Capital Icebox

What is the bar like at BDT? We'll be in the area and may want to meet some friends for drinks here. Would Circle Bistro be better?

Depends how long you want to wait for your drinks. CB has good happy hour deals and the drinks are a little cheaper, but the service is far better and more efficient at BDT. Also keep in mind that CB is a dimly-lit, modern lounge -- a warm, small, space, while BDT is much brighter and you are surrounded by glass panels and cathedral ceilings, the sort of place where you would take a client. Maybe Westend Bistro as a third option?

I'm in Fairlington (off King St.) in 22206 and they just delivered to me on Sunday. I think they only guarantee delivery at any time to the listed zip codes, but if you call during off-hours, they'll generally deliver if you are moderately close.

They will deliver to 22314 if it isn't prime time pizza deliver hours (before 6:30 on weekdays, I believe).

They don't ordinarily take reservations, do they? But they do for large parties? Or what?

Reservations are usually only for groups of six or more, I believe. I usually try to go before 7pm and haven't had trouble getting a table.

It looks like news of the closing made the Post Express today. Well, at least the online version. I haven't seen a print copy. Their source? DonRockwell.com, of course.

Someone forgot to link.

Dining Guide

Congrats to Eve on their first four stars from Tom (and also for moving to Arlington!).

And agree with Waitman that these are not "bistro" prices.

Eve has similar price points in their "Bistro." The word is being used more and more by high-end restaurants when they open their 'Mini-Me:' Bouchon, Beck, Central, and Eve all call themselves brasseries or bistros, when in fact you probably wouldn't wear jeans, eat off butcher paper, or walk out paying less than $60 a head in any of them. Not saying that is bad or good, but the word "bistro" certainly doesn't mean what it used to.

Some related thoughts from Frank Bruni today on the cult of celebrity chefs and how little time (if any) they actually spend in the kitchen.

I haven't been here in nearly a year and will be visiting with several friends later this week. Are there any new or exciting menu items to try?

And how easy/difficult is it to find seating at 6:30 on a school night or weekend?

They have soft-serve ice cream now, which isn't much to get excited about. I haven't tried the prawns, which are a new addition to the menu, but the chicken bites are fantastic. If the grouper is the fish of the day, you won't regret ordering it.

Seating at 6:30 on a weekend might be more difficult than a weeknight, but the only time I've had a problem getting one of the tables is lunchtime on weekends, which is when they really get slammed.

I love Pizzaiolo's delivery guidelines! I live in Fairlington (near the old Copeland's) and called a few weeks ago to see if they would deliver. The answer was that they would deliver to me if they weren't busy (Monday-Thursday before 7:00 but probably not ever during lunch "primetime") and I called, they would bring it out this way with no delivery charge.

As convenient as it would be to have them offer delivery all the time, I was happy to know that they didn't confine themselves to a certain zip code or short radius, but would rather make the most of the slower times of the day.

They did the same for me in Old Town, saying if I put in an order most days before 6 or 6:30 they could make it happen, which is great.

I also dined-in for the first time here the other night, and the service was very attentive, in fact it was fantastic.

And I agree with Crescent Fresh and Shaggy, CP is being wronged by being left out of the great pizza debate taking place here.

Dan isn't a minority of one. I don't care for her world-conquering juggernaut as of late, but '30 Minute Meals' is a good show. She teaches proper technique (the times I've seen, anyways) and is responsible for getting large numbers of people back into the kitchen, even if in a limited way at first. I can't stand the personality and her lexicon is even more grating, but when I actually took time to watch '30 Minute Meals' I was pleasantly surprised at her knowledge and I can see how she would appeal to the novice cook.

There is also an option to donate to Argia's directly through PayPal, the address is: argias@earthlink.net

Or you can mail a check or money order to the restaurant:

Argia's Restaurant

124 N. Washington Street

Falls Church, VA 22046

As far as we are concerned, go take a look at our front page for the restaurants and dining section and tell me if you really think high-end restaurants "hog" all our attention. Right now I see many ethnic and smaller restaurants represented, more of them than the high-end places. Given that this is the most popular dining discussion group in the area, I think the point that the top places take up all of our attention is invalid. I remember how our collective imagination was blown away by the 'scallion roasted fish' at TemptAsian, for instance, or the crispy squid with basil at Thai Square.

