The Every One is a Critic Corner

One of my favorite things to do is go out to a new restaurant and view life from the other side of the table. Something I don't do nearly enough. I promise you I'm not a foodie, my palate is too simple for that. However, I do like to share my experience with anyone who will listen. That being said, here is my first restaurant review:

RJ and I ventured out to Marvin for dinner this evening. (Picture not available, It was way to cold for me to stand out there and take a picture) I will say that the bartender was a sweetie. Sweetie, so much that he almost opened a bottle of Tattinger sparkling wine which is NOT sold by the glass. He quickly realized his mistake and poured me a glass of house sparkling 'Brut' which was by no means dry.

We were guided to our table by a stoic hostess who almost sat us at a dirty table. Rita was immediately offended and asked to be taken to a completely different table. Once we were settled in, the server came over 5 minutes later and told us about the origin of the restaurant; Named after Marvin Gaye, a son of DC, he spent time in Belgium to record "What's Goin' On" So the menu is a Soul Food/Belgian combination. I know, I thought it was odd too, and no, collard greens and pirogies do not mix.

The decor is of a very dark pub, black walls, mirrors and small cherry tables. Servers are doned in all black and are friendly to patrons, but not necessarily to their support staff.


RJ and I deciede to share two different appetizers; Shrimp and Grits and Ribs. The 4 medium sized shrimp were served atop a delicous creamy grit mixture. Opposite that was the Rib app course. 4 cuts of beef ribs, alternately stacked atop each other with sauce to cover up the char on the outer crust of the meat.






Entrees consisted of Braised Short Ribs with mashed potatoes, carrots and turnips and a Pork Shank with lentils and haricot verts ( for those of us to like to keep it real, haricot verts is a fancy name for thin green beans). Both dishes were a little on the salty side (which says alot coming from this saltaholic) The lentils were cooked with bacon and most likely finished with butter. RJ's tender short ribs were reminiscant of pot roast which were complimented by a technical recipe of mashed poatoes. The pork shank was quite similar to the ribs in that it was just short of well done. We decided not to stick around for desert.

This place gets 2 out of 7 Jacks