dinwiddie

Located in downtown Rockville on West Montgomery Ave. (there is also another branch in Fairfax, VA) this is a small unpretentious place. It has been in Washintonian Magazine's list of best restaurants and best bargain restaurants since it opened and rightfully so. Dinner was in a word excellent. We started with two appetizers for the table. The first, Mussels a la Bistro, Prince Edward Island Mussels steamed in its own juices with garlic, shallots, tomatoes, spices, curry leaves and white wine, was to die for. The sauce was so good we couldng wait to get the bread basket to sop it up. The mussels were large, plump, and full of flavor. The second was the Bombay Mini Delights, tiny steamed mini lentil and rice cakes topped with assorted chutneys. Yum. For our entrees I ordered the Whole Maryland Rockfish, a whole fish marinated with yogurt, ginger, garlic, and spices, cooked in the Tandoori oven. My wife had the Tandoori Salmon, marinated in a blend of spices, yogurt, and charcoal grilled in the Tandoori oven. My son ordered the Chicken Tikka Makhani, boneless pieces of chicken cooked in Tandor and finished in a flavorful tomato based gravy. He loved it. We ordered a bread basket (it was huge) to sop up all the juices and to have with the order of Dal Makhani. Two Kingfishers and a Coke rounded out the meal. Total cost for the three of us with tax before tip, $77. Service was excellent, almost courtly. The kitchen is in view and the tables not crowded together. Small (as expected) wine list of no interest. Bottom line, if you like Indian food, this is a great place to eat.

If you enjoy Mexican food, but not Tex-Mex, El Nopalita is a great place to go. It is located in the shopping center on Bel Pre Rd. near Layhill Rd. north of Silver Spring (Aspen Hill) The name comes from the use of the somewhat rare vegetable also known as prickly pear. Appetizers are very good. The chile relleno (my favorite appetizer) is filled with crab meat, shrimp, and served with a creamy salsa fresca. The ceviche is unusually generous and offered on a bed of greens with its lime and chili tang. The quesadillas -- cheese, chicken or beef and grilled veggie, plus a nightly special indulgence of lobster and spinach -- are sliced and starred out on the plate with a small amount of guacamole and sour cream in the center. They are all excellent. I especially enjoyed the camarones al ajillo (sauteed shrimp with garlic, tequila and cilantro) They were not overwhelmed by the garlic, as is too common, or bitter with scorched cloves, but were aromatic and just flavored. I was glad they were served with some bread, since I didn't want to lose any of the sauce. The tamales are true steamed cornmeal packets served in corn husks. The duck with red mole is moist and subtle, while the chicken has a very tasty tomatilla and smoked chipotle cream. It is nice to be able to find really good tamales made properly. But Nopalita's strong point is seafood. While the simply grilled entrees, particularly the beef dishes, can be fairly ordinary, a piece of grilled sea bass topped with sauteed nopalitas and tomatoes was excellent the last time we had it. (Peeled and de-thorned, nopales taste like a cross between bell peppers and green beans, with a little okra and green tomato thrown in.) The Cancun platter, (red snapper, shrimp, clams, mussels and scallops, plus a half-lobster) is superb. The oven cooked rockfish, cooked with cilantro and slices of orange and lime is another good choice. Subtle flavors were not overwhelmed nor was it at all bland. Served piping hot in papiote, when the server cut open the foil the smell of the steam made my mouth water. There are the usual fajitas (carbon, de camaron, or vegetarianas) and soft tacos and enchiladas available, but I go for the seafood. If I have any complaint, it is that the restaurant sometimes seems short-staffed as service is leisurely, even when the dining room is not terribly busy. However, it is friendly, well informed, and everyone seems genuinely interested in making sure you enjoy your meal. Now that we are regulars, and have our favorite server, we are always treated right and the service is first rate.

This place has become a regular for us since we can all find something we like. No wine list to speak of, but the food is very good. Taste of Saigon has some of the best Vietnamese food in the area. Their specialty is a black-pepper sauce that is a perfect combination of spiciness and sweetness and can be served on a variety of meats and seafood (I really like it on the soft-shell crabs.) My wife goes for the soups normally, and my son and I are almost certain to have a steak, especially with the black-pepper sauce. Another favorite is the lime-marinated steak. I have also enjoyed the steamed whole rockfish with black beans and scallions and the venison with curry and coconut sauce. The menu includes over 100 dishes, including a range of noodle dishes and several of French origin. The restaurant is located in the back of an office building on Hungerford Drive (355) but the atmosphere is cozy and elegant. In good weather, you can sit outside in a really nice patio dining area with trees and shrubs that seclude you from the parking lot. Service has always been good and the prices are reasonable.

