bilrus
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Posts posted by bilrus
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Man, they were harsh on Corduroy's decor, though. "Airport lounge" just doesn't seem accurate to me.
That is a leftover from an early Sietsema review or maybe even a weekly dish where he used that exact same phrase. I've seen it used several times since then. But they have added a curtain between the dining room and bar and art on the walls since they first opened.
It is certainly not a flashy Adamstein and Demitriou style place, but it works with the cooking - solid and tasteful.
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Maybe someone should ask Mr Kliman what's up. I would consider Firefly's food to be better than several places that did make the list, and the service rates too.
He was asked the question in his chat yesterday and bascially said that he had had better meals there in the past but his last few weren't as good. I'd still think it would rate in the top 100 even with an off night or two.
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It's clear that Chef Wabek has not always been supportive of the magazine's food and wine criticism. Though that was a couple of issues back.
Of course, neither was Washingtonian's new wine writer...
Or the Washingtonian's new food editor for that matter.
I liked the format. They are taking their coverage in a completely new direction and I think the addition of "The Scene" helps with that. Older readers need to know more about the style of these new restaurants and I would assume that the younger readers they are tryign to pull in are more concerned with the scene.
I just like the fact that the list reflects reality more than it has in the past.
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No difference in my opinion. If fact, one might say this was expected from Chef Greenwood and not from TK so does this make TK a little less California......a little less laid back, perhaps a little more like Chef Greenwood. No telling if a litigious letter would have followed if he had not stopped taking the picutres.
Further, this thread is not really about Chef Greenwood. It has turned into a thread about the rights of the consumer or eater to photograph the food we are purchasing. In that light, I ask the question of whether TK and Per Se have gone to far in asking people not to take pictures their food that notwithstanding quality costs a ton. It is the same thing that Chef Greewood. Why would the reaction be any different from the people on this board?
RM
In my opinion, no, Keller and Per Se have not goe too far. If that is their policy, and they are up front about it, so be it. You don't have to agree with it or understand the reasons behind it, you can even complain about it, but you do have to respect it.
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Like to know what everyone thinks about TK not allowing pictures in his restaurant. Lots of you just butchered this woman who has the same policy and is not scared to follow through on her policy. Some called for a boycott. Shouldnt Thomas Keller now be put in the same category. Should we now not patronize Per Se. Fat Guy, what do you think? What about others. Lets not be scared of TK now folks. Lets pick on everyone equally.
RM
I think this is the key difference here:
The only time I started photographing and was asked to stop was at Per Se shortly after it re-opened (No, I was not using flash). They did ask in a nice way and I complied without a problem. They did later let me take photos in the kitchen, though.Much different than a litigious letter.
And part of the reason for the uproar, at least in DC circles, is that this plays right into the reputation Chef Greenwood has and has earned and, for all accounts, takes great pride in.
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Looking back at my list from 2004, I see that this year didn't quite measure up, so I am only going eight deep. But it wasn't for a lack of trying.
In the interest of giving some context, I've posted some fairly lengthy reports from some other sites or linked them if they were from eG.
#1 - Maestro, Tyson's Corner, VA, June
#2 - 2941 - Falls Chruch, VA, November
Often in a meal like this a few dishes really stand out from the rest. But to give those who weren't there an idea of the food that was served last night I want to focus on the dish that was probably only my fourth or fifth favorite of the night - "Miso Marinated Sable with confit of spahetti squash and yuzu jus"Forget the spaghetti squash confit, which was fine in and of itself, and focus on the fish. Buttery, meaty and flaky all at the same time. Seared just long enough that it melted in your mouth. But on its own it would be too rich, too unctious, just too much. That's where the citrus of the yuzu came in - as much to balance the dish as to add flavor.
Any other night this would have been the dish everyone was buzzing about the next morning. You're going to hear more about the Langoustine Cassoulet and the Chestnut Mousse and the Beef Tartare. But don't forget about the Sable.
#3 - Topolobampo - Chicago, June
#4 - Komi - DC, December
Anyone who has been fortunate enough to have had the cookie platter at Palena knows about Ann Amernick's caramels. Sweet, a little salty, chewy and melting all at once.The mascarpone filled date I had early in my dinner at Komi last Saturday night was all that and more. The sugars in the skin had caramelized and put up just a bit of resistance before giving way to the chewy interior. This was just an example of Chef Monis' ability to take a a few simple ingredients and gently coax them into something more than they are on their own and make you look at them in a different light.
Dish after dish highlighted the alchemy that was going on in the kitchen at the end of the long, narrow dining room. A plate of burrata, a luscious cross between mozzarella and ricotta, was paired with some fried garlic, olive oil, a few broccoli florets, a small piece of anchovy and some salt to form a dish that was all about simple tastes and complex mouthfeel.
