BookGuy

I was there last night because I wanted a good place to eat that was not crowded with St. Patrick's revelers although the bar had a decent sized crowd of about thirty.

We ate in the outer room overlooking the street and I thought the meal was good. I had the Ceasar salad with some large anchovies tossed in as well as the friend chicken with vegeatables for the main course. My companion had the catfish as well as the small donuts for dessert. We both found our meals satisfying and wondered why there isn't more interest in the place.

May we presume that the delis, both in Rosslyn and at Ballston, will remain open?

I was there before a show at the National Theater and concur on the general not goodness of the food. I do note that they do/did have an all you can eat dessert bar on Friday and Saturday evenings that might be OK if you have a real sweet tooth.

I was part of a party of four at Marvin on Saturday evening and it was an excellent experieence for all. As it was a birthday celebration, the birthday girl tried to break the budget with foie gras and the lobster which she acknowledged enjoying very much. The other three, including one nine-year-old, ate the ribs, chicken and waffles, and mussels and fries. For dessert, the BD girl got a candle in her cheesecake. The service was impeccable and the portions of good size. Even the noise level was tolerable. The only wrinkle is that, although we found one, parking in the area is difficult. As it is a block from Metro, that seems to be the best bet.

I finally made it to the Tavern last night and was not disappointed. I should note that I am way above the age of the people who crowd around the bar on the main floor. We were led upstairs where the older people generally sit although we saw a four generation familiy and assorted boomers come to eat. I had a half order of gnocchi and the sausage pizza and found them both worth eating. My companion was very impressed with whatever covering was on the tables and the service was impeccable. I can see why the place is a success.

I did a web search on Google just now and they actually have a web site which doesn't seem to have been updated in three years--at least the copyright is from 2005. It also mentions Mother's Day coming up. I clicked on the Make Reservations button and was led nowhere.

It appears to be a high end Northern Italian restaurant. Perhaps when my gnocchi-loving vegetarian friend shows up this Christmas, I will take her there.

As I raised the point, I don't think that the answer is that obvious. We have a place in a pretty good location, one that seems to be at least occupied at dinner, but which nobody on this board has a clue about. It doesn't appear to be tourist trap or greasy spoon or one of those Mom and Pop places that you eat in because there is no alternative. The fact that nobody seems to have tried it is very very strange.

To me, the perfect dive bar is Jay's in Clarendon on 10th street behind the main post office. Cheap drafts, so-so food, and a very mixed clientele and, sadly, a lot of cigarette smoke. A lot of these places are dying out, chased by urban progress and replaced by more upscale yuppie bars.

The question about this restaurant was on Siesema's chat today and nobody responded. It is one of those restaurants that appearently staying in business although nobody you know has ever been there. It is close to Marshall's, another of those restaurants, where I used to love a dish called straw and hay and the new version doesn't have it.

This is not about the food but the name of the place which reminds me of a sign behind the bar at the Tune Inn: "Pay cash only. All those who want credit can go to Helen Waite." It took me a few visits to think about what it actually said.

I ate one on my way home from the store yesterday. Perhaps you overlooked their new location in the store, close to the counter where they mix various prepared and frozen foods together to show young adults how easy it is to cook?

Thanks for directing me. The bananas used to be in two places, a bin near the door as you entered and went straight and further down the same aisle with the rest fruit.

For the past several weeks, the Foggy Bottom Joe's has not been carrying bananas. Does anyone happen to know why?

I can understand being out of stock of various proprietary products, but bananas?

I was at Persimmon on Sunday because someone who lived closer wanted to take me there. I normally do not head for restaurants in Bethesda. The experience was exceptional and I very much enjoyed my Caesar salad and bouillabaisse. As a lark, imagining it being produced in a garage in Chevy Chase, I had a very nice glass of Pinot Grigio from Montgomery County. Persimmon is an example of good restaurants that provide excellent food and service and manage to stay off the radar. For those who are concerned about parking, there is a county lot around the corner.

only SLIGHTLY less expensive than TRU? It's like 1/4 of the price of TRU

TRU's web site lists its tasting menu as $145. Komi's is $104. This is less than a 40 percent difference and not four humdred percent.

One way that TRU and Trotter's differ is in the ambiance. They have plush decor and walls decorated with art. Komi is rather spare in the decor.

I was trying to come with a similar experience and not match dollar for dollar.

I finally made it to Komi last night when a friend who claimed she wanted to pump money into the local economy treated me for my birthday. We ordered the tasting menu and three glasses of wine apiece and had a fine old time with the various tastes including what we were told was goat. One thing that really helps is not worrying about what is being served and just enjoy the various tastes. The service, both food and wine, was fantastic. It reminds me of my two favorite restaurants in Chicago, TRU and Charlie Trotter's, although slightly less expensive. I do appreciate that people don't have to dress up to eat there. It was a relaxed 2 1/2 hours of pleasure.

