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dinoue

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  1. dinoue
    It's now reopened at the Kennedy St location. Ate there tonight and had a wonderful chorizo torta, which actually isn't on the menu as an option. Kids got their free plates of beans, rice and chicken. Got out with three adult entrees and three beers for $55 including tax/tip.
  2. dinoue
    Had a fantastic dinner tonight with group of 4 adults and our kids. Certainly a night of our eyes being bigger than our stomachs. Started with the hamachi tataki and two orders of the tako wasabi. Got the second order of tako because our son dropped his half of the takoyaki that comes on top. We've had both dishes before and were very nice. The fennel is especially refreshing to start the meal with. Next up were two orders of the ebi katsu. These were surprisingly large and the filling was especially creamy to the point that it oozes out when cut. I would have liked a little more firmness to the insides , or perhaps a spoon to better scoop it up as it spread out on the plate. Another option would be to do a few smaller ones on the plate. Also had the shawarma, which I actually didn't get a piece. Kids really liked this, and we also realized this and the pork jowl which was coming were the only red meat dishes on the menu. The pork jowl was a little tough, but very nicely spiced with the mapo seasoning. It was spicy, but not burn your mouth spicy. In addition to shitake, it also had eggplant, which I thought had replaced the shitake, but in discussing with my wife later, found that she, and others, must have eaten all the shitake and left just eggplant for me. We had a couple extra dishes, since my sister-in-law knew Chef Makoto from some private cooking work he had done previously. First was a sanma sashimi served on an oil puree of chive flowers. I had never had sanma sashimi, and it was exactly as you might imagine, incredibly oily and flavorful. The chives brought a nice balance to the oiliness and strong flavor of the fish. Second off-menu item was pan fried hamachi belly. Also nice and oily and a big hit with the kids. At this point we were realizing how much we had over ordered. For entrees, we had five entrees among us, the first five listed on the menu, except by this time the kids were already full from the appetizers. I think the theme that pervades all of the entrees is a prefect balance of flavors. As I think about it, the dinner reminds me of our meal at Le Bernardin as he really knows how to prepare fish and have sauces to complement the fish itself, and the preparation as well. Plus every dish was very different. There wasn't any sense of wishing we hadn't gotten something because it duplicated something else. That's also part of what made ordering so difficult, to choose which one we wanted. The Finnan Haddie was like a heartier version of the salmon dish that was on the summer menu with a richer and creamier soup base for the fish. Wish the scallops had a little bit more grits with them, but I was already stuffed at this point, so not sure if I could have even eaten them. The other thing to note is that the dishes all have a nice balance of vegetables on them. They're not just a garnish, but an integral part of the overall dish. In spite of how gluttonous we had been to this point, we still got dessert. The ice cream sandwich was a perfect use of spice with chocolate, again balanced just right between the flavors. The anmitsu was also very nice with a lot of different components to the dish. Our daughter's appetite suddenly came back to eat the mochi so I have no idea how those tasted. Total bill was $340 for all the food and a bottle of wine plus one additional glass.
  3. dinoue
    Had dinner tonight. Seems to be our go-to when family comes in to visit, probably due to the sharing nature of many of the dishes, though it seems as I look at other tables, a lot of people get their own and don't necessarily share. What a loss for them. Started off with the chef's board selection of cured meats. The ham was amazing with lots of nice fat interlaced with the meat. The assortment of salamis ,etc was very nice from a spicy chorizo to variety of salamis. Our son was in heaven. Entrees were pretty much what we always get, steak, fish and sausages. Fish was fantastic, and in what seems to be different from last time we had it a couple months ago, it is now prepared by stuffing with onions, hot peppers, and seasonings such as fennel seeds. The meat around the stuffed section has a great flavor to it. Steak was a little disappointing. A lot of gristle that I found myself picking out of my teeth this evening after getting home. Although it's described as being dry aged for 60 days, it doesn't seem to have the depth of flavor I would expect from that length of time of controlled rotting. There is also a LOT of fat, and not marbling, but solid fat. For $60, I expect a little more from my steak. I only actually ate one of the sausages, but the kids seemed to enjoy the bratwurst and merguez. The chorizo which I ate was very nice and not too spicy, but still couldn't convince the kids to try it. Sides were broccoli rabe, which I still insist is broccolini/baby broccoli, and not rabe. Was nicely charred and tasty. Whipped potatoes were OK, but a small portion and fires needed to be sent back because they came out cold. The strength continues to be the charcuterie which is consistently good to great. The fish is also stellar and with the modification on preparation now with the stuffing, even better. For the prices though, this continues to be an occasional place rather than a regular part of our rotation that I would like it to be. One other thing, no need to go for happy hour as prices are essentially the same on the happy hour menu as the regular prices. for example, empanadas on HH menu are $5 each. Regular menu is $10 for two.
