Ericandblueboy

The omakase here is nirvana (or as close to nirvana as you're going to get in DC) for raw fish lovers. For your choice of sashimi and sushi, they had 6 trays of fresh seafood to choose from, each tray bearing 3 to 4 types of fish. Naturally we said we want to try them all, other than 1 tray which had salmon roe, sea urchin, steamed baby clams and boiled octopus leg (had them all before). Other dishes included your choice of fried fish (we chose a small Japanese rockfish which is edible in its entirety after the chef cleaned out the innards), your choice of grilled fish (some other kind of Japanese fish - presumably flown in from Japan), your choice of soup (snapping turtle for us), a steamed prawn topped with sea urchin. The order of the courses were - 4 appetizers (sea urchin served on top of tofu, small marinated mackerels, a small piece of grilled fish with bok choy, abalone with steamed vegetables), sashimi, fried fish, grilled fish, soup, steamed prawn, and then sushi. Not every course was delicious but enough to vault this place to the top on the Japanese restaurant foodchain. Maybe Makoto will respond by changing their omakase?

What is wrong with Teddy? Multiple personality disorder? Now I have no desire to eat at Granville Moore's knowing that he's a pyscho.

I will take recs for restaurants in DC or NOVA that does good fried clams (other than Black Salt).

A dungeness crab here cost $44 (big live one right out of the tank), but it's so delicious stir-fried with ginger and scallions. The last time I ordered a whole crab was at Mark's Duck House, maybe last year or two years ago, and it was $30. I don't know if crab prices have gone up or Miu Kee is just more expensive. Most families I saw last night were chowing down on lobsters, which is cheap in comparison ($21, IIRC). The place was packed from 7-8, mostly with Asians (more Vietnamese than Chinese). Ema, is Miu Kee better than Canton Cafe and Sampan?

Why are you ordering sushi at Woo Lae Oak? What do you mean by 3 or 4 quality notches below Passionfish on the sushi? Please elaborate. What did your companion order (soup of tofu, chicken and shrimp, is it spicy, does it come with noodles, what is it)?

The hostess looks like a raccoon with a jutting chin.

We can do this at Hong Kong Palace or China Star. Just pick a date!

Never even heard of Barker Black. I've heard of Psycho Bunny... http://www.psycho-bunny.com/servlet/StoreFront

That's because you have to, otherwise your wife will kick your ass

When the restaurant has a dress code and you don't follow it, as Mrs. B points out above, that is disrespecting others. So you talk out of both sides of your mouth?

I'm definitely bummed that I can't make this....going around the beltway around 6 is INSANE!!

It isn't wrong but it is disregarding the policy of the restaurant (I assume there is a written dress code in this case). Thinking you are above the law or rules makes you the snob, not those who obey the rules "exclusionary" as asserted by another poster. As for people browbeating wait staff, it has nothing to do with how they dress - if there is a correlation, it's a tenuous one at best. Disobeying the law and the rules will directly lead to the collapse of civilization - see Iraq. Wearing suitable attire has no such direct causal effect as far as I can tell.

Really? So there's no problem with the table next to you farting and belching eh? I'm with Waitman on this one.

I was at Volt this weekend. My wife was sitting next to me. When I wasn't looking down at the food, I wasn't starting at my wife either. I was observing the kitchen and other people in the room and there were plenty of people observing us as we sat at Table 21. Plus, we both enjoy people watching. We're bad people.

There is no official dress code for the opera so you see a wide variety of get-ups. But once the opera starts, the lights are dimmed and your focus is on the stage. So what people wear to the theatre does not bother me.

This discussion is about having a dress code. Yes, I am concerned about my appearance and I am concerned about the appearance of others. If that's not the case, Hollywood stars would all look like Kathy Bates and not Megan Fox. Is this where you jump in and call me shallow? Maybe you are better than me deep down inside but I really couldn't care less as long as you follow the dress code.

No one has explained to me why he/she would intentionally flout a restaurant's dress code. If a restaurant does try to enforce its dress code, do you get miffed?

The establishment is in the business of selling food and making money. I'm there to eat. An eyesore does bother me because I'm eating.

If the restaurant says business casual, why do you flout their rules? Where do you draw the line? What if someone walks in to a restaurant with nothing but speedos? What if that person is hirsute like an ape and has big swelling acne to boot on his back?

