ohstate

Thanks. This is very timely, as I'm going to head in that direction for dinner before heading to the stadium in the hopes of scalping a pair of tickets to tonights game.

We used to be regulars at Dry Dock, (we live about 5 miles from there), but our last two visits have been major disappointments. They changed the menu (it used to change daily, now they offer a set menu with a few specials), raised the prices, and the food is definetly worse, IMO. I don't see us going back for some time, which is a shame, because it used to be one of our favorite places to boat to. The last time we went, the steak was tough, and the "mole" sauce was not like any mole I've ever had. My crab stuffed shrimp were bland and unseasoned, with the only notable flavor being the overwhelming flavor of the red bell peppers. It was inedible and I left the bulk of it on my plate. The service was down, too. Although many of the servers are the same, there is one who is particularly clueless. We specifically asked him for the sauce on the side (friend order softshells but doesn't care for sauce). He knew it was wrong when he brought it (he apologized), but did not try to make it right. Why he would even bring a dish he knew was wrong is beyond me. We had to insist that he take it back. We had to track him down on several occasions to get more wine, water, and the check. Obviously, some people still like it, but I think it has gone downhill significantly. For food, we like the CD Cafe in Solomons much better. They don't have the atmosphere of the Dry Dock, but people are willing to wait an hour for one of their 12 tables. (Although we're just as happy sitting at the 3 person bar if it is open (no wait)). They typically have 3 dinner specials nightly, usually fish. My husband never orders off the menu anymore, and when he eats fish elsewhere, it rarely compares well to the specials at CDs. The house made desserts are great, too. If you have to wait for a table, the Next Door Lounge (same people) is a nice place. I love their scallops BBT (basil, bacon and tomato). Beautifully seasoned and seared, served on bagette slices with a safron aoli. We have made a meal of the appetizers on occasion. They have the same desserts, too.

I think the tables in the bar area are not considered regular dinner tables. I've walked in without a reservation and been offered the option of sitting in the bar at one of those tables (if available) or waiting for a regular table to come open. I've seen just one person sitting at the large table in the bar (seats at least 5-6), so I think the bar area is first-come, first-served for the most part. (I could be wrong, but that has been my experience) I'm sorry to hear that your food experience wasn't good. I've got reservations there for tomorrow with friends. Our food experiences have been very good there. I particularly like their veal scallopini dishes.

I'm not a sushi fan, but my husband is. Beef negamaki (sp?) is my compromise. My husband also loves it when I leave stuff on my plate. He just thinks of it as more for him. He did have to give up cooking with bell peppers, but I taught him to love chili peppers and red wine, so he doesn't seem to mind too much.

We're headed to Le Refuge for the first time on Friday for my husband's birthday. He's noticed that they've had soft shells on the menu recently as we've walked past on our nightly strolls. He loves them sauted rather than breaded and fried. He hates cream sauces, however. Are we headed for disappointment? Any recommendations for a first timer? I think the rack of lamb (or leg of lamb) looks interesting. Perhaps one of the filets. Obviously, I am the meat eater in the family. Thanks!

The crab pots are out in my creek.

Don asked where we've eaten recently. Last night we walked to the Pita House in Old Town. website It was our second visit this year. It is a nice walk though old town and a casual and inexpensive spot. They seem to do a fair amount of takeout, as well. I had the chicken shawarama salad and my husband had one oft the specials - it was lamb stewed with okra and other veggies. He loved it. The lamb was tender and he really likes okra. It came with a basic salad and rice. The shawarama salad was a basic garden salad with feta cheese and chicken shawarama. Pretty tasty, although a the chicken was a bit dry. The tahini sauce was a nice addition. I didn't try the pita bread, but my husband pretty much demolished the basket on his own. We've been eating out a lot lately - this last week has also included: CD Cafe - Solomons Overwood - Alexandria plus festival food at Zoofari and the Brew-and-Que (St. Mary's county)

Thanks for the update. I make it back once or twice a year for games, so it is good to know whats good and new. Last year we wandered into the Rossi and found a great little bar with pretty good food. Much better than the standard pub grub. IIRC, I had a lamb chop special that was quite nice. The Rossi is in the short north area. Reservations helpful, IIRC. You could also sit at the bar.

