The Doctor

Hello all. I've been debating starting this thread for a few days, since there seem to already be a number of "help me out" subjects on the board. But I realized I have some questions that won't pop up elsewhere, so I thought I'd go ahead. My folks are coming to visit Columbus Day weekend and we'll be most likely to have a meal out every day they're here (Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon). I have a few faves around town (Cashion's, DC Coast, Tosca) that are floating around my mind, but this brings me to the real reason behind my posting: we'll be dining out for four straight days and can't afford to drop $150+ per meal for the three of us every day. I can tell you what I'm thinking right now. We're almost certain to hit the Old Ebbitt Grill. We dig the oyster bar and the decor. The service is usually very attentive and this kind of price point is easy on the wallet (entrees in high teens). After some diligent thread reading here I'm also eyeing Ray's The Steaks and Pesce, neither of which I've been to. Probably more likely the latter because they dig the seafood. I wouldn't be opposed to trying the front room at Palena, but I am concerned about hassle. I've never been so I don't know what to expect. I mean, is it easy to go in there and get a table, or is going in there with the intention of eating in a front booth not a common pratice and only attempted by eGulleteers in the know? So I'm looking for recommendations that won't break the bank. Location is not a problem. Anything in the city is fine, and I'd even be happy to spend some time around Old Town Alexandria. Seafood recommendations would be nice, but if you kind folks wholeheartedly agree Pesce will meet my needs, I'd like to give that a go. I guess I'll post more thoughts/questions as I think of them or if/when replies come in. Thanks for your attention!

Well, if any place can survive in that spot, I think it will/should be Straits, from the praise it's getting here. If it goes under, I'll probably rethink my opinion on Lauriol's influence. Don't get me wrong, LP should never be a "destination" restaurant, but it has a lot going for it that I've enjoyed as a neighborhood resident (the building itself/roofdeck, salsa, fajitas, cheap brunch). I remain the optimist and hope everyone can get along.

Ohh, kway teow, among my most beloved dishes from the far east. I think I need to get over there immediately. They'll have to wow me to win me over from the cheaper Spices or Cafe Asia. And as a resident of the neighborhood, can we live and let live with all the eateries? No reason to praise one place at the expense of another.

While we're asking questions about first visits, (and this may not even be a question that needs to be asked), would my party be treated as second class guests if no wine were ordered at the meal? My parents are coming next month and this is on my short list of places to go. We'd do wines by the glass if anything, and I couldn't guarantee that. Seems like the reputation steakhouse bills have for being skyhigh is half due in part to $$ bottles of wine. But from what I hear this is no ordinary steakhouse. Am I being paranoid? They're footing the bill so I'd prefer not worry about disappointment.

I noticed Ollie's Trolley was mentioned earlier in the thread. Does anyone know if the 15th and L location is affiliated with the 12th and F location? I work around the corner from the L street location and I love it. The Olley burger with Ollie fries is the bomb. There's something about the hamburger that keeps me from giving it a 10/10, but the greasiness of the ollie sauce with the tomato onions and cheese blows my mind. And those taste-of-a-thousand-spices fries are unbeatable anywhere. I'd like to know if I could get the same meal at the downtown location. They look like two totally different establishments, yet they have the same name and are only a few blocks apart. What gives?

