Principia

Chutzpah (deli), Minerva, Bombay Bistro. I'm given to understand that Temel is also a good choice, but I've never been there.

Or a blind boutique soda tasting... yum.

No kidding. I haven't had a positive experience at any time I've tried Carlyle. On the other hand, I really enjoy the GAR group's salads and other veggies. I know it can be a very different experience when having the meatstuffs though, as evidenced by how many places my +1 isn't too fond of that I still enjoy 'cos he's primarily consuming meat and I'm not.

You've got one person (and her +1) here who has tried to sit at the Oceanaire's bar in the faint vicinity of two cigar smokers and a passel of cigarette smokers (six seats away) and found she had to move to the seats right in front of the door to get away from the smoke and smell. No offense, Jacques, but if you're the one smoking the cigar that's making the smoke, you're hardly in a position to be able to tell other people what should or shouldn't be bothering their noses or lungs. To be fair, short of putting the smoking section under a chemical lab's hood ventilator or in a sealed room, I don't see how any restaurant would be able to guarantee that it's going to keep smoke completely away from its nonsmoking patrons or employees. Think of it this way: we've all seen and heard countless anecdotes about the entitlerati, or even witnessed episodes ourselves. Would you want to be the manager of one of these places with the ventilation systems and have to put up with that bunch? It's one thing now for customers to complain about smoke when you can just move them to a different table. Can you imagine what might go on when people are given the notion that not having to breathe nearby smoke is a right protected by law? I can just hear someone screeching about how they don't care that you have one of those fancy systems, that they can still smell the smoke and you're obviously doing something wrong and they're going to sic the Health Department/Beverage Control Board/etc. on you. Or even worse, would you want to have to shut down your restaurant or flip-flop on your smoking policy every time there was the slightest problem with one of these systems? The ventilator option would seem to be setting establishments up to fail.

Sale of cigars and/or humidor rental. That might do it. Hrm. Well, it seems like they're defining "Cigar Bar" sufficiently broadly to cover hookah bars - but 10% of revenues? I could see that for places that offer smoking but not drinking, or maybe smoking and drinking but not food, but I don't see how any establishment with a substantial menu or extensive wine list would make the cut.

She didn't say it was her favorite thing to eat... was it by any chance her favorite by dint of it being the priciest item on the menu?

She might as well have said "No, I haven't tried any of those dishes, and no, I couldn't be bothered to ask any of my fellow servers what they like so I can offer an opinion to my customers. If you're thinking that's a pretty clear indication of what my service will be like, you'd be right."

That's precisely my point. I mean, Ozio (the cigar/martini place I mentioned, which has since moved to M Street) isn't just a place where you stand around and smoke cigars. They serve drinks, they serve food, they consider themselves a lounge. Does the current legislation mean they'd have to stop serving food? Is there going to be some agency monitoring their respective receipt percentage? Where does an establishment cross the line from being a cigar bar to just a bar, or a restaurant? What would keep any restaurant or bar that wants to continue to allow smoking from claiming they're a cigar bar? I'm guessing that the legislation will at least get an amendment rewording the exceptions, so that smoking bars in general get included, which would save the hookah bars or any (theoretical) pipe bars or cigarette bars that might crop up.

Or that martini/cigar place over on K Street (if it's still there)... I mean, if 'Cigar Bar' is in your flipping name, wouldn't it be abundantly clear to all concerned that some smoking is going to be involved? I've noted here previously that dealing with others' smoking is the biggest reason why I don't usually eat at the bar in restaurants, but I wouldn't expect to go into a saloon and not get smoked at.

You won't be far off if the cloned-meat industry ever comes to fruition.

Those sorts of establishments were precisely behind the point of my first comment - that places which specialize in being someplace to go smoke should be allowed to have people smoke there. For instance, does the ban as it stands mean that Georgetown Tobacconist won't be allowed to let its patrons light up? That just seems patently absurd to me.

