KeithA

Another story on the same credit card skimming ring in Wired: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/03/washington.html

This location is really more downtown on 19th between I and K st (close to Farragut West metro). It looks like they are almost done with the construction. I'm sure they are hoping to get the happy hour crowds from all of the office buildings nearby.

Had a nice meal for 3 at Posto on Saturday night with some hits and misses. Started with a pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted peppers and bits of goat cheese which was pretty good, but not super great. The pizza was a good size app for 3-4 people to eat get a slice or two and was good as an app, but I don't think I'd go there just for the pizza with all of the many better choices in the city (i.e. 2 Amys). I had the tagliatelle pasta with pheasant ragout which was pretty good, but lacked a reall depth of flavor to make it great. Also the pasta was clearly made in house, but I think could have been cooked a bit longer (it seems a bit tough) and I like al dente pasta. On the other hand, my 2 dining companions both had the tortelli with spinach and walnut filling in a light parmesan sauce which was awesome. They were super happy with their choice and I agree after my wife was nice enough to give me a taste. This was a really good dish, worth going out to dinner for. For dessert, our friend had vanilla gelato which she liked. My wife and I shared the mixed berry cobbler with port reduction which both didn't like that much. It comes in a tea cup and the cranberries and port sauce were too tangy making the dish taste off, instead of a sweet dessert and there was so much sauce that the "cobbler" was really a thick creamy berry soup with a bit of crunch instead of a crust. The space is nice and table spaced well, but it is all open so it was a bit loud. Service was just fine.

I've commented on my own good experiences at Teatro higher up in the thread, but these really high prices have been true at Teatro for many years now. I do think it is pricey when ordering for the regular menu - I haven't done the chef's table to guage the value there. I also agree with the comments about some of the presentation of dishes making it tough to eat the food - the old form vs. function problem.

Having the good fortune to live less than a block from Vace, I've eaten their pizzas and pastas hundreds of time. Very good crispy, NY-style (not Neapolitan, gourmet) pizza. The pizza is consistently good, sometimes excellent - for instance my wife often gets upset because our usual order is white pizza half spinach and half onion (you can get both of these by the slice too) and her spinach half comes out more overcooked than the onion half. That being said great real mozzarella used on the pizza. Definitely enjoy the white over the red/standard pizza - their sauce isn't the best in my opnion - but to each their own. Definitely check out the pizza dough in the freezer, fresh mozzarella behind the counter (really, really good), good selection of meats, olives, and frozen pastas (try the pumpkin ravioli - for something different). There line of frozen sauces are pretty good too. Also some of there dessert pastries on the counter are very good too - but somewhat pricey. It is definitely one of CP's neighborhood treasures.

I agree the Chinese in Chinatown, is not so hot. But there is still good Chinese in DC. I think Sichuan Pavilion on K st and 18th is pretty good Chinese food downtown and they do offer a good selection of authentic dishes and Americanized dishes. Last time I went and ordered medium to little spice on the Ma Po Tofu and it was flaming hot. Mr. Chen's in Woodley Park is also good for freshness - but it flavors are a bit bland even for Americanized tastes - still good though (mostly it is carryout). Also, Spices in Cleveland Park - better known as a sushi / Pan Asian place, has an also Peking Duck. So there are some options if you don't want to trek out to the burbs.

I haven't been to Firefly in a long while, but have a reservation during Restaurant Week. Any suggestions on what's good off the RW menu? Thanks

Was in Jersey over the weekend and went to Harold's NY Deli in Edison, NJ for a ridiculous, gluttonous meal. The place is like Carnegie Deli with oversized deli sandwiches. However it is in the burbs so the tables are better spaced and there is even more food. The popular thing to do seems to be to get the giant sandwich that "serves 3-4 people" (really a 2 meat sandwich of this size could feed 6) and then you go to the "world's largest pickle bar" (try the health salad and hot and spicy pickles) which also has bread and you all divy up the giant sandwich into smaller ones you make yourself (or take alot home). Sandwiches come with pretty good side dishes of cole slaw. The corned beef and turkey were good, but the pastrami was really good. The huge platter of onion rings was really good too. We also got a potato knish, which like everything else is super-sized. It is the size of a dinner plate around and about 2-3 inches tall in the center - and despite the big size, still very tasty. Definitely a place to go in a group. I hear the desserts aren't as good. They have oversized cakes, cheesecake, cookies, etc and a huge 2 foot long eclair (which is what we had and it wasn't that great - had bavarian cream instead of the usual custard inside). The cheesecake may be better. Here is the website: http://www.haroldsfamousdeli.com/ (check out the rotating pics to see what I mean about the sizes) I hear there are often long lines, so be prepared to wait a bit.

