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jayandstacey

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  1. jayandstacey
    Concur, I've eaten there a few times and enjoyed it very much. It has been a few months, so I can't go into detail - but did meet the owner/chef and remember the hummus (an appetizer?) dish as being simple but excellent in a kind of 7-layer way. But to the point from 2 years ago: What is so faux about Kentlands, and so antithesis of mom-and-pop? In considering the relative wasteland of Maryland dining, Kentlands seems second only to Bethesda and gaining fast in terms of interesting, quality dining choices. Two places (Batik and Carribean Breeze) are a few hundered feet from each other in Kentlands and both made the "100 best cheap eats" list. There aren't many other such 'tight' regions that can make that claim. Of the places that didn't make the list, there is decent morroccan, pho, dim sum, a diner, etc. And most importantly, these places are NOT chains for the most part. This is contrasted with Rockville town center, where only Spice Xing and Bobby's Crabcakes are locally-owned non-chains. Yes, Kentlands is designed to mimic much older places like oldtowns Alexandria and Annapolis. However, it isn't really fake, and thankfully it really does seem to live up to the promise with such dining choices. While not perfect, upon reading the "100 cheap eats" list, it dawned on me just how good we really have it out here. As a side note, the "Truman Show" was filmed in a real town called Seaside, FL. That neighborhood was the first one designed by Andres Duany and Kentlands was the second. So the similarity isn't accidental.
  2. jayandstacey
    I've actually lumped you into the adventurous group by virtue of being on this board. The point is that GARs focus more on the masses, everybody, which only include a relatively small number of adventurous souls. I don't believe I've said their quality lacked, or that you couldn't get good meal there. Or that you couldn't be a fan. Rather, just that it is taking a little different approach from most places we discuss here. As for predictability, I'd put lobster pot stickers into that category of foods that are easily understood. I know potstickers and I know lobster. I can readily guess what a lobster potsticker is going to be about and so can the masses. Not so with many of the ethnic foods where the ingredients, spices and even method of eating are 'foreign' to the average american. Yes, GARs are ahead of Ruby Tuesdays, where even potstickers might be too far off center. But not by too much in this regard. They aren't out to differentiate primarily on their menu choices, whereas many mom and pops will open to meet a local need for a different menu (like a local missing ethnic choice). And again, predictabilty isn't such a bad thing. As pointed out, in service it can be a very good thing. And i was using predictability to cover all aspects of the GAR experience, not just the menu selections. But there are some sacrifices: - The chances of developing a relationship with a known waiter or host are slim. But note that's where the heavy training comes in - mom and pop places can deliver familiarity in the form of "hey Jay, great to see you again!" whereas GARs deliver it in the form of a hostess who will ask the same questions, give you the same beeper (if there's a wait) and provide the same reliable wait time info. Because they have it down to a science that can be relied upon vs a single person that can be relied upon. - There's little chance of a true "special" or deviation from the menu on a given night. Like taking advantage of some different fresh fish available just that morning, or the chef trying a new recipe that night. Do these mean you'll get bad food or that you can't like GARs? Of course not! And truth be told, you could probably do well to become a regular at the bar and get the familiarity that might not happen in the dining room. In sum, this isn't a black-and-white, GAR-is-bad and mom-and-pops are good stance. Rather just my own point of view on what makes them a little different (and more successful) than most.
  3. jayandstacey
    Fair enough, and I agree. And as I think about it, does success necessarily mean lower quality? Is Bruce Springsteen any less of a guitar player now that he plays stadiums? At what point has an artist or restaurant "sold out?" I guess the bucket I'm trying to put the GARs in is that they have a laser focus on ensuring you have an experience that does not deviate far from their ideal. But is that very different from, say, Chez Francois? Maybe it is that laser focus combined with other factors like marketing pieces and expansions that make comparisons to the national chains very easy, regardless of the quality of any particular dish. I believe on those fronts (marketing, expansion strategy, etc) there are clear similarities to Ruby Tuesdays...but that doesn't mean the similarity has to spill over to the food/experience quality. It is just hard to escape the sense that it might... .
  4. jayandstacey
    Well, in fairness, you could do much worse. A few months ago I went for pho and the place had no heat that night. It was COLD out - and at that point the kids were cranky and we weren't about to pile back into the car to find someplace else. So we sat with our coats on while a counter-top space heater with oscillating fan slowly panned back and forth across our table. One minute I'm cold, the next minute I've got some tepid breeze in my face, along with the direct light of the heating element about 3 feet from me. To the left, to the right, to the left, to the right...Would have been better off just sitting out in the parking lot with my bowl. I can promise that would NOT happen at a GAR. Not unlike Cheesecake Factory or Ca. Pizza Kitchen or any other such places. They're a step up from Appleby's, TGI Fridays, Chili's, Uno Pizzaria, etc...and working on the same exact theory, just less pictures in the menu and catering to a slightly different clientele.
