DanielK

Cupcakes need to come with instruction?? Way too high maintenence for me. I just want to eat them....

Especially since cupcakes can be an impulse buy. You go in looking for a cake for that evening, and decide to buy a cupcake for RIGHT NOW. Not for an hour from RIGHT NOW.

...how does the ambiance of El Chalan compare with Costa Verde at Ballston?

I haven't been to Costa Verde, but I can tell you about El Chalan. It's in an old brownstone in Farragut West, and it's essentially in the basement, halfway below ground. I wouldn't call it shabby, but it's clearly showing it's age. They've been there for 30 years. Small space, minimally decorated white walls and (low) ceilings.

Very nice menu, though; I've never had a miss there, and the service is reserved and professional.

You find a lot of World Bank crew dining at lunch time; I've never seen a crowd there for dinner.

I’ve never had Sablefish before.  Maybe I’m the only one, but this became my number 1 favorite (buttery, milky-white and meaty flakes, glistening-in–the-middle, so fresh and perfectly cooked).  Like the foie gras version of fish that melts in your mouth!  I love the hint of miso marinade. 

FYI - Smoked sable is pretty commonly found at Jewish-style delis. Parkway in Silver Spring and Celebrity in Potomac usually have it, and I think it's pretty good in both places.

You should go to El Chalan on 20th and I Street, NW (Peruvian). The ambiance is bastement-bleak, but with good company and an extra 5 bucks or so for Pisco to warm your belly, I think you'll be fine...

I think El Chalan's ceviche is possibly the best in the area...

Actually, while the volume was pretty low, the Beatles CDs were running the entire evening.

There's nothing really inventive about the menu. Compared to sitting at the bar at Kaz, this simply isn't the same experience. There weren't any rolls beyond the basics - no Baltimore rolls or Everything in the Kitchen but the Sink rolls. There weren't 15 kinds of sake. Other than a few items like miso soup and seaweed salad, there isn't much on the menu other than sushi. No tempura, teriyaki, tonkatsu, etc. The waitress and chef even declined our request for omakase.

But if you want generous portions of well cut fish, pristinely fresh, perfectly seasoned rice, dirt cheap, there is no better place in the DC area.

edited to add: VENTWORM, baby!

If chosen, I'll bring a '53 or '55 Burgundy.  No, I'm not kidding.

If chosen, I'm sitting at Stephen B's table.

What about Pasta Plus up in Laurel? That can't be more than 10 minutes away.

In fact, Columbia is only about 15 minutes from there at most, which opens up Clyde's, Sushi Sono, etc.

I live nearby and would be happy to get there shortly after 6.  Let me know how many places I should try to round up.

Looks like 11 if you count everyone from the previous post plus Walrus and Tripewriter, or 12 if Mr. Goldenticket is joining. Anyone on that list dropped out, or anyone else joining (or bringing someone)?

Anybody going early to grab a drink at the bar before dinner?

But to say that it is better than Subway and a step down from anything local is certainly damning with faint praise.. 

That said, I still prefer Panera which started life as the St. Louis Bread Company.

OK, that's a legitimate gripe - perhaps not being an expert on Chantilly, I could have given a bit more allowance for the region, though my friends who live out there say there are some edible places.

And I also agree that Panera is better. But at either place, I still hate spending $10 for sandwich chips and soda.

And please, just once, would it be possible for someone to mention a chain restaurant without someone else trotting out the "ewww, it's a chain and chains are evil and we should only ever patronize locally owned artisanal businesses" autoreply?  Seriously.  It's perfectly okay to go to chains when they actually happen to be good, or they happen to have what you want at the time, or gee, when you just want something to eat and don't need it to be a Morally Enriching Dining Experience.

To be fair, I never said that it was evil or terrible. I mentioned that it was a chain, that I had eaten there twice, and compared it to other similar chains for a point of reference. I work in the wasteland that is Catonsville, and eat at Subway or Zi Pani probably once a week due to necessity.

The initial post did not mention that it was a chain, and implied that it was a destination worth seeking out if you were in the Dulles area. I was simply providing context.

I ate at one down in Atlanta, and another out in Colorado.

Completely indistinguishable from Panera, Zi Pani, etc. Corporate deli chain, a step above Subway and Quiznos, a step down from anything local.

