Restaurant Review: Shanghai Tea House

These economic times has me looking for good cheap eats. Add a review in the Post by Tom Sietsma, an exploratory email from M, and my need for dumplings drove me to the Shanghai Tea House in Glover Park on a rainy thursday night. I brought with me Billy Hixx from the Sheremer High School Blog.

Shanghai Tea House is located in Cleveland Park which has seen a rise in new eatries, there is alot of yuppie money in the neighborhood. It's a small modern space with display counters with nothing in them and a number of tables. We sit down and wait for awhile before we get menus, service is still being worked on. The menu has one page devoted to an enormous number of teas, they care your balck and oolong but they have dragon pearl and some other hard to find teas. I just wish I was a tea drinker. They also had a ton of bubble tea. I got a mango bubble tea but they gave me a normal flexi-straw so sucking up the fun bubbles didn't happen. The place quickyy filled and we ahd to wait for a bit before our order was taken.

After a while the server returned, we ordered some steamed pork buns to start, Billy Hix had spicy pork stir fry and I had shrimp wonton soup. The pork stir fry had a nice kick and everything was fresh, the veggies the pork you could taste the ginger and garlic and all the flavors combined very well. My shrimp wonton soup was excellent. It was a large soup with 5 shrimp wonton in it. the shrimp and the wontons tasted fresh and they were nicely sized. The broth was flavorful and light. And the soup was $3.95 huge score. The stemed pork buns finally arrived but we got pork dumplings instead. i was a bit bummed out until i tried the dumpling, so good. Stuffed with pork it I was transported back to my Xi'an dumpling dinner. They were good. They also provided a rich balck vingear soy and spicy chile sauce.

All in all it was very fresh and tasty. I would go back in a heart beat.

DC Restaurant Review: Bob's Noodle House 66

I was in Taipei a few years back for work and I bugged my host for something authentic. He took me for spicy beef noodle soup... I remember going through some back alleys up some stairs to what looked like a large kitchen. My host was embarrassed, he shouldn't have brought staff here it was too run down. We got served a big bowl of rice noodles, in a spicy broth with some beef. It was good and down home good but i wasnt blown away.

A few years have passed, and i have never had the hankering for tawainese noodle soup. Until this past Sunday, after a round of CoD4 The Seed says he is heading to Bob's Noodle House 66 (BNH66) with some friends. I go along to get some noodles. There are not many place to get noodles in DC. People might say Raku, which is shite, Pho not bad, but Bob's Noodle House 66 was amazing.

We started with fried pig intestines, braised pork, and pig ears. Pig ears are gross. they shouldnt be eaten. For me I cant get past the texture. It's way too much cartalidge and cold. It looked like they pressed all the ears together and chopped it up into rectangles. If it would have tasted of something I would have enjoyed it, but cold and rubbery isnt my thing. The pig intestine was good, fried with some salt and pepper and allspice it was only enhanced with the bowls of rice that came out. I wish it was crunchier. The braised pork...what can you say about slow cooked pork except that it rules. It was eight chunks of great pork with hunks of fat on it. Tender and shreddable with a fork I found myself wanting more. i could have had 7 orders of it. It was so good.

Then the soups came out. It was a gallon of soup easy. The broth was delicate and rich. The greens were fresh and it had stir fried pork in it. I asked for spicy and they added chopped up peppers which kicked my ass. It was a good burn, back of the throat that didn't overwhelm. There were other subtle touches. The soup had onions that were slightly caramelized. The pork was stir fried before being introduced into the soup. I had egg noodles that were fresh and a little crunchy. All of these combined into a great soup. The soup was amazing and for $6 bucks it couldnt be beat.

You have to try this place. Get the braised pork and spicy noodle pork soup, about $9 dollars in total and a meal for a week.

It in the back of a shopping center next to a liquor store and its in Rockville. Well worth the trip.

Woodberry Kitchen

I had a great meal at Woodberry Kitchen. The food was great and locally sourced. the staff was attentive and the food was spot on good. You have to know this going into it...this is a menu based on the goodness of the produce and meats from our community. this is a great idea because we need to showcase how great local food is...now if I can raise jamon iberico in the Greenspring Valley I would be a millionaire. I have read that people are concerned about the menu and the untraditional format, starter, main etc...but if you go and just get whatever you want you will be happy.

I arrived early and settled in for some whiskey, the owner spotted me and got me started with some shrimp and spoon biscuits. It really hit the spot with my whiskey...apparently everyone thought I was OnoCoffe so they were being very attentive.

