Buck's Fishing and Camping

[John W.]

Don't forget.....

La boring toro

Boogeymonsters

McCormick & S**ts

Zit's not tiny ahhh

Edited for spelling

You'll only encourage him.

Rocks, you need help my man. A lot of help.

[hillvalley]

Don't forget.....

La boring toro

Boogeymonsters

McCormick & S**ts

Zit's not tiny ahhh

Edited for spelling

You'll only encourage him.

Rocks, you need help my man. A lot of help.

I know, I know. But he made me laugh which has been hard to do for a while. Plus, I spend most of my days with 9 year old boys, who do this kind of thing all day long and I can't join in. Had to get it out of my system. Besides, I am sure he is paying dearly this evening!

Getting back to Yucks.....I live a block away and have never seen anyone eating there. It is starting to become a fixation. The manager grew up in the area so I figured he could at least bring a few people in.

[morela]

Don't forget

Sexstar (nectar)

[Mark Sommelier]

Don't forget

Sexstar (nectar)

Sorry, Doll, WRONG.

[John W.]

Tom's review

[bilrus]

Is that the first three star he has given out in the magazine?

[John W.]

I think Vidalia was.

[bilrus]

Riiiight.

[JPW]

Interesting to read Sietsma'a review and then go in and read the customer reviews.

Granted it tends to be the gripers that write in, but the juxtaposition is interesting.

Edited December 12, 2003 by JPW (log)

[liamdc]

Maybe they recognized him and gave him good service?

[liamdc]

A friend & I visited Buck's last evening for its $20, 3-course Sunday meal.

There were 4 appetizer choices. I had the iceburg lettuce/blue cheese/bacon salad featured in the photo accompanying the Washington Post review on Sunday. The cheese was delicious and the dish worked perfectly as a starter. My friend had the beets/sweet potato salad which was marvelously presented - I can't speak to how it tasted.

Of 3 entree choices (fish, chicken, sausage), we both had the blackened chicken breast, mainly because we both wanted red wine and didn't want sausage. (Anyone else out there been to try the fish-fry that Tom Sietsema raved about in his review? Last night, the fish was rockfish.) The chicken was tasty, very tender, with a slightly crispy outside, served over a mass of mashed potato and garnished with a leaf of romaine lettuce. We washed it down with an inexpensive French syrah/grenache blend ($19/bottle), which is also offered by the glass.

We both had what the waitress described as "chocolate birthday cake" for dessert. It was very moist chocolate cake with a fudgy top and a large dab of creme fraiche on the side. Satisfying.

The atmosphere was very cozy, even though we sat right by the front door. As others noted, the service is a bit on the slow side, but it wasn't overly so for us last night. When we arrived about 7 PM, it was full, but we were seated in under 10 miniutes once a table opened. As the evening progressed (by 8 PM), the restaurant began to employ a rather odd policy of seemingly turning away a number of customers by telling them of "an hour wait" even though it was only half to 2/3rds full. Other customers waited 30-45 minutes for a table even though many were open. I'm not sure what was going on, but I'd suggest arriving early on Sundays to avoid being turned away. That said, the bar seems like a rather relaxing place to hang out.

Overall, this is a cozy neighborhood restaurant that I'd certainly be willing to try again for its full menu or again for an affordable Sunday dinner.

Edited December 16, 2003 by liamdc (log)

[cjsadler]

Went with a group to Buck's this evening. Very crowded-- we got there at 8 and waited an hour. The only three-course special now offered on Sundays is salad/fish fry/dessert; outside of that, there is the regular menu to order from. All but one of us went with the fish fry, which was seriously underwhelming: a small plate of over-salted mixed greens and a small under-seasoned fried fish filet (mahi-mahi tonight) put in a tapered bowl atop fried potato strings (it was a somewhat odd way of serving fried fish). No remoulade or anything. The chocolate cake was very rich and very good-- the highlight of the meal. The person who didn't order the fish fry had some really good venison sausage, which I tried. The portion of sausage looked just right, but the rest of us were still very hungry after only a few leaves of lettuce and and the small bit of fish. Dug the atmosphere of the place, though, and I might have to go back some time to try the mussels (not on the menu tonight), but judging from tonight, Buck's seems very hit-or-miss.

Edited January 12, 2004 by cjsadler (log)

[hillvalley]

Don't bother. You can dine a lot better elsewhere in the city.

They are no longer offering the fish fry, but I couldn't get details if there was still the $20 3-course meal deal.

A friend tried to eat there on a Sunday a few weeks ago. For a party of 3 they were told a half hour wait. An hour and a half later they left.

I have dined there a few times in the past few weeks. The portions are tiny and not worth the money. You can do better at Ardeo, if you must eat on Upper Conn. Ave., let alone the rest of the city.

They shrimp and grits are good, but not worth the money (18.95). You only get 3 shrimp and small serving of grits. I don't eat a lot and it didn't fill me up. The pork chops were as good as my late grandmother's, which isn't saying much. The coating was sweet and the meat dry. Did I mention that every table except ours got bread? The only food standout was the cauliflower gratin, but since the menu changes daily you never know when it will appear.

