Have been to Succotash on a prior DC trip. But did not get a chance to enter the speakeasy "Mr…read moreLees" until this trip. Great after work option with Happy Hour until 7pm. Really liked their selection of drinks...was there milk in the milk punch? Lol The Cauliflower and Honey cornbread options were delicious. Have had success here two times - would return.

We've wanted to try this place since we saw Edward Lee on culinary class wars...when we arrived,…read morethe restaurant was full. We were seated in the main level towards the back. If you have read some of my past reviews, I have an issue with crowded restaurants and loud patrons which end up dampening the experience for me. I am happy to report that although the restaurant was bustling, I had no issues carrying conversations with everyone at our table of six. We shared many different appetizers and each had a main dish then shared desserts. This was an interesting mixture of southern style cuisine and Korean touches here and there. Flavors were all good. Think my favorite dish was the pork belly ssam. I love that there was such a Korean dish in a primarily southern cuisine restaurant.

Ray was slamtastic! She was kind, attentive and proactive when it came to my entire party of 8! To…read morehave been in training, she must have experience, elsewhere! Ray is easily on the fast-track to management as she understands what the customer needs and wants! I look forward to telling all my friends about Ray! 10 out of 5 stars, easily!

I came here for the first time yesterday and the restaurant was just Beautiful. We asked the…read moremanager i believe her name was Ana if there was Happy Hour and i let her know that this was my first time there, she showed so much great service and there was a Dj present as well foe a wonderful evening after work. After we were seated our Server Brian was the best the Peach Lemon Drop was the best! Brian was very patient with us and knowledgeable in regards to the whole menu! I will definitely be back Great Job Hen Quarter in DC!!

Food was excellent as was services. It's a higher end southern BBQ style restaurant. Short ribs…read morewere excellent and Brussels sprouts side were like a dessert. The cornbread skillet was also great. Definitely worth a visit while in DC.

Tried Yardbird for brunch for the first time and had a great experience! I was seated right away…read morewithout a reservation, which was a nice surprise. My waitress was super friendly, bubbly, and really knew the menu. She gave some great recommendations. I ordered the American breakfast and the biscuit French toast. Everything was good! The sunnyside eggs were especially great, and both the sausage and bacon were cooked really well. Even the arugula salad that came with the breakfast stood out. It had a light lemon vinaigrette that I really enjoyed. The hash browns with a fried block delight. I wasn't sure what to expect with the biscuit French toast, but it tasted exactly like it sounds. biscuits turned into French toast. It didn't have that classic French toast flavor, but it was still really good and worth trying. The atmosphere was nice, pretty packed, but the noise level was just right. My waitress checked on me often, which I appreciated. I'll definitely be coming back for brunch!

Amazing Service! Amazing Food! Great Ambiance! We were…read moreseated within minutes or our reservation. They have an incredible and diverse menu. I personally had the Farmhouse Platter which had the best friend chicken I have ever had, amazing pork ribs, tasty sliders, and a delicious escabeche salad. My coleslaw was fresh but didn't have quite as much flavor. I still enjoyed it. I also tried their Maple Finished Bourbon which was very delicious! So much so that I got a bottle to bring home. Very reasonably priced for such a delicious bourbon! Our server Edgar was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and a true pleasure! Thank you Founding Father's for a great night! I will be happy to return next visit to D.C.

The food was very good. I got the BBQ ribs that came with beans, cold slaw and fries. The service…read morewas really good also, the waiter's name is Louis. We had a large party of people that Louis kept track of all we ordered and he let us know about some of the food items on the menu.

The BRISKET BENNIE blew away my expectations. I was thinking it was going to be really good, but it…read morewas amazing. My wife had the omelette and she really enjoyed it. We spoke about it during brunch and we agreed it is hands down the best brunch in Arlington!

