DonRocks

Cesare, I just reread through this entire thread, and your European perspective on things is very interesting. Everyone really appreciates you being here on this chat, and I'm personally looking forward to enjoying your terrific restaurant again very soon - please have an extra lobe of foie gras on hand. Thank you Cesare! P.S. Once again, here is the link to the thread on Tosca.

Confirmed about the sign in the window: "Heller's is no longer open for business. Sorry." But if it brings any comic relief, Red Bean has made a gallant attempt to write their name in French on a handwritten sign in their window: "L'Haraicot [sic] Rouge." Has anyone been to Dos Gringos? Cheers, Rocks.

Just wait until it's 6 PM and you're exhausted and don't feel like chopping carrots. You'll remember I said this, Rocks.

I walked into LeftBank today at around 10 AM, and enjoyed a really nice cup of fresh fruit with orange-blossom water ($5.00) and housemade granola with lowfat yogurt and dried fruit, the bowl drizzled around the rim with organic honey ($6.00). My server (at the empty bar in the center) was friendly, and the food was very good, ample, healthy, and an excellent value. I agree with Nadya that LeftBank is an interesting place to while away the hours at their impressive weekend brunch (served 8-5 Saturdays and Sundays). Their menu seems to be designed so that the average diner will spend $10-12 on food whether they get fruit, a breakfast sandwich, or have the omelette cart wheeled to their table for a tableside preparation. One thing about a place such as LeftBank: even if you go and spend only $6 for a big bowl of oatmeal, you still get the exact same atmosphere that people spending $50 for dinner would get, and that's one of the main attractions of this restaurant - people walk into it and are so befuddled by the futuristic setting that they don't quite know what to do. This is about the closest thing I've ever seen to the Milkbar in A Clockwork Orange, and it's a perfect place for tourists to enjoy a weekend breakfast, even with children in tow. Cheerios, Rocks.

This was a book with an agenda. Nevertheless, Schlosser is largely correct, and he has sown the seeds of impact with this seminal work, even though that might not be evident at this point in time. Cheers, Rocks.

Haidar Karoum is one of the most underrated chefs in Washington – it isn’t so much that he’s underrated, he’s not rated – and he should be. Highly. During a multi-course meal at Asia Nora this week (the chef’s tasting menu is $58, and is the best way to order here), I was impressed by some plates, dazzled by others. Haidar’s Crispy Honshimenji Mushroom & Green Bean Tempura qualifies as legitimate food porn. I sat there, bite-by-bite, getting drawn in more-and-more with each passing moment, and wondering to myself why anyone else around here can’t pull off a tempura this good. It’s shake-your-head-in-disbelief good, and yet it's just a simple tempura of green beans and mushrooms. And the Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops with Sake-Yuzu Emulsion were as good as any scallops I’ve had in a long time. You know, I get so sick of ordering “day boat” or “diver” scallops, and seeing these little shriveled water-chestnut things showing up on the plate. These are amazing scallops. And the sauce! And the damned duck! Seared Duck Breast with Mirin Glazed Turnips & Crispy Autumn Roll was perfectly executed strips of breast meat, and like all the other dishes, it contained about a billion ingredients yet came off as almost simplistic because it was so clean and balanced (it is rare for a chef to use so many ingredients and pull off the illusion of lightness and simplicity). And in case you hadn’t heard, there’s a Starr in town. Arthur has been tending bar at Asia Nora for three years now, and he is at once polished, knowledgeable and utterly without pretense despite the hilariously unfortunate robe he must wear. He knows the wines, he knows the menu and he knows how to mix a drink. When you go, try the Henri Gouges Bourgogne, a rare, declassified Pinot Blanc from Gouge’s Les Perrières vineyard in Nuits-Saint-Georges, for $42. Steven Damato, a co-owner with Nora Pouillon, knows and respects wine, and prefers to serve them from bottle - he offers only one single white (a Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine), and one single red (a Vaqueyras), by the glass, but they are both serious wines and well-worth ordering. Remember, at Asia Nora most things are organic: I saw Arthur pour a simple glass of tomato juice for a young diner at one of the tables, and it was the expensive, organic version - not something you'd find at almost any other restaurant. There are some drawbacks to Asia Nora: it is expensive, and the five-seat bar serves mainly as a holding tank for diners waiting for their tables, but if you go on a night when Arthur is working, and turn yourself over to the talented hands of Haidar Karoum, you’ll experience a great meal with first-rate service at one of the most overlooked restaurants in all of Washington. Cheers, Rocks. And don't miss the warm chocolate five-spice cake for dessert.

