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Central, 11th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Downtown - Executive Chef Nick Johnson and Chef de Cuisine Sean Mulcahy


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Just in case anyone cares - & I'm not sure you do - but my comment about the burger temp wasn't a criticism. I hadn't even noticed the server didn't inquire how I'd like the burger cooked, and I am by no means a shrinking violet when it comes to ordering a dish how I'd like it (my family calls me Sally from time to time). If the burger hadn't been cooked to my preference when I got it, I would have asked them to put it back on the fire for a few minutes. In this case, I was quite content.

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It's possible that this isn't a matter of forgetting. One member of my party of four ordered the burger and was not asked for a temperature preference. As the server walked away (said friend was the last to order), she snagged him and requested medium rare.

Overall she liked the burger (and when I had a bite, the flavor was great), but it was very messy to eat. Whoever made the comment about the meat to bread ratio was dead on. A worthy burger, but Palena still has my favorite DC burger.

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That being said, of course, Central should strive to ask how a diner likes his or her buger cooked ....

I like mine fresh-picked.

Geez, louise, people, maybe the server forgot to ask! I was asked when I ordered it. And I dinn ....

... Even at Central, such incredibly minor slips can happen. Why, when I was at Citronelle last, I was INCENSED that Mark Slater didn't inquire if I preferred my Puligny Montrachet at 57 or 59 degrees, because, as everyone knows, 58 just don't cut it.

Beard nomination indeed.

ETA: JLK, you and I think alike.

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I like mine fresh-picked.

Geez, louise, people, maybe the server forgot to ask! I was asked when I ordered it. And I dinn ....

... Even at Central, such incredibly minor slips can happen. Why, when I was at Citronelle last, I was INCENSED that Mark Slater didn't inquire if I preferred my Puligny Montrachet at 57 or 59 degrees, because, as everyone knows, 58 just don't cut it.

Beard nomination indeed.

ETA: JLK, you and I think alike.

Dave: nyuck nyuck nyuck. :o

I was about to recommend Ann Tyler's hilarious book called Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. The restaurant, Scarlatti's in Baltimore, lets you order food, then they bring you what they think you're homesick for, instead.

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I was at Central about a week ago. I ordered the burger and was asked whether I wanted cheese or bacon with it. I was not asked how I wanted the burger prepared. To be frank, I was confused. Central is a new restaurant, and I have never eaten at Citronelle. I didn't know whether it was an oversight, whether the restaurant was busy, or whether the chef knows how the burger "should" be prepared. I chimed in that I wanted it medium, and all was well. Nevertheless, given the number of people in this thread who have reported that they weren't asked how they wanted their burger prepared, I am beginning to wonder whether Central defaults to a certain preparation or whether they're just that damn busy.

The onion tart is phenomenal.

The burger is amazing (and messy in a comforting way), but I prefer Palena's.

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I went to Central Michael Richard for dinner on Saturday night. This was my second visit. The first time I had gone, I got the burger & a salad and I LOVED it. This time, I stepped it up a bit. Bad idea. (I have used sections so you can go straight to the part of the meal that you care about).

APPETIZERS - We had the gougeres and they were fun and yummy as usual.

ENTREES - I had the now-famous and highly touted short rib. It was tasty, but I was not bowled over (I am embarrassed to say). It was very tender & juicy, but I did still need to use a knife to cut it and it wasn't exactly bursting with flavor. Maybe I was distracted by the annoying crunchy potato stick-things that they put on top of the mashed potatoes. What ARE those things and why are they there.......in my way????? I have heard about Michel Richard's flair with texture-mixing, but this was NOT a good fouch. Look, my thing is.....either be French fries or be mashed potatoes - do NOT try to be both. It definitely took away from my enjoyment of a good plate of meat and potatoes. Lastly, I don-t like having the side salad come with everything and on my plate with hot foods. Maybe this is a silly complaint, but I don't like my salad dressing mixing with my hot food items. I don't like it at my Aunt Gloria's house, I don't like it at Caribbean restaurants, and I don't like it at Michel Richard's house either. I mean, why do they think that the same side salad perfectly compliments every entrée?? The salad was tasty, but maybe just ill-positioned (and maybe ill-matched with that entree) I would have preferred some spinach or even the asparagus. Oh, my friends had the lobster burger with fries (oh, I'm sorry - I mean frites)and the fried chicken. Both of those items were wonderful!!! And Sietsema's opinion of the fries were spot on. They were absolutely fabulous!!! Diet, shmiet. I am definitely getting an order of these babies for myself next time. Oh, and I tried the chicken and it was yummy!!! I will probably order that next time too.