Ruthie's showed up in a "New and Hot" search for Fairfax, and it was a great call…read more Located in the old Plow and Hearth spot across from REI in Fairfax Corner, the ambiance is excellent. Bright and open with an integrated coffee bar, the noise level is better than most. Table settings are beautiful with fresh flowers. The food, though, is outstanding. We were there for brunch on a Saturday. We shared the skillet cornbread and deviled eggs and agreed they were excellent, but the deviled eggs were top-notch. For entrees we had a brisket bennie, brisket hash, and fried chicken and biscuits. Everyone said their dish was the best dish. I had the fried chicken - just the right honey and heat, and the biscuits were fluffy, buttery heaven. We were stuffed but Jorge and Matt (one of the owners) dropped off a complimentary order of apple donuts with raspberry jam. I shouldn't be surprised but the chunks of real apple in the donuts - wow. I don't know how they serve food this good in a location this beautiful and such reasonable prices. I guarantee, though, we'll be back for dinner and be regular customers in the future.

Had a great time and The Taste was Unique, Plus the ambience was exquisite. Service was great too.read more

Our waiter, Kirk was amazing. He was engaging, knowledgeable and personable. It was a pleasure to…read morebe seated in his section. My experience with previous servers was less than satisfying. My experience with Kirk inspired me to write a review

My aunt and I visited the restaurant and had an early lunch. The restaurant was very nice, not…read morecrowded. We were seated immediately. The food came out very quickly. Everything was hot and tasty. Actually the manager Paris came over and took our orders the afternoon and she also came back to check on us. She was very nice and accommodating she made sure that everything was to our liking I would definitely recommend visit in the future.

Well hello there... I'm delighted to write this review of Tupelo Honey…read more Let me first start off by saying I was fortunate enough to attend the opening of the original one in Asheville, NC then I went to the opening of second one in my hometown of Greenville, SC. I must say Tupelo Honey Is such a beautifully crafted place that pulls you out of the everyday hustle and bustle and places you within the southern comfort and warmth that oozes through the ambiance with smiles when they great you. It's natural unforced southern hospitality from A-Z. Also of note If you're able to please ask for the (Chef's Table) and thank me later! Now to the food I started off with the famous fried green tomatoes as an appetizer then I ordered a fresh squeezed pineapple juice that was just delicious after that the amazing shrimp and grits that's so delightful and the creole sauce is blended to perfection. Here's a little food hack for ya, add pieces of your fried green tomatoes into your shrimp and grits I promise you won't regret it!! for dessert you absolutely have to try the strawberry butter pecan cheesecake!! Whaaaaaat?? Yes... you read that correctly.. so just take my word for it and trust me"The Butler Brand Review" I will always remain true.. Hats off to you Tupelo Honey of Arlington, VA it's awesome to know that the classic signature of your brand remains the same no matter the location!!! But all I ask let's kick it up a notch and put one in NY and CT why not show the Tri state and New England area some love and what they've been missing!!! I'm here to help lol Happy dining, W.D.

Mallard is a charming and cozy Southern restaurant, serving everything from classic shrimp & grits…read moreto Peking duck. You cannot go wrong with their menu! The shared pork saddle was the star of our evening... insanely delicious and perfectly cooked. I also hope they continue offering their Valentine's Day Raspberry Sunday. The peppercorn and ice cream combination was delectable. Bravo! Mallard's restaurant appears divided into two parts, with seating areas as you walk in and a smaller nook closer to the kitchen. Both are beautifully decorated and offer enough space to not feel crammed. The servers and hosts are welcoming, patient, and extremely attentive. Thank you to all the staff for a wonderful evening. We will be back soon enough!

