Tweaked

Speaking of new(ish) places, has any one been to that more upscaley looking bar next to Yanni's greek restaurant in Cleveland Park? I walked past it last weekend on my way to Sorriso (the new Italian place), and thought I don't remember seeing that before. By the way Sorriso served a terrible tuna carpaccio with arugula salad, the arugula was yummy, but the slices of tuna were half frozen, literally ice crystals. The capers were good though.

As of last weekend, the sign for California Toritlla was up in the end window.

Some thing I've noticed in his Chats, and which Bilrus mentions above, is the number of times someone asks Tom I'm going to be in London or Paris etc. where should I eat, and the number of people that report back that they had a great meal at the restaurant Tom suggested. And Steve, I was at Zaytinya last night and everything was spot on. and for a Tuesday night at 7:00pm certainly full. esp. the bar area, where I was eating. Sorry no time or room for dessert (had a curtain call at the Shakepeare Theater). Finally, although I generally like the Wash Post food section, I wish they would devote more time to chefs and other people in the biz. For instance, the New York Times food section today has a front page article about Chef Morou Ouattara of Signatures and the influence his mom and his upbringing in Africa has on his cooking. Now why is that in the NY Times, that should be in the Wash Post! It seems the Post devotes little time on profiling what goes on behind the scenes, and I think would make a great addition to the section.

Yeah RFD use to be a place called Coco Loco, which was pretty much known for being a late night latin dance spot. So if you imagine a bunch of pretty young things dressed in short black skirts, sipping drinks and dancing to salsa, the space makes alot more sense.

Yeah the dining room definitely falls into the grand hotel category. But what's really cool is how they have the open kitchen set up. You have this formal dining area and its almost as if the kitchen is the stage at a theater. or as if during construction they just didn't bother to construct the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. To walk into a formal dining room and then have this gleaming industrial stainless steel kitchen directly connected, it's almost surreal! btw, the food produced in this kitchen is almost surreal as well! Last night's dinner was truly extraordinary.

Yeah, Taj is pretty mediocre...when I want a Indian/Middle Eastern fix I go over to House of Kebab on M Street between 18th and 19th, they do a take out buffet for $6.99 (I think) that is generally decent (at least for take out buffet).

It appears Heritage India is opening a new location in Dupont Circle in the space that formerly housed Acropolis (on Connecticut Ave just south of the circle, next to the Big Hunt). They have a big sign up advertising for waitstaff etc. and claiming they will be opening soon.

At times, the Capitol Lounge serves good wings. Ssometimes there is BBQ sauce mixed in, which is not good, and sometimes the wings are kinda small, but at times they serve some of the best wings I've had outside of the Upstate NY area. and here's an interesting factoid about wings: When I went to college in Albany NY in 1990, almost all out staters and many New York City/Long Island/Jersey people had never heard of Buffalo wings, and now they are ubiquitous nationwide. How far the wing has traveled. In Buffalo I'm partial to wings from a bar called Brennan's. On Transit Boulevard, a mile or so from Buffalo's airport. They serve some of the biggest wings I've seen and the sauce is just right. Also the Anchor Bar in Buffalo will mail order you wings. Anchor Bar Gotta get me some wings

A question for you all. I'm looking for places that make good dessert destinations in DC. As an example, romantic dinner at one restaurant but then off to another restaurant to linger over dessert and coffee. What restaurants put the thought and effort into dessert to make them dessert destinations? Do restaurants appreciate this business or do they look down upon people who show up at 10:00pm looking to spend an hour over dessert, perhaps some after dinner drinks, and a little coffee.

Is Bobby a new chef there, because I went to Pesce last summer with my parents and was seriously underwelmed. The beet and goat cheese salad had virtually no beet or goat cheese, my fish was seriously over cooked and dry and the fish stew that my dad had was very dull. My mom had a whole roasted snapper which was fine but nothing special The only high notes were the bread and the mussels in a curry thai sauce which, I will give them, was amazing. It was packed on a Saturday night and over Memorial Day weekend, so maybe things were off but nothing left an impression for me to return.

In a way, I'm glad it's not in Washingtonian, true food lovers will find Nectar and places similar either through word of mouth from people they trust or from sites like this. Let people who pick their restaurants based on Washingtonian go to the same old tired places!

has anyone been? we're thinking about going for a friend's b-day...

You should be fine on a Tuesday...they have about 8 comfy chair stools (with backs) at the bar, as well as a number of tables around the front room...the bartenders (esp. Derrick) are very friendly so I would recommend sitting at the bar. The roast chicken takes about 40 minutes to cook, but well worth the wait

Hey John did you see the chef blurb on yourself in today's Express?

