Where to eat tonight in Bethesda?

[JPW]

Mrs. JPW and I have reservations for Grapeseed on Friday.

Anyone been recently?

[mhberk]

I always enjoy Cafe Deluxe when I'm in the area. I'm usually in the area visiting my sister (who has two youngsters), so we tend to choose a place that where her children can get loud without distubing others (Austin Grill is great for this as well).

Of course, you can't go wrong with Persimmon. You gotta love a place the serves pate (instead of butter) with their bread.

[JPW]

welcome mhberk.

We generally avoid those places for that very reason!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[cjsadler]

What are the prices like at Black's? Do they have a web site?

Entrees are low to mid 20's. I was walking by the other week and they had something up for an 'early bird' special of a $25 (I think-- it may have even been only $20) three course prix fixe. It was from 5-6:30 pm or so... I don't know if they're still doing the oyster happy hours, but those were great too (50 cents per oyster). That would make a nice, inexpensive evening: Hit the oyster happy hour for a drink and some oysters, then do the prix fixe.

[JennyUptown]

welcome mhberk.

We generally avoid those places for that very reason!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Ditto. Ha, ha. My big complaint about the DC Cafe Deluxe though is that no matter how you order your burger, it WILL arive well done. It's a perfect spot for my unadventurous mother.

Mon Ami Gabi was having a nice half-price wine special last night when we arrived.

[silentbob]

I dunno if Cafe Deluxe still serves the roasted lamb and goat cheese on sourdough, but it is soooo good. Plus, their fries (unlike most places) are actually crispy.

I'm also a big fan of their salad with goat cheese and pine nuts.

The place is certainly a safe, though unadventurous, pick.

[JPW]

Dinner Friday at Grapeseed. Unfortunately, I didn't take notes and the dishes are not listed in the sample menu on their website, so my descriptions are somewhat incomplete.

Perhaps they should rename it "SALT"

For a small space they do a fairly decent job of squeezing a lot of seats in without making it feel too crowded. About 8 seats at the bar just inside the front door and an open kitchen with about 4 seats at the counter.

Opened with just an aperatif. I had seen on the wine list a sparkler from New Mexico of all places! Intrigued, I had to investigate. So I decided to prep my gullet with a taste. Gruet Blanc de Noirs. Surprisingly inoffensive. Not great mind you, but pretty good. It gave me the proper frame of mind, mouth and stomach to enjoy my repast.

For openers, my wife had a potato gnocchi dish and I had ravioli stuffed with porcini off of the day's specials. The ravioli were perfectly luscious and had the exact right texture in both the pasta and the filling. The gnocchi were incredibly creamy. However, in both cases the quality of texture of the main ingredients and their natural taste were completely overwhelmed by the incredible saltiness of the sauces. Since I have recently cut back on the amount of sodium in my diet, I thought it might just be me, but my reaction was confirmed by Mrs. JPW. The porcini were accompanied by a more than adequate Chianti Classico that complemented the porcini perfectly.

For entree, Mrs. JPW had a risotto with guanciale (I may be a little wrong here) and winter squash . It was by far the most successful dish of the evening. Excellently prepared rice. Scrumption squash. Salivating sausage. A good take on a classic dish.

My entree was pork tenderloin and crispy pulled pork on horseradish mashed potatoes. Ordered medium rare, the first pork was absolutely gray and sent back. Being a fairly low maintenance restaurant customer, I am generally reluctant to send dishes back, but this was completely unacceptably tough.

The second go round was closer to rare, but good enough. The pulled pork was indeed verycrispy -- inside and outside. I'm a huge fan of pulled pork, and this didn't quite make it. I can't tell you about the potatoes because, again, any of their flavor was dominated by the salt screaming out of the sauce.

The wine accompanying the pork was an truly unusual and tasty California Syrah (again I can't recall the vineyard -DAMN - it was really original). A texture like velvet and when swallowed, the resulting lingering taste was as if there were a slice of perfectly fresh and ripe plum on your tongue.

Dessert for Mrs JPW was a very well-executed apple crisp.

I drank my dessert.

Fairly good coffee and a very pleasant Rozes vintage port.

