TED’S BULLETIN
Address: 505 8th Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003
It was the last day of break yesterday before heading back into work tonight, so my friends Chris, Kelsi, and I decided to spend an afternoon roaming around the Smithsonian museums out in D.C. After we had seen our share of dinosaur, gemstone, and animal exhibits, we took the Metro up to Eastern Market to check out Ted’s Bulletin, where our friend Andrew met up with us for dinner.
The restaurant has a bar area when you first walk in, but the dining room is located immediately behind it. We got seated immediately (we were very early for a Friday night dinner service clocking in at 5:30 p.m.) and our waiter came over to introduce himself. He was very knowledgable about the menu as well as any other specials that were going on for the evening. We all browsed the menu for the few minutes, trying to decide on what to order. Adult milkshakes definitely garnered quite a bit of interest as well as the variety of homemade Pop Tarts (which we saved for dessert). I eventually went for the Popeye Burger (spinach, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, homemade Boursin cheese over an angus beef patty, served on a sesame bun) paired with a Nutty Professor milkshake (vanilla shake with hazelnut liquor).
The burger was delicious. The meat was seasoned well and cooked to temperature, with the vegetables adding some great flavor. The soft and smooth texture of the Boursin cheese helped make it stand out from the other ingredients, and added a slightly savory element to everything. The Nutty Professor shake was also very smooth and rich, thanks to the vanilla ice cream. The hazelnut liquor gave the shake a great edge and sweeter flavor to round the drink out.
Of course, let’s not forget about the Pop Tarts. It’s the first time I had heard of a restaurant creating Pop Tarts in-house, with common flavors such as strawberry, brown sugar & cinnamon, and apple pie. The two outliers of the flavors were the sweet potato with marshmallow and peanut butter bacon, with the latter being the true dark horse of the five flavors (in my opinion). I love peanut butter and I love bacon, so common sense should dictate that if the two of them were put together, right? Absolutely.
The pastry shells themselves were light and flaky, with the fillings inside just as good as how they sounded. For the peanut butter bacon, the melted peanut butter inside mixed with the vanilla glaze worked wonders for the sweet tooth, with the crumbled bacon on top providing a slight bit of saltiness to enhance the overall flavor. The strawberry stuck to its classic roots, with the tart strawberry filling mixing well with the frosting and sprinkles on top.
My impressions of Ted’s Bulletin were very positive leaving the restaurant last night, and it’s a place that I would definitely come back to for another meal. The vibe was good, the food was great, and the staff was very professional. You can’t ask for much more.
Let’s now take a look at the Ted’s Bulletin Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** The Popeye Burger **
Spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and homemade Boursin cheese topped over a beef patty. Served with fries.
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Jon’s Omelet
Mushrooms, spinach, and Swiss cheese omelet, served with hash browns and a side of meat (sausage patties pictured).
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** Homemade Pop Tarts **
Pictured: peanut butter bacon (bottom) and strawberry (top).
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** Southern Style Deviled Eggs **
Deviled eggs served over a bed of crispy onions.
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** Chicken ‘N Biscuits **
Fried chicken tenders served in between 3 mini biscuits, drizzled with honey. Plated with a side of hash browns.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Ted’s Bulletin:
Food: 5 / 5
The food tasted fantastic, and there is a very large variety between the menu items. Not in the mood for a burger? Why not have a steak instead? Or perhaps a gourmet salad? Also, a certain homemade rectangular pastry I mentioned quite a few times above.
Atmosphere: 4.5 / 5
I thought the dining area was a good space with a nice feel to it. The open kitchen in the back left the smell of the food escape and make its way around the dining room. The area was well-lit, with nice decorations on the wall (including their full logo in Photo 5). The one thing that I noticed was that as the dining room got more crowded and it became louder, it got a bit hard to hear people in conversation at your table.
Service: 4.5 / 5
Our waiter, Chris, was very friendly when he chatted with us and did a great job of making sure we had everything we needed for our meal. He seemed very knowledgeable about the menu items and made several recommendations to those of us who had some trouble deciding what to order. The food also came out of the kitchen within a reasonable time.
Price: 4.5 / 5
I thought that the pricing for the food was reasonable for an evening meal, and that the amount I paid was in good proportion to both the quality and quantity of food I received.
Overall:
18.5 / 20
(93%)
Categories: Restaurants, Washington, D.C.
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