Places to Eat in DC

[DanM]

Good evening,

Wifey and I are planning a cheap trip down to DC for a few days. She left me in charge of the food selections. Given that, i would appreciate any help in the following categories

Vegetarian Friendly

Bakeries

Mexican

Southwestern

Kosher (if there are any)

Cheap eats (I know there is a topic, but I did not feel like double posting)

Any help would be appreciated!

Dan

[Zeemanb]

Knocking the dust off this place.....first post of 2011!

I'm going to be on my own in DC soon for several days, so I can eat wherever I want....as long as I can reach it via the Metro.

Love Central, been to Minibar and Cafe Atlantico, but want to try some new stuff.

So far I've got Citronelle on Saturday night and Komi on Tuesday night. I am on the waitlist for minibar (forgot how damn nice Bonji is...), so if that doesn't work out I'll more than likely go to Zaytinya since I want to hit a Jose joint for sure.

As far as Sunday/Monday fine dining, I'm not finding a lot that is open, which is normal...but if anyone has a suggestion for those evenings I'm game. As long as I can get to it on a Metro line, location isn't really an issue, I don't drink but other than that no dietary restrictions or allergies, price isn't an issue (especially when you don't drink....eating is practically FREE).

I've got some alternates like CityZen, was curious to hear anything about The Source and Restaurant Eve....plan to go to Hank's Oyster Bar for lunch (if there is a better place for stuff like belly clams, lobster rolls, etc. feel free to chime in).

Two specific requests:

Good Jewish Deli? This is from a guy who has zero access to ANY good deli, so some passable chopped liver or a tongue sandwich would be an incredible bonus. This is my standard question for ANY city I visit.

Offal? I was reading about Bistro D'Oc and their lamb brain and tripe dishes, which prompted this question....not looking for a Fergus Henderson level specialty restaurant...but any place with a highly regarded offal dish or two would just be a gem.

Any additions to the restaurants I've listed or feedback on them would be appreciated, and I'm not the kind of guy who equates expensive and popular with greatness....I do love high end dining, BUT my biggest desire for a long and relaxing meal is to be fed by a chef who is a very effective communicator of his or her personal take on flavor, and a friendly, professional staff that is emotionally invested in what the restaurant is putting out...when I dine alone I want the restaurant to be my date. If I can find a place where it is totally cool and appreciated to just skip the menu and ask to be fed, bullshit with the staff as the night goes along...that is long-term relationship material to me.

[bmdaniel]

I had a great meal at CityZen a year ago. Would definitely recommend it.

[weinoo]

A. Forget the Jewish deli thing. It's hard enough to get decent stuff in NY.

B. Birch & Barley is one of our new favorites. Been 3 times and never disappoints. Nor does Proof, especially if you're a big wine drinker.

C. I feel that Zaytinya is on a downhill swing. YMMV. Estadio is probably a better choice.

D. Palena/Palena Cafe is a place everyone raves and raves about. We had a decent, if heavily salted and very expensive, meal at the restaurant proper and I'm looking forward to trying the cafe.

E. Even though you don't drink, good cocktails at Tabard Inn, The Gibson, Passenger, PS 7, Bourbon, Proof.

F. Lots of places have happy hour...not a bad deal at say, Johnny's Half-Shell, where they offer tasty appetizers at appetizing prices.

G. Cashion's Eat Place in Adams Morgan is still damn good.h

[Zeemanb]

Fast and furious planning.....switched to Saturday night in the Tasting Room at Eve, Sunday brunch at Cafe Atlantico- Nuevo Latino Dim Sum, Tuesday night at Komi and Wednesday night at Citronelle. I'd almost be bummed at this point if a spot opened at minibar for Tue or Wed, looking forward to some distinctly different and new to me restaurants.

May stick with more "normal" options for the remainder of Sunday and Monday....Birch & Barley and Proof both look like they are right in my fat boy comfort zone, thanks for those.

CityZen was on the short list for Saturday when Citronelle didn't work out, but they were totally booked so I got an early seating at Eve.

Someone had recommended Gallileo III to me....and the fact that they list an "Unusual Tasting Menu" featuring various parts-meat looked cool, but I don't know...something about having to call it the "Unusual Tasting Menu" seemed...unusual.

