James T.'s Profile

It's a rare restaurant that deserves five stars, but Yelp isn't the Michelin guide, and I think everything should be evaluated for what it is.

Just back from my first visit to The Hamilton, and for what it is -- a big (and I mean BIG) restaurant with plenty of space to host you and your friends -- how can you beat it? It's got a great location. It's nice inside - nice woodwork, clean without being sterile, efficient without being cookie cutter corporate. Despite being large, it's got a lot of personality. Each of the areas we walked through had their own atmosphere. Almost like a handful of little restaurants within a restaurant. It's remarkable to be somewhere this big that isn't (or doesn't feel like) the Cheesecake Factory.

The menu is extensive. Normally that puts me off. For some reason, at The Hamilton, it didn't. The options are not simply many, they are also interesting. We ordered from across the board: sushi appetizer, BBQ brisket sandwich, real entrees. Everything was well prepared and portioned, and the prices are shockingly reasonable for a nice place at a downtown location.

Finally, our server was beyond reproach. I wish I had gotten her name so I could give her props here, but she was friendly, knowledgable (which is useful when dealing with a gigantic menu), and efficient, without hovering. And even quick with a joke!

All in all it's a fine addition to downtown. It's not haute cuisine, but it almost feels like it, and at a common man's budget. I'll definitely be back.

I want to preface this review by noting that we went for one day. Maybe the experience is totally different if you're camping. But it is, after all, a music festival, so I think it's fair to evaluate it on the basis of the actual "music festival" part and not the all-night rave party afterwards. But having been to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival a dozen times and Austin City Limits a couple, as well as a few  camping festivals, I have to say I was pretty stunned by the stark contrast. Those festivals are relaxed, easygoing affairs where there are few rules, lots of friendly, helpful people, basically no visible security of any kind. Coachella is exactly the opposite. My memories of the day are overwhelmingly dominated by security, lines, rules, and checkpoints.

Let's start with the rules. The list is extensive, but make sure you read them all. Because buried in there is a note about "no professional cameras." What's a pro camera? it doesn't say. I found the answer somewhere else in an FAQ. "Any camera with a removable lens is not allowed." Wait, what? You can't bring in SLR cameras. Ouch! Half the fun of these big festivals is taking pictures. At Coachella, you'll be taking them with your iPhone.  

Anyway, once you've figured out what you can safely bring without it being confiscated, you'll get to experience security. Imagine TSA, except not relaxed and laid back. Full body pat-down. Every pocket will be turned out. Every zipper unzipped. Each person got 2-3 minutes of thorough review. Which made, of course, for a lovely 45 minute wait getting though that line, one of many you will wait in throughout the day. And that was Friday at 1:30 PM. I can only imagine what it was like on Saturday.

But wait! There's more. You will wait in a line to scan your wristband. Twice. And you also need to scan your shuttle pass. There was yet another bag search and patdown before getting in. Really. The 2nd bag search was mercifully shorter, it only took about ten minutes. Then, scan your wristband again! I hope they are collecting stats on the average time to get in.

And then, finally, I was in. By that time, about an hour and a half after I had stepped off the shuttle,  I was more than ready to grab a beer and go chill out and see some music!

But... no.

Beer garden.

A beer garden? At a music festival? Are you joking?

That's right. You can't grab a ($9!!) beer and walk around the festival. If you want to drink, you will be doing it from the lovely double-walled chain-link confines of the beer gardens. Complete with heavily-guarded wristband-check-line to get into the beer garden itself and another line and inspection to get out, because we need to be absolutely sure you aren't trying to sneak a beer out to where it might be fun to drink it.

I'm not kidding about the double-walled bit, either. There are two fences around the beer gardens with a buffer zone between them, just like a maximum security prison. I guess so they can shoot anyone who tries to sneak in? Because god forbid a regular fence isn't enough to keep the zombies from rioting. Practically speaking, apart from the fact that this does make the gardens look like a prison camp, it means you can't really even stand by the fence and watch the show outside the beer garden because you can't really see out.

So hunker down at the beer garden. You and half the concert-goers, that is. Which makes for a ridiculously long wait to get a beer too, since everyone's crammed into the few beer gardens.

Let's see, what else did they manage do do exactly wrong whereas every other festival somehow gets it right? There's the portajohns. At other festivals, they are intuitively located around the perimeter of the festival grounds. Need to go? Just look around. From wherever you are, you can see one.

That tried-and-true format was rejected in favor of small, interior outposts scattered sparsely, and the telltale blue portajohn is invisible from outside these little enclosures. And not in the beer gardens, either. Definitely not. Because people drinking beer don't need to use the bathroom.

No water stations that I saw, either. Thirsty? Shell out. Lost? No "you are here" posters. No flyers with a map & stage list.

