Cadmia

I know this conversation has taken a turn, but I work in Reston Town Center and I find the food selection to be lacking at best. Besides a few places that are fun for happy hour or dessert, there isn't anywhere that I would actually *choose* to dine at in comparison to other options. I could understand better if it catered purely to the lunchtime office crowd where sandwhich/chain style places would make sense - But I also live right down the street and the place is almost always hopping. A few independant restaurants would be wonderful.

Steve: I got a cake of some sort, unfortunately, I can't really recall the details. The cake was good, but it just seemed to me to be, well, a cake. I had read the Ann had a pastry shop and was quite known for pastries and desserts and I guess I was expecting a bit more. I believe when we went there was an option of a three or four course meal: app., entree, optional cheese course, and dessert - It was based off the entree price if I recall correctly (my boyfriend generally pays, so I don't always have the best recollection). I think it was fairly reasonable, maybe $150? With wine? The one stand out I had was a gnocchi (am I spelling this right?) - That was really fantastic, great texture, great flavor, and a nice introduction to something I was not very familiar with.

There used to be a small Japanese place down the street from us that fried cheesecake in tempura batter. Cold and creamy on the inside, warm and melty on the outside. Best. Thing. Ever. Well, almost. Unfortunately, that place shut down and tho I have tried it elsewhere, it has never been as good as that place.

Vengroff: The aricle about Gray was in last month's Washingtonian I believe. I'll see if I can dig it up sometime this weekend (in the middle of moving so that may be a tall order!) and post some more of the details. Edit: Found it online: http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/whats_.../thismonth.html

It's not that they weren't good, but as you said, she's a pastry chef and I guess I was just expecting something more.. Inventive. But again, we were among the last people to dine that evening and I'm sure the staff was tired and things maybe were not as fresh as they might have been earlier in the evening :) I will still go back as I believe the main courses were excellent.

I was at Palena a few months ago when we spontaneously ended up dining out. Our reservations were late and things were winding down - Thus the service seemed a bit slow... But the food was very good - You can get a 3 or 4 course meal (w/ or w/o cheese plate) sitting at the main dining area. I was a bit disappointed with the desserts tho, but maybe it was just a bad night. There is also a bar menu where each plate is $9 - I have not experienced this menu, however.

sigh. I hate posting here because disecting a meal is not a skill I've yet acquired.. However, Equinox is one of my favorite restaurants downtown. It's reasonably priced, the wait staff has always been extraordinary, and although the wait between courses can sometimes be long, the food has always been very, very good (and they have often given us extra wine to compensate for the wait. I read recently that Todd Gray is going to be the chef at a new inn in Middleburg scheduled to open in 2004 I believe.. I am very much looking forward to that :)

I'm stopping by Friday night for dinner.. Looking forward to it!

Just to update.. I've decided upon Cafe Atlantico and will be dining there later this week. Thank you all very much for your suggestions, I am looking forward to it! :)

Budget isn't too much of a concern, but I'd like to not spend more than $50 or so per person, not including alcohol. Hmm.. My favorite restaurants right now.. I really like 2941 because it's been very good to me so far and is very close to me, but I've already taken my parents there (the kids came along too and were mostly good :> ). I also really like Equinox downtown for general good food. If I'm looking for something more ethnic, it would depend more, but I think for this occasion I'd like to stay in the safe zone of Modern/Contemporary American although something tapas style may work, too. The kids are pretty good - They're not loud and they don't wander or anything like that. They just don't have wonderful table manners and I think somewhere overly stuffy/formal (Maestro & Citronelle come to mind) that I would be on the edge of my seat fearing they might tip a glass over ;> Not looking to get overly dressed - Maybe nice slacks with a sweater - Nothing requiring a jacket! Did Marcel's for a birthday dinner back in January so I would like to try something new.. Zola is something I hadn't thought of but it tends to get mixed reviews in Tom Siestama's chats - What do the readers here think? I'm also going to read up more on Cafe Atlantico - Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Is there maybe some additional information I can offer that would help you to offer suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, You seem like a knowledgeable group and so I thought I'd ask your opinion.. I have to make reservations for a birthday dinner (my birthday, how lame I have to make my own reservations! :P) for a Saturday night. Four adults and two young adults (11 & 13). The kids are pretty good but don't have the best ever restaurant manners just yet.. So where should I go? I've already been to many of the nicer places but I am up for going back if they are kid friendly. Some ideas I'm putting around - Places I've never been to: 1789 Little Fountain Cafe Tosca Courduroy Since it's a birthday dinner, dessert selection is important - It's a shame too, because I've been to Zatinya and enjoyed it but I'll need to be making reservations past 6:30 ;/ Thanks in advance!