I grew up in Olney and have been to BJ's probably a hundred times in past few decades and it has had its good and bad days - but always managed to stick to this same general assessment: it can be pretty good (not great) or it can be bad. How do you know the good from the bad - it can be a crap shoot with their huge menu, but generally I'd say stick to the deli basics or breakfast - don't expect too much and avoid anything that you wouldn't typically find in a deli or diner. I typically get the It's A Meal sandwich of corned beef, coleslaw, and russian dressing on rye - not the best meat, but decent and I do like their coleslaw a lot. I also like the lox, eggs, and onions and a lot of my family like the big omelets. The large cakes used to also be pretty good - but I haven't had a slice in a year or so.

I've been to the Cleveland Park yogiberry several times now and it is pretty good. I find there chocolate and berry flavors while still somewhat tangy, yougurty less so than Tangysweet and closer to old style fro-yo (still not as sweet though). Not as big a fan of the original or green tea. Lately I've been getting swirl of chocolate and berry. My favorite topping by far is the mochi - a sweetened rice cake that is chopped into pieces which end up tasting like a less sweet chewier gummy bear (without the fruit flavor). My wife really loves this shop and typically get chocolate with mini-M&Ms.

I wholeheartedly agree - this is a great dish (I've had it twice in the past few months it is so good), but it is a bit tough to eat (not too annoying to not order though).

Nice dinner here last night - always good pizza (I had the 2 Amys with the addition of grilled peppers) and salt cod croquettes. Also tried the sheep's riccota with pine nuts and special honey (eucalyptus - maybe?) which was very creamy and good. Exceptional was the duck prosciutto sliced so thin it was translucent and it almost melted on your tongue - first time having it and it was oh so good. However, the duck comes with a lentil salad which is ok - but doesn't add anything or seem to go well with the duck. So get the duck and push off the lentils.

Went tonight and had some good specials: the mushroom soup with duck stock was very good - thin flavorful broth with lots of different kinds of mushrooms and garlic and the duck breast for entree. Duck breast was a very nice medium rare, but needed a bit more oomph - rolling bites in the accompanying semi-citrus sauce helped a lot to make this a a yummy dish. Also had a taste of my wife's ribollita which was very good. For dessert had the "bread pudding" which was more like a rich, creamy custard with a bit of pastry bread and some dried fruit. Notwithstanding, the dessert was really good especially with the whipped crema on top. My wife's tuscan apple cake with caramel sauce was very good too (she loved it). Thanks Kay and Dean for another nice meal.

I normally hate cauliflower, but have started to enjoy the taste more when cooked as one component of other dishes (e.g. it was good diced up in the classic mac and cheese app at co co sala). Most importantly, my wife bought a huge head and wants me to eat it and was thinking about a soup (but I'm not so sure if that will be good). So please post your recipes/ideas on a way to turn this usually bland veggie into something delish. Thanks.

Had a really nice meal on Saturday with a big group of family who decided to all do the Opentable restaurant week-like 3 course meal so I got to taste a bunch of items. The stars were the kona kampachi and butternut squash crostini apps and the beef short rib and duck two ways. Also pretty good was the roasted chestnut soup although we were split between those who like it (me included) and those who didn't. The beef short rib was mine main course and it was very nice falling apart, but not too much, I just wish there was a bit more of the really good barolo reduction on the plate. Also worth mentioning is the grandanina - a coucous dish with lots of really good mushrooms - if you like mushrooms you'll love this dish. The desserts were good as always. The gelatos were very rich and creamy. My molten chocolate/date cake with quince jam and marscapone gelato was very very good except the quince jam on the side didn't go with it and I couldn't taste the figs. None of these defects took away from the gooey cake and nicely complementing marscapone gelato. The bread pudding was also pretty good and the chocolate souffle was small, but very rich. As always the service was very nice and accomodating.