I also think you can find plenty of blogs that share a similar passion as we do for looking beyond the priciest places, like Tyler Cowen's ethnic dining guide. Moreover, the Washingtonian does an excellent job of focusing on the smaller and ethnic gems the area has to offer, devoting two issues a year ('Cheap Eats' and 'Dirt Cheap Eats') to the subject.

And who can walk away from a meal at Komi hungry? I had the same tasting menu without wine pairings, it lasted three hours and I was completely stuffed by the end. The nice thing about Komi's tasting menu is that it runs around fifteen courses, some very little bites like the olive, which are fun. In a normal 3-course environment you couldn't get away with that. And when you eat there, Johnny Monis is in the kitchen cooking, which is more than I can say (and I have said) for other local high-end establishments.

I agree that overall too much attention goes to the high-end restaurants, especially from the city's foremost critic, Sietsema. (His reviews tend too much towards the high-profile, high-end places. But his annual dining guide includes many good cheaper finds, I think.) Then again, I seem to recall some of Tim's recent columns on Bebo, Michel Richard, and Hook. How do you reconcile those columns with today's, I wonder?

Here is a helpful map of the carts. At the moment, only the shwarma and korean bbq carts are open, but I am most excited about the wing & waffles one.

This is a development that is long overdue:

"...the first of 21 new food vendor carts that District officials have authorized after a nearly 10-year moratorium, in an attempt to encourage a new world of street-food options. ...dozens more carts are expected to open in the months ahead, selling pizza, soul food, Korean barbecue, gelato and more. After subsequent mapping surveys, officials intend to designate hundreds more sites for vendors in all commercial areas of the city."

All criticism aside, here is some cool news about Han's next venture.

Great lunch today. In and out in about 25 minutes (would've been faster but I took my time), and a full house during lunch but excellent service, no bedlam at all. The menu is nearly all burgers: basic burger, organic burger, kobe burger, southwest burger (pepper jack and guacamole), and also the special burger of the day (today was ostrich). The menu can be found here.

The burgers are cooked on a grill, flame-broiled, and are a hefty size. They come on a brioche bun which is great for absorbing some of the juices, and underneath each patty you get sauteed mushrooms and onions (I detected a little thyme in there as well). My burger arrived perfectly to order, medium-rare, with a side of fries (pre-frozen, but still good). I am looking forward to coming back and trying some of the other options, especially 'Joe's Burger' (topped with chorizo and manchego). It wasn't exactly up there with Palena's burger, but it was getting close. Worth checking out if you are in the neighborhood.

I think the issue is that there were problems reported with the pizza at Bebo, and Joe H responds by saying the best pie in the city is one that isn't on the menu. Logically, you would think that if it was that good, it would be on the menu.

This is also not the first time that Joe has responded to criticism of Bebo by advising you to go in and talk to Roberto personally to order something off-menu. While that sounds like a splendid idea in certain circumstances, it shouldn't be necessary for enjoying a restaurant on any given day.

Well, I've been back four times since my 'missed connections' post last year, and I feel like my impressions then unfortunately remain the same today.

The fries are not what they once were; the burgers are still inadequate (btw, the 'Virginia Kobe' part of the 'Made with Organic Virginia Beef' has been crossed out on the menu -- I wonder, an appeasement to the erudite epicure, or simply a change in the supplier of beef?) . Five Guys gets knocked around for having a lifeless patty, and fairly enough, but I have to say I don't think EB is doing any better in that department. They are about even in juiciness (with a slight edge to FG), and the elevation burger suffers from too little seasoning and searing. And like Five Guys, chances are your condiment specifications will get screwed up. (I am at the point now where when I go to Five Guys, I get the damn thing naked and put all my condiments on at home.)

Unlike Five Guys, Elevation Burger does not get its buns locally. They are the Martin's potato rolls that you find at any supermarket. Given its devotion to local beef, I don't understand why they haven't sourced buns from a local baker as well. Martin's rolls are starchy, spongy, and utilize preservatives. They do fine for a backyard BBQ, but should have no quarter in a place that was created to "elevate" the burger.

On the upside, the fries, while not as good as they once were, are still good, reminiscent of In N Out fries, and the no-bake cookies are something I have a hard time saying no to, expanding waistline be damned.

Now Elevation Burger, like Five Guys before them, is getting into the franchise business. I would advise them that if they truly want to be pioneers in "creating a burger meal that tastes good," they hold off on the franchising for now and get their burger right instead. We don't need another Five Guys -- there will soon be over a thousand of those around.

