lindzjax
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Everything posted by lindzjax
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Pleased you had a pleasant dining experience here but sadly, I think you lucked out and/or hit on a good night. Having been a number of times the service has ranged from mildly absent to abysmal and the food is merely okay. What tipped us into the "never again" category was a few months ago we went in on a Sunday night after a long travel day, ordered drinks and an appetizer (which we got) and then a few minutes later, ordered entrees. The entrees never came and by the time we flagged down our server to ask about their status, it has been SO long that we just wanted out of there. We asked that if they hadn't already been made, we'd just take the check. The crazy part was the server's response "Yeah, well, you know if you aren't dining at a really fine restaurant you are basically playing Russian roulette on whether the kitchen will ever even get your order. Sorry about that!" and walked away. !!! We were too stunned to respond! -
Looking for some guidance from folks that may have gone recently. Aiming to try Little Serow on Saturday for my birthday. We would prefer to eat in the later setting. What time should we go? Should we go ahead and line up before they open and then just request to be seated in the second go round?
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I second this. We went last night and had the tilapia tacos - deliciously fresh and I like the crispy shell (rarely how I see fish tacos). At $15 dollars and more than enough food for one (two if you share a side like my husband and I did), its one of the better bargains on Hank's menu right now. Also, the restaurant seems to be thriving - completely full at 8 on a Tuesday. Not much of a wait but a very solid flow of patrons.
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The food and drink quality at this place is bad enough to make me angry. Angry bc the restaurant so obviously does not care. The space, as everyone has noted, is beautiful and the neighborhood is so excited to have an new outdoor spot that the crowds are continuing to come, seemingly confirming to the management that improving the food is wholly unnecessary. We've tried it a number of times and actually I think the quality has slipped (from a mediocre starting point). The pork tacos which I found to be quite good on our first trip were dry and bland most recently. The breakfast burritos have zero flavor. My husbands refried beans tasted like fish once. Not to mention it is waaay overpriced. We will not be back for a long time.
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Has anyone been as of late? Recommendations on what to order? Thanks!
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Pound is now a "wine bar and bistro" and offering dinner service, which I think started a month or two ago. We ended up here last night after failed attempts to sit outside at just about everywhere near Eastern Market... and I am glad we did. As neighbors, we love Pound as a coffee shop and very much want to see them succeed. Of note, we were literally the only table in the whole place - in or out. And 3 or 4 passer-byers commented "oh I didn't know they served wine now" after seeing us sitting outside. Hopefully this post will help spread the word! Menu is eclectic and its a little difficult to discern what the dish will actually be (case in point - coq au vin dumplings.. which I will get to in a minute), but a few questions to our very adept server cleared things up. After ordering, we were surprised to be brought an amuse bouche from the kitchen. Maybe they were bored, maybe they are attempting to be more serious than we realized but nonetheless the bite of queso fresco (and something else) was appreciated. We started by splitting the Cordon Blue Croquettes which were just what you would expect and very very tasty. I then had the previously mentioned dumplings and they were delicious - extremely moist chicken in wanton wrappers served in a broth with onions and morel mushrooms and porkbelly. Ate every bite. My husband had ratatouille, which is served in a carved out eggplant. Also tasty (mine was better). In general, we were very pleased. The price point is reasonable with most entrees around $15 (though with wine around $12/glass it can add up) and in general a great addition to the neighborhood. I just hope the word get's out and the concept sticks around!
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Significantly less crowded than a few years ago, though wait times/crowds seem to fluctuate. From recent experiences, I would say if you are there by 7:30, if shouldnt be much of a wait.
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We stayed here this weekend, having purchased a "deal" from one of the endless 'deal of the day' sites. For the price we paid, we thought the Inn was fantastic. Beautiful setting and rooms, gracious service. Personally, I wouldn't be okay with paying full price, especially what we saw listed as peak season rates. We had a lovely dinner on Sunday night. Luckily for us Sun-Thurs they offer a 3 course menu for $39 (regular menu entree items alone exceed this cost, $55 for lamb?? .. I digress)... Our starters were each very, very good. I had a duo of salmon - one cured, one smoked with lovely accompaniments. My +1 had a mussel and crab bisque.. perfect creaminess, plenty of crab (though, now that I think about it, I don't recall the mussels.. hm). My entree was the run away hit of the night - braised short ribs. Melt in your mouth served over a perfect amount of creamy potatoes. Delicious. I was too in love with my dinner to even try my husband's salmon but he greatly enjoyed it. We were too full to eat much dessert, but the presentation was nice. Wine list: also pricey compared to similar lists in DC. Service: good, but you could tell the staff was fatigued at the end of the long weekend.
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Has anyone visited Obelisk recently? Am curious what the current Prix Fix price is. Also - any insight into how far in advance you need to book these days for a Thursday night?
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We stopped by for the new (second attempt at) brunch menu last weekend. The server admitted up-front the kitchen was very backed up, so it seems they are still working the kinks out, but our food actually wasn't very delayed. I had the huevos rancheros (very good - right amount of spice, crunch and perfectly cooked eggs) and my husband the pastrami hash (pretty good). Great, strong coffee. It still has the "coffee shop with a server" feeling rather than a sit-down spot, so I dont know how that will play at night with the somewhat upscale dinner menu they are aiming for. Nonetheless, its a great neighborhood spot and I hope they continue on an upward paht.
