KeithA

Just got back from eating some amazing mushrooms in Spain and have a hankering for fresh porcinis and other wild mushrooms. Anyone know of a good source? I saw some fresh porcinis at the Dupont farmers market this weekend, but passed at $20/lb. Was that stupid of me? Any place to get good ones at a less expensive price? Thanks.

So no cooked food or desserts - just cold dishes? Are you going for more of a bar feel or a restaurant that caterers to wine? I live nearby in CP off of Conn Ave and when I pass by Bardeo, another wine bar, almost every diner has one or more of their small plates of cooked food. Not sure if that fits your business plans, but something to think about. Welcome to the neighborhood, I know we all look forward to your opening. For those who don't know this address, it is across from 2Amys and Catcus Cantina, and a door or so down from Cafe Deluxe on WI Ave.

I agree, just like any contract the terms should be known up front and not changed midstream. So if a restaurant wants to adopt this policy (which I think is ridiculous for anything but a large party), they should inform the person making the reservation when the initial reservation is made and not at some later time.

Went last week for first time. It is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. The space is nice with its changing colors on the wall and open to the air (it has garage style doors when it is warm enough). The food was pretty good - some hits and some misses. We stuck to tapas, but the black bean soup and steak looked popular. I'd love to hear what others thought about those dishes. The good: tomato salad with gazpacho vinagrette, lamb taquitos (lamb seemed stewed or braised along time and had lots of flavor), wild mushroom quesadilla with zippy lemony guacamole. The desserts: small dense chocolate cake with really good dulche de leche ice cream and their take on tiramisu which wasn't all that different but tasted more chocolate than coffee than usual, which I enjoyed. The so-so: vegetarian empanadas - nice pastry and bright chopped chunks of vegetables, but it was calling out for some kind of sauce or liquid - too dry as is; patatas bravas - slices of potatos with a tomato-based sauce was ok, but the sauce needed some spices added. The bad: side of saffron rice - blah very bland; escabeche and olives - nice pickeld onions and carrots, but the olives themselves weren't very good. I've had much better from the whole foods olive bar; I wouldn't rush here, but it is a nice neighborhood spot and especially nice if it is a warm evening.

Sounds great. Is this a special or available everyday? I've only been once, but the gyro platter I had was wonderful.

