Rieux

I am so psyched that others are liking this place. I want it to have a long existence for selfish reasons -- I want to be able to eat a chivito without the 12 hour flight to Uruguay!

Surprised I have not seen a thread on Fast Gourmet. I travel to Latin America a lot for work, and many of my colleagues (all Latin Americans themselves) started talking recently about a great sandwich place in a gas station in DC. Since I love a good sandwich, I resolved to try it out yesterday.

First, the location -- it's in the "Lowest Best Price" gas station on 14th and W -- no real signage, and from the outside you would think it's a regular exxon-type grab and go place. But, inside they have made a huge effort to make it clean, appealing, and, dare I say, cool, with a neat color scheme and a cute menu with chalk drawings. There are also tables to sit at. Still, you'll know you are in a gas station, and the crowd is funny, a mix of Latin Americans (both from the neighborhood and more upscale embassy/IDB types), hipsters, cab drivers, and a few cracked-out people wandering in off the street to buy cigars from the gas station part.

The food. Oh my god, the food. The menu is a mix of regular american sandwiches (turkey, steak and cheese, etc.), salads, empanadas, and some Latin specialities. There is a supposedly good Cubano, and, in my opinion, one of the best Latin national sandwiches, the national sandwich of Uruguay, the chivito. Turns out, the owners are two Uruguayan brothers, so they know their chivitos. For the uninitiated, it is a sandwich with a thin beef steak cooked "a la plancha" on medianoche bread with mayo, ham, hard boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. It is heaven, and, for you Spanish speakers, even though it is called a chivito it does not have goat in it.

I ordered the chivito yesterday ($12, all sandwiches come with ok, but not great fries) and it was FANTASTIC. It was as good as, if not better than the chivitos I have had in Montevideo. My partner, who had never had a chivito before, ate some of mine and proclaimed it the best sandwich he ever had. The only MINOR quibble would be that there was a lot of mayo, but that is how they like it in Uruguay, and I, too, like it that way. You may want to ask for a little less mayo if you are mayo-squamish. Also note, the $12 price tag may seem high, but this is a huge sandwich, enough for two people or two meals.

My partner wanted the cubano, but they were out of the ingredients until 2 pm, so he ordered the greek salad with lamb. We expected it to be a boring salad, but, actually it was great, with many large chunks of freshly grilled lamb.

I highly recommend this place! They are open long hours and do delivery. I couldn't find the menu online, but I did find their facebook page -- http://www.facebook....ET/103364437659

As my partner said to me when we were leaving, this might have to be the year of the chivito!

Yes...City Lights was it. Thanks. Any general recomendations for great moderately priced places in that area. I get in late and will be looking for something close to the Hotel.

Bistrot du Coin across from the Hilton (just below Florida) is open late, has good French bisto food, and great ambience and, well, buzz. One of my favorites in DC for many years.

Bombay Club brunch on Sundays -- $30 for all you can eat and all you can drink sparkling wine with a live piano player in a nice setting.

Meiwah is only so so - some glop but some tasty Americanized-Chinese items too. I really like their Eggplant in Garlic sauce and there black bean sauce dishes are pretty good.

Somehow, even though most of their food is glop, an order of Meiwah's Szechuan Beef and an order of the Steamed Meat Duplings has become my order-in staple. I know that neither is authentic, but they satisfy me when I am tired and really just want some chinese delivered to my Dupont circle door. Should I be ordering from somewhere else? I live really near Great Wall, but had a really bad experience with their twice cooked pork once. Are their other dishes better?

Twenty two years ago someone turned me on to Brazilian food by sending me to Doña Flor, a restaurant in Tenleytown that suffered the common fate of going from excellent to mediocre to closed.

Since then, I've had feijoada at The Grill From Ipanema, which started out as a mediocre restuarant, and Café Atlantico, which used to occasionally serve a deconstructed version that was pleasant if unexciting. Last time I had anything close to feijoada was at Greenfields, where I could go to the bar and get a plate full of rice, beans, orange segments, collards, and farofa, and then wait for pork on a skewer to show up.

Is there any Brazilian (preferably Bahian) restaurant worth going to? Within, say, a 100 mile radius of DC? Or should I go to Fogo de Chao and play "build your own sauceless feijoada" again? Or does anyone know of a store that sells dende, farofa, and that wickedly good hot yellow pepper sauce, and a Brazilian cookbook?

Thanks.

There is a Brazilian market in Wheaton where you can get dende, farofa, guarana, etc. Its Brazilian Market‎ 11425 Grandview Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902-2741 (301) 942-8412‎. They also have pretty good frozen pao de queijo and quijo coalho.