Longing for a greasy spoon, I persuaded a freind to drive out to Vienna to try the Inn. It was everything I had dreamed: cramped, a mixed clientele, good beer, and those chili dogs with the works, loads of messy American cheese. It is a treasure that has been dying out downtown. I guess the Tune Inn and the moved Stoney's are some of the few that are left.

And the Old Bay fries seemed like they were reheated, not freshly fried.

I was there on Friday night and, although I liked my fried oyster platter, I had the same impression of the fries, reheated and not terribly well.

I was there on Sunday night in a party of four. We all came out of the cold at 5:20 and were told to wait until 5:30 because the tables weren't set up, This is stange as they were supposedly open at five for the dinner part of the brunch. One good thing about brunch is that they served us the lunch menu which is a bit cheaper than dinner. I drank a beer called Campus, because it was on tap and it was fine. The dinner/lunch was excellent with the mussels and frites, the chorizo sausage version, being better than I have had it here. We also shared the charcruterie plate which was OK but it was what I would call cold cuts when we were expecting hot sausages in the nix. I had a shrimp croquette appetizer as a main course while the others had trout and salmon. The service was excelllent and quite accommodating to the eight-year old member of our party. The folks in the bar were quite nice and a younger crowd than the people who were eating in the restaurant. I will surely go back again, and I am curious about the clocks all seeming to have different times.

This happened to a friend of mine when we valet parked at Kinkead's previous restaurant on L Street. She found out about it when she received a second notice from the District when she didn't know she had a ticket in the first place. We walked over to the restaurant, showed the letter to the maitre d' and never heard another thing about it. I do notice that the current Kinkead's no longer has valet parking but validates parking in a garage a block away.

On Monday afternoon about three pm, I wandered into the Trader Joe's near 25th and Pennstylvania looking to buy some bananas. I was met with a small scraggly looking bunch of them. When I checked various aisles, I found that quite a few of them seemed to be depleted of stock. It made me wonder whether Monday is a particularly bad day to go to this store, perhaps due to lack of deliveries--or is there another reason?

I do know that Joe's frequently doesn't restock when it runs out of a particular item, but I wonder whether this depletion of stock is part of something different.

The Chef, Michael Hartzer, was the one who was the opening chef at Rays The Classics and that placed really changed for the worst when he left. I hope that I am correct at this.

My one-armed uncle has been a part of The Orleans House for quite some time and said to me that its time forthe place to go. And I am not kidding about the one arm.

I live in the neighborhood and it is interesting to watch your uncle light his cigarettes.

I have been to Sarris's maybe ten times in the 25 years I have lived near there. The food is OK but the service is a bit erratic and the celebrated salad bar wasn't as fabulous as touted. Still, it will be missed in the area, particularly if it is replaced in the new building with more chain fast food places.

Royal Mile Pub in Wheaton has a Beef and Guinness pie covered by puff pastry. They also have a Shepherd's Pie with a mashed potator crust.

One more thing...I am not a regular at any restaurant. I figure that there are thousands of places to eat in the metro area, so I am going to try to get to them all. And, when I am in a restaurant that has a lot of regulars, like A La Lucia did, I am often turned off by how they treat these regulars. This was not the case with A La Lucia, let me make that clear, but it is the case with a lot of other places. If they get some free food or some free drinks, that is fine, but I cannot stand it when groups are seated out of turn because they are regulars. Christopher, I don't think that was the case with you the other night, but if it was, it really does stink for the rest of us. Not that I wouldn't take advantage of it, but it really sucks for others waiting when that stuff happens, and I see it happen a hell of a lot.

I felt that the food was fine, slightly above standard Southern Italian food with excellent pasta. When I was there two Sundays ago for the first time, I noted the interaction between obviously regular customers and waitstaff. It reminded me of the neighborhood Italian restaurants in the Brooklyn of my childhood where people shook hands with the waiters and owners both when entering and when leaving. And that is very pleasant.

I was there last night with an eight year old goddaughter and her parents, armed with a listing of specialties from the Washingtonian where the place is 91st in the top one hundred. The child had the lobster bisque which she said was awesome and well as the similarly rated Caesar salad. She also liked her vanilla ice cream but felt the portion was smaller than she liked. The parents had the Asian lobster (which the child also sampled), crispy bass, and fois gras. I did the mussels (larger than Beck's) and the double cut pork chops that were easy to slice, chew, and swallow. I have been to both Corderoy and Beck's and felt that the food and service at the Coast was better.

I note that there were quite a few children at various tables, something that I had not expected, and all seemed to be well behaved.

I can't fault the place at all and wonder why there isn't more discussion of it on the board. Possibly becuse there are other flavors of the month and year that are more must do.