Went last night for the first time. Sorry for the long post - but it is broken down, so you can skip parts. The Annoyance: Overall it was pretty good, but first I have to recount my one big annoyance. The dinner started off well, we showed up and checked in with our opentable reservation and they said we could sit outdoors on the nice patio or in the dining room. Since it was a nice night we chose outside. The patio was half empty then and at least a quarter empty all night. The dining room was half empty or so all night too. Which isn't too bad a statement for a restaurant on a sunday night on a holiday weekend when lots of folks have left town. I had seen on their website that they had a deal on Sunday nights for 1/2 off most bottles of wine. The website says in the dining room only. So we get our menus and the sizeable wine list, and I double check with the waiter before ordering wine that we can get the deal. He checks with the wine director, returns and says no it is only for the indoor dining room. So I ask to speak to the wine director who tries very nicely to explain their cockamamie, nonsensical policy of only giving the wine discount to people sitting inside. I responded this made no sense seeing as we were going to eat a full meal of 3 courses (which we did) and would like the same benefit (vs. someone only eating a quick bite or drink at the bar). She explained the deal is there to draw people inside because the patio already draws people to the restaurant in nice weather, and she offered me a table inside. Further, you can't get a reservation supposedly for the patio, only for the indoor dining room. Now I appreciated her trying to make this work, but this made absolutely no sense and I explained this to her. Since the patio never filled up all night, my table never stopped anyone from sitting outside who wanted to and I did in fact have a reservation and the hostess asked me if I wanted to sit outside or indoors. But the wine director held firm to her policy and wouldn't give us the discount unless we moved inside. So guess what, we passed on wine and they lost out on a sale of booze (maybe they didn't care because the markdown diminished their profits) and left all of the table annoyed. Not a good start to dinner. The dinner ended with an annoying reminder too, when the sizable check came with a printed note to ask for details about the 1/2 off wine deal on sundays. Anyways enough of my rant. Here is the food/service review: Bread: normally I don't comment on bread baskets, but the mini biscuits and whole grain bread were very good. I especially liked the salty biscuits. Small Plates (really apps, but separate part of the menu): 2 goat cheese tartlets - good price of $3 for a nice personal phyllo cup of goat cheese top with nuts and beet bits. I didn't think the taste I had was great, but my two companions really liked theirs. cod croquettes - 3 tasty fried balls of fish in a nice aioli. However they were tiny, each one bite and they could have used more fish and less fry batter. Still only $4. 2 Amys take is much much better. Mains: 2 halibuts - my companions thought the big fish was ok, but the dish was ruined by the "mushroom emulsion" which was this super thin and foaming mushroom juice that created in a big pool that ruined the accompaning mushroom risotto. Also there was only one tiny spear of white asparagus. Overall a downer. Seared tuna - pretty good. Big piece of tuna that was cooked medium rare (chef's rec), probably would have been better as rare. The fish was kind of plain, but once you flaked it into pieces and mixed it with the currant sauce, pine nuts and quinoa grained it took on a nice flavor. I enjoyed the contrasting flavors of the cooked fish, fruit and nuttiness of the pine nuts and grains. Desserts: Pears and Apples - very good, but odd presentation. Really four mini desserts in one. However, they are served on a large square plate with each mini bite segregated to its own corner. Each was good - a mini candy apple, candy apple ice cream with bits fo candy in it, a poached pear, and a pear cake bite. Trio of Ice creams - great presentation and delicious. Scoops of sweet corn (tasted more like good vanilla with hints of corn), mint (really strong herb mint flavor, not like store bought mint chip), and caramel with brownie bits. The flavors weren't a perfect fit for their descriptions, but the ice creams were well made and good. The nice presentation came about from the 3 different mini cookies that were placed a top each scoop. Cookies tasted great too. Service: despite the silly wine policy, service was so so. The small plates came out really quick and then we had a really long wait till our mains and the desserts took awhile too. We had to ask a few times for more water and for the check. But no real problems beyond the small delays. I'd go back, but not regularly.

I agree with you that Zaytinya's falafel not so hot, but I disagree about the comparison to Amsterdam Falafelshop. I've been to both many times and they are both pretty consistent - Z is blah while AF is SOOO good. Only one time out of 10 or so at AF was the falafel not great and that was when for some reason they didn't make it fresh, but rather served balls that had been sitting a bit. As long as they are making it fresh AF is spot on real middle eastern falafel (minus better pita).I do wholeheartedly agree with your general assessment of Zaytinya - it is great fun, nice price (not cheap, but not break the bank), and certain dishes sing, while others fall flat.

Went last night for the first time for dinner - it is nice to see the wide array of sushi and appetizer special available. I had to sing the praises of the delicious seared salmon belly signature sushi (2 piece nigri) - just excellent combo of melt in your mouth with a big of cooked flavor from the searing. I also had some other sushi which was good as usual. However, my wife and I did not like at all the salmon tempura roll hot appetizer. By frying the salmon you basically get overcooked, bland fish which is only helped alittle by the ginger sauce poured over it. Skip this one.

I also find it very creative. However, IMHO a restaurant website doesn't need a lot of creativity, especially not in the user interface. Rather a restaurant website should be about conveying the basic info on the menu, hours, location, etc in a quick and easy to use manner. That being said the design and color palate of a site should look appealing and reflect the tone of the place. Sabores goes alittle over the top with its iPhone like intro. My suggestion to all restaurant websites - there is no need for a flashy intro, people are already on your site and interested, just give users the info they seek.