If you have an employer and such employer has a business casual policy, would you wear jeans to work? I didn't (at least not regularly, I wore sweats or jeans to work on snow days). But people do flout restaurant dress codes on a regular basis. Why? I don't like the hassle of wearing suits everyday and I'm glad we're business casual except when we have client meetings but I'm not uncomfortable wearing my suits. In fact, perfectly tailored suits are much more flattering to my middle aged body than the size small Polos that I bought when I was a little slimmer.

It's up to the restaurants to enforce their dress codes. My wife recently had her torn ACL repaired, as a result she can't wear heels. So she asked me if she could wear flip flops to Volt and I told her no (she wore less cute flats instead). Of course we see all kinds of ratty get-up at Volt and my wife just about kicked my ass. When we were at Komi, there were people walking in with shorts but they were turned away (not sure if it's because they don't have reservation or were turned away as a result of their attire).

#15 Rabbit, Parsnip Puree, Ramp Jus - Again, the rabbit was great but what to do with the green sauce (didn't know what it was but I didn't really like it....that's right, I dipped my finger into the sauce and then I sucked my finger...not behavior normally exhibited at fine dining restaurants for sure) #16 Pork Belly with Orange Zest #17 Aged Sirloin over Moreals and Ramps, Yukon Puree, and pane of Garlic - two dishes before this I had consulted with chef to see what else was coming out because I was full and didn't want to waste any food. We were told these should not be skipped and that certainly was true in my wife's case. She ate more or less both servings of the sirloin (yet I'm the one who looks 3 months preggo after the meal). My impression is that the chef played it safer with the protein (all were perfected cooked and seasoned). There is no lack of creativity with the accompaniments though. #18 Cheese Course - Midnight Moon with ruby beet sorbet #19 Strawberry Ice Cream, Chocolate Ice Cream, Cocoa Powder, and I really don't know what the white stuff is (it's not plastic explosives) #20 I call this White on White on White but it's really lavender with coconut powder and coconut ice cream (or something like that) #21 Mint Ice Cream with the chocolate version of what I don't don't know it is. If Komi is Greek, Teatro Goldoni is Italian, then this is American. My only complaint was the drive home...

#8 Liquid Nitrogen Gazpacho with Cumin Foam - like a gazpacho sorbet #9 Bibb Salad - lettuce granitee, dehyrated bacon, blue cheese mousse, and [wine dressing in capsule (?)] Things up to this point were pretty wild, not as wild as Minibar but not too far from it. It reminded me of Alinea - certainly creative and on the cutting edge but well conceived. #10 Halibut - with crab meat and asparagus in risotto. This is the first main course. The fish was beautifully seared and well seasoned but I did not like the vanilla flavored sauce. There were small chunks of crab meat and asparagus in the risotto which was cooked al dente. I could see the crab and the asparagus but I could not taste them. #11 Stripe Bass with Artichoke Heart - the fish had the skin on which imparted some fishiness which offended my wife (she doesn't eat chicken skin either ) #12 Onion Soup - with clear noodles, frozen foie gras powder and celery leaves - this just didn't do much for me, the noodles were flavorless, everything was serve at room temperature so it was a bit odd #13 Tempura Sweetbread - there was some veal jus, some calamata olive puree, some other spices. I loved the tempura itself and I mostly ate it with the veal jus (and pureed olives were also quite nice). I was frankly confused by the myriad of options that could accompany a small morsel of sweetbread. #14 Goat Sausage with Broccolini - tastes like sausage but looks like a filet....wonders never cease

We went to try out Volt's 21 course tasting yesterday. Here are the courses in order: #1 Chocolate Cake - sweet and strong, not my cup o' tea but so my wife happily sucked down two glasses #2 Chips & Dip - in this case, dyhydrated prosciutto is dipped in potato foam (betcha can't eat just one!, but there aren't more than 2 per person ) #3 Peas and Carrots - with lavender air, the peas are not solid but pea soup in capsules #4 Ruby Beet Macaron - filled with cream of foie gras, very nice! #5 Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Shad Roe - the shad roe was quite fishy as expected which did not seem to go well with the ice cream, but that's just our personal opinion #6 Chicharron with Cotton Candy and Curry Salt - it's a pork rind stick but oh so good. #7 Yellowfin Tuna Avocado Wasabi Roe Soy Foam - this tastes like a piece of tuna sashimi after dipping it into soy sauce mixed with wasabi - pretty amazing stuff.