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Rose's Luxury, Chef Aaron Silverman's Modern-American Phenomenon on 8th and G Street in Barracks Row


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Learned a valuable lesson about Rose's last night - my group of 6 got in line around 4:30 (well, only 2 of us waited in line, the rest moved on to grab a cocktail elsewhere), and by the time we made it to the hosts at around 5:30, we were told no way, no how.  I didn't realize that there was only ONE place they could seat a larger party.  Perhaps they could come out to the line and let folks know once the larger table is "spoken for" for the night?  We were in good spirits and didn't mind waiting (we knew we weren't actually going to be eating until much later in the evening), but there was something very irksome about waiting for an hour...for nothing.

My understanding is that the table for 6 is expected to turn once during the night, so it might be that you had two tables for 6 ahead of you.

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Interview with Aaron Silverman

It's no wonder that this place is universally loved.  Here's part of his answer on how to make it better:

My goal is to sit down in every seat in Rose's. That's almost impossible. But I want to experience Rose's from every seat. Same for my managers. I want them to sit in all the seats. Guests are happy, but I know we can do a lot better.

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Finally made it on Friday evening. My cardiologist friend wanted to do everything to clog his coronaries, so we were ready for a feast. He got in line at 515 and was told at 540 that we would be seated 2.5 to 3 hours from then. We ambled around The Hill and then made our way back to the upstairs bar.

It is so vibrant and exciting and bustling. It's certainly a loud restaurant, but it's a good loud. We asked a guest to pass us the drink list, and the bartender caught this and said, "The person you want to make friends with is Me! I'm the one with the drinks, and I'll get you the list." He had a great smile. I got a beer and my friend got the bourbon butter cocktail. I had a sip. Was apple pie in a highball glass - delicious. We were seated right around 830-840 in the upstairs section behind that half-partition so it was a little bit less loud there, but still ambient. A nice couple was next to us, and they were celebrating her birthday. Everyone seems to want to share and talk with each other there about what they had or what they would recommend.

We got:

Pork sausage/habanero/lychee salad - it has this coconut foam and some peanuts. it's delicious, as many people have discussed. It had a kick to it, but not overly spicy. It reminded me a lot of larb.

Charred broccoli with caeser dressing and anchovies - described to as a caeser salad with broccoli instead of lettuce. It was great. I don't know what else to say about it.

We were discussing whether to get the jerk chicken and then didn't, so the waiter brought a half portion of that, on the house. A very nice touch. That was great - spicy, flavorful thigh meat. Full of flavor, one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Then, the sfoglini rigatoni with heirloom tomatoes. I thought this was pretty good, but nothing inspiring. It's hand made pasta and tasty, the tomatoes tasted fresh, but it wasn't all that exciting.

I got a glass of wine at this point, a really nice Pinot, I don't remember what it was called.

Then, the caramelized cauliflower - this was awesome, it had a side of some raita/yogurt and was cooked really well.

Finally, the lemongrass shellfish stew with garlic bread - it was sort of like a cioppino. Pretty good.

For dessert, we got the English pea cake. It's really interesting, mashed peas, some greens. Cardiologist loved it, I didn't know what to make of it. Good texture.

Then, they brought us smoked marscapone on the house. Tasted like bacon and marscapone, and I liked that better than the pea cake.

Since I prefer mostly Asian food, and haven't been to a place like this in a while, I'm not sure what to say overall about the food. I wouldn't say I have enough experience to do that. But, it all tasted very good, it is a fantastic atmosphere, the service is impeccable. It's casual - you don't have to dress up, but you can if you want. The waiters won't join you, they gotta be comfortable with all the hustling. The staff moves fast, they are working very hard, but they stay at your table and talk you through things without appearing rushed. They are certainly engaged about the food. I love that they don't do the whole deal about where everything is sourced and what farm it's from and whether or not the chicken was happy before it was slaughtered (yes, Portlandia feels real these days at restaurants). They just tell you how it tastes and they make recommendations based on what they like. I like that. The little freebies are a wonderful touch, it definitely adds value to the meal. It's well paced, it was a 2 hour meal, and I really liked that I was at no point rushed and stuff didn't come out too fast.

It was a $160 without tip. Not bad, at all. I enjoyed the place. I don't want to wait that long, though, so not sure how often I'll go back.

