smokey

So, I went to Madras Palace yesterday for lunch. Although I love dosa, I don't get to eat them very often. So, the tone of this report is largely going to be compare/contrast with Udupi Palace, where I had an mysore masala dosa on a Saturday night roughly 2-3 weeks ago. (It's been too long since the time before that that I had a MMD, so I just don't feel as though i can compare to a general sense of what it should be like, and am not S. Asian, so haven't had them in India or prepared in a home.)I ordered mysore masala dosa off the menu yesterday after perusing the buffet and deciding I didn't feel like the 'eat all you can' mentality that can be encouraged by a buffet. Plus, I was in the mood for the MMD and wanted to do a bit of a head to head comparison. The MMD at MP was greasier (not sure if that was due to the pancake or the filling or both) The 'pancake' (don't know formal name for it) was bigger, but there was less filling. The pancake was also thicker and chewier than at UP, and had less air bubbles in it. I'm not sure how to describe it exactly, but the pancake at UP had air bubbles almost like in injera--as though there was something that had fermented in the batter (although there was no taste of yeast-based fermentation to it, I'm not sure how to describe it). The potato filling at MP had significantly more onion in it, and less other spicing (although other spices may have simply been crowded out by the very strong onion flavor). Additionally, there seemed to be (based on appearance and flavor) little to no chutney on the MMD at MP. I much preferred the filling at UP--the flavoring was more complex and allowed the basic flavor of the potato to shine (which I know sounds ridiculous, but a potato really can have a nice flavor). I preferred the sambar (rasam?) at MP to the sambar at UP--it was thicker, more peppery and more flavorful. The service at MP was fine. The waiter certainly didn't give me the attitude of, 'you're going to order off the menu when we have all this food sitting on the buffet and my infirmed mother is going to have to get out of her sick bed to prepare you this specially?' that I've heard described at other restaurants when one chooses not to eat the buffet. They never checked in to see whether I liked the dish, nor did they refill my water glass. But, I did a bit of order, snarf down food and bolt, so I didn't give them much of a chance to do any of those things. Neither MP nor UP was busy the times I went to each, so I don't think that the comparison of the MMD is unfair in that regard. Certainly, one was lunch and one was dinner, and that might affect the outcome. My bottom line--I thought MP was fine. Although it's closer to my home, I think I would rather drive the extra distance to UP for dosa because their filling was far superior IMHO. I like both the more delicate and the thicker/chewier pancake, so the pancake differences don't really sway me in either way.

Lord, will I be happy when FreshDirect (or a reasonable facisimile) shows up here. Although the stuff I've had from them in NY hasn't been perfect (by far), some of it has been quite good. I've been consistently disappointed with Peapod and don't even bother now (my life is also somewhat less hectic now than it was when I started using them, so no longer feel as great a need). Mmmm, FreshDirect...

I went there with three other people roughly two months ago. Two of us had a 'veggie sampler' type plate. It's funny, the kadu was my least favorite, although the others at the table probably liked it the most. I think we had the veggie 'turnovers' (not their proper name) for appetizers. I thought they were good, but not great (there was an Afghani place in Herndon that I thought did a better job of those). My memories of the meal are vague (it was a while ago), but I agree with the poster who said I wasn't expecting much (in terms of formality or even, necessarily, quality). I loved the food (I've had other Afghani I probably preferred, but this was certainly good) and the service was good. There was a LONG gap between our appetizers and the entrees. The waiter came over and apologized, explaining that it would be a few more minutes and he recognized we had been waiting quite a while. All in all, a good meal and a good experience.

I'm going to try to follow up on this rec this week. Went to Udupi on Saturday night and had a great dosa, ordered some yellow dal on the side that was flavorful (if a bit overly salted)--it really hit the spot. I'm craving some dosa closer to home/work, and Madras may be just the ticket.

Man, that's a discouraging pair of reviews. Friends who lives near us (and like to think of themselves as being really into food, but I've been disappointed in many of their restaurant recs) LOVE it and are dying to go there with us. Maybe I can talk them into something else...

Thanks, ol' ironstomach. I had missed that thread. I wonder what Blooms will be like.

I drove through the parking lot in wintergreen plaza this am (on 355 in Rockville) and noted that the Food Lion appears to be closed (not just doors boarded over, but all of their signs taken off of front of building). Anybody know what changes are afoot?

I decided to test Don's hypothoses last night and would agree on every point he made. If I were to disagree with any portion of his statements, I would argue that they gave me more than adequate bean sprouts, but were definitely lacking in the basil. Pho survived the ride home (and dog walk that had to happen before its consumption) quite well.

