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astrid

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Everything posted by astrid

  1. +1 reminded me of Northside Social, which is quick and hip. Mala Tang isn't quick serve and I don't have recent experience, but they have some interesting twists on Sichuanese small plates and hotpots. You probably noticed the Pete's next to Four Sisters Grill, we always liked the New Haven there. We prefer Super Pollo for better sides and spicing, but El Pollo Rico is hard to beat for juiciness and freshness (because they have insane turnover) if you are okay with just chicken and fries. Also, Larry's ice cream.
  2. In addition to my list above. I would say Cava has a really excellent happy hour. You do need to get there by 530 and ideally 5 to get a seat. Rus Uz is quite good but slower service. I think they do half price wine bottles on Mondays. The pirozhki and chebureki are particularly good.
  3. Trader Joe's at Foggy Buttom. Right now, with or without truffles.
  4. This review for 31,500 servings of food (enough for 4 people for 1 year), listed on the Costco.com website, will probably always be my favorite. I assume it was a joke but you never know. Jokes about preparing for crisis du jour (Ebola? Zombie Apocolyse? 6" of snow?) aside, Shelf Reliance is actually a pretty good product at a decent price. I've bought their freeze dried fruit assortments and they're a good deal. ★★★★★★★★★★5 out of 5 stars. Phoenix999 · 2 years ago Get a smaller supply if you live in a 1 br apt Whet this first arrived I wondered how I'd fit all this food in my Apartment but after getting rid of the couch and coffee table in the living room and swap a double bed for a single bed I was able to store all the food. I was unhappy that the fruit drinks only last 3 years as I live alone and that means this is a 4 year supply of food but if you use the fruit drink mix as sugar then you'll use it up. My advice though is don't get this if you live in a bachelor apartment and if you live in a 1 bedroom then only buy 1 of these at a time, I usually like to order 2 of everything I buy but I'm glad I only ordered 1. + Pros: lots of variety - Cons: takes up a huge amount of space ✔ Yes, I recommend this product.
  5. I've always supported their "no reservation" policy. It makes a lot of business sense and it actually helps them serve more customers than would actually be the case. It's also not at all unusual "“ ramen places and food trucks don't have reservation and waits can be quite long, but I've never heard people complain about those. I feel like it's a very small vocal minority who are taking offense at a restaurant that they want to eat that don't fully cater to their desired experience, as opposed to amicably write off that restaurant for being a bad fit for them. I'm more just surprised at the continued critical praise heaped on Rose's Luxury. I felt it opened very strong but haven't been impressed by my more recent visits. There were a couple dishes that just didn't work and most dishes were kinda pricy (even for DC) for what I was getting. I feel that it's been surpassed by several places that opened more recently including Thip Khao, Crane & Turtle, and Convivial, as well as longer standing places such as Fiola, Little Serow, Rasika, Osteria Morini, and Restaurant at Patowmack Farm. I've been hesitant to write about those experiences because people seem so adamant about their great experiences here that I wonder if it's just me. So my observation wasn't really a dig against Aaron Silverman, who seems to be a great guy running a good restaurant the right way and who deserves every success (albeit with no more contribution from me unless I see a menu that reads a lot better). More as a dig against the (paid) critics who praise it to the sky and overlook the missteps that I've observed here.
  6. I dunno. Eating dinner at Convivial right now. I think it has Rose's (at least the Rose's of my last two visits) bested on all three counts. (Okay, maybe not FUN but the food is GOOD.)
  7. Now that I've eaten most of my chocolates (damn, should have bought more), I will say: 1) I liked Patrick Roger's chocolates the best 2) Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse's dark chocolate bars remind me a lot of Valrhona, which is unfortunately a little too acidic for my taste 3) Does anyone else notice how chocolate pieces sold in the US are ginormous? Why can't they be smaller? I was picking through a box of Kirkland brand Luxury Belgium (cough Neuhaus cough) sampler, and it was kind of a chore to eat the big pieces. 4) Conversely, since Parisian chocolate shops sell smaller chocolates and they're sold by the Kg, does that mean they're really not *that much more* expensive than US chocolates? (DAMN, SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT MOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRR!!!)
