kirite

LOVE Will's posts above. Wow! Missed him when I started going to Evening Star more regularly. And haven't made it out to Orso since he took over the....oven? the flipping? the pizza board? Whatever. Kind of like when you change the #15 to the #1 position in your Netflix queue, I'm doing that with Orso. Just to meet Will. And have some great pizza. And, all those acronyms we've now discussed pretty fully and noone mentioned DOP! Do the Italians realize what they've done here stateside?!?!

Had a great dinner here tonight with the inventive Greek salad, the grilled scallop, and the butternut squash agnolotti. But we were perplexed by the presence of a guy doing close up photo shoots of the food with a video cam. I should have asked Will but he was busy.

No, No, No

PassionFish?

_{I had a very nice meal at the Orlando location in November. I vaguely knew they had an outpost at Tysons but since I don't work there I've never been to it. Anyway, my three colleagues and myself all enjoyed it. I would certainly try the Tysons location.}

Beware! The Tysons Seasons 52 is extremely noisy and crowded. I had a reservation and had to wait 45 minutes for a table. And this was on a week night.

Yeah, it's really making it tough for me to moderate, split, edit, etc. Frustrating, but I know Invision is working hard on it (they're very good about staying on top of bugs).

Since the Russian Bot attack several weeks ago DonRockwell.com does not recognize me as a member.

Man! This is one of those topics I just somehow missed but shouldn't have. I love a great chili too but have to take issue with two of Mr. Heineman's claims. First, likening chili to coffee. Or, more accurately, his single minded and only recently shared obsession with finding great chili to my longer standing pursuit of coffee knowledge, coffee places and what's in the cup. Not much to say about that but, okay, we'll go with it. We've both got some defective genes clearly.

I love a great chili but it's not as big a deal for me as, say, I don't know, coffee or milkshakes maybe. Think I've always assumed this is something only great when made at home. The more cynical part of me might have assumed chili is an aside at best or a place to dump a lot of inexpensive whatever to carve back some profit being lost elsewhere. But that's not fair. Love Urban but haven't ordered chili there--will now. Most interesting but ignored suggestion above to me: Rock's Greek Deli. Sure, Greece isn't known for chili but Kostas knows his way around big plates of inexpensive, very tasty and satisfying protein/sauce combos (mostly Greek) as well as anyone in this town.

There must be fab chili spots out beyond NoVa but I haven't a clue where. Richmond maybe? C'ville? That southern and western part of the state where the BBQ gets better and the Carolinas appear on the horizon.

Final thought. I may have posted on Cincinnati several months ago; not sure. Did some travel there over the past year and will be again this year. Found the classic skyline, chili on soggy spag thing to be really bad wherever had. I don't think it's an acquired taste thing. I think it's just bad so, unless you were born into it, I wonder a bit about anyone claiming that's great (or even really good) chili. I'm kidding...but only kind of.

From reading these posts nobody seems about to drive a yard for great vegetarian chili. Katharine Mardirosian of 100 Bowls of Soup, I recently discovered, makes a wonderful three bean chili. I bought mine at Organic Butcher in McLean.

Kirite, it's a 1.2 mile cab ride to the Kimmel Center from Zahav. What else do you need?

You're right, of course. My surgically repaired knee won't allow much walking now, but by May I should be cruise to Zahav. Sorry to be a pest.

We plan to spend four nights in Philly in early May. What are some great places for pre-concert dinners near the Kimmel Center and the Academy of Music? We don't eat meat but we love fish.

I'll echo others in this thread who previously recommended Kanella. While I've only been there for the Sunday meze dinner (it was very meat-focused the night I was there), their regular menu offers vegetarian and seafood options that seem similar to some of the dishes I had during the incredible parade of meze. It's just a few blocks east of those concert venues.

For pre-concert I'm looking at Estia and Oyster House. For the other two dinners Tinto and Parc look interesting. Would these be good choices?

And you can still do the "Tayim - Taste of Zahav" tasting menu, because there are veggie/fish choices for every course.

Any thoughts about Oyster House, Tinto, Estia, and Parc? All are close to our hotel.

I keep getting "nopermission" when I hit the down arrow/preview button. Is anyone else getting this? I use Mozilla Firefox on a Windows PC.

I still have to go to the permission site and sign in if I don't check DR.com every couple of hours. This has been going on for at least three months.

Had dinner here tonight. We each ordered the fabulous Greek salad with lots of surprise ingredients and shared the marinara pizza sans chesse. A heathy and delicious meal.

Is Ms Cashion making chili for the public these days? Or was that in the old days at Austin Grill?

I'd like to find a place with great vegetarian chili. Any suggestions?

I'm extremely skilled at picking healthy dishes at restaurants.

I've also gained a considerable amount of weight recently due to an injury (and corresponding inability to exercise). See this saga back in 2007? Do a find/rfinds on "hip." Guess what ... it wasn't my hip.

Maybe I'll start ordering primarily healthy meals (I have *no* problem doing this from start-to-finish), post them in the restaurant threads, and link to them from here. Would anyone be interested in that?

I'd be very interested!

