Miami Danny

Mitsitam in the Native American Museum is unique and quite good-highly recommended-although the museum itself is oddly bland (except for the architecture). Ethiopian food is big here-there's one on 18th St in Adams Morgan called Meskerem that's pretty accessible (if you're headed to the Phillips-I know it's not part of the Smithsonian, but viewing the permanent colection is free. Renoir's 'The Boating Party' is here-sorry, I love this place.) Jaleo has great Spanish tapas (7th & E). Full Kee is a classic in Chinatown (great HK-style noodle/dumpling soups and some oddities) at H St bt 5th and 6TH. I could go on. You might want to flip thru some DC foodie sites like donrockwell for more details.

I could not look away from the Waverly 'review'. Easily the most squirm-inducing non-child-molesting article I've read in the Times in a LONG time. Too cute and precious by half. A concept gone horribly awry. I feel dirty.

In Tom's review of Famoso, he mentions that he doesn't know who is cooking his meals there, because he can't 'poke [his] head into kitchens to see who's cooking.' I think the identity of the chef is vital to any dining review. Maybe when 'no one asked why we left so much food on our plates', he could have had one of his companions ask the waiter (or the manager) who was cooking in the kitchen. I was really shocked by this admission!

Maybe a lot of tourists find themselves at museum cafes? And not to nitpick, but there is a cafe at the Phillips Collection. ← Tourists in Paris or NYC or DC, not so much Miami. And if some out of town critic recommended the Phillips 'Cafe' as one of the three most interesting places to eat in DC (try the crabcakes!), I'm sure some people might find that odd.

Have you tried it? It's not clear from your comments. Maybe it really is notable for not having institutional catering. I would applaud any snapshot of DC that includes Mitsitam. Not the best food in DC by far but certainly extremely useful and quite notable. ← Yes, I have tried it, was there when it opened-in fact passed by there this past Saturday-nothing special. My point was that there are literally hundreds of restaurants, cafeterias, ethnic joints, dive bars, etc., within blocks of the (rather small) Wolfsonian (this is on South Beach); to recommend its cafeteria, would be like recommending the cafeteria at the Phillips (if there was one-try the crabcakes!))-instead of one of the many restaurants in Dupont or nearby. Mitsitam, on the other hand, is in a different league for many obvious reasons

If you are going to eat in Homestead, there is a great taco truck on the north side of the road heading to Robert Is Here (she also makes great coffee). Homestead=Mexican food. This is an area where many Mexican immigrants have moved in the last decade or so, so you can't go wrong in any Mexican lunch spot. I last ate at Rosita's, also on the main road (SW 344 St). As far as RIH, they have some nice jams, jellies, chutneys, picaliliy and chow-chow, great boiled peanuts (very messy-grab a lot of napkins), fruit shakes, and some funky animals out back. The goats bite-but gently. Their fruit is great, varied, and fresh. They had many items that weren't on their website when I was there last month. I recommend it if you're planning on spending time in Homestead. Homestead also has a cute 'downtown' with some old shops and older shopkeepers, where I bought a huge old traffic sign for my bar for $10. Fairchild Gardens is great, but you better go early morning, or you will sweat a LOT. Never been to the Spice Park. FYI-allow extra time for traffic-doesn't matter what time of day-just to be safe. There is random construction everywhere, esp. near the airport. Take the Turnpike! And esp. if you are going to get on Route 1 to drive up to Coral Gables in the late afternoon. One fender-bender will ruin your whole day. Personally, I would save Homestead for the next day instead of driving back and forth, but I'm sure you'll be fine.

Tom's Postcard (3 mini-reviews for the Travel section)-In Miami, TS recommends a museum gift shop cafe. Now, I'm not saying Miami is a world-class dining hot-spot like DC, but I can think of twenty new or off-the-beaten-path spots where you can get a great meal, and this is the one South Beach hot spot he chooses. I'm sure it's just fine, but this is institutionsl catering, nothing more. Very strange. Michy's and Brana are no-brainers. BTW, Tom claims he pays for all 'Postcard'-related expenses. Maybe that's why he ended up at Dynamo.

Now that Sietsema is reviewing restaurants after one visit, are we about to see the demise of the 'classic' major metropolitan 'important' dining review in DC? His mini-review of BLT Steak dismisses their New York strip after one taste, and he never even mentions any other meats on the menu. I think this is a big mistake, as it devalues (what's left of) the Post imprimatur, and waters down Tom's future 'big' review. It also kind of kills the argument for waiting a few months/meals before reviewing a place, if one of the main guys in town isn't even doing it anymore.

