Joe H

It does rival the French Laundry. In fact it rivals the Michelin three star Le Calandre in Rubano. Along with Laboratorio D. C. has two of the best Italian restaurants on earth. I honestly believe that Maestro today is worth at least two Michelin stars, certainly it is equal to or better than both of the three stars that I have been to in Italy. In the Wall Street Journal article from a month or so ago the reporter and her husband who went there told me that they both believed it was the best meal that they had at any restaurant anywhere in the past two years. This includes annual trips to Italy where they will eat at starred and exceptional restaurants twice a day for a week or so with the purpose for him to pick up ideas that he might incorporated in his Manhattan restaurant. http://www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/board...ages/14103.html is the link to my original post on Chowhound from January 4th of this year.

Rucker Farm for goat cheese. On the road that runs by Four and Twenty Blackbirds.

A well thought out ,expressive, gramatically correct first post that speaks volumes of those yet to come. http://www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/board...ages/14103.html is the link to a post of mine about Maestro from a number of months ago. I also recently said that a 22 course, 5 hour meal there was the best of my life. Still, Laboratorio-while different-is as good.

In France you can buy frozen food from Robuchon, Alain Ducasse and several others. Robuchon's name seems to be on everything sort of like Emeril here. Of course Rick Bayless, Bobby Flay, Charlie Trotter, Wolfgang Puck and others have their own lines of condiments and foods nows. Even the chefs of El Bulli and Le Calandre (mentioned above) have opened second locations (totally different in style, concept and qulaity). Roberto over the years has tried many levels. and many concepts. Today he has returned to his "roots" if you will, cooking in his own small exhibition kitchen as well as holding classes there. He clearly enjoys this, clearly enjoys when diners participate in the meal. He even looks at facial expressions when diners take their first bite. It is extraordinary to find a restaurant like this with a man of his talent. I cannot believe he will do this for many more years since, after all, it IS a lot of work and at some point his interest I would expect to lessen. But for today, for Washington, we are extremely fortunate. This will not last. Anyone reading this should go while he is still doing it. Just as Michel Richard and Fabio at Maestro may move on so may Roberto-or, at the least, leave his exhibition kitchen. Laboratorio is only open several days a week. Table seven is already very difficult to get. But you should try. It is as if he is cooking for you personally.

http://www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/board...ages/19279.html This is the link to another lengthy post that I had about Laboratorio. Coincidentally my wife and I and another couple had dinner there again last night, our fourth visit this year. Ten days ago I had dinner at a Michelin one star in Bologna (Battebecco). There was no comparison.

Laboratorio has nothing in common with any of his other restaurants not even Galileo which you walk through to get to it. The recipes are different as are the raw ingredients while everything is personally supervised and prepared by Roberto. Table #7 is literally a chef's table. I strongly dsagree with the comments about The Inn at Little Washington. I believe it is the most over rated restaurant that I have experienced in years. http://www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/board...ages/22272.html This is the link to a lengthy post I had on Chowhound about a recent visit to The Inn. I stand by my comments.

There are three restaurants which are heads and shoulders above all others in the D. C. area. Maestro, Citronelle and, of course, Laboratorio. With all due respect to Cafe Atlantico and Zaytinya Roberto Donna is a national treasure and the equal of any Italian chef on earth. The three and one half hour experience in his 28 seat dining room is one of the best anywhere especially if you are fortunate to have table 7 which is only about six or seven feet from where he stands. The chef's table at Citronelle and the tables in the front of the room at Maestro are the equal but totally different in style. Maestro, for that matter, may be the very equal of Le Calandre in Rubano which just earned its third star. Still, Laboratorio-especially in October-has much in common with Guido before it's recent move. Totally different from Maestro and Citronelle, yet an experience as individual and wonderful as any on earth. I mention both of these great Italian restaurants because Ithink we are extremely fortunate to have the two best Italian restaurants in America here in Washington. I am also convinced that they are the equal of two of Italy's best. For those who read this try Roberto's truffle menu in Laboratorio in October. It is as good as Alba only the smell is within the room not out on the street as there.