OK. Time for the report. This is a restauraunt that is 40 miles away. It's obviously not an every day destination, but is it worth it?? Dear God yes. I mean, Madline Albright and Robert Duvall can't be wrong, can they? My entourage pulled up at about 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon to this cozy little establishment. See above links for pictures. The slogan for the day on the board outside read: "Rock is dead. Long live paper and scissors." It was inbetween the lunch and dinner hour, so a chef is entitled to a break, right? We walked in to find the owner enjoying a nap on one of the indoor benches. By this point we knew we were in for a memorable experience. You can find pictures of the fellow and two of his creations on this page: http://www.co-opliving.com/coopliving/issu...04/downhome.htm Mr O'Neil has a lot of charisma. He and his wife built up an establishment worth of its reputation and I really felt sadnees knowing it's been less than a year since she passed away. The menu comes in two parts: the normal, heavily bbq slanted menu, and the list of the day's specials (which varied from quiche to soup to fried shrimp on Saturday.) The regular menu is a jumble of strange names, witty remarks and food items. I chose the "Sol Rubenstein," a barbecue-ized version of the reuben sandwich. He starts with the bread pictured in the left sandwich in the above link. It's hard to describe except that it's light, buttery and golden crisp. Then it's filled with sliced brisket, cole slaw, and swiss cheese. Most of the sandwiches and entrees fall in the $6 to $8 range, but my friend (our only repeat visitor on this trip) went with the BBQ burrito at $12.95. It's your basic burrito served with a bbq meat (chicken in this case), baked beans, cole slaw, tomatoes and sour cream. Really amazing. Our other companion had the smoked chicken salad, also outstanding. The sandwiches were served with what the menu calls "those fries." You will know why when you eat them. Really unlike anything I've ever had before, these are wedges covered in some herby mixture and deep fried. Reminded me of the french fry version of a sour cream and onion potato chip. I didn't try any dessert because the food was so filling and we wanted to hit this little pie joint in town. The decor inside is a little quirky, but the place is certainly clean, contrary to what you might think from looking at the outisde. The booths are wooden and cloth placemats and napkins sit on the tables. Planet Wayside is in Hamilton, VA, which isn't too far from the Leesburg Outlets. So if you're headed out to do some shopping, it's easy to catch lunch here and maybe even stop at the Dulles Wegmans on the way back??

In case anyone is interested, the "crummy but good" reviews live on at the WAMU website: http://www.wamu.org/mc/crummy.html And for the record, I give two thumbs up to Bob & Edith's. They have some of the finest corned beef hash this side of the Mississippi, and I'm quite sure their butter is laced with some form of cocaine. It doesn't happen every time, but sometimes they'll slap a ridiculous amount of butter on your toast and you'll think "OK, this is insane, I can't eat that much butter," yet you'll be licking the plate and suffering from withdrawal in minutes.

Thank you hannnah! This is much appreciated. In return, all I can give is a smile:

Hello all, I see aboe there's mention of reports in the Post? Do they have these online? I couldn't seem to track anything down. About 95% of my dining is done in the district, so I'm curious to see reports on those places.

Anyone have any recommendations at this joint? At long last I'm about to make my first trip out there tomorrow. I believe it's listed at the number one spot in the "Quest for the Holy Grill" crummy but good book: http://members.aol.com/crummybut/ And here's another little write-up I found: http://www.tackytreasures.com/tackyhtml/places-wayside.html

Would it be outrageous or offensive if I asked for the chicken makhani to be served a little milder? I had a late meal there last Thursday and thought the butter sauce was heaven on earth, but the spice nearly did me in. I've been at plenty of places who ask your preference on spice level, but I'd like to stay on these peoples' good side. (btw, it was 9 pm on a thursday, dining room was not even 2/3 full, and the staff was very inattentive. The water wasn't even refilled until we were nearly finished with our meals.)

DonRocks, was this lobster risotto you speak of some sort of seasonal special? I can't seem to locate it on the menu listed on their website. And don't forget about Tosca's pretheater menu, $32 for three courses with just a few slight restrictions. A fantastic deal.

What the... I was able to get in by going through the restaurant finder section: http://restaurants.washingtoncitypaper.com...e9eb45a787e2325

Well, today was my third and best visit yet (and third grill location)! The pork shoulder was very tasty, and the foray into cannoli country was nice too. Has anyone tried the pizza yet? It's the only choice no one's mentioned having, I think.

For what it's worth, Rosebud, there are others (me and my dining companions) who feel exactly the same way you do. A lovely experience, but there was something missing that just didn't make it greater than the sum of its parts.

Thank you Mark. I have been craving "comfort food" level Indian in the neighborhood for some time.

You mean quality food at reasonably prices? I'm glad to see more Thai in the area, since I'd like some healthy competition for Thaiphoon. (And a closer place that can rival Thai Tanic's quality). In other 18th street topics, has anyone ever been to the Mount Everest restaurant near 18th and S? (Or JoJo's around the corner at like 14th and U)? I can get some cheap gift certificates through restaurant.com and since they're in my hood, I'd like to give them a try if they're any good.

Emailed from Galileo yesterday: Galileo Grill Dates Pork Shoulder, Sausage and more! The upcoming Galileo Grill dates are: Monday, August 16 Thursday, August 26 Friday, August 27 Tuesday, August 31 Thursday, September 2 Time: Noon til the grill is empty. Take your lunch to go or have a seat at a table on our courtyard terrace. Come early for the best selection.