  5. jayandstacey
    The GARs cater to the masses, and the masses are willing to sacrifice certain things for "reliability" which others might interpret as "predictability". Many on this board don't fall into that camp in this way: Many here will try different places in a journey of improvement and newness of dining experience. The general population isn't willing to do that. Most know of a certain rhythm to service, to menu selections, to decor, to taste and to quality. And the risk of downside FAR OUTWEIGHS the upside surprise to them - so GAR caters to that desire. In short, people go to GAR to get: - service that's understandable, not like dim sum or family style or other slight variations - menu selections that cover a wide enough range of desires (beef, chicken or fish?) while never straying too far from the known realm - decor that is of a certain level of sophistication while still following a plan: leather booths, plain tablecloths, etc. - taste that is as expected. Pasta, gravy and other items match what people think they should taste like. - quality that doesn't embarass, ie, they're careful not to serve a fish that's still frozen inside. Understanding this as their goal, they succeed. It is all about NOT HAVING A BAD MEAL vs having a really good one. Which explains, IMHO, why I believe there is a higher percentage of 4 and 6 person tables vs 2 tops. These are where "other people" are taken, where the other's tastes aren't known... or more likely...the host doesn't trust their own taste. So they throw their taste to the masses, much like an inexperienced investor who might hand their money to a mutual fund vs. making their own choices. They go where many other groups of 4 go. Which also explains, I believe, why the chain has a handful of different place names yet overlapping menus. It is that same hedging strategy that allows menu items to be tried in one place first, then applied to others. It means if a bad review happens, the other places "are different". It means that with expansion, two GAR places could be opened in a small area without local headscratching. The benefits of scale without the risks of a single name. It is dining as risk aversion.
  6. jayandstacey
    Recently as in "Damascus restaurant recently", which is to say not at all, maybe years ago. Probably should have said "at some point" when referring to the point at which they changed owners, as I understand it, and added Thai to the burger/biker menu. Don't know when that was and I'm going on the comments of my neighbors, which is to say it isn't very reliable at all. But don't let a shaky start to this thread lessen the review of the place, much the same way it isn't fair to judge the food by the harleys, food donation bins and neon signs outside.
  7. jayandstacey
    And BTW Don, I spent 3 hours this Mother's Day morning making crispy latkes, french omlettes and cooking some so-so sausage. I wish I had been as creative as you, desipte the "CF" aspect of it. I swore off mother's day brunches and valentine's day dinners in restaurants looong ago...but Tom and Ray's would have been a good choice. Hope your mom liked it and that you haven't spoiled her at much fancier places...
  8. jayandstacey
    Excellent! And indeed, the sausage is a hit. The place around the corner, the "Red Rooster" serves link sausages in the morning from, I believe, the same source. It really makes the meal. A breakfast tip at Tom and Rays - If you order the breakfast potatoes "twice cooked" they come out nice and crispy. Also - don't sit in the back section on a cold winter morning - the door opens directly from the parking lot! As for dinner, and as with breakfast, there are some definite hits and misses. But overall the fare is good, the price is right and the place feels like home. Surprisingly, I've found the crab cake dinner special to be consistently better than I might expect. The cakes are nice sized, taste like they should, and don't have a ton of filler. They may have imported crab - but don't most these days? Good stuff and typically the most expensive thing on the menu at $17.95 for 2 cakes and sides. The open faced roast beef sandwich is good, over white bread and with lots of salty gravy. Similarly, the meatloaf is good. Check into the veggie sides. Sometimes they are just pulled from a can but other times they are nicely prepared recipes, like the spinach casserole offered one night. And when the mood strikes, Tom and Rays is one of the few places I can order a simple liverwurst with mayonaise on white bread sandwich. Now THAT'S livin!!! Damascus is an interesting and somewhat frustrating culinary place. The few restaurants have been there forever. The "dry" laws help keep new places at bay. And your choices are somewhat limited but generally reliable. Tom and Ray's leads the pack, with Red Rooster offering walk-away fried chicken and other quickie-fried stuff like cheeseburger subs. Jimmie Cone offers kinda so-so soft serve ice cream in the summer, but in a come-out-and-meet-all-the-neighbors setting. A new place called Pasquales has recently entered the fray with italian food on a boar's head base. So far so good with them - they have the rare talent of knowing how to make a proper italian cold cut sub. The music cafe has awesome soups and interesting entertainment, while Little Far East is churning out very American-ized but tasty and filling chinese food at a price that means I can feed the four of my clan for about $20. And Rte 27 headed north from Damascus is a kind of "roadfood" highlight. Lu and Joe's on 27 recently changed hands but retains the decent fare. In Mt Airy, CarterQ has BBQ with a raspberry based sauce that's really, really good and quickly making a name. Laurienzo's makes a mean pizza and seasonally serves the best butternut squash ravioli I've ever had. The Brick Ridge restaurant is north of Mt Airy and on my list of nicer places yet to visit...while Baugher's up in Westminster is like a larger Tom and Rays with a farmer's market attached (but a bit lower quality in the table offerings).