It IS because of his comment during the Post's Chat ("one of the best meals I had in recent memory") that I was critical. It is not THAT good. This comment overshadowed his actual review which I did not fully read until after having dinner which was an overall disappointment. If I had not focused on the "one of the best meals" comment I would have viewed SBC differently. If two of the specials were not what I would consider expensive for this type of atmosphere I would have also felt differently. For $3.50 the bicolor pepper soup was very good, in fact exceptionately good for the price (but NOT great-i.e. Jimmy Sneed's is great); $6.00 for black bean soup is a whole different matter as is a $19.00 entree. The trout was OK but nothing more. A chicken Caesar salad was no big deal, certainly not in league with most of the salads at Sweetwater Tavern. The osso buco was similarly OK, perhaps very good for the price. This is NOT a great restaurant. It is a good restaurant with some creativity and originality that is welcome in its original price range. With several early stretches in price it enters a level that it has competition on. If the price stays down I would go back fairly often. If it goes up I won't. There are alternatives for $19 entrees and $6 bowls of soup that I prefer. Still, having said all this, there is NOTHING on their menu that would even come close to living up to the comment "one of the best meals in recent memory" made by the lead critic of the Washington Post. This is why I suggested that he, as I, overreacted. It is good but again, the SBC Cafe is not THAT good. Regardless of price. I would assume that "recent memory" for him would have included a NUMBER of meals better than this. If not then I believe this is a really negative comment on the restaurant scene in the greater D. C. area. He focused on bbq'd shrimp in his review and mentioned K-Paul's (similar to but less butter or words something to that effect). I've had AND MADE K-Paul's bbq shrimp. I had a bite at SBC. There is simply no comparison. When I reread his review he did not actually say that SBC's were as good nor even nearly as good. When I first read the review I thought he had. Well, they're not nearly as good. But their price makes them an attractive consideration since it's half of K-Paul's. So, again, this is a very good restaurant in its price range. But, pricing aside, this is really just not THAT big of a deal. I'm sorry but I just don't think this place is great nor any better for what Herndon already had such as EuroBistro or Zefferelli's which both are good restaurants and priced fairly.

Steve, I thank you for taking the time to respond in such detail and also respectfully-unlike a comment above from John W. telling me "to stick to Carrabba's and my name dropping chefs." Unfortunately, I don't have the time to go into this now but you've brought up about a half dozen topics that I'll really enjoy pursuing with you and others on this board. I think they're really interesting, perhaps germaine, certainly deserving of lengthy debate especially if accommodated by a glass of wine next to the computer! But one thing, I think one really important thing, jumped out at me from your post: Four and Twenty Blackbirds. This is a serious restaurant that if it were on K Street would challenge for one of D. C.'s best. No, not quite on the creative imaginative level of, say, Citronelle or Maestro or Roberto but certainly-at least for me-equal to Kinkead's or 2941 today. (Yes, I'm making several value judgments in saying this. I might even feel that it is superior to both TODAY.) I don't know if you've been but if not, please consider the "trip." It is excellent and worth the 90 mile drive. Plus, Rucker Farms is only a couple of miles away! Thanks again. Please give me a bit of time. But I look forward to being able to talk on here again. Joe Heflin

As an addendum I do believe that Sietsema is doing an excellent job. I really like his reviews and tend to agree with most of his opinions. I am glad that the Post chose him. His writing confirms their choice. I do believe that he needs to be more selective about some of the restaurants he visits. as well as tempering an occasional rave such as the original one about SBC above. I also like Eve Zibarte's writing a lot, too. But my comment about the Outer Banks restaurant stands: a truly exceptional restaurant in an area that Washingtonians frequent should be reviewed by the primary critic. The Outer Banks is no different from Ocean City or Rehoboth-there are literally hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians going there. When a restaurant is reputed to be THAT good it has earned the attention. You would expect him to be the one who visits The Inn at Little Washington as well as Four and Twenty Blackbirds and other first rate out of town destinations. I believe that if I was the chef or the owner I would actually be disappointed that someone other than him wrote about me. I did not give a restaurant reviewed by Mark and Gail Barnett the same level of importance that I did when Phyllis Richman reviewed it. For me (and I think many others) the choice of the critic was a value judgment in and of itself. How would you have felt if Zatinya's Post review appeared on Friday rather than in the Sunday magazine? And, circuitously, this brings us back to SBC and his review: I just don't feel that it's good enough nor important enough to warrant the Sunday magazine. Friday, yes, but not Sunday. But that's my opinion. I disagree about his postcards. I would prefer that he focus on D. C. area restaurants (and rare exceptions like The Inn at Easton or the Sanderling Inn). But that is my opinion.