And how could I not order the white tuna wrapped in speck again? Forget beef and lobster - fish and pork is the ultimate surf and turf. The speck does double duty here as both a flavoring and moistening agent.
They've revised the way they are doing their tasting menu - $55 gets you your choice of pasta and main courses preceeded by a parade of amuses and starters then finished off with a cheese plate and your choice of dessert. It is still added up to ten or eleven courses, each one better than the last, over three and a half hours.
Is there a better value or more interesting cooking anywhere in town?
#5 - The Modern - New York, March
#6 - Charlie Trotter's - Chicago, June
After a long day of trying to get to Chicago from DC (F***ing cab came too late to get me to Dulles early and F***ing gate agent for United wouldn't bend the rules by 2 minutes to get my luggage on the plane despite the F***ing curbside check in people delaying me for 10 minutes.) Charlie Trotter's ended up being just what I needed to get my short vacation back on track early enough to salvage the rest of the weekend.As I referenced above, I had gone through several reservations before settling on Trotter's. Others elsewhere have called the service at Trotter's stuffy or even arrogant, but I found it pleasant and soothing. Some have said the food there can be a bit stodgy or out-of-date, I found good ingredients, well-prepared. Some have hinted that Trotter's might be resting on its laurels. This was my first time, but I found a restaurant that felt like it was doing what it does well and not trying-too-hard-to-impress.
The courses were always good, some excellent. A scallop, crab and clam dish was a little too plain. There were a few too many dishes featuring mushrooms on my wife's vegetable tasting. But on the whole these are small nits to pick. I thought the squab dish was excellent, in fact one of my favorite dishes this year (similar to the one posted above, but I don't have my menu with me for the details). We were pleasantly surprised to be served an extra main course of Kobe Beef Four Ways that didn't appear to go to any of the other tables. And when we mentioned how much we enjoyed the macaroons they quickly brought us a box to take back to the hotel.
This was a meal that wasn't setting off any fireworks, but not every night is the 4th of July. And I like it that way.
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I would call one of the retail stores below for prices and shipping information.Gump's in San Francisco (800.766.7628) and at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City (212.753.7300).
Also consider searching ebay randomly as I have seen them for sale there and fairly reasonably priced.
They are expensive.
Gump's has carried the full line in the store in the past, but they don't seem to have anything on their website now.
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Best Lunch I've ever had and would been a damn fine dinner too
Their lunch prices are much more appealing then dinner. I haven't been, but I've been tempted to take a long lunch there sometime when I'm downtown for work during the week.
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I'll second that. Three and a half months later and that is the thing I remember most from the Pig Pickin. Good to look at, good to eat.
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Biscuits and gravy is not a very photogenic dish, now is it? Should this be submitted to that other Dinner thread?
I will say this though, it is so tasty and satisfying. The gravy was really good, lots of soul food seasoning, black pepper and onions. The crumbled beef sausage patty was seasoned with aromatic sage.
It is just fine where it is. I just about licked my screen when I saw that picture. It doesn't have to look good.
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A few places I can think of that might work -
El Manantial is a Mediterranian place with some pretty good pizzas and decent tapas in the pretty non-descript North Shore plaza.
Also in that plaza is the best Pho place in the area - Reston Pho 75. They also have a pretty good selection of non-pho Vietnamese dishes as well.
At the Town Center, the only non-chain places are the Market Street Grill in the Hyatt and Obi Sushi. The rest of the bunch are Clydes, Paolo's, Busara, Big Bowl, Rio Grande, American Tap Room, Panera, McCormicks and Schmicks and their M&S Grill and a Morton's (think I've spent a little bit of time at the old Town Center
?). Of these my choices would probably run (in order) Rio Grande, Clydes and McCormick & Schmick's and Busara. I've nver really liked Big Bowl either. The food all seems to taste the same there to me.Another favorite of mine for good food and no atmosphere in Reston is Reston Kabob, on the other side of the toll road from the town center near Sunrise Valley and Reston Parkway.
In Herndon, a little further out I've come to like Yee Hwa for Korean and am a big fan of Minerva for Indian that doesn't pull any punches.
Another place in Herndon that might do the trick is SBC Cafe.
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The two best meals I had this year outside of restaurants both happened to be extensively documented on eG.
# 2 - My 4th of July smoked butt.
# 1 - My stab at making a five course meal from the French Laundry Cookbook in April. This was probably my all-time food highlight. I've certainly had better cooking in restaurants and made better individual dishes on my own, but sharing the whole experience and the feedback and support that I got from the eG members following along made this a great food memory.
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It would be unfair of me to make a comparison of my visit to the French Laundry and Per Se due to certain circumstance's.
