Radius Pizza, Mount Pleasant

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Don

Let me preface this post by saying that I’ve always really liked Radius Pizza, and on my previous visit (perhaps 2-3 months ago), I thought the spaghetti with meatballs was as good as any I’d ever eaten.

My friend and I went into Radius Saturday night mainly because we were still hungry after four small plates at Marx Cafe (harumph). I purposely over-ordered by getting a large special Winter Pizza ($22 for 18″), knowing one or both of us would take home leftovers.

I started with a wonderful bottle of Dark Starr Stout ($5.50) from Starr Hill Brewery (Starr Hill seems to be rapidly expanding, at least in this area, but their quality seems to still be largely intact for now).

The pizza was disappointing. Described as being made with celery root puree, fontina, roasted pine nuts, and golden raisins, it was really nothing more than an ocean of fontina cheese, with occasional dots of color dispersed throughout; I tasted virtually no celery root, and this was pretty much just a giant white pizza, and not a very good one, either. The crust had an even, golden char, and was neither interesting nor compelling; the second half of the pie did not go home with me.

—

Knowing full well how much I admire Radius as both a neighborhood gathering place, and a serious cross-town destination, I gave up 2 out of my 3 weekend nights and returned here on Sunday, certain that I’d get a better meal.

Well, I did, but not by as much as I’d hoped.

I got there early for their “$5 pint and a slice” special, and my thoughtful bartender, Matt, was nice enough to let me get a couple slices with my two pints of The Gift, also from Starr Hill. Radius has a small, but worthwhile selection of beers and that alone makes it a good neighborhood spot.

But I was here not for pizza (which I took home), but the tried and true – two things I’ve had here before and absolutely raved about: a small order of Spaghetti and Meatballs ($8), home-made pasta with Berkshire pork and Angus beef meatballs, and Parmagiano Reggiano; and also a small order of Prince Edward Island Mussels (a ridiculous $5 for happy hour, normally a still-ridiculous $8), served with Jersey tomatoes, smoked paprika aioli (to mix in), and outsized, grilled “croutons” (to dunk).

I have to say that neither the spaghetti (which was overcooked, and drowning in an overly-assertive sauce) nor the mussels (which were also suffering from too spicy a sauce) lived up to my previous visits. Nevertheless, the sheer quantity of both of these dishes left me unable to finish – I was absolutely stuffed, and I hadn’t eaten a thing all day long. No doubt, this was an incredible value.

But to make matters worse, when I got home, I tried a slice of the pizza which was just awful – the second half, I’m afraid, got discarded.

So, two visits in one weekend to Radius – the first one on a crowded Friday night with both owners there; the second one on an empty Sunday with neither owner there, and, as much as it pains me to say it: both disappointing.

Radius Pizza is still the best restaurant in Mount Pleasant by a substantial margin, but this weekend was not indicative of it being a crosstown destination. Has it changed for the worse, or did I just catch it at the wrong times? I was one of the earliest, most ardent supporters of this independently owned restaurant, and I’d hate to see it go downhill – I’m hoping that it hasn’t.

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Marx Cafe, Mount Pleasant

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Don

Marx Cafe is one of the most popular restaurants in Mount Pleasant. It bills itself as specializing in Greek and Italian cuisines, but the thing that caught my eye was the “Appetizers of the World” section – small plates, something close to tapas but not all Spanish.

This restaurant, with all its woodwork, has a wonderful, warm feeling to it, and the staff is very friendly – it’s a welcoming, comfortable place for a casual dinner.

My friend and I started with drinks – I had a Bombay Martini ($7.46 for some reason), and she had a Stoli Cosmo ($7). They were both pretty much as expected. Curiously, a second drink of each was $2 less on the check ($5.46 and $5, respectively).

