The New York Times offers a review of Grayz, a NYC lounge, and discusses the recent growth in non-restaurants serving restaurant food. I thought this might be of interest to those who have visited Dr. Granville's, and paid a compliment on the new restaurant only to be thanked, but told it is a bar, not a restaurant. From the article:
"She said everything was business as usual, but she took pains to define Grayz as a cocktail lounge with some nibbles."
followed by an explanation of the food service offered and the author's appraisal:
"In my book that’s dinner. And Grayz’s reluctance to call it that — or to cast itself as a full-scale restaurant — opens a window into the befuddled and befuddling soul of the place."
33 comments:
When last I was in Montreal, they have many places called RestoBars. I think its as good a name as anything for bars that serve good food.
I wish Dr. Granville's would recognize that a lot of people come for the food. The place really needs to set up a system for getting a table. Right now, the customers practically have to duke it out to claim a table. I won't go on a Friday or Saturday night anymore for that reason. Even just a chalkboard where people put their names in the order they arrived would work.
developments on H street. most of us are aware of these (except for the library - which will be up 'for auction' in 2008), but take a look.
http://www.anc6a.org/hottopicGreatSt.html
don't forget to click on the pictorial in the upper right hand corner!
Wow, it's nice to see that a new improved library is on the agenda.
As for Dr. Granville's I agree with Lou... GastroPub, RestoBar, whatever. I generally only go on a Monday or Tuesday because of the lack of a system to get a table. The chalk board's a great idea...no need for anything fancier. You could also leave the downstairs as free seating and reserve the upstairs for people who are there to eat.
I agree with Rob. Dr. GM needs to start some type of system to make seating more fair. I've seen people come in, sit at the bar having (buying) drinks only to have someone walk in the door and grab a table and have to argue with people at the bar who had been waiting longest. It's a pretty f'd up system if you ask me. As with Rob, we too only go early in the week. I don't even try to go on weekends anymore.
Was suggesting Granville Moore's to some other couples on the Hill(who don't have H Street on their radar screen)that we were trying to arrange dinner with. The system that is being described is not for me. Thanks for the information.
It depends on when you go. If you go a bit early, or possibly a bit late (I would suggest a bit early) you probably won't have much of a problem getting table. That has, at least, been my experience. As we have more restaurants opening up we'll have more options if one place is slammed on a particular night. Napa 1015 (opening sometime next week) will be a short two blocks away and I've heard rumblings of new and improved food offerings on the horizon. Expect a spring opening from Sticky Rice, which is located just down the street from Dr. Granville's.
i dig what you're saying, inked.
but...
it's not like, 'hey, let's go to the doctah's, but if it's busy, let's eat sushi....'
when i want thai, and it's not working, i don't go for mexican food.
although your point is well taken. at this point, beggars can't be choosers.
if the doctah's AND sticky rice is full, they can wander a few more blocks and get jamaican...
sounds like a great night out.
i can work with that, but i bet most folks will hit yet a few more blocks down and go to "chinatown" where the options and delivery are a bit more catered to folks that actually plan a night out.
for now, it's the hipsters and the funksters that will just pick whatever option is available, methinks.
that doesn't lend itself to what appears to be a willing and solid local customer base.
but maybe that's what is NOT needed at this point.
let's ask the laymaster what he thinks....
or better yet, joe e.
I'm not suggesting they are totally fungible. My point is that we're getting more stuff opening up close by so it won't just be like "Let's go to one of only two decent restaurants on H Street." Granville Moore's will continue to draw big crowds, but not because it's pretty much the only place around there to sit down and eat dinner. But seriously, if the wait is an hour at Bistro Du Coin, I will go to Thaiphoon.
mmmmm... maybe so.
i just checked out sticky rice's new menu (i think it's new - is this the same sticky rice?).
http://www.ilovestickyrice.com/6-2-panel-summer.pdf
There are a couple issues. One is how the restaurant is managed/run vs. the expectations of patrons vs. expectations of the owners.
People want a good experience. That's what's being touted. All aspects of the experience matter.
My gf and I touted GM to a couple we know (another prominent blogger) and we all went there and spent a lot of money for a not very good experience.
The waitress was over her head, didn't provide any of the special glasses, and the food was just ok.
It does make me limit the likelihood of going back.
The other issue is what to do when restaurants are full and there are limited options.
It's the difference between a "restaurant district" i.e. Bethesda or as Barracks Row is developing into its next phase, vs. a place with some restaurants.
