Brunch at Café Atlantico… sans Latin dim sum…

Café Atlantico
405 8^th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
202.393.0812
http://www.cafeatlantico.com/

José Andrés’ popular Café Atlantico restaurant is one that has been on my To-Do list for quite some time now, so I was very excited when Christina, Stephanie and I decided to go for their Latino dim sum brunch. Unfortunately, we went during Restaurant Week, and because of the RW promotional menu, they weren’t offering their dim sum that day. It was a sad moment.

But then we ordered Bloody Marys and got over it.

The Bloody Marys were really good… They tasted fresh, and were perfectly seasoned. If you’re normally a fan of Bloody Marys, I would recommend trying one from here.

Our server was a little strange, and though he was always around, he wasn’t very attentive.

As usual, Christina was running a little late, and because we love her, we decided to wait until she got there so we could all order together. However, our 1:30 reservation was quickly inching toward 2:30, and finally our server decided to inform us that the kitchen would be closing soon to prepare for dinner. So we had to order for her. No big deal.

We decided to order off the regular menu because we wanted a wider selection than the one offered on the RW menu.

To start, we got the guacamole, which was prepared fresh at our table. It was very good. Steph and I almost ate the entire thing before Christina got there… in an effort to hold ourselves back from inhaling the green goodness, we each ordered another Bloody Mary.

For our main courses, Stephanie ordered the duck pupusas, filled with duck confit and Chihuahua cheese, served with cabbage salad, and foie gras fondant; for Christina we ordered the Cuban burger, topped with sobrasada and fried egg; and I ordered the sobrasada sandwich, with mozzarella, grated tomato, arugula, honey alioli, and served with mixed greens.

Sadly, our server didn’t order Christina’s Cuban burger. Instead he ordered two sobrasada sandwiches, which unfortunately, none of us liked very much. We thought it was too sweet; the honey alioli was just too much. Stephanie’s duck pupusas were pretty good though. Too bad we didn’t get two of those instead.

Since we knew they were trying to get us out of there to set up for dinner, we didn’t order any dessert, and tried not to linger too much longer.

My long awaited Café Atlantico experience left me disappointed. The absence of the Latino dim sum was a disappointment, the food was a disappointment, and the service, while maybe not a complete disappointment, could have been better (he wasn’t a total airhead… at least he was nice).

Despite all this, we’re going to go back for dinner soon, and hopefully things will go a little better. Also, the three of us are planning on trying Café Atlantico’s Minibar later this year… a 30-course extravaganza, which some refer to as Cirque de Soleil for food. Mmm… I can’t wait.

See more about Minibar here…
http://cafeatlantico.com/miniBar/miniBar.htm

DC Restaurant Week: Mie N Yu

Mie N Yu
3125 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Tel: 202.333.6122
http://www.mienyu.com/

It’s a shame when a beautiful restaurant with such great potential and with which I had such high hopes for doesn’t measure up to par in terms of service and quality of food. While I understand that servers and restaurants can have their bad days, it’s rather disappointing when you feel that other diners around you seem to be getting better service than you are—or really, just any service at all.

In honor of DC's Restaurant Week, the girls and I decided to have Sunday brunch at Mie N Yu in Georgetown. I had been looking forward to dining at the aesthetically appealing restaurant with inspiration originating from Asia, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Americas. Mie N Yu consists of various dining areas, such as the Moroccan Bazaar, the Red Baroque Room, the Tibetan Dragon Room, the Turkish tent, and even a giant steel birdcage suspended from the second floor, each boasting gorgeous and vibrant décor that’s sure to send a few to “ohh” and “ahh”. If these dining rooms aren’t stunning enough, head down to the unisex restroom on the lower level, where individual stalls with tall wooden doors surround a cluster of sinks with faucets that filter water into barrels filled with pretty stones.

Mie N Yu’s menu offers an equally appealing and eclectic selection of items. The Restaurant Week brunch version included intriguing starters such as the Thai Poo Poo Grille, with Korean barbequed ribs, shrimp dumplings, beef satay, tempura vegetables, and served with a roasted pineapple sweet chili sauce; and the Smoked Salmon Bruschetta, with pastrami rubbed smoked salmon and feta cheese, and served on a toasted baguette. Some entrées included the Tandoori Chicken Kabob, with roasted garlic humus, tzatziki and apricot raisin couscous; the Peanut Chicken Salad, with grilled teriyaki chicken, toasted peanuts and Asian slaw; the Crab Hash, with sautéed blue crab meat, onions and garlic seasoned potatoes; and the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, served on sesame challah bread, with a remoulade sauce.