SIDE DISHES - macaroni and cheese. YUCK. ick. I have to disagree with both DR and TS on this one. I didn't like this at all. The cheese was TOO cheesy, too strong, too yellow and too runny. Maybe it was the sour cream that they add. (I hate sour cream.) Now, I am normally a fan of soul food-type of macaroni & cheese, so maybe I am biased against these fou-fou versions. But Vidalia and Zola step up this side dish VERY nicely and I love their take on the down-home comfort food. At Central... I'll pass.

DESSERT - The orange soufflé with the chocolate sauce. This was a fun dish, executed flawlessly!! Perfect balance of orange and rich chocolate, without being TOO sweet and clawing And I LOVED the little chocolate crunchies they sprinkle over the whipped cream. My friends got the Kit Kat bar and the caramel crème brulee - neither of which I liked, but I am not a huge chocolate or a caramel fan. So they were just not my cup of tea (I wouldn't have ordered them anyway). The crème brulee was done well though- nice caramelized crust and good, smooth texture of the crème. The desserts were definitely the standouts of this meal. My friends were VERY, VERY happy with their choices.

SERVICE - Wonderful!! We had what I think is the beast seat in the house- a 4-top table along the window. Our server was Mikey and he was very, very sweet and attentive and funny and engaging and knowledgeable. I would highly, highly recommend him. The time of things we a little off though. It took forever to get any bread to the table. But then we got our food 20 (yes, 20) minutes after ordering. It was so fast that the gougeres hadn't even come out yet. But then it took an hour from the time we got dessert to the time we got the bill paid. A little weird, but probably due to the crowds in the restaurant at that time of night.

OVERALL - I will certainly go back, but I think I will stick to the more pedestrian items like the burgers and the friend chicken. I would NOT order the short ribs again. And stay far, far away from the macaroni & cheese. There are way too many other phenomenal things to choose from.

Peace & Many Blessings,

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Had an incredible birthday dinner here on Saturday!

OK, I'm firmly in the camp who thinks the gougeres are out of this world- whoever thinks they're "just ok" must be smoking crack. Light, airy, cheesy, completely addictive, they were a real highlight of the evening.

The onion tart was a winner, also- much lighter and thinner than I was expecting, these crispy wedges went down easy. Very tasty.

For mains, Mr. Hamilton ordered the 72 hr. shortrib, and I the lobster burger. The tastes I had of his shortrib made my eyes roll back in my head. Sooo good- very tender and flavorful, it melted in my mouth. Loved the mashed potatoes, too.

I'd been dreaming about the lobster burger since enjoying it at the lounge at Citronelle about a year ago, so maybe my expectations were too high, but I was (very slightly) disappointed, as this version seemed more like a firm seafood mousse than the chunks of lobster tail I seem to recall. Still, it was great, but I was wishing I'd ordered the shortrib. Or the hanger steak. Or the tuna burger (which I also remember loving at Citronelle's lounge). Actually, all the plates passing by looked fantastic. Just means I need to get back ASAP. Oh- also had the mac n' cheese, which I loved, but was too full to make much of a dent in. I'm a fan of the rich, wet mac n' cheeses, so I'd order this again. Drunk, full, and happy, we skipped dessert and headed home, but not before checking out the action in the kitchen from the window to the rest rooms. I could have stood there watching all night- what a show.

Also great to meet some fellow Rockweilers! :o

(and pretty sure we saw M. Richard himself dining with a friend!)

Oh- and our server was fantastic- friendly, attentive without being overbearing, and our meal was well-timed. A great evening.

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I'd heard plenty about the various offerings at Central but had not seen a menu until dinner last night. It really is minimalist in its descriptions. When I saw a salad of iceberg lettuce with bleu cheese on the menu, I knew I had to order it. It was wonderful--creamy, crunchy, and delicious. My husband started with the cherry tomato and mozzarella salad and was surprised that the tomatoes seemed cooked. He also said it had "green sauce," which I'm guessing might be some kind of pesto. I didn't get a good look or a taste, as I was too busy tucking into my own salad ;) .

