Capital Icebox

I'm in Germany for a few weeks in May, spending some time in Berlin, Freiberg, Cologne, Dresden, Bonn, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. Any suggestions in addition to those already in this thread on german cuisine, mid-priced restaurants not to be missed, or just good neighborhoods for bar-hopping would be appreciated. I would love to find a unique restaurant in Berlin that has bar dining and is open late, for instance. It's my first time to Germany so I'm pretty clueless as to where to go.

These are starting to show up.  Anyone know the best place to get them that's not on the Bay?

Picked up some nice ones at the Organic Butcher in McLean last week -- $7 a pop, and worth it. I called Slavin's, Whole Foods in Old Town, and neither had them.

Circle Bistro has changed their happy hour deal and their bar menu. Martinis on the drink menu, glasses of wine, and beers are all still half-price, everything else is regular price. Fries are a dollar more and the fish is now a tempura preparation with vegetables for $6 (I miss the old goujonette preparation that went for $4). Also, I find it helps to call ahead, since more than once this year we've shown up and the lounge has been closed for a private party.

for a spendthrift foolish enough to shell out $28 for a dozen precious morels, what is the best way to clean them, assuming that the farmer's advice to soak them in salt water should be ignored?

Why assume this advice should be ignored? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me, if you're just soaking them for a few minutes.

If there's still room, The Poster Formerly Known As That Dude would like to join you, +1.

Don't know who started it, but I have to believe the trend got a huge push by Alice Waters when she opened Cafe at Chez Panisse in 1980, upstairs above Chez Panisse (which opened in 1971.) The Cafe has an open kitchen, pizza oven and an à la carte menu. A few years later she opened Café Fanny nearby that serves breakfast and lunch.

From Bruni's article:

"Gramercy Tavern opened in 1994, three years before Jean Georges, and was an early example of this breed. But it wasn't a novel idea. It took a page from Paris, where chefs with Michelin-starred restaurants had begun opening "baby bistros," which allowed diners to experience their cooking, and bask in their luster, at lower prices, with less ceremony.

It also took a page from Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., where, in the early 1980's, the chef Alice Waters appended a casual upstairs cafe to the ground-floor dining room, which had opened in 1971. Ms. Waters said she wanted to share the restaurant with people who hadn't been able to afford it."

You neglected to mention the patio! They have a large deck out front that is nice during warm weather. The view is of Duke St., which is odd, but Mexican was meant to be eaten outside.

Ma la, or Sichuan peppercorns.  Illegal in this country, unless the peppercorns are cooked in oil first.  No, I don't know why.

Importing Sichuan peppercorns into the U.S. was made legal about two years ago, as long as they are roasted beforehand. You can find them at most Asian markets.

And I can't wait to get to Szechuan Boy and have some "roasted fish." Better than crack, it is.

I'm in for the Issan.

This is a great place, with good prices, a very friendly staff, and a real neighborhood feel to it. There are usually some more interesting choices beyond their regular menu fare on the specials board just to the right of the door as you come in, like their real crab and avacado roll. I don't think it's worth making a special trip, but if you're in the area and want sushi at a family-friendly place, you can't go wrong by coming here.

Anyone tried Rittenhouse Rye? What did you think? And where can you find it around here?

I went to a cooking class at Galileo once, and it was amazing! The best part came at the end of the class when Chef Donna, upon adding the last of his sweat to the risotto, ascended to heaven in a glorious beam of light and sat at the right hand of God, whom he had met during the Olympics in Turin.

I thought it was weird that we had to pay in cash, though.

What grocery stores in DC have pork butt?  Like a whole 5-6 pound one.  The Safeway near me (Columbia Rd) only has shoulder (and only occasionally at that).

Pork butt is shoulder.

Hey!  What's That Guy doing online? Get to work!

I would be there already, but Some Dude keeps throwing mini-burgers at me.

Are people having luck, in these past few weeks, walking in and grabbing a table on a weeknight? I want to try to make it over one last time before they close...

Went Sunday night at 6 to try and get a table for two. Had to wait til 7, but it was a nice night for a walk anyways. Definitely worth the wait.

And to his eternal credit, while every other store and restaurant closed down because of the water main break, Michael stayed open.

It doesn't count if you can spit and be outside the beltway 

Your spitting abilities far exceed mine. To keep this on-topic, other patios I like: Vermilion, Circle Bistro (next to the pool... mmm...), and a certain market on 18th street that sells beer and decent sandwiches. Far better people watchin than Lauriol Plaza.

Could that possibly be because it's in VIRGINIA???

Hee hee -- greater washington, my friend. INSIDE the beltway.

ETA: you're escaping the Washington state of mind, not traffic on K street. It feels like you're in another place entirely, like you've stepped into a vacation resort for the evening. You even need to escape Virginia from time to time.

Jaques Pepin's Fast Food My Way on PBS is excellent, as are the Julia Child re-runs. Iron Chef America is entertaining, if not always educational.

Best patio dining in Washington -- 2941's terrace. Except you quickly forget you're in Washington at all.

From Tom's chat today:

"I'm closing because I have to find a way to bring the restaurant back to the neighborhood, where it belongs," owner Michael Landrum told me yesterday. "Even if it involves reformatting my operations."

The "closing" is most likely temporary; the good news is that his forthcoming restaurant in Silver Spring is getting closer to its due date."

ETA: The article discussed above wasn't in my print edition, apparently it is in others.

As many of you know, this Thursday is the Dining Out For Life benefit, where participating restaurants give twenty-five to one-hundred percent of their profits for the night to Food & Friends, a local nonprofit dedicated to deliver meals to individuals living with illnesses in the area. For a list of participating restaurants, including a few DR.com faves like Corduroy and Firefly:

Click

I'll be at Raku in Dupont for the evening, if anyone is in the neighborhood.

so is Slater's Lane between National Airport and Old Town or past Old Town near where we have the DR picnic...

remember I've been in Virgina more times in the past month than I have in the past year...and I've only been in Virgina three times in the past month

Before Old Town, right off GW parkway, the first exit past the airport and marina. You have to get off before the light and take a sory of access road, then turn right at the light at Slaters Lane.

If anyone wants a translator/guide, and can't get the real deal (Nadya), I would be happy to stop by here with you, schedule permitting. I live fairly close by and would love to practice my Russian a bit. Just PM me if you're going and want a little help.

Delightfully Twistian but probably bad form.  Besides, Breadline $10 seafood sandwiches begin and end with the fried fish.

Compare the Po' Boy, Fried Cod, and Softshell Crab sandwiches, and the Po' Boy comes in woefully overpriced.

And no, I wouldn't ask for more oysters. If it was meant to have more, it would have more.

I, too, was at Breadline today, and for the first time in a while walked away somewhat disappointed. My Po' Boy (retail price: $8.95) had a measly three oysters on it, as did my dining companion's. On top of that, there was way too much remoulade on mine, overpowering the flavor of the oysters. For a nine dollar sandwich, this ain't worth the walk.