Sthitch

When I worked in Herndon, I used to go to Hama quite often. They had a roll called the Hama Special which is one of the best sushis I have ever had. It is made with crab salad (using real crab), avacado, and then broiled and served with a chili mayo. Does not sound nearly as good as it tasted. Some former co-workers have told me that it is not as good as it once was.

I also like Butterfield 9, and would consider it one of those places you fear to tell people about, not wanting it to become too popular. I agree that they have some of the best Foie around, only better I have had in the city was at Nectar, since they are sadly gone, I would have to say that Butterfield is the best in the city. I have had the foie many ways at Butterfield and all have been a hit (I especially liked the torchon there). Have you been to New Heights since Cooper went to Vidalia?

Zora, I very much liked the meal, but I would not say that it was perfect, and there was nothing I did not like, just things I did not like as much as I could. I would also like to add that the meal was worth every penny.

Joe H. has been organizing dinners for a couple years now. These dinners happen in the spring and autumn, and take place at one of the finer eating establishments in or around the city. Last night he had the Spring Dinner at Black Salt. It was quite in impressive meal. It was a fourteen course marathon, that was heavy on the seafood (not surprising since it is a seafood restaurant). Jeff Black and his team did a superb job with the food, and the service was spot on. So now for the meal: Fanny Bay Oyster on the half shell with Champagne Shallot Mignonette & American Sturgeon Caviar The oyster was plump and juicy, but I found that the vinegar in the Mignonette hid too much of the oyster flavor, and the shallots threw off the texture. I have no complaints about the caviar. Micro Salad with White Anchovy Filet The greens were fresh and flavorful, the lemon vinaigrette that it was served with was outstanding the anchovy filet was the star of this dish. It was meaty with only a slight hint of fishiness, all in all a great combination. Ceviche de Jalisco This was a great dish, but not really what I think of as a ceviche, I think that he was trying for a deconstructed ceviche. It was a presentation of fresh tuna squares with a pepper salad on the side and a key lime vinaigrette drizzled around the plate, but not on the tuna. The flavor combinations worked very well together. Grilled Baby Octopus with Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette on White Bean Hummus The octopus was perfectly cooked, and the smokiness of the tomato vinaigrette gave the impression that you were eating a crazy seafood sausage. The white bean hummus was delightfully creamy, but did not bring much flavor wise to the dish. Black Sesame Crusted Salmon with Carrot Ginger Soup This was an interesting dish. The salmon was cooked very rare (the only way I like Salmon), and the sesame added an interesting contrast in texture to the soft flesh. I generally do not like carrots on their own, but I liked this soup. Some people complained about the “spiciness” of the raw ginger in the soup, but I thought that it is what brought it to life. The corn shoots in the soups added a nice bit of bitterness to offset the richness of the soup and salmon. Monk Cheeks The monk cheeks were perfectly cooked, and served with a great Spanish chorizo and thinly sliced garlic. This was a well executed dish, and the flavors matched perfectly. Moroccan Mussels I know that Joe and Don Rocks went round and round about this dish. I liked each of the flavors, did not find that they melded very well together. The disconnect for me was caused by having to remove the mussels from the shell, and trying to get a bit of the parsley, sausage and lemon on the fork with it. Hudson Valley Foie Gras Three Ways This was a case of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The Good was a foie torchoun, that was served over a strawberry gastric. The foie melted in your mouth, this is the best way I know to serve this delectable ingredient. The bad was a foie emulsion, almost like a cappuccino, it was not really bad, it was decent, but I never picked up any foie flavor, and since it is part of foie three ways, one should be able to taste the foie. The ugly was a pan seared piece of foie. It was tasty, but a little over cooked, and not as hot as it should have been. Lobster Ravioli This was a nice piece of ravioli filled with lobster and served with a sage butter sauce. On its own, I found it a bit boring, but add a piece of the Jambon Serrano that it was served with and the dish came to life. The ham provided a hint of salt, and a needed meatiness to the dish. Nantucket Bay Scallop Risotto Another interesting dish. The rice was perfectly al dente, and flavorful. Hidden in the rice amongst the morsels of splendidly cooked bay scallops were fresh fava beans that brought a freshness to the dish. Intermezzo A basil pear sorbet with a pear crisp. The sorbet was perfectly executed, it had none of the mealy texture that is common with pears (even pear juice seems to have it), and the pear crisp was a less a crisp and more a pear jerky, but still quite lovely. Braised Short Ribs & Pepper Crusted Bigeye Tuna The short ribs were rich, gelatinous and moist, what more could someone ask for from a short rib. The ribs were served with a shallot jus that complimented the ribs perfectly. But the best compliment to the dish was the chewy caramelized shallots. These were almost like a shallot gum, they were stick to your teeth chewy, but were heavenly. The tuna was good, and would have been great on its own, but I do not know why it was on the plate, it seemed to distract from the short ribs. The tuna also had a dab of marrow butter on them, this also was out of place. The presentation of the butter dabbed onto a point of tuna just looked strange, and I did not pick-up much richness from the marrow, only fattiness. Key Lime Tequila Soup with Coconut Sorbet This was fabulous. The soup was rich and tangy, and when eaten with some of the coconut it was heaven. I really enjoyed this dish, but while eating this dish that I really thought that I would have liked the flavors to be reversed, a coconut soup with a key lime tequila sorbet. Orange Chocolate Mouse Bombe, Grand Marnier Truffle, Chocolate dipped Navel Oranges My least favorite part of the dish was the truffle. The center was still close to frozen, and not the velvety center that I had hopped for, and the shell was too thick. The bombe was good, the contrasting textures of the smooth bombe with a crispy base was a little strange, but good nonetheless. My favorite part of the dish was the orange slice that had been gently poached in simple syrup and then dried to form an almost transparent orange crisp.