Sol de Espana is located on Rockville Pike across from the Wintergreen Shopping Center (which has a great Thai restaurant, Benjarong in it) just south of Rt. 28. It has gotten popular, so you probably need a reservation, definitely on Friday or Saturday night. Pretty room, white table cloths, friendly service, and great food. We started with appetizers, which were excellent if small. My son had the Calamares Fritos, light, cooked perfectly and served simply with lemon. My wife had Pimientos Asados, roasted sweet peppers with garlic. I had three wonderful grilled sardines, crispy skin with perfectly flaky flesh, also served simply with lemon. For entrees the boy had a half lobster with scallops and shrimp in a delightful and light tomato based sauce. My wife had Rape Catalana, monk fish, mussels, and shrimp in a frest tomato, saffron, garlic and brandy sauce. I had soft shell crabs in garlic sauce. All were excellent, with the nod for best to the Rape Catalan. We washed it down with a bottle of Marques de Caceres, Rioja 2003. Dry and crisp, with just the right amount of acidity, bright melon flavors with notes of lemon and lime and vanilla from oak. It was clean and fresh and complemented the food perfectly. The wine glasses were the small bowl type however, but we made do. The wine list is large for a Montgomery County restaurant, running about 12 pages. Only complaint, no vintage dates except on the last two pages, the reserve wines. Prices however are very reasonable with lots of choices in the $25-30 range, both red and white. Dinner ended with desserts; orange bread pudding for me, a moist and huge rasberry cake for my wife, and a wonderfully creamy and rich cheesecake for the boy. Coffee for me, latte for my wife, and expersso for the boy to end the meal. They make great coffee and expresso btw. Dinner, wine, tax and tip was about $160 for the three of us.

We occasionally eat at Nova Europa whenever I want a Portugese food fix. They have a coupon in the Weekender fairly often for a three course meal that is a good deal. Our visits here have been hit or miss. I have never had a problem with the food, it has been uniformly good not great, but then I usually stick to things that are seafood or traditional Portugese dishes (I like the pork and clams, even if isn't as good as what I had in Portugal) The service has usually been pretty good, but once or twice it has been slow. The sardine appetizer is wonderful. Not the little sardines from the can; big, plump sardines that have been sauteed and marinated - served with a cover of marinated onions and carrots. Love them. Watch out for the bones though. Grilled calimari is always good (Lulu in Portugese) but then I love calimari in any form. I also like getting a bottle of the Vino Verde as it reminds me of our honeymoon. Bottom line, it is not my favorite place, but it is not off my list either. There are just too many places to eat in the area and DC is so close. We tend to go there two or three times a year for the past 7 or 8 years.

I love dim sum and have been going to Good Fortune and New Fortune ever since Tung Boar closed in Wheaton. I prefer New Fortune, mainly because the place is huge and there are more choices, especially on Sunday. When my son was about five we went to Good Fortune. The person seating us said to him "Oh little boy, you like dim sum? What is your favorite?" When my son responded "Duck feet!", the look on the man's face was priceless. About 5 minutes later, here he came, a serving of duck feet on the tray just for my son. Great duck feet btw. My wife hates duck feet, but my son and I look for it everywhere. Unfortunately, NF seldom has it on the carts when we go. GF on the other hand makes a great version. BTW, Good Fortune is only about a 5 minute walk away from the Wheaton Metro.

