Here's The Kanye West of Cheesesteaks

As previously noted, Tom Sietsema has been counting down to the release of his 15th annual Fall Dining Guide on Thursday, Oct. 9 by releasing one review a day from the top 10. Leaked so far: Boss Shepherd's, Le Diplomate, Partisan, Fiola Mare and Little Serow.

Tim Carmen taste tests the cheesesteaks that are now available at all Taylor Gourmets and decides the cheesesteak tastes like McDonald’s, in a good way. "Two bites into this drippy sandwich, and I could swear I'm dining under the Golden Arches. The thing does taste like a Big Mac," he writes. It has something to do with the cherry-pepper mayonnaise that’s almost like McDonald’s special sauce. He also finds a way to compare the Number 3 cheesesteak at Taylor to Kanye West:

With its other, equally high-impact ingredients, this cheesesteak is a Kanye West rhyme: hypnotic and forceful, each element articulating itself with blunt authority. [WaPo]

Meanwhile for The $20 Diner, Carmen embraces Georgia Avenue's Bravo Bar, dubbing it a "modern dive."

I would gladly reorder more than half of Bravo’s menu, starting with the burger, without feeling as if I were taking on a charity case. The pepper-flecked cheesesteak with caramelized onions, the thick-shelled pupusa stuffed fat with black beans and cheese, the hot-and-meaty wings, the crunchy-and-creamy falafel wrap, the coated wedge fries. All of these plates are executed with the kind of care I didn’t expect from a corner pub. The kitchen’s attention to dishes that would bore the average culinary school graduate reminds me of a quote widely attributed to the ultimate barfly, Charles Bukowski:"To do a dull thing with style, now that’s what I call art." [WaPo]

Bethesda Magazine's Carole Sugarman says that "the brew outpaces the ‘cue" at BBQ Bus at Denizens Brewing Co. She liked the potato chips, bratwurst and chicken wings, but "found the ribs, pork, chicken and brisket to be nothing special, bordering on dry and stringy, and lacking in soulful smokiness. Whatever you order, add generous squirts of barbecue sauces #24 or #18, which lend depth and moisture, and get the sweet-and-spicy baked beans for a side." [Bethesda Magazine]

THE BLOGS: The Pasta Man heads to G Sandwich Shop...Bitches Who Brunch try out Vermilion.