On the Waterfront

Actually, the store in Idylwood Plaza (where the Whole Foods is located) closed years ago and moved to the location by the Famous Dave's. My youngest nephew worked at that location three summers ago. We usually get a ham during the Thanksgiving season, but found the one we got last year disappointing. It was mostly bone and had very little glaze. I'm not in a hurry to get another one.

I spied the BobChon logo in a storefront window at Half and K Streets SE last week. Sign seemed to indicate a Spring 2015 opening.

I would think that Alexandria Pastry Shop would be the bigger competition for The Fresh Market than Bagel Bakery.

My family used to love Carlyle and we went there frequently. That changed several years ago for mainly two reasons. First, the salt in their food increased to an unbearable level for us. We don't tend to like the taste of that much salt and it is a health concern for us. Secondly, the menu became boring. In the past, Carlyle changed their menu seasonally. Yes, you would experience some initial disappointment that something you had liked wasn't on the menu any longer, but you usually found something new to love. For the past few years, it's the same menu each time you go and it's boring. Having said that, this past year, we have gone there a few times and have found by ordering simply, we've been able to enjoy our meals. My dad and I tend to order either the filet with any sauces on the side and those smoked mushrooms left off. The filets themselves are seasoned perfectly and the sodium culprits we can use sparingly. They also have had grilled rockfish as their fish of the day and this has also been good. I doubt Carlyle will ever be a restaurant that we will want to go often, but once every couple of months yes.

The university hospital has two pay lots. One is at the front of the hospital at the Georgia Avenue entrance. Closer to the Stokes library is the Towers lot at the rear of the hospital. That entrance is on 5th Street near W Street. There is valet parking at each lot which is probably useful since the lots are often full otherwise. You can't miss the library from the Towers lot. I'm pretty certain there are no other pay lots around there. I hope this helps. I am sorry for your loss. Lisa

I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a few weeks prior to my 24th birthday. That was 28 years ago. I was lucky that Sloan Kettering shared their treatment with my treatment team here. It was brutal, but had I been diagnosed 5-10 years earlier, I would have had few options. Thank you for posting about this Gala. Had it not been for others' generosity in the past, I would likely not be here. I will be donating to this event. It seems somehow inadequate, Don, but I am so sorry for your loss.

I don't know whether by local you mean within DC only, but Shoppers Food Warehouse in Potomac Yards has D&W hotdogs as of two days ago. They have both the natural casing dogs and the "NY style" dogs.

Here's the link to one of our local blogs with info about the market and other activities at 700 Water St SW. My neighbors and I are hoping that this will not be another letdown. http://southwestquadrant.blogspot.com/2011/05/7th-street-landing-schedule-for-june.html

I must say that we have been going to the Tysons Galleria LSF for years and have never had any problems with our meals. My father has allergies to crustaceans and each time we go, we let the server know this. Not only do they acknowledge said allergy, most of the time the chef comes out of the kitchen to speak directly to my father about his specific allergy and to assure him that his fish will be cooked in isolated area. There has never been a problem and it was one of the restaurants he sought out during his chemotherapy (which is significant, if you know anything about what chemo does to appetite and tastebuds). Our service is always efficient and friendly and the food is good. I'm not saying that a person couldn't have a bad meal there, but perhaps, just perhaps, that was an isolated bad experience.

I did all of my medical training at Howard and I know there is no internal courtyard. Of course, I don't recall calling the area on Georgia Avenue a courtyard either. The only other place that comes to mind is a large patio off of the cafeteria on the 2nd floor, but I would hope that the press release would indicate that. I cannot picture the front plaza of the hospital as a market. It's already a parking and traffic nightmare. My suggestion would be to contact the phone number they provide in the press release and get more information. Sorry I can't be of more assistance.

I usually find salt cod at Giant. I think I've found it at the Giant in the Blair shops in SS, but I definitely have gotten it at the Giant at Baileys Crossroads in Falls Church. Nothing gourmet or fancy, but those aren't terms I associate with salt cod.