Don, you're right. Jamie at the bar is great. He knows his wines, and served me a nice Spanish one. But unless you are going for a drink, he doesn't make up for the mediocre service and the okay food.

Frankly, I don't get why it received 3 stars, except for Tom is a fan of the chef's.

[liamdc]

Walked by Buck's last evening at about 7:45-8 PM. It was nearly empty. Maybe 15 diners, including people at the bar. Maybe they should think about bringing back the Sunday evening fish fry/limited menu idea.

[Steve Klc]

Todd Kliman has a very compellingly-written piece about Buck's, Greenwood and James Alefantis in the March 5th City Paper, which delves into two ongoing themes: the chef as artist, literally and figuratively, and the chef as business owner/manager. I'm glad to see a new willingness on the part of the CP to stretch beyond the predictable, politically-correct, free weekly view of food--you know, the "where's the best Peruvian chicken carryout?" piece. (Not that there isn't a place for that kind of piece--there is.) Todd also seems to be the right writer for the job so far--his stuff defies expectation and isn't fitting into neat little boxes.

Unfortunately, this piece is not available online yet, but then none of Todd's stuff is. Too bad more internal CP resources seem devoted to developing and promoting their Restaurant Raters--as if the Zagat review model isn't already irrelevant. But that said, it seems to me you can't hope to foster a "plugged-in community of epicures" if your food columnist is nowhere to be found on the website.

[morela]

Unfortunately, this piece is not available online yet, but then none of Todd's stuff is.  \

We're on the same wavelength...

Here it is:

https://secure.washingtoncitypaper.com/cgi-...x=119&next.y=15

[hillvalley]

Thanks for the link.

[Busboy]

Just when I get to thinking maybe I'll drop by and check her latest effort, she goes and puts me of her feed again. I at at one incarnation of her restaurant. The food very good, but simply not good enough to give my money to someone who brings this attitude into the kitchen:

"I don't cook to make people happy. I cook because I'm an artist. And food is my medium. I have no need to nurture the world. 'You're in the service industry.' I didn't get into it to serve people. I got into it because it was the least objectionable commercial enterprise I could think of."

Washington City Paper, 4/5/04

[FistFullaRoux]

And she's still going to knee deep in reservations.

[morela]

'member this:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=22084

I mean article by Candy Sagon...

[Mark Sommelier]

And she's still going to knee deep in reservations.

They don't take reservations.

[mdt]

Finally got a chance to stop by Buck's for dinner on Saturday night. Got there just before 7pm and we were seated just ahead of the crowds that came shortly after.

I started dinner with chopped chicken liver that was servered on slivers of crispy toast, tasty with a slight sweet note. My friend had the mozzarella with pesto that was quite good, although I was only allowed one bite! We both had the grilled whole fish (Mediterranean rock fish as we were told by our waitress) for our entree. The fish was grilled perfectly, the skin was nicely charred and crispy and the meat moist and tender. It was served with a lemon zest, onion, and watercress garnish that was quite tasty.

They had two offerings for dessert, apple and rhubarb pie and a tin roof sundae. The tin roof sundae was homemade vanilla ice cream with warm chocolate sauce and peanuts. While the chocolate was good the ice cream was pretty bland and just offered a contrast to the warm sauce on top. I was surprised at the lack of flavor in the ice cream. The apple and rhubarb pie was really a tart and just ok and served with a scoop of the bland ice cream.

[mhberk]

I just ran across this thread and wanted to share an experience I had with Greenwood:

I had heard from several people that I should give it a try (and almost did when it was in Cleveland Park before Palena moved in). I planned to go on a Sunday, so during the day I called them up to see if they were open. I got a recording letting me know their days and hours. The recording said that they were open on Sundays, (but would be closed the Sunday, the week before for an off premise event). So I drove down from Columbia and got there 20 minutes before they were supposed to open. As opening time came around, we were joined by other restaurant goers waiting for the doors to open. The doors didn't open at the time the hours specified. We waited 35 minutes and the doors never opened! The 10 of us (or so) just went to the Thai restaurant next door.

I was so mad that I called and left a message on their recording the next day and explained what happened and asked why they weren't open. I expected an apology or some kind of explanation. All I got was a message (I think it was Mrs. Greenwood herself) telling me that I shouldn't have driven all that way without confirming that they were open and that next time, I should make sure that a restaurant is open before I tried to go there. I wouldn't have minded if she had asked me to give them another try or offered me a compementary app. But this bit! She made it seem like it was my fault!! I was so insulted!!

I finally felt vindicated when they shut down until I found out a few months ago that that "Fishing and Camping" restaurant was actually her new restaurant. I truly hope that they fail miserably!!

[Roger Troutman]

With customer service like this, I can't imagine they will be around for long. All it takes is one call to the Health Department by a disgruntled customer.

[bexdc]

I ate here a couple of months ago. It was okay, not great. The portions were a bit small for me (and I'm not a big eater). The setting was relaxing and intimate, but I would go back only if the food improved.