tl;dr -- 3.5/5, but bumping it to a 4/5 for the attentive service…read more Mallard's been on my friend and I's list for awhile, so we got dinner here for our catch-up meal this past Tuesday. The interior leans into a nostalgic Southern theme rooted in a different era, with warm red-brown tones, vintage frames lining the walls, and some duck-related decor. After placing our order, our server brought out a small serving of French onion soup for us to enjoy, compliments of the chef. The soup was incredibly creamy and smooth with a nice acidity. The bits of fried onion on top gave it a sweeter flavor that had us wanting more. SEA ISLAND PEA DIP - 9 Duck Fat Saltines, Benne Seeds The house-made saltines were a nice touch, with a wheat-y and nutty texture and flavor that's missing in the store-bought ones. I love the pea dip, which was mixed with benne seeds, for a smooth, yet gritty flavor. My friend thought it tasted a bit too heavy of a "fennel" flavor, but I personally enjoyed it. FOIE GRAS & WAFFLES - 23 This was easily our favorite dish of the night. The combination of flavors and textures was outstanding: silky, umami-rich foie gras balanced by tart pickled apples, grounded by the familiar comfort of waffle, and brought together with a savory onion sauce and apple butter. The foie gras maple syrup was quite delicious, definitely a unique pairing. PENNSYLVANIA PEKIN DUCK - 46 Given that there would be Peking-style duck breast, with sauce reminiscent of hoisin on the side, we thought there would have been some sort of bun to pair with it. Despite that, the duck breast was so juicy and perfectly prepared. The collard greens were delicious. The fried chicken leg was great with the meat falling off the bone easily. The batter was not overdone either. Definitely a standout dish, with the duck breast being the highlight. GRIDDLED WILD BLUE CATFISH - 31 The dish featured a small slab of lightly battered catfish with a generous pour of the she-crab chowder, which read more like a sauce given how reduced and salty it was on its own. Since we family-styled everything, we only had a couple bites of the catfish each. We enjoyed the peanut potato, but left majority of the bacon and chowder since it was too salty. A few pieces of toast would've gone a long way in balancing the dish, which was a shame, as the chowder itself was quite seafood-forward and savory. "COFFEE & CIGARETTES" - 15 Lastly, we ended our night with our dessert featured on an ashtray. A generous scoop of espresso ice cream topped with chocolate mousse, topped with tobacco caramel and olive oil. There were also espresso morsels on the side, with its bitterness cutting through the overall sweetness of the dessert just a bit. This was good, but a bit too rich and sweet for my taste. While there were a couple standouts, my friend and I both agreed that Mallard is fine, but not great (echoing a couple other reviews). We're glad we tried it, but it's hard to say when we'd be back.

Sometimes there's a dish that you have that you find you can't forget.  It's one that you look…read moreforward to having again and it becomes a memory of an evening well spent.  Such is the case for the tamarind braised lamb shoulder at Marcus.   Yum!  It is so flavorful and the portion is so generous.  Plus, it comes accompanied by the super contrast of the pickled vegetables and the just plain goodness of well-cooked collards.  So satisfying!  This dish alone is well worth the trip.  But wait, there's more....  The simple sounding crispy sweet potato was also delicious and, true to its name, the skin was delightfully crispy.  You could hear the crisp.  We also enjoyed the popular blue cornbread which had a really nice texture.  For drinks, we had the velvet detour.  It was also really good - and - it didn't come with a giant ice cube - YAH!  Those giant ice cubes drive me crazy!  So, I was very happy to be able to enjoy my cocktail without an iceberg ramming into my face every time I took a sip.  Dessert was the praline cake which was beautifully colorful and served tableside.  We appreciated all the excellent and friendly service we received and it was fun to see one of the talented staff assemble the various parts of our sweet treat.  The only very small downside to our wonderful dinner was that, for some reason, although we were there early when the dining room was still quiet, someone was seated at the table right next to us instead of at a number of other tables one or more over.  It felt like a little bit of a shadow on our privacy when there were many other options.  But, that's a small thing.  All in all, we really enjoyed our dinner at Marcus and that lamb shoulder is on my list of faves for sure.

