Nadya

All right, I'll add something from College Park. Mind you, the entire area is a big culinary (and otherwise) wasteland that has, in my mind, no reason to exist. Or maybe that's just grad school doldrums talking. But there was a sprinkling of ethnic, mostly Indian, restaurants at the intersection of Univ. Blvd and New Hampshire that were a comfort in the land of chicken mcnuggets. Tiffin is the one that comes to mind, but there's another one next to it whose name escapes me right now.

I beg to differ regarding Bistro Bis. Posh, yes, great food, yes, politico sighting, yes. Romantic, no. To be more accurate, there are, like, three tables in the entire place that qualify as romantic - meaning, a table that I would pick to make pretty eyes with someone. If you are planning a visit, feel free to PM me, and I'll tell you the table number to request.

Rosemary's Thyme for brunch. Sure, it's nice and all, but how many places in the same zipcode can do the same brunchy experience? Many many many. But still. It has Turkish flavor, and that's a pleaser for me. Kramerbooks. My friends and I have a love/hate relationship with the place. Example: it's 3 am on a Saturday night and we are done with booty-shakin' in Cafe Citron or some other Rude Euro haven. Someone says, where shall we go? Some other person says, no, where CAN we go? Inevitably, we end up at Kramer's because very few places will be open at that time at that 'hood. It's like getting back together, for the seventh time in one year, with the boyfriend you know you can't stand, but there is something comforting about the very way he annoys you. Sakana sushi place on P and 21st. Very pedestrian, uninventive sushi,. Food poisoning does not appear to be a real risk (although the fact that Sakana means "danger" in Hebrew cannot be real encouraging, now can it?) Why do I keep going there? Surely, I know better sushi. Yet at least once a month, without fail, my bottom ends up sitting in their chair. Also see Cafe Citron, Agua Ardiente and ESL. But that is really outside of the foodie conversation. Oh, oh, oh. Mie and Yu. Yes, the decor is stunning and people-watchin' can be fun. Drinks are okay. But the door staff is pretentious (what's up with keeping people outside when the place is barely half-filled?), the menu is SO overpriced and clueless, and also, when you put your drink on the soft cube-like seat, spillage inevitably follows. Still, once a month I would be there, giving yet ANOTHER tour of the place to an impressionable friend. Does that qualify as an irrational emotional attachment? Or is it just plain irrational?

Pesce and Johnny's Half Shell. Although the cooking at Pesce is supposed to have gone down after their chef left.

BdC is good in that it can so noisy you WILL be forced to lean close to each other. How much hotter can it get? Just make sure your date ends before midnight on Saturday, when the place is taken over by riffraff and all manner of unseemliness ensues. Seriously, though, Little Fountain Cafe in Adams Morgan has long been a good romantic choice. It's not too terribly cheap, but not all that expensive, either. Dragonfly is trendy and somewhat romance-ish because it's darkened. Tabard Inn. Not cheap, of course. Piccolo in Georgetown (on ambience.) NOT Mimi's (singing waiters!!!).

Not to mention his a) sickeningly handsome pair o'cheekbones, and b) uncommon talent of playing chess while inebriated, and c) scary sense of judgment on WHICH four people in the entire joint can have fun if sqeezed in a tiny booth. Derek

"Grits and grillades" are a smash hit - I am a big fan. For entrees, I lurve their roasted hen and sweetbreads. Pecan pie is a darling of desserts. I am sure you will have a swell experience, the food is honestly quite good no matter what you order.

This makes me glad about my decision to always drive to and from work and to never mind the hassle of occasional parking tickets and finding a spot in Dupont Circle after midnight. I think Jenny's right - DC is just bad that way. My car has been broken into twice exactly a year apart in what is supposed to be a posh Embassy Row 'hood. First time, they took a pair of ice skates (that are basically athletic shoes with pieces of metal attached, no good to man or beast besides me), second time, nothing - just good, wholesome fun of smashing windows. Grrr.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Aug23.html For more details, see link above. Horrible!!

Hrm. Let me guess, you guys were the four top in the corner beneath the cauliflower. Am I right? I guess the incognito thing didn't really work, then...

John....you love the tie....I love the hair. Honestly. Thrasher takes the cake with the wildest-hair mixologist in town. And if there is a wilder-hair person out there, I don't want to see him. Don't have time for a blow-by-blow dish description, but let me just say that everything was very intense, very well-done, and seamless. Cathal came out and hung out with us for a while, and was as gracious as they come. Great evening of gorgeous food, good wine, and marvelous company. And that sour apple thing...the flavor intensity is on a par with a nukelar explosion.

Just to confirm that I dined at Eve about a month ago - not even on Monday - and 15% have been taken off my check because I mentioned my hostessing job at Bis when I made my reservations. Big thank you to Meshelle, who was incredibly gracious and charming, and Todd - I don't think we met, but thanks all the same!

Yes! I am so glad you mentioned Old Ebbitt. Where else can you go for half-price oysters when you get off work and the vile Irish Times does not beckon anymore? (probably because the bartender still remembers kicking you out the night before.)

Never met a line cook or a sous or a waiter or a hostess with a business card, and I'm sure my GM will laugh in my face if I ask for one. Pfft to McFadden's. Went once, was mobbed by GW crowd that was oddly all-American for the location, and promptly retreated to Agua Ardiente down the block, safe heaven for Rude Euros.