  4. dinoue
    Tried this since Taqueria Distrito Federal seems to be closed and the kids really wanted Mexican. They just opened a few weeks ago and are still not on a fully regular schedule. It's a pretty limited menu with around 5 choices for tacos, same for burritos, and a few sides such as beans and rice as well as the chicken. We got two tacos (fish and al pastor), chips and salsa, a steak burrito and quesadilla. I had the steak burrito prepared al arriba, which means it is doused with salsa and guacamole. It had a nice taste, but not a lot of meat for the size. Felt like it was mostly rice and beans. Only tasted the taco al pastor which had an interesting juxtaposition of slight spice with something sweet as well, some sort of fruit I think. Kids' quesadilla was pretty standard fare, though they also forgot to prepare it so it came out quite a few minutes after everything else. Salsa was very good, though a little too salty for me. Generally the food was good, but at a cost. Our total bill was $41, then with tax and tip ended up being over $53. For a place that doesn't have alcohol and you order from a counter and then sit down, the prices are way too much IMO. My burrito alone was $15. They brought our food to us, but others they called out their numbers and were expected to come up to pick up their food. This really made me miss TDF already.
  5. dinoue
    Kennedy St. location has been closed for at least 2 weeks now. We have violin classes a block away and this was a popular stop afterwards. Sign in door says no electricity. I'm guessing due to unpaid bills. :-(
  6. dinoue
    I guess I never did a write up when we went here probably about 6 months ago. Have no recollection of what we got, but they had several monthly special dinners which we got a couple of and shared among the family. It was an incredibly good deal and not things we might have normally ordered so a nice way to force us into trying things different. A place we want to go back to, but it can be a pain to go out to Wheaton when we can also get pretty good Thai in downtown Silver Spring.
  7. dinoue
    We were up there for our annual pumpkin picking with the kids, only this time we were with another family so couldn't do our usual Volt brunch. Instead did The Wine Kitchen. For lunch they have an incredibly good deal of $23 for three courses, but don't know if they have anything comparable for dinner. Food was generally very good. Only disappointment was the fish which was a little dry and too many components. My shrimp and grits was very nice as was my wife's cheeseburger. I had a half dozen oysters for appetizer and wife got mussels which was a very generous portion. Also got the charcuterie plate for the kids. Would have been nice to get some more bread or something for spreading since it was heavy on pate and rillette. Desserts were good, but nothing particularly memorable. Not the greatest meal, but for $23, couldn't be beaten.
  8. dinoue
    Word on the neighborhood listserve is that it is open again.
  9. dinoue
    OK, tried it out for Silver Spring Restaurant week and it lived down to expectations, and worse. Food was best described by a friend we saw eating there at the same time, "A Latino version of TGI Fridays." RW deal was pretty good in that the paella was available for RW deal at same price as it goes a la carte.it is definitely NOT worth the $27 they normally charge. It is not paella for one thing. It is rice with seafood on top of it coated with some sort of sauce. As part of restaurant week we did three full meals for the family, one 2 course and the three course for the paella. For our appetizers we ordered calamari, empanada and ceviche. The calamari could have been any sort of fried item as it was covered with an awful sweet sauce. Felt like I was in an awful Chinese restaurant with the syrupy coating. For the first time ever, we left calamari on the plate. Our kids normally love it and will eat a whole plate on their own. Ceviche was OK, but interestingly had a LOT of juice on the plate, but no way to get any of it. They don't have spoons on the table. If you are going to put that much citrus juice in the dish, don't you want us to drink it with the fish/shrimp, etc? Finally, the empanada was straight forward cheese and spinach, again with a smack you in the face sauce. The one thing I haven't mentioned yet was the fact that it took 45 minutes for the appetizers to come to the table. The crowning moment of the ineptitude of the dinner was that within five minutes after the appetizers came, the entrees were delivered to the table, so we had six dishes on the table, all pretty much untouched. We didn't even think of sending the entrees back for fear it would be another 45 minutes before they came back out, or they might just take them back and put them under a heat lamp for us, though more likely they would have given them to another table. Already mentioned the paella, but the other entrees we got were the samba chicken and braised short rib arepa. The samba chicken was dry, because of course they expect you to smother it with the sauces that come with it. The short rib itself was actually pretty good, especially compared to the other entrees, but was on a mushy corn cake that our son actually spit out. I can usually convince him to swallow at least one bite of something he doesn't like, but he refused and I thought he was going to start crying unless I let him spit it out. We got one dessert and chose the milkshake which looked nothing like the beautiful picture on the viewfinder dessert menu when it came to the table. Tasted OK, but heavier on the milk than the ice cream. In speaking with our friends afterwards, they had similar experiences with the awful timing , wrong things being brought to their table, and generally long waits. Also not too impressed by the food. As we were driving to downtown Silver Spring, we passed Urban Butcher, which our son always refers to excitedly as the salami restaurant, and he wanted to go there that night as well. Would have been a much wiser choice.
