youngfood

Seems totally fair to me. I've been thinking about going there solely to try the pizza myself and would be pretty disappointed if this happened to me. As to the famed "Smoked Mozz" pizza, I don't think anyone ever fully explained what was on it, but I thought there was more to it than just mozz and onions and I'm sure several people have tried to order the same way eating out did. You'd think they might have adjusted to that by now. BTW, what is supposed to be on that pizza?

Woo hoo - spoiler alert!

For the same reasons some members criticized the way the menu read. And I don't think I said the food was very good. Maybe I'm wrong - seems like others may have left more favorably inclined that I did.

The 22nd St Sidecar and the West End are more balanced than this and both are pretty good. But, more fun was seeing Vincent Ferraud and having him pick wines from the list. No, of course, it's not his wine list, but I suspect most DR.com-er's will be excited to see him pitching in here with Eric Ripert, with whom he first worked in his early twenties many years ago, as this place gets off the ground. The chef is cute and all, but this was the exciting spotting of the night for me. I liked the space. The description placing it between Central and Proof seemed pretty apt: it's hip, but not overly so. I liked the tables, the china/stemware, and the decor a good bit. The menus are too big for the tables, though otherwise visually attractive. Some other kinks will get worked out too, but folks are very friendly and professional here and from what I gathered most diners were quite pleased with their experience tonight. I'm not wild about about the salmon rillete. It was good for what it was, but it was smoked fish spread on toasts and it wasn't more than it sounded like. The skate and veal cheeks, however, are both quite good. The skate is a very generous serving and comes with a lovely brown butter sauce and braised endive. The braised endive is striking. The veal cheeks are quite rich and tender. The pinot (Mac Murray) and petite sirah (Concannon) by the glass are both solid, food friendly selections for under $10 a glass, and good parings with the skate and veal cheeks, respectively. They were recommending the warm chocolate cake for dessert. It's good with the highlight being the rum ice cream that accompanies it. Otherwise, the brownie comparison seems about right to me (take that as you will). I liked this place for what it is and am glad I tried it, but it's less exciting to me than Central and its presence in Washington says nothing to me about the quality of our dining scene. That said its a nice spot and I'm sure it will do quite well, though, perhaps more so with folks who are not members of this board.

Very much enjoyed my first trip to Proof over the weekend. The champagne cart is a fun way to start the meal and has options for big and not-so-big spenders alike (3 sparkling wines for under $10 a glass ). As others have noted, the gnocchi and sablefish are real standouts. My girlfriend and I share whatever we order as a matter of course, but for the first time in years she refused to hand over the gnocchi. I wasn't the least bit disappointed to keep the sablefish which was delightfully rich. While it wasn't a large piece of fish, Sablefish is an expensive protein and I thought for the price ($24) and with the sizeable accompaniments (mashed potatoes, baby bok choi) I thought it was a good and sufficiently-filling value. The Chablis that Sietsema & Don both recommended is somehow still available and paired well with our mains. Cheese course comes with a nice spread of yummy toasts, figs, honey, and applesauce. I was impressed to see a spot which could easily fill every table all night long exercising some discretion and managing to not overbook themselves so as to avoid leaving folks waiting for their tables or jamming the kitchen with orders. They are clearly working hard to make their guests happy here - our server was very quick to offer the champagne cart and to offer to replenish the bread for the cheese course. Kudos! I'll be back next time I can find a reservation or will order at the bar, which was full, but not as slammed as I'd expect it to be given the restaurant's wild popularity.

I'm a fan and have been eating lots of these at happy hours lately.

Probably. Don't put me on that list!

Rocket bar isn't far from there and shows lots of games. They have no cuisine of their own, but welcome patrons who bring take out from the many nearby options.

Roast Dijion crusted, shallot breadcrumb stuffed, Leg of Lamb with pan sauce (Julia Child) Roast Eggplant Garden Salad with champagne shallot vinaigrette Three Apple Pie (used the Cook's vodka crust recipe but wont do so again - it's easier to do, but less flaky than Joy of Cooking) Chateau Meyney St. Estephe 2003

The fried chicken is a generous portion as well and, man, it's good! Several golf balls of intense chicken flavor with a creamy dijionaise. And the Tuna burger seems to have undergone an Asian-inspired update. Where before there was tomato and mayo, now there is a lovely sesame seaweed salad. I was a fan of the old, and I'm a fan of the new. I tend to stick to the lower priced end of winelists, but the Sancerre by the glass was a great value at $12 a pop and I was pleased to see that there were several other interesting options at that price point or less.

David Greggory had great happy hour specials, so I hope that will continue here. Did you get a sense of a bar menu or a desire to continue that? I was optimistic they would when it was reported that Greggory Hill was going to stay on, but now that he's no longer on board, I fear the noteworthy happy hour specials may be out as well. Nothing much on the website as yet.

I liked how Chef Cosentino described himself as "probably the most $!*^# obnoxious person that you will ever meet." And after finally watching the first two episodes, I like this show.