We had fresh popcorn, fresh potato chips and dip, oyster Rockefeller and raw oysters, roasted pears, then a cast iron ribeye, two brick oven pizzas, grilled sea bass, salmon, and rock fish with a remesco sauce i think, and then pork chops...it was all wrapped up with a yule log, apple tarts and ice cream and a chocolate cake and by far one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had

I can honestly that I had the best pork chop I have ever had at Woodberry. It was huge and moist, coupled with apples, and a little left over roasted pear and some garlic fried rice and I was in heaven. Literally, I was floating and then got torn out of there a la BtVS.

on to the rest of the meal...

The fresh potato chips reminded me of spain and walking near the Sophie Reina and the herbed dip was a nice cool and slightly sweet compliment. The popcorn was freshly made so it was good but some people found it odd. But you have to remember it was about local goods and local tastes and fresh popcorn explodes in your mouth.

Oysters I have never been a big oyster fan but I did try the oyster with Bacon yummy but I couldn't handle the raw..bad memories from trying when I was younger. Funny thing my brothers growing up could suck them down.

The roasted pear sent me to a new place. The roasted pear was firm and sweet. I've always loved pears and this si just one more reason to. i could have had this alone all night and been a happy camper.

The brick oven pizza had a chewy crispy crust which is perfect for a Neapolitan pizza. It wasnt two amy's but it was good.

The cast iron rib eye was great. It was a fun flavorful cut of meat and the au gratin was killer. It was little rare for my taste but the flavor of the steak was just right, i could taste the meat and it wasnt tough at all. It was one of those moments when you taste the difference between rare and medium and rare wins out.

The three fishes were good. Fish to me is always drowned in something, but these w=ere just grilled and they were great. I forget how much I like fish and then I have it simply prepared like at Woodberry and i remeber how great fish can be.

I have already raved about the pork.

Dessert was good, the apple tart was my favorite.

A note on the crowd...people were saying it is alittle smug on Chowhound...well what do you expect when it is a great restaurnt so close to Roland Park.

i would go back again and again and again...it was a darn near perfect meal.

What is the best burger?

Whattaburger is a good burger. I got introduced to this place when i worked for a Texas Member of Congress. The Texans in the office craved Whattaburger. We would land at Intercontinental and drive right to this place. In fact the Texans in my office loved this place so much and they craved Whattaburger ketchup so much that anytime we were near a Whattaburger restaurant we were required to bring back Ketchup to the DC office.

So what burger reigns supreme? 5 Guys is a quality burger. In and Out is great. VIPS Madrid was fine and a whopper kicks some ass...but the quarter pounder with cheese is the only way to go. Support Ronald and eat a Royale with cheese!

Cafe Deluxe

I love this place. The food is average and it is a bad take on a French bistro but its home. A and I went this Sunday so I could watch football and grab lunch. This place has the best tomato soup. Creamy and chunky, its a nice twist on an old favorite. If you are cold and want a nice meal in a fun place go to Cafe Deluxe.

DC Restaurant Review: Vegetate

My first all vegetarian meal and I ordered the closest thing to steak and fries. I'm alittle disappointed in myself for not having something more real.

It was A's birthday and we had to celebrate.

Vegetate is near the new convention center and it was a quick drive from work. I arrived early and had two glasses of reisling from an organic small batch winery in Portland and a pumpkin beer. I also had a pumpkin beer while I waited. Vegetate is a hipsters dream. Sleek and a weird mix of 80's music blended with house and electronica. The staff was too cool. We had rissotto croquettes, cabbage nori roll, cauliflower gratin. They were all tasty but the roll was doused in too much truffle oil. The croquettes were croquettes meaning it wasn't special and the gratin was the best because it was balanced with flavor and textures.

We shared a peppered seytain and blue cheese veggie skillet cakes. Why did I get the fake meat. It was too peppery and the side of fried parsnips were unsettling because you think fries but get parsnips. The skillet cakes were better. I blame myself for being so close minded when I ordered the fake meat but this restaurant should have left the fake meat off. They have an obligation to show me how great a veggie meal can be. I think that because I ordered fake meat then I didn't have a vegetarian meal.

Its a cool restaurant and it does elevate veggie cooking to a gourmet status. But show me something different, don't give me away out and force me to try something new. You are better than that.

If you're a veggie enjoy. If you are a meat eater good luck.

