DPop

Really bad sushi, decent Chinese (although nowhere near as good as Chinatown Express when they're on or Tony Cheng's) and good bubble tea. There are approximately 40 better places in the area, so I have not had a good excuse to go back in the past couple years. The only good sushi in Chinatown is at Oya and Zengo. I have not had anything passable in terms of traditional takeout in the 4 years I have worked down here.

At that size, you have to expect him to have a wide stance!

Nothing too crazy, they have Chimay Red and Blue, Allagash, a bitter from NoCali that they were out of, and a couple other names that you would recognize (and are available elsewhere). I actually preferred my sidecar and the wifeys gimlet to the beer, which was good but not at all memorable.

In an effort to save money over the next several months, the fiancee and I decided that we would cut out expensive meals until November, when we travel for SF. For the last meal before our hiatus, we decided to head to Palena, which we thought would be a good last meal to remember when we're resisting heading out to all of the wonderful restaurants in the area. I'll give a brief summary so as not to parrot a lot of what was said above. The Bad - Once again, the service was lacking. Our waitress started off well, giving us recommendations and asking us our water preferences, but it all went down hill from there. She then disappeared for 15 minutes, not even venturing outside (where we were sitting) so that we could flag her down to order. The hostess noticed us searching the restaurant for her and graciously came out to take our order when it was clear that the waitress would not be able to. The waitress eventually showed her face again, saying that she had gotten our order and asked us if we needed anything else. We were very put off by this, even if it was not that big of a deal. I expect these types of things to happen at places like Zengo or Oya, but for whatever reason, I just feel like the service at Palena should be at least somewhat close to the caliber of the food that is coming out of the kitchen. In my experiences, it is not. The Good - Sweet corn ravioli. Wow. I have to disagree with the poster above, I thought this was a great pasta dish whose ingredients all worked so well together. I could have had 3 plates of this alone and been satisfied with my trip, this was the best pasta I have had outside of the gorgonzola ravioli at Komi and the pasta dishes at Maestro (and this was about 1/4 the price). Also, this is still the best rotisserie chicken and burger that I have had anywhere. The consistency is remarkable, I get the same high quality taste no matter when I come to Palena, which is truly something to be applauded. The Great - The price. I will argue with anyone that this is the best deal in town when it comes to top tier food. We had a sidecar, a gimlet, a Wittekerke, a burger, a fry plate, a half chicken, a plate of gnocchi, and that incredible sweet corn ravioli for $96 before tip. If you got that much food at Houlihan's or Ruby Tuesday's, you would probably be paying somewhere in the ballpark of $80, and there is really no comparison when it comes to quality. Signing a $100 credit card receipt shouldn't be this satisfying.

You will have no problem getting a seat and it should not be a problem having a little one there that early. PS Order the Gorgonzola Burger or Smoked Salmon Reuben and the Casserole of Peas. They all go great with 4-5 half price Chimays

It can be hurtful to wallet OR the underbelly, but not both. That would just be too much.

Despite my desire to try as many places as possible, there are certain places that I constantly go back to for a variety of reasons (price, location, quality, etc.). They are: Eleventh Street Lounge Wasabisito (underrated, inexpensive sushi and interesting Japanese dishes with a Peruvian influence) Ray's the Steaks Central El Pollo Rico 2Amys (lately) Ravi Kabob If I were less health and wallet-conscious, Corduroy, Poste, Willow, and Palena would probably be regular destinations, but I do my best to keep those visits to around once-a-month.

If you don't mind ham on yours (or spending $13 for a grilled cheese sandwich), the Croque Monsieur at Poste is top notch, sitting on a thick brioche with a cone of thin frites available upon request. Pretty greasy and really goddamn good.