  9. jayandstacey
    I agree wholeheartedly. Like pizza, I get that people may have different tastes. Yet, most would agree that pizza hut pales in comparison to most any made with fresh, quality ingredients. So too with Italian subs, except that good subs are fairly few and far between. Good pizza is For my money, Subway subs are horrible, and places like Sheetz are worse. And of course 7-11 will sell you a sub wrapped in celophane and made sometime earlier this week. On the plus side, my benchmark are the subs from Ollies and the Twinbrook Deli in Rockville. Across the street from each other, at one time they both made "wicked good" cold cut subs. I also like the new Pasquales in Damascus, MD. In the middle somewhere is Rubino's in Herndon. I've had many others, all forgettable. In the spirit of more, I hereby offer my 10 commandments of a good Italian Cold Cut sub: Decent meat: My favorite branded meat is Boars Head, followed by Dietz and Watson. Regardless, it has to has some quality and moisture. Low quality meat can't be corrected. Moisture. The best ingredients aren't edible if the sub is dry. Moisture comes from the oil and vinegar, the meat, the lettuce/tomato, a careful limit in the amount of bread and even possibly mayo. Bread. There's some leeway here, but the key is that the bread plays a supporting role and should be fresh and tasty but not too much in terms of flavor, texture or quantity. If the loaves have a bit too much heft, then hollow them out first. Cheese. Same with the cheese. It should complement and not dominate. Pride. It should be a menu item, not a luck of the draw where you are left to choose ingredients and to hope you craft a proper sub. The menu item should be stated, and if you want to customize, it will be to subtract from the menu ideal. Zing. Hot or banana peppers - should be present, but left to you to maybe go light or heavy. But every good sub should have a little zing to it. Lettuce - it ain't a salad. Lettuce is fine, and shredded is fine. But don't give me a head of shredded lettuce and call it a sub. The paper - wrap it in something that can absorb some moisture and act as a kind of plate. If the sub is still good 4 hours later, it probably isn't made right, see #2 above and make it moister. The build - There's a proper order to building the sub - I've always prefered the meat to be the first thing on the bread (except maybe oil or mayo), so it is tasted first. My opinion is that the cheese should NOT be on the outside. The presentation - Just make subs, sell beer, maybe some sodas and chips. It doesn't have to be fancy or even advertised.
  10. jayandstacey
    Boar's Head brand meats and decent bread - makes for a really good sub. Add roasted peppers and some zippy provolone and it is one of the better italian subs I've had in the metro area. Haven't tried anything else yet. Used to run Maggi's in Wheaton in the early 80s. Sadly, takeout only and a little pricy ($8.99 for a sub) but the quality is great and the portion is decent.
  11. jayandstacey
    Returned and enjoyed the Chicken Curry Noodle soup pot - my new favorite cold weather dish! The spaghetti-like noodles filled the bowl in defiance of the "soup" moniker and the curry was pleasantly low in the spicy heat department. Too bad the weather is getting warmer, not colder...
  12. jayandstacey
    Nice weekend in Pittsburgh. Dined at the Church Brew Works Friday night and while the food was fine and the beer really good, the smell inside was a bit much. I'm told it is the beer making smell and I get that. But it hits you pretty hard as you enter and smells like a pet store, Made it tough to enjoy the meal completely, despite the food being good. I went once 12 years ago, soon after they opened. Another time about 5 years ago. Enjoyed both, that's why I went back. But i don't recall any odor. I asked the waitress and she said "yeah, I know. When I'm away for a few days and return, it hits me too." Maybe it was the time of year; they've been cooped up all winter and it'll air out over the summer. Maybe it is part of the charm. We took a few pieces of my son's leftover pizza back to the hotel room and I nibbled at midnight - and could taste it in the crust.
  13. jayandstacey
    As I read it, probably not. But I'm no expert.
