capcooks

Atlas was choice of NYC AOL'ers - kind of a last hurrah fleshmeet (I'd write "cum wake" - but that word has been expropriated on the internet, so I guess it's sort of not used much any more.) I first met José at the Old Angler's Inn Capital Cooks with Books dinner with Rick Bayless. (Jeff Tomchek knew Rick from his Chicago days - and chortled with glee when Rick got the Beard award over Charlie Trotter back in '95. Jeff cooked for our wedding.) Sometimes it's tough to be objective about chef friends. I forgot to mention Marcel's. Your Mannekin Pis reference reminded me - Bob Weidemeir's doing interesting things in the old Provence space on Penna Ave. Brussels/ Belgian style "continental" - i.e. French. First found Jaffur's Grenache there on the list - later found it in NYC at Palladin. (Speaking of which, has anyone been to Timothy Dean's? He was J-L's exec chef in NYC... especially when J-L was in Las Vegas at Napa. Now he's got his own place at 16th and K -across from Olives {which is OK, but not stellar - and noisy.}) As for Restaurant 7 - please post. There's got to be something near the "Tyson's shopping experience" besides either the beeper-palaces or the overpriced. (Did someone mention Bob Kinkead's Colvin Run Tavern? Boy was I snookered. Went there thinking a tavern would be casual, homey... got Virginia horsey-style "elegance" and high tickets. The food was good. The value? Let's just say: at those prices, it better be at least good. )

My personal relationship with Fabrizio goes back to '97 - when I was introduced to him in - of all places - the men's department of the Ft. Lauderdale Galleria's Sak's -- by a mutual friend who spotted my wife. We were killing time before a business meeting - Fabrizio and my wife's friend were down to go on a cruise with their wives. Short version: we had just come back from Venice and when I mentioned the restaurants we had found, he said "Oh, you know food." (Not a Tourist Trap in the bunch.) "You have to visit my restaurant." Which we subsequently did. Over the years I have been instrumental in his participation in the Children's Hospital Wine Auction and put together a cookbook proposal for him (back-burnered when he closed and then opened 2 restaurants.) So we're spoiled. And I know we're treated differently than most people (which is why people want to go there with us - and some have less stellar experiences when they go alone. I know. And I go back almost as far with Dario, now completely in charge at Osteria. Fabrizio swings for the fences: sometimes he hits home runs, sometimes he strikes out. For us, more often than not, it's a home run. Dario, on the other hand, is as consistent as a machine. They have different sensibilities, too. Venetian cuisine - from Fabrizio's birthplace - is a little odd to American tastes. Fabrizio's been influenced by his travels -- which is why he calls his "Venetian World Cuisine." You might find his take on Asian food filtered through his Venetian heart, for instance. Dario, on the other hand, is from Puglia - which provides different taste foundations to his cooking. I remember years ago when Italian food was either Southern (red sauce pasta on checkered tablecloths) or Northern (where's the tomato sauce?). Now there's Milanese and Tuscan and Ligurian and Piemontese -- and they're all a little different. That said, we've been known to hit other places in town over the years. We were among the first to go to Citronelle - in shakedown phase 10 years ago. And have been back many times... the most recent was Christmas Day. When Michel is there, it's a terrific experience. When he's not in the kitchen... it's not quite the same experience. First ran into Jeff Tunks at the River Club -- where he made such an impression on Phyllis R that no one else stood a chance. She managed to trash Jeff Tomchek (later of Old Angler's), Frank Ruta and I don't know how many others simply because they were NOT Jeff Tunks. Caught up with his smoked lobster on crispy spinach in San Diego when he was at the Lowes hotel there. And at DC Coast -- he's doing essentially the same thing he did years ago. Doing it very well. But it's such a difficult resso to get... I give up more often than not. As for Tehn Pehn - it's a lot like Roy's (Yamaguchi - started in Hawaii, branched to West Coast and Tokyo- then chained by Outback): Pan Asian filtered through an American sensibility. Well done. Neat decor. Not authentic - and not trying to be. Just tasty. As for Old Town - we seldom venture across the river. In fact, I'm guilty of not exploring DC enough. But we tend to entertain at home when we are home. (Or hit local neighborhood places - like South Beach Cafe, Black's, Persimmon in Bethesda). And when we travel, we bend the plastic seriously. (This weekend, we'll be at Jean-Georges and Atlas in NYC.) Our kids live in NYC and LA -- and we had a business (and still have friends) in South Florida. So we tend to spend our dining out bucks outside the city more than inside. (And outside the city doesn't really count Montgomery County - where the insane wine laws put every restaurant wine list at a complete disadvantage vis a vis DC lists.) So, to field to your question about Elysium: no. Haven't been yet.

Hello. Since 1995 or so, I was Host/ Maven of AOL's Food & Drink Network Restaurant Review Boards... and later, the North American Restaurant Review Boards. In the last year, we have become increasingly marginalized over there - and looking for another outlet. If nothing else - and there is lots of else -- you guys seem to be reasonably sophisticated in your approach. That said, my home is in Bethesda... and we eat in DC frequently (when we're not traveling.) Some generally random observations: 1) I'm in the bag for Fabrizio and Dario at both Teatro and Osteria Goldoni - they're both friends. And when you just say "feed me" — just as you were fed with Jose — you get surprised, a lot. I personally have never "gotten" Rupperts - God knows I tried. But it was just too minimalist for me. Palena can be a treat. And a recent visit to Greenwood's showed me a chef/owner who was being sabotaged by terrible servers. Kaz's Sushi Bistro is doing almost everything Nobu, Matsuhista and Morimoto are doing - but without the glitz and hype and NY/LA (and now Philly) press. Been to all 4. My wife's office is at Dupont Circle, and you're right - it's tough there and around the Farraguts. Levante's is underwhelming. I was not blown away by Vidalia. I understand Penang at 19th and L is terrific (the one is Betehsda is pretty good, too.) I generally agree with you about Kinkead's The answer to both Bob and Gerard is they spend a lot of time wooing and PR-ing the national press. (Gerard would also prefer to spend time playing golf.) So they get noticed by the nationals. John Mariani is a buddy of Fabrizio's - so he gets more respect nationally (Esquire) than he does in local press. And I've talked to him about his prices. But when he shows me prawns he flies in from the Venetian Lagoon at $3 each (his cost) - $26 or so for an order is suddenly not so steep. I'm not a major fan of Galileo -- find it over priced and over rated. Another $$$$ close to Farragut West is Taberna Del Alebardero - good classical Spanish food. Equinox is good, not great - and service - like everywhere else in DC's high end places - is spotty. Good servers are constantly being hijacked. Lionel, a server from the original Goldoni - who followed Fabrizio to Osteria and then to Teatro -- is now at Cafe Milano. 9/11 impacted spending downtown big-time. And with a finite numbert of good - not even great -- servers - they move around. I think I'm trying to do too much with this first post. ANyhow - just wanted to introduce myself. I'll be back.