They were swamped. I showed up at 12:20pm and that line didn't move at all for 10 minutes before I jumped ship. My buddy ate there twice earlier in the week and said the Post got it right - the guys at thecart are learning as they go and it seems they weren't not ready for prime time. Good news is my friend said that they were improving quickly. So maybe worth a try in a few days or week after the hype dies down and the cart operator figure out how to deal with a lunch rush.

So today I had some spare time, extra beef and extra ketchup so I figured I'd try my hand at making barbeque sauce from scratch. For my first time, I grabbed an internet recipe and it turned out ok, but not great. It had this either too vinegary or too much Worchestershire sauce after-taste. But it was still fun to make and easy. So I thought I'd try some more concoctions. Any suggested recipes for BBQ sauce? The sauce can be any kind, and I know there are a zillion variations - just share your favorites. Also please say what type of meat the sauce should go with. My personal eating preference is for sauces for beef or chicken or for something different a mustard, not tomato based sauce.

Hakone Also I need to mention, the best way to get a Japanese feast that will make a regular omakase menu in DC pale in comparison is to stay at a ryokan, country inn, that usually include a huge dinner and breakfast. This website has good info on ryokans and booking them: http://japaneseguesthouses.com/index.htm We stayed at Mikawaya Ryokan in Hakone and had a crazy 10 or so course dinner: big sashimi boat, shabu shabu, tempura, all types of grilled fish and mini treats like seafood custard, miso soup, Japanese pickled vegetables, rice, and dessert. Check out this pic. Definitely the best way to gets lots of good high quality, traditional Japanese food.

Their sandwiches are pretty good too. Nothing too special or unusual, but thought I'd mention it if someone is in the area and never gets past the pizza by the entrance (you order sandwiches up the steps in the back).

In case anyone what to see indepth what takoyaki and okonomiyaki is I suggest you look for the replay of the No Reservations TV show with Anthony Bourdain. He goes to Osaka and shows what this stuff is really all about. I just got back from Japan and what DC really needs is a ramen-ya. Bar/Diner that serves big bowls of ramen. Not really a different concept than a pho places but different flavors. Ramen are thicker noodles and while many ramen soups come with pork at a ramen-ya you can get great vegetable (yasue) or miso flavored soups. Hmm hmm good.

Went last weekend and for the first time had a seat upstairs in the new dining room. Very nice space with about 8 tables, mostly two tops. Seems like they are still figuring out service up there, but it was pretty much equal to downstairs. Had a great special pizza with roasted tomatos, fried eggplant (this was great, crisp outside - delicious soft inside), pine nuts, smoked mozzarella, and roasted garlic.

Sichuan Pavilion has had signs and work crews up for the past year that it is rebuilding and "opening soon." Who knows what that means.I agree with most of the suggestions listed and I'll add a few: Nirvana - K st between 18 and 19th - vegetarian Indian lunch buffet around $11 Juice Joint - great smoothies and healthy but good food on Vermont Ave between 15th and 16th St, closer to McPherson Square. Try the fresh grilled salmon salad with mango relish. Teasim bentos (might have already been mentioned) Roasting House - hole in the wall looks like a coffee bar, head to the back for fresh turkey and big salads. On Vermont other side of the street from Juice Joint Malaysian Kopitiam Washington Deli on 20th st between K & I. Bit of shlep but worth it if you want good NY style thin crust pizza by the slice - 2 oversized slices and a soda for $6 I think. As for Naan & Beyond, I've been several times over several years and it depends on your taste. Some love the chips or the tikka wraps. I think the best stuff is the big tandoor chicken with sides or the chicken biryani. never had one but the tikka pizzas always look good too. The chutneys are needed for extra flavor, but they don't compare to a real Indian restaurant.

Is Cafe de Paris still open? It used to be a great pretty romantic place when I lived in Columbia a few years ago. I tried calling the number on their website, 410-997-3904, to order a gift certificate for a couple moving to Columbia soon and I got nothing. Anyone know what's up? Thanks.

