Dirty Habit (Formerly Poste), Hotel Monaco, Verizon Center - "Insane Asylum" Theme Replaces Poste's Urbane Setting

[DPop]

Post.

This is really surprising to hear, as all of the food I have had at Poste has been quite good, although I do have to admit that I have had a couple dishes that I felt could have been seasoned more assertively.

[jigones]

This is nonsense. Rob Weland is one of the most talented and dedicated chefs in all of Washington.

Don, if you would have tried the dishes and combinations that I tried last night, you would feel the same way. There is no excuse for that at the level of restaurant this purports itself to be. Absolutely nothing was well made. My wife and I along with our friends are still angry and how bad the food was. I have had bad food, but this topped it. My tuna was almost inedible. At that price point , have had some fabolous meals in DC. Maybe he let someone else put the menu together, because I did taste talent or dedication in any of the dishes. The toughness of the Hanger Steak and lack of taste is amateur. I have four people who love good food and same restaurant you do saying the same thing.

[Al Dente]

A miniscule amount of ramps and some other herbs/flowers....

sounds horrific...

[monsterriffs]

It's somewhat baffling to me as to how all this vitriol can be directed towards a restaurant and chef for one seemingly off night. I was there in February and my girlfriend and I had a lovely meal, and the scallops on pork belly stand out as one of my favorite dishes that I have had while dining out in DC. It sucks that you had a bad meal, but I'm not certain this is evidence enough of a pattern of poor cooking, which appears to be what you're trying to prove is occuring at Poste.

[jiveturk21]

Brunch in the courtyard at Poste on Saturday before heading over to the National Portrait Gallery.

As I have said over and over again, I do NOT have a regular rotation, but Poste is as close to being in it as any other restaurant is. My guess is because you can have brunch or lunch or drinks or dinner there and they all can be pretty different types of experiences.

Anyway, my only complaint about this place, which has always been a complaint, is the distance to the bathrooms. From the front door of Poste (in the Hotel Monaco lobby) to the front door of the men's bathroom is an average of 93 steps. That is pretty far, especially if you are further back in the dining room and intoxicated.

[DonRocks]

Go have the hanger steak tomorrow and let me know what you think......

Maybe six weeks ago, I stopped into Poste and had dessert on the patio. The desserts at Poste are overlooked - they're some of the best around: detailed, complex compositions that merit a special trip to the Hotel Monaco. On a more recent visit, the restaurant was closed due to a private function, and so I sipped a Chameleon ($10) at the bar: organic herbal-tea infused Bombay Sapphire, fresh lemon, and club soda. It's as refreshing as it sounds. In general, the rather expensive mixed drinks at Poste are well-conceived and decently executed, often containing house-infused ingredients.

I had that same Chameleon this past Sunday night. The restaurant was nearly empty because of Memorial Day weekend, and both the kitchen and FOH were operating with a skeletal crew. Most of the people were outside on the patio having drinks, which placed a great deal of stress on the one bartender - this, despite a nearly empty bar. Rob Weland was not in the restaurant - perhaps he was away for the long weekend, or perhaps Sunday is his regular night off.

Parmesan Custard ($14) was a molded cylinder of custard, served at room temperature, made with the deep flavor of Parmesan. It was surrounded and topped by thinly shaved asparagus, fava beans, and something that looked like tiny rapini. The center of the custard was stuffed with anchoiade, and the whole thing was finished with a good, sour lemon oil, which knit everything together - Parmesan, anchovies, garlic, asparagus - bringing proper acidity to the dish. This was an ambitious dish that worked well enough, and I wouldn't hesitate to get it again.

Which brings us to the Hangar Steak ($30). Ordered medium-rare, the steak itself is sourced from Pineland Farms, which seems to be some sort of holding company that at the very least, says all the right things (take a look at the link). It's high time Rob Weland is recognized as one of the torchbearers in this city for promoting small farms, sustainable agriculture - pick whatever term you'd like: Weland belongs at the very top, alongside Ruta, Armstrong, Ziebold, McBride, Greenwood, and the other better-known chefs on the front lines of this. The two pieces of steak were lean-to'd, and topped with a swiss-chard and sweet-onion panade, served alongside a few darkly breaded, fried onion straws, and a tureen of fontina-cheese gratinee, which was a sophisticated riff on French onion soup. The steak itself was quite tough, as hanger steaks sometimes are, and viciously herbed, so much so that it rendered the entire dish bitter, and that bitterness lingered on the palate for quite awhile. While I can't share jigones' fury over this dish, I can say that it didn't work, and that it was probably the most poorly executed thing I've ever had at Poste. That having been said, hanger steak is not what I'd normally order here: Having a cut of beef fills a Verizon-Center need, and doesn't play into this kitchen's strength of creativity - although in creative terms, the composition was quite impressive.

This is why there are no great restaurants; only great individuals. Had Weland been there checking and expediting - as he nearly always is - the expediter would have been working a station, freeing up others as well. This meal was a classic refutation of the fantasy perpetuated by wishful restaurateurs: "The chef doesn't need to be in the kitchen." When an establishment is trying to execute complicated, intricate recipes such as the ones at Poste, he does.

[Moderator's note: jigones wrote me and asked me to remove all personal comments from his original post, which I've done. I also removed a few follow-up posts that no longer apply. Although the misguided post (and some of the subsequent ones) was out of bounds, I sensed it was legitimate - which is why I decided to see for myself. In summary, I believe that Poste probably had a few off nights over Memorial-Day weekend, but I can also say with confidence that it's generally an excellent restaurant that belongs on any serious diner's short list.]