Never been burned, and I've always gotten very positive reviews.

I think Tom, rightfully so, leaves the discussion about wines to Ben Giliberti. ← Are you suggesting that the Washington Post Dining critc is not qualified to discuss a wine list?

Edited

And nice of you to take the time to try to burn it down!

'Ask Tom' gets more exciting every week! In this week's episode, a hostess, following the policy of a restaurant, refuses to seat an incomplete party. Upon consulting with a superior, he directs her to seat the party. She proceeds to seat the party. The end. Tom's interpretation:The hostess missed a chance to charm them. Mumon says:People who complain about being kept waiting for ten minutes can not be charmed, only pitied.

He is the reason Johnny's is called Johnny's. Nothing new there. The pastry chef new, and highly regarded, and so worth mentioning. ← Lap#4"...namesake, John Fulchino..." I got that. He's a namesake. That's what he is. If that's enough for you, you probably know who he is. I don't learn anything else about the guy from the review. Other than, as I said, that he's 'affable'. Lap#5:My point was that he goes on and on about the pastry chef for two paragraphs, but never explains who Ann Cashion is, and she is perhaps one of the top five most important chefs in DC.

The problem with reviewing Johnny's, is that in Dupont, it was a neighborhood joint, and now it's a big barn on the Hill. Maybe what seemed charming and forgivable on P St, just seems ordinary on N.Capitol St. So I can forgive Tom his lack of enterprise in this one. There are so many cliches that I injured my eyeballs in the repeated rolling of them. My main question is-Why does he not identify Ann Cashion? Is she not one of the most gifted and important chefs in DC? And who is John Fulchino-should we know him? (I mean, he IS 'affable'. I LIKE affable.) BTW, do we know if Cashion is cooking here (I'm assuming not, but then no chef of the old Johnny's is mentioned, either), and if not, why isn't the chef mentioned? TS glorifies the pastry chef! (She's supposedly 'inspired NASCAR-esque devotion'-I guess her cakes and pies come with a can of Skoal!) Keeping with the NASCAR theme, here are the 'wrecks': Lap#1:You might want to mention that the 'mostly-crab' (more than 50%?-thank god!) crab cakes, which are as 'light and luscious' as ever (whatever that means), are $26.50 at lunch, and are as big as marbles. Ok, they do come with a 'sprightly tartar sauce', and a 'sassy vinaigrette' (sorry, it had to be done), but maybe a better description of this ubiqitous dish might be helpful...other than that they're 'mostly-crab'. Although I suppose that's better than 'mostly-filler'. Lap#2: Who cares about the soft-shells, including where they came from, if they're not going to be on the menu again for six months? Save it for the spring, Tom. (Don't worry, fifty bucks says he will.) And why pick on the server for 'misinforming' on said soft-shells, if TS isn't going to educate us on their provenance? Maybe he doesn't know, either? Or maybe he's saving THAT for the spring. Lap#3:If you are going to mention only one wine per review, and claim it as 'rare', please include the price and the vintage. Not including the vintage makes any discerning wine lover cringe, and is just another example of Tom's casual treatment of wine lists (or it could just be laziness. You be the judge.). "The choices from Europe are especially appealing, in terms of both variety and value." Wow, I really learned a LOT from that. I think if you are going to 'promise' 'really good drinking', you really ought to mention a couple of specific wines/prices/countries-I mean, I think Europe's a great continent, but c'mon-that reads like a bad Zagat review. Checkered Flag:I'm begging you, please, please...stop saying 'slurp'. Promising us 'really good slurping' is not a big plus for me. Unless, of course, you're referring to Southern Comfort, y'all.

