Lori Gardner

I had the lobster with white chocolate soup as well and absolutely loved it. I had no idea what to expect but it was a creamy soup- not too sweet -with a touch of crunchy vegetables in the bottom. I also enjoyed the Braised Texas Wild Boar with cardamom and carrot puree, toasted farro, and maple jus. It was very rich and I could actually only eat a few bites- I was too full from the soup and the wonderful crusty bread. I had some of the boar for lunch today and I still couldn't finish it. Very generous portion. What made the entire experience stand out, however, was the staff. The server was outstanding and the charming chef was making the rounds. As we departed, the manager/owner shook everyone's hands and seemed genuinely appreciative that we were there. Their attitudes took the entire experience to a higher level.

Hi dinwiddie, we were actually sitting right next to you. I couldn't agree more - we had a great meal and the server was knowledgeable and accommodating as was the entire staff. I'll write more soon about our meal and will be blogging about our dinner in the coming week but had to respond to your posting.

I'll be in Aspen in July so I am so happy to see these recommendations here. Thanks, Carlton. Hope to see you at The Little Nell.

Don- your little ditty is hilarious! and I agree with most of it, except I don't think Mike is closely linked to Spike at all. They were both on "Top Chef" and both portrayed as essentially the "bad guys" but comparisons end there. (or they should) I think most people in this town understand the difference in the quality of their cooking. Does anyone really think less of Mike Isabella because he is friends with - or on the same television show- as Spike?

No one has posted about Bistro Provence for quite some time, so thought I would give an update. I was there recently and fell in love with the bouillabaisse. I am always saying that there is no where really good to go in Bethesda, but this one dish has given me a new perspective. It was close to brilliant- chock full of sea scallops, shrimp, and sea bass. The seafood is plentiful and perfectly cooked. But it is the broth that distinguishes this dish with notes of pernod and fennel. Each dip of the spoon brings forth something just a little bit different than the taste that comes before it. The memory makes me want to immediately head back to Bistro Provence for more. I will say that service was a little stiff and our waiter seemed to lose patience with us as we took our time picking our wine and we didn't order dessert. It's loud and it's expensive. But I can't say enough good things about the bouillabaisse and this one dish makes it all worthwhile.

Thanks to this forum, I sought these cookies out today at the new MOM's market in Rockville. I was almost hoping they weren't there, because do I really need to buy a bag of cookies? But there they were, and I purchased a bag of the oatmeal raisin. They were really terrific- I just love the crispy texture. These may just replace Berger Cookies as my favorite store-bought cookies. And for me, that's saying something.

I was just thinking about this place and couldn't remember where they moved. Thanks for jogging the memory. It was in an odd location before. I was there once and enjoyed it. I'll definitely try it out in the new location.

I absolutely loved Poppy. Here is an excerpt from my blog post about it: I choose a ten item thali, which includes two main dishes. This is a plus for my indecision. The coho salmon has also already caught my attention. To this I add lavender duck leg with parsnip, red cabbage, and pomegranate. This is accompanied by eight small dishes. We are instructed not to eat them one at a time, but to go back and forth to vary the tastes. My dishes are: pumpkin cardamom soup; leek, tomato, and black olive salad; grilled fig, radicchio, and pumpkin seed salad; marina di chioggia squash with fresh fennel seed and lime; roasted cauliflower with apple and dill; corn and basil spoonbread; Asian pear pickle; and nigella-poppy naan.What can I say? There is an explosion of flavors that is simply mind-blowing. Each dish has its own complexity which changes according to the order in which you eat it. So a bite of squash before the salmon tastes different than the squash followed by the salads. The salmon brings tears to my eyes- it is that good. The soup brings about simultaneous hot flashes for the three of us who are eating it. It’s not overly spiced, so we can’t really figure out what causes it. We are not deterred from eating more. Full review and a couple of more Seattle suggestions on my blog at: http://beenthereeatenthat.net/2011/10/awakenings-in-seattle/ Don't miss Top Pot Doughnuts!