I work at the Inter-American Development Bank, which rotates various Latin foods through the cafeteria. We occasionally have feijoada or moqueca. If you know someone here they might be able to alert you when it comes up. Still, I would kill for a decent Brazilian restaurant for food from the Nordeste. Fogo is fine for churrasco, but I really miss moqueca, bobo, casquinha de siri and the like from Bahia for the times when I don't want to cook them. If you find out about a place, please post!!

I have a good recipe book at home for all the brazilian classics, and also a recipe for bobo de camarao from my friend's mom that I got when I was living, briefly, in Salvador. If you want the bobo recipe, let me know and I'll post. Similarly, if you are looking for something specific, I can look in the cookbook and post the recipe. Do you read Portuguese? I could scan and post. Otherwise, I'd have to translate it.

ETA: You can make the pepper sauce yourself. Just buy a bunch of bird eye or other really hot chiles, put them in an old clean tabasco or cholula bottle and cover with cachaca. Let sit for a month or two and the cachaca will eventually absorb the flavors of the peppers.

Surprised no one has yet opened a thread on Bistro La Bonne. It recently opened in the nondescript place at 1340 U st where Axis was formerly. There has been practically no press on this, so it looks like they are trying to slide into their opening.

Looking forward to having another French bistro near my place, we tried it out last weekend. We had heard the chef had been previously at Tabaq (negative points) and Bistrot du Coin (positive points).

It was full at 8:30 on Saturday night (a good sign) so we sat at the bar and had a drink while we waited for a table. The bartenders and staff seem to be the same as from Axis. They always had a good bartender, so I am glad to see he is still there. They also still have a pretty good beer list (I settled for a Leffe Brun on tap) and they said they expect to get even more (mainly Belgians) in the coming months. After about 10 minutes a table opened up and we sat.

The interior has changed a bit - some French posters and signs on the walls - but that's about it. Even though the menu had a number of really good sounding plates, the three of us were feeling like traditionalists, I guess, as one person got the house salad as a starter and the other two of us had the bibb salad. Both were very large for the price and for an appetizer and very good. Good quality produce and nice dressing. Both of us with the bibb salad thought it was one of the best in town (and definintely better than the bibb salad at Marvin, which usually comes out with no bibb lettuce and mesclun instead). The house salad was pronounced good by my friend.

All of us had the steak frite for an entree. And, again, we all liked it. Two of them came out just barely above the ordered level of done-ness. My medium rare was not very red in the center and my +1s Medium was a bit gray, but flavorwise they were spot on. Great seasonings, a large piece of good quality meat, and a bargain at $15.95. The bernaise and the fries were also very good. All in all, we thought the salad and steak was a tad better than Bistrot du Coin (our favorite local hangout) and the fries and bernaise were just as good.

We did not order dessert, but they looked to be a mixed bag of very good looking tarts and leaden looking mousses.

Our main quibble would be with the obviously overworked and distracted service. It's their first month, so maybe it will get better. It wasn't awful, but could have been a touch more attentive. It wouldn't keep us away. The general sentiment was that this is a good to very good place for french staples. The atmosphere is not the convivial fun one you get at Bistrot du Coin but the food was as good if not better. I think I'd hit La Bonne if I wanted a good, quieter calmer meal with my +1 or another couple, and Bistrot du Coin would remain my favorite for a loud, racuous, night on the town.

Went to Againn on Saturday when two friends and I wanted to go out. We knew that Birch and Barley, Cork, Cashions all were going to be lost causes since it was so late. So, since we wanted an 8 pm reservation, we hit up open table around 5 and were surprised to see we could get a table here.

When we got there, it was only half full, and it stayed that way all night. I have no idea why it was so empty, but I kind of hope it stays that way, as it was nice to go somewhere that was not totally cramped and loud. First, the design is great, comfortable, and the tables are nicely spaced. I had the knickerbocker cocktail which was a really great blend of whisky, curry powder, and some other things I can't remember and it was GOOD. Really Good. A friend had the Pimm's which was also good, and the beer I had later was a nice British ale on tap (don't remember the name, but it was not one of the usual suspects).

Between all of us we had a beet salad, the cock-a-leekie, the shepherd's pie, the bangers and mash, and the brussel sprouts. It was all amazing. The one snafu we had was that the onion gravy on my bangers and mash was not that hot, but it was dealt with quickly and they immediately brought me a whole new order (I had taken one bite) rather than re-heat the first one. Service was excellent, attentive, and knowledgeable. The manager also stopped by a couple of times to check in, which was a nice touch.

