Rieux

We were there two weeks ago. We loved Jibarito for traditional foods. The pork stew was excellent. For non-traditional, we LOVED St. Germain for lunch.

Made the black pepper tofu. All the ingredients were easy to find at the Adams Morgan Harris Teeter, except the ketcap manis which I got at the eden center. The dish was great, but I made two modifications. First, there is zero reason to use 11 tbs of butter! I used about five tbs, and it was more than enough. Second I used half the black pepper called for. It was still plenty spicy bd delicious, with some forbidden rice on the side. If you like ma po tofu or major umami bombs, try this!

I have! It was great. Lots of cozy time in cafes and museums, short excursions out to the countryside, the blue lagoon. It was fun, and I was even solo on the trip. But, man, food was expensive!

I went - sat on the roof. I had a margarita, the huitlacoche flautas and some tacos (carnitas, I think). I recall thinking that everything was very good, and pretty authentic. I travel to Mexico a lot and have been looking for a place like El Chucho -- good quality without the fanciness of Oyamel. The food was inexpensive, good vibe from the decor, and nice service.

I realize now my posting was very non specific. I guess the main thread for me is that I like places that either I find comfortable, like an old friend (Bistrot), that are good neighborhood places ( like room 11) or that are new to me ( palena, Serow). I have been wanting to get back to corduroy since they moved, but I saw that thy too are closed. In the end, I remembered that I wanted to try the atlas room. And it had an opening, so, we are off to there!

We had plans to go to the dining room at palena for my birthday on Friday, but got a call that our reservation has been cancelled for "repairs to the dining room". We were offered the cafe, but we go there regularly so it doesn't seem like a good substitute. I tried both Rasikas but also struck out on availability. Little Serow was my third choice and it is closed for vacation. Now I am looking for other suggestions, in DC, that might be available for Friday around 8. The back-up plan now is to go. To room 11 or Bistrot du Coin (a favorite) because they are walk-in only. Any other places people think would be good for a special occasion? We did Proof last year.

Went to a beer tasting yesterday at Maple, part of Beer Week. We tasted 6 different Italian craft beers (mostly from the north, but with a couple from around Rome and one from Sardinia) matched with snacks. The owner and the beer distributor gave interesting and helpful comments on each beer, and we had generous pours (the bottles were left on the table after the pours, so we could serve ourselves seconds). A lot of Belgian style beers, but the star of the show was a spontaneously fermented beer/wine hybrid that was absolutely delicious, called BeerBera. Just the hybrid alone goes for $24 a bottle (12oz) retail, and we each had half a bottle. Coupled with the other 5 beers and the food it was a good deal and a fun afternoon for $40 per person. We stayed afterwards and ordered one of the remaining bottles of the hybrid to share and got $2 off -- they offer $2 off all Italian crafts on Sundays and 1/2 price wine on Tuesdays. They said they have some of the beers we tasted (maybe 2 or 3) on the menu usually, but that the others were specially brought in for the tasting.

Am I right that no one has written about Maple? Named after the big slab of maple wood that makes up the bar (not pancakes!), this place is right on 11th st. We went for the first time last weekend and were very happy we did. It's a small space and you can tell that the same designers who did Cork did Maple (although I found Maple more comfy/cozy). Lots of wood, grey, etc. and the bar ends in one of those peninsulas that can be a table for four. Outside tables too. The menu is small, and so is the kitchen. That said, everything was delicious. To start we had a summer special cocktail -- gin with limonata, blackberry juice, and blackberries. Refreshing and I am now totally addicted to this drink. We had two of the crostini (I don't remember the price for two, four were $10) and they were tasty -- one with white beans and anchovies and one with prosciutto, fontina, and fig. I give the edge to the white bean one though. I had the short rib panini, which was delicious. Hearty, rich, and just fantastic. My partner had the lamb bolognese, which was also great -- just gamey enough, but not too ripe. We shared a bottle of forgettable Montepulciano, but at $20 for a bottle, it was fine. There were plenty of other choices that were a little more expensive, but we went with the waitresses wine recommendation. We thought it was interesting she suggested the cheapest bottle! Dessert was a special -- cobbler with peaches and blackberries from the farmer's market with dolcezza vanilla gelato. YUM! A few things I loved -- first of all, it is not small plates. I am so tired of small plates! Second, the prices were great. For two cocktails, a bottle of wine, the crostini, two entrees and a dessert our bill was $100 for two people including tax and tip. Finally, they seem to have cool special events. We signed up for an upcoming Italian rare beer tasting. Only quibble was that the wine recommendation was not great from the server, but otherwise she was super nice, efficient, and good.

Thanks to all! We are checking in with caterers and defining the menu as we speak - then on to the staffing, etc. This thread has been invaluable and a great example of the collected knowledge of this board!

Any recent reports? I have never been to Palena, just the cafe, and am considering it for a birthday dinner later this month. Is the dining room really stuffy, or will we feel relaxed and settled in? What's the best way to do the menu? A la carte? Coursed?

Thanks all! Super helpful!

Would like to keep food and booze to $7000 to $8000 total, we have a preferred location but it is not set. But it needs to be in DC.

DRers, I am getting married on December 1 in DC. We will have about 150 people, and do not want to do a seated dinner. We would like to do a "cocktail party" set up where a caterer would handle passed hors d'ouvres and one finger food station. We will also need them to handle the bar. Of course, we want to spend as little as possible doing this. Anyone have any recommendations for out of the box solutions? I don't want to go the BBQ route or anything like that -- the food needs to be finger friendly. Thanks!