I really wanted to like the small plates here, but I’m afraid I thought nothing was better than ordinary: Humus alla Marx ($4.95), made with “the chef’s secret recipe,” was fine, and could have used a few more wedges of pita. Pinchitos Andalusia ($5.95) were mini grilled beef kabobs in “Andalusia sauce,” and were a miserly portion. Stuffed Peppadew ($5.95) sounded fascinating, the sweet and spicy African peppers halved, and stuffed with kafteri cheese, but again, this was just such a terribly small portion for the money. Still hungry, we split a Gambas Ajillo ($6.95) which was simply not a good rendition although the shrimp were thoughtfully deveined.

As I type this, my memory of the food is better than when I was actually eating it, if that makes any sense. It really wasn’t all that bad, but the portions were small and it was expensive for what you got. I don’t know much about this restaurant, but nothing I had on this particular night calls me back. (Would someone start a thread on donrockwell.com and tell me I’m off-base? I want to like Marx Cafe, I really do.)

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Alto Plaza, Centreville, VA

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Don

Remember Alto Plaza? This is the $16 million restaurant that opened in Centreville right before the recession hit in all its fury. It was a high-stakes gamble from the beginning, and is one of the few restaurants in history Washington Post Food Critic Tom Sietsema officially bageled: zero stars.

I’d been here twice before, but decided to give it another try. The “AP Room” – that ritzy dining area on the top floor – is probably still there, but you can’t get to it because the elevator will no longer go there. On a Wednesday night during what should have been prime dinner rush, there were just a few people on the second floor which is the main dining area. I took a seat at the bar on the first floor which is where most of the action was – there were perhaps twenty people there.

Alto Plaza has always had a Pan-Latino bent to it, but at no time did I feel it as strongly as on this visit. The menu is almost purely Latino, and most of the service staff seemed like they were as well.

There were 17 beers in bottle and 9 on tap, and the best of the bunch was pretty darned mediocre. My genuinely friendly, professional bartender, Julian, served me a bottle of Pacifico ($4.75), and I made the mistake of starting with the Chicken Taquitos ($5 at happy hour, normally $6.95). We all know what chicken taquitos are, but these were described as “three crispy corn tortillas [halved], filled with chicken and Chihuahua cheese, served with pico de gallo, sour cream, and ajillo sauce.” I don’t wish to be mean, but these were lousy – I’ve never had the taquitos at 7-11, but I can’t imagine they’re much worse than these. I’m not going to say these were pre-purchased, but if they weren’t, then Alto Plaza may wish to reconsider because they’re not worth making in-house – the one saving grace was the ajillo dipping sauce which was not at all bad.

Julian had poured one too many drafts of Sam Adams, and graciously offered one to me gratis, adding that he hates to waste beer, and he wasn’t going to drink on the job. Kudos to him – he’s an asset, and deserves special mention for his friendly treatment of Alto Plaza’s customers.

I ordered much better with my entree: Argentinian Skirt Steak ($18.95), ordered and executed to a perfect medium-rare, served with white rice and chimichurri sauce. When it was on its way out, I didn’t think this was my order because it was a very vertical dish, and I thought, from a distance, it might have been something like a molten chocolate cake; what I got instead was a delightful presentation: the naturally circular, skirt-shaped steak was served on its side, in a cylinder, wrapped around a pile of white rice, and tied together by skewers. I love skirt steak, and I’ve never seen a presentation like this; I’m used to seeing a big, long thing flopping off the plate – this was both elegant and entirely appropriate, and the chimichurri sauce surrounded it on the plate. If you come here, and order this, you will not regret it – it was delicious.

Okay, so Alto Plaza came nowhere near to living up to its initial investment. Quite frankly, I don’t see how it’s still in business, but aside from the taquitos, the dinner was pretty good, due to the steak and the bartender. The valet parking, needless to say, no longer exists.

This place has probably lost millions of dollars, and I take no joy in that whatsoever, nor should anyone else. They tried, and failed (we all have) – I hope one day, it makes a comeback, but I see no signs of it yet.

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Estadio, Logan Circle

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Don

On what will be the last snow day of winter 2010-2011 (right? Right? RIGHT?), I couldn’t think of anything less appropriate than going to Estadio for slushitos. So I did.