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I completely agree with the above sentiments and am so confused really by the business model he seems to be applying. As Fuzzy said, you would never go to two of his places on back-to-back nights (or even a few days apart), so he's basically competing with himself. Barracks Row and this section of the Hill has come such a long way but the preponderance of all Xavier's places eliminates the ability for a variety of innovative, diverse place to take root (like what we've seen on 14th St NW). Its a shame really. In fairness, I like stopping by most of his spots for drinks, but just could do with having 2 of them.. not 8.
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Perhaps a bit salty, yes. I took a food-induced nap after eating and indeed did wake up rather parched. I didn't notice the over salting while actually eating however and I thought the jambalaya was very deep and intense in flavor. That said, I am a midwesterner by birth and certainly no expert. I also thought the prices were a bit high ($17/entree) but in reality the portions are so huge two ppl could absolutely split one. I think in the future we will order from the appetizer size menu.
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Hit the dupont location tnight. Sat outside on the small but cute (covered) patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Jambalaya and hush puppies were great, less enthused about the shrimp n grits. Eager to go back and try more fried delights. Also, staff was pleasant and warm. Glad to have a new spot nearby!
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Just a good word for an old favorite. Having not been in ages, happened to end up at coppis twice in the last month. Very cozy, very delicious. Particularly the 5 cheese pizza and the mushroom ravioli special. Solid neighborhood spot.
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Just read the previous chain and am now doubting a reservation I just made. My husband and I loved the "old" Sushi Taro and have not been back since the "upgrade." We have friends that have been for the Omokase and have absolutely raved about it. Not wanting to shell out a minimum of $120/pp but very much wanting to check it out, we are planning to go for the Sushi Tasting Kaiseki ($75/pp) next Friday. Is this a bad decision? Have folks out there had a worthwhile sushi-experience?
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Something I forgot to note in my previous post: In addition to the server being quite charming in general, he willingly - and proactively- packed up every morsel of food we had left (yes, there was that much even though it was a "tasting" menu). So, we had a re-do with left over's last night and it was still pretty fantastic. While I know I shouldn't be blown away by a server's willingness to pack up food I've already paid for, given it was 7 separate small dishes, we were very appreciative. Two meals for the price of one!
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We went with the Tasting Menu - in large part bc we were being indecisive. We did one Veg, one Non-Veg. It was a mistake in that it was WAY too much food. However, everything was lovely. The Palat Chaak was spectaular. The highlight for sure. It was followed by a scallap (for the non-veg) and an eggplant/potato dish (for the Veg). Both were good, but not out of this world. By the time the main courses came, I was already full and had to force myself to try everything. Great variety of veg and chicken and lamb bw the two. Loved the Mikani. Enjoying dessert was impossible as my stomach was stretched the max - and I am not a dessert lover but regardless the tastes I did have, all the dishes seemed overly sweet, but that might just be me. If we are to return I would NOT do the tasting and focus on a few specific dishes. Overall we loved the place!
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Thanks all - will let you know what we end up with!
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Ok, headed here tnight for an anniversary celebration. What's not to be missed? Anyone think we should consider the tasting menu so we can try as much as possible - or can we get more bang for less buck just ordering off the menu?
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Dreadful. Lovely evening, lovely patio. Nice server. Terrible food. Terrible. Bland and flavorless. Not worth the money in the least.
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Never, repeat, never think its a good idea to go mid-day on a 3-day weekend. After 2 hours of standing in the broiling sun drinking beer, followed by an hour of sweating over picking crab, I nearly passed out. Nonetheless the crabs (x-large) were fantastic and the scene festive. I won't hold it against them for being so popular.
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Stopped by on Saturday night. Actually, took advantage of the lovely weather and walked from Dupont up to Cleveland Hts (burn some calories before indulging!). We were seated on the little second floor balcony which was super cute,though tiny. Service was spotty - either TOO much or missing in action. The food was v tasty - we mis-ordered on the app and what we got (Chaat Papri) was not what we expected but very much enjoyed it. Light and fresh. I had chicken biryani, balanced and not too spicy. It was a first trip and we'd definitely be inclined to stop back by.
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Stopped by on Friday night for a little date night. The thunderstorm hit just as we were seated - must say Cashions is a lovely place to wait out a storm. Our waitress was also lovely and the food wonderful. Started with the mushroom ragu and polenta: rich but not too heavy. I had the sable fish: perfectly cooked and the accompanying creamed corn and pea puree complimented the simple presentation. Husband had the rabbit meatloaf and mashed sweet potato. I was less impressed with his dish - the meatloaf was rather flat and the potatoes too sweet. However, he loved it. Given the storm, we chose to linger over some port and cheese for dessert. Overall, a stellar dinner and reminder of why Cashions will always be an old favorite.
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Against my better judgement we tried Agora last night. I had low expectations given the dreadfulness of the previous two-three restaurants to occupy the space. Nonetheless, I was really hoping it would exceed. Not so much. The service was spotty - though friendly. We ordered from the cheese, meat, seafood and veggie portions of the menu. The scallops were well cooked and pretty good but the saffron sauce they came on top of was cloyingly sweet. The pan seared goat cheese was good, but did not come with the listed fig jam but instead some sort of chemical-ish tasting honey-like goo. The lamb was cooked well but rather blah. The zucchini pancakes were actually quite good (but mushy) and the dill yogurt accompaniment was delicious. The pity bread was also v tasty. I'll give them a month or two to settle in - Perhaps they will adjust and improve but I'm not too optimistic.
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Anyone been as of late have an updated report? Thinking of taking out-of-town family, thought it would be fun to show them the E. Market hood.