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SO I was wondering of anyone could shed light on this. My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I wanted to get a group together and head to Rose's. Unfortunately, their roof garden is closed for the season. From what I gather, they only have a 6 top as their biggest table. We were hoping for a group of eight. How flexible are they, assuming I get in line early enough and claim the 6 top, of accommodating a few more? I've "Crashed" that table before when I ran into 6 friends as they were being seated and my wife and I were at the bar, but I haven't talked to the server about adding a few, we just kind of did it at the time and they seemed OK with it. 

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SO I was wondering of anyone could shed light on this. My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I wanted to get a group together and head to Rose's. Unfortunately, their roof garden is closed for the season. From what I gather, they only have a 6 top as their biggest table. We were hoping for a group of eight. How flexible are they, assuming I get in line early enough and claim the 6 top, of accommodating a few more? I've "Crashed" that table before when I ran into 6 friends as they were being seated and my wife and I were at the bar, but I haven't talked to the server about adding a few, we just kind of did it at the time and they seemed OK with it. 

I suppose you could ask, but, really, why? For such an overwhelmingly popular place that doesn't take reservations, Rose's is a very hospitable restaurant, but that doesn't mean that one should take unwanted advantage of that hospitality. If they really wanted to serve tables of 8 people, they would have a table for 8--but they don't, except when the roof garden is open, and it's likely not a precedent they want to set that other people will routinely expect if they accommodate you. And also don't assume that your spontaneous adding of two people to a table won't cause issues with their service, particularly in a place that is so routinely jammed (or even that their being "okay" with your crashing the six-top was anything more than mere politeness). Respect their hospitality, err on the side of common courtesy, and go elsewhere. Obviously, you want to be regarded as a good diner, not an entitled one. There are plenty of great places that can readily accommodate your party of eight (Red Hen? Mintwood Place?), will be glad to do so, and where that won't be potentially disruptive to the staff and other patrons.

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I suppose you could ask, but, really, why? For such an overwhelmingly popular place that doesn't take reservations, Rose's is a very hospitable restaurant, but that doesn't mean that one should take unwanted advantage of that hospitality. If they really wanted to serve tables of 8 people, they would have a table for 8--but they don't, except when the roof garden is open, and it's likely not a precedent they want to set that other people will routinely expect if they accommodate you. And also don't assume that your spontaneous adding of two people to a table won't cause issues with their service, particularly in a place that is so routinely jammed (or even that their being "okay" with your crashing the six-top was anything more than mere politeness). Respect their hospitality, err on the side of common courtesy, and go elsewhere. Obviously, you want to be regarded as a good diner, not an entitled one. There are plenty of great places that can readily accommodate your party of eight (Red Hen? Mintwood Place?), will be glad to do so, and where that won't be potentially disruptive to the staff and other patrons.

Good points...

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I was just on the site checking the menu, as I was thinking of waiting in line tomorrow and wanted to see what was currently on offer.  The landing page had this (new to me) information: "Due to our relatively small size we are unable to take reservations  and the maximum party size we can take is 8 people."  [emphasis added]  That is a change.  You might want to email to inquire.

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I was just on the site checking the menu, as I was thinking of waiting in line tomorrow and wanted to see what was currently on offer.  The landing page had this (new to me) information: "Due to our relatively small size we are unable to take reservations  and the maximum party size we can take is 8 people."  [emphasis added]  That is a change.  You might want to email to inquire.

Interesting; so perhaps seating eight at the six-top is in fact a common practice? I doubt they put two four-tops together (or four two-tops). I guess, then, that if you really want to try this, be sure you can have all of your party there on time, hope there aren't any other large parties ahead of you, and have a back-up plan. (But don't cancel an eight-seat reservation on OpenTable at the last minute, unless you want Dean Gold to hunt you down and fry your ass on his grill.) But why take a chance on a special occasion? Better to relax, and let your group of friends determine what makes for a happy birthday, not the specific venue. (And DO have a happy birthday!)

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Interesting; so perhaps seating eight at the six-top is in fact a common practice? I doubt they put two four-tops together (or four two-tops). I guess, then, that if you really want to try this, be sure you can have all of your party there on time, hope there aren't any other large parties ahead of you, and have a back-up plan. (But don't cancel an eight-seat reservation on OpenTable at the last minute, unless you want Dean Gold to hunt you down and fry your ass on his grill.) But why take a chance on a special occasion? Better to relax, and let your group of friends determine what makes for a happy birthday, not the specific venue. (And DO have a happy birthday!)

