littlechinagirl

Thanks, Sneakeater. Del Frisco's is apparently quite popular with our NYC office (and was recommended to us by a colleague up there). This is all very helpful, as neither my boss nor I are incredibly familiar with the current NYC food scene (and I think he's pretty interested in the food). This confirms my hunch.

This is great - thanks, all for the suggestions! I'm looking into them now. In the meantime, my boss had me look into Del Frisco's (near the office) and Beacon - both of which can take us. If it comes down to these two, is there an obvious winner?

Hi - I've been a bit out-of-touch since becoming a mom recently (not to mention I live in Washington, DC), and my boss has tasked me with choosing a restaurant to celebrate a recent success with his team for next Friday (eek!). We will likely have around 16 people (so perhaps a private room?) with one vegetarian - I think we're tring to stay away from tasting menus. Budget is about $150 per person (food, drinks, tax, tip). Would be great if it was near the office (on the Avenue of the Americas, near the Diamond District, I believe), or easy to get to from there. I'd really be grateful for any advice!! Thanks!

Mustard- any kind. Blech. Pickles and picked things Horseradish Relish Wasabi Raw onions- though I love them grilled, caramelized, etc. Milk- though I LOVE dairy products- cheese, cream, yogurt, bring it on! Cooked fruit- this includes hot fruit pies. Ketchup on anything other than fries, bugers, and dogs- and in small doses. Grape flavored candy, grape juice. Love wine and grapes, though. Water chestnuts make me gag. Really- I heave and spit them out. Can't help it.

My husband and I will be visiting NYC this weekend (from DC) and have reservations for Sunday Brunch at Artisanal. My question- do they offer the grilled cheese sandwiches at this time? The gougeres? The macaroni and cheese? Thanks!

And thank you philadining and Vadouvan for the El Vez reassurance! I'll be sure to report back.

Thanks Buckethead- Tria sounds great, and I'll look into Continental Midtown as well. Unfortunately, some friends (of one of the group) that live right around the corner from El Vez suggested that we meet there, and I'm not sure I have much say in that, though I suppose I could try. I've heard of Lolita from scanning another site, and I was hoping that was the "nice Mexican spot" to which they were referring, but alas, it's not. Thanks again for your suggestions!

Hello, A group of us (from DC) are visiting Philadelphia this Saturday to take our pregnant friend out to lunch. We're looking for something relaxing, not smoky, not too upscale (we'll probably be in jeans), with great food, of course. I've been tasked with the job of picking a place. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. (Also, the 5 of us- sans pregnant friend- might stay on for dinner with other friends at El Vez, followed by gelato at Capogiro. I've heard tons obout Capogiro and am very excited to try it, but how is El Vez?) Thanks so much!! edited to add: One of us is a vegetarian.

Thanks all for the well wishes and wonderful-sounding suggestions! I'll have fun checking those other threads out (thank you mizducky and rjwong). They should keep me busy for a while. Mizducky- your suggestion for Nepenthe isn't the first, so I think we'll now add that to our "must do" list for Big Sur. rjwong- I hadn't realized LA was the place for Chinese food- thanks for the heads-up! All your suggestions sound great. Not sure how long we'll be in LA (no more than 2 days- probably only one), and we're certainly open to all types of Latin American places, but I think "Good Mexican" is what I've been missing all my life (according to every transplanted Californian). (My neighborhood has a huge Salvadoran population, but apparently NO good Mexican). :) Carlsbad- Thanks for the I-5 advice! We'd been wavering on that- maybe now we'll do I-5 partway, then trek over to I-1 near Santa Maria (does that sound OK?) I believe we're staying at the Mariott Courtyard in San Diego (haven't booked a San Fran room yet, but we've heard good things about the Kimpton Group...). Thanks EVERYONE- you've been a tremendous help- I'm sure we'll eat well, thanks to you! I'll be sure to report back. :)

Hey west coasters, My fiance (husband) and I will be flying out to Cali from DC in little over a week for our honeymoon! We'll be spending 3 nights in San Diego, then driving up the coast (along Rt. 1, I believe) to San Francisco, where we'll stay for about 3 nights. We're planning on stopping along the way (maybe LA, Monterey, Big Sur... we really should have a more concrete itinerary, given that we're 10 days from leaving...) I would LOVE some dining suggestions (of all price ranges, though we can only splurge once or twice). I know I'm too late for French Laundry reservations (by a few months), but I'd really appreciate anything else you can throw at us. We're open to all types of cuisine. And if anyone has any must-do day trip ideas, we'd love to hear those, too! Thank you ever so much, Martha edited to add: romantic is a plus, but not a necessity, and we really would like some lower-priced restaurants, too... and we can't get good Mexican out here, so that's one cuisine we're super excited to dive into! Oh- and at least one good Chinese meal in S.F.