I enjoyed dinner at Elizabeth's Gone Raw, despite some challenges. First of all, I was really surprised by the elegance of the venue. It almost seems at odds with the food. I expected something funky and it's actually very staid. This isn't a bad thing, just not what I pictured. I had spoken to someone there in advance about my aversion to nuts, so I was surprised when I was asked at the outset about any food restrictions. This had been covered in detail before our arrival. I'm not allergic, I just don't really like nuts. But most of the dishes featured ground nuts, so decided to leave the food as it was intended, with the exception of having whole walnuts removed from the salad.. The kale chips they gave us to start were difficult to stop eating. Truly addictive. They gave my son a bag to take home in honor of his birthday. Our first course was a kale salad, which had a lovely almond vinaigrette dressing, as well as a sauce on the bottom of the plate featuring sake and lemon juice. This was excellent. I absolutely loved the appetizer, which was a coconut cauliflower wrap with cucumber salad and green curry sauce. So complex and flavorful. My favorite dish by far. The main course was a trio of spinach and fennel tartlets with truffle mousse. The truffle mousse was amazingly rich and delicious. My problem was that the tartlets were made from almond and flax seed, and ended up being too nutty for me. I had one in its entirety, and then simply ate the truffle cream from the other two. My husband eagerly finished the tartlets I left behind. Dessert was a major disappointment. It was panna cotta made from cashew, coconut meat, agave, almond milk, orange blossom water, and ginger with a cherry sauce. The problem is that the texture was like ice cream that's been in the freezer for too long. This wouldn't have been so bad, but it didn't have any flavor. I ate less than half of it and gave up. We were told this is a new dessert, and I gave Elizabeth some feedback about the lack of flavor. There was a ginger sauce on the bottom that wasn't bad. Perhaps more of it would have helped. My son had pineapple carpaccio which was far better. They offered this to me as a replacement for the panna cotta, but at that point I didn't really need more food. This left me a little deflated from an otherwise wonderfully inventive meal. However, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Elizabeth's Gone Raw to others, despite the few missteps.

I actually don't like most nuts, but they called me to go over all the ways they are incorporated in the dishes and I could approve or veto as desired. I'll keep you posted.

I'm heading to Elizabeth's Gone Raw tonight to celebrate my son's birthday. I was feeling apprehensive but this post has turned that into eager anticipation. Thanks darkstar965!

I just posted a review of Woodberry Kitchen on my blog last night. Here's an excerpt. Suffice it to say that I am a big fan of the place, having now dined here twice. Many restaurants boast a farm to table concept. You know it’s taken seriously at Woodberry Kitchen when you peruse the menu. Ramps and asparagus are incorporated into nearly every dish, reflecting what’s truly in season at the moment. It takes about five seconds for for me – I mean us- to decide on a starter to share. I remind myself that it’s my husband’s birthday and this should be his choice. I’m hoping he’ll agree to the asparagus flatbread with green tomato relish, ricotta, and cilantro. I have to give him time to consider other options, so I hold my breath and wait. Fortunately, he’s in agreement. My first bite makes me gasp in astonishment. While I’ve ordered a flatbread with ingredients which I obviously find appealing, I am not quite prepared for flatbread perfection. The thin and crispy crust is what I always hope for and rarely receive. The combination of ricotta and cilantro surpasses my expectations. What gives the dish added depth is a delicate touch of sweetness created from homemade harvest chutney made from eggplant, tomato, and a selection of winter vegetables. Full post is at http://beenthereeatenthat.net/2012/04/woodberry-kitchen/

Dave- you beat me to it. I agree with much of what you said. I was with three friends and we were in agreement on most of what we ate. Our favorites were definitely the sopes and and the suckling pig tacos. Also enjoyed the enchilada roja. I didn't love the mahi mahi either and found the tuna and blue crab taquitos lacking. We were seated upstairs and there were plenty of empty seats. I was not happy to see this as I had emailed City Eats to see if I could add a person and never heard back. The idea of this pop-up is to give a taste of what's to come, and from that perspective I think it works. The tasting menu provided an opportunity to try some things that I may not have otherwise ordered on a regular a la carte menu (suckling pig tacos for example). I am definitely intrigued enough to try Bandolero when it moves to Georgetown.