"One of the best meals I had in recent memory was in Herndon, by the way, but you’ll have to wait til Father’s Day to read about it." This is from the transcript of the May 21st Chat which is available online at www.washingtonpost.com, then click entertainment, then restaurants, then Tom Sietsema's chat, then May 21st, scroll down about 1/4 of the way. This is a direct quote from that chat. It is what formed my expectations when I first went to SBC. What I found (I had the lemongrass trout, also. It was not THAT flavorful nor exceptional-an average, at best, $19 entree.) did not even come close to what Sietsema wrote. In fact it was this quote that caused me to wonder which restaurant he was talking about. I live in Reston and there is NOTHING here that is even capable of providing a meal that would be the "best in recent memory." Certainly not the SBC Cafe. Perhaps Maestro but that's not Herndon. When I went back and read his review he had toned it down quite a bit from what seemed to be the direction his earlier comment was going in. This is what I referred to when I said that he was not as complimentary of it as I had first thought. It is also why I added that I, too, have been guilty of what I called the same over reaction. The SBC Cafe is a good suburban cafe that delivers for the money. My criticism is my expectation based on the quote above. AND, with prices creeping into the high teens there is a different standard that I am going to apply especially with the ambience that is available there. I noted the wine prices were extraordinarily reasonable and a real plus. Still, SBC is no better than EuroBisto or the Blue Iguana in Fair Lakes, not that different really. To see $6.00 soup and $19.00 entrees only a couple of weeks after a very positive review (and the earlier comment) gives me pause to wonder what direction this restaurant is going in. If it sticks at 14, 15 or 16 it is a real value and a weekly or bi weekly stop for me. At the higher level there's a lot of competition. Some of it, I prefer more.

Why wasn't he the one who did the review for the Outer Banks restaurant rather than Zibarte? In the past any significant destination restaurant was always done by Richman. When you read his review of SBC carefully he wasn't as complimentary as I first thought. Much of it was value for money. Still, he had a comment on his Wednesday morning chat from about six or seven weeks ago that he had a real find in Herndon. I just don't think of this as being THAT much better than what is already around. Rather, I think he is actually "guilty" of what I've been guilty of in the past: finding a good restaurant and experience when you least expect it then going to excess in praising/raving about it. I should note that I am certain that he was "led" to SBC by a tip or two so I somewhat doubt that his experience was totally unexpected.

Well, yes, it fills a definite need but at a certain price range. St. Basil exceeded this with entrees creeping into the '20's. High teens and low 20's, $6.50 for soup are directly comparable to Market Street which is dressier and I would say a more understandable environment for the money. Zefferelli's is fairly good. It's not Tosca (similar price) but it's a good restaurant to have in Herndon and prefereable to chains. For some inexplicable reason I find myself liking Carrabba's however. Chain comfort food heavy on olive oil and lemon butter.

SBC is very good but not AS good as Tom Sietsema implied. This is not DC Coast nor Kinkead's. Nor is it an incredible find as he implied. It is on par with the nearby Euro Bistro and a step down from Reston's Market Street Grill. I should also note that last friday night some of the entrees were $18 and 19 while the soup of the day, Cuban bean, was $6. The $3.50 two color pepper soup is delicious-for the money but at $6.00 we ARE talking a serious standard to measure the Cuban bean against. (Great red bell pepper soup once existed at The Frog and The Redneck in Richmond; of course this was $7.00 a bowl two years ago and in Richmond!) Osso buco was OK, no better as several other entrees tasted could be described. My judgment is that the entrees we paid $14 for were well worth it. When the cost was five dollars higher, again, a different standard. Wine had approximately a 50% markup-if that much. A true bargain! SBC has a real future but if the prices continue to creep up I believe the evening lines will not last. The atmosphere is truly nondescript, cramped and really overall, tolerated only by the lower prices. For $19 entrees the Market Street Grill is much more enjoyable as is Herndon's Zefferelli.