You're suggesting I "imputed prejudicial and discriminatory motives"? Where did I "impugn a server personally"? Where did I "deride her for her stupidity"? I don't read what you're reading in my post. Obviously, it's a post-modern world and the reader is empowered. If that's what you read in my post, that's what you read. But I never used the word stupid to describe our waitress. I tried to stick to the facts of what I felt were her lapses in service (which you clearly don't think of as a big deal--fine, you're entitled to your opinion), and then to frame how they came across to us (that she "put us in the deep freeze" "wrote us off" "we received second class service"). The idea that it was because we weren't drinking, and hence her tip would be lower, isn't a novel one. I don't think suggesting that may have been the case was attributing "prejudicial and discriminatory motives" to our waitress. If it will make you feel better, you're probably right, her service lapses probably had nothing to do with the fact that we weren't drinking alcohol. Maybe she's just not a very good waitress. Maybe she was swamped and is in fact an incredibly good waitress because she did a good job of not coming across that way. All I have is my one evening there to judge. I'm not a professional restaurant critic, so I'm not required to wait until the restaurant has been open for a while to judge them, nor am I required to return multiple times. Everybody here can determine the difference in my post between fact (e.g. we weren't offered bread without asking for it--or, perhaps I'm lying, we'll never know) and opinion ("put us in the deep freeze"). I didn't describe my opinions as fact. I think my post was exactly what you suggested. I thought I had bad service and I said I thought I had bad service. I'm not sure how I could have "verified the validity of my opinions" before posting here. My +1 also thought we were receiving mediocre service. Is there some external validator of opinions that I'm unaware of? Should I have asked you if your waitstaff routinely provided mediocre service only to people who don't drink alcohol or if that was a special feature of our waitress or was she just slammed that night? And please, don't even try to suggest that I posted a negative experience with a waitress to get her fired. If i wanted somebody fired (and I don't think in any way I suggested that should be the outcome of my experience. Of course, the reader is empowered--if you want to attribute that motive to me, go right ahead), I would have stood up that night, thrown a hissy fit at the waitress and then at you. I would have written letters to my elected representatives. Maybe taken this up with the better business bureau of montgomery county or silver spring. Written the dog catcher. God only knows what I would do. It would never occur to me that anybody (least of all somebody as rational as you) would consider firing somebody over a posting on the internet.

I'm so relieved I didn't take the time to speak with you on Saturday night, Michael. (I was out celebrating my birthday and after the exposure to such sinister goings-on, I felt the need to rush home and take a scalding shower.) I would have hated to have seen the blood running through the halls of RTC after you finished with my waitress. Needless to say, I think she deserved it and would have been happy to have known it was transpiring, just don't have the stomach to stick around for it. Since I'm afraid I don't really remember what she looks like, you probably ought to fire your entire female waitstaff to be sure this is thoroughly stamped out--and as a warning to other waitstaff who might be considering making the same mistake.It's comforting to see that RTC hasn't yet achieved sacred cow status and I can post something less than glowing about your restaurant.

Nope, no exotic sauce (that's probably why I liked it!). Just olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. It was just perfectly done and tasted wonderfully of the vegetable. It doesn't sound like much, but it's a great preparation that I really like and they did it perfectly.

Went on Sat night with the +1. The food was great, the location is good-looking (like many, I liked the art deco feel of it), our waitress was mediocre. We received a lovely dish of pickled vegetables as an amuse bouches with the handing over of menus and the wine list (the pickled vegetables were good, particularly the beets). Neither the +1 nor I are drinking right now, which I simply decided to tell our waitress at that point. I didn't tell her the reasons, because I don't think I need to justify a decision not to buy alcohol (but, I think they're pretty good reasons and they have nothing to do with how much money we had to spend). But from that point onwards, we pretty well went into the deep freeze. We never received the bread and spreads. As we saw other tables around us receive them (from our waitress), we decided to inquire whether we too might get some bread. Our waitress, somehow, never seemed to catch our eye. Luckly, we were able to tackle a bus boy and asked him to bring them. When I explained to the waitress that we weren't drinking, we each ordered a cranberry juice and tonic water. When the waitress cleared the glasses, she didn't offer to bring us another round. The waitress never checked in with us after the entrees were served (e.g. "How are you enjoying everything?"). After the entrees were cleared, we got the expected inquiry as to whether we were interested in dessert. We said that we were interested in at least looking at the menu. She went away and returned a few minutes later with menus for us to peruse (what waitress wouldn't come with dessert menus at the ready when asking if we were interested?). I know they serve coffee with dessert, because I saw others drinking it. Our waitress didn't mention this option to us. Yes, I'm well aware that I could have asked for coffee. That's not the point. We felt as though, from the point at which we declared we weren't going to be drinking alcohol, our waitress pretty well wrote us off. Although we were there on a busy Saturday night, she didn't seem unusually slammed. And, I observed her providing good service to other tables (offering both pickled vegetables and bread! checking in with them after the entrees were served! you know, all those tricks of the trade for wait staff). The restaurant is certainly very inexpensive for the quality of the food. I'm wondering how long Michael can offer such great food at such low prices. (BTW, nobody has mentioned the grilled asparagus side (maybe it wasn't on the menu before?)--it's wonderful, I highly recommend it.) To be honest, however, I won't be running back. No matter what the price, I hate feeling as though I'm receiving second class service from a waitress because she's decided I'm cheap or I won't be a large bill or I don't-know-what. Of course, in the end, it turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy--we tipped 15% (which is cheap for us) on a low bill (I would have taken a refill on my cranberry and tonic, I probably would have ordered some coffee if she had mentioned it, there are a lot of niceties she decided to skip that would have made the bill higher). Again, I'm well aware I could have asked for these things. The overall vibe I received from the waitress was that she was pretty well uninterested in our table, which made me less inclined to ask for them and make a larger bill to tip on.

