The Doctor

On 7/12/2023 at 10:14 PM, The Doctor said:

It sounds like the service has improved? I went opening week and it was the slowest, most inattentive service I've ever had in a high-end DC restaurant. (I am a huge fan of The Dabney, so maybe my expectations were too high.) I was forgiving for it being opening week, but for a restaurant of this caliber, I expected to at least be checked on even if the kitchen is running behind. A friend went a month later and said things hadn't improved. The food was excellent, though, but pricey.

I'd like to go on record with a follow-up to my original comment. I returned a few weeks ago and there was a night-and-day difference in the service. It was up to the standards I expected. This time I sat in the downstairs area, which seemed a bit more lively than the upstairs.

It sounds like the service has improved? I went opening week and it was the slowest, most inattentive service I've ever had in a high-end DC restaurant. (I am a huge fan of The Dabney, so maybe my expectations were too high.) I was forgiving for it being opening week, but for a restaurant of this caliber, I expected to at least be checked on even if the kitchen is running behind. A friend went a month later and said things hadn't improved. The food was excellent, though, but pricey.

If you want to treat someone to an entertaining (but pricy) dessert, I've gone twice to sit at the bar and order their Tiramisu flambe. A plate arrives with a chocolate shell sphere, onto which they pour a blue flame until the shell melts away, revealing the tiramisu. Their Negroni Fumo cocktail is also interesting, accompanied by smoke and a negroni jello shot molded to an orange rind.

6 hours ago, Keithstg said:

Kinship, Metier, Marcels, Bresca, Fiola (original, NOT Mare)

Thanks! Of those, I've only done Metier. It had the advantage of a nice space that made you feel separated from the outside world. And the food was of comparable quality, but Komi provided way more over a greater period of time, and with more engagement with the servers. If I had the Komi experience in the Metier space, it would have been amazing.

Is there any high-end place in the city that currently makes you feel like the expense was worth it? Of all the extravagant meals I've had in DC, Komi left me the most satisfied -- both in terms of the length of the meal and the amount of food offered. It's been 14 years, but I can't forget how the meal never seemed to end. After the series of small tasting courses, the pasta was served, which nearly put me over the top. Then they come out and say, "Here's your suckling pig..."

Does anyone have any recommendations for the food court at the Fairfax location? Northern Virginia Magazine had a short write up about it. Thanks!

Hanumanh is more of a bar than their other restaurants. As the linked review says, "The majority of the seating involves stools and high tables." There is a patio out back with regular tables but I'm not sure if they're using it at this time of year. I only went once, last summer before they had to close/relocate for several months.

Edit: I originally pasted text from their website that said they have a waitlist when full. This page was found through google and is not accessible when you actually visit their website.

Is the Capitol Hill location still worth going to? And if so, do I need to look out for anything? That is, should I only go on nights a particular chef is there, or do omikase only?

So I arrived on a cold and slightly rainy Friday afternoon in December at 4:15 and I was third in line. On this particular evening, one could have arrived at 5 p.m. and still gotten in to the first seating. Unfortunately my companion arrived late, so I had to put us down for a second seating. (The Iron Gate is a great nearby place for a cocktail to pass the time.) At 6:47, I got the text that they were ready to seat us.

This was my third visit, but I hadn't been in at least five years. The overall experience is still great, but the food this time had probably the highest average level of spiciness. The pacing of the meal doesn't leave you much time to recover from the last spicy dish before proceeding to the next.

How's the opening line been lately? Weather permitting, I am hoping to visit this Friday.

Any feelings on whether there is a difference in quality between the Shaw and Waterfront locations, particularly in the pizza department?

Reviewers saying they would have licked the plate clean.

On 10/18/2018 at 10:22 PM, saf said:

At the bar itself. 

We are all bar people, and will preferentially eat at bars. There are some tables in there, although they are too low for me.

When there are more of us, or anyone underage, we will get a table, but we do love eating at bars.

Me too! Is there a corner at the bar? Just wondering how it worked with your group of four, if you were all seated next to one another or something else.

6 hours ago, saf said:

Four of us had dinner at the bar here last Friday (10/12). We had originally intended to go to Kinship to celebrate a friend's birthday, but it turned out that they were closed. So... up the block and across we went.

Just us at the bar when we arrived (early), but it filled up.

When we eat there, we usually do the $30 bar menu, but being as this was a celebration, we decided to go for the $70 "Chef Surprise" 5 course menu. They were remarkably accommodating, as I do not eat seafood, and 2 others don't do mushrooms. I really appreciate this. It was absolutely delicious, and as ever, the drinks and wine are fabulous.

I don't get here very often, and am always astounded that the wonderful bartender (whose name I have forgotten again) remembers us, and even remembers what we drink. I don't think we are that memorable - she's clearly a customer service genius. And the wine advice is really good too!

How were the four of you seated? At the bar itself or are there tables in there as well?

To my dear friend Greg O’Neill, a kind-hearted, even-tempered optimist who passed away September 5. He was possibly known to some in this community as the founder of Greg’s List DC. The site serves as a curated social events calendar, through which he brought many people together, often for charitable causes. He also was quite accomplished in the field of gerontology, working to improve the lives of people as they age.

(Don, you met him at least once, when we did that sandwich tasting at BONMi a number of years ago.)

So the website is now pretty bare-bones, even for Ray's. But the top text says:

Ray's The Steaks

And...

The New More Casual Just The Steaks

Anyone know what "Just The Steaks" is all about?

There is a sign on the door saying they are closed until May 11 for a "beautiful renovation."

6 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Does anyone know if "Senart's Oyster and Grill Room" (that's what the phone message calls it) is permanently closed? It was papered over last November, and I don't remember seeing it open the last couple of times I've been to Barracks Row - but I also wasn't looking for it.

The phone sounds like it rolls over to a voice mail, and there's no longer any website.

Here's a PoPville article related to this. It makes a reference to their Facebook page, which is offline now. At one point it said they'd be reopening in November, and then I checked a few months ago and they updated it to February. (I had only been once, but I really could have used a place for a Barracks Row oyster happy hour in February.)

Yet that negative aspect is almost offset by this nugget at the bottom of the whiskey menu: "free pickle juice with every shot!"

Do they serve alcohol in the front area as well? I would hope so, otherwise they should change the name to Chicken or Whiskey.

Regarding #9 in that list, Founding Farmers has had poke on the menu since they opened, in 2008 I think.

There is a sign on the door saying Bunna closed on July 31.

Daniel Hoefler is now chef de cuisine at Blue Duck Tavern.

1 minute ago, brian said:

It won't make much of a difference, the ground floor is always pretty dark. The upstairs is brighter and has more windows.

Ah, thanks! I didn't even know they had an upstairs. (Don's comment about windows makes more sense now.) Is that how you get to the patio or is that on the ground floor?

Has anyone been recently? I notice they have a back patio, and some of the pictures I've seen make it seem like the light shines through and brightens up the whole interior. I'm looking to take some people there but want it to be very dark inside. Should I wait til after sunset or does it not make that much of a difference?