I love the feel of this warm restaurant – it’s as if it has been here for years, transporting diners to Spain, and the staff is as gracious as can possibly be. Mick McGuire was tending bar, and Justin Guthrie was roving the dining room as he so often does.

Estadio has changed its slushitos (essentially ingeniously crafted alcoholic Slupees) since the last time I’ve tried them, so I saw no reason not to try both.

Cranberry, Gin, and Star Anise ($9) was my favorite of the night, the combination of flavors just seeming so right, and the star anise really brought it to life along with the fresh sprig of basil added at the end which made the aromatics even more complex.

Pumpkin, Scotch, and Earl Gray ($9) sounded equally intriguing, but for my taste, the bergamot (in the Earl Gray) was dominated by the Scotch. The talented Adam Bernbach has chosen to make this with Ballentine’s Scotch, an ingenious choice that also has some peaty components. This is a personal preference and not a qualitative judgment, but I think of peat in Scotch a lot like I think of oak in wine – I just don’t love it, although I acknowledge that most people do. Despite this nitpick, I happily finished this slushito, and remember – when I nitpick about something, it’s because I think it’s actually worth nitpicking about.

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RedRocks, Alexandria, VA

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Don

It has been far too long since I’ve been to the original RedRocks in Columbia Heights, and I finally made it for the first time to the Old Town location last night.

In December, I noticed an unusual number of bakeries I was frequenting; lately, I’ve had an inordinate amount of pizza. Granted, it’s been generally very good pizza, but it’s starting to get a bit old.

Let me start with the positive – the beers. RedRocks has a fine selection, both on draft and by the bottle, and I reveled in a perfect pint of Fullers ESB ($6). It’s a small, but well-chosen selection, and RedRocks deserves heaps of praise for listing the ABV content next to each beer.

Not so positive was a pizza Margherita ($12) which came beautifully charred from what was clearly a super-hot, wood-burning oven (note: I saw one other pizza go by with a charred “puff mark” the size of a human fist).

The tomato and basil were just fine, but the expensive glots of mozzarella di bufala just did not have the clean, fresh flavors I expect in this pizza, certainly not from the likes of RedRocks. I saved half the pizza for the next day so I could try it cool, and sure enough, there’s almost a bluish undertone to this cheese.

But the crust itself was the dealbreaker, a chewy, bready dough that reminded me of the problems that plagued Pizzeria Paradiso for so many years – it came across as more of a “dinner roll” than a pizza crust (granted, a very good dinner roll), and it was amplified because in these pizzas, there is over an inch of unadorned crust rounding the periphery.

Mind you, this pizza wasn’t bad at all, but it wasn’t the RedRocks that I knew and loved in Columbia Heights (which was absolutely one of the top handful of pizzas in the area when it first opened). So is this the way things are now, or did I catch them on an off night?

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Qdoba, Bailey’s Crossroads, VA

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Don

Yeah, I played Ultra-Zone Laser Tag.

Yeah, I went to Qdoba.

Yeah, I got a burrito.

You gotta problem with that?

I’ve been to Qdoba exactly three times in my life, and each time I’ve gotten a Vegetarian Burrito ($5.89) with whatever vegetables happen to catch your eye – two out of the three times I’ve gotten black beans instead of pintos (although this time I tried the pintos), and I prefer the black beans. There’s plenty of guacamole, cheese, salsas, little squirts of things, etc. – this is indeed vegetarian (including the tortilla), and you could potentially construct a vegan version as well (vegans, you might find this page useful), but don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s health food: a fully loaded Vegetarian Burrito weighs in at almost two pounds, pushes 1,500 calories, and contains almost 3 grams (!) of sodium.

But there’s a reason I’ve gotten this three times: it tastes good.  And if you’re a vegetarian with a craving for fast-food Tex-Mex, you can do a lot worse than the Vegetarian Burrito at Qdoba (if, and only if, you understand the peripherals surrounding it).