Ooh-aah! Sietsema's 'Food Flash' beat Kliman's 'Best Bites' by a full hour!

Thank God for alliterative rubrics.

So, to me, it's not such a big deal that the head guy is in his own dining room. Hell, it's his place and hopefully he's built it into something he enjoys just as much as his paying customers do. Besides, they can drink for free! That's a good enough reason for me.

But he's not in the dining room, he's out on the patio, a whole floor away from the dining room. He can't see anything going on in the dining room.

I'm wondering, was the food not up to your expectations or were you dissappointed in any way? If you did not know he was enjoying some wine with his friends, would you have guessed he wasn't in the kitchen?

My point is, and I'm guessing you enjoyed the food, that if his chefs put out a Citronelle level meal, then he indeed IS doing his job. He is the CEO more or less, not full time chef.

If you read the Washingtonian, you may recall a couple of articles in which several big name kitchens were called and asked it the chef was in. Most of the time the answer was "no".

There are two points, really -- 1) If you are going to be head chef at Citronelle, you should be in the kitchen more often. Look at Citronelle's website, for instance -- the first page has a quote from Robert Parker on how great of a chef Richard is; and just below it Richard's 2007 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef. The restaurant gives the impression that Chef Richard is behind the wheel. The menu is called "Chef Richard's Dinner Menu," his name and face are all over the restaurant -- why shouldn't he be in the kitchen more? And to be fair, this is a question that could be applied to several other restaurants. What makes Citronelle unique is the next point...

2) If you aren't going to be in the kitchen that often, have the professionalism not to be sitting around having drinks with your friends at the restaurant for all to see. I can't think of any other chef of Richard's caliber that does this as regularly as Richard seems to, but please inform me if it is otherwise. I can live with the illusion that many top chefs don't spend much time actually manning a station or even in the kitchen at all (and I certainly seem to prefer places where that is not the case), but have the tact not to flaunt it, especially when you are charging $155 a meal.

(And yes, my meal at Citronelle last year was really lacking considering the price. I have only been once, but I got the impression from my dishes and trying some others in our group that there is an over-reliance on sous vide. I didn't know who was in the kitchen other than the temperature-controlled water bath.)

Apropos of Heather, I believe that David Deshaies is the executive chef of Michel Richard Citronelle. So, strange as it may sound, Michel R. hanging with his mates and/or patrons at Central or Citronelle is equivalent to the other Michel hanging with his mates and/or patrons at Bistro du Coin.

If they were the same type of restaurant, you'd have a point. Citronelle is no bistro.

I rather imagine that Chef Richard has worked hard enough, and for enough years, that he should be able to relax without feeling like he has to work the room. Isn't the executive chef in charge during service?

His restaurant is named after him, people are going there to have his food -- I just don't think it looks good to be out front having a good time when the kitchen is open, not at a restaurant of this caliber. Would you go to Eve's tasting room and not be disappointed if Cathal was at the bar with his buddies instead of at the pass? It's simply unprofessional, IMHO.

I had a "lunch" size NY pizza here yesterday, and it was everything promised in this thread. Perfectly cooked, thin crust, a slightly sweet sauce, blistering cheese -- it was great for lunch, but I only ate half of it, and had the other one for dinner.

With this place and the reported messianic slice at Bebo, Crystal City is looking pretty good right now in the pizza department.

I wonder if it may have been more apt for him to name his book 'Happy Out of the Kitchen'...

"Washington, DC: I celebrated my birthday last week at Central (delicious by the way!). About half way through our meal, in walks Mr. Michel Richard himself and was seated at the table next to us. Do chefs often dine at their own restaurants?

Tom: Most chefs don't have the time (or the inclination, I'd guess) to eat in their own dining rooms. They're probably cooking, after all!"

And a later poster:

"I see him several nights a week dining on the patio at Citronelle. I generally walk or drive by around 9:00 pm, and he may be seen sharing a bottle of wine with several friends.

Tom: Hey, I want that job!"

During my sole visit to Citronelle last year, Chef Richard was out on the patio the whole time, enjoying wine with friends. (My meal made me sorely wish he had been in the kitchen instead, or at least taken a table closer to the pass.) Isn't this a bit unprofessional? If you're the namesake chef (and your cookbook and signature plates adorn the entrances to your restaurants), shouldn't you be in the kitchen more? Or, if you are going to be out of it, maybe work the tables a bit instead of drinking with your buddies in front of everyone? This is one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, after all.