Tweaked

I have a real soft spot for Montmartre, maybe because in my wild chef fantasies, it's the sort of place that I would like to open, a small neighborhood spot serving good bistro fare. Well last x-mas my boss gave me a $100 gift certificate to Montmartre and I had yet to use it and it expired in 3 days...time to go hog wild. My one complaint about the restaurant is they cram the tables reallyclose together, but I guess they need to in order for such a small space to work financially. My friend and I sat down and I ordered a whiskey sour, it's my start the dinner off drink of choice. Why one orders a whiskey sour in a small french bistro I have no idea, especially when the waitress freely admits that they had no idea how to make one. But they were willing to wing it, so what the heck, I told them to mix together some whiskey and sour mix...no quite...but they did generously remove the drink from the tab. After perusing the menu, we started off with the chestnut soup, which was a luscious bowl of creamy goodness, earthy yet sweet, with a scattering of chestnuts chopped up. A nice way to start dinner on a rainy December night. We then moved on to chicory salad with warm goat cheese and crouton. A large pile of chicory drizzled with what must have been reduced balsamic and a long piece of baguette drizzle with olive oil, smeared with really creamy and not too tart goat cheese which was topped with tapanade. Next we dug into the country pate, which was served with toasted crostini, some salad greens and cornichons. The pate had a firm consistency and very flavorful, almost sausage flavor...I'm not a huge pate fan, but this was very satisfying. Really, you could have had a very delicious meal just with these 3 starters and a couple glass of wine...something I might have to try one night! Unfortunately, the main entrees weren't as simple and delicious as our starters. I love Montmartre's hanger steak, I think it's one of the best dishes in DC, I always get the hanger steak, but no I was going to be different and order something else. Should have stuck with the hanger steak. I went with the braised flat iron beef with Jerusalem artichokes and red wine reduction sauce. I'd never had flat iron beef before, never even seen it. I was served a large knob of meat that obviously had been braised for hours until it reached a delicious gelatinous state. It was a nice piece of beef, the artichokes I wasn't crazy about...all in all a pretty good dish, but not like the hanger steak. I was disappointed with the pan seared sea scallops with glazed white turnips, roasted asparagus au jus...the scallops were fine, the turnips were fine, the asparagus was kind of mushy...but you know, I'm not sure scallops and turnips will ever work together in a dish...perhaps that's just me! we finished off the meal by sharing a slice of the pear tart...A nice way to end the evening, although I prefer my fruit based desserts to be warmed over. Warm fruit just works better IMO. For wine I went with a Chinon, Les Gravières, 2002 which the waitress described as young, and it was. When leaving I noticed that chef/owner Stephane Lezla was not at the stove, perhaps that might be reflective in the entrees not being up to snuff with the previous times I've been to Montmartre. The damage came to $101 plus tax and tip...into which my $100 gift certificate made a nice dent. Lessons learned: Don't order mixed drinks at Montmartre Scallops and turnips don't work order the hanger steak!

Add Fado to the list of mini burgerlers I don't have a problem with the mini burger if they do em like they do em at Matchbox. However I would say it's a little late to be jumping on the mini burger chuckwagon.

I might take a beating for suggesting this...but....the Old Ebbit Grill would meet your finky parents, maverik brother, and kids requirement. Afterwards you can take the folks over to the White House and they can wave at George and Laura.

What ever magic Todd Grey weaves, the first time I ate at his restaurant my girlfriend and I of 2 plus years broke up ON MY 30th BIRTHDAY at Equinox, yet I still remember the lamb 3 ways as one of the best lamb dishes I have ever had. Now that is some damn good lamb!

It's gold Jerry, Gold!

The other board is reporting the closings of Ella's wood fire pizza and Kuna...any details available...

The bacon sold at Canales deli in Eastern Market is awesome, thick cut, skin on or off.