jesuki1, Vidalia does have a new chef, his name is RJ Cooper, he used to be the chef at New Heights before joining Vidalia. Prior to his arrival, the restaurant had become very uninspired. As for Marcel's, I am not sure why it does not get more mentions, maybe it is because Robert Wiedmaier sticks fairly close to his Flemish roots. I have never eaten anything there that has been less than stellar, his boudin blanc is the best sausage I have ever eaten.

I would go to Cahion’s for Brunch over the other selection. I have never been impressed by the food at Teaism, or Tabard. For all of the times I have been to Jaleo, and Zaytinya, I cannot remember either having a tasting menu. From the list I would recommend Palena, Corduroy, and Cafe Atlantico (in that order). I should note that I have not been to CityZen. If you want a great tasting menu, you might also consider Marcel's. It is a restaurant that I do not believe gets enough mention on this board. The newly improved Vidalia is another choice that I could recommend. I had a very memorable dinner there last week. Most of the quality cheap eats are found in the suburbs. If you have a car, I would recommend a trip to the Eden Center in Falls Church. What do you look for in a bar and lounge? If you want a nice piano and a great atmosphere to sit and have drinks, and still be able to hold a conversation, I would point you to the Town and Country Lounge at the Mayflower. Other spots in this vein are the bar at the Four Seasons, and Le Bar at the Sofitel. If you want something a little more hip, try Degrees at the Ritz in Georgetown. I would steer clear of the Round Robin (in the Willard) and Off the Record (at the Hay Adams); both are nothing more than tourist traps masquerading as power spots.

Oh the joy of being very hard of hearing, I do not need to listen to that crap, it is all white noise to me. I love Singh Thai. My wife and I took my mother-in-law there for our pre-wedding meal (the night before the rehearal dinner). The only dish I have not really been high on was the mountain lamb. I have to second the pad Thai as some of the best around.

