The Doctor

OK, looks like the Oyster po boy is one of the Thursday specials. And the Cuban sandwich. Truly, Thursday is the day of the divine sandwiches at Breadline.

Have they had the fried oyster po boy with any regularity lately? That sandwich belongs to my special group of restaurant items that I'll never forget because they're so good.

I'm a big Mr. Chen's fan (woodley park metro), especially their Kung Pao Chicken. Had it as recently as 2 or 3 weeks ago (on a Tuesday), and everything was up to its usual self. Ordered tonight again (Monday), and something was off. The lo mein had those mini corn cobs and peapods, which they've never had before. The kung pao was also loaded with extra celery. Could it be a different chef on Monday nights? p.s. Also tried the much-ballyhooed peking duck rolls. Good filling, not so good wrapper. I honestly think they ran out and went next door to Chipotle to borrow some burrito tortillas.

Dan Rather probably wouldn't be retiring tonight if he had only finished his National Guard story with "If anyone knows the full story, please comment."

Hit Willard's in Chantilly over the weekend. I give it two thumbs up. Before I even get to the BBQ, I need to say this is probably the best potato salad I've ever had. This place does not drop the ball on the sides. Had the NC pork, which is very "wet." It's tasty, though. And they give you a ridiculous amount. There was easily a pound of meat on my platter, which cost $8.95 and included cornbread and two sides. Their menu is enormous. You could go there every day for a month and not have the same thing. Plus they had a ton of daily specials. It's also very near the new Air and Space museum by Dulles, fyi.

OK, the burrito report: I've sampled the 15th+K burrito stand twice now. They've got a fledgling website at www.pedroandvinnys.com. Right now, you can find out when they'll be set up. It looks like they'll have a menu up soon. But from what I recall, the menu isn't that hard. You start out by choosing your tortilla (he's got a flavor assortment for a surcharge of 25 cents) and cheese. Next you choose your size (S,M,L) and ingredients (beans and rice). The small doesn't include rice, from what I recall. He's got a black bean concoction and refried beans. You can get one or the other or both for a "black and tan." It comes with a mild tomato and onion salsa if you want it. Sour cream is an extra 25 cents and guacamole is 75 cents. You can then choose an additional sauce, and he's got tons. (Think Rockland's wall of sauces.) He's got an honor system payment box (think Galileo grill), and it's up to you generally to figure out the cost. The ingredients are tasty and in good weather he gets a nice line. He also seems to have a punch card system (think Subway stamps) for frequent customers. Next report: 17th and K burrito guy.

Hit the Tuesday Happy Hour last night, and the operation was a complete success. Showed up around 5:30-ish. There weren't many people in there, so we snagged our choice of tables off to the side of the bar. Ended up having a party of 12 and the service was really great and attentive, remaining consistent as the numbers grew. We stayed until well after 9, a time when other happy hour discounts would be a distant memory. Everyone loved the drinks and the $5 pizza is a delicious and filling steal. I think the place earned a lot of return customers just because of that pizza. I also tried the eggs, which were good, but at 3 half eggs for $5, there's no way I'd take it again over the pizza. The calamari and wings were great, too. Best Happy Hour food I've had in a while.

I have a fantastic deal to report: Kaz is participating with www.waitless.com, and for the month of February, anything you order is 50% off. It's good for carry out only (which I never really associated with the place before, but...). I just tried it for lunch and all went smoothly. A co-worker and I ordered $30 worth of stuff and we got $15 off (the max for this deal). There is a $0.50 surcharge to use waitless, but it's kind of canceled out due to the discount and the lower tax as a result of the discount.

My first visit to Ray's was in October when my parents were visiting. I was talking to them last night and they mentioned they had a really good scallop dish at a restaurant. So I asked my father, "Were the scallops as good as Ray's?" "No," he replied, "not as good. Ray's was the best of everything."

Walking by today, I noticed there's a cart at 15th and K again. I'll assume this is Burrito Guy. I'll sample next week and report back.

Does anyone know anything new about the Burrito Cart situation downtown? I felt adventurous enough to try one today and walked right past the 17th+K guy, choosing to first try the 15th+K guy, having heard more talk about him. (I work at 15th and L.) However, there was no cart guy at 15th+K!!

Ok, made the inaugural (no pun intended) visit last night to BDC in a party of 8. We were treated well from start to finish. The place was busy but not crazy. I walked in and gave them my name and they politely told me that some members of the party had already arrived and were waiting at the bar. After some drinks they seated us even though one member was missing. Service was friendly and if rude, only playfully rude. One of our guests asked to have the specials repeated and the waiter said he should ask the table since there were 8 people, everyone should have remembered something. But the waiter came back less than a minute later and said if we promised not to tell anyone he did so, he would repeat the specials. Note to first timers, the food can get real rich, real quick on you there. I had two glasses of wine, an order of mussels, a steak maison with bearnaise and a creme brulee. This was also after going two months with no alcohol. It was touch and go for a minute as to whether or not my stomach would actually explode. But in the end all were happy. I'll be back soon to try some more interesting dishes. I had my first taste of escargot and the busboy-mentioned sweetbread dish and they were terrific.

