stomachs would allow. This was about trying a lot of renowned favorites rather than necessarily trying something new, but I can't wait to go back. 

McCrady's This is the 18-seat tasting menu bar that Sean Brock opened last year. I've read that Brock said he wanted to strike a balanced approach here, ensuring that meals don't go past two hours and that diners don't leave hungry or overly stuffed. I'd say he nailed it. It was 14 courses, with each course between 2-4 bites. Highlights were: the carrot tart with baby carrot slices arranged like a rose, and then revealing a sweet carrot gelee upon first bite; an aged beef strip steak accompanied by sour cabbage and farro (I normally don't care for farro, but here it was smoky, toasty and excellent. Chef Brock said that's because they burn the farro and then thresh it in a barrel); the Charleston ice cream of Carolina Gold Rice accompanied by fresh herbs and thinly sliced raw okra; and the "foiechamacallit", their take on a whatchamacallit candy bar but filled with foie gras. Brock was in-house, supervising the staff throughout dinner and serving many plates himself.

Without exaggeration, this was the best meal I've ever had. I don't say that lightly but after putting a lot of thought into it, I can't think of a better menu from beginning to end than what I ate here. This is an opportunity to catch a great chef at his peak and I'm grateful we did. And lest you think it is difficult to get reservations, we managed to get a 6:30pm seating just three days earlier - and they now accept bookings via OpenTable.

Husk  We went here for lunch, and I think it suffered a little from our McCrady's experience. The shrimp and grits was excellent. We also ordered the fried chicken which I thought was good but the crust was a little thin and I didn't get a lot of flavor from it. I think I just prefer my chicken to be a little spicier.

Edmund's Oast  This is a fun place with a giant open seating area, lots of communal tables, a long bar, and a large assortment of beer and charcuterie that's made in-house. The vibe reminds me a lot of The Publican in Chicago. I wish they had a larger selection of malty beers, but that's a complaint I could register just about anywhere these days. I went with the Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel for a couple of rounds, and before leaving tried their Peanut Butter & Jelly beer. It tasted just like peanut butter and jelly, but was drinkable. I finished it all, but wouldn't order it again. It's a nice novelty.

Leon's Oyster House  We fortunately found a couple of seats at the bar here, which was still packed an hour before closing. I've heard such great things about the fried chicken but had no room. We did however try a platter of the fried oysters and this place knows its way around a fryer. The breading covered every centimeter of the oysters, without being clumpy in any spots and none of the oysters stuck together. 

Rodney's Scott BBQ  I've always wanted to try whole hog bbq so I'm glad Rodney Scott opened this place in Charleston. I snuck a peak at the smokehouse in the back and the dozen or more giant smokers left little doubt they are doing it the authentic way. The pork was moist and the combination of flavors from different parts of the hog really made it unique -- like enjoying the light and dark meat from a turkey.

Lewis' Barbecue  John Lewis helped open Franklin's Barbecue and LA Barbecue in Austin, so his credentials can't be questioned. His brisket is as tender as butter with a blackened crisp crust that tastes of pepper and hints of sugar. I could have used a little more smoke flavor, but that's a personal taste that I know isn't shared by many. Their hot gut sausage was dense but moist, almost like a polish sausage. It might have been my favorite bite. I'd also strongly recommend the green chile corn pudding. One nice quirk is their green barbecue sauce, made with peppers and meant as an accompaniment for his smoked turkey. Once I tasted the two together, I couldn't eat the turkey without it. It may be something I have to try at home.

The Ordinary  The Ordinary has probably ruined most raw bars for me moving forward. We ate the tuna tartare, the red snapper ceviche and an avocado and red porgy ceviche. These were complex ceviches with a great mix of sweetness, salt and spice. The bartender recommended the chili garlic snow crab too, which were two crab claws served with a swipe of chili sauce. The chili sauce was legitimately spicy, but I could have licked the bowl. I'd strongly recommend just sitting at the bar here and ordering small plates until you're full.