H St. isn't a restaurant district yet. But it's a matter about it's primary segments at this point being early adopters and innovators (to use the typology of the diffusion of innovation by Rogers) so it's probably ok.
Myself, I am frequently disappointed eating out to the point that I am eating at home a lot more.
I.e., I ate at Sticky Fingers in Richmond and while the sushi was excellent, the rest of our meal was average. So I am not likely to try out the place on H Street.
The Sticky Rice opening on H is associate with the one in Richmond, so you can expect a similar menu.
Also, look for changes coming soon to the Argonaut. Beyond the new booth/table and bar set-up (to which they are transitioning now) you can expect a new menu (with a focus on local and organic food, but they will also be keeping a short pub menu made up of favorites that they will serve even when the regular kitchen "closes"), and a big jump in the beer and wine list. Look for a focus on lesser known domestic and organic bottled beers and changes to the draft line-up (Booty beer is staying). I'm told they are also trying to increase the appeal to families with children.
Richard - it's called Sticky Rice not Sticky Fingers so maybe you didn't even go to the right restaurant.I think you should probably try the place out before giving another H street establishment a lack luster rating.
Sticky Fingers is a vegan bakery in Columbia Heights, Richard is definitely not the first to screw up the two names. Speaking of Sticky Fingers, someone told me once that one of the women who runs it lives in Trinidad.
speaking of Sticky Rice, does anyone know what the hang-up with their opening has been? If it's spring of '08 that's a whole year later than was originally announced.
my friends are going to start calling me "the boy who called wolf" if I give out any more Sticky Rice opening updates...
inked,
did you already cover what's going to be opening next to PNC Bank near the intersection of 8th & H? It appeared to be near finished when I peered through the wood encasement that covers it up this morning.
Any word on opening dates for Tropicana? (sp?)
ps: sorry to all for my multi-post long rant a few threads ago (i will force myself to be less wordy from here on out)
Richard touched on an important point I think. Customer satisfaction is expectations minus reality. I think people just expect that they don't have to argue over getting a table when they go out to have a meal. And so the reality of the experience doesn't match the expectations.
Inked talks about people substituting one place for another...I agree, too...when you're hungry you go where there's not as long of a wait. But the key is you know how long your wait is and that when your turn comes up you're going to get your table so you can relax at the bar, not hover so you can jump into an empty seat seconds after it opens up. That's the problem that needs to get cleared up, not the long waits. Hopefully they'll be crowded for years to come as a reward for sticking their necks out and giving us a great place to go to within walking distance.
Sticky Rice, they had some permitting issue. They are shooting for February.
I have no idea what is going in next to PNC.
It sounds like Granville's, by billing itself a BAR not a resturant, IS trying to manage expectations. Maybe it's the neighborhood, so hungry for resturants, that just has to adjust to duking it out for tables at a bar that servies food...
Rob, I couldn't agree more with your last posting:
"But the key is you know how long your wait is and that when your turn comes up you're going to get your table so you can relax at the bar, not hover so you can jump into an empty seat seconds after it opens up. That's the problem that needs to get cleared up, not the long waits."
THIS is my problem with GM and why I won't go anymore on the weekend between 7-9. I don't mind waiting an hour or more if I know my table is guaranteed, but the way is now is cut-throat - first one to the table gets it. This isn't going to get it for very long as you begin to loose valuable newcomers who are coming to GM as their destination (regardless of whatever else is available or not in the area).
Does the owner/manager of GM read this blog? I sure hope so because I'd like to see them last, but I'm concerned about the current seating system - or lack thereof.
RG
Don't forget that Naby's is only 1/2 block away from GM. Until they get a liquor license, A Ting will do...
Naby's is unappealing to me personally with all its florescent lighting, just looks like any other fast food restaurant to me.
If Dr. Granville's if packed and they can't gaurantee me a seat after a lengthy wait because someone else can grab it before me, fortunately I can walk back home, passing by Naby's, and go eat in my florescent lit kitchen.
I was thinking of the Rolling Stones, not the bakery in Columbia Heights. and yes, I ate in the Sticky Rice on W. Main Street in Richmond. And no, I don't judge each place separately, but make inferences based on experiences in different locations. So if I eat in a Bennigans, I expect similar experiences, food, etc., in other locations run by the same company. (E.g. Clydes of Georgetown isn't much different than Clydes of Gallery Place or Old Ebbitt Grill.)
Sure chefs make a difference, but it starts with the recipes and the other processes, which are likely to be the same, otherwise why bother to call it Sticky Rice, use the same logo, etc.
