Black Squirrel?
I noticed this new restaurant/bar (?) driving by today in Adams Morgan - just wondering if anyone has been inside yet or checked it out.
TIA!
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I have been there 4 times and the first three were fantastic. The beer list is excellent and the service was always pleasant. But mostly the food was great. Unfortunately, the 4th time that was not the case. After having been for both their half-price Tuesday menu deal and the half-price burgers on Thursday I was truly pleased with everything about the place.
However, the owners apparently were not as they have made some BIG changes. For one thing, the menu is no longer half price on Tuesdays. It's only appetizers for half price and only from 5 until 8. And the appetizers have changed...along with the rest of the menu. They have reduced the number of offerings in every category. Mussels as an appetizer now come in one size only, not a single or double order as previously on the menu and they no longer include fries. Previously mussels and fries were $8 for a single order and $16 for a double. Now you pay $10 for a single order with a slice of bread. Fries are an extra $4. The mac and cheese, which I never had but always looked amazing, is no longer part of the apps as well. Gone from the entrees are the braised lamb, the swordfish, and the trout. Even more annoying is that the menu outside the restaurant, while updated to reflect the new specials (half price burgers are only from 5-7 on Thursdays now) still has the old food items listed. So after looking at the menu outside, my boyfriend and I still decided to go in not knowing that what they would hand us at the table would be very different.
And that's not where the unpleasantness ends. My boyfriend had the mussels and the duck confit spring rolls. His thoughts on the duck? "Tastes like Thanksgiving stuffing." Apparently there was very little duck and a lot of filler. I had the mussels and the fries. The fries were good, although I'd hardly say that I would have paid $4 for the paper cup of fries I got if it hadn't been on the half price appetizer menu.
But the real tragedy was the mussels. They are no longer sauteed in the sauce of shallots, garlic, bacon, and curry cream. They are now in a "white wine sauce with garlic and chili flakes". Which would be fine if that's what they tasted like. When the order came to the table they smelled....not fresh. The sauce looked like dishwater and I saw one chili flake in there. The first three mussels I had tasted bland and dipping them in the sauce did not help. The next three I had were like eating sand. Each one unleashed a mouthful of grit that made it tough to eat. I ended up sending them back. My boyfriend choked down about three and ended up giving up. The waitress took my mussels off the bill and apologized. We paid the check and then left to go get pizza at Alberto's.
It's really sad that the Black Squirrel has changed so much in such a short time of being open. The first three times we went were amazing (the braised lamb is a sad casualty of the new menu because when I had it I loved it) and it would have been a good regular place for us. Now, it'll probably just be a place to stop in for decent beer in the Yuengling and Miller Lite wasteland that is the Adams Morgan bar scene.
›5 Replies -
beauxgoris
Feb 28, 2008 12:38 PM
We went last night and had a wonderful time. The bar keep (owner?) and staff were really nice and the food was great. We started with the calamari app. and a beet salad - the calamari was light and crisp and was served with a spicy roasted red pepper (?) sauce - very good. My salad was cubes of red beets, toasted pine nuts and goat cheese smeared on two triangles of bread. It was very tasty although I wouldn't have minded a little frisee in there too. I had the ribs (a 1/4 rack?) that were served in a mini cast iron pan w/ homemade bbq sauce. The ribs are braised for 24 hours and the meat fell off the bone. It was served with fries (which were solid!) and a bowl of cole slaw. Big thumbs up. My husband ordered the rib eye steak. It came topped with a warm potato and spinach salad/side. He said the steak was amazing, along with the sauce it comes with. I tasted it and thought it was pretty damn good, although the sauce was heavily smoked paprika sauce. He loved it - I'm not a huge fan of smoked paprika - but that's just a personal taste. The whole presentation was very nice. The funny thing is we came in for burgers - but ended up getting some of the more expensive items since it was 1/2 price. We also had beer - which was fresh and good (on tap) - we'll be back.
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re: Elyssa
beauxgoris
Mar 2, 2008 09:19 AM
^^Well the night we went it was 1/2 off everything. So a $19.00 entree was only $9.50 - an $8.00 salad was only $4.00. So the pricing was quite good. That being said I think we'd go back for their $9.00 burger w/ fries for sure. The guys down the bar ordered them and they looked really good.
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re: beauxgoris
FYI, we went Feb 28 and according to the menu that was the last night of the 1/2 price menu. It was a great deal, we ordered lots of food we probably wouldn't normally, because of the price, and then got a wonderful dessert (brownie and walnut parfait ice cream) on the house.
I liked the atmosphere, decor was fun. I agree, next time it'll be more for burgers, fries, and beer -- but definitely no complaints about the steak (it's just that I never normally get steak), especially at nine dollars! My favorite dish was actually the beet salad, but that might say more about my tastes than what's best on the menu.
They also listed a website on the menu, but I just checked and it's not up and running yet: http://www.blacksquirreldc.com/
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beauxgoris
Feb 27, 2008 08:16 AM
Still waiting for info on their 1/2 price dinner specials this past Sat. - is this only one Sat.? or is it an early bird thing? TIA?
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gatorfoodie
Feb 19, 2008 05:21 AM
It's in the space that used to be TS Muttleys. I haven't been inside, but it looks like you can expect about the same overall experience.
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re: gatorfoodie
beauxgoris
Feb 19, 2008 07:25 AM
^^I never went to the old place that you're talking about. What was the "overall experience"?
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re: beauxgoris
gatorfoodie
Feb 19, 2008 09:23 AM
think loud 80's music, sticky floor, fast-flowing beer, maybe an empty bottle or two rolling around on the floor, overcrowded on the weekends, etc...pretty standard adams morgan quasi dive bar
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re: gatorfoodie
beauxgoris
Feb 19, 2008 12:26 PM
^^Wow, really? I read (somewhere I can't find it now) that it was going for French Bistro food. Guess that was off though.
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re: beauxgoris
gatorfoodie
Feb 19, 2008 02:58 PM
There is a chance it could be...I've only walked by a few times. I honestly can't really imagine that kind of place in that space (especially with La Forchette right there). I would certainly welcome a nicer place to neighborhood.
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re: loniloni
beauxgoris
Feb 24, 2008 01:11 PM
^^could be good then? I kind of like the name - black squirrel is such a local thing.
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re: beauxgoris
I can't speak to the establishment, but the story of black squirrels in the DC area is very cool IMHO. (Hence the location near the zoo...)
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