The savior of the meal was some of the best service I've experienced in DC. Our waitor, who mercifully in terms of JPW's restaurant pet peeve #24, did not introduce himself by name but from the credit card slip is "FULLER G". The true highlight of the meal. He saw me take one bite from the end of the first (overdone) tenderloin and grimace. He saw me take a second from the middle hoping that the interior was more correct and chew for about 30 seconds and was at our table asking if the pork was OK. When I could finally swallow my dry mouthful, I mentioned that it was "somewhat overcooked", he immediately and without question asked if I wanted it replaced. He also asked if I wanted anything else as the pork would take 10-15 minutes. A glass of that lovely syrah on the house and my fork in Mrs. JPW's plate made me more than happy. He struck the perfect balance of familiarity and properness that the general atmosphere of the restaurant implies and was greatly knowledgeable about the dishes and extensive wine list.

Any chefs/owners out there would do well to poach this gentleman.

Grapeseed is the best I've had in Bethesda, but I believe that your gullet would be better served to jump on the Red Line, go a few stops South to Dupont Circle, and look for that other modern American restaurant.

At the very least, until Chef keeps a closer eye on whomever is acting as saucier and his closeness to the salt box.

[DonRocks]

He saw me take one bite from the end of the first (overdone) tenderloin and grimace. He saw me take a second from the middle hoping that the interior was more correct and chew for about 30 seconds and was at our table asking if the pork was OK. When I could finally swallow my dry mouthful, I mentioned that it was "somewhat overcooked", he immediately and without question asked if I wanted it replaced. He also asked if I wanted anything else as the pork would take 10-15 minutes. A glass of that lovely syrah on the house and my fork in Mrs. JPW's plate made me more than happy. He struck the perfect balance of familiarity and properness that the general atmosphere of the restaurant implies and was greatly knowledgeable about the dishes and extensive wine list.

This happened to me twice in the past week at Zola (see Zola thread), and more recently at Logan Tavern.

(Sometimes it seems like the "how would you like that cooked" question has become mere formality these days.)

I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and fries at the bar at Logan Tavern, and when my server asked me how I wanted it cooked, I said "medium rare." The burger came out well done, and was quite dry in the middle. I'm always a bit reluctant to mention something like this, especially when we're talking about a cheeseburger at a bar, but I went ahead and politely told her that it was just too overcooked. She immediately apologized (and of course it wasn't her fault) and had the kitchen redo the sandwich. Then she poured me another beer, saying "this one's on us." Finally, when the bill arrived, not only was the beer comped, but the burger was too. This was more than I expected, and certainly wasn't necessary though the gesture was much appreciated

So thanks, Logan Tavern, for service well done.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[JennyUptown]

More specials in Bethesda:

According to the Post, Persimmon is having a $5 happy hour (M-F, 5-7p). For $5 you get a glass of wine or a snack.

Mon Ami Gabi is also a nice spot (mini-chain, yes I know).

[sara]

I've done HH at Black's -- very nice.

Can anyone say more about Daruma or Matuba? In the mood for Japanese...

[hillvalley]

Daruma is a Japanese market with a noodle counter in the back. The counter is only open until 4. The offer a variety of soba, udon and ramen dishes. They also have some curries and tempura items, but I have never tried them. The noodle soups are wonderful and a great bargin. Nothing is more than $6 and the portion size is quite large. It is not uncommon for me to be the only Westerner eating at the counter.

Matuba is one the other side of Old Georgetown and has been around forever. It makes Washingtonian's Cheap Eats list pretty much every year. The menu is standard Japanese fair with a good sushi bar. During the week T-F they have an all you can eat sushi on a conveyer belt deal at lunch. It's around $15 and not really worth it. There are about half a dozen varieties of fish, tempura, salad and oranges. The quality is lower than what you find in the front of the house. If you do decide to go, get there early. Otherwise you spend forever standing around watching other people eat.

My personal favorite and hidden secret is Aji Nippon. It is on Arlington Blvd. right next to the shopping center Daruma is in. To me this is the best sushi around. The fish is always top quality and the prices are very reasonable. They have a number of dishes that you don't normally find at Japanese restaurants in the US. Ikura oroshi, grated radish with salmon roe is one of my favorites. The sushi is not standard to what you find in most sushi joints. The pieces are smaller and the balls of rice properly made.

If you just want take out sushi, Hinata is an excellent choice. It is a small Japanese grocery store with a good sushi bar in the back. The chef used to run the sushi bar at Cameron's seafood about 7 years ago. The quality of fish is good and you can by raw fish to make sushi at home. The owner will also sell you sushi rice and will help you figure out what else you need. I head to Hinata when I am making sushi at home.

Finally, there is Tako Grill onWisconsin. Great sake drinks, very good sushi, freshly grated wasabi and a variety of items (including fugu) that you can't always find. If you are going on the weekend I highly recommend reservations. They have a number of tables that are great for big groups (I've celebrated a number of birthday's there) in the sake bar.

