Metropolitan Thai

Goodmorning Washington, DC.  Its been a while since I've posted which is a shame because I've been to many an interesting place that I would like to share.  Throughout the Summer and Fall - after becoming disappointed with over-priced DC restaurants, we have made it our mission to find delicious ethnic restaurants outside of the city limits and have not been let down. 


My favorite find so far, has been Ruan Thai.  Ruan Thai, located in Wheaton, which is a surprisingly interesting place (streets FULL of little shops and cubby restaurants representing the full spectrum of central american cuisine, grocery stores with native foods of countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, flea markets, and Orthodox Jewish restaurants, shops and grocery stores) serves up fabulous, well priced and spiced Thai food.  The restaurant itself is a cubby hole in a small strip mall at 11407 Amherst Ave. The menu is long and includes classics like Pad Thai and Yellow/Red Curries but also intricate, tropical fruit laced cooling appetizers, duck dishes mixed with chiles and basil and a long list of vegetarian choices.  Sauces tasted freshly combined rather than from the cans at H-Mart, which is much appreciated in the sea of mediocre Thai restaurants that dot the metro area.


Still on the theme of Thai - I have also enjoyed Elephant Jumps in Merrifield (reviewed here by Tyler Cowen, our guide to area ethnic restaurants) and Thai Square in Arlington (reviewed here by Tyler Cowen).


I'm looking forward to making my next effort to learn about Vietnamese and Korean restaurants around town.  I've been to the Eden Center for groceries, but not for a meal - so thats definitely on my list.  

Curry Butter Acorn Squash, Celery and Pear Bisque and Other CSA Adventures

After the brutal hot summer, I could not be happier for the temperature to drop (at least its dropping at night finally?).  I got a surprise CSA share this week and have done some experimenting.  Last night after a long day at the Renaissance Festival (surprisingly precious a place, gorgeous tree covered village) we decided to try and make a new recipe from the Bon Apetit November magazine, Celery and Pear Bisque.

The Celery and Pear bisque can be made as follows - 6 cups of celery (2 cups of ours came from the deep green, slim stalk CSA celery and 4 cups from the mellow, light green whole foods celery), 4 csa Bartlett pears, 1.5 cups dark green bits of CSA leeks, 1.5 tbs thyme (we used dried) and 2 bay leaves all sauteed for about 10 minutes in 4.5 tbs of butter.  Added 1.5 tbs of flour and 3 cups of chicken broth and simmered for 20 more minutes, then immersion blended the whole thing.  

Tonight, I'm hoping to make this curry butter fruit baked acorn that I found on the epicurious website:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Filled-Acorn-Squash-Rings-with-Curry-Butter-105808

Its basically a mixture of apples, apple juice, raisins and onion baked into rings of acorn squash with curry infused butter.  I hope that it goes well!  What to serve on the side?

Brightwood Bistro, Good Luck!

As you may be aware, the Wards that make up the District of Columbia all have a unique flavor and atmosphere.  What is also unique, and mostly disappointing, due to uneven development, the NW quandrant of the city has almost all of the restaurants with a few districts scattered around Capitol Hill.  Therefore, whenever a restaurant opens up in what had previously been an area without, there is always a small amount of buzz (consider Rustik in Ward 4 and the new Rays the Steaks East River).  Remembering said buzz about the Brightwood Bistro at Georgia and Missouri, I picked up a Whats the Deal coupon for it and finally got around to using it on Thursday night. 

We drove up several miles from Mt. P to the Brightwood Bistro.  From the outside, the building looks brand new in a neighborhood of maintained, but aged.  We walked up to the door and saw the entire restaurant completely empty aside from the staff and the band. Yes, a band.  Normally, an empty restaurant at 8 PM on Thursday would be a no go for me, due to the coupon, we figured why not and headed in.  We were seated by a jazz band doing a rather loud soundcheck that we thought must be for a future night, given the emptiness of the restaurant.  But alas, they played, the whole time (some pretty good motown I might add) very very loudly, to the point that we could not converse. 

Aside from the music, the menu, O the menu.  It looked good, but the prices were totally wild for the neighborhood.  $15 Caesar Salad, $15 Burger, $28 Shrimp and Grists, $14 Chicken and Waffles.  Completely crazy. We would have also left at seeing the menu, if not for the 50% off coupon that we had.  The food that we had was pretty tasty, the burger was not from the freezer, but the sweet potato fries were.  The "wings" were entire jointed wings, served on top of super spicy bbq sauce with crumbles of blue cheese (we are comparing these at a high bar as we had truly amazing wings at Social several weeks earlier) and happened to be the same wings served with the Chicken and Waffles.  We had a "Missouri Milk" cocktail which was strong and punchy and actually, the only thing not wildly over priced at the Bistro. 