Thanks for the tips. We had a really good, chocolate-caffiene buzz inducing time last night. All of the dishes are presented so carefully and beautifully - many formed into cubes or other molded shapes. My wife started the manchego and apple salad (which surprisingly comes out as a small cube) which was delicious - it also had some nuts and citrus in it. Even though you couldn't really taste the small dab of coffee vinagrette on the side, the juicy fruit managed to dress the salad nicely. I started with the tandoori chicken slider which was really tasty - a cute little bun flecked with mint? and other spices and the burger itself had some spicy kick to it. We shared the "classic" mac and cheese which was good and I'd get it again, but not as good as the salad or slider. It was creamy in the center, but alittle dry on the edges because it is put in a savory pastry dough round. Overall, we were very impressed with the savory apps and would go back again just for them if we were nearby. Then we decided to really indulge and each got one of the chocolate tasting menus. I had the Aztec and my wife had the American/Childhood favs. I think overall the childhood favs was better, because it had more components that were excellent, but the Aztec was still good. The best parts of the Aztec were the amuse of super, maybe too delicate cinnamon dusted churros and awesome dulce de leche dipping/pouring sauce, the chipolte? truffle chocolate piece, and the nice lighter ending. My only complaint about the churros is that they are so delicate they likely will break in your hands and they kind of fall apart with the viscous dipping sauce - but if you don't mind being a bit messy they are great (and you can order them separately too). The Aztec main course was only so so - the fiery chocolate souffle was too spicy for me in that it kind of killed my taste buds for a bit and the coffee ice cream was good (but I'm not a big coffee fan). The ending of a lighter powdered sugared mexican wedding cookie and the very different chocolate-horchata drink was very nice. Unlike the other other childhood favs menu, the Aztec's end feels like a nice finish - not just a ton more decadence. The other really interesting thing about the horchata drink is that it comes with a white chocolate stick crusted with sesame seeds which is a really different and good combo. The highlights of the childhood favs was the main course. The best part was the mini bananas foster - probably the best thing of all that we ate. The coolest and equally tasty part was the cube of lightly peanut butter-flavored ice cream that they formed into a cube on top of a thin layer of cap and managed somehow to coat only the right side of the cube in chocolate sauce that clung to the cube (it didn't slip off into a pool like normal). The malted shooter was also good. The mini cupcake while looking stunning with its elaborate icing/dark chocolate leaves, wasn't the best cake and was the the weakest part of the dessert. The amuse was only so so and the ending was good - but too rich and the flavor combos were pronounced in not the best way. The ending is mint ice cream in a chocolate covered cone standing in a bed of chocolate chips. This was good, but the mint tasted like a bunch of fresh mint leaves - which may sound refreshing, but it was a bit overpowering. Don't get me wrong we still ate it up. The other part of the ending was a strawberry cheesecake lollypop coated with sugar and pop rocks. While the pop rocks were fun and worked, the cheesecake itself was so so and we never tasted the strawberry. Overall, really good, really decadent and while at the end we were pretty full (this was our dinner) - I think we ordered the right amount. The portions are a bit odd here and worth asking your server about. The main course of the italian tasting menu is 3 small glasses of tiramisu which looked really filling and while most of the apps are pretty small/tiny a few are much larger. The table next to us got the portabella flatbread which was more like a normal app serving in other restaurants and probably double the side of most of the other co co sala apps. The duck salad also looked about 1.5 times larger. My only real gripe is that the bathrooms will give you vertigo. First, finding how to get into them is confusing, then there are so many mirrors and windows that I got a bit dizzy.

Just got back from a very good lunch here. My wife had her usual vegetable lo mein and egg drop soup which see eats at just about every chinese place, but thinks this place has some of the best. I was a bit more adventersome with half a tea-smoke duck and szechuan string beans. I've had szechuan string beans numerous times, but found this restaurant version's to have the best depth of flavor - due to the addition of sauteed scallions and not just tons of garlic - really good. Tea smoked duck was a first for me. Despite the name - I didn't detect much tea or smoke flavor, but I still really enjoyed it It is a big platter of boneless cut up pieces of moist duck breast that has been lightly fried (not like General Tso's - much more delicate) with shredded scallions and hoisin. But unlike Peking Duck, instead of pancakes they provide a bunch of mini steamed buns in the shape of lotus leaves. Definitely, worth a try. Also, since the duck is boneless, a half duck is a lot of meat - enough for 2-3 people to share as an main entree (or in my case more leftovers for me

I'm going here tonight for "dinner" to indulge my sweet tooth. I've read a bunch that the non-dessert apps are tiny, but haven't read anything about the size of the 3-4 course chocolate tasting menus. Any idea on how big they are - really one person or suitable for sharing? Also, any good dish recommendations besides the mac & cheese (which everyone seems to like)?

