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Auld Lang Cuisine


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10 hours ago, dcs said:

Vincenzo @ 20th and Q streets.

6 hours ago, Kibbee Nayee said:

Yes, Vincenzo was amazing Italian seafood. At one time heralded as the best seafood restaurant and best Italian restaurant -- both -- within many miles.

18 hours ago, DonRocks said:

2. Dining Room at Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City (under Gerard Pangaud)

Vincenzo was terrific.  Fantabulous food.  Wonderful evenings.  A very special place imho.

I was fortunate through a friend to meet Gerard Pangaud several times and dine at his extabllishments (primarily Gerard's Place).  Memorable dining experiences.

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On 2/21/2019 at 10:39 AM, DonRocks said:

I'm curious what people's earliest ultra-luxe fine dining memories are. I'm not talking just about sit-down restaurants, or even great restaurants, but fine-dining, white-tablecloth experiences that left an impression on you.

Weirdly, they are both Hungarian restaurants.  Paprikas Fono in San Francisco (in the late 1970s) and Cafe Budapest in Boston (1981).  The first was chosen by my HS debate coach, who got tired of endless drives and nights spent in Motel 6s, so insisted that we have at least one good meal per tournament and schlepped the lot of us from Berkeley to Ghirardelli Square.  The second was the first Valentine’s Day I spent with with my future/present husband.  We were juniors in college and I think he knew Cafe Budapest because *his* HS debate coach (in NH) took the team there.

Desserts were the highlights of each meal (sacher torte and dobos torte) and I remember thinking Cafe Budapest was beautiful/charming because it had lovely china and multiple small rooms, each decorated with a different color scheme.

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55 minutes ago, smithhemb said:

Weirdly, they are both Hungarian restaurants. 

Desserts were the highlights of each meal (sacher torte and dobos torte) 

Want to hear something cool? Thirty-years ago this month (well, technically "next month"), I had a Sacher Torte at Hotel Sacher (but it was really mediocre, and one down the street from a random Viennoiserie was much better).

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On 4/21/2019 at 8:08 PM, DonRocks said:

Want to hear something cool? Thirty-years ago this month (well, technically "next month"), I had a Sacher Torte at Hotel Sacher (but it was really mediocre, and one down the street from a random Viennoiserie was much better).

For me, it was 49 years ago in July and it was pretty dry compared to other local pastry/coffee shops.

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On 4/18/2019 at 9:18 AM, Kibbee Nayee said:

I also miss New Orleans Emporium in Adams Morgan. 

I liked that place, but the New Orleans Cafe, around the corner from the emporium, was my preferred place of those 2.

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19 hours ago, lizzie said:

What was the ice cream and candy store on Wilson Blvd/Clarendon in the 90’s? Near Faccia Luna? Anyone remember who owned it? 

Although I don't remember candy there, I'm going to guess Lazy Sundae, now at its third location and now called Lazy Mike's.

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11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Sep 21, 1980 - “Dining 1980” by Phyllis Richman on washpost.com

I just stumbled across this - for perspective, this article is the same age as 1938 was when this article was written.

Thanks for posting this, Don. It's a really nostalgic trip back through Memory Lane.

1980 is when I landed in the DC area. Bamiyan and Kabul Caravan were my go-to's for Afghan, and Bacchus and Mama Ayesha's were where I chased down Lebanese fare until I discovered the original and (at the time) little-known Lebanese Taverna in Arlington. "Clyde's food is more famous than good" is an interesting take in 1980. Crisfield is the restaurant where time stood still.

If I could conjure back a few oldies but goodies, they would be New Orleans Emporium in Adams Morgan, where the popcorn crawfish tails at the bar and the blackened lamb chops downstairs were excellent, plus Vincenzo for Italian and seafood and Italian seafood, plus any of the Blackies for reasonable steaks, plus Queen Bee for Vietnamese when Clarandon was the center of Vietnamese eating in our area....

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On 1/5/2023 at 10:23 AM, Kibbee Nayee said:

New Orleans Emporium in Adams Morgan, where the popcorn crawfish tails at the bar and the blackened lamb chops downstairs were excellent,

I loved their New Orleans Cafe, around the corner in the space that eventually became Pasta Mia. More affordable than the Emporium, and the BEST onion rings!

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16 hours ago, saf said:

I loved their New Orleans Cafe, around the corner in the space that eventually became Pasta Mia. More affordable than the Emporium, and the BEST onion rings!

We need more places like that around here. My co-workers and I would decompress after a day of wallowing in national security crap by hitting the bar for a basket "Cajun Popcorn" (fried crawfish tails), plenty of Dixie beer, and a few oyster shooters, before retiring to the absolutely perfect blackened lamb chops in the dining room down below. I miss the experiences, but most of al, I miss that food.

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