Re this and revitalization generally, you know the line that insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
By that I am not saying that the Sticky Rice is doomed, I am only saying that based on my experience _in Richmond_ I can use my going out time more profitably by going somewhere else. That's me. Not you. Speaking of music, as Bad Religion says "do what you want."
Then again, many years ago, someone said that Caribbean Best had great food. So I tried it, twice (after once walking out when no one came to the counter after 5 minutes), and was disappointed. And never went back.
Maybe I just have high expectations.
Anonymous 12:31 I take your point that they're not claiming to be a restaurant...I think they're a pub or a gastropub or something like that...so they're not claiming to offer guaranteed seats.
My suggestion to them (which they're free to ignore since they're the ones doing all the hard work ;-) is that nonetheless, some portion of their potential customers would like less chaos when it comes to seating. Businesses that ask their customers to adjust to them usually don't last as long as business that adjust to their customers...especially once competition arrives. That said, I wish them all the success in the world. It's a great place.
i like steekee rice, but...
ees a leetle steekee.
maybe they give fake name for store, like 'good rice' and people's will come to eat foods, or if eet ees bizee, they move to next great eatery on the h street.
what is the good one by the autmobile zoning store?
yes! hores and dicks. this one is good, but they missing schlitz beer.
one days, h street will be greatest.
i feels it in the veins of my appendages!
Odd that GM doesn't consider itself a restaurant. When I was there on a Friday night recently I'd say EVERYONE was having dinner. They seem to have appetizers and entrees like most restaurants. Ironically, I told my friend that I thought the Argonaut was a better restaurant, because the menu seems to fit the feel of the space better. GM had an expensive fois gras appetizer special. If I'm spending money for fancy food I don't want to look at walls covered in broken and unfinished plaster. I'm kinda over the whole "ghetto chic" thing I guess. As I said that night, just because a business is on H Street it doesn't need to look like the ghetto.
Tom, the look of the place doesn't bother me nearly as much as the way they seat/treat their customers. They are packing them in for the food, why don't they want to be called a "restaurant". Unfortunate thing the other night... a couple came in and went to the only table available which seated 5. The waitress (or would she be a "bar maid") actually asked them to sit at the bar since they were a small party. It then happened again to a party of three. When a third couple came in as a four topper was leaving, the third couple went straight for the empty table leaving five people that came into the "restaurant" earlier sitting at the bar. Now that's just not write.
And how many of you out there have ever been to a bar that sells really good fois gras?
Don't people complain to someone in the bar/restaurant? Is this behaviour acceptable to the patrons? This sounds like a bizarre way to run a business.
why don't ya'll be good neighborhood patrons and not just go to GM's on a Friday or Saturday. Lorissa behind the bar is a beer expert eager to make a recommendation to suit your taste on Mondays, Thursdays as well as Fri and Sat. As for the seating issues..i'll be sure to bring it to their attention. I, for one, want to see this place not just survive but thrive.
7th & h - How do you expect GM to surive and thrive if you ask the neighborhood patrons to stay away on Fri. & Sat. night? We're going to be the first hurdle to determine its death or survival and if we're having problems with getting a seat we can simply walk back home. Do you think if those who drive to GM as a distination and have the same level of difficulty competing for a seat, that they will every come back? The restaurant is very popular, please, please talk to the manager, if you have his ear, and try to work out a solution to the seating problems so that the place will thrive. Thanks.
I don't think 7th & H was suggesting that neighborhood residents stay away on Friday & Saturday, just that they be sure to also check out the place on nights that patrons who don't live nearby might be less likely to make the trip.
thanks, inked...that was precisely my point. The atmosphere on a Mon-Thurs night is much more laid back and relaxed. I think GMs is simply enduring some of the growing pains associated with near-instant popularity. I'll make them aware of patrons' concerns as to the seating situation on the weekends. Thanks to all for your constructive comments. Very helpful!
Thanks 7th & H for clarifying. I clearly see now where you say don't "just" go on Fri.& Sat - not "don't go." I have been many times during the week and you are right, it is much slower/laid back during the week. I did witness this same "competition" for a seat last Sunday night at 6:30 pm as the place slowly filled to capacity (downstairs). This was the same night we witnessed a server send a couple who tried to sit at a 5-topper back to the bar, only to have another couple come in behind them and grab our table as we were getting up. The first couple was left to sit at the bar. I'm very excited about the populatrity of GM, but there is definately a seating problem that seems could easily be solved by either reservations or some type of more formal list. Thanks for passing this along. I look forward to going many more times - including the occasional Fri. & Sat. nights.
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