Firefly, South Dupont Circle - Chef Lindsay Autry Replaces Todd Wiss

[DaRiv18]

Anyway, my characterization of the martinis we were served was by no means intended to imply that the bar is an amateur hour farce.

Ok I was going overboard there, but I agree with weinoo and DCDuck, I often judge a bar by how they execute the basics. And you should have received a good martini, I didn't mean to suggest you should have ordered from another part of the menu. After my visit yesterday, it is clear they are still getting used to their new bar program in terms of rythmn and execution.

The martini size there is pretty standard though, I imagine it is at least a 2 oz gin pour, but I hear you that it is smaller than what it used to be.

The $5 happy hour specials include Moscow Mules, John Collins (Bols Genever), martinis, sazaracs, negronis, pisco sours, and something else. The Moscow Mules are served in copper mugs, I just haven't seen that sort of presentation before at that price. Kold-Draft ice, japanese jiggers and shakers -- this bar has all the tools. There's also a non-alcoholic "beer" made of hops syrups, grapefruit, and soda -- really cool! But all things equal, I would rather visit if I knew that Jon was behind the stick that night, I don't doubt giantshrimp's experience even if I prefer 2 smaller $5 martinis over 1 big $10 one.

[Albert Yi]

I stopped by after a film screening at the Korean Cultural Center (which was eyerollingly melodramatic). Jon Harris was manning the bar and served me a great Manhattan (granted I've probably had fewer than 6 in my life). The deviled eggs I ordered with them were suitably decadent, although a bit unidimensional in their flavor profile. The shrimp and grits was a miss: the grits themselves were creamy and delicious, but the shrimp was small and terribly overcooked. I'm not sure if the shrimp is supposed to be chewy but that's what it was here.

But the drinks were good enough that I'd come back here to explore what else they offer.

[DaRiv18]

Price point is aggressive at $12.50/drink, but the punch bowl and happy hour deals offer some relief there.

I'm not particularly into expanding my bragging rights by visiting every new restaurant, and instead would rather spend my money at the same places and really explore the kitchen and bar styles. Lately though I've been dragged to many different restaurants that I wouldn't say would be my first choice, and have been surprised at the rising pricing of cocktails. $12.50 is now pretty conservative. Even though the Columbia Room's drinks are around $15 a pop, it includes tax and tip. Imagine my disappointment seeing $13 and $14 price tags around town nowadays for pretty mediocre cocktails.

Back to Firefly. The Black Fleece has been warming my cold winter evenings lately, a Tom and Jerry riff made with Duck milk stout. See the Going Out Guru's description. And continuing the Manhattan discussion above, the Rivera (full disclosure, yada yada) is a also nice riff, made with Old Overholt, Byrrh, Creme de Cassis, and Ango. Not as cloying as a Manhattan can sometimes be, this drink might make me switch camps in the "Manhattan or Negroni?" aptitude test.

[SeanMike]

Was here last night for a date. This is going to sound like an overly critical review, so let me say up front: the food was fantastic as were the drinks.

My date has celiac, so I requested the gluten free menu. They made sure to give her one that had the items with gluten faded out. It was a nice touch for someone who has to be careful, but she pointed out that it also still let her see what she was missing.

The Devils on Horseback (IIRC the name) were great - figs with blue cheese wrapped in bacon. I had the salmon with white asparagus and squid ink quinoa, which I quite enjoyed, and she had the pot roast.

Nitpicks: it was SO LOUD IN THERE. It didn't help that on one side of us they seated a large table of drunk, boisterous businessmen who were basically yelling and kept dropping things, and there were several small children in the place. I would've asked if we could be moved but there wasn't much open seating and really nowhere that wasn't loud.

Also, a server (who also had the big table, so maybe he was a bit overwhelmed) was a bit hard to flag down...

Still, I'd forgotten how good it could be.

[porcupine]

We ate at Firefly recently, too, and I agree with SeanMike: fantastic food (cucumber gazpacho; steak tartare one of the best in DC, even if it's spelled wrong on the menu), but very loud, and although service was good the pacing was s-l-o-w. Love the "urban picnic" concept on the menu.

[jiveturk21]

We went to Firefly today for lunch. I didn't think that I had been here before, but once I walked in and saw the big tree in the middle of the room, I remembered going there several years ago (but don't recall anything other than that).

I had the $22 two course lunch - salad/soup/appetizer + sandwich/entrée + soft drink/coffee/tea. I went with a corn gazpacho (pretty good flavor, too watery for me), the shrimp roll (greens were dressed perfectly, shrimp and roll were great, but the proportions were off) and iced tea (I really don't have anything to say about this). Overall, the food was good, the service was pleasant and the atmosphere was nice (definitely not too loud for lunch). My only quibble is that the two course lunch essentially gets you a drink for free (I guess I shouldn't complain about this, but I'm not sure how much of a "deal" this is). My soup and sandwich were $22 together, I think that you can "save" some money by ordering differently, but I think in some cases, you may actually pay more than what it would be a la carte.

In the end, it doesn't matter, this is a perfectly good lunch spot.

[fuzzy510]

Stopping in tomorrow for brunch.  Anybody been recently?

(also known as, things he should have asked before booking the table)

[DonRocks]

Stopping in tomorrow for brunch.  Anybody been recently?

(also known as, things he should have asked before booking the table)

Well, I know that Todd Wiss has been in LA within the past week.

[DonRocks]

South Dupont is a restaurant neighborhood on the upswing financially, and on the downswing culinarily, with the departure of Michael Hartzer from Teddy & The Bully Bar, Barry Koslow from DGS, and now Todd Wiss from Firefly.

Congratulations to all three chefs, but jeez, the Linchpins of South Dupont (LSD) have departed.