sireatsalot

I'm not trying to start a war, here, but I'm simply curious...how did you see "this" coming? The split was due to management differences, if we can believe the press release, not quality of pizze, soupy or not, etc. I certainly didn't see it coming, I won't lie.

I'm disappointed to say the least. The place is already a kid-fest and if it becomes a Neapolitan Carlo E. Formaggio, I'll be avoiding it like the plague. I won't boycott Orso because I like the food, but I'll be weary of changes being made.

The excuse "The split was due to management differences" is akin to I am leaving my position of power to spend time with my family , generally not the truth. Fact is quality and consistency has eluded this place since opening.

Who did not see this one cominig? Been saying that for a while now. I hope all the people that have bashed me and sent me messages that I have a personal adgenda about this place no send me an Apology.

Stopped back in to Orso last week and had a better experience then the previous other visits. Orders the Meatball app, which was perfect. The sauce was amazing. Ordered a simple pizza with eggplant. Pies were decent, nice char, a little un-balanced with toppings, but overall good. The service on the other hand was a totally different experience. It was perfect, for me it was a total different experience. For two people, one app and two pies and a glass of wine the bill was $65.00 I find it a bit expensive, but will continue to go back every now and again.

The fact that we seem to give him a pass is more based on old friendships rather then the facts, just my opinion. I have not been to the restaurant nor will I ever go. I can not get beyond his Business practices, including the theft and his inability to pay his employees , wages and collected tips. People make mistakes and should get second chances, but there is a overall pattern. For my the hiding of assets, not having any property registered in his name, and the way the ownership is set up for the new place suggest to me that he is not trying to make amends, but avoid. This is all public information and a issue that the eating public has every right to be vocal about.

Not paying the employees Tips and Wages is not acceptable under any circumstance for me, it is not excusable and in my opinion there should be more outrage. I only hope that the current staff are getting paid. Maybe he should do without and get some money into the workers hands quickly.

If he makes amends and pays them back I will think about supporting him, until than he is not getting my money.

I would suggest that if anyone has a contrary opinion read the ruling that is attached int the thread.

Article says it all.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/dc/-eighty-six-the-good-news.html

Bruce has the smoker going and pulled pork and brisket on the menu tonight. Grabbed a few sandwiches for dinner tonight-- Had the pork before and it was amazing. Looking forward to dinner tonight There was a great vibe at the market tonight with the Beer garden being back open.

Gather up all the food in the pantry that you are not using or need and deliver it and help work at the Kitchen on any given day. I use Free Cycle a lot and the past weekend I put out a offer for a box of food and within minutes I had well over 45 responses. While I felt good about the donation I was sadended by all the responses. I dug a little deeper and went out and bought enough for others and extended the offer and was able to help three homes directly. There is a lot of everyday people in need out there.

Was in NYC recently and had a opportunity to stop into Eataly and a few occasions. Morning, afternoon and Night, the place was packed. Wall to Wall people. Initially the place overwhelmed the senses and defiantly takes some getting used to. We wandering around, had a glass of wine and desert, and looked at the goods and came away with the sense that it was ok, not great. To me there was nothing that special that would cause me to have to return. Conceptually I see what they were trying to do with the market feel, but I think that these contrived concept places are better served in Vegas or somewhere where people do not know any better.

In the end we skipped out and went to A Voce Madison and had a great meal, (review pending)

A little late in reporting , but I had a great brunch at Liberty a few weeks ago. Had the skirt steak burger with a side of greens. The burger was cooked perfectly, and just like I ordered, medimum rare. No cheese ,just the burger and the bun. It was perfectly seasoned, minimally, which allowed the flavor of the meat to come through. There was nothing else needed to make this a great burger.Coupled with their homemade bun it was perfect. Not in my usual rotation, due to crowds generally, but the last meal has put it back on the list. They had a specicial with a beer and I think it was around $11.00 which was a bargin, I might be off on the price , but not by much.

One question as I anticipate my visit: is there a dress code I should know about?

Has anyone every been kicked out or denyed entry to resturant in the DC area for wearing Jeans? Me, I have never seen it happen, and I have never heard of it happening. I have been to numerous high end places and have seen people in Jeans eating. ( sorry if it is too much off topic).

Sireatsalot,

Maybe it's lines like these that people take offense to, you know? These aren't really stated as "personal opinions"...they are insults to the people that are working hard at Orso every day. We restaurant folks can and do take criticisms on a daily basis (and truly value them, believe it or not), but when your opinions come off as potshots at staff and the small business as a whole, can you really blame anyone that works at Pizzeria Orso for being offended?

I don't know the Orso crew and have only dined there once (which was only okay but it was soon after their opening--it's not like I'm in the tank for them) but I bet my life that they are busting their asses every day to work hard and get better. Comments like yours probably only inspire them to crank out some killer food to make you sound the fool. I'm going to stop in this weekend while the oven is hot and the staff is pissed off...it'll make for some great food for me!

Let me clarify- my comments were more related to the distinct nature of the product that they are producing. There were in no way meant to take a personal shot at anyone. As you can see this is not my first time commenting on the visits, there have been many positive visits and I have noted them. I will edit my original comments to exclude that comment and focus on what was delivered.

I'm going to disagree with that, bordering on taking offense to it.

Edan is, without a doubt, the man, but we have a good crew and he is certainly not the only person on our team whose pizze I've eaten, including my own (Dr. X-mus, I'm probably the guy "normally at the oven that's not Edan."). Keep in mind that we're a young restaurant and the kinks are still being worked out- things are not yet exactly the way that we want them to be, but that's a daily challenge for us, and one at which we are improving every day. The same goes for the food timing issues- it's been difficult to train servers to execute that exactly as we need, but that definitely is a concern of ours as well.