  10. dinoue
    More coverage in Popville including pics from the site and links to webpages. "Metier and Kinship from Eric Ziebold Coming to 7th Street this Winter" on PoPville.com
  11. dinoue
    Ate at Sushi Capitol the other night and they said they were very close, but still awaiting some final details. Didn't elaborate on what those details were.
  12. dinoue
    Sister in law got a gift card for this place so we went the other night. Keeping in mind the adage "If you don't have anything nice to say..." The bathroom was clean and they had crayons for the kids. And they were ridiculously crowded.
  13. dinoue
    That "corn on the cob" is amazing. Another one that they did once was a "watermelon" made of fish roe. They also keep notes on guests so it is different every time you go. We've only been twice for the counter.
  14. dinoue
    Ate at the Baltimore location two weekends ago. Went in looking forward to a nice hearty simple meal after an afternoon on the historic ships tour at inner harbor. Some things were good, others pretty blah. Started on a bad note with the hostess exuding the attitude that she really didn't want to be there. As we were sitting down, my mother announced she needed to go to the restroom, while standing right next to the hostess who stood there with a blank look. My mother had to say excuse me to get her attention and ask where to go. It was not as if the hostess was being especially attentive to us sitting down either. Service in general was pretty spotty. They were incredibly good at refilling our water, which was appreciated after a hot afternoon, but incredibly bad at getting my coke and any subsequent refills. I went in to the meal with the intent of ordering the fired chicken, but the meatloaf sounded so much more appetizing, especially since in the past two weeks I had just eaten Bonchon and Jackie's fried chicken, though that was also part of the impetus to get the chicken, since the others were still so fresh in my mind. Ended up with the meatloaf which was disappointing. While I like the crusty outside that you get on meatloaf, theirs was like a meteor that had burned its exterior on re-entry. The crust was way too thick and overpowered the meatloaf and lacked the moistness that should counter that crust. The grits on my wife's shrimp and grits were probably the highlight of the entrees for me. Kids ate all the mac and cheese, so don't know how that was. We also started with two appetizers, the pot pie fritters and onion rings. The onion rings came out cold so we sent them back. The fritters were cold to the touch but the inside was hot so we were' OK with them. They were really nice and everyone liked them as an appetizer. Onion rings were also good, but obviously tainted by the initial cold serving. Dessert we split the PB&J cobbler. It was OK, but a little too sweet for me. Would have been nice if they just relied on the sweetness of the fruit without adding so much sugar, or perhaps the quality of the fruit they were using required the overdose of sugar. While it is a plausible choice for dining in inner harbor, as if I'd go to Hard Rock Cafe, there are so many better options in Baltimore, and even just a short walk off the harbor. Definitely need to work on the service issues too.
  15. dinoue
    Since Bombay Gaylord burned down, we have been frequenting Ghar e kebab more regularly for their lunch buffet and very happy with the change. The vegetable selection here is fantastic. Usually 3 or 4 unique vegetable dishes made with vegetables from their own farm. They actually have a small vegetable stand out front. Buffet featured zucchini, mushrooms, dal, saag, and potatoes. The saag here also can be greens other than spinach so more robust in flavor such as mustard greens one time. Other plus of this vs Gaylord is the naan is prepared fresh for the table and not one of the items on the buffet. Finally, they always have the rice pudding for dessert which is our son's fav. The only criticism I have is that they sometimes run out of items and it can take some time to replenish. They're also a couple dollars less than Bombay Gaylord was.