But in my opinion the food style is nearly identical and what only sets them apart from each other is mostly atmosphere.
Per Se has that urban feel to it while obviously the French Laundry sitting in the middle of the wine country is different.
It's just a matter of preference I suppose but for myself the setting of the French Laundry transformed it into a truly magical experience.
I was about to say the same thing, but with a different ending.
I enjoyed my meal at Per se more than French Laundry. At French Laundry the place felt dead and the service, while fine, matched the somber feel of the room that night. A very different description than many I've read.
Per Se, on the other hand was buzzing the night we were there and the service and atmosphere seemed to thrive on it.
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How about Majestic Cafe in Alexandria or Black's in Bethesda? Both have good size menus, variety and fairly mainstream.
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I have very big hands and love my Shun Santoku. It has completely replaced my Henckels 4-star 10 inch chef's knife as my everyday knife (which had replaced an 8 inch, which had replaced a 6 inch).
I like the maneuverability of the shorter blade and it is a very sharp knife (of course this will very based on how well it sharpened, etc.).
I only use the Chef's knife these days if I need to do lots of back and forth rocking (for lots of mincing, for example) or I need to cut something particularly big or long (like a watermelon).
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So as a dedicated foodie, I want my bachelor party to start off with a really good dinner. Anyone care to recommend a good place in DC that would fit the bill? A steak place or something not too haute would be nice. But I'd like to remember this as one of those best dinners ever.
:-)
A bunch of guys looking for red meat, presumably looking for further "after-dinner" entertainment couldn't do better than starting at Ray's the Steaks.
He said in DC.
That could be interpreted by many as meaing the "DC area" vs the "Baltimore area" or the "rest of Delmarva area".
A few metro stops away isn't exactly a different timezone and is more than worth it for the best, not-too-haute steaks in, or out-of, town.
Do you have any suggestions?
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So as a dedicated foodie, I want my bachelor party to start off with a really good dinner. Anyone care to recommend a good place in DC that would fit the bill? A steak place or something not too haute would be nice. But I'd like to remember this as one of those best dinners ever.
:-)
A bunch of guys looking for red meat, presumably looking for further "after-dinner" entertainment couldn't do better than starting at Ray's the Steaks.
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Oh, I know I missed out -- so I'm a goin' back sometime tomorrow. Report to follow.
Turkish Delight.
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In concept I like pork belly. It's where bacon comes from.
But I've had one too many unctuous, braised with root vegetables, too rich versions at "hatue" places.
But - Crispy pork belly with chili basil. My go-to dish at any Thai restaurant is chicken or beef kaprow. I love the heat and the garlic and everythng that you can love about Thai flavors. So I gave this a try, but I went so far as to order a second entree of Drunken Noodles just in case the pork belly was the flabby version I've had before.
But the meat proved itself to be the perfect counterpoint to the spice of the sauce. And the sauce iwas the perfect counterpoint to the rich meat. It helps cut the rich texture of the pork fat where most preparations only serve to make the mouth feel more oppressive.
I've been fortunate enough to have eaten at dozens of great restaurants here and around the country over the last eleven months. I've spent a lot of money and had too many expensive ingredients to count.
But this $9.95 dish from a store front restaurant on Columbia Pike turned out a top contender for my "Top dishes of 2005" list.
And it restored my faith in pork belly.
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...or gnocchi - again, as good as you'll find anywhere in town.
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I can't quite believe I'm writing this, but: Bill, that looks damned tasty! Say more about what the zucchini does. I'm surprised and interested that it works. This recipe makes me wonder if grilling those vegetables before sauteing might add a nice smoky touch.
This recipe reminds me of a veggie chili recipe that a friend used to make back in the day that used TVP. Anyone use that? Anyone even know what it is? (I know, I'm dating myself...!)
Sorry I missed your question last week. The zucchini doesn't add much in the way of flavor to the chili, but after it cooks up and absorbs the flavors of the other ingredients it adds texture - a little chew - and some bulk. It makes it feel more stew-like, rather than soupy.
Grilling strips of the zucchini would be an interesting addition to the taste.
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We might be tired of hearing about those dishes that have been featured in the worth the trip section. But we are also obsessed food geeks who spend half our lives talking about and eating food.
I'd bet that a lot of readers of the food section have never been to Palena, only know about Colorado Kitchen because of Chef Clark's "reputation" and have never even heard of Corduroy
We talk about these things because they are worth the trip.
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And what do you think about Blue Ridge Grill? I ate there a few weeks ago and found the Brentwood Salad to make a very good lunch.
I've always been pretty happy with Blue Ridge. Decent burgers and their salads are always pretty good. It is a few dollars more than a comparable Friday's or Applebee's type place, but the cooking is more than a few dollars better.
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