How about Palena or Nectar?

The first time I ordered the patates taganites, I was disappointed when they arrived, french fries with yogurt, but they quickly became very addictive! mmm, now I have a serious craving!

Unscientifically, I would imagine that that would be the medium term trend at bars and restaurants...ban passed, a short term fall off in patrons as people gripe about the ban, and then a gradual increase in patronage back to pre ban levels. People still want to be social and go out to eat and drink, and given the choice between staying at home or going out they will eventually pick going out and just dealing with the smoking issue.

As a non-smoker, my position is that it should be up to the restaurant/bar owners. It seems like many restaurants in DC are already smoking only in the bar areas, not in the dining area. I'm not sure if this is by law or by not...anyone have any have info on this? In any case, there seems to be a reasonable compromise, no smoking in the dining area, smoking in the bar area, many restaurants seem to be able to implmement this with enough of a barrier between the two so that both sides are happy. As for bars, let's face it, people at bars smoke, even people who aren't regular smokers. I personally feel that if someone opened a nonsmoking bar with a nice atmosphere, good drinks etc. people will happily patronize the place to avoid smelling like smoke. I personally feel that bar owners who are investing their money to open an establishment should have the right to dictate whether or not there is smoking. Patrons can vote with their dollars. I know in the case of NYC, bars/clubs have been forced to open outside areas where people can smoke, which has only generated further complaints from nighbors about noise and litter on the streets. And in San Fran one club was told that the police would go into the club afterwards and collect and count any cigarette butts found on the dance floor and levy a fine accordingly. This all seems pretty excessive to me. On the otherhand, many years ago I was in Tacoma and some one had renovated a old fire station into a non smoking bar, exposed brick, excellent microbrews etc. and the place was packed, and this was well before the anti-smoking in bars/restaurants movement started. so it can be done.

Living on the Hill, I'm finding this debate rather interesting. As many lament, the dining scene on the Hill isn't stellar (I live on the SE/Eastern Market side of the Hill) with a few restauraunts that I would consider good. Montmartre being probably the best. I find the Hill and Old Town somewhat similar in that they are both residental urban areas where many people commute to the office, although I would suspect that the age and house prices in Old Town are higher. But neither are really food destinations. Obviously Old Town caters more to the tourist element then the Hill does. Anyway, in the few times that I've been to Old Town, there is always plenty of people around, both residents, DC/MD/VA-ites, and out of town tourists. So are chefs just playing it safe? Knowing that if they dish out mediocre takes on "Bay area regional food" (here I'm thinking of the seafood restaurants near the Torpedo Factory) that they'll still pack the place. Do these places never close, because they are profitable enough serving food by formula that there isn't turn over in good restaurant spaces. What would happen if someone said screw it and opened a mid price (said entrees in the high teens) restaurant that was serving creative and innovative food? Has that ever happended in Old Town? It seems that there is the population of local high income residents alone that could support such a place.

I've heard bad things about Marty's as well...they don't seem to be getting off to a good start!

I'd hardly call Montemartre very hit or miss...true some of the apps are a miss but every entree I've tried has been great. start with the mussels or the frisee salad with gizzards move onto the hanger steak, which is awesome, also note worthy is the scallops, if rabbit is your thing go for it. The tuna dish and the salmon dish are both good. I also had drinks and a nice cheese plate at Bistro Bis last night (on the Senate side). Also check out Mr. Henry's for a quality burger and the El Salvadorean places along Penn Ave are all solid and inexpensive. Eastern Market is great, check out the sandwiches at Canali's Deli and his Tortilla Cafe across the street for more inexpensive El Salvadorean take out (esp. the papusa platter). There is also a Firehook for your pastries and bread. Aatish can also prepare noteworthy if a bit expensive Indian food, go with the chicken tikka makani. otherwise, the rest is fairly mediocre.

while not the mob scene of the weekend Zaytinya does brisk business on Monday-Wednesday. The bar area was packed until 11pm last Wednesday. I would imagine large parties on Saturday nights would make any restaurant nervous...from my own restaurant experience large parties have a way of gumming up the works, however, with the high volume of business Zaytinya handles, I would imagine they should be able to handle it (with a smile on their face!)