The aforementioned Cafe Matisse is lovely - I thought Twin Brothers was not that good -- greasy, with a rancid oil taste. In general, with the exception of Matisse, which is pricey, I was not impressed with food in Nassau when I was there for work earlier this year.

I have found that the Trader Joe's pie crusts (in the frozen section) are excellent. Not quite as good as from scratch, but when I want to make a quick pie with all the great fruit from the farmer's market they are truly excellent. I always keep 2-3 in the freezer.

Great news for us in Mt. P. The following message was on the local message board today... Hello, Mount Pleasant-ers! My name is Ralph Brabham, and I'm one of the owners of Beau Thai (1700 New Jersey Avenue, NW). I'm happy to answer the question presented on this page by announcing that we are going to open a beautiful new restaurant on Mount Pleasant Street later this year! Below is the text of our press release about what's in store. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Ralph Beau Thai to Open in Vibrant Mount Pleasant Beloved Shaw neighborhood eatery Beau Thai will open a second location in the historic Mount Pleasant Neighborhood in late 2012 (Washington, DC) Today, Beau Thai announced that it would open a location in the heart of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood’s commercial district in late 2012. The restaurant will be located at 3162 Mount Pleasant St., NW, a building that has housed the Mount Pleasant Interim Library since 2010. The Thai eatery will complement the area’s existing offerings and bring another high-quality sit-down dining option to Mount Pleasant Street. In selecting a location for a second restaurant, Beau Thai zeroed in on the Mount Pleasant neighborhood early on. Proprietor Ralph Brabham recalls, “We absolutely fell in love with Mount Pleasant. We loved its feeling of community, its sense of place, its diversity, its vibrancy, and its history. We are a community-oriented business, and we look forward to becoming a part of Mount Pleasant's vibrant and growing food scene, just as we have in Shaw.” Foundry Architects is overseeing the design and buildout of the space, which is nearly triple the size of the original Beau Thai. Foundry principal Will Couch says of the plans, “It’s going to be very cool and functional, engaging patrons and passersby alike with interesting finishes and unique lighting. It will both echo the feel of the Shaw location and also have its own personality and soul. Like the original, Beau Thai Mount Pleasant will feature large scale photographs of the Vigsittaboot family, from whom its recipes originate.” Beau Thai Mount Pleasant will serve the same fresh, authentic Thai cuisine that has earned the Shaw eatery many accolades since its opening in August 2010. It will be open for lunch and dinner and will offer dine in, delivery, and takeaway. Additionally, the restaurant will offer the unique Thai Sunday Brunch that Beau Thai conceived earlier this year. An expansive bar will feature a craft cocktail, beer and wine list, as well as draught beers. About Beau Thai Beau Thai opened in August 2010 with a mission to bring its customers high quality, authentic, and fresh Thai cuisine in an intimate setting. Having earned praise from the Washington Post, Washington City Paper, and many others, the restaurant’s greatest reviews are from its many repeat and loyal customers. ### For more information, please contact . Beau Thai 1700 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001

This came through the Mt. P. listserv today. Looks like new owners -- Stop by Bestworld Supermarket and take advantage of the Grand Reopening Specials, today, Friday. Besides today's specials, take note of the new products, expanded shopping hours, new scanning checkout terminals & display monitors, and other store improvements. The new owners, the Pak family, formerly of York, PA, took over the grocery store earlier this year and have been slowly making improvements and more are planned. Mr & Mrs Pak are in the store most every day and would love to talk with you about new products that you would like them to carry. Welcome them to MtP and help them become the best grocery store in the area.

That's good news! I will withold judgement until after it opens (which I should have done anyway!)

Maybe not closed? http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2012/07/11/radius-pizza-closed-not-so-fast/ Although if the new owners take it in the direction it looks like they will, it will be a sad replacement for the real Radius. Mt. Pleasant needs the real Radius, it is the only decent option in the neighborhood.

DiPasquales!

Bucca di Beppo

Paso Robles, Santa Barbara Around there I particularly liked L'Aventure, and Windward. Both require a call ahead to go in for a tasting, but both were excellent. Windward is a pinot noir-only winery, which is rare in that part of CA. Écluse is also close by and is excellent. Very small-batch, with a lovely couple who make the wines. Also, need to call ahead, but in all three cases they were really easy to schedule with. If you make it down as far as Santa Barbara, go to the Wine Cask for dinner - it is excellent - and be sure to try the Margerum wines, especially the M5. We were so impressed we joined their wine delivery club.

Glacier It's been several years, but we camped near Saint Mary lake and went to a local restaurant near the east entrance of the park - it was a small diner-type place and its well-known for its pies. If you ask around someone will know the name. I still remember the pie, and it was the best I have ever had. Also, if you are driving up from the Tetons to Glacier you will pass the Montana Bread company on your way - I recall them having excellent bread and sandwiches.

Went last night before heading to the 9:30 club to see Willie Nelson. We had tried to go to Bistro Bohem, but they apparently close on Mondays. I liked the decor in Shaw's and the Chocolate City Copper Ale on tap was really good. But the food was just "eh". My friend and I both had burgers. At $14 each I was expecting a really good burger. What we got was not worth it. The meat (which was decent) was cooked way over the medium rare I asked for. The arugula they give you instead of lettuce was wilted. The tomato slice was so thin I could see through it, and the fries were definitely sysco frozen fries. The bleu cheese I got on the burger was not melted. All in all, seems like a decent bar, but I would not go back for food. For $14 I could have had a burger at Palena or a burger and fries at Ray's. I could get a better burger for 8 bucks at Stoney's. Sadly, my Shaw's burger was just barely above a whopper in quality.

In DC I usually go for mei wah. It's not authentic but I find the veggie steamed dumplings and the schezuan beef to be good.