He got the rotisserie chicken for an entree, which came with roasted potatoes and some kind of mixed salad greens. He enjoyed it and cleaned his plate but said it had a bit too much oil or something that made it seem greasy. Having planned for weeks to get the lobster burger, I was not disappointed in that selection. Unfortunately, I was too full to finish it (I blame the salad for that ...and the bread...and the fries :blink: ). For the price, I really wanted to be able to finish it, but I loved the flavor and textures of the half I ate and didn't see any point in overstuffing myself to the point of misery. Given the cost, I brought the remainder home, even though it doesn't seem like a great candidate for leftovers.

I had hoped to try the kit kat for dessert, but there was just no way. I also had to decline the profiteroles :P .

The service was attentive and close to impeccable. It must be hard for the servers to keep track of all of the components and preparation of the various dishes with so little description on the menu to refer to. I had been curious as to what else was in the iceberg-bleu cheese salad, as it generally has more than those two components (e.g., tomato, bacon, onion), so I asked what was in it. The server went through a detailed description of lettuce, crumbled blue cheese, and blue cheese dressing, noting that the lettuce is not served as a wedge but is, rather, chopped. It sounded (and was) delicious, but a couple of forkfuls in--at the tip of the iceberg, as it were--I realized there were flecks of something else in the salad. (Does this actually have bacon or onion bits in it, I wondered?). Ah! Walnuts. As I dug down, the pieces were bigger: lots and and lots of delicious walnuts. I love walnuts and they worked beautifully flavor- and texture-wise in the salad, but that could have been a real unpleasant surprise for somebody.

And, no, I didn't say anything. I didn't want to get the server in trouble for a slip that caused no harm. Perhaps the server had described the salad a dozen times already that day, including the nuts. Having seen a similar issue raised in Tom's chat last week (onion tart had bacon), I'd say that for anybody with any issues (religion, allergy, etc.) with any particular ingredients and so little to go from the menu at Central, it pays to be especially careful.

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We visited for the first time last night as part of Tripewriter's birthday week. The service was a little sullen, the restaurant was too loud for the server to really hear us -- or us her, and we got screwed by the DC taxi driver when we tried to go home, but those were the only negatives.

There were eight of us -- the max for sitting in the dining room -- and I think everyone enjoyed their food. There was lots of sharing and tasting, and nothing that passed my lips disappointed! The serving glitches left people who had ordered salads for appetizers and then sides (they were vegetarians) for meals staring mournfully down the table at those of us who had ordered sides for appetizers and then entrees as meals. As we'd been out walking around the cherry trees and it was about 9 pm at that point, this did not go over well. Once it was brought to our server's attention, however, the problem was immediately solved. Again, I think this issue was a result of the room being so loud that she couldn't hear the diners requesting (several times) for the salads to be brought out first.

On to the food! We started with some appetizers and sides to share -- the gougeres were lovely, if perhaps a bit chilled, and the frites were -- dare I say it? -- nice. Nothing extraordinary, but tasty. And I enjoyed the dipping sauces. The Brussels sprouts were, unfortunately, universally a bit bitter. This is, I know, difficult to avoid when cooking sprouts, but they were probably my least favorite item of the evening. Tripewriter had the oysters and declared them very good ;) For entrees, I had the fried chicken with a side of mac and cheese to share, my neighbor had the hanger steak, and Tripewriter had the lamb shank. I LOVED the mustard sauce for the chicken. I dipped the frites, the chicken, the (amazing) bread...almost everything! I found the chicken a little too...fluffy...for me, but the taste was excellent. I also loved the riced potatoes under it. The steak was devoured -- down to the last bite -- and I think the lamb shank disappeared well before any other dish. We packed up our skimpy leftovers for lunch today (mustard chicken, here I come!) and ordered dessert. Tripewriter was too full (!) for dessert, so he had a glass of the Kracher icewine, which we've had before and loved. I had the apple pandowdy -- I haven't had one before, and I wasn't 100% sure what it would look like, but it was divine. Truly, truly divine. Rich and warm but not too heavy, with a crispy crust. Yum. My brother and his wife split a ginormous Kit Kat bar (much larger than I had predicted for them), which they enjoyed enough to finish, but they said that the ice cream accompanying it had ice crystals in it, which surprised me. Of course, this same brother claimed that he thought that his side of mashed potatoes tasted "fishy," so... :blink:

All in all, it was a very fun night with great friends and good food. I wished the service were a little friendlier and more compassionate, but every item was delivered to the right person, even after some musical chairs had been played, and we were never ignored or treated badly. Now that cab drive home, on the other hand...

