hopsing

I was there a month ago with a friend of mine. Had a "veggie sampler" with beef with berbere sauce. Really underwhelmed. Beef very chewy. Don't need to go back here again.

I second the chicken parmesan at A La Lucia. Much as I would like to try other things on their menu, I can't help but to order the chicken parmesan once again. It is juicy, not dry, and reminiscent of all the great chicken parmesans I had growing up in Brooklyn. It is a big piece and I end up making a sandwich out of the leftovers.

I was there for the first time a couple of weeks ago for Sunday brunch and a nicer set of waitstaff I have never met. I'm not pooh-poohing the complaint above, but perhaps it is a 1-off incident. I thought the brunch (veggie omelet/bubble and squeak/toast) was pretty good and filling. French press coffee was good too.

I don't often dine alone but I did about a year ago at Jackson 20 in Old Town on a busy Saturday night. The hostess, Jane, brought magazines over for me to read. She also chatted some with me, I guess to ease the discomfort of being alone. I didn’t feel uncomfortable but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless. The waiter was also nice and friendly. Overall, I had a good experience as a solo diner and the food was good too!

I used to work across the street from Indian Ocean, and tag team between Indian Ocean and Delhi Dhaba when I wanted Indian. Both were mediocre, but not many lunch choices around. One time, some years back, I had such a bad meal at Indian Ocean I never went back and only went to Delhi Dhaba until that closed down...until last November when some colleagues wanted to take me out to lunch at Indian Ocean. Well, I couldn't refuse. It turned out to be delicious! I don't know when the turnaround came, but I guess also too little too late.

Their beignets are terrific. That combined with the French press coffee and you have my dream breakfast.

My understanding is that Vic retired some years ago and left the restaurant in the hands of Koreans who were trained to make his recipes. I went there maybe 6 months after he left and the food was still good. Haven't really been there recently but it is still open.

I guess I'm just piling on, but my colleague and I had an awful meal a couple of weeks ago at the CP location. I had the lobster roll. Not much lobster and what there was didn't even have a lobster taste. My friend had coleslaw that was sort of algae-colored. He ate some of it and declared it inedible. The hushpuppies tasted like sawdust. The only decent-tasting item was the french fries. We agreed that we would never return.

I miss:

• Speedy Gonzalez in Ballston - I've never had as good an empanada since
  
• Roma in Cleveland Park - great pizza and nice outdoor eating area with grape vines
  
• Aegean Taverna in Clarendon - food wasn't great but sit outside on a Saturday night amidst the grape vines and listening to a live Greek band, you felt transported to Santorini.
  
• Sette Bello in Clarendon - I don't know why this place didn't get the love. Their seafood linguini was aces.
  
• Scholl's Cafeteria on K Street -- solid go-to place for wholesome food. Great pies!
  
• Omega in Adams Morgan -- morsels of pork, how I miss you.
  
• Le Pied de Cochon in Georgetown - place to go for white wine and onion soup
  
• Ruby Restaurant in Chinatown - old style Cantonese restaurant, the kind I grew up with
  

I just walked by this morning. Sign says it is closed and the place is for lease.

I read a rumor that this place might now be closed. Does anybody now for sure?

Does any other place have whole sardines?

I just had dinner at Bastille in North Old Town yesterday and this is from their menu although I did not choose it: "Sardines grillée, ragout d’olives, ratatouille, huile infusee au basilic which means Grilled whole sardines, olives and capers compote, ratatouille style vegetables, basil oil"

I walked by the Georgetown Tackle Box yesterday. There was a sign saying it would reopen Sept. 15th. No announcement for Hook, however.

I just tried calling. No one answers the phone.

I ate here last winter and was impressed with the bar menu, especially the fried green tomatoes and the shrimp fritters. I do mean to return. I like the idea of the $20 wines. The extreme markup on wines at other restaurants really damages my wallet.