Don- I have total respect for our local pastry chefs. But enjoying what they have to offer is not possible on a regular basis. Berger cookies are as much about accessibility as anything else. I can get Berger cookies at my local grocery store and in a pinch, I find them a perfect option for satisfying a craving for something sweet. If you compare them to what's available in your average grocery store, they are elevated to another level.

now have to reconsider my lunch plans. Maybe to Greenhouse Tavern. I only have a small window of time so we'll see. Enjoy Cleveland and I'll check back here to see how it turned out!

was in Philly this past weekend. We had lunch at Reading Market and had a pretty terrific grilled cheese sandwich at Molly Malloys called "not your mama's grilled cheese" with brioche bread, whipped tart goat cheese, black pepper fennel and onion jam, sauteed leaf spinach. There are also some wonderful cookies to be had in the market. We had dinner at Zahav- a modern Israeli restaurant- which was stellar. Lots of very strong and unique Middle Eastern flavors. Definitely worth checking out. Chef Michael Solomonov is the winner of the James Beard Award for Best Mid-Atlantic Chef, 2011. He had some stiff competition from some of our talented chefs in DC, (Johhny Monis, Peter Pastan, Cathal Armstrong) so you know he has to be good!

I took your unconventional as a compliment. I appreciate it! I've only been to Lola once. I am a fan of the pork chop. Here's a link to my review: http://beenthereeatenthat.net/2011/04/pigging-out-at-lola-bistro-in-cleveland/. When at a Michael Symon restaurant, I say go for the pork. Greenhouse Tavern is only open for dinner so I'm off to NoodleCat or B Spot. I'll let you know where I end up and hope you'll do the same.

I'm heading to Cleveland next week and hoping to try NoodleCat from Chef Jonathon Sawyer who also owns Greenhouse Tavern. Haven't been to either but menus look good. Sawyer worked for Michael Symon and competed on Iron Chef America (lost to Geoffrey Zakarian. If timing doesn't allow a trip to NoodleCat, I'm heading to B Spot, which is my Cleveland fall back.

I was in Austin two weeks ago and ended up having brunch at Lambert's, which includes a brisket that's quite good. I decided this was preferable to waiting in line at Franklins for what I anticipated would be at least 90 minutes. I was really satisfied with this decision- great brunch. That said, I did feel I missed something by not going to Franklins. Don't miss Uchiko. I just reviewed it on my blog http://beenthereeatenthat.net/2012/04/uchiko/ Later this week I hope to post about some of the other restaurants I visited. Another don't miss is Gourdoughs donuts. If you are a fan of bacon and maple flavors, prepare yourself for a rare and wonderful treat.

It had a chocolate coating on the outside. You can check out the photo on my blog at http://beenthereeatenthat.net/2012/03/bibiana/ (I would upload it here but I don't see how or if I can do that.)

as this discussion was winding down, we were heading to Bibiana for dinner. I particularly liked the bread filled with bits of potato, the spaghetti with crab (which is somewhat of a no-brainer), and the baked chocolate mousse. A sleeper dish was the ravioli with romano cheese. Someone in our party was trying to keep it simple but this dish was packed with flavor. Thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

I have to chime in with a vote for Buzz Bakery in Ballston. great cupcakes, cookies, pie. Definitely worth a visit for dessert.

Finally made it to Pizza CS for lunch yesterday. We had the sopresatta pizza (sopresatta, chili flakes), capri (mozarella, ham, mushroom, artichoke, olive) , and poppi (ricotta, spinach, artichoke, roasted peppers). I was disappointed that they were all pretty soggy- particularly after reading a favorable review in the Gazette referring to the crispness. We also thought that the toppings were a little sparse. On the bright side, the ingredients were fresh and the flavors were good. I will definitely try it again as we didn't try salads and the ice cream was really tempting. Will hope for more crunch next time.

I started reading this thread because I am heading to Bibiana for dinner tonight. I had no idea what I was in for. I'll be sure not to drop any names...at least intentionally. But if anyone in the restaurant overhears me discussing this thread- because I am sure I will be- I cannot be held responsible.

I was there on Monday for some beignets and coffee. The beignets were quite good- I would have liked them a touch hotter. The coffee had red hot cinnamon in it and was amazing. I took home some gumbo to have for Fat Tuesday. Having been in New Orleans recently, where I had both gumbo and beignets, I would say that Bayou Bakery stacks up. I don't get to No. Va. very often but hope to get here again soon. Wish they would have had some King Cake though.