Restaurant Week, January 10th-16th, 2005

DrewTr · December 23, 2004

Mendocino will be particpating in Restaurant Week, but apparently not appearing in the ad. Our whole menu will be available with some supplements.

Yeehaw!

Edited December 23, 2004 by DrewTr (log)

JennyUptown · December 26, 2004

Skip Mie n Yu - during RW and always!!!!

mhberk · December 28, 2004

OK, just made my reservations for Ceiba (mainly because I've always been impressed with TenPenh and DC Coast) and Vidalia. Two places that I've never tried.

Has anyone been to Vidalia lately? I don't see it much on these boards. Would others recommend going somewhere else before Vidalia?

Thanks in advance!

Gastro888 · December 28, 2004

I went to Vidalia 2 years ago during RW. OK, that's not recent but eh, it's something.

It was nice - the service could've been better. Actually, the service was rather snotty. I was surprised but perhaps my girlfriends and I were treated poorly b/c we were a tableful of young women? There are other theories here as well but I digress.

The food was good and I'm going again this RW. My friend ordered the shrimp and grits and they were fantastic. I had a fried chicken dish which was good but not stellar. The last time it was reviewed by Tom he mentioned the bread basket had popovers. Oooh.

mhberk · January 3, 2005

I went to Vidalia 2 years ago during RW. OK, that's not recent but eh, it's something.
It was nice - the service could've been better. Actually, the service was rather snotty. I was surprised but perhaps my girlfriends and I were treated poorly b/c we were a tableful of young women? There are other theories here as well but I digress.
The food was good and I'm going again this RW. My friend ordered the shrimp and grits and they were fantastic. I had a fried chicken dish which was good but not stellar. The last time it was reviewed by Tom he mentioned the bread basket had popovers. Oooh.
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Thanks for the info.

I was planning on doing Charlie Palmer, but it looks like they can't make up their mind as to if they want to do dinner or not. They keep going back and forth, so it looks like I WILL be doing Vidalia after all (unless someone can recommend going somewhere before Vidalia).

dcfoodie · January 3, 2005

OK, just made my reservations for Ceiba (mainly because I've always been impressed with TenPenh and DC Coast) and Vidalia. Two places that I've never tried.
Has anyone been to Vidalia lately? I don't see it much on these boards. Would others recommend going somewhere else before Vidalia?
Thanks in advance!
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Good choice in going to Ceiba. I had a great time there with my wife the last restaurant week. If they let you, make sure one of you order the Black Bean soup.

I've been compiling a giant list of all the restaurants that are participating and what they'll have on their menus in case any of you are interested. It's not yet complete, but I imagine by tomorrow night, it'll be as complete as it's gonna get. The problem is that most places haven't yet decided what they're going to have on their menus, so it's been tough getting the list complete.

http://www.dcfoodies.com/2005/01/restaurant_week.html

iamthestretch · January 3, 2005

For your booking convenience, OpenTable once again has a special RW app up and running. Doesn't have everybody, but certainly has most and at least you can see who's filling up fast.

(Edited to add: They don't have Corduroy on the list for some reason, although they are doing RW and, until recently at least, had been on OpenTable.)

Edited January 3, 2005 by iamthestretch (log)

JennyUptown · January 4, 2005

Ten Penh is also "good at" RW.

The Doctor · January 4, 2005

Thanks for your efforts, DCFoodie.

I'll be completing my RW visits to the Jeff Tunks trilogy with a visit to Ten Penh. I give DC Coast's and Ceiba's efforts two thumbs way up.

Also, I did Tosca last time and it was amazing. Not only did they offer the full menu (just a few minor upcharges for things like foie gras), but they were incredibly flexible with the courses. The have appetizers, pasta, entrees, and desserts. You could almost do any combo you wanted (eg, pasta, main course, dessert; appetizer, pasta, dessert; appetizer, entree, dessert).

I also am having an internal debate. I will probably be organizing a birthday dinner for someone that week, and I'm wondering whether to do Tosca or Corduroy. I'm seriously leaning toward Tosca, but Corduroy (I've never been) gets a lot of buzz here and I don't want to discount it. Any thoughts?

dcfoodie · January 4, 2005

Honestly, I've never been to Tosca or Corduroy. There are others that are probably more qualified to answer that here.

