Todd Kliman is Disappointed in DBGB Kitchen + Bar

Todd Kliman's review of DBGB Kitchen + Bar is now online, and the critic is not thrilled. While he has a very nice experience at the original DBGB in New York, his D.C. meals pale in comparison.

"I can't decide which is more surprising, that Boulud would have been persuaded to open a restaurant in DC or that he should have fallen victim to carpetbagging-chef syndrome," he says. "But how else to explain the sloppiness of detail I saw over the course of three visits to DBGB in DC? Or the airport-lounge soullessness of the place?"

DBGB's D.C. location falls short compared to D.C. on everything from food to service. In New York, service was confident and assured.

It was often the opposite at DBGB DC, where I had the impression of a staff under enormous pressure to get it right. At my last meal there, the staff didn’t get everything right, and watching my poor server at the end of a fumbling night made me think of a nervous pupil who would have to abase himself before the headmaster. [Washingtonian]

Bethesda Magazine reviews Macon Bistro & Larder. Carole Sugarman thinks the place is a little loud, but is won over by the food and service. "The concept works. The food is gracefully executed and the setting in the historic Chevy Chase Arcade is charming." Give the cauliflower steak a try, she says. [BM]

Tyler Cowen is high right now on The Partisan. "Right now it is one of my favorite half dozen places in town, and it is also the kind of food I don’t think the kitchen can spoil any time soon. The décor has a cool feel, as does the bar. It is also attached to a branch of The Red Apron, which I will be reviewing soon but also quite like, at a cheaper price point." [TC]

THE BLOGS: Capital Cooking tries out the Gibson's new cocktail menu...Girl Meets Food samples Tsunami's Thai menu.