Tom Sietsema Says AdMo's Bul Is Easy To Like

As previously noted, Tom Sietsema gave sexy steakhouse STK just half a star in his Washington Post magazine review. Yes, he basically only liked the rolls and "white foods" like twice-baked potatoes and mac and cheese. He writes of STK's steak:

Meat, at least of the four-legged variety, is generally not a good reason to drop in. With the exception of a juicy rib-eye, the steaks I’ve tried are lean on flavor and sometimes overcooked. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to add the brown steak sauce that rides shotgun with some of the cuts, sweet enough to qualify as a dessert topping. [WaPo]

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House fared better. Sietsema gave it 2 and a half stars, honing in on the restaurant's handsome decor, tasty sides and rich butter cake. While a sommelier's suggestion of an $800 bottle of wine threw him for a loop, Sietsema writes:

While entirely predictable, the menu, from a Texas-based chain, revealed glimmers of promise: I ate more of the 22-ounce bone-in rib-eye than I would have imagined before the succulent slab landed on my table, and admired the careful way with which the kitchen treated sea bass, with shaved raw vegetables on top and a bed of crab fried rice. So back and back I went. [WaPo]

For First Bite, Sietsema visited Adams Morgan's Bul, a new Korean restaurant from the team behind Sakuramen. Bul is "easy to like," Sietsema declares, and the Hangover Soup is a "treat for the senses." The critic also loves the dak kalbi:

The menu of the younger restaurant, created by [Jonathan] Cho’s wife, MyungEun, incorporates Korean street food, including grilled-meat skewers and seafood pancakes, and the sort of flavors the couple’s sons, 9 and 6, get at home. Dak kalbi has me wishing to be adopted, at least for a meal. The rousing stir-fry of chicken thighs, scallions, carrots and chili paste keeps your chopsticks in motion until there’s nothing left on the plate. [WaPo]

The Washingtonian magazine published its somewhat controversial list of 100 very Best Restaurants online. [Washingtonian]

Tim Carman does some major celeb name-dropping in his $20 Diner review of Baan Thai's menu of authentic Thai specialties:

Like Taylor Swift, Matthew McConaughey and Bruce Jenner, Tsunami Sushi and Lounge appears to be transitioning. The Japanese establishment, perched atop Thai Tanic on the equally evolving 14th Street corridor, started painting its nails a different shade in September and introducing itself by a second name: Baan Thai. [WaPo]

Tyler Cowen calls Maneki Neko in Falls Church "one of the better and more authentic Japanese restaurants around," and rates the sushi as "above average." [TC]

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