Where is The Yum?

It's been a long while since I've recently posted, and though I have been meaning to write new reviews, there have been some things that have come up in the last few months that have made it difficult.

One such situation was that my wife and I decided to tighten up our finances.  Why does this affect the blog?  Well, because eating out a lot, as many know, requires money.  So when we tightened up, we didn't go out as much.  Thus creating less to write about.

Another situation was the addition of the examiner.com restaurant review.  This required a different style of writing, and required for a more intense review of the restaurant.  No longer could I review a dish or two from one restaurant, but I needed to have more experiences at the restaurant before it was fair to truly review it.  This required more visits to the same restaurant, becoming more complicated per the issue listed before.  In addition, it doubled the amount of blogging I was doing, and required more eating out, because I didn't want to duplicate The Yum Report and my review on examiner.com.

And the last item that really took up a lot of time, was the decision to move forward with creating a nano brewery.  Some may already know this, but I have decided to start up Low Brau, which will be DC's first nano brewery, and will focus on German inspired beers.  This has taken up a lot of time, and has really diverted a lot of my writing time.

So what does this mean for The Yum?  I'm not totally sure.  I haven't decided if The Yum should be used in a different way, for events or similar things, or if it should just go away.  I do know that since examiner.com pays on a per view basis, it would be in my best interest to continue adding material there first, rather than on this blog when it comes to restaurants and food.  Though, examiner.com is more locally focused, so I could still add reviews out of the area.  Anyway, we'll see.

First and foremost though, I will be focusing most of my attention on Low Brau.  Once that gets moving, who knows what will happen.  So feel free to continue to follow TheYumReport, as you never know what may come down the road.

Thanks again for reading what I have written and making the time on The Yum an enjoyable one.

Steven Sorrell

If you are interested in my other projects, here are some links to them:

www.lowbraudc.com
http://www.examiner.com/dc-in-washington-dc/steven-sorrell

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Brassiere Les Halles, New York, New York

Brasserie Les Halles
15 John Street (off Broadway)
New York, NY 10038

tel. 212.285.8585
web.  http://www.leshalles.net/
twitter.  http://www.twitter.com/leshallesdt/

Interior

Every so often, a chef transcends the culinary world, and starts to take on another life in a somewhat different direction.  Such is the case with Anthony Bourdain, Les Halles is still considered the home base for the chef, however he may not have nearly the role there he once had.  Being a fan of "No Reservations" when the opportunity arose that we could stop in and try it out, you know it was full steam ahead. 

The exterior was covered with scaffolding from construction.  Since we were starving at this point, didn't try to find out why, rather ducking in through the opening and scampering quickly inside.  The interiors are oddly what I was expecting.  With hexagon mosiacs covering the floor, old wood trim and bar, tin tiles covering the ceiling, and old wrought light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.  The bar area is separated from part of the dining area with a wall that has multiple openings. The restaurant has an old city type of feel to it, maybe even best described as a run in between the Old Worlds of Paris and New York City. 

Escargots

Due to the excitement of one of my dining partners, we went with the escargots as an appetizer.  Each snail is drowning in a puddle of garlic butter.  The garlic butter was so strong, honestly, I could have been eating anything at that point and not even cared.  Luckily, I love garlic as much as I do, and was quickly trying to sop up more goodness with the bread at the table.

Sandwich de Poulet

Steak, Frites, Salade

The menu has a range of items, beef being the most dominate amongst the many meat dishes.  The Sandwich de Poulet is a roasted chicken, nicely toasted bagette (complete with slight char) and a fresh herb mayo.  Filling up the remainder of the plate is a large helping of frites and a mesclun salad.  The Steak, Frites, Salade seems to be a favorited dish, and comes as named.  The beer menu is pretty decent, with a strong showing of European beers and the wine list is stout.

Planche de Grillades (for one)

Not wanting to miss out on a true full experience, I decided to go all out.  When I saw the Planche de Grillades, with it's long list of meats, I couldn't stop myself.  When I read thick cut bacon, I sorta assumed it would be a couple of crispy strips of bacon.  I was not expecting better than an inch thick of bacon complete with diamond grill marks.  The grilling helped carmelize the fat.  The lamb chop was cooked to perfection, and I quickly found myself gnawing on the bone, tongue searching for another morsel.  The hanger steak was nicely tender with plenty of juiciness.  The merguez was something I wasn't sure of at first, but it had plenty of spice and an almost supple texture, overthrowing any apprehension I may have had in the beginning.  I'm not sure what the other sausage was, but it didn't matter by now, it went down easy too.  The provencal dressing was a delight and only intensified the tastiness, I'm sure it was concocted with oil and some great herbs.  The grilled tomatoes helped take a little bit of the guilt away, and the frites were crispy and more than capable of hanging out with this crowd.

All Finished

Needless to say, this dish did not last long.  We did try a few of the desserts, though at this point, our camera was too full.  One of the desserts was supposed to be a take on the American Apple Pie, however they must have run out of apples, as this was made with pineapple, even the servers were confused.

Final Verdict:  The service was pretty spot on, and had no complaints from us.  Apparently, you can order meat through the butcher, adding some additional cool factor to the place.  The atmosphere was bustling with activity till it started getting a little late.  With everything being so rich and flavorful, the desserts were the weakest point, made even more mystifying by the mistake of the pineapple in the apple pie.  If you have the opportunity to stop in, definitely take the time to check it out, highly recommended.  Not sure how much influence Anthony still has, this is pretty good.