I guess this is what we call another eGullet Happy Ending!

we are a smallish nonprofit, so budget small to medium...but our direct mail guy usually foots the alcohol bill...so the alcohol budget can be a bit higher!

ok my fellow egullet friends, my office is looking for a place to have a cocktail party, probably on Thursday or friday, 6-9pmish or later. roughly 30-40 people, good drinks and passed apps. Our office is in Dupont, we will travel around DC but not MD or VA? Any suggestions?

If you go to Firefly see if Derek is working the bar, mention eGullet, and have him mix you up a celebratory drink...

Tell them that instead of supporting a national chain, Mayflower is owned by Marriott, you would like to support the local restaurant scene! Of the restaurants listed Komi and Firefly (is Firefly part of the Kimpton group or a seperate entity within the hotel?) are both good and in easy walking distance of the hotel.

I think over the last couple months with the introduction of the chef chats there has been a new synergy between the chefs and us the food patrons. Case in point is Gillian Clark, who a lot of us had a preconceived idea about based upon various Tom Sietsema chats, other postings, Da Sto, etc. However, when she came to the board and we had a very intelligent discussion with her, followed by the eGullet dinner at her restaurant, I think we develop a new undertanding and appreciation for her and her restaurant. I think we can all safely call her a Friend of eGullet I hope that the other chefs, as well as us talking with the others chefs, have experienced the same. In my mind that is one of the greatest powers of this eGullet forum.

No sauce, just the tartare with a chunk of pork belly sitting on top. mmmm

How about Pork Belly sitting on a pool of scallop tartare

Next time you are at Eastern Market, try the take out place Tortilla Cafe across the street, the papusas, tamales, and fried plantains are all excellent and very cheaply priced. Also Senor Canales of Canales Deli makes a great sandwich...I personally like the pork tenderloin sandwich.

I had been to Corduroy about 2 years ago for Resturant Week and thought the food was good but not really up to the level that Tom Sietsema was raving about. Last night Chef Power ROCKED it! Every dish was delicious, and the scallop tartar and pork belly were sublime. Thanks Mike for organizing and everyone at Corduroy. Also thanks for taking our Q&A at the end, where just about ever questions was, How do you make X dish? As a note, some of the prep work, brining etc, started 2 days before the event...this is a chef who truly cares!

yeah, the pho does need more beef flavor. But not bad for the price. Definitely check out the grilled chicken with rice vermicelli

Well, you will probably need to make a reservation since the place gets full, and so might be a good idea to tell them that it is you and a one year old and if possible get a table that won't disturb alot of people.

If you want Indian and will be in Cleveland Park, then you should check out Indique.

ok, so maybe "can't be bothered" is a bit harsh, but the point is clearly the guide is geared toward the non eGullet crowd.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending), I don't think this guide is really designed for the eGullet crowd. It's for the "more than one million Sunday post" readers who can't be bothered to explore the DC restaurant scene. It's the parts of Tom's chats that we all hate (where should I go for my anniversary/birthday/date questions) distilled into one handy database. Although it is good to see that all the chefs that we have had on eGullet for chats made the guide.

Suddenly I'm excited about dining on the Hill...because the menu looks good, not because the chef is hot

I'd like to echo fero style in the need for passion. The passion for the food, for the restaurant. Timing, proper service technique, what ingedients are involved in the dish, what wine to serve in part can be taught. But the person that has passion will elevate good teaching into excellent service. I think through the chats that we have had on this board we have seen passion, be it Todd Kliman and his reviews, Gillian at Colorado Kitchen, Tom at Corduroy, Mike at Ray's, even Derek at Palena/Firefly (who we know has passion for good drinks!). Their enthusiasm is what elevates their restaurants from good to great (or in Todd's case reviews). I think it's just one of those needed intangibles.

Gov. Arnold recently banned foie gras in California (starting in 2012), after that date only foie gras produced by humane means can be sold. Similar legislation will be introduced in New York, the location of the nation's only other foie gras producer. what are your thoughts about "inhumane" food and the anti-glutton movement which is trying to ban a variety of foods (foie gras, chilian sea bass, swordfish etc.).