Meaghan

At 9 PM, all outside tables seemed full, and I was turned away as a walk-in, grumble grumble. Related observation: Washington is dining later than it did just a couple of years ago (freelance column / blog alert!)

Cheers,

Rocks.

We never get partly sunny and 85 in mid-July! Until now! Thomas Jefferson would be proud.

Mmmmm, yummy. Locanda has sexy Snow Queen Vodka at the bar! Gulp, gulp, gulp.

I am heading up to Chicago with a few friends for the Pitchfork Music Festival this weekend. We are in search of a decent place to eat tonight with a good bar to follow. For the food we are thinking relatively cheap, Mexican, Pizza, etc....We probably wont be eating until like 10-10:30. Also, if anyone has a good bar suggestion. We are Black Cat Red Room/Rock and Roll Hotel/930 Club type people. Anyone? Anyone? We wont have a car, but are willing to cab/subway for good options. Thanks in advance.

Jason

Restaurants in Randolph Street Market District are a good bet for you. There are plenty of fun places around there and nothing over the top. Last time I was there I really wanted to go to The Green Mill, but didn't. You have to go there and tell me what you think.

Go to Hank's and get the Sablefish. Get another one and have for lunch the next day. Yummy. Yummy again.

Will RissaP be there if I come at 5? I have a tight sked tonight, but the thought of missing this send-off is unacceptable!

Really cold bean salads (fridge it for a day).

Yogurty sauces along side your meats.

Boiled water might not be that far behind!

It's that damn tea. The Tea Bag Factory.

Best of luck to whoever it is!

Eli

What are you opening in Bethesda in 2008?

Sonoma was closed Thursday and Friday night last week. Maybe that had something to do with food availability and the how busy it was. Plus, can you blame the whole world for wanting to sit outside this weekend? From a hostess' perspective, I know how hard it can be keep those that aren't reserved off of the patio when the weather's so nice.

I went to Sonoma a few weeks ago and had a nice leisurely dinner, but I feel like there are too many tables packed onto the patio, and when you get up to go to the bathroom (all schwilly) you have worry about hitting your neighbors stemware because the tables (or at least in the corner where I sat) are, like, four inches apart. I still love the truffled peaches, though.

This weekend I noticed that Au Pied is closed and that this chain Le Pain Quotidien, which people on Chowhound speak highly of, is opening in its place. Anybody, have thoughts on this?

More about Chicago (Daily Candy)

Chicago Avenue: The Gold Coast is the ritzy shopping stretch along the Mag Mile. And The James (55 E. Ontario St.; 877-526-3755), with its lounge, J Bar, and spa, is a vacation in itself. Equally awesome: Park Hyatt (800 N. Michigan Ave.; 312-335-1234).

I did that! I got a yummy rose champagne and a massage (big no-no). Valet is $42 dollars there; we had to yell at them for charging us for a full day when we were there for 90 minutos!

And I went here, here, here , this, some brew pubs, more Mexican places. I will give a better report soon. Avec was my fave by a long shot-great little place!!

Daily Grill is like really bad sex. Not only could it kill you, but why go there if you don't have to?

Van Ness is never going to be any good because of that damn UDC campus. They should just put in a Chick Filet and stop fussing with all these poorly-named restaurants aimed at wine curious Giant Food shoppers.

And here's a preview of the book, along with an account of Corson's tour of top Washington sushi bars.

They offer three variations on the theme at Casa Oaxaca. Quite tasty (to some).

And they have them at Guajillo, too. I didn't know what they were until I went to Mexico earlier this year. But I think they're yummy. And they don't involve the brutal slaughtering of any baby mammals.

My wife and I are intent on reproducing the bacon-wrapped figs from Eatbar....

Are those made with fresh figs?

PS: I forgot about prunes. Delete all the confusion

Last week I finally had the opportunity to give EatBar a whirl (twice in three days), and I have to say it's worth the trip.

Not really for the hot dog, though, despite it's pornographic praise. I know it's the real deal, but this dog was too salty, slimy-greasy for me. And as someone who loves ketchup and pickles, where were they when I needed them? I will endorse the bun, though. It was precisely the right size for the wiener and tasted homemade.

What I really like about EatBar, though, is the simplicity and generosity of some of the small plates, dishes with the most basic descriptions that arrive at the table vibrant and colorful, defying their stereotypes. Even though I have been to the bar area of Tallulah many times, the ambiance is now charming with kid-sibling-friendly service, handwriting on chalkboards, water served with a straw in a jar like those seen in a rustic country store. The only thing missing was a tree in the middle of the place and fireflies. I liked that on Saturday there was a big red stapler bouncing on the large screen overhead teasing that "Office Space" might be queued to play ("Um yeah, I'm going to have to go ahead..."). I was tickled to find a dude with whom I went to elementary school tending bar.

The Bacon-Wrapped Figs with Mascarpone Cheese are some of the most delicious bacon-wrapped anythings I've ever had. They totally school bacon-wrapped dates. The Eat Bar Salad stands out as clean and delicate, brightened by some shaved fennel, radish and peashoots, I believe. Much more bang for the buck than I'd have ever guessed.