I have no problem with the server asking if I want bottled water, I just say that regular water is fine. If they offer specials, I ask what they are priced at. If the menu says market price, I ask what they are going for that day. Anyone who has such low self-esteme, or such an high opinion of himself that he can't ask, shouldn't be out eating dinner with civilized folks anyway. The one time I really got caugh on wine pricing was at a place in Rockville. Upon arriving, the place was not at all full, so I asked for a table as far from the bar (smoke) as possible and thus did not examine the large and exposed (but humidity and temperature controled) wine cabinet that was acting as a wall between the bar and the dining room. Upon looking at the menu, I found that the wine list, while not great, was not at all bad for Montgomery County (meaning just average anywhere else), all American (mostly CA) and Italian. But . . . there were no vintage dates with the list. I asked the waitress which of the CA Cabs that were listed they had available in a '99. She didn't know but went to ask the bartender and asked which one's I was interested in. I named four off the list and she went to check. She returned to say that they didn't have any '99s but there was a '98 KJ Reserve, but that the bartender said the '97s were very good. I perked up a bit and asked which did she have in a '97 as I had not even presumed that there would be anything of that vintage available (I was expecting a lot of '98s and '00 to be truthful). She went to find out and came back and gave me three chioces, two which I had never heard of, and a Signorello Estate Reserve. I said that I would take it. At no time was price discussed, so I'm the sucker in this story. The CA Cabs that were on the list ran from about $28 to $85 (the Signorello wasn't on the list) When the bottle came, she had a very hard time with the cork. She said that it was "soft". She was very careful (she was, I watched)trying to get it just right but the cork broke in the middle. After taking it off the screw, she carefully tried to get the bottom half of the cork. After a minute or two, she decided she had better let the manager do it (I guess in case a decision had to be made to open another bottle). She returned with it after the manager was able to get the last of the cork out without getting it in the wine, and with an offer to replace it with another bottle if I wanted. I said I would taste it and, since it was not "off" and I saw no cork in the bottle, I saw no reason to take them up on the offer. She was very apologetic and obviously embarrased but I assured here that no harm was done and that she shouldn't worry about it. What the heck, I was out on a date with my sweety, without the kid, and under no time pressure to be anywhere, so why should I get upset, the wine was still good. We had a very nice meal, my steak was just the way I asked for it, my wife's pasta shrimp diablo was very good, the wine was very tasty, all was well with the world. Then I did a stupid thing, you long time married guys will know what I mean, I asked my wife if I could be a wine dork for a minute and ask to speak with the wine manager. I wanted to tell him that while I had enjoyed a very nice evening and a good bottle of wine, I really thought that they should list the vintage dates on their wine list. She said no, and then explained that I should have asked, etc. We had that "but dear" discussion - which I of course lost - and I just asked for the check. Then I got the first shock, $135 for the bottle of wine. I gulped a little, then decided that it was my fault, I didn't ask the price, (told the wife it was $100, I'm not that stupid) and paid the bill, left a nice tip since I had made the waitress go thru all kinds of gyrations to get the wine, and left the table.

I loved Tony Burrell's food when he was at Gabriel and he has not lost anything with the move. The only problem I've ever had with Bistro Bis, and this is not a problem that most of you will relate to, is that they limit the corkage to two bottles per table. When four of us get together, we always bring more than two bottles.

I probably spelled it wrong, after all it's been over 30 years since I was there. It meant Wine and Good Beer and was a really funky beer hall along one of the walking streets off the main walking street. I was a college student in those days and it was what I could afford (other than the stands selling the sausages) Lots of long tables, an ompa band, and lots of beer with great sausages. Not a fancy place, but a fondly remembered one from my college years.

I think of it as getting a dollar ( or ten dollars if you make a 1000 point reservation) for every reservation you make using OpenTable. I haven't redeemed any of my points yet but when I get to 5000 I think I will.

Does anyone know if the Vin et Ole Got is still there?

I'm sure he didn't have any trouble finding someone to play the game. When only 200 case of a great wine are imported, there are costs to being able to get some. That's what the market is all about.

Has anyone here ever redeemed their points and used an OpenTable dining cheque?

I think you will be out of luck trying to find a replacement bottle as they only imported about 200 cases. It is too bad that the bottle got cooked as it is a spectacular wine that is just getting ready to drink (and fairly expensive.) If it is in good condition it should be very good, full bodied with the appropriate minerally Chablis flavors with honey and enough acidity to age for years.

I was not at all impressed with Trellis when I was there last. Williamsburg has lots of places to eat that are suitable for children in tow. I second staying away from the Historic area establishments, except if you are willing to pay the money, Shield's Tavern is kind of neat and the older kids will get a kick out of eating in the same place that George Washington, etc. ate. For breakfast, there are several pancake houses around the historic area (where all the hotels that are next to the historic area are.) that are not bad for what they are. If you visit Jamestown, and you should, the Polo Club Restaurant & Tavern (135 Colony Sq) is a good place to have lunch on the way back. Large portions and not expensive, good food (burgers, shrimp, etc.)

I would be very suprised if the waitstaff at Per Se doesn't have to tip out to the back of the house as it is now.

