Oh gentrification; you are evil, yet offer so many things to me. Columbia Heights, once a neighborhood my delicate middle class sensibilities shunned, has quickly become an urban mecca. It amazing how a Best Buy, Marshall’s and Target can make a neighborhood not seem so scary. Oh, suburban luxuries, thank you for making me feel safe.
With the influx of all the retail outlets, Columbia Heights was hurting for a neighborhood restaurant. “The Heights” stepped up to the plate and it has proven to be a lovely little neighborhood spot, but it is not without it’s drawbacks.
First the good stuff. Though I don’t have any kids (praise Allah), the place is family friendly, yet it doesn’t seem like there are kids crawling all over the place. Noise levels are decent and the space inside is open and well lit. Their hand cut french fries are to die for; dark, salty and screaming for malt vinegar. They serve a mean crab cake, which is creamy and not chock full of filler. Their french toast with pecan caramel sauce may be the best sweet breakfast dish I have ever eaten; the bread is thick and eggy and the caramel pecan sauce is sweet without hurting your teeth. I was tempted to lick my plate. Service in general is attentive and friendly; a special touch on one of my visits was our server asking if there were any food allergies he should be aware of.
…except this Sunday, the service was kind of all over the place. We were at the bar, and the main server there seemed painfully hung over. I am never one to begrudge someone a fun Saturday night, but please don’t make me wait for my coffee for 20 minutes. Take some Vivarin and get it together, buddy. That wasn’t the only thing off about the brunch; I got two thin, paltry, soggy strips of bacon with my french toast. I practically needed a map to find them on my plate. My friends mac and cheese with crab and shrimp at a recent dinner was lacking in creaminess and had a bit too much mustard. With something as decadent as mac and cheese, it might as well hold no punches. Also, the goat cheese and spinach salad would be a whole lot better if the walnuts were candied and the dressing was adequately seasoned.
So, The Heights is good, even very good, but not great. They need some work, but the lack of competition in the area is probably it’s own worst enemy; it does not need to change. The place will be packed, no matter what kind of food it serves. A few tweaks could make it a real destination.
I don’t like that place because I don’t like the owners (same douches who own Merkado, Grillfish and Logan Tavern).
If you want to eat someplace nice in that neighborhood, try Rumberos. Great food and the owners are cool.
Have you ever eaten there, though? I would be interested to see if you actually like the food… And I have heard great things about Rumberos.
More recipes! Less talk about restaurants I will never go to!
While much of my life revolves around you, not everything does. Sorry, B.
I had brunch at The Heights once by accident (i didn’t realize it was owned by the same asshats). The food was okay. Not sucky, but not great either. And yeah, the service was kinda sucky. The food was brought out and the waitress came by before the first bite and said “how is everything”? then we didn’t see her again for the rest of the meal.
You will like Rumberos though. Their mofongo was at least as good as the stuff I eat in Miami or Puerto Rico.
Wow, you have some strong feelings on the owners…Did they shoot your dog? And I adore mofongo…now I have to go.
I have SO many things to address here, so hold on.
1) The bacon sucks, but you can ask for the special applewood bacon and there shouldn’t be a problem. Their regular bacon is shit.
2) The staff at the Heights is by far the shittiest of any of the Eat Well restaurants. They’re trying to get better, but it isn’t happening too quickly.
3) There will never be candied walnuts in the salad, I guarantee that.
And why DO you hate the owners so much, HIN? What’s up with that?
OK, so…the regular bacon should be good, though, right? Annoying. I shouldn’t have to know the secret handshake to get the good stuff. The back up server was awesome at the bar, but the main guy? Oh dear…seriously. I think he had been on a bender and still not come down. It was NOT ok. And if the walnuts cannot be candied, I need some fruit or something. Craisins? It was lacking. How do you know all this, btw?
The French Toast is the only thing I’ve ever eaten there, but I’ve always gotten it with the applewood bacon w/out having to ask.
And Rumberos: used to be great. Is now adequate, at best. Still make a mean mojito.
Please teach me the secret handshake…I need the applewood bacon.
The staff has always been a problem at the Heights since they hire so many people who have full time day jobs. If you have a problem, you can always talk to Julia or Seth to see if something can be fixed, but try not to go above the waiters if possible. I’m not positive, but I believe at least one of the salads has dried cherries in it (I know the Apple Walnut Arugula at Logan does), so you can request an addition to the Spinach Salad.
As for how I know this, we can talk it over at the Piratz Extravaganza in late May. I know you’re looking forward to it.
Suggestions for future visits –
Lunch:
BBQ Burger
BBQ Chicken
Chipotle Chicken (the mayo makes you salivate)
Brunch:
Eggs Benedict (by no means perfect, but pretty damn good)
Steak and Eggs (the staff is obsessed)
Dinner:
For a starter, get the Buffalo Shrimp. Or simply request the sauce ($2 for a cup) and dip your bread in it. The Portabella Caps are quite good, too – topped with a pesto relish of sun-dried tomatoes and basil with feta to finish.
Crab and Shrimp Mac and Cheese – dense, but incredible.
PORK LOIN. Phenomenal.
Salmon, but only with rice. Potatoes ruin the meal. You can also skip the salad and add broccoli for no charge. Mixing the three is amazing.
And the best dessert possible is the Mango Key Lime Pie. Don’t doubt, just trust.
Wow, this is overwhelming. A few things: I didn’t love the mac and cheese, as I said. Dry as hell. I will have to try to pork, though. Yum. As far as mango key lime pie…you had me at hello.
i’ve only been to rumberos once, but i found it underwhelming… i will try this place out though. i had a bad meal at merkado, but a good one at logan tavern….
and i read this this morning about artichokes and thought of you:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89816658&ps=bb1
because they are sexy and delicious! 🙂
Sexy and delicious? You are swelling my head further.
New topic – how excited are you about Piratz? F’reals?
Like, super duper excited. To the nth degree. Who doesn’t love pirates? Communists, I say.
Tag, Lemmonex! You’re it: http://foodrockz.com/2008/04/23/tagged-seven-random-things-about-food-rockz-man.aspx
Eek! OK, I will get to this soon.