Mobil Travel Guide review sounds a bit like Paradise to me as well! ← I had a great meal at the bar at Wish about a year-and-a-half ago. I don't remember details, but based on what I had that night, I would urge you to go. Cheers! Rocks.

Y'all make sure to poke fun at Tom's new punk-rock haircut.

You guys should piss him off by ordering ice water (and make sure to ask for extra sauce).

My vote for Best Value For Any Single Food Item in all of Washington must go to Corduroy's Filipino Spring Rolls during Happy Hour. From 4-7 PM at the bar only, these things are FOUR DOLLARS, and even at the regular price of six dollars, it's Free Giveaway City. During lunch only, they offer two rolls for five dollars in the restaurant. General Manager Rissa Pagsibigan is the impetus behind these spring rolls: it's her mom's own recipe, executed at the hands of the master Tom Power. Rissa told me that her mom comes in periodically and berates Tom if things aren't exactly as they're supposed to be ('You need to chop the water chestnuts a bit smaller!'). Between Rissa and Ferhat (our own fero style), Corduroy's FOH is becoming a huge strength. Next time you go in, congratulate Rissa on being one of only eight women to be invited in 2004 to join the Washington chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier. We've all had spring rolls a million times, but I'll go out on a bamboo shoot and say that I don't think I've ever had any that are better than these. Cheers! Rocks. P.S. Try the pistachio bread pudding, made with brioche!

This is what it took to get you to post? With your departure following Michael Hartzer's, Washington has lost two of its brightest culinary talents in 2004, hopefully only temporarily. I'd wish you luck except it isn't necessary. I'm certain that a stint at Bouley will broaden and deepen your already considerable talents, and that in a year or two, you'll be ready to pounce on your own terms. I'm also certain that we'll be popping corks in the very near future. Be afraid. D

Gillian, in case you're reading this, I'm pleased to see you enjoying your new life of leisure since all this eGullet publicity came out. Eastern Market ... and Stoney's! It's distressing to see a picture of this burger, as it looks like an overcooked shoe. Consistency is often the first thing to go during a period of unsustainable expansion, followed shortly thereafter by a general dumbing down of quality. Crab bomb, schmab bomb ... Holly, you da bomb - it was wonderful meeting you! Cheers and peace, and stains of grease, Rocks.

Consider that it's in Michel's own kitchen, and that he'll be cooking to impress Keller (and vice-versa).

Hit Bijou des Glaces for what some people consider the best ice cream in Nice. A bit out of the way (skewed towards the western part of town), but worth a detour as the owner pours his heart and soul into each scoop, and will apparently be retiring soon (he hasn't retired yet). Cheers, Rocks.

Let's send him to China Star in Fairfax for Fish in Sour Mustard, and carefully map his route back to the hotel to keep him within a stone's throw of a bathroom, God help him if he hits rush-hour traffic.