  16. dinoue
    Had a nice meal on Monday evening. Arrived at the peak of the rainstorms so we were hanging out in the garage waiting for it to subside when a couple of the cooks hanging out in the loading dock area saw us and waved us in through the kitchen which was very nice. Started with the fired pork belly which I love, as does our daughter who used to find the littlest amount of spice to be too spicy. Love watching the evolution of her palate. Nice large pieces of pork in this, larger than what we had in Williamsburg. Scallion bubble pancake was impressive to the kids but nothing spectacular for me. kind of like my memories of the greasy bread sticks that I used to get in Chicago chinatown, albeit a little lighter. Kids did really like this though, but who doesn't like bread? Also got the dan dan noodles when we ordered our entrees and it was nice though the noodles were a little stuck together until enough of the oil spread through the dish with mixing which tells me it was sitting for a while after being prepared. The eggplant and basil hotpot was really nicely flavored and was a huge serving. Seafood in stone pot was good with a lot of seafood, especially large fillets of fish and the curry was just right for our table with kids. Last dish was the wood ear mushrooms with snow peas which we got with beef. This was pretty standard beef with vegetable and brown sauce type of dish. It was good, but nothing really distinguishing other than the mushrooms. Washed it all down with tea and a nice bottle of German riesling. Overall a quality meal at a decent price for all the food we had and quantities. I do find that so many Chinese restaurants around here are geared to the diner who eats their own entree and doesn't share so portions tend to be smaller. Not so at Peter Chang's where they are clearly meant for the table to share.
  17. dinoue
    Went to Cleveland Park location last Monday and it was surprisingly busy so we were seated in the basement as well. Likewise, the bartender was the lone server which resulted in less than ideal service. Went for happy hour which is a pretty good deal with $11 mussels and half price wings, onion rings and fries. For mussels we got the alsatian, St Arnolds and paella. St Arnolds were definitely the best. Alsatian uses french fries for the potatoes which I find to be a little lazy, or just say that there will be french fries in the soup for the potatoes on the menu. It was also very light on the bacon this time. Last time at least there were nice large pieces in the pot. The broth on these is also a little think which gets pretty gross as it cools. Paella was nice with some other seafood mixed in and a little bit of rice. Our daughter picked this as her fav. I always like the St Arnolds with a nice broth that is perfect for dipping the bread. Other dishes were two orders of fries, rings and an order of wings. Fries and rings were great, wings were pretty awful. Wings consisted of several dried pieces which had chunks of meat missing as if they had been scraped from the bottom of the bag. Had a waffle for dessert which was OK, but not great. Happy hour beer options were very good and I had an Ommegang Abby ale. Generally, I would recommend this for if you can make it for happy hour, but not at the full prices.
  18. dinoue
    Exactly my thoughts upon looking at the menu. Basically a bunch of burgers with some fish and meat dishes with various salsa combinations. I was hoping for Topolobampo, or even Frontera, and we got Guy Fieri for Latino food.
  19. dinoue
    Japanese Whiskey Popup at Crane and Turtle sold out but will be available after the event for diners.
  20. dinoue
    Went with some friends for Monday night fried chicken for the first time. Apparently they had lost power the day before and the air conditioning was still not back a day later so it was a pretty hot night. They had called to warn us when I made the reservation, but this was our friends last time to eat there before moving out of the area so we stuck it out. Fried chicken is very good. Has a little bit of spiciness to it as well which I really liked, and our daughter was OK with it, but our son found it too much. He did like the tilapia which is also available as a replacement to the chicken. The coating on the chicken is perfect and I was eating all the bits that had fallen off into the bottom of the serving bowls. Frying was perfect as the meat was still juicy. Potato salad was pretty standard but the kale was absolutely fantastic. I think I ate almost all of one of the serving dishes of kale by myself.