Since Christmas is around the corner, I've re-posted this missive from 2 Christmases ago-I was here last week, and the Chef/Owner, Alex, was as ebullient as ever, presiding over an eclectic Monday evening bar scene. There is nothing like a Christmas Eve goose dinner, and nowhere better to celebrate Christmas than in sunny Miami FLA. All thoughts of the North Pole drift away on the warm ocean breezes, and the palm trees sway along Biscayne Bay, where some sailboats are sliding under the raised drawbridge. They say that people in Miami don’t mind waiting in traffic for the boats to glide under the drawbridges, because everyone imagines that someday that will be them sailing by. In a small restaurant just off the water, if you look around and listen to the languages being spoken, you might be surprised, since this is Miami, NOT to hear Spanish, but German and Turkish. It’s as if Miami were a small German town near the water; and the aromas from the kitchen and the big black beers on the bar complete the illusion. It doesn’t hurt that the owner and chef, Alex Richter, is a hearty man, big and bald, and charmingly gap-toothed, a la Schwarzenegger, who stands behind the bar in his packed, yet comfortable, place, and chats amiably with friends and neighbors who sit at or near the bar. “Tesekur Ederim,” he waves to an older babushka-wearing woman, who is visiting from Turkey. Her daughter, Tuva, is the waitress here, and, as Mr. Richter waves his thanks, she explains that she hasn’t seen her mother in five years. A nice Christmas reunion. My wife and I happen to be lucky enough to live around the corner from The Royal Bavarian Schnitzel Haus, but it is the kind of place you must seek out, whatever the location. You are not going to leave the ‘Haus hungry, or thirsty, and you will remember your visit as warm and toasty, even if the weather outside is not ‘frightful!’ The special Christmas Eve menu included a “Portion of fresh crisp oven roasted Goose”, and we are lucky to get the last ‘portion’. It is a huge leg attached to a piece of breast (goose breasts don’t have an awful lot of meat), and it is the kind of thing that, even though it is as big as your forearm, you know that at some point you will have to pick it up and eat directly from the bone. When I do this halfway through the meal, the leg almost snaps off the breast (I swear my hands are15 inches apart holding this thing), and I envision it flying through the air and smacking a gentleman at the bar across the face. He must have seen it coming, too, because he flinched and ducked when the bones snapped. But let me start at the beginning, and of course that means the sausage. It is inconceivable not to start your meal with sausage, and Chef Richter makes his own. The ‘Original “Munich Weisswurst” with sweet Mustard’, is an unusually subtle, pale sausage, whose deep flavor is countered by its smooth texture. A tiny, tiny, dab of sweet mustard is almost more than this juicy wurst needs to disappear, and it is pleasantly light on the stomach. This is followed by a salad of winter greens dressed with warm goat cheese, which is a crunchy palate-cleanser. But the animal awaits. Sourcing goose in Miami is not the easiest thing to do, and Chef Richter gets his from up north. In fact, as he told me, his meaty and plump geese come from Pennsylvania, and are provided by none other than the Amish! I had previously been unaware of a ‘Miami-Amish connection’. Obviously you can’t just pick up the phone and order. The chef sends a letter to a neighbor of the family who raise the geese. The neighbor contacts the farmer, and he let’s the Chef know when the geese are ready. When Chef Richter had a Mother’s Day special of goose, the spring birds were a little skinny, so he is very happy with the plump winter birds he received for Christmas. The goose is roasted and served with red cabbage, reduced pan juices, and a potato dumpling the size of a lacrosse ball. All of the flavors are complementary, and, again, everything is substantial, but unexpectedly light. Even the dumpling, which is savory and flavorful, and the cabbage, red and semi-crunchy, have distinct flavors and textures. The goose is perfect, smelling of the oven and the farm; the leg moist and wild, with the meat attached to the bone the most succulent of all, demanding the aforementioned liftoff. It is not easy to gnaw on a goose leg in a crowded restaurant without losing your dignity, but it was essential, and worth it, my face smeared with goose fat, the King of Fat. Luckily, you are provided with a large and thick cloth napkin. All of this was washed down with a black German beer in a huge stein. The other entrée on the special menu was a baked seafood-stuffed salmon fillet, served with fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes. While not heavenly like the goose, it was nice to have something to eat while I waited for my wife to pass the plate with the bird back to me. There was a dessert and traditional Bavarian Gluehwein, a hot, spiced wine served in a festive mug, but by this time we had had our fill, and the desserts were graciously wrapped to go. The festive atmosphere and warm-hearted welcome stayed with us, and reminded us of our own Christmas party the night before, where we served traditional Venezuelan treats like pan de jamon and hallacas, and drank the Puerto Rican Christmas drink Coquito. World’s apart, but just around the corner

