pras

I have been there several times.  Everything I have tried has been enjoyable, both soup and stir fry noodles.  This past weekend we had a bowl each of shrimp stir fry noodles, normal thickness  and shrimp stir fry knife cut.  I think I prefer the knife cut.  Both were very tasty and had a tinge of smokiness from the wok.  Very enjoyable.

18 hours ago, DaRiv18 said:

Posted in the wrong thread, it belongs here . . .

Stopped by for my first visit just now . . . Closed by the Dept of Health on 6/14. Next to the official notice is a sign that says “Equipment Repair . . . see you soon!”

Not sure what's up.  This building has had a history of things like this happening.  I wonder if there is an issue with the building instead of with the operator.  I am pretty sure this is the third time this has happened with three different operators.

For some of the best sour beers around, head to the Bruery Store at Union Market.  If you have any questions, the knowledgeable staff is there to answer and offer suggestions.

On 6/3/2019 at 5:42 PM, DonRocks said:

Dragons & YumYums: "When the beer is so bad, you have to mask everything except the hops."

A friend got me a six pack.  It sucked.

BTW, we ended up getting granite from Artelye in Belsville.  They were very professional and run a pretty large modern shop.  They have an image of every slab in stock and can superimpose your layout onto the slab for a "rough" design.  Once they take actual measurements, we went back and used masking tape to do the actual layout.  You can skip this step and let them do this if you aren't as hands on as I am (also, if you go the quartz route, there is little need for this step).  We were very happy with the entire process.  Our renovation was a bit adhoc, with me acting as the GC.  Once our floor was done and it was time to push the appliances into place, we learned that there was a 1/8 of an inch issue and the stove and refrigerator wouldn't fit.  I called Artelye and they sent out a crew who on-site shaved the counters and fixed the issue.  I can't figure out if this was their mistake or mine, but it doesn't matter as there was no charge for them to come out and make the fix.

One note--they are a contractor for Home Depot, and if you read on-line reviews there are clearly two sets-those who bought directly from them and those who bought from Home Depot.  I asked them about the discrepancy and they said that they have no control over the Home Depot cases all the way down to scheduling.  All calls, customer service, etc. is handled by Home Depot directly.  They do not even provide slabs--just measure, cut, and install.

Needless to say we were very happy with the experience, including, cost, value, and service.

The food court here is also very good.  I have been here many times. The roasted meats are good as well as the dry hot pot.

On 5/9/2019 at 7:13 AM, TheBrueryDC said:

Greetings to all Bruery fans! I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that The Bruery Store at Union Market will now be present on this forum. We will be posting updates periodically as well as answering any questions you may have regarding the store. Please feel free to reach out anytime!

Cheers,

Jake T

The Bruery Store at Union Market

Awesome!  Thank you.

Although it is probably sacrilegious, I got the spicy mushroom.  Aside from the ridiculous wait for my order once placed, I thought it was really good.  The spice of the fresnos, really pulled all of the components together and helped cut through the grease.  Eating at Union Market is really not fun though, especially when it's winter and you don't want to sit outside.  

If you haven't listened to the episode of How I Built This about Five Guys, it is fascinating and worth 30 minutes of your life.

And Bethesda.

36 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Offshoot Beer Co. has a *lot* of offerings - I can't find this one anywhere ... are you sure it isn't called "Brain Pour?"

Yup, Brain Pour.  I guess I was having Brain Drain when I typed the original post.  I have corrected.

Offshoot Brewery, which you guessed  is is an offshoot of The Bruery out of Placentia California.  The Offshoot brand was setup to put out IPAs.  Brain Pour, their latest offering weighs in at 8.5% ABV.  When you pour it into a glass, there is nothing but haze.  The nose is full of juicy mango, passionfruit, and grapefruit.  The flavor comes through as well with the fruit.  This beer is a amazing.  For those who don't know, haze is the new IPA craze.  Brewers have figured out how to use hops to impart a juicy fruit bomb, highlighting the characteristics of new hops and toning back the bitterness.  If you want to get a 4 pack, you can head over to the Bruery Store on Morse Street, NE.  They have an amazing selection of beers, and have been doing regular "pop ups" for another breweries which do not normally distribute to DC.