I've been to restaurants countless times where I've seen many smoking tables filled with people who are clearly done with their meals and are hanging out just smoking for a nice, long while. I would imagine that eliminating that sort of loitering would benefit businesses by making it possible to seat incoming parties more quickly - and I suspect that improved turnaround might be what accounts for the post-ban increase in business that's been seen in other jurisdictions. To the folks decrying the "nanny state" this sort of legislation represents, I would posit that if smokers (or cell-phone-using-drivers, for that matter) could consistently demonstrate the kind of courtesy that the smoking members of DR have - a clear understanding that maybe the rest of the world isn't interested in reaping the negative consequences of their habit - then these kinds of bans wouldn't be necessary.

I think it's a grand idea, although I think if restaurants want to have a separate, sealed 'cigar room' where people can go smoke (a la Angelo and Maxie's), they ought to be allowed to do so. Servers don't have to go in there at all (the goodies being sold out in the bar area), so no employees are being needlessly exposed to smoke. Even better, you don't end up with an army of smokers loitering outside the front door and making a gauntlet that nonsmoking clients have to wade through just to get inside.

Many thanks to DonRocks for arranging this fine evening for us all. Many, many thanks to hillvalley for all her hard work in organizing this event. Thank you to Jacques Gastreaux for playing the substitute bouncer. Thanks also to our fellow diners who helped make this evening so memorable. I still feel like we ought to have nametags, but perhaps that just marks me as a n00b. And last, but by no means least... Thank you very much, Mr. Landrum, to you and your staff for your generosity with your time and efforts! Neither my +1 nor myself had ever had the pleasure of dining at Ray's The Steaks prior to tonight, and all I can say is wow. Every morsel was simply superb! As per hillvalley's suggestion, I'm off to check out the Coaching for College site right now!

A thought: if you have to make the decision not to come, might you be able to arrange with one of the folks on the waitlist to swap out with you?

FYI to anyone thinking about coming to the dinner via transit: The 38B, 4B and 4E Metrobuses all drop off either right at the mall, or very nearby, as does the ART 61. It's also only about a third of a mile walk from the Courthouse Metro, if you're so inclined and the weather permits. I will second Jacques' note that there is not much parking compared to the quantity of patrons one would expect for the number of restaurants there.

Yes, the onion rings are sprinkled with Parmesan.

Bangkok Vientiane

Just out of curiosity, how on earth did you get to $100 for two people? I've eaten there with larger parties and it's never run us that much.

To be fair, the PF Chang's at Fairfax Corner seems to have their act much more together than its sibling at Tysons Galleria. My first visit to a Chang's was the one at Tysons II, and that was enough to keep me away from PFC for years. I agree that once Pauli Moto's is at the top of its game, it will outshine PFC by far.

I'm not as fond of her chocolate buttercream as I am of her cream cheese or coconut buttercreams. The l'il bertha is pretty new... and it's definitely a big step up from either Little Debbies or whoopie pie. She's also done a version of the bertha with molasses spice cookies. Nummy!

Not to be a smarty-pants, but they were closed because they're not open weekends. I wish they were open on weekends, since there have been numerous weekends when I've been in the neighborhood either due to work or with friends and wanted to be able to stop by. They did conduct a brief experiment with being open for half a day on Saturdays during the late spring this year - I assume to explore whether the tourist traffic to the mule-boat justified being open. It must not have been worth it, though, 'cos they stopped after the first couple of attempts. sigh

Do you prefer the implication I was countering (by the manager of Notti Bianche, I might add), that women who sit in a bar area often have to spend their evenings fending off stalkers instead of eating their meals? And not everyone here is someone who can afford to spend every evening out at some place on the level of Palena. Out in the real world, people smoke in bars, people drink to excess in bars, people get very very loud in bars, none of which are things I imagine anyone would find conducive to an enjoyable dining experience.

If you can go a wee bit smaller (14 1/2" x 11 3/4" x 2 1/2"), All-Clad's Lasagna Pan is available for under $100.

I don't know where you are in the region, but Wegmans (http://www.wegmans.com/greatMeals/entertaining/) offers a wide range of options, including kosher.