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cucas87

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Everything posted by cucas87

  1. I'd be up for a group trip. We had dinner there on Friday and although I did not enjoy every dish, I would like to go back. The restaurant is spacious and was packed when we arrived; there was a 30 minute wait at the time (we got there around 7:15or 7:30). We had the crispy duck spring rolls (really enjoyed these; each spring roll had duck meat and skin and they were crispy and very juicy); steamed shrimp dumplings; a scallion pancake; sesame shaobing (very flaky and tasty; I have not had them before and cannot compare to other restaurants); pan fried noodles; caramel rice with pork belly (this was a miss for each of us; but for anyone considering ordering, the rice had a consistency closer to sticky rice than plain rice); and the whole fried fish. The fish was expertly fried, but also included some of the fish skin in every piece and that made it too "fishy" for me. There were a lot of other dishes I would have liked to try but we held back.
  2. I grew up in Maplewood and in all of my trips back have not made it to Verjus. Maybe this is the year. After all, there's only so much Roman Gourmet pizza I can eat.
  3. White Sulphur Springs I have a work event at the Greenbriar and will be extending the trip over a weekend. Does anyone have any recommendations on or off the property?
  4. I am replying late here but I travel to Mobile from time to time for work and often eat downtown. I've had a really good meal at Dumbwaiter's on Dauphin Street. I believe there's a second location now, but I've only been to the downtown venue. http://www.dumbwaiterrestaurant.com/home.html I stopped by after a difficult work day, got a seat at the bar and had a great dinner of pan seared scallops and shrimp & grits. I've heard good things about Saisho (down the street) but have not been yet. http://saishomobile.com/
  5. We went recently for our anniversary and had a great meal. We ordered the tasting menu and split the wine pairings. I'll try to find the copy of the menu at home but we had a terrific meal. The service was lovely and the pacing of the meal, which I always find tricky with tasting menus, was excellent.
  6. I saw this and am passing it along: "Ray's the Steaks Affiliate Seeks Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection" by Rebecca Cooper on bizjournals.com --- Here's hoping for a good result and a soft landing.
  7. Interesting article in Gothamist and Market Watch: Per Se to pay $500K for withholding tips from workers.
  8. We've been to the Tysons location a few times -- although not in the last month -- so I'll chime in. I like the atmosphere. And, I've had excellent drinks, apps, desserts and coffee. (All of which, I will point out, sounds like a good book club gathering to me, even without a book). I've not had lunch or brunch so I can only comment on our dinner experiences. The menu is so big that I have a hard time deciding what to order, and I can't say there's one dish in particular that makes me want to go back. Of the mains, I enjoyed the burger and while I liked the campfire trout, it was not great. Katie really liked the chicken pot pie and my brother in law had the chef's cut that was tasty. I honestly cannot recall what cut it was but it was nicely done.
  9. The local chapter of my college alumni association is having an event at Macon Bistro on Monday. It includes a discussion with the chef (a Cornell alum) and tastings. The event is open to non-alums as well so I am providing a link: Cornell Club DC. Of course you could leave before the Cornell- centered stuff at the end, but I do not know why you would want to. Let's Go Red.
  10. Don, I'll weigh in. We think that Chef Wang really only makes the duck and is not the main cook/chef. The duck is still great. Everything else is not, and we believe there's a new chef or cook. When we first went back after they reopened, the server kept asking if we liked the food. She asked in particular about one of the dishes (pickled Chinese cabbage) because she knew we always used to order it. It was not the same and definitely not as good as is used to be. She kept saying, ""new recipe." But there's such a change in the quality of the cooking that we think there's new people doing the cooking now.
  11. Scott and I had a lovely time at a Gypsy Soul last night. The space is sleek, the open kitchen is beautiful and the restaurant was crowded. And we enjoyed our dinner! We had an 8:30 reservation and the joint was hopping. For drinks, Scott had a gin martini and I, a Scorpio, ordered the Gemini, which was light and a perfect start. We ordered the bread basket, deviled eggs and the chicken skins. The breads were plentiful, although the challah seemed to have been cut too early as it was a little dry. We shared the shrimp and grits, the crab cakes and the greens. I loved both of the mains, but the depth of flavor in the shrimp and grits made it the clear winner. The greens were so good I would stop by just for them. We passed on dessert because we were full- maybe a first for me- so I will have to return soon. RJ was in the house and graciously stopped to talk with us and other tables. Others have mentioned the noise level; we did not find it to be a problem, but there is background music and if you are looking for a very quiet dinner spot, this may not fit the bill. Gypsy Soul is a real addition to northern Virginia, not to mention Mosaic. We will be back.
  12. I still miss Gourmet Magazine and found this of interest. http://touch.courant.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80404523/
  13. We are headed to London (and a side trip to Cardiff, Wales) with the now 14 year-old-and-much-taller-than-I-am Katie at the end of the week, so reading this thread has been a lot of fun and helpful. We're not looking for fancy dining options necessarily, but if there are any tips you'd like to pass along, we'd love it. AGM and NQD have given us some great ideas for Cardiff, and my brother has given us a few ideas for London (Don, his notes included a reference to the views/drinks, not the food from the Shard), but in case someone has been holding back, additional information is most welcome. I'll post our experiences upon our return.
  14. Not much to add. Great to see everyone. The seating was cramped (and I am 4'11") and the restaurant was not overly full, so while it was nice we all were in the same general area, it would have been nicer to have more space. Dean had said at the beginning of the evening that the menu was really a page from "Dino's greatest hits," but something happened in the execution and the meal did not reflect the many good experiences I have had or the robust, flavorful dishes I love (example: the mushrooms and gorgonzola from a few years ago that had such oomph). There were some very tasty bites, but a number of misses, and really too many overall. I hope that the next few weeks are easier than Dean and Kay expect, and I look forward to learning more about the new place. As always, the highlight of the evening was spending time with friends I do not see often enough.
  15. Scott, Katie and I have had so many great experiences at Dino (although we do fight over the prosciutto). Dino is also one of the first restaurants where, thanks to Dean and Kay, Katie learned that you can actually get to know the restaurant team. Years before Dino opened, I lived in Cleveland Park, and I've always envied the current Cleveland Park residents for the restaurant choices they have and the fact that Dino has been their neighborhood place. I'm very sorry to hear that Dino will be closing and I hope that the new restaurant opens soon to great success.
  16. Mapo Tofu Burger? Be still my heart. Not sure if we can make it in this weekend, but seeing this on the menu has made my difficult week much better and has strengthened my resolve to visit shortly. Incidentally, earlier this fall I broke the Yom Kipur fast with a tasting menu at Grapeseed and had a terrific meal!
  17. Scott and I celebrated our anniversary at Orso on Friday, and thanks to some prior discussions between Scott and Chef Will, we had a wonderful tasting menu. It always amazes me that Orso is a place where we can have a quick bite and a cider, or stop for a leisurely and full blown "game on" meal. Between the government shutdown and my work travel last week, Scott and I both were in the mood for a little comfort and a lot of fun, and we were rewarded with both -- and great food. We started with prosecco, aptly named Tiamo. Really nice. First course was a lentil and roasted pumpkin salad with pesto. Autumn on a plate. And to Don's point above, a healthy and lighter dish. Second course was yogurt chicken with volcanic seasoning. Light, perfectly cooked and addictive. Third course was gnocchi with bolognese sauce. So good, rich and comforting but not heavy. Fourth course was the "shutdown slider", perfectly cooked. Tasty and fun. Yes, sane people might have stopped at this point. But what's an anniversary without a little excess? Fifth course was wild mushroom ravioli. To. Die. For. Sixth course was a "sunset pizza", with kale, speck and figs. I am generally in the "it's not pizza without tomato sauce" camp, but little by little Chef Will has been making me rethink this position, and this pizza was superb. The last course was a "lover's milkshake" that we shared. Or that I allowed Scott to taste. We are fortunate that Orso is close by to us and it was a treat to celebrate our anniversary with Chef Will and his team. Made sweeter because we met Chef Will originally thanks to others on this board (AGM and NotQuickDraw, I am looking at you) -- and that we were able to see Chef Will before his own upcoming wedding.
  18. I really enjoy Amoo's and last night was no exception. The food was terrific, Sebastian was welcoming, and we left really happy to have been there. It also was the first time we were able to have Katie join us there, and I think she would go back tonight if I asked her. My concern with Amoo's at the moment is that I"m trying to eat fewer carbs and the rice and bread are so delicious that for me, it's a menu of giant temptation. But I managed to feast in a lower carb sort of way. We had the eggplant appetizer,, a salad Sebastian sent over to us, and then the chicken kabobs that were marinated in herbs and jalapeno. These are incredibly juicy and addictive. Instead of rice, I had a salad and I ordered one kabob of grilled veggies to round out the dish. The veggie kabobs were expertly cooked, delicious and generous, and as mentioned above, accompanied by eggplant that had been cooked in tomato sauce. Scott had the lamb and eggplant stew and Katie had a kabob combo. I tasted the lamb and it was great. We shared a bowl of the incredibly rich and flavorful saffron rose ice cream (Thanks, Sebastian) and some tea. This was a great meal enjoyed at a leisurely pace and with terrific service. The only problem is that I finished my meal, and Katie would have been really upset had I enjoyed her leftovers for a midnight snack.
  19. I can vouch for the fact that Scott uses the popover pans often!
  20. It's been a long few weeks and I can't tell you all what a welcome break the picnic was yesterday. Thank you to everyone who brought such delicious goodies and took the time to hang out. The pulled pork, bo ssam, caprese, purple asparagus, and swiss chard/mozzarella salad were some of my faves. But please don't think I missed Matt's potato chips or dessert. In fact, I inhaled dessert. lperry, your gluten free cookies were a major hit with us. So great to see everyone. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm already looking forward to the fall picnic. So great to see everyone and catch up over such great food. Who's hosting tonight?
  21. Scott and I will be there, too. We will bring some picnic supplies, and eats to be determined.
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