That is great to read. The one thing that I have thought was missing at Ray's was great service. On my visits, the service has been fine, but was not on par with the food.

Jenny, I have also noticed a general decline since the management has been concentrating on opening a new restaurant in Palm Springs. Hopefully once that is opened, they will start paying more attention to their first location.

Plunk, I put my good stone on the very bottom self, and the lesser stone on a higher shelf, with enough room to hold a pan. I have never had a problem with splashing water breaking the stone because the water I put in the pan is boiling and the stone is quite hot, so any small splash has little effect. I should note that it takes forever for the oven to come up to temperature with two stones in it.

I agree it is good business, but you have to know how to do it so that you do not offend those who do not recieve the perks. That is one place where airlines fail, they make the frequent fliers feel well served, while making the others feel like chattle. I am not sure that there are many ways to do it quitely in that business, but in the restaurant business you can do it more quietly. You can comp a dish, or have the server say quietly that desert is on the house. What you do not want to do is make one customer feel like they are less important than others. In most businesses you are going to have more non-regulars than regulars, so you have to at least not offend them.

This issue was addressed in one of Dornenburg and Page's books (either Dining Out, or Becoming a Chef). Several chef's pointed out that it is best to resist temptation to treat some customers to things that are not given to others, because the others will notice. One example would be larger portions (like an extra piece of Foie Gras). What happens is that you keep one customer happy, but run the risk of alienating all of those who notice. By the way, I thought that everyone gets the Hot Chocolate, both times I have been we were given some.

Great pictures, I had similar results using this recipe. I have found that I get the best results by using two baking stones, one that the bread sits on and the other on the top shelf. It really helps to replicate a hearth. This weekend I made the Middle Class Brioche for Cinimon Buns, and the dough was incredible. I also made the Vienna Bread, it was light and airy, like nothing I have ever had.

For those curious about the cost, it is $58 per adult. Details are here. ← Is $58 dollars for breakfast, albeit, 67,089 calories, a good deal? It must be the champagne and raw bar that make sit so damn much. I'd skip dinner the night before and make the most of that meal! ← The sevruga caviar and made to order sushi, contributes to the cost. It really is an event, and my monthly visits are mostly to entertain guests.

Oh dear Lord why?

I second the Curried chicken salad, also good with any other type meat salads. I particularly like deviled ham salad, made with a Virginia (or Kentuky) country ham. Also shrimp and tuna salad go well in Pate a Choux.

The Ritz at Pentegon City has one of the best weekend brunches you will find. All you can eat that includes caviar, sushi, omletes and many other offerings. Is it cheap? Nope. Is it worth it? Every penny. I go once a month.

No, all that I wrote about are in Shirlington. Iota is on Clarendon, or is it Wilson. Either way, it is in the middle of Arlington, while Shirlington is on the border Southeastern corner of Arlington bordering with Alexandria and Fairfax County.

To expand on this: Shirlington T.H.A.I. is a decent Thai restuarant, not as good as Thai Square, or Singh Thai, but still great. Toro Tapas closed, it will soon be an Italian restaurant. I believe that this is not great loss, as I never had a good dish at Toro, and the sangria was always warm. Luna Grill is my goto brunch location. They have a wonderful selection of egg dishes. One of my favorite is the chesapeake eggs benedict, a decent crab cake takes the place of the Canadian Bacon. Charlie Chang's worse service of any Chinese restaurant that I have ever experienced. I will spare the details, but the food does not make up for it. Way below par. Gaupo's is actually not that bad for a Tex Mex restaurant, not the best meal, but not the worse either. You really need to know what to order to enjoy the meal here. I tend to the faijitas, and have never had a bad experience, but most of the other dishes are just forgetable. I should note that the three milk cake is heavenly. Aroma, the Indian place, is not bad. Are there better Indian places? Yes, Bombay Curry Club for one. I will drive twice as far just to go there. Sushi Place (I also cannot remember the name) is just plain forgettable. Cap City good beer, good pretzels, everything else is quite bad. One of the most dreadful hamburgers I have ever had was at this "pub". Bistro Bistro, I agree, great place for a drink, and maybe desert. The food is not bad, it just is not worth the money. I have had some really good food, but also some really bad as well. Carlye, I still want someone to explain to me what is the appeal of this place. Outside of a decent salad, and some nice bread the rest of the food is either boring or poorly prepared. I mentiond that at Bistro Bistro I had an awful hamburger, well it was eclipsed by the seared steak tartare that my wife had at brunch last year. She ordered it medium, and it came out raw. It then took 25 minutes for them to refire the thing. That can be explained away, but the flavorless meatloaf, the cloyingly sweet ribs, the uninspired steaks cannot. A diner would be better off spending half the time and money at Luna.

