olivelady

Can you recommend a Farragut West/Farragut North/McPherson Square/Dupont Circle area restaurant that could accommodate 80 to 100 people for a large group lunch?  My guess is that a buyout would be needed for a group of this size. Thoughts?

Date: April 2019

Budget: Flexible

Rasika West End is a great choice.

 I highly recommend the palak chaat. Even if you think you don't like spinach, try it.  You'll be a huge fan.

All, 

Thank you for the recommendations and feedback.  I will look into both Al Tiramisu and Tosca.

Thank you for your reply.  We had some flexibility with the cost per person with a range of $75 to $100 per person before beverages, tax and gratuity. The dinner required a location in or near the West End.

By old-guard, I meant a quiet restaurant where guests could speak to each other across the table comfortably and yes, have polite, genteel service. 

Some noise would have been fine. However, the idea is to avoid the sound level similar to a bar before a sports game. Fiola y Mare would have been wonderful, but was not available. Cafe Milano would have been too noisy. Paolo's would have been too far for a group to walk, especially in the event of inclement weather.

What are your thoughts about I Ricchi for a group dinner?

Recently, I had a very bad experience with a professional group dinner at Ristorante La Perla of Washington. Despite repeated attempts to address the issues during dinner, there was poor to simply inadequate service. We had pre-set menus. In theory, everything should have been seamless. However, it was miserable! Some people received salads; some people didn't. A bread basket was placed on only one side of a very large table when there should have been one bread basket on each side of a round table. Servers were surly at best and seemed as though our party was an after thought despite the fact that our dinner had been planned months in advance. Oh, and the worst of all, a guest at one of our tables was a mindful eater. Rather than ask if the guest was finished with their plate, the server picked up the guest's plate - still half full of food - and promptly placed another plate on top mashing the food down. This act prevented the guest from asking for a 'doggie bag'. 

The first time my organization had a group dinner at Ristorante La Perla of Washington, all aspects of the dinner from service to food were outstanding. Therefore, we made plans to return a few months later.  Needless to say, we will not be booking a group dinner at Ristorante La Perla again and will definitely advise others not to think of dining there.

Does anyone know if there is a problem between the FOH and the Chef/Owner? It seems as though there are signs of a major calamity in progress.  The decline in service, in less than 6 months time, is stunning. There are many other options, but we like to develop a rapport with restaurants and become regular customers. The location of La Perla is very convenient, but we will travel to experience good service and food. Washington has plenty of Italian restaurants to choose from and we are giving up on this old guard restaurant.  Does anyone have recommendations for Italian restaurants in DC where group dining is a wonderful experience?  Thanks for all recommendations.

Thank you, everyone!  I will check the local stores, Yes Gourmet, Hana and H-Mart first.  If they don't have it, then on to Amazon.

I found a new recipe for an oil-free salad dressing.  One of the ingredients in the dressing is yellow miso. After checking with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, I have not been able to find it in Washington, DC. Can anyone recommend a store that sells yellow miso? Thanks!

I will attend if the event is on December 8th.

I vote for Restaurant Eve. When you make your reservation, tell them it is your anniversary. You'll have a wonderful evening!

I finally went to Cork Wine Bar to try out Chef Ron Tanaka's food. The chickpeas and roasted roma tomatoes with goat cheese were outstanding! I cannot wait to find out where he is going so I can add the new place to my list of places to try immediately. Who knew that chickpeas could taste so amazing?

The wine at Cork is amazing, too. I hope that the new chef knows that there will be big shoes to fill...

I am in search of a farmer's market with great fresh blueberries. Relatives are coming to visit and one is a great fan of blueberry pancakes.

Thanks.

City Lights is rather bland these days. Go to Meiwah instead for great food and service. It is above Dupont Circle at 1200 New Hampshire Avenue, NW., located at street level. Bon Appetit!

Thank you for your replies.

I have a vegetarian friend coming to visit DC for the weekend. We are planning to meet for dinner and, I am in search of vegetarian-friendly restaurants. My first thought is Teaism in Penn Quarter since it is relatively quiet. Are there other options that I should consider?

Does anyone have recommendations on where to find delicious dill pickles?

I'd love to find some at a farmer's market. Any ideas on markets where they are available? If you have a favorite, let me know.

Thank you.