Kyoto; Tokyo Just got back from Japan on vacation. I had lots of good food - you can't go wrong with the freshest sushi found all over or their great noodles. Zaru soba - chilled buckwheat soba noodles were great for lunch after sightseeing in the heat of summer. We mostly ate at little local places wherever we found ourselves. 2 places are worth mentioning in particular: Kyoto - Asuka is a tiny place near the Westin Miyako hotel in Eastern Kyoto. It is in Lonely Planet too. It is a great, cheap place that serves all a pan-Japanese menu - all kinds of noodles, soups, tofu, sushi, tempura, etc. They also have a great in-depth English menu. Despite the obvious tourist aides, this is still a local place frequented by Japanese. Tokyo - for a special occasion, Casita, on the third floor of the La Porte office building a 5 min walk south of the Omotoesando shopping street. This place is pricey but had spectacular French/Asian "fusion" (the fusion was not so strong, mostly french with Japanese top quality ingredients like kick ass premium Japanese beef and fish) and excellet sushi. The real trip of this place is to get someone like a hotel concierge to make a reservation and let the restaurant know about your special occassion, like an anniversary. The restaurant frequently mostly by Japanese, goes over the top to acknowledge your occassion - often with kitsch that Japanese love, like personalized menus and writing your name s in chocolate on a dessert plate, etc. This isn't the half of it - we actually had a semi-large goodie bag that went home with us of all of the different mementos. The service as you can guess is great. Also, they have a great open-air terrace which is a great place to have a drink or tea after your meal.

There were four of us and we all got different stuff. I'll describe what I tasted (but there weren't any complaints):Apps: Asaparagus and Goatcheese fried thingy (it was kind of like a light eggroll batter) with a salad of mixed greens (nicely dressed and pretty peppery) all on top of a great tasting grilled piece of fennel. It also had some kind of dressing that had me sopping it up with bread. Also had a bite of others mixed green salads which were ok - just like a bigger version of the salad part I had. I didn't try but the calamari looked good. It is not fried but rather cooked and marinated with I think a citrus relish. I heard only hmm hmm hmm from across the table. Entrees: Lamb loin and shoulder. Very good and different. Really a duo of lamb. A small piece of loin with a nice seared crust on on side and some small sliced pieces that went well with the blackberry gastric sauce. The second part of the duo is the shoulder which is kind of like a mini hamburger - molded meat - but mixed with carrots and veggies. The loin was good, the shoulder only ok. It also comes with a great piece of eggplant rolled around some marinated chopped veggies. My wife had the Steak which is big and cooked perfect. nice char flavor. Comes with creamy mash potatos and a nice reduction sauce to dip. Others enjoyed the halibut and the gnocci (very tiny, very soft little pillows with lots of veggies). Desserts: My sweet tooth won out so I tried all 4. The best was probably the cherry cheesecake. It is a cross between American and Italian cheesecake - softer and less dense, but not all riccota-like. Great with the fruit. Pear-upside down cake with caramel sauce and butter pecan ice cream was very good. The ice cream was great. The cake was moist and covered in pecans so it had more of nutty flavor than a fruity one. I couldn't really tell it was pear, but it didn't matter Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Cake is BIG and a little dry. It is kind of like a molten cake but the outside could use a swipe through the ice cream or chocolate syrup on the plate. Trio of sorbet. 3 big scoops last night of ginger-citron (too tart for me, but wife loved it), "blueberry herb" which is really good but heavy on the basil flavor with a fruit finish, and rasberry. We also ordered one of their less expensive bourdeaux wines and the female sommelier/manager was nice enough to see if it was ok to make a substitution for a more expensive bottle since they were out of the ordered one and only charge us the lesser price. Nice touch. Overall a good experience, the staff seemed alittle overwhelmed though - but service wasn't affected.

