Casa Oaxaca

When it comes to Mexican restaurants, I have learned that I can usually come to expect certain things. These include gloppy, soggy food, over-priced margaritas, and a huge cheese factor (both in decor and as a topping to the previously mentioned gloppy, soggy food). After visiting Lauriol Plaza, Guapos, and Cactus Cantina, I’ve become weary of DC’s Mexican restaurant offerings, whose crappy food makes it difficult to tell the difference between a tortilla and a tort.

With that in mind, I generally avoid Mexican restaurants, feeling that I can make better tacos, and Drew can make better burritos, than we have ever found in a restaurant. However, an interesting review in the Washington Post Magazine a couple of weekends ago, coupled with a pretty great recommendation from a friend of Mexican descent led us to Casa Oaxaca, a new restaurant in Adams Morgan supposedly known for its “authentic” Mexican food. I put my general aversion to Mexican restaurants aside and decided to give it a shot.

Upon walking in to the restaurant, I was definitely encouraged by the appearance of the place. Offering rich colored paint and a cozy atmosphere, Casa Oaxaca was definitely inviting, not overwhelming like other Mexican places. Just the right volume of tasteful salsa music played in the background.

We arrived at 7 and were the only people there–it quickly filled up though, and by 7:30, the dining room was about half to 3/4 full. I was with a party of 4, so we had enough space at our table. Other people in groups of two seemed a bit squished. You’ll probably want to make a reservation if you go on the weekend.

Greeted by a plate of jicama rather than tortilla chips and salsa, I even became a little excited as we sat down. I ordered a house margarita. It was delicious. I had another. At Casa Oaxaca, there’s a tequila list the size of many restaurants’ wine lists–I just stuck to the house offering, though.

We all shared the kekas for an appetizer — small blue corn quesadillas with huitlacoche, poblano pepper, and pork carnitas. These were really good and were one of my favorite parts of the meal. I’ve heard the plantains are excellent as well, but not being a big plantain fan, I can’t say for certain because I didn’t eat them!

I guess the thing at Casa Oaxaca is their moles, or different sauces. I decided to try the tres moles, which is a chicken breast with all three moles–yellow, green, and brown–served on top. The review in the Washington Post magazine describes the chicken breast as a “palette” for the moles, and I like this description. The chicken breast, while moist and tender, was definitely secondary to the moles. The moles looked beautiful, and I liked the idea of trying all of them together. But, to be honest, I found them a little bland. I was hoping for some more punch with these sauces. My favorite was the yellow mole, but even that left something to be desired. The brown mole, especially, lacked flavor. In reality, the side of black beans left more of an impression on me than the main course–these were absolutely delicious! My friend Lindsey ordered a chicken breast with the brown mole and it looked very average. Drew had the enchiladas, and said they were just “eh”– nothing special. Drew and our two friends had some flan for dessert. I don’t really care for flan, so I passed and had another margarita instead! The dessert looked pretty good though.

Overall, my experience at Casa Oaxaca was a positive one. The service was great, the drinks were very good, and the decor created an inviting atmosphere where you can actually enjoy conversation with people at your table, unlike loud noisy places such as Zaytinya. Also, for a barhopping crowd, the location couldn’t get any better, as it’s located just a stone’s throw from all of Adams Morgan’s most popular bars. I would much prefer Casa Oaxaca to any other Mexican restaurant I have tried in DC. So I guess in a relative sense, Casa Oaxaca is a standout in its genre, and shows that Mexican food need not always be a gloppy mushy mess. However, compared to DC restaurants in general, I wouldn’t say that this place is anything extraordinary. It was also a bit annoying that I paid $17 basically for a boneless chicken breast with some sauce on it–something that feels like I could make at home for about $1. Would I go back? Sure. Would I seek it out over other places? Nah.

Overall Rating: C+

Other Reviews:

Chowhound

DC Dining Blog

DC Fabulous

Washington Post Express

Heading to DC Coast with my parents this weekend. Anybody been?

Zaytinya–An Update

After my first experience at Zaytinya back in March, I have since gone back and would like to change my opinion of the place.  My biggest problem with Zaytinya this summer was the atmosphere. I went with 4 of my friends, and we had a reservation. The waitress sat us at a HUGE table, probably meant for about 8 people. We sat in a different part of the restaurant than we did the last time, and the acoustics were terrible–I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying at the table. I felt like I was in a warehouse. It was unfortunate.

Onto the food.  I didn’t really like what I had. Everything seemed sort of pedestrian, and I wasn’t really excited by much. Neither were our guests. I stick by what I said the last time–the best part of the meal was the unlimited pitas.

