Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Tenleytown'.
Found 9 results
-
Snagged a Groupon for Cafe to India since it's in the hood and gave it a go on Friday. Strictly middle-of-the-pack Indian food, nice dining room for a small restaurant. Was hoping for more than we got flavor wise, several dishes were bland or not seasoned very well. We ordered: Masala Dosa ($8) was not good. The dosa did not have that crispiness that a good dosa has and the potato filling was bland. Paneer Pakora ($8) a generous plate of wedges of paneer in pakora batter and fried. went well with the dipping sauces. Overall solid. Mini samosas (3 for $7) a decent samosa, but the filling was kinda bland (maybe it was a potato thing) could have used some more spicing. Eggplant Bharta ($12) despite the peas (not listed on the menu) this was a good bharta with surprising heat. Naan ($3) average at best. Didn't get that good crispy sear from the tandoor. Mixed Pickle ($3) spicy...and tasty. With Masala Art a 5 minute walk up the hill, don't see us going back to Cafe of India...but glad we gave them a try. Overall it was a pleasant dinner, just didn't reach the heights of other Indian restaurants in town. -
After Jake's American Grille was quoting a 30-40 minute wait Saturday night with standing room only at the crowded bar, we hopped next door and had a very pleasant dinner at Terasol. Apparently Terasol was a short lived venture in Chevy Chase Arcade and after a two year search has re-opened at 5010 Connecticut Avenue (across the street from Politics and Prose). The front third of the space is an artisan gallery, selling locally produced pottery, jewelry, paintings photography, etc. The back two-thirds is a cafe serving up French bistro classics - onion soup, pate, quiches, ratatouille, boeuf bourguignon, roast chicken, to name a few dishes. The pate plate was two healthy slabs with a small pile of dressed greens, some sliced cornichons, and a little pot of grainy mustard. The quiche was light, fluffy, and quivering. The rataouille, served up in a medium sized souffle bowl, was luscious. Overall, the food made a very good first impression, perfect for a light lunch or dinner. Service was friendly and well meaning but a little hectic and confused. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
-
I had dinner at Matisse earlier this week and was pleasantly surprised. This was a business dinner and the host chose the place; after a few rounds of anxious research here and elsewhere on the web, my expectations were not high, but the evening was quite nice. We were at the chef's table/wine room, which is a sort of open corner (2 sides lined with wine racks) off the kitchen. Caveats - this was a six-course fixed-menu large-group meal, with dedicated servers and such, so I don't think it's necessarily representative of a regular dinner experience there and I have no idea what anything cost. Also, I think there must be another kitchen farther back or something, because I didn't see much action -- if your idea of a chef's table is to watch flashing knives and flames, you won't see much of that here. That said, the food was thoughtful, creative and for the most part meticulously prepared. Matisse's web page calls it French-Mediterranean, but I'd say it's just French - we're talking cream and butter here, not olive oil and basil. Take an extra Lipitor and enjoy yourself. Standouts included the cocktail snacks (perfect little crab cakes the size of bay scallops, just slightly crunchy and spicy), a demitasse of creamy/spicy pumpkin-coconut soup (a flavor pairing new to me that I thought came off brilliantly), a cheese plate (hooray!), and squab with foie gras in a cabernet reduction. (A couple of quibbles about that one: with such a small amount of squab, I was puzzled as to why I got a nearly-meatless length of bone with mine -- not even enough to gnaw off; I didn't find that the chestnuts added much to my experience; and the wine paired with it, a white Bordeaux if memory serves, was startlingly sweet and I didn't find it worked for me.) Portions were small but satisfying; with six courses, I was grateful they weren't larger. Wines paired with the menu were generally delightful, and a Stemmler Pinot Noir was a big hit. (I was making big plans till I looked it up on Total Wines the next morning and found out it retails for $30/bottle!) -
I know that Murasaki on Wisconsin Ave. had it for a while. I don't know if they still do. -
For a posh Francophile and serious foodie who prefers European cuisine. (Friend of a friend so that's all the info I have). Et Voila and Mari Vanna were all I could come up with. And Mari Vanna was a shot in the dark. Any suggestions? Geo range is Dupont to Friendship Heights, though MacArthur Blvd was seen as in range.
-
Was walking down Wisconsin Ave today and there was a sign for "Firelake Grill" opening soon in the old Ruby Tuesday's space at Wisconsin and Van Ness. The contractor who is renovating the space is the same one who worked on all of the various Ray's restaurants. Is it possible Michael Landrum is opening in Upper NW? (Which would be the best thing to happen to this neighborhood in a long time). Anyone have any info? -
Coffee nature is a lot of fun. Good food and drinks, and some of the best service I've had anywhere. One time they messed up a drink that a friend of mine ordered and paid for in cash, and as they came out with the replacement, they insisted on giving her the cash back as well. Very cool. -
Good bread outsourced. Iffy sweet crepes - banana and chocolate tasted like a pile of one-note sweet mush and no browned crispy edges. However, a few bites of savory buckwheat crepes were quite tasty.
-
After lingering over "One Noodle at a Time" in the NY Times, which is focussed on Tokyo restaurants, I had a hankering for ramen, and stopped off yesterday with a companion at Simply Ayzen (a name heartbreakingly reminiscent of TemptAsian) in Chevy Chase. The Miso Ramen japanese egg noodle with roasted pork in soy bean flavor ($10) filled the bill. You could hear me slurp across the room. It was tasty and satisfying but perhaps not as sharp as I would have liked. And here's a gimmick: When I called to make a reservation and asked about parking, the woman on the phone said, "We will give you change for the meter." That turned out not to be necessary. There is also a sushi bar and a $10 lunch special, neither of which we tried.
