The Doctor

Virtue Feed and Grain also a no-go. Leaning toward Overwood at this point, but the DR thread on it isn't very inspiring. How does Overwood compare to Southside 815 or Columbia Firehouse? Overwood has the better location (more convenient for everyone to take a walk down King Street by the water), but food quality is also a consideration.

Well, Majestic's out of the running. No availability.

Thanks for the input so far. I will try to make some calls tonight and tomorrow. One thing I didn't initially consider is the place having something the kids would be able to eat. I suppose everywhere could do buttered noodles or something.

I just looked on Opentable and it looks like Overwood would accept an 11 person reservation at 7 pm on Saturday.

Was heartened to see a kid's menu right on the Majestic's website, though. I'll call them and see what they can do.

OK, here I have a rather tall order. I’ve got a group of relatives — who also happen to be foodies — staying at a hotel in Old Town Alexandria this coming Saturday night. I am charged with finding us a place to eat. In total, there will be 7 adults and 4 young children (ages 17 months, 22 months, 3 years, and 4 years). The kids are well-behaved so probably the bigger concern is finding a place that can take a large party.

I’ve done some googling for “kid friendly restaurants in Old Town” and have a few names, but I have no idea if they’re good choices since I’ve never been to them. These include Overwood, Red Rocks, Southside 815 (I haven’t been in about 7 years), or Columbia Firehouse. And some places that don’t take reservations, like Pizzeria Paradiso and Faccia Luna. Would Virtue Feed & Grain fit the bill by any chance?

Right now I’m thinking of BGR as a default since I know it will work, but it would also be nice to showcase some of Old Town’s better offerings.

Thanks for looking.

From a Yelp review:

"My meal was interesting, I got the lobster roll ($19) which was good but overpriced. Should be about $10 in my opinion."

Good luck on your quest for a $10 lobster roll.

Just walked by Marvelous Market in Dupont Circle tonight. There was a sign in the window advertising lobster rolls for $9.99.

Had a great visit yesterday afternoon. I never expected to have so many menu choices available. I had the Pattison Avenue with roasted pork, broccoli rabe, and sharp provolone. The sandwich (and one of my companions') had a bit of a spicy kick to it. I don't recall seeing on the menu any indication that it would be this way. I'll probably ask next time if it can be toned down a bit.

Thanks for the info -- both new and old. I've been here 12 years and somehow have not made it to Horace & Dickey's yet.

Hello, I plan to dine on H Street tomorrow late afternoon, but I'm wondering if I can leave my car nearby earlier without worry.

In my neighborhood (Adams Morgan), there are no zone restrictions on Saturdays, but I believe that there are in Georgetown. What's it like on H Street? Can I leave my car on one of the side streets for more than two hours without getting a ticket on a Saturday? And if so, are some streets safer than others? I will eventually end up at Taylor Gourmet, which is in the 1100 block.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Urban Daddy posted the menu in a recent write-up. It looks like they are taking a cue from Ray's and Medium Rare in their pricing structure.

Is Ray's Hell Burger still serving onion rings? I was very impressed with their rendition. Good batter/onion ratio and they both stayed connected during the eating process.

Yeah, I think that's what it says when the request times out.

Contesting in person doesn't take forever, and at least you get to see all four walls of the rabbit hole your query goes down.

I definitely recommend going in person to the adjudication center. I've had a reasonable rate of success there. If you showed them a photo of the meter, I'd think you'd have a good chance they'd rule in your favor, especially if you show that there were conflicting instructions.

Will be attending an event on the Dandy Restaurant Cruise this evening; looking for someplace serving craft mixed drinks after. Wanted to go to Eve or PX; closed on Sunday. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Vermillion has a good cocktail list, with three of them rotating every month. They may be unveiling a new set for May today.

The Columbia Firehouse also has a selection of fancy cocktails.

The Majestic is owned by the same people as PX and Eve, and they are open Sundays, but I wasn't able to tell from their website if they offer the same type of cocktails as the other two establishments.

Question about Perry's roof: Is it just restaurant table seating up there, or is there a bar with seats/stools as well? I was just wondering if that would be a viable place to meet for cocktails on a Sunday evening.

Thanks!

Well, there's a bit of good news! What choices were available for the bistro special?