Me: "So, Dad. Your bone marrow's clean, your CT scans are clear and your cardiac tests are normal. What are you going to do now?" Dad: "I'm going to Disney World!" Okay, it was more along the lines of, "Let's pick up your mom and go get something to eat." Then he says something about Chart House. Now, Chart House is a perfectly fine restaurant, but if I find myself at that place one more time, there will be a scene akin to the "no more wire hangers" scene in Mommie Dearest--only much, much worse. So, I entice them with a trip to Eastern Market. Should've known it was way too easy to find parking. Oops, closed on Mondays. So we head back down 8th Street to see what was open at 3 pm. Belga Cafe beckons and we decide to try it. Good decision. Only a few patrons there at the time and so it was quiet and the servers weren't busy. My parents had Palm beer which I think was imported from Belgium. For starters, my mom had the chilled avocado soup with crab, which she said was delicious. Dad had the Salade Roulade which was romaine heart with goat and bleu cheese. He raved about it and wanted to lick his plate. I had the Kazen Kroketten which were also quite good. For entrees, mom had the 5 pepper crusted hanger steak and frites. She really enjoyed it and I thought it tasted okay, but I don't like pepper-crusted anything. Dad had the herb-crusted halibut. He proclaimed it excellent, but we didn't taste it, cause he does not share. I had the flemish beef stew with frites and red cabbage. The flavor and texture of the beef was perfect. The frites were also good and worth the extra insulin I had to take for them. The flavor of the cabbage was good, but I prefer my vegetables on the less cooked side. We were all too full for dessert. Plus, if I have to choose between frites and dessert, I'd probably go with the frites. We enjoyed our first trip to Belga Cafe and will definitely return. Clearly 3 pm isn't a time that most people would go, but my parents are 76 and 80 and definitely in that late lunch/early dinner mindset- so it works for us.

Hi Golden Ticket- Most West Indian/Caribbean restaurants in this area seem to be Jamaican rather than Trinidadian. There is Teddy's Roti Shop on Georgia Avenue near Walter Reed that appears to have doubles on their menu, but I've never had them and neither have my parents. That said, Teddy's is probably the restaurant we go to for our roti cravings, as well as some of their other traditional Trini meals when we don't feel like cooking it ourselves. Further south on Georgia Avenue (near Howard Univ) is Rita's Carryout. Rita's used to be our go-to place, but in recent years not so much. Went there about a year ago for stewed chicken and was really disappointed in it. Could have been a bad day, but it was not an adequate substitute for my own cooking. There is The Islander on Florida Avenue near Howard, but I haven't eaten there and I haven't heard good things about it. I wish I could be more helpful, but I rarely go out for Trinidadian food since I prefer to cook it myself and control the salt. I will put out some feelers to some other Trini friends who may have better information. Of course now I'm craving stewed chicken so I guess that will be Sunday dinner. Lisa

Okay, Don- I said I would introduce myself a month ago so here goes: After lurking for a few years, I registered about 18 months ago fully planning to participate. Unfortunately life interrupted my plans when my father was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. Between the search to find the best treatment options for him and the concurrent urgent need for my mother to have a shoulder replacement and his chemotherapy last fall and winter, posting here became impossible. So here I am feeling guilty because this group helped me so much this past year with all of the advice about restaurants which I used to take my parents to places they would enjoy just to take our minds off of everything. I offer my belated and heartfelt thanks to dr.com community. As for me, I have lived in DC for 48 of my almost 50 years -- 42 of those years here on the SW waterfront. Yes, I know: dining wasteland, but how many people here can say they ever dined at The Place Where Louie Dwells? I would not call myself an adventurous eater, but being half Trinidadian, I am open to more than just meat and potatoes. I don't know if I will post often, but I am here lurking and enjoying.

I can't help with the gyro meat, but I have been successful in finding natural casing Nathans at Shoppers Food Warehouses (Potomac Yards and Seven Corners). I haven't looked lately, but have bought them there sometime in the past year. I also have found them at the Waterside Mall Safeway. I definitely bought some there a couple of months ago, but with the opening of the Jenkins Row HT, I rarely find reason to walk the block to this miserable specimen of a grocery store. In other words, try your local SFW or Safeway--they may have them or be willing to get them.