After hearing your story about Tosca though, I'm definitely going to go there. Another place I am seriously considering is Saveur, which is doing a similiar offering to Tosca and leaving their menu wide open to Restaurant Week diners. I'd be curious what people have to say about them as well.

KSPS · January 4, 2005

OK, just made my reservations for Ceiba (mainly because I've always been impressed with TenPenh and DC Coast) and Vidalia. Two places that I've never tried.
Has anyone been to Vidalia lately? I don't see it much on these boards. Would others recommend going somewhere else before Vidalia?
Thanks in advance!
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I ate at Vidalia within the past two months -- our first time since the rennovations were completed -- and I thought the food was as good as ever. Everyone in our group of five was happy. No sense of being "rusty" in spite of the long break for rennovations. I can't remember what we ate. (That's probably a function of the fact that we dine out a lot.) We had a long wait for our drinks to arrive, but our waiter made sure the rest of the meal went smoothly.

We have reservations for Vidalia during Restaurant Week.

I don't know how you feel about THE WASHINGTONIAN's restaurant guide, but they include Vidalia in their top category of four-star restaurants.

Karen

Gastro888 · January 4, 2005

Another place I am seriously considering is Saveur, which is doing a similiar offering to Tosca and leaving their menu wide open to Restaurant Week diners. I'd be curious what people have to say about them as well.
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Saveur is a FANTASTIC restaurant. I ate there during the last RW and the food was divine. (Don't order the salmon though - my friend ordered it and it was good but rather plain) The shrimp cocktail is well done there and I had the shrimp and scallops with risotto. It's a cute little place. Just don't go there when it's packed - we went for an early dinner and as the night went on and more diners came, the noise level became unbearable b/c there's no carpet or drapes to absorb sound.

Fred · January 4, 2005

FWIW:

I had a great RW meal at Signatures during the last go around.

iamthestretch · January 4, 2005

I second Signatures. And if you arrange to go on the Friday of RW, you can enjoy half-price wine to boot. Mmmm, cheap expensive wine, aaarrrgggh.

squids · January 5, 2005

Unfortunately, my husband's birthday falls on the Tuesday during Restaurant week..I had originally proposed taking him to Corduroy or 1789, but am hesitant to go to any participating restaurant during "restaurant week" due to the craziness, and possibility of not dining in the best of circumstances. I, of course, suggested Citronelle, but he nixed that since we've just bought a new house and can now be lumped into the "house poor" category. Anyone have any recommendations?

dcfoodie · January 5, 2005

Unfortunately, my husband's birthday falls on the Tuesday during Restaurant week..I had originally proposed taking him to Corduroy or 1789, but am hesitant to go to any participating restaurant during "restaurant week" due to the craziness, and possibility of not dining in the best of circumstances. I, of course, suggested Citronelle, but he nixed that since we've just bought a new house and can now be lumped into the "house poor" category. Anyone have any recommendations?
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Komi! I went there recently and had the best meal I've had in a long time. You can do the Chef's tasting menu with 5 courses for $59 and 7 courses for $79. You also have the option to have a wine pairing for $25 and $30 respectively. My wife and I did the 5 course meal with wine pairing, although I think they gave us the 7 course meal after we told them we were celebrating. Who knows - I might have lost count after all the wine. :wink:

Here's the eG thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=31160&hl=komi

I also wrote about my recent experience: http://www.dcfoodies.com/2004/12/komi.html

meyerboy · January 5, 2005

Unfortunately, my husband's birthday falls on the Tuesday during Restaurant week..I had originally proposed taking him to Corduroy or 1789, but am hesitant to go to any participating restaurant during "restaurant week" due to the craziness, and possibility of not dining in the best of circumstances. I, of course, suggested Citronelle, but he nixed that since we've just bought a new house and can now be lumped into the "house poor" category. Anyone have any recommendations?
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I went to 1789 last RW on Sat. PM with a 900 reservation. They couldn't have been better. They had our table read whhen we arrived(4ppl, ten minutes early( I have a late for reservations phobia). Everything was unreal, from the bread and butter(some of the best butter in DC(I am also a dairy freak) to the lamb to the scallop martini, it was unreal. There was no rush, noone hovering, and no craziness. My only recomendation is to get your res. in early, as they will probably fill up. As far as the menu, everything was available, with certain surcharges for specialties, but nothing unreasonable.