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How packed is Central these days? Will I have trouble dropping in for lunch at the bar?

I was there on Monday for lunch at 12:30 and was able to get a table without a reservation. The place was pretty packed but it wasn't as busy as it is during dinner hours.

Mark's recommendation re: corned beef was spot on!

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My family were visiting me in DC for a week, so I took the opportunity to make reservations Central on Monday night. I'm so pleased I did, we all loved it! We all enjoyed the space, particularly the wine cellar and the bathrooms!

The service was outstanding. Our table was booked for 9pm, so it wasn't overly busy when we went in, and our waiter, Timothy, could not have been more friendly or helpful. He was very enthusiastic about the food, which is always good. And the food was perfect. I ordered the tuna burger, which I enjoyed very much, but my sister had the shrimp burger which was even better. The potato crisp-things on the top of the burgers were great-a perfect crunch My dad's chicken pot pie was delicious, full of vegetables, but he couldn't finish it, although he tried hard! The burger and the shrimp were equally good. We ordered a side of fries, as we had chosen salad with our burgers, and we were particularly pleased we had because that meant we could dip them into the homemade mayo, which was outstanding.

Despite being very full, we ordered dessert too, largely so that my mum could have a plate of cheese. We split the cheese, the kitkat bar and a pear sorbet between 5 of us. All were fantastic. They loved the kitkat bar, and the ice cream that went with it. Timothy recommended the pear sorbet, and as a devoted pear fan I had to order it. It was incredible, it tasted like biting into a pear! We all went away very happy.

Oh, I should also add, the glasses of wine my parents ordered with their cheese were complimentary.

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I just got back to the office after having Central's bacon cheeseburger for lunch. The burger is great and all but next time I have it I think I will order it with the mayo on the side so I can control how much of it goes on. I don't like quite so much mayo on my burger; I find that too much obscures some of the flavor of the meat. Just me; ymmv.

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So having read the posts in this thread, I'm psyched to check out Central this weekend (lucked out with a reservation on open table). I've heard about many of the items on the menu,but was wondering if anyone had a link to the full menu or could describe at least most of the entrees choices? The website looks like it is still being developed. Thanks. Also, I'm curious what is the price range for entrees?

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I'm psyched to check out Central this weekend ... was wondering if anyone had a link to the full menu or could describe at least most of the entrees choices? ...I'm curious what is the price range for entrees?

Washingtonian posted a menu a while back. Its outdated, but I think mostly just in that the prices have gone up a few bucks leaving most entrees between $20-32.

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So having read the posts in this thread, I'm psyched to check out Central this weekend (lucked out with a reservation on open table). I've heard about many of the items on the menu,but was wondering if anyone had a link to the full menu or could describe at least most of the entrees choices? The website looks like it is still being developed. Thanks. Also, I'm curious what is the price range for entrees?

I know that when the Washingtonian did their first peek at Central, they posted a scanned version of the menu on their website. It should still be there somewhere. From my memory, I think the entrees start at $17 and go up to $29.

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So having read the posts in this thread, I'm psyched to check out Central this weekend (lucked out with a reservation on open table). I've heard about many of the items on the menu,but was wondering if anyone had a link to the full menu or could describe at least most of the entrees choices? The website looks like it is still being developed. Thanks. Also, I'm curious what is the price range for entrees?
try here.
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Ok, Can someone explain to me what the correct temp on the tuna burger should be? My first tuna burger tonight came out ice cold to the touch and in the center, as if it came directly from the fridge to the table I was shocked when I bit into it, as I was expecting at least a warm sandwich, and the whole thing fell to pieces. I ask the waitress to send it back (i never send food back), which she did, she then came back and told me the kitchen liked to cook it rare, hence the reason for the burger being cold. I have had rare tuna before, but this was way too cold to be considered a burger. Anyways, I got a new tuna burger that was nice and warm and very tasty.