Cheers,

Rocks.

[ol_ironstomach]

It's been a while since I've dined at Poste, but several of Rocks' comments resonated with my personal observations. Poste's bar isn't the temple of mixology it could become, but already having a busy and crowded scene, it doesn't need to be. The infusions are clearly their strength: I can't remember what combination of fruit it was now, but they even managed to make something admirable out of Woodford Reserve.

Similarly, the kitchen shines brightest with seafood proteins. I'd order their crispy-skin fish any day.

I recall our FOH experience as being a strange mix of too much attention and/or too many different people. I've developed a great deal of sympathy for them since then, because their corporate masters at Kimpton - no doubt a bunch of unimaginative bean-counting MBAs - subscribe to the theory that good service can be measured solely on the basis of elapsed times and elaborate punchlists of specific behaviors...maybe they'll start plastering ISO 9000 stickers on the windows.

[Trapper John]

Don, if you would have tried the dishes and combinations that I tried last night, you would feel the same way. There is no excuse for that at the level of restaurant this purports itself to be. Absolutely nothing was well made. My wife and I along with our friends are still angry and how bad the food was. I have had bad food, but this topped it. My tuna was almost inedible. At that price point , have had some fabolous meals in DC. Maybe he let someone else put the menu together, because I did taste talent or dedication in any of the dishes. The toughness of the Hanger Steak and lack of taste is amateur. I have four people who love good food and same restaurant you do saying the same thing.

I work a block or so away from Poste, and as a result, it's in light rotation (i.e., once every 30-60 days) for lunch. The fact that I return there every month or so tells you that I do like the place, though it's never blown me away -- perhaps the dinner menu is more ambitious. I will say that the duck reuben is a delight -- one that makes it difficult to leave it behind and venture to other areas of the menu. And I seem to recall that a gazpacho I enjoyed last year was truly special, exploding with the taste of late summer. Again, it's not on my list of the best restaurants in town -- but it's a very nice place with a terrific back garden.

But . . . jigones's post reminded me of the first time I dined at Poste, when I was served the single worst piece of tuna that I've had in DC. Quite simply, it was "off." It was a decaying piece of fish. Now, the staff was very good about apologizing for it and preparing me a (non-tuna) replacement meal (which I believe was comped), but the incident put me off Poste for a while. But since going back, I've been pleased with the place. Which, I suppose, is all a roundabout way of saying that every restaurant can have a bad day, and that if lots of people are raving about a place and you really didn't like it, you probably were unlucky enough to eat a a good place on its bad day. So I'd recommend to jigones that he give Poste another shot. Just stay away from the tuna.

[sandynva]

I So I'd recommend to jigones that he give Poste another shot. Just stay away from the tuna.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you and reccomend that jigones stay very far away from Poste. I had a really awful experience at Poste yesterday.

I met some friends there after work with the intention of lazing the evening away in the courtyard over drinks and food. We were able to get a first round of drinks and some nibbles--the frites, truffled frites and pretzels. We'd been really excited about the truffled frites but they were unbelievably greasy, even for fries! The pretzels were only ok--they had a strange slight sweetness to them--but the house made mustard that came with them was nice.

Then it began raining, so we, along with the rest of the people in the courtyard, fled indoors to the atrium bar space, bringing our food/drinks with us. Some of the tables in there had Reserved signs, but some, like the one we sat at, didn’t. We were immediately approached by an irate woman who told us we had to leave immediately because the table was reserved. We explained that we'd been on the patio and fled the rain, and sat at the table because there was no sign on it, and we'd assumed only the portion of tables with signs on them were reserved. She was visibly hostile, almost yelling, and insisted that the whole atrium section had been reserved, that the people who’d reserved the place had "paid a lot of money for the space" (5K) and were irked, and we had to leave immediately. We asked if they could at least try to reseat us in the main dining room as we'd noticed a number of empty tables there, or if we could have a second to finish our drinks while they finished rounding up the rest of the patio rain refugees. At that point she threatened to call security if we didn't leave right that instant. We stood up immediately and left, leaving our unfinished food and drinks behind, but were at least able to tip our waiter (who had been very nice) on the way out. This whole encounter happened really quickly—less 5 minutes from the time we sat to the time we left.

We went to the main restaurant and asked to speak to the manager. We were told that the agitated, hostile woman was the bar manager. We then went to the hotel and asked to speak to the manager on duty there, who was an extremely nice man (named AJ) who was very sympathetic and kind enough to offer us a glass of wine. Which we accepted. However, as we were sipping in the lobby, our waiter came out, asking us if we’d closed out our bill, i.e. to pay for the food and drinks. We told him that we assumed that after we’d been treated that way and not been allowed to finish them, we wouldn’t have to pay for them, but asked if the cost would come out of his pay for the night. He said it would. We finished our wine and went back to the restaurant to pay our bill, even though we all strongly felt we shouldn’t have to pay for food and drinks we weren’t allowed to finish and had tipped him handsomely, because we didn’t want the waiter to have to pay for it. When we went inside we were told it probably wouldn’t come out of the waiter’s pay, at which point we left.

