laniloa

I took a recent San Francisco transplant friend of mine to Firefly last week. I need to convince him that he hasn't left behind all signs of civilization. Firefly did the trick. He cleaned his plate of salmon carpaccio and Artic char. I'm not a seafood kind of girl so I didn't pay much attention to the preparation of his dishes -- just how quickly they disappeared and how big the smile on his face was. I really enjoyed my hangar steak. Just the right blend of seasoning to let the meat shine. The grean beans that accompanied it were great too -- nice and crisp. I hate soft veggies. We both enjoyed the berry sorbet -- it was so creamy it could have passed for ice cream.

Georgetown Safeway had it last night.

NW DC. In the little shopping strip by American Law School and across from Crate and Barrel.

I got a nice pork butt and pork shoulder at Wagshal's last Memorial Day for kalua pig. Cheap, tasty, and very helpful staff.

Reporting in: Since I was stuck with a pile of reading for work, I decided to go to Palena. I'm never patient enough to wait for the roast chicken and figured this would be the perfect opportunity. I nibbed on the fries while I waited and enjoyed a very nice glass of pinot blanc recommended by Derek (who carded me on the day before my 32nd birthday -- talk about cutting through any feeling of getting older). The fries and dauphine potatos were fabulous -- well done, well seasoned. The batter on the onion rings was light and crispy but not very flavorful and the onion was only faintly cooked -- I prefer well done crispy. But the lemons! What a great contrast. Sour and sweet and bursting through the inevitable grease that coats your mouth when snacking on so much fried stuff. The chicken was the best roast chicken I've ever had (sorry mom). The skin was dark and crispy but the meat was sooooo juicy. Lightly seasoned it was great. I couldn't help but wonder why more people can't make something so seemingly simple this well. For dessert, chocolate toffee torte. Rich without cloying sweetness and a light vanilla creme sauce. Their was one small blemish (a frayed napkin) and one medium one -- the tea service for dessert. I appreciate a selection of teas. I choose a verbena mint that has me eager for Saturday's Courthouse farmers' market and the herb lady. BUT. Derek poured the water from the little pot into my cup without the teabag in it. For a good cup of tea you have to pour the water over the bag (actually, for a good cup of tea you need loose tea but I don't expect that in restaurants). And there was still more water in the teapot which would mean two lackluster steeps. So, I put the teabag in the pot and pour the water from the cup back in (splashing a little) and let it steep. Don't let this rant fool you -- fantastic meal and I'm glad I went. This is just a pet peeve of mine. Kind of like the warm red wine thing.

Yeah, but you miss the super sugary birthday cake that my office always gets for people. Nothing like seeing your boss bounce off the walls on a sugar rush.

This used to be one of my staples when I worked on the Hill. Fabulous soups in winter.

When did this happen? I go there about once a month. Easy walk from my place. The place across the street is kind of spotty. Eggplant parm is fabulous while veal parm is shoe leather.

I also really enjoy the bar. My office is down the block so when we want to go for "grown up drinks" or not run into the political crowd at Old Ebbitt, this is where we go. I've never been there for dinner but have really enjoyed the bar menu.

Great minds think alike -- I'm going for a massage on Saturday with Bridget at Serenity in Tenley. She's magic even if the spa doesn't have quite the ambiance of the Four Seasons.

I'm going to dinner at Firefly on Thursday with a new transplant to DC. Part of my effort to reassure him that he hasn't given up all culinary hope after moving from San Francisco (I'm sending him and his fiance to Nectar). Nectar and Cashion's are now high on my list. Both excellent suggestions. I haven't been to Nectar in a while (tried to bring friends there for a pre-theater dinner on Sunday but didn't try to get reservations early enough). I've never dined solo at Cashion's.

OK- My birthday is typically memorial day weekend and friends are out of town. I've gotten into the habit of having a few low key outings with friends all that week rather then a big party. This year I'm doing the same but wanted to treat myself to dinner by myself as well. I'm thinking dining solo at the bar of a restaurant is the way to go. I've already thought of Palena. Where else should I consider?

I have fuzzy memories of having such bundles of beauty at this location for Sunday brunch a couple of years ago.