Les Halles

Tony Bourdaina nd LEs Halles, meant a rebel chef cooing up killer fench bistro cuisine. I have many fond memories of Les Halles: crispy fries, frech baked bread and butter, garlicy snails, spicy steak tartar, onglet, and duck confit. It was wear one could smoke an dbe at piece, a place where souffle wasn't ordered but ready just in case you needed to top off your meal. I went back to Les Halles after a disasterous dinner with OnoCoffee. Would things change? I got Tony Bourdain's signature, I had mac and cheese with bacon and duck confit on tap. The mac and cheese was overwhelming with way too much bacon. The confit was hard as a rock when it should have been crispy and fork tender. I dont know. I'm confused and I don't know if I can go back. I guess I can go to Bistro du Coin (not really too many bad memories), or bistro lepic not as hip...help!!!

DC Restaurant Review: Oyamel

Named a 2007 best New Restaurant by Esquire and part of the Jose Andres family of hip eaters (Jaleo, Cafe Atlantico). What kind of food does Oyamel serve? What are antojitos? Drawing on pre-Hispanic, colonial and modern traditions, Oyamel’s menu reflects rich culinary heritage combined with current urban fare of Mexico City. Antojitos are traditional Mexican snacks or small plates.

I was very excited to go especially since it was Dios de la Muertos. I miss you dad. In honor of the dead, i will add a dad story. My dad's cooking skills went to corned beef and rice, vienna sausages and rice, or spam and rice. Too some this maybe gross but these were some of the best meals of my life. he made the spam thick, he over cooked the vienna sausages, and the corned beef had so many onions in it you could scare the dead. All of those fun meats on streamy hot rice. Yummers. In high school when mom was wokring he would sometime bring home dinner, a couple of slices of pizza. It wasnt a whole pie but four slice for me and him. it always made me laugh.

Onto the review, on tap for our dinner was a variety of menu items:

A tasting plate of 7 different Oaxca mole sauces with seared duck breast, steak, blackbeans and smoked chicken- Now, I've had mole sauce twice. First was in GG office and it was made by this mexican women and it was awsome the chocolate and coffee flavors exploded in my mouth. The second time was for Browsers Birthday when we went to a mexican joint in HoCo. That meal wasnt really memorable. But this 7 tasters mole plate was too overwhelming. Too many sauces and too many meats...I believe it is the job of the chef to pair the sauce and the meat. if you want to give us a taste of all the moles from a region do it right. I was confused and dipping meats in all the sauces trying to figure out which one i liked the best to no avail.

Sopes con plovo de chicharron-Traditional corn flour cake topped with ground deep-fried pork rind and housemade guacamole- The flour cake was crunchy, the pork rinds (my favorite) was overwhelming and too reminiscient of pancit bihon toppings, and the guacamole had a kick that made my mouth a scorched surface.

Chilaquiles con salsa de tomatillo, queso y cilantro- Fresh hand-made tortilla chips with melted Chihuahua and Oaxaca cheese, green tomatillo salsa, cilantro and red onion- So basically this was nachos, but i loved it, i love corn tortillas. It really is the only way to go. It was cheesy and familiar...wow that makes me a little boring.

Quesadilla huitlacoche- Traditional folded corn tortilla with oaxaca cheese and black Mexican truffle. After reading the description I found myslef to be very skeptical. A quesadilla with korn and a mushroom inside. tasty and a flavor combination that I am not use to and was surprised by, a definte highlight of the meal.

Papas al mole- José Andrés’ favorite fried potatoes in a mole poblano sauce of almonds, chilis and a touch of chocolate, topped with Mexican cream and aged cotija cheese- Fries and mole sauce with a hint of sour cream- killer.

Carnitas con salsa de tomatillo-Confit of baby pig with green tomatillo sauce, pork rinds, onions and cilantro. This was an overstuffed taco and by the fact that it was overstuffed took away from a tasty taco. the meat was tender, and the tomitillo sauce and pork rinds were tasty, but the portion size out stripped the flavors.

Looking back the food was mediocre and a bit disappointing. Did i let the hype get to me? I did have some new and different flavor combinations which makes me want to go back. This place has to have something more to it. I am going to go back and I want to bring my brother.

DC Restaurant Review: Sabero

Another restaurant review, another meal, will my fond memories of dishes past be triumphantly relived or will my stomach be disappointed yet again.....


Gambas---

Sabero is relatively new to the Cleveland Park Scene...a tapas restaurant in my neighborhood. How exciting. From the past few blogs I have been yearning for a Spanish lifestyle. i want to have a Plaza Mayor with fun tapas bars that don't get started until midnight. I like that life style. So when I found out that a tapas bar was coming to CP I got excited.