1 hour ago, Al Dente said:

I dined here Saturday night with my daughter. Ordering was a confusing process. I asked about the dry hot pot, because of the raves above and was told the closest thing was lamb with cumin and got a warning about how spicy it was. I had something in the past from Joe's Noodle House with the same description and enjoyed the heat, so I ordered it. There was a lot of cumin, but no other heat. It tasted fine, maybe a little fatty, but I was disappointed by the lack of spiciness. I also ordered the spinach in chicken soup and they tried to talk me out of it because of the "black egg". After telling them I was familiar with century eggs, and insisting I wanted it, they allowed me to order it. This dish was enjoyable with the spinach just cooked enough in a rich yolk-colored broth. My daughter's lo mein was good enough that my daughter ate the vegetables in it.

I feel like I experienced some culinary discrimination (I'm not Asian), but the meal was enjoyable and the price was right. I was intrigued by a lot of items on the menu and would like to go back, but next time I'll go with a larger group so we can order more dishes. 

Dry hot pot is a separate menu.  I am going to go out on a limb, but the issue was probably a language barrier one.

I can likely make a Sunday evening as well and may have one or two tag along with me as well.

1 hour ago, PollyG said:

No carts, but we go over to Bob's Shanghai on occasion for soup dumplings.  We also really enjoy the marinated wood ear mushroom appetizer and the pan-fried pork dumplings.  Staff hustle to get the tables turned over and there will likely be a wait unless you arrive on the early side.

Beware though, Bob's is cash only.

Since my original posting, we have opened a second office in DC location at 1410 Q Street, NW.  If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello!

Philip Raskin

3 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I'm curious what people's earliest ultra-luxe fine dining memories are. I'm not talking just about sit-down restaurants, or even great restaurants, but fine-dining, white-tablecloth experiences that left an impression on you.

My first might have been Harvey's - "The Restaurant of the Presidents" in downtown DC - I was about 20, and I was nervous as hell.

I can pretty much do my early memories by city:

Cincinatti: The Maisonette
San Francisco: Ernie's

(The above two restaurants were 5-star/5-diamond rated in Mobil/AAA - this is long, long before Michelin left France, and these were about the only national ranking services there were.)

New York City: The Russian Tea Room
Baltimore: Tio Pepe's
Bar Harbor: 

For me the first memory I have of something special was brunch with my grandparents at Normandie Farm in Potomac.  I'm not really sure how old I was, but I certainly do have a foggy memory, which includes their famous popovers.

I would stop here after my quarterly dermatologist visits and order takeout, but I went to that dermatologist for the last time a month ago (retired).  I don't know when I will have the chance to dine there again, but there are much better options up north near home.  It was good, but not great.  One of the reasons it was good and reliable was the extensive vegetarian menu, which included vegetable stock in some soups.  This allowed for a wider menu for my wife.  Oh well, most pho places now have veggie stock as an option, so when she wants soup, there are lots more options now.

I agree though that Joe's is not what it once was.

I haven't been here in a while, but I always thought it had a pretty decent beer selection.  I was even able to find some hidden gems, and old beers which they basically paid to age for me.  I don't make it to the neighborhood very often, but I really enjoy shopping there when I do stop by.

This longtime Bethesda spot for Chinese food is about to close as the owner Kwok Cheung wants to retire and enjoy life a bit.  Not to worry though as longtime Chinese restaurateurs, formally of Michael's Noodles will open Wang Dynasty and plan to (at least from the article) maintain a similar menu to Shanghai Village.  Credit to Bethesda Magazine for both articles. 

Hopefully there will be a section of the menu dedicated to more authentic dishes.

Don't worry about me, but 2/18 will be a family day for me, and I am pretty sure my wife wouldn't be interested.

2 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Picture Erik Estrada running down the street without any clothes on, arms in the air and wailing, after some vagrant threatened him with a liquor bottle and ordered him to disrobe.

I pictured that and now I can't get it out of my brain.  Damn you Don Rockwell!

I am interested as well.

I have always felt that what sets C&J apart is the pink sauce.  Sooooooo good.

Went here for prom in 1996.  It was my first fancy meal without my parents.  Wow, what a run!