At the end of the day, if you choose to go to Coachella, you better really love the bands that are playing. I mean every last one of them. Because you really have to work for it. If you don't drink, I suppose these complaints would matter less, but I think even non-drinkers would prefer not to be treated like criminals when they pay $300 for a concert ticket.

There were good things, and overall we had a good time. The artwork, the funky fun installations, and the sound was good. But that's not unique to Coachella.  I had a good time because of the people I was with and the people I met, in spite of the construct, not because of it. It's just so much easier and better when it seems like the organizers actually want you to have fun.

I'm not going to repeat the praise that other fans have detailed here. It's just the best vet I've been to in the DC area. I did want to comment on the criticisms, though.

One seems to be their price. I can't help but wondering of those who find SS to be pricey have ever been to another vet in the DC area? Try getting out of Friendship for less than $300 for, well, pretty much anything. An emergency visit there will probably cost you $750 after they pressure you into all those tests that you REALLY should do if you're not a bad person before you can say "what?" Now, Friendship certainly is at the top of the chercher pile. But SS's pricing is on the average-to-slightly-low side for the area, while their quality of service is among the best.

Most routine visits I've had at SS are under $100 which is, frankly, a miracle around here. They have also been very accommodating for appointments on short notice, which I certainly do not expect, and that saves hundreds over an unscheduled (e.g. emergency) visit to Friendship or another emergency facility.

I think that they do charge an initial examination fee for any new clients. Perhaps this is what people are reacting to? This is also not unusual, nor did I find it excessive at the time.

The other criticism that I read is the shabbiness of the waiting area and exam rooms. Personally, I find this wonderful. The thing that always irked me so much about Friendship was shelling out four figures at a time while watching frequent renovations of their facility over the decades. If you prefer that your animal care  dollar go towards new tile, then Friendship is your place! Personally, I would rather that the money went towards salaries of the care providers than Ethan Allen furniture in the waiting room.

Anyway - I've had nothing but wonderful experiences there in the almost 3 years we've been taking our 2 dogs and 2 cats there.

There are a lot of options for Chinese in Silver Spring (like everywhere else in the civilized world). Dragon City is at the top of its game for the niche it fills: big, cheap, and fast. This place has settled in as a pretty regular order-in place at my office, and it's always been consistent. And at around $20 for three lunch specials, hard to beat on price.

There's not a lot else to say about it, except they get extra points for almost always delivering ridiculously fast (as in, less than 20 minutes is typical), and for remembering us when we order so they're telling me what we're having half the time. Nice.

Wow - the last time I was here, Brighter Days had nothing but well-deserved high marks. Now I see that Yelp has filtered nearly all of their good reviews (23 total? really?), instead leaving only four reviews, one of them a one-star review from someone who has was never a customer?

It's too bad that their overall grade is so tainted by a single review from someone who never even used their service. My wife and I have used Brighter Days for a long time, I think well into our 3rd year now. We have nothing but praise for every single person who's taken care of our dogs. Sara, our present walker, is fantastic. When John who walked our two dogs for the first year left us, we were sad, because he was great, but Sara's proved to be just as capable. A couple other people, Devin and Orion, have subbed for her now and then, and everyone's always been 100% reliable, honest, and capable.

Our beasts are difficult too.. that is, bad walkers, and one of them likes to destroy stuff at home which Sara discovers sometimes. She never complains, always let us know about problems, and has always gone above and beyond the call of duty with, er, unexpected mess-cleaning.

So here's a vote from a very happy customer for Brighter Days. If you're looking for a good dog walking service in DC I recommend them highly.

Ye Olde Wheel Shoppe is one of those unique kinds of businesses where you are willing to accept some rough edges in their style, because of the single overwhelming "pro."

The fact is, these guys do business exactly the same way they did 15 years ago when I first went there... and probably a lot longer. They don't have a web site, may be hard to reach or communicate with on the phone, and they are not particularly convenient (unless you live in Elkridge).

But they fix wheels. And they fix them well. If you have a car with expensive, aluminum alloy wheels and live in this area, you will need them sooner or later. If not every year, after surviving the DC winter pothole season. For around a hundred bucks, they can take a dented, warped, gouged, or otherwise damaged wheel and make it like new. This may not sound cheap, but given that these wheels are typically $500 or more to replace, it's a bargain. I am sure they repair cheap steel wheels too, but you can do that yourself with a sledgehammer.

They also provide other services, such as mounting, balancing and used/new tire sales. If you just need to get a tire mounted or a wheel balanced, you can usually just drive right up there and they will do it on the spot. While their less-is-more approach to communication might be offputting to people accustomed to emails, web sites and 24-hour appointment scheduling, it's fantastic for those who appreciate simplicity and good quality work.