I read your review (very interesting by the way) and now am curious as to what you saw in the kitchen that caused you to mutter?

FWIW

I plan to come to the restaurant after work with a party of 4. This will be a weekday, but not Friday. Anybody have an estimate of how late you can go before needing to wait on line? Is it 6 or 6:30 or 7? I know nobody knows for sure but if you have an idea, please let me know so I can plan accordingly. Thx.

A fairly recent addition to the NoMa/Union Station area is a new outpost of Phillips Café that has raised the sandwich quality well above where it has been before. While I would have agreed with AllisonW’s comments based on visits to the F St. location, the new one at the corner of 1st and K Streets NE produces a much better sandwich, and far more consistent than what I have gotten from Toscana Café.

They serve a delicious house roasted brisket that has just the right amount of warm fat to season the bread, but not so much as to make it soggy. The other meats are also cooked in house and carved as you order.

A worker at Mike's Cafe near Ballston said it was part of the Phillips group. However, I haven't seen fresh brisket at Mike's although that would be a welcome addition to the fresh roasted turkey.

I was disappointed with my first burger because I was used to the char from yummy BGR burgers. But subsequent times, I've come to like it. It is a bit bland, but I feel it sits in my stomach better and seems healthier for me (even though it may not be). I get blue cheese instead of cheddar and that helps cover up the blandness. The other big plus is that they sell Mexican (real sugar) coke.

I am also a big fan of Mike's Cafe. I always get their roast turkey sandwich. They slice it right off a real turkey! Plus you can put cranberry sauce on the sandwich. It's like having Thanksgiving leftovers whenever you want. The staff is really friendly too. The only thing I wish they would do is improve their ventilation. When you leave the place, your clothes smell like food due to the cheesesteak sandwiches they fry up.

We went to the new cafe for the first time for lunch. We both had burgers. I asked mine to be medium to medium-well. It came out well done. The bun was burnt. Still, the burger tasted good and I didn't complain to the waitress. My friend ordered his burger medium rare and that is how it came out. The fries were good. I love the real sugar coke also. It's pricey for lunch but I'll be back-- but I'm going to ask for my burger medium to be on the safe side.

My sister-in-law was having a Mardi Gras birthday party last week and asked me to bring a sack of beignets from Bayou Bakery. I have to say that they were heavenly. I kept thinking about them for days afterwards. Her brother-in-law claimed they weren't authentic because they should have more air in them, but I didn't care if they were authentic or not--they were great. Sort of like the best jelly donut you ever had except there was no jelly.

Overall, I wished there was a little more brightness to the flavors in the dishes I chose, but I also feel that I probably didn't order particularly well tonight. It's close to the office and I'm sure I'll be back. There's a lot to like, and next time I'll go with one of the house-made pastas.

I'm a big fan. If you go again, I recommend the mussels appetizer, the fritto misto (calamari, shrimp, veggies all fried up), chicken parmesan, pasta (I think black ink) with seafood. If they have the lemon ricotta cheesecake, that is delicious too.

I guess I'm in the minority plus I live in Arlington where we have lots of chains and mom-and-pops, but I like Vapiano's (the one in Ballston). I think their pizza is very good and their concept clever. At least it isn't a Sbarros because then I would agree with you.

Does Lavandou still have free corkage on Mondays?

The other glaring omission on the above list is Ray's the Steaks where Mark Slater offers a number of excellent choices at bargain prices.

My dream come true would be if other restaurants followed Mark Slater's philosophy of selling good wine at good prices in restaurants.

Great thread idea. I also chafe at exorbitant wine prices.

Argia's: Monday Evenings 1/2 priced bottles of wine - All bottles on the wine list are half off.

A La Lucia: Every Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday Save 25% off any bottle when you dine in for Dinner!

Grand Cru: They also have a wine store where you can buy a bottle of wine. There is a $12 on premise service fee for opening bottles *For Members, service fee is $7 for bottles under $20, and $5 for bottles over $20.