Ping Pong Dim Sum

OVERALL: 4 Stars

Whoa! Dim sum brunch sounds a litte off the wall at first, but all the lovely little plates brought a lovely little piece of brunch with them to form a deliciously filling morning. Only 2 of our group had eaten Dim Sum before, but as soon as the waitress said, "its like Chinese tapas"... OOOOHHHHhhhh. Now i got it.

Food Quality: 4 Stars -- If you are going for low card, this is probably not the place for you. Almost every dish was either wrapped in flaky pastry dough or thin rice based dough. All the dishes were tasty though some tended toward the bland side. A dipping sauce was brought with each plate, so we started collecting them in a row down the table, using them for other stuff. My favorite was the baked beef and spinach dim sum. I would skip the chive dim sum, and go for the honey chicken instead. There are a couple of salads on the menu, but sorry! we stuck to the fattening stuff. 

Mimosa/Champagne Quality: 5 Stars -- when the waitress shows up double fisting bottles of champagne, its a good sign. Followed by mini carafes of 5 different juices, we were satisfied. Lychee, passion fruit, mango, and strawberry and regular OJ were constantly refilled. The mimosas are always best when you make then yourself.

Service Quality/Refill time: 5 stars -- I think we asked for a new bottle maybe once. Our waitress was very sharp and did not beat around the bush, when we asked her what we should order. She knew we were there to get our money's worth and we did. Her name was Mandy and she works for a non profit company, waiting tables on the side. Give her a good tip.

Atmosphere: 4 star -- The place was very modern and open, with tall tables and stools instead of chairs. The decor was appropriately eastern; all the stools had wide, curving seats without backs. Surprisingly these were comfortable and made everyone feel like they were sitting in an intimate close nit group. I think the tables could have been a bit bigger though. We were always fighting for room with all the dim sum plates being constantly brought out. Maybe we could have just slowed down and not inhaled our food.

The Front Page

OVERALL: 2 Stars

Ehh, the place was just plain average. Not a stand out in any way, but a sure thing for the price of $21.

Food Quality: 2 Stars -- Buffet style food was bland all around, and the hot foods were more like room temperature. Some lettuce in a bowl with croutons and dressing does not make a great salad. The waffles were tasty, but it took a good 10 minutes to stand in line for them.

Mimosa/Champagne Quality: 3 Stars -- served in larger water style glasses, they went down smoothly and were never emptied. Again, ore than one juice offering is always more interesting.

Service Quality/Refill time: 3 stars -- The waitstaff was polite, but the bus boy must have been fired recently, because he never came to the table to clear our plates. The waitress made up for his absence, but that made her a little slow with the refills. 

Atmosphere: 1 star -- Pleather seats and lots of tables with little room to move around the space. The buffet was VERY poorly laid out in a hallway type area leading to bottlenecking of hungry people with plates in their hands. take away a few of the tables and move the buffet to a larger area, heat the foot up, and then we will think about coming back.

Redwood

OVERALL: 4 Stars

Live music was charming, and the service was great. would have liked some other drink options...

Food Quality: 3 Stars -- well laid out and easily accessible in the bar area, the food had a wide array of cold salads and hot foods. The grits were perfectly cheesy and buttery delicious. Fresh soft bagels with lox and all the toppers. This was the first time we had seen soup served at a brunch buffet. It was savory and Mediterranean in flavor.

Mimosa quality: 3 Stars -- basic mimosas, but they were served in unique tall narrow tom collins type glasses. Classy. Perfectly mixed

Service/Refill time: 5 Stars -- John was our waiter, and he was so prompt and attentive. Our mimosas would be halfway empty and he would be  placing another teaming glass next to it.

Atmosphere: 4 Stars -- rustically simple with thick hardwood tables and chairs. There was plenty of space between tables so you didn't feel like you were eating brunch with everyone in Bethesda. Live jazz was charming!

18th Amendment

OVERALL: -1 Stars

Oh. My. Goodness. not even worth my time to review it. Don't even waste your brain power wodnering about it. It was that bad. Lets just say if you were walking down a shady street, and you are so hungry you hadn't eaten in three days, and then you see this place, just keep walking. Look for something else.