Xiao Bao Biscuit  We went here for lunch. Had the Bo Bo Ji, which is sichuan style chicken, cilantro, scallion and peanut salad; and the Mapo Dou Fu, which is spicy pork with chili oil, rice and greens. Enjoyed both dishes.

FIG  Our final meal was an early dinner at FIG. We had the tomato tarte tatin and ricotta gnocchi for appetizers and the suckling pig with Carolina Gold Rice. It was all as good as advertised. The only complaint was that dinner felt a little rushed. They clearly need to move tables especially that early in the evening, but the dishes came very quickly. Still, the food is fantastic. I just wouldn't go there for a leisurely meal.  

58 minutes ago, JimCo said:

Was this one ever figured out? Based on the hints, was it Balkan Grill?

Ahem....

On 7/22/2017 at 0:01 PM, DonRocks said:

Not only does my restaurant begin with a B, the country it represents begins with a B (tsk, tsk, you all should recognize that type of roll).

Was this one ever figured out? Based on the hints, was it Balkan Grill?

Went as a Party of 3 and ordered the foie gras parfait with spiced donut, the crispy potato tortilla and the aged duck bomba. The foie gras gets an A+. The crispy potato tortilla fell a little flat for me. It wasn't very crispy and I thought it was bland. The bomba was outstanding, 'lick your pan' good.

Several folks have mentioned that Arroz feels 'hotel-ish'. I had a similar feeling, but it had less to do with the lighting than the clientele. We ate at 8pm on a Friday night and it felt like most of the diners were hotel guests. We passed three infant carriers on the way to our table, and on our way out there were multiple families donning t-shirts and shorts who looked like they had spent the day touring the Mall. I don't view that as a knock on Arroz (and it won't keep me from going back), but it is something people should keep in mind if they're thinking of a romantic evening out. Also, it's LOUD.

After a trip to Hill Country on Saturday, I agree with Tim Carman that their moist brisket makes them the #1 barbecue restaurant in the DC-area by a wide margin. This was truly great brisket -- juicy, infused with smoke that provided a mild tang, and a robust beefy flavor. My brother was in town from Houston, and he has sampled several of the places on the Texas Monthly Top 50. He was impressed and said that the brisket that day would be worthy of being on the Texas Monthly list.

He and I also ate at Franklin's last year, and we agreed that Hill Country was not quite at Franklin's level. But it was still close enough for DC barbecue enthusiasts to be excited about. Where Frankin's bests everyone (in my opinion) is texture. Franklin's brisket has a melt-in-the-mouth quality akin to kobe beef that I haven't noticed elsewhere.

Carman says Hill Country is now cooking with 100% wood, and it is noticeable. I think I'm going to become a weekend regular there this summer and enjoy it while it lasts.

I'll also put in a plug for Hill Country's pork belly which they seem to have as a special on most weekends. They put a very salty rub on it and slice into 1/8 inch slices. It is now a must-order for me.  

On 7/2/2017 at 10:50 PM, Josh said:

I am in love with the pork ribs at Killens.  The only others that come close for me are from City Market in Luling.  We'll see how the brisket changes now that Ronnie is changing the sourcing for his beef to Snake River Farms in Idaho (in hopes of getting a more consistent product than he was).

June 19, 2017 - "Killens Barbecue Elevates Their Brisket Game" by Scott Sandlin at houstonfoodfinder.com

I am in total agreement with this. Brisket gets all the attention at Killens, but I think their ribs are some of the best I've ever had. I've tried to create them at home, but can't find any interviews where he discusses his recipe or techniques for ribs.

Inspired by Tim Carman's updated top-10 list, I embarked on a three location tour of some of his top-rated barbecue restaurants. On Saturday evening, I hit Federalist Pig, Sloppy Mama's at Solly's, and DCity Smokehouse. My rules were to stick with brisket and ribs, no sides, and only one beer per location.

