August 31, 2005
A Trip to the Deli
So we made it to down to Eli's in DC (pronounced like Shlossberg, not Lasson). Although Eli's was a bit different than I was expecting, overall I was fairly satisfied with the experience. I suppose I thought Eli's a bit more formal, when in fact the menu is very light (sandwiches, burgers). I usually don't order desert, but I was actually not full by the end of the meal.
Here's the rundown. They have a wide selection of appetizers. Unfortuneately, the ones we were interested in weren't available (no wings, no knishes). We settled on "Spicy Potato Wedges," onion rings and a complimentary bowl of pickles (available upon request only). I hope the folks at Eli's will forgive me if I'm mistaken, but the "Spicy Potato Wedges" were almost certainly McCain's spicy fries; I had imagined some sort of homemade thing. This turned out to be my major issue with Eli's; while it was a nice restaurant, it was obvious much of the food was packaged. The pickles were from a jar, and we never ended up getting the onion rings, I can only hope they weren't Kinneret.
As restaurants in DC tend to have a short lifespan, I got soup as well. I went for the pea soup, which was tasty, but thin (in my book, nothing but nothing beats a nice thick pea soup). Penny got the matzoh ball, which was quite peppery. Nothing particularly special.
Shortly after (the service was incredibly speedy, a plus) I ordered a New Yorker (pastrami, corned beef, Russian dressing and cole slaw; again, the cole slaw was almost certainly the same as you get on a deli platter from Liebes). The sandwich was good, with plenty of meat, but I was still hungry at the end. The chips that came with the sandwich were also garden variety.
As I was still hungry, I had the tiramisu for desert. I honestly can't compare it to anything, since it was my first Tierra Misu experience. The nice part came when we got the check; for four people, we were only $56, which, I think, is pretty good.
So all in all, Eli's was a good meal, good food, but, ultimately, there's not much there that's going to get me to drive all the way into DC to eat there. It's a great place to get a decent-priced meal, if you are in the neighboorhood (I've heard things about folks moving back into DC and downtown Silver Springs), but if I'm getting in my car and driving someplace outside of Baltimore, I'm stopping in Wheaton for a shwarma, if you catch my meaning. I certainly wish the people at Eli's the best of luck, they have a fine establishment that I hope to visit again soon.
I mostly agree with the review - they need to work on getting the food to actually be unique. The fact that you got speedy service bodes well, since when I went when they had first opened, it wasn't terribly quick. I sort of wonder if the kosher business has caught onto blogs yet - I've had several people tell me they hit Pita Plus totally on the strength of my review of it, for instance.
-DMZ
Posted by: DMZ at September 1, 2005 7:35 AM"(pronounced like Shlossberg, not Lasson)"
Do I get extra credit because I know exactly what you mean by this? :-)
Nice review. I'll check it out next time I'm in DC but doesn't sound like it's worth a special trip.
Dude:
Did I not tell you to go for the chicken tenders? And the chili burger? (Those are good burgers). Everything with you is a travesty.
What was the parking situation like?
Posted by: bill selliger at September 1, 2005 3:24 PMSorry to disappoint your fancy Baltimore self about a Washington restaurant. You like "upscale" restaurants like Accents or Cafe 921. You totally forgot something that most Baltimore kosher restaurants lack-ambiance and a certain charm. I guess you were too busy "dining" in the wonderful atrium that Accents uses. Schwarma sounds about as fancy as you can manage.
You seem to show little knowledge of the Washington DC metro Jewish community. Yes, dude, there are Jews in Washington (observant, kosher-keeping ones at that)-and in Kemp Mill and Woodside and White Oak, too-not to mention Potomac, Rockville and Bethesda. Hello?! By the way, we do well enough with Silver Spring, not Silver Springs.
Posted by: Steve M. at September 2, 2005 5:44 PMDMZ - esp. considering that most blogs end up with very high Google rankings.
Sara - Extra points for you
Bill - Parking was good, we got a spot right down the street, and since it was after 6:30, it was free.
Steve - I never compared Eli's to anything in Baltimore; my expectations were based on the fact that the last 2 attempts at Kosher in DC were a bit more refined (L'Etiole and Stacks) than I found Eli's to be. I'll be the first to agree that eating out in Baltimore is not an aesthetic experience, which is why I would even consider driving to DC to eat at a nice restaurant.
Also, I'm quite familiar with the DC Orthodox community, as I grew up in Gaithersburg (there's plenty of Jews there too, by the way, dont' forget about them...there's even a kosher Dunkin Donuts next to Quince Orchard High School, but you probably don't get out there that much...) and went to high school in Silver Springs. Yes, SILVER SPRINGS. It's called a JOKE. I love how that gets people all riled up, works every time. ;)
Posted by: Greg at September 2, 2005 6:41 PMI love the fast service at Eli's. I would not say it is worth a trip from Baltimore, but people who have to take clients out in DC desperately need a respectable and reasonably priced place. This fits the bill.
Posted by: Nearby at September 7, 2005 10:11 AM