  8. (Is the *Rose's Luxury isn't all that great for reasons having nothing to do with inability to make reservations* backlash in full swing now?)
  9. A lot of these lost stories sounds more like a local took you under their wing and you had a great time. I'm not sure that's what I think of as getting lost. More like signing onto a guided trip and then having a really awesome time, which I'm totally down with. For me, lost is going blind into a situation with no more than a map and trust that things will work out. We've done a few driving trip out west with very vague plans and they have worked out pretty well, but we also missed major landmarks that we would have wanted to see if we had known about them (like the time when we flew out of Page AZ and the BLM information desk lady didn't tell us about Antelope Canyon or Rainbow Bridge, so we didn't get to see them). After a few of those trips, it just made more sense to me to do more planning ahead to make sure that I didn't miss something I really would have wanted to see, knowing that it'll be many years before I can justify another trip to cover the same grounds. In any case, I don't think spontaneous travel experiences must be separated from trip planning. In fact, good planning allows for vagaries of weather, surprises pleasant and unpleasant, and information gathered once on the ground. For me, I read the guidebooks and websites to make a potential list of must-dos and maybes, book things that make sense to book ahead (high demand restaurants, guided tours, hotels, car rental), and then leave enough time on the schedule to accommodate other activities. Sometimes, something comes up that sounds good and we'll follow that. But many of my best travel experiences would have been impossible without meticulous planning ahead.
  10. Yeah, I forgot that the fried chicken is dry. We usually zero in on the wings, which are very good and a good deal.
  11. Are their chicken particularly cumin-y? I haven't really noticed, it seems to me more dominated by lemon-y notes. But we love cumin so more the merrier. In any case, must have been a big game because the staff there have always been pleasant to us and we only tip 50% of the time. I wouldn't assign malice to the old yuca. They should have dumped the pan out but since they didn't, most restaurants will practice FIFO unless you insist on getting the fresher stuff. If you don't particularly like the spicing there anyways and are okay with very limited sides options, El Pollo Rico is a better bet. They have so much turnover that you're pretty much guaranteed to have fresh out of roaster/fryer food. (Unless they're also onboard with the *Don Rockwell Diet*.) Their chicken is less flavorful and skin is less good, but very juicy and always fresh out of the rotisserie.
  12. Nah, you just sinned in this life by not going to Four Sisters Grill nearby and ordering their excellent spring rolls. Or Green Pig Bistro, which was really solid on my recent visit there. Or Super Pollo, which is much better than El Pollo Rico. Or Pepita, which has pretty good made to order tacos at a not-entirely-crazy price. Or even Clarendon Whole Foods' takeout stand, which has inedible rotisserie chicken but pretty good everything else. --- Dining at Whole Foods (cheezepowder)
  13. For the Nice to Lourdes leg of our 2 week European trip, we relied on TripAdvisor and the fork to guide us through Provence (I am using the term broadly). My dine list from favorite to least favorite, though really all the meals were pretty good. Brasserie Bodegon in Lourdes - huge portions, generous use of good ingredients, everything we got (which was a waiter and chef impressing amount) was delicious. They have a big menu and we wish we could have tried more of it. The plush luxe decor was nice(if not what vacationing Americans are likely seeking in a provincial French restaurant) and service were also very good. La Roulotte in Carcassonne - the chef likes to play with some north African flavors and he does very well by them. Probably our favorite foie gras of the trip. The atmosphere is perfect, it's a tiny little place with mementos of the town and the chef's collection of cookbooks and gourmet magazines, a couple local families chatting up the chef and his wife, who ran the front of the house. Although Bodegon is my personal favorite, I think La Roulotte would be my top recommendation off this list, it's would take a stony heart to not fall for this place. Cafe Llorca near Cannes - its right off of the town square and Google directions were a bit hazy. Once we are there, everything was great. The food here is deeply flavorful, seemed like time tested recipes even though it bills itself as a modern restaurant. The service was pleasant and efficient. Le QG in Arles - nice enough food and good service, though definitely not at the level of the restaurants above. All the food was a little too sweet and tasted just competently prepared, a big step down from the 3 above. The atmosphere is kitschy but fun. Service was good. Tea Room at Villa Epirussi de Rothschild - well worth sticking around for lunch here, especially as the prices are fairly low and the food is quite good considering the setting. The view out is wonderful, just like they are at every corner of this beautiful and romantic garden. El primo/ La Chimere in Aix - they have the same owner and we are at both as part of our progressive dinner. The portions are generous and service good enough, the food is a bit hit and miss, though even the misses were tasty enough (chewy duck, charcouterie plate dominated by giant slices ham, greasy clams). It was Monday night and there weren't a lot of other choices. You can probably do much better on a different night or with more planning.
