NBlackwood

Also, I checked other restaurants such as Green Pig Bistro, Beucherts Saloon, and Mintwood Place. Similar concepts. No entree is less than $24 on those menus, unless you count burger/sandwich items.

There are two offerings on Mintwood Place's entree menu that are less than $24 excluding burger/sandwich options: tagliatelle bolognese for $22 and the five grain risotto for $21.

Here's the link for the online menu: http://mintwoodplace.com/main.html

Great points of conversation by the way addressing "local/neighborhood" restaurants.

There are highchairs here at Mintwood Place.

Some of you may not be aware of the Circulator Bus which begins and ends at the Woodley Park/Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro Stop. There is a bus stop on Connecticut Ave., just to the left of the escalators as you exit the station. This bus goes across the Ellington Bridge and stops on Adams Mill Road, just before the intersection of 18th & Columbia Rd. It's a very short walk to Mintwood (or Cashion's or Sakuramen) from this bus stop. This has been a Public Service Announcement.

Barbara,

Thank you for the public service announcement.

I would love to hear Cedric's take on this. (Cedric, can you post instead of just texting?)

It's possible it's a simple supply-and-demand situation, and there's *absolutely* *nothing* *wrong* with that.

Thanks for the update, Gadarene. Whoever you are, you seem like you know what you're doing.

I am responding on behalf of Cedric. These are his words he asked me to post:

"The price change is true. I decided to run the item as a profit item versus a break-even item on the menu. Gadarene for two bucks extra you are helping Mintwood Place stay in business a little longer. Thank you for your support.- Yours truly Cedric"

Tujague,

I thank you very much for choosing to dine out at Mintwood especially on a holiday such as Thanksgiving. I appreciate you spending the time to write a review of your experiences at the restaurant on a place like DonRockwell.com. It is a forum of opinions that we believe are very valid and trustworthy a large percentage of the time. I apologize profusely that your experience at Mintwood Place and specifically that the turkey was not at the caliber it should have been. That is not typical nor what the chef and the staff at Mintwood Place want to serve. I wish that one of the managers, the chef or I was made aware or noticed the situation at your table. It is something that we would have been able to correct on the spot with a new dish. There are items that get finished with fleur de sel and others that are not. I suspect that your plate received fleur de sel when it was not warranted since it was previously brined. Cedric apologizes again for that and has talked to the staff so that this occurrence can be prevented from happening in the future. As a team we only grow from the insights and critical feedback from our guests. I truly appreciate you taking the time to make us aware of the situation. There is only one opportunity to make a great first impression but I hope you will give us another chance. If you do decide to, please let me know so that I may ensure you experience Mintwood Place as we intend it.

Deepest Regards,

Neill Blackwood

General Manager

Mintwood Place

I have to say, the service at the bar here borders on comical. It was a good 10 minutes after we sat down before the empty glasses from the previous guests were removed (partially, that is). Then it was another good 5 or so minutes before we gave our drink order. There were at times 1, and at times 2, bartenders.

Then, we were brought our entrees while we still had dirty plates from our apps in front of us. The cheeseburger's cheese is like a melted helmet and makes the whole less than the sum of its parts, imo. My salmon was fine.

And we got to watch beers being pulled with the spigot halfway down the glass - over and over again.

Then, I had to stop a busboy to clear our dinner plates after sitting there with them in front of us for another good 10 - 15 minutes. He was on his way back to the kitchen - empty handed.

Another 10 and I was actually able to pay the check.

Oy.

I'd love to give you a little feedback. We've dined at Mintwood 5 or 6 times since opening; once in the dining room and the rest at the bar.

I like most of the food we eat. Last week, there was a tomato soup special app that was great. I think the burger needs a different roll.

I find the service at the bar to be borderline comical, from the people behind the bar to the runners to the bussers. I don't agree with taking ice out of the bin with the glass it is going to be served in (and sometimes from the same bin that has bottles kept in it), nor do I agree with pouring olive brine out of the bin that the olives are in and which has had olives taken out of it by bartender fingers.

That's a start.

Mr. Weinstein,

First, let me say thank you for visiting Mintwood 5 or 6 times since the opening. I appreciate your comments about the food. I am glad you enjoyed the tomato soup special. Was is the tomato pistou soup or the gazpacho that you enjoyed?

Addressing the service behind the bar. There have been service issues in the bar until most recently and I truly apologize that yourself and any other guest had to endure less than stellar service. Unfortunately, the time it took to find amicable solutions was longer than the situation warranted. I agree with you that glasses should never be used to scoop ice period. I also agree that bottles should not live, be chilled or stored in potable ice, nor do I agree that olive brine for cocktails should be from the garnishing trays. I have personally addressed these issues with the bar and service staff. I have implemented squeeze bottles for olive brine and spoons/tweezers for appropriate garnishing. I again truly apologize for any grievances suffered at the hand of any Mintwood Place. Next time you find yourself in town from New York please stop in and say hi to the new bar staff and myself. I will repeat myself in saying "The team and I appreciate all feedback so that we may continually improve the restaurant experience." The only way we grow as a restaurant is to continue to learn from our mistakes, listen to our guests and employees, and continually strive to improve. I appreciate you taking the time to make comments about Mintwood. Thank you.

Cheers,

Neill Blackwood

Mintwood Place

Call me an old crank, but I wish I was the entrepreneur who figured out that yuppies would pay a minimum of $50 for a bottle of wine to sit in a crowded, loud room, distinguished by minimal (not "minimalist") decor for meal that can only be described as "rushed." And, at $12, the celebrated flammekueche is probabably more expensive on an ounce-per-ounce basis than foie gras would have been at another establishment.

On the other hand, the service was friendly and the lamb neck tangine -- boned lamb neck, rich and fatty, figs, quinoa, assertive spices, some tomato stuff -- was quite good and, at $23, a relative bargain. The whole dorade, at $29 was tasty if unexceptional.

I am a little over the trend of getting bistro treatment at restaurant prices simply because a place has buzz, but I might go back for the tangine (a special, alas).

I am unclear on the question. I dined at one restaurant, it is from that persepctive that I wrote. Whether or not it is emblematic of "the industry as a whole, post-2008" never occurred to me. And, wherever I sat, opening the wine list and seeing almost nothing under $50 (and beware the 2005 Domaine Phillippe Plantevin, Cairanne, it's fading fast), paying $30 for an OK but un-brilliant fish, and having my table turned in less than an hour would have put me off the place.

When I decide to take on long-term trends, I'm sure I'll take more than three paragraphs to do so -- you know how I get.

(And, for what it's worth, if you're trying to staple Bandolero, Mintwood, me and Tom together on the same page, do recall that Tom loved Mintwood and three-starred it. Along with Little Serow and a couple other spots, he seems to have bought into the no-frills thing pretty hard.)

Waitman,

In the mindset of discussion not argument, I am interested which dish you tasted first the Lamb Tagine or the Dorade?

The wine list at Mintwood Place is currently made up of roughly 40 out of 100 wines priced under $50. Was your question intended to state that there were no wines you wished to enjoy on the list under $50? And if so, what areas do you feel warrant more attention at the under $50 level for the list at Mintwood Place?

The list at Mintwood Place is continually evolving as well as the menu. The team and I appreciate all feedback so that we may continually improve the restaurant experience.

Cheers,

Neill

In addition to the food and cocktails being offered on Bastille Day, Mintwood Place will also be offering 15% off on all bottles of French wine. Cheers!!!

Join Mintwood Place to celebrate Bastille Day with us on July 13th - July 15th. In addition to French foods already included on the menu like flammekueche and steak frites, Chef Cedric Maupillier and team will also be featuring items like: gougeres, warm Provençal quiche, country pate, soupe au pistou, frisee salade au lardon, moule mariniere, French cheese plate, chocolat mousse, and peach melba vacherin. We will also be offering French wines and French handcrafted cocktails like the Rose: dry vermouth, kirschwasser, Chambord and brandied cherries. We hope to see you at Mintwood Place on July 13th-15th to celebrate Bastille day with us. Make your reservations now!