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ad.mich

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Everything posted by ad.mich

  1. ad.mich
    Tried a few things off the new menu last night. The brisket sandwich comes on an awesome challah roll but had more horseradish slaw than meat. Good flavor on each ingredient individually there, but the horseradish flavor dominates a little too much for my taste. On the other hands, the stuffed cabbage was a killer plate of food, sweet and sour sauce with a really intense meat stuffing. I know there were some upturned eyebrows around at the idea of calling this menu 'Jewish Soul Food', but this is pretty damn soulful stuff on a cold February evening. Finally, I tried the pickled tongue sandwich. It came on a cranberry nut bread that threw some people at my table for a loop but personally I loved it. Thin sliced and not too overwhelming with the pickled flavors (and it went surprisingly well with a rum drink).
  2. ad.mich
    I just got a large one last week. Only used it once so far for Valentine's Day (no pressure, right?) but it was a fairly successful first go-round. Seared some steaks and lobster tails at about 500 degrees, and when the searing was done I closed the dome and finished the meat in was essentially now a 500 degree oven. It all came out fantastic. No pictures because the two of us attacked it. Went with the large size, which just seems correct. Plenty of room on one level, and you can purchase attachments to give you a second level if you want to roast/smoke a lot of food. On that note, I have the plate attachment that is needed for smoking/baking and plan on smoking a lot with it come spring and summer. I can't give you a long term outlook yet on whether it's going to convert me into a full on egg-olyte or not but I'm looking forward to playing with this new toy.
  3. ad.mich
    Certainly one way to spend $230 on dinner.
  4. ad.mich
    Reminds me of this stunt/event in Georgetown a while back.
  5. ad.mich
    Just as an FYI the brothers who were the original GM and cook at Fast Gourmet, Manu and Nacho, have not been affiliated with the spot for a while. They have split from their partners at FG and are now solely at the new place on 19th and M NW, called TakEatEasy. Unfortunate name aside, the sandwiches that everyone raved about for a while (then wondered why they dropped off in quality/consistency a few months later when the brothers left) are now located there. TakEatEasy opens today with a work in progress menu of salads and sandwiches at lunch, moving into tapas and drinks at happy hour, and then some larger plates at dinner. It's definitely a work in progress at the moment but if you remember how good Fast Gourmet was at the start, you'll have this on your radar immediately. EDIT: I should have mentioned they also have a liquor license. Chivito + beer.
  6. ad.mich
    Just as an FYI the brothers who were the original GM and cook at Fast Gourmet, Manu and Nacho, have not been affiliated with the spot for a while. They have split from their partners at FG and are now solely at the new place on 19th and M NW, called TakEatEasy. Unfortunate name aside, the sandwiches that everyone raved about for a while (then wondered why they dropped off in quality/consistency a few months later when the brothers left) are now located there. TakEatEasy opens today.
  7. ad.mich
    I had a bottle tonight from some friends who both found 6-packs in convenience stores for $23.99. It is (as to be expected) a crazy smooth example of a strong IPA, almost to the point of being too subdued. Maybe it's just my poor memory but I seem to recall last tear's batch being a little more aggressive on the front end. Whatever though, it is still really good - of course whether or not the price and hype are worth it is an entirely different discussion. I had a glass of Stone's "Enjoy By..." this weekend as well and actually preferred it of the two. It's a very good time to be a beer drinker if you like these styles of beers. And I'd jump on a beer tasting club for sure.
  8. ad.mich
    Crawfish season is already rolling too.
  9. ad.mich
    It's been there for a few weeks now... If their prep is any indication people should not be scared by the name alone. It's good. Mild and flaky.
  10. ad.mich
    Reading these posts reminded me of an attempt at a romantic meal at Rasika that was overshadowed by the girl at the table next to us. She had a monster camera and tripod set up to take flash photos of every dish that came to their table (her setup was so bulky that there was barely any room for the plates and drinks). This went on the entire course of the meal. Should I have said something? Probably. Are similar photos of every dish she was so insistent to photograph (despite Rasika's very not-photo-friendly lighting) likely already available online? Absolutely. I'm not a big photo person in any facet of my life so the thrill of it (as opposed to, you know, enjoying the moment) is mostly lost on me. My only point is that this kind of extremely rude photography really happens.
  11. ad.mich
    Zagat's decision to enter into the local blogging game with these constant slideshow listicles is killing any credibility they still had with me.
  12. ad.mich
    After eating at LS this evening I'm going to have to disagree with the last post. The 'sour fruit' dish was not too sour for us, and was not in a pool of vinegar. In fact it was a favorite. The egg/roe/shrimp dip for the pork rinds was better imo than the previous 2 dips I've started with (which I thought in the past were too sour). The real hits of the recent revisions are the brussel sprouts and the snakehead salad. The sprouts are wok fried and come crispy in a sauce of cane sugar, tamarind, fish sauce, and 'a few other things'. They are the best I've had by a decent margin in a fall/winter where they seemed to be unavoidable. That snakehead salad had the perfect balance of sour/spicy/sweet/savory. And the pork ribs remain badass. I do have to agree on the new rice cake prep though... the sauce was pretty sour and between that and the heat the sum was a little too wild for me. The fermented sour sausage had killer flavor but it was buried under the napalm of hot/sour.
  13. ad.mich
    For what it's worth... I have heard the bartenders explain while I was there that they are actively trying to avoid the same kind of "consultation, then creation" style of ordering cocktails by riffing that they encourage at The Passenger. Ordering off menu drinks by name, however, will probably depend on the individual and how busy they are.
