youngfood

I haven't posted on this place since starting the thread, but we live nearby and have been several times and have never been disappointed. Don's review today at DCDining.com confirms what we've thought for some time now: The Atlas Room is "not only the best restaurant in the Atlas District, but it's also the best restaurant in all of Northeast or Southeast DC, including everything on Capitol Hill." Yes, that's right: H Street now has the best restaurant not only in NE DC, but anywhere on Capitol Hill. It's small, and reservations are neighborhood only, but it's a terrific spot for a cocktail, for small plates, for a full meal and bottle of wine, or for Sunday brunch. I join in Don's recommendations -- try a cocktail and try just about anything on the menu. The only items we are less than wild about are the croquettes/fritters, which I suspect most folks on here will recognize as an inexpensive offering for those looking for the cheapest, easiest thing to order. Our top pics are the seafood salad, the seafood chowder, the indian spiced beef loin, and the pork loin.

Have only been once, but the fish & chips were fantastic and was pleasantly surprised by the rest of what we had to eat (local grassfed beef & lamb burger, fried oysters w/ foie & confit). Also had a very nice scotch ale on draught, though the brewery's name escapes me.

Yes. Had been thinking about suggesting this myself.

Does anyone have any recs for wineries and/or places to eat in Washington wine country? We are doing a big pacitic northwest trip with Portland, Willamette Valley, Seattle, and Washington wine country, but it seems there are threads on all but Washington wine country. Thanks for any and all tips!

Thanks. We're staying in Richland, which is a good bit southeast from Seattle and in between Yakima and Walla Walla, so I'm primarily looking for spots proximate to there.

Does anyone have any recs for wineries and/or places to eat in Washington wine country? We are doing a big pacitic northwest trip with Portland, Willamette Valley, Seattle, and Washington wine country, but it seems there are threads on all but Washington wine country. Thanks for any and all tips!

Bump. Breakfast, raw bar, moderately priced seafood menu is up and looks good. It sounds like they hope to open next month. Have never been to Equinox, but am pleased to see a good, inexpensive seafood spot opening.

Agree 100%. The roast pork italian (Pattisson Ave) is outstanding, the chicken cutlets are very good, but the roast beef usually falls flat and seems overcooked and dry to me.

Overdue recap of several trips to Miami over the past year: River Oyster Bar (near Brickell area) is a lovely little spot with above average wines by the glass, half price raw bar happy hour with many oyster options, and lively well-tended bar scene. Location may not be convenient to most vacationers, but isn't far from the arena or Brickell. Reasonably priced and quite inexpensive at happy hour. Does not feel like Miami in a good way. Garcia's on the River (short drive front downtown) is a lovely, casual spot for grouper, mahi mahi or other local fish sandwiches on their covered patio along the river. Also does stone crabs when in season and has the feel of a crab house. My go-to when I have time for lunch and am convenient to the area. Wish we had something like it in DC. Michael's Genuine (Design District) is a gem in every way. Open for lunch and dinner. Reasonable prices, lively unpretentious atmosphere, good array of dishes on the menu. Frank Bruni loves this place and I like it a lot, though it's a drive unless you are staying in the Design District, which has taken off, but is still not recommended to walk to by local concierges. Sra. Martinez (Design District) is as enjoyable as Michael's has been for me from Michele Bernstein. Fun, small plate spanish tapas and wine. Has a pretty affordable tasting menu option where the chef sends out whatever she's excited about that night and a nice food prep bar where you can comfortably dine solo. Azul at the Mandarin Oriental (Brickell area) is lovely, but expensive. Great swordfish, hamachi, veal preparations and a lovely sommelier, but quite pricey with most appetizers between $15-20 and many entrees $35-45. I really like the sommelier though and have not been disappointed with anything I've eaten here and find myself going back often even if just for a single course and glass or two of wine. Highly recommended if you are nearby and willing to spend. Hakkasan at the Fontainebleu (Miami Beach) is overpriced and disapointing. Probably my worst dining experience of 2010. Extremely expensive, sweet, uninteresting cocktails, bad upsell from the sommeilier who disregarded my plain statement that I was looking at the very bottom end of the price range on his wine list and did not think he had a white burgundy that would go well with my duck breast or that was available close to my price range. Badly overcooked dish was sent back and came back out after a brief reheating (could tell because the one bite we had was still missing from it). Avoid.

