Young & Hungry, by Todd Kliman

[bilrus]

the wine glasses will start fuller than their tacky pour lines say

That was strange. I can't say I've ever seen that before.

[John W.]

the wine glasses will start fuller than their tacky pour lines say

That was strange. I can't say I've ever seen that before.

If you drink enough they go away.

[morela]

LOOK!

It's more of the candidness we know and love.

Learn about the heritage, passage and lounging of India.

"Divide and Conquer"

"Though Seth, a traditionalist, wonders why anyone would want to go “bastardizing a great cuisine,” Tuli makes no apologies about his concerted effort to create the sort of happening, after-hours place that crops up wherever you find a heavy concentration of young, single urbanites. Asked why he’s chosen to depart from traditional Indian dishes with his new venture, he responds, impatiently, “Well, to go with the times, sir.”

*So maybe there is no DUP in Dupont.

[bilrus]

Didn't I just watch some of this play out on "The Restaurant" a few nights ago?

[Steve Klc]

Actually, this might be the first misstep throughout the whole series of columns:

"It didn’t take long for the restaurant to establish its reputation as not just the best of its kind in the city, but one of the best restaurants in the city, period."

If Heritage India was one of the best restaurants in the city, we really do live in a second tier food town. I lived in Glover Park for over a decade, would have eaten at Heritage as often as I ate at Rocklands or Faccia Luna, which was often, except it remained too inconsistent for too long. Sudhir's very traditional cooking for an unadventurous clientele at Bombay Club was now more solid and delicious here. When others in NYC were pushing Indian boundaries in interesting directions because even great cuisines evolve, he remained traditional, but his cooking was the only very good thing about the place. As a "restaurant," the front of the house brought indifference to new heights, it had a poorly chosen wine list full of oaky chardonnays like Trefethen, and an even more poorly-trained wait staff. Perhaps it matured late and I just didn't stick around long enough.

Otherwise, this was another interesting read and Todd is still da man. And I'm excited about Sudhir's proposed menu concept change in Bethesda.

[morela]

Whoa. It's The Red Dog Cafe

Rocks, TS and TK all on same page

"Pup and Coming"

"....most notably, the leafy sanctuary of nearby Rock Creek Park—it is, spiritually speaking, not entirely suburban."

Spirit. More places might want to look into that...

I like dogs. I like the park. I like lemon-poppy walls...

[morela]

"Margaret Cho once joked that eating a meal while watching Emeril was akin to having sex while watching a porno, and you could make a strong case that eating at the Minibar has an intrinsic pornographic appeal, in that it manages to reduce the experience of being in a restaurant to the sheer, fetishistic spectacle of putting things in your mouth. Minibar is not about food; it’s about taste. Only taste."

As someone who has not yet been to Minibar, this column has given me the next best thing. I can just about taste the tug-of-wars between flavors and feel, well, what else, but foam, essence and emulsion (I felt like a rubber ducky as I read about the clam chowder).

Actually, this column reminds me (again) why I am the Kliman fan that I am. Because he writes and he writes damn well...

and not like a distant, glass swilling, outlandish critic. No, he writes like someone who loves food and who loves words and who maybe believes he's akin to his readers. Plus, he knows Cho and Rock.

This stuff isn't packaged for someone who's searching for a star or a key or a quick answer. It's meant to leave you thinking, and in a sense, to come to some of your own conclusions. Or at least this is my impression.

Beat me up for liking the guy, but words were my first passion.

Now I'm ready for some deconstructed wine.

Here it is:

"Auteur de Force"

[pastramionrye]

Beat me up for liking the guy, but words were my first passion. 

Were they your first passion, or ARE they your first passion?

Edited May 14, 2004 by pastramionrye (log)

[morela]

This week Kliman pushes aside 'migrant workers that shuck, lightning bolts that struck, sewage workers wallowing in muck' and gringos that cluck, and reports on

two real deal Mexican joints in PG County (La Sirenita in Hyattsville and El Tapatío in Bladensburg).