All and all, we will never go back.  For $15 for a burger, we could take on a couple more dollars and try the Michel Richard Central burger (have you tried it, is it worth it) or for the entire tab pre-coupon we could even have a delicious meal at one of our downtown favorites, Rasika coupled with the sound/emptiness ratio we were left wondering what the business plan was and if the Brightwood Bistro would ever be around to come back to.....

The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right (Cholodenko, 2010) - **

One big happy family.

The Kids Are All Right, apparently this summer’s feel-good triumph, has a lot going for it – uniformly sterling performances from a uniformly sterling cast, working with a rich premise supported by writing strong on character establishment and rife with genuine, well-earned laughs. But the film, the talented Lisa Cholodenko’s first in over five years, uses its breezy comic ease to mask it’s unsure handling of the juicy-yet-thorny subject matter it never quite knows how to approach holistically. There’s a lot of stuff in orbit here, but in the end what needed a Big Crunch gets a long, slow heat death.

HUGS!!!

Portrayed brilliantly by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, Nic and Jules are a Californian couple (referred to by their kids as "momses"), the first a high-string wine guzzling physician, the later a New-Agey would-be-landscaper waif, living with their two children, high-achieving Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and directionless Laser (Josh Hutcherson), each from one mother, each from the same sperm donor. That donor is Paul (Mark Ruffalo), motor-biking locally-farming restaurateur, whose discovery by the kids sucks him into the family. Little need be said beyond “hijinks ensue,” and while each character is beautifully drawn (I love, for example, that Nic and Jules watch “Locked Up Abroad;” I also love that when Joni's namesake finally comes up the sing-along isn't between who you'd think), when put into play they get less, not more, interesting as the film progresses.

You want special sauce with that?

The outcomes of Paul’s entry into the family are either ballsy and outrageous or surprisingly mundane, depending on how you want to interpret it. Yet another tale of middle-aged ennui and teenage angst/discovery - is the banality the point? Cholodenko doesn’t seem sure herself, and the film seems to drift forward without knowing which aspects of its plot are supposed to be commenting on the others. A film bursting at the seams with things to say but blurred and blunted by an unwillingness to choose which, muse on a title putting focus on the children even as most of the screen time is devoted to the adults. Dragging painfully in its final minutes even as a key character’s fate is left oddly unresolved, find a movie whose ambiguity is born not out of confidence but a lack thereof, whose assured handling of the camera and character building dissolves into air as the film goes on. Given its strengths, it feels worse than if it just plain stank. A real shame.

(Cross-posted at "The Thin Green Line")

SOTD: Lissie - Please Stop Touring Europe

Recently got the recommendation to listen to a lady singer named Lissie and immediately was charmed by her kind of gravelley, kind of girly, only strong and 60s/70s tinged voice with twangy, purely rock guitar, melody driven tunes.  Here is a particularly catchy number for your Saturday enjoyment.



By the by, she will in fact be in Washington, DC on October 20th, so, see you there.

Stroga: Sun Drenched Yoga Experience

After making a quick breakfast of CSA peaches, granola and yogurt and relaxing for about an hour, I realized that I had the bug to get up and go.  Finding it impossible to imagine going to the gym, I quickly scanned the schedules of the local yoga studios to see if there were any specials and lo and behold, in 15 minutes a weekly free (donation suggested to benefit Haiti) community yoga class would take place at Adams Morgan’s very own STROGA studio.  Off I went to what proved to be a really great studio with a really great community class.

First, the studio.  It has one side for strength training and another side for yoga.  My review here is only for yoga.  Walking into the building you are greeted by a registration desk on the right and a sumptuous, leather couch, pretty rug, table and chairs lounge on the left.  Continue up the stairs and find the yoga studio with a preparation/storage room leading into the biggest, most well lit studio I’ve ever seen.  The floors were spotless hard wood and the ceiling was fitted with gorgeous ivory painted designed plaster mouldings.  The room had windows and balconies looking out over Adam’s Morgan which let light spill into the room.

Second, the class.  I was a tiny bit late, so I did not catch the teachers name, but the community class basically ran through warm up small movements, sun salutations, balancing poses, abs and lots of stretches.  Gorgeous mix of music – Indian, Fado, Samba, American Funk/Jazz  and a little 60s (Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel!). 

All and all, I can’t wait to try a regular class and maybe see the room in the evening, however, one way or another, very recommended.  Any suggestions of other studios to check out?

