collije

About 90% certain I'm in Dean.

I'll add another postive experience here. My group has a very nice meal here back in January. The Sous Chef was in charge of the kitchen at the time [still a transition of Executive Chefs, until Russell Cunningham came onboard] & frankly we were quite pleased with the meals [talented guy, still there I believe]. Service was a still a work-in-progress at that time [has been an Achilles heal for Agraria in the past], but it didn't hinder the event much at all [just the Event Organizers really noticed and managed] I'm looking forward to trying Chef Cunningham's food [maybe this Friday]

Been compiling a list of Restaurants that will extend the RW deal. Hopefully what I've captured is accurate [plz let me know & I can update it]: 1 week Jaleos (all locations) - 8/24 Cafe Atlantico - 8/24 CoCo. Sala [short one - 8/20] Rasika [slightly short - 8/23] Mie n Yu - 8/24 Indebleu - 8/24 Le Bergerie - 8/24 Oyamel - 8/24 Teatro Goldoni [short one - 8/19] Willow [slightly short - 8/23] Zaytinya - 8/24 Zengo - 8/24 701 - 8/24 2 weeks Dino - 8/31 PS 7's [slightly short - 8/30] Il Mulino - 8/31 Beacon Bar and Grill - 8/31 POSH [slightly short - 8/30] Tabaq Bistro - 8/31 Very Long Extension Farrah Olivia - 8/1 through 9/22

Got that right. Congrats Brendan! Looking forward to eating there once you take over the reigns.

I don't remember anything grabbing my attention in particular. Some IPAs, lagers, etc. [think they focused on small breweries]. I ended up choosing MagicHat #9 [bottle] to wrap-up the meal.

Dunno if you were spotted Rocks, but I can attest that I received similar enthusiastic, friendly service at the bar area. And thinking about it further bottles are the way to go if prices stay consistent to what they're going for now. [just used to Sonoma pricing I suppose since I'm often in the Eastern Market area]. Psst, at least give me something like Delirium Tremens on the beer menu [or some sort of tripels / dubbels like a Chimay on tap!]

I tried to eat there today & the lines were 30 feet out of the door by the street intersection. Stayed pretty consistent, about the same length at Noon and when I looked at 1 p.m. Meh, maybe it's a Saturday or late afternoon attempt for me sometime.

No such request last night on the menu about not postings experiences [maybe that's changed?]

Hmmmmm, Pork Belly. Got rejigger my schedule around, hope I can make this one!

Had an excuse to checkout Redwood for dinner while it's Restaurant Week [RW] in Bethesda [still a limited menu during this soft launch] Nice-looking space. Very long [nice-sized bar area w/ plenty of seats for noshing & chatting, and the main dining area is separated by the Hosts stand when you 1st walk-in] Since it was RW, seems that they had full reservations for the dining room. No matter. Since it was pretty early in the evening [5-ish], they agreed to let the girlfriend & I order off the main menu while seated in the Bar area. [not their normal course of action it seems, the Host had to let the Bartenders know we had "permission" to order for the menu]. Redwood's proclaimed mission "Bring customers a seasonal menu, rooted in American tradition, that showcases the Mid-Atlantic's ingredients. Our produce is organic or sustainable whenever possible; our meats are naturally-raised; our seafood wild or sustainable/ We support local artisanal cheesemakers,growers, ranchers, fisherman, and encourage you to do the same by buying local at your farmer's market or grocer." Whew, that was a mouthful to read off the menu The RW Deal was 9 choices for Starters, 11 choices for Mains [2 of which were entrees for 2: whole roasted rockfish & a smoked beef short ribs], and about 5 for Dessert. Some items has upcharges. Food was quite good, as I'd expect from the owners of Sonoma & Mendocino Grille. We 1st ordered a small cheese platter [extra from the RW deal, heh when in Rome...]. It was nicely presented, the cheeses were fine [Goat, Blue, & a Hard Cow], but what we definitely liked were the accompaniments of actual honeycomb & some sort of apricot spread [although covered with some seeds of a sort, changed the flavor substantially, sorry forgot to ask what it was]. For our Starters, we had Bison Marrow Bones w/ a Mushroom-Berg crust [yum] but the winner for this course was Iron Skillet Mussels in a wonderful Garlic-Parsley Butter sauce. For our Mains, we tried a Quail w/ Spice Glaze, Braised Kale and Figs [good flavor, sorta wierd presentation to us], and a Pork Loin w/ Grits and Melted Vidalia Onions [juicy & flavorful, loved it]. As for Dessert, we tried their version of Central's Kit-Kat bar [nice peanut butter ice cream & tasty chocolate cake, I'd get this again]. As for the wine & drink menu, their by-the-glass wines seemed fine enough but started around $8 [Malbec] but most were in the $10 - 15 range [a little pricy imo, but this is Bethesda & they spent some coin on the place]. Tried their Redwood cocktail, Ok but didn't particularly impress me. Oh, and a decent selection of Draft & Bottle beers [nothing too crazy, I wish they'd put some of Belgians on the menu!] Service was good in the bar area, they checked on us just the right amount. As others said above, this is quite promising place, can't wait for full menus to be available and for them to get the kinks out.

