Lola007

I've taken my nieces to Clyde's (Chevy Chase) and the Cheesecake Factory. I'd also suggest Cafe Deluxe.

A Todd English sighting would have really been something. Just saw him on a recent episode of Top Chef. Saying that I'm a fan is an understatement...

Sorry to hear that you didn't have a good experience either. Now that you mention it, there is something weird about the salad at C&J. I didn't order one (we ordered sides a la carte), but another patron got into a heated discussion about the salad. I couldn't make out what exactly was being said as music was playing the background, but the guy who was complaining was none too pleased. Also, we didn't like the atmosphere inside the restaurant (rather institutional looking with loud music); sitting at one of the outside tables or taking the food to go would have been better. I too was hoping that I caught them at a bad time. Was lamenting that we could have gone to Guapo's and had some delicious fajitas or a really good lomo saltado, and it wouldn't have cost us that much more.

I stopped by with a friend earlier this evening for a late dinner. We were both disappointed! We ordered chicken plus sides of yucca, fries, rice, and plantains plus a couple of Inca Colas. I wasn't planning on ordering so many sides; I would have been happy with just the yucca and plantains, but my friend is Brazilian and wanted to eat the rice mixed with fries the Brazilian way. The chicken was flavorful, but quite greasy. The yucca was good and crispy, the rice was mushy, and the fries were absolutely inedible (just like smithhemb, we ended up trashing them). The only things that we really liked were the plantains and the spicy (salmon-colored) sauce. The medium (yellow) sauce was totally bland, and the green sauce had too much garlic for our taste (and is nothing like the amazing green sauce I know from Pio Pio).I may give this place another try, but I'm in no hurry. I much prefer Super Pollo and El Pollo Rico in Virginia (and of course, Pio Pio in NYC).

You're welcome. The guitar-playing vegetarian can get sides of yucca (but FYI, I've heard that they're better at some locations than others, or maybe it depends on how soft or crispy you like them) and plantains. There's also salad and sweet and mashed potatoes. If she's still hungry, there's always the salad bar and other good stuff at Whole Foods close by. P.S. I'm going to try to make it there this week and can't wait to try the sauces (spicy hot pink one and a medium yellow one). Have yet to find a sauce for Peruvian chicken as heavenly as Pio Pio's (in New York) green sauce, but I'm keeping an open mind.

That's right, goodeats. I just found out that Crisp & Juicy's latest location has opened in Tenleytown at 4533 Wisconsin Ave. Early reports (from another board) are that the chicken is quite good, moist w/ crispy skin. Am looking forward to trying it soon!

I completely agree. I adore olives, especially black olives. My favorite are black cerignola olives ( you can get them at Dean & De Luca or Whole Foods). I also like kalamata and California black olives in a can. Am trying to broaden my horizons w/ green olives. The green cerignola olives are buttery and flavorful. I also like Spanish green olives sans pimentos.

You have a point. I'm not sure why, but the few times I've bought H&H bagels at Calvert-Woodley, they've been kind of hard. Not very good at all. I love Calvert-Woodley for wine and cheese, but I won't buy bagels there any more. Have yet to find a decent NY bagel here in DC.

I second Don's recommendations of PX and Bourbon Steak (the Lounge at Bourbon Steak). Both are excellent.

+!, NCPinDC, Volt would be a great choice. I just had lunch there yesterday, and it was outstanding.

I can appreciate what you're saying, Mark especially since I started using Urbanspoon where "prime" users (frequent contributors to the site--which I happen to be) can correct basic data such as menus, websites, etc. With Yelp, you have to write to headquarters/customer service, which may or may not respond or act on your feedback. Still, in my experience, I really haven't had a problem with the accuracy of Yelp's basic information for the most part; my concern has to do with the poor quality and often inaccuracies of some reviews on the site.

In response to the original question, my answer, based on personal experience with Yelp over about a year and those of business owers I know whose establishments have been reviewed on Yelp, would be no. I would also say that your observations re: Yelp Elites’ reviews are generally accurate, Don. That is not to say that some Yelp Elite reviewers' reviews and insights are not valuable, but the criteria for being an Elite reviewer (largely based on writing a number of reviews, going to events, and participating in that bash-fest called "Yelp Talk") alone plus as others have noted, the quality of reviews, leave a lot to be desired. IMHO, the most useful feature of Yelp may be updated basic information (such as whether or not a restaurant is still open and if it has a new chef, the address, website, and tel #). With few exceptions, I get much more helpful (and IMHO, accurate and trustworthy) information from Chowhound and from selected reviewers on Urbanspoon (I post reviews on both sites), and more recently, here on Donrockwell.com.

I had a pretty good experience at Acacia a few weeks ago. The wine selection is good, and you have the option of ordering 1/2 glass, full glass, or by the bottle. Had a very nice Catena Chardonnay from Argentina. As for the food, we just had appetizers. I recommend the flatbread with manchego cheese and potato and the fingerling potatoes with paprika aioli. The caprese (tomato & mozzarella) dish was unremarkable as was the flatbred with feta cheese and olives (it actually seemed undercooked). The service was pretty good, and the ambiance is casual and laidback. We also noticed a few tables outside. It seems like they could add a few more...Another thing that would generate more interest would be a happy hour. I hope Acacia will stick around. With so many sandwich shops in the neighborhood, it's a welcome addition!