Will I get to hang out and have my tortilla de potata and cafe con leche???

We got there at 800pm and there was not much action in the place. Maybe I need to wait for midnight for the people to come out?

Went to dinner with some friends and we orderd beef empanadas, a brazilian pulled chicken tunover, gamabs, patatas bravas, an avocado and seafood salad, and jamon croquettes. Overall the food was good...nothing spectacular...but it did bring me back to Spain. i guess thats all that really matters. Yeah right, Saberos is a hipster bar that serves tapas. i dont think it will be here in the spring...when the palce would rock with patio seating. The decor is too mood and the food doesnt match up. The food is frankly plain old bar food. Now, i didnt try any entrees but thats because when we have tapas who needs a big heavy meal.

The Jamon croquettes didnt taste of jamon serrano. In fact it tasted more of bacon and manchego. That being said this was actually pretty good. The patatas bravas were neather crispy and the sauce was sup par or bland. The empandas rocked the house. It reminded me of the empanadas from Camilio's family...yummy as shit I could have had 90 of them. The brazilian chicken turnover or a chicken empanda was awesome. The dough was a little crispier versus flaky and was well seasoned. The gamabs were mediocre, atleast it wasnt the crap from Xabia. The avacado was a good but the seafood slaad was too heavily mayonaised.

Will I go back yes, I need my spanish fix. If they would just serve Fanta!

If you need a fix of spanish food come on over.

Restaurant Review: Colorado Kitchen

Sunday is a day of rest and brunch. I was going to take my nephew to a open house but that didnt pan out. SpaceCadet bailed on me...not really.... Pete was in town and I was trying to hook up with him and Rachel for lunch but got sucked into going to Colorado Kitchen with A. Between Longfellow and Kennedy on upper 16th is an up and coming area full of hipsters and bohemians. Outside of this place was twenty people all waiting for a table. It was weird because there was always an open table inside but they still refused to sit people. So we waited and we fought. "Let's leave." she muttered. "But we have committed half an hour already." I kept repeating. Why we waited I still l cant say but when there are people patiently waiting you know it has to be good. After 45 minutes we sat down to eat, the last of the customers waiting for a table. No more biscuits and shrimp and grits is announced as we sit. Shit i think to myself we should just go...but wait, what do i see...fried chicken and eggs! The day is saved.

We start with fresh donuts: cake batter thats fried...we get a powdered, chocolate frosted and a honey nut and hands down powdered rules. It was warm and crunchy. The dough was sweet and of medium weight with a healthy dose of powdered sugar. Yummy...I could have left after that but i was waiting for my eggs over hard and fried chicken. The chicken was good, pan fried, but not greasy and the egss were fluffy and yummy. It was hearty but tasted so damn good. A had the egss benny and they were good too, even though shrimp and grits would have been better. The food wasnt fancy but it was remarkable good. the coffe was crap and i had a fizzy lizzy which was not anywhere near the greatness of fanta.

Colorado Kitchen akin to a Michelin two star, I would suggest a trip to this spot. Go early.

You do have to wait and get your name on the list because if you dont say good bye to eating.

Baja Fresh v Chipotle

I have moved back and forth between the two and right now am committed to Baja, mainly because they have fish tacos. Seriously do you want to go through life eating a ten pound burrito when you can have mexican food that is light and yummy and plus BF now serves coke. Chipotle is good but it is too much and the tortilla rips and tears like a fat guy in black jeans. Chipotle hands down has the upper advantage with their guacomole, but BF has a salsa bar and the new mango chutney rocks. The rice and beans used at BF are horrible and I have no idea why they push it. just eliminate those things from the menu or do them in smaller portions because frankly they suck. Chipotle has barbacoa and carnitas which is huge but when it come to a meal BF is tasty and filling but not a bowel bomb like Chipotle. All hail the ocnquering hero Baja Fresh!

DC Restaurant Review: Busara

I was fiddling with my iPhone through out dinner and genuinely being a bad dinner guest. This iPhone is all consuming pushing it to its limits, which if you push too hard it will shut down applications. Anyway I went to dinner at Busara a Siamese Cuisine with some friends and it was total crap.

I started with a typical thai ised coffee...which was fine. It was sweet and alittle coffee tart. Honestly, it was very rich and tasty but this marred by meal. It made everything else taste bad.