Pssst, reminder that it's Bethesda's Restaurant Week right now [through August 3rd]. Had a nice smaller event with 6 other folks there. Haven't been back since the remodel, but the space does look good [got a glimpse of the private dining space too]. Can be pretty chatty noise-wise the closer you sit to the front windows/bar area, so if you can snag a table closer to the kitchen that's recommended. Got to see Rocks dining there last night as well. All of us took advantage of the RW deal. About 8 options for the Starters, Salads, & Mains courses, and about 5 for Dessert [some Mains had upcharges]. Everyone loved their meals, and those that chose wine-paired meals were quite impressed with how well they actually paired. In particular, things particularly well-received on the Starters/Salads were the Braised Beef Short Ribs, Fricassee of Wild Mushrooms, and the Fresh Spinach Salad, Bacon, Mustard Vinaigrette, Mac ‘n Cheese Croutons. For the Mains, the Grilled Monkfish, Roasted Elysian Fields Lamb Loin, and the Pan-Roasted Chicken. And for the Desserts the Trio of Sorbets: Raspberry, Pineapple & Mango and the Dulce De Leche Cheesecake, Caramelized Pineapple, Macadamia Nut Brittle [note to Rocks, both the Chicken & Cheesecake recommendations were great, thanks!] were excellent. There's a Consultant currently that's helping Grapeseed with designing their dessert menu [can't remember who it is currently, past experience w/ helping Jeff Tunks's establishments if I remember right], very nice job. Desserts in the past were always nice, but I'm much looking forward to seeing how the Dessert Menu will evolve over time. Overall, an excellent meal & lots of folks [many were 1st timers] that came to my event loved it. Chef Jeff Heineman is still producing good food in the kitchen.

PS 7's will offer a full menu as well I believe.

Sorry for finally getting around to replying. Fantastic meal, gotta agree with what's being said above! An excellent combination of food, wine, service and excellent dining companions. Happy to meet more of the members & catch-up with some I haven't seen in ages. Thanks to everyone who made this happen [particularly to Walrus & Don!].

It's definitely $35.08 for dinner. Confirmed that last night when calling a few places. [was told that the restaurant associated decided to increase it only for dinner, given the rising cost of ingredients the past 6 months]

Belated congrats to both you & Kay!

Ooooh... As a original Philadelphian, that looks so yummy. Me gots to make a mental note to stop by there in the next few weeks! Good pics!

Yah, what treznor said above. Just got back from a week in Newport RI [wedding], I was seafood-mode all week. The week prior in Montreal [JazzFest]. Man ... a food-orgy for me lately [and the expanding of the waistline to boot!] Might try the Diablo burger sometime this week, else build it custom [wanna try some of the more-fancy cheeses and the dill pickle-chips].

Ate at Ray's Burgers yesterday [1st chance to be down in that area]. The place was packed last night when I got there, so I had some time to watch Michael do another round of prepping new batches of ground meat. Oh the meat looked fantastic. Appreciated that those prepping patties to cook were gently handling the meat & not compressing too hard [just enough to form an initial ball & then into a patty]. That's how you make a burger! Quite tasty, a high-quality huge 10-oz. [!] burger. I had one of the pre-formatted burgers, the one w/ black peppercorn crust, cognac/brandy sauteed mushrooms, sauteed red onions & aged blue cheese crumbles B.I.G. Poppa]. Yum! [tasted very similar to the steaks]. I had it cooked to "Recommened" [warm red center]. Part of the burger fell apart while eating [the medium-rare & lightly forming the patty I'm guessing], but rather have that than a hockey puck Had a Black Cherry soda to wash it down. Very nice selection of quality toppings if I ever want to build my own. [/font] As others said above, very good value w/ a small ear of corn, a slice of watermelon, and fresh tomato/lettuce. Will have to go back & try their draft Root Beer. Loved that you can customize how many scoops of ice cream in the root beer float [and at an increasingly nominal charge]. Dunno which I'd try 1st.

