youngfood

I'm with Bigpinot. As long as we tip based on percentage, why should it matter what your money was spent on or how expensive the bottle you bought was? Are we really worrying about the person who buys the $1000 bottle being able to leave a sizable tip? And if so, why should that person be tipping at a lower percentage than anyone who is on a smaller budget, but nonetheless makes certain to leave 18% on the total tab so the server knows they appreciate their efforts. Big spending tables are where servers actually make their money. I think an analogy to federal tax is appropriate: we don't let big spenders pay lesser sales tax, nor do we tax higher incomes at a lesser rate. As long as we tip a standard percentage of the food tab, tipping percentage should remain consistent for wine tab regardless of the value of the bottle. Until we abandon percentage based tipping entirely, wine should be treated equal to food for tipping purposes. On the other hand, with an unusually low tab, I do think it appropriate to tip above the standard percentage.

The Hill makes it somewhat more official: Johnny's is leaving Dupont and moving into La Colline's space on Capital Hill. Metro Farewell La Colline, hello Johnny's Half Shell. Long a favorite haunt of expense-account journalists, Paul Zucconi's boite at 400 N. Capitol was haunted by labor disputes that kept Dems away. Now it will be Johnny's Half Shell, owned by Ann Cashion and John Fulchino. A personalized, upscale seafood house, Johnny's is moving to the Hill from 2002 P St. N.W. ... http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/The...ape/030806.html

Palena Bar is another option, though seating is right on Connecticut Ave and next door to a gas station. Galileo's Osteria del Galileo also has outdoor seating and can be a nice quiet spot, though again without much of a view.

I am and I sure thought it was. That's only after paying $65 for the tasting menu, but if you're going to try it and don't have to drive home, I'm quite sure you'll get your money's worth on the pairings. http://www.restaurantkolumbia.com/menudinner.htm

We celebrated NYE a night early at Kolumbia and with the place to ourselves had a very positive experience. I was similarly nervous having seen little positive chatter, but we did the tasting menu with wine pairing and weren't disappointed with any of the 10 plates between us. The details are fuzzy between the months past and the 5 glasses of vino, but highlights were: artichoke soup gnocchi (not the same as on current menu) and our two seafood dishes - a black cod and a diver scallops, both of which appear to be on the current menu. I'd never before had black cod and it was delicious, as were the scallops. If you do the tasting menu ($65), I'd say its well worth the additional $20 to do the wine pairings. We liked everything we tried, they were well paired with each course, and they followed each other well. If we had any complaints, it would only be that the desserts were less exciting than the soups, seafood, and pairings.

Interesting how different two peoples' experiences can be in the same restaurant on the same night. We clearly had different servers and I'm sorry your party wasn't as lucky as we were. Dino hasn't been perfect in the times I've been (IMHO, the wines, cheese, meats & crostini are outstanding, while the pastas & fish less consistent) but I remain a big fan and my experience last night was my best yet. I think its important to keep in mind that different restaurants have different aims. Dino, in particular, lists its goal on its website. Spawned by the proprietors love of small family style wine bars & restaurants in Italy with very good reasonably priced wine and noting the absence of such establishments, Dino does not purport to challenge the Citronelle, Maestro, Obelisk elite, but simply states "Our desire is for you to enjoy our authentic foods and wines in a comfortable, casual setting." I for one am very grateful and think that Dino insightfully spotted a real glaring hole in the DC dining scene. Maybe I'm just on a tigheter budget than most, but I think Dino is the perfect spot for someone who loves food and splurges for a fancy meal on occassion, but wants to have good product at a more affordable price on a regular basis.

Had a lovely time at Dino tonight. It was quiet and Dean seemed to be taking a night off , but his staff was oustanding. For a "comfortable, casual setting" the service could not have been better. As always, the crostini were great, the wine was as good a value as can be found (we tried 4 different glasses and each was very good), and the cheese plate was a fantastic mix of milks, firmnesses, and ages. We particularly enjoyed and would highly recommend the gorgonzola pasta. The gorgonzola was sparringly applied and not visible at all, but the flavor was delicious in combination with the pasta, mushrooms, walnuts, pears and truffle oil. Both the rosso and the white from Piedmont were matched the pasta very well and were outstanding values. Thank you Dean and staff!

Mmmmmmmm - Full Key. It is still open, still has great shrimp dumpling soup and still lets patrons BYOB. You may have just convinved me to go there tonight! The food qualifies for cheap eats even w/o the BYOB.

It's not quite exceptional, but at the $5 happy hour price, the Chef Geof burger can't be beat. It's big and juicy and comes with a heaping portion of crisp fries.

It's true - Oya is worth checking out. The sushi is every bit as good and creative as it was at Signatures, the space is LA-trendy, but not overly hip, and the entrees and service really very good. High celings, well spaced tables, moderate volume background music, an enormous fireplace and very attentive service extending all the way to the valet. We had excellent scallops w/ Hen of the Woods (yummy mushrooms), very good Chilean Sea Bass (hadn't seen that in a while), Turbot, and Rockfish. Only the Rockfish was uninspired. My only complaint was not being able to find something interesting enough to try on the dessert menu. Had I known, I'd have doubled up on sushi to start. Not a gastronic epiphany, but well worth trying and worth a return visit for the creative sushi alone.