pras

18 hours ago, deangold said:

Thanks for the heads up. Have not found a great beer store yet.

Have you been to Norm's in Vienna?  I haven't been in some time, but in the past they have always had an amazing selection.

Stopped by last night.  Is it Kenji LopezAlt's Wursthall?  No.  Is it a fun place which is different than the typical burger joint?  Yes.  Is there a full bar with a ton of drafts, many of them local?  Yes.  Can you walk to it from my house in less than 5 minutes?  Yes.  Would I go out of my way to eat there?  Probably no, but it is something which will be a great addition to the neighborhood.  There is a great vibe going on.  I hope they can keep up the momentum.

14 hours ago, Lydia R said:

It may take a while for Dog Haus to calm down. I caught the end of this 4-minute segment on today's WUSA Channel-9's Morning Show. Adam Gertler did a quick demo and gave details for a text-in contest with a weekly free meal grand prize.

It's in my neighborhood so I can be patient!

8 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Yes, but it is the original Yuraku closing, or opening a second location?

Here's a 2010 review of the original DC Yuraku in Germantown.

Sunny sold Yuraku several years ago.  Yuraku is still there and I don't think there is any signs of it closing.  Many think its not the same as when Sunny was the owner (I think it is the same if not a little bit better).  The new place would be totally unrelated to the original Yuraku.

Sunny, the original owner of Yuraku is opening a new spot at Park Potomac in the recently vacated Zoe's space.  Credit--The MoCo Show.

Dog Haus opened today.  The second local location, the other being in Bethesda.  It's a chain from California.  It's a small footprint, but a tight concept with a full bar, tons of taps, and hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and plant based choices as well.  I will wait until it calms down a bit (free dogs today and before opening there was a line around the block at least 100 deep!).

Reading this post reminded me that I haven't indulged lately.  The dry pot here is really good and I also really enjoy the soups.  As Dean described, the broth is really spicy but very flavorful.  It is also hot from a temperature standpoint, so beware!

Finally made it here last night.  It had been on my list for a while.  I was here for a work event, which was located in a private room off the main floor and next to the "pub" area.  There were about half a dozen beers on draft in the private room.  There are probably closer to a dozen in the pub area.  The upper level has a more formal restaurant.  I wasn't really there for the food, so I won't comment on that.  I had the house IPA, which was really solid and the "milk stout".  The milk stout had a nice creamy mouhtfeel, a gentle sweetness with a backdrop of roasted malt and chocolate--very enjoyable.  The event I was at had a tour of the brewery.  In the basement there is a "experimental" brewery, which is the nicest "experimental" small brewery I have ever seen--essentially a brewers dream.  I have been on a lot of brewery tours and this one really ranked up there.  I thought the guide did a good job of explaining the brewing process to novices, but where the tour really shined was with the history of Guinness and the history of the Baltimore property.  I won't give up too much, except to note that some of the buildings still are used to aged spirits.  Aside from the experimental brewery in the tap room building, there is a larger production brewery where they make Guinness Blonde in large volumes.  There is also a shop where you can get shirts, glasses, etc., and beer to go.  Certainly worth a visit.

Has anyone been here lately?  Thinking about having a meal here this weekend.

20 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

We had these I think in Chengdu- you could load up on skewers you choose, take your choice up front, they would have you select a garlic or spicy broth, and bring your skewers in a cold brother of whichever of those you selected.  There was all sorts of meat and vegetables.  I loved the lotus root.  It was a big street snack, although lots of fast casual places did this too.  They loved this, so if they haven't been to EDH for this, we might have to go here with them and check it out!  

This is the specialty of Friendship BBQ in Rockville Town Square.  Haven't been yet, but I really want to.  [Non-Sequitur alert!!]  On Friendship's menus, there is something called "Grilled Chicken Skeleton" they have it a couple of different ways and I am very intrigued as to what it is.

27 minutes ago, deangold said:

It's a lot harder for us to get from Landmark/Annandale to Rockville and my love of Hot Pot Legend makes it hard to go elsewhere {even EDH.} But I have SJR on my list.

I went to Hot Pot Legend on Tuesday night.  There is a sign that says they are opening a location at One Loudoun.

12 hours ago, Pat said:

"Pioneering DC Chef Bob Kinkead Dies at 67" by Jessica Sidman on washingtonian.com

Very sad.  The Washington Post has a nice Obit as well.  

While I have never made it to New Haven, I have certainly seen it on TV and have wanted to make a trip to try the clam pie.  According to the MoCo Show, in late 2020, a location will open at Montgomery Mall!!!!

Now open in Bethesda per Robert Dyer.

I didn't realize that I stepped into a possible landmine when I posted about Grimaldi's.  I guess I should have known better than to comment on NYC pizza without really knowing anything.  Grimaldi's vs. Juliana's debate (credit--Gothamist)

44 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

Okay, this post (unlike the Yonah Shimmel one) I can weigh in on, as there are lots of excellent pizza places using lots of kinds of ovens in existence in this immediate neighborhood.  I know this because I live in the immediate neighborhood (Brooklyn Heights, 10 blocks away).  It's "okay".  Its a long story, but Grimaldi's is not owned by Patsy Grimaldi, who retired and sold the name years ago.  However, due to some really fun Brooklyn story stuff, he came out of retirement and opened Juliana's, which is right next door.  I'm glad you liked Grimaldi's, but most locals agree that Juliana's is better.  So there.