Had a dinner event at Nicaro a couple of Friday ago . They did a very nice job that night, and Pedro's putting out some tasty food in the kitchen. Starters tried were the Cajun Shrimp [think a weekly special], Oysters, and Squash Blossoms. Main entrees of note that were well-received were the Grilled Waluu [tasty & moist, probably they're #1 dish], Roasted Halibut, Scallops, Lamb Bolognese, and Seafood Bouillabaisse. And for desserts, the overwhelming favorite was the Chocolate Bread Pudding! [different texture that I anticipated, but quite tasty]. Service was attentive but not overbearing. The primary server Sean [also works in the back, so he was very fluent on food/wine recommendations] got quite a few kudos. We had a 8:30 p.m. start. There's still there noise/acoustics consideration. Talking with a few staff they're well aware of it and want to place nice-looking sound panels that won't impact decor, but they're waiting due to a big backlog from the vendor. I've eaten there a few times now. Nice up & comer to the Silver Spring area!

Hmmm, I'm going to have to stop by in the next week or so.

Spent tonight there with the pleasure of bringing my better half for the 1st time there [she's not a huge carnivore but it was my B-Day today & she obliged me lol]. Had the entrecôte using the House Special style, my personal fav. She had the hanger, crab bisque, and the shared the dark chocolate mousse [Michael, please bring that back to the Classics!], and loved her meal. The Sunday night "Place at the Table" deal is a delicious value, and lets me have enough for 2nd meal the next day. Add that partf the proceeds of each meal for the Sunday deal is donated to a charitable organization ... is just another reason to visit Oh, & hi Hillvalley, hope things have been great with you!

Absolutely, congrats Ferhat!

Same here, always lookin' for a good burger joint. Hits the spot on occasion.

Reading the comments from the Mac & Cheese thread made me hungry to have some this past Friday. Stopped by RTC mid-evening Friday and sat at the bar. Took advantage of the bar-special of Chopped Steak meal [Medium rare with the brandied mushroom sauce, and included soup/salad] for $16 with an extra side of the 4-Cheese Mac & Cheese. [glad I worked out earlier that night lol] Hmmmmmmm, forgot how excellent this deal was. Chowda was a pretty decent rendition. Chopped steak served perfectly medium rare with the plentiful chunks of pork, sauteed onions, and the mushroom sauce tasted fantastic together. Included mini-sides of creamed spinach and mashed potatoes were just liked others have described earlier. And the Mac & Cheese, yum! Good cheese consistency and piping hot. Had a draft of Amber Lager to wash it down. Needless to say, had too much left over & ask John the bartender [very pleasant, and gave me a nice amount of attentiveness] to box them up. No rush to leave so I grabbed a cup of Joe. Hung around long enough that John was able to convince me to grab dessert [at that moment, I was really happy that I worked out to cushion the calories I ate that night], and I chose the Key Lime pie. Nice and tart, liked but had me thinking of Bobby's CrabCakes version. Think I do like Bobby's better but might try to compare Bobby's version once more soon. Outta there for a little over $30 + tax/tip, with a huge portion of leftovers for 2 meals. That's a deal!

I'll need to check this place out soon, at least for happies initially. Still, they'll have to face the challenge of a horrible location which is one of the reasons why Old Homestead failed [shame because I worked in that building for two years & wanted it to be successful]. Can't be seen from Wisconsin Ave, only can be marginally seen 100 ft. from the corner on East-West Hwy [which is a 1-way street at that section with traffic coming into downtown Bethesda; no one really is noticing imo when coming home from work]. Old Homestead didn't do much to attract the in-house businesses [like where I worked at] to come there. Hoping Bice does a better job at that portion of its marketing.