Elsewhere on the internet, there are a few reviews complaining about the difficulty in dealing with Ye Olde Wheel Shoppe. I've never had any problems, personally. You drive up, they take care of you. It will take them a week or two to fix a bent wheel, but when you come to pick it up, it's always done right. I think the negatives have more to do with expectations than anything else.  These guys do great work in a very niche service area -  and that's what matters most.

Thaitanic II is one of the most recent additions to Columbia Heights' growing restaurant scene. It's also among the best. After the initial flurry of openings in 2007-2008 with Red Rocks, Pete's, The Heights, and Commonwealth, we've seen few new eateries coming to the neighborhood of any particular note. While fast food and simple fare has it's place, what we really lack is a good variety of sit-down places.

I love Thai food and until Thatanic II opened, you could barely get delivery around here. Fortunately, like the Arnold Schwarzenegger sequel that shares it's name, T2 doesn't disappoint.  

Frankly, DC's never had spectacular Asian food offerings across the board. To get decent Chinese food, you don't go to Chinatown, you go to Wheaton or Alexandria. I can't even think of a Korean restaurant in DC proper, but Wheaton and Arlington have some great ones. The last time I had decent Thai food in DC was at a place in Woodley Park called Thai Room that's been gone for probably a decade.

So though I looked forward to Thaitanic II opening, it was with moderate expectations.  Since its opening, my fiancee and I have become regulars at the bar as well as the dining room. There's almost always a seat there, and the service is efficient and polite. Klong, the bartender who I believe has served us every single time we've been, is friendly, and apparently has a photographic memory. On a recent trip, we were discussing the spring rolls -which had we had before, shrimp or veggie? Klong said "you had the veggie last time." We were bowled over.

In the dozen or so times we've been there, we've tried a number of the entrees. While she is a huge fan of the Bird Nest of Fire, a spicy chicken dish served with crunchy, delicious fried kale, I've been working my way through the menu. I've found much to like. The crispy fried fish is just simple and delicious. The Nua Ta King was spicy enough to impress me, which doesn't happen much at east-coast Thai restaurants. Thatanic Star was a huge smorgasbord that I could barely finish. Actually, I haven't really been disappointed by anything I've had there.

What sets Thaitanic apart from most other Thai places I've been to in DC is their personal take on each dish. Traditional offerings are prepared with a memorable flair. The presentation is always interesting and attractive as well. It's a step up from the standard in every way, but the prices remain reasonable.

Thaitanic II is a tremendous asset to the neighborhood. And it's good enough to be worth making a trip from outside the 'hood as well.

Is Columbia Heights ready for its first wine bar? You're damn right it is. Ever since the dramatic transformation centered around DCUSA, I've been anxiously waiting for things to start happening outside the mall. Red Rocks was the pioneer- they opened up on the otherwise commercially desolate corner of 11th and Park Road, a little bit off the beaten path. I'm a huge fan of Red Rock - I practically lived there for the six months after they opened. But since then, not a lot has happened up here in the Cohi north country. Sure, we got Commonwealth and some other stuff "in town." But I've been a lot more interested in seeing the small commercial storefronts on 11th Street get developed. With Room 11's opening, and at least three other restaurants/bars slated to open in the next month or two OUTSIDE of the downtown strip, it's finally starting to happen.

The indoor space is gorgeous, if small. Lots of thoughtful details make it a comfortable setting to hang out with a friend. But don't expect to get a seat when you walk in. The bar has about 8 stools total and other than that, there's one long table and a couple two-tops indoors. The capacity can't be more than 20 or so. The outdoor patio is actually a lot bigger than the inside space, though the tables are pretty widely spaced out so it doesn't look crowded even when it's at capacity. I am not sure if this was a legal restriction or they just wanted that open appearance, but they could easily have fit more tables out there.

My first trip yesterday was a fine experience. We were lucky to get a couple bar stools -- it was fairly early in the evening, but even so, the patio was full. We had a mixed aperitif plate with prosciutto, salametto and a bleu cashel cheese. They were all very good, if not the absolute best such things I've ever had.

The most striking thing, though, is the crowd. Honestly, I had no idea that there were people who showered regularly and wore things other than hoodies and black jeans in my neighborhood. I was easily the worst dressed person there, with slightly beat-up shorts, a tee-shirt (no ironic motto, just solid color, and newish and clean), and flip-flops. We're talking women in professional and/or evening attire, men in button down shirts, and very little bad facial hair. And not one single fixie chained to a parking meter in front. Until I looked down the street towards Wonderland, I almost forgot I was in my own neighborhood.

Well, I knew these people must have been hiding out somewhere, because no Wonderland denizen can afford the rent at the Allegro. But they're definitely signing leases over there. Room 11 has proved not only that there are people other than hipsters in Columbia Heights, but that they are dying for a nice place to get a drink and spend their money in the neighborhood.