It does depend on the restaurant style (casual/formal), the design of the restaurant/bar area (open/separate), and what crowd you want to attract (families/romantic/neighborhood). I'm female - and a sports fan - so I like the tvs - being able to watch a game (or bits of games depending on the circumstances) is great. In general, I'm much more concerned about smoking/non-smoking in a bar/restaurant than I am about tvs.

There is a new pick your own strawberry farm opening in St. Mary's County this weekend. http://www.southerncomfortberryfarm.com/ On Saturday, May 19th from 8 am to 5pm, Southern Comfort Berry Farm will be having their Grand Opening. Pick your own delicious vine-ripened strawberries, enjoy free lemonade, a hay maze, playground and petting zoo for the kids, and much more. Located in Bushwood, MD, the 11 acre family farm offers delicious, quality fruits and family fun. And remember: the best berry is the one you pick yourself, so we'll see you there. St. Mary's county is also hosting the Brew-and-Que at the fairgrounds if you decide to head that way. http://www.brewandque.com/

We wandered in a few weeks ago on a beautiful Tuesday evening and found that they were having 1/2 price bottle of wine night. It I particularly appreciate the non-smoking environment. They tried to put us in the little side room, but we insisted on the main dining room since it was early and not crowded. (One of us was a tad overly casual, as we weren't planning on stopping for dinner during our walk) They had a very noisy family in the side room, and it would not have worked for me. The side room doesn't have much ambience, so if they start leading you down that path, request seating in the main dining area. Agree that it isn't a destination, but I'm glad to have it in my extended neighborhood.

We were there last Saturday to catch the games. A non-smoking sports bar in Baltimore! What a treat just for that. Service was great. By the time we left, the place was packed. We had a late lunch, (Matthews Pizza), so we skipped eating there, so I can't report on the food. Although all of Baltimore is going non-smoking next year, we found a few places that are currently that way - Matthews Pizza, Peter Inn, and -shock- Bertha's, where we went to catch a band after dinner.

A La Lucia in Old Town has a small bar with a large flat screen tv. We caught the end of the Georgetown game there after our dinner last Friday night. There seemed to be a small group of regulars who were watching the game. It is fairly separate from the restaurant, so there was a fair amount of cheering going on.

Can anyone give a recent report of LaPorta's in Alexandria? I haven't been since I moved back to the area, but they advertise live jazz music (on their window, as I drive by almost every morning).

I live near Rustico, but I don't think they have anything more than the local cable coverage, not all the cbs feeds you need to get the out of market games. We ended up at Pour House. It had all the games (small tvs), was near metro, non-smoking. I'll try something else next time.

Decent - not awful - not great. Always seems to have a lot of families there, so that is why it popped into my mind.

I hadn't heard that about Muttleys. The OSU Alumni club does their "official" game watches at Willie & Reeds (Bethesda) and Rhinos (Georgetown), although they haven't made any announcements about this game. I was looking for something a little more convenient than either of those two, I guess. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

I don't get into the DC proper much, so I haven't tried RFD. I used to go to the Brick (last time, pre-1998, IIRC). Food wasn't the draw there then. Congrats on the first round NIT win, btw.

Pour House or Old Dominion Brewery for NCAA games Thursday? I'm open to other recs as well. I'm in Alexandria, but don't want to spend several hours exposed to smoke, which is why I'm researching DC. Criteria: Has all NCAA games on decent TVs - The game I want is not being shown locally. Is near Metro Non-smoking Quality Food/Beers It appears that the Pour House and the Old Dominion Brewhouse meet the first three requirements, but I haven't heard much about the food/beer selection. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Austin Grill on King Street in Old Town is good for families, has decent food and is reasonably priced.

