LARRY WIENER

My wife believes that the actual definition of Sunday Brunch is that which is obtained at Clydes in Georgetown. It has the perfect combination of atmosphere and selection.

We are Alexandria residents who might be interested if the date is favorable. Has one been set yet?

Ours was made from 80 percent red snapper and 20 percent salmon. The salmon was mainly for the color. We are originally from the Pacific NW, and my wife says that salmon always was an ingredient in all of her relatives' gefillte fish. We used recipe no. 1 in the NYTimes cook book.

We went to Finn & Porter; here is my report. A week or so ago we went to Finn & Porter, in response to an ad we received in the mail from Robert Mondavi vineyards. The restaurant is in the Hilton Hotel on Seminary Road in Alexandria. In our opinion it is the biggest deal in that part of Alexandria. As a matter of fact, it is the only restaurant in Alexandria proper that resembles a big city restaurant. Essentially, the restaurant is a steak, upscale seafood, and sushi house. When you enter, the impression is of spaciousness. The ceilings are high and the tables are spaced sufficiently apart to avoid crowding. The restaurant is straight ahead; the sushi bar and raw bar are off to the left. The noise level is somewhat above ambient and gives the impression of a bustling environment, but it is well within acceptable bounds. The menu is about half the size of a sheet of newspaper. It is roughly divided into four parts: the meats, the seafood, the sushi, and--at least when we were there--the Mondavi special dinner which was also billed as the chef's Spring tasting menu. As I recall, there was also at least one vegetarian item you could order. On the back is a very extensive wine list; since we were having the Mondavi dinner, we didn't examine it in any detail. The Mondavi dinner comprised either three courses or four courses, depending on whether you wanted dessert. The courses and wines were: Amuse Bouche: Lobster Medallions with Quail Egg and Caviar; Mondavi 2000 Fume Blanc. Appetizer: Buffalo Carapaccio with White Truffle Oil and Frisee Salsd; Byron 2000 Pinot Noir. Entrée: Fresh Spring Leg of Lamb; Sena 1999 "The Signature Wine of Chile". Dessert: Passion Fruit Tuile; La Famiglia 2001 Moscato Bianco. It was all good. The food was well prepared and very tasty. I don't like lamb very much, but I joined the clean plate club this time. The wines were well selected and went well with the food. I especially liked the Pinot Noir. My wife liked the Sena. It was big and dark and full flavored; the waitperson said it was supposed to be close to Opus One (who knows?) It was interesting to me that the Amuse counted as a separate course; it's not that way at the Obelisk, where it just seems to show up and consists of whatever the chef had a whim to make on that day. The prices weren't cheap. The three-course dinner was $49 and the four-course dinner was $59, plus tax and tip. I think that ordering the regular menu items would put you in the same neighborhood. Since we were there on a Saturday night only a few weeks after the place had opened, the service was at best spotty. We apparently fell into one of those black holes where contact with any of the personnel was infrequent. Our notes read, “Service slow, not well organized; we were quickly forgotten.” We did, however, have a couple of nice conversations with the on-site manager. In summary, with service being the one sore point, we liked the place and are planning to revisit it sometime soon. We liked the atmosphere and we think that what they do they do well. Again, if you like the feeling of a big-city restaurant you might like the place.

Steve: No offense to those who love the Majestic, but it seems to us to have gained popularity on the basis of some hype and sucking up to the opinion makers. It's not that it's bad, it's just that much of what they have is (my wife's opinion) pedestrian. An underappreciated place in Alexandria is the Stardust, in the north end of town. The food is sort of the same as at the Majestic, the bar is funkier, and the atmosphere is more inviting. It merits more attention. LARRY W

We got an invitation to attend some "special dinners" at Finn & Porter in Alexandria, that would have Robert Mondavi Signature Estates wines, featuring Sena, the "Signature Wine of Chile." The cost is to be $49 for three courses and $59 for four courses; apparently Mondavi wines are included with each course. Did anybody else get one of these Mondavi invitations? Has anybody been to this place yet? I understand that it has just recently opened.

Well, we like the Prime Rib. Not only do they cook them the way we like them, but it's a place in which you feel you are getting your money's worth ($$$). It has a quiet, classy atmosphere, and men have to wear ties. So the issue for us is not only where are the best steaks, but where is the best place to eat steaks.

...And another observation. In the film The Thin Man, Nick Charles (William Powell) tells the bartender that the martini cocktail is to be shaken to waltz time.

This is after the fact, but it's my two cents worth on eating in Georgetown. If your visit had been on Sunday (or maybe any other day around noonish), we would have recommended Clyde's. My wife believes that the definition of Sunday brunch is Clyde's in Georgetown. It comprises a combination of atmosphere and well done pub food. LARRY WIENER