Holly what are you looking for, exactly? If you want really GOOD burgers and dogs, you're going to eat them in better environs, and pay for them - there are no decrepit shacks within the city limits, unless you want to hit roach-infested stir-fry. Good and pricey: Palena front room (burgers and dogs), Matchbox (burgers), Firefly (burgers), Colorado Kitchen (burgers), Spy Museum (dogs), Johnny's Half Shell (dogs) Bad and cheap: Five Guys (burgers), Ben's Chili Bowl (dogs), Florida Avenue Grill (burgers and dogs I think), Weenie Beanie (dogs) Better still, go to Jerry's Crab House in Lanham Saturday afternoon and get a Crab Bombe. Let me know via PM if I can call-ahead and/or customize this trip for you - I can help. Colorado Kitchen is what you're looking for, I suspect, but call ahead and find out when they're serving burgers, and if you don't get the burger, get the meatloaf. Cheers, Rocks. Edit: I just looked at HollyEats.Com - go to Colorado Kitchen, Jerry's Crab House and to the Five Guys in Alexandria (Five Guys was good, and may still be, depending on when you hit it). You don't want tacos, right? If you do, then that's a whole 'nother shootin' match. And if you go down that slippery slope, then it's but a short hop over into Bolivian saltenas (no n-yeh on this keyboard!).

For me, having lived in that hood helped me change my mind about everything. It helped me see straight. It was the filthy bum and his exposed ass crack in front of the piss-covered brick walkway to McDonald's that tainted every single establishment on that block. I know, I sound like a spoiled yuppie... ← I'll pay anyone twenty bucks if they can crawl the entire alley behind Madam's Organ at midnight - the one running between Columbia and Kalorama Roads. Hell, if you make it to the parking garage near Belmont I'll give you ten. The only question is whether you'll get devoured by a rat, mugged, or die from dehydration due to vomiting. Eeewwww.

Colorado Kitchen - it doesn't serve exactly what you're looking for, but it's exactly what you're looking for. [Madam's Organ recommendations split into separate thread here.]

Love that schnitzel. Was there anything decent to drink? ← Oh yes, a really nice bottle of red Burgundy! (which I brought myself - they have a $15 corkage fee). Their beer selection is small but thoughtful, and they have several wines by the glass which I did not try. After one bite of that schnitzel, I walked back to Gillian and said "everytime I come here, I wonder why I go anyplace else." She said, without any pause, "Yeah, I wonder that too. I'm like, where the hell has he been?"

Had a terrific dinner at Colorado Kitchen tonight. The cauliflower/goat-cheese/green-goddess salad was incredible. The monkfish schnitzel was otherworldly. The biscuits were perfect. The service was friendly, the prices were low, and the food was fabulous. --- [Edit - Parody deleted because a couple people, much to my surprise and horror, took it seriously.]

I just saw the strangest thing while I was driving in the Penn Quarter area: a gentleman was jumping up and down on a streetcorner, waving a City Paper over his head, and screaming "Hijo de puta! Hijo de puta!"

Oh, there's no doubt it was the combination of everything (including the rockfish) that masqueraded as an undertone - just a secondary nuance - of anchovies in my own tortured little mind, the damnable thing being that when I picked at the individual components, I couldn't find any - thus my query to the chef. (Idea for the adventurous chef: present these ingredients as a purée, thinly spread atop an ice cube in the shape of a fish, lay a poppy seed atop it, and call it virtual coldwater anchovy with parasite.) By the way, this was a very good dish, as was the housemade egg fettucine with mussels, tomato concassé and saffron cream sauce.

Wussy. Texture, man, texture. I always eat the meat seperately, with chopsticks, dipped into a side plate with a dab of hoisin and sriracha. I thought the broth came out of the same cauldron for every bowl of pho they serve?? ← It does but it grows thicker and richer toward the bottom of the bowl as the garbage meats have their constituents leached from them. Another trick is to put the sprouts on top, and then immediately flip-flop them with the noodles beneath, so that the sprouts soften and cook by the time you get to them (I hope everyone does this with their raw eye-of-round as well, which is generally not of tartare quality ).

It certainly makes the broth more interesting, but munching on tripe and tendon isn't always my idea of a fun lunch.