I have not been to Crisfield's in over ten years. The first time I ate at Crisfield's was in the early 1950's when my mother dragged me there and I had just graduated from eating baby food. Then it was thought of, along with Kushner's at Piney and Flower, as a cheap alternative to O'Donnell's across from the Warner Theatre downtown or even their restaurant in Bethesda as well as a number of others. Somewhere along the line Julia Child ate at Crisfield and raved about it. A year or so later Calvin Trilling showed up and proclaimed it "America's best fish house." Shortly after Phyllis Richman who had sort of ignored it in the Post started her own rave adding Gifford's up the street for dessert. Whether 50 years ago or today there are several things that Crisfield does really, really well. And only several things. They are all inapprorpiately expensive, suffering from all of the publicity in the late '70's and early '80's. Crab stuffed flounder, seafood Norfolk style, fried chicken and oysters at their raw bar. Really not much of anything else. Yes, I did say fried chicken. At Crisfield's. Arguably it is the best in the entire D. C. area. They used to fry it in a black cast iron skillet to order. It would take almost a half hour and was incredible. Just like your mother-if she was a great "down home" cook. They used to peel their own potatoes and fry them along with really good home made cole slaw; these were the accompaniments of choice. The "new" Crisfield's in the Lee Building? I've never eaten there. For whatever Crisifeld's is today if their fried chicken and crab stuffed flounder and shucked oyster (Chincoteaque) aren't exemplery then it really has gone to Hell. Otherwise it may just be knowing what to order and tolerating the exhorbitant bill.

Near Harris Crab House is the Narrows Restaurants which, along with Angelina's, Stoney's and Jerry's arguably have Maryland's best crab cake. Stoney's Broome Island location (ONLY this one) is also a contender for Maryland's best overall crab house with ambience superior to Cantler's (i.e. a literal floating barge houses tables where crabs are cracked along with superior crab cakes, cream of crab soup, etc.-none of which Cantler's is very good at). A lot of people in Baltimore rave about Kelly's and there are fans of Pope's Creek with Robertson's Crab House.

Two years ago Il Desco was an incredible disappointment although they did have an extremely impressive $30.00 dessert sampler. You should not miss Le Calandre which is approximately an hour away. It's chef is the youngest three star ever i believe.

I have been to Maestro three times. Every time every single man in the room had at least a sportcoat on, most had ties. Citronelle,Laboratorio and The Inn at Little Washington are similar. The French Laundry, Gary Danko and others in S. F. have dress codes, the Prime Rib has a strict dress code. Throughout Europe it is usually Americans that "dress down." Even in the U. S. it is mostly southern California that is still somewhat casual although restaurants like Valentino have a dress code. With the demise of the dot.coms there has been a resurgence in dress whether in restaurants or in an office. Perhaps this is a reflection of my age (56) but I am sincerely offended when someone dresses so poorly in a top end restaurant. In my opinion that restaurant has no business letting the person in. (It is possible that the middle of, say, August can be a mitigating factor but I still know that the Prime Rib will require a jacket even if it is 106 degrees outside.) This has been a flash point on Chowhound over the past several years with many people feeling as passionately as I do about this. The Manhattan board once had over 200 responses BEFORE being moved to General where another 150 were posted. The one question that really bothers me is that if I were a woman on a date knowing that I was going to, say, Citronelle or The Inn what would I really think if my date showed up in khakies or jeans? Would I be embarassed walking in the restaurant with him? Would I even go on the date? This is a statement of values and priorities as well as a reflection of a lifestyle along with consideration of others and respect for convention. There is still much to be said for "dressing up," wearing the best outfit you have and going to a great restaurant. It is the overall experience. Not just the food or the wine.

I have got in the day before because of a cancellation. But, please, anyone on this board who goes-dress appropriately. This is a restaurant where virtually every man will wear a sportcoat. It is not a restaurant to wear khakies too. When spending $400 or more for a meal for two the expectation is that people will understand that appropriate dress is expected. It is also not a restaurant to nurse a single glass of wine. Rather, it is one to indulge and let the wine compliment the courses. There is a wine tasting menu for $60 per person that many will choose. Also, they have a $15 corkage charge which is remarkably low. Sorry for my attitudes, but someone dressed inappropriately is disrespectful of Roberto and other diners.