[victornet]

Take a look on the National Gallery's website and see if they have the pop-up Michel Richard restaurant still open (for the Chester Dale collection exhibit). We had a really nice lunch at a fraction of regular Richard prices. Nice paintings as well.

[Busboy]

I think Andres is increasing overrated -- including Zatinya and Minibar -- but I'm in the minority, and you might enjoy this extensive portrait by one of the Big Two food writers in town.

Best dinner in town on Sunday night is Marcel's (two blocks from the Metro, btw). The Boudin Blanc are legendary, everything else merely exceptional. You can get the menu or just scattered courses at the bar.

You seem to be locked into a lot already, but if you're you're feeling offal, you might try to see if Eola works into your schedule. It also has the advantage of being undiscovered (despite this not-well-written piece in the local alternative weekly). Not to be a bitch (yeah, to be a bitch) but your agenda is heavy on the usual suspects at this point.

I'm not sure I'd travel all the way from wherever you're traveling from to go to the Palena Cafe, (the main restaurant is closed Monday) but I've ended a long-time boycott (apparently the servers in the main dining room are no longer complete assholes) and find the place quite tasty. The Mackerel With Some Bitter Italian Green was spectacular, pasta top notch, pork belly mind-blowing-- even moreso than pork belly is by definition. The much-lauded gnocchis have been disappointing and I find that the legend exceeds performance when it comes to the roast chicken and the burger. Though, if you're in the mood, it's said that they're great.

d'Oc isn't bad, and who doesn't love brains? But it's not great, either. Last time I was there, none of their wines by the glass were from Languedoc or Provence. Which disturbed me.

Mostly agree with weinoo, though my experience at Cashion's is 50% "why don't I come here more often?" and 50% "I paid how much for that mediocre shit?" And, my one night at Estadio suggested that the food is hit or miss. PS7 (not sure about the others) has an extensive non-alcoholic cocktail program.

There is one decent pastrami joint in DC and it's 1) utterly inaccessible, 2) closed for dinner and 3) the aged Jewish lady who keeps the stuff up to snuff may die any day. (Perhaps not brilliant, but would hold its own in NYC). City Deli, BTW

Edited February 17, 2011 by Busboy (log)

[Zeemanb]

You seem to be locked into a lot already, but if you're you're feeling offal, you might try to see if Eola works into your schedule. It also has the advantage of being undiscovered (despite this not-well-written piece in the local alternative weekly). Not to be a bitch (yeah, to be a bitch) but your agenda is heavy on the usual suspects at this point.

Well shit, from looking at the website, Eola sounds friggin' EXACTLY like the kind of place I'd love. I'd seriously consider moving the Eve reservation to Monday night or just skipping it....main reason for locking that in for Saturday was simply to make sure I had a table somewhere. I'm going to see if Eola has seating and may have to check that out. Thanks for that one, it sounds like a winner.

[Kim Shook]

Jerry! Nice to see you here. Wish we could drive up and join you for some of this wonderful food. I haven't lived in Washington for years, so I don't really have a lot to offer. I've always really liked the Stage Door Deli at 1324 King St. in Alexandria. No, it's not up to NYC standards, but you don't live in NY. We liked a lot of places in NY and NOLA that locals tend to scoff at (that whole Country Mouse thing, y'know?) and I think you'd enjoy it. It is just a few blocks down from the Metro station. Love to my girl!

Edited February 17, 2011 by Kim Shook (log)

[Zeemanb]

Hey Kim! Yeah, I was going to email you guys to let you know I’d be in the area, but figured it was pretty short notice to expect anyone to drive up to DC. PLUS, the wife isn’t with me on this trip and she’s way more interesting than I am.

But you know how I roll….all or nothing as far as the food goes. I’m looking forward to some tasty treats. Detailed reports will follow....

[Lori D]

Take a look on the National Gallery's website and see if they have the pop-up Michel Richard restaurant still open (for the Chester Dale collection exhibit). We had a really nice lunch at a fraction of regular Richard prices. Nice paintings as well.