Count me in!

OK, I admit it. I have some sort of strange mental block when it comes to Indian food. This seems like exactly what I need to get past it! Count me in for 1.

I've gone for dessert at the bar before. We asked them to add a splash of rum to the amazingly rich, bittersweet hot chocolate that comes with the churros. A very nice treat for a winter evening! I keep meaning to try some of the other desserts but then I remember how amazing the churros are.

I had a great lunch at Ceiba yesterday. I had a creamy gazpacho with a nice garlic kick. Perfect way to welcome the sweltering start of summer. They presented the bowl with an avocado and jicama salad and then poured the soup on top. Two companions had the skirt steak and devoured it quickly. Another person had the fish tacos and appreciated the presentation (separate crockery bowls for the condiments) as well as the generous portions of well-seasoned fish. We ordered a few servings of churros for the table to share for dessert. The coffee arrived. The churros still hadn't arrived by the time the first cups of coffee had been drunk. We started to get fidgety about going back to work but not yet to the point of asking the waiter. The manager walked over and apologized for the delay and said the churros would be out shortly and gave us a sampling of goodies (fudge, passion-mango gels, caramel corn) to keep us busy. It was a very nice gesture that we all appreciated. The waiter came over to pour more coffee and also apologized. When they finally brought the churros, the manager explained that they were on the house. While not at all expected, it was a nice touch that reflected the very attentive service we'd received throughout our lunch.

Old Ebbitt is a 2 minute walk from my office. I've had many breakfast meetings there and recommend it.

When I lived in Hawaii, Clinton caused a major traffic jam when he stopped into Zippy's for a plate lunch. Zippy's is Hawaiian style fast food. While I thought it was cool that he wanted to experience full range of cuisine, everyone knows L&L Drive In is better then Zippy's and if you want best plate lunch, get it from a lunch truck.

A friend said he saw a poster stating that California Tortillia was coming in. Was that not still up?

I played hooky on Friday and went to Sette for lunch. I arrived at 1:30 and the place was packed. Just one tiny table in a corner -- perfect for me and my book. I'd been really crabby about the reappearance of winter but the baked gnocchi made me glad for it -- this would seem too heavy for spring. The sauce was a tad too salty (and I'm a salt fiend) and I would hae liked more basil, but neither of these things stopped me from cleaning my plate. I was stuffed for hours but had a big smile on my face.

Listrani's on MacArthur delivers to Glover Park (where I am now) and I think into Cleveland Park. Decent red checker tablecloth Italian. I like that you can get something other then pizza delivered. They have several nice salads (I like the roast turkey, apple, mozzarella) and you can get entrees (just had their eggplant parmesan -- be sure to ask for sauce on your pasta). They have decent ciabatta rolls that arrives still warm. Menu says $15 minimum but I order less and they never commet or charge fee.

I too gleaned most of my restaurant info from Tom before I found eG. I still rely on it for the feedback on the ebbs and flows in quality at some of my favs around town. And, quite frankly, my memory sucks so I don't mind the repetition. Finally, I like the entertainment value. To see the unrealistic expectations, the fledgling foodies stretch their wings, the rants, and some truly funny comments from Tom all make me smile. Most weeks I read after the fact -- takes mere minutes. Considering Tom gets to choose what makes the chat, I think he is remarkably patient with some ridiculously cranky posters. Keep up the good work Tom and congrats on the nom.

If it works out I'll go back for my celebration dinner!

Had an absolutely fabulous meal at Firefly last night. I brought a work colleague I've known since I was 15 (in my 30s now) to talk about future prospects and he loved the place. Always tricky to get people who knew you as a kid to treat you as a colleague. He was in town for meetings and we came from a reception so we skipped appetizers. He had the steak frites and was still talking about it at the meeting this morning. I had a truly wonderful venison ragout with tagliatele, mushrooms, and creme freche. The pasta was more of an accent then main ingredient which lightened the dish considerably. The venison was rich without being gamey and the creme freshe really helped blend the flavors. My colleague loved the atmosphere, even if it was a little noisy, and I left with a serious prospect for my next job!