Unfortunately the stunning décor and diverse menu wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of service and poor quality of food. From the moment we stepped foot inside the restaurant, the staff acted as though our existence was somewhat of an inconvenience to their day. As I mentioned before, I know that servers and restaurants can have bad days, and Restaurant Week can be an especially busy time for some dining establishments, but the service that we received during our visit was extremely disappointing and left a really bad first impression of something that I thought would be wonderful. I’m not normally the type to make quick judgments so I’m not going to shun this place off all together and never return again. I’d like to give Mie N Yu another try or two before I make any solid opinions.

Katherine and Roman both wrote a letter to Oren Molovinsky, the general manager at Mie N Yu, explaining the dining experience that we had at his restaurant. David Troust, the associate general manager, replied to both, offering his sincere apologies and extending his regards with a $50 gift card to the restaurant. Below is a copy of Roman’s letter (similar to Katherine's, but a little shorter) and Mr. Troust’s reply.

***

(Roman's letter)

Mr. Molovinsky,

Three friends and I recently chose your restaurant to dine at for
restaurant week this year and I would like to share our disappointing
experience. I had heard wonderful things about the restaurant from
friends and coworkers, and I was very excited to experience it for
myself.

After the hostess lead us to our table, she stood and watched as two
friends struggled to sit in the wooden bench. Although we laughed
about it, she almost appeared annoyed. After looking over the menu, a
server came over to take our drink orders (no greeting) and I was
feeling a little under the weather, so I asked for a cup of hot tea.
The server asked what kind I wanted, and I replied asking what kind
the restaurant offered. The server replied rather rushed "anything,
what kind do you want?", and again I asked what kind the restaurant
offered. After providing me with three options, I felt as if I was
inconveniencing him.

After approximately twenty minutes of watching the hostess seat tables
and help them with their chairs with a smile, and watching the server
walk past our table without making eye contact, we began to feel
somewhat neglected, but assumed it was busy and tried to be patient.
Finally, I flagged down a manager who took our orders. After another
twenty minutes, and after we watched tables who were seated after us
and order the exact same appetizer receive their food before us, we
received our cold appetizers, minus the extra Salmon Bruschetta we
ordered off the regular menu. Again, we tried to be patient and
assumed it would be out shortly, but it never came and we decided not
to say anything.

Through the rest of the meal, the server came by once or twice and
made an attempt to be friendly, but never refilled our drinks or asked
if we needed anything, nor did the manager who took our orders. At
the end, the check was quickly dropped off, and we were charged for
the Salmon Bruschetta that we never received, and upon informing our
server of this, he simply stood there staring at the table trying to
recall if we had received it or not. Once he "believed" us, he simply
corrected the check without so much as an apology.

I would like to say that having worked in the restaurant industry for
years taught us to be patient and understanding, but this experience
was simply intolerable. After tipping 20% we tried to brush it off,
but I could not shake the disappointment. Employee after employee
providing us with mediocre, if not poor, service and then watching
others receive great service let me know the employees were not "in
the weeds", they were simply rude to us. Had I had the opportunity to
taste the food hot, or even room temperature, I would give you
feedback on that, but unfortunately I cannot.

I just wanted to share this experience with you, probably one of the
worst I've had, so that you have an idea of the kind of service some
of your patrons are receiving. Thank you for your time.

***

(Mr. Troust's response)

Roman,

First of all, I would like to thank you for choosing Mie N Yu as your
brunch destination for Restaurant Week, and for your gracious comments
concerning previous visits to the restaurant. Also, thank you for
taking the time to give us open, honest feedback regarding your dining
experience. Feedback such as this allows us to address guest
comments, and strive to create an even greater dining experience in
the future. I would like to apologize to both you, and the friends
you dined with, for the less than perfect brunch experience that you
had on Sunday.

Our host staff is fully trained to politely lead guest to their
tables, assist them with seating, present the appropriate menus to the
guests, introduce their server, and then wish them an enjoyable meal.
Even with the fast pace of Restaurant Week, we continue to focus our
staff and managers on customer service and enhancing the "guest
experience". I apologize that you perceived the tables around you
received better customer service than your party, this is certainly
not the usual treatment of guests at Mie N Yu. I assure you that this
customer service failure is being addressed with the entire host
staff, and will be utilized for training at our next host meeting this
month.

As for your server, I would also like to apolgize for the perceived
indifference that was present at your meal. After a busy long week,
our staff may have been slightly tired, but that is certainly no
excuse for the treatment that you received. In the future, I would
suggest that you request the manager come to your table, to not only
address your concerns about customer service, but to . Once the
manager's attention was focused on your table, the salmon bruschetta
issue could have also be taken care of more quickly. This email is
also being sent to the manager on duty from Sunday, so we can address
this situation in our weekly meeting.