I can’t believe 1) the way we were treated; 2) that the manager threatened to call security on 3 quiet women who had made the mistake of sitting at an unmarked but supposedly reserved table and then 3) were expected to pay for the food and wine we weren’t allowed to finish or have the guilt of the waiter taking a hit for it.

Just awful.

[Banco]

As it happens, I'm going to be there for a business lunch in exactly one hour. I guess I have to ask you all to pray for me.

[MsDiPesto]

At that point she threatened to call security if we didn't leave right that instant. We stood up immediately and left, leaving our unfinished food and drinks behind, but were at least able to tip our waiter (who had been very nice) on the way out.

Just awful.

You should have thrown it at her if you weren't able to finish it. Heck, what could they do, put you in "hotel jail"? What a whack job!

[Banco]

Well, lunch at Poste was quite nice. The terrine de foie gras came in a little Staub pot, covered with a thin layer of slightly sweet (probably wine-flavored) aspic. The grilled brioche toast that accompanied it was excellent and not an afterthought as it so often is in this dish. It is a rather hefty portion, not that there's anything wrong with that, but I wish they had served it with a different knife than the pointy ones Poste uses for its settings.

Next I had some nicely seared Yellowfin tuna encrusted with peppercorns and served atop a brunoise of fennel with a light cream reduction. This was altogether delicious, the fish really delectably seasoned and cooked; the fennel garnish was attractive and showed up the flavor of the fish to excellent effect. It went very well with a Bouchard Pinot Noir by the glass.

Service was gracious but a bit quirky, with tableware not replaced and some clumsy bussing. I found the bread rather ordinary and unappealing. But the only thing that really bothered me during the meal was the insufficiently AC'd dining room and the uncomfortable banquettes. My feet kept bumping into some obstruction under the table that I could only hope was the pedestal and not my dining companion's feet, forcing me to eat like a West Point cadet. And sitting on vinyl in a warm room gives me sweaty thighs, which can have its charms but not during a business lunch. I was actually glad to leave even though I really did enjoy the food.

[The Leaver]

This raises a good question. The patio at Poste is large; if there is rain, and assuming the inside isn't totally empty, there isn't enough table space in the bar to seat everyone coming in out of the rain if they all have food at their table. As the above anecdote (and my personal experience) suggests, flexibility or clear communication with patrons about seating policies does not seem to be their calling card. I'm curious to hear what those experienced in FOH matters might have done differently. Do the historic preservation/aesthetic police prohibit a canopy back there?

All that said, "Poste Basil Lemontini for the win, Peter."

[wolverine]

This raises a good question. The patio at Poste is large; if there is rain, and assuming the inside isn't totally empty, there isn't enough table space in the bar to seat everyone coming in out of the rain if they all have food at their table. As the above anecdote (and my personal experience) suggests, flexibility or clear communication with patrons about seating policies does not seem to be their calling card. I'm curious to hear what those experienced in FOH matters might have done differently. Do the historic preservation/aesthetic police prohibit a canopy back there?

Not from an FOH perspective, but why don't they let them drink in the hotel lobby? I know Kimpton has a happy hour for its guests, but certainly the waiters serving the patio could take a few of the couches in the lobby and serve them there.

[goldenticket]

The same question/issue was raised in today's Ask Tom. Here's his response:

Tom Sietsema: I wish I had had a chance to read your (very good) post earlier, before the chat began, because yours is a complicated situation.

Some thoughts (based on your side of the story):

1) If a space is reserved, that detail should have been made clear to everyone.

2) The bar manager was way out of line.

3) You shouldn't have to pay for food and drinks you didn't get to finish, particularly when no provisions were made by the restaurant staff for you to finish them indoors.

4) Why would the otherwise "nice" waiter lie to you about your bill being deducted from his pay? Grrr. (Bad karma to lie, dude!)

5) Hotel manager sounds like a good guy.

6) If anyone in a supervisory role at Poste reads this, I'd love to hear their side of the story. Also, does the restaurant have rain provisions in effect?

[qwertyy]

The same question/issue was raised in today's Ask Tom. Here's his response:

In Tom's chat this week, the Poste manager wrote in to say he'd gotten in touch with the guest to talk about this situation. Maybe OP can share his/her thoughts on how it was resolved?

[sandynva]

In Tom's chat this week, the Poste manager wrote in to say he'd gotten in touch with the guest to talk about this situation. Maybe OP can share his/her thoughts on how it was resolved?

Thanks for the nudge, I'd been meaning to write a follow-up post, but kept forgetting to.....

I'd say the bottom line is that I was very impressed by how Kimpton dealt with it, and still underwhelmed by Poste's manager. Mike Dagano seems to be a wonderful guy, and his email to Tom S. was correct, with one rather large omission.

What happened that night was that there were two women harassing us. One, as Mike said in his email, was rather bizarrely not even affiliated with Poste or the Monaco, even though she kept telling us she was. She was apparently just a friend of the host of the private event or something. (We did figure out that she wasn't affiliated with either though, about 15 min into the conversation) However, the second woman was actually the manager of Poste, and she's the one who wouldn't help us relocate and threatened to call security. She was the more problematic of the two and she was in fact an employee. So, I felt that was a rather large omission from Mr. Dagano's email.

In terms of how they addressed it, the next day after the incident, I called Poste and asked to speak to the manager, who was, as luck would have it, the horrible woman from the night before. The conversation started well, she said she was very happy we'd called because she wanted to apologize, and then she apologized for the impostor. Then it went downhill, with her making it very clear that she thought her behavior was appropriate and also making a number of factually inaccurate and contradictory claims.