SOTD: Local Natives // Airplanes

Preparing for Bonnaroo, we tried to listen to as much music as we could from bands that we didn't know very well that were going to play at the festival.  I remember starting a long drive in downtown Washington on a cloudy day, moving zippily down Constitution or Independence and playing Local Natives.  Each song was a sort of 'aha!', 'oh!' moment.  Absolutely beautiful combination of strings, strong percussion, keys and group singing following heavy melodies.  Since then, I can't seem to stop listening.  I traveled to New York City a few weeks ago to see them on Governors Island - amazing show.   Now, I will share with you the SOTD - Airplanes.

Rhode Island Reds - Thin Crust Delicious Pizza in Arty Up and Coming Hyattsville

The steamy D.C. weather finally took a break last week and the air cooled down, we decided to take an after work jaunt to Hyattsville to visit a relatively new pizza shop, Rhode Island Reds.  Windows down, we drove for several miles through Bloomingdale and Mt. Rainier to Hyattsville watching the sun set.  We arrived at Rhode Island Reds, a white painted industrial type building at a corner on Rt. 1 and were immediately warmed by the inviting atmosphere.  The atmosphere felt like a back street or even country café in Italy or Eastern Europe. The front portion of the restaurant is a small Italian cooking shop with cans of tomatoes, oils, vinegars, preserves, etc.  The back of the restaurant has a few booths, a few tables, some red paint and primary colored art on the walls.  The walls in the market portion of the restaurant had local fliers advertising various community happenings.  

Now, onto the food, which we loved as much as the atmosphere.  The menu consists mostly of sandwiches, salads and of course, delicious thin-crust pizza.  We ordered a vegetable salad that was bright and colorful and covered with tasty oil-red wine vinegar vinaigrette.  We also tried two different pizzas, the Gina Lolabrigida a classic tomato, mozzarella, and garlic pizza and the Broforino, a delicious garlic pesto onion sauced pizza with anchovies and fresh tomatoes.  Both pizzas were simply delicious, classic, fresh flavors and thin crisp crusts.  All of the pizzas are an eminently reasonable $10 a pop, including ‘make your own’, which we will probably try next time.  Washed down with a glass of house red wine, the dinner was delicious and in our humble opinion rivaled fancier pizza places downtown and the feeling of being in another country-side world made it worth the trip. 

Mid-City Cafe - Perfect!

Sometimes you go to a place and from the moment you step into it, you know you will be back many many more times.  Thats how I felt when I walked into the Mid City Caffe in Washington, DC.  It sits perched above Miss Pixies, a 14th Street Vintage and unique furniture and trinket shop.  I opened the door and immediately smelled fresh coffee with a tinge of cardamom to the scent.  The space is made for people to come and work on their computers, have coffee meetings and relax in a serene off beat environment.  One room has booth backed seats and big pull out chairs around tables with ample plug space.  Anticipating solo coffee shoppers, there is also a bar pressed against the window lined completely with plugs to facilitate easy work. Of course, Mid-City has free wifi, which again makes you feel comfortable coming here to work a little on the computer.  A second room juts off to the side, painted in light blue/grey with all high seat bar seats and a poster on the door announcing the DC English Writers Meeting each week.  

Walking up to the coffee bar, I noticed a slew of community even fliers waiting on the counter.  One that particularly caught my eye is the "Neutral Uke Hotel" night produced by Golden Bloom on Aug. 25 that will offer a sing-a-long to Neutral Milk Hotel songs played by the Neutral Uke Hotel and opened by Twins of a Gazelle on a UKELELE.  Really sweet. Their menu is a pretty classic, coffee, tea, espresso, french press and hand brewed fresh ground coffee.  There are a few light food choices and some delicious looking muffins and cookies.

Sitting here in the sun, I get the sense that I will be back here many more times to get personal work done, to write, to think, to drink coffee and to enjoy myself.  Among the coffee shops that I've been to in DC, Tryst, BusBoys and Poets, Qualia and Big Bear, Mid-City so far is my favorite.  I still need to try Sova on H Street to complete my tour.  Any other suggestions of indie shops that I've missed?

Greenberg (Baumbach 2010)

Greenberg - **1/2

                At times poignant and at times hysterically funny, sometimes even simultaneously, Greenberg, Noah Baumbach’s latest is somewhat less of the sum of its parts, falling short of his two excellent previous films The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding. Here, Baumbach has created an interesting protagonist and doesn’t know quite what to do with him, letting him wander the cleverly paralleled sprawls of Hollywood and his own psyche until the film decides its going to settle on treacly and clichéd “let go of the past/its never too late to grow up” palabum . One of the characters actually says to the protagonist that it’s never too late “to embrace the life you never planned on.”