Thanks for all the tips for my first trip to Philly. Overall, a very successful visit. Cochon was the winner for BYOB. They take reservations, have a pork heavy menu, and succeeded on all fronts. Melograno was less successful. Above average pasta, but nothing exciting. They do take reservations on Sunday when many of the BYOBs are closed. Loved BYOing though and really wished we had more options to do so sans significant corkage fees in DC. Tinto (basque tapas from Jose Garces) was outstanding. Some lovely wines by the glass, although their txakolina was a surprise in that it was no effervescent in the least. Apparently, there's a subregion in Txakolina where that's typical that we don't see often here. We let our great bartender order for us and were well-rewarded with DIVER SCALLOPS cider demi-glace, benton's bacon, shaved apple, DUCK CANAPES duck confit, serrano ham, black cherry, la peral spread, and PULPO spanish octopus, confit, potatoes,lemon powder. Am already looking forward to a return visit. In the sandwich competition, John's Roast Pork's cheesesteak (wit onions, sharp provolone) was a revelation, while the roast pork italian (sharp provolone, broccoli rabe) at Tony Luke's was a big disappointment, failing to keep up with Taylor Gourmet's spin on the classic in every way -- particularly with lousy bread, dry underseasoned meat, and badly overcooked broccoli rabe. Sarcone's Bakery had great bread, but seemed to just have Dietz & Watson cold cuts available. Good bread is a key ingredient in a good sandwich, but next time I'll just buy rolls to take home. Brunch at Sabrina's (2 locations) was lovely. Huge servings, creative, interesting spins on the classics. Call ahead to put your name on the list to reduce wait times or get up and go early, as they open at 8. Was slightly underwhelmed at both the Reading Terminal and 9th St Italian markets. Maybe I needed a better guide to find the gems. Highlight was the spice place at 9th St Italian where we loaded up on Szechuan peppercorns, white peppercorns, and very inexpensive vanilla beans. Looking forward to finding ways to use the Szechuan peppercorns soon.

I'm sorry, Proof has a happy hour?!?! When is this and how have I never heard of it before?

Going to Philly for the first time next weekend. Have always heard the city is full of good neighborhood spots where you can BYOB. Can someone please recommend some that are convenient to City Hall or otherwise? Also, is there a consensus spot on the top one or two cheesesteaks? TYVM!

The Argonaut has fully reopened and it is a much more attractive place than it was before the fire. The menu is largely familiar with a few new additions, including steamed seafood baskets, but the decor upgrade is substantial and they now have a dozen craft beers on tap (including some pretty good stuff from scrimshaw, great lakes, bells, flying dog, etc).

Todd and Tom both speak highly of Ethiopic on H Street. I'm a fan as well though I haven't been to any of the other contenders lately.

That doesn't mean it's to be applauded. Yes, I'm the guy giving the evil eye at the clowns taking shots of vodka and ordering yuenglings and yelling over my conversation on game nights at some of these places.

Can it really have been over a year since someone posted in this thread? Has anyone been since they completed the renovations mentioned in Sietsema's fall dining guide review?

NoMa BID has this release that Chef Gillian Clark is opening "Kitchen on K Street" at the corner of 3rd & K Sts NE this Spring. More good news for NE Capitol Hill, H Street, and NoMa residents!

Wow. I guess I have to give this place a second chance. My initial visit about a month after they opened was downright bad and overpriced to the point that I had entirely crossed them off my list. Wonder if something changed or if they've just improved over time.

Tom Sietsema's first bite tomorrow is on the Atlas Room, which opened about a month ago on H Street. We've been a few times and love it -- it's definitely elevated the game on H Street. Not only is it the best place to dine on H Street, but IMHO it is a truly great neighborhood restaurant and as good a spot for a nice meal as most any spot on greater Capitol Hill. Has anyone else been yet?

They just opened a DB in Miami at the new JW Marquis, which offers a $32 hamburger with short rib and foie. It may be their 'signature' offering, but I had to pass. I'm sure I'd have prefered the Palena burger.

Rays at East River may or may not meet your relatively quiet and able to linger criteria, but I think that's where I'd go before or after a trip to FedEx. Not a lot in terms of dining around there, which is one of the major disadvantages of the decision to locate the stadium there.

Interesting take. Please explain. Tom Sietsema's fall dining guide included Citronelle and did not include Cityzen. Citronelle's current sommelier also just became Washington's only Master Sommelier. I've never met Ms. Morgan and I know my last meal at Citronelle was great in no small part because we got to spend a great deal of time chatting with Mark Slater, but I'm not sure such an absolute statement doesn't require some explanation, especially in light of Ms. Morgan's recent achievement and Citronelle's including and Cityzen's exclusion from Tom's Fall Dining Guide.

Budino. Taglierini. Capesante. The deal the Chef is offering to us right now is a steal and well-worth the effort to get yourself over here. And Chris is a super nice guy if you decide to eat at the bar. The Taglierini (Black Taglierini with lobster cream sauce and butter poached Maine lobster tail) was as good a lobster pasta dish as we've ever had -- far exceeding anything besides Fabio's famous lobster pasta from Maestro. The Capesante (scallops) were as sweet and rich as could be. Definitely worth taking advantage of the opening special to try a handful of these dishes.

Agreed, though I think the burger is actually above average and rather enjoyable along with their thin, crispy fries, especially during happy hour when it is half-priced. That said, I would probably try to move the lunch.

How crowded has Estadio been? Reservations appear to be taken for seating up to 6 p.m., but later only with parties of 6 or more. Would it be a little nuts to try to try for a table for 4 on Friday or is there ample room to sip slushitos while we wait for seats?