  14. jayandstacey
    I looked at the law and, in a way, you're both right. The rule is one license per company per county, as you thought. However, "chain stores, supermarkets and discount houses" aren't supposed to get any any new licenses at all. The exception is the renewal (grandfathering) or transfer of an existing license. So Shopper's Food Warehouse in Germantown has a license and was only built about 10 years ago. I thought that Shopper's decided to take their one license and apply it to Germantown, as Giant was way down-county. But Shopper's overall isn't that old, maybe 25 or 30 years - so how do they even have a license? What probably happened is that they used to be Jumbo food stores and have transfered their one grandfathered license as needed - to SFW's in different locations. Giant continues to hold theirs in White Oak, while Costco and Trader Joe's can't get one at all (unless they're able to buy one from a company going out of business, if the licenses are transferrable that way). Interesting. Thank goodness we have people in Annapolis and Rockville that watch over and care for us so deeply.
  15. jayandstacey
    I don't have proof Bourdain was paid directly for the product placement. But I can't imagine any other way to be paid for such efforts. I doubt that Bourdain is paid directly for the interstitials. Two very different things, paid different ways. All benefitting Bourdain. Sigh, best, one of those guys, I don't work for Chase either. But I do like hockey.
  16. jayandstacey
    The article talks about product placements in Bourdain's show, but is silent on how the placements are paid and to whom. How else could they be paid, except to the production company (Bourdain?) That's the whole beauty of product placements - they are an additional income stream to the production company, instead of just the money coming from the network that buys the show, which in turn comes from traditional commercials. It is a win-win of sorts - the production company gets $, while the advertiser gets a gurantee that their ad will be in every showing of that episode ad infinitum. (pun intended!) I don't have proof Bourdain was paid directly. I just don't know of any other way product placements could be paid. Besides, the next paragraph says Meaning that Chase is in some ways steering the ship, trading its overall higher level sponsorship for a say in what is aired - not just supplying 30 second ads for material already produced. I doubt that Bourdain is directly paid by Chase here, but the show exists because of Chase. And Bourdain will be paid by the show and not be the producer or have creative control beyond what he may say, if that's not scripted. Anyway, interesting stuff. I think our definitions of "sellout" are different, that's all.
  17. jayandstacey
    OK, that's cool.
  18. jayandstacey
    And that's part of my point - that instead of just being sponsored by Campbell's soup, who would be indirectly paying Bourdain by paying the Travel Channel for the commercials and competes with other soups (homemade, locally made, restaurant, mass produced)...he's directly paid by Chase who potentially takes a cut of EVERY food sale - soup or otherwise, with no care to quality or anything but transactional profit. Do you think he had a dark suit especially made for the day he went into the Chase offices to sign the product placement agreement? I mean, just to fit in with them, to be one of the 'guys'?
  19. jayandstacey
    It is Bourdain shown using the card that is the product placement. Bourdain produces his show and collects payment for such a "placement". He then provides the show to Travel Channel who airs it and makes money from the commercials shown between the show segments. If the Travel Channel didn't air the show, Bourdain would sell it to the food channel or some other channel. The product placement would still have happend and long since been paid for by Chase. I addressed Gennaro's point by saying that while BK is food in one chain (and a pretty bad one,) Chase has a "take" in nearly every food establishment large and small. I'm not saying what Bourdain did was wrong or unethical, rather to simply recognize it for what it is...he received money from Chase, and in turn, Chase expects to receive more money from the food industry overall as it hopes to be a part of more food transactions, especially with smaller establishments. Chase is the 800 lb Gorilla in this scenario - far bigger than any of the establishments Bourdain visits. Bourdain is on Chase's payroll (so to speak). I don't care if the word "sellout" is used in that context, but to say using Chase isn't, but BK would be a sellout, just doesn't make sense to me. I guess I'm asking people to peel back one layer of the Vidalia.
