Walrus

I will always have a soft spot for Sequoia because it's where Tripewriter and I went for one of our first dates The view was great, I was too entranced by him to pay too close attention to the food, and it was just a lovely spot to dine with a new sweetie

D'oh! Well, at least my post was more detailed -- though it does tickle me to be referred to as "the missus"

A broken leg and an empty pocketbook have been keeping us at home since mid-February with just a few exceptions -- Dino for the boar, once to Eamonn's, once to Lickety Split, Rasika to celebrate with friends -- but all was not in vain. My parents are coming to town this week, and we will be blowing every penny we've saved by not going out on...going out I won't possibly be able to report on all our dining experiences here, but in the spirit of the thread, we'll be eating at Eve for Tripewriter's birthday dinner, followed hopefully by the Px (we've warned the rents that they may want to nap that afternoon!), then unfortunately Mrs. K's Toll House (a special request by my uncle -- who doesn't like anything. Period. So how could we refuse?) for a miniature family reunion, followed by The Majestic for Sunday dinner -- yay!, then Monday it'll be Eamonn's (do you have any idea how hard it has been to stay away from Eamonn's this long in anticipation of our visit with them?!), and dinner at Proof -- parents' treat! Tuesday we're finishing their trip with a bang with a visit to the Mendocino Grille (see above note about Eamonn's). I simply cannot wait. My mouth has been watering for over a month in anticipation of this visit! This must be what it's like to be DonRocks

I thought we'd posted about this, but perhaps we all just thought the others had, and nobody actually did. We went to Rasika Wednesday, March 26, and had a lovely time. I'm still in a leg cast, though walking around some (and hopefully no cast by Friday! Yay!), so they seated us as close as they could to the door -- it was a nice gesture that I appreciated. We started with four or five appetizers, including the water chestnuts, which were slightly odd but delicious, and the ragda potatoes, as well as the lentil dumplings and -- of course -- palak chaat. Yum. We also had the chutney selection and two bread plates. I had the Lobster Moilee. The lobster was a meh for me -- giant pieces, but not quite right (chewy and fishy and impossible to cut -- seriously). The sauce, however, was AMAZING. Let me repeat that: AMAZING!!! I had it with the lemon cashew rice, which I adore, and it was fabulous. I wish that I could just eat that rice and the lobster sauce for every dinner. Tripewriter had my second favorite dish -- the bison chili roast. It was lovely -- tender and spicy. Our friends had the Bengal Fish Curry and the lamb, both of which were good, but none of which (in my opinion) came close to that lobster sauce/lemon cashew rice combo. We each had an opening drink, and then two of us had beer with dinner. The four of us split a gulab jamun, and we all had leftovers. The grand total for this affair? Pretax, $229. Why do we not go there more?!

Another fabulous meal at Osteria last night -- I never thought of myself as a fan of rustic cooking (French, Spanish, Italian, etc. -- none of it appealed) until I found this restaurant. I just love the food there. Ok, it was a little hard watching Tripewriter dissect his whole fish in front of me, with the beast's mournful eye staring right at me, but luckily I was entranced by both my delicate, moist, flavorful oven-baked skate and this fabulous side dish -- borlotti bean schiacciata with rosemary and garlic. We also had the squash pizza again -- I just love the butternut squash pizza sauce! I haven't seen it anywhere else, and I think it's a fabulous idea. Oh, and we each had ravioli -- his sweet, mine savory -- just divine, as always. Vetri's pasta dishes are so delicate and refined -- they just melt on the tongue! Both Osteria and Vetri are reasons I'd want to live in Philly.

Now that's a difficult question. I love both restaurants! I will say that I have had consistently great meals at Mendocino Grille, but that the one meal I had at Blue Hill was possibly the best meal I've ever had. My guess would be, though, that because (I think) you live down here in DC, eating at Blue Hill would be part of a larger experience and simply because of that fact would be more exciting than even a fabulous dinner in your home town. Plus, if you'll be down here after your "month or so" -- that is, when your finances have recouped to the point that another good meal is possible -- then start with Blue Hill, but do them both!

Same with me! As it is, I just have to drown my sorrows at Eammon's

Went to Eve today for Lickety Split, in theory in celebration of my getting a walking cast, but as it turns out in actuality as a means of getting me through the next THREE TO FOUR weeks of castage. Sigh. At least I'm able to start putting weight on it today, and the doc said it looked good. Started with nettle soup, which made Tripewriter finally admit that spring is here. Then moved on to my eternal favorite, the Irish BLT. They used a softer bread and grilled it less, which I wasn't sure about at first, but it cradled the meat and other fillings beautifully and gave the sandwich's natural juices somewhere to go other than all over me and my plate. This is a good thing, and the sandwich was the best I've had in recent memory. Cake for dessert, and now I'm comatose, but in a good way! They have a fancy beer on tap -- something Rouge -- which was a beautiful, fruity, rich beer. It was perfect with Tripewriter's cheese plate, though I honestly don't think that I could have finished a pint on my own. Ingrid is the new daytime barkeep, and she's doing the Eve team proud -- friendly, relaxed, charming, and entirely personable!