As for the expediter issue, we have realized that and just hired a person specifically for that position. We're confident that's going to be remedied in the near future.

I'm curious about your "crispy to the center" comment regarding the pizze in question as well, because usually the issue is that it's too moist in the center, due to the moisture content of the cheese. I've never seen our dough to the cracking point in the crust, let alone the center.

Can not help you are taking offense to my comments, I am sure you read my past comments and understand there is no bias. Just relaying my comments. To be clear the crispy to the center comments was relating to not one, but two pizzas that we had- Seems that people are taking it personally. I not discounting others positive experiences just sharing mine.

In regards to the comments "I agree that there are some consistency issues, however this isn't McDonald's, where you expect the same dish no matter when or where you go" I fully understand that, but there are minimums and standards that should be held. Pizza at that level is a Art and a passion and is not eaisly passed to others. As far as the training issue that should not be my concern, if that is what they were doing they should have someone at the pass controlling the product. My comments were not based on a one time experience. We usually spend around $65.00 for two people there for dinner. I expect more than I have been getting.

My many recent visits to Orso have been disappointing to say the least. Sorry to say after last night’s dinner we will not be going back. Over the past weeks we have noticed that the quality and consistency of the pizzas were all over the map. The other significant issues was the ingredients, there was no balance. Overcheesed or drenched in oil or lopsided ingredient placement. It was clear that no one was looking at what was being delivered. Last night started out with a glass of wine, that when delivered to the table the guest sitting next to me could smell that it was bad. We were presented with a slimmed down menu, with all but the basics left. No more clam pizza, which is one of their best. We ordered a few apps, the eggplant being one of them. It was presented with a nice crisped browned top, but the center was dead cold. The pizza’s were decent, but not worth the trip. Crispy to the center and would crack if you tried to bend. Burnt in spots while no char on others, ingredients missing and out of balance. It was clear that it was not a skilled hand at the oven. A point to be made is that I have noticed that each time there were issues MacQuaid was not at the oven and the expeditor was not at the pass. I did not let the fact that he was not cooking color my opinions, but what they delivered was subpar and kind of proved my point. They have one person that can make the pizza and without him there it is simply not worth going. As a note they have removed the arancini from the menu, which was a wise decision in my opinion. It always had issues, undercooked, lacking salt or overall flavor. The bright spot is the staff, always helpful, understanding and responsive.

Unless things change I do not see them being open much longer, unless they have really deep pockets. The town is filled with mediocre pizza there is no need for me to go and spend $65 there.

Noticed the same, however beleive it has more to do with people being on vacation. Some of the staff is in China. Not making excuses, but just a observation.

Went to lunch today and I have to say I was impressed and look forward to many more visits. I started with the Eggplant Parm and followed with Margherita DOC. The eggplant was good, not great, but has potential. I will need to try it again. Either the eggplant or the something in the sauce was bitter. There were pieces of smaller eggplant immersed in sauce and cheese with fresh garlic and basil. The pizza was near perfect. The crust was perfect, had nice balanced char and it held up through the entire meal. Excellent balance between sauce and cheese. I did ask for mew sea salt as i thought it was lacking.

Overall service was good, and the food was excellent. I look forward to many visits.

The five-year prison sentence was suspended, pending compliance with probation requirements, good behavior, and restitution. He could still go to prison.

Thanks for the clarification, however I should have made my point a bit clearer. He should be forced to serve jail time based on the facts of the case, hiding assets and being chased rather then facing the issue head on. He has enough money to build a new restaurant, but not to meet his legal requirements to being a business owner. The average person does not have the ability to stay out of jail for stealing this amount of money.

Really no jail time? I find it amazing that he has not yet paid the taxes and is in the process of opening a new place in DC. The fact that he had no assets, for someone so established, to me shows an intent to avoid paying. I have eaten numerous times at Bebo and quite frankly the service was horrific and all the while this was going on Roberto can often times be seen teaching a cooking class, which was cash only BTW. At times the service and food were criminal in my opinion.

Had a chance to have dinner at Eventide last night and was less then impressed with the food. I was my first time and based on the experience and the cost, I doubt I will be going back anytime soon. For starters I had the Butternut Squash Soup. The soup lacked flavor and was thin and had strands from the squash. What was interesting was that the individual components of the dish, the bacon, apples, pumpkin seed were great, they just did not make nice together in the bowl to bring it together for me. For a main I had the Flatiron steak, which was served with a Sweet potato puree,baby bok choy, chanterelle mushrooms, red wine reduction. Presented well, tasted ok, but was not great. I found the portion size small, specifically the steak, but there were less of the components , the mushroom and the reduction on the plate. As a result it was like to meat was on its own, which would have been fine if the meat could stand on its own, which to me it could not.

I loved the space and the service , at all levels was excellent just wished to food held up for me

Soooooo who has the best frites in the DC area, preferably in MD?

I like the fries at Tap and Vine. They are the thinner shoesting fries. They are always hot and crispy. I alos like their tater tots. They are always perfeclty fried as well. The only drawback to the tot's are they are pre-packaged. I would love it more if they were homemade.

I would also have to add Earl's to the list, with a caveat. The are not consistient with the quality, but when they are they are good

Hello,

Long time lurker and thought it was time to add my voice to this forum. Live in Arlington with the wife, no human kids. Love all things food, hunting out the best and trying the worst to form my own opinions. Not in the food industry, but I know a lot of people in the business and often I am confused as someone more important that I am, which has its benefits. I have been consulted by food writers, and owners, every now and again for advice, but by means consider my self an expert on anything. I like to provide honest feedback and look forward to participating.