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lotus125

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Everything posted by lotus125

  1. lotus125
    FYI, Emilie's is operating a to go menu: https://www.emiliesdc.com/menus/
  2. lotus125
    FYI, Little Serow is operating a limited to go menu: http://www.littleserow.com/infotogo.html
  3. lotus125
    For anyone in need of change of pace, Komi is going Happy Gyro to go: https://komirestaurant.com/happygyrotogo.html
  4. lotus125
    Erik Bruner-Yang's new Italian/Asian mashup. With an exciting menu and some good initial review-ettes, I decided to try it one week into service. While our meal was perfectly fine, I'll give it some time and keep an eye on further reviews before I go back. So far, not as good as his other places. But it may get there. -Service was solid. The hostess was efficient and, in contrast to many places this day, willing to seat our reservation before the party was complete. The waitress was nice, albeit not able to describe some of the complex cocktails in much detail. -I'll start with the drinks. The cocktail list has three classics and three fusion-y options. From the classics list, a New York sour was solid. From the modern list, our favorite was lemongrass gin, togarashi-sesame syrup, and yuzu. The texture is surprisingly thick. But the sesame, togarashi spice, and yuzu meld well together. A clarified whiskey, OJ, and miso was fine; a bit too much OJ flavor for my taste but well clarified. Tequila with lime and gochujung tasted like a spicy margarita: perfectly good but no obvious difference from other spicy margaritas. A few mocktails were quite good. -As for food, the collective favorite was Artichoke with Broken Pesto and Wild Greens. Not very Asian, but a well constructed, tasty artichoke salad. Our second favorite was Spaghetti with XO Sauce and Gemolata. It's very salty and fishy (think tons of anchovies), and therefore is likely to be polarizing. But we enjoyed it. The next rung down was Egg Drop Soup with Celery Root, Pecorino, and Jalapeno (some found it dull, others thought it was a homey chicken soup with spice); Eggplant, Straciatella and Fried Capers (just a bit bland but not bad); and Mochi Fried Shrimp Fried Diavolo (Fried shrimp covered in mochi. I really liked the use of mochi but wanted a better fra diavolo sauce. Others disliked the mochi. I wonder if a better sauce and pasta would improve it). There was unanimous dislike of Lumpia with Burrata and Meatball (inherent to cooking with burrata is that it gets watery), and Sweet Potato Agnolotti with Taleggio Fonduta and Apple (heavy sauce, covered in dried shavings that taste like Terra chips). I'm a fan of the chef, and I like the concept. The place is only a week old. Fingers crossed that the food improves.
  5. lotus125
    Anju opened in the old Mandau space, and we went to try it. Cool space with exposed brick, rough surfaces, and multiple levels. Food ranged from ok to very good. Our favorites were charred kimchi pancake, korean sweet potato with honey butter, and many "panchan" -- little side dishes with various kimchis, marinated veg, etc. A salad was so-so. Seafood noodle stew was solid. Korean rice cakes were tasty, but one of us thought the setup was a bit bland. Bibim bap with tofu was disappointing; no crunchy bits in the rice and not much flavor other than chili sauce we added ourselves. The biggest disappointments were beverages and service. We had several disappointing cocktails. Our waiter disappeared for long stretches. He repeatedly got one person's drink order and walked away before others could give theirs. He dripped red sauce on someone's white shirt. And while he was often good about refilling water, he was nowhere to be found while we ate our spiciest dishes. The place has its charms, but I'll give it a little while to mature before I go back.
  6. lotus125
    New Laotian restaurant in NoMa. After several visits, I'd rate this place as "ok." First the good parts: Big outdoor space; beautiful dining room; Laotian food is interesting and -- other than Thip Khao and related restaurants -- uncommon around DC; and the crispy rice salad is delicious (even if not as good as the one at Thip Khao). Unfortunately there are many downsides. Service is spotty at best. I've had several meals where we desperately tried to flag down servers, dishes were forgotten, water was never refilled, etc. The cocktails are so-so and often taste quite watered down -- maybe too much use of quickly melting ice? And other than the crispy rice salad, the food has been mixed. I've generally liked items on the vegan menu. A whole branzino was solid. Grilled beef and pork were both overcooked. Steamed catfish was so so. I love having another Laotian option in DC, and I hope this place improves. But it needs a lot of work.
  7. lotus125
    Thanks Don!
  8. lotus125
    Any recent meals here?