We often give places two chances, unless it was laughably horrible, but if there's still no "wow" during the second meal, then we'll be done...this is why Citronelle is off my list. Our first meal there, we had excellent and charming service, but the food was...fine. The second time, the food was...fine...and the service was...fine. Not openly hostile by any means, but certainly not friendly. Neither time did the food meet the level I would have expected for the price we paid. And the decor is just wrong. Add in impersonal and severe service, and you're left with the only thing you remember from the experience being the happily intoxicated birthday boy sloooooowly sliding down his chair until he was almost prone -- the rest of his table didn't seem to even notice!

I definitely wouldn't say that I'm anti-EB...but it has definitely, noticeably, sadly fallen off from their early days. It's still possible to get a great meal there, but you have to be lucky. Anyone who's read this thread has to understand how much it pains me to say this

How does the US version differ? I had a fun experience there in London many, many years ago...

We've done almost nothing but order in for about a month. It sucks, even when the food's good. We did finally remember that we own Mr. Bento, so for two days running I've had a hot lunch in the office. Sunday was Delhi Dhaba because they only serve Bel Puri on the weekends. This weekend they served it with...Rice Krispies. No joke! Monday night was Liberty Tavern take-out, but the lobster pie wasn't nearly as good as the first time I had it -- the intent was there, but the lobster meat was lame. Even the cat wouldn't eat it. Yesterday lunch was leftover Indian food -- Dal Makhni, my fav. Last night was Old Glory -- better than you'd think, really, and an astounding amount of food. Lunch today was leftovers. I have no idea what dinner tonight will be. I'm going cuckoo with this hopping on one leg thing...praying I get to start walking on it on Friday...

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Man, those cupcakes were divine!!!

Next time we should take home the boar chop bones and toss them in the door to appease the beasts. Then again, what's a finger here and there if it means getting dinner at Dino?

We were fortunate enough to have friends volunteer to pick up an order at Liberty To Go last night. Delicious! I had the lobster pie for the first -- but emphatically not the last -- time. Creamy, buttery, slightly spicy. It was total comfort food.

You could also go somewhere that doesn't require advance reservations, such as Cork or Ray's the Steaks.

We had a lovely night at Proof yesterday. Unfortunately, I'm not remembering names of dishes very well, so I'm going to have to go off descriptions. First, I broke my leg in two places on Valentines Day (whee!), and yesterday was my first nondoctor outing since. This, of course, means that every single member of this board should start posting three times a day so that I have enough to read while trapped indoors. We started off at a good Caps game (good even though we lost to the Devils, 1-2 ) and then headed over to Proof for dinner. We had a vegetarian friend with us and were worried that he might not have enough options, but he ended up being the only one to take food home, so I think it went well We started with the charcuterie board. The one disappointment was that they weren't willing to make it a combination of meats and cheeses, so we ended up with a lot of meat for two of us and a separate portion of cheeses for him (for more $, of course). The meats were lovely, if not as spectacular as my memory had them, and for me the absolute highlight of the board was the chicken liver. Ooooh, it was good, particularly paired with the great grilled bread. I don't know what Proof and the Mendocino Grille do to their breads before they serve them, but EVERYONE should do it! Tripewriter had an aviation cocktail and I had the temporanillo. Both were nice. Next Tripewriter had the endive salad and finished off every little piece. I had the dish with the Italian name that nobody at our table recognized (and I can't remember, though it started with a "p," I think). It was something like a roti with cheese and salad and prosciutto on top. Having just finished a giant platter of meat, I found myself sincerely wishing that there were more greens and less meat (!). I didn't think that I would make it through the whole thing, though it wasn't large, but I did. Somehow. It was delicious, which helped Next our guest had the gnocchi, which he 1) didn't share and 2) left unguarded at the table while he excused himself with nose issues. We were both sorely tempted to partake in his absence but managed to restrain ourselves...barely... I had the scallops, and see above for a better description than I could give, with the exception that I just loved -- loved! -- the greens. They were fabulous. Tripewriter had the 5-spice duck, of which he gave me a piece, and it was lovely (though I was still glad that I'd ordered the scallops). Our guest and I were too, too full for dessert, so Tripewriter was on his own with a trio of sorbetti. He seemed to enjoy them and didn't once offer to share Our wine, chosen by me because it's a particular favorite of Tripewriter's, and I can't find it to buy anywhere but at Proof, was the Westry Shea '03. Delicious. Thanks for Proof for a good night out and to the other patrons for not being grossed out by my having my leg up on the booth (on Tripewriter's coat, bien sur). I hope that my hot pink cast made it a little less traumatizing PS: Any idea how often the menu changes? We noticed a number of items that were carry-overs from the last time we dined there. My parents would like to check Proof out when they visit in April, and I just was hoping that there might be new fabulous menu items. If the menu is static, we may switch to Rasika instead...

The Mendocino Grille has as yet not failed to amaze us.

Now this is enough to make me give the place a second chance!