Federalist Pig was stop one. I had eaten here once before and found the rib tips and the wings were the most memorable items. The rib tips were already sold out at 6pm, and this wasn't a wing expedition so we ordered a 1/2 lb of brisket and a half-rack of ribs. I found Carman's assessment to be correct. The barbecue was expertly made. The brisket was juicy and the ribs had just the right amount of pull. However, both were lacking in smoke. I also thought the rub on the ribs needs to be amplified in some way. It was good, but nothing stood out. I guess some could call it 'well-balanced' but I'd prefer something more memorable. Maybe a touch of heat.

Sloppy Mama's at Solly's was next. It's obviously a bar with a very young group of patrons. You have to order from the bartender and then a runner brings you your food. Despite advertising ribs (on the weekends) on their menu, there were no ribs that day. They weren't even mentioned on the menu. So we called an audible and went with pulled pork. They also don't serve meat by the pound; there are only platters. I ordered the brisket and pork platter from the bartender and told her we didn't want the sides. She insisted that it had to come with sides or the kitchen staff would yell at her. Ooookay. Pickles and fries, please. The good news is that the brisket was juicy though it was also falling apart. The pulled pork was disgustingly dry. I took one bite and knew I didn't have to waste any more calories there. (And despite the 'no sides' rule, a taste of the sweet and spicy pickles proved to be the best thing on the tray).

DCity Smokehouse was the final spot. I really liked their new location. It may be cramped in the winter, but in the summertime they have plenty of picnic tables set-up outside and they weren't very crowded at 7pm on Saturday. The brisket had really good flavor, a good bark, and great smoke. Unfortunately, it was a tad dry. A few hours earlier and I bet it would have been terrific. I was most impressed with their ribs. They're sweet at first but do have a little kick at the end. If I hadn't been to two other restaurants first, I could have easily polished off a half-rack.

So overall, I'm inclined to agree with most of Carman's assessment including that Hill Country is currently the best in the area. (I ate there in June and the pork belly was the best barbecue I've had this summer.) I'm not sure about Sloppy Mama's. Maybe we should have tried it at Union Market. I'm sure it would be better removed from its current environment and I would have liked to try their ribs. Of these three, I'd give the nod to DCity Smokehouse.

---

Lincoln's Bar-B-Que (ElGuapo)

No, it was in DC. I suppose generic barbeque platters are too hard to discern. It was Sloppy Mama's at Solly's Tavern. And the pulled pork was barely edible. I'll write more soon.

Where did I dine?

35 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Do you know when the Yellow Korean Food Truck went away?

Their last tweet was in Oct, 2014.

I left the area in 2013, but friends who work nearby say they've been gone for a few years. I heard they sold the truck. It's a shame. They were the first place I had bulgogi, and I've never found a place since where I thought it was as good. 

Sucks. I worked across the corner there for five years and was a regular, but that was four years ago and now I'm in Alexandria. I'm sure the proliferation of food trucks at Franklin Square played a big role. For a long while, Pedro & Vinny's and the Yellow Food Truck (Korean) were the only options in that area and they were both superior to what came afterwards. But now they're both gone. Such is progress I guess, but I wish we could have better supported the stalwarts while enjoying the new ones. 

He did, and was great. The man obviously knows a lot, but also differentiates between competitions and backyard cooks -- as well as what is just a matter of personal preference.

I took the Brisket class at Dizzy Pig this weekend in Manassas and would strongly recommend to Egg owners. I've had my Egg for nearly 3 years, and learned some new ways of doing things, and more importantly learned some things I've been doing the wrong way. Their classes are laid back, interesting, and relatively brief running from just 10am to 2pm. I'm already eyeing the schedule to do another one later this year:  http://dizzypigbbq.com/dizzcovery/

On 4/20/2017 at 10:28 AM, saxdrop said:

Piggybacking on this: @Tweaked or @DonRocks if you already went, would you characterize The Publican as (well-behaved) kid-friendly? I know its pretty casual, but does the communal setup make it awkward?

We took our 6- and 8-year old boys to the Publican last summer and had a good experience. We did go on the early side, around 5 or 5:30pm, and were seated almost immediately. It was early in the week. We were able to get one of the booths which were great because they have doors that close. The downside (or upside depending on your point of view) is that the booths are tall enough that the kids can't see over them, which led to our boys always trying to sneak a peek around the room. I remember they had French fries with fried eggs on top, which the kids loved.