Once again, I assure you that your brunch experience on Sunday is not
the norm for dining experiences at Mie N Yu. Because of this customer
service failure, I would like to offer you a $50 gift card to Mie N
Yu, to be used during lunch, brunch or dinner. In addition, I would
request that you contact me personally when you are ready to dine with
us again. I will be taking care of your reservation personally, to
ensure the highest level of excellence by our management and staff.
Please provide me with a current address, so I can get the gift card
sent to you as soon as possible.

Thank you again for your feedback, I look forward to hearing from you soon.

David Troust

***

I think it’s important to give restaurants feedback… both positive and negative. In our case, it happened to be negative. The managers and owners deserve to know what’s going on in their dining room; and feedback from diners enables them to improve on areas that may need a little help. I’m looking forward to our next visit, and I have high hopes that our next experience will be a few steps up from the last.

restaurants, Washington, DC, Asian fusion, Tasting Journal

Sunday Brunch at Jackie's

Jackie’s Restaurant
8081 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: 301.565.9700
http://www.jackiesrestaurant.com/

In small quiet corner not too far from the bustling streets of downtown Silver Spring there is a colorful little restaurant called Jackie’s. What was once an old auto garage is now a super groovy restaurant with chic décor reminiscent of the 1960s.

Last week the girls and I decided to have brunch at Jackie Greenbaum’s popular hot spot. We arrived early to a nearly empty dining room. Once we were seated we sat back and admired the vibrant colors and eclectic shapes and textures that adorned all four walls and everything in between.

Although the brunch menu was limited, I still had trouble deciding what to order. Katherine, Kim and Roman all ordered crispy fried chicken served with biscuits, on top of gravy. After a few more minutes, I decided to order the bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon. And of course, we ordered a few sides of home fries as well.

After about half and hour of gossiping, we started to wonder why our food was taking so long. Our server walked by as we were looking around the room to see if any other tables had gotten their food yet. He mumbled something that sounded like “Your food is coming… frying the chicken…”. So I guess the crispy fried chicken was the hold up.

Finally just as we were on the verge of starvation our dishes arrived. The girls’ chicken looked great and tasted delicious. The home fries were perfect except for that there could have been a little more. My bagel arrived in a lovely presentation, embellished with red onion, parsley and capers. I thought it was a bit too chewy, but other than that it tasted fine.

Although Kim was pining for a scone when we first arrived, we ended up opting out for dessert after our meal.

Jackie’s has been quite a hit since it first opened a couple years ago. I can see why… despite the meal delay, the great atmosphere and tasty food is a surefire recipe for success.

restaurants, brunch, Silver Spring, MD, Tasting Journal

Eggspecation
923 Ellsworth Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.585.1700
http://www.eggspectations.com/

Open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 10:00pm;
Saturday, 7:00 am to 10:00 pm;
Sunday, 7:00 am to 8:00 pm

I'm snoozing away Sunday morning when all of a sudden my phone rings. It's Kim. She wants to do brunch. "Do we have to right now?" I ask. "Yes we have to right now," she replies. "I'll be there in 45 minutes to scoop you up." Damn. I'm reluctant, but the thought of food did seem rather appealing, so I pulled myself up and out of bed…

Destination: Eggspectation. Kim, Roman and I met up with Greg at the cute and colorful establishment in downtown Silver Spring. One can't be fooled by the type of food it specializes in. If you like eggs, then this certainly might be a good match, as its presence dominates a good portion of the menu.

At just a glance I noticed interesting items such as the Parisienne Burger, which consisted of ground beef topped with gruyere cheese, boiled egg slices, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions; the Egg-Chilada, which was comprised of a three egg omelet with jalapeno peppers and three cheeses, topped with salsa, and served with grilled potatoes and fresh fruit; and the Bagel Dore, two bagel slices dipped in egg batter, grilled, and topped with bananas and strawberries, served with yogurt and honey.

The menu boasts a list of signature entrées including the Uneggspected, a dish offering a 6oz. sirloin steak and two eggs prepared as you desire, and served with grilled potatoes, fresh fruit, and toast.

If you’re not into eggs, there’s no need to fret. The menu also offers plenty of dishes minus the whites and yokes. Classics such as Chicken Parmigiana, Chicken Piccata, and Filet Mignon are available, in addition to a variety of pasta dishes as well.

Expect to wait if you arrive on a Sunday. The service is a bit slow, but that’s to be expected considering brunch is their prime time. Unfortunately, despite the long wait (for our table as well as our meals), the food is only satisfactory. However, with such an extensive menu and colorful atmosphere, this is can be a great family destination for brunch, as well as dinner before a movie.

restaurants, food, eggs, brunch, Silver Spring, MD, Tasting Journal