Sometimes last minute plans end up being the most fun. My buddy Lawrence and I decided to go to Ardeo, spur of the moment, to try out their new menu and visit a good friend/former co-worker. Cleveland Park has a different sort of neighborhood vibe when compared to the rest of D.C. I'll say it lacks a certain smugness and that is a welcome change of pace. Ardeo/Bardeo is in the middle of that neighborhood and the restaurant follows that same type of vibe. No loud house playing while you eat here (I'm looking @ you Zengo). Bardeo seems to have its regulars...like the 3 martini after work guy. Ardeo is going to be where you want to take your date for a nice, sit-down meal.
After we were seated, Lawrence and I each got a beer off the limited list. However, I love Kona beer so that worked out fine. The appetizers we chose were: 1) Steak w/ horseradish creme fraiche, fingerling potatoes 2) Suckling pork belly, pineapple, ham and 3) Crispy onion straws with what I'm going to call super sauce because I think if I put that on a burger I could become a millionaire. The onion straws are kind of hard to dip in the sauce, but just stick your whole damn hand in there because its worth it. The other two apps were also very delicious, but I liked the horseradish creme fraiche on the steak the best. For my entree I chose the Seven hour braised leg of suckling pig. You read that right; and yes it was awesome. Being from Atlanta had me appreciating this dish on all sorts of levels. Babe came with cheddar grits, blackeyed peas, redeye gravy, & peanuts. When I go back to restaurants I almost always get something new, but when I come back to Ardeo I'm getting this...no way around it. The other two entrees were 1) Smoked duck breast (w/ hush puppies, napa cabbage slaw, barbeque sauce) and 2) Pork cacciatore, black pepper fettuccini, house pancetta. Both of these dishes got rave reviews along with plates being completely cleaned. We all briefly entertained the idea of dessert, but we were on beers 3 or 4 of what would be around 9 so ya know what goes better with beer than ice cream? Fuc*in' bacon pizza, that's what. This was just as good as any entree we ordered and was crushed in a matter of like 4 minutes. This pizza was just as good, if not better, than any I have had at Two Amy's or Matchbox. The bacon pizza comes with House bacon, aged cheddar, grilled corn, basil. The grilled corn is what makes this one stand out and I really enjoyed it as a topping. All of this and a few beers each totaled like 45 bucks each, before tip, which is not bad at all.
This is a neighborhood place that's worth coming to from another neighborhood.
Overall: A
Highlights: Cheddar grits and the bacon pizza
Lowlights: The service left a little to be desired, but was still friendly and timely.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
TAP - 1180 Peachtree St (Atlanta)
I still need to write a review or 6 on some of the restaurants I visited while in San Fransisco, but that is going to be somewhat of a project. So, first up on the out of town review list is where we ate for my birthday while I was in Atlanta. TAP is in midtown Atlanta and has all the makings of a turn n' burn establishment so I really was not expecting anything more than good company and some decent beer. I left pleasantly surprised.
The hostess immediately started busting my balls when we came inside since I never returned her phone call confirming the reservation. She wasn't serious so no harm no foul, but this was kind of a precursor to the service for the rest of the meal. Most of us were just focused on pre-gaming a little bit so we decided to just get some appetizers to start off with. For our shares we chose the buffalo calamari (tossed with bleu cheese and celery), fried pickles served with jalapeno cream sauce, and braised octopus (served chilled tossed in a basil vinaigrette). Two of those sounds like pretty standard issue bar grub, but all three were outstanding. The calamari wasnt drenched in hot sauce and bleu cheese, but was just lightly dusted with both and had cheese crumbles in there as well, which was nice. The fried pickles were sweet pickles which is a change of pace from the usual sour kind that are fried. The jalapeno sauce that came with the pickles was not overpowering, but instead served as a good counter to the sweetness of the pickle. My favorite was the octopus. Not everyone tried this, but the people that did liked it. I think most of the time when people do not want to try a "weird" food like this it is mostly based on texture than the actual taste. The texture was straight up gummy bear, but the taste was fantastic and very refreshing. The octopus was a great lead in to what I ordered next. After our apps most of the table was pretty full so people shared burgers, salads, etc. All of these got pretty good reviews. I just ended up getting another appetizer and chose the Tuna Tataki (sesame seared tuna, avocado dressing, sun dried tomatoes, mixed greens, and orange oil). This was another surprising dish. Sun dried tomatoes with my tuna? Seriously? How is this going to work? Well, it did work and it went great with the avocado dressing. Another good summer dish that was very refreshing and probably not something that would not be difficult to do at home. There wasn't too much pepper on the tuna either. So many time I have come across this seared tuna dish with TONS of pepper on it. I love pepper too, but people can go crazy. I could have had a little bigger portion, but it was an appetizer so I didn't expect it.