Not to be disagreeable but Il Latini is overpopulated with Americans eating mediocre food in, actually, a very interesting restaurant. Sostanza for bisteca would be far superior.

Really interesting thread. I've been to the FL twice. This past April I e-mailed El Bulli and cancelled a reservation for their second week because my wfie didn't want to travel with the war going on. Literally we were going to travel from Washington, D. C. to Roses for dinner. But we did the same to Napa Valley. Twice. I have now read four negative reports about El Bulli. Two of these are from food professionals, one the best Italian chef that I know, another a great internationally recognized French chef. Somehow, I am inclined to believe that El Bulli impresses many people but for those who really care what something tastes like, something that can be classified as "food," then El Bulli is not for you. The French Laundry is, indeed, excellent. Still I honestly believe that exclusivity and the difficulty of getting into it plays into those who judge it as the "best." It is outstanding but I am not so sure that I would describe it as America's best.

There is no valet. In fact parking spaces were at a premium in this rather out of the way neighborhood. On Sunday at 5:00PM (It opened at 6:30) there were people constantly milling about the front of the restaurant, reading the posted menu, peering inside, even knocking on the door. At 6:10 three people "positioned" themselves directly in front of the door and within 5 minutes a line formed and immediatly swelled to 40 or so. At 6:15 anyone who joined the line knew they would not be in the first service. As I noted in my Chowhound post I don't think Parisians are going to promote this restaurant. This past Sunday the 42 or so in line were at least two thirds American. Certainly two thirds of the language that I had heard was English with virtually none of this English accented. To go a step further I believe there were actually few French in the line. My analogy to K-Paul's in 1981 I sincerely believe is an appropriate one. Locals will not support this restaurant. It will succeed on the basis of tourists, especially Americans.

Steve, thanks for the nice words. By the way I had your fig dessert on Monday night at Zaytinya. It was incredible!!!!!

As long as we're noting stratospheric price levels I believe that Rampolla's Vigna d'alceo should be included. A notch lower in price but almost as good is Frescobaldi's new Giramonte which is outstanding. I actually prefer both of these to Solaia including the '97 which is outrageously expensive while the '99 Vigna d'alceo seems to be challenging it in some restaurants.

Sostanza, Vescovino (Panzano), Omero, Taverna del Branzino, Sabatini's, di Vinus, Pariole are all places I have had steak in or near Florence. The best was a one time meal (different ownership than today) at di Vinus. This was the best steak I have ever had, better than the best at Luger's. My wife and I shared a three inch thick cut of beef sliced three times horizontally, set on top of arugula on a wooden platter. All of this was drizzled with good olive oil. The one trip to Sostanza was close and Vescovino which I believes gets its meat from the famed butcher shop in Panzano was outstanding also. The owner of Pariole is the former owner of di Vinus. Today his steak is different and nowhere near as good. Omero is know for their bisteca. Mediocre. Point is that I have had inconsistent bisteca all over Florence just as I've had inconsistent steak all over America including Doe's Eat Place which now is in Little Rock, Memphis and Mississippi. The DC location is long gone. The original Morton's in Chicago is a huge disappointment along with Bern's in Tampa. Yet there are two great, truly great steak houses no one has mentioned: Boulevard in Norman, Oklahoma which is easily as good as Spark's if not better and Del Frisco's in Orlando. Yes Del Frisco's. NO, NOT the national chain but this opened 12 or 13 years ago with the original Del Frisco's owner from Dallas consulting and duplicating his original restaurant. (Today's Lone Star outposts have little in common with this.) Boulevard has received no national publicity as far as I know but it is superb. Better than anything in the midwest (Golden Ox, Amarillo Grill in Wichita, Cattlemen's in Oklahoma City, Driesbach's, etc., etc.) Still, the best steak I've ever had was a one time deal at di Vinus that no longer exists. Such is the story of meals. Be thankful when it arrives in front of you because you may never be able to come back and, if you do, it probably won't be the same!