That is over. They now have an Italian temporary menu designed by Fabio Trabocchi to complement two Italian art exhibitions: http://www.nga.gov/dining

[Zeemanb]

Ok, final results are in...for evening meals-

Saturday- Eola (the more I read about it, this place sounds like some of the farm to table cooking taking off here in the KC area....my absolute favorite kind of eating)

Sunday- Nuevo Latino Dim Sum Brunch and then no set plans. For Sunday night, weekday lunches, etc., I'll rely on restaurant staff to give me the skinny on where they like to eat (and recs here on eG)...I realize I'm completely ignoring great Ethiopion, Indian, etc. with the current roster, so open slate for any meal where I don't already have a reservation.

Monday- tasting room at Eve

Tuesday- Komi

Wednesday- Citronelle

Thursday- convince Bank of America I'm not a victim of credit card fraud when these charges start piling up.

Some safe/popular choices here, but hell, if I wasn't sitting at Citronelle on Wednesday night I'd be sitting at home in KC eating some thawed out chili while watching Top Chef. Which is NOT without its own merit....

[Busboy]

Ok, final results are in...for evening meals-

Saturday- Eola (the more I read about it, this place sounds like some of the farm to table cooking taking off here in the KC area....my absolute favorite kind of eating)

Sunday- Nuevo Latino Dim Sum Brunch and then no set plans. For Sunday night, weekday lunches, etc., I'll rely on restaurant staff to give me the skinny on where they like to eat (and recs here on eG)...I realize I'm completely ignoring great Ethiopion, Indian, etc. with the current roster, so open slate for any meal where I don't already have a reservation.

Monday- tasting room at Eve

Tuesday- Komi

Wednesday- Citronelle

Thursday- convince Bank of America I'm not a victim of credit card fraud when these charges start piling up.

Some safe/popular choices here, but hell, if I wasn't sitting at Citronelle on Wednesday night I'd be sitting at home in KC eating some thawed out chili while watching Top Chef. Which is NOT without its own merit....

The ongoing go-to for Ethiopian is Etete, on 9th, but there's a growing feeling that it's trending towards bland. My wife -- who knows about these things -- says that for her money, Duken has the best Kitfo (spiced raw meat) in town. And the new critical favorite is Ethiopic, on H Street, a few blocks from the Union Station metro. My one meal there was painful, though. My favorite place is actually Zenebech, a hole-in-the-wall that wholesales injera to most of the other Ethiopian places in town and sells spices, videos and the usual assortment of immigrant support stuff, and also puts out a pretty mean plate of wat.

The best metro-friendly Indian is Rasika, where beautiful people dine on what some have called "the best Indian in the U.S." Of course, those same "some" have given Rasika's sister restaurant, Bombay Club, high marks and that place should be shunned.

More informally, Heritage Indian Dupont is pretty decent and has a good lunch special, if you're in that neck of the woods. Indique and Indique Heights are both a cut above your basic lunch buffet joints (so is Heritage, though it offers a lunch buffet) but have seemed a little bland on recent visits. They are located almost on top of the Cleveland Park and Friendship Heights metro stations, respectively.

Edited February 19, 2011 by Busboy (log)

[Kim Shook]

Hey Kim! Yeah, I was going to email you guys to let you know I’d be in the area, but figured it was pretty short notice to expect anyone to drive up to DC. PLUS, the wife isn’t with me on this trip and she’s way more interesting than I am.

But you know how I roll….all or nothing as far as the food goes. I’m looking forward to some tasty treats. Detailed reports will follow....

Well, we'd settle for only you, if we HAD to . And we have been planning to come to DC soon - got some Christmas presents that need to be delivered, but unfortunately, Jessica is finally moving out next weekend and since the last, aborted move out (read all about it here), her friends are reluctant to help again. So it will likely be just the three of us, plus whoever we can guilt into it. Actually, come on down if you get tired of all the fantastic food !

Can't wait for the report! We've been to Central (and loved it), but not to Citronelle, so I'm interested to see your opinion.

[Alex]

Responding to several posts...

Ms. Alex and I had the pre-theater dinner at Galileo III during our end-of-December visit. It was quite good (as was pre-theater at Bibiana), but Tosca still is our favorite. Unfortunately, it's not open on Sunday.

