Kev29

On 2/23/2017 at 10:53 PM, dracisk said:

Can Marriott buy the one in Silver Spring, too?

I was thinking that too. I know all three are separately owned, buy buy them and convert to Hot Shoppes? That would get some old heads spinning. 

Went with Mrs. 29 a couple months ago and had awkward/bad service at the start of our visit. Not clear on wine or beer of the night choice, long wait between refills (and we were at the bar), kind of an odd slow to things. Might have been a shift change issue because it warmed up as we were there and we had a nice evening. What was more annoying than the relatively poor service were the entitled pricks sitting around us getting way too furious about the relatively poor service. 

22 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I wonder if anyone has ever done a correlation between Montgomery County housing prices, and the stubbornness of restaurant owners to believe that Arlington County and Fairfax County have them trounced when it comes to restaurants (although Arlington County's star is quickly fading, and boy, is it a sad thing to behold).

What Bethesda and Arlington have in common is unprecedented competition from restaurants in easily accessible DC. To me, that's why so many independent white tablecloth places struggle in Arlington and Bethesda, if you're going to spend $$$ at a nice place like that why not make a night of it and Uber/Metro to way more fashionable spots in the city? Mid-priced sit-down chains still do OK in Bethesda because families who live nearby want something that doesn't require much thought or effort. 

I think restaurant growth to the north of Bethesda has hurt downtown and west Bethesda too. So many more choices at Pike & Rose and even up in Gaithersburg, Rockville and Potomac keep people from Bethesda. Just like Georgetown and Cleveland Park used to be destinations for diners from further afield, Bethesda was too. Bringing in people from up-county, Potomac, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, etc. Not as much need for that now. 

Didn't like the pizza when I tried it last summer. Over-baked, dry, wooden. Only one visit though. Did like that you could get beer and wine at the quick-serve counter and drink in the food court. 

Maybe Westfield was a little over-ambitious with this grand food court to bring mall's back? The bathrooms and "family comfort areas" are incredible though. 

43 minutes ago, dracisk said:

Crap, no place to eat in and it's 20 minutes from my house. I'm guessing we won't be in the delivery area?

Can always go for a little stroll

Well here's one way to get your name out there

A Washington Restaurant Is Serving a “Golden Showers” Burger (Washingtonian, Anna Spiegel)

Every website looks the same, and that’s ok

On an old Bourdain episode he went to a strip mall Chinese place that serves the billionaire whales who fly in to play at the casinos -- but want a humble, well cooked $12 meal after raking in chips. I wonder what that equivalent would be for those who would come in to gamble. A limo ride to Rockville for A&J? 

34 minutes ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

Not the most impressive list for a metropolitan area

On the flip side, one could be impressed by the fact that many actual Washingtonians don't care much for steakhouses. And are much more interested in Ethiopian, Salvadoran, Peruvian, Indian, Filipino and on and on cuisine. Corporate steakhouses are fine on occasion, particularly for those who swoop in to Federal Washington for business. This ain't Omaha.

On 12/22/2016 at 3:28 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

there is Urban Butcher in Silver Spring. That brings us to three independent steak houses....any more out there?

Just down the street from Urban Butcher, in the more traditional steakhouse vein, The Classics. 

On 12/22/2016 at 0:47 PM, Lydia R said:

CS NY Pizza

Whoa, are they going to make New York style pizza there and not Neapolitan? 

49 minutes ago, Tweaked said:

how do the restaurants in DC's, lets call it central business district, stack up to say NYC's Wall Street or Philadelphia's business district?  (I'm not famaliar with either area so I don't know).

Also, most world class dining cities have dead zones. Just ask resident of New York's upper east side. 

Closed (Jessica Sidman, Washingtonian, December 20, 2016)

10 minutes ago, MsDiPesto said:

Would Flynn and his son, who have both helped spread this fiction, be open to lawsuits from the affected parties?

From what I've briefly read, it would be very tough. Something about the focal points of the theories being public figures and having to prove that those spreading the lies didn't believe them to be true. 

Anyone who frequented The Brickskeller enough can confirm the "no experienced required" part was indeed true. 

On 11/16/2016 at 9:59 PM, Simul Parikh said:

want to stop in London for a day

Now there's a town where it used to be easy to find $56 chicken. Good news is that it's now more like $40 chicken post-Brexit. 

44 minutes ago, DanielK said:

I went once in a while because it was 5 minutes from my house (and better than Tara Thai), but it paled in comparison with Sabai Sabai in Germantown or any of the better places in Wheaton.

My parents liked Benjarong -- which is always a real kiss of death. 

"DC Steakhouse" 

15 hours ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

I should note that Gilly's Craft Beer and Fine Wine is next door....I don't know if it's allowed, but bringing in a bottle and enjoying the Urban BBQ fare might be the trick.

You used to be able to bring UBQ over to the Gilly's side -- but I bet that policy has changed now that Gilly's is a more full-service bar and deli. 

That may prove to be a tough location with tons of lunch options within a couple blocks -- including the very popular Carving Room a quick stroll down H.

Nice family dinner at the Bethesda location this past Sunday. Beer selection is excellent, particularly enjoyed a Green Flash Tangerine Soul Style IPA. The wings are excellent, especially considering that they're baked. I find their thin crust pizza to be a little boring, almost looks like a grocery store freezer aisle pie. But if you're open minded about deep dish, I think their version is quite good. We split a

WESTERN ADDITION
mozz, baby spinach, mushroom, onion, ricotta, feta, garlic. 
17.95/22.95

The garlic and feta in the pie paired nicely with the classic deep dish canned tomato blanket. Decent amount of garlic zest and savory cheese to go along with the sweet tomato. Service was very friendly, good, just a little slow with the drink re-orders (don't let all the kids at the table fool you, we're a pretty fast drinking family!). 

This is easily my first choice of restaurant/bar/casual spots on the Bethesda Row side. 

Holy cow I thought they closed years ago!

Well nothing says "ocean" and "prime" to me like Columbus, Ohio!

"Cameron Mitchell To Tout Columbus at Restaurant Opening in D.C." by Marla Matzer Rose on dispatch.com

FWIW...

The place's full name is Winthorpe & Valentine's Community (a kind of random Trading Places reference).

Also, Bucher has removed the original "diner" description from the concept. From The City Paper's Laura Hayes,

Quote

Beyond the Trading Places theme, Bucher wants to stray from the initial idea of an urban diner. “Through design, lighting, and music, we’re trying to get away from the diner image and go toward being a neighborhood hang spot,” he says. “It’ll be more clubby than a diner, but with food that’s comfortable, accessible, and reasonable. We’re not a Vegas nightclub, we’re not Tastee Diner, and it’s not Ted’s Bulletin.” He likened it to Stephen Starr’s Continental in Philadelphia.

30 minutes ago, silentbob said:

Not that I profess to know anything about real estate costs or restaurant economics generally, but isn't there some happy medium between an Anacostia vs. City Center location (seems like a false choice otherwise) where the price of said bowl of ramen comes out somewhere like $14 or $15?

Toki