I've had their paella once, and don't expect to again- it was mediocre and dry. I had much better luck soon afterwards with the paella at Santa Rosa- but a subsequent trip's paella contained fish and shellfish that was past its prime. Sigh...

Dinerboy and I were actually seated next to a small child (with three adults) at Rays a few months ago that was watching Monsters, Inc. (I believe) on a small laptop. It didn't bother me, as the sound was very low and I'm a generally easy-going diner who rarely even notices kids. And I don't think anything could have ruined that meal, anyway. But it certainly was the first time I'd seen that. Could it be a new trend? I can't see how it's good for the kids...

As long as I'm in "Joe H mode," a great little divey Italian place in that area is Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico in King's Contrivance Village in Columbia, Maryland. ← My parents LOVE that place! (unless I'm getting my villages confused. And I spent 18 years of my life in that town. Damn college partying...)

Joe H, you must have waited on my dear old mostly-blind great-uncle, "Uncle Buddy". He lived right off of Chevy Chase Circle and was a regular at that Hot Shoppe, I believe, relying on friends to take him there whenever they went. It's comforting to know that good people like you were looking out for him and his friends. Thank you for your post.

Awesome, thanks! Open Table showed a few available slots a couple days ago- I'll cross my fingers that I'm not too late!

Ooh- perfect time for this thread to reappear, as my fiance confessed that he is planning to take me there on my birthday next Thurs. (though, as of now he has no reservations and is scheduled to work...). Anyway- as I've never been but have heard much about this lobster burger- is it only available in the lounge? If so- what are my best changes at scoring a table in the lounge sometime next week? Does the lounge even take reservations? (Of course, I welcome anything anyone has to say/recommend about any part of Citronelle...)

Hallelujah. I hate our Ghetto Safeway (always guaranteed to be out of whatever I went for (no mushrooms? At all?), and I've learned long ago not to buy meat there), and whenever I visit Reston's Harris Teeter it feels like the sky opens up and the angels sing down on it. (haven't yet visited a Wegmans. I don't think I should do that to myself) At least I have YES. And on a nice walking day with a small grocery list- the Whole Foods on P.

Vanilla ice cream with balsamic vinegar and fresh mint. So refreshing! And the ice cream had a cheesecakey taste. Great until we hit the pool of vinegar that had gathered at the bottom. (we were told this is an Italian desert) (sorry if this is common knowledge- it was new to me!)

The one time we went, we got the hard (I mean REALLY hard), old ones. I remember the fresh, hot churros from my high school cafeteria as being MUCH better. It was such a disappointment, and we haven't been back since (also due to a mediocre, dry paella), which is a shame, since we live about 30 yards down the same block. Came thisclose to giving it another shot during the first snowfall on Wed. (it just sounded so cozy!), but ended up at the rooftop happy hour at the Reef with heavy wool blankets and hot spiked cider, just in time to witness the inaugural fireworks (and lament).

Thanks again for the great suggestions- we ended up at D & B, and I think the sick child in question enjoyed herself very much (can't say much for the food, though). I left early that day and didn't get half of these sugestions, and it took me 2 hours to get from Reston to Bethesda (leaving at 4) due to beltway traffic, so D & B was more of a flash decision. Next time we might try Cafe Deluxe or Mamma Lucia's (their stay has been prolonged, due to unfortunate complications). Again- thanks!

Cool- thanks!

This isn't so much a food question as it is an inquiry about a FUN, kid-friendly if not kid-focused, family restaurant. Casual and inexpensive, preferably near NIH. Family is in town from Texas with 2 small children, one of whom is very sick and could use some cheer. (is there a Chuck-E Cheese in the area?) Thanks!

I've been there once (3 or 4 yrs. ago) and don't plan on ever returning. At my then-boyfriend's urging, I tried the Banzai burger, and my stomach still churns in memory of the mouthfuls of THICK GOBS OF EQUAL PARTS TERIYAKI SAUCE AND MAYO. Swirled together. Urf.... the horror. That's all I remember of my burger. I managed to get down about 2 bites.

1856, I believe. My great grandmother met her second husband there eons ago.

Oooh, I just discovered Vitamin Water (the lemonade flavor- not sure what it's called). I like it- not too sweet, very refreshing. That and Honest Tea are the only drinks I buy anymore.