Anyway, I won’t be going back to Zaytinya anytime soon.  I’m changing my original rating of B+ to C+.  I’d rather go almost anywhere else than here.

Firefly

We’ve taken a bit of a hiatus here….but we’re getting back down to business.

Friday night Drew and I went out to Firefly here in Washington, DC–next to the Hotel Madeira near Dupont Circle.

Upon walking in to the restaurant, I was really excited. The atmosphere was unique–there is a huge tree in the center of the dining room with lots of little lanterns hanging from it. This, with the dozens of little candles lighting up the room, helped create a very warm atmosphere, set off with just the right kind of jazzy-modern music playing in the background.

The restaurant is pretty small, so I would definitely recommend making a reservation. I thought the smallness was quite cozy, but by the end of our meal, I found myself distracted checking out the orders of the people next to me (which looked quite tasty!)

As for the menu, it’s small, but isn’t lacking in variety. It ranges from an “urban” picnic to several fish plates, beef, chicken, and pork. There is even a mini pot roast and a seared tuna sandwich (there’s a PDF of the dinner menu here, however, it seems to be old and isn’t actually the menu you get in the restaurant!). The wine list was extensive, but also expensive, so we passed on the wine.

So, getting down to the good part—the food. We shared the mussels appetizer, a favorite for both Drew and me. They looked and smelled fantastic–served with red onions and dill. The flavor was also good, but unfortunately, the mussels were very gritty and sandy. There were also a few in our pot that looked suspicious. Really, they were pretty bad, and I wanted to send them back. Mussels are something that you just can’t enjoy unless they are perfect. That was a big disappointment.

Despite the sub-par appetizer, we had high hopes for our entrees, and Drew wasn’t disappointed. He had the mackarel special, served with apple butter sauce and some kind of vegetable. It was out of this world and I was jealous that I didn’t order the same thing! My entree was also very good–halibut served with potatoes and brussel sprouts in a brown sauce that tasted like bacon. The fish was cooked perfectly and was very good. I did not care for the brussel sprouts, and the potatoes were pedestrian. The sauce was interesting, but it was a little too overpowering for me–at times I almost thought I was eating a plate full of bacon.

We rarely order dessert, but couldn’t resist the hot apple crisp. It was delicious–crispy crumbles on top, soft and warm apple pie filling on the inside. Absolutely fantastic.

As for the service, it was sub-par. Nothing extraordinary happened, but we had a waiter who was never there when we needed him (he took away our empty drink glasses and neglected to refill them for a pretty long time) and was always there when we didn’t want him to be–just as we were in the middle of eating or a great conversation, he would show up and interrupt. It was unfortunate.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Firefly, whose decorative touches, including soft lighting, jazzy music, and a firefly theme (the check was served in a jelly jar with a twist-off lid with holes poked in it), made for a unique and romantic dining room. However, beyond Drew’s entree, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the food.

Overall grade: B+  Those sandy mussels left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Frommer’s Review

Washingtonian Review

Chowhound Review

DC Brunch Club Review

The Reef

Some places were only meant to serve one purpose.

The Reef is one of them.

The Washington Post writes about The Reef:

There are many reasons to like the Reef: 14-foot-high windows overlooking 18th Street, the enormous rooftop deck, an outstanding all-draft beer selection, the lack of a dress code or cover charge.

Another reason to visit The Reef is that they “plan [their] menus with a few principles: organically-grown seasonal vegetables, free-range poultry and meats, and fair-catch seafood.” Eating/Drinking with a conscience. Nice Touch.

However, I can safely say that “breakfast” is a reason to not like The Reef.

Having been to the Reef, located in the heart of the bar district in Adams Morgan, many times at night for cocktails, my friends and I decided to give it a shot for brunch one Sunday morning. After trying to get in to The Diner (also in Adams Morgan) and being told there would be a 90 minute wait, the huge “BRUNCH” sign in The Reef’s window looked pretty tempting. I distinctly remember asking my friends “Hey, it’s only brunch. How bad can it be?”

I quickly realized that I never should have asked that question. As it turns out, brunch can be pretty terrible.

Before I begin ranting about my terrible breakfast experience at The Reef, I have to note that the place is a pretty cool nightclub/bar. Decorated with massive fish tanks everywhere, The Reef boasts a great selection of tap beers and tasty cocktails. The roof deck is fantastic in the summer, and overall I would say it’s a fun and trendy place to go on the weekend for a couple of drinks. The fact that there’s no cover to get in is also very attractive.