I thanked her for her apology for the impostor but told her I thought the most inappropriate thing that happened was her threatening to call security. To which she said that she felt justified because she thought we were going to sit in our seats all night. I pointed out that we asked for assistance in being reseated and that we also asked for a few moments to finish our drinks, and that this is totally inconsistent with us wanting to stay there all night. She then said they were reseating people in the restaurant and they would have done the same for us, and had she in fact known that we were in the lobby and hadn't left the premises she would have come out to get us and helped us. I pointed out that the instant we asked for help reseating was the instant she threatened to call security and that she'd sent the server out to ask us to pay our bill, so she seemed to know where we were. She did say she wanted us to come back and see a different side of Poste, etc. I said that that was very nice, but I could buy my own drinks, in fact had tried to pay for my drinks that night, but what I wanted was for her to acknowledge that their response was improper. She again kept saying she thought we'd be there all night.

After that extremely unsatisfying conversation I called the manager of the Monaco, who was a sweetheart. Very apologetic and sweet. He even said he was going to check on what had happened, try to get more facts about the situation and that he'd call me back the next day, and he did! I was very impressed by his follow up. In his second call he told me he'd spoken to Mike, and that Mike was going to call me. Mike did, and was lovely, and did offer us drinks, dinner, etc. Which we probably aren't going to take him up on, but it was a lovely offer. Most importantly, he said that he was sorry for what happened, and that we shouldn't have been treated that way.

So overall, I'm quite happy with Kimpton and believe that they really do try to treat guests well, and are sincere in their efforts to make sure guests have a good experience. The manager at Poste however......I don't think I can say the same of her.

I did send Tom S. a follow-up email, not for publication, but just to let him know what had happened and that Kimpton had been very nice to us.

[MsDiPesto]

Thanks for letting us know the outcome of that incident Sandy, I know it would have left a bad taste in my mouth. I expect better treatment from Kimpton.

[TimmySmith]

Went Saturday night and enjoyed myself, but it was not nearly enough to get me to come back.

Escargot

Charcuterie

Steak

Halibut

Frites

Everything and I mean everything was WAY oversalted. A little sea salt goes a long way and they used a ton of it.

Steak was very chewy and overpriced. I could spend less a RTC to get 3x the portion that I could cut with a fork.

Wait staff was excellent.

[edenman]

Crispy Veal Sweetbreads ($17) was perfectly crispy outside and succulent inside, but the accompaniments (fall themed...squash, some sort of yogurt-y sauce, pumpkin puree?) didn't really do it for me. Not a big portion for the price, but I guess sweetbreads are expensive. Smoked Duck Reuben ($15) was awesome..."corned" duck meat was nice and smokey, the sandwich held together pretty well, and the small simple side salad was a nice foil. Beers are less expensive than I remembered them being: I had a Bell's Porter for $7, whereas I had a terrible memory of paying $9 for a DogfishHead 60-minute IPA at some point in the past. Nothing terribly interesting on the list, though. And my $10 Rickey was blueberry infused, and thus somehow very pink

Good stuff, overall. I'll be back.

[Sthitch]

Not a big portion for the price, but I guess sweetbreads are expensive.

I have not found them to be expensive (when I actually find them to prepare), and the preparation for a restaurant is not really labor intensive. I would be willing to bet that what the price reflects that there is quite a bit of spoilage with this and other offal products that have gone unordered.

[youngfood]

I would be willing to bet that what the price reflects that there is quite a bit of spoilage with this and other offal products that have gone unordered.

I think Poste also jacked up prices across the board. The bar menu is noticeably more expensive than it was six months ago.

[monsterriffs]

I think Poste also jacked up prices across the board. The bar menu is noticeably more expensive than it was six months ago.

I was there with Eric last night watching the returns and it seemed like the bar menu has no options cheaper than maybe 14 bucks (except the salads and frites). The Serrano ham and manchego sandwich I had last night was pretty good, but I doubt it was anything as impressive as the duck reuben.

[scj32]

Haven't been to Poste in awhile and we are heading there tomorrow with some friends visiting from out of town. Would appreciate thoughts on two questions:

1) Any standouts on the menu that cannot be missed (whether it be cocktails, apps, entrees, or dessert)?

2) Are nice jeans with a dressier shirt suitable for attire there?

Thanks.

[brettashley01]

Haven't been to Poste in awhile and we are heading there tomorrow with some friends visiting from out of town. Would appreciate thoughts on two questions:

1) Any standouts on the menu that cannot be missed (whether it be cocktails, apps, entrees, or dessert)?

2) Are nice jeans with a dressier shirt suitable for attire there?

Thanks.

1) I love love love the Hamachi appetizer with crispy ginger and scallions. For cocktails, try the lavender margarita or the basil lemontini- two standbys that have never done me wrong. If anyone goes for brunch, their version of the bloody mary (which I've only had virgin) is delicious.

2) You will be completely fine in that attire. I've seen much more casual there.

[dcandohio]

I want to report on my experienc at the Market to Market special offered at Poste on Thursdays, corresponding with the 8th Street Farmers' Market.

The price is $75, and the wine pairing is an additional $40.

There was a brief walk through the Farmers' Market, where Chef pointed out some of his favorite suppliers and talked a bit in general about local producers. As much as we wanted to dine outside in the herb garden, the weather was not cooperative and our group of 5 was seated in that private room off the bar. (Note to management: that room needs better air circulation. It was bloody hot in there and for an evening that stretched out almost 4 hours, just nearly unbearable.)

