alisa7

Thanks Weezy. We are located in DC.

This year for New Year's, we will be having two other couples over to our house. Not wanting to cook, I wanted to explore options for catering. Because there will be only 6 people, we are not looking for someone to serve us, but rather something that can be dropped off in the afternoon with instructions on how to serve. Does anyone have any recommendations? We were thinking of either a local small catering company or a restaurant that has some sort of to-go option. Thanks!

Hello I seem to remember this thread from last year, but I can not seem to find it. With large budget cuts, I am looking to plan our work holiday party for $30/person (inclusive of tax and tip) and would ideally like to include food and wine/beer. It is about 20 people. We would like to stay in the District, and looking for a Saturday in December. We would prefer evening, but flexible about lunch. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I just returned to DC from a quick weekend home in Chicago, and once again had some great meals. The highlight this time was dinner at Bin Wine Cafe (the more casual restaurant to Bin 36). The feel is similiar to Cork, and their wine flights are a fun idea. They give you tasting notes for each glass, and I loved the way the wine is paired with each dish on the menu. The food is light and great for sharing. Just FYI--it is loud, in a good lively way. Though it is probably off the beaten path for tourists, we really enjoyed it.

There was some chatter today on Ask Tom about investing in restaurants. For a someday curious investor, how does one go about this? Is there a way to find out what restaurants are looking for investors and how much they are looking for?

How often does the menu at Komi change? We were there for the first time in January and fell in love. We would like to go back this summer, but only if it is a different menu, especially the small bites. From what I read they are serving the same bites now as we had in January. Do these change?

Since I live in the neighborhood, I have been anticipating Cork's opening for some time now. I was so excited when it opened, I made plans to go both Friday and Saturday nights this past weekend. They seem to be inconsistent with their reservation policy (or so I hear), but I called to make a reservation for 6 people at 6PM on Friday. We show up, and it is already crowded. When I checked in with the man working the front, he had no record of a reservation, and was actually very rude about it, almost implying that the whole sitaution was annoying for him. I had never received such an off-putting "welcome" before. They were able to seat us, and we loved it. The service was great, the food and wine fantastic. I liked it so much, I made plans to come back with a friend for dinner on Saturday. We decided to use their much advertised 30-minute call ahead policy. So at 7:30 I call. Voicemail. I continue calling and continue getting voicemail. I understand its the first couple weeks of opening, but I feel as if you are going to advertise a policy, you should be prepared to use it. I walk over and put our name on the list and was told it would be an hour wait. We return an hour later and check in. At this point the bar is so crowded, there is almost no where to stand without being shoved against someone else. I check in with the same guy from Friday night, and he replys that it will be at least another hour. No apology, nothing. Again, he seemed annoyed. I said I felt that it was not right for our reservation to be pushed back AT LEAST another hour, and he replied "what do you want me to do about it, make people get up?" I honestly can not believe this is their front of the house. At first I thought it was the owner, but I can not believe an owner would treat customers like that. We left, and as we were leaving I heard another girl tell him she tried to call but she kept getting voicemail. His reply, "Cant you see we are busy?". They left as well. I love the food, wine, and atmosphere of Cork and am thrilled to have a neighborhood place, but waiting 2 hours for a table is crazy and dealing with someone like this is not my idea of a fun night out. Has anyone else experienced this?

We were told by friends we had to try the sea bream and I am so glad I took their advice. It is also a dish for two, and was fantastic. We saw many people around us eating the goat and were glad to have a light main dish after so many small plates and a pasta course.

My husband and I are going up to New York in February. We absolutely love tasting menus with wine pairings. We would like to do two...one night at a well-known New York restaurant (was thinking Babbo) and the second night at a less formal, hipper place (maybe in East Village, Nolita, etc). I was hoping for something that was more about the wine...and maybe served with small plates? I know this is specific! Any help? If it helps we are in our late 20's.

I am looking for a restaurant in the Farragut/Dupont area that has half price bottles of wine on Tuesday nights. Does this exist?

I think a restaurant can still turn out great food...yet not be sleepy and sterile. When I want a more intimate dinner, there are already many options here. However, there are not as many options when I want a more lively restaurant that still has great food. Every other city I have lived in (Chicago, New York, London, New Orleans) seems to be able to combine great food with a lively atmosphere. This seems to be missing here. Our waiter at Zengo told us nightly people ask them to turn down the music, which they have from when it originally opened.

One reason I am actually looking forward to this place is that I heard great things about the music. I feel like 95% of restaurants in this city cater to the crowd that wants soft music, where every other city has tons of restaurants with loud music, tons of atmosphere, and perfect for a fun night out. There are very few places like this in DC, so I hope that the Source does not cave to the pressure to be soft, and in my opinion dull, that many of the restaurants here are. I am in my late 20's and like some noise with my dinner. If I wanted silence, I would eat at home.

I appreciate the breakdown. Of the bottles $40 and under though...only three or four are below $35. And of the glasses $10 and below, only a few are actually less than $10. I understand you have nice selections, but I think you would more regulars (i.e. me) if you would be able to offer more options in these price ranges.

I am by no means a wine expert, so I am only commenting on this place as a wine bar to spend time with friends. I love the space, and it has potential for me to spend some serious time and money at. My problem, and a big enough problem to keep my from coming back, is that myself, and my whole group I was with last night, felt that it was way overpriced. With only a couple bottles under $40, and two or three glasses under $10, this is not a neighborhood wine bar. In fact, the majority of the wines by the glass were $11+. Considering that I agree that the pours looked rather small, it is just not a realistic place to go have drinks. I think that it would gain many more customers if there were some lower priced selections.

I thought it was just as tart as Pinkberry, but the taste was off because it was not as creamy. That said, I prefer it to the chemical taste of other low calorie frozen yogurts.