Damon: Frugal Friday Everyday Except Tuesday

I’m sure it was amazing, but it’s closed! Don’t go there. And Unilocal,update your listings! :)

prospective diners please note: this restaurant is closed as of July 2009.

Thought this was OK, but actually not that frugal considering how much you end up ordering. The only item that really leaped off the menu for me were the lamb skewers, which with the medjool dates and sauce, very delicious. Everything else was kind of unmemborable. Don’t order the guido beer (I had to order just because of the name) as it overpowers nearly everything on the menu. Service was decent.

Sounds like a fun concept– but how is it really different from a tapas bar? Oh right– it’s close on Tuesdays!
The quail was delicious. Escargots decent and the pizza isn’t bad and with the thin crust it would even work on a low carb diet. After that it was mostly downhill. The bone marrow with mushroom stew– what mushroom stew? There wasn’t a single mushroom in that dish. The sausage might appeal to some although too much horseradish for my liking. The chicken yogurt tasted like a reheated focaccia from the corner delis– not fun. Banana dessert is pretty generic. The Headache drink (with Aperol) was reminiscent of children’s cough syrup. Most of the dishes are small so you have to order quite a bit (in the end it’s not really more «frugal» than getting a main dish someplace else).
Service was friendly, ambiance ok, not worth going out of your way for.

I had heard about this place some time ago and decided to check it out for dinner last night. It was great! The tapas style selection was quite varied. We ordered about 4 – 5 tapas which was enough for two people. The pizza was delicious and the steak tartar as well. The cookies stuffed with ice cream were delicious. The menu changes often but the waitress was very informed on the food options. We were a little over-​serviced but other than that it was a great dining experience. I will def be going back!

A GREAT concept. Completely relevant to the times. I appreciate that restaurants like this are being responsive and empathetic to what people are going through today.
I’m so excited that DFF is now open everyday (except Tuesdays). I went with a friend when it was only open on Fridays, and I was really impressed that a dining experience so pleasant and posh was being offered at such a reasonable price. Everything on the menu is $ 10 or less.
The food is really interesting and the restaurant is full of good energy. The kitchen is set in the back of the room which makes it look like the chefs are on stage. We tried almost everything on the menu and while some things are more suited to my palette than others, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t want to have again. We had a little wait before we could be seated, and blew through a few sides and drinks. Try the chickpea salad. We ordered 2.
I noticed that their website (
) updates the menu frequently as the dishes are always changing. I suggest taking a peek before you go.
GO! You won’t be disappointed!

With a firm eye on the economic awesomeness of late, Damon Frugal Friday sets out to make good food affordable and accessible. Interesting food is available and luckily the plates and prices are small enough that you’ll want and need to try a few things that sound good. Sizes vary, but we found that three choices each left us feeling like we’d eaten dinner. Some dishes were easier to share than others.
On Sunday at about 6 we just walked in and there were plenty of tables, which is good because they don’t take reservations.
The food was all pretty good — The escargots and bacon was nice and seasoned and salty. The pork belly was very good and had enough meat attached to hold up the ruse that you didn’t order it just because it’s delicious, delicious porkfat. Chicken wings were delicious and plentiful (a go-​to item for fillingness!)
One disappointing bit was the Bone Marrow, which was sort of like playing operation. The cast iron serving dish was too hot to touch, and removing the marrow was tricky because if it slipped it got covered in salt. Ice Cream Sandwiches weren’t bad, but nothing spectacular, either.
(PS. I’m counting this as it’s own restaurant as it has its own menu, door, kitchen, and name)

Menu, chef and address are different, it seems specious to review them as the same business.
The staff wear D: FF or big text t-​shirts with the full restaurant name/​logo on it. They seemed overeager, and at one point outnumbered the diners 2:1, which was a little intimidating with the loud t-​shirts. Water was refilled promptly, but there were two small spills. We were asked if we wanted our plate cleared every time except for the one time there was still food in it. That said, everyone was warm and welcoming, and these were all honest mistakes.
The menu copy is pithy. The beer list is… eclectic (Pork Slap is good, PBR is not.) Everything is small plates, don’t plan on sharing anything more than two ways. Food is modern American fare with playful embellishments, not exactly a new idea anymore but still done well.
Smoked beef tartare was great, fatty meat on a paprika cracker. Griddled pork belly was great, fatty meat (there is a theme here) with crispy/​candy skin, peanuts and cranberry sauce. It looked like strawberry shortcake when it came out, the plate impeded cutting and eating, but the skin made it all worth it. The fried quail was crispy, the garlic purée and rhubarb chutney were perfect for it.
Escargot and benton’s bacon was alright. Crispy chicken wings were either boneless or had bones small enough that you could crunch them. The cabrales sauce is strong with this one.
The bone marrow was good, but had serious plating issues. It was served and cooked in a mini cast iron pan, and the bones sat in a half inch of salt inside that. This would be fine, but the marrow itself was a bit difficult to get onto a fork. We turned it into a game of who could ruin the least meat in the salt, if you touched the pan you were disqualified and also in pain.
We ended with an ice cream sandwich trio, the cookies were good (even if they weren’t chewy), but the ice cream was too cold and I crunched on a few ice crystals. Overall a good experience with a few stumbles, but none of the food disappointed, the staff was friendly, and the prices weren’t bad either. Definitely worth a second visit.