Jump to content

Lori Gardner

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    336

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Lori Gardner

  1. Lori Gardner
    Any details?
  2. Lori Gardner
    Ate here this past weekend and was very impressed. I began with a cocktail that I can honestly say was the best I've ever had- "moonshine," truffle oil, honey, and mint. Worth the trip from the Maryland suburbs just for this. But wait- the food is also destination worthy. I had a starter of seared diver scallops with yuzu, dashi, and cucumber-daikon noodles, which were perfectly cooked and a generously portioned. For an entree- harissa marinated lamb top sirloin. The sous vide meat was incredibly tender, the flavors unbelievably good. What makes it all the more impressive are the prices. Lamb at $22? I consider it a bargain. I became a fan of Chef Tim Ma after a visit to Maple Ave. Water and Wall is a bit more formal, but equally appealing.
  3. Lori Gardner
    Sadly I cannot make Old Angler's tonight. just seeing this now and am unable to get out of a work commitment. I am very much interested in being part of a group that goes to Rose's- providing the date works. As anyone knows who has tried- it isn't easy to snag this table and impossible to just pick a date that you want. I will have to watch this board closely in case someone is able to make it happen. Looking forward to a report back on Old Angler's. If this can be done again in the future, I am interested.
  4. Lori Gardner
    Cozy was a place my family used to visit annually when we took my daughter to camp in that area. it wasn't great but we loved it anyway. sad to hear it's gone.
  5. Lori Gardner
    I've eaten at Daily Dish a number of times and always enjoy it. I appreciate the commitment to local ingredients and fresh-made pizza dough, pita, and more. They do particularly well with seafood and pasta (and seafood with pasta). It's also the kind of place you can stop in for a quick salad, burger, or sandwich -my husband likes the Salmon Ripieghi. We were there just yesterday for brunch. The salmon frittata was good, although I think I'd go for something meatier on a future visit. The place was hopping, which was nice to see although it slowed service down a bit. I'm glad to see it getting some attention here. It's worthy of our support.
  6. Lori Gardner
    Her soups can also now be purchased at Whole Foods. I am a big fan.
  7. Lori Gardner
    I don't agree with the ageism argument. I'm in my late 50's, which isn't exactly a senior citizen (at least I don't think it is) but I obviously don't qualify as the "younger crowd." I like knowing that if I feel like dining at Rose's tomorrow night, I have the option to do so. For me this means trekking in from the suburbs to get in line for the first seating. I've done it at Rose's three times and at Little Serow twice. While I don't love eating dinner at 5:30, at least I didn't have a wait that is hours long. I have a number of friends in my AARP-qualified age group who have done the same, and agree that the plus-side of these dining experiences make it worth the effort. Don't get me wrong- I would be ecstatic if Rose's took reservations- at least on a limited basis. The downside of that- I'm sure they would be impossible to snag. I am not particularly enthralled by the rooftop situation at Rose's. They only release a few dates at a time, and you have to go online at a specific hour to book the one table available. I haven't tried it, but I'm guessing at some point I will make an attempt. I do love Rose's.....
  8. Lori Gardner
    I was there about a week ago. I thought the food was fine- nothing special. We started with a salad of arugula and grilled radicchio, which was fresh and tasty. As an entree I had Squid ink tagliolini with shrimp, calamari, asparagus & spicy tomato. The ingredients were somewhat over-cooked and there was nothing spicy about it. My dining companions were more satisfied with their dishes, and friends of ours dined there a week earlier and recommended it. I wouldn't suggest it as a dining destination, but think it is perfectly suitable paired before or after a movie.
  9. Lori Gardner
    I couldn't agree with you more about Bethesda restaurants. I've eaten here a few times and had good meals. Based on location, I will be back. I want to like it a little more than I do, but still it's one of the places I recommend when people ask me about Bethesda dining. I realize that I've not added much to the conversation, but felt like chiming in!
  10. Lori Gardner
    waiting anxiously to hear the news. i trust you will post here when you can.
  11. Lori Gardner
    I dined at Fiola Mare recently and found it to be perfect as a special occasion restaurant. Prices are higher than what I would consider spending on a "regular" Saturday night, but in line with a high-end experience and well worth it. One of my favorite dishes is smoked potato gnocchi with wild cod, spring peas and fava, dusted with lemon zest and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.The smoky flavor is intense and perhaps not for everyone but I loved it. Adriatic Seafood Brodetto incorporates scallops, black cod, calamari, mussels, clams, prawns, and grey mullet. It is painstakingly prepared and a sumptuously divine dish. At $40, it isn't cheap but worthwhile. My full review is on my blog at Been There, Eaten That.
  12. Lori Gardner
    wow, Don. High praise, indeed. I dined at Lupo Verde twice last week. My first visit was a media dinner, where I was fortunate to be able to taste of many dishes on the menu. Somehow I missed the carbonara. Darn. Everything we had- cheeses, meats, pastas, pizza, was quite good. I went back a few days later and unfortunately even though we had a reservation, 45 minutes later we still had no table. My friends left, but my husband and I stayed as I was resolute in wanting to dine here again. I enjoyed a modified version of the RA2 pizza which is drizzled with honey and pistachios, and Garganelli al Nero, which suffered a bit from over-salting. A highlight for me was chocolate hazelnut semifreddo. It really was a fantastic dessert. This is absolutely a great addition to 14th street. My full post is here.