Deana Swift??? Are you people morons to think that this is a legitimate story (not including you Babka)? Hell it is barely an original or compelling piece of satire; and certainly does not deserve to have Thomas Swift’s name in the least bit connected to it.

I am not sure you are going to have much luck buying these little pearls on a budget, but you can source them at Dean and Deluca, or Balduci's. I think I have also seen some at Wegman's, and Whole Foods. If you are looking for a bigger selection, try Browne Trading. They have a number of different types, ranging from Spoonbill to Daniel Boulud Gourmet Beluga. They used to carry a golden Iranian caviar that I once had the opportunity to sample, it was like having a mouth full of orgasms.

I love Kaz. I go about once a month with a former co-worker. Thank goodness we are eating off of his expense account because he simply cannot get enough of the foie gras toro, and orders round after round of it.

In other words -- keep it nice, folks. In the spirit of constructive comment, here are some of my suggestions: 1. More restaurant reviews and more news about local food and eateries ... a newsy regular column about local food happenings would inform the public and generate benefical buzz for the industry. 2. ... an inspiring dish or two from a local restaurant or by a local chef. 3. Back off the "easy" recipe stuff a little bit. I imagine that the Food section is generally read by people who really have an interest in food, and less by people who consider themselves too busy to eat well. .. 4. The wine column ... 5. Above all, the Food section ought to wave a flag for Washington food. It could, if done well, raise the profile of Washington's culinary environment. Fact is, we are a pretty good restaurant town (top five in the country, IMHO), although we don't ever get credit for it. ← 1. I agree with you, I would also like to see them look around the region, not just the city and close-in suburbs, but to venture out to the Eastern Shore, or Sheapardstown. I would also like to see a better use of the market report, and use it to point to new and interesting ingredients, and where to find it. 2. This would go a long way to helping with #5, but also give some of the chefs who are not known outside of Washington a chance to show-off their creativity. 3. I do not mind some of the easy stuff from time to time, just as long as it is not dumbing-down food for the sake of simplicity. 4. Kill the wine column, I have never gotten anything from it. 5. Amen. I would also like to see more interesting food related stories. One of the funniest things I have ever read was in the Post's food section. It was the story written by an intern about making Tiramisu for her family. There was a disconnect between the meaning of lady finger. It was a true master piece. I have not seen anything like that since. I think it would also be helpful to publish an annual "resource guide" to the area's food. Not a restaurant guide, or another useless reader's poll, but a guide to where you can find a nice piece of meat, or fish; where to find a good baguette, or chocolate. Along these lines, I would not mind an occasional section on where to find various ingredients on-line.

Thanks, I believe that I am now dumber for having visited that site.

If he is around his hotel on Saturday between 1:00 and 4:00 he can venture about two blocks to the north for a free wine tasting at a store call Wide World of Wines, they are generally pouring some nice bottles. If he likes sushi he is going to be about three or four blocks from Sushi-Ko a very good sushi restaurant. Also in the same area is Heritage India, for some great Indian food. One of the places in that area that I like is called Saveur, it is right across the street from the wine store I mentioned.