The Doctor

I wonder if Cheesetique could arrange for a tasting of some Israeli exports. It could be called "Cheeses of Nazareth."

Looks like they once again have their $16.95 crab cake special, which is normally $24.95. I've always had a soft spot for their cakes. I should also put in a plug here for The Old Ebbitt Express, which is one of the greatest to-go lunch choices in the area. Like the restaurant, it's a great bang-for-your-buck. Here's the menu: http://www.ebbitt.com/main/home.cfm?Sectio...=Ebbitt_Express The specials change daily and everything I've tried has been a winner. Most of the stuff is around $7 or $8 and you get ridiculous portion sizes. For example, Tuesday's grilled chicken taco salad is so big they don't even have a proper container that will accomodate it, and the same day's delicious chicken francaise has more food than you probably had at dinner tonight. Wednesday's turkey blue cheese wrap at $7.50 is a deal anyways, plus you get chips, cookie AND a beverage of your choice included (even most bottled beverages).

There is actually already a thread on Cantler's: http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=118&hl= [Merged. DR] Good soups, Good crabs. Do you know if they are serving local crabs this year?

Here's an excerpt from The Buffalo News a few weeks ago (online version expired): As a fellow Buffalo ex-patriate, I'll keep my eye on this one.

I've put a review of my 1789 visit here: http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showt...findpost&p=7300 The bottom line: Over the last year and a half, I've hit 6 places during Restaurant Week and had 6 undeniable winners. I'm convinced that if you take the time to find out both which places have their full menu available and which won't treat you as second class (from this board's discussions), you are going to have a great time. So taking these six visits into consideration, here's how I'd rate them (mostly on food alone, but if I really got down to it, the ranking would probably be the same for overall experience as well). 1. Ten Penh (I don't know if on a normal day Ten Penh could overtake Corduroy, but something magical happened on the night I was there.) 2. Corduroy (a close second, especially since I can't stop thinking about that lobster salad) 3. Tosca (a tie, may have to let 1789 settle in before making a final decision) 3. 1789 5. DC Coast 6. Ceiba (I always feel bad for the last spot, but Ceiba's no loser)

OK, I'm reporting from Restaurant Week, but since the menu isn't any different it can be a standalone review, too. Went last night (friday) with a party of 6. We were seated in the Civil War room. While it may not be as ritzy as the others, it's small and I felt we were given more attention as a result since there were less tables to manage. As mentioned previously, there is a $10 surcharge for the lamb or filet, and a $4 surcharge for the cheese course. This has to be one of the best restaurant week deals out there. I'd say the average cost of 3 of their courses regularly would be about $50-$55. There were no duds in any of the courses we had. I had to see what this scallop margarita was all about, so I went with that for an appetizer. It was really great, but I'd actually call it a "fun" dish first and foremost. There was a lot of flavor going on with avacados, orange segments, sour cream, and the scallops. The escargot got rave reviews, and their complimentary onion focaccia bread is also nice. And for the main course, I went with what seems to be their most famous, the lamb. It came with garlic spinach, a layered potato/feta thing, and some delicious lamb scraps. There was a rosemary-shiraz sauce to go with the meat. I was very happy with it. I got a taste of the delicious crabcake and the grouper, and both were delicious. The scallops got praise too. For dessert, I had a peach gallete. I'm a big fruit desert person, so I thought it was great (but simple). Can't comment on the chocolate items ordered, but they were well received. There was a lemon concoction (can't remember the french name for it) that I tried too -- a tart little number. It was like cross between a tartlet and a cheesecake. I'd probably try that next time, but the tartness would really creep up on you by the time you were finished. The service was outstanding. From the moment we entered, the staff was very friendly, from the hostess, to the bartendress, and our waitstaff. We ordered a bottle of pinot gris for the table, and for some reason, they gave us a second bottle for free. It wasn't a mistake or anything, they just started pouring the second bottle and said it was on the house. We graciously thanked them, but I suppose we all thought it would have been awkward to say "why?" as we were being given something out of generosity. I don't have anything negative to say about this place. It's on par with my other favorite DC establishments like Corduroy, Tosca, Ten Penh, etc. I get a slight impression they feel they're a cut above, due the fancy nature of the place (jacket required and so forth), but they do at least keep up with the others. Until September 15th, you can have the same 3-course deal for $35. They're anxious to tell you about it too, so don't feel like you're being a cheapskate for taking advantage of it.

Thank you John, your information was very helpful. You may not always realize it, but these posts are invaluable in terms of saving me hours and $$ in research. I'm looking forward to asking for the special menu!! (still not sure why they'd regularly not show half the menu to some of their customers, but what the hey, I'll play by their rules.)

OK, supposing a total ignoramus goes to eat at TemptAsian. Can I (oh, I mean he/she) sit down and say "I would like the Roasted Fish with Green Onion," and get it? Is this a weekly/monthly special that has to be ordered now, or is it on their permanent menu? And do I have to ask for a special Chinese menu to see this fish listed (hopefully an English version)? I freely admit that I need to be educated on this subject, and I'm sure there'll be others visiting this forum down the road who should know what the routine is.