TAP is a pretty solid spot. I think if I went back it would be for a happy hr or something so I could just try more of their appetizers (seemed like that was the strong part of the menu). Glorified bar food is how I would categorize it if I had to. There wasn't too much negative going on while we were there, but if I had to choose something I would say that they need to fix the bathroom situation (climb three stories to take a leak? not cool). That and our waitress was a joke and could not have cared less. All in all a pretty chill place though. Great beer list, great food, and plenty of room to crush both. Tom top it off, Lorin picked up my tab. Thanks!
Overall - B+
Highlights - Octopus, beer list, and the space
Lowlights - Service
The hostess immediately started busting my balls when we came inside since I never returned her phone call confirming the reservation. She wasn't serious so no harm no foul, but this was kind of a precursor to the service for the rest of the meal. Most of us were just focused on pre-gaming a little bit so we decided to just get some appetizers to start off with. For our shares we chose the buffalo calamari (tossed with bleu cheese and celery), fried pickles served with jalapeno cream sauce, and braised octopus (served chilled tossed in a basil vinaigrette). Two of those sounds like pretty standard issue bar grub, but all three were outstanding. The calamari wasnt drenched in hot sauce and bleu cheese, but was just lightly dusted with both and had cheese crumbles in there as well, which was nice. The fried pickles were sweet pickles which is a change of pace from the usual sour kind that are fried. The jalapeno sauce that came with the pickles was not overpowering, but instead served as a good counter to the sweetness of the pickle. My favorite was the octopus. Not everyone tried this, but the people that did liked it. I think most of the time when people do not want to try a "weird" food like this it is mostly based on texture than the actual taste. The texture was straight up gummy bear, but the taste was fantastic and very refreshing. The octopus was a great lead in to what I ordered next. After our apps most of the table was pretty full so people shared burgers, salads, etc. All of these got pretty good reviews. I just ended up getting another appetizer and chose the Tuna Tataki (sesame seared tuna, avocado dressing, sun dried tomatoes, mixed greens, and orange oil). This was another surprising dish. Sun dried tomatoes with my tuna? Seriously? How is this going to work? Well, it did work and it went great with the avocado dressing. Another good summer dish that was very refreshing and probably not something that would not be difficult to do at home. There wasn't too much pepper on the tuna either. So many time I have come across this seared tuna dish with TONS of pepper on it. I love pepper too, but people can go crazy. I could have had a little bigger portion, but it was an appetizer so I didn't expect it.
TAP is a pretty solid spot. I think if I went back it would be for a happy hr or something so I could just try more of their appetizers (seemed like that was the strong part of the menu). Glorified bar food is how I would categorize it if I had to. There wasn't too much negative going on while we were there, but if I had to choose something I would say that they need to fix the bathroom situation (climb three stories to take a leak? not cool). That and our waitress was a joke and could not have cared less. All in all a pretty chill place though. Great beer list, great food, and plenty of room to crush both. Tom top it off, Lorin picked up my tab. Thanks!