I'm working from memory here, but the five courses were:

Amuse: an oyster topped with some sort of roe, a cone of salmon tartare, a tiny mound of beef tartare under an even tinier brioche and hamachi on some sort of fruit gelee (pommegranate?). The beef tartare was sublime and everything else was good.

Soup: A bright green nettle soup filled with suprises such as peas and fiddle heads. A squash blossom that had beed fried (I think) floated on the top. This was the essence of spring. I would have enjoyed a much larger serving. Delicious. If this is farm to table fare, I want it every day!

Fish: Perfectly cooked halibut on fennel with a vaguely curry-flavored sauce. The fish just couldn't have been more fresh or more well prepared. There was also a squash blossom accompanying this, stuffed, I believe, with a fish paste.

Meat: This course worked the least well for me - lamb three ways: a shepherd's pie, a belly sort of cut and a loin. First of all, all of these lamb items were much oversalted. Second, after all those light and bright and fresh flavors, this just seemed heavy and winterish. This would have been a perfect cold weather day sampling, not something I want in spring (especially with the heat in that room).

Dessert: A sampler of all sorts of lovely things. I remember a white-chocolate covered gooseberry, a truffle...it was beautifully presented and good for someone like me who considered dessert the least impressive part of any meal. I could have small tastes of lots of things.

The wine pairings included a sparkling Virginia (chardonnay?) that was surprisingly good, and also a Virginia pinot nior. I don't remember all the pairings but I like them because each was something I personally would not have selected. I feel that I got to try new and different wines that chef had chosed especially for each dish. I liked that.

I hope others have a chance to experience this as the season changes and more/different kinds of local things become available. Do report back if you choose to spend your Thursday in such a wonderful way.

[sandynva]

I had a bad experience at poste earlier, and was reluctant to return. However, i'm quite glad i did!

I had dinner on the patio the other day, and they had not one but two vegetarian entrees, one goat cheese ravioli and the other, which i had, was the vegetable crepes. they were very good! they were 4 crepes, each folded with a different filling and different topping or sauce. one was stuffed with seasoned quinoa and topped with a fried zucchini blossom filled with mushroom duxelles. another was filled with fava bean puree with mint, another was filled with cheese and topped with pickled onions, and the last was stuffed with a different quinoa and perfect roasted asparagus, and topped with brown butter and nuts. delicious, and my non-veg friend agreed.

The service and drinks were lovely as well.

[youngfood]

I had a bad experience at poste earlier, and was reluctant to return. However, i'm quite glad i did!

I had dinner on the patio the other day, and they had not one but two vegetarian entrees, one goat cheese ravioli and the other, which i had, was the vegetable crepes. they were very good! they were 4 crepes, each folded with a different filling and different topping or sauce. one was stuffed with seasoned quinoa and topped with a fried zucchini blossom filled with mushroom duxelles. another was filled with fava bean puree with mint, another was filled with cheese and topped with pickled onions, and the last was stuffed with a different quinoa and perfect roasted asparagus, and topped with brown butter and nuts. delicious, and my non-veg friend agreed.

The service and drinks were lovely as well.

Did they insist that you commit to ordering three full courses before being willing to seat you on the patio? When a friend and I asked about taking one of several then-open tables on the patio around 6:00 the other night, we were told they were available, but only if we ordered a full three-course meal. I thought maybe they just wanted to make sure we were really going to order food and not just have a couple drinks, but they actually told me we could not have the table if we only had 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. Poste is in my doghouse after that. Whether this was an accurate explanation of their policy or not, the impression left was that they don't want my business, so they wont get it.

Glad to hear you had a good time though. I've always liked the space, the food, and the location.

[sandynva]

Did they insist that you commit to ordering three full courses before being willing to seat you on the patio? When a friend and I asked about taking one of several then-open tables on the patio around 6:00 the other night, we were told they were available, but only if we ordered a full three-course meal. I thought maybe they just wanted to make sure we were really going to order food and not just have a couple drinks, but they actually told me we could not have the table if we only had 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. Poste is in my doghouse after that. Whether this was an accurate explanation of their policy or not, the impression left was that they don't want my business, so they wont get it.

Glad to hear you had a good time though. I've always liked the space, the food, and the location.

wow, that's so rude! i can't believe they got that specific. they definitely asked if we were having dinner or just drinks, but they didn't get into how many courses. it was a wednesday night, so maybe they relaxed the requirement? but in any case, the requirement for 3 full courses is absurd. i rarely, if ever get 3 courses, just because at most places

it's too much rich food for me at once.

sounds like the bad customer service they had before hasn't vanished completely. however, i have been there for drinks twice, and the host and servers there in the lower drinks area of the patio were pleasant, if rather overworked and thus inattentive.

[hillvalley]

Thursday, July 3rd I wandered over around 5. The bottom part of the outside area was relatively empty with two bartenders and a waitstaff or two standing around. Two of the tables on the patio were full. I sat down at one of the tables, waited 10 minutes for someone to acknowledge me and then left. Had a kick ass meal at Palena.

[ol_ironstomach]

At the end of the day, it's a Kimpton hotel.

