giant shrimp

our waiter was somewhat apologetic when he recommended the tomato tart with basil gelato for dessert, saying that it sounds weird to some people but it's really not. he didn't steer us wrong, but i had been hoping for a bolder tomato adventure. the marmalade is slightly chewy, like candy, and the tomato flavor is mild, with a hint of honey that is actually sugar. if there is cinammon in this, it morphs into something else. watermelon granita was loose, a bit too diluted, though an acceptable alternative to end a meal. (the best granita i have ever had was an experesso version at zuni cafe in san francisco that is layered with cream and turns syrupy and dense as it melts.) prosciutto with cantaloupe, small tomato ravioli and a risotto smoky with mozzarella and sweetened by two thin slices of fig and a dribble or two of vinegar were the highlights of our meal. pork medallions were sausage accompanied by spinach and delicious scalloped potatoes. add eggs, and this would be great food for breakfast at the italian diner of your dreams. we had sort of forgotten about tosca over the past several months, so it was good on our return to find it thriving and in top form. the dining room is a bit staged, reminiscent of what you might see in a typical 30s hollywood movie with dick powell or myrna loy trading wisecracks with the waiter, without the dancing. the servers here are polished; knowledgeable and serious about the food; and one, at least, is a born entertainer. the menu is far too extensive to adequately explore in one meal, and we received an invitation to return on monday. dinner for two was $220, but there is a pre-theatre menu. the couple at the table next to us looked like they were coming in at about half that cost; two tables away they were going for double.

it may not be the best reason for buying wine, but i am looking for bonny doon wine with gary taxali labels. has anyone seen them around here? they're available on the web site, but last time i looked they wouldn't ship to dc. i guess there is some legal impediment to shipping here? we used to order from afton vineyards coming down the mountain to charlottesville, but they stopped a few years ago.

there will never be another dive in washington to match ellen's irish bub, benbows, on connecticut at r street, which specialized in watered down pitchers of beer. my wife used to go here to dance with one-armed men, and visitors to town were politiely horrified when i brought them into this dark lair, decorated with hand-painted stars on the ceiling. i believe there was a "suicide" on the premises by a patron attempting to prove that his gun was not loaded. nicholas von hoffman was a regular and i remember seeing jodie powell at least once. i suppose this place has been mostly forgotten, but it was one of dupont circle's social centers in 1960s and 70s, when that area functioned more like a village and cantina d'italia near m was the best italian restaurant in your life.

i assume this means we will no longer get a weekly fix of kliman, which was becoming fairly addictive, but assume he we will succeed in avoid being homogenized by marie antoinette and the other washingtonian editors. first my favorite local movie critic, joel siegel, up and dies. now this. the city paper is fast running out of reasons for me to dirty my hands with it.

in europe, when the service is included isn't it more like 10% than 20? we always leave some cash. i wouldn't have a problem with 20% being included at a restaurant like citronelle or eve, but would be concerned about lesser copycats.

checking this place out for the first time at 1:30 today, no lines but fairly steady business, lots of customers hanging out reading newspapers and chatting, a hive of activity with a nice buzz. the food: sandwich overstuffed with italian sausage with fennel, pepper, tomato and onions on crisp bread was pretty fine by me. grilled cheese with tomatoes came on light, fluffy bread that was sliced extra thick on one side and thin on the other, a little dry but probably a bit healthier for not being smashed down in butter. no complaints about over or undercooking; raw onion obligingly jumps out of the sandwich and onto the plate in case you've got a problem with eating it. lemonade is ready to go by the checkout register. i would have added some ice, but didn't bother looking for any.

the chat is the first place i heard about the motorcyclists. this could turn out to be a big problem if it's a trend.

idi amin would know.

mayor williams will be announcing the suspension of taxes on the service of alcoholic beverages for one week when the college students return.

retiring with her husband to new mexico, i believe, according to the post last week.

impressions can get a bit skewed when you're on the road, especially in orlando, but seasons 52 had really good food when i ate there in january. have yet to check out rock creek restaurant. by the way, how is thyme square doing these days? our last meal there a few years was a shambles, but i assume that somebody would have turned out the lights by now if they had not made substantial improvements.