  9. lotus125
    Any recent meals at Kobo? I'm curious to know how they're doing since the chef left.
  10. lotus125
    Ever since trying Johnny Spero's short lived Suna, I've been excited to see when he would again open his own place. (FWIW, I liked the Suna concept and had some good food there, but thought the dishes were high variance and not all enjoyable). I enjoyed his run at Minibar and Columbia Room, but obviously not the same as creating his own menu. After several mixed reviews, we kept delaying our plan to try Reverie. But when friends had to cancel plans elsewhere at the last minute, we dropped by. While Reverie is probably not for everyone, we really enjoyed it. It veers in the new-nordic direction, with the occasional dollop of obvious Spanish influence -- a mashup of foodie favorites. The space is lovely, and the service is great. The staff accommodated with grace our walking in without a reservation on Saturday night. A host and a back waiter appeared to remember us from meals at other restaurants -- a sign of good staff. And our waitress gave great advice in guiding us through the menu and selecting a bottle of wine that was a perfect fit for the food and our quirky wine tastes. As for the food, it ranged from good to great. And in contrast to my take on most restaurants, the food got better as the meal went on, i.e., the desserts were exceptional and the entrees were better than the appetizers. We started with a scallop crudo with buttermilk and dill (very nordic and solid); a seeded, dark nordic bread served with seed miso and cheesey butter that was cultured with epoisses (the gf would have preferred a different type of bread, but we both loved the butter and miso); and peas with verbena, fresh cheese, seaweed, and I think some kind of vinegar gel (probably the best of the three). For entrees, we had a grilled kanpachi collar with peanut miso, kosho mayo, and herbs, and an agnolotti that was effectively filled with cooked fish roe and in a cream sauce with more roe. Both were great. Overall, the kanpachi was probably just a bit tastier. The gf described it as the perfect, sophisticated barbecue. But the agnolotti was delicious -- like a mix of taramasalata and stuffed, al dente pasta -- and the more creative of the two. The wine list steers in the natural direction and seemed to be fairly priced, based on a few reference points I recognized. We tried all three desserts, and they were spectacular. A birch ice cream (surprisingly smokey); a chocolate and sunchoke dish with olive oil that evoked cocoa pebbles; and a cherry granita with marshmallow and berries. This kind of food isn't for everyone. And don't expect it to be Noma or Amass. But this is an exciting addition to the DC food scene. I'd be pleased to go back, and I look forward to watching this restaurant grow.
  11. lotus125
    The house fried rice -- which is made with smoked catfish -- is my must order.
  12. lotus125
    What a pity. Every time I went, I thought (1) this place is very good; (2) this place is not very full; I hope they're doing ok. I hope that the chef sets up somewhere else.
  13. lotus125
    How was it different from other Golden Mermaids?
  14. lotus125
    I'm happy to say that 2Amys seems to be back at full strength. There are now multiple special pizzas and hot kitchen specials every night. And the wine bar specials is back to its pre-flood length. They've also added a champagne section to their wine list. It's on the expensive side and doesn't seem to have the amazing low/no markup pricing that was sometimes on the old "reserve" list or that Etto had/has for champagne But it's a nice addition. I haven't noticed a change in table spacing. The unisex restrooms strike me as a good solution to the fact that one restroom typically had a wait while the other did not. But it does turn the stall + urinal men's room that accommodated two people into a restroom for one. The former men's room, which still has a urinal and separate stall, now has a sign telling people to lock the door behind them. I gather that people wouldn't be comfortable with using it as a unisex restroom for two, i.e., with a urinal outside of a unisex stall? But that would increase the number of people who could use the restrooms at a time.
  15. lotus125
    Well after 5. There were no hot specials or special pizzas, i.e., the other side of the specials list, but there was a note that these are coming soon. And the wine bar side seemed just a touch shorter than I was used to. Otherwise, save a few changes on the regular menu (with customers like me grousing about any old favorites that were changed), it's pretty much the same. Happy to have them back!
  16. lotus125
    The specials list is a bit shorter than usual. But I think they're still regathering strength.
  17. lotus125
    Unfortunately, Peter Chang's has always been high variance. I've had the occasional let down meal, then gone back a month later and been blown away. HKP (and, in my view, Panda) are a bit more predictable.