I'm in the softer dough camp although I think it is relative. I've been dozens of times and sometimes you get a crackling crust with a few burnt spots and other times like last week you get a softer dough. I think the difference is probably 1-2 minutes of cooking time in the roaring oven, so that probably explains the lack of crispness consistency. That said, last week's special when I was there was excellent. It was basically a gussied up Margherita with the addition of squash blossoms, a few garlic slivers, and great roasted red and yellow tomatos. The tomatos added such a nice flavors - they should have that topping all the time. Another thing to note is that it appears they removed most of the center tables from the bar area and now are using it as more space to wait. Although there are still tables ringing the bar area and seats at the bar.

Yeah, as much as I hated the pizza, the space was fun. But, who HIDES bathrooms, I mean I'm all for hipness, but hidden behind weird wooden doors in a stockroom looking area. Strange indeed.

Sadly, just had to cancel a reservation at New Heights for tonight at 7:30pm for 2 people. Go and get it. On a different note, had a great RW meal last night at Ardeo. They were a little hectic when we arrive at 8:00 and had to wait 15 min for our table, but once seated everything was smooth and delicious.

My wife and I went for the first time this past weekend. We liked the concept and kitsch - probably the best ping pong game in town. But we hated the pizza. Everyone has different tastes, especially for pizza, and Comet did NOT suit our tastes. It was like eating a giant saltine with toppings. I mean this in the full sense - we were served big very salty crackers made to look like pizzas. The "crust" crackled all the way through to the center when we cut it (note it wasn't burnt, it was just so thin) and my wife couldn't finish her tomato pie (ie standard cheese), because she was overwhelmed by salt and she LOVES salty foods. My olive, greens, riccota #3 special pie was worse. It was super dry and the greens lost all flavor in cooking. The caesar salad was fine though. The place was packed with a wait and a crowded bar, so people definitely seem to like this pizza. Although I'm not sure why. I checked out other people's tables to see if we had bad pies, but everyone else's looked the same. This is just not for me. Be forewarned, this is a DIFFERENT kind of pizza. I'll stick to Vace and 2Amys, both close by.

I've had a bunch of lunches at Kaz recently and the featured bento box of the day is a steal at around $12-13. Although some days of the week are better than others - Chicken Katsu (fried cutlet) with miso sauce was great whereas chicken terriyaki was not so great. Also the roll that comes with the featured box always seems to be salmon skin - which is ok, but not very exciting - the 2 pieces of nigri are better (1 salmon, 1 whitefish). Oh and the miso is very good. My new favorite is the signature salmon with mango puree which melts in your mouth. Good pick for people like me with a sweeth tooth. The edamame is good and a big portion to share. The age dashi tofu app is ok - sauce is good a flavorful, but the fried tofu isn't great - the tofu in this dish is usually silken whereas it was very firm here.

This is the miscommunication problem that always seems to happen when people ask for a good, less-expensive place to eat. Someone throws out $100 and others (including me) think $100 is expensive for a night out for 2. I'm more of a $30-40 is cheap person. But this is the rub, for some eating out especially for romance is not complete without the apps, drinks, and desserts. There are lots of nice places where you can do eat for around $30-40 if you only get two entrees and maybe share 1 app. To me as a youngish married guy this is a date dinner out. It is only on the special splurge that we go for the whole shebang and spend $100 or more (which is why I love RW - despite its naysayers). Now if your like me and you don't need several courses for the date, the trick for romance then is setting/decor of place - which I have to say is lacking in lots of places (usually too loud or tables too close). I recommend going for some place that is not too "hot" at the moment - a good neighborhood quiet place with good food. In Cleveland Park, higher end of price spectrum (but not breaking the bank)- I say Ardeo or even Bardeo (which is sexier) or Indique. On the lower end in CP, Nam Viet which has tables close together, but recently got a sprucing up. As I've come to learn though the key is what is "romantic" to the lady - is she into big meals, decor, or just being out (because while at home is nice - it can become routine).