Most of the food at Marcus was delicious, but a couple dishes could use some tweaks, service was…read moreonly okay, and the dessert course was a letdown. It's well worth a visit and has 5-star potential. I visited on a Saturday with a group of four at 6:30 PM; prime time. The place was busy but not full, especially not the bar, which was empty most of the time (maybe start happy hour?). We were seated on one side of a very long, very solid wood table. It reminded me of that movie trope where two people try to have a conversation from opposite ends of a huge table. Fortunately, we were all seated together. The opposite end was used for another group, much later on. We kept wondering who would arrive and be our sort-of dinner companions. First, a round of cocktails. The Brown Butter Soul ($16) was a standard whiskey sour; it didn't look or taste like its name, or bring anything new to the table, so it was a disappointment. It also looked identical to the Solara ($17), except for the latter's tomato garnish. The Abyssinian Blaze ($17), on the other hand, was like a negroni but with berbere spice on the back, giving it a novel taste. I'd order that one again. Everything on the menu sounded great. We knew we had to get the cornbread and the crab rice, but other things were TBD. The Blue Cornbread ($12 for two pieces) was excellent -- an attractive brown color outside, a grey-blue inside, texture moist but not crumbly, and most of all delicious with the yassa butter accompaniment. Yassa (a West African dish prepared with onions, lemon or mustard) was a new flavor for me, and it was great. The Steak Tartare ($23) was one of the better interpretations I've had recently. It was a surprisingly colorful dish, for a tartare, thanks to tiny, pure white mushrooms, dark red onion jam, yellow egg yolk, and orange spices in the steak. The brown bread that came with it was also great. We all enjoyed the restaurant's riff on an everything bagel + lox, the Smoked Fish Pate ($23). It was another colorful dish, well presented, if a fairly traditional take. The everything lavash was fun and tasty. Another seafood dish was Tuna Crudo ($25, ~5 pieces of fish). It was good but not too different from other crudos. It came with slices of kiwi, but only three to go with the five slices of fish. While the main dish was an attractive mix of red and green, the dark yellow sauce on the side of the bowl was a bit off putting. The Cuttlefish Tortelloni ($40, 5 tortelloni) was great with its lobster emulsion. You could have put any filling inside and it would have been good. The Crispy Sweet Potato ($13) with some creme fraiche and roe was good, but only interesting if you got everything together. The ratios were a bit off -- too much potato -- so that when you are passing it around your group, it's too easy to not get enough toppings. Finally, the Crab Rice ($68) with mushroom, pickled alligator pear, and uni bearnaise. We were divided on this dish. Some people loved it, others did not; all the components blended together into a single flavor, which I liked, but I also found very acidic and one-note. The acidic flavors paired well with the sweet potato side dish. I couldn't taste any crab or individual ingredients. It felt more like a tasty side dish than a main course. I would eat it again, but I would want a different protein that stands out more. Our dessert course started off on a confusing and disappointing note. A few days before, the Marcus Instagram account posted about a "Mumbo Sauce Salted Caramel Ice Cream" which was featured in a Food & Wine magazine article. Guess what? It's not available. In fact, our server had never heard of it. We had to show them the Instagram post to convince them to ask the kitchen about it; they didn't have it. Why are you advertising something on your Insta (and getting national media attention) for something you don't have? C'mon. Dessert brought the Strawberry Breton and Buttermilk Tart ($15 each). The breton was not good, and I would not have identified it as a breton. The pastry was dense and too thick. The strawberry sauce was the main flavor. The net result tasted like a strawberry Pop-Tart, so it tasted good enough, but wasn't appropriate for a $15 restaurant dessert. The Buttermilk Tart was a very good rendition, although the green tomato sorbet didn't taste as interesting as it sounded. This ended up being a lot of food for four people, so we had about half of the crab rice and some of the potato left over. The check came with four tiny house-made gummy fish -- their take on Swedish fish. This was a sweet note, but not enough to make up for the previous dessert disappointments.

Boyfriend and I went to Union Market for a post-dinner sweet treat. I saw this place all over…read moreTikTok, I knew I needed that Brown Butter Bourbon Bread Pudding. They give free samples for NEARLY ALL of their food, I mentioned I traveled to DC from CA, and the workers gave me a sample of one of everything on the menu! Gosh, I have never experienced such AMAZING customer service! My boyfriend loved the etouffee and my favorite was the gumbo sample. We were so stuffed from our previous dinner, and couldn't order more. We noticed everything on the menu was VERY affordable for DC pricing and gave good portions. We ended up opting for the bread pudding, and finished it in minutes. The bread pudding feels like a warm hug, and is a MUST with the ice cream. It has hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, and the bourbon perfectly balanced the creaminess and sweetness of the ice cream.

On my DC visit my friend told me this place was good and she didn't lie. The bread puddin is what I…read morewent for and it didn't disappoint. They have a decent size location located in the market and of course there's a line to stand in but it's not bad. Let me tell you, I got one small order and went back for a big order. The customer service was good and it's a walk up and keep it moving type of vibe. They call your number out, you pick up your order, find a seat or sit outside. Overall it was good and I would visit this location again.