on a first visit, we had a good time at jackie's last night. instead of a tv in the bar area, there's a translucent screen separating the dining room on which i was able to watch inverted footage of Earth. i would like to suggest belly dancers with tinted sunglasses -- maybe they could have a gyro night -- an appropriate reminder that you don't often get to enjoy this many pillows without having to eat with your hands. anyway, the solitary oyster hanging out with the calamari had eat me written all over it, and practically tore itself apart so that two could share. accompanied by beaten avocado and salsa, these nachos were good enough to try to sneak into the afi down the street. there was nothing not to like about the flatiron steaks and fries. if you started out with one of jackie's raspberry martinis, you may feel that you've already had dessert, but a neopolitan waffle ice cream sandwich and mocha ice cream soda make it worth having some more. at the adjoining table a woman was all thumbs-up about her blueberry mousse, her dining partner not too upset that they were having problems in the kitchen chiseling the watermelon sorbet. the tables up front are close together so if you are adept at small talking you might get to taste some things you didn't order. a word of warning about the raspberry martini: first, it goes really well with the 50s-60s plexiglass bubble decor, and comes with a head of advertised pink foam that if you're not careful will give you a moustache that also matches. a traditional gin martini is probably a better choice. i'm not going to slam the service. our waiter was still learning and at least half-way there. we didn't pick up on any attitude at jackie's. i can't say it's all the time, but this place was exceptionally happy during our visit. after pretending you're eating in south beach, if you want an alternative to the metro back downtown, take the 70 bus across the street on georgia avenue and you can pretend you're in detroit. the only young chilcdren on board were well-behaved, carrying unopened water pistols.

the meatballs were enormous and fell apart as our table reached for them. the children found the steamed dumplings more reassuring, but they are just about the last reason for finding this place. i haven't seen so much chaos in a long time and am still savoring new flavors in the many containers we carried home. the chili oil washed out of our clothing without a trace. by the way, i am wondering if there is anyplace left in chinatown that still knows what do do with duck blood, how to stuff chittlins with shrimp paste, stir fry tofu with black beans into a custard or line up frog legs like the limbs of graceful ballerinas in degas? i gave up looking some time ago.