Well, I finally had a good experience at Bebo. Roberto was there at the oven on Friday and was very pleasant, greeting me at the door and later willing to make the smoked mozzarella pizza that JoeH raved about above. Service was average other than that, but even that was much better than I expected in the dining room. We started with the crudo of tuna under an arugula salad, drizzled with lemon juice and pepper. Nice thick, hearty pieces of fresh tuna with a perfect tart bite accenting the nice natural flavors. I could eat this over an arugula salad every day for lunch as an entree and be a happy man. We had the spinaci e ricotta, which was a nice light pizza that had plenty of flavor despite the lack of pork or much cheese. The sauce carried this, as it was lightly pasted on the crust and permeated throughout every bite. A nice light pie unlike any I have had in this area. The smoked mozzarella, which my server said could not be made but upon personally putting in the request with Roberto (and requesting that heo make how he saw fit) it became a reality, was a very good pizza (if not as incredible as JoeH described it). The smoked mozzarella and garlic carried this one, with that wood taste in the cheese giving this particular white pizza a flavor that I have not experienced outside of a grilled piece of meat or potato. The garlic was sliced in long, thin slivers and generously spread throughout the pie and really hit the spot as a complement to the smoky cheese. Not as good as my Meat Lover's pizza at 2Amys, but certainly one of the better pizzas I have had in the area. This visit gave me hope. If Roberto sorts out all service issues and keeps putting out this kind of product, this place will flourish as a lunch spot and hold its own for dinner service as well.

Well, now I'm ruined. I will never be able to have fish and chips again at Fado's, Four Courts, or any of the other pubs in town without thinking that Eamonn's is light years better for a lower price. The chicken bites are also as good as advertised, as juicy as I can imagine any meat being and a great portion size for $5.50. The only disappointment was the Marie Rose dipping sauce, but the staff was nice enough to give us as many sauces as we wanted for free and we loved the tartar and hot chili replacements. Can't wait to get back and go up to PX as well for a few drinks afterwards.

Tirolo is a very good place tucked behind Tara Thai in Ballston. The menu can be hit or miss, but the wiener schnitzel and spaetzle and the chicken parm sub are the best I have had in the area hands down.

What a way to go out last night. Service was perfect, meal was paced well, we ordered just the right amount of food (her 3 courses, myself 5) and there was not one thing outside of the yellow tomato water with the amuse that wasn't incredible. A lot of people have talked about the lobster ravioli (which is incredible) and stinging nettle gnocchi (mindblowing), but my other favorites were the duo of veal, which were great texture contrasts to each other and worked so well with the mashed potatoes and other garnish, and the sea bream with the zucchini tempura was the very definition of satisfying. We finished up with the blueberries and short bread and the coffee ice cream, both of which were very good, but the coffee ice cream was easily one of the best desserts that I have ever had. So so sad to see this talented individual leaving DC, but this should be motivation to take a trip up to NYC when he's settled into his new digs and give it a try!

I'm so happy the fiancee got my birthday reservations for tonight a couple weeks ago. It's going to be sad to see Fabio go, hopefully tonight is a memorable experience.

jiveturk, I had a similar experience to you, and since it was my first time, I might hesitate to go back. Everything was good, don't get me wrong, but not one of the better restaurant experiences that I have had in DC (and really no better than the meal I had at New Heights the night before). Fried Green Tomatoes - tasted like tomato sauce with not a lot of seasoning. Did not like this dish at all Veal Oscar - very juicy, definitely a tasty dish, but overall it was not worth the $12 upcharge when I could have gotten the halibut, which I thought was much better for no upcharge Peanut Butter Tart - not a huge fan of peanut butter but this was good. The level of sweetness was just where I like it Good meal, but nothing I will be hankering for again. It also didn't help that the room was about 5-10 degrees warmer than comfortable, but I bet with the temperature as high as it was that day and the amount of foot traffic I'm sure the place saw during the day that there was little they could do about that.

What is the RW menu look like? I tried the website but the menus are not coming up. Has anyone been yet this week?

We did the RW thing last night at New Heights to see how Wabeck was doing at his new place and had an interesting experience. We loved the look of the place upon first walking in, but we noticed that it was tremendously hot inside, so much so that we both were starting to perspire after sitting at the table for a couple minutes. Apparently, the restaurant had been having air conditioning issues since Monday and they were having trouble cooling the crowded space. I would not normally mention this, but I felt like it was a big distraction from what was a very nice meal. We started with the lamb carpaccio and tomato tart. The carpaccio was perfect, requiring very little chewing and meshing perfectly with the cilantro-mint chutney, which gave it some bite. The yellow tomato salad on the side was delightful, a little sweet without being overpowering. The tomato tart was nice, not necessarily something I would order again, but the thin crust and sweet tomatoes made for a good light appetizer. For our entrees, I took the upcharge and got the beef and she went with the chicken. The beef was worth it, as both cuts were cooked exactly how I wanted and garnished very well. The only thing I would change would be the horseradish on the filet being a bit more prominent, as I could not taste it last night, but that is really a minor quibble. The chicken was also quite good, giving the fiancee the nice, light dish that she was looking for. The grilled eggplant on the side was very tasty. By the time we got to dessert, we asked if we could move downstairs to the bar to escape the heat, which had become unbearable after eating our hot entrees. We sat at the bar and had a nice long chat with Umbi, the owner, who quickly made us forget about how hot we were with his hospitality. The desserts, the panna cotta with local peaches and the pound cake with the cream soda float, were not as cold as we would have liked but tasted excellent and were light enough to not make us uncomfortable full on our way out the door. Overall, good food, but unfortunately what we will remember is the uncomfortable temperature of the restaurant as opposed to the fare. We will have to give it another chance if for anything to go sit at the bar and have another chat with Umbi, who is one of the more friendly restaurant owners that I have met in DC.

