lukestar

This is our 4th or 5th trip to DC. In the past we have dined at Old Ebbitt's Grill - OK food but enjoyed the atmosphere, Legal's Seafood - good food decent price, McCormick & Schmidt's - thought it was over priced with so so food, Rosa Mexicano - Over priced poor food, Capitol City Brewery - Great burgers good price. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse - Good Steak but overpriced. These are are restruants we have visited in the past. We will probably go back to Legal's, Old Ebbitt's Grill but would like a couple of other suggestions for dinner and lunch. Pretty much like any type food but prefer seafood, steak, and other ideas. We can travel by cab but prefer to stay in the DC area. Also good places to grab a lunch without breaking the budget. Help is appreciated. Dude, what were you thinking? You come to a decent food city and you eat at loathsome chains. Good thing you found eGullet because you were living your life wrong. We'll help you start living in a space not dominated by lowest-common-denominator stuff. You seem to like seafood (where are you coming from? This is non-trivial information, and not just regarding seafood. No point recommending Japanese if you're from LA). I join with Alex in nominating BlackSalt as the best seafood in town, though not as convenient to you as Johnny's. Please do not report back that you've been to Legal's or McCormick's or I will have you excelled to the suburbs. Bibiana is great. And, if you like Italian and want to lunch large with lobbyists, Fiola is getting mixed reviews (including from me), but it, too, has a lunch special -- $28, I think -- and well worth it if you want a proper European lunch (followed by a light Ethiopian dinner later on). Get the Zuppa Anglais for dessert. If you're in Dupont (Phillips Collection, Embassy Row, Textile Museum, etc) Bistro Du Coin is a classic neighborhood bar except that it's a French Bistro. Not memorable in the least except that almost everyone who goes there has a very good time. Chefs hang out their after service Saturday night. Get the onglet/frites or the mussels. And, the real reason I got on is to agree with Alex (though, props to Weinoo, a brief journey to Estadio the other night was quite rewarding. Go early or late), this time about La Chaumiere. Truly a vanishing breed of gracious, traditional French dining, with aging Georgetown Gentry in attendance but no pretense at all. How many places in the world can you get pike quenelles these days? If you're inclined, it could anchor a wonderful date night, combined with a stroll through Georgetown mansions or the illuminated waterfront. Or a lunch after a jaunt up to Dumbarton Oaksfor a little pre-Columbian art or to tour what should have been Gatsby's garden. Dress nice and order a decent wine. Just far enough from the Foggy Bottom Metro to walk off your buzz. Go on a week day/night to avoid Georgetown crowds. And, speaking of Foggy Bottom, Marcel's. Full, blow-out meal in the dining room or pick and choose at the bar (with the jazz pianist). Another date night candidate, a little more upscale but the bar is blue-jean friendly. Top 10 food, top three service. Busboy...Understand I am from Louisiana so yes I do love seafood...Oysters specifically but we do love a great steak. As for as Legal's and McCormick's, my past trips to DC have been with groups. This time it's only my wife and myself so we will be able to a little more latitude. We are open to all suggestions. I would love to have some great sushi but it will probably be for lunch when I am alone, my wife won't go there...I am also open to different ethnic restraunts. There has been some great suggestions so keep them coming. I will let you know where we go and what we think. Thanks again for your suggestions!

This is our 4th or 5th trip to DC. In the past we have dined at Old Ebbitt's Grill - OK food but enjoyed the atmosphere, Legal's Seafood - good food decent price, McCormick & Schmidt's - thought it was over priced with so so food, Rosa Mexicano - Over priced poor food, Capitol City Brewery - Great burgers good price. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse - Good Steak but overpriced. These are are restruants we have visited in the past. We will probably go back to Legal's, Old Ebbitt's Grill but would like a couple of other suggestions for dinner and lunch. Pretty much like any type food but prefer seafood, steak, and other ideas. We can travel by cab but prefer to stay in the DC area. Also good places to grab a lunch without breaking the budget. Help is appreciated.

My wife and I have a trip to Washington DC the end of July. We will be there for 5 days and nights...Any suggestions on where to eat. We need suggestions for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We will be staying close to Union Station but are willing to travel if it's special. Thanks in advance.