Speaking of money, I think Room 11 has nailed the price point perfectly. At your typical U Street wine bar, you'd be hard pressed to get a glass for less than 8 bucks, and you can easily spend 15. At Room 11, the single most expensive glass is 10 bucks and most are between 6 and 8. Hell, even the Red Derby gets 6 bucks for a glass of wine. Hats off to you for resisting the temptation to gouge. You can easily go here with a date, have two a couple glasses of wine and a light schnack, and get out of there for 40 bucks with tip. Try that at Vinoteca. I dare you.

The 5th star gets nixed because the space is so small. In some ways this is a plus -- once you have a seat. But it's just going to be tough to get in. Reasonable prices, plus fare that's not available elsewhere in Columbia Heights are bound to make this a popular spot. Planning to meet someone here would be dicey indeed since you'll pretty much be guaranteed a wait. And during the winter, without the patio, er.... hope you brought a warm jacket because there's not much standing room inside. But once you're in, I can't imagine a cozier, nicer place to enjoy a glass of wine.

While Silver Spring is in some ways a lot better than it was a few years ago, when the personality-free "Silver Sprung" replaced mildly pleasant greenspace with a gaggle of moderately bland chain restaurants and stores, it's still got a bit of a lunch void.

On paper, you'd think there are plenty of options. And the fast-food list, e.g. Subway, Quizno's, Panera, and so on is pretty well represented, but you really can't live like that day to day without having your taste buds removed. In practice, there aren't a lot of really interesting options for a quick bite save for Negril, the great Jamaican carryout on Thayer Avenue. But one isn't always in the mood for that.

David's Cafe is out of the way, and probably known to few who work outside of the office building at 1300 Spring Street, but is a good alternative to the mostly generic fare offered in downtown Silver Spring. It's not going to change your life, but their offerings are home-cooked, the ingredients are fresh, and everything is made to order. It's your basic deli, and they also offer a daily hot special platter that is usually a winner. The lasagna which is sold every Thursday is definitely not to be missed. An array of signature sandwiches is available, and you can always have them make whatever you want, as well as two homemade soups daily.

The downside of David's is the efficiency. Sometimes you wonder, how can it possibly take so long to make a sandwich? If you show up and there are even a few people in line ahead of you, expect to wait 10 or 15 minutes before you'll be out of there. Even worse, once your turn finally comes and you have your food in hand, more often than not, there's no cashier to check you out, and you'll wait again.

It's not like they don't have enough people there, there are always 3 or 4 people working during lunch hour. The process just isn't well thought out - someone should take your order and your money up front, rather than the two-step process of order, wait, get in line to pay, wait, pay. There are no "order checks" here - you just tell someone what to do, and they start doing it.  Whatever the problem, it always seems to take much longer to get something at David's than other local delis.

But in the end, the food is good and you can always call ahead to avoid the wait.

I'm the friend that Jeff went with that time. Unlike Jeff, I have never been to Eddie Leonard's earlier than 2:30 AM or not under the influence of alcohol, so I'm not qualified to make the "daylight" review. And honestly, I think Yelp should add a scale where a reviewer rates his level of intoxication while at the restaurant being reviewed, it could be very revealing. I mean, really, Jumbo Slice on 18th Street is getting 3 1/2 stars on average? I've had that garbage while sober, it's actually life threatening. On the other hand at 3 AM it can be life saving...

But anyway, I felt it was important to add my comments. While I may have never visited Eddie Leonard sober, I've been there enough times to tell you that the fried chicken rocks. It's dirt cheap, too - you can get a 10 piece wings with fries for about 8 bucks. And we're not talking dinky little bar chicken wings, this is the whole deal - leg, wing and tip, all gloriously battered and deep fried to heart-stopping perfection.

I would like to give Eddie's five stars, but some part of me just refuses to give a gritty chinese "we-sell-everything" restaurant a five star rating. I mean, seriously, they have chinese food, korean food, fried chicken, cheesesteaks, burritos, burgers, pasta, pizza, and I think I even saw a flan on the menu. What won't these guys make? I haven't ventured far beyond the fried chicken because it's so damn good. If I ever manage to sample the rest of their pan-global menu and it turns out that Eddie Leonards does everything better than the people who speciallzes in each of those cuisines, then I'll change my rating.

But for now, four stars for kick-ass fried chicken an being open until 4 AM on weekends. And there's usually pretty good entertainment to be had watching crack deals go down on the corner while you wait for your food to be cooked.

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UPDATE 11/11/08

I had a cheesesteak. It WAS about 3:30 AM, however, this thing weighed in at over a pound and it was greasy and delicious. I could only put down half of it, even in my starved state. Recommended.