Nadya

And why did my pendejo of a boss have to schedule a weekly team meeting for Friday lunch????

Man, Cathal looks THIN.

Also, it should be ruled that bartenders at Palena must ALL be uniformly hunky, cooperative and most importantly, single. Not that they are NOT all these things now, but I feel it should not be left to random chances but rather should be codified in conditions of employment. Why leave an important part of the restaurant's charm to chance when I so very clearly wish to admire a lovely male presence behind the bar, preferably in a variety of outfits?

Palena rocks. Bollito is as brilliant as ever. Fried lemons became a fetish by now ("darling would you please please fry a lemon for me....I'll do anything you want, anything you want...") . Roast chicken is the most aromatic dish this side of Mademoiselle Chanel. I feel grateful to the good lord and all his archangels and cherubs for Monday Night at Palena . Please let this continue for as long as possible. Thank you for your immediate attention to this request. Sincerely, XXXX

I couldn't agree more that there are restaurants, both here and at eG (for all practical purposes, this difference is irrelevant by now), that have built a sacred cow reputation. Example: Palena, Komi, RTS. They have built that reputation by cooking fantastic food and delivering a great dining experience to many of us time after time. The sacred cow reputation doesn't just fall out of the sky. It is typically grown and cultivated very carefully. When that reputation has been attained, a restaurant is typically forgiven small missteps that would be dissected much more carefully for a new arriver on the scene. It's the same in sports. Does Michelle Kwan get overscored from time to time? Sure she does. No one wants to diss the legend. But she did not find her legend dog tags under her pillow one day. I don't think so. She got them after winning championship after championship (Michelle Kwan for Gold in 2006!!!) with terrific skates and sportsmanship. So I don't care if she is given a break that younger skaters are not, yet. She earned it. Having said this, I do think it's unseemly to treat someone like "you are a bad person because you don't like the place I like" just because they happen to feel that way. As long as the critical comment is couched in factual, straight terms - and not in our very own DR.com's brand of Foodie Ventworm Nut Sarcasm , it should and does have a place here. How do I feel when someone criticizes Komi, a place where I would gladly eat every Friday night and some Saturdays? My heart objects. My mind says, oh well, different strokes for different folks. I'm not going to call someone a jackass because they don't like what I like or have a different experience from me, which most diners do at Komi anyway (thanks to Chef and Fab Seb.) Neither am I going to fault a chef for taking critical comments too close to heart. Hell, all chefs are crazy. They wouldn't go into business if they weren't. They are there to do what they do, which is to cook and serve food. And we are here to do what we do, which is talk about it. As long as everyone operates with a supersize helping of courtesy, reason and good humor, World Peace shoud prevail.

I stand corrected - I will indeed be THE one with a busty blonde. What can I say. It's Monday morning...no one can have weekends like that and not pay for it in some manner. My English, not so good.

It is Monday. Will. Be. Dining. At. Palena. Tonight. I'll be with one with a busty blonde. (Though, obviously, not her.)

I ate there last year during summer Res Week, and had lots of fun and good food. Mexican chocolate cake - yeah baby.

Johnny

Darlink! This is the best term to describe them I've had a good fortune to learn! Will try out very soon.

A bit fat thank you to hillvalley and Jill for organizing and holding this fantastic event.

If you get takeout from the Grill, you can park illegally at the entrance and quickly nip in and out. That's what I usually do. I'd be all over the Grill today, but stayed up really late over sushi last night...have to detox. Sorry.

Would anyone like to hit Corduroy tonite? I haven't been forever, and am overdue.

Unfortunately, I will have to cancel this Thursday - reasons too many to list here. But, is anyone game to hit Corduroy on Friday? It's been too long for me.

What's today, the Clueless Wednesday? Why would people find it hard to understand that a four-top does NOT convert to a five top? It's a square table, people. Four sides, four chairs, four bottoms. If I have a large table available, I'll sit you there. If I have two deuces available, I'll put them together and sit you there. But if I don't have either, blame yourself!! I also adore it when you are halfway down to the table, and they tell you, "oh, we are going to be five. Is this a problem?" Why yes, it will be. I don't suppose a little bit of advance notice could have been used?? I swear to you. After an evening of clueless walk-ins of eight, sometimes I feel like grabbing the phone and shoving it in their face. "Do you know what this is? It's a phone. A nifty device for communicating information. Use it!!"