Well my wife and I made a trip to New Orleans this past week for our hope to be, yearly Culinary Tour. These are the restaurants we were privileged to dine at. Can't say we had a bad meal on the trip and I probably don't need to eat for about 2 weeks. We drove down from Shreveport so this was our agenda. Monday - Prejean's in Lafayette Very good Seafood Gumbo and Shrimp Poboy. A+ Tuesday - Cafe Du Monde - Beniet's and cafe au lait for breakfast...I'm just not a fan...Drago's for lunch, Can't go to NOLA without having Drago's Charbroiled Oysters. Also the best Oyster Poboy I've ever eaten. A+ Bacco's for Dinner, had the Bacco Shrimp which is their version of BBQ Shrimp, Excellent! A++. My wife had the Lobster Ravioli, Excellent! A++ Wednesday - Cochon for Lunch, Pork stuffed Bell Pepper was great. A++. For dinner, Dickie Brennan's Steak House. Probably our least favorite meal while in New Orleans. We had the Roasted Tomato Soup first, tasted like it came out of a can. For the main course we had the BBQ Ribeye which has BBQ Shrimp over the Ribeye. Decent but not as good as it should have been for the price. C+ Thursday - Central Grocery Muffeletta for lunch. Don't shoot me but I'm not a big fan of CG. To me their bread is always stale. I've had better muffelettas. C- Friday - Lunch at Mothers, Love their Ferdi Special Poyboys. A. For Dinner back to Cochon's. Had the Smoked Brisket with Horseradish Potato Salad and an order of smothered green. Great meal. The gravy with the brisket is drinkable.A+ Saturday - Commander's Palace Brunch. IMHO you just can't go to NOLA without eating brunch at CP...For starters I had the Chicken and Andouille Gumbo, very rich and maybe the best Gumbo I have ever had. For the entree I had the Cochon de lait with eggs over biscuits. My wife had the Pecan Crusted Grouper. Both were great. For desert I had the Pecan Pie with a scoop of ice cream and my wife had the Bread Pudding Souffle with Bourbon Sauce. Both were great as well. I also had a couple of Bloody Mary's with my meal and CP has the best Bloody Mary's in NOLA. A++ It was a great trip and hopefully we will be able to do it again next year and hit a few of the restaurants we didn't get to hit this time. Let's see, Herbsaint's, Brigtsen's, Stella, Restaurant August, Luke...

The Country Tavern in Shreveport has decent BBQ...All be it kind of pricy though.

Le Creuset...They are great pots but I think there are enameled pots that do just as good a job for about 1/5 the price...

I got my copy for Christmas also...Great book IMHO, HungaryC must really be from New Orleans. I have heard it told that New Orleaneans don't care for Folse...May be true. I think it is a great history book full of recipes and great stories. Folse is a great Louisianean historian and story teller. His cooking shows are the same, he doesn't just cook a meal he tells a story as he cooks it...

I have been to DC a few times and will be going back in about a week. Although I have not been to a lot of DC restaurants I have to give my vote to Capitol Grill for a very good burger. I plan on hitting them next week...

Well my winter/fall garden is about to wind down. I still have a few cabbage, turnips, collards, carrots, rutabagas and green onions left. I dug my new potatoes a couple of weeks ago and my broccoli is gone. I had bell pepper and jalapeno peppers up until Christmas. It's now time to plant English and Sugar Snap Peas and onion sets are due to be put out. I am in the process of ordering Pepper and tomato seed for Spring...Can't wait till those fresh tomatoes are ready...

That's great...My tomatoes are just now starting to set blooms. I grew most of mine from seed, I have a total of about 45 tomatoes, early girls, Ark Travelers, Super fantastic, La Roma, San Marzano, Super Paste. Celebrities, Argentina and Creoles... For Peppers I have Giant Marconi, Super Heavyweight, and Big Early in the Bell Peppers, then I have some Anehiem and about a dozen jalapeno peppers. I shoudl have new potatoes ready in about a month. I have been pulling carrots for a month...nothing greater than fresh carrots. I picked about 4 gallons of English peas this week and will have more this weekend...My onions will be ready anytime and I will start planting peas and beans in a couple of weeks....I love fresh veggies...Oh an I have 4 hills of cucumbers, 6 hills of squash, zuchinni and eggplant im my garden as well....I picked all my brocholli about 3 weeks ago and cut my cauliflower this week....Love those fresh veggies.... ← Well I am starting to get fresh tomatoes...Good thing cause you can't get them at any local restraunts. I should have tons of fresh maters in the next couple of weeks, if I can just keep the squirrels out of them...My squash and cucumbers have been making for a couple of weeks. I should have a few egg plant in a week or two. I have several varities of peas and beans that will be ready later in the summer and corn that is about 3 feet tall. Love those fresh veggies...