"The chile relleno—a smoky, wonderfully firm poblano encased within a light batter and bedded atop a red sauce that intensifies the spiciness of the pepper without bringing any additional heat—has more depth of flavor, more lasting soul, than an entire punch card’s worth of visits to the McDonald’s-owned Chipotle could ever hope to deliver. "

Klc and Rocks are right, The Devil can't win them all! Devil, take of your mask, you sodium divvying soulless bastard.

Here it is:

Mex Appeal

Edited May 20, 2004 by morela (log)

[bilrus]

I'm embarrased to say that I had dinner tonight at Don Pablo's (I know, I know - it was a favorite back in my pre-eGullet days). Reading this makes me really pissed at myself for eating there.

[JennyUptown]

This week Kliman pushes aside 'migrant workers that shuck, lightning bolts that struck, sewage workers wallowing in muck' and gringos that cluck

That language is strangely reminiscent of Rocks' rant re: Rosa Mexicano, no?

Maybe I'm missing something (again).

[bbq4meanytime]

This week Kliman pushes aside 'migrant workers that shuck, lightning bolts that struck, sewage workers wallowing in muck' and gringos that cluck

That language is strangely reminiscent of Rocks' rant re: Rosa Mexicano, no?

Maybe I'm missing something (again).

Indeed. Unless of course the mysterious Rocks=Kliman

[JPW]

Perhaps that it wasn't a quote from the article, but Morela's own idiosynchratic musings.

[morela]

Morela back to muse again.

This week Kliman graces us with another series of chef interviews.

Morou, Roberto and Fabio on doing the goat!

"Kid You Not"

"... And goat—a meat that, in unskilled hands, is probably best left to stews and curries, where its toughness is neutralized through slow cooking that gently releases its strong flavors—might seem to be merely the latest challenge for ambitious chefs."

[John W.]

They always forget to use Morou's last name.

[John W.]

Morou is such a good looking guy.

[morela]

Kliman On Air

I know many of you already have plans to wake up at 5 a.m. and hear Jim Woolsey's take on George Tenet...and then have your morning crack to the tune of Marion Barry... so there's no reason whatsoever for you to miss Todd Kliman on tomorrow's edition of The WMAL Morning News. He'll be talking food and restaurants, presumably hitting the air around 6:30.

According to Kliman, there is talk of a regular weekly or

biweekly segment, to air on Tuesdays, which I think would be a great sidebar to what he has already been doing!

I'll be back to post the column when avail.

Edited June 3, 2004 by morela (log)

[morela]

Here ya go:

"Zorba the Chic"

"Despite such stabs at stylishness—and altogether upscale prices (dinner for two can easily inch into three digits)—not everything at Mourayo is so chic. The young, mostly male wait staff with their starched white sailor suits and their navy fisherman’s caps are only the most visible example. (You half-expect to hear them blurting out, “We are two wild and crazy guys!”

I'm not a huge fan of the sailor servers either. DC is political swampland, not port of entry.

Edited June 3, 2004 by morela (log)

[morela]

This week, something many of us know little about...

Chinese-Indian food, found at Bombay Masala in Greenbelt, and there's a bit of a history lesson attached.

"Subcontinental Drift"

"The same could also be said of the Chili Cauliflower, which I like even more, the sweet sponginess of the pakora-battered florets an intriguing contrast to all that fire and spice in the sauce. To come across a dish like this, with its unfolding of sensation and for about the cost of a fast-food lunch, is thrilling. Eating it, I am reminded of nothing so much as eating Indian food for the very first time. "

What wonderful food descriptions. This is like fiction in how simply it can tear you away, and make you feel like you're hovered over a bowl of corn soup, somewhere far far away...

Someplace where there's no Reagan or Bush. Someplace where there's no central AC. Someplace where...

Was this an utter pleasure to read, and did I learn something interesting. Yes.

Do I think I'll make it out to Greenbelt very soon ? No.