Besides, nothing stops you from adding something as a tip if you wish. In many European countries, a service charge is included in the price. At least they are being upfront and saying what the charge is for. Of course, it is split with the back of the house staff too. Also, in most restaurants, after tipping out, that 20% tip becomes a 13 or 14% tip for the server. What I want to know is whether that 20% is charged on the very expensive wine that is on Per Se's wine list.

Another thing about OpenTable. I'm set up as an "Administrative Professional" which means I can make reservations for others, and I get the points. The folks here at work often come and ask me to make them reservations and when we have out of towners here for conferences, training, etc. I can make reservations for them.

Threads have a tendancy to do that, what with someone responding to what someone else said. But you are going to have to put up with it unless you want to become like Jim Leff and the rest of the Chowhound Team.

Another thing I love about opentable.com, I travel a good deal and I can book reservations in SF, Chicago, NY, etc. from my computer at home before I leave and know I have one confirmed. It is much easier than trying to make a reservation when I get to wherever I'm traveling. I don't know how many times I've booked a table at a restaurant in SF that the others in my group would love to go to but couldn't get in because they called the night before or of when they wanted to go.

I love OpenTable.com. Once I made a reservation using it and at 4pm realized that I had made the reservation for the wrong (following) night. I went to the site, canceled my reservation and make one for 7:30 that night. When I got to the restaurant I found out it was Prom Night and they were telling folks that there was a hour and a half wait. We went to the desk, gave our name and were told, Yes we have your reservation, follow me. We were shown to our table right then.

johnb makes a good point about dining out in Manhattan. There are several reasons that places like Las Vegas are great restaurant towns, the formost being that there are so many visitors. But DC gets them too, if not as much as LV. DC is definitely an ethnic restaurant kind of place. That's why the tired old joke that you can always tell where there is trouble in the third world, they are opening restaurants in Adams-Morgan. We have large populations of Salvadorians, Ethiopians, and Thais and their cusines are ubiquitous here in DC, though mainly in the suburbs in the case of Thai and Salvadorian restaurants. Also large populations of Vietnamese, Koreans, etc. One of the things going aginst DC is the perception that the people here are transatory, staying for 2-4 years and then gone. We know that there are lots of folks like that, but it is not true for the most part. I've lived here over 20 years, not counting the years I lived here when I was a teenager in the 60's. But the fact of the matter is DC has a plethora of fine dining establishments, and many of them are world class (I don't need to list them.) We have as varied a menu of ethnic restaurants as you will find anywhere except maybe NY and we might give that city a run for its money too. What we don't have is a "City Dish" like a Philly cheesesteak or a Chicago pizza. (I refuse to call a half smoke the city dish) Regionally we have crabcakes and blue crabs, but that is not a DC speciality. Joe is also right that the city does not publicize its restaurants the way other cities do. We should, the most important people in the world come here, the median income is very high, we get lots of visitors every year from not just the US but the world. We have something for everyone, not jus the world class (and free) museums and monuments, but a vibrant educational scene, a world class arts scene, and great eats. Don't let anyone get away with saying the DC is not a world class destination for dining, because it is, regardless what some of those know-nothings on chowhound have to say.

I for one am delighted that JoeH has decided to come to this board. I always read what he wrote on chowhound and looked forward to his posts. I did not agree with him on a lot of things, but one area in which we are definitely in agreement is that DC is a great dining town. Joe definitely excited comment by posters on chowhound and egullet. And in fact, he was occasionally the topic of comments on vinocellar.com and the Wine Spectator forums that deal with dining. Anybody who read his posts on a regular basis had an opinion about him, I never met anyone who was neutral in their opinion either. I would also add that he definitely likes wine, so I would be glad to invite him to join the DC Crü for a dinner sometime. (Boy wouldn't that be interesting considering the opinion some of the Crü have of him?)

You are right, I did leave Komi off the list. Sorry, that was the one when I was on vacation. I remember that everyone said they had a great time. And TJ, I wrote that list before you told me how to make ü.

We've had a couple of DC Crü dinners at the Caucus Room. The wine service has always been first rate. At the first dinner Rachel was our wine service person and she was perfect. She provided fresh glasses with each bottle of wine, made sure that the first taste (to check if the wine was corked) was done by the person who brought that particular bottle, and made everything look easy. Considering that we opened 9 bottles of wine that night, it was quite a feat to keep everything going so well.