                Greenberg (Ben Stiller, quite good), you see, was once part of a cool band (The Magic Markers!), but when they got offered a record deal he ended up shooting it down (how much he intended to do that remains ambiguous) and now he’s a 40-year-old carpenter who’s recovering from a nervous breakdown. So when his rich developer brother and family take a working vacation to Vietnam he decides to watch their house and their dog and “do nothing for a while” and just find himself, man. In the meantime there’s Florence (Greta Gerwig), the Greenberg’s au pair who, at 25, really shouldn’t be having a midlife crisis quite so soon, and the dog gets sick and Greenberg reunites with all his old friends from back in the day, man, and he’s just finding himself, you know?

                So Greenberg is an antisocial and hugely immature jerk who is completely unable to take criticism, and Ben Stiller makes his relatively sympathetic, which is good. The bigger problem is the Florence character, whose motivations are unknowable behind Baumbach unempathetic writing and Gerwig’s performance; the film fails the Bechdel test, and Florence ends up being something like the inverse of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the Pixie Dream Girl on Lithium, maybe. Her character is mostly bewildering, and ends up being little but a disappointing foil for Greenberg’s Journey To Maturity ™.

                Baumbach shoots his characters in profile a lot, especially in the car, watching the endless roads of Los Angeles blur by behind them; Harry Savides shoots the film with his trademark gorgeous naturalism, giving more credibility than deserved to tropes like Greenberg’s fixation with a Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man at a dealership. I’m being pretty harsh; the film moves well, has lots of great moments (I particularly enjoyed Greenberg’s drug-addled rantings at a party of 20-somethings), and almost gets to what it wants to be. In the end, though, we’re left wondering exactly why we care.

(Seen at the Landmark Bethesda Row)

SOTD Sleigh Bells Ring Ring

I first heard Sleigh Bells "Ring Ring" on the XM/Sirius station "XMU" in the context of the surprising popularity of Sleigh Bells at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, TX.  At first, I was skeptical, the sound was so thin, this lady was singing about braces and having a heart but I left it on, because, something about it was catchy.  Now, like a lot of other indie music, three or four listens later and I am hooked on the easy mellow uber catchy beat and breathy melodic lyrics that seem to be about nothing in particular except the mercuric experience of being a sixteen year old. 

What do you think?

The Ghost Writer (Polanski, 2010)

The Ghost Writer (Polanski, 2010) - *1/2

SPOILER ALERT

                Well-shot, well-acted, well-edited, well-designed, well-directed – all it needed was a story that wasn’t a pointless mish-mash of microwaved 70s conspiracism and ripped-from-the-headlines liberal porn. Sadly, that’s all The Ghost Writer ends up being able to offer, tossing away good talent after bad screenwriting, reinforcing what I call the Travolta-Kidman corollary – there is no correlation between talent and taste.

                Adam Lang (an A+ effort from a fundamentally miscast Pierce Brosnan) is this ever-so-slightly-parallel universe’s Tony Blair, a beleaguered former British PM, a once-charismatic renewal figure hounded out of office for being an American lapdog, is now holed up on his tiny island modernist mansion slaving through his memoirs while the ICC works its way towards charging him for participating in rendition. His ghostwriter, tragically, drowns, so its up to Our Hero, apolitical professional ghostwriter (Obi-Wan McGregor) to fix Lang’s crappy books while negotiating his spurned wife (Olivia Williams, great in a terrible role), assistant/mistress (Kim Cattrall), the anti-Lang protestors, the media, and etc etc. Strange things happen, real-life parallels pop-up (the Condi look-alike!), dastardly conspiracies are uncovered (Tom Wilkinson!), you can probably write the rest yourself (and it might have been a better flick).

                The Ghost Writer fundamentally reveals itself during a key late-film twist involving an assassination. It’s one of the few things the film leaves at least the slightest bit ambiguous (and the scene is shot brilliantly by Polanski), but the implications get at the heart of what the film is about, dredging up The Parallax View, Capricorn One, and their cohort to drive its point home with a sledgehammer. Those films were (to varying degrees) great in large part because they captured the zeitgeist of an era; The Ghost Writer tries to graft today’s events onto yesterday’s zeitgeist to get an inert object of only technical interest. The world is a more complicated place, and we know too much; the blindingly simple and obvious conspiracy posited by the film (and the face-palmingly faux-cynical forced ending) is more laughable than anything else. Finish by assuming a wisecrack about the real ghost writer this film needed.

(Seen at the Shepherdstown Opera House)

A Prophet (Audiard, 2009)

A Prophet (Un prophète)

***

Jacques Audiard's A Prophet is far too long, sometimes a bit confusing, and in the end predictable and formulaic. Worse than that, despite also sweeping the César awards, it doesn't rise to the same dizzying heights of emotion, whiz-bang storytelling and the challenging spiritual ambiguities of Audiard's previous film, the glorious The Beat That My Heart Skipped.