Not to be Darth Walrus, but I don't really have a problem with holding seats (within reason). If Tripewriter is doing the gentlemanly thing and letting me out at the restaurant while he scours the area for a parking space, I have no compunction about saving a seat for him. I don't think I'd do it for any size group, though (perhaps saving two other chairs if Tripewriter and I are the first ones there and are being joined by one other couple?). I also take seats at Eammon's while Tripewriter orders (or vice versa).

Baked and Wired, in my experience, seems to run out of product fairly early in the day...

Mmm. Tater tots (baked -- I've never even thought of frying them until I read this thread!!!) with ketchup. And toaster hash browns, plain. Then again, Tripewriter thinks that I'm funny because when my stomach hurts or I'm nauseated (it happens mostly on road trips...damn migraines), greasy potatoes fix me. The instacure for my carsickness is McDonald's hash browns or their fries (hot, of course). Can't think of anything else that soothes the tummy quite like it...

We saw this happen in the airport -- some lady was changing her baby, without a pad, on the seats at the gate as the flight was boarding. She even put the dirty diaper on the seat until she was ready to toss it. I felt sorry for the two girls who sat there next! I don't have children, but I'd like to think that I'd at least do it in the space behind the counter wall with the flight info on it, and use a pad, and maybe even wash my hands!!!

I dare anyone to what Eammon's does better than they do it! Today, juicy chicken with crispy outer coating dipped in curry sauce, accompanied by perfect (for me) fries that were crisp -- but not hard -- on the outside but fluffy like a potato pillow on the inside, dipped in divine Fronch. Only problem now is that I'm full and sleepy and it's only 3:12 pm. Sigh. Good thing I washed it all down with caffeine! (Was that my arteries grinding to a halt? Nahhh...) Bad news is that Ted's leaving us to go back to school. Good for him, sux for us. Hopefully he'll come back and start an empire of his own Good luck, Ted! (PS: Hey, Don, I posted -- feel better? )

I'm starting to feel a little single-minded, focusing as much as I do on the Mendocino Grille, but to be brutally honest, we have yet to find even the smallest thing that hasn't been outstanding, from the food to the service to the wine pairings to the price, it's all a wow for me! We had another amazing meal here last night. We began with an amuse bouche of duck mousse over housemade crostini. One of my favorite dishes ever. I know it was small, I know it was simple, but it was delicious. I told Tripewriter that I'd give up junk food for a year if only I could have more mousse! The only problem I had again last night was my own, in which I swear that I heard things that were later proven to be wrong. So I thought it was rabbit mousse. Either way, it was divine. Next we had a pork head cheese with pickled vegetables. In this case, the vegetable was my arch enemy, the carrot. However, it was delicious -- it had a curry flavor to it that Chef Koslow later confirmed was a result of cumin in the pickling process. Next was a very Mondrian-esque hamachi tartare, in which I swore I tasted celery but in which there was, in fact, no celery and nothing even remotely similar in flavor. The hamachi was accompanied by a sesame tuille, avocado mousse, and little cubes of a great yuzu gelee. It was all presented in squares and rectangles on the plate -- very clean lines for a nice clean dish with pure, clean flavors. Next was Tripewriter's favorite dish of the night -- a sweet potato ravioli with braised escarole and smoky bacon. It had a great flavor with many different layers -- some spicy pecans topped it off, and every bite was happiness. Next we had what was probably my favorite dish of the night, duck mousse notwithstanding -- a boudin blanc with beluga beans and red grapes. Nicole paired it with a Freeman Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast, and it was all delicious. One thing that we in particular enjoy at MG is the size of the dishes -- enough to satisfy you and perhaps leave you wanting more, but not so much that you're overwhelmed. With this dish in particular it would have been easy to overdo it and overwhelm the diners, but the kitchen made it the perfect size. Next was an olive oil poached striped bass with braised fennel, saffron clam broth, and mussels. Not being a huge mussel person, I ate one and gave the other to Tripewriter, who wolfed it down gleefully. The next dish was a nice nod to winter -- a lamb ossobucco with creamy polenta, rapini, cippolini onions, and sugarsnak carrots. I again actually enjoyed the carrots -- I guess that I should stop being surprised that restaurants of this caliber can make them taste like that, but I have hated them for my entire life, so it's still a shock every time I enjoy them. The lamb was beautiful -- it literally (and as an editor I can say this) fell off the bone. I poked it with my fork, and it just...fell. It was delicious. We had the cheese plate next, with the beer tasting. Nicole pairs the blues with a stout, and it really, really works. Try it at home! For dessert, we had a lovely little creme brulee napolean, the pieces of which you could (and I did) just pick up and eat as if they were s'mores. Again I went temporarily insane here, because I clearly remembered it coming with ginger sorbet, but it was later shown to have been a coconut-lemongrass sorbet. Or so they say! My favorite of the two desserts is not, sadly, on the menu because of space constraints in the kitchen, but was a housemade French toast with cinnamon ice cream. Divine!!! We left happy, full, toasty, and slightly toasted We'll be back! PS: I forgot to mention! When our server -- Melissa, I believe -- heard how much I loved (loved!) the mousse, she brought us more -- hooray!