We had fresh spring rolls which tasted like they were made earlier in the week so a bit tough and they covered them in a horrible sweet sauce. We also had crispy spring rolls, which really you have to roll them in dirt to make these thing bad. Also curry and nua siam which overall the meat were bad cuts and the sauce were too liquidy and under flavored. I have never had bad thai until last night. It was like non thai people made it.

It sucked.

Atleast I had my iPhone. I should have google mapped good thai!

Restaurant Review: Leopold's

After a saturday afternoon of drinking and watching a friend lose two feet of her hair to locks of love we ventured into Cady's Alley in G'town for some austrian food at Leopold's. before we ate, we were lured to the 3rd edition for a courageous hair cut and the prospect of fried lumpia. Filipinos will travel through space and time for good lumpia and Lechon, lechon is like our holy grail, elusive with the prospect of paradise.

Leopold's is tucked away in a small alley off the main drag in G'town. Leopold's is modern Vienesse cafe deisgned to serves the shoppers of the high end shops. I was excited for something different and I think we caught the place on an off night. The reason I say this is because it has all the elements of being a hit. Undisclosed location, great ambiance with a unique menu, compared to the asian, steak and fench addiciton of DC residents.

Honestly, I havent had much german food. My roommate makes spatzel which is awesome. I have had schnitzel and all sorts of bratwursts, thanks to Johnson and Old Europe, pretzels, and some rolled meat dish with bulgar wheat so my experience is limited and no real point of comparison. But ask me about Peking Duck and I can give you a PhD thesis on this dish.

Super modern looking, the wait staff was very attractive and the menu varied with some main stays of austrian food. Schnitzel, spatzel, ox tail soup, soda with elderberry syrups etc. We tried to sit outside but the patio was packed with many germanic and euro people. We sat inside with a plasma screen runnning a loop of waves coming a shore. Saturday we had: schnitzel, spatzel, roast chicken and fries, ox-tail soup, the charcutteri plate, and some desserts. the service was ok, she put on the gratuity for a table of six and forgot a soup.

Artisnal bread should not be used at dinner tables. We had overly crusty sunflower seed rolls. They were clumsy rolls that should have been heated before coming to the table.

Ox-tail soup, a brothy dish with tender meat but as the Seed said, "I could do without the carrots." It was ordinary.

Schnitzel was average, not a large portion but tasty needed a side dumplings rice maybe.

Spatzel, like little dumplings it was covered in cheese. Yum but a little unassuming. A dish that should have taken control of the sides issue but didnt.

Chicken, very dry, but the skin was crispy...I would say it was more akin to fried vs roasted chicken. It was on a bed of wilted greens and had a mustard sauce which were pretty damn awesome. I liked the fries but a bit thin for me.

Desserts were ok, my struedel from toasting and vanilla ice cream was very good.

Coffee was bad.

This place has the elements for a good eating spot. It needs to work on preparation and having more care for the diners. I would give this place some time to mature.

Restaurant Review: Mark's Duck House

In the entry way to Mark's Duck House is an article from Wine Advocate on best meals. Included is Mark's Duck House and the China Club both great restaurants. This article mainly talked about the best peking duck which is at this place and that it is better then most roast duck in Beijing. This meal had some duck but we didnt have the full affect with the table side carving, the salty plum sauce, and rice crepes that are paper thin but sturdy. I have had duck at three seperate places in beijing and Mr Liu's, where Kissinger ate rules! I have to get the duck meal at Mark's to compare. Anyway....

Mark's Duck House is a chinese restaurant in a strip mall in falls church, va. While the location may not be fashionable this place is premier eating. This restaurant is based on Hong Kong Dim Sum restaurants, Mark's has three signature meals: dim sum, roast duck, cripsy pork. We had a bit of the three signature dishes. Dim sum is a great meal because you can have little bits of everything. small dishes that are shared mainly dumplings but includes mainy other small plate dishes: rice, egg rolls, greens...i think the latter is more to deal with an American palate. This is my like tenth time here and my first review.

Seating is important when getting dim sum. We were at the half way mark...so basically our pickings were slim by the time the carts came around. But John, our waiter, was eager to make sure that if there was something we wanted he got it fro the kitchen for us.

We got there around 11:30AM this sunday, which in my opinion is too late but we were only three so miracles can happen. When we got there it was packed and atleast five big groups 5 plus and 5 small groups. things moved quickly and after 20 minutes we were seated. Our waiter John (the only reason I remember his name was because my mom asked him his Chinese name and the waiter said John) was attentive professional and kept things flowing. We had: crispy pork, roast duck, clams and black bean sauce, 2 order char shui bao, shrimp crepes, shu mai, scallop dumplings, sweet silk tofu, seasame balls. Everything here is fresh and tasty not to be biased.