  20. jayandstacey
    And Chase is an enabler of such places, funding them with ONLY one hope - that they become as big and profitable as Burger King. A loan from Chase cannot be paid off with good reviews or satisfied customers, it must be paid from a restaraunt's receipts. So ask yourself - why does Chase think a placement in Anthony Bourdain's show is valuable? I don't see Chase seeking product placements on Blues Clues or on any show on the Catholic Channel. I'll tell you why - because Chase wants you to pull out THEIR card when you go to eat or buy food, especially from small places like Bourdain visits. They want you to emulate Anthony Bourdain when you eat out or go food shopping. And why does that matter? Because then Chase gets the industry coming and going - they get their vig on the loan to the food buisiness (if such a loan exists), and then they get their vig on every transaction where you use their card - again, paid by said small business. If Bourdain did a Burger King placement, at least he'd be promoting one thing - Burger King. Take it or leave it. Instead, he's promoting a practice with Chase cards that would (if followed) take money from the proprieter's pocket from EVERY transaction with EVERY small food place we visit. Those same places, the ones Bourdain visits, have NO opportunity to make money FROM Chase. Bourdain does, and takes that money, knowing full well that each such transaction hurts the small proprieter just a little, and in much greater proportion than the larger businesses*. Isn't that at least a little selling out? Or at least throwing the companies he visits under the bus just a little? * I have not been in the restaraunt business. I can't even spell it. But in my field, the small business I once owned paid over 3% per credit card transaction, plus a $.50 per transaction fee - which, owning a place who's average sale was small, was a significant burden. When I later went to a Fortune 500 business doing the same kind of transactions (products/size/risk) the rate that company paid was under 1% with no flat fee.
  21. jayandstacey
    On what measure is Burger King "crap" and Chase not? As I look at the price/earnings ratio of the two companies, I see Burger King at 14 and Chase at 17 - meaning that all else being equal, Burger King is the better buy of the two companies. What is the distinction that puts Chase in the class of companies that can be 'product placed' and not result in sell-out, and Burger King doesn't qualify for that class? Which is probably to say, how do you define sellout?
  22. jayandstacey
    To answer my own question from before, what is different here is that Yelp allegedly left only bad reviews posted when potential clients didn't pony up. And that may be misrepresentation as the site advertises to be driven by user reviews, right? It may also be extortion if it biases those reviews to the negative as punishment for non-payment. It would seem that commercial practice is to highlight (promote and advocate) paying clients - but I suspect that leaving only negative reviews for those clients that don't pay is going to be considered extortion. The 15 million users isn't relevant except as proof of the responsibility yelp might have to not extort, and maybe to help calculate damages. And yes, innocent until proven guilty - but this thread already has a few examples of this precise practice and few, if any, defenders of Yelp. And remember that it takes an extraordinary will to overcome inertia and actually go through with a full-on lawsuit. So the indication that a handful of companies have joined is a likely indicator that there are more below the surface. How many? Dunno. But that's why judgements are typically to stop the practice altogether, not just for the plantiff.
  23. jayandstacey
    I had this discussion with a musician once. My arguement is that once you accept the first penny, you're "in" and selling out is then just a matter of degree. But we all have to make a living, so "selling out" shouldn't really have a stigma. When he records and edits a show, he's making choices at every turn that are driven by more than just pure love of food. Presenting a Chase card and (likely) being paid for the product placement is simply one of those forces that mold the final product. His challenge is the balance - can he produce a show that appeases the financial pressures as well as the viewer's? It is a difficult thing - but we must be clear that for ALL such performers, the successful ones on almost any measure are the ones that maximize BOTH forces.
  24. jayandstacey
    I think at the root of the issue is if that's illegal at all. It is certainly unethical - and for a company that relies on some sort of trust from its users, you'd think some impartiality would be a better longer-term business strategy. But is it really illegal? And on what basis? Maybe slander laws? Google certainly makes a living off of selling advertising and 'priming' search results. It is known and supported. Why is Yelp held to a higher standard? (Note, I'm not defending them here, just saying that I think this case may have to set a precedent - one way or another.) Lastly, the comments from Yelp are interesting. "The reps can't change the reviews" "it is an automated system" - well, duh - the rep makes a phone call, threatens, doesn't close the sale, enters the failed attempt into their system - which then automatically pumps the bad and smothers the good reviews. The defense is interesting, as it is basically saying "our reps didn't do anything bad, we've institutionalized and automated this practice." Was Yelp ever really that relevant anyway?
  25. jayandstacey
    A different but related idea: We came up with this for our wedding and it was a hit, especially for out-of-towners. Make the table names to be key places in your relationship and around the City. So Uncle Buck, instead of sitting at Table 7, sits at the "Jefferson Memorial Table" or the "Tastee Diner Table". Then, on each table place a little tent card that shows that name on the front and the story of why you chose that name on the back. "The Jefferson Memorial was dedicated on Jan 1, 1850 and stands over the tidal basin. Sally and I were engaged there on April 2, 2008 in Jefferson's shadow and by the famous Japanese Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom." Each table a different name and story. Choose places, restaurants, wine names, song names or pet names or whatever. The only requirement is there be an interesting and personal story behind each. Doing this accomplishes three things: 1. It tells a very personal story about you two and your world. 2. It encourages guests to mingle to read all the little stories at the other tables. 3. If gives you something fun to do and think about, while also being very accomplishable and low-key.
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