Punk's: Good Food and Weird Aspirations

How do I characterize Punk's Backyard Grill? Is it a chain restaurant? A fast food restaurant? Does it have good food? The first three questions don't have clear answers, but the last one does. For the first question, Annapolis has the distinction of being home to the first-ever Punk's, which pleases me, because all of the other new restaurants at the mall and the Annapolis Towne Center are chains. However, according to its website, the founders of Punk's want to take the concept of backyard grilled food nationwide. I can understand the founders' desire to have their concept take off nationwide, but even so, it's funny in a roundabout way to aspire to become a chain restaurant. For the second question, I wouldn't call Punk's a fast food restaurant because there is a wait of around 10 or so minutes between the time that food is ordered at the counter and the time that it comes to the table. The answer to the third question, whether the food is good, is a resounding yes. The Punk's concept is fresh and natural food, and it tasted like it! I ordered a burger with pepperjack cheese and bacon. The roll was nice and fluffy -- not the standard spongy roll that one would buy factory-made and pre-packaged at the grocery store. The burger had a wonderful, savory flavor, and the applewood-smoked bacon had a little something extra. It came with a few leaves of arugula and two cherry tomatoes. Eugene ordered a grilled sausage, which was also tasty. Since we were trying the restaurant out for the first time, we decided to go all out, so we ordered two sides -- macaroni & cheese and potato salad, both of which were excellent. Even though mac and cheese and potato salad are rather standard fare, it takes effort to make them really really good. The mac & cheese had a great consistency and flavor and the potato salad avoided being overly mayonnaise-y and was nicely seasoned with pepper. We also ordered two desserts -- a key lime pie and a cookie ice cream sandwich. I am super picky when it comes to desserts, and I had no complaints. The key lime pie tasted like I made it at home, in a good way; perfectly tart and tangy with a nice graham cracker crust. The cookies for the ice cream sandwich were outstanding. They were nice and chewy with a good chocolate flavor and dusted with sugar. Other things I liked... the natural sodas! Instead of the standard Coke or Pepsi products, Punk's offers Boylan's sodas, and I had the sugar-cane cola, which was really nice. Also, the kids menu is healthy. For example, instead of chicken nuggets, it offers grilled chicken bites, and all kids meals come with milk and veggie sticks. At first, I was annoyed by the lack of fries, but then realized that fries don't really mesh with the concept of backyard grill cooking. The only drawback? The prices. They aren't exorbitant or unreasonable, but this isn't a place where you would go to get a lot of food cheap. The burger was a perfect portion for me (a 5'1" woman), but a really really hungry person might find it a bit lacking; some people may balk at paying $6.95 for a burger of that size, especially since cheese and bacon are extra and the sides are a la carte. It was about $30 for both of us to eat, which is a bit much for backyard fare. But, the food is good and imaginative, so I would go back once in awhile, just not all the time.

Oya Oya Oya

Oya (777 9th Street NW in DC) reminds me of the word "oyez," of the well-known phrase "oyez, oyez, oyez," which means "hear ye, hear ye, hear ye." I have fond memories from my days as a law clerk when the clerk of the court would proclaim, "oyez, oyez, oyez," when the judges took the bench. It's apropos for a discussion of Oya because it's a phrase designed to grab attention, similar to Oya's decor. It's definitely flashy a la the red alligator bar, super-modern fireplace, wall of chains, and cascading water. It's almost as if the atmosphere is designed to compensate for the food, which is by no means bad, but not special either. This wasn't my first visit to Oya. I've been there a few times. I went there for sushi a few years ago. Before Jack Abramoff got shipped off to jail for his various mideeds, he owned a restaurant called Signatures, which was somewhat involved in the political scandal surrounding him. Signatures had fun sushi -- not what you would call authentic , but fun, yuppie sushi. After Signatures got shut down, I believe that its sushi chef moved to Oya. Just an interesting bit of background if you were curious. So, why did I go back? My fellow food-loving friend, Laura, had a gift certificate that was about to expire. While I wouldn't have otherwise planned to return, I thought that given the gift certificate, it would be fine value, which it was. We both ordered from the prix-fixe menu -- $20 for three courses, and with the gift certificate, we only ended up paying $14 each. The portions were generous. We shared everything because we like to maximize our dining experiences. For first courses, we ordered a shrimp tempura roll and a curried sea bass eggroll. The shrimp tempura roll was a standard shrimp tempura roll that one could get at any sushi establishment, which I should have expected. (I was going to order the shrimp and crab cupcake, but the server kept subtly telling us not to order it). The eggroll was a bit underwhelming. I liked the uniqueness of the concept of a fish egroll, but sadly, the curry was barely detectable. It was again, just your standard eggroll, but with fish. For main courses, I ordered scallops with pad thai noodles and my friend selected steak (can't remember which kind). The scallops were delicious, but the pad thai noodles and sauce left a bit to be desired. They were just "there" and didn't really add anything to the meal. The steak was again, not bad, but nothing to write home about, and something that could probably be achieved at home. The star of the meal was dessert. Being chocolate lovers, we both ordered the molten chocolate cake. Despite the large portions and that I already had eaten two courses, I continued to shovel it into my mouth because it was that good!