That's great...My tomatoes are just now starting to set blooms. I grew most of mine from seed, I have a total of about 45 tomatoes, early girls, Ark Travelers, Super fantastic, La Roma, San Marzano, Super Paste. Celebrities, Argentina and Creoles... For Peppers I have Giant Marconi, Super Heavyweight, and Big Early in the Bell Peppers, then I have some Anehiem and about a dozen jalapeno peppers. I shoudl have new potatoes ready in about a month. I have been pulling carrots for a month...nothing greater than fresh carrots. I picked about 4 gallons of English peas this week and will have more this weekend...My onions will be ready anytime and I will start planting peas and beans in a couple of weeks....I love fresh veggies...Oh an I have 4 hills of cucumbers, 6 hills of squash, zuchinni and eggplant im my garden as well....I picked all my brocholli about 3 weeks ago and cut my cauliflower this week....Love those fresh veggies....

As for what ingredients are better homegrown...That's most everything, I have carrots and broccoli in my garden that are 100 times better than store bought. Carrots are very sweet. In your area you can grow pretty much anything you like. Tomatoes and peppers are a must. Plant several varities of both. Be sure to plant slicing tomatoes such as Celebrities, Big Boys and also plant paste tomatoes such as Roma or San Marzano. Plant jalapeno and bell peppers.

I have a garden in my back yard that I keep planted year round. I use the LSU Ag Center site a lot, it has a lot of great information, such as spacing, fertilize reccomendations and planting schedules. My garden is about 60' X 40'. At present I have new potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. I have tomatoes and peppers growing from seed that I will start planting in the next 2 or 3 weeks. You can't beat fresh veggies...

Here is my favorite restraunts in North LA. Cheap - Papa's Grill - huge hamburgers on homemade buns Monjouni's - Great Italian food, Shrimp Pasta Salad is my favorite Cotten's Fried Chicken (Minden) best spicy fried chicken any where Nicky's Mexican Grill - Good food for the price. Medium - Superior Grill - Good Mexican food, be careful with the Margaritas, they very potient. The Cub - Looks like a dump but has great steaks. Expensive - Ernest's Orleans Restraunt - Snapper Shreve is great The Maybury House - Chef's table is a treat The Village Grill - Great Steaks and Seafood.

I can second the New Orleans Cooking Experience...My wife and I went in June 2005 and had a great time. We plan to go back when we get a chance. It's a lot of fun...

I can my own so I use them rather than buy them. I have about 50 tomato plants growing in my garden, can't wait till they start getting ripe...

I just got back from New Orleans, my wife and I spent 3 days in the city, this is a few of my favorites. Mothers - Ferdi Special Drago's - Chargrilled Oysters Acme Oyster House - Oysters on the Halfshell Red Fish Grill - Hicory Smoked Snapper, Double Chocolate Bread Pudding

I don't have the book yet. When it arrives, I'll spend some time with it and pick out something to do. I think you can order it on Amazon, but I preferred to buy it from Chef Folse. The CD appears to be a real plus, and I'll probably order it after getting familiar with the book. ← My kids gave me Folse's book for Fathers Day...I haven't put it down yet...It is full of history and recipes. With the size of it I will have reading material for a while...

I haven't been to New Orleans in an eating capicity "Post Katrina" so I can't really comment on how it is now, but I was there in June of last year and I would have to say that service was probably 40 % of our experience. I will be going back soon and I will expect the same service as before....

If you are wanting to attend a cooking class let me recommend a class at The House on Bayou Road. New Orleans Cooking Experience... Guest instructors include Frank Brigtsen, Chiqui Collier, Poppy Tooker, Leah Chase, Poppy Tooker, Michelle McRaney, and Ken Smith amoung others. I attended a two day session last June as a birthday gift from my wife, and had a blast. They are back open now and doing well. I can't wait to go back for another class.

I watched it tonight with interest...I thought it was a very good show that showed the spirit of the city...Got to see several restraunts I have visited in the past and hope to visit in the future. I have family in this weekend that I plan on cooking creole chicken & grits, cheese sausage bisquites and bread pudding for tomorrow...I am looking forward to visiting family in NO this summer, I hope things are back in order.

Nothing to it. Hell, he's got his own school. ← Yea, I know but it would kind of be hard to leave what I am doing now, move to South LA just to take a class at his school. But I wouldn't mind attending a seminar of his, if he ever had one...I enjoy hearing him speak.

I love john Folse's books and his PBS show as well. He not only teaches cooking but he offers a history lesson with each recipe. I would love to hear him speak or take a class from him.

If you don't like meat or fat you may be coming to the wrong state... Pork fat rules?

Man that's a great looking picture. Got my mouth watering...