MichelleW · January 6, 2005

I have reservations at David Greggory on Wednesday night and am trying to decide on two more restaurants for next week. Colvin Run Tavern has been discussed for a group thing, largely because of location, but I'm wondering what (if anything) y'all have to say about it. I've always thought Kinkead's was somewhat overrated (good, but nothing outstanding or truly special, like 2941 or TenPenh), so I'm looking for some input.

So... thoughts? I eat everything! I love everything! If Corduroy is indeed participating, reservations at Corduroy will probably be one of those two.

squids · January 6, 2005

Unfortunately, my husband's birthday falls on the Tuesday during Restaurant week..I had originally proposed taking him to Corduroy or 1789, but am hesitant to go to any participating restaurant during "restaurant week" due to the craziness, and possibility of not dining in the best of circumstances. I, of course, suggested Citronelle, but he nixed that since we've just bought a new house and can now be lumped into the "house poor" category. Anyone have any recommendations?
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I went to 1789 last RW on Sat. PM with a 900 reservation. They couldn't have been better. They had our table read whhen we arrived(4ppl, ten minutes early( I have a late for reservations phobia). Everything was unreal, from the bread and butter(some of the best butter in DC(I am also a dairy freak) to the lamb to the scallop martini, it was unreal. There was no rush, noone hovering, and no craziness. My only recomendation is to get your res. in early, as they will probably fill up. As far as the menu, everything was available, with certain surcharges for specialties, but nothing unreasonable.
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Thanks, that sounded perfect, but I just checked open table, and 1789 has nothing before 8:30 :sad: We're limited a bit by location, and of the restaurants that I see that have openings around 6:30, New Heights (on the way home,) Circle Bistro (not too far from my work, but a good hike from my husband's work,) and Palette (across the street from hubby's work and only a five block walk for me) are all available...anyone have input on any of these?

I'm going to check into Komi, and perhaps Palena, although since we've just been to Palena I wanted to try someplace we'd never been, or hadn't been to in a long time...Thanks for the suggestions!

bilrus · January 6, 2005

Colvin Run Tavern has been discussed for a group thing, largely because of location, but I'm wondering what (if anything) y'all have to say about it.

I've been to Colvin Run twice during RW for lunch and it has been very good both times. I was sitting at the bar bothtimes though, so I can't vouch for service although my guess is that they do just fine.

Thanks, that sounded perfect, but I just checked open table, and 1789 has nothing before 8:30

You might try calling the restaurant. Not all restaurants put all their available times on Open Table.

Tom Power · January 6, 2005

For your booking convenience, OpenTable once again has a special RW app up and running. Doesn't have everybody, but certainly has most and at least you can see who's filling up fast.
(Edited to add: They don't have Corduroy on the list for some reason, although they are doing RW and, until recently at least, had been on OpenTable.)
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Corduroy is doing Restaurant Week. On line reservations will not be available for about 10 more days due to a dispute/mess up between OpenTable and the DSL provider Verizon. You will have to call the restaurant to book a table.

Chef Shogun · January 10, 2005

Happy Restaurant Week everybody ! So, where's everybody going? It occured to me tonight that it was, in fact, the 10th comming up and I don't have anything lined up, so I've got to get on that today at work!

DCatty · January 10, 2005

Happy Restaurant Week everybody ! So, where's everybody going? It occured to me tonight that it was, in fact, the 10th comming up and I don't have anything lined up, so I've got to get on that today at work!
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Me, I Ricchi on Wed, Taberna del Alabadero (sp?) on Fri, and Oceanaire on Sun. Actually, that last one was a pre-existing birthday reservation that happens to give us the option, but I don't think we will take it. The first two are places my wife has wanted to try for a while....