Exactly right. It was a special evening and one I was beyond lucky to snag a reservation for day of! Shame on everyone else who thought about booking this and didn't jump at the opportunity to do so! I was fooled by the taste test, as well. I think maybe we were set up - its a conspiracy... C-O-N...spiracy! Seriously, it was pretty amazing how different the two otherwise identical bottles tasted. Mr. Taber's book sounds fascinating. I neglected to pick up a copy last night, but intend to do so soon. Have any of our wine experts here developed opinions about the various closure options? I'd never heard of the crown cap that came atop our sparking merlot/shiraz blend (Loose End, Australia) or the vino lock that was on the Stadt Krems Gru-Ve (Austria, 2006). The strudel was great. Really nice light flaky texture. The other culinary highlight for me was the Tartar of Yellowtail Snapper with French Breakfast Radish and Housemade Goat's Milke Fromage Blanc. Yellowtail Tartar? It was great and I thought its pairing with the aforementioned Gruner Veltliner was one of the best of the night.

They make their own cheese now!?! And at least the one they were serving last night - Housemade Blue Chevre (served with Bull's Blood Beets and 100 yr Balsamic) - is really outstanding. Incredible soft, silky texture and really interesting slightly soft rind. Chevre and blue are my two favorite words when it comes to cheese, but wow, I think anyone would be thrilled to try this. Do other restaurants make their own cheese? Seriously, what's next with the Armstrong-Armstrong-Thrasher triumvirate? They never cease to amaze.

I only recently realized that Jamie Stachowski used to work at Pesce. Perhaps that explains why the seafood dishes coming out of his kitchen are so tasty. Last night the Chilled, Grilled Shrimp came simply adorned with corn and salad, but they were so perfectly tender that they didn't need anything else. Man, I'm really sorry this place isn't going to around much longer.

That's fair. Maybe Tom is considering value? Rasika and Jaleo are both less expensive than Corduroy or Palena (main dining room). Also, the comparisons you make are of restaurants that he lists in different categories. Maybe the system makes more sense if you consider the ratings in that context.

And not to pile on, but entrees range from $25-29.50, which someone who read this thread and saw them advertised as being between $18-25 and subsequently $18-28, might find a bit disappointing. Those prices put it closer in price category to the Bistro at Eve than they do Central/Cafe du Parc.

Mario Battali says Corbo's Bakery in Cleveland's Little Italy has the best cassata cake in the US.

Interesting video clip all about offals with Chef Chris Cosentino of San Francisco's Incanto.

I don't think that was synaesthesia's point. I read the objection to be that one need not voice their dislike for a particular wine list FIVE times. Certainly making the same comment a few times over the course of a few months is more than sufficient to hammer home one's opinion on a particular restaurant's wine cellar. Thereafter, it begins to approach piling on.

Poste's Pan Roasted Organic Chicken buckwheat crepe, napoli carrots, chanterelles is delicious. The crepe didn't do anything for me, but this I probably enjoyed this dish more than I have any chicken dish I've ever had at a restaurant. Yes, I'd rather have this dish again than Palena's chicken or even a tasty chicken salad special at Eve. Poste's poached egg atop Snapper on the other hand didn't work for me. I knew it sounded weird, but somehow between my preference for fish and my recent infatuation with poached egg on my salad I went for it. It only overwhelmed an otherwise heavily salted dish.

It was supposed to open a few days ago. Opentable is taking reservations for Gerard's Place, so it may be that is already open.

You know, this place is surprising good. Not just better than the few other non-chains in Greenbelt, but I've actually had a couple meals here that I wouldn't be upset with even if I were eating at a Thai restaurant in DC proper. Not somewhere that anyone needs to go out of their way for, but for people working in Greenbelt (or even living here...gasp) I think this might be as good as it gets. I'd love someone to point out somewhere better to eat in Greenbelt, from what I've gathered so far its got two of every chain and not much else in terms of dining options.

With now 164 posts, Restaurant Kolumbia can hardly qualify for the list of places that never come up, but it surely does qualify as a spot that doesn't come up nearly enough and doesn't receive the attention, accolades, and audience it deserves. Now a popular spot for lunch and happy hour, the restaurant's cooking, ambiance, and prices warrant a better draw. Indeed, I'm starting to think of RK as I did Corduroy a few years ago: it is a gem whose prices and crowds are lower than restaurants of its ilk solely because of its location. The chef's tasting menu on Saturday did not disappoint. 5 courses at $65 has got to be one of the best deals around and we were able to get 10 different courses between the two of us (a nice touch). Wine pairings have gone up in price, but are still quite affordable at $25 per person for five glasses, and I'm pretty sure we were served actual champagne to start the evening which was quite fun. While I'm no expert, I don't believe we were served any "plonk" because from my vantage point - they don't serve plonk here. An amuse of "clams casino" came before/with the soup course. Lobster Bisque swirled with Tomato soup with a floating pea flan (Lobster Bullseye) and a mushroom soup whose details now escape me were a delight. The second courses were a frisee with various cured forms of duck (the duck prosciutto was out of this world) and crispy sweetbreads salad. Next came the wrapped scallops with a delightful corn succotash (no beans). The succotash was really outstanding and I like that they bother to serve diver scallops. Not sure how many places do, but I'm always impressed with the scallops they serve here. The crab cake seemed like pure crab (scallop puree in lieu of bread crumbs) while the lamb trilogy was another fun way to work in some of chef's meat creations - it featured his homemade merguez. I'm not someone who can splurge for tasting menus & wine pairings often, but RKs was too good not to do again soon. Seriously, people should stop treating this as a place for lunch or happy hour and give some real consideration to having a full outstanding meal. Even if you aren't up for a full tasting menu, versions of some of the dishes I've described are available on the quite affordable regular menu.

WOW. Where did you buy your plants? Our tomatoes have been coming out gangbusters but they are crummy generic types. I definitely want to track down some heirloom varietals next year.