Finished up with 2 orders of the sticky toffee pudding and one of the banana creme thing. All also very good.

Final damage was just over $50 per person including tip, which we all thought was VERY good value for the money considering all we ate and the 2 cocktails and the beer. We all can't wait to get back. I love pub food and have eaten through the UK and Ireland while living in Dublin. Againn was better than most places I went in Europe, and I thought it was much better quality/experience/taste for the money than Commonweath (which I also like, but, I guess, not as much). Quick, go there before it gets discovered!

WOW WOW WOW. Boyfriend and I went to Dino last night because I was tempted by the Tuscan special menu. We had that, with the wine pairings, and both of us thought that it was among the best meals we have had in months.

First course we both had the vegetarian plate, and, as stated above, the cheese and honey was the real standout, although the eggplant/zucchini crostini was also really really good.

For seconds I had the papardelle and he had the rabbit. By far the rabbit was the best thing of the night. We both proclaimed it to be so good it was almost a sexual experience. Seriously, go to Dino right now and order this rabbit. My papardelle was good, nice and summery, but couldn't compete.

Next I had the boar, which was fantastic, and he had the duck. He's not a duck fat fan, but still loved the dish. I love boar, so I thought it was great. Only downside was that both of our sides of greens and potatoes had raw potates - literally barely cooked at all. We didn't really care, since everything else was great and we were too full to eat it anyway.

Finally, we had the vin santo and I had the balsamic and gelato and he the nutella capuccino. I have had the gelato with balsamic before and it was as good as always.

Throughout the meal the wines were totally excellent and well paired (not that we would have expected less of Dino). I'd love to remember what the vin santo was because I want to buy a bottle.

I am off on a vacation to Montepulciano and Montalcino in September, so this was a nice teaser for that trip (and, if anyone has suggestions on great places to eat or drink in that part of Tuscany please drop me a PM!). I hadn't been to Dino in a year or so, but this visit reminded me that I need to come here way more often. Thanks for a great evening Dino!

Confirmed.

As a neighbor to that area, that neighborood is so not Shaw. I think it is either U st (more likely) or Logan, or, 14th St (which I think should have it's own neighborhood - roughly 14th between P and U).

I am not a fan of chains AT ALL. But, I must say, the chinese chicken salad at the Cheesecake Factory must be laced with crack, because I crave it. It's the ONLY thing I'd eat there, but man, it's good.

Funny story. When my very frugal WASPY Massachusetts 90 year old grandmother was living in DC, her retirement home had an excursion to "the Cheesecake Factory." She signed up.

When she got back she called me and said "Well, that was strange. It wasn't a factory at all! It was just some awful chain restaurant full of people gorging themselves. I couldn't even get a good gin and tonic. I ordered some ghastly appetizer that was enough for four meals. Why do they call it a factory if there is no factory tour?"

I went to the new Cafe Salsa location on 14th st. last night. I live really close by and was looking forward to some good Latin food in my neighborhood. My guest and I both work in Latin America, so we are familiar with the region's food and were excited by the menu's promise of arepas, ropa vieja, etc.

In reality, it was just, well, kind of meh. First, the interior looks like it was built on the cheap -- cheap tile, cheap lights, etc. Still, we ordered a mojito and a margarita, and to the bar's credit they were good and authentic. The free chips and "salsa" were strange. The "salsa" was olive based -- more like a tapenade. I have been to almost every Latin American country and have never seen an olive based salsa. Just, well, strange tasting.

The mains, too, were just ok. My ropa vieja was bland, the cuban "black" beans were not black beans but pinto beans, and, all in all, it wasn't worth the $16 it cost. My guest's red snapper was no better than what you would get at TGI Friday's and was not worth the $20 it cost. We skipped dessert because the cakes at the table next to us had far too much of that raspberry white chocolate liquid stuff on the plates, and the cakes looked leaden and dry. Service was ok, they are new, so the waitress can be forgiven for responding to my request for a pisco sour with "I am new, and I have no idea what that is" but the bussers are AGRESSIVE. I had literally just put down my fork when a busser came by to sweep my plate away (while my friend was still eating his plate).

All in all, very very meh. I don't think I'll eat there again, unless I hit the bar and order an arepa as a snack or something. Really, it's a shame, as we need more neighborhood spots on that section of 14th that aren't "hotspots" like Policy or Cork. I guess it's back to Bar Pilar for me.