One thing that may help you find a recipe is if you spell it the proper way instead of the phoneticized way--zabaglione (yes, I'm well aware everybody spells it sabayon--that doesn't de facto make that spelling correct and I know I'm being pedantic). Marcella Hazan (in one of the Classic Italian Cooking books? Can't remember for sure) has a recipe for this. If you learn the 'classic' recipe (which includes marsala as the flavoring), and are a reasonable cook, you could probably intuit your way to a recipe for something similar to what you had at Eve. You could also consider just asking them if they'll give you their recipe.

Interesting. I think the biggest asshats are people who make sweeping generalizations about other people and their eating choices/preferences. Different strokes for different folks, huh? And, I guess I must have lost the part of where it says steak house in "Ray's the Classics"? Can we get a whole new thread started in which everybody shares their favorite stupid vegetarian story so that we can all feel good about the fact that we hate vegetarians and we'll ignore every other vegetarian we've ever known who wasn't, umm, what was that word, oh yeah, evil.

Generally, I haven't had a problem getting them to give the lower price either. That's not really my complaint. My complaint is that in general, there shouldn't be many discrepancies between scan and shelf price. Secondly, when there are, you would think somebody there would care to correct the problem. Nobody seems very concerned about that. So, in the end, you have false advertising--the price on the shelf isn't what you'll be charged by the cashier. Maybe it will only be a 20cent difference like what you had at the Giant. Maybe it will be a lot more. Who knows?

I'm with you on this, giant shrimp! The fact that the price that scans is the one that I "should be paying" doesn't make a difference to me--it's not the price that I looked at and assessed when I decided whether I would purchase the item. It's not the price at which they advertised the item.

I tried the SS Adis Ababa roughly 2 months ago. It was pleasant to sit outside and the prices were good. My bottom line in leaving the restaurant was that I would return, but I probably wouldn't run back and I have certainly had better vegetarian (the best being roughly 10 years ago in Chicago). I have the feeling (from talking with my meat-eating +1) that the meat dishes were better than the vegetarian. A couple of the veggie dishes were good, but a couple just weren't, and I simply don't remember which was which. I apologize for how painfully vague that is and fully recognize that this isn't super helpful--I'm trying to give you the gestalt view!

Wow, Xochitl10, that sounds amazing (and I share a love for McVittie's products, though have never enjoyed that specific one). Maybe roasting the banana's? Sorry, I think I'm responding to this more because I love chocolate and banana together, not because I have any good ideas.

Mmmm, totally agree with you on that. Their diet black cherry soda can best be compared to Diet Dr. Pepper from back in the day (cue music here and a soft fade in) when they still used saccharine. I don't drink diet sodas because I hate nutrasweet and I generally just think they taste like crappy chemicals. But Diet Black Cherry Soda is a thing of wonder. (And, to confuse the issue with a TJ's thread, it is the ONLY thing that makes me go to TJ's--that's the only place I can find this elixir of the gods.)

Funny, we recently (3 months ago?) bought a Bosch and we love it. Maybe it is 'cost engineered for the U.S. market' and it might not now how to speak German if it met one of its cousins on the streets of Munich, but it's quiet as a church mouse and gets dishes clean even if they go into the dishwaster dirty. Neither of these things could be said for my former piece of **** dishwasher. I'll admit that I didn't even look at the Mieles. That said, we used to have a Miele washer in a previous home and it was by far the best washer I've ever owned. Nothing has ever come close to getting my clothes as clean (not sure if that carries over to their dishwashers, but...).

Ahh, right. I guess if you saw my car you would understand why that interpretation didn't even occur to me!

Wow, it does seem hard to get that 3rd star. It read like a glowing review (very minor complaints) for 2.5. Shrug.

I thought (?) I read upthread that the valet parking was free.

Wow, that's funny. I like that. It reminds of the ads for Chef Boyardee pizza in which a family talks about how you can get the pizza with the toppings *you* like. I always wondered what pizza joint people ordered from where you had to accept the toppings they liked? I mean, sure, if you want corned beef hash on your pizza, you won't find it on most menus. But in general, my problem with pizza ordered for delivery isn't that I don't get the toppings I want.

Lonaconing Now *this* perks my ears up! An honest-to-god malt (vanilla ice cream, hand scooped, chocolate syrup, etc.) at an honest to god soda fountain is something I love. There was a real soda fountain (in the back of a locally-owned drug store, no less) where I went to high school and college and it's one of my fondest memories. Are the malts actually good (no, I don't mean made with 'premium' ice cream, just not pre-formed crap shipped from corporate)?