Don't forget Ben's Chili Bowl! -The Doctor, drooling at the thought of the half price walrus platter... (not on sundays though...)

Ohhhhhh... Tosca, we're better for having met ye. Paid a visit last night for their restaurant week extension. To be honest, for most of the other places I've been to during this and restaurant weeks past, I knew I'd like them, so they didn't really have to win me over. But not knowing what to expect from Tosca, I was happily surprised. I was cautious after seeing one reviewer's tale of a "comically bad" experience, but was then encouraged my more positive reviews. They were soooo flexible with their menu. It has four sections -- appetizers, pasta, entrees, and dessert. They let you mix and match pretty much any way you wanted, as long as dessert came last. You could start with an app, move to a pasta, then dessert. Or, you could have a main course instead of the pasta. But to my table's surprise, you could start with a pasta, move to a main course, then finish with a dessert. And only one item on the menu contained an upcharge -- an appetizer that involved foie gras. In fact, the steak entree a friend ordered was $28 alone on the menu, and there was no extra cost for it. Our service was perfect. We had a younger waitress who was very personable. They even looked past the fact that one of my inconsiderate friends was wearing a collarless short sleeve shirt with flip flops. The food was outstanding. I started with the grilled octopus, chantarelles, and sea urchin sauce (mostly out of curiosity, as the chef's special duck ravioli was also calling my name). I followed with the copper river salmon with swiss chard and sweet corn foam. Normally I'd go for a more interesting fish, like the sea bass (a companion had it -- oustanding). But I can't get enough of the copper river, and being a corn lover, the foam sealed the deal. For dessert, my wish for a fruity concoction was satisfied with their peach and blueberry struedel. Friends, Tosca has a new customer. And with their $32 pre-theater menu, I think I'll be back sooner rather than later. (It's pretty much the same deal as the RW menu, just with fewer choices -- meaning their everyday deal is better than many places' restaurant week offerings!)

Well, thanks to Tosca for extending their RW specials. I had to cancel my original reservation since I'll be out of town this weekend, and was nervous after reading a few initial posts, but I've decided to forge ahead after reading some later reports here and on the chowhounds forum. So do we have a comprehensive list of who will be running their specials next week as well? So far I've heard Equinox, Tosca, Butterfield 9, and Corduroy will be doing it. Also, a personal comment on RW dessert choices I'd like to see: the more fruit involved, the better.

Well David, looks like we were dining together last night without realizing it. I had a very similar positive experience. Morela, I did get your message in time. I would have probably gone with the soup over the ceviche anyway. The octopus salad was not on the RW menu, though the normal green salad was on there in addition to what David mentioned. I arrived at 6 before it got really crowded, and the staff was very gracious as we waited at the bar for a few late guests. In fact, I was so enamored with their line of $7 specialty drinks, I ignored the wine list and stuck with them completely through the dinner. For the appetizer I had the conch chowder, which was delicious. They served it with sides of some rum and a spicy pepper sauce. I drizzled both on without realizing quite how spicy that pepper sauce would be. For the main entree I took the corn encrusted halibut. It was rivaled on the table by the rum and tamarind glazed tuna. It has been my increasing experience lately that at higher end places like this, I always come away happiest with the fish entrees. There were also two ribeyes at my table, which were very well received. The flantastic flan was my dessert choice. I loved it. For some reason, like my experience at DC Coast, the desserts are the weakest part of this restaurant family's RW menu. Here you could choose from flan, chocolate cake, or a gelato rum raisin concoction. They were all very good, just not very exicitng. Our table decided to share an extra dessert of the cinnamon dusted churros with the mexican hot chocolate. Wow. I think this easily makes my DC top ten list. edit: almost forgot about the delicious caramel corn with toasted almonds they brought with the check! Best ever!

Well having had a similar R.W. at DC Coast as mentioned above, I'm sticking with the same family and hitting Ceiba in exactly one hour! I'll report back tommorrow. I was just saying to someone, "I would be very surprised if they put ceviche on the restaurant week menu." Let's hope it applies to the dinner menu as well as the lunch.

And they cracked themselves!! Actually, $4.50 a crab makes it sound a little less expensive to me. They were pretty heavy, so by my fourth one I was nearly full.

Thank you dbortnick!!! I have to unexpectedly go out of town this weekend, so I'll have to miss out on Poste's delights. But it is now #1 on my list for next Restaurant Week. Or maybe the next time I dine out. I don't think I can wait that long.