...which is precisely what surprises me to hear these anecdotes. Because Kimpton is a slavish adherent to the secret shopper/checklist school of QA, which dictates prompt if formulaic service (and lots of upselling). I mean, you used to be able to swear that the Poste FOH must have been reading off a script, with somebody running a stopwatch in the background.

(Cripes. Looking upthread, I'm starting to sound like a broken record...)

[goodeats]

Has anyone ever noticed that the Kimpton hotel's elevator misspelled their own restaurant's name? I found it humorous to be pushing a button for a Post Restaurant after my pre-meal exercise to the ladies'.

RW lunch was a great deal here, but the meal itself had a little bit of almost-fit-puzzle-pieces; meaning, to take a line from Top Chef, the idea was there, but there was something lacking in the execution. Specifically, my 3-courses were:

1. Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, with dijon mustard ice cream;

2. Soft shell crab BLT;

3. Something Fruit tart. (I didn't really have an issue with this one, so there's no comment on it.)

In number one, the ice cream had ice crystals in it, which was a bit off-putting, but the two "ices" didn't mesh until the ice cream had "melted" into the gazpacho. While the flavor combined well after the fact, the initial bite had an oxymoronic texture to it: chewy-slurpy. Hm.

For number two, this was my favorite part of the meal, as the soft shell was prepared wonderfully, it had a great spicy kick to it, and well, it has bacon. The buttered sandwich bread was great too. However, the dish was paired with a side salad, which could have easily been the "L" part of my sandwich. In fact, parts of it did, as I ended up adding part of the salad, as it shared some of the same greens with each other.

Service was lovely. The jury is still out, but the grammar/spelling police is upset and would like some accountability.

[lekkerwijn]

...which is precisely what surprises me to hear these anecdotes. Because Kimpton is a slavish adherent to the secret shopper/checklist school of QA, which dictates prompt if formulaic service (and lots of upselling). I mean, you used to be able to swear that the Poste FOH must have been reading off a script, with somebody running a stopwatch in the background.

(Cripes. Looking upthread, I'm starting to sound like a broken record...)

I just read these comments and it immediately made me think about something we observed on our last visit to Poste. We were sitting outside in the bar area on the banquette in the southwest corner of the courtyard. It was such a lovely evening. We were having a great time drinking and nibbling with friends. A light goes on behind us in one of the basement level windows that is just above ground level. And we we can't help but notice a man undressing in the room below. Maybe this is what you get when you priceline a room at the Hotel Monaco? Or perhaps Poste has red-light district style entertainment?

[DonRocks]

Should I have seen the disinterested bartenders serving blueberry martinis and vodka tonics to a crowd that was doing a lot more drinking than eating as a sign of bad things to come at Poste? More than 20 minutes passed before they brought over my two appetizers, which may have partially contributed to the fact that my basket of crispy fried smelts was a few degrees above room temperature and hardly crispy at all. But I can't blame bad service for the two dry and tasteless short rib sliders. (I only ate one, but I think it's safe to assume the second was dry and tasteless as well). I walked out really disappointed in Poste, but maybe this is not the place to try over a holiday weekend.

Say hi next time.

Not in the mood for a cocktail, I had a Penn Weizen ($6.00), a fine hefeweizen from Pennsylvania Brewing Company in Pittsburgh, and started with an appetizer of Tete de Veau ($17), a "terrine" of veal cheeks with a sunnyside-up quail egg, frisee, and fresh black truffles. Rob Weland wasn't on the line, but he was expediting as usual, and was responsible for finishing this dish with these unusually good summer truffles (which have me wondering if they came from Australia - Australian truffles right now are more expensive than summer truffles from France or Italy). Regardless, the dish as a whole was lost in sauce, and you had to hack through the frisee forest to get to the somewhat skimpy portion of terrine - this was primarily a dish of sauce and truffles.

For my main course, I couldn't resist ordering those Pineland Farms Shortrib Sandwiches ($17), but alas, my experience was exactly the same as yours: "dry and tasteless" are precisely the two words I'd use to describe them, as wonderful as they looked, and a side of Local Organic Vegetables ($8, off the dining-room menu) seemed like a perfect complement, but also lacked seasoning, though the vegetables were nicely herbed. Rarely do I ask for a salt shaker, but both of these needed one, and it was embarrassing trying to constantly shake-shake-shake, grind-grind-grind trying to get any salt at all out from the clogged device.

So the savories were honorable on paper only, and didn't deliver on the plate. Not so with the novel dessert of Peach Papillote ($9.50). A halved peach, flash-roasted in parchment and cut with scissors as it was served, it came with a mini-pitcher of fresh ricotta and a spoonful of lavender sorbet, and was a strong finishing course that saved an otherwise disappointing, expensive bar meal.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[Guest CJD2008]

I have a Poste Roast on Sunday...I'll have a review. SPIT ROASTED PIG!!! I cannot wait!

[ebgbdc]

Heading to Poste this evening... anyone been recently? Any recommendations?? I typically enjoy myself here, but it has been more than a year since I've been and I'm curious what's new & delish. Thanks in advance!

[MC Horoscope]

Thoroughly enjoyed our first meal there last night! We had the truffle frites, which were wonderfully crispy and salty; the Tête de Veaux terrine, which was small for the price but so full of flavor (I could order two of these); the beef bourguignon with roasted vegetables; and the sea scallops with the cremini and crispy pig's tail. Our server was very friendly. Too bad we were seated in the room off to the left when you enter. We didn't get to see much of the place, but it's a nice room if you want some quiet.