Overall - B+
Highlights - Octopus, beer list, and the space
Lowlights - Service
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Granville Moores - 1238 H Street NE
Man, I haven't frequented the NE part of town for some time. They used to be my old stomping grounds when I lived near Eastern Market, but its been a while. Anyways, over the past year or so they have done some major restructuring...along with that has come a slew of new restaurants. Since this was my first time in NE in a long time I decided to try out a DC classic that I had yet to experience.
Granville Moores is consistently ranked as one of the best places to get mussels in the city. I enjoy mussels, they aren't my favorite, but I enjoy them and I was excited to try the place out. The neighborhood is shady. I know, I know "oh its unique", "no no its culturally diverse", ummm no, its freaking shady. My friend was wearing a semi-short dress, the sun was down, and the creepers were creepin'. The entrance of the restaurant matches the neighborhood, old and unassuming. Once you are inside the place though, its a pretty cool set up. It feels like a neighborhood bar, which it is, and you are treated like you live in the neighborhood, which I do not, but she does.
The beer list is very impressive. I wasn't drinking, but she had a couple different belgian beers that both looked good haha. For an appetizer we had the tuna tartar that came with hoemade chips (odd), preserved lemons, and topped with a caper vinaigrette that was delicious. The serving size was a little small for two people, but this really was a great dish. For our entrees: she had the classic white wine, garlic, butter mussels and I had the "Diablo Del Mar" (littleneck clams, baby shrimp, pappardelle, spicy fennel-saffron broth). I've had different variations on the classic white wine mussels at a few different places around the city and I still think the classic is the way to go. Mine was spicy and pretty good, but the shrimp seamed out of place and there were some tomatoes in there that were not very good. Again, the white wine mussels were spot on. The best part of all this is that you get to use the bread to sop up all of the leftover broth. We also split a large order of frites that were nice n' crunchy and came with a side of truffle mayonnaise. I feel like there is a Tommy Boy "I can actually hear you getting fatter" joke in there somewhere. The frites were perfect and so was the dipping sauce.
I always end up leaving these restaurants and saying that I want to go back and I need to try so and so. I very rarely end up doing so, but I really think I will go back to Granville Moore's to try out the chicken and waffles and get some more of that tuna. Plus, the price for dinner for two, including tip, was well under a 100 bucks. Steal.
Overall: B+
Highlight: Tuna Tartar
Lowlight: Service was a little slow. Other than that, nothing.
Granville Moores is consistently ranked as one of the best places to get mussels in the city. I enjoy mussels, they aren't my favorite, but I enjoy them and I was excited to try the place out. The neighborhood is shady. I know, I know "oh its unique", "no no its culturally diverse", ummm no, its freaking shady. My friend was wearing a semi-short dress, the sun was down, and the creepers were creepin'. The entrance of the restaurant matches the neighborhood, old and unassuming. Once you are inside the place though, its a pretty cool set up. It feels like a neighborhood bar, which it is, and you are treated like you live in the neighborhood, which I do not, but she does.
The beer list is very impressive. I wasn't drinking, but she had a couple different belgian beers that both looked good haha. For an appetizer we had the tuna tartar that came with hoemade chips (odd), preserved lemons, and topped with a caper vinaigrette that was delicious. The serving size was a little small for two people, but this really was a great dish. For our entrees: she had the classic white wine, garlic, butter mussels and I had the "Diablo Del Mar" (littleneck clams, baby shrimp, pappardelle, spicy fennel-saffron broth). I've had different variations on the classic white wine mussels at a few different places around the city and I still think the classic is the way to go. Mine was spicy and pretty good, but the shrimp seamed out of place and there were some tomatoes in there that were not very good. Again, the white wine mussels were spot on. The best part of all this is that you get to use the bread to sop up all of the leftover broth. We also split a large order of frites that were nice n' crunchy and came with a side of truffle mayonnaise. I feel like there is a Tommy Boy "I can actually hear you getting fatter" joke in there somewhere. The frites were perfect and so was the dipping sauce.
I always end up leaving these restaurants and saying that I want to go back and I need to try so and so. I very rarely end up doing so, but I really think I will go back to Granville Moore's to try out the chicken and waffles and get some more of that tuna. Plus, the price for dinner for two, including tip, was well under a 100 bucks. Steal.