This concludes hillvalley's Eating Japanese in Bethesda tour. Tips are appreciated.

[sara]

Oh you are wonderful wonderful! I have to go try Daruma for lunch, for sure. Where is Hinata?

[hillvalley]

Oh you are wonderful wonderful! I have to go try Daruma for lunch, for sure. Where is Hinata?

I am on day two of migrane medication so while I am feeling no pain I can't remember much of anything. For some reason St. Elmo comes to mind, but if that's the block Rio Grand used to be on then I'm wrong. If you are going straight on Arlington, once you cross Old Georgetown it becomes this street. But other than that I have no idea.

[sara]

Oh fellow migraine sufferer, thanks so much! I am hoping some ramen will cure my aching head...

[hillvalley]

I wish it was cold enough to have a bowl of their udon soup. It comes with tempura and other goodies and perfect for the winter migraine. Now it is just too hot. Try the zaru? soba and shrimp tempurah. They coming with a grate dipping sauce. Perfect for this awful weather. I like it with milk soda.

I can't wait to see what I have written today after the drugs have warn off

[sara]

On hillvalley's recommendation LiamDC and I went to Aji Nippon tonite. I really went to have noodle soup, but faced with their extensive sushi menu, we succumbed. We were happy with our choice!

We started with a small dish of uni with squid--this was a great combination of flavors, and a great deal at $4.50 for the dish. We greatly preferred this to the terayaki scallops, our next course, since the scallops were nothing special. We then had negemaki--this was very flavorful beef with scallions, quite nicely done.

For our sushi we had yellowtail, fresh eel, and sweet shrimp, along with two rolls: fatty tuna, and cod roe with yam. The rolls were especially good, as mentioned earlier the rice was perfectly done, and that cod roe roll was just bursting with taste.

This was plenty of food for two, and along with two drinks it was about $50. A nice deal. The waitress was exceedingly sweet, and while the place was empty when we arrived at 7:30 it was much more full by the time we left at 8:45. Sure, this felt a little like cheating on Koji, but it was a nice, slightly lower key alternative to Sushi Ko once in awhile.

[hillvalley]

Glad you enjoyed it. It is amazing this place is still open. The only time it is crowded is on the weekends. They have been around for about 20 years. Some of my earliest sushi memories are of that bar. Next winter go back for the Nabeyaki Udon. Yummmmmm.

Hinata is indeed on St. Elmo. Who knew I could think while medicated About three stores in next to the parking lot. Closed on Monday. Excellent natto.

[squids]

I didn't realize there was a Daruma in Bethesda--does anyone know if this is the same place that is in the Rockville strip mall, across from the Best Buy? My husband and I love to go here for their very authentic noodles. They used to run a market next door as well--this place has tables along with a counterbar, albeit small. (As there's no place to get Saimin in this area, my husband goes for the ramen.)

I forgot about Aji Nippon--I had been told about it years ago...I'm glad to hear they are still around, and will have to try to get out there soon! I've always searched for a Nabeyaki Udon to be even half as good as what you get on the west coast--Hillvalley, would you say theirs is the best in DC?

[hillvalley]

Yeah, their's is as good as it gets around here. Real seafood, a raw egg added at the last moment, served over a flame. Tako Grill's is pretty good as well.

I know that Daruma was the second branch of the one in Rockville when it first opened, but I don't know if they are still connected. Or if the restaurant is tied to it. I can't imagine they aren't though. Why cause all the name confusion? Glad my useless knowledge could be of some help

[JennyUptown]

Is there anything new and exciting going on food-wise in Bethesda? I'm heading that way out of necessity.

The friend with whom I am going doesn't love Jaleo (drat! I'm totally in the mood.). She will probably suggest Austin Grill (OK) or Cafe Deluxe (blech) so I'd like to be armed with some fresh, enticing counterproposal.

How is Taste of India when Monica is not hosting events there? Has anyone been lately?

Is there anything else up there that is flying under the radar?

[laniloa]

Wine and appetizers at Grapeseed have been enjoyable in the past.

I've also liked the basic Italian at Olazzo.

[hillvalley]

The Red Tomato. I know I know, stop laughing. It's been around forever but continues to deliver quality Italian food at affordable prices, especially for Bethesda. It is around the corner from Rock Bottom.

Around the other corner is Oodles of Noodles. When the weather turns cold I love going there for their soups.

Tonight I treated myself to take out from Aji Nippon

[Monica Bhide]

How is Taste of India when Monica is not hosting events there? Has anyone been lately?

Its Passage to India.. not Taste of India