The Moosewood Cookbook recipe for spaghetti squash is good. This looks like it, jumbled up a bit.

And spaghetti squash does not have the texture of pasta. It just pulls into strands like spaghetti.

Is it less firm than pasta?

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

How does one cook a spaghetti squash? Would a tomato sauce with garlic and parsley be a good way to eat it?

Thanks.

Read this, please.

I just made reservations for next Sunday.

Bottom Line Up Front: Go here soon, sit at the “At the Pass” table, let the chef pick all your dishes, leave full and happy.

My wife and I had a wonderful anniversary dinner at the Westend Bistro last night. I called them earlier in the day and asked if they had any sort of tasting menu since there wasn’t one on the website, and they said they didn’t have one but they did have an “At The Pass” table where you sat a granite counter looking into the kitchen. You could order off the menu or let the chef make all the decisions for you. So that’s what we did and essentially ended up getting a tasting menu and having a great view of the kitchen, not to mention lots of conversations with the chefs.

Right after we sat down we were presented with two glasses of champagne which was a nice and unexpected touch since I never mentioned it was an anniversary dinner. Since we were not going to order off the menu we had the option of a 5, 7 or 9 course dinner where the chef would serve us whatever he wanted to. We chose the 9 course option for $95 which was well worth it for the quantity and quality of the food presented. We wanted to do a wine pairing as well and it seemed like they were very flexible on how much you got. We wanted enough wine to enjoy through out the dinner but still be able to drive home afterwards. Ryme, the super sweet sommelier, said she could make it work so we would get a new wine for each two courses, and if we needed more or less, she would adjust.

Chef de Cuisine Devin Bozkaya came over and asked if we had any allergies or restrictions (no and no) and since he used to work at the Inn At Little Washington, we told him this was our anniversary and last year we did it at the Chef’s Table at The Inn. That was the only time we mentioned “anniversary” but they picked up on it and wrote it out on the dessert plates in chocolate. We spent a little time talking to him about his time at The Inn and where he lived then and now, etc, etc. He made us feel right at home

Chef Bozkaya served us all of our dishes throughout the night and gave us detailed descriptions as well as chit chatted as time would allow. We were able to ask him and the other chef questions about what they were doing and they couldn’t have been nicer. The service was friendly and fantastic and you really felt special being there. For us the service and hospitality at Westend blew away what we had at Rogue 24 in August. That wasn’t bad mind you, but this just seemed much warmer and more genuine.

As each dish was delivered, the chef explained what it was, what was in it, how it was made and even how some of the ingredients were made. For instance, he went into a very detailed description of how the maple cream in the soup was made using old whiskey barrels to impart some of that flavor into it (I think it was the cream that used the barrels).

Here’s what we had:

• Popcorn dusted with cheese (pre-appitizer)
  

• Mustard Greens & Apple Salad 14
  

honey-cider vinaigrette, candied walnuts

• Tuna Carpaccio 16
  

olive oil, chive, shallot and lemon

• Lobster Crostino 16
  

garlic aioli, coriander, baby greens

• Butternut Squash Soup 13
  

organic squash, whipped Noble maple cream

• Rhode Island Skate Wing 30
  

local beans, almonds, brown butter

• Lamb Kafta 11
  

ground Border Springs lamb 3 ways

• Pan Roasted Bass 32
  

bouillabaisse, crab, fennel, clams

• Border Springs Leg of Lamb 29
  

cauliflower cous-cous, pomegranate-rosemary jus

• Lime Sorbet
  
• Warm Chocolate Tart 9
  

Melting Whipped Cream, Caramel Sauce

• Brown Butter Pistachio Cake 9
  

Raspberries, Salted Pistachio Ice Cream

I’m not great at giving detailed and evocative descriptions of the dishes, but I’ll just say there wasn’t a clunker served. I’d gladly eat every single one again. Each had layers of flavor and was perfectly cooked.

All of the fish dishes were really great, especially the skate wing and the sea bass. The skate had this soft, almost fully texture that seemed very airy. It was almost like eating cotton candy or cotton balls. I know that sounds weird, but it was very light and airy.

This place is going to be reviewed in the Post next week, so get there soon, and ask for the “At The Pass” table if you want a special evening!

We had dinner here tonight and did not order any entrees. Instead we confined ourselves to appetizers, soups, and salads. The tuna carpaccio is wafer thin and fills an entire plate. Served in an olive oil, chive, shallot, lemon sauce which is very light and delicious. The lobster minestrone soup was also excellent with bits of Israeli cous-cous, carrots, haricots vert, and a splash of pernod. I enjoyed the mustard greens and apple salad in a honey-mustard vinagrette, and little pieces of candied walnuts. I had never had mustard greens--they are really peppery. I need to use them at home. The only disappointment was the carrot and baby beet salad because the red beets--but not the golden ones--and the carrots were overly hard. We shared a side of roasted winter vegetables featuring tiny brussel spouts, baby carrots, and rutabaga. It was a nice treat on a cold night.

I had not been to Nostos since September. Had fabulous thinly crisped zucchini slices, melt in the mouth grilled octopus, and a wonderful layered eggplant with tomatoes and feta. This remains one of the best restaurants in NOVA.