Found myself in the area the other day for lunch, so I thought I'd see what a month of settling in has done.

They're still busy, but handling the crowds far, far better. We came in at the tail end of lunch time, and placed our order at the counter. All of the tables were taken, but they've opened up a side room behind the counter. Absolutely no decorations at all in there; looks like it was a storeroom, but now has a few 4-tops in it. The woman apologized, and said that they were about to re-do that room, but they're seating people in there in the meantime so they don't have to mill around waiting for a table.

Unlike last time, when I waited 20+ minutes for food, this time our soup was there in just a couple of minutes, and the rest of the food followed before we even finished our soup.

The quality of the shrimp in "mama's" dumplings was far higher this time around. Also, their winter season eat-in special is a free bowl of pork bone soup with any dumpling order. Both the soup and dumplings were very very tasty. My only complaint - they dumplings were served steamed, when I asked for pan-fried. They offered to replace them, but I was hungry, so I elected to keep them. My son ordered egg drop soup, which vanished in seconds, and teriyaki chicken. This was actually just steamed chicken and broccoli, with a thick, sweet sauce poured on top (something like a slightly thinned hoisin sauce). It was reasonably tasty, if nothing special.

Go for the dumplings. Fabulous, fabulous flavor.

I also remember a shrimp and banana offering in a flaky rice paper wrapper with black and white sesame seeds, crispy taro and shrimp cakes, teriyaki chicken sticks (though I think my son ate the whole plate of those) and pineapple buns.

I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite between Hollywood East and New Fortune. As Perri mentioned, a couple of the shrimp dishes at New Fortune weren't at their best today, though they have been good in the past. Sui mei at Hollywood East were astounding; at New Fortune, they were just good.

But the variety at New Fortune is just so much stronger. More items on the steam table. Four or five different vegetable selections. BBQ. Jellyfish and head-on shrimp, which we didn't even see at Hollywood East. And, though the one deep-fried dumpling we had at New Fortune was a touch on the greasy side, there were probably a dozen different deep fried offerings that we didn't get today. Nearly every time I go there, there's at least one thing on the carts I hadn't seen before.

New Fortune is closer to me, and the parking is easier, so I'd probably pick it 4 times out of 5. But it's one of those choices were if you lived substantially closer to one than the other, it makes the decision easier.

When I'm doing non-dim sum dining, I also frequently find myself at New Fortune. Very large menu, and hard to go wrong. Soups and hot pots are particularly strong, as are fresh fish dishes, and of course the BBQ is available whenever they are open (the roast pig is transcendent). Which, if you're in the need for late nite dining, is after midnight during the week, and WELL past midnight on the weekend.

I'm more of a tea drinkin' gal.

As is my wife, and she loves the tea at Starbucks...

Home: 15

Work: 3

I work near UMBC campus, so it's pretty rural for a couple of miles. I'll bet if I change that 5 mile radius to 10, it'll jump to 20 or 30 stores.

I'm coming straight from Hebrew School with the kids. Ms. DanielK will join us if she is able to escape from work in time.

See y'all on Sunday!

I strongly prefer the 8th, but I could probably do the 1st.

While not a "fine dining" joint, maybe we should organize a DR outing to see just how the RMP has held up over the years...?

There's no "we" in organizing.

Just pick a night, post it, and we'll show. Or at least I'll show, but I'll drink enough whisky to account for several others.

OK, all of the "regulars" have signed back in for the 30th - let's get some new blood!

hillvalley, gastro888, ScotteeM, johnb - you guys have posted in this thread - let's see a little action!

Lurkers, reveal thyselves!

I'd love for them to have to give us TWO of those 12-tops in the back...

Amici Miei in Rockville is doing a very fine rabbit special right now. Not on the regular menu, so I have no idea if it was a one-time event, but it was delicious that one time a few hours ago...

Folks? Shall we postpone New Fortune to the 30th?

Is anybody coming on Sunday? Lurkers, please speak up, because I'm sure we'll cancel if it's just myself and perrik...

I have a feeling we won't be there.  We have guests in town from California.

I haven't been to the RM in 10 years, but they have an absolutely fabulous whisky list.

Back in the day, they used to have one night a week (Thursdays?) when they would do short pours of whisky for only a couple of bucks, so you could taste a lot more varieties than if you were purchasing a standard pour at $6-$lotsmore per glass.