Has anyone else had the tuna burger? If so,was it served cold!

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The last time I had it, the middle was probably just higher than body temperature, which is perfect, as tuna fat renders at about body temperature.

I would have been fine with this. Oh well, better luck next time.

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It sounds to me like your 'luck" was OK. You sent it back and it came back to your liking. Forwarned is forarmed. You now know that they cook it rare and it appears that you like it a cooked a little bit more than they usually cook it.

No, I actually would have liked it cooked rare, but it appears the execution was off. I don't believe the kitchen would would serve the tuna burger that cold, even at rare!

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We're going here for dinner this weekend, and my husband's a vegetarian. Does anyone have recommendations on good dishes for a vegetarian to order for dinner? (No meat or fish.) I did call the restaurant and am aware that there are no vegetarian entrees. Thanks.

Not a good place for a vegetarian. Maybe he can order some of the side items to make a meal. There is a link up thread to the menu. The prices are not correct, but much of the menu is still the same. It must be hard living with a vegetarian :blink:

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Central also has the habit (mentioned upthread) of not advertising key ingredients of a dish. Case in point: the onion tart comes with bacon, which is not mentioned on the menu. You'll have to ask lots of questions to suss things out. I agree that Central might not be the best option for dining with a vegetarian.

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We had a pretty good and entertaining dinner at Central on Saturday night for our first visit. The entertaining part came from being seated at one of 2 tops directly next to the open kitchen. At first, we thought this would be annoying having staff run by us all the time, but it proved to be lots of fun watching the chefs run around and prep the food. For those of you who want a more private meal, you can still catch a lot of the action through a glass wall that peaks into the kitchen from the hallway to the bathrooms.

Now onto the food:

One thing to note at the outset is that almost all of the portions are large, if not gargantuan. We saw lots of dishes coming out and only a few were small to normal size. I think next time, I will definitely order less and share. (not to be confusing but the main part of the entrees seemed normal to large (e.g. 2 medium size pieces of fried chicken) - but they fill the plates with starches and little salads, so the dishes become super-sized).

Appetizers:

Goat cheese caesar salad - very good in a unique presentation where a bunch of rommaine lettuce is molded/stood up (sorry hard to describe) and then topped with a slather of caesar dressing and bits of tomato. On top of that is placed one super thin, airy and crunchy crouton. Tasted like a really good creamy caesar dressing with the added tang of the goat cheese.

French onion soup - really, really, great. The best thing we had. Very rich onion flavored broth with lots of caramelized onion bits along with 4 hunks of bread stuck in to soak up the broth. Then about a cup of cheese - (guyere I'm guessing) - yes that much, I saw them making them - on top that forms a thick fondue like consistency.

Entrees:

Fried chicken with mustard sauce - I liked it a lot. As lots of folks have mentioned, it is a panko-like crust. I really enjoy the extra crunch that came with it and the mustard sauce was a perfect complement. The chicken consisted of one boneless breast and one boned-piece of dark meat (which could have been cooked alittle longer - parts were pretty pink). It also comes with a side salad of lettuce tossed with a vinagrette and a huge pool of extra creamy and buttery mashed potatoes.

Fish and chips - very underwhelming. After reading great things about the chef's frying abilities, this was a real let down. The fish was battered in a light breading that was yellowish and seemed egg heavy (less crunch). The real problem was the massive over-salting of the fish. The tastes I had were like mouthfuls of salt. My wife didn't want to send it back though because she got turned off and was full from the huge salad. So we took most of the dish home. It comes with two good size fish filets and a lot of fries. The fries weren't so special either - good, homemade, but nothing special and lacking salt. I wonder if the chef accidentally salted the fish instead of the fries. The fish comes with a very good tartar sauce on the side which helped to mask the saltiness of the leftovers.

Side:

Thinking we would want some more vegetables, we also got a side of green beans which were not necessary due to the large portions. However, they were good. Most cook well, some a little floppy for my taste. Sauteed in a buttery sauce with bits of caramelized onions. A surprise, surprise, the portion was pretty big, enough to share for 2-4, depending on your appetite.