4 out of 5 Yums

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Yum Quicky - Cafe Istanbul, Washington, DC

Cafe Istanbul
2001 L Street NW
Suite 100
Washington, DC 20036

tel. 202.331.2055

Doner Kabob

Sometimes, wandering aimlessly for lunch allows you to find a place that you hadn't discovered before.  Such is the case for Cafe Istanbul.  When I saw the front sign advertising Doner Kabob, I decided I had to check it out.

The menu covers a large variety of Turkish inspired kabobs, and other items to be added.  If for some reason, this isn't your thing, they do have pizza and sandwiches, though why would you go into a place called Cafe Istanbul for pizza?  Depending on what you order, you have an unlimited selection choice at the topping bar, which is pretty cool.

The Doner was very thinly sliced and covered with a spicy tomato based sauce.  The meat it laid ontop a huge bed of rice, and grilled veggies (mostly onions and squash) accompanies it.  Adjacent is a small pile of lettuce with tomatoes and green peppers.  At the topping bar, I decided to do spicy chickpeas, spicy onions (these were kicking), and a scoop full of humus.  Sadly, they were out of tahini.  There were many more options, but I didn't want to over do it.  Yogurt comes standard, so didn't have to add more. 

To my surprise, there was also bread included, seems as if it was some sort of version of pita, however very far from flat.  Other than the toppings, there weren't any overbearing flavors here, and to me, the toppings is what sold me on it.  One thing that somewhat disappointed me, was when I watched my plate head into the microwave for a quick warming.  Sad times.  Not to shabby though, and much better than initially expected.

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Yum Crawl - Chinatown - 5/20

So, the votes are in, and we will be hitting up Chinatown for this go around.  This works out great, as it is very convenient to the metro, and there are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance. 

We will meet at 5:30pm at Redline (http://www.dcredline.com/), as it has a decent sized bar area to start.  After one drink, about 6:00pm, we will move on.  Next location is dependent on the group. 

There will be constant Twitter updates (www.twitter.com/theyumreport), with the #yumcrawl threading.  So, you can follow there, or on TheYumReport Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/lQAu3N). 

Good times ahead, hope to see you there!

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Yum Quicky - Port of Piraeus, Washington, DC

Port of Piraeus
Lafayette Center
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

tel.  202.833.3338
web.  http://portofp.com/

Lafayette Center Club

Port of Piraeus is a deli lunch spot, with a heavy influence on the Greek side of things.  One thing deli's all should have, are club sandwiches.  POP has three different types, the Lafayette Center is considered their more standard one, although still containing a bit of a twist.

The toast is a bit stiffer than is desired, made me wonder if they had toasted some left over stale bread.  Russian dressing and cole slaw make this for a messy experience, as neither of these are absorbed by the bread.  They do provide some kick to the tastebuds, however maybe a little overpowering, as I really can't remember much else (well, other than the bread).  Though, a small peak inside doesn't reveal and over abundance of meat.

I picked up a bag of chips to go with this, only to realize that it came with kettle chips.  Feel as if that should be mentioned at some point.  The chips do make the value of the sandwich go up, as it leans more to the pricier side of sandwiches. 

It's a decent sandwich, but if you are looking for a Club, keep on walking as there are plenty that are much better.

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Yum Crawl - 5/20

So due to popular demand, and because it's starting to get nice out, we are ready to do our next Yum Crawl.  So fill out the poll, and the decision will be made on Thursday, May 19th. 

Remember, the idea of the crawl is to gain exposure to a variety of different locations.  We will grab a drink and move on, trying to take advantage of as many happy hours as possible.  At some point, food may be ordered.  A starting point will be selected, and then from there on out, it just flows.  The most important part of course, is that we have fun!

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Yum Quicky - Black Rooster Pub, Washington, DC

The Black Rooster Pub
1919 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

tel. 202.659.4431
web.  http://www.blackroosterpub.com/
twitter.  http://www.twitter.com/blackroosterpub/

Appetizer 3-Way w/ Cheese Fries, Chicken Tenders, & Calamari

On occassion, when things just get crazy in the office, we take a nice break and head to The Black Rooster Pub (we just call it the Rooster) for lunch.  The brick facade stands out against the rest of the concrete building it resides in.  This stark contrast and the Rooster had at one time to battle to remain here, as the PeaceCorps (the tenant in the concrete portion) wanted to take over (read DCist's article here: http://bit.ly/4eHjSY).  Luckily, the Rooster won that battle, and continue it's long run from 1970. 

The interior truly follows the pub decorum, with plenty of British imported wood paneling, large wooden bar, and stained glass in addition to the variety of sports and random wall mounted memorabilia.  The front dining area is your brightest with natural light and most open, while heading further back becomes more cozy and tight.  The bar has a decent beer list and should be able to handle your thirst.

The menu covers your basic bar foods, lots of fried goodies, burgers, sandwiches, with a decent list of entrees and standard British fare thrown in, as well as daily blue plate specials.  One of the favorites (at least for me) is the Appetizer 3-Way.  This is a "create your own" appetizer, with a large portion of appetizers as your selections.  Now, another trick you can do, is ask for your 3-Way as a two way.  Yeah, sounds odd, but there is a good reason.  The Rooster will supplement your two apps so that you still receive the same amount of food.  For example, you get an extra chicken tender than you would if you ordered the 3-Way. 

One thing is for certain, whichever you choose, you will leave heading straight for a food coma, but it feels so good...

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