I was handed a “buy one get one free” coupon that needed to be redeemed in one week, and discarded it – this is a once-in-a-while guilty pleasure for me only, just as it should be.

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Schmankerl Stube, Hagerstown, MD

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Don

I was unwilling to accept the long drive to Hagerstown only to be told Schmankerl Stube was completely full on a Saturday night, so my friend and I showed up at 8:30 PM. Sure enough, they were full, but the owner (whose picture is plastered all over the entrance foyer with various celebrities) said to come back in thirty minutes.

Let’s start with Schmankerl Stube’s wine list: avoid it like the Bubonic Plague. Unless there’s a reserve list I didn’t see, the one on the menu is littered with generic, non-vintage names such as Zeller Schwarze Katz. Need I say more?

But let’s not forget Bavaria is Southern Germany, and that means beer, and in my case, it meant a half liter of Hacker Pschorr Münchner Hell ($6), no really, that’s what it’s called, and it’s the rare pale lager that has a malty backbone – a great beer that I wish I could find in the DC area. Remember when you come here: drink beer, not wine.

The food was consistent across-the-board, and it was consistently good. Not great, but good, and good enough to consider coming here on a weekend if you’re in the mood for a mini-getaway that doesn’t involve an overnight trip.

Kassler Riperl ($19) is described as smoked pork loin, but for all practical purposes is a good, thick piece of bone-in ham, flavorful and smokey. It was served with sauerkraut, good carrots (the vegetable of the day), house made Spätzle, all atop what they term “Hunterstyle Sauce.”

Herzhafter Sauerbraten ($20) is pot roast marinated in a sweet-and-sour sauce, served with apple-flavored red cabbage, the carrots, and a homemade bread dumpling. This was the sweet and sour plate that complemented the salty and smokey pork loin beautifully.

Our server was nice enough to bring a side order of Potato Salad ($4) which isn’t normally an a la carte option. Like most German potato salads, it was based on vinegar, not mayonnaise.

There was nothing at all complex here; just good, straightforward food served in a really comfortable atmosphere. There’s no doubt this is a slightly touristy restaurant, but it’s also one whose quality didn’t seem compromised.

You will be making a big mistake if you come here on a weekend without a reservation.

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Bulls & Bears, Hagerstown, MD

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Don

What to do in Hagerstown when there’s a thirty-minute wait for Schmankerl Stube? Walk down the street and have a drink at Bulls & Bears, of course.

On a Saturday night at 8:30, this expansive, open restaurant was packed, with only one bar stool open. Why? Because of Lucas and the Lovelys, scheduled to take the stage at 9 PM.

I’m not used to Hagerstown bar prices, but could become so very quickly. I was stunned to learn that a bottle of excellent McSorley Irish Pale Ale ($4) is owned by Pabst (although it’s brewed under contract at Lion Brewery).

Maybe even more surprising was the anonymous house Sauvignon Blanc ($6 for a huge pour). I have no idea what vintage this was from, or even what country this was from, but it was true to the varietal, and I’ve had many, many overblown new-world Sauvignon Blancs that weren’t this good.

At 9 PM, the band started playing, and that was our cue to head back down the street.

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Pizzeria Orso, Falls Church, VA

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Don

(See the February 15th., 2011 Review here.)

If you read my previous review about Orso, you’ll see that I was disgruntled about the Giamette. But I also know full well that pizzaiolo Edan Macquaid is one of the most talented pizza makers in the United States, and also that lightning generally doesn’t strike twice.

Does it count as a “restaurant night out” when a benefactor brings you over some Pizzeria Orso pizza? I think yes, and I specifically requested another Giamette ($16) with tomato, provola, pepperoni, sausage, salami, and ham. I had earlier told Edan that I wanted to see if he could make this meat-laden pie with finesse, and guess what?

He did.

This was a beautiful pie (I’m not sure if it’s accepted in pizzaiolo lingo to say “pie,” but you know, there are only so many words for “pizza,” and i’m trying not to bore you guys to death by saying the same words over and over again, so pie it is until I’m corrected.)