That's what I would guess. Believe it or not, I think the charred, crunchy crust is not as appealing as the doughy, soft crust for most people. It might have to do with the fact that most pizza places serve soft crust, thus making it more a familiar and safe option for a lot of consumers.

Do you think it's fair to say that it's slipping because of one experience that you had? Also, based on the recent comments in this thread, if you like your crust crispier, I think that it is best to ask for it that way these days at 2Amys because they are definitely cooking the pies a bit less than what people might be used to. The ingredients, especially the meats, remain top-notch, and this is still the best pizza on a consistent basis in the area in my opinion.

Just going off of the description that Derrick is hoping for the place to be, I don't think I will be heading out there any time soon. It sounds like he just got a copy of the Coyote Ugly business plan and decided to try to run with it, adding waterbeds and making it a daiquiri-themed bar.

I want to love this place, I really do, but it has been so inconsistent the times that I have been. I have had a great hot dog one week, and then one that was watery and lacking flavor the next. I've had tasty french fries at times, and then greasy ones lacking crunch at other times. The baby burger is juicy and enough to justify the $3.50 price tag some nights, and others it is charred and barely bigger than a silver dollar in diameter. The risotto fritter.....well, that's just never been that good for me, it doesn't have that much taste and the sauce that it accompanies tastes like a creamier version of the ketchup they give you, which tastes like tomato sauce out of a bottle. I think from reading the posts on here, I need to stick to getting their excellent beer and either a BBQ panini or seared tuna salad when I go instead of sticking to the traditional bar food that I keep getting mixed results with.

I had the diver scallops for the first time the other night and was kicking myself immediatly afterwards for having never gotten them before. They were so good they made the fantastic onion soup seem kind of ordinary by comparison. The mac and cheese is much improved, as well, it is considerably less soupy and carried more flavor than the last time we had it.

When I was there for my soggy calzone (the same one you got), I had the pleasure of watching the manager (who reminded me of Furio from the Sopranos, right down to the slickbacked hair) take part of the staff behind the curtain next to the bar and yell at them for about 10 minutes loud enough that I could hear from a good 30 feet away. It was highly entertaining and probably the best thing that's happened to me at Bebo. It almost made me forget about the permeating stale grease taste of the saffron risotto balls in the back of my mouth. The Vitello Tonnato was as good as advertised, however. Full of flavor and very light, a nice start to what was again a fairly disappointing meal.

After all the talk on here about the crudo and its magnificence, I was expecting great things from it last weekend. Instead, I got a tiny lump of flavorless mahi mahi that was only saved by a dollop of something that tasted like salted mayo, king salmon with blueberries, which sounded so interesting that it had to be ordered, but the combination just did not work at all, and a postage stamp of black tuna that tasted great, but was only one small bite. I could have had 3 of these flights of 3 and still be hungry afterwards. Not a generous portion to say the least, although the fish was very fresh. The bluefish with pesto was plentiful and outstanding, though, and the grilled calamari was nice if a bit too smoky for my taste.

In my opinion, you cannot really compare the two. Everything I have ever had at Maestro has been delightfully light, focused on fish, and very Italian in nature. Citronelle has always been heavier, with a lot of cream-based items and usually fills me up after 2 courses (although it would be too hard not to overstuff yourself with the wonderful desserts). Maestro is a 2.5 hour experience, while Citronelle I feel is quicker and less set on the extravagant prix-fixe format. Both outstanding places in their own right, but I do not think they can be fairly compared to each other as they are really very different dining experiences (at least they were for me). A better comparison to Maestro, from a pure culinary experience perspective, would be Komi.

I would pick Sushi Ko before those other 3 you asked about.