Now that we've tried it, it will definitely be on our list to return. Can't see why it didn't rank higher in the Washingtonian. Our experience was outstanding! We are interested in trying the courtyard and maybe the stroll to the market.

By the way, the thread title might say Verizon Center.

[Sthitch]

Has anyone tried the 20 Bites dinner?

[zoramargolis]

Has anyone tried the 20 Bites dinner?

I just wrote a profile of Poste, which will be in the upcoming issue of Flavor. During the summer, the 20 bites meals, as it was explained to me, are created from vegetables and herbs grown in the Poste patio garden. I'm not sure at what time of the season they begin offering them, but late summer would probably give you the most variety. (I have not partaken.) There are also Market-to-Market dinners on Thursdays, where 12-15 diners walk to the Penn Quarter FreshFarm market with Chef Weland, to meet the farmers and shop with him, and then return to the patio for dinner. And the Poste Roasts, which are every night from Spring to Thanksgiving: they roast a whole lamb, goat, pig, or ducks on the wood grill on the patio. The patio officially opens on Earth Day, April 22 and they are having a celebration that is open to the public, with a mini-farmers market and refreshments.

It appears evident from the post below, that 20 Bites tasting meals are not strictly a summer food-from-the-patio garden offering. I was given incomplete information, or misunderstood what Rob Weland told me about them.

Edited March 30, 2010 by zoramargolis

[petercoolz]

Has anyone tried the 20 Bites dinner?

We went recently. Frankly, I'm still astounded that we got as much food and as much flavor as we did for $75. There isn't anything like it within that price range on the East Coast. Here's our full review of Poste 20 Bites

[Ericandblueboy]

20 Bites - no molecular gastronomy going on here at all. The focus is on fresh vegetables.

Hot & Cold Oysters

Pickled Veggies

Pea Soup with Fried Burrata

Herb Salad with Carrot Soup

[Ericandblueboy]

Hamachi (can't see it, it's under the grapefruit)

Salmon Tartare (my favorite dish of the night)

Bresaola with Asparagus

[Ericandblueboy]

Crispy Pig's Tail

Rabbie Terrine

Hot & Cold Foie (comes with a glass of Sauternes)

[Ericandblueboy]

Fried Clam

Chickpea Crusted Halibut

Blood Orange Granite Vodka shot (not pictured...I really didn't need a shot of vodka)

Crispy Pig Trotter topped with Quail Egg

Veal Schnitzel

I had to drive home. I started with a beer and then had 2 glasses of pinot noir. The Saturnes with the foie gras was appreciated but I really didn't need a shot of vodka in the middle of the meal (would've preferred another glass of wine). So let that be a warning to other diners.

[Ericandblueboy]

Grilled Capretto

Medjool Dates

Strawberry Rhubard Pudding (not pictured)

Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding (not pictured)

Petit Fours

I believe the meal took about 3 hours and there were no dilly dallying on our part.

[Ericandblueboy]

Eric - great pictures, but how about a couple of words on whether or not you liked it!

11 out 16 savory dishes were available on the regular menu. I just don't think a whole lot of thought went into planning these 20 bites. I suppose if you want to sample most of Poste's menu in one fell swoop, then this is for you. $75 is a great price for the quality and variety of food.

I think it's actually 12 out of 16. The salmon tartare is not on their online menu but it was served so frequently it probably was a special that night. I think the flavor of the tartare was spot on. I didn't bother eating the creme fraiche on the bottom though.

I also left out a pic of the seared salmon with brussels sprouts (very nice fish). If you order a la carte, I would highly recommend the salmon or the halibut.

[Sthitch]