On ‎2‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 10:41 AM, DaveO said:

If you decide to go to Ray's the Steaks they are installing all new carpeting today.  Refreshed, it will look nicer, and still dramatically less expensive than the any other comparable steakhouse.

Ha! We actually went to Ray's on Sunday night. It was my first trip there in over a year. Not much has changed, and I mean that in the best way possible. I had the aged rib-eye medium rare which had great char, and the kids enjoyed their kids' sirloin. Thanks for all the ideas!

27 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Fascinating guess.

No, this was in Chicago, and run by a very famous, well-awarded restaurant group.

The Publican? I adore that place, but have no idea what that dish is.

Thank you for the suggestions. We wound up at Myron's BBQ because a friend asked us to join him (and I'm weak-willed). But we get a fair amount of "guys time" in this family so I will keep this all in mind. 

I've eaten here four times now, which is not an intentional act but when friends say, "Lets grab some barbecue," I say "great" and now... here we are. A few thoughts upon multiple visits...

Get the dry wings. They fry them perfectly and they allow you to try all the different sauces.  I love the sweet "Hog" sauce on the wings and the vinegar sauce on the pork. I don't care for their mustard sauce, but two companions have told me it's their favorite so I guess that's a sign I need better companions.  ?

The pulled pork remains the best thing going and that has been confirmed by multiple dinner partners. They pull it to just the right texture and manage to impart enough smoke without masking the pork flavors.

The ribs keep changing. My first visit, they were cut individually and super sweet. My next visit they were uncut (mini-rack of 4) with very little sauce and had great texture (clean bite but not fall-off-the-bone). And my third visit they were an uncut rack of 4 ribs that were over-sauced and over-cooked. The meat all fell off the bones when I tried to cut them apart. 

Similarly, the brisket has been hit or miss -- thin and dry my first visit, then moist and delicious my second visit. Then 'good but not great' on my third try -- the flavor was smoky and beefy but they trimmed the fat off and that left it a little dry. 

Twice, they've had burnt ends as a special  They were good but... they weren't burnt ends. They were cubed pieces of the point end of a brisket and very juicy, but they hadn't been applied with more rub and smoked again.

Tonight I tried the pork belly for the first time. Long strips of fatty (obviously), juicy pork. It was good, but I'll stick with the pulled pork in the future, which is the same flavors but less fatty. 

The sides and desserts are more consistent and very good. The potato salad is the best, and I like the baked beans. The beans are sweet and have chunks of peaches in them so the may not be for everyone. 

I think it takes some time for a BBQ restaurant (and any restaurant really...) to develop consistency. I hope Myron's does, because we need it. Especially with the recent news about Texas Jack's ?.

Enjoyed brunch here today, though be forewarned that the brunch menu is small, particularly for a 'small plate' restaurant. 

I enjoyed the Avocado Golgappa, which others have described. My wife remarked that it was like an Indian nacho, which I thought was a good description. The avocado does get overwhelmed (like it does in TexMex nachos) and probably shouldn't be the featured ingredient, but ignoring that, it's a damn good bite  

The Bhel Puri was spicier than the version at Bombay Curry Company, but the flavors were nearly identical. I appreciated the spice, but it wasn't as crunchy as BCC so I'd give the nod to Bombay Curry Company based on the texture. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with cumin, chili and yogurt was enjoyable. It was a cooling contrast to the spicier dishes. 

Our server said the Pao Bhaji was her favorite dish and compared it to an Indian sloppy joe. I don't like sloppy joes, but I loved this. It came with two buttery buns, and the Bhaji was a complex curry with a lot of flavors that melded well together. 

Finally, we shared the Egg Uttapam, sort of an Indian omelet.  It was good, but I think my taste buds were fried by this point. It was my least favorite dish, but my wife thought it was the best. 