Hi TenPenh Saturday night, finally completing the Tunks trilogy (the first visit to each was also during RW). And I must say, I think I saved the best for last. The meal was outstanding. I had the tamarind glazed chilean seabass. This is an entree I must go back for. The Asian Surf and Turf also got rave reviews. I'm not that big of a kimchee fan, so I'm not sure I'd ever get it myself, but the ribeye from it that I sampled was heavenly. This was the fifth place I've been to for Restaurant Week in the last year and it was clear this ranks number one.

I think I'm beginning to realize what was off for me today. The sandwich wasn't as sloppy as usual. This was the first time none of the ingredients fell out or were even in danger of falling out, nor the juices (either from the pork or the green sauce) in danger of soaking through the top and bottom of the sandwich.

Where was everyone today? Showed up about 12:20, there was only one other person in line. Don't you hate it when you try to showcase something for a newcomer and the place has an off day? This was the first time in the 6 or 7 visits that I was a little disappointed. All the ingredients were there, they just somehow failed to become more than the sum of their parts today. Oh well, better luck next time.

Headline: Corduroy makes the grade! I'm really starting to think of Restaurant Week as "Audition Week." Last night, Corduroy got the part. It's one of those places that gives the whole menu over to the promotion. Like my visit to Tosca last time around, you wouldn't even know there was anything different going on except for when the bill came. The service was adequate, not lacking anything. But being a somewhat unusual week in terms of business, I don't think I can (or need to) properly rate it. It was the food I was really interested in. All the employees seemed to be chipping in though to make things run smoother. There was but one blemish on the evening -- somehow my companion and I were forgotten about when waiting for our reserved table. The incident was soon forgotten after we sat down. I'll start in right away with the highlight of the evening: the lobster salad appetizer. There was a $5 upcharge, but it's well worth it. After one bite I was tempted to ask if my second and third courses could also be the salad. This is the best thing I have put in my mouth in a long time. The other appetizer at the table was the mozzerella porcupine, which lived up to its reputation. My lamb sirloin with the side of goat cheese mini ravioli was also perfect. Alcohol is verboten for me right now sadly, but a nice wine pairing would've made it shine even more. Do they sell wines by the glass? I didn't pay much attention to the list. My friend also raved about his entree, the tuna steak. For dessert, I went with the creme brulee, pretty standard. The chocolate tart with carmelized banana was a big winner in the dessert category. DCFoodie, did you make it to Corduroy last night? I notice it was mentioned at your blog, and during dinner my buddy (who is visiting Spezie this weekend on your rec) leans over and says, "is that the guy from that site?" Since spring rolls were not an option for the appetizer, I predict a spring roll/lobster salad happy hour in my very near future. May Tom Power's reign be long and prosperous...

I called this afternoon to make a reservation for next Wednesday evening. A party of 9 at 7 p.m. I was explicitly told that all members of the party must be present and be no later than 10 minutes or we'd lose our table! Maybe they expect it to be busy because it's inauguration eve, not sure. I need somewhere that can accomodate all nine of us, and this seemed like a good place. Still, no one wants to take a crapshoot on whether they'll enjoy the food. I've seen repeat mentions here of the mussles, steak and frites, and duck confit. I actually eyed all of those on the menu before reading this thread, but is there anything else I should consider? I'd hate to have my entire meal planned over a week in advance. No excitement in that.

Corduroy tomorrow night (someone cancelled right before I called today!) and TenPenh on Saturday. And after some research, I'm sad to report it looks like no one will be extending their specials a second week, as has been custom. There's some big Texas oil money coming through here, meaning a good chance for these places to vacuum the wallets!

Fortune has named Wegmans the #1 company to work for in the US: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

Thanks for your efforts, DCFoodie. I'll be completing my RW visits to the Jeff Tunks trilogy with a visit to Ten Penh. I give DC Coast's and Ceiba's efforts two thumbs way up. Also, I did Tosca last time and it was amazing. Not only did they offer the full menu (just a few minor upcharges for things like foie gras), but they were incredibly flexible with the courses. The have appetizers, pasta, entrees, and desserts. You could almost do any combo you wanted (eg, pasta, main course, dessert; appetizer, pasta, dessert; appetizer, entree, dessert). I also am having an internal debate. I will probably be organizing a birthday dinner for someone that week, and I'm wondering whether to do Tosca or Corduroy. I'm seriously leaning toward Tosca, but Corduroy (I've never been) gets a lot of buzz here and I don't want to discount it. Any thoughts?

I for one love Restaurant Week. You just have to be smart about where you go (i.e. if the places have generated positive RW comments in the past and they offer a diverse menu). One dilemma though, do we put our reviews in this thread or the thread for the actual restaurant? Last time around I wrote pretty detailed reviews for Tosca and Ceiba in the RW thread. Now when I look at the threads for those restaurants I wish I had put them there where I think they'd be of more use.

I asked the same Sunday dinner question in Tom S.'s chat a few weeks ago. His answer was that he had a very memorable Sunday meal at The Little Fountain Cafe. (one of the places he likes to plug a lot). Sadly I was never able to take his recommendation because I contracted the dreaded mono, but someday...

Actually, it's my favorite wordplay of all: The Spoonerism!

I can't belive I forgot to mention the biscuits in my report!! A more daring member of my party actually lifted some uneaten ones from an adjacent table after they had left!

Holy moses, I just started looking at that menu. It's cheaper than I remembered! Take a look at the "land and sea" combos. Those were big hits when I went, and the portions were so large people had difficulty finishing.