Even more faux-snarky than usual, TS delivers the knockout blow to PS7's. After a waiter suggests two small plates before the big plate, TS gets nasty: 'Do I see a bigger tip dancing in his head?'-which, BTW, doesn't even make sense-tips don't dance, especially in one's head, although occassionally sugarplums dance in mine. Aren't reviewers generally, and Tom specifically, always crowing about making a meal of small plates? Why the problem here, where it is actually a major part of the concept? And I guess Tom is tired, because reading a menu makes him have to 'think hard'. Personally, I find it exciting to go through a new menu, esp. done in a new style, like PS7's. It's not particularly long or complex-so this comment puzzled me. It's not like the menu is so precious as to list the towns and farms where everything was sourced. I think his belittling of the chef's menu by saying he had 'leafed through a year's worth of every major food magazine' was a gratuitous swipe at the chef's creative process. Like shrimp and grits isn't a cliche?And when the cocktail list is delivered and the server remarks that, 'We make our own bitters,' what is wrong with that? Isn't that good? Again we learn that Tom has friends, 'knowledgable wine friends' (I'll take his word for it), and although the 'Wine Expectorator' line was really funny (back in '98 when I first heard it), maybe TS ought to be somewhat wine-knowlegable himself. I'm puzzled as to why the sleek lounge area was never mentioned, as I think it is a VERY important part of PS7's-great beers, nice wines by the glass, and the perfect upscale bar menu of small plates. Odd, esp. since they are located near the theatre/Verizon Center, etc., in 'trendy' Penn Quarter (BTW, if you have to call a neighborhood 'trendy', it isn't.) And I don't know HOW a party of twelve could be noisy in a restaurant, but why does Tom care? I'm sure they were all talking about him! (see last week) Note to critic-if a restaurant kitchen is looking like an operating room to you, I think Dr. Freud is calling you.

Try a roasted cauliflower soup-light and elegant. There's an easy recipe at epicurious.com.

Solo dining puff piece. Must be a slow week. Nice to know that TS eavesdrops on his neighbors' conversations, though. And of course, they're talking about HIM! Anyway, a good excuse to shoehorn in Buck's. Apparently, they have a regular.

Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar-odd, no mention of any 'wine' until the last line-where Sietsema weirdly recommends the $16 glass of 2004 Turley zin-paired with a blue(?). Apparently, Mendocino 'prides itself' on both cheese and wine. Unfortunately, we are never told what they have. Which ones does TS like? Hate? We'll never know. Although I am looking forward to that 'rich taste of California' in every sip. Whatever that is.

Brian McBride was at Melrose, which was exactly where Blue Duck is now.

Great overview of DC's restaurants. I'm impressed that 56% of the restaurants are actually IN DC! I would have wished for one Ethiopian restaurant to make it, though.

This is an issue that needs to be examined more thoroughly, and I applaud Mr. Sauelsson and Mr. Woods for bringing it to the fore. Racism exists everywhere in our society, and to deny that it exists in kitchens is to pretend that resaturants are somehow immune to society's ills. I have eaten at M Woods, and it is excellent, he is very personable, but I agree with him, that, sadly, his is a lone voice in the wilderness.

Do NOT start trashing IHOP! What's next Denny's?-stop before it's too late!

S and S Diner is a throwback-sitting across from a cemetary, on a seedy stretch of NE 2nd Ave, you step back in time for a real diner lunch. While construction cranes hover everywhere like enormous birds of prey, this corner landmark goes about its business with a staff and kitchen that seems to have been frozen in time, although which time is long forgotten. Soon it too will succumb, as a developer has bought the property-plans for the new development include S&S, but we shall see. Plenty of free parking in the back, and as you walk past the open door to the kitchen, the aroma that seeps out the screen door is a familiar one-gravy. Once inside, the horseshoe counter, with about 15 seats, surrounds an afternoon telanovela, starring 'Tina Turner' and 'Shakira', two waitresses that make their running commentaries an alternative entertainment to the TV. The crowd is decidedly mixed-in every way. Rich, poor, suits, artists, young, old, black, white, etc, etc. But the food is the same every day: comforting. You like meatloaf, they got meatloaf-I don't ordinarily order meatloaf, but it looked so good and I needed something to pour that gravy over. The liver and onions were fresh-creamy and well-textured, not cooked to death. Also, the salad is fresh and crunchy, dressed with S&S's homemade salad dressing, which is made with BEEF STOCK-YEAH! However, the king of the menu is the 'shank'-done perfectly, served in its stewed cooking juices over nicely done yellow rice, plus two sides-two nites later I had an upscale version of this which was 'Osso Bucco' over saffron risotto with a big slab of butter and parm on top-very delicious, but certainly not any more deeply satisfying than S&S's version. Diner prices help-that shank was like $6.99, icluding mashed potatoes and a salad. Throw in some strong black coffee served in a thick ceramic mug, and you are ready to go back out and move some earth. You will be eating a late dinner tonight! Open 'til 6PM-NE 2nd Ave at 20th St