My first- and second- graders shared the lamb and chicken khati rolls and loved them. The wrap around the meat was a thin egg crepe. I only managed a small bite of the lamb filling but it was good. 

The only disappointment was that I saw a bacon cheese naan online that I know my kids (and okay... me) would have loved, but they don't have naan at brunch. Overall, I thought the restaurant was great. I don't think I would make a special trip to Cleveland Park for the brunch, but would certainly go again if I was nearby. It also made me more appreciative of Bombay Curry Company, which doesn't change it's menu or experiment much, but I think can stand on its own with some of the better Indian food in this area. 

3 hours ago, cheezepowder said:

On Feb. 10, Tim Carman tweeted that Matt Lang left.

Nooooooooooooooooo...

We finally had a very good brisket place. Why did it have to be so short lived? ?

Also left off Tim Carman's Top 10 Chinese Restaurant list, which is a shame. 

Was there two weeks ago, and they were serving some of the best food I've ever had there. Whoever was manning the fryer was firing on all cylinders. The cumin fish was crisp and numbing. The fried chicken with stuffed sesame peppers (I never remember the name) was also excellently fried. 

Only bad note was the service, with our waitress who seemed annoyed by our existence. "She doesn't like us," I told my wife. "She doesn't like anyone," my wife replied after watching her get short with the table next to us. 

It will just be me and my (well-behaved) 1st grade son this weekend. He likes to dress up in a coat and tie. Was thinking it would be fun for us to dress up and enjoy an early (5:30 or 6) dinner at a DC Steakhouse. Anyone been to one recently that they'd recommend? I'm thinking about the Prime Rib as I think he'd enjoy the piano music. 

Finally checked out Myron's last night and enjoyed it. I started with the Dry Wings (They also have "Hog Wings" which are wet), which the server recommended because you could then apply any of the sauces. It comes with a cup of Alabama white sauce on the side, and she brought some of their 'brisket sauce'. On the table we had a mustard sauce, a vinegar sauce, and "Hog Sauce" which is sweet with a little note of spice. The server said Myron is still playing around with a spicy sauce to add as well. The wings were fried and very crispy. I tried all the sauces with them and enjoyed both the white sauce, which was a little tangy - and the Hog Sauce.

For an entrée I got the three meat platter with pulled pork, ribs and brisket. The pulled pork won me over on first sight, as it was large chucks of pork shoulder. I get so annoyed with the number of barbecue restaurants that pull and chop their pork shoulder to death, turning it cold and giving it the texture of a cotton ball. Myron's was warm, juicy and tasted good even without the sauce -- though a little vinegar sauce complimented it nicely.

The ribs were sweet, like candy bar sweet. The restaurant's motto is "Taste what the BBQ judges taste" and I think that's true with the ribs. In a competition, judges take one bite so you have to overpower them. In the case of a restaurant, it should probably be toned down. In spite of that, I liked them. Or more accurately, I liked two of them. After two ribs, I had enough. They're worth trying, but it would be a challenge to eat a half-rack.

The brisket was okay. It was four slices of the lean (or flat). It had good flavor, but was a little dense. I think it might have been slightly undercooked as the slices were fairly thin. It also might matter that we ate at 5:30pm, and by 7:30pm the brisket might have more time to rest and become more tender. In hindsight, I should have asked if I could order from the fatty side. They did have Burnt Ends on the specials menu.

The loaded baked potato salad had the texture of chunky mashed potatoes, but with flavors of cheese, sour cream and bacon. It's hard to go wrong with that combo. It was great. We finished with an order of banana pudding. I liked that they incorporated small chucks of Nilla wafers throughout the pudding so you got some on every bite. They top with a HUGE scoop of whipped cream which could stand to be a little smaller so you can get to the pudding more easily.

On the competition circuit, Myron is known for whole hog so it's no surprise that pulled pork is the strength here. And frankly, if a barbecue restaurant can excel at one meat, I'm a happy camper. I think the ribs and brisket are better at Texas Pete's, but I'll happy return here and focus on the pork.

Or Arlington?