holalola

try the swordfish kebabs!! mmmmmmmmm

man, if i wasn't going to be out of the country i would SO go for kinkead's..

the olive oil at Zaytinya makes me want to swoon in extacy. heaven.

I know a little bit about wine, but i think my mom will get a kick out of the fact that i "know" the sommelier. And, considering all i've heard about him, i'm pretty excited to put my birthday fest in his hands. (sidenote: isn't it kind of cool to serve a 21 year old her first legal drink of wine on her birthday?)

I am about to enter the legally-drinking adult world, and plan on celebrating my 21st birthday at Citronelle. (With parental unit(s), lest you think my or my friend's poor pockets could foot this bill). Does anyone have suggestions for: 1. wine (now that i can have it), 2. location (as in, is there prime table real estate that i can request within the restaurant?) 3. price-to-food ratio: i do not wish to abuse my mother's generosity, but i do wnat to get the most out of the experience i can. So, what is the public's opinon about the 3-course vs. 5-course menus? And, finally: One of the few but definite benefits to having divorced and non-interactive parents is that i get to have TWO separate birthday celebrations. Does anyone have recommendations to where else i can go? last year i was fortunate enough to go to MiniBar, and the year before i went to the Laboratorio at Galileo. (I'm not spoiled, i promise. These are my very special once a year breaks from my largely gourmet-free student life) Thank you! Mariana

GO TO PERU!!!! The airfare is expensive, but beyond that, the food is unbelievable and as yet, quite accessible. Forget overpriced Paris bistros. Eat in anyone's home or streetcorner and you will be stunned. And pleased that you took the path less traveled rather than the delicious-yet predictable and tourist-filled enclaves that everyone else is raving about. You, your tastebuds, and you pocket will not be sorry. (From a decidedly biased, yet also experienced and well-informed source) p.s. During a six-month stay in Madrid, i took my friends to a Peruvian restaurant, and they said it was the best food they had the entire time. See for yourself!

unfortunately, Peruvian food hasn't been adequately represented in the area in all its wonderful forms (except for the great pollo a la brasa places). So far, though, Flor de la Canela is the best option. In other news, it is rumored that Peru's famous chef Gaston Acurio, is set to open a branch of his heralded Astrid y Gaston restaurant in DC in the near future.

I'm from Bethesda, go to school and work in Georgetown, and try to get around DC as much as I can. Despite the (less than) half-mile trek across the bridge to Rosslyn, however, I NEVER go into VA save for three reasons: 1. circular-route run along the river's edge 2. outgoing flights from National (not Reagan!) Airport 3. Visits to my godparents in Vienna, Va. Just because I love them very, very much. Other than that, I find VA to be a scary, scary (and quite foreign) place.