I decided to answer my own question yesterday evening. The bistro options were salmon, scallops, and hanger steak with soup or salad starter for $22.99. The ribeyes (regular and bone-in cowboy cut) are not on the printed bistro menu, but can be ordered from the regular menu. (I would like to go on record saying that the ribeye is clearly the best steak offered at Ray's.) Everything was delicious as usual. I don't recall if this is the case in Arlington, but the NY strips were available in two sizes. I got the house special. The brandy mushroom cream sauce seemed a little less mushroomy last night, which was welcome for me, since I'm not a mushroom person but love the house special.

Six large for Minibar!

Wow.

And there's a reserve price, too!

Seems the creamed spinach and mashed potatoes (versus the apparently short-lived broccoli and baked potato) are back as side dishes to the bar menu items

Well, there's a bit of good news! What choices were available for the bistro special?

Any idea on tne brunch menu?

This blog posting gives some details on the brunch menu:

Brunch sticks to their simple menu theme and is affordable at $14.50. Each item comes with their soft-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside rustic bread and your choice of yogurt parfait (suprisingly good!), fresh fruit or salad. Currently, the brunch line up includes Steak Frites (with a poached egg if you so desire), Medium Rare Benedict (steak, portabello mushroom, poached egg, red pepper & hollandaise) or Egg Frites (three perfectly poached eggs topped with their secret sauce (gravy-ish) and fries.

Next question: How have the lines/wait been?

(And thanks, darkstar, your posts have been informative.)

Banana Leaves had a major fire a few weeks ago. The windows are now boarded up. I can't find a definite answer online as to whether or not they will rebuild.

This blog write-up shared a most interesting nugget of information:

You’re welcome to have seconds on your steak and fries! Once you’ve had a chance to work through most of your initial plate, a server will come to you with a hot plate of sliced steak, a bowl of fries and a pitcher of sauce. Just say the word, and all this can be yours for no additional charge.

Restaurant.com is having an 80% off sale right now with the code DEAL. I don't know if this is a new feature or not, but you can use this deal toward gift certificates for the site as well. That is, instead of buying certificates for a specific restaurant, you buy them for restaurant.com and then use those funds to purchase restaurants' gift certificates whenever you like. The practical upshot is that you don't have to wait for another sale to come along if you want to buy a certificate to a specific restaurant on the cheap.

If the above is confusing, you can still buy certificates to specific restaurants right now for 80% off. (That's 80% off an already discounted cost, not 80% off the value.) For example, PS7's is one of the places you can buy certificates for, and I just used one there a few weeks ago. A number of denominations are available. You can get a $75 certificate for $6 using the coupon code, for example. You have to spend $150 at the restaurant to make the coupon work, but it's not hard to reach that bill total if, say, three people go and get an app, entree, dessert, and cocktail.

So, I'd wondered where to post this, as all the other Ray's: The Catch threads seem to be locked, at least as I can tell from Googling...

Decided to take a bit of a walk today, head down to my guilty pleasure of mee goreng at Cafe Asia.

As I walked by 1650 Wilson Boulevard, I saw an ABC permit in the window for beer, wine and mixed drinks at "The Lobster Pot", Michael Landrum, president.

The "Ray's: The Basics" thread says that's where Hellburger is moving ("in early 2010") but perhaps not?

Anyways, take it all with a grain of salt, or whatever, just thought I'd share, since I was already feeling like a huge nerd.

This article and its comments confirm what you saw, but don't really clarify anything.

When in New Orleans, get thee to Green Goddess.

When I went in November, I loved it so much that I wanted to go back the next day, but they were closing for some renovations. It's very tiny, but they're doing amazing things in there. Their menu changes frequently, so the delicious absinthe-roasted oyster and fennel chowder isn't available right now. (It was intense.) Still an option is their bacon sundae, which is the best blend of salty and sweet I've ever experienced.

Todd and Tom both speak highly of Ethiopic on H Street. I'm a fan as well though I haven't been to any of the other contenders lately.

Ethiopic is popular, too. I went at 7:30 this past Sunday and they gave us an estimated hour wait time.

There are few establishments where it's actually worth the effort. Many places only have a few offerings, and the now $35 price tag doesn't even save you that much money.

However, one restaurant that has never disappointed me is Tosca. They offer their full menu (with only very few upcharges), and many of their entrees normally approach $35 on their own, so the RW price is still a bargain. And there's a lot of variety, too, since the amazing pastas can be ordered in half sizes and be used as a first course.

Say my first name twice, then add the sound a ghost makes.

Geronimo!

OK, thanks. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't French for "The The Boo."