And yet. A Prophet moves willfully towards a destination that perhaps I should have described less as predictable than inevitable; as the moment-by-moment tension grows more tight, the realization slowly dawns that Malik (Tahar Rahim), the prisoner without family or friend, past or people, will ascend to the top of a power hierarchy that extends far beyond the jail in which he is held, by the end almost nominally. A lesson without didacticism, an "issue" film without a whiff of preachiness, and a moral film without "good" or "bad" guys, A Prophet is an at-times spellbinding march through the criminal system in France - not merely the de jure criminal justice system of arrest, trail, imprisonment and parole, but the de facto system of gangs and bribery, networks and hierarchies, drugs and murder. Taking place over years, even shifting demographics tilts playing fields in the claustrophic but never truly insular world inside the prison walls.

 

 None of the characters are sociopaths, none ciphers or cookie-cutters (Audiard loves his supporting cast); but none end up vibrating with the fierce urgency of Romain Duris' Thomas Seyr, something that saps A Prophet of some intensity compared to its predecesor. Nevertheless, a film very much worth seeing, and a film very much worth chewing over, A Prophet will probably linger, slightly unpleasantly, like a bad memory half-forgotten, an aftertaste impossible to quite wash away.

 (Seen at the Landmark Bethesda Row)

quick update

posting has been interrupted by various snowpocalpyses, international excursions, and work. expect resumed service soon.

SOTD or SOTY - Florence and the Machine - Dog Days are Over

Hello world, have you heard the XX remix of Florence and the Machines?  Apparently, in Europe they have, because shes a big start over there.  But, it seems she hasn't made it the same way in the United States?

Well, in my humble opinion, though it has a nice beat and makes me happy, nothing can compare to Florence and the Machines themselves!!! Florence Welch's voice is amazing - a little like Amy Winehouse, a little like Imogen Heap, and a little like Annie Lennox but all the best bits brough together to sound as fabulous as possible.  I want Florence and the Machine to visit Washington, DC ASAP any for as many nights as possible so we can get our souls uplifted and ourselves as danced as possible, because that is precisely what will happen. And PLEASE let it be at the 9.30 Club or Black Cat and not the Rock and Roll Hotel, I want it to be a nice big show with lots of people and lots of space to dance.

When I play this song, Dog Days are Over, I pretty much always want to close my office door, turn the shades so no one can see in the hall, and have my own little mid-day dance party. 


Now - you enjoy :)

Udupi Palace - Vegetarian South Asian Indian Cuisine Heaven!

Feeling like they have been a little too spendy lately to follow through on their restaurant week reservation at Rasika (don't worry, it was cancelled) , the Kleiner and the Kleinette visited their now standby (they've been a couple o' times pre-review) vegetarian South Asian restaurant in Takoma/Langley Park, the UDUPI PALACE! 

Udupi Palace, located at 1329 University Blvd East, Takoma Park, MD is really an absolutely delicious vegetarian Indian restaurant.  It is appointed as many Indian restaurants are, yellow walls, some indian art, tables and chairs.  It included a bakery full of indian desert delights like Burfee.  We love several things about it - first -  they serve Dosai (and Uthappam but we have yet to try those) and fabulous curries with large portions.  Dosai is an enormous Indian crepe with fillings liked curried potatoes, onions and chillis.  They are served with chutnets and yogurt sauces that allow you to customize your spice/cool levels as you prefer.  We also had Paneer Makhni which is like a Paneer Tikka Masala, but maybe more tomato-ey and creamy?  It had so much sauce that we used the suace on the Dosai and the rice.  We also ordered a side of Mango chutney which was chunky and fresh to cut some of the spice in the dishes. 

We love the Upupi Palace because the food is simply delicious and there is so much vegetarian variety - including Tofu Makhni, Chana Masala, Avail cocumnet based curry and even vegetable Jalfriezi!  Dosais include butter masala dosia, mysore dosai (potato, onion and hot chutney), and special rava masala dosia (wheat and lentil crepes with onion, chilies, and grilled with potatoes).  We can't wait to go back and try the Uthappam, or even a desert like Rasamalai (home made cottage cheese in a special confensed milk flavored with rose water and garnished with pistachio nuts) or carrot halwa.

Its a great alternative to DC's expensive, small portioned Indian restaurants and a fun chance to experience the lively Takoma Park/Langley Park border area full of shops and restaurants from all over the world [Panderias alongside Sari Palaces!). 

Do you have any favorite places in Langley Park?  or just outside the Northeastern limits of the city?