The duck was good. The skin was crispy, the meat was tender but that fat layer held all the favor and was too rich. Tasty but after two pieces I was done.

The crispy pork was good. Fried skin and huge chunks of pork is awesome. Simply awesome. They walked around with trays of this.

Clams...I usually avoid clams they can make me sick but my mom tore into them.

Shrimp crepes is one of my favorites with the hot soy sauce but man it impossible to pick up. Flat and long it is a crowd favorite.

Shu mai was a little lack luster. Big and clumpy I dumped too much chili sauce on it and made it too hot.

The scallop dumpling reminded me of the Xian 30 course dumpling meal. It was good and associated with good memories.

Sweet silky tofu...gross dont get me started.

seasame balls a dessert dish, sweet rice and seasames fried.

Leaving char shui bao...my favorite dish...steamed pork buns..this must be from god. In interest of full disclosure in the past we have run into a string of bad luck and the shui bao. We had what we thought was pork to be confronted by savory chicken and egg and the next batch was pig ear...I know yuck and double yuck. I know it is a delicacy but growing up when you had sweet pork shui bao getting chicken and worse yet pig ear is a downer. Luckily we had pork and i had two of them and they were awesome.

One thing we didnt get which was a mistake was a giant oyster. How does one eat the giant oyster, it was the size of a baseball...when i eat with my brother and mom we have one rule. If your are intrigued by something just get it....we got burned by not getting the cheese plate at a fancy place and we have regretted it ever since. Now I can add the large oyster to the mix.

This is by far the best dim sum in metro DC. Its a bit of a hike and not metro accessible but go eat and be merry. You will not be let down.

DC Restaurant Review: Hook

It is not often that the meal lives up to the hype of a new restaurant but Hook did. A fish restaurant that uses sustainable fish stock and has three of DC's rising star chefs in Georgetown is a sure formula of success.

The restaurant in the heart of Georgetown is right across the street from J. Crew and the patronage definitely reflects it. Blond girls in dresses, dudes in Nantucket red pants, the restaurant has pictures from Ecco Environment on the wall, pictures you would find in National Geographic, and the interior is stark white with a hint of Mos Eisley Cantina. The background music had a distict nautical theme, basically it was Wes Anderson's Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. While a great place for a date, the potential for a group of friends to have a good time is extremely high. The wait staff, two per table were attentative and fun. There is no parking and no valet and trying to park in Georgetown at night or on the weekend for infrequent visitors will be troubling.

The food is arranged in crudos ("raw" in Italian), appetizers, entrees and desserts.

Crudos are raw cuts of fish slightly seasoned and placed in bite sized portion to give the patron a true sense of the fish. I have been craving poke (cubed raw tuna with some soy, sesame oil, cilantro) for a while so I was fairly charged up for it. There were 8 crudos on the menu I had the tuna tartar, the wahoo in orange ann basil and the barracudda in sea salt and olive oil for $8. Our crudo was paired with a sparkiling white from Italy which actually didnt enhance the flavor of the fish as mush as it upsaled our bill, another $8. All three were tasty but it was hard to get past the sashimi-ness of this course. I think a poke would have been great with this course.

At the appetizers we had a light and crisp white from France: we had the ham tasting, beet salad with blue cheese, asapargus salad with mozzeralla and freshly grilled calalmari and bread. A note on the bread on the website the pastry chef baosts that she cooks all bread in house which I find hard to beleive because the bread I had tasted very similarily to the uptown bakery bread but what do I know. The bread did come with this garlic butter that I initially found in Spain 14 years ago that totally blew me away. i could have had that butter all nigth and been happy. The hams a pruscutto and a virginai ham sliced thin and chunky respectivley was an off beat appetizer but well worth it. The saltiness off set by a sweet biscuit and a grainy spicy mustard was a good way to get yor stomach ready for the fish and more importanrtly for non fish eateries to fill full. I kicked my ass and I feared that my entree might not get touched. The beet salad was a surprise covered in a creamy blue cheese the salad was surprisingly not overwhelmed by one flavor. In fact the two complimentated each other nicely. The asparagus salad was slightly grilled but still crisp and th emozzerella was creamyy but firm. The calamari was excellent...I am going to spain in a few months and a relish the thought of having all the freshly grilled calamari. Overall a great way to start.

