John W.

Palena, especially the bar menu (best QPR in perhaps the world).

Snuck in this Sunday eve. Had the rib eye with horseradish cream. Lovely (cool, red center) rare, no temp complaints here. Needed a red meat fix as I missed the office the previous eve. Had more than one bottle of wine, the Pommard, Voillot, 1er cru "Les Combes," 1999 for something like $45, was memorable. Michael works very hard on his list so you don't have to.

Good. I get off on a technicality.

Woke up today and was a culinary genius. Ahh the wonders of marketing.

And be sure to drink as much wine as you can. Especially with some else's dime.

I don't think they want to be anything but. But credit where credit's due...for the first month they've been open, and the QPR, I would say Sette is pretty good at what they do. Maybe I've been lucky, but the only clunker food-wise has been the penne with pancetta and pecorino. And I've said as much. The service is really friendly, and the fact I can get a good $6 glass of wine in addition to good to really good food at all hours (seemingly) is quite attractive to me.

Drink as much wine as you can. Cool, good stuff for cheap.

Slater: "Wabeck, Sette in 15." Me: "I can't. I'm closing." Slater: "We'll be at your place in 15, then Sette." Me: "OK." 6 in 7 days.

Antics? I forgot to mention that I went back for a fifth consecutive time on Tuesday. Had the baked gnocchi (wonderful), quatre fromage pizza, cutting board o' porc (calling for Tony Soprano eating right off the parchment style), and penne with pancetta and pecorino (a bit of a snooze). Bottle of $29 orvieto (can't remember producer) and a $55 Nebbiolo d'Alba from Giacosa, I was pleased yet again. Desserts - Chocolate cannoli (can't eat it but others said it was great) and a kind of beignet stuffed with Nutella special that makes you think bad thoughts. There might be better representations of like dishes in DC, and the suits might take over at one point. But for right now, after a long shift, I can't think of a better place for a pizza and a whole bunch of wine. And people smiling at you when you walk in late.

Too late for that. Go on Sundays. Watch basketball. Drink Gavi. Have your chair fall backwards.

After my work or your work. That's the big question.

Combination of the two?

Have been four times in as many days. What gets me at first is the staff...very friendly, very welcoming. Pizzas are of high to very high quality, as is every thing else I've eaten. Wine list is interesting and fairly priced. I did not want to go the first night (due to the Milano connection/lack of Armani in my wardrobe) but Slater twisted my arm. Something intangible about this place makes me want to return again and again, just like BDC. And for anyone worrying about my allegiance to the BDC being in danger, I've had lunch the last two days with Michel. I couldn't be happier to have two places like this on (nearly) the same block. Now I just need to decide if it's a Reggiano night or a Gruyere night.

Go to Kaz. Eat anything with foie gras. I just looked and there is seared salmon sashimi with gorgonzola-miso sauce. I now know what I am doing for lunch on Monday.

If you ever need to eat Alberto's pepperoni pizza with 1961 Cheval Blanc or 1928 Cos d'Estournel, then Rocks is your man. Everyone knows that Hellman's is the best.

Rosslyn. Head up the hill to red meat. Make sure you drink plenty of wine, and do say hi to Michael (chef's name is Michael, not Ray, and he's kind of the man).

I didn't realize Captain Morgan made Burgundy now! Doesn't Diet Coke own Burgundy?

As Mark's dining companion, I would concur. The partridge crepinette was outstanding as well. The Zaytinya-Nectar-Marcel's traverse was a good way to spend a Sunday. I was most certainly bien cuit.

There were at least three of them that I can vouch for.

Is it an indictment of me or society as a whole that I was in tears watching that?

Was there on Monday, the edamame soup was one standout. Can't remember the garnish as I was transfixed by Fox's latest disaster, the "Bachelor who is much shorter than I." Much hilarity ensued. Also, do not leave without having cheese.

Tom is a highly trained professional, with an extensive vocabulary. He stays away from the oft-used slang prevelant in reviews these days, such as the much-overused phrase "sucks ventworm nut."

And begin...

Had a few bottles of this exact wine last month. Took the words right out of my mouth.

Don't let your handicaps keep you from Makoto, its well worth the visit, and at $45 the chefs' menu is well worth the experience. By the way, you don't sit on the floor, you sit on some sort of wooden box that doubles as jacket storage....too cool. I would agree that for the best fish, makoto is the place, however, for a great sushi fiesta, I would look more to sushi taro, sushi ko, or kaz sushi. All those places are more upbeat, modern, and loose. Oh, and in the summer, rooftop at perry's is butter. Last time I was there I couldn't walk for a week. It is kind of worth it though...