Dessert:

We were so full from the large dishes that we decided to share one of the somewhat smaller desserts. Small is relative though because the kit kat bar is about a foot long and the banana split comes in a huge, packed trough. So we shared the apple brown dowdy a la mode. It was good, but not great. Apples and raisins are baked with lots of brown sugar and topped with a sugar crumble top. The ice cream was good and I was amazed that despite all of the sugar in the dish, it wasn't too sweet.

Overall, a pretty good experience despite the one bad dish. Next time, I might skip the entree riffs on American food and share some apps and desserts which were better.

PS - thanks to those of you who posted the link to the menu. The prices have gone up $1-5 for most, but not all items.

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I also dined there Saturday, but my friend and I ate at the bar. Keith's assessment of the portion sizes is dead-on. I have left Central on each of my four visits almost uncomfortably stuffed (that's my fault, not theirs). The French onion soup looked incredible when ordered by the patron to my right; I wish I could order it, but onion soup generally doesn't agree with me which is truly a pity.

My friend raved about her soft shell crab; she ordered the appetizer as an entree after starting with tuna carpaccio. She cleaned both plates and went on to eat some of my buttery mashed potatoes too. Next time I will ask for the matchstick potatoes to be left off my mashed. They don't do it for me.

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After four (4) visits to Central. I agree with Kilman's two stars more than I do Tom's three.

Tom gave it 2-1/2, I believe. DC magazine's former restaurant critic gave it three, despite panning the hamburger everyone here raves about. That review also included the line, "Vegetarians run screaming from this meat-heavy menu ..."

ETA: I stand corrected (by Joe H below). I'd been equating Tom's 2-1/2 out of 4 with DC's 3 on a 5-star scale. So I guess Tom did rate it higher.

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Tom gave it three stars: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7032101500.html I've now had dinner at Central four times and, with the exception of the first which was the subject of a critical post much earlier in this thread, the latter three have all been excellent including this past Saturday evening. I do wish that some of the bartenders there were better educated about some of the food however. I continue in my own nitpicking of this. Kliman's review read like a two and a half or three star review, not the two that he summarily gave it.

By the way, the Washingtonian had an extremely interesting correction at the end of the Central review relating to Kliman's review of Bebo.

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We stopped in at 6:30 and were able to get a table for 2 despite it being closed on Open Table. We had a positive experience, but we didn't have a three star experience. Service was efficient and accommodating and the food was good but not great.

We started with the panko fried soft shell crab, which was quite good itself though the cole slaw salad it was served on was lacking flavor beyond the mayo; we both agreed, though, that the soft shell crab we had at Matyson in Philly two weeks ago was noticeably better. For an entree, my wife got the lobster burger, which I actually ate half of. It was very good, but one unexpected side effect was that we both noticed our hands reeked of fish while sitting at the Norah Jones concert later and both excused ourselves to wash our hands! I got the fried chicken, which I liked but I wasn't excited. To tell you the truth, I was slightly disappointed. Is it the same fried chicken served at Citronelle? Maybe I had unfair expectations created by Kliman's raves about Citronelle's chicken and its intensified flavor, despite the possibility that they are different creations. Like the post, above my dark meat was very pink, but that didn't bother me; I actually liked the dark meat portion better, even though I generally prefer white.

My major complaint that applied to all the food we ordered was how excessively oily, greasy, and fatty everything was, from the mashed potatoes to the brioche. In fact, my greens with my chicken were heavily oiled in the vinaigrette! I know fat adds flavor, but we both thought it was too much across the board. More wasn't better in all cases. And it was really the tactile sensation and texture that were the turnoffs moreso than the flavor of these lipids.

The only truly outstanding thing we had was the Kit Kat bar that we took on the go, but that's not a Central innovation. We're glad we went, we enjoyed our food, we enjoyed the atmosphere, and we think it's fairly priced for the location and quality, but I'm not itching to return as much as I had expected. Two star experience.

Pax,

Brian

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Would it be stupid for my husband and me to walk into Central on Saturday around 7:30 and hope for a table? I think I know the answer but I really want to eat there this Saturday and the reservations are all booked. If not, maybe we should try Cafe du Parc?