Why was it beautiful? Because it was. There was perhaps only 60% as much meat as the last time I had it, thus allowing the wonderful crust to shine through and not be overwhelmed. The whole pizza was finished with joy, and Macquaid’s artisanship was evident with his rendition of this Giamette.

Even more so with the one piece of Crudo ($15) that I was lucky enough to try. This pizza is listed in the “Traditional Pizzas” section of the menu, and was one of the best pizzas that I’ve had from here. Made with tomato, mozzarella, basil, arugula, shaved grana, and prosciutto di Parma, it was a remarkable slice of pizza, even at room temperature. My benefactor raved that his four-top felt it was the “pizza of the night,” and went out of his way to save me a piece. This fourteen-year-old young man had the palate to be able to say, correctly, that it was “the arugula that made the pizza,” complementing the prosciutto with a bouquet straight from the Gods. An astonishing combination that I believe probably showed even better at room temperature than when it was straight from the oven.

Even though it was carryout, and even though the Giamette is not my favorite pizza here, this was a fabulous night for Pizzeria Orso. Keep fighting, Edan – you have my support.

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Sabai Sabai Simply Thai, Germantown, MD

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Don

(See the February 15th Review here.)

Oops.

A couple weeks ago, I went to Sabai Sabai Simply Thai, and proclaimed it “the best Thai meal I’ve had in years.” Well, of course I was going to go back; I only wish I hadn’t because this time around, it was stunningly mediocre.

Let’s start with the good: the “House” Sauvignon Blanc ($8) – whatever it may be – is the wine you should order. Varietally true, it has enough acidity on the finish to complement most dishes you’ll order here. Me, I got the Beer Lao ($4.95), brewed in Laos (not to state the obvious) which has enough malt in the nose to make it interesting.

I wanted to start with a couple mainstream appetizers this time around for a change of scenery: you’ll find Tod Mun Goong ($8) at most Thai restaurants – they’re those round shrimp cakes with the texture of … cuttlefish? a sponge? sea cucumber? Yes, sea cucumber comes pretty close, and these were kneaded with chili paste and served with a cooling cucumber dipping sauce. It was a huge order of about eight of them, and they were not small. And they were also the highlight of the food by a long shot.

How can homemade Curry Puffs ($5.95), made with chicken, potatoes and Thai spices in a crisp pastry be anything but good? Somehow, these managed, and the overriding flavor was not curry, but something very sweet – I thought it might have been date, or fig, but I think my friend nailed it: bean paste, the type of flavor you’ll find in Korean or Vietnamese desserts, and it was not at all welcome here.

There was only room left in the tanks for one entree, so I went back to the tried and true. Crispy Herbal Fish ($15.95) was The Dish that I raved about in my previous review, but this time around? It was not only bad, but also unidentifiable as the same dish, much less coming from the same kitchen. The fish was over-battered, and crumbled rather than flaked when it was cut. The marinade (turmeric, lemongrass, garlic, and black pepper) was more of a sauce, and not evenly distributed at all. This really seemed to me like they may have mistakenly brought the Spicy Catfish dish by mistake (this really had more of a frozen catfish texture), but that dish had eggplant, and this had none; if this was fresh tilapia, it was a sickly school of fish.

Well, there you have it – life is not so cut and dry. If I had read my previous review, then went out of my way to go to Sabai Sabai Simply Thai, and had this meal, I would have been furious, and would have never trusted myself again. But I’m just calling ’em one at a time, as I see them, so I’ve had one unbelievably great meal here, and a second unbelievably mediocre meal here.

There’s a logical explanation for this: suburban ethnic restaurants often have one – and only one – great cook in the kitchen, and when that cook is off for the evening, it makes all the difference in the world. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but if it didn’t, then there’s a parallel universe that I’m unaware of. Very, very frustrating, and I apologize if I gave anyone a bum steer.

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