Well, I am getting of work today at 4 PM and getting in line. I am hoping to get the 730 seating for seven people, or even the last seating, around 9ish. We'll see how it goes. I don't have a backup reservation because, like you said, I don't want to cancel a big reservation like that at the last second.

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Well, I am getting of work today at 4 PM and getting in line. I am hoping to get the 730 seating for seven people, or even the last seating, around 9ish. We'll see how it goes. I don't have a backup reservation because, like you said, I don't want to cancel a big reservation like that at the last second. 

Let us know what happened- curious!

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Don't want to rain on Ed's parade, but it worked out very well. Initially it worked out terribly (including an incident unrelated to the restaurant that has me laughing as I type this although it sucked very much at the time I'm sure), but we ended up getting seated at around 8:30 pm, had incredible service (as usual), and way too much fantastic food. It's a great and special restaurant. Surprisingly, my least favorite pasta dish this time was the Cacio e Pepe, which has typically been my favorite. 

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There's not much I can add to the conversation, other than to say it's been years since I've been at a restaurant where every dish is a surprise and a delight.  And that's happened every time I've been to Rose's.

was at Rose's tonight.  got there at 4:00 thinking that they open at 5:00. Oops- it's a Thursday night so they don't open until 5:30.  We were third in line and there wasn't a crowd until closer to 4:30.

This is my 5th visit to Rose's and the magic never dies.  There are many new dishes on the menu (grilled quail, charred broccoli with caesar dressing, fried rice salad with Asian pear, rigatoni with truffled breadcrumbs- and optional white truffles). I agree wholeheartedly with Elizabeth's statement.  Every dish was impeccable.  

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This just posted on Rose's Luxury Twitter:

We will begin taking reservations for New Year's Eve On Tuesday, December 2nd, at 11am via the link below.  Please note that reservations slots labeled "Kitchen Counter" and "Garden Bar" are side by side seats.  Our upstairs bar stools will offer the full menu and remain open for walk-ins.

The New Year's Eve menu is $95 per person, and every two guests have their choice of three small plates and one "family style" dish to share, plus dessert, some bubbles, and a few extra goodies.  Drinks, tax and gratuity are not included.


At the time of booking a $50 per person credit card authorization charge is required.

Please click the link to rocket over to our reservation site:

Reservations will be available on December 2 @ 11 am

Let the games begin!

TSchaad

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This just posted on Rose's Luxury Twitter:

We will begin taking reservations for New Year's Eve On Tuesday, December 2nd, at 11am via the link below.  Please note that reservations slots labeled "Kitchen Counter" and "Garden Bar" are side by side seats.  Our upstairs bar stools will offer the full menu and remain open for walk-ins.

The New Year's Eve menu is $95 per person, and every two guests have their choice of three small plates and one "family style" dish to share, plus dessert, some bubbles, and a few extra goodies.  Drinks, tax and gratuity are not included.

At the time of booking a $50 per person credit card authorization charge is required.

Please click the link to rocket over to our reservation site:

Reservations will be available on December 2 @ 11 am

Let the games begin!

TSchaad

"Let the games begin," indeed... Logged on at 11:07 am; reservations no longer available. Brutal. Good for Rose's, but brutal.

To anyone who ended up scoring some NYE seats: 1.) Congrats - way to be on the ball, and 2.) Goddamnit, I'm jealous.

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I tried and succeeded right at 11, but the server kept getting hung up.  Somehow I made it all the way through and scored 2 seats at the kitchen counter at the rockin' time of 5:45.  Which is fine with me - get in and get out early and get home to bed!  I think this may be the Gods repaying me for all my failed attempts at eating on the roof this summer.

It might not be a bad idea to keep trying.  I know the scale is vastly different, but sometimes ticketmaster show all seats as sold within seconds of  the on sale time, but you can occasionally get through 20 or 30 minutes later.

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I missed out on the reservations as well.....good (great) for Rose's, but WOW.

On a related note, has anyone had any recent experiences there?  I noticed the menu has changed quite a bit (family style veal parm now offered).  I am considering taking my mom there on a whim for her birthday tonight.  I figure a Tuesday, bad weather, just after Thanksgiving...fingers crossed we don't have a 3 hour wait, but you never know.