I don't know of any offered at either Bis or Vidalia. Now, I am sure that a Very Important Person would be treated very well and plied with all kinds of freebies from the kitchen and the bar. But no formal policy, as far as I know. Manager's discretion and what the kitchen can get away with.

This must be a slow news day. What with the Olympics and all...

How would that solve your dilemma of wanting, and eating, burgers AND pizza? And after having these babies last night, all I can say is, "hell no, I ain't sharin'." How about an order of 3 minis and split a pizza w/someone? You can add spinach to pizza toppings...that takes care of any Good Boy/Girl ambitions.

It was pretty full when we got there (ten to seven), but by 8.30 or so, it really calmed down. If completely opposed to waiting and crowds, I would go for a latish dinner...like around 9 pm. If no tables are open by then, there will be room at the bar.

Finally went to Matchbox last night - braved the rain and the atrocious parking situation near MCI on account of a show of a certain artiste with a royal-sounding name. But what about MY royal pain in the arse with parking? But I digress. We arrived at around seven and the bar was bobbin' and weavin' with Very Young Patrons. We got a table near the bar after 20 minutes, which was about what I expected. I knew in advance that I was going to go for the miniburgers, but the rest of the choices were a struggle...I really wanted pizza, but I couldn't have miniburgers AND pizza because that would be acting like a Very, Very, Bad Girl. We settled for a plate of 3 minis, bacon-wrapped shrimp, and spinach salad for me/steak salad for her. Two glasses of Pinot Noir (not a beer drinker.) Our server was very young and a bit flustered, but to be fair, it was very busy when we sat down (it calmed down considerably by 9 or so.) Also, her sister works behind the bar, so please be advised that you can feel like you are seeing double really, really fast. On the other hand, it can be interesting if you are really tipsy. The burgers were every bit as good as people told me. I am only beginning to get into burgers as a concept after years of struggle to overcome a Rude Euro Attitude of "burger iz not reeel food." All I can say is I'm a convert! The combo of juicy beef, sweet brioche and pickle strikes a perfect note, and onion rings are very, very addictive, and markedly less greasy than the version one tends to get in bars. It's like bar food that went to graduate school. I had to relocate mine from the plate to leave room for the salad (Very, Very Good Girl.) Shrimp was great as well, quite spicy, but couldn't really feel the mint in the sauce (didn't care, at this point.) Spinach salad was v. nice, too, and potato croutons are an interesting twist. To be honest, even three delicious, juicy, tempting miniburgers fill you up to the extent where it is hard to be excited about the rest. Graig stopped at our table (our waitress wanted to introduce him) and was very charming and gracious. Our waitress spoke quite highly of him, which is always a good sign (see previous discussion of the usual disdain between front and back of the house.) We chatted a bit about Vidalia, Bis, Eve and other things. He was surprised that I knew about his tenure at Vidalia (Him, "how do you know I worked at Vidalia?" Me, "I read.") We complimented him on the food and especially burgers - I told him that his burgers were almost single-handedly responsible for completing my conversion from a Burger-Hatin' Euro to a Big Fan. Great evening, and I shall return to taste the pizza. Did I mention that miniburgers were awesome?

Okay....was hopin' I wouldn't have to spell it out... The Herpes Triangle.

Not to rain on your choice of venue, but you do know the common moniker for the trinity of Mad Hatter, Rumors and Sign of the Whale, do you not? The H Triangle?

Wonder if I can sneak one more in... Can you comment a little bit on your vision of what a relationship between front-o'-the-house and back-o'-the-house should be? And how to achieve that? It seems that it is often fairly acrimonious, which of course doesn't make sense, but happens a lot still. It is pretty smooth at Bis, but I heard from our kitchen crew that this is not the case in most places. With you wearing both the chef and GM hats, you must have some interesting insights into this.

All the best wishes!!! Curious tidbit: read in an etiquette book a few years ago that a proper response to announcement of engagement is "congratulations" to the man and "good luck" to the woman. To underscore the fact that man applies and woman takes a risk and therefore needs luck :))) Funny, no? Congratulations, Liam, good luck, Sara!

Playing chess after heavy drinking...ooh, that does sound like fun. One of these things you usually wryly describe afterwards as "it seemed like a good idea at the time." Reminds me of that one time a couple of years ago when I went ice skating after a martini-fest with friends at Ozio...they told me later they tried to restrain me as I tried to get up from the couch, repeating maniacally, "but I HAVE to go shkating!"

Hi John, thank you for answering my earlier question. I do have one more for you, and I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. What do you think is the perception of American quisine internationally amongst laypeople, and what can be done to improve it? And how would you describe what "American quisine" is to a foreigner? From my personal experience of growing up in Europe, I can tell you that ragging on "amerikan food" is one of the favorite pastime of Europeans, second only to, oh, never mind. Seriously, people in the Old World seem convinced that culinarily, nothing greater than a hamburger ever came out of America. When I go visit my family and friends now and try telling them how great the U.S. dining scene is, I often get a reaction of incredulity along the lines of "oh, I know, burgers & fries for breakfast and dinner, morbidly obese people wandering around", followed by, "so what is it that American food is all about?" This is where I get lost, because how do you explain the great variety of choices we have here in a few conceptual terms? This perfect piece of rockfish, this little mound of sweet potato puree, this butterfly shrimp, this lamb chop? Honestly...I would like to have something intelligent to tell them. I am sure people in food biz know it well, but an average European still thinks Americans don't know what good food is...and I mind that very much. Thanks for reading!