Two of us had a pleasant meal here last night, and it felt like coming back to just about the same space we previously enjoyed as zuki moon and nectar. we miss the ersatz noodle house and the bowls of udon, even the hard school house-sized chairs that were too modern to always be comfortable, and i believe this is where we made our discovery of green tea and ginger ice cream. for us, nectar was more a missed opportunity. the inventiveness of the food was great, but the eccentricities a mixed bag. the bow-tied welcome starting things off on an intriguingly droll note, there would eventually come a service stumble that rang of satire verging on slapstick within the context of the restaurant's formal disposition. in other words, we had a few sniggers over stinginess with the bread, confusion with the tableware. what appeared on the plate was often amazing, but the portions here were deliberately perverse, conjuring the firbankian amusement of taking a knife and fork to a pea. we pretty much shunned this establishment, but there have been many times since it closed that we have wanted to return. the players have gone their separate ways, one of them ironically to a hungry man's beef nirvana. notti bianche is more accommodating than its predecessors. the chef is training his talent, with an experienced hand, on food that nourishes and comforts rather than challenges the palate. littleneck clams circling a buttery sauce with cherry tomatoes and a hint of rapini's bitterness salute the sea, a few holding on to their grit. a cold tomato soup garnished with a basil cream and chopped shrimp contributing their texture more than anything else is a freshening antidote to the cloying smog-stained air that lingers outside at the end of a hot summer day. (with a slow spring and recent thermometer-popping weather, conditions have not been optimal for local tomatoes, which came in late and hopefully will continue to improve into the early autumn. heirloom varieties available at the farmers market at penn center two weeks ago were half stewed by the sun and greens were withering; only the corn seems to love the sun this much. fortunately, the dupont circle market opens when it's still relatively cool.) a soft shell crab salad with beans and small tartar-ish pools of tang is another starting option, the battering a bit thick but greaseless, though only a disappointment when compared with stellar entries from the likes of bucks and corduroy. pastas are available in half sizes, providing the opportunity to structure a meal that samples more of the menu. amish chicken appears in a canneloni, not exactly in a starring role, but in a moist melange including hints of italian sausage. the shell is soft and crepe-like and seems to have had an easy time in the oven. (throughout dinner, we detected that the chef is kind to his ingredients, sometimes maybe too kind. is there any harm in coddling an amish chicken? i wouldn't know. the first time i ran into one was at poste. it was delectable, although i would credit the chef before an upbringing that excluded exposure to electric lights and limited transportation by horse and buggy.) there is a chicken entree here for truly discovering whether the fowl is more than fair; i suspect that it is. and there are more pastas available that would provide a better test of texture. a few tables away a diner was all business tucking into an orange mound of what looked like spaghetti -- just one glance and you would want what he was having, and maybe this was where to find the garlic that eluded our plates. you probably won't have bad breath when you leave from here to the kennedy center or the lisner auditorium, which are only a few blocks away. steak done medium-rare was a beautiful display of pink, although the meat relied too heavily upon the sauce for its flavor. rounding out the plate, roasted fingerlings were done to perfection. desserts here have already earned a local reputation. at the table next to us, a couple had come in for a meal of gelato trios and water. (a server tried twice to interest them in alcoholic beverages, nicely but unsuccessfully, so at least until the hordes of ravenous eaters materialize following the dregs of august, a date can visit this place at prime time for $20. the small dining room was mostly vacant at 7:00, but had almost filled up by 8:30. with the exception of a howling toddler who was quickly taken out, noise levels were subdued.) The fruit held its ground convincingly in our peach and blackberry crostini with pistachio gelato, and a sweet almond cake with diced apricots is a crowd pleaser. martinis were strong and wines can be ordered by the glass in two amounts. i am not entirely convinced that this is an italian restaurant at its core. whatever the chef's true convictions, this enterprise does provide him the opportunity to share an obvious love of food with his guests. this will definitely be on our wide circuit of dining destinations. Dinner for two was just under $150.

last night i asked her what was wrong, so here are some specifics: a knish tasting of raw flour; a room temperature "pizza" constructed of worthy tomatoes and a sprinkling of cheese placed on top of an inedible tough and half-charred crust; a misconceived "rueben" with grisly meat that was incorrectly sliced, way too thick; italian sausage raw at the center; a bone-dry, rubbery smoked salmon sandwich that went straight into the trash after one bite; and the bread slices on the grilled cheese were too thick. there are other things she always has liked, including an artery-clogging steak and cheese, and soups are consistently top-notch. the french fries receive praise, except they are occasionally soggy and greasy. the line, i am told, is the height of efficiency; maybe more vigilance is required of the customer when their order is being cooked. it sounds that there are a lot of things here i would like to try, although the location is not exactly in my neck of the woods. and a short bread line story: last winter, on her way back to the office she was stopped by one of those friendly washingtonians and asked about the powder that had totally whitened the back of her black coat. it turned out to be flour from the undusted wood banquette where she was sitting, and she cleaned it off with snow. this may not be the best place for a blind day.

my chicken was not dry and stood out in an otherwise promising but unexciting meal with good wine. but we ate early. maybe the orders for this haven't been keeping up with what's on the rotisserie.

i am told by my wife that i can make much better sandwiches at home. she eats here frequently and reports wild inconsistencies and assembly line problems, including both burning and undercooking, though she keeps going back for more. i am going to have to check this place out. sounds like there's a lot worth trying to find.

Fried zucchini cut into spears was on the menu monday night. a table of four will fight over an order of two small plates. by the way, the thermometer has been a bit on the sweltering side the past two times we have been in there, and we weren't sitting that close to the ovens. i guess air conditioning is not authentically italian.

had a squash blossom grilled cheese sandwich last night that was worthy of tapas superstardom.

two big slabs of meatloaf with mashed potatoes followed by strawberry short cake with the best biscuits is a full meal. they ran out of hocus pocus last weekend, but i prefer the beers over the wine. you may think the lemonade is too sweet -- until you let the ice start to melt. this place cooks up a storm.