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I've only been there once and it was nearly a year ago, but on twitter they gave a tip that if you show up late (like 9pm or so) you can often walk right in and get seated.  Don't know if that hour will work for your Mom though

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I've only been there once and it was nearly a year ago, but on twitter they gave a tip that if you show up late (like 9pm or so) you can often walk right in and get seated.  Don't know if that hour will work for your Mom though

I think that is accurate especially during the middle of the week.

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My wife and I are going for the first time this evening (I don't know what's wrong with us, either) but had a question I didn't see covered earlier in the thread: Does anyone know if you can request a later seating, much like you can with Little Serow?  Happy to stand in line for an hour+ but would prefer not to eat at 5:30. 

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I know there has been a lot of discussion regarding the line and reservation policy, which I was thinking over as I was standing in a cold rain at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon with 75 or so fellow diners.  Then the Rose's staff came outside and passed out hot cider to every person in line.  I can see both sides of the reservation conversation, but it would be hard to say that this is a place that doesn't care for the comfort of their guests - this was just plain classy.

As for the meal, it was absolutely wonderful, which you all already know.  Two things I did want to add to the conversation:

- I would highly encourage any first time Rose's visitors to request the kitchen seating if possible.  Aside from being fascinating, this also gave us a great opportunity to see the dishes as they were coming out before we had to order.  This not only helped narrow the field, but also let us at least see that road not traveled.  It helped make the decision between the 'Hot Chicken' (which I'm sure is delicious but appeared to be almost over-sauced, would love to hear from others who have ordered) and the Veal Parmesan family style easier.

- My single favorite dish of the night, out of a line up of fabulous dishes, was the side salad that accompanied the veal parmesan.  It was basic - mixed greens, cucumber, and a few other mixed vegetables with cubes of parmesan cheese and a vinaigrette.  But damn, it was where the fight broke out for the last bite.  I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that it was light after a parade of heavy food, but it says something that something so basic could be done so right.

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My wife and I scored two seats at the kitchen counter last night at the very un-New Year's eve time of 5:45. I actually pick the time on purpose because I wanted to eat and go home early and avoid any insanity of the night. All the usual superlatives apply, great food, great staff, super friendly service, everyone looking like they were loving being there.

We got to choose 3 small plates to share between the two of us and one large plate. When I lamented to our server that I didn't see the popcorn soup on the menu which I've only read about the never tried, she said don't worry there's going to be a few extra treats coming out and I promise you won't leave hungry. She was of course correct, and we ended up taking half of the brisket home in a doggy bag.

We ordered the pork, habanero and lychee, the quail, and a pasta with breadcrumbs and truffle dish is our three small plates, and we put the brisket for a large plate. The extras included chicken fried oysters, scallops, some sort of like crunchy thing topped with roe, consommé with, I think, "chicken thigh fat "noodles. Strangely, one of the highlights was the sorbet of green apple and celery. I could've eaten a gallon of that stuff! We also got a choice of two desserts and we pick the banana split. When we ordered some coffee for after dinner, our waitress brought us a couple of macaroons is a little bonus

The final bonus was they sent us home with two little doggie bags with the Red Cross sticker on it that said New Year's Eve hangover kit on it. Inside the bags were potato chips, water, Alka-Seltzer and an energy drink.

PS - I forgot to mention that we started the night with two glasses of sparkling rosé champagne

Here are the things we didn't order:

Scallops

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Chicken fried oyster

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The super light, crunchy thing topped with roe

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Here's the quail. It was somehow charred in places on the outside but super tender and moist on the inside. Those little white "sticks" on top were actually sliced apple. This was one that we did order!

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Somewhere in here we also got a mini loaf of challah bread with butter that was sitting in a little pool of honey. (A great combo by the way)

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Pork, habanero and lychee (ordered)

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Truffles, noodles and breadcrumbs (ordered)

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Then we went back to the unordered items. This was the consommé. The little dumpling looking things in there were " chicken thigh fat noodles", at least I think that's what they said they were. The broth was amazingly well flavored and rich but so thin and clear. The contrast was amazing.

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Next was the absolutely amazing sorbet which was more liquid than solid. It was like a chilled soup of green apple and celery that was late and crisp and wonderful. One of the surprise highlights of the night. One of many

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The final dish that we ordered of the night was the brisket. You could either chose brisket or eggplant Parmesan for your large dish. Our waitress said the brisket reheated better the next day so we decided to go for that, and it's a good thing too because we took half of it home with us. I was a little wary of ordering this because the only brisket I've had has never really impressed me that much, but our waitress reassured us and said "this is your grandmother's brisket". That's the type of brisket that I was accustomed to but again she was right on the money and this was definitely not your grandmother's brisket. Worth two pictures:

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Walk ins available right this instant!