  14. ad.mich
    The Spam Musubi comes out warm. The mac salad actually has seasoning besides mayo. The saimin isn't greasy. At the risk of being blasphemous I would say this cheffy, 'bar food' take on Hawaiian food is better than all the places I've hit up on the west coast and most of the ones I've tried in Hawaii itself. Cheffing things up does this food a lot of good, and I'm going to be sad to see this menu go. Jewish soul food sounds awesome though, and if Yuji Ramen still makes the stop that was mentioned when Hogo opened, it's going to be bananas when he is here. Oh and drinks? I like Tom's Punch if you have a crew (and don't have an early wake up call), and the Jungle Bird for a non punchbowl something that isn't super sweet - campari and rum are actually awesome together. To be honest though, the last few times I've been in here I'm just asking them to pour me a new rum so I can keep trying and learning from that back wall. Between here and next door it is a non stop dark liquor education. Last few times... ugh, how many days has this place been open?
  15. ad.mich
    I don't think I'd consider Parc essential - especially given the proliferation of brasseries in DC. They do what they do very well, but if you're staying off Rittenhouse it's really better suited as an option for breakfast, lunch or (even better) a spontaneous glass of bubbles in the afternoon.
  16. ad.mich
    I don't know about that (not much of a bruncher myself), but I do know that when we dropped in last weekend we were pretty pleased. I had seen shakshuka on the menu but only for brunch. The idea of someone else making me shakshuka sounded perfect, and the version on the DGS brunch menu didn't disappoint. It had the peppery bite I like and depth of flavor that comes from a good slow simmer. Only thing that would have made it better would have been if I popped both yolks right out the gate before the residual heat got to the second one, but I was so deep in my happy place after the first bite that I wasn't thinking straight. My dining companion got the eggs benedict with smoked salmon on latkes. The latkes had a very noticeable onion flavor to me - cool by me but I know not everyone is into that. Well cooked for sure though. As mentioned above the smoked salmon is very high quality. The brunch items come without accompaniment, and the sides we ordered were a mixed bag. The patatas bravas a la judea had really well prepared potatoes but a weirdly small topping of sour cream and just a small scoop of harissa in the middle. Weird presentation and uneven amount of topping that left the harissa to dominate over everything. The crispy fried pastrami should be scrapped entirely as a side. It came thick cut like a rasher and the time spent on the flat top just made it tighten up and make all the fat that makes pastrami so amazing suddenly work against it. Chewy and not good. I understand the desire to put breakfast meat on the menu (hell, I ordered it) but this just didn't work. My egg cream was better than any my dad ever made me. The mimosa was a mimosa with St. Germain in it. I wish it weren't the case but if brunch is the only time I can get the shakshouka I will tough it up and keep coming back. Maybe I'll just get a takeout pastrami sandwich for the road.
  17. ad.mich
    It's ok for these guys. And since they're not these guys, I think it's safe.
  18. ad.mich
    This. 1000 times (thymes?) this. While it is still a quality product I don't find myself going back to DC Brau the way I initially did because I can only take so many 6% (or more) ABV hop bombs. Thyme After Thyme at least didn't give me immediate cottonmouth. I can't blame them for riding the wave of success but I really wish they made a session beer. I did try their latest draft release, "The Rider", and it's a red ale with belgium yeast. Not quite TAT levels of greatness but quite good. But again, 7% ABV.
  19. ad.mich
    FWIW I have only seen the cat on the top (Third floor) of the expansion side of things. And I didn't see the cat the last time I was there. So while it might not hop up on your lap or circle your table, it is certainly cat lived in. We've also seen people napping behind the partition upstairs in the dining room during a meal, but that's another story entirely...
  20. ad.mich
    I just want to mention that on Saturday night I popped into the lounge with some friends for a nightcap... we received exemplary service, awesome drinks, and all left commenting that we should do that more often. We were the only people in the lounge. The drinks are comparable and in some cases cheaper than some of the other neighborhood options, but are being executed at (if not equal to, damn close) the level of the best cocktail lounges in the city. Not cheap, but I've had an increasing number of mediocre $10 cocktails this winter. I will happily pay it when I know what I'm going to receive is something of this quality. Hell, it starts to feel like a bargain in comparison. What I'm trying to say is that if you have issues with the price of the proper R24 meal but are curious, go in the lounge and treat yourself to a drink or two. You don't have to break the bank and you'll be happy you went.
  21. ad.mich
    Thanks to Trevor for his time and knowlege, as well as to darkstar965 for organizing this event. Going down the rabbit hole of coffee knowledge can be every bit as daunting/pretentious as wine, beer, whiskey, etc. Trevor had no problem answering our junior varsity questions as well as going in depth on some other topics. It was really an informative afternoon. Oh, and Madcap's product is really really good.
  22. ad.mich
    Sometimes I make up excuses just to go to WF and pick up a tub. Mixed with some yogurt it makes a killer marinade too.
  23. ad.mich
    I would also say Jestine's is pretty inessential. The fried chicken is living on reputation and the sides were ok but nothing life changing. Sweet people but you can find this same food done better in DC.
  24. ad.mich
    The one in C is still there and cranking out chicken essentially to order due to the massive volume.ATL
  25. ad.mich
    I was steered towards 4 Rivers Smokehouse earlier this fall. Allow me to suggest you steer away from 4 Rivers Smokehouse, unless the idea of 'famous burnt ends' that are closer to chipped beef appeals to you.
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