I didn't see this linked elsewhere, so I thought I'd add it - a link to the local farms and markets in southern Maryland - Calvert, St. Mary's, etc. http://www.somarylandsogood.com/index.html

Just to update this thread a bit, I have a place in Lusby near Solomons, so I thought I'd add my thoughts. The CD Cafe is my favorite by far. If you are there for dinner, you should try one of the specials. They usually have three different entree specials, usually all fish. My husband has not ordered off the regular menu in years. The specials are creative and consistently well prepared. Whenever he orders fish elsewhere, he always compares it to CD's, and the comparison is almost never favorable. I've been on a kick where I crave the shrimp saute, which is served over risotto. The desserts are house made and fabulous. I don't often eat dessert, but if they have a fruit pie on the menu, it is certain to be great. They don't take reservations, but they have a lounge/bar next door (The Backdoor Lounge) that has a separate menu of heavy appetizers. They also serve the full dessert menu, so many people make a meal in the Lounge. The scallops BBT are great. The waits on the weekend can be 45 minutes to an hour for the main restaurant (especially since the Lighthouse burned down). Since we're only down south on the weekends, this is our main winter haunt. In the summer, we'll generally pick restaurants that we can boat to and enjoy water front dining. Dry Dock Cafe at Zanhisers Marina is great. (Although we haven't been since October and some changes have reported been made, so I can't feel completely up to date on it). They have an outside deck overlooking the marina that we love. They don't take reservations for the deck, but you can wait at the bar or make reservations for inside if you call. They have a menu that changes daily, but there are usually the same kinds of choices - a crabcake/steak, a steak, a pork, a chicken, several fish/seafood options, and a veggie option. The menu is pretty creative and the only thing I avoid is their crabcake, because there are much better crab cakes to be had in the area. We also like Clark's Landing in St. Mary's County (Hollywood, MD, I think). They have an outside deck (make reservations in the summer if you can) that overlooks the bridge over the Pax River. They have my favorite crab cakes (outside the ones my husband makes at home, that is). It is mostly a southern Maryland kind of place - lots of fried seafood and the like. They also make a decent burger. They have a smallish beer and wine selection, but you can find something drinkable other than bud. We also boat up to Stoney's on Broome's Island. The crabcakes are as big as a baseball, and just as round. Since I favor my crabcakes a bit crispier than what you can acheive with that shape and size, so I get the fried shrimp basket or the mini crab cake. The crabs can be quite good, although we don't usually order crabs out when we can make them (and catch them) at home. The bar makes some mean drinks. That Stoney's is owned by the same people who own/run 2 restaurants on Solomons - The Pier and Stoney's Kingfisher. The menu is identical at the two Stoney's, and the Pier has more of a raw bar/bar oriented menu (although you can still get the crab cake). The Pier has the best outdoor bar by a long shot. You can watch the sun set under the bridge from their dock over the Pax River. FYI, the Tiki Bar is alive and well. The grand opening is April 20 if you want to brave the massive crowds of drunks. It usually begins on Friday afternoon and runs all through the weekend. We like to drop in during the afternoon, but head to dinner before the redneck mardi gras gets into full swing. Let me know if you have any questions - I'd be happy to point the way. I'm off to CD's tonight for that shrimp saute!

You've just listed two places in Alexandria that I won't go to because they are too smokey. King Street Blues, where the smoke in the bar is so thick that it wafts up the stairs to the dining room and my hair stinks just from walking through the place and SS815 for exactly the same reason. I just saw the WP article today about Alexandria trying to ban smoking via its zoning ordinance. It mentions that there is a smoke-free initiative, but I haven't found the list of restaurants participating. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of that list as I would definitely support a place that was smoke free. Thanks! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7022802200.html

I was there for lunch yesterday. My experiences have been much better on the bar side of Rustico than on the restaurant side. Our server was overwhelmed with two large parties and our food was slow in coming out and cold on arrival. No one checked on us after it arrived, even though we tried to get some attention (from anyone, no one would look in our direction). We've eaten on the restaurant side twice and the bar side twice. I'm much happier in the bar - both in terms of service and atmosphere. Even thought the kitchen is the same, I've had two completely different experiences depending on where I was sitting. Right now, the biggest lure for me to Rustico is the beer, not the food.

It wasn't a bad steak, but it wasn't great either. I expected more flavor and tenderness. My husband had the rockfish and was likewise unimpressed. Said it was a bit overdone. Perhaps we were expecting more based on all the reviews. Maybe it was an off night. Maybe the server let it sit too long. Since moving back to the area a few months ago, I'd be hard pressed to say that any one place has really impressed me, although we tend to frequent casual dining places more than the upscale places. We weren't living in a culinary capital before by any stretch of the imagination, that's for certain.