Most, but not all of the dishes appeared to be smaller versions of things that are on the menu, and the dishes ranged from the pedestrian (the fried clam) to the inspired (chickpea crusted halibut). A little about each of the dishes:
Hot and Cold Oysters - the heat in the hot (back oyster in the picture) came from a leek flavored cream sauce that matched beautifully with the oyster, while the cold was served simply but I think that the caviar added too much salt to an already salty oyster.
Pickled Vegetables - This plate is to share with two dinners, so unless you are quite intimate with your dinning partner you will be left trying only half the platter - I like Eric, but not enough to share a phallical carrot with him. Of the three that I had, I found the cauliflower to have the best flavor and acid balance, while the cippolini (back right) was way too tart, and the round carrot (front right) did not have nearly enough pickle flavor.
Pea Soup with Fried Burrata - I really enjoyed the flavors of this dish, but it had too many competing textures - both the fried cheese and the lightly cooked fava beans had a similar crunchy texture, and it was hard to tell which you were biting into.
Carrot Herb Salad with Carrot Soup - there is no way I should have liked this dish, I really don't care much for carrots, but I really enjoyed both the salad and the soup. My salad had a strong presence of dill, which I really enjoyed. The soup struck me as being enriched carrot juice with some herbs for depth of flavor, while I would not order this on its own, I think that in a small serving matched with the salad it worked very well.
Hamachi - the fish was lost under the herb salad and an overly large slice of grapefruit, some of the dampening of the hamachi's flavor might have been a product of pre-slicing the fish (an advantage of sitting at the bar overlooking the kitchen is that you can see such things).
Salmon Tartare - a 5 spice cone filled with Crème fraiche and topped with a tuna tartare. The complexity of tastes and textures really worked well in this dish.
Bresaola with Asparagus - the asparagus was picked from the restaurant's garden, and I found it to be delightfully fresh and flavorful, but the meat and cheese disjointed this dish - this is another case where less would have been more.
Crispy Pig's Tail - I was expecting far more flavor from this dish, I found the star to be the deviled quail egg.
Rabbit Terrine - a nicely flavored dish, but I was not thrilled by the emulsion of terrine.
Hot & Cold Foie Gras - the cold foie gras was dusted in pastrami spices, and while I thought that it added an interesting flavor, I thought that it was too intense for the flavor of the liver. The hot was a crepe stuffed with seared foie gras and a house made red preserve (I can't remember what the waitress said it was), I thought that the crepe got in the way of this dish, I would have been far happier with just the foie gras and preserves.
Fried Clam - as noted above a rather pedestrian tasting clam that was a bit too chewy.
Chickpea Crusted Halibut - this was the best spiced dish of the dinner, the halibut tasted like a dish you would find in a great Indian restaurant, and the vegetables were perfectly cooked and provided a nice compliment to the fish. The only issue I had was that the celeriac puree (the while stuff on the bottom) was far too sweet.
Blood Orange Granita Vodka - this served as a punch to waken up your palette before the fattier dishes arrived, personally I thought that too much of the vodka and not enough of the blood orange came out.
Crispy Pig Trotter - this had the flavor that the pigs tail lacked.
Veal Schnitzel - The dish was fine, but nothing that I can say made it much different from other schnitzels that I have had.
Grilled Capretto - I really do not remember much about this dish
Medjool Date - stuffed with cheese and sprinkled with sugar before it was roasted, it was interesting, not sure I can really say much more about it than that.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pudding - I enjoyed the flavors, but there was a pistachio flavored cake that had a rather strange texture to it.
Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding - this was a delicious desert, one that I would certainly order again if it is on the menu.

[jiveturk21]

Business 101.

We arrived at 2:20 PM on Good Friday. The weather was awesome, we were in the area and there is nowhere we would rather hunker down for a few hours of eating and drinking that Poste. So, we walked into the restaurant and went straight to the back. There were about 25 people or so seated outside, but luckily there were about 6 or 8 seats still available, plenty for me and my fiance. We asked for a table and were told, "We are no longer seating people outside, we close at 2:30 PM." I was surprised and asked, "Oh, so the restaurant is closed between 2:30 PM and 5:00 PM?" The respose was, "No, the restaurant is still open, we just close the outdoor area between 2:30 and 5:00 PM." Shocked that they would close an entire section for 2.5 hours, for a reason that the host refused to relay to me, when there was surely demand for the tables, I asked again if we could be seated outside or we would take our business elsewhere. We were told, again, that the outside was closed, so we took our business ($180) elsewhere for a few hours.

I like Poste, I have written several positive things abut the restaurant over the years, but this was inexplicable. I understand closing the outdoor patio for a reason (i.e., there was a private event) or because they didn't have enough staff to wait on people inside and outside. But, when almost everyone in the restaurant is sitting outside or in that back bar area, with the rest of the restaurant essentially empty at that time of day, it really is not the best business decision to turn away business. Hell, at the very least, tell me WHY you won't sit us outside.

[zoramargolis]

We went to the Earth Day celebration on the Poste patio yesterday, where a massive smoker was set up, manned by Bev Eggleston's assistant, Eric. It had been fired up 24 hours earlier, in order to do justice to the whole 350 pound Red Wattle pig that was cooked inside. $15 charge for two paper tickets for each of us: one ticket could be exchanged for a glass of wine, beer or one of two tasty alcoholic punches, one based on mango with ginger liqueur and the other had some açai spirits among other ingredients that I can't recall, but I liked it. The other ticket was exchanged for a quite small helping of smoked pulled pork, a dot of bbq sauce and mustard, a bit of sauerkraut, a few grilled ramps (J was given pickled ramps, and we were instructed to share*) and a small parker house roll. The food was delicious, but there wasn't enough to call it dinner. The patio was packed with people enjoying happy hour and the beautiful weather.

I talked J into going in and getting a table, and having something more to eat. We both ordered the wood-roasted capretto with Anson Mills polenta (there's a photo of the dish in Ericandblueboy's post above). This was an absolutely outstanding dish--the essence of Spring. The baby goat was tender, juicy and delicate, the polenta was silky and rich and the dish was garnished with asparagus tips, morels, fiddleheads, English peas, ramps and fresh chervil. And a drizzle of highly flavorful veal stock-based pan reduction jus. We both agreed that this was one of the best dishes we've had in DC in a very long time. It is a regular offering in their Poste Roasts, and I highly recommend it, if you are there and it is on the menu. We would have licked the casseroles clean, if a potential Supreme Court nominee hadn't been dining at the other occupied table in the room off the bar, where we were sitting.

*I managed to get only one small taste of the pickled ramps, because they were crazy good and much better than the grilled ramps--in the style of a spicy Mexican escabeche.I have a big bunch in my fridge, and that is what I plan to do with them.

[Sthitch]

Grilled Capretto – I really do not remember much about this dish

The baby goat was tender, juicy and delicate, the polenta was silky and rich and the dish was garnished with asparagus tips, morels, fiddleheads, English peas, ramps and fresh chervil. And a drizzle of highly flavorful veal stock-based pan reduction jus.

Thank you, now I remember the dish – problem with too much food and too much wine in one sitting.