It sounds like you're glad you went. :) Seriously, this is a New Year's Eve event that you may well remember for the rest of your life.

Here's the quail. It was somehow charred in places on the outside but super tender and moist on the inside. Those little white "sticks" on top were actually sliced apple. This was one that we did order!

attachicon.gifimage.jpg

I had that pegged for jicama. What were the thorny greens and the sauce?

 

Next was the absolutely amazing sorbet which was more liquid than solid. It was like a chilled soup of green apple and celery that was late and crisp and wonderful. One of the surprise highlights of the night. One of many

attachicon.gif IMG_4365.JPG

The picture of that sorbet (sitting next to the brisket) makes it look like they were riffing on the classic English holiday dish of roast leg of lamb with mint-apple jelly.

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My wife and I scored two seats at the kitchen counter last night at the very un-New Year's eve time of 5:45. I actually pick the time on purpose because I wanted to eat and go home early and avoid any insanity of the night. All the usual superlatives apply, great food, great staff, super friendly service, everyone looking like they were loving being there.

We got to choose 3 small plates to share between the two of us and one large plate. When I lamented to our server that I didn't see the popcorn soup on the menu which I've only read about the never tried, she said don't worry there's going to be a few extra treats coming out and I promise you won't leave hungry. She was of course correct, and we ended up taking half of the brisket home in a doggy bag.

We ordered the pork, habanero and lychee, the quail, and a pasta with breadcrumbs and truffle dish is our three small plates, and we put the brisket for a large plate. The extras included chicken fried oysters, scallops, some sort of like crunchy thing topped with roe, consommé with, I think, "chicken thigh fat "noodles. Strangely, one of the highlights was the sorbet of green apple and celery. I could've eaten a gallon of that stuff! We also got a choice of two desserts and we pick the banana split. When we ordered some coffee for after dinner, our waitress brought us a couple of macaroons is a little bonus

The final bonus was they sent us home with two little doggie bags with the Red Cross sticker on it that said New Year's Eve hangover kit on it. Inside the bags were potato chips, water, Alka-Seltzer and an energy drink.

PS - I forgot to mention that we started the night with two glasses of sparkling rosé champagne

Say hi next time.  :D

We were not planning anything special for NYE, having just moved, but I was perusing Twitter yesterday and saw that they had a cancellation at 5:45 for two of their Garden Bar seats.  I managed to snag them, and we really enjoyed the meal (just like we have enjoyed all of our previous meals at Rose's).  We got the same amuses/bites/treats that Bart mentioned, and they were delicious - I liked the popcorn soup better this time than I did when I had it initially (when it was on the menu a while back).  For our ordered items, we chose the burnt romaine (which I just LOVE), the quail (delicious), and the amatriciana pasta (amazing - super hearty and spicy).  We opted for the brisket (despite hearing from the bartender at Beauchert's that the eggplant parm was superb), and it was so tender and flavorful and there was SO MUCH OF IT (we got a doggie bag as well).  The collards were a bit too sweet for our taste, but the black-eyed peas that came with it were the best I have ever had.  For dessert, we had to get the kiwi-coconut (the banana split had peanuts), but it was really good - it somehow managed to be rich and refreshing all at the same time.

The only bummer of the evening were the obnoxious folks who sat next to us.  They completely dominated the bartender's time and attention (and the bartender handled it way more gracefully than I ever could have).  When we would occasionally engage the staff in conversation, the man would find a way to abruptly insert himself without deigning to look at or talk to us.  Usually sitting at the bar is awesome because you meet lots of interesting people - but I guess they can't all be winners.

Bart, I hope you didn't throw away the Rose's cards that were in the hangover kit - they're gift cards!  I believe they each have a value of $20.15.

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The only bummer of the evening were the obnoxious folks who sat next to us.  They completely dominated the bartender's time and attention (and the bartender handled it way more gracefully than I ever could have).  When we would occasionally engage the staff in conversation, the man would find a way to abruptly insert himself without deigning to look at or talk to us.  Usually sitting at the bar is awesome because you meet lots of interesting people - but I guess they can't all be winners.

