Eats
NYC: I wouldn’t call the owner The King.
When a restaurant receives polarizing Yelp reviews (all 5 Stars or 1 Star), it’s bound to be an experience. At least, that was my rationale when I struck out for dinner last night. I’d consulted my phone for a recommendation, and found myself seated at Trattoria Casa Di Isacco – a dimly lit Italian place in Hells Kitchen.
The Yelp Review that ultimately led me to try it? “Weird, fun, creepy, but pretty good food. Definitely has character in a Spanish Elvis cooks Italian food in a restaurant decorated for Christmas yet in a February kind of way.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I wanted to know.
First off – the owner is Spanish and loves him some Elvis. I say this not only because his hair was clearly modeled after that famous pompadour, but also because every inch of wall space was occupied by photos and paintings of The King (including more than one black velvet model).
Oh, and also? The television showed Mediterranean Elvis impersonators dancing along to the soundtrack of Spanish/Italian songs. Yep, it was an experience.
The owner – whom other Yelp reviewers loved – irritated me. At least, I assume he was the owner, based on the way he strode around the place as if he owned it. When he approached my table and spouted off the specials, I found myself struggling to decipher the day’s specials because his accent was a bit challenging.
He left me to contemplate my choices, and when he returned, I asked him for a recommendation. “I’ve whittled it down to either the Gnocci Pesto, the Lasagna, or the Veal Marsala. Of those, which do you think is best?”
I’m not sure if that question offended him, or if he’s just generally a prick, but his answer – “I can’t make up your mind for you. They are all good but very different. You decide” – wasn’t exactly the tip I was looking for .
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll take the Veal Piccata,” I told him, mentally high-fiving myself for not saying please. And mentally calling him a CornHole.
When the food arrived, it obliterated the owner’s surly behavior. The veal piccata had been pounded to within an inch of its life and was swimming in a lemon caper sauce that was equally good on bread. I may have just been hungry, but it was easy to clean my plate.
Apparently the owner decided he didn’t like me either, because after he took my order, another guy had taken over the dinner service. He returned to clear my plate, crumb the table, and bring me a complimentary glass of sweet dessert wine.
I could see why the place had received such spotty reviews. I suspect the stars match the mood of the owner on any particular night. Unfortunately, I caught him on a one-star night.
Trattoria Casa Di Isacco 536 9th Ave | New York, NY 10018 Date sampled: 9.26.2011 …DC: Estadio
To thank us for dog-sitting Shadow in March, my friends Mike and Betsy treated Alan and me to dinner last night at Estadio, a tapas restaurant in Logan Circle. I’ve often walked past and drooled at the offerings through the window, but I’ve been slow to pull the trigger on a meal there because I’m a) frugal and b) a bottomless pit, which makes tapas a doubly-expensive proposition.
But I’m so glad to have generous friends with good taste, because we were treated to an exceptional evening. I’ll do my best to recreate the meal, just to make my foodie friends hungry…
We started with a 3-cheese sampler from the Queso section of the menu: Idiazábal (a firm sheep’s cheese), Mahón Reserva (a smoky cow’s cheese), and Manchego, which I decided should be included in as many courses a humanly possible. Their portions of cheese were more generous than what you typically receive in a wine bar. We paired the cheese with the Jamón Iberico — a pile of shaved, melt-in-your mouth cured ham. Uh-maz-ing.
To shift gears, we each tried a pintxo – a small skewer of Chorizo, Manchego & Pistachio Crusted Quince. It was a great blend of sweet and salty flavors, though we all commented that that chorizo was more like a slice of pepperoni than a traditional hot sausage.
We tried to balance the meat and cheese with a bit of green, so we shared a salad. It’s not on their online menu and I can’t remember exactly what was in it (other than manchego and roasted squash) but it was fantastic.
Something else that was fantastic? The Patatas Bravas — fried fingerling potatoes served in a tomato sauce with melted cheese. Kind of like a Spanish version of potato skins.
I’ve decided that I could very contentedly pass an evening sitting at their bar, nursing a glass of sangria while eating those potatoes and downing a montadito (open faced sandwich) – specifically, the one made from Grilled Country Bread, Tomato, Olive Oil & Salt with Jamón Serrano & Manchego. Pure Heaven.
I know, you’re probably thinking we would have exploded by this point, but we didn’t. We kept eating. Everyone raved about the Tortilla (which looked like an egg frittata), but because I’m not an egg person, I’ll just have to take their word for it.
What I will vouch for, however, are the shrimp. I’ma sucker for shrimp sauteed in garlic, lemon and olive oil with a dash of red pepper flake, and these did not disappoint. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, tender enough that they actually popped when I bit into them. Just be sure to get an extra order of bread to sop up the extra olive oil.