Overall: B+
Highlight: Tuna Tartar
Lowlight: Service was a little slow. Other than that, nothing.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Oya - 777 9th Street NW
Sunday funday. For most this conjours up images of a little day drinking, maybe a mimosa, and perhaps some eggs benedict. Working on most Sundays keeps me from doing most of this stuff. Rather than going to eat brunch, a friend of mine and I went to Oya for dinner to kick off Sunday Funight. I had not been to Oya in some time so I was pretty excited to see if they had anything new on the menu.
Walking into Oya can be kind of intimidating on a Friday or Saturday because it is always POPPIN, the entire restaurant is white and gold, and there are mirrors everywhere...am I in Miami circa 1983? Anyways, we went on a Sunday night, before rendezvousing with other work folk, and the environment was pretty chill.
The first decision that needed to be made was whether or not we were going to go strictly sushi or try some of the entrees as well. We both wanted to try and stick to sushi. She ordered the: 1) Fruit Roll Up - avocado | crab |strawberries | kiwi | yuzu mango, 2) Mucho Bonito - spicy tuna | tempura flakes | avocado | sweet aioli | bonito flakes | ponzu. I ordered the: 1) Rock n' Roll - grilled eel | avocado | cucumber , 2)Spicy Crunchy Salmon - salmon | tempura flakes, and 3) and the Godzilla roll - I don't even remember what all was on this one except for alligator. All of the rolls were solid, but there was definitely an obvious favorite and that was the rock n roll, roll haha. The sauce that came with all of the rolls was good as well. It was about the consistency of fish sauce, but not nearly as sweet. The drinks at Oya are a step about the average cocktail. The same can be said for their sister restaurant, Sei, as well. I had the dark and stormier and she had a cilantro daiquiri. I couldn't drink more than one of either or these, but they went great with what we were eating.
The service at Oya leaves something to be desired, but the ambiance and fair prices more than make up for it. If you wanna party hit it up on the weekends, but if you are looking for an exciting place to go during the week or to round out the weekend...don't count this place out.
Overall: B+
Highlight: cocktails and the rock n roll, roll
Lowlight: the service
Walking into Oya can be kind of intimidating on a Friday or Saturday because it is always POPPIN, the entire restaurant is white and gold, and there are mirrors everywhere...am I in Miami circa 1983? Anyways, we went on a Sunday night, before rendezvousing with other work folk, and the environment was pretty chill.
The first decision that needed to be made was whether or not we were going to go strictly sushi or try some of the entrees as well. We both wanted to try and stick to sushi. She ordered the: 1) Fruit Roll Up - avocado | crab |strawberries | kiwi | yuzu mango, 2) Mucho Bonito - spicy tuna | tempura flakes | avocado | sweet aioli | bonito flakes | ponzu. I ordered the: 1) Rock n' Roll - grilled eel | avocado | cucumber , 2)Spicy Crunchy Salmon - salmon | tempura flakes, and 3) and the Godzilla roll - I don't even remember what all was on this one except for alligator. All of the rolls were solid, but there was definitely an obvious favorite and that was the rock n roll, roll haha. The sauce that came with all of the rolls was good as well. It was about the consistency of fish sauce, but not nearly as sweet. The drinks at Oya are a step about the average cocktail. The same can be said for their sister restaurant, Sei, as well. I had the dark and stormier and she had a cilantro daiquiri. I couldn't drink more than one of either or these, but they went great with what we were eating.
The service at Oya leaves something to be desired, but the ambiance and fair prices more than make up for it. If you wanna party hit it up on the weekends, but if you are looking for an exciting place to go during the week or to round out the weekend...don't count this place out.
