DC in DC

We're thinking about doing soapstone countertops and have done the research, but have not actually seen a kitchen with soapstone countertops. Any DRers out there that have done soapstone? I'd love to hear about your experience and would also love to see them too. Thanks--

We had a wonderful birthday meal here last night. The last time we were there was probably 10 years ago, but it won't be that long until we return. The service was excellent, as others have noted. Our server was very knowledgable about the menu and wines, and really seemed like he cared about the food that was coming out of the kitchen. We started with the greek spreads (tzatziki was fabulous, and inspired me to try and make my own tonight) and the quail. For mains, I had the duck with foie gras and gooseberries. This was excellent-- the foie and the gooseberries complimented the duck very well. My husband had the halibut, served with beets; he thought this was also a hit. Dessert- shortcake with strawberries and blueberries; again, excellent. Overall, we loved the neighborhood feel of this restaurant, which served very thoughtful food that felt like it had a soul. Total tab (including 2 glasses of wine, tax and tip): $133.

Any updates? We're leaving in 12 hours for Switzerland: the Alps (Wengen) and Zurich. Thanks. Will report back.

Unfortunately, I have to second Blake G's review. Last night we found ourselves in Silver Spring, and hadn't realized that RTC was open again. We wasted about $75 at Ceviche: the ceviche was terrible (skimpy portion for $9 and tasted like everything had been pre-cooked and dropped in a bath of very tart citrus juice, rendering it almost inedible) and our steak was bland and tough. Our server dropped dessert menus on the table before we even finished our entrees. Definitely won't return.

Sorry-- I just remembered that I will be in Chicago on the night of this event, so I can't attend. Have a biscut for me! DC

Fried Chicken...yum. I am most likely in.

Grover, congratulations on becoming an American!

ohstate- Your post reminded me to do a brief trip report from our Halifax/PEI/Cape Breton. It's very beautiful up there. PEI: had lots of great fish and chips, fresh seafood. We did Rick's (Crab shack?) in St. Peter's, lobster supper at St. Margaret's, and a surprisingly good meal at Inn at Bay Fortune (given the chef turnover, we figured that it would be living off of past hype and went in with low expectations; it was quite good). At the PEI-Woods Island ferry (PEI side), stop at Crabby's if you didn't make the ferry. Great fresh clams, lobster rolls, ec. If you go to PEI, try to stay at the Johnson Shore Inn...totally beautiful and remote location literally on a cliff, the most genuinely friendly innkeepers I've ever met. Cape Breton: Must stop at Red Shoe Pub in Mabou. Seemed like a genuine local hangout (everyone knew each other and the wait staff), live music (which we missed due to not getting on the PEI ferry), and pretty good fish and chips and beer on tap. Neil's Harbor (on the way to Meat Cove, also a can't-miss): we went to the Chowder House (kind of off the beaten path), a real crab shack on the water. As for the Ingonish Beach area, we ate at the "casual" restaurant at the Keltic Lodge...I would skip this; pretty generic food. Had a pretty decent meal at Main Street (our B&B owner described it as one of the only places that actually had a chef), which would be an option if you are in the Ingonish area. We avoided the touristy areas of Baddeck etc., but you might be heading there to take the ferry to St. John's Hailfax: Had a pretty good lunch at Sweet Basil (I think?), even though it was close to the touristy harbor area (typically not a good sign). Very cute decor, sunny patio. We also ate at Jane's on the Common.... my husband had well-cooked fish, but I had a disasterous pasta dish (totally overcooked pasta with goopy cream sauce). Nonetheless, it was fun and hip, totally non-touristy, so I'd still check it out it you are trying to get off the beaten path. Didn't make it to St. John's; maybe next time. As a general rule, stick with fresh, local food that is simply prepared and you will do just fine! I agree with your instinct to avoid the upscale places, as that's not why you go up there in the first place.

Damn Sthitch, great review! How much are the various fixed priced options running these days? We are going for our anniversary next Friday. Thanks.

I have a lunch reservation at Vidalia on Wednesday, August 8th for 4 people at 12:45. Please let me know via PM if you would like this reservation by tomorrow, otherwise I will cancel it.

We had a really great meal at Sushi Ko last weekend. We had originally gone in planning to do the omakase, which our server told us would be a set $60 for a 5 course meal. (I had gotten the impression from the thread above that omakase was a more fluid thing, but perhaps that is only at the bar, which we were not at.) Ultimately, we decided to just order dishes a la carte since we were both craving the mussels and roasted eggplant soup and softshell crab. The softshells were excellent, and was a very generous portion for $13. We also shared an eel dish that was also quite good (can't remember the details). Then, we each got the sashimi platter-- you could really taste the freshness of each piece of fish. We loved it. Total bill- $130 including wine. We also had a very pleasant server, who noticed it was my birthday when we were both carded , and brought us dessert on the house (a nice gesture). In the past, my service experiences at Sushi Ko ranged from incompetent to merely adequate, so we were both pleased on that front this time. The soups came out promptly, followed by the softshells and eel, and then the sushi. We can't wait for the Friendship Heights location to open up down the street from us.

Went to Cafe MoZu for RW 2 years ago (maybe 3?). They did not have the whole menu but I remember that there was sufficient variety; I don't remember if there were upcharges. It was overall not terrible, but not terribly memorable either. I think I may have posted about it back then if you do a search.