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Would it be stupid for my husband and me to walk into Central on Saturday around 7:30 and hope for a table? I think I know the answer but I really want to eat there this Saturday and the reservations are all booked. If not, maybe we should try Cafe du Parc?
I'd say expect a lengthy wait at the bar. That said, if you can grab a couple of spots at the bar you can always eat there.
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Would it be stupid for my husband and me to walk into Central on Saturday around 7:30 and hope for a table? I think I know the answer but I really want to eat there this Saturday and the reservations are all booked. If not, maybe we should try Cafe du Parc?
We walked in at 6:30 this past Saturday and were seated immediately. There was definitely space available at the bar as we were leaving (sometime around 8ish) and tables seemed to be turning fairly quickly. I'd say give it a shot, or if you can go a little earlier, you might not have to wait at all.
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Would it be stupid for my husband and me to walk into Central on Saturday around 7:30 and hope for a table? I think I know the answer but I really want to eat there this Saturday and the reservations are all booked. If not, maybe we should try Cafe du Parc?

They have some tables in the bar you might be able to get wedged into. I'd reconsider your timing, though. 7:30 is the heart of the rush most nights (it may come a little earlier on Sunday); unless you have a show or something you might contemplate and afternoon at the museums or the E Street Cinema and an earlier dinner at 6 or so.

Personally, I'd be just as happy to eat at Parc as at Central. Six d'un; demi-douzaine de l'autre. And someone needs to check out the choucroute.

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Thanks! My husband and I haven't been out where it is just the two of us in a while, so I think we'll try Cafe du Parc. I love Central and am almost always up for bar dining, but this Saturday night I'd rather not.

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At 8:00 on Saturday evening there were a half dozen tables in the dining room which were available without a reservation. I know because we asked. At the bar there were only two seats taken. Only two!!! At 9:00 the bar was full and the dining room was full. Still, the lesson learned is that this seems to be a restaurant that, until sometime past 8:00, it is all right to arrive without a reservation and have no concern of being served dinner.

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At 8:00 on Saturday evening there were a half dozen tables in the dining room which were available without a reservation. I know because we asked. At the bar there were only two seats taken. Only two!!! At 9:00 the bar was full and the dining room was full. Still, the lesson learned is that this seems to be a restaurant that, until sometime past 8:00, it is all right to arrive without a reservation and have no concern of being served dinner.
Joe, I would caution that your observation might only be valid on Saturdays. During the week, the place is usually packed at the bar starting about 6:00 (they open the doors at 5:30) through the entire evening and my guess is that most of the tables are spoken for.
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My major complaint that applied to all the food we ordered was how excessively oily, greasy, and fatty everything was, from the mashed potatoes to the brioche. In fact, my greens with my chicken were heavily oiled in the vinaigrette! I know fat adds flavor, but we both thought it was too much across the board. More wasn't better in all cases. And it was really the tactile sensation and texture that were the turnoffs moreso than the flavor of these lipids.

You are absolutely right about the grease!

I was there for dinner last night and I ordered the burger. The bun was so greasy and slippery that I could barely hold it still while I cut it in half. ...especially give that there is a big slab of cheese AND those crunchy things on the burger. It was still yummy but with confusingly oily bread. Maybe they're using greasy hands to move the bread onto the burger.

One good thing that happened is that they finally stopped putting those random crunchy things on the mashed potatoes. WoooHoooooo!!!!!!

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You are absolutely right about the grease!

I was there for dinner last night and I ordered the burger. The bun was so greasy and slippery that I could barely hold it still while I cut it in half. ...especially give that there is a big slab of cheese AND those crunchy things on the burger. It was still yummy but with confusingly oily bread. Maybe they're using greasy hands to move the bread onto the burger.

One good thing that happened is that they finally stopped putting those random crunchy things on the mashed potatoes. WoooHoooooo!!!!!!

When we were there, my husband had the complaint about greasiness with the rotisserie chicken, but my lobster burger and fries were not greasy. I don't remember the lobster making my hands fishy either.
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It's called brioche. It's an inherently buttery bread.

Though brioche, properly made, does not feel greasy to the touch.

My impression on eating a lobster burger at Citronelle was that they might have lightly brushed the bun with butter on finishing its construction.

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