Other Sunday ideas: 701, Circle Bistro, Ardeo (haven't been there since the remodeling), or, for a hoot, Birch & Barley (all-day brunch, until 8 p.m.).

For lunch, the $12 bar menu at Proof is tough to beat.

We didn't make it there during our last visit, but the pastrami at Loeb's New York Deli is supposed to be pretty good. Any recent reports?

[DTBarton]

Looks like you're booked, but I've had two excellent meals in DC recently.

One was at Oyamel http://www.oyamel.com/. I saw some are down on Andres but our meal was interesting and creative.

The other good chow was at Granville Moore's http://www.granvillemoores.com/ Great mussels, best frites I've had in years, lots of good Belgian beer.

[CDRFloppingham]

I'm glad you'll get to dine at Komi.

I've tried all the places suggested here...they're all fluff compared to Komi.

[Busboy]

I'm glad you'll get to dine at Komi.

I've tried all the places suggested here...they're all fluff compared to Komi.

Gotta say, I think Komi is the most overrated place in town. An enjoyable meal, and a cool space. But its not cooking, it's shopping.

Edited February 27, 2011 by Busboy (log)

[weinoo]

I'm glad you'll get to dine at Komi.

I've tried all the places suggested here...they're all fluff compared to Komi.

Gotta say, I think Komi is the most overrated place in town. An enjoyable meal, and a cool space. But its not cooking, it's shopping.

So, it's the Alice Waters school of dining?

[Busboy]

I'm glad you'll get to dine at Komi.

I've tried all the places suggested here...they're all fluff compared to Komi.

Gotta say, I think Komi is the most overrated place in town. An enjoyable meal, and a cool space. But its not cooking, it's shopping.

So, it's the Alice Waters school of dining?

Yeah. Although the one time I ate at Panisse, there was a lot more cooking going on than you'd notice, if you weren't paying attention.

Who doesn't love a ridiculously fresh piece of obscure fish with a wonderful olive oil and hipster salt. But, really, if we had a fishmonger connection, we could all do that at home. And the date stuffed with cheese: enough. Others who know more about this sort of thing disagree with me, but I find more theory than genius in Monis's cooking.

[Zeemanb]

Just a quick update during my rainy lunch break.... I'll put more details on my blog after I get back home.

Eola on Saturday night- overall, greatly exceeded my expectations. By that I mean, when I was reading through the menu my only hesitation was the possibility that with all of the creative offal dishes the food may be more about thinking up the dishes than executing them well. Everything I ate, while creative and chuckle-inducing, was executed in a manner that showed Chef Singhofen has plenty of tools in his toy box and he knows how to use them correctly.

I don't know if you have to ask for the tasting menu, or if my server (the floor manager, great guy, have his name written down back at my room) just forgot to mention it when explaining the menu. Anyway, that's what I went with. Some highlights- the crispy pig ear was delicious tempura fried lip smackity, jaw gumming goodness. The "chicken fried pork tongue" was a great example of the chef's toolbox I mentioned....he knows how to do proper chicken fry. I'd love to have him do a regular chicken fried steak. Great pasta preparation too...the pasta for the pig brain tortellini was stellar, a little thicker with just enough chew to it. The single most insane dish though, had to be the "FBLT"...bacon cured foie gras and butter grilled truffled brioche....may literally be the richest dish I've ever eaten in my life. That thing is over the top.

Anyway, more on all that when I have time, but overall the service was top notch, everyone who I spoke with knows and loves the menu. They are very accomodating. Huge thanks for this recommendation, it hit the spot big time.

Cafe Atlantico Dim Sum Brunch on Sunday- so well documented I won't say too much. I got the 14 course chef's menu. The Pineapple Unagi and Tuna Tartare with Coconut are still a couple of my favorite things to come out of the kitchen. I will say, you do have the opportunity to get some minibar classics, but having dined at minibar it's just not the same thing. The minibar experience itself aside, when the food is cranked out at a brunch pace, dishes arrive at odd intervals, and your server may or may not be right there to talk about the dish when the runner gets it to you...it's tasty, but I'll stick with the regular menu at night the next time I go. I'm weirdly loyal to Cafe Atlantico...it was my first real dining experience in DC so I will generally always go there when I'm in town.