Oh, Palena. Oh, Palena. Last night, after a slammin' day in the office with no time to eat except chug a vile proteine shake. I dreamed about Palena's burger all day. Braving the rainstorm and hurricane-force wind that blew dried particles of Exxon gas pump residue into my eyes as I struggled across the lot toward Palena's door. Walking in, the troubles of work and weather and crap in my eyes no longer seemed relevant. Last night, it was paradise. People say, why do you even ask for the menu? You probably know it by heart in all likelihood. Why yes, I probably do. Why do I keep asking? Because new items keep sneaking into the menu, and I'm the sucker for the cookin'. Started off with a nice bowl of spinach and Vidalia onion soup with kumamoto oysters. If the first word you notice about that description is "onion", you're wrong. The first word you ought to notice is "spinach." What arrived had no resemblance whatsoever to a stereotypical "onion soup" picture one has firmly lodged in one's brain's department responsible for housing stereotypes. It's a creamy pureed spinach concoction with delicious white swirls and two plump oysters lurking near the bottom along with the flan-like bit. The whole effect is so warm and homey and comforting and exactly what I craved that night. You know, that dish was delicate and refined, and I ought to be admiring how cleverly it was conceived and executed, but instead, I'm raving about the taste of comfort and home, and that's a credit to the kitchen that's worthy of many other adjectives. And then the burger came, of which no further tales are necessary. And the cookies? Yes, they made an appearance. Oh, and last night at Palena? Kissyface all around the room. At least four people who post here. At least ten people who read here. At least four people who cook and manage the food that gets written about here. You know who you are. Such a delight to run into y'all again. That's Monday night at Palena. A little happiness for the stomach and the soul to start the week in the right direction.

Mie N Yu???? WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE ARSE???? I can't believe this. Must go gorge self on Palena burger tonight to recover from this massive injustice. Cannot effing believe this. This, as they say in Guyanese parlance, are Events of a Dubious Nature. If I had relatives from the provinces, I would take them to Mie N Yu for a wee tour to impress them with their bathrooms of splendor. But I would not allow them to eat there. Not in the bathroom, not in the dining room. Cheeky bastards. That's why people think we are a cowhick ignorant food town. Because donkeys like MNY are allowed to be known for their food.

Al, they are open till 2 am or whenever, but fear not - the festivities thereafter typically migrate next door to Timberlakes where more naughtiness ensues until 3 am or so. And I don't think you get kicked out of BdC. Unless you insist on them cooking the rice you brought with you.

Ai, mamita. I don't even wanna think about what Saturday night at Le Bureau will be like this time.

Me too! Stop by to say hi, please.