I concur. When I lived in NY several years ago, I tried several kosher chinese places like China Shalom II (yes there is a #1), but never found any of them to be that great. However, some of the places were ok Americanized Chinese food on par with most of the non-kosher Americanized Chinese food places in most part of America. I mean lo mein or sesame chicken is only so good to begin with - but lots of Members of the Tribe and others like it alot nonetheless.

Any suggestions for Saturday lunch for 4 people in DC? It is for tomorrow. Ideally a place with good food, relaxed atmosphere, that isn't too expensive. I don't usually do Saturday lunch so not sure which places are good - especially places that have more than just breakfast/brunch options. Thanks.

BJ Pumpernickel's deli is still pretty good if you stick the deli classics. Other parts of wide ranging menu are hit or miss. Riccuitis is also good. My father whol lives in Olney liked Al Sospiro Trottoria - never been myself and not sure if it is still open. There is a Mama Lucia's in Olney too - I'm not a big fan, but I know others like this chain. Yet another Italian place in Olney which is pretty good is Bella Notte - my family has been eating there for years (there prices are pretty high for above average Italian though). A fancier option in nearby Brookeville is the Inn at Brookeville Farms - I only ate there once 5 years ago at a wedding, but the food was pretty good. On a the lighter dessert side, Olney has Yogiberry, a Rita's, and a chocolate shop I can't remember the name of. I heard there is a newish latin american place near Manniquen Pis (which is also pretty good for mussels) - can't remember the name. These are my suggestions if you are in the area. None are destination places. Overall, Olney still struggles to get good quality restaurants which isn't surpising with Wheaton and Rockville short drives down the road.

I haven't been in a couple years, but this place is an Olney landmark - been there for a really long time. And as an Olney native, it was very good a really long time ago. I remember going there over 15 years ago for a special meal or two. We couldn't wait to slice into their fresh breads of which oatmeal molasses was always the regular offering, but there were also a rotating list of 2-4 other choices each day. And the portions were really huge - I remember very good fried chicken. Sadly those days seem to be gone. In the last 5 or more years, the place has kept some of the regular menu, but cut back on its homey, from scratch cooking. I remember the last time I went I was shocked at how bland the bread was. Now, I must say again I haven't been in awhile so try for yourself - but my family in Olney doesn't keep it on their regular restaurant rotation.

Went to Peking Cheers on Saturday night around 7:30pm and was surprised to see how empty it was. Not sure if it is the economy or something else. As on past trips in the last few years (I only go a few times a year since it is near family, not my house), I saw that the chinese customers who made up the majority got a special menu while the non-asians got your typical americanized menu. However, unlike the story from a year ago upthread, the hostess was happy to give me the menu with more traditional chinese items (the menu is written in english thankfully for those of us who are mandarin/cantonese-challenged). We had a mix of the two menus with a pretty good egg drop soup, decent fried rice, not so great sesame chicken (gloppy sauce and not the best pieces of chicken), very crispy, crispy beef, and a pretty good whole tilapia with ginger and scallions that was taken from the tanks in the back. Not a stellar meal, but decent enough. Posted mainly out of curiousity about the slowness on a saturday night (used to be very busy then, now only half of the restaurant was ever full and no real carryout business to speak of) and now as an update seeing as the thread has been dead for so long. Currently my go to chinese place in DC is Sichuan Paviliion on K St near Farragut North which has a mix of americanized and traditional chinese cooking and is popular with chinese customers too. Or Mr Chen's in Woodley for carryout which has been especially good lately.

What was so great and different about this miso soup? I love miso soup and have had pretty good soup at Kaz on several occassions (albiet part of their lunch deal, not specially ordered), but never anything amazing. Nearby at Chopsticks, a counter service place on 19th and L st, I had a pretty good and dark small bowl of miso soup for $2 (although it lacked the tofu chunks which often comes in the soup). Chopsticks also has a shitake miso for $3 that I haven't tried yet.

Please do post the recipe - you never know when you need to make some buns ;-)