We had lunch here today. This is a cool place. My Asian chicken breast sandwich was much better than popcorn, and my spouse's blueberry muffin was even better than buttered popcorn. After lunch we saw the new German film "Barbara" followed by a Q&A with the US distributor.

This place bills itself as a "film center" and it is very different from a multiplex. Culture comes to Merrifield!

On 12/22/2012 at 5:09 PM, DonRocks said:

Thanks for starting this thread. In the Multiple Locations Dining Guide, there's a Healthy (and Vegetarian) section for places that really seem to make it their focus.

Sweet Leaf Cafe (formerly Sweetleaf until Green Leaf sued them) has locations in McLean and Vienna and offers a variety of excellent and large salads.

We went here tonight in the monsoon and had a great dinner. We ordered several small plates and the Greek Salad. The Greek Salad was huge with lots of goodies including oven roasted tomatoes, chick peas, diced olives, and an array of lettuces. The stewed mushrooms in a celery puree was unlike anything I've tasted, and I want to taste it again. When you go ask for Mitchell. He is a fabulous server. Attentive, knowledgeable, helpful, personable, professional.

I forgot to mention that Mitchell did not call my wife and me "you guys." What a delightful and rare surprise.

My sister had matinee tickets to the Cauldron playhouse in the building next door today, so we went to Orso for lunch. We started by splitting an order of arancini (which she has never had before, but I had raved about) and it was great, stuffed with butternut squash, Vidalia onion jam and a cheese that I don't remember, on a celery root puree (if I'm remembering correctly), a couple of bites each of homey luxury. She's not as into food as me, but I noticed she scraped the plate clean. They've got a fabulous lunch special -- 2-topping pizza with mozzarella and a fountain drink for $8. She got pesto, mushrooms and roasted peppers, while I went old school and did marinara, sausage and onions. The pizzas were at the usual high standards, good leopard spotted tender chewy yeasty crust with high quality ingredients served lava hot from the oven. The sausage was nicely spicy, the marinara well balanced in flavor. My sister's was good, too, with the pesto actually fairly mild in basil flavor (this is a plus to me, as often I find pestos too licorice-y tasting from all the basil in them). The service was friendly and well-timed and made sure we were taken care of without being intrusive.

On the way out the door I saw Will and waved and he came over and we had a nice chat. He was in the middle of trying his hand at making fudge for the first time. I hope it turns out for him!

We went here tonight in the monsoon and had a great dinner. We ordered several small plates and the Greek Salad. The Greek Salad was huge with lots of goodies including oven roasted tomatoes, chick peas, diced olives, and an array of lettuces. The stewed mushrooms in a celery puree was unlike anything I've tasted, and I want to taste it again. When you go ask for Mitchell. He is a fabulous server. Attentive, knowledgeable, helpful, personable, professional.

I went tonight and they were closed for a friends and family dinner.

Open for real tomorrow.

Wow! The hype surrounding this restaurant is incredible. How can it possibly live up to expectations?

Party size is 8. I was thinking 2941. Went there a few years back and it was great but have read some less then stellar reviews on Yelp today.

Nostos has a nice room between the DR and the bar that could work well.

Made the mistake of poking my head in to the Mosaic District location on Sunday. They have imported the same surly service from Clarendon or Bethesda or Paris, or wherever. And the muddy, indistinct coffee fared poorly in comparison to the free sample I had just had from the nearby MOM market. It doesn't matter because I won't be back.

Next door a fresh fish market, MediterraFish, has opened. Chatted with them for a while -- apparently they are the wholesalers who supply a number of restaurants, notably Nostos -- and are adding a small retail outpost to their business. They're still moving in (was hard to tell from the street that they were, in fact, open), but had a few varieties of whole fish laid out in ice and several pre-filleted options. I assume their opening means that Jeff Black doesn't plan to have another fish market as part of his coming Mosaic restaurant.

We had breakfast there yesterday and did not encounter surly service. But the food was mediocre at best. A tasteless tomato omelet with a tiny amount of avocado on top. Wilted meslun in a wan dressing. Dry, uninteresting bread. Hard, uncomfortable wooden chairs made me sit on my coat.

Jeff Black recently announced that he has pulled out of his Mosaic District restaurant.

Had dinner at BS tonight, and while everything was very good , the tuna tartare is one of the finest appetizers in DC. Topped with incredible melt in mouth tuna over a bed of avocado, roasted cashews and a subtle mayo with a hint of spice. I should have ordered two of them and called it a night.

I urge anyone staying at The Ashby Inn to stay on the top floor of the schoolhouse - it costs more, and it's worth more.

Two days before we were to spend two weeks in Paris and Barcelona, I tore the meniscus in my left knee. But we were determined to get to Paris. So about ten days ago we went to Paris (as in Virginia) and had a memorable lunch at the Ashby Inn. It was 83 degrees and wonderful for patio dining. Impeccable service, superb and inventive food. I really loved the pickled dilly beans. And inasmuch as we were seated next to the little pond, we took several pictures of a very contented frog.