Hammam Turkish Spa at Dupon Washington Sports Club

Last night while the Kleiner was intently watching his Jets pull through to beat the Chargers in their playoff game (this is a large outpouring of football knowledge on my part, work with me) I decided that I would try out the Washington Sports Club at Dupont Circle.  Discovering that a passport membership was only $5 more than a membership to the Columbia Heights gym, I purchased one but mostly use it between C-Heights and the gym near my office.  Recently I noted that the Dupont Circle Washington Sports Club had recently installed a Hammam in their basement and decided that a good long gym session would be the perfect Sunday night football activity.  Hammam, Sauna, Steam -- around the world from Russia, to Korea, to Finland, to Sweden to Latvia and beyond are some of the most popular ways for men and women to get together, relax, talk socially and for business.  In Belgium, where I once lived, almost every woman went for the sauna after their work out, it was a ritual -- and I'm glad to see it becoming one in the U.S. too!!


I was pleasantly surprised to find the co-ed Hammam in sparkling condition.  It has two cold showers with 'light therapy', a large co-ed sauna (three heaters), an enormous hammam (that no one really appeared to use), and a large steam room.  I find that the hot, cold, hot, cold spa rotation is a great anti-dote to sore muscles, cold weather, rainy days and pretty much anything that gets you down, so I was elated to discover a good one included in my gym membership. Its co-ed, so everyone is wearing a bathing suit and at 7pm on Sunday the people enjoying the sauna were reading books and doing the rounds between hot and cold rather than going in like they do in Columbia Heights, sometimes in their gym clothes!  Overall, its a great addition, and I will probably start working out significantly more at Dupont Circle (except no pool....) just to take advantage of the Hammam. 


My history with the spa is long, I absolutely love European/Turkish style spas.  A massage or something else is nice, but, the heat baths (sauna, steam) have a really natural, really positive effect on us. Benefits include strengthening immune systems, alleviating joint pain and stress ;)  My favorite spa is the Scandinave Spa in Mont Tremblant.  Its rotation of hot and cold includes suanas, outdoor hot tubs, outdoor cold waterfalls, and  a cold plunge into the river!! I did this spa in December, in near 0 F freezing weather and was warm enough to make it through.  I also really liked the Hotel Jurmala spa in the old Latvian spa town of the same name, Jurmala.  My favorite one of recent times was located within the Standard Hotel in Miami.  It was simple, but very high quality, cedar sauna that smelled of cedar and got about 50% hotter than the Washington Sports Club sauna, aromatherapy steam room, very warm hammam, and gorgeous outdoor pool looking over Biscayne Bay.


What are your favorite ways to relax?? Any better hammam spas in DC?  I have read a write up in the Washington Post about the Korean Spa World in Centreville --- have any of you been there?  It looks interesting: Spa World.

The Music Post...

Reporting Mumbling from The Kleinette


We have been listening to loads of music lately --- while in the car driving back to DC from Miami in the days immediately following New Years Eve, we listened to both the Sirius XM Alt-Nation countdown and Sirius-XMU countdowns and found ourselves particularly impressed with the Silversun Pick-Ups, The XX (they grew on us, especially when remixed by Florence and the Machines), Pheonix, Kings of Leon (literally, we listened to every album of theirs, from the loud, swashbuckling southern swaggered first albums to the packged to light up a stadium current album), PHISH (after seeing a three set show, the album music, or the jams flowing through 'XM Jam On' sounded even better.  I can't get enough of 'Joy' - its really gorgeous), Julian Casablancas (yes, we're still locked on).  


What have you been listening to lately that you really like??  Anything we should know about? :)


We also were at the 9.30 club, TOGETHER, twice - once for Julian Casablancas and a second time for a DC special, The Junior League Band and Justin Jones and the Driving Rain.  Julian Casablancas, eh, the album is good, and some of the songs are really nice on it, but live, really not that awesome.  It seems like the 9.30 club can't get its mixing together and kept the vocals a little too low and some of the other lines much too high.  He only played 55 minutes which was a dissapointment.  We loved Justin Jones, he works at the 9.30 club and owned his stage, and owned his bluesy, alt-country, high style rock songs.  His voice fills the place and his banter with the audience was a lot of fun.  The Junior League band had a fun bluegrass pop sound, but the mixing was again bad.  The singer, Lissy, was a star of that band and her vocals were too low! The drummer was also, in the Kleiners opinion, AWESOME.  They did a really memorable cover of  the Beatles, I've got a Feeling!  


I'd see them again - hopefully somewhere smaller.  


We wanted to catch the Silversun Pickups, but why oh why are they opening for Muse??  They could fill the 9.30 club twice with their sound and popularity, couldn't they please just tour on their own? :)


For your listening pleasure - Junior League Band - South Carolina Blues

CommonWealth Gastropub - Great Beer, great atmosphere....

