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Chinatown DC -- Cool / inexpensive Restruants?

i thought minibar was worth the hype, but i wasn't paying

not liking jose andres is a take, though, seems like a universally revered chef (maybe more for who he is as a person than his food these days though)
 
was just talking about his restaurants, no issues with him as a person.

disappointed by china chilcano, oyamel, zaytina; jaleo is okay but nothing special. barmini was lame after frequenting columbia room often (rip).

have not been to minibar but at this point would def go with jont (or pineapples and pearls) for a splurge meal
 
IAppreciateIt said:
have only been to rose's once but was slightly underwhelmed, which led me to this hypothesis that "older" dc restaurants don't live up to the hype they earned before dc food culture boomed. but that also might be way off and i just don't like jose andres. didn't realize they were taking reservations now, gotta go back.

thoughts on albi that also got a star? i'm a #99lbweakling with a tree nut allergy so i usually don't love mediterranean that much
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I mean Rose’s was Bon Apetit’s #1 new restaurant and in the same issue they declared DC the food city of the year so I’d argue it had already boomed then
 
BarcaDeac said:
I mean Rose’s was Bon Apetit’s #1 new restaurant and in the same issue they declared DC the food city of the year so I’d argue it had already boomed then
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perhaps poor wording, but how many of the starred dc restaurants opened before rose's? minibar, fiola, blue duck. (incidentally, not a huge fan of the latter two) maybe a couple others?
 
blue duck has since lost its star

and re: andres, zaytinya has since lost bib gourmand

i like his spots for what they are

jaleo is good imo, the paella is a fun meal to enjoy as a group
 
Never had a bad meal at Zaytinya or Jaleo. Oyamel was meh. Went to minibar when it was at the original location in Cafe Atlantico and it was fun but nowhere near the experience I understand it is now. Cafe Atlantico was kinda meh but I think it was just from a different era. we went to barmini a lot and always had a fantastic time.

the one I thought was odd was that Komi (RIP?) never got a star. such a great, great place. the one place I didn't think lived up to the hype was The Inn at Little Washington. Very expensive for what you get and I didn't think the service was great for what it was. Maybe because we didn't order an exorbitant bottle of wine, but the food and decor seemed way dated. I'm sure it was the best thing around in the 90s, but time had way passed it by. The little town is cool and it was a fun weekend. We didn't stay at the Inn itself, but the White Moose Inn just down the street.

One of our most memorable experiences was at the old PS7's (not sure what's there now, but it was the Latin steakhouse for a bit). That was the original home of Gina Gershevani, one of the original cocktail gurus in town. They had a by request only tasting menu at the bar called 7x7 with drinks paired to each course. It was cool because we were served each dish by their sous who I had just seen on Chopped. We got waaaay more than 7 drinks each, and they kept pouring different whiskies during the dessert courses. Might be the drunkest I've ever been.

Also, RIP Rogue 24, so many great meals.
 
IAppreciateIt said:
have only been to rose's once but was slightly underwhelmed, which led me to this hypothesis that "older" dc restaurants don't live up to the hype they earned before dc food culture boomed. but that also might be way off and i just don't like jose andres. didn't realize they were taking reservations now, gotta go back.

thoughts on albi that also got a star? i'm a #99lbweakling with a tree nut allergy so i usually don't love mediterranean that much
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Albi's great! Been there three times and had a great experience each time. A la carte menu is solid but the real deal is the chef's table menu. There's technically six courses but they surprise you with additional courses as well. They give you a lot of food, you'll definitely be full by the end of the meal. Also great cocktails and a interesting and extensive wine list.
 
Re: older dc restaurants that don't live up to the hype.

I understand how people could come to that conclusion in regards to Jose Andres's spots but Rasika is still awesome and lives up to the hype IMO.
 
Y'all think Rasika and Rose's are older restaurants? Old is like Market Inn (RIP) and Florida Ave Grill.

I haven't been to Zaytinya in a while, but I still love Jaleo.
 
BarcaDeac said:
Never had a bad meal at Zaytinya or Jaleo. Oyamel was meh. Went to minibar when it was at the original location in Cafe Atlantico and it was fun but nowhere near the experience I understand it is now. Cafe Atlantico was kinda meh but I think it was just from a different era. we went to barmini a lot and always had a fantastic time.

the one I thought was odd was that Komi (RIP?) never got a star. such a great, great place. the one place I didn't think lived up to the hype was The Inn at Little Washington. Very expensive for what you get and I didn't think the service was great for what it was. Maybe because we didn't order an exorbitant bottle of wine, but the food and decor seemed way dated. I'm sure it was the best thing around in the 90s, but time had way passed it by. The little town is cool and it was a fun weekend. We didn't stay at the Inn itself, but the White Moose Inn just down the street.

One of our most memorable experiences was at the old PS7's (not sure what's there now, but it was the Latin steakhouse for a bit). That was the original home of Gina Gershevani, one of the original cocktail gurus in town. They had a by request only tasting menu at the bar called 7x7 with drinks paired to each course. It was cool because we were served each dish by their sous who I had just seen on Chopped. We got waaaay more than 7 drinks each, and they kept pouring different whiskies during the dessert courses. Might be the drunkest I've ever been.