Overall: B+
Highlight: cocktails and the rock n roll, roll
Lowlight: the service
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Central - 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Looking back on my meal on Central I find it hard to believe that it took me almost three years to eat here. I know plenty of people who have dined there and loved it, but I never pulled the trigger. Well, I did a few weeks ago and it was worth it. The first thing that grabbed my attention while perusing the menu online was the fact that you could eat cheap here if you wanted to. I love the idea of going to a restaurant and being able to dine cheap or go big. This also makes it a lot easier to eat with a group.
Central is one of famed chef Michel Richard's D.C. establishments. When you walk into the penn quarter restaurant it gives off the vibe of a happy hour spot that turns into fine dining after 7. Danielle and I got the inside scoop on what the best items on the menu were from a friend who used to be a chef there. Some of the mentioned items were: Pork Belly Confit, Frisee Salad with poached egg, Filet Tartare, Loup de Mar, and the Lobster burger. We started with a couple beers and the Asian style Tuna Carpaccio. This was DELICIOUS! The tuna was sushi grade and cut very thin with minced ginger and some spice on top. The bread it came with was a little tough for the tuna, but it didn't change the dish too much. For entrees...She had the Frisee Salad with poached egg and I had the Loup de Mar (Sea Bass). This was the entire fish from head to tail and was minimally seasoned which I enjoyed. The lime vinegrette that came with the side salad was also good. The fish was HUGE and covered with grilled mushrooms which is one of my favorite toppings (on anything). I had never heard of poached egg on a salad before, but I had a bite or two and it was interesting...but not stellar. I was really full after this, but Central is pretty much known for their desserts so we ordered a couple. We decided on the Michel Candy Bar and the Bread Pudding. The candy bar was his take on a kit kat and was pretty cool. I wish it was a reeses or something though because Kit Kats aren't all that. The bread pudding was sooo rich. Personally, I like the bread pudding at Old Ebbit better. However, we got both of the desserts for free since we knew someone who worked there so no love lost there.
After being there once I definitely see what all the hype is about. Central is somewhere where people on a budget can eat like they aren't on one. I need to get back for happy hour to try some of those cocktails too. Shout out to Ayesha, our waitress, for the stellar service too.
Overall - A-
Highlights - Asian Tuna Carpaccio
Lowlights - We were stuffed in a corner booth since the restaurant was filled with actual ballers lol
Central is one of famed chef Michel Richard's D.C. establishments. When you walk into the penn quarter restaurant it gives off the vibe of a happy hour spot that turns into fine dining after 7. Danielle and I got the inside scoop on what the best items on the menu were from a friend who used to be a chef there. Some of the mentioned items were: Pork Belly Confit, Frisee Salad with poached egg, Filet Tartare, Loup de Mar, and the Lobster burger. We started with a couple beers and the Asian style Tuna Carpaccio. This was DELICIOUS! The tuna was sushi grade and cut very thin with minced ginger and some spice on top. The bread it came with was a little tough for the tuna, but it didn't change the dish too much. For entrees...She had the Frisee Salad with poached egg and I had the Loup de Mar (Sea Bass). This was the entire fish from head to tail and was minimally seasoned which I enjoyed. The lime vinegrette that came with the side salad was also good. The fish was HUGE and covered with grilled mushrooms which is one of my favorite toppings (on anything). I had never heard of poached egg on a salad before, but I had a bite or two and it was interesting...but not stellar. I was really full after this, but Central is pretty much known for their desserts so we ordered a couple. We decided on the Michel Candy Bar and the Bread Pudding. The candy bar was his take on a kit kat and was pretty cool. I wish it was a reeses or something though because Kit Kats aren't all that. The bread pudding was sooo rich. Personally, I like the bread pudding at Old Ebbit better. However, we got both of the desserts for free since we knew someone who worked there so no love lost there.
After being there once I definitely see what all the hype is about. Central is somewhere where people on a budget can eat like they aren't on one. I need to get back for happy hour to try some of those cocktails too. Shout out to Ayesha, our waitress, for the stellar service too.
Overall - A-
Highlights - Asian Tuna Carpaccio
Lowlights - We were stuffed in a corner booth since the restaurant was filled with actual ballers lol
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