(of course, the above is written without too much seriousness since, if you enjoyed the experience and the food, the rest is just internet chatter)

Next time, let me know you're in the neighborhood.  I'll show you around.

I have never claimed to be the most knowledgeable about food or restaurants, especially in NYC, which I get to maybe once a year, but often times every other year.  What I do know is that we wanted pizza for dinner, this came up in google searches and was highly rated, it was a short walk from the hotel, and 9 year old was exhausted from waking up at 4:30 am for an early train from DC.  Needed to make a quick decision and we were not let down.  The pizza was good.  Was it the "best" I don't know, perhaps, at that instant it was.  Should others take my advice?  Maybe or maybe not.  There are tons of choices to eat pizza in NYC, and tons of opinions.

This past weekend, when visiting, NYC, we wanted pizza for dinner and Grimaldi's was close to the hotel.  It was well reviewed and looked pretty authentic so we decided to give it a try.  We walked about 10 minutes and arrived and were promptly seated.  The space is typical NYC, small with close tables and a coal fired pizza oven in the back.  Pizzas here are hand tossed, mozzarella is fresh and sliced, goes on first, then toppings, then sauce, some olive oil, and torn basil.  We ordered a large pie, half olive, half plain.  Olives were oil cured.  The 9yo and I wandered to the back to watch them make pizzas.  She was amazed how they started with a disc of dough, and tossed it into a thin crust.  She was amazed at how fast it went.  We watched them make our pie and then timed how long it took to cook.  It clocked in at just under 4 minutes.  The pizza tasted really good with a good char on the crust.  We all ate more than we should have.  We also ordered the buratta app, which was a large globe, with sliced cherry tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic and topped with some basil.  It was really good.  Everyone left full and satisfied.

Yonah Shimmel Knish Bakery located on Houston Street has been in the same location since 1910.  While not fancy by any means, it is a step back in time.  The small cramped location does a huge carryout business but also has tables in the back with "sit down service".  Everything is made in house in a subterranean kitchen with  a dumbwaiter lifting trays of knishes to street level.  The menu veers to traditional with some modern touches (my grandma wouldn't really appreciate jalapenos in her knish).  You can also order other traditional Eastern European Jewish staples such as kasha and varnishkas.  The potato knish served warm is very good and even better with a bit of the spicy brown mustard served from a squeeze jar on the table.  The walls are covered with pictures of famous visitors.  Woody Allen filmed a scene here with Larry David.  There are very few vestiges of authentic Jewish LES history left.  This is certainly one of them.

According to the Store Reporter, they are unfortunately closing sometime in early 2020.

Tim Carman seems to like the noodles here (Credit Washington Post).  Also worth a read the the embedded link which gives some background on Lanzhou lamian. BTW, I have recently become a fan exclusively of the knife cut choices and really liked the dry-mixed choice.

On 10/31/2019 at 2:11 PM, DanielK said:

I agree with you on half of that - Five Guys is glop. Shake Shack, without lines, is pretty decent for a fast casual burger.

Burger at Shake Shack is > burger at Five Guys.  Fries at Five Guys are > fries at Shake Shack.

15 hours ago, deangold said:

Last time I was there they had a short rib w/peppers and an eggplant that looked pretty good.

What gets me on the dry pot is that it is one per pound price for both meats,seafood & veggies. And the veggies can cook down a lot.

Very true.  Somehow it is always about $20.  Big Wang is better for this reason as the ingredients are priced based upon categories.  Side note--talking about dry pot is making me hungry!

12 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:

 

Amba is only one point per 1 tbsp.  Would it be a good sandwich condiment?

In my opinion yes.  Also, now that we are moving into colder weather, I like to make a big pot of vegetable/bean heavy soups, which are high in fiber and very filling.  When I was doing WW, I could get a couple of servings into the 6-7 point range which was a huge win at lunch time.

4 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Ok, so on week 3ish: I have lost 2 pounds.  I still need to work out more, will work on that goal.  I am trying to be pretty good about tracking things and not just guessing they are points and no points.  Homemade items are hard, and I hate plugging in recipes still.  I can sometimes find something close enough. Eating out- sushi is super easy, places that have good salads, these are the yeah, yeah of course things.  I went to Wendy's the other day when we needed to eat fast food and between a large chili and chicken nuggets had a reasonable point lunch for fast food, Lebanese Taverna was very easy, a good amount of options. With beans being a preferred option for eating, Indian food isn't as bad as you would think, if you avoid the butter heavy options, and go for like chana masala, dal and tandoori chicken.  The carb smart tortillas are kind of a life saver, I am going to use those to make some wraps this week. I am not a big mustard person, so trying to find some decently low point dressing/sauce options for sandwiches that I can be happy with.  The thing I really miss the most is cheese.  I have put a little shredded cheese in a few items, but main cheese is a lot of points when just eating it. 

I am really happy with the Trader Joe's Everything Pretzel slims, and their greek yogurt dip as a snack. If you really need some dessert, the yasso bars aren't horrible in points for what you get size wise compared to other things.

How many points in TJ's Amba (which is a savory fermented mango sauce and very tasty)?  

On 11/2/2019 at 6:37 PM, deangold said:

Have you tried any of the other stations in the food court? Some of the roast meats look good and there are often things on the hot buffet that look OK. But so far, as I have always been solo, I have not tried them.

I have had an extra crispy duck which was very tasty.  My 9 year old has some of the dim sum offerings and she was happy with them (she doesn't protest when I want to get lunch there on a Saturday!!  which speaks volumes, although, I am not sure it means you would like it!).