We wound down with an order of Sautéed Pea Shoots, along with Duck Breast served with Baby Chard, Quince & Ginger Sauce. The pea shoots were similar enough to the chard that accompanied the duck breast in both flavor and texture, that we all agreed in retrospect that we might have ordered something different for variety, had we known.
Other than that one small revision, the meal was absolutely perfect. We worked through a bottle of Tempranillo and a Rioja, then capped off the meal with a shared glass of port.
I think the word I’m looking for is “perfeccione.”
Estadio http://estadio-dc.com 1520 14th Street NW | Washington, DC 20005202-319-1404 – definitely make a reservation …
DC: HomeMade Pizza Company
Friday was a perfect fall evening, so Alan and I decided to do a little “urban exploring” – which is essentially my way to convince him to to walk around my neighborhood with me, but it sounds more exciting.
After picking up a bottle of wine from Cork & Fork, I pulled Alan to the window of the store next door – HomeMade Pizza Company. “Should we get a pizza?” I asked.
I’ve been curious to try the place ever since it opened earlier this year, even though the concept a bit gimmicky: you pay about $20 and take home an UNCOOKED pizza to bake in your own oven. My initial thought was that the premium over a frozen pizza was astronomical. My second thought was that it was pricey even if you compare it to having a hot pizza delivered.
The thing is – every time I’ve brought it up in conversation, people who have tried it have RAVED about it and told me how it has become a weekly staple in their diet.
So Alan and I were standing there, eying the pie line-up through the window. His comments echoed my own original thoughts – “I don’t know. Why don’t we just get a frozen ‘za from Whole Foods?”
I was about to cave when two strangers approached us. “Do it,” they said. “It is THE BEST pizza.” (Turns out they were the middle aged couple who had been behind us in line at the wine store.) We asked them a few questions, but their sales pitch was uncanny. “It is so good. We do this for dinner every Friday night.”
After they left, I looked at Alan. “See what I mean? Every time I try to shoot this place down, some random person ends up confessing their addicted to it. I don’t see what’s so special, but kind of think we need to try it.”
So we did. We got the BLT: hickory-smoked bacon, fresh spinach, aged Parmigiano-Reggiano and a bit of fresh garlic over tomato sauce. Brought it home, slid it in the oven and 15 minutes later, it was like we were at Pizzeria Paradiso!
It was definitely sit-down restaurant quality pizza – much better than chain delivery pizza or a frozen pie from Whole Foods. I wouldn’t go so far as to stop strangers on a sidewalk and insist that they must try it – nor will I be eating it on a weekly basis. But for a great pizza without the wait of Pizzeria Paradiso or 2Amy’s? Why not.
HomeMade Pizza Company 1522 14th Street NW | Washington, DC 202.588.0808 Date Sampled: October 15, 2010 …
Chicago: Bin 36
Two weeks ago in Chicago, Brian, Mags and I headed out for dinner with nary a plan. Since I’m there a couple times each month, they eyed me expectantly. I caved under the pressure.
My first thought was to take them to Pop’s Champagne, which I first tried a year ago with my friend Karen using a couple Groupons. It’s a great champagne bar with a light tasting menu and would’ve been perfect since we’re all winos, but Brian was whining that his dogs were barking since I’d paraded him all over the downtown area in dress shoes the night before.
Fortunately, we got lucky and stumbled upon Bin 36 about five blocks closer to our hotel. I’m so glad we did, because I’ll definitely make it a habit when I return to the Windy City.
Admission: I love wine. But I don’t think that’s why I had so much fun with this menu. It was the way it was organized. They had about ten different flights of wine, each consisting of four samples. (Margaret and I did the “Habla Espanol” with Spanish reds for $12.75, and Brian tried the “Sexy Reds” collection, which hit a homerun with the house bottle of Bin 36 Zinfandel. It was so good we bought two bottles as we left.)
And in addition to the wine flights, they had a great variety of small plates, finger foods and cheese flights. We tried:
- Basket of Gougeres - essentially parmesan donuts that are a bit spicy and served with a honey dipping sauce
- Toscano Salami – awesome salami slices served with crostini
- Fried Green Tomatoes - these were fine, but bland – about the only thing I would not order again
- Cheese Flight: four different cow’s milk cheeses in increasing intensity and age, served with cabernet jelly, apple slices and some nuts
It was perfect – the right amount of food, the right amount of wine, and so much variety that we were like kids in a sandbox getting to experiment with how the flavors played off each other. And unlike most tapas bars I’ve visited, we all walked out with damage equivalent to the price of a solid bottle of wine. I’ll definitely be going back.