So Pasta Plus it was. Little Mexico got the veto due to the fact that the people I picked up from the airport had just spent the last ten days in Los Angeles/San Diego in the company of Hispanics, so they were a little tired of the whole thing. (The food, not the people! Haha.) I think PP is a place you would have to know by word of mouth, because I never would have found that on my own, and if I had, I never would have gone in based on the outward appearance. But inside we were warmly welcomed and the owner was there to check on us. I ordered the spinach agnolotti in a cream sauce. It was really good. The others enjoyed their meals too. But we weren't blown out of the water or anything. (I probably went in thinking I'd never even consider going somewhere like Pasta Mia again.) I'd recommend it to others, but I doubt I'd make a special trip for it. Rocks, thanks again for telling me about the place.

Wow, not at all. Those are some meaty posts in that thread. I'll need some time to digest but it looks very promising.

Thanks, guys. I checked out the "where to eat" thread Don has pinned, and was enticed by the Half Moon BBQ, but they're closed Sundays. At G&M, EVERYTHING else sucks? I've heard talk of the crabcakes before, but it'll probably be a tough sell since 1/3 of the party doesn't eat anything out of the sea. Pasta Plus could work, got a recent mention in the Washingtonian I see for being a 100 cheap eats place: http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/Profiles/pastaplus.html Still open to other suggestions. I appreciate your attention.

I've just been charged with making a BWI run this Sunday, with the promise of some free food as a reward. Does anyone know of any local joints around the airport, or on the way back to DC? (Can be anywhere along 95, 295, 495 between silver spring and bethesda, upper-upper NW, etc.) Don't need anything too classy, just something with character. Ethnic, BBQ, greasy spoon, doesn't matter.

So you're the refried/mango fan? What else do you get on it? Sour cream, guac? I'm not a big refried fa, but if it's dressed properly I'll give it a try. Have you ever tried the 17th and K burrito guy? I've been curious how his offerings are.

OK, I'll just get right down to it. This place is great. I went a few weeks ago but forgot to post the review until now. You are going to get a lot of food here. The styrofoam containers are overflowing with food. Some guy in front of me in line ordered a fish sandwich of some sort and I swear they piled like 4 whole fillets on top of each other between the bread. The menu is divided into sandwiches and platters. The latter come with two sides. And each side is better than the next!!! The potato salad might have been my favorite. But the greens, and the cabbage, and the mac and cheese and the yams were out of this world. I asked the woman behind the counter (the owner?) what sides I should have and the yams were suggested. I don't think I had ever even eaten a yam before. But what I got was a sweet and savory dish that was like hearty applesauce. And I got to sample the greens, too. These were only the second helping of collard greens I've ever had where I actually wanted to continue eating them. For my main dish I had the salmon (grilled?), also recommended to me. I'm not sure how they cook it, but it had a sort of zingy teriyaki glaze with some sauteed vegetables. I think the salmon platter cost around $13.95. I could only eat about 3/4 of the servings so I took the rest home. Also washed it down with a mixture of lemonade and sweet tea (which I've come to learn is called the "Arnold Palmer"). Cornbread was delicious too. The fried chicken got rave reviews among my party and the baked chicken, too, which just fell off the bone. The little dining room upstairs is cute. The aforementioned employee/owner also came upstairs to check on us and thanked us for our business. She certainly deserved it and I'm happy to praise this place here.

I work down the block from the Post offices. A co-worker friend and I often think about just standing outside and shouting "Hey Tom!" to every guy that leaves the building, on the chance it's you. Just something to watch out for.

Also, has anyone been to 1789 lately? They currently have this coupon on their website: http://www.1789restaurant.com/coupon/index.cfm I'm wondering if they have the full menu available. If so, I can put off my Restaurant Week meal there and try somewhere else. The deal looks nearly identical.

Man, that gave me a scare, since I have a handful of reservations now for the first week of August! I would be interested to know how Oceanaire is as well during RW. The one review on the post's website is positive, but look at the other one next to it, it's obviously staged: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?n...=2&type=keyword I swear there used to be a reader submitted review on there from the summer 2003 restaurant week where they said they were treated rudely, and the only appetizer was a wedge of iceberg lettuce and the only dessert was literally a skippy cup.

It was in Hillvalley's post above. http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?pid=68&m=9 Yes, you're obviously right. The full menu was available (one of the reasons I chose to dine at Corduroy in the first place during RW), I didn't remember if you could order a la carte as well. It was still one of my top meals of this year. The lobster salad appetizer was really outstanding to me.

Odd that opentable has the restaurant week participants and the official website does not... Also, I was at Corduroy for the last restaurant week in January -- when you sat down, I believe all they gave you was the restauraunt week menu. Not a bad idea, insuring all customers are treated the same.

Haha, even Palena is getting in on the action! http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/ret/80422588.html

I've seen a number of places advertise here. A few weeks back Restaurant Eve even advertised for positions on CL.

Looks like they are trying to beef up the staff: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/ret/80235518.html

Well, today it came down to (arguably) superior vs. free. Free won.

Yeah, we waited exactly 30 minutes in line (we started at the corner). In the end I was happy with the way things worked out!

Just went, and have a huge FYI for you all-- at the one I went to (19th and M) they had it set up so that the receipt machine faces the customer and it's up to you to take your receipt. While my coworker and I were in line, two people forgot to take their receipts from the printer and thus we both got not one free burrito, but two. Keep alert!