I went again (4th trip) last night. This was the first night with the new chef. I did not get his name. The menu is smaller, but I spoke with one of the owners who said that they planned to add 4-5 new entrees/appetizers over the next couple of weeks. They are trying to find dishes that they can handle more easily with a somewhat limited kitchen, but that will still provide for a varied and exciting menu.
26 comments:
Perhaps I missed a post or something, but why is there a new chef?
Let's chalk that one up to artistic differences. The kitchen is small (not many cooking surfaces), & this appears to have been a point of contention.
We had a weird experience there on Friday. They forgot our food, and the waiter didn't notice. The waiter's entire focus seems to be on selling beer.
The management more than made up for the very delayed meal with an apology and comping our check.
I beleive Friday was the previous chef's last night, so things may have been unusually frazelled.
so are they still serving their delicious mussels..what's left on the menu?
I'd didn't look over the full menu (it is still a temporary menu), but others I was with did order things like sausage sandwich and a veggie sandwich (both of which were reportedly tasty).
My understanding is that they are slowly adding back to the menu, including mussels. Teddy is the new chef's name. I think he used to be head chef at the Reef, among other places. He is good.
Is there not some way they can add cooking facilities? Can they build out on the back or build up or something?
Apparently the word is that this could be a VERY successful restaurant, but that lack of cooking facilities may doom them.
anybody know where the old chef is taking his grilled fish and mussels? i'd be interested in checking that place out. if he opened his own place on h street, he would be sitting on a gold mine.
Oh Brotha, I couldn't agree more! Perhaps there is a larger kitchen available on the West end? ;-)
3rd and H
my thoughts EXACTLY!
obviously, he needs more than a foxhole for his delicacies.
better on the west end of H street than .... adams morgan.
here's to hoping that he executed a coup and nailed his very own place near the children's museum project.
that area needs some serious investment...
So the fabulous food people raved about before (I tried to try it myself, but they'd "run out" of food one night, and we couldn't get a table or bar space another) is gone?
Genuinely good food on H -- not bar food / pub grub, but good restaurant food. It seemed too good to be true, and I guess it ended up so. Oh well. Maybe someday there'll be a decent place to eat on H.
The food at Grandville moores will still be top notch. The new chef is great. This is one of the reasons places do soft openings, turn over in staff is huge. We have been open two years now and besides myself, Quike is the only other person who has been with me from the begining.
I went last night and had fabulous food. They have 4 types of mussels, salad a veggie sandwich and a sausage sandiwch which were all delicious. They also had a burger special with carmelized onions and mushrooms which we didn't try. They said they would be adding more items to the menu over the next days and weeks! It was all delicious and I was quite happy to see mussels still available.
I had the sausage sandwich the other night. The sausage was tasty, but the bun was definitely a deflated Safeway-brand bun. So close...
i haven't had the chance to go there yet, but... i think i'll wait till they get their crap together.
i really want to be a part of 'the process', but i think i'd rather go to the fishmarket and make my own stuff at home for now.
it starting to sound like a crapshoot.
I was there again tonight. Te mussels were great and so was the service. They did take some stuff off the menu, but some thins are coming back (and what they've got is tasty). From what I've seen it is no crap-shoot. I'd encourage anyonr who hasn't been tp try it, and anyone who has been to try it again. they are making adjustments, but it's a very new place, and I think that is to be expected. Let's be reasonable. Bottom line is that we have some great food and great beer onH Street. We've been asking for that for a while...no?
after going through all the replies to this post, i think it might be worth the trek to at least show my support, AND get a funky arsed beer from one of them YUR-A-PEE-IN countries across the pond. does anyone know if they have delirium tremens?? if so, maybe the ingestibles might not matter as much. ;oP
ok, ok, inked. i guess i should check it out before i shoot my mouth off
What I meant by my comment earlier: I'm glad that the sausage sandwich and the hamburger there are good. But that's bar food / pub grub. There's nothing wrong with that, per se -- there are times when bar food is just what you want. But initially, we all thought "Wow! H has a place that serves good food even when considered as a restaurant!" It's a bummer to see that go.
Put another way, the rave reviews from the opening suggested that one would compare Dr. GM's food to places like Cafe Belga or Sonoma. Now it's more like the natural comparison is to Finn MacCool's or the Argonaut. I don't mean that as deprecation towards anybody's food, so please please don't take it that way. I like bars, and I like bar food, and I like the food at the Argonaut (I get it often!). And I'm sure I'll eat at GMs many times (as soon as I can successfully get food there!) But I was excited about having an option with higher-end food within a short walk.
It's much more than simple bar food. Mussels require more than a grill and a deep fryer.
It's amazing to read some of these posts. Obviously few, if any, of you know much about the restaurant business. This was a SOFT OPENING! This is where they play with the menu to figure out what works, and they are still in the process. I'll bet a more is added to the menu soon as they work out logistics. Everyone there is new.
People on this sight are so quick to put all their hopes into a place, seeing it some 'Savior of H St.', but then equally quick to dismiss it if it doesn't live up to poorly formed expectations.
Relax. Give it time. Go down and enjoy a beer and some mussels.
When I was there the other night, the waiter specifically said that the change in the menu was part of a deliberate shift away from being more of a restaurant to more of a pub that serves pub food. That's what the waiter said. To which my reaction was, great, another pub that serves pub food. I can get that at half a dozen other places on the Hill. The initial buzz around Dr. Gs was all about the food - in an interesting setting, of course - with interesting beer, sure - but the exciting thing was the food. Taking the emphasis off of that just seems like a mistake to me.
I went to the Doc's again last night (3rd visit) and had an excellent time. The service was great and quick and their wait staff are very knowledgeable about the extensive beer list, which is a huge plus for me-- and impressive. I was a little disappointed with the more limited menu, but the food was still good. The fries could have been cooked a bit longer and seemed extra greasy for some reason, but my veggie sandwich was DELICIOUS. I savored my Bink Bruin tasty brown ale, and can't wait to try the whole list. I am more than happy to help them test the menu and work out the kinks. For those of you looking for a polished restaurant, give it time, they are definitely headed there.
I've posted about my disappointment before, and I don't understand the SOFT OPENING argument. Yes, it take awhile to bring everyone up to speed. But I'm paying full price there as far as I can tell, so they are acting like they are FULLY READY to me.
To say you serve mussels and then not provide them is extremely disappointing. Its not like there are comparable restaurants across the street to go to. I'm a big boy and we're just talking one meal out of thousands for me, but I'm not going to invite more friends to the place for awhile.
I enjoy the bartenders, obviously these kitchen issues are beyond their control.
This sounds like a bate and switch to me.
yeah, kinda.
i used to own a pub in england.
turnover is high, and you have to adapt. it's one thing to have a vision in your head, and another to actually make it happen.
i too thought of it as a dissapointment, but as some folks have clearly surmised - it takes time to adjust.
hold tight, and give it a shot.
i will.
check it out and give the owner a piece of your mind. i have a feeling he'll actually listen.
Went GM's this week for the first time and had a great experience The mussels were excellent and the waitstaff were friendly and efficient. The ambiance is unique and quite fun (Live Grateful Dead was the featured band throughout our visit--can you beat that?). Relax on the menu options and enjoy some mussels served on H--unless of course your preference is to maintain the status quo with fried poultry options exclusively on H.
Linden Place Dweller
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