I passed by the somewhat strangely named Italy Pizza DC on Florida Avenue between 6th and 7th on Sunday, and decided to give it a try. In the U-Street area where I live there are no good pizza delivery options, so I'll take anything that's even decent...but I have to say, this place is pretty good. Don't let the name fool you, though, it's American style pizza. I got a pepperoni, onion, and roasted garlic pie delivered last night and was really pleased with it. Good crust, nice cornmeal crunch on the crust, good quality ingredients. The best feature- it was loaded with whole cloves of delicious, roasted garlic.

Overall I'd say the pizza is maybe one level below nearby Pete's and Red Rocks in Columbia Heights, but hey, neither of those places deliver. Anyone else try it yet?

Seriously, there are no good delivery options for pizza in the Dupont area. Aberto's takes forever, cuts the pizza weirdly, and isn't all that good, I think. I tried this place after seeing it on this board, and I'd say it's solid for delivery, but not great. The first time, it took over an hour to get to us, and I forgot to ask for thin crust. It was average. The toppings were very good, the crust solid, but the sauce was a bit sweet.

The second time I went with a thin crust margherita, which was better. I'd agree with the above that it is one step below Pete's, a couple below Red Rocks and 2 Amys, but better than any of the other delivery options out there.

All I could think was uh-oh worst sous chef ever. She took forever to chop onions two seasons ago.

I wanted Carla to win, but am happy with Hosea. I was in Boulder a few weeks ago, and my sister and her boyfriend are regulars at Hosea's restaurant (since before the show) so we went. I have to say, it was one of the best meals I have had in months. We had a number of starters, but I remember really good pork belly sliders and a great salad with goat cheese and dates. My main was a seared Cod with browned butter, braised brussel sprouts, pork belly and pomegranate seeds. Really, it was fantastic. Earthy, sweet, sour, rich, but not heavy. My sister's cioppino was also fantastic, as was her boyfriend's tuna. The guy clearly knows fish.

We met him at the end of the meal when he came to the bar (where we were eating). Nice guy about my age. He said Stefan was really arrogant, Carla was really nice, and I wished him well. Jax in Boulder is already filled every night, and I can only guess that either the restaurant group that owns it will have to offer him a lot more money to stay, or he'll strike off on his own.

Green chilaquiles with chicken. Thrown together from jarred salsa, bagged chips, an onion, a whole foods cooked chicken breast and some jack cheese. Would normally have made my own tomatillo salsa and cooked my own chicken, but was too tired last night. No recipe, just winged it. And they were good!!! Sauteed the onion slices, brought them, the salsa, and some chicken stock to a boil. Layered cheese, chips, salsa, shredded chicken a few times in a lasagne pan. Baked 20 minutes.

A nice response to a weird craving that came upon me at 5:30 just as I was leaving work! Leftovers for lunch today. Yum.

Really gorgeous artichokes available at Trader joe's right now. Medium sized, no discoloration at all, and nice and heavy. Four for $2.29, perfect for Marcella Hazan's stuffed artichoke recipe.

Fake Trader Joe's ad from the internet... Really funny and really true...

Click

We had a double dose of comfort food, starting with the Cheddar and Beer fondue urban picnic and splitting the mini pot roast, which was not too mini to split and which was incredibly tender. The service was very good, but we were seated in the back room which was rather drab compared to the main dining area.

If your name is a reference to the State skit, and I think it is, it is the best online nickname ever!

Hi Rachel,

Where on Cape Cod are you from? I grew up spending half my time in North Eastham. Any favorite restaurants on the Cape?

I used to love this place for dumplings, but after today, taking it off the list. The dumplings today came to the table, thick, doughy, and COLD! I mean, no heat at all. Given the questionable hygine of the place (which I used to overlook for good, cheap dumplings) and the fact that the dumplings are now no better than City Lights of China (which is closer to home and less dirty), I think I am done here.

Mmm, yes. I just came in from standing outside for a fire drill, and this is getting on towards pie weather. You'll undoubtedly be familiar with saveloys as well, then - another of those foods that only really seems like a good idea when you're basking in the glow from the glass case in the chip shop.

I have always thought DC is missing two things: a good bagel shop and a really great savory pie shop. There is literally nothing better than biting into a good pasty or a good steak and ale pie on a cold day, or when you are too tired to cook dinner, or are a bit drunk. I've been a devoted pie fan when traveling or living in Ireland, the UK, and New Zealand. I REALLY miss good pies here. We need a place like the Keswick shop in New York!

Spicy beef noodle soup from A&J, with wide noodles.

For either physical woes or stress woes I usually turn to Ma Po Tofu, extra spicy. The combination of the spiciness and the soul-satisfying tofu/umami-ness always makes me feel better.