Speaking of obnoxious folks... We had a 7:45 reservation at the kitchen counter (we'd also sat there last NYE and loved it). After a long wait upstairs, the staff told us that our seats were being occupied by a couple who had long since finished their meal and paid, but weren't moving. At 8:30, they offered us a regular table and we took it (my wife was about ready to kill someone). The manager comped one of our dinners and everyone was genuinely apologetic. As usual, we loved the food and the service. I'm just astounded that guests, being fully aware of the packed reservations book, would be so inconsiderate as to camp out in prime seats.

IMG_4574.jpg?dl=1&v=2

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Speaking of obnoxious folks... We had a 7:45 reservation at the kitchen counter (we'd also sat there last NYE and loved it). After a long wait upstairs, the staff told us that our seats were being occupied by a couple who had long since finished their meal and paid, but weren't moving. At 8:30, they offered us a regular table and we took it (my wife was about ready to kill someone). The manager comped one of our dinners and everyone was genuinely apologetic. As usual, we loved the food and the service. I'm just astounded that guests, being fully aware of the packed reservations book, would be so inconsiderate as to camp out in prime seats.

I'm astounded that the manager comped one of your dinners. Not that you didn't suffer enough to warrant some relief, but it wasn't management's fault (I'm certain you know this), and so that was really special customer service.

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I'm astounded that the manager comped one of your dinners. Not that you didn't suffer enough to warrant some relief, but it wasn't management's fault (I'm certain you know this), and so that was really special customer service.

Rose's deserves all of the praise and recognition that it's received over the past year. FoH is as great as the kitchen. Not that they need my loyalty, but they've earned it.

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Speaking of obnoxious folks... We had a 7:45 reservation at the kitchen counter (we'd also sat there last NYE and loved it). After a long wait upstairs, the staff told us that our seats were being occupied by a couple who had long since finished their meal and paid, but weren't moving. At 8:30, they offered us"¦..

It wasn't us, I swear!  The time on our receipt was 7:53 and as soon as we finished our coffee, we were gone.

That's a bummer.  i can't imagine what it's like to deal with jerks like that (probably every night)

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Speaking of obnoxious folks... We had a 7:45 reservation at the kitchen counter (we'd also sat there last NYE and loved it). After a long wait upstairs, the staff told us that our seats were being occupied by a couple who had long since finished their meal and paid, but weren't moving. At 8:30, they offered us a regular table and we took it (my wife was about ready to kill someone). The manager comped one of our dinners and everyone was genuinely apologetic. As usual, we loved the food and the service. I'm just astounded that guests, being fully aware of the packed reservations book, would be so inconsiderate as to camp out in prime seats.

And this is exactly why Rose's doesn't normally take reservations- so they don't have to deal with issues like this. Very classy to comp a meal!

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As a server said to me on one of my visits to Rose's- with no reservations, your table is your table.  We aren't going to make you feel like its time to go because someone else is waiting for it.  (or something to that effect).  Chef/owner Aaron Silverman explains in an interview with "We Love DC."

     ""We don't like kicking people out of their seats to sit the next person down," Silverman told me in a recent phone conversation, "but a big part of it is that it's advantageous to the neighborhood. All of the people in the neighborhood are at an advantage because they don't have to drive for an hour or fly to get to us and then find out that we are full. Their risk is much lower. They can just walk across the street."

Whether a restaurant takes reservations or no, its customers still have to play a waiting game. With reservations, they are calling on the phone every day with hopes to get a seat"”four, six or eight weeks out. With no reservations, diners have the opportunity to show up that very day, but they may have to wait in line.

"Anybody who wants to be at Rose's today can eat there today"”guaranteed. You may have to get in line early and you may have to wait, but you are guaranteed to eat dinner there today if you want to," Silverman declared. "If we took reservations only, we would be booked and there would be no way. You couldn't just go."

The policy of no reservations is the "lesser evil" because people who have waited can enjoy their meals for as long as they like, Silverman said.

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Ran into Porcupine here on the Monday or Tuesday night before Christmas.  We were a group of four including two first timers. Our first-timer friends were absolutely wow'ed, which is why we took them there.  I didn't record all that we had but, suffice to say, Rose's continues to really impress.  I loved the Bon Appetit write up that really emphasized the experiential aspect and all that goes into that.  Aaron Silverman is far from the most experienced or tenured chef/owner in this city but, age aside, I think many other restaurants would see better business results by emulating some of the humility and operational philosophy that pervades Rose's in both the front and back of the house.  Have now been about 5 times and, in my humblest of opinions, they deserve all the accolades they get.