But Kliman reminds us:

"...that some of his customers regularly make the pilgrimmage to Greenbelt from as far away as Arlington and Alexandria; it’s for the special menu from which I’ve ordered."

What about Adams Morgan or Annandale ('cities that start with 'A' for $1000')? Do people venture to Masala from there?

Can any of you tell me more about Chinese-Indian food?

Edited June 11, 2004 by morela (log)

[morela]

Catch Kliman tomorrow morning on The WMAL Morning News

Judging by the little plug here on WMAL's website, I'm thinking he might talk about

Adega Wine Cellars and Cafe in Silver Spring.

Me, I'll be awake and primping for the gym tomorrow morning at 6:38 a.m.

[morela]

A critical piece this week on Adega Wine Cellars and Cafe :

"The China Syndrome"

"But I ask him, and you, too: Which would you rather have? Plastic plates adorned with thoughtfully prepared, sometimes very good food, or a restaurant that is itself plastic, with canned atmosphere and dull, generic dishes? "

We want the canned atmosphere and plastic people...and mini-vans everywhere! We want corporate offices in Dayton, Ohio and lots of 800 numbers to voice complaints! Not! Fine, how about Riedel crystal then?

Anyone have the burger yet?

"And the burger, a half-pound of meat soaked in a cabernet reduction, topped with aioli, and nestled between two exquisitely dimpled slices of rosemary flatbread, crosses the line into too upscale for its own good. Though all sandwiches come with excellent kettle-cooked chips, I’d spring for the eggplant fries, a frequent special: a mound of virtually greaseless sticks of deep-fried eggplant sprinkled with chopped parsley and Parmesan, with a small cup of marinara for dipping."

I hope to God that the big Washington City Paper delivery truck drops loads and loads of papers to those swanky new movie theaters in Silver Spring. Show me 'em stacked to the ceiling, and no using those papers as shelter against the torrential rain!

Todd's right, this is an important place, plasticware or not...

Go. Go.

[JPW]

too lazy to write a new post, look here for my opinion

[morela]

Looks like tomorrow morning Kliman talks about how to get a great beach body (or how to fit in 17 restaurants in a long weekend)

The WMAL Morning News

Just Remember: NewsTalk630 at 6:30 a.m.

And never ever forget the gym.

Edited June 21, 2004 by morela (log)

[morela]

Here's today's column on The Flying Scotman, which Kliman says is best accessed from an alley behind Charlie Palmer Steak on Capitol Hill:

I wanna go, I wanna go.

"Great Scot"

"It looks, wherever possible, to update the traditional and the leaden; it does so most memorably with the Scotch eggs. The classic artery-clogger—hard-boiled eggs encased in aggressively seasoned ground pork, then plunged into the fryer—is sliced into rounds and fanned out on the plate around a mound of lightly vinegared field greens, as if it were a delicate, summery appetizer."

I'm truly a fan of Scott Cheggs! Flattered that someone noticed...

"...it’s what results when a bunch of kitchen veterans sit around and bullshit about the kind of place they’d really like to open—and then, on a whim or a dare, do it: Open late, good burgers and fries, the kind of place you can find a dish of braised lamb shank if you want it. Lots of brews on tap, a menu that’s all-organic, and—oh, yeah: It’s gotta be Scottish, dude. Definitely Scottish."

Wait a minute, what's going on here?

I know someone else around here that says, dude...

Anyway, this place looks like fun, and they have WiFi, so I'll shoot you and my boss an e-mail (with greasy fingers) while getting comfortable with my scotch...

Check out their menu

KlimanRocks@yahoo.com (fine, I made that up)

[Tweaked]

I've been to the Scotsman once for a drink...it's next to the bar My Brother's Place, if that helps, and is down sort of a side street/alley next to the office building that houses Charlie Palmer's. Pretty good selection of beer on tap, friendly staff, a couple different floors and rooms...didn't try the food, although the lamb shank did look tasty.