  18. lotus125
    I think that part of JCA's point was that because the kitchen closed immediately after their reservation time, the 'try a few and reorder as necessary' strategy wasn't an option. Obviously how much of a menu should be light or heavy is a matter of taste. And, as dslee observed, for brunch there are the additional, and overlapping, splits between sweet or savory and "breakfasty" or "regular menu." I happen to veer towards the savory and light. And I think that for brunch, where diners are looking for very different things, it's especially important to have breath and variety. If I were craving a salad, an all-heavy menu would not satisfy. And if I were craving a burger or waffles, a bunch of salads probably wouldn't work, no matter how I much I ordered. But I gather that JCA's concern about a mostly heavy and carby brunch menu was compounded by the timing issue. They couldn't order a few seemingly heavy items and then evaluate if those dishes were lighter than expected or otherwise worth reordering, if they were full, or if they should go elsewhere for a further snack/drink/second brunch. I gather that JCA wasn't down on Hazel itself, just noting a disappointing brunch experience for like minded diners and saying that some people may prefer Hazel for dinner. That seems like a helpful flag.
  19. lotus125
    In the mood to try something new, we dropped in on Saturday night. The place was quite full but had a few seats in the bar and at the kitchen counter. The short version is good space, good service, high-variance food with several stunners and lots of potential. We ordered: -Broiled Oysters, horseradish glaze, rutabaga kraut, brown bread crumble. Absolutely delicious. They hit the magic spot where you can still taste juicy, briny oysters, but there is a ton of warm, flavorful goodness. Best broiled oyster I've had in awhile. -Cobia Crudo, avocado, Thai chilies, lime, fish sauce, crispy shallots, puffed black rice. Great fresh fish. The puffed black rice added a terrific nutty flavor that contrasted well with the fish and spice. We agreed, however, that the avocado should come off. It seems like a nod to so many asian-flavored crudo dishes that aren't as good. And it added no flavor. (It was also slightly underripe, but I'd feel the same way if it were riper.) -Roasted Kabocha Salad, green apple, watercress, arugula, pepitas, cider vinaigrette. This was an unfortunate fail. The squash was almost inedibly starchy. I've had kabocha many, many times and never seen anything like this. Either the squash was underripe or undercooked. But it was tough and mealy. (Also unfortunately adding to the dish was our discovery, after we stopped eating it, of a short, translucent worm-type thing swimming in the dressing. No big deal. It happens, and our server handled it with grace.) Hopefully just a one-off glitch. -Roasted Kaleidoscope Carrots & Parsnips, vadouvan labne, dill, crispy amaranth. Delicious labne that went well with the root veg. -Maine Scallops, celery root, pomegranate relish, wilted greens, celery salad. This was generic. The scallops were cooked well and went fine with the celeriac. But the dish just didn't come together for me. -Roasted Cod, papadam, coconut, fenugreek, curry leaf, ginger greens. Great dish. The fish was perfectly cooked and covered in a thin crust that gave it a nice texture. The curry was delicious and just a bit spicy. -Russet Potato Gnocchi, smoked king trumpet mushrooms, kale, black pepper, pecorino. Ok but not great. We didn't get any smoke flavor from the mushrooms. Maybe slightly undersalted.
  20. lotus125
    We had a good dinner a few weeks back. The menu is short, but the food is good. The much-discussed french onion soup is the best vegetarian version I've ever seen. And the seafood stew is excellent.
  21. lotus125
    Izakaya Seki has a delicious uni and quail egg dish.
  22. lotus125
    Any recent experiences?
  23. lotus125
    Has anyone seen any ramp dishes on spring menus yet?
  24. lotus125
    I'm normally a huge fan of Panda, but had an off meal there last night. Yes, much of the food was still good. But the mapo had clearly been rewarmed and not very well. Double fried fish was soggy. And the rice was different -- almost like a basmati. Maybe Monday is someone's night off. Or maybe just a fluke. Let's hope this isn't a great restaurant in decline.
  25. lotus125
    We used to go to Iron Gate quite often, at least for drinks. We especially love the vibe in the front room aka the carriageway. For whatever reason, it'd been quite awhile. So we decided that the reformatted menu was a good excuse to go back. I have to say: I've always thought the food was pretty good, but this meal was even a notch better. We enjoyed a hummus with a twist; a smoked cod bruschetta, a delicious farro salad, gemelli with chard pesto, feta stuffed squid, and polenta stuffed tortellini. Great food and vibe. Plus good cocktails and a long and interesting wine list. I'm sure it's going back in the rotation.
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