Bin 36 339 North Dearborn Street | Chicago, IL 60654-4817
(312) 755-9463 Date sampled: August 4, 2010. …
DC: Scion Restaurant
Saturday night Alan and I went to Scion for dinner. We don’t eat out that often, and since I’m in the process of buying a new place, I’m hyper-sensitive to every line item on my bank account. As a result, our dining decisions are made on the basis of my Groupon selection. (Groupons are deals where you spend money in advance to get twice that amount as a credit at a bar/restaurant.)
In this case, I had spent $20 to receive a $40 credit at Scion. I’ll admit, I always feel a little awkward about busting out a coupon. The saving grace of Groupon is that it’s popular, so EVERYONE uses them, not just the frugal-minded.
Anyway, we sat at the bar, tried their strawberry mojitos and shared a few appetizers. The food (crab and artichoke dip and seared scallops with navy beans) was surprisingly good. I say surprising because in my ten years in Dupont Circle, that restaurant has changed names/chefs more often than I’ve changed jobs, so I walked in thinking it might not offer much by way of culinary range. I was glad to be wrong.
We liked sitting at the bar because we could watch a March Madness game on the television, or we could turn and people-watch out the window. The only other people sitting at the bar (admittedly it was early – only around 6pm) were employees of Scion who were off-shift but still in uniform. Alan and I agreed that in our days as servers, that would’ve been a clear no-no.
Overall, we were digging the night – good food, good ambiance, good drinks, good service – UNTIL we asked for the check and presented our Groupon. The bartender looked like someone had handed him a turd.
He placed our (adjusted) check in front of us without a word. We settled up, tipping over 20% on the original total, and leaving the tip in cash. (Alan and I collectively have at least a half-dozen years of experience waiting tables and bartending, so we tend to tip in the 20-30% range, and always leave it in cash so the server doesn’t get hosed on taxes.)
The bartender silently collected our settled tab and went off to make a drink. Although his reaction to a coupon was inappropriate, we could understand it. Back in my days at Tripper’s, we’d dread serving customers who brought in an infamous burger coupon, because more often than not it meant our tip would suck.
What surprised us was that he didn’t warm up at all once he realized we weren’t tight-asses and had actually tipped fairly generously. Looking back, we probably should’ve dicked him on the tip once he copped an attitude over the coupon. I’m guessing that some people do – and that his pissy attitude about the coupon is, ironically, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Scion Restaurant2100 P Street NW, Washington DC Date sampled: 3/27/2010
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DC: Rogue States, A Burger Grilling Company
This week I met my friend Lisa for lunch. Eating anywhere other than hunched over my laptop is something of a novelty, so trying a new restaurant is like icing on the cake. We opted for Rogue States, a burger joint that’s popped up in recent months just south of Dupont Circle.
The menu is pretty simple: there are seven types of burgers, each priced at $7 with free toppings (including lettuce, grilled onions, pickles and tomatoes) and options for “extras” like bacon or cheese for an additional buck. As for how well you’d like your burger, be prepared to say only “pink” or “not pink” because you won’t have more options than that.
At first blush, this place reminded me of an upscale Five Guys because they clearly specialized in burgers, and you form a line to order at a counter. Unlike Five Guys, they have a beer and wine list. So it’s kind of a cross between a real restaurant and fast food.
Speaking of food, it was pretty good. What makes the seven burgers different is the seasoning, which is added to the ground beef and integrated into the patty before cooking. I had the standard burger (The Rogue State) which has the house spice blend, chipotle and cilantro in it.
As someone who routinely adds Montreal Steak Seasoning to my burger meat at home, this was a pretty solid and salty burger. The flavor was great but the bun wasn’t – it seemed more stale than toasted and kept crumbling in chunks onto my plate.
The next time I go, I want to try the “Now and Zen” or the “Curried Away” burger. Spice lovers might enjoy the “No Burger, No Cry” jerk burger, but I’m going to cut a wide path on that one. Interesting concept, fair pricing… I’ll definitely go back.
Rogue States: A Burger Grilling Company 1300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC Date sampled: March 25, 2010.
Goodness! Sorry you had to walk into something like that. Hell’s Kitchen is def not known for it’s great restaurants but they do have a good thai place called Yum Yum Bangkok on 9th Ave and 46th Street.
If you ever feel like trying out high quality food in NY,
go to Bar Basque http://germanamericanabroad.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/restaurant-week-in-new-york/
and Diablo Royale http://germanamericanabroad.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/the-hidden-gem-of-mexican-food-diablo-royale/
Both are prettay good!