At $6, The Steak Tartare is a huge bargain. It's seasoned well and unpretentious. This reminds me: No need to go to trendy bistros for tip-top tartares.

The Citrus "Seared" Tuna Salad is tasty. I won't argue that the tuna itself was a little underseasoned , but served with (what I would call) a macro coleslaw (instead of being finely chopped or shredded, the veggies retained more recognizable shapes), it was a unique and refreshing start to the meal.

On one visit, my buddy ordered a spinach and mushroom Angliotti, a special that evening that turned out to be a hit.

No complaints about the one dessert I tried. The Butterscotch Ice Cream Sandwich didn't live the up the legend of Ann Amernick, but it brought back some good memories and not a crumb was left behind on the plate.

I truly look forward to further exploring the menu.

How you an defend a bar that is stocked with only ONE bottle of vodka and ONE bottle of gin is beyond me. Good lord, I wouldn't make it through a week with that.

I think it's a given that what you have one of, you certainly can have three or four of... It's just matter of budget (vodka = roughly $18-35/bottle). I don't think the intention is to throw a big party with just one bottle each of mass-consumed spirits. If you're going through that much booze in a week, you're not going to your local bar enough . And that's no good.

I like boozy charticles (like this one and what you find in WSJ) because I can actually read through the whole things.

So this throwdown is going to be on May 31st.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Okay, if we leave work around now (tomorrow), fill a cooler and hit the road we can be there before 7. Anyone?

Otherwise, catch the "throwdown" on the Food Network Thursday at 10 p.m.

Pickled Umes

Yummy. I like the little dried/individually wrapped ones that you can eat at your desk. Sodium!

I just want to throw this out to the peanut gallery since I'm terribly conflicted:

If you had to choose between these two activities, which would you choose?

1) Dinner at L'Atleier de Joel Robuchon; or

2) Seeing Wayne Newton in concert with seats in the first few rows?

Both will be there again, but Wayne is more mobile. I was faced with the same decision with a Prince show.

If you are there on May 31, you should check out Epicurean Affairs and the "rave cave" (wild).

this remains a relaxing spot where you can tether your dog to the railing adjacent to an outside table on a nice day and enjoy the neighborhood scene and friendly service. however, if a sunday evening is indicative of the cooking you can expect now that barton seaver has departed, the kitchen has clearly unhitched itself from a rising star. pale beets still taste fine but they are assembled awkwardly. lemon in the milky broth accompanying mussels is too pronounced.

I can't agree more. I ordered the exact same two dishes Monday night (Golden Beet Salad and P.E.I Mussels) and couldn't believe I was at the same restaurant. It makes me sad, but the patio truly is a pleasant place to shoot the breeze and knock back a couple of drinks with friends.

Just save up and go to Montreal. More fun...

We are already fat and ugly here. Would you stop!?

When I was four or five I stuck a dried black-eyed pea up my nose. I was in the backseat of our egg-colored Chervolet Citation (white trash car of the century) on my way to meet Ronald McDonald and that purple guy; my dad was shooting them (cameras, not guns) for a publication I gratefully do not recall.

Anyway, I guess we had been shopping at the Co-op that day (...and off to McDonald's).

I could never keep my hands off of that bulk food and became fixated on a bag of beans.

"Hey, maybe I should put one of these up my nose," I thought. Well, I did that, and the legume ended up in my brain. I was not happy. After much panic (and pain), the pea was ejected...and I still got to see the clown.

O.k. picture this. You are walking to sushi-ko. You go in and you can't sit at the sushi bar (arrrg) so then Mr. Allen Smith (the manager) asks you to come back in twenty. You go and do some stuff, and when twenty minutes is up the sushi bar is half empty  !! That is how I got to taste the best sushi I have ever had! When we (me and my dad) were there we had six nigiri, (live scallop, yellowtail belly, lightly seared flounder, and salmon belly, and two tuna) a chicken yakitori, a spicy rock shrimp & cilantro roll, and a rainbow roll. The people at sushi-ko are really nice! For example, chef Koji, (the chef) and Mrs. Kyomi (his wife). And that is just scratching the top!!! The only two problems (and this one isn't really a problem because it happens every time I eat sushi) is my stomach gets all gelatiny (gelatiny adj. the act of being like gelatin). The other problem was I kinda gagged on the sea urchin  . Don't get me wrong it tasted great! it was the texture. To sum it all up, the best sushi in D.C. that I've had! (The other one I tried was Kotobuki). 

MattRocks, MattRolls (when we're taking sushi). This post reminds me: I didn't have sea urchin for the first time until my mid-twenties, but I was like 8 the first time I had eel and octopus (to other eight-year-olds then that was akin to eating bats and snakes; it was freakish, I was convinced). Just to get on my nerves, my Dad would tell my friends, "Meaghan loves octopus and eel and raw tuna," and I'd snap back, "No, I don't, Daaaaaaad. You just gave it to me, and I didn't even know what it was!!"

Dads are the worst sometimes