Entrees: sable fish with a garlic aioli, roasted potato with an apple relish; halibut with a roasted bean puree and fried lemons, and blue fish olive oild and sea salt on a parsnip cake. Wow the sable fish (more cod like) was light and whimsy but you could distinguish between the aoili, the fish and apple dressing and the combination was such a mix of tastes and textures it really made the dish varied, complex and damn good. The blue fish is typically a fish that is caught and thrown back but here it is grilled skin on to perfection. The flesh is very meaty in texture so grilling these fillets were perfect and the overall taste was fresh and hearty. I didnt get to try the halibut but I ate all of the fried lemons because fried lemons rule!!!

Dessert I had madeliennes, small fench buttery cookies and then a trio of starwberries. the fresh strawberries were a smash hit. It came in a straberry and Zabagiolne, Starwberry champagne ginger smotthie shooter, and a strawberry crumble..awesome! And guss what they can actually make a cup of coffee.

DC Restaurant Review: BLT Steak

No it isnt a steak sandwhich with bacon, which would be awesome, BLT Steak is the newest steakhouse in DC. Steakhouse dot the DC landscape like lobbyist, they are all over and when they offer the same service some are just plain superior to others. What makes a great steakhouse? Anytime you spend $30 on anything it better be damn near perfect. First is the steak, a couple of choice cuts with excellent marbling to make the steak melt in you mouth. It should be grilled to a nice pink and the it should be crusty on the outside. It should tasty awesome on it's own, sauce, onions, mushrooms, peppers all that are used to cover up bad steaks. BLT not only had a tarragon butter ala french bistro but their steaks came with a sauce. Seeing this makes me skepitcal of the meat...BLT's filet was decent but I wasnt overwhelmed, I didnt stop and give thanks to Buddha...it was ordinary...and if you are going out for steak ordinary doesnt cut it...oh and by the way $42 for a filet...what the fuck..DC isn't worth that cost.

The meal started with great pate and crusty toasted bread. I could have ate this all night. It was freshly made and good. Then came the pop overs...I have had fresh pop overs and when you have those the steam and doughiness smacks you in the face and you want to scarf down ten of them. These popovers were not fesh, hard and sad.

Other starters were potato skins and a tuna tartar...the best potato skins have potato in them these were more like the bag of fake TGI Fridays potato skins. They were hard and the cheese was globby and you could barely taste the sour cream. It was cardboard. the tuna tartar wasn't bad, chopped into cubs it was blended with some wasabi, maybe a bit much and some potato waffles. It was a large portion as well.

our steak sides were creamed spinich, green beans, onion rings and blue cheese tater tots. The creamed spinich was fine, normal steak house fare, the green beans were poached with a little butter...they were crisp. The onion rings were like all other onion rings and frankly more greasy. The blue cheese taster toots shuld hav been called deep fried blue cheese chunks with that description you can tell that this was not so good as well.

We didnt have dessert we wanted out.

As for service, it was laughable...we had reservations and they didnt hold them...our server didnt show up for ten minutes...they got our drink order wrong, after serving our apps and main courses our waiter never came by...

BLT Steak needs help, I know it is a chain in NY and it is all flashy and sleek but get the basic right before you move forward.

DC Restaurant Review: Clyde's Friendship Height's

This place is hit or miss. I used to have breakfast here alot and it was always good, but how hard is breakfast really. The one near the Verizon Center is better and so is the one in Georgegtown.

Frienship heights...so when we arrived we had a 20 minute wait. I was with P and C and i got a rum and coke, i wanted to say, "Una cuba libre." But i dont have the balls and i think people will just say, "You mean a rum and coke." So a proper Cuba Libre is this: a jigger of rum, three ounces of coke, and lime squeezed. Its by far the best drink in the world and it should be on every menu...i love this drink, P likes Capt. Morgan and coke, i prefer bacardi gold...C got a gin and tonic...anyway I dazzled the chick bartender with stories od teddy roosevelt and the rough riders, i mentioned Cuba and the art deco aand then the movie Barcelona...she was under my spell..laughing her ass off she gave P next drink for free...anyway on to dinner.

Steak ribeye, crab dip, cream if crab soup, a veggie burger and veal piccata and warm apple pie and ice cream. I want to say overall the effort and execution were lacking. the food was not prepared with love..the cream of crab was watery, the crab dip was good but once you add artichoke its becames lame...i dont understand why crab in DC is so ladden with filler and crap...crab is a delicate meat only to be served in lump form anything else should be referred to as crab shake. Anyway, my steak cooked medium was tough and overcooked. I had to drown it in steak sauce to eat it and my baked potato was a rock with butter on it...i didnt try the picata and apparently the burger was tasteless. The apple pie was cold but the ice cream was good...and the coffee was watery. maybe this place was designed for an aged palate that doesnt like flavor.