If I am not in a Chinese mood, the back-up is Tom Young soup with chicken.

Sunday for a late lunch tried out Commissary, the new restaurant/cafe from the folks that run Logan Tavern, Grillfish, and the Heights. The location is the old Merkado spot which has been stripped of some of its center tables and replaced with couches and tables. There are still regular tables outside and around the main room inside. A number of folks were chilling inside working on their laptops using the free wi-fi. The restaurant follows in the tradition of Tryst, the Diner, and Open City and tries to cater to any and all food desires serving breakfast to late night food and cuisine ranging from breakfast and brunch to coffee house snacks to full lunch, dinner and long list of desserts. The menu really ranges from southwest, to typical American, to pizza, and a little bit of everything else. The prices are similar to the above mentioned places - moderate to cheap (not as cheap as a greasy spoon diner, but cheaper than your average DC sit down restaurant). The service was very friendly and accomodating of special requests, although a little slow when we were sitting outside (although they were really busy). Both my wife and I added a green salad to our sandwiches for $2 for which we got a good size portion of mixed lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes with a bit too much dressing (although I really liked the lemon vinagrette). Nothing exciting here except the great price for some veggies. My wife had the veggie burger with matchstick fries and liked it, but thought it was too heavy on the mushrooms (which she isn't really a fan of). I had the burger with fries. The best thing by far for both "burgers" was the great buttery (although not buttered) toasted bun - almost as good as at the Burger Joint. Definitely made the burgers more enjoyable. My hamburger was ordered med-rare, but came out medium well on half and medium on the other half which wasn't great - but the burger was juicy and flavorful. The fries were fine, except I'm not a fan of matchstick at all preferring thicker fries, but my wife liked them a lot. Definitely a nice cheaper option when you want to eat out but don't want to spend too much.

Also my other favorite thing/ pet peeve, I loved the big bottle of filtered water. I drink alot of water when eating and I hate having to wait for a refill, so giving me my own bottle is great. And seriously, except for the most upscale restaurant, do you really mind pouring your own drink - I don't. The bottles also looked nicer and were slender making them easier to pour for a klutz like me than the similar concept at Clydes with its wide mouth pitchers (still kudos to them for having the pitchers for years).

I am unimpressed. I went there Monday with some friends after getting in from a flight from Austria. I was STARVING. I ordered a burger and a mint julep. The mint julep was good. The burger, not so much. I had requested a burger, medium rare, with bleu cheese. Our waiter (who was pretty distracted and not that great to begin with) brought it out and literally ran away. I put some ketchup on, added the tomato and lettuce, and cut it in half. Without looking, I took a bite. It was RAW. Not rare, not, med-rare, but completely raw (and I like my meat rare -- I love the cool-center "recommended burgers at Ray's). I decided that Comissary did not look like a place where I wanted to experiment with tartare so I decided to send it back. Unfortunately, our waiter did not come back outside where we were sitting for 30 MINUTES! When he finally did, I sent the burger back. Move forward 10 minutes -- a new burger arrives. Unfortunately, it was the same burger. They had scraped off the cheese, lettuce and tomato, put the burger back on the grill, and then put more cheese on it and put it back on the plate -- the patty was cut in half, and had the marks from my first bite. Gross. I ate it anyway because I was starving. I then went home, but apparently my friends, who stayed, had similar bad experiences. The pizza was no better than what you get out of a freezer box, and the service was so bad that they eventually gave up and went to Cork for some real food and service.

I have never been impressed by Logan Tavern, the Heights, or Merkado. Comissary is a major disappointment, and that's a bummer since it is two blocks from my house.

Just to close the loop, we ended up at Mezze (my aunt chose it from Open Table, as it was open at 1:30. Food was pretty good, service was totally strange, disjointed, and, well, just bad. We ended up bringing the check downstairs to pay ourselves! Plus, it took 25 minutes to get a cup of coffee and 3 espressos after lunch. Still, it was fine for what we needed -- a place where we could chat and eat -- and I actually liked the Imam Biyildi better than the one at Zaytinya.

Thanks all!

Hello,

My brother is going to be in Baltimore this weekend for a conference, so I, and some family members am going to meet him for a late lunch on Sunday (around 1:30). Usually in Baltimore I love to go to the Helmand, but it is closed for lunch. Does anyone have any suggestions for a nice place for a good lunch where we can talk and catch up? We'd like to have both a good "outside near the harbor" suggestion, and also a back-up plan that is a regular indoors place in case it rains (does not need to be near the harbor)

Thanks!