That being said, DO NOT GO TO THE REEF FOR BRUNCH. This was by far the worst breakfast experience I have ever had in my entire life. I didn’t know that it was possible to significantly screw up an egg sandwich. But believe me, eating at The Reef made me wish I had stayed home and cooked myself.

My 3 friends and I walked into the restaurant and were seated at a table. There were a couple of folks sitting at the bar, and maybe one or two other tables had customers. Otherwise the place was empty. Maybe we should have taken this as a sign to leave immediately. Unfortunately, we stayed.

It took at least 20 minutes for anyone to come over and bring us menus. The menu only had a couple of choices on it, and none of them sounded great. I opted for some sort of egg sandwich with eggs, cheese, and taylor ham. The menu said it was served on french toast with syrup. That sounded pretty gross to me, so I asked if I could substitute plain toast. the waiter said it was no problem. My friend ordered the same thing as me, only without meat.

Then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. It took at least an hour (I think maybe longer) for the waiter to come back with our food! When the food arrived, everything was wrong. My sandwich came slathered in syrup on french toast, and my other friend’s meal came covered in bacon when she’s a vegetarian. When we told the waiter we were unhappy with our meals and with the amount of time we spent waiting, he didn’t even apologize or offer to fix it. I believe he just said “oh” and walked away to watch a game that was on TV.

The food was terrible. The service was beyond terrible. I don’t know what else to say about this place except don’t go there for breakfast.

Grades–

For breakfast/brunch: D

For a nightclub: B

I will never go back to this place.

Sorriso

Sorriso is definitely one of Washington, DC’s gemstones. I’ve been here 3 times in the past 2 years, and absolutely love this place.

Tucked in with a group of restaurants at the top of the stairs to the Cleveland Park Metro, Sorriso’s location is super convenient–not only is it easy to get to, but the Irish pubs and bars along CT Ave. provide tempting post-dinner entertainment.

I’ve been to approximately 1 million Italian restaurants in my lifetime (not exaggerating, I swear), and Sorriso is one of my all-time favorites. The menu offers a lot of variety, from typical Italian dishes drenched in tomato sauce (“gravy” where I’m from) and cheese, to brick oven pizzas, and wonderful seafood.

One of my favorite dishes on the menu are the mussels. Served as an appetizer, a generous portion makes for a great dish to share with a group of people. You can get them marinara or butter-and-garlic style. I’ve had both, and they’re both fantastic.

Another favorite dish I’ve had at Sorriso is the beef carpaccio. Served raw, it’s packed with flavor, and feels light and fresh. This would be a great thing to have on a summer day.

Aside from the appetizers, I’ve tried various pasta and seafood dishes at Sorriso, and all were wonderful. I’ve never had the pizza, but the restaurant boasts a wood burning brick oven, and the pies look delicious. Overall, I would say the menu is generally affordable, but definitely not cheap, which gives incentive to try out some new dishes.

Another great thing about Sorriso is the wine list. Affordable and offering lots of options, you’re sure to find a great wine here. The wait staff has generally been very helpful in giving me advice about which wines to pair with which items on the menu.

The atmosphere at Sorriso is busy, but somehow it still feels personal and comfortable. One word of caution…if you visit Sorriso anywhere in the vicinity of a weekend, be sure to make a reservation. The restaurant is relatively small, and fills up quickly. The one time I neglected to make a reservation, the waitress stuck my mother and I at a tiny table near the bar, right in the pathway of all the servers–that was less than optimal. So definitely make a reservation and I would recommend trying to grab a seat upstairs rather than downstairs–it’s a bit more roomy and less hectic.

Overall, Sorriso is one of my favorite places in DC, and it’s a little bit under the radar. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good Italian restaurant here in the district.

Grade: A-

Check out these reviews for more info:
Washington City Paper

Washington Post

DC Food Blog

The Brickskeller

Ahhh, the Brickskeller. Touted in every Washington, DC guidebook as a “must visit” for people searching for beer in our nation’s capital, this beer cave boasts the “world’s largest beer” selection on its website (which, by the way is a terrible site). It may be true that the Brickskeller has one of the largest beer lists ever, but that doesn’t mean much if you don’t make all of these beers available on a regular basis.

There are a lot of great things about the Brickskeller, and I think visiting this place is a right of passage for anyone moving to DC or just visiting for a few days. It’s definitely a unique place where you can order beers you can’t find anywhere else. You’ll also find the staff is extremely knowledgeable about beer.

The pluses stop there.