A e-gullet triple header! I ate there last night! The menu consists of 6 appetizers, 6 entrees, 6 desserts. Dinner opened with a selection of 4 breads served table side on a silver platter and a small ramakin of very rich farm butter mixed with sea salt. Appetizers Pumpkin, yogurt and crisp sweetbreads soup: Small morsels of crispy sweetbreads in a pool of yogurt arrived in a bowl in to which pumpkin puree is decanted tableside. Raw tuna topped with sun dried tomato, pine nuts, and basil. A long thin slice of ruby red tuna, topped with a mixture of sun dried tomato, pine nuts and basil. Entrees Duck with cabbage, potato and caraway. Sliced duck breast cooked to the ordered medium rare, and served with a round of cabbage and potatoes and a caraway sauce. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if the accompaniments really worked with the duck. Hanger Steak, mushrooms, potato and spinach. A healthy serving of medium rare hanger steak, with porcini mushrooms, sauteed fingerling potatoes and a spinach puree. This was a dish that really worked! The waiter also suggested a very tasty 1999 Finca Sobreno. Dessert Cheese Plate. A serving of five cheese Valencay, a goat cheese which we found to be a bit bland. Coulommiers, a brie style cheese with citrus notes that was excellent. Lincolnshire Poacher, a hard cheddar style cheese from England, also excellent. Beenliegh Blue, just not a fan of blue cheese at all, so I won't comment. Trou Du Cro, described as stinky, and really perhaps the highlight for its addictively pungent yet creamy flavor. Although the cheese plate was served with a slice of toasted raisin bread, we wished for little fruit to round the plate off. Fall Fruit Cobbler with Warm White Russian Milkshake Almost souffle-like in its tenderness, filled with blueberries, backberries, raspberries and apple. Served with a glass of white russian milkshake, that really has to be tried to appreciate how good it is. Dinner was rounded off with a strong cup of Kenya AA coffee.

A lot has been covered already, but I thought this was a really cool eating experience. I also met Woodlygrrl, who brought some friends, so it turned into e-gullet bring your friends to the Minibar night! Here's the menu, although the dishes are presented in a somewhat different order: Things started off with a small bowl of chicken curry flavored popcorn. Then a small spritzer bottle with mojitos. Next came the flights. Each dish was about one bite. Cones (Think mini ice cream cones) with tomato and basil trout roe and cream cheese Jicama Rolls with salmon and orange powder with tomato and altoids Jicama Wraps tuna, sesame and soy gelatin apples and cabarales blue cheese ceasar salad (deconstructed) Raviolis Ravioli of Mango (the "pasta" is thinly sliced mango) with anchovy mousee with avocado and tabassco oil Ravioli of Jicama with guacamole with tuna ceviche Ravioli of Pineapple with cured salmon and crispy quinoa with trout roe Sandia Flight This was 4 squares of watermelon, hollowed out and each with a different filling with balsamic and olive oil with tomato seeds with balsamic and trout roe with parmesan Injection These were foods that came with a small squeeze tube with which you injected liquids in to your mouth tomato with mozzarella soup and basil (a poached cherry tomato with a tube of liquid mozzarella and basil. pop the tomato in your mouth and then squeeze the liquid in after) lobster americaine Hudson Valley Foie Gras foie gras on a stick wrapped in cotton candy cold and hot foie gras and corn chocolate truffle, foie gras and tamarindo Next came the series of one off dishes and this is when the meal really took off Corn on the cob: baby corn, with a corn puree, and corn shoots Wild pink scallop with frozen mango soup Sardine in a crust of bread Conch fritters with a liquid center Potato mousse with American caviar and vanilla Tuna with a rice mousee, crispy rice and soy sauce Guacamole with tomato sorbet Deconstructed New England clam chowder Meat and Potates, potato mousse with lamb and a truffle scented napkin! Mango soup with pop rocks Pina Colada Some of the winners: Foie gras and cotton candy, the injections, conch fritters, potato mousse with caviar, deconstructed clam chowder, meat and potatoes. Minibar isn't going to be for everyone, but if you like to think outside the box and play with food on different conceptional levels, this is the place for you. The cost is $65 but for some reason there were a couple supplemental charges and we bought a bottle of wine ($32)...I think all told it came to about $100 each. btw, the young chef, Ed, who is pictured above, was serving us, he's 22! and seemed to be get a kick out of being a minor celebrity on the e-gullet board. He laughed when I said "Hey you're the dude from Ohio who followed Jose to DC"

The chestnut soup with rabbit sausage, duck gizzards, crispy onions and chives at Laboratorio last night was fantastic. Some felt it was too salty but I thought it was spot on. not sure what Roberto is offering on the regular Galileo menu.