Now if they could just do something about the insane lines. At least it does seem democratic.

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Now if they could just do something about the insane lines. At least it does seem democratic.

Good to see you back to posting!

Reminds me of standing in line for concert tickets over night during the 1980s. I think its fairly democratic but I think it can be annoying if you are standing in line for 45 minutes and half of the people in front of you have 2 or more people showing up and joining the line waiter. They may want to consider numbers to pass out so anyone passed ~70 or so will know if they can make the first seating.

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Good to see you back to posting!

Reminds me of standing in line for concert tickets over night during the 1980s. I think its fairly democratic but I think it can be annoying if you are standing in line for 45 minutes and half of the people in front of you have 2 or more people showing up and joining the line waiter. They may want to consider numbers to pass out so anyone passed ~70 or so will know if they can make the first seating.

I think the Bon Appetit piece explains Silverman's thinking vis a vis the only real alternative being the impossible reservation approach like French Laundry, Sushi Nakazawa (NYC) and other wildly-popular spots use. You know; when you Must call precisely six weeks, to the minute, in advance or log on Exactly at 10am on alternate Sundays. Etc, etc. When I read that, and everything else about his values and how he treats staff and customers, I was fully sold and don't complain too much about the line anymore (my post above notwithstanding).

BTW, Rose's capacity is 75 so the key line number is more like 150 than 70. They do 2-3 turns per night but never rush any customers from their tables. And, I think I recall them taking cell numbers for second seatings so you can get warm, grab a drink or whatever while passing an hour or two. One time, with some blustery weather, they sent a staffer out to give everyone cups of cider. I've grown to love Silverman's empathy and generosity of spirit as much as the fantastic and interesting grub.

And, thank you, Lion! Still remember that fun dinner at Peter Changs maybe 18 months ago?

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I think the Bon Appetit piece explains Silverman's thinking vis a vis the only real alternative being the impossible reservation approach like French Laundry, Sushi Nakazawa (NYC) and other wildly-popular spots use. You know; when you Must call precisely six weeks, to the minute, in advance or log on Exactly at 10am on alternate Sundays. Etc, etc. When I read that, and everything else about his values and how he treats staff and customers, I was fully sold and don't complain too much about the line anymore (my post above notwithstanding).

BTW, Rose's capacity is 75 so the key line number is more like 150 than 70. They do 2-3 turns per night but never rush any customers from their tables. And, I think I recall them taking cell numbers for second seatings so you can get warm, grab a drink or whatever while passing an hour or two. One time, with some blustery weather, they sent a staffer out to give everyone cups of cider. I've grown to love Silverman's empathy and generosity of spirit as much as the fantastic and interesting grub.

And, thank you, Lion! Still remember that fun dinner at Peter Changs maybe 18 months ago?

I haven't read the Bon Appetit article, though its understandable Silverman's stance on the topic, which I mainly agree with especially in terms of access. However, it can be frustrating when waiting in line during the rain or cold and not being sure if the people ahead of you are singles, doubles, or groups of four. On a recent trip last month, it reminded me of queuing up for concert tickets and wondering if I should have gotten there earlier. In that analogue like others have mentioned in various threads on the forum, the evolution would be a ticketmaster type intermediary.

Can't believe that dinner was only 18 months ago, time is just going way to fast!

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Just a heads up that on Saturday night we were told - both while waiting in line outside and again when providing our contact information after requesting the second seating - that they are being more strict about full parties being present to be seated.  It sounded like they may have had a run of people somewhat taking advantage of their 15-minute grace period. (this is why we can't have nice things)

Dinner was amazing as always.  Two very minor regrets - the pasta courses right now are all somewhat similar.  All are fantastic, but if you are ordering pretty much the entire menu of small plates, as we did, I'd probably pick one or two rather than getting all three variations on a theme.  They also had a fish special (small plate) on Saturday night, that while I wish I could remember more of the details, I didn't enjoy as much - came on top of a chimichurri-esque (it may have actually been chimichurri) that to me was a bit too grassy.

That being said, a very minor nit (and a poor ordering choice on my end) in an excellent meal.  I could live off that pea cake...

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