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bmiller

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Posts posted by bmiller

  1. I've had the same problems at Dukem - always assuring the server I actually want it uncooked and then going through the same with the manager when it comes to the table. I’ve only ordered take out once from them, and they didn’t make the kitfo because they assumed that there must have been some mistake in my order.

  2. I saw a write up of the P St Bistro Café in the Dupont Current or some similar community paper, it looks like it's going to be a nightmare. The owner said things like "We'll offer some small plates, too, they're very trendy" and mentioned "Elegant burgers". I wish I could find it to post, it was almost comical. Trying to be everything to everyone in a small spot.

    The restaurant going in at the 1515 14th St gallery building is, I believe, going to be from the owner of Perry's, and feature beaucoup organic food.

  3. Joe, sweetfreak said "buyer beware" in reference to the multiple mentions of the lobster burger as $18 on this thread. And she'll have to answer this, but they were probably sitting at one of the tables in the lounge rather than the dining room - the tuna burger she mentions is only offered on the lounge menu.

    If Citronelle didn't want more casual diners to be able to come into the bar/lounge and order a la carte snacks or meals, they wouldn't have a lounge menu. This is like complaining that someone eating at the Osteria at Galileo is tying up a table in the Laboritorio.

  4. I've done brewing at Shennendoah, too, and enjoyed it very much. The wait time between the brewing and bottling runs from about 3-12 weeks, depending on the type of beer. You can do custom labels, too.

    They also sell beer on site, bottled, and in growlers, and I think they're the best brewery in the DC area.

    There are a few other home brew supply suppliers in the area, though I know Total Brewing Component Supply in VA closed recently. Haven't tried it myself, though, I'm planning on a batch of bathtub gin first.

  5. Try Majestic Cafe in Alexandria. Nice space, thoughtful drinks, breakfast-y menu (including a ham hash and a side item of cheese grits that's equal parts cheese and grits), exellent bread basket, entrees around $10, and usually available seats.

    (edit: not in DC, but evey time I've ventured out it's been well worth it)

  6. Have you all read that stuff about Zaytinya and the server? Interesting stuff going on behind the scenes

    The thing that impressed me -- I figured all along that no one was making fun of the cancer survivor -- was that the manager realizef floor staff playing grabass on the floor is always a bad idea. Annoying and unprofessional at best and, when the room is otherwise empty, it can be paranoia inducing. Regardless of the initial complaint, it will be a better restaurant for being a little more disciplined about things. I hope managers are posting this above time clocks and near changing rooms throughout the metro area.

    There's always been an issue at Zaytinya due to the layout - I hate sitting at those few tables because you're looking straight down 60' of service corridor. When people are being presented a view of the service/kitchen interaction in a non-open kitchen environment, the staff is left without a place to resolve confusion and the diner doesn't get as nice of a setting to dine in as they would have had in any other area of the restaurant.

  7. I visited Eve for the first time late yesterday evening and had a pleasant dinner in the Bistro. Everything was more refined than I expected at the Bistro portion – service flowed smoothly, things were kept out of sight, and the area felt like a thirty seat room even though it’s got about twenty more than that.

    I’d already decided to stick to cocktails, and started off with a Pickled Martini – it was pungent but excellent, with a cleaner and sharper taste than I had expected. The pickled air topping the drink (similar to Oyamel’s salt air margaritas) made a great textural contrast, but I wish there has been more of a taste contrast between the drink and the foam.

    It took us a while to place our order, but we settled on the pork rillettes and the cauliflower and cheddar soup followed by a shad roe special entrée and the ribeye. I couldn’t have been happier with the starters – the rillettes with mustard on warm ciabatta were great with the martini as well as the accompaniments of cornichons and very tender pickled carrots. The soup was like velvet and delicious though a bit one-dimensional until hitting the quince compote, at which point it came alive like Frampton.

    Rushing back to the drink menu before the entrees, I ordered an Eammon’s Cup (I think?), a combination of Irish red lemonade and whiskey with a couple of speared jellied discs taking the place of cherries. Even better than the picked martini, a very well balanced drink. Shad roe is always a joy, and this was very well prepared. The potato cake was a bit overbrowned at the edges, but the spinach accompaniment was perfectly cooked, so much so that the first taste was surprising.

    Though sated at this point, it would have been a shame to leave without looking at the dessert menu, so we ended up with the banana cream pie and a cheese plate. I asked our server for a glass of sherry and he was kind enough to bring out smaller portions of two to better pair with the different cheeses. Unfortunately he paired both glasses with my jacket sleeve and then the floor. He quickly replaced them and cleaned up the broken glass but I was somewhat surprised to see the sherry on the bill at the end of the night given that there was no offer to pick up a dry cleaning tab either.

    The cheeses were all great – I picked a Brinata, Midnight Moon (a domestic 1-year firm goat cheese), and Cashel Blue. The Brinata and Midnight Moon were a bit close in taste for a 3-cheese selection, but I was the one who picked them. They were both slightly sweet when eaten with the poached dried apricots. The Cashel Blue was in a class by itself – it was nicely mature and had been very well kept. I barely got a bit of the banana cream pie, but it tasted as good as it looked. Certainly a good experience overall, and the best meal I've had in Virginia since Maestro. Next time will definitely be the full 9 course Tasting Room experience.

  8. Should be interesting to see how the interior turns out. Gagliano's designed some nice restaurants, but none of them are at all club-type spaces.

    I'm a little concerned about the description of the "canopy bunk bed". I suspect the description was has more to do with the writer getting a little carried away than with reality - it's hard to imagine a canopied bunk bed, much less one that's capable of keeing drunken patrons on the top bunk. Maybe they just needed the hyperbole to compete with the non-swinging swinging sofas at IndeBleu.

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