Every time I go to the Brickskeller, I get excited beforehand. I get excited about drinking lots of weird beer, eating cheap food, and hanging out with my friends. But every time I go, I inevitably end up disappointed. Here are just a few reasons why this happens.

Unfortunately, when I order a beer, it has become a rule rather than an exception that the waiter will come back and say “sorry, we’re all out of that tonight”. This gets very frustrating, especially when it takes waiters 20-30 minutes between each time they visit your table. This has gotten so bad that I have made it a personal rule to order a “backup choice”, so that I will always end up with a beer even if my first choice is out of stock. Sadly, waiters still often come back empty handed, with both my first choice AND my backup choice being out of stock.

While the waiters are incredibly knowledgeable about beer, they are also incredibly uppity. The more I visit the Brickskeller, the more I realize that the wait staff is snobby, making me feel totally inadequate and as if it is a special privilege for me to even be sitting within a 100 mile vicinity of their restaurant. Puh-lease. I really don’t see any reason why the staff can’t be friendlier.

The service is painfully slow. The building smells, is dark, dank, and is always uncomfortable. The bathrooms are disgusting. The food is mediocre at best, terrible at worst. And the location is inconvenient.

There is really only a need to go to the Brickskeller once or twice in a lifetime. Beyond that, you are just punishing yourself.

In comparison, the Brickskeller’s sister restaurant, RFD, is one of my favorites in all of DC. They have a beer list that is obviously not as long as the Brickskeller’s, but they have a huge selection of beers on tap, and still offers one of the longest bottled beer lists I’ve ever seen. Even more importantly, they actually have their menu beers in stock. The wait staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, the place is huge and offers a fun atmosphere, there are tons of TVs for watching sports, and, in my opinion, RFD has the best nachos in the district. Oh, and did I mention it’s less than a block from the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop?

Why anyone would choose the Brickskeller over RFD is a mystery I will never understand.

Grades

The Brickskeller: C+. Everyone should go here once. Don’t go back more than twice.

RFD: A-. I love this place.

I’m sure this post will make me unpopular with lots of people, but I’m not the only one that thinks negatively about the Brickskeller:

The Brickskeller Kinda Sucks

2 Amy’s

I have been searching for good pizza in the district since I moved here almost 2 years ago. Used to the thin crust pies I ate while growing up in Jersey and going to college in CT, Armand’s Pizza and the like just weren’t cutting it for me here in DC.

All this changed when I hit up 2 Amy’s on Wisconsin Ave. between Tenleytown and Glover Park (sort of a no-man’s land for Washingtonians) a few weeks ago. Wine bar + delicious pizza = my new home.

Conveniently located next to my yoga studio, I decided to give 2 Amy’s a shot on a Friday night. I had been warned that there would probably be a wait, but I didn’t mind knowing that i could grab a seat at the wine bar.

Arriving at 2 Amy’s at about 6:30, I was surprised by the decor and the atmosphere. I had expected a somewhat sophisticated locale, only to find a packed room full of families with loud kids running around. And when I say packed, I mean packed. The hostess told my friend and I that it would be at least a 45 minute wait. We decided to wait our turn despite the chaos.

Zaytinya

Friday night Drew and I decided to check out the much-hyped Mediterranean tapas restaurant Zaytinya in Gallery Place/Chinatown. I really wanted to give this exotic-sounding place a try, since both my boss and the Washington Post raved about the food. According to Frommer’s:

“Conde Nast Traveler magazine’s May 2003 issue named Zaytinya as one of the top 75 new restaurants in the world…”

So needless to say, Zaytinya comes highly recommended.

Delhi Dhaba Punjabi Grill

Located between the nice part of Van Ness and the nice part of Connecticut Avenue exists “Calvert Woodley”, a proverbial “residential limbo”.

Indian food–we wanted it. Metro? Didn’t want to ride it. Sick of the same old stuff (chicken), we wanted to try somewhere new. Drew read somewhere online at some point in his life that the food at the Delhi Dhaba Punjabi Grill was good. So we decided to give this place a shot.

Next to Pier One, the half burned out sign for the restaurant glowed on the otherwise dark street. Checking over our shoulders for muggers, we went in and were greeted by brass statues of elephants and many-armed (Hindu?) goddesses.

Being 8:00 on a Sunday night, the restaurant was surprisingly 1/3 full with several additional people waiting to pick up take out orders. Definitely a good sign. Another good sign was the big table full of Indian people.

Feeling encouraged, we took a look at the menu and got immediately excited. There was goat. There was lamb. There was what they call “*SPICY SPICY*”. Perfect.