Lots of posting --- another review from the Kleinette, and this time about the Commonwealth Gastropub located at 1400 Irving St NW.  Commonwealth has been around for about a year, and full disclosure, I've been thinking that this would be the perfect kind of place for DC.  I lived in London for a year and while mostly, I think the British are a little too reliant in daily life on those sandwiches in the plastic triangle boxes, I really loved traditional pub food, pies and beer and especially the deserts (STICK TOFFEE PUDDING!).  


Commonwealth, first and foremost, has a gorgeous atmosphere inside.  The restaurant mixes comforting and slick to make it comfortable place in my opinion for a potential first date, meeting up with a friend to catch up for a long time, or even a more businessy lunch.  Its classy and comfortable.  It is mostly made of dark wood, glass, and blackboards filled with specials.  


We had a delicious flight of beer for tasting, a dark stout, a winter mix, a wheat beer and another for $12.  Amongst the group, we had the brussels sprouts side (I wanted the dish it came with, but I don't eat pork, so..... alas) , duck risotto appetizer, fish and chips, shrimp and salad.  We were not - ooo ahhh wowed, by the food to be honest.  The Kleiner and the Kleinette had just returned from an extended stay in the south, in particular in Palm Coast, Florida which is located by the not-so-well known mecca of delicious food, Flagler Beach, where we ate some delicious fish dishes of all kinds, so, we were underwhelmed by the mid-atlantic version.  The Brussels Sprouts were tasty and balsamic glazed, but served warm.  The risotto was a little rubbery and too salty.  


Overall, I love Commonwealth's atmosphere and would like to go back with our other groupon to try some of the snacks, but I don't think for the price, that the food was quite worth it.  I remember reading the menu while walking by when it first opened and seeing a much more 'British' menu which was what I was looking forward too.  In England, a pub like this would have many more pie selections.  Maybe this didn't go over well in DC causing the change..... I think the atmosphere was great and its a good standby if you need a comfy, cool, non-offensive place to meet friends, but, for a gastro experience, I'd probably pick something else in the area. What do people think of competitors near by, like Social? or Room 11?  Or even Tonic in Mt. Pleasant?  I haven't tried those yet.....

Policy - Flash Light, Pulse Music

The Kleinette, with her Groupon, took a visiting friend from out of town for a bite at Policy, at 1204 14th St NW, one of the bustling U Street corridors's newest resto-small plate-bar type places.   


Policy has a long list of cocktails, a slick looking bar, and a sort of hip-diner design.  Full of booths covered in red patent leather, the restaurant with its low light and pulsing techno music, it gave off the vibe of trying hard to be hip and cool.  Its menu of small plates was what drew us in, and, that was the best part of Policy.  We had the duck spring rolls,red curried lentils, a baked brie and greens, and some kind of scallop dish.  The small plates were really delicious, but, overpriced for what they were without the groupon.  They were between $8-14 a pop.  


I was really hoping to like Policy, but the experience left me confused.  The loud techno music was pulsing at 7pm on a Wednesday night.  The service was very rushed, we were in and out in 40 minutes, but the restaurant was nearly empty.  The hostess was busy txting and seemed surprised when we took her up on the offer to put our heavy winter coats in the closet.  Policy is new, and its atmosphere is confused, expensive eats and blaring nightclub scene.  The servers seemed confused by people coming in for dinner - theres just no point in rushing people when your restaurant is empty!


If you want a hip place for a drink with a snack type dish, and Bar Pilar or St. Ex are too crowded, pop into Policy, the bites will be delicious, but it might be a bit loud and too contrived.  If you want to have a nice dinner of small plates, but aren't up for a nightclub, I'd probably try a different locale in the area.....


I'm also wondering, whats with the small plates dc??  It seems like these dinner tapas are all the rage throughout a wide range of cuisines - American, South American, etc..... While I like to share, and I like to try a bunch of different dishes, if I am going mid-upscale (for a young non-profit professional) I want to pay my $14-18 for a whole dish with a main item and a few different sides.... I don't always want to share with a group and I don't want to walk out having paid $25 for a variety of things......  Peanut gallery, how do you feel about all small plates restaurants?  Are they a pain or do you like the variety? :)

Ezra's Favorite DC Restaurants

Hello Washington from the Kleinette!  It has come to my attention that Ezra Klein has posted a list of his top twelve restaurants in DC.  I'm going to give you a quick run down and my comments if possible.  Its an interesting list because he includes some of the classic ones that other restaurant critics like and then also one of my favorite favorite suburban warehouse treasures.... so here goes:

1. Palena - its in Cleveland Park, I've never been, but the outside area looks nice in the summer....

2. Komi - everyone raves about this one, again, never been!

3. 2 Amy's - they served me a delicious espresso one morning while I was working on a real estate project for work in the area... .one day I'll stop by for delicious pizza, but will it really beat Red Rocks or Pete's Apizza in Columbia Heights?