Zucchini bread is delicious. If you have not tried it, you are definitely missing out. There are countless variations. My grandmother's recipe included plenty of cinnamon and coarsely chopped walnuts for added texture. The best part of baking zucchini bread is that the scent of cinnamon floated from the kitchen through the entire house all day long.

Wow -- Hill's Kitchen is the place to be at 10:30 on Saturday morning. I walked the dog up there to wear him out while I spent the rest of my gift certificate, and the place was mobbed; Milo even met a small Schnauzer named Pepper (which, you have to admit, is a great name for a dog who happens to be in a kitchen-goods store ... I guess it's a good name when the dog is not in said store, too). I hadn't had a chance to stop in and see Leah in some time, and I found adorable tea towels, some new dish towels made of bamboo, silcone ice cube trays (so I can make coffee ice cubes for iced coffee; not having trays to do this is thus far the only downside to the automatic ice-maker I've yet to find), and Apple iPhone earbuds. Wait, those weren't for sale -- a mutual friend grabbed them for me when he went to buy his iPhone 4 the other day, and left them there for me to pick up when he did errands yesteray.

That last piece of information is, of course, entirely irrelevant to the store, except that it reminds me how big a part of the community the place has become over the past couple of years. As with many of the small businesses in the Eastern Market area, Hill's Kitchen is devoted to bettering Capitol Hill, and more than that, being a part of it. Several people there were buying gifts (birthday, wedding shower, off a gift registry); others needed items for grilling outdoors tonight before dashing across the street to Eastern Market to get the grillables themselves. The store also partners with Peregrine to do coffee cuppings on Friday afternoons (although those are off for the summer) and runs heavily-subscribed cooking classes. It's a vibrant little shop with an enthusiastic staff, and if my new spatula cost me a dollar or two more than at Target -- which I'm not actually convinced it did -- well, I'm happy to spend it.

Thanks for the recommendation about Hill's Kitchen. I will definitely visit there on my next trip to Capitol Hill. Does anyone know if they carry non-perishable foods (e.g. vanilla beans) too? I look forward to visiting soon...heatwave or not.

[Like with DCCK, I'm tired of seeing people commit, only to drop out at the last minute. It's rude to the organizer, to the restaurant, and to the website. After all this talk about Mandalay, we're on the verge of canceling it. Doesn't fly. By all means, people can do this type of planning in the "On A Whim" thread, but I'm sick of seeing failures for separate $20 Tuesday threads.

People think that just because a service is free (refer to www.donrockwell.com), it's without value, and they take it for granted.

It sounds as though the Mandalay Bay event is going to be canceled. Unfortunately, I do not have access to this site during business hours. Please cancel my space because I am fearful that I will arrive at the restaurant, only to find out that it is no longer being held. If there were anyway to know that dinner is still on for tomorrow, I would be there in a flash. For future reference, is there a way to forward 'same day' contact (phone) for any last minute changes? I have been looking forward to this event since it was first announced. Thank you.

The good news: The Tenleytown Whole Foods stlll has Zico.

The bad news: Zico just came out with plastic bottles and apparently has changed the formula. They say it's now from concentrate and that the taste is different:

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/05/zico-goes-plastic-let-coconut-water.html

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/05/coconut-water-update-zico-defends-brand.html

Other Zico-related news:

Rocks is in good company. Super-model Gisele is a Zico fan (I actually first noticed the plastic Zico bottle when I saw these pictures):

http://www.ourvanity.com/news/gisele-bundchen-zico-coconut-water-fan/

I love Zico's coconut water, too!

Tuesday, June 8th, 7:00 PM

fuzzy510

DanielK

Scott Johnston

zoarster (+1?)

sphere777

Hi, I am in for June 8th, too.

Count me in for June 1st. Party of one.

Make key lime pies with a graham cracker crust. Share them with friends and neighbors.

I picked up a 2 pound bag of key limes at Grand Mart in Seven Corners this morning for 99 cents. What to do with them?

Next Step also has delicious carrots. I eat them every week in my dinner salads. Once you've had them, you can never return to bagged store-bought carrots.

I just blanched Siberian kale that I bought from Next Step. Wow! It tastes like broccoli, more than broccoli rabe (which to me, doesn't really taste like its namesake).

So just fyi....if Next Step has it-get it. I just love discovering veggies that I've never even heard of before.

I'm thinking souffle.....maybe with gruyere.....

Where will HH be held this week? I'd like to join the festivities now that I am no longer snowbound.

I'm in for Happy Hour on December 1st!