Agora

OVERALL: 2 Stars

So this was an interesting morning, we enjoyed the awesome sunny day on a covered porch, serenaded by the most adorable 2 year old screaming his head off. Of course this did not impose upon our mimosa consumption. Bob's touch finally put him to sleep after making 5 laps around the block in the stroller.

Food Quality: 4 Stars -- Quickly served, with a greek theme as expected. The flat bread pizzas were delicious with plenty of fresh perfectly melted cheese. The sausage mentioned is more like a thick pepperoni and strongly flavored. Anything that comes with bread arrives with a hot basket of freshly cooked naan which melts in your mouth. The omelets were slightly overcooked, but the portions were healthy. They do have a deal for unlimited plates only if the whole table participates. 

Mimosa/Champagne Quality: 2 Stars -- 2 words: time limit. If your table orders the bottomless mimosas, they literally start a timer. You get 2 hours to get sloshed. And no other options.

Service Quality/Refill time: 2 stars -- still fuming about the time limit thing. I do give the waitstaff credit for shuffling tables around to accommodate our stroller. And only a couple of times did we have to ask for a new carafe. We poured our own drinks, so I really can't give them credit for that either...

Atmosphere: 2 stars -- Tables were wobbly, and the outside eating area lacked decor. Some plant life would have been nice. The inside looked very upkept and newly remodeled. I'm not sure why they forgot to by patio furniture.

El Centro

OVERALL: 2 Stars

We were looking forward to this place so much, and we were sorely disappointed. The site advertised a buffet of delicious, well spiced mexican food, which clearly was not even close. 

Food Quality: 2 Stars -- It was tasty, when it finally showed up. Matt asked for enchiladas in his first order, and finally got them 45 minutes later. The chicken soft tacos were a little bland, as well as the potatoes and eggs tasted like they were just tossed with mayonnaise. The chorizo and egg was yummy. The best thing on the table was the guac, salsa and chips. Hell i could have made that at home.

Mimosa/Champagne Quality: 3 Stars -- For beverages poured from a pitcher, they were mixed proportionately. I tried a few of the 'aqua fresca cocktails'. I think they were made by the bartender in training. Way too much liquor, i couldn't finish it. Its sunday for crying out loud, not friday night at 11pm.

Service Quality/Refill time: 1 stars -- The waitresses were prompt at pouring drinks, i'll give them that. The kitchen screwed them out of a decent tip though. We could order 6 dishes at a time for the entire table (and they were SMALL plates). On average 70% of our orders came back. Its not like they showed up with the wrong plates, they just never showed up at ALL. After 1 or 2 reminders to the waitstaff, we would finally get some food. This pattern was great for our portion control, since we got full way before we could eat too much food. 

Atmosphere: 2 stars -- Looked very much like the inside of Ben's Next Door actually. Dark wood, dimly lit rooms with tall cafe tables, selective appearing loft with more tables. Decor was minimalist and indistinctly modern without much style or thought. Could be any bar from ultra rave to chic foodie.

Vinoteca Bar and Bistro

OVERALL: 3 Stars

Girls day! despite the pouring rain, me and to other smokin' hot chicks decided to brave the weather and try this intriguing corner bistro. It was charming and did not fail to please.

Food Quality: 5 Stars -- Perfect portions, and delicious flavors with just enough kick. the pork sanwhich is to die for. I think the menu could use a little sprucing though; the place has a few obvious favorites and the rest sort of fade to the background. Eggs benedict was perfectly prepared. We did not try the french toast, but again, the presentation was beautiful on the next table over... 

Mimosa/Champagne Quality: 3 Stars -- A little too much OJ and not enough of the good stuff. No exotic options. We did splurge for the pitcher of bellini ($18) which gave us four generous glasses. Delicious, but why did I have to pay extra for it?

Service Quality/Refill time: 3 stars -- Bless these young college girls! Soaking wet and still working for a living. Where are the burly bus boys to help them move umbrellas around and bring out food? They did their darndest to keep our glasses full and our seats dry.

Atmosphere: 2 stars -- Ehh... if you are going to have an out front patio, the tables need to all have covers that fit and work reliably. The waitstaff struggled with broken umbrellas made for square tables to put them on rectangular tables that were soaking already. Prepare a little better or don't open your front patio in the rain!