Marcel's Sunday Night - Yes Busboy, another one of your recommendations. I thought about doing the full-on tourist thing just for laughs...Ben's Chili Bowl or the Old Ebbitt Grill...but then I thought- "WHY?". Food, service, ambience...it was all entertaining and welcoming. I LOVE high end solo dining..it's the voyeur in me as well as the kick I get out of the extra attention the staff gives an orphan. I spent a lot of time chatting with the captain, Jess, he was great. I didn't even take a menu, just told him to bring seven courses of whatever he'd eat. Highlights- the Lobster Papardelle...the pasta, lobster and fresh vegetables were each cooked with care and precision. The gratin of mussels, oysters, baby clams and cockles was insane....served over tomato fondue and topped with just a little broiled gruyere. Just crazy good...a million little flavors and textures. The off-menu special Foie Gras with duck confit, celery root puree, duck jus, raspberries and grilled brioche....I don't even have to say anything about that one, no brainer.

The room felt a little dated, in a comfy way, and if you sit on the booth side of table 9 there is an echo effect where you can literally hear everything people are saying over at the water and wine stations like they were right in your ear...if that interests you. Great people watching, the dance the staff does all night is a treat....overall just a fine, relaxing meal.

more later....back to boring training.....

Edited February 28, 2011 by Zeemanb (log)

[Busboy]

Glad the recommendations panned out.

I have long maintained -- and having live two blocks from it before that neighborhood was discovered -- that Ben's is better as a back-story than a dining destination. My daughter and I used to hit it for breakfast at 6AM every now and again and the charming staff, all-soul jukebox and grits make fora pretty satisfying pre-dawn meal.

Old Ebbitt has loads of charm and but is more of practical destination -- it's 11PM and you crave a decent burger; your sun just had First Communion and you need brunch -- than a serious dining establishment. Though, the late night half-priced raw bar and pretty good martinis deserve respect.

As for the Marcel's echo effect, when I write my Washington spy novel, one of the important scenes will have our hero overhearing a whispered conversation from across the room, because of its odd acoustic characteristics. The dining room, btw, was designed in the early 90's for the predecessor restaurant, Provence (which I loved) and never updated.

[Zeemanb]

A couple of quick updates....

Restaurant Eve-

Overall- Excellent, friendly and enthusiastic service. The Tasting Room itself may be one of my favorite spaces ever...the hard wood floors, extremely well spaced tables, sitting back in the huge comfy booth, etc. I got the 9 course tasting, and the timing and explanations of the courses were spot on. When I let them know I wouldn't be having wine, one of the staff (Scott, if I remember correctly) came right over and offered to make up something special. I ended up with an incredible mix of housemade tonic, kaffir lime, citrus juice, and some other ingredients I don't recall. Also tried their housemade cola, which was very good.

As far as the food, there were a couple of issues but nothing severe enough to deter me from returning if I wanted a "very special occasion" dinner with my wife. The top courses were definitely the "Sashimi of Big Eye Tuna with Preserved Meyer Lemon and Green Goddess Dressing", "Butter Poached Maine Lobster with Ginger-Carrot Custard and Kumquats" and "Pan Fried Veal Sweetbreads with Violet Carrots, Braised Mustard Greens and Ham Hock Vinaigrette". The cheese course was especially good...I get so tired of the same old format that when I'm asked at the beginning of the meal if I have any allergies or dislikes I want to say "no cheese course if you're giving me candied nuts, quince paste, a chutney...."...that's just me, it has worn out its welcome. So Eve's version, with all of the special accompaniments and smaller amounts of cheese were perfect. The sweet courses were especially good too...what I thought of as a "Blood Orange Shortcake" was light and refreshing. One issue was a piece of Bacon Wrapped Chatham Cod that was a little overdone, and was just too salty with all of the bacon...and for me to say anything negative about bacon is something. The other thing was a piece of lamb loin that happened to have too much fat and a section of it was way too tough. Not showstoppers, but worth mentioning.

I'd go back to Eve if I were in town with my wife and we were celebrating something significant.....the food and the cost weighed against each other, it's much more special occasion dining than something that sparks the food nerd in me.