Anyone aspiring to the claim of gastronomical expertise, man-about-town-ness, and simply rocking good time - next time you are in the mood for brunch, please abandon steak and eggs. Flip eggs Benedict a well-trained finger. Leave pancakes to lovers of elastic waists. Instead, head downtown to Latin dim sum brunch at Cafe Atlantico, simply the most sophisticated, refreshing and different gig in town. Not only you will get your Sunday kick-started with great food as opposed to "old, nasty odds and ends" (ref. A. Bourdain, p. xxxx). It will also lend you a reputation of someone "who really know how to live well in Washington." Share the bites of gorgeous food that comes in sizes just enough for two tastings. Get giddy on fruity cocktails. Is there a worthier calling? I don't think so. So, this Sunday morning. Cafe Atlantico. Me and a similarly inclined friend. These were the choices: Duck confit with passion fruit oil. This is a little sister of a dish one gets at dinner. Although three times smaller, it retains the goodness of fatty, fork-tender duck flesh sliding off the bone at the gentlest prod of the said fork. Tuna ceviche with coconut. The spinkling of toasted corn seeds on top gives a totally unexpected twist. Spinach with pumpkin seeds and raisins. Simple but never fails. Comes as a side dish to duck confit at dinner. Mango anchovy raviolis. Hello, food revolution. This is the dish that you may want to use as a platform to showcase the savoir-faire of You Who Knows About Food. Ravioli shells are made of paper-thin mango slices. "What's that white thing inside??", your companion exclaims. "Honestly, darling. That's just anchovy foam. Neat, no??" Oyster with mango-lime oil. Perfectly shucked. Warning: Mango-lime oil is fabulous, but when you lick the shell trying to get the last drop and lacerate your over-enthusiastic tongue on the rough edge of the shell, the resulting scratch may hamper your enjoyment of acidic drinks. You ARE having drinks, right? RIGHT? Jicama–arugula rolls, quinoa, corn, pomegranate & cabrales cheese. Very nice. Conch fritters with a liquid heart. Tastes surprisingly hearty. Seared baby corn with corn puree. Pan dulce with cinnamon syrup. Still miss that French toast at your skanky neighborhood brunch place? Get your fill here in a tiny, very cosmopolitan execution. Oh I could go on and on, especially as lunchtime draws near and I contemplate my choices (SlimFast in vanilla, strawberry or chocolate. All of them, vile beyond belief.) But I always leave Cafe Atlantico with the wistful sense of "I don't come here often enough." Or "I wish I could order four more and have room for it." It's the most delicious, unusual and suave take on this most undemanding meal of the week. The way Cafe Atlantico handles it shows ingenuity, taste and the impossibly languid approach to eating well one doesn't find very often on this side of the Atlantic. Signed, The Rude Euro .

So on Friday night, after a fun drive through Dupont Circle in search of parking, we descended on Hank's. Luckily, both of us belong to the cosmopolitan persuasion that prefers to dine around 9 pm - much more civilized, and no one rushes you off to turn the table. It only took 15 minutes to get seated. Minutes were used to stroll around the block, including five minutes of lingering near Komi's entrance - "see, here is where beautiful people dine. I will take you here if you're lucky - really lucky - later. Much, much later." Motivated by such gentle manipulation and with a look of wistful hunger, we returned to Hank's. The space is tiny - really, really tiny. We had a table ready, but just about that time two seats at the counter angle were vacated, and we plunked our bottoms there - much better to do this when you're next to each other, know what I mean? The lanky gentleman tending the bar is called Don and hails from David Greggory. Say hello next time you're there. Because we had to rock-n-roll in an hour to catch a late show, we skipped the apps and went straight for the main gig. Mine were soft shells and his were scallops, and we also ordered spinach and roasted beets for sides. Oh, and two Rieslings to sip on while we waited. Both plates were of reasonable size - they use Carolina crabs that are somewhat smaller. The scallops were perfect, plump and juicy flesh that's a joy to bite into. The crabs were OK, too, but scallops took the prize that night. The sides were underwhelming - asparagus (instead of spinach. Why?) had too much butter on it, and roasted beets tasted like they came out of a can, and cold to boot, too. I am inclined to be kind to a place that just opened, so I'll hold the judgment and say that I look forward to seeing them develop. Perhaps a longer meal is in order to encourage more appreciation of the place. It is certainly a fine addition to the neighborhood that has too few places where I would consider eating. (Hey - you know who you are - I'll take that bottle off your hands whenever you're ready.)

Question about Hank's: Do y'all think it will be difficult/easy to snag a deuce without a res around 8.30ish tonight? Did it look crazy-busy or somewhat subdued when you were there? We'll be in the area tonight looking to grab something before hitting Improv, and I would dearly love to eat me some oysters.

Sounds good! If I miss the Dreamery, well, I shall be devastated, but that's half a pound of arse less on ice, you know what I'm sayin'? I get out of work at 5, so I can be there even before 6.30.

Hmmm...seing as I logged in enough hours both on Chi-Cha couches (an item of furniture you do NOT want to see in the daylight) and Aqua Ardiente dancefloor, I can't see it as a bad thing. God knows, the Hill has many things, but abundance of style is not one of them.