Also, RIP Rogue 24, so many great meals.
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Ha, yes, 7x7 was awesome. I made the massive mistake of going with my wife, her mom, and her aunt. We knew Gina well enough for her to recognize us on the reservation because of Repeal Day Ball stuff, and the first few courses were excellent and the drinks were amazing and she was tossing in extras. You could tell it was just all the fun stuff both she and the chef loved making, with some of the items taking weeks of prep/aging/etc. Then we hear Gina getting into it with a table of jackasses. They're demanding shots, to which Gina said sure what do you want, and they ordered 12 lemon drops (4 guys 2 girls by the way), she's like we don't do that. They talk shit to her, like "just go make what we ask for bartender you said you'll make shots." She came back with "Those are shooters. Shots are alcohol. Go back home if you want to relive your high school prom otherwise order grown up drinks." One dude stands up and it's legit tense but finally everyone chills out a little and they order vodka shots.
So Gina comes back all fired up but we're like 2nd to last course and the mom and aunt have long since given up on the drinks and have been passing them to me so as not to look rude. Gina's like "fuck! damnit I'm sorry! Goddamn assholes. You guys doing ok? Who's my drinking buddy (me of course) do a shot with me." My wife bails on the last course drink as well, so I'm basically covering at least some of 4 drinks, then she hits me for another shot, then we're getting the check and she's like "how about we go fishing" and she cracks two PBR's and limes which we essentially slam together since she's side-eyeing me as she downs hers. I was destroyed by the end of it, I think I remember she charged us half so I tipped like 4x the bill and I had to do the math about 12 times. Thankfully the wife's fam was more appreciative of my efforts than they were judgmental about how hammered I was.

Side note we did the El Cielo tasing menu last week and it was pretty good, but for the hoopla and money a little disappointing. Not really into the theater of washing hands in chocolate and it was nowhere near the same world as Jont for example. Definitely some good stuff just a bit of a miss.
 
DCDeac said:
Ha, yes, 7x7 was awesome. I made the massive mistake of going with my wife, her mom, and her aunt. We knew Gina well enough for her to recognize us on the reservation because of Repeal Day Ball stuff, and the first few courses were excellent and the drinks were amazing and she was tossing in extras. You could tell it was just all the fun stuff both she and the chef loved making, with some of the items taking weeks of prep/aging/etc. Then we hear Gina getting into it with a table of jackasses. They're demanding shots, to which Gina said sure what do you want, and they ordered 12 lemon drops (4 guys 2 girls by the way), she's like we don't do that. They talk shit to her, like "just go make what we ask for bartender you said you'll make shots." She came back with "Those are shooters. Shots are alcohol. Go back home if you want to relive your high school prom otherwise order grown up drinks." One dude stands up and it's legit tense but finally everyone chills out a little and they order vodka shots.
So Gina comes back all fired up but we're like 2nd to last course and the mom and aunt have long since given up on the drinks and have been passing them to me so as not to look rude. Gina's like "fuck! damnit I'm sorry! Goddamn assholes. You guys doing ok? Who's my drinking buddy (me of course) do a shot with me." My wife bails on the last course drink as well, so I'm basically covering at least some of 4 drinks, then she hits me for another shot, then we're getting the check and she's like "how about we go fishing" and she cracks two PBR's and limes which we essentially slam together since she's side-eyeing me as she downs hers. I was destroyed by the end of it, I think I remember she charged us half so I tipped like 4x the bill and I had to do the math about 12 times. Thankfully the wife's fam was more appreciative of my efforts than they were judgmental about how hammered I was.

Side note we did the El Cielo tasing menu last week and it was pretty good, but for the hoopla and money a little disappointing. Not really into the theater of washing hands in chocolate and it was nowhere near the same world as Jont for example. Definitely some good stuff just a bit of a miss.
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you might've been the one who recommended it to me, I don't remember.
 
Ha maybe so, that was 2 kids ago... Miss those days of being plugged in to the food/drink scene...
 
So when did this thread stop being about the cool/inexpensive restaurants and start being about humble brags on overpriced tasting menus?
 
without looking back, i'd guess around page 2? it is DC we're talking about here.
 
it just basically turned into the DC restaurants thread. always love the typo from the OP who hasn't posted in years
 
deac_tracy said:
Albi's great! Been there three times and had a great experience each time. A la carte menu is solid but the real deal is the chef's table menu. There's technically six courses but they surprise you with additional courses as well. They give you a lot of food, you'll definitely be full by the end of the meal. Also great cocktails and a interesting and extensive wine list.
Click to expand...

while i'm super nitpicking, i love tasting menus but a lot of places serve too much food imo (obviously depends on the person) which kinda brings down the main course a bit. i really respect the ones that don't overserve (oyster oyster was def perfect, nakazawa is the best for sushi, dabney does a pretty good job)

i also get a chuckle out of the thread title. i probably enjoy analyzing restaurants and cocktail bars more than most.
 
Wait, Komi is gone? Boooooooo. Best meal I ever had in DC.

I thought Pineapple and Pearls was disappointing.
 
Huge PS7 fan back then. The deal was the bar, for sure. Attended a couple of private dinners there too and the kitchen always brought the heat. Never quite sure why they couldn't keep it together.

I forget the name of the steak place that took over the spot but I loathed them. Awful service and their shtick was burning the shit out of things for no apparent reason other than "smoky flavor." For some reason it was a hit for a time too.

I am one of the rare birds who never thought Komi was as good as its rep. It was good though, just there were other places I would spend my dining dollars.
 
I don't see any indication on the internet that Komi closed. Surely one of the zombies on rockwell would have woken up to post it, and nothing in eater. Also it got a star in 2018?
 
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