  13. Lori Gardner
    i thought it had closed ages ago. We had such a bad meal last time we went (over a year ago or more) that it slid off my radar. on the other hand, sorry to lose yet another kosher restaurant. at least we gained Blue Star.
  14. Lori Gardner
    I am not sure why this is shocking. Some restaurants host dinners for press when there is a chef or menu change, and new restaurants often have opening parties or media dinners. I was at a comp dinner last night at a just-opened restaurant, and I will write about the restaurant (with full disclosure) with some basic facts about the food, decor, chef, etc. I can't judge the experience fairly because it wasn't a typical dining experience. I will go again (on my own dime) to do this. With all of the restaurant competition that exists, I don't think a restaurant can be blamed for wanting publicity. I understand that this is a slippery slope and that's why bottom line- I think full disclosure is critical.
  15. Lori Gardner
    I'm surprised there aren't more comments on this topic. I'm a food blogger who occasionally attends press events, occasionally gets a free dessert at a restaurant if my identity is known, and always discloses in my posts about whatever freebies I receive. Maybe I'm naive but if there are bloggers who limit their dining to restaurants where they receive comp meals, they must not eat out very often. I've heard this accusation before (including on this board) and it galls me. My husband and I spend a great deal of money at local restaurants. I blog because I enjoy writing about my experiences for whomever feels like reading about them. This seems to be true of the majority of bloggers in the DC area. This secret document is a bit like "House of Cards" for the food world, so if nothing else it is entertaining.
  16. Lori Gardner
    felt like the awards went to the right people and films, and there were some heartfelt speeches (Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey, Steve McQueen) but ultimately the show was a snooze Kudos to the pizza company that took the bait Ellen left and showed up to the awards with pizza. They just got a ton of free publicity.
  17. Lori Gardner
    Already know the answer. Siena's has moved and Blue Star is in a shopping right off of off Nicholson on Woodglen Drive. This is not in the same shopping center as Goldberg's, which is on Boiling Brook Parkway. It is owned by Sina Soumekhian, who also owns Eli's in DC.
  18. Lori Gardner
    I was there last Sunday- less than a week since the opening. I don't know whether to write about this from the perspective of someone who loves food and will eat anything, or someone with family members who are kosher. I really like the menu and am hoping that Blue Star succeeds. It has a way to go if it wants to appeal to a broader audience. The brisket is tender but needs more flavor. We had tacos and a baked potato topped with brisket. The ingredients all sound good, but there needs to be better seasoning and more attention paid to the proportions of ingredients. If something says it has tomatoes and onions, I would like to see more than a teaspoonful of each. There were also some issues with temperatures of the food. Desserts are from Sunflower Bakery and are quite good, although I had an apple pie that was served ice cold. It was the first week, so hopefully some things will get straightened out. My biggest hope is that I can say the food is good rather than the food is good considering it's kosher. I am going back next week to sample more of the menu. Fingers crossed.
  19. Lori Gardner
    sorry to hear you thought the food was terrible. I rather enjoyed it. Quite a bit of it was spicy, but I was expecting that. I happened to be standing close to where the food was coming out, so I had more than enough to eat. Perhaps that was the secret. I was there until about 8:30 and there may have been a couple of items that you didn't sample. I do think the roast pig was one of the best tastes of the night. All in all my friend and I both thought it was a worthwhile event. I do wonder how many people actually paid for tickets. There were quite a few local chefs and some media there. Alice Waters was also in attendance. No Wolfgang sighting however.
  20. Lori Gardner
    I will be there- anyone else on this board?
  21. Lori Gardner
    We browsed through the stores which were open until 7:00. after that we went back to Republic and had a glass of wine at the bar. It was crowded so maybe going somewhere else for a drink would be a better plan.
  22. Lori Gardner
    we were there last week. I really enjoyed the burger and a couple of the sides. I am not a fan of restaurants without reservations- we had an hour wait. But I am a fan of the Takoma Park location, and my initial impression is a good one. One thing to keep in mind- this is a very loud restaurant. Don't go for a quiet dinner.
  23. Lori Gardner
    thanks, Don for your kind words and your support, which I value. but I'm pushing 60. How old to I have to be before I'm "of age?"
  24. Lori Gardner
    when I was at Rose's a week ago, both of these pastas were available at the tables. The pasta with truffles was a special described to us by our server, and the linguettine with pesto was on the menu. I don't think there are specials limited to the bar, but I could be wrong.
  25. Lori Gardner
    I took the hint and dined at 8407 Kitchen Bar last night. I had the seared pork loin with chorizo-sweet potato hash. Wow! the pork was incredibly tender and the flavors in this dish are bold and bright. absolutely loved it. My friends had salmon or rockfish and were equally blown away by the flavors and skilled preparation of the fish. We've dined together at 8407 on a number of occasions, when various chefs have been in the kitchen. This was by a mile the best meal we've had at 8407. Congratulations, Chef Bittner. Can't wait to visit again!
×
×
  • Create New...