Komi- Mellow room, good music, chill vibe, enthusiastic and professional staff who obviously adore the food....I would say this is a place where I'll be taking my wife when we're both back in DC. They were also extremely accomodating with the no-hootch rule...I drank their housemade Ginger Beer and a bottle of Sprecher Cola. The big standouts were the egg yolk ravioli with shaved smoked tuna (rockstar insanely tasty), the Half Smoke with Old Bay Pork Rind, the salted Hamachi, and obviously the mega-slab of goat shoulder and do-it-yourself Gyro Package. For a guy like me with a stapled stomach, the small bites as well as the main courses made up a perfect amount of food...I never got the bariatric-sweats from overload. They packaged up the rest of my goat for me, obviously there's no way to finish all of that alone.

I totally loved the experience, but I think I can kind of see where some of the negative comments come from..... from my perspective, the "progression" of courses is a bit odd. Starting with crudo and ending with a roasted slab of goat is very cool, but there isn't enough of a bridge to take you from understated elegance to "Holy shit! A damn hot dog!" (an insanely delicious hot dog). That said, there wasn't one dish I thought of as a clunker, I genuinely enjoyed everything. I wanted to run back and kiss the chef when, given my opinion on the cheese course as a concept, I was presented with a one-bite version. And the salted caramel chocolate bar, in my opinion, put the whoop-ass on Central's Kit-Kat.

I will absolutely go back to Komi, my wife will love it, and something there just struck the right chord with me. For me, the no-menu dining format lends itself to the fun, it's just creative and tasty food. There wasn't a surplus of 'sweet baby Jesus' moments, but overall a real winner. PLUS I think this was my first dinner without one of those alpha male DC douchebags with no indoor voice who get consistently louder as the night goes on somewhere in the room. (Oh, at Eve one of them had his wife with him, and as the wine kept flowing they grew even less enamored with the other's views on hiring former criminal hackers to work on national security software. It's actually pretty entertaining for a little while.)

Oh, check this out....I literally just got a call from Bonji at Cafe Atlantico about an hour ago asking me if I wanted a seat at minibar tonight (someone cancelled). I told her if by some miracle nobody on the waitlist took it, to call me back....but I'm putting my faith in Citronelle tonight. Time to see how some very high expectations pan out.....

[Zeemanb]

Back from Citronelle....

I'm basically very thankful that I turned down the last minute spot at minibar, because I would have missed out on one fantastic meal.

I like to think that I've had enough great meals from coast to coast that I can avoid making excuses for a restaurant that I feel like I "should" like due to its reputation or the fact I'd hate to feel like I wasted a lot of money. With that said, dinner tonight was one of the best I've had in a very long time. It absolutely exceeded my expectations, which were perhaps unreasonably high considering the hype, reputation, etc. Everyone was extremely welcoming, and I was given a pretty awesome perch that gave me a clear view of the kitchen all night. When I wanted a little more time between courses in order to settle down and digest a bit, no problem. When I started asking a few more questions about the specifics in different dishes, the staff made sure to always give me more detail when delivering a course from that point on (and in some cases, showed me dishes that were going to other tables so I could see an example of everything on the menu). Two drops of peppercorn armagnac sauce on the tablecloth....quickly and subtly covered with a fresh napkin. Timing, temperatures, precision, presentation....not one single mis-step. OH YEAH- A DAMN CHEESE COURSE.....well even there it was a vast improvement over most since I could choose exactly which cheeses and how much of each I'd like...so I just took a taste of three of them. And with the cheese came the one item all night that I just didn't like....a sunflower seed roll. The sunflower seeds were too raw....AND I WAS EXPECTED TO PAY FOR THIS SLOP!?!?!?

I loved everything, but a couple of honorable mentions- that damn Nantucket Bay scallop dish is just dreamy. No kidding, I was dying over that thing. The lobster-saffron broth....dammit to hell. Honestly, there wasn't anything I didn't love, those are just the 2 things that pop to mind first.

Yeah, I'll be back. Very, very happy with that meal.

[Kim Shook]

Y'all come to DC and we will meet you at Citronelle anyTIME!!! That just sounds like an amazing meal.