  21. dinoue
    Hm, just wrote a follow up to another person who ate at Seki the same night last night, and we were at Crane and Turtle on Wednesday night as well. We were without kids on our way to a concert so enjoying a date night and went in with the plan to sit at the counter without reservations. Learned that they now take reservations for the counter, but since we assured them we would be out quickly to get to the concert, they let us in. Started with the Sea Trout Carpaccio which came with a generous serving of ikura and just all tasted great together. Wife asked for a spoon to finish off the avocadomo mousse and the waitress brought our bread out to scoop it up instead which was perfect. Next round I had the night special shawarma which I agree was great. Just the right size to satisfy and not be overwhelming as a meat appetizer. We did actually do a good job of sharing. Wife had the fluke which she absolutely loved, and did not do as good a job sharing. It was really good though with the crispy fried kataifi on the outside and fish on the inside. The carrot ginger oroshi added just the right blend of sweetness with the carrots and slight kick with the ginger to add to the mildness of the fluke. For entrees we had the salmon and the scallops. The broth the salmon came sitting in was fantastic and more the highlight of that dish than the salmon itself. Scallops came with a great assortment of mushrooms and asparagus with a nice sauce that all went well together. Finished with the Mt. Fuji since we were told it was going off menu in a few days. Nice thing about the counter of course is some interaction with the kitchen. They noted that we were some of the fastest eaters they had ever seen, to which we responded that when you have kids and often take them out you learn to eat fast. Plus I was just really hungry. Anyway, they actually remembered the last time we had eaten there with the kids. Always impressive when they can remember something from over 6 months ago, though I am guessing that not a lot of kids eat there. The other great thing to note was our bill for all that food, and just sake for my wife came out to $150 including tip. For the amount and quality of food we ordered, I thought it was a great value. Already talking about going back sometime soon with the kids again.
  22. dinoue
    Must have been Don Rockwell night at Seki. We were there as well, and apparently at the same table one after the other. Arrived pretty early in the evening and there was just one person at the counter, one of those times I wish we didn't have the kids with us. Arrived during happy hour so enjoyed the beer with tuna tataki and cauliflower to start. This has got to be one of the best happy hour deals in the city. Then came the continuous parade of food. Started with one of the specials, a cold squid salad which was really nice. Kids insisted it was too spicy which I could not detect at all. I think they call anything they don't like spicy because they know it will get them out of having to eat it. Next out was the fried baby octopus which they inhaled as did we so we ordered another one right away. Got an assortment of vegetable dishes, the spinach, beets, and cucumbers. Seasoning was a little light on the cucumbers. Matsu sashimi assortment included chu toro, hamachi, some sort of snapper I think, octopus, salmon, one amaebi and one oyster. All of it was fresh and delicious. Toro was perfect. Agedashi tofu was eaten by others at the table, mostly the kids. Finished off with the grilled fish, hamachi kama and saba. Daughter pretty much ate one of the two hamachi kama herself. Both were very good. Finished with dessert of mochi and yuzu sorbet.
  23. dinoue
    DC Shares specializes in receiving things like crutches and wheelchairs and other things for mobility impaired people. I don't think they have a website, but here's their Google page.
  24. dinoue
    Don't know where to post this, but this seems to be the best place. I have a box full of cooking and food magazines. Before posting to Freecycle, wanted to see if anyone here on DR.com wanted them. I think it includes Gourmet, Bon Apetit, Saveur, Cooks Illustrated and maybe a few others. Personal message me if interested as I don't always check the page and I'll get a notification that way on my regular email.
  25. dinoue
    Tried it out last night for first time. Got two dozen dumplings, dragon which are seafood and pig, which obviously are pork. Wrappers were a little thick for my taste, but OK. What I did not like was that they were hot for the first one, but cooled very quickly after coming to the table. They are just served on a plain plate so I wonder if they are steaming them or just nuking them in the microwave. They came out pretty quickly for being steamed on order so they may have them pre-cooked and just reheat. Noodle dishes were the special pork belly ramen and pai gow. The $16 price tag on the ramen became apparent when the bowl came out with 7 pieces of pork belly, a little overkill in my opinion, though perfect since we were sharing. Soup was OK, though somewhat skimpy in amount. Where it fell short was the noodles, though they were good, clearly fresh made, they weren't quite ramen noodles. Texture was just a little off and I can't quite place it. Pai gow noodles were almost cold when they came, which is not so good when they are swimming in chili oil. The noodles themselves were very good. Again like the ramen, clearly fresh noodles, not dried packaged, just wish they were a little warmer. Gave me the impression they had been sitting waiting for the ramen to get done, as the ramen was nice and hot. Everything we ate was pretty good, but not fantastic, nor good enough considering the price tag. Kitchen and service need to work on coordination to make sure food is hot, and remains hot. Probably will not be going back unless we really have a craving for noodles or dumplings and unwilling to go to Rockville.
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