The problem is that i have been here and it was great, not awesome or brillant but still fun and good. I am chalking this up to weekend crappiness. It can be good.

Worst Chicken Fingers Ever

Sunday is a day of rest, so iwas going to cruise around and check out gear, tech goods, and some magazines. I needed to start my day off right and thought a bit of lunch would be good, chicken fingers stuck in my head. My roommate cooks quite a bit and it is always just slightly past the norm so the dishes are always interesting. Over the weekend he made almond encrusted chicken breast and it was tasty. Anyway, so those smells and visuals moptivated my lunch. I went straight to popeye's my chicken place of choice. They make the 2nd best fried chicken to Royale Farms. Anyway, i got to popeyes and was throughly disappointed. The chicken strips were weak, like starved chicken breats...obviously not perdue or Tysons for that fact it was more like Soivet Safeway chicken strips. You woud think they would use the same batter as the chicken, well they dont it was shit. the dipping sauce, the mustard was crappy....dont get the chicken strips at popeyes they suck.

DC Restaurant Review: Cafe Deluxe

Spacecadet76 was in town for a job quest. We grabbed P and headed out to an old stomping ground, Cafe Deluxe.

Cafe Deluxe has always been a main stay for me. I used to go every weekend. When family was in town we always went. When it was my turn to pick a place to eat i always picked it. I can honestly say that i have eaten here more then any other place in DC. When i lived in Woodley I would walk up to this place to eat all the time. CD is an americanized version of a french cafe or bistro.

Cafe Deluxe makes one of the best burgers in DC. Most people will tell you that grilling is the key to a good burger and i would agree with them whole heartedly, but when you try this burger it will open your palate up to a fried burger. Slightly toasted and buttered bus, whole leaf lettuce, a nicley sliced tomato, freshly ground beef fried to perfection. This is a burger i crave.

The fire roasted tomato soup is quality. Its a little lumpy but keeps the sweetness of the tomato. A perfect compliment to the grilled cheese.

The meatloaf is another fine selection. Thickly cut, with a spicy tomato sauce accompanied with skin on smashies, and green beans.

I really like the cesar salad. Homemade dressing.

Everything is good here, go and enjoy. Its cheap the real problem is that it is always crowded.

Baltimore Restaurant Review: Ruth Chris's Pikesville

It was my mom's birthday and the family went out to celebrate. We always go out to celebrate. I think thats why I lik eeating out. It reminds me of celebration.

As we left my mom asked, whats the best steak. You know what I dont know. Sometimes I miss my mom's hockey puck steak and steamed rice. The double porterhouse at Bobby Van's is excellent but in the realm of basic steak houses Ruth's Chris's steak is pretty damn good. I guess you can say that anything you slather butter on is good.

The meal, lobster bisque, crab stuffed shrooms, the chop salad, and the cowboy rib eye, also present were the petite filet, and prime rib. There is no kids menu at this joint unlike the Capitol Grille that will fry up 4-5 massive chicken breasts and call them chicken fingers. The little one had the stuffed chicken which was good.

The crab bisque had good chunky lobster and the broth was tasty. I have this imaginery image in my head of the world's greatest bisque Im not sure where i had it. The broth was mediocre. Overall average bisque.

Stuffed mushrooms- the report from BroswerMetric...it was just OK. The cheese on top didnt compliment the overall dish. So i that was a miss.

The chop salad, iceberg, radishes, blue cheese, onions, fried onions, mushrooms, bluecheese dressing, man this salad was awesome. It combines everything so that you get veen distribution of slad goodness. I just found this salad about three years ago and it is by far the greatest salad ever. i use to love fresh cesear but that pales in comparison to this salad.

The steak...OK these are the best steaks in the steak house genre except Bob Van's double porterhouse. They have good cuts and they are cooked with butter, so they basically ruled.

While we were eating Dr. P came in. I had to say to him. He's a good guy. I need to get him $50 Million, $50 million cheese and crackers.

Dominate dinner conversation were '07 and '08 vacations, espagne and hawa'ii. Big Island is the only place to go and we have to go see the Guernica.

Ruth's Chris is a decent steak with some good sides.