4.Jaleo/Oyamel - Tom Sietsema raves about these guys and I have to say growing up Jaleo was a Bethesda go-to for me (yes, Jaleo is a chain). and it was always delicious.  especially the Sangria.

5. Hong Kong Palace - no comment, haven't been.

6. Central - I walk by it all the time going to/from work and am waiting for it to become a work lunch destination (mm, memories of Bibiana)

7. Bar Pilar - I have sampled brunch and cheese and a tapas type dish here, all smashing.  I'm not sure why I don't go back more often...

8. Taylor Deli - no comment

9. Vace - no comment

10. Great Wall Szechuan - One day I'll have try this, I still stand by my view that Szechuan Pavillion on K Street is the most delicious Chinese food in DC

11. Super H Mart - Ezra notes that this is not a restaurant, and hes right, but, with the number of fabulous sauces, stir sauces, soy saues, rice noodles, udon noodles, spices EVERYTHING really it makes it very easy to cook restaurant style food at home.  A secret, I believe that the chef at Thai X-ing is using the little yellow canned Thai spice concentrations combined with coconut milk to make his extrodinarily spicy and delicious meals.

12. Spice Express - I had a wrap here....

I will add to the lunch list for him, BURRITO MAN! (Pedro and Vinny's on 15th Street NW, a treasure that I wish was closer to my office..... :) )

Bibiana - Milano Italian Business Lunch

Written by the Kleinette:

This is the first review of a multipart (okay, probably only two part as restaurant week does not come so often) series on the restaurant group that owns 701, Rasika, Bardeo, Ardeo, the Oval Room and the Bombay Club.  Today, I'm going to focus on Bibiana!  Normally, the Kleiner and I have stuck to reviewing things that we do together, but, recently I visited Bibiana for a work lunch (don't get any false ideas please, this was a lucky day) and noticed that it was part of the group that owned Rasika which is where the Kleiner and I will be doing our restaurant week thing ;)

Bibiana, located at 1100 New York Avenue, is a new Italian restaurant designed in a style the owners describe as "Milano".  The colors were all beiges, silvers, blacks, creams and greys and the look was sleek but not too 'shi shi'.  The menu included very small anti pasto plates, salads, pastas, and main meals of meats and fishes.  I had read multiple reviews of the new restaurant in one of my favorite Washington Post chats with restaurant critic Tom Sietsema exclaiming that Bibiana was either a wonderful expression of Italian cuisine or a place that needed to grow up a bit.

My group shared the artichoke and date, almong ricotta piattis without the pancetta.  Both were oozing with flavor and very delicious light starters for a meal. The artichoke was served cool and tasted well-seasoned.  The sticky sweet flavor of the dates was cut well with the rich creamy ricotta. IF you want to order these dishes keep in mind that they are very small.

For our main courses, we had the Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese, the Smoked Potato Gnocchi, Brussels Sprouts and Pecorino Paccheri and the Large Rigatoni with Couliflower, Raisins and Pine Nuts.  Personally, I had the Rigatoni which was simply delicious.  THe Large noodles were coated with a light olive oil based sauce that mixed into what tasted like a reduced, sweet onion sauce with well softened golden raisins.  The Couliflower was well seasoned with matching flavorings that all melded will into the cheese which offered a kick.  The cheese was shaved and generous in such a way that I could place it on the rigatoni to contribute to the sauce.  I also tried the Gnocchi which were flavorful and light complemented well with the roasted Brussels sprouts (yum!).  The desert list looked really good, but, given that this was a work lunch, and we hoped to continue to work throughout the day, we opted for our espresso style of choice. 

The desert menu however called out, and included such yummy ideas as ricotta pancakes with cardamom sugar toping and  hazelnut semi freddo.  Also, given that this was a work lunch, I didn't have a cocktail, I want to mention that one day, when the Kleiner and I have reason to celebrate (that could be something like a birthday, or a Wednesday signally that the week is half done) I hope that we can try some of their interesting cocktails such as a 'Bibiana' made from Hibiscus Liqour, Creme de Violette and Prosecco or a Gabrielle made of Rye, Chocolate Bitters, Cardamom Syrup and Ginger.  Unique sounding indeed!

Recently I have eaten in a lot of restaurants, many not in DC, and a few here that aim to be high-end establishments.  I have found their dishes often to be played out and their service kind of half-hearted or rushy.  I found the service at Bibiana to be classy yet friendly and to be paced perfectly for the high-end meal that it was.  The dishes were unique and creative and for this I give it whole hearted thumbs up for a fancy occassional [or work lunch?] meal.

I'm looking forward to Rasika for Restaurant Week!