  14. On our recent trip, which included a leg through San Sebastian and Bilbao, we ate at Etxebarri and 3 Michelin 3-stars (Arzak was on vacation). Also at a handful of pintxo bars (though far too many were closed because November is vacation month for the vacation town of San Sebastian) and made a stop by the 2 markets. My favorites, by a very far margin, are Etxebarri and Restaurant Martin Berasategui. Etxebarri is dreamy - the ingredients were pristine and the grilling/smoking brought out the essence of each ingredient. Every course was a concentrated lesson on the deliciousness of X ingredient, it was just awesome. If you have the chance to go here, I highly highly recommend it. If you're in San Sebastian, rent a car for the day and drive to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim (it will only take 2-3 hours even you look carefully at everything) and then have lunch here. The dining room is very cozy and the service was very warm. Restaurant Martin Berasategui was equally dreamy - the dining room setting is generically pleasant, like a well appointed country club dining room. That just helps to focus on the delicious food. Each dish we had was delicious and unique. The flavors in each dish worked really well together, so that each bite was different but worked in harmony. A lot of modern gastronomy techniques were used but they were not the focus and they were not distracting, they just worked within the dish to make it look and taste really really good. The service here was also really warm and attentive. Azurmendi in Bilbao had a lot going for it. Firstly, you're getting a lot for your money. The pre-meal nibbles course involved a member of the kitchen staff taking you through their greenhouse facility and feeding you perhaps 10 different bites in context of where they are grown. Then more nibbles are served in "picnic" style and you get a look at the pristine kitchen before being led to the dining room. After that, there are maybe 12 formal courses for various tastes, each are quite elaborate and interesting, and a lot of fun to eat. All this is happening in a very sleek modern dining room with presumably very beautiful views during daytime. Where the meal fell a little short for me was that I found many of the courses interesting rather than utterly delicious. It almost seems unfair to judge a restaurant on that criteria considering the hard work and thinking that went into each dish, but there were a few courses where I took a bit or two and just lost interest, and handed it over to +1 to finish. It may just be a matter of personal taste. I will say that the experience did feel worth the money (as much as $200 per person before wine meals can ever be said to be worth the money) and was unique and very good in every way. We had a dinner at Gandaria Taberna and it was pretty good. Very generous portions. Well prepared and delicious grilled meats. Efficient and pleasant service. We did a bit of pintxo bar hopping, though not as much as we hoped because many bars were closed on Sunday/Monday/November. We definitely liked La Cuchara de San Telmo the best of all - really delicious and well prepared. All the pintxos were tasty though and the inexpensive and generous pours of txakoli that I had at every bar certainly didn't hurt. The fish shops were not open at all on Monday, when we visited the market. We also found that at least on Monday, a lot of shops will be closed during the day but open when we revisited around 8 PM. The displays were beautiful and I'm so glad that we stopped by and bought some delicious delicious Iberico ham. And then there was... Akelarre was terrible and a ripoff. +1 said that he didn't think his menu fell to the level of terrible, but also thought that some dishes were meh and even the less meh (gimmes such as steak tartare and foie gras and calamari risotto) dishes were not memorable or interesting. I ordered the seafood focused menu and can honestly say that it was the worst fine dining experience I had this year (I did have a great eating year, but still!). The food was cooked properly and the textures were correct, but the savories tasted overpowering of salt and not much else and the sweets were equally one dimensional -the orange chocolate dessert was far too sweet and dominated by the taste of the bitter orange rind, the broken milk bottle dessert tasted like meh yogurt on meh fruits and I could concoct something far tastier in 2 minutes using Trader Joe's Greek style yogurt. The concepts around each dish did nothing to serve the actual taste of the dish, they were just shallow gimmicks. The service was also extremely sloppy, silverware practically tossed onto the table with no care for placement, they took our paid-for bottled water before the start of the dessert course and then just let our water glass site nearly empty. This was tied with Azurmendi for being the second most expensive meal on our 2-week trip and I had no idea where the money went. The ingredients didn't seem super-fresh or pristine (not that you could taste them well under all that salt), no generous use of costly ingredients, and the preps didn't see anywhere as elaborate or time intensive as what I saw as Azurmendi or Restaurant Martin Berasategui. What I ate at pintxo bars were more appealing and far tastier. I've seen other people online praise the awful dishes that we had and I cannot fathom how - this meal was so far from the vast majority of our fine dining experiences that I don't think it's me. But how can this naked emperor continue to garner so much praise for itself?
