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Hobbes

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Everything posted by Hobbes

  1. I ate at Buck's for the first time last year, and completely loved it. But the takeaway from this meal, what I truly remember as being amazing was the dessert I had; Heirloom Pear Tart. The pastry was light and flaky, as it should be, no surprise here. The pastry tasted simply of butter with a high percentage of butter fat made with a good quality cream, sugar, flour and salt-- dead simple. The pear, tasted of a pear in the height of season, it tasted like a ripe pear. Both the pastry and fruit combined together in a simple, non-overstated way, this dessert was about its ingredients, nothing more and because of this, I have to say was one of the best desserts I have had in DC. Yum! Go here for dessert. .hobbes
  2. Oh! This is exciting news. I ate my fare share of Pret's Chicken Tika sandwiches while I was a student living in London way back in '98. Yum, I just can't wait! Interesting to note, in Pret's history on NYC: in 2003 Claudia Fleming, Gramercy Tavern's award winning pastry chef with accolades such as working with Gramercy Tavern's chef, Tom Colicchio; winning the James Beard Award for "Outstanding Pastry Chef" in 2000; winning the 2002 Best Pastry Chef of the Year from Bon Appetit, took the job as Pret A Manger's food director. I was living in NYC at the time and I remember the gasps that the NYC restaurant industry made when Claudia decided to make her move from pastry to sandwiches. I have lost track if Claudia is still the Food Director or has she moved on? Was this a successful move for her and/or Pret A Manger? .hobbes
  3. I ate at 1905 for the first time on this past Thursday evening. I chose a good night to dine here, it was not crowded and starting at 10pm there is live jazz (every Thursday according to their web site). I had very good timing, I was able to finish my meal and as I lingered over my French Press of reasonably good coffee and chocolate pannacotta with sour cherry coulis (more on the food later) I was able to take in the sounds of a Jazz Trio, trumpet, drums and stand up bass. They were very good and was a really nice way to round out my experience in a very well appointed space with reasonably good food to match. The space is very welcoming, dark woods, accented by the warm glow of chandeliers and low cocktail tables. It's a very narrow space, but efficiently laid out with one large communaly table in the center for large parties and then smaller individual tables along the walls. Very homey and welcoming and the space (along with the jazz trio) was the best part of 1905. I would come here again to grab a drink and conversion with a friend. The food on the other hand was good not great. There were many parts of my meal that were perfect, but others especially in the uniting of the separate ingredients of a dish to from a whole, needed some work. For instance I had, as my main course, the Pan roasted gnocchi with wilted greens and duck confit. The gnocchi themselves were wonderful (made with Chou Paste, instead of potato) and as the menu description said they were pan roasted to a nice toasty brown. The gnocchi were accompanied by a good quantity of confit with wilted greens that gave the dish that necessary bitter edge to the dish and all moistened with a good dose of stock to bring all of these ingredients together. What was lacking in this dish was the addition of salt. The ingredients all would have been wonderfully united together if bit of finishing salt (fleur de sel or sel de gris) was added just as the dish went through the pass to the dining room. Also the confit was not cured long enough. Well. This dish did not wow me but it did satisfy me quite well. I drank a very nice Côes du Rhí´ne which went superbly well with the gnocchi. For dessert I had the chocolate Pannacotta with Sour Cherries The Pannacotta used a coluis instead of whole cherries. The Pannocotta used too much gelatin so it was a little too firm for my liking. A great pannacotta should have just enough gelatin to hold the cream together in a ramekin or half dome shape, no more or you risk the dessert being too rubbery. So the dish was tasty--on flavor, good rich chocolate balanced by sour cherries and flue de sel on top as a finish. But the texture was off. Use a little less gelatin and use whole cherries for the sauce, and bam, a very nice dish with contrasting flavor and texture. I liked 1905, the space is great, the food is good, but no wow from me. DC just got another solid place to hang out, get good drinks, and some tasty eats but noting that will amaze. I would happily go back on Thursday evening and partake in the jazz and good conversation and a glass of wine (or two). .hobbes
  4. Thanks bimbap for the name of the creamery Peregrine uses. As I said in my previous post the milk used was some of the best I have tasted in a latte. From Trickling Springs Creamery web site:
  5. My cupcake fix is always served very well at B&W. I just love the Strawberry Cupcake and has to be one of the best in the city. Think of banana bread made with strawberries instead. So the cake is very moist and dense with a wonderful sweet flavor of fresh baked strawberries. The frosting is light and creamy buttercream with fresh strawberries whipped in. Yes this is divine. Get it if you can, it won't disappoint. I also enjoy the Chocolate Lava Cupcake. .Hobbes
  6. Yup togflx got it right, Peregrine Espresso is all about the details and this shop gets all of them right. I see respect for the product they are selling and to the customers and to the community at large, its a great thing to see Peregrine open its doors. Peregrine simply sells straight forward coffee and espresso in 12 oz or less sizes. Milk to coffee proportion is about balance in the cup, the flavors of the Counter Culture espresso (they use Espresso Aficionado) and textured milk do a dance. Today was my first time at Peregrine and I got a latte. From my notes at the time of tasting this splendid drink: Drink temperature was spot on. My usual experience is that the milk (in lattes or cappucinos) are too hot to taste both the espresso and coffee in balance. Usually I have to wait a couple of minutes as my latte deflates to have the drink cool off so I can actually taste the drink. Not so at Peregrine, like a proper serving temperature of a good wine I could detect the subtle nuances of the roast of the beans, freshness of the coffee, and the flavor of the milk itself. --Oh the milk Peregrine uses is from Pennsylvania, from a very small sustainable farm that must have happy cows because the milk used is some of the best I have tested in a coffee shop. Milk texture/stretching was refined My barista knew when enough steam was enough to open up the flavor of the milk and so it becomes sweet and rich with dense small bubbles. There was no silvery sheen to the textured milk so micro-foam was not quite yet there, but wow, tight bubbles were abound and I am not complaining in the least. Overall experience With the factors of a expertly pulled espresso shot (of Counter Culture quality beans) combined with wonderfully textured milk the latte came together in balance and refinement. I liked it a lot. I very much look forward to returning again to sample the single origin espresso on offer along with their many Counter Culture coffees served from their Melitta pour over bar Great article about Peregrine Espresso in last weeks Washington Post Express. The shop, today, was busy and business seems to be taking off, I say congrats to both Ryan and Jill, YAY! What are other's experiences with Peregrine after the shop being officially open for about 2 months or so? .hobbes
  7. A question to all of the dc area coffee drinkers out there. I came across on the U-street corridor Prince of Petworth blog (which is a great go-to for news/events/eats in and around Petworth area) an advert for Fresh Off the Roast coffee roasters. FOR coffee is a local coffee roaster where on their web site you can order numbers of roasts and bean types all roasted here in DC and picked up in three location across the area. From the FOR web site the next roast is the 17th and will include: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Honduras COSAGUAL Ethiopia Harrar Ayinage Mexico La Selva ESPRESSO Brazil Blend DECAF Costa Rica DECAF Mexico --All $13 per pound. This roaster sounds very intriguing on paper but I have no idea what the end product actually is? Anyone out there try this roaster before? Experiences, opinions? Is the coffee/espresso actually good? I have done some google searching but have not found any good intel into this roaster, as of yet. I love me some good coffee and espresso. My favorite roaster, available locally, is from Counter Culture roasters- Murky, Tryst, Open City use their beans. .hobbes
  8. BdC is an old stand by for me. Where in this town can you regularly get classic French fair like Blanquette De Veau or Cassoulet; this place keeps the old guard food going. And it's a bar, low key, a true bistrot and really is the closest I've ever seen state-side to real McCoy Bistrot Frech-side. Are there others? I have not yet found one in DC. I would love to know other good French bistrots that serve these classics. There is La Fourchette, and others, but these are more formal restaurants with proper table cloths and the like. BdC is more of a bar with great food, than a restaurant with great food. Au Pied De Cochon comes to mind but alas this has been gone for years. It's too bad to hear others having inconsistent food at BdC, shame that their frites are at peril. I truly enjoy the Salade Niçoise and the Pâté de Campagne, delish. Simple food done simply well. Also BdC is open till 1 am (on weekends), or so, for us night owls. .hobbes
  9. I have been to both TangySweet and Mr.Yogato. I am a big fan of TangySweet's green tea, great flavor combo. The tannins of the green tea go really well with the sourness of the cultured yogurt. I'd just wish the green tea flavor was more pronounced, like japanese matcha. I had the green tea with cocopuffs & black berries -- Very tasty. Now for Mr. Yogato. They have their kitsch going on- the happy fruit drawings on the wall are fun, the trivia idea that if you get the question wrong, you get charged is kind of cute. But do I like their product? Yes, it's tasty and people here are right, TangySweet and Mr. Yogato are going for two different types of markets. TangySweet is very stream lined and more of a franchise feel. Mr Yogato is going for a more laid back , neighborhood feel. Mr. Yogato is more easier for me to get to, so I go there more often. I have had the mochi with the original tangy, kind of bland, love the texture tho- creamy and chewy. I have gotten the Kiramel with Mandarin Oranges, toasted almonds, and honey. --This was very good. I have also gotten the japanese plum powder, olive oil, and Original Tangy- sounds odd but I really love this combo. The tanginess of the plum powder went really nicely with the tang of the yogurt and the olive oil was good quality so was fruity and also had a nice bite of tannins. YUM. Iggl- No CD Warehouse closed! Oh that is awful news. When did that happen? I must not get to Grorgetown that often. CD Warehouse has been open for ages and really had a great selection of hard to find electronica. Grrr.
  10. Hey There, Just want to give you all a warm, 'Hello', and introduce myself to you all. I am a Washington DC area native and grew up in Bethesda, MD. I have tons of interests including music, arts and not to mention food (of course). A little about my background- I am an ex-member of the restaurant industry. I have been formally trained (went to the French Culinary Institute) and have worked with the likes of Jean Georges (in NYC at his flagship), Homaro Cantu (Chicago, Moto) and Roberto Donna (Galileo), right here in Washington DC. I am now working in the Interactive Design industry developing website for the past 2 years. I simply just love to eat and talk with people about food. I look very much forward to being more active here on DR and to meet more of you in this great food town of ours. If any of you are going to the Vidalia Bird Dinner I'll be sure to see you there. Well take care and I'll see you all around .erik
  11. Hey there all! I am new here to Don Rockwell but have been a member of both egullet and DR since 2005. But this so happens to be my first ever post onto DR. I lived in Chicago a while ago and was most active on egullet while I lived in that city and added my DR account when I moved back to DC a couple of years ago. I just want to give everyone here a warm "hello" and to say I put my name down as a 'yes' to coming to this special dinner at Vidalia. (Thanks Walrus for the info!) I look very much to this wonderful menu and to meeting all of you. Well, take care and I will see you soon enough on the 29th. .erik
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