We are also currently at the beginning of a kitchen renovation. We'd like to do double wall ovens, and eliminate the microwave, but my brain cannot handle all the different varieties of speedcook ovens, convection/microwave ovens, etc. All we want is one regular oven and one oven that doubles as a microwave. If it also has a convection feature (with the ability to convert times from conventional recipes), all the better. Has anyone here actually bought and used the GE Advantium, Kitchen Aid Ultima, or Miele Speedcook (or whatever else is out there)? Also, I'm wary that this "speedcook" stuff is a fad that won't last. Thanks for your help.

I'm glad other folks noticed the gritty mussels-- I thought I was crazy when I went a few weeks ago. Apart from that, I really enjoyed the skate; I would return for that. Service was very good, as our server was very understanding about a late-arriving member of our party.

I'll be making my second trip to Dino, but haven't been in about 2 years. We are trying to make it in time for the fixed-price special. What are the can't miss itmes? (The lengthy thread is a bit overwhelming. ) Thanks!

Any updates? We will be in Halifax, Cape Breton, and PEI. I've heard about the Inn at Bay Fortune on PEI, but have also heard that it is in decline after the departure of the big-name chef. Thanks and will post my report upon our return.

We were also inspired by the Bittman article. We used chuck and ground it in the Cuisinart (we don't have a meat grinder) with garlic, salt & pepper, and Worcesteshire sauce. Grilled for 3 minutes a side. We thought the result was decent, but not amazing. My husband (the one who prepped and cooked the burgers) thought our problems were: (1) maybe chuck wasn't the right cut of beef to use? It was pretty fatty and since we tried hard not to over-grind, there were a few pieces of fat that popped up throughout the burger; and (2) The beef wasn't ground up enough...a bit too chunky for our tastes. We didn't have problems with the burger holding together. We may try this again since it was pretty low-effort.

Thanks Erin, Smokey, and Bill for the Chicago advice. At the last minute, we decided to cancel our Tobolobambo reservation because my husband was suffering from a cold and "could not taste anything." We did Frontera Grill instead. I called at 8:30 on the dot and got a reservation for that night, which prevented us from having to wait for 2 hours (which is what they were telling people when we arrived). I thought the food was decent. The mojito, I'm told, was excellent (it came with cilantro). Our food were decent-- nothing amazing, but perfectly adequate. Overall, it was a good place to go for a good, casual, meal. Service was very friendly, if not a bit overly-efficient (you can tell they want to turn the table to accomodate the people waiting for 2 hours!). I had a great meal at Cafe Spiagga with work colleagues. I had a mushroom and polenta appetizer that was just amazing, and then mushroom ravioli that was also quite good. It's a nice place for a quiet meal. I would return. Saturday night, we hit a home run at Spring in Bucktown. I would strongly recommend this place. We shared a potato soup that my husband kept raving about after each bite. (Since we split 2 appetizers, they split them in half and plated them separately, which was a nice touch.) On the waiter's recommendation, I had scallops with oxtail. Wonderful. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and the oxtail was incredibly tender. The decor is modern with some Asian influence. The only downside was that it is pretty loud-- we weren't shouting, but Cafe Spiagga it was not.

After going to Artomatic and deciding to stick around for the free Gin Blossoms concert later that night, we decided to give Bebo a try. We ate on the early side (6pm), which, as others suggested above, is the way to go to ensure attentive service. Indeed, we experienced no service glitches-- our waiter was very attentive-- as we got our bread, wine, appetizer, mains, and dessert in the right order. We both agreed that Bebo is definitely a good "deal" in terms of cost to quality of food. We shared the shad roe over polenta to start, and he had the sea bass and I had the Anglotti with morels. This was very good, but a little rich (which, in fairess, the server had warned me about). The side of rapini was excellent, and the anchovies were a nice touch. (I may try this at home!). We had the canolis for dessert, also great, but we were stuffed. I would definitely return--there were many things on the menu that sounded so appealing--but probably again on the early side.

I will be heading to Chicago for a conference in a few weeks, and my husband will be joining for the weekend. I am thinking of doing Tobolobambo on Friday night, and either Spring or Scylla in Bucktown/Wicker Park on Saturday. I'd rather not do a big blow-out meal on the scale of Tru/Charlie Trotter's/ etc., not that we could probably get a reservation at this date. Is Tobolobambo going to be a formal meal? Is it worth it or is there somewhere else (not super-formal) I could better spend my dining dollars? I'm also thinking of Cafe Spiaggia. Also, thoughts on Spring vs. Scylla (or some other more neighborhood-y place)? Both appear to emphasize seafood, and have a modern/hip vibe. Thanks.

Is Hank's usually crowded for brunch such that I need to show up at 11am (a la Colorado Kitchen)? Thanks.

We got a slow-cooker for Hannukah, and have only tried to make one dish without any success. All the recipes I found on Epicurious had some of the lowest fork ratings I've seen for anything on the site. Can anyone share any good recipes or a good source of recipes? Thanks.

Thanks for the suggestion; I plan to do that if I can't get panko at the Giant. FWIW, I am following the recipe from Aug 04 Gourmet, which had a pretty high "fork" rating. (I'm not a great cook, so I tend to follow tried and true recipes.) One feature I like about Epicurious is the "comments" section, where you can find out whether you should use extra garlic, cook longer, etc.

Thanks everyone. I was hoping to avoid getting into the car. Although I have not had the best luck with the Chevy Chase Giant.

The aforementioned styrofoam shipper worked just fine for our trip back from California (which included a layover too; I was convinced that that would do us in). One winery gave us one fitting six bottles with the purchase of a single bottle (as we got closer to the Sideways-tourist madness in Santa Inez, they were available for purchase for about $5 or so). Don't bother taping it up because TSA will just undo it for inspection and tape it up again themselves. (However, we were told that the airline does not bear any responsibility for breakage, only actual loss of the box.)