  15. Yes, of course all the planning should be in support of the experience, but should not dictate the actual experience. Checklist tourism and "picture of me in front of x" tourism are rampant amongst my Chinese associates, so I am very wary of that problem.
  16. DC has some fine walks (though i think the tidal basin is a far more distinctive walk than Great Falls) and some fine buildings, but the scale and level of detail in Paris puts it on another ball park. DC has some beautiful small things and some large scale stuff, Paris has many landmarks that have both. I don't think much of the Eiffel Tower though. It's the first of a race of tall landmark buildings that I have never found to be visually appealing in any city that I visited. There is so much beauty in Paris and I really think Eiffel tower is about the least of it. I also think that in the age of internet rating sites, the best restaurants will be found out, by tourists and people from other parts of the city. And often times the locals don't prove to be that reliable because they care about things that I do not or simply because most people, everywhere, are okay with mediocrity if it's a known quantity that they comfortable with. I have a pretty long wish list and a far smaller amount of money and vacation time that I can put on into experiencing them, so my approach is to do as much thorough research as possible to make up my mind. Even the more spontaneous meals in south of France were mediated by TripAdvisor cross referenced to thefork.com, followed by a personal inspection of the menus of the few likely candidates. Critics (plural) can be wrong, as shown by that dreadful Akelarre experience, but their feedback can still provide an extra margin of safety.
  17. Here's my roundup for the Paris portion of my trip. More extensive discussions including long time user's recommendations for European cities to visit and getting into exclusive Tuscan wineries here. Ranked from most favorite to least favorite. Restaurants Restaurant David Toutain "“ I like RDT and Sola both very much. Sola is more zen and RDT is a bit more playful and seasonally focused. What really puts RDT over the top for me is their salty sweet creamy butter. It's amazing and they will give you a second helping if you look sufficiently bereft at the empty butter plate halfway through dinner. The 105 euro meal itself is a thoughtful seasonal progression of nibbles, 4 or 5 fish courses, a meat course, a palate cleansing course, 2 desserts, and a few finishing snacks. Sola "“ the 98 euro menu is very similarly structured to RDT. A progression of nibbles, a number of delicious fish dishes, a meat course (some people got duck and others got chicken on our night, just luck of the draw), palate cleanser, 2 desserts, and final sweet nibbles. Again, a restaurant that seems to pull out the soul of its very fine ingredients and present it in front of you in a beautifully constructed dish. Both RDT and Sola would be definite books for any future trips for Paris for me. Le Cinq "“ the 145 euro lunch splurge and surprisingly, it didn't feel like a ripoff at all. We got nearly 20 tastes, including some great nibbles before appetizers and with the palate cleanser course. The appetizers, mains, and desserts were perfectly executed and had a nice creative flair, but were a bit dull compared to their nibbles or the dishes at RDT/Sola. Their bread and butter are awesome, the butter is as good as RDT's version and they give you a gigantic mound of it and then keep offering more warm delicious bread. The take home caramels are delicious too. It's really worth going for the luxury experience. The service was superb, Parisbymouth described it as formal but it didn't feel stuffy at all. Even though we were taking the cheapest route through this dining room, they treated us very kindly and attentively and with just enough presentation to impress. The dining room is exquisite, small enough for me to take in all the delicate detailing on the walls, spacious enough so that we're well clear of neighboring tables. We definitely got the pampering 3-star treatment (even though it's still a 2 star Michelin at this time) that I was hoping for. Not sure if we'd come back here, but definitely worth doing once. Clamato "“ a seafood focused no reservations wine bar, which shares a wall and owners with Septime. The dishes here are all wonderful, well prepared pristine ingredients and great flavor/texture combinations. The space is nice too, comfortable and cleanly laid out, not insanely loud. I would say this is another definite revisit for future trips. The food prices are relatively low, especially for the extremely high quality and generous portions. However, there is no wine by the glass option, you have to buy a bottle at a time. This is +1's top restaurant for Paris. Septime "“ one of the hardest tables to book in Paris, a matter of continuous checking on thefork.com for a table to open up. They have a 30 euro lunch that is a very good deal, or 60 euro 6 course tasting menu for lunch or dinner. Nice comfortable space and very pleasant service. The food is wonderfully prepared but didn't necessarily work as well as a tasting menu, compared to RDT or Sola. The most of the courses were "plat" sized and in presentation, and I miss the smaller nibbles that offered more interesting tastes. The caramelized apple dessert we had was incredible "“ perfectly cooked caramel to set off the apples and cream, just a perfect realization of the season. Frenchie - Frenchie was a little more modern than Septime and plated with more flair, but also suffered from too many "plat" size and presented courses and the lack of extra nibbles for variations. The food was again wonderfully prepared. If picking between Frenchie or Septime "“ I'd go with Septime because the space feels more Parisian and more dishes really wowed me, as opposed to just being very very good. Verjus "“ 68 euro tasting course is quite good, but has a few rough edges whereas the restaurants above had none. For example, there was an apple dessert that sounded a lot like the Septime apple dessert on paper, but it felt flat and thin compared to the deep richness of the Septime dessert. The dishes were all quite nice and definitely used top notch ingredients, and everything was quite tasty. However, the flavors didn't come together quite right. Au Passage "“ very good and inexpensive, but this is bistro fare. Very very good bistro fare in a properly atmospheric space, with nice service, etc etc. But it also felt like something you can get pretty easily in America. Depending on what you're looking for, this could be perfect and a #1 pick for Paris. Le Clos Y "“ this was the only letdown in Paris restaurants (also the only time I strayed from Parisbymouth's best of list). A very elegant and clever meal, with a sleek minimalist dining room and good wait staff. But the food, while elegantly prepared, just didn't taste delicious enough. The exception was the beef in the meat course "“ I would definitely want to eat a lot more of that if I could. Other food outlets Pierre Herme "“ the macarons pack a lot of flavor. I think the bigger size pastries might be even better. The fruit pates sold here are also quite good. Eclaire de Genie "“ gorgeous, each giving 5 or 6 perfect bites. Chocolate shops "“ this will have to be a different review, as I slowly work my way through the boxes. The shopping experience is pretty awesome though and they all have gorgeous boxes and bags for packing your treasures. Yam'Tcha tea salon "“ 16 euros and 5 minutes will get you the tasty 5 bao sampler. They're probably as good as baos can get. CDG Duty Free "“ prices are higher than outside but not outrageously so. The quality and selection is pretty decent. You can concoct a pretty decent meal for your flight by checking out some of the refrigerated cases. But the person next to you on the flight may hate you and your stinky cheeses. Poilane "“ I have known about their famous miche for about 10 years and was very excited to try it. I find it to be a fine bread, but hardly worth lugging back to the US. I think some artisan bakeries in the US make better loafs, High Street on Market in Philly, in particular, makes an amazing rustic loaf. Laudree "“ too sweet and lacks the flavor intensity of Pierre Herme's offerings. It's better than Trade Joe's frozen macarons and leagues better than anything else I've found in the US (but Foi Epi in Victoria BC makes a much better macaron, as it does with most things "“ hmm, maybe I should derail this recap by bursting into song about the awesomeness of Fol Epi). But considering the price and the local competition, give it a miss unless you like your sweets very sweet.
  18. Don's new tagline notwithstanding, I think Parisbymouth is far superior to Michelin for Paris. If Meg Zimbeck could attract funding to expand to other cities, her formula deserves to become a smashing success. The recommendation lists are practically organized based on the user's needs (need to eat on Monday; want to eat at a not awful restaurant near the Louvre; where to buy that 3 kg box of chocolate?) and organized by location. Each restaurant listing actually comes with important stuff like hours, price for lunch and dinner, what you're actually getting there in plain and easy to understand language, and when you need to book ahead. RWBoone Jr.'s DCDiningGuide.com is doing something very similar, but the new user learning curve is faster with Parisbymouth and it's easier to get an at-a-glance idea of what's good and worth further investigation. Although Parisbymouth requires a heavier editorial hand to keep the information current (there were a few instances where something was an "absolute favorite" on one list but not another), it's just a fantastic resource. Next time that I'm in Paris, I am definitely going to do a food tour with them, both to show support and because I suspect that it'll be a really great experience.
  19. Well, hope it works out. Osteria is one of my favorite restaurants in Philly. It's much more accessible and in my opinion, much better, than Vetri.
  20. This is why I travel during shoulder periods. I can deal with a little cold and wet easily, I can't deal with the enormous throngs of people or the everything is overbooked situations. Plus with all the weird weather nowadays, you really don't know when the weather will be good "“ so at least travelling during shoulder times guarantees smaller crowds. We only visited the Louvre and Versailles around Paris. There was a little bit of construction in the "Marie Antoinette alcove" of Versailles but otherwise no construction activities. The Louvre does close off a portion of its collection on alternate days, so if you want to see everything there, buy a multi-day museum pass and see it over two days. Seeing the Louvre over two days will also help your sanity "“ it's just so HUUUUUUGE and overwhelming for an one-day visit. We did see it in one-day by skipping lunch (this was the day we ate two tasting menu dinners, at Verjus and Frenchie), it was a blur and I have hundreds of blurry camera pictures to prove to me that it wasn't just a fever dream of ancient Near East sculptures, Grecian urns, and endless galleries of giant paintings.
  21. More rambling thoughts on France. Poliane's miche is good, but the rustic breads at High Street on Market in philly are much better in my estimation. PAUL bakeries are ubiquitous everywhere, I would almost say the Starbucks of France but Starbucks spaces their franchises out more. Yuck because I dislike Paul and hope it's not sucking all the oxygen out of that retail space. The CDG duty Free had 30% of on all their canned foie gras if you buy 3 tins ( mix or match), so I bought some in the name of experimentation. The prices are not terrible, though definitely a bit higher than outside retail shops. Everyone in France evidently believes that illness comes from exposed necks. Almost all women and many men wore scarves, even on rather warm days. Everyone else also dressed much more warmly than we did. Boots, either full length or ankle length, also seem de rigueur for the women. Jeans and tights are quite popular for women. Other than Le Cinq, the restaurants didn't have problems with button down shirts and jeans.
  22. My tastes and opinions are what they are, but yes, I might politely sit and admire the arrangement and performance but not be moved by it. I don't care for rachmaninoff and other classical composers working in the heroic mode. I prefer compositions composed for dancing, opera, choral, etc. They are more melodic and enjoyable for me.
  23. The rope is still there. Perfect distance for people to pose for a picture with le selfie stick. I say this as someone with a reasonable amount of artistic training and basic skills...I don't find paintings to be very compelling as a medium, since they have been superseded by photography and videography. So I am not bothered by presence or lack of "artistic experience". The paintings and sculptures are more interesting to me as artifacts of how long dead people (and their current caretakers) viewed their world and place in the world. I view them as collections, situated in their particular place. If I just wanted to see a picture, I can go on the internet and contemplate at my leisure. But I would prefer to read a book or watch TV or listen to a pop song instead.
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