NovaLawyer
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Everything posted by NovaLawyer
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Weezy, this was not my first rodeo. I've had dry-aged beef before, many a time. I thought their steak sucked, and was overpriced to boot. Period. End of story.
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Here is another of my "Penn Quarter" good-for-lunch hangouts. I first tried this place in 2010 as part of the DC Restaurant Week promo and found it to be a good, solid place with excellent cooking. I followed this up in January's version of the Week and had a similar conclusion. But in particular, I have found Matt the bartender to a serious mixologist who has left me staggering after some very good off-the-menu libations. On a couple of occasions his fine cocktails left me completely unable to return to work to finish off my afternoon shift. Food is solid, ambience pleasing, but in particular the service and cocktails at the bar have been superb. All IMHO.
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A bit of a follow-up on my recent series of posts on luncheon spots in DC. I have had lunch twice recently at Zaytinya, in addition to a dinner. I think the lunch deal is superb, a Greek/Mediterranean mezze-style luncheon of four courses for $22. For this price, if you forego vino, I think you will find the best spot in DC to have lunch without wine. But for me, I ALWAYS have a cuppa with my food. Sometimes two glasses. Or even occasionally three. Or if there is no work to be done in the afternoon, four! There are a number of excellent experiemental choices for mezze, mix and match and have fun. My favorite thing on the menu, however, was the variety of not-too-common Greek wines by the glass, at reasonable prices. This is one of my favorite luncheon spots in DC - for dinner, I thought it a bit too pricey for the grazing style of dining, but perfectly acceptable.
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Update: the lunch deal is now $22, which brought a superb blood orange salad with lettuce and sliced almonds, a sublime piece of cod with white asparagus, and a shaved-ice-style dessert which was light but refreshing. Restrauenteurs note: the shaved ice dessert was a low-priced dessert, frozen water with some good flavoring. The only real cost was the labor to put it together and plate it. Highly recommended.
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Yep - the same price. Call me a liar for a $3 difference. Ray's steak was no where as good as the last one I had at BLT. There was NO comparison.
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The most interesting thing I can say about this thread is the direct message I received that told me (after my first, somewhat but not entirely negative review) that "you have a lot of cojones saying what you said about Rays." Now I understand what the correspondent meant! There are some people here who can not hear any criticism of this place. I accept it. But to be honest, as a long-time customer, one who started when it was just a strip-mall place on Wilson, I have now concluded that it sucks for the price it charges, and it is no longer worth the price they charge. You folks who like it, keep on liking it and saying why. I admire your loyalty. Me? I'm just going to find a better piece of steak, for a better price, elsewhere. Until there is a reason to come back. Which I will do if it is appropriate.
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I had the $20 hanger steak here once. Let's just be polite and I'll say it was "chewy." I moved on to other things that were better. Emphasis on "were." But to each his own. If you like it, $20 is a good price for a steak.
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Going off the top of my head here, deviled eggs $7, steak $44, dessert $6, 2 glasses of decent cheap wine $16, plus tax and tip, about $90. Think it was a touch less. 90 bucks is a lot for this place. I can get a much better quality steak at BLT for about the same price. Unless you order a pink slime steak there's no way to order an entree here plus 3/4 of a bottle of wine and leave here for under $50.
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The menu you quote from their website is NOT the menu they hand you in the store. The steaks that I paid for in the mid-to-upper $20s a very short while ago are now in the $40s. You are entitled to your own opinions about the quality of their steak, which I found on my last visit to be quite poor, and which you apparently like - hey Western Sizzlin gets lots of happy customers so who am I to judge their honesty? I won't judge yours, either. But you are not entitled to your own facts. Prices have pretty much skyrocketed in this place. My last meal here cost me around $60 all in. Last time it was nearly $90. For the same meal.
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It tasted like the stuff I used to eat at Western Sizzlin that they called "beef." Of course, there they charged me $7.99 not $40+. Two points unfairly left off my previous comments. First, service was good (hard to get bad service in a nearly-empty restaurant, but credit where credit is due). Second, the beefsteak tartare "deviled" eggs were as good as I remembered them. But it was pretty amazing to drop nearly $90 a head for dinner here, not when I didn't order bottles of wine or order any cocktails as I would in most steakhouses where they serve them.
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Here is a small tip that I have not seen much reported. From 4-6 in the evening at the bar, they have $1 oysters on the half shell. I have been in several times for this, gorging myself on these succulent little bivalves. And where ever they get them from, they are very good quality oysters, highly recommended. After doing the happy hour thing a dining companion and I went upstairs and had a tasting menu and several glasses of recommended vino. It was really a top-shelf dinner, made complete by the lovely chef coming out to kiss a little wanna-be foodie customer ass and press the flesh after I made a point of complimenting the "buffalo wings" that she sent out as a part of the menu. Man, those things are awesome. "Buffalo wings" they ain't, but tasty, oh yeah. The dinner menu is at a higher price point, so be aware. But for the thrifty minded, just hang out at the bar and have a couple dozen oysters for a double sawbuck and change.
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Looking for a thread to report on my recent dinner at "Rays The Steaks," found nothing. So if this needs to be moved to a proper thread, webmaster please do so. Once upon a time I thought Ray's the Steaks served the best steaks in the DC region. No longer. Then for a while I thought that while that while standards on the main product had slipped, the place was still the best value amongst steak places in the DC region. No longer. My last visit here during a slow weeknight brought a ribeye which was not marbled well, and had an unpleasant taste not reminiscent of beef. The sides were OK, but just. The wine list was acceptable, no complaint. What struck me dumb was the fact that the prices were probably 40% higher than my last visit here a year or so ago. Steaks in the $40s - when I am paying that much, I expect a top-grade piece of cowflesh. I am hoping that for the kitchen's sake, it was just an off night. But because the menu prices have been inflated so much, I won't be back anytime soon. Too many really good quality steakhouses in this town at this same price point.
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Here is the second of my downtown/Penn Quarter luncheon spots. At the bar, there is a selection of entrees along with a beverage for about $17. "Beverages" used to include a glass of house wine, sadly they have dropped this from the option. Memo to management - put the house wine back on the bar lunch special and you'll see me even more than you do now. (Come to think of it, just to get rid of me they might prefer to keep the wine off this special!)
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I have only eaten here at lunchtime, but let me especially endorse the lunch special at the bar - a choice of very good five entrees (chicken, pasta, shrimp burger come to mind) and a glass of servicable red or white wine for a mere $12. Whenever I am in this part of town, casting about for a quick lunch bite, I head right in.
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Having received no replies to my initial inquiry, I'll answer my own post! Lost Society is not your grandfather's steakhouse. It's not even your father's. The dining room in this second floor walkup is laid out around a circle bar, filled on Saturday night with beautiful young people, throbbing music. As one might expect, good cocktails on order. The ambience was very pleasant, but keep in mind it is loud and active. Service was attentive and helpful, without being overbearing. Neither my water nor my cocktail/wine glass stayed empty for long before they offered to refill it! Steaks are obviously the central feature on the menu, which has three levels of food: very small plates, medium plates, and regular plates (including several cuts of beef and fish entrees). Highlights were to me the bone marrow appetizer (worth going back for on its own), a blackened bone-in ribeye, and truffle